I quickly explained what all had been going on since we saw him, and it boggled my mind that it had only been a few days ago. So much had happened. William listened quietly and didn’t ask a lot of questions, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“We want another Catalyst on our side when we get there,” is how I ended my story, and only then did William say anything.
“Does Lexus know you’re calling me?” he asked, and the question caught me by surprise.
“Does it matter?” I blurted out then cringed, wishing I’d been a little more tactful. I needed him to be on my side.
“She’s your daughter, sir, and she needs you. That’s the only thing that should matter. But just so you know, Lexus has risked everything she cares about to rescue a woman she doesn’t even know, just because she’s her biological mother. That should tell you something about how Lexus feels about family. She wants you in her life, sir. You’re the one who pushed her away.”
William went silent again, and I had no idea if I had gotten to him or just ticked him off. Finally, he sighed, and I could hear him shuffling something.
“I guess I owe it to Lexus, and to Renee. Maybe staying away isn’t the best thing, after all. Ever since you came here, I can’t stop thinking about her. I’ve failed her so often, I have so many regrets, I don’t want to regret anything else.”
“I’ll text you the address, sir. My brother and I will be in a black Camaro. You’re closer, though; you might get there first.”
Moments after I hung up, a loud pop drew our attention, and suddenly the car veered off the road.
21
Lexus’ breath was warm against the back of my neck as she hovered behind me, and she made little gasps that made me want to take her away from all this. She wanted to be here, though, and she wouldn’t be content till she’d found her mother.
The lock clicked open with a tiny surge of power, and I slowly turned the knob. I had no idea what was on the other side of the door, but the less obvious we made our entrance the better.
If my stupid heart would stop pounding like a bass drum I might actually be able to hear something. I opened the door just a crack and peeked in. Nobody stabbed me in the eye, so that was a good thing, I guess. I sort of wanted Anders to be standing at the door waiting for us so we could just get it over with. But no, he was gonna turn this into a cat and mouse chase. He might be the mouse, but he also knew where all the hiding spots were.
From what I could see through the crack, the barn looked like just that — a barn. There was a wheelbarrow and an old, riding lawn mower in one corner, rusty gardening tools hanging from nails, and makeshift, wooden shelves mounted to the walls that were loaded down with old cans of paint and other random crap. A couple, giant spider webs hung in corners, and I shuddered. Spiders were nasty. It smelled like grass and motor oil and dirt, and it reminded me of my grandpa’s garage, which I realized with a pang of sadness I hadn’t been to in more years than I could count, but I didn’t have time to be sentimental.
I didn’t see Anders or anyone else for that matter, so I pushed through the doorway, pulling Lexus with me. Once we were inside, I got a better look, but there was no place to hide in the big, open building. No one was in there.
“There must be basement or cellar somewhere,” I said, and Lexus nodded.
I scanned the floor for a second, searching for an access panel, but then I noticed a door in the righthand wall. Lexus noticed it at the same time, and we headed for it, my heart ramping up again.
Another lock to get through that only took a second, and another peek through the crack revealed a smaller room full of tall, metal tool chests and a workbench cluttered with random tools. Another camera was mounted in the corner. In the back of the room was what looked like a closet door, but my guess was we’d finally found the entrance to Winslow’s lab. My body was in overdrive, revving like a roadster, and I didn’t stop to think just yanked the door open.
Sure enough, behind the locked door was a wooden staircase leading down into a cold, dank basement, and chills ran up my spine. These guys were like cave dwellers. You’d think if they didn’t have any qualms about using their powers maliciously they’d have fixed themselves up with nicer digs. But what do I know? Maybe bad guys just prefer creepy places.
I glanced back at Lexus, and I could tell she felt the same way about it, if the agonized look on her face was any indication. I gave her a quick smile, which was stupid because it’s not like I could really reassure her or anything. We were heading down into the devil’s lair with nothing but our wits and powers to protect us. You’d think that’d be enough, but it obviously wasn’t for all the other Specials they had managed to kidnap.
We tiptoed down the stairs, trying to be silent, but the creaky, old wood wasn’t helping. Lexus hadn’t said a word, but she laid her hands on my shoulders, ready to command me into action as soon as necessary, and I could feel the damp warmth through my jacket.
But the stairs ended in another small, empty room, this one more like an office with a large desk and a computer hooked up to several monitors. All the screens were black, but I was sure if I turned them on I’d find images from surveillance cameras. Did that mean no one was watching them? Maybe we had managed to sneak in under their nose.
A few stacks of paper were strewn around the desk, spreadsheets with columns of indecipherable codes and numbers. Winslow was a true, mad scientist, meticulously observing and recording the results of all his sadistic experiments. I cringed just thinking about what all he might be doing to his victims.
Another closed door led deeper into his lair, and I paused in front of it, my heart thumping out of control again. How many damn doors would we have to go through before we found what we were looking for? This had to be it, though. If there were any more, I was gonna have a stroke before I even got to the fighting.
I pulled open the door, tired of peeking through cracks, and stood in stunned silence, overwhelmed by the gruesome sights before me. The place made Frankenstein’s lab look like a kid’s science experiment.
