Even if just to myself.
Chapter 15 – Sam
Over the next few weeks, dizziness and nausea thwarted my plans to help Drake or learn anything new. My illness forced me to leave class twice to go to the Clinic. This continued despite the fact that my face had healed well, and the flu shouldn't last that long.
With my eighteenth birthday days away, I still hadn't heard from Higgins about my next assignment. This would be my last chance to get off campus and get us some help.
In addition to losing all excitement for my future, my concern for Drake buzzed in my mind like a pestering bee. As his strength faded by the day, he became more and more ill.
'Sam!'
My history professor enlightened us about some war or another. I pretended to pay attention while listening to Drake.
'I heard the nurses talking. They're moving me, but I don't know where.'
My heart skipped a beat, but I forced myself to stay calm and keep up appearances. "I don't know what to do. I haven't figured out anything."
'They're coming in. Sam!'
"Drake! Drake!"
Nothing.
I ran out of the classroom, startling everyone next to me, and headed to the nearest bathroom. "Drake. Drake!"
He didn't answer. They'd probably drugged him unconscious.
I fought in vain to keep tears from spilling down my cheeks. The bathroom door opened and Lucy walked in. I splashed water on my face to wipe away any evidence, and dried off, hands still shaking, heart still racing.
"Sam, are you okay?"
The flood gates opened again, and I told Lucy everything.
"Oh, Chica, I'm so sorry. We'll sort it out." She held me as I cried into her shoulder.
Then my stomach rumbled, and I threw myself at the nearest stall, just barely making it to the toilet before practically puking up my intestines.
"Is she okay?"
Great, Luke was there too. Sometimes his ability to walk through walls unnerved everyone around him. The heaving stopped. I wiped my mouth with toilet paper and stood up slowly.
Lucy protested. "Luke, this is the girl's room, you're not allowed in here! Just... never mind. Help her."
"Sam, no arguments." He put a little extra thunder in his voice. "I'm taking you to the Clinic, again. You know, I should start charging you a service fee as a personal escort."
Lucy scowled at him. "Luke, grow up."
I stumbled out to the sink and rinsed my face and mouth. The sight of my skin, like paste dotted in beads of sweat, made me feel even worse.
***
They escorted me through the halls. Luke kept a hand on my shoulder, in case I got a bit too wobbly.
Lucy said, "I already told Mr. Vecarali that I'd make sure you got to the Clinic. He gave us all passes."
On the way there, Lucy filled Luke in on what had happened to Drake.
"While we're in there, Sam, try to ferret anything you can from the staff's minds. Lucy, you ask some questions, see if anyone is lying. Sam said Missy knew something, so ask her. I'll see if I can discreetly slip through a few locked doors and find anything."
The twins left me in the care of Dr. Sato and went to do their spying. I tried to make contact with Drake but still couldn't reach him. What if they'd already moved him somewhere too far away? What if they'd hurt him? And as always, my mind kept coming back to the same questions. Why? Why bring him in now? They couldn't rent him out, because he was a loose cannon—but he wasn't a true danger. So what use did they have for him?
And what would they do to me when I turned eighteen? These days, my grief over my art had been replaced by fear for my life. What a change a few months could make.
I clutched my stomach as another spasm rode me. Dr. Sato rushed to my side and led me to a bed. While she helped me change into a hospital gown, I tried to scan her thoughts.
My language skills had improved enough that the dialect wasn't too hard to understand now. Still, people usually don't think in coherent sentences, which made context very important.
'She's sick... hope baby okay... color... yellow... the boy is trouble... but strong powers... their baby is good... fear... I want....'
I didn't know what to make of it all. What baby? What was she talking about? As I reclined on the bed, she got out an ultrasound machine.
"I check your belly for sickness," she told me, her English more broken than normal.
'Shouldn't feel it yet... can't let her see....'
Can't let me see what?
She hid the screen from me as she squirted my abdomen with cold jelly and rubbed the camera over it.
'Baby too big... growing too fast... definitely pregnant.'
"Pregnant?" I spoke out loud before thinking.
She flinched. Only slightly, but enough that I knew I had hit the mark.
"Where you hear about pregnant? I not pregnant," she said, clearly trying to deflect the conversation.
