by L. C. Mawson
“Well, if you need a hand with planning, just let me know. Tactical analysis is kind of my thing.”
Alex nodded, though she wasn’t entirely happy with the idea of anyone but her and Gus being involved with the planning.
While Tina had helped them escape, Alex wasn’t convinced that it wasn’t just some kind of trap.
Tina rolled her eyes, seemingly seeing where Alex’s thoughts were heading. “Okay, I know you’ve been on the run for a while, but are you really so distrustful? What could I possibly have to gain from helping you escape and then betraying you?”
Alex frowned. “I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have something to gain.”
Tina groaned. “That would be the most elaborate trap in the history of forever. To just let you go so that we could catch you after? They already had you in custody. If I hadn’t helped you escape, they would still have you, and they would be questioning you, and they would have everything they needed. It’s not as if you’ve got any more people that they needed to capture.”
Alex sighed. “Okay, I suppose you’re right... Sorry, it’s just... It’s been a long few days...”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Gus
Gus hated waiting at the best of times. He was too fidgety, and that only served to further put him on edge, aware of how it drew attention to him.
“She’ll be fine,” Jan said softly as they made their way through the street of shops, the red bricks with dark wooden window frames and doors looking quaint and almost unsettling. Like something out of one of those creepy fairy tales he had read when catching up on outside-world pop culture.
It only served to heighten his nerves, reminding him that there was no guarantee that this would end well.
That Alex would return to them...
Jan suggested that they get food, potentially thinking that it would settle Gus’ nerves, but he barely heard her. He felt as if he was underwater and eventually, Jan just steered him into a building before pressing a glass into his hand.
He looked down to see a glass of whisky.
“Drink,” Jan urged him. “It’s either that or I go and raid a pharmacy for beta-blockers. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Gus nodded before doing what he was told and downing the drink. “I don’t do well with sitting on my hands,” he explained.
“And yet, you went back to the Enhanced base. What were you waiting for then?”
Gus shrugged. “For Alex to decide to finally take the fight to the Enhanced. But even then, that was my choice. I could have left at any point, and I could at least gather useful information. Being here, just waiting for her... Maybe I should go back...”
“No, going back is a terrible idea,” she told him. “Mia said that Tina knows to meet us here. It’s no good you getting lost too.”
Gus nodded, though he wasn’t entirely convinced. “Speaking of Mia, we should go back outside and check to see if Alex has arrived.”
Jan sighed, and he could practically hear her arguing that it had only been five minutes, even though she held her tongue.
Jan moved out of the pub and Gus followed, flexing his fingers rhythmically.
After a moment, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye and looked down at his hands. They looked normal, but he could have sworn that a weird light faded just as he glanced.
More magic?
He pushed away the thought. He wasn’t touching Alex’s pendant, and there was no way that he could produce the magic on his own. He would have noticed it before.
Not unless the charm activated those powers, he realised, but pushed the thought away. He could deal with it later. For now, he had to focus on Alex.
They made their way outside, and Gus was about to ask Mia if she’d seen anything when he spotted his sister and Tina walking up the street towards them.
He ran forward and pulled his sister into his arms, holding her as if he was afraid she might disappear.
“I wasn’t sure that you would make it out,” Gus admitted as he pulled away. “Once I realised that you weren’t just behind us, I mean. That you hadn’t...”
Tina smirked beside them, despite evident exhaustion. “It’s okay, you can say it. I know that she should have left me far behind if she had any intention of getting out of there. I’ve already scolded her for that.”
Gus raised an eyebrow at Alex. “You know, for someone who was going on about how we couldn’t take any risks, you’re certainly bad following your advice.”
Alex sighed. “I know. But you can’t blame me for wanting to think that, in the moment, I would actually make a smart decision for once, can you?”
Gus shook his head. “I think I would prefer it if you were just honest about how much you care. It would certainly make me feel better.”
Mia cut in at that point, frowning. “Touching as your reunion is, we really need to get moving again. It won’t be long before the others figure out where we went. I mean, the nearest populated area isn’t exactly an imaginative stretch, is it?”
Alex nodded agreement. “You’re right, we should get moving as quickly as we can. Come on, let’s figure out a route back to Russia.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Alex
Once they were on a train, they found a table to sit at as Alex and Tina went over their plan.
“If we can smoke Effie and Jay out of the hotel room by setting off the fire alarm, we should be able to catch them by surprise outside. The plan would be to not let them see us coming, and to strike before they realise we’re behind anything,” Alex explained.
Tina nodded. “If we do this in the middle of the night, they should have no way of knowing that we’re behind it. We should be more than capable of taking them in a five on two fight. They might have the experience, but we have better genes and the numbers on our side.”
“Six on two,” Ty corrected, gritting his teeth a little.
Tina exchanged a startled glance with Alex before saying, “Yeah, six on two. That’s what I meant.”
She was less than convincing.