Every disgusting scent the human body could emit clung to the air —puss, blood, piss, shit, even the scent of burnt flesh, and on top of that, an overpowering chemical smell. I slapped a hand over my nose and mouth to keep from breathing any more in.
Lexus gasped and whimpered behind me, her fingers digging into me, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the horror in front of me, but I’m sure it was reflected in her face.
Cells lined the concrete walls like they had at Magna Virtus, and Specials lay inside in various states of distress. They were all gaunt and pale, half dead. Some stood at the bars and wailed, and others just lay on their cots and moaned. A few pounded their hands or heads against the wall or threw themselves at the bars. Those who had IVs in their arms were strapped to their bed so they couldn’t pull them out.
Why didn’t Winslow use mind control to make them stop? If for nothing else than his own sanity. At least Anders had brainwashed his prisoners into mindless oblivion so they weren’t aware of the fact that they were victims. The only explanation I could think of was that Winslow didn’t want to muddy the results of his experiments. If that was the case, he really was a heartless monster.
One prisoner had her mouth and eyes sewn shut, and she rolled her shaved head around in circles as she sat on the floor in a hospital gown, hands outstretched, begging for someone to help her.
Another man was missing an arm. It had been severed at the shoulder, but from the stump grew a half-formed hand that constantly grabbed at the armhole of his tank top. His other hand had been amputated as well, and a bloody bandage was wrapped around his wrist. Was Winslow trying to regrow body parts?
A third victim looked to be covered head to toe in third-degree burns, but instead of being bandaged, his seared skin was coated in some kind of jelly and left exposed. Bile rose up and stung my throat, and I turned my head away quickly.
On the back wall, two tan
ks held human fetuses, half developed, suspended in liquid. Was Winslow breeding genetically-modified Specials to suit his needs? I was amazed and horrified at the same time.
Lexus was clinging to my arm and pressing her teary eyes into my shoulder as she sobbed, but I had no words to comfort her. I couldn’t speak past the lump in my own throat.
In the middle of the room was a glass-walled operating suite of sorts with a surgical table surrounded by white cabinets and trays full of gleaming, medical tools. Florescent lights flickered overhead, and a few biometric machines blinked with red, green, and yellow lights, monitoring the vitals of the current victim. A few others stood blank-faced, ready to be brought to life for different experiments.
A woman lay on the gurney with tubes coming out of her nose, mouth, and arms, and her body convulsed like she was being electrocuted. Lexus wretched, and I turned and pressed her head into my chest so she couldn’t watch any more. I was disgusted by the depravity, appalled that someone of my kind could do these things to one of our own.
When I bent my head to kiss the top of hers, she went limp in my arms. Before I could register what was going on, I felt a sharp prick in my neck, and the world went black.
22
My first instinct was to scream when I woke up, but I slapped a hand over my mouth and held it there till I stopped hyperventilating, my body shaking uncontrollably.
I was surrounded by concrete on five sides and metal bars on the sixth, and I sat on a thin cot mounted on the wall. There was a small sink and toilet across from me.
I was locked in one of Winslow’s cells, and all I could see was the prisoner across from me. It wasn’t Jaxson, but I’m sure he was in a cell somewhere, too, unless he’d managed to evade capture. I doubted it, though. I wanted to call his name to see where he was, but I didn’t want Anders to know I was awake yet or he might drug me again.
We should have been more prepared. We should have blasted out mind control commands as soon as we opened the door to the laboratory. That was our best weapon. Instead, we’d both been overwhelmed by the sheer atrocity of what was in front of us.
I put out feelers, thin strands of power, searching for Jaxson. I found other Conduits, but their signatures were unfamiliar. Finally, I sensed a tiny buzz coming from the other side of the lab, but it was obvious something was different about it. Jaxson must still be unconscious. Could I still access his power and use it against Anders? I didn’t think so. It was like the drug had paralyzed the part of him that created his energy.
So, I could wait till Jaxson woke up, or I could try to harness power from one of the other prisoners, but I had never worked with any of them, and I had no idea what they were capable of. Was my power strong enough that it wouldn’t matter? I only had one shot. Anders would notice if I used power, and if I failed, he would knock me out again.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps coming my way. I lay down and pretended to be unconscious, but Anders just chuckled at me. I sat up and glared at him.
“Nice try, Lexus. But there are cameras all over this place. I know you’re awake. I just want to have a little chat.”
I wasn’t interested in talking to him, and I didn’t believe him, anyway, so in desperation I sent out a bolt of power to the nearest Conduit and tried to use mind control.
“Don’t come near me!” I commanded, but I knew right away it didn’t work.
Jumping up, I rushed for the door and siphoned power from a different Conduit, hoping to unlock the door to my cell. Anders and I were both surprised when it worked, but I quickly yanked the door open and bolted past him before he could respond.
He was right behind me, though, grasping for me, his fingers grazing my back. When I got to one of the openings in the glass walls that surrounded the surgical area, my ankle twisted, and I started to fall. Seizing the moment, I dropped to my knees and rolled under the gurney then jumped up and dashed out the opposite side. Anders missed the opening in the wall and kept running around the outside of the glassed-off room, so I gained a bit on him, but could I make it to the stairs and out before he caught me?