'This girl reading mind?... never reads mine... what tell them?'
Her thoughts froze me. What the hell? I couldn't be pregnant. I'd never even had sex! It's not that I had anything against sex, but when your every move is watched and recorded, it kinda takes the romance out of it. Besides, I'd never met a guy I was really into until....
Oh, my God. Drake, a boy I hadn't even met in person yet, had already taken over my thoughts and my heart. I needed him. And he needed me. Where was he?
"Drake?" Still nothing.
He'd been a part of my waking and sleeping consciousness for months. With him gone, so completely gone that even his trace mental signature didn't register, I felt like an empty vessel. A terrifying loneliness and fear gripped me.
My head swam with conflicting realities.
This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. I must have misunderstood her Japanese. For nearly two months I'd spent every spare moment I could studying her dialect, but there was so much to learn. I probably misinterpreted the entire thing and panicked for nothing.
Logically, this made sense, but my body knew the truth. Even as I denied it, I could feel the new life growing inside me.
And suddenly my being pregnant made a horrible kind of sense.
They needed more kids. If we were right, and they basically ran a paranormal human trafficking ring, they needed as many of us as they could get. And what better way to get more paranormals than to breed them? Is that why they'd gotten rid of Mr. K? Had he come too close to the truth? Is that why they'd burned down the art studio? Of course, I could never succeed in public. They never meant for me to have an art career or go to Sarah Lawrence.
Dr. Sato glanced over her shoulder at me as she left the room, closed the door and.... Did she lock it? Oh crap!
I scanned all the minds in the Clinic that I could find. Missy talked with Lucy. She was nervous, lying, thinking about Drake. He'd been moved to another facility. They'd gotten what they needed from him, but she didn't know what that was. She'd overheard something she shouldn't have, and it scared her.
I searched for Luke. I usually stayed out of my friends' minds, out of respect. No one wants to be best friends with someone who is always spying on their thoughts. But I didn't think he'd mind me sneaking a peek under the circumstances.
I found him. His mind sorted through information, breaking into fragments—worried about getting caught, looking at records. My records.
'Sam is pregnant?... what?... what the hell have they done to her?... oh my God... Drake... that's why they took him... wanted his powers to breed with... Oh Sam... how will I tell her?... what are we going to do?... oh shit... Lucy... she'll be eighteen soon... sons of bitches... I'm going to kill them all....'
I stopped listening, paralyzed. It was true. I was pregnant, and it looked like Drake was the father.
Chapter 16 – Sam
Dr. Sato didn't release me from the Clinic. My door remained locked, and she alone came and went. She said I had a dangerous stomach virus that could make others sick, but to which she was immune. Y
eah right.
I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with her and the few books she allowed to occupy my time. They bored me to death.
Worrying about Drake made me sick, as no one had any useful information. Missy had been mysteriously replaced by a new receptionist who knew nothing relevant.
Lucy and Luke's thoughts revealed their desperate need to reach me, but I couldn't communicate with them like I could with Drake. That still puzzled me.
Dr. Sato did allow me to keep notebooks, so I started writing everything I wanted to say to Drake in my special language. That journal became my only connection to him, or anyone else, for three long weeks.
The torture of isolation, of endless contemplation, forced me to analyze every detail of my existence at Rent-A-Kid. We often got postcards from kids who had left to start their new life, and I got care packages from my "parents." They could easily fake these, use them to keep us passive and hopeful, and from rocking the boat or questioning our lives.
It had worked.
How could I have been so gullible for so long? I had allowed myself to become the ultimate victim in every area of my life, from the Rent-A-Kid nightmare to the bullies at school or on assignment.
And what about my life goals—if I ever got to have a real life? My teachers always encouraged me to pursue linguistics and to do something with international relations. That made sense, but really, once I left here, I wanted to get as far away from this life as possible.
My life up until now had been pretty shallow. And now, just as I saw the truth, they locked me up and made me impotent. Rent-A-Kid turned me into a victim once again, unable to affect any kind of change.
Each time my mind turned toward the baby growing in my stomach, an intense and overwhelming panic took over, until I couldn't think or focus. My heart rate would skyrocket, and Dr. Sato would come in with something in a syringe that put me to sleep.
The utter betrayal and violation of having my body raped without my knowledge.... I had no way of processing this level of terror.