Ty clenched his fist but otherwise didn’t respond as Mia said, “You know, I’m a little tired. Maybe we should find somewhere to rest.”
Tina nodded as she breathed a sigh of relief. “Yeah, that sounds good.”
The others all headed off, but Gus stayed with Alex at the table.
“I’m impressed that you managed to come up with that plan while running from the Enhanced,” Gus told her.
Alex shrugged sheepishly. “Well, I had a bit of help.”
Gus grinned at that, clearly more than happy at Alex finally starting to trust the others.
“Come on,” he told her, “Mia was right. We should get some rest.”
Alex nodded before following him away from the table, only for them to walk straight into Ty.
“Sorry, I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” Gus said.
Ty shook his head. “You know, I’m pretty sure it was probably more my fault than yours. But that doesn’t matter, I wanted to speak with you. And with Alex. Is she there?”
Alex nodded, before realising that he couldn’t see. “Yeah, I am,” she told him.
“Look, I get it,” he told her. “You don’t think that I can do anything now that I can’t see. Everyone back at base agreed with you on that. But you’re wrong. And they were as well.”
“I know,” Alex told him softly. “I really do, Ty. I’m not writing you off. Not like they did. When things went bad with my monitor, it was the Angel’s friends who came and rescued me. One was deaf, and the other couldn’t walk, and yet they fought all the same. I owe them my life. So believe me when I say that I am not writing you off right now. But I am conscious of the fact that you are still getting used to living without your sight. It’s going to take you a while to figure out how to navigate spaces, and how to figure out where your enemy is when you’re fighting. That’s going to take time and training that we simply don’t have right no
w.”
Ty shook his head. “How am I supposed to show you that I’m not just some waste of resources if you won’t let me?”
Alex put a reassuring hand on his arm. “You don’t need to prove anything to me, Ty. I believe that you will be more than an invaluable member of the team, given time. And even if you weren’t, I’m not going to write you off like they did. I don’t care whether you can contribute to reclaiming the base or not, you will still have a place there.”
“Okay, fine, whatever,” Ty muttered, clearly not happy with Alex’s assessment.
Before any of them could say anything else, Mia came down the corridor towards them.
“There you are, Ty. I worried that you had gotten lost.”
Ty shook his head before pushing past his sister. “I’m fine,” he said, with more than a little venom behind his voice.
Mia gave them an apologetic look before going after him.
“Should we go and tell Mia exactly what Ty was saying?” Alex asked Gus as soon as they were out of earshot. “I mean, if he’s having trouble adjusting...”
“I think Mia is more than aware of the difficulties her brother is having,” Gus reasoned. “I think if we keep on talking about him behind his back, we’re going to risk him thinking that we’re infantilising him. And to be honest, I’m not sure that we’re not.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “Do you think we should let him into the fight?”
“I think he’s an adult and I think the rest of us might be defaulting to treating him like a petulant child instead.” Gus sighed, shaking his head. “I’ll go try to talk to him once he’s cooled down. That might be more productive.”
Alex nodded in agreement, though it was cut off by her yawning violently enough to crack her jaw.
Gus smiled. “And I think you should get some sleep. After all, getting knocked out isn’t exactly the same as a proper rest.”
“You say that as if you’ve had more sleep than I have.”
“And once I’ve spoken with Ty, I promise I will get some sleep as well. But don’t wait up for me.”
Alex was too tired to argue, so she just nodded in agreement before heading off to find somewhere to sleep.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Gus
Gus tentatively knocked on the door of the cabin Ty had found before entering.
“What do you want, Gus?” Ty asked tiredly.
“Can I sit down?” Gus asked.
Ty hesitated for a moment but then nodded. “I guess.”
“How did you know it was me?” Gus asked.
“Because no one else would knock. Not to mention, you’re heavier than the girls.”
“You can actually hear that?”
Gus got the impression that Ty would have rolled his eyes if he wasn’t wearing bandages. “Was I the only one who paid attention in class? We’ve got enhanced senses, Gus. Including hearing. We covered this in early combat and stealth training. Total dark combat, remember?”
“Huh,” Gus said, leaning back. “I guess I never spent much time on stuff like that. Combat was always Alex’s thing, so I focused on tech. It was the one area I could best her in.”
Ty sighed. “Is this why you came here? To ask me about my combat abilities?”
“No,” Gus told him quickly. “If you can fight, that’s fine, but it doesn’t matter if you can’t. We’re not going to throw you away like them. I know what it’s like to know that they... that they will kill you or worse if they get you. We would never turn you over to them. Trust me on that.”
Ty shook his head. “It’s not the same,” he muttered. “Sure, they might kill Alex for her betrayal, but not the rest of you. They can’t afford to lose so many Enhanced. I didn’t do anything wrong, Gus. I didn’t make a choice. A random roll of the dice and they were ready to kill me.”
Gus looked away. He hadn’t told anyone about The Incident, but... Somehow he knew that Ty would understand.
