In a rush I jump up from the sofa. Blood pours from between my fingers as I try in vain to hold the gaping hole in my abdomen closed. It's difficult to breathe and I start to cough. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth then spills over my lips to run down my chin.
The room explodes into absolute chaos.
Everyone is moving and yelling and Kat is falling into hysterics. Owen and Luca hold her down while Adam takes ahold of me, shoving me back onto the sofa.
Will is at my side, down on his knees in seconds moving my hands out of the way, as he lifts my shirt up over the wound.
Adam is going pale, his hands running nervously over his short blonde hair.
Breath held, Will's hands tremble against my skin, as blood runs over my sides.
Eric leans over the back of the sofa looking down at me in concern and confusion. "What happened?"
More blood pours from my mouth when I try to talk, garbling some of my words. "Blondie, he...he...stabbed me and...and...Jared stood back and...just watched. He...he...just watched."
Anger and horror wash over Adam's face. "Why would he do that? Why would Jared do that? I understand he's upset and he's hurt but this? This is on a whole other level."
Will presses down on my stomach. "It's not healing? Why isn't she healing? It's been long enough since the cleansing ritual she should be able to self heal, so why isn't she? Eric, why isn't she?"
Eric shakes his head, no answers moving past his lips.
Gulping down deep breaths, Will steadies his nerves while keeping his hands firmly pressed down over my wound. Healing warmth rushes into me and I bite back a scream as the wound stitches itself together enough to slow the blood gushing out, but not together enough to stop the bleeding all together.
Gasping, Will leans back onto the heels of his feet, his hands sliding over my stomach leaving finger streaks of blood smeared across my skin in their wake.
"Thank you," I manage to say coherently this time.
"No problem." Slightly off balance, Will lifts himself up off the floor to deposit himself down onto the coffee table.
With Will out of the way, Eric leans further over the sofa to examine my wound. "It doesn't make any sense. You should be healing and you're not."
"Do you think there's something still wrong with her symbol?" Adam asks. "She told me once all her abilities come from it and if she's not healing then that must mean there's something wrong with it, right? And if there is something wrong, if it's no longer working, there's no way I'm letting her help any of you any further. You'll have to come up with another way to find Jared because I will not risk losing her."
I reach out for Adam’s hand. "You won't lose me Adam. I promise. But I have to keep looking for Jared, with or without abilities."
"Like hell you will. You're the only family I have left Hanna and I will not let you go out there risking your life if there’s a chance you’re unprotected." His gray eyes bore into mine unyielding. No amount of arguing on my part will ever change his mind on this matter.
"It's not the symbol. The symbols fine." Luca takes a seat on the coffee table beside Will. "You're not able to heal because Blondie stabbed your astral self."
"Yeah, but I've been injured in dreams before and was always able to heal after," I say thinking back to all the times Blondie got in my head.
"That was different." Luca takes a deep breath. He looks around the room in a manner suggesting he's about to say something that's going to get him in trouble. His hazel eyes linger the longest on Kat before he returns his gaze to me. "During the times Blondie was able to get into your head your mind believed what was happening so much so that your physical body manifested the wounds. You were able to heal quickly because your spiritual self and your physical self were still joined allowing you to draw on all of your energy. But when you astral project, the rules are different. Your physical self and your spiritual self separate and if your spiritual self or your physical self becomes injured you can't properly heal because there's not enough energy to draw on because all of your energy is being use to maintain the separation and the eventual re-joining. But now that your two halves are back together you should be strong enough to heal in a day or two."
"I'm not claiming to know all there is to know about astral projection, but I know enough and I have never heard of this." Eric stares pointedly at Luca.
"That's because it's a well guarded secret among us spirit walkers. It's our biggest weakness and it's not something we normally go around blabbing about for obvious reasons," Luca answers as though we should all understand why he'd keep something like this secret, and maybe on some level I do, but he could have at least shared this bit of information with me instead of letting me go in blind.