The prisoners started shrieking and hollering as I ran past, the noise muffling the sound of Anders’ footsteps, making it harder for me to keep track of how close he was. My lungs burned as I gasped for air, and my ankle throbbed. I wasn’t used to running, but I pushed myself as hard as I could, ignoring the pain, and I sent out random bolts of power as I ran, hoping one of the other Conduits could help me stop Anders, but everyone I connected with was too weak.
As I reached the door to the office area, another person crashed through the door, colliding with me. My father! But why was he here? How did he even know? I knew immediately — the twins had called him. I just couldn’t believe he had come. Last time I saw him, he made it clear he wasn’t interested in being my father anymore, and he wanted to stay far away from the Specials world, even if that included me. But here he was.
“Lexus! Are you okay?” Pain twisted his features as he grabbed for me before I knocked my head on the cement floor.
“Get Anders!” I yelled right as I heard him approaching.
My father didn’t hesitate, just barreled towards Anders, grabbing the hand with the syringe and twisting it backwards. Anders was quick, though, and he kneed my father in the groin, doubling him over. But my father didn’t let go, and the two tussled, twisting and kicking and exchanging blows with their free hands. I winced every time I heard my father grunt or groan.
I had to help him, but what could I do? My father was a Catalyst like me, so I couldn’t use his powers.
I heard a tiny clatter when my father squeezed Anders hand and the syringe dropped from his grasp and tumbled to the ground. I chased it as it rolled away, finally grabbing it before it went under a nearby table.
I didn’t know what was in it, but I was pretty sure it was the same stuff that Anders had used to knock me out. I prayed that was all it was and not something more dangerous as I rushed towards Anders, jabbing the needle into his back and pressing the plunger. It only took a second before Anders dropped to the ground, unconscious, and everything stopped.
I fell to my knees beside him, overwhelmed, and covered my face with my hands. My body started shaking, and tears poured from my eyes, wetting my palms. My father kneeled down beside me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, pulling me into his chest. The familiar scent of cigarette smoke, engine grease, and stale sweat filled my nostrils, and I sucked in deep breaths, reaching out to clutch handfuls of his tee shirt. He moved one hand to my head and started stroking my hair as he rocked me.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay. It’s all over.” He whispered assurances.
When I finally got control of myself, I wiped my face with the back of my hands and looked up into his eyes. “You came.”
His features twisted with emotions — love, pain, sorrow, regret, hope. “Of course I came, baby. How could I not? Your boyfriend called and said you needed me.”
I couldn’t help it, all the stress and adrenaline was dissolving in my blood, making me feel lightheaded and euphoric, and a chuckle bubbled up and out. “Which one?”
My father laughed, too. “How many do you have?”
I didn’t answer, just chuckled again, letting off steam.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me, and my eyes got wide and wild as I wretched my head around, scanning the room. “There were two cars here when we arrived, Anders’ and someone else’s. Winslow, the head of the council, said that he had an assistant watching the lab while he was gone. So where’s the other person?”
“There was only one car here when I arrived. Maybe the other person left?”
Anxiety built up again, tightening my skin. “That means he could be back any time, or someone else instead. Let’s lock Anders in a cell and get Jaxson and my mom out before anyone else shows up.”
My father nodded, and together we dragged Anders’ body into the nearest empty cell, confiscating the keys he had in his pocket. Then we star
ted down the row, looking for the others.
“William!” I heard a voice call out, and my father and I turned and rushed across to the other side of the room where my mother was locked in a cell.
“Renee!” My father reached for her, shoving his hands through the bars in an awkward embrace. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry for everything, Renee. Please forgive me!”
She returned his hug, shaking her head in confusion. “What are you doing here, William?”
“Lexus came to find you, and I came to help her.”
“Lexus?” She turned to me.
I sucked my lips between my teeth and nodded, suddenly shy. My father unlocked her cell, and she rushed out, wrapping her arms around me. She held tight, rocking and sobbing, till tears began to fill my eyes. When she finally pulled away, she held me by the shoulders at arms’ length, looking at me.
The resemblance between us was unmistakeable. I’d glimpsed her before, the day we rescued her from Anders’ prison, but I hadn’t gotten a chance to really look at her. She was an inch or two taller than me and slightly fuller in the hips and breasts, but we had the same long, brown hair and hazel eyes. Hers just had a few more crinkles around them than mine. She patted my cheek with one hand and stroked my hair with the other.
“I always thought I looked like my father.” I whispered.
“Thank you, Lexus, for all you’ve done to save me. You have every right to hate me, but here you are, rescuing me again. I don’t deserve you, but I hope you’ll give me another chance. I would’ve tried to come back for you a long time ago if I could’ve.”
I didn’t tell her that I didn’t know who she was until a few days ago; I wasn’t sure if that would make her feel better or worse. I just nodded, and let her hug me again.
“There’s so much to talk about, but let’s go find your friend and get out of here,” my father said, tugging on my arm. My mom and I followed.
Flying Free Page 11