“I’m not talking about siding with Alex. That was my decision, and it isn’t something they would likely kill me for. But that’s not the reason why I can’t go back. Why I would be... I’ve been trying to avoid thinking about it, but I saw the scars Alex’s monitor gave Freya... Dissection would have been kinder...”
Ty frowned. “Freya? Was that the Angel Alex fell for?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would they cut you up like that? He only did that to learn how her magic worked.”
“I know, so imagine what they would do if they ever found out that an Enhanced could wield magic...”
Gus’ heart stopped for a moment as he waited for Ty’s reaction.
Ty had left the Enhanced for his own reasons, not sympathy for magic. Would he think Gus a monster now that he knew?
“You have magic?” Ty asked after a moment.
“I... I’m not entirely sure, but I think so... When Alex and I fought Effie and Jay... They shot Alex, and I was so worried for her... Fire came out of my hands and burnt them.”
Ty’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline. “You used fire?”
Gus nodded, before remembering to say, “Yeah,” though his voice was quiet.
What if Ty told the others?
What would they think of him?
What did Ty think of him?
Ty cocked his head, frowning a little. “Fire’s an elemental power,” he eventually said. “That means Elemental blood or Dragon blood...”
Gus blinked, a little caught off guard by Ty’s assessment of the situation.
As if Gus hadn’t just revealed that he was just like the enemy they were designed to fight.
“I... I guess I hadn’t really thought about it,” Gus admitted after a while. “I’ve been too busy freaking out...”
Ty continued to frown. “Why? You left because you didn’t believe in the fight, right? Or at least, because Alex didn’t anymore.”
Gus bit his lip as he sat back in his seat, looking at the fields passing by out the window. “I suppose that’s true. But Alex stopped believing in the fight because she fell for an Angel, not because she had some ideological problem with it. And I left to help her.”
“But she still fell in love with an Angel, right? That sounds like an ideological problem to me.”
“Yeah, I... I suppose you’re right. I guess I just... We were trained to view magic as dangerous. I didn’t really believe that another Enhanced would truly be okay with it.”
“Then why tell me?”
Gus paused, not really having much of an answer. Eventually, he shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I just... I felt like I could trust you...”
Ty rubbed his arm awkwardly as he said, “I... Thank you.”
Gus found a small smile forming in response.
“I swear, I won’t tell anyone,” Ty promised. “Not if you don’t want me to.”
“Thank you,” Gus said, still smiling. “So, I have to say, I never really paid much attention to magical lore. Did you say something about Dragon blood?”
Ty shrugged. “Like I said, fire’s an elemental power. It would have to be Dragon blood or Elemental powers, the latter of which would make you an Angel.”
Gus shook his head, remembering the storm Freya had caused. “I definitely don’t think it’s that powerful. It was just a bit of fire, and it only happened when I touched a charm.”
“Are you sure it was you, then, and not the charm?”
“I’m sure. Alex never takes the charm off and it has never given her any powers.”
“Then maybe you should ask her what kind of charm it is. Even if you have magic, the charm might give you access to fire that you might otherwise not have.”
“Yeah, okay,” Gus agreed, suddenly feeling a lot better now that he had somewhat of a plan to figure out exactly what was going on.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Alex
The thing about sleep, Alex had found since she had parted ways with Freya, was that it was a temperamental bitch.
Alex had alway
s considered herself a good sleeper. Especially compared to Freya. Freya had constantly woken throughout the night, swearing that she didn’t remember anything even resembling nightmares, but still trying to free herself from the feel of metal shackles around her wrists.
While Alex had also been shackled by her monitor, she hadn’t endured the same tortures as Freya. They would have come, eventually, but after the initial beating he had given her, her monitor had simply locked her up and left her be until Freya had killed him in her escape.
Alex had been left, waiting, in the ruins of the Enhanced base, until Freya’s friends had found her.
When that hadn’t been enough to give her nightmares, Alex had simply declared that she was too good of a sleeper for such things to disturb her.
But ever since she had been separated from Freya, sleep had been elusive.
She didn’t know whether she had taken comfort simply from Freya’s presence, or from the fact that Freya had been the one to free them last time, even if her friends had had to go back for Alex.
All she knew was that it was hard to sleep alone.
She was about half an hour into just staring at the ceiling when a tentative knock came at the compartment door.
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“It’s me,” a voice beyond the door said, and Alex recognised it as Jan. “Can I come in?”
“Yeah, sure,” Alex said, frowning in confusion as she sat up.
Why would Jan want to see her?
Jan opened the compartment door, stepping in before closing it behind her.
She looked disconcerted, staring the floor.
“Are you all right?” Alex asked her.
Jan nodded, glancing up for just a moment, before glancing away again.
“Can I... Can I stay in here with you?” Jan eventually managed to ask, her voice barely more than a whisper. “I... I’m having trouble sleeping.”