Will listens to every word Luca says in explanation, the expression on his face scary calm, the tension in his body coiled tight. He shifts so he’s facing Luca, who's looking down at his feet. Will taps him lightly on the shoulder and when Luca looks up Will's fist smashes into his jaw so hard he's knocked to the ground.
"I suppose I deserved that." Luca licks at the blood from a split lip already on the mend.
Will is a whirlwind of fury and anger. He stands up so fast the back of his legs pushes the table he's been sitting on back two inches. "You should have told us the risks involved. You put her life in danger Luca, and that is unacceptable."
“It was a gamble not telling anyone the risks, I know, but it was a gamble I was willing to take because I knew if I told you, you'd never let her go."
"Damn straight I wouldn't have let her go," Will confirms.
"Exactly my point." Luca climbs to his feet, wiping away any remaining blood on his mouth with the back of his hand. "I knew you'd let your feelings for her cloud your judgment and we needed her to go. Her connection to Jared is our only way of finding him before D-day or have you forgotten what we're fighting for?"
Will's jaw clenches. His hand shoots up grabbing a fist full of Luca's AC/DC t-shirt. "Of course I haven't forgotten. I know exactly what's at stake." He shoves Luca backwards. "But I'll be damned if I ever let you put her in danger like that again." Hands fisted, anger and rage rolls off of Will in waves.
I step in between them before this gets any worse than it already is. "Enough! None of this is helping. Luca you should have told me the risks and Will, even if he had I still would have went. Jared is our top priority so how ‘bout you both tone down the testosterone so we can get back to finding him."
Before anyone can say another word, Kat slaps Luca hard, leaving behind a surprised look and an angry red handprint that's starting to welt. She grabs my wrist, dragging me out of the room while everyone stares after us. Leading me down the hall, she pulls me into the bathroom. After slamming the door shut, she pulls me into a fierce hug, ruining her pretty white top. "Are you okay? I have never been so scared in my whole life. I thought I was watching you die." When she lets me go her hands are shaking and her eyes are filled with tears.
"I'm okay Kat," I assure her though I'm really not. I nearly died and Jared, he just let it happen. He just stood there and watched while Blondie twisted a knife in my gut. How could he do that? How could he just stand there? Does he really hate me that much now? Has he delved so far into the dark side he no longer cares if I live or die?
Kat rummages through the bathroom cabinets and pulls out a box of bandages. Taking my arm, she walks me over to the toilet. Closing the lid, she sits me down. I peel off my shirt while she runs a washcloth under the tap. I sigh at the ruined shirt in my hand. It was one of my favorites and now it's going to go into the trash. Since I've gotten involved in the world of Guardians vs. Fallen my wardrobe has taken a serious beating. At least the jeans I'm wearing appear to be unscathed, for the time being anyway.
Kat hands me the washcloth. "How bad is it?"
I wash away the majority of the blood dried across my abdomen then pat it dry with a hand towel. The wound is no longer bleeding and for the most part it looks somewhat sealed tho
ugh it's still flaming red, swollen, and tender to the touch. "It's better than it was."
Kat goes to the medicine cabinet returning a moment later with some kind of antiseptic wash, a few cotton balls, and an anti-bacterial ointment. She gets down on her knees then pours some of the antiseptic onto a cotton ball. She dabs it on my wound and I grip the toilet seat biting back a moan of burning pain trapped in my throat. Next she rubs on the ointment then starts to bandage it.
She rips off a few strips of medical tape affixing them to the top of her hand. "I can't believe Luca didn't say anything to you about the risks. I mean I somewhat get why he didn't say anything to Will, but you? He definitely should have told you." Pulling off a strip, she tapes the top of the bandage to my skin. "I'm so mad at him right now I can't even think straight. I should have smacked him harder. In fact, I still might." Getting riled up her fingers press too hard.
"Ow." Sharp pain flares through the wound. Gently, I push her hands away before she can cause anymore - accidental damage.
All color drains from her face. "Hanna, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." Blood seeps through the half taped on bandage. "I'll go get Will." She's out the door before I can tell her not too.
I have the bandage most of the way removed when Will enters the room. His eyes skim over my bra before settling on my stomach. "What happened?"
"It's nothing. It was an accident. Kat pressed a little too hard is all. I'll just put another bandage on it and it'll be fine." I stand up, wincing a little at the sharp pains shooting through the center of my stomach. The bandages are beside the sink, which suddenly seems to be miles away from where I am.
Will is at my side in a heartbeat, helping me take the remaining few steps needed to make it to the sink. I lean against it and he stoops down in front of me. His fingers brush against my skin as he re-examines my wound. "I'm going to try to heal it a little more." He lays his hand over it, his touch warm and soothing as the wound seals shut with way less pain than the first time around.
"Good as almost new." His voice holds a note of sadness and something else. Blame maybe? He pulls his hand away to reach for a fresh bandage. "I hate that my gift is limited. What good is it when I can't even heal someone all the way? When I can't heal you?"
"But you did heal me and whether it's all the way or not doesn't matter because I'm here and I probably wouldn't be if it wasn't for you and your gift."
"My gift might have helped you, but it’s my fault you were injured in the first place. If I could have just gotten you out of my head instead of pursuing you things would have gone differently with Jared and he never would have chosen the way he did because Blondie never would have been able to use my feeling for you to tear you and Jared apart. All of this is because of me."
"You sure are full of it aren't you."
He looks up at me. "What?"
"Do you really think you can take all the blame in this? Just because you pursued me, doesn't mean I ever had to like you back, but I did, Will. And part of me whether I really want to admit it or not still does. So if you want to blame yourself. Fine. Just blame me too."
"Don't tell me things like that. Don't insinuate you have any feelings for me at all because you chose and to hear you say you still feel something only makes getting over you more difficult. And I'm trying to, so please Hanna, don't make it any harder than it has to be." He hands me the box of bandages. "I have to go." He pauses at the door, keeping his back to me. "You can borrow one of my shirts if you want. I know you don't like wearing Zoe's stuff."
"Okay.” My bottom lip quivers, my eyes filling with tears, but by some miracle I hold my voice steady.
***
One day passes and then another and we're still nowhere near finding Jared. I've astral projected to him over and over and though I know he sees me he acts as if I'm not there. He barely looks at me and he never ever says a word. Not one word. He doesn't want to be found and there's never anything around him to give me any clues to his location. No windows, no colors other than gray, nothing at all to differentiate the building he's in from any other building in town, providing he’s even in a building. Every time I'm there all I see is concrete, fluorescent lights, an endless maze of hallways, and a door I can't ever reach.
And a person who would rather watch Blondie stab me again than look at me.
Beside me, Adam nudges my shoulder with his. "You okay? You've got this far off sad look going on."
"I'm fine. Just thinking about things is all."
"Who wants a soda?" Owen asks saving me from having to say anymore. He's standing at the fridge while the rest of us are sitting around the kitchen table aside from Will of course, whose mission now is to avoid me at all costs.
"I'll take one," Will says from his spot at the island. Our eyes meet for a brief second before he looks away. I hate that he's avoiding me. I hate that he no longer looks at me or talks to me unless I've asked him a direct question. I hate that he finds excuses to leave the room every chance he gets and if he can't then he positions himself as far away from me as he can get, like he is now. I understand why he's doing it, I really do, but I hate it and I miss my friend.
Owen tosses Will a soda when no one else asks for one. Popping the tab of his own can he downs the entire thing in several gulps then crushes it on the counter. He wipes his mouth with his arm. "The way I see it we're left with only one option." He takes a seat back at the table where he looks Eric in the eye. "We have to wake up Zoe. With Jared not talking she's the only other person who would know where he's being held."
"Absolutely not." Eric shuts Owen's suggestion down without a moment’s hesitation. After what she did to him when Logan was murdered I don't blame him. Zoe can rot in her sleep for all I care.
"Eric, just think about it before you automatically say no. Zoe's been acting as Blondie's right hand man for who knows how long. If there's anyone else in the world other than Blondie and Jared who would know where this hidden location is it's her. It would be stupid to not find out everything we can while we can. We're approaching the ninth inning and this is our best play if we're going to have any shot at winning the game."
I have to admit, Owen makes a good point. I'm not thrilled about the prospect of waking Zoe up, but if it gets me Jared back and saves the world in the process, then what choice do we really have.
Eric shakes his head. "No. It's way too risky. We can't take the chance of her using her mind control and escaping The Compound."
"She won't. Thomas had a device created to suppress her abilities. All of her abilities. She won't be able to do anything."
"For the sake of argument lets say you're right." Eric leans in resting his elbows on the table. "How do you propose we get to her without Thomas or any of his followers knowing about it? You know he wants this information just as much as we do. In fact," He leans back in his chair crossing his arms over his chest. "If this device you mentioned exists why hasn't he had you wake her up yet?"
"Because he doesn't know it was me who put her to sleep. He thought it was you or Will and I never felt the need to correct him," Owen answers.
"How do we even know this device will work?" Will asks. It's a legitimate question.
"Has it been tested on others?" Luca adds.
"It'll work. Cassidy's seen it in action. Thomas had it tested thoroughly. Do you really think he would take any chances with Zoe's particular brand of powers?"
"Did he test it on Cassidy?" I ask. Warm fuzzy feelings fill me at the thought of her being completely powerless. Like Zoe and Blondie, Cassidy is on my 'I Hate' list. I catch Will smiling at my comment and that too fills me with warmth. I want so much for the two of us to get past the hurt feelings and awkwardness so we can be friends again.
"Well, I certainly hope he did. Cassidy needs something to bring her down off that pedestal she likes to stand on," Kat muses. Like me, Kat is not a fan of Cassidy. Honestly, I don't think anybody is.
Owen smiles. "No. As far as I know he did not test it on
her."
"Where is this device now?" Eric asks Owen.
"That's were it gets a little tricky. Thomas keeps it locked up in his office, but I'm confident I can get it." A smile lights up Owen’s face in a devious sort of way. "And tonight would be the perfect time to steal it since Thomas won't be there."
"Why wouldn't he be there?" I ask.
"Because he's about to get another lead—false of course—on Jared's whereabouts," Owen answers with a wink.
"Then what are we waiting for. Let's wake her up." Four words I never thought I'd ever say.
"If we do this, there has to be no room for error." I can tell Eric doesn't really want to go with this plan, but like the rest of us he's come around to the fact that it's the only plan we've got, even if it is a crazy one.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Standing with my back pressed against the outside walls of The Compound, I glance at the screen on my phone for about the hundredth time. 1:01am. Owen is only a minute late, but in that one minute, my mind has gone over all the possible what ifs for why. Starting with Thomas somehow figuring out what we're up to and because he has, he's locked Owen up in a dungeon somewhere. Or maybe, Thomas really knew it was Owen who put Zoe to sleep and he's forced him to wake her so he can find Jared first and they're on their way right now to kill him because if there's no Jared there's no prophecy. Or maybe, Thomas forced Owen to wake Zoe and the suppression device failed and she mind controlled them all to attack each other while she makes her escape to rejoin Blondie in his pursuit of world domination.
"Stop psyching yourself out," Will says beside me. It's the first real thing he's said to me of his own free will in two days.
"I'm not." I am and we both know it.
"Yes you are." One corner of his mouths hints at a crooked smile. "You get this far off look in your eye and you bite your bottom lip every time you do." His smile grows. "You're doing it right now." He watches my mouth as I release my lip.
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