My purgatory ended on a day as boring as the rest, when Dr. Sato came in smiling.
"Good news. Your tests are clear and you can go. You have party waiting and friends. Then you go to New York."
"Wait, I was supposed to have another assignment before I left." I needed that assignment to connect with Brad.
"That canceled. You too sick. But okay for party."
I couldn't believe my ears, so I listened with my mind. 'Can't... disappear... friends miss her... must do party... not showing yet... must move her....'
So they would move me. But where? If only I had Drake's ability to control other people. How did he do that? And how did they catch a streetwise, super-strong guy who could control people? How had they even found him? If they could contain him, my chances of escape seemed pretty slim.
I instinctively put a hand over my abdomen; it happened a lot these days. I moved it before Dr. Sato noticed. The reasons to resent this child, this pregnancy, grew daily. Yet love grew in my heart despite it all. This baby could not be blamed for the way in which it had been conceived, and it was my job to protect it. From them. From the world.
Even the horror of its inception could not keep me from loving what Drake and I had created.
What would Drake say when he found out? If he found out? If he'd served his purpose, what would they do to him? Would they just... get rid of him? I doubted they'd let him go, but my mind refused to consider the alternative.
Dr. Sato handed me a beautiful red ball gown. It was to be a fancy affair, my fake going-away party. After a quick shower, I did up my long hair in a French twist, put on makeup and jewelry from the supplies Dr. Sato handed me, and slipped on my red heels. I was ready to make my entrance.
And my exit.
***
When Lucy and Luke saw me outside the ballroom entrance, they nearly plowed me over with hugs.
"What happened to you?" "We tried to visit but they wouldn't let us in." "Are you okay?" "We have so much to tell you."
"Wow, hold on a sec guys, one at a time. I have a confession to make. I've been spying on you. I know it goes against our friendship code, but I was so anxious to know what was happening."
Luke looked so sad it nearly made me cry. "So you know?" He reached for my hand.
I switched to our special language. "Yes, I know about the baby and about Drake."
They hugged me again—the way friends hug when words just aren't enough.
"We can talk, but we have to pretend like we're celebrating. We can't let them know we know, and we obviously need a new plan. Apparently, I won't be going on that last assignment."
They nodded and, each holding one of my hands, my best friends gave me the strength to play the role of the happy girl heading to Sarah Lawrence.
All of my training did not prepare me for this hardest of parts. My heart broke with each smile. Unshed tears crushed my soul. I mourned the end of my dreams even as a fake smile greeted my small world.
I left the cool stillness of the night and walked into my going-away party. The onslaught of sounds, smells and colors sent my head spinning for a moment. I paused, taking in the scene of happy teenagers talking, laughing, eating.
They all still lived in the bubble created for us. Only we three knew the truth. How would we save ourselves from this? And what would become of them?
Amidst the crowd of school friends, a guard shadowed me. I relaxed at the sight of Gar. He gave the briefest of nods, so slight I could have imagined it, and then he turned back to stone.
"That's new," Luke said, glancing at Gar.
"Yeah. Wonder why they felt he was necessary. But, at least they sent a guard I trust." I hoped I hadn't given away something when I commented about the pregnancy to Dr. Sato. Did they suspect me of knowing too much?
Lucy nudged me. "Don't let it bother you, Chica. Try to have fun!"
I forced a smile back onto my face. "You're right. Why not enjoy it?"
The campus actually had a full-fledged ballroom, not just a gym they converted once a year for dances. We learned ballroom, swing, and modern dancing as part of our education. Parties at our school were high-end affairs.
Scarlet red and royal purple silks draped the room. Lush roses accented the hall and served as centerpieces in crystal vases on the tables. A full band played music suited to dancing in many diverse styles, and students already swayed across the room in long trailing dresses and elegant tuxes.
My mind searched for Drake, the way a woman might reach for her lover across an empty bed. If he'd been here, we would have been one of those couples on the dance floor. His arms would have wrapped around me, encircling me in a cocoon of love and safety. I might have brushed my hand against his chiseled jaw line, and maybe he'd have leaned down and brush his lips against mine for a first kiss.
The fantasy played around me and replaced my reality for just a moment. Then the bubble burst, and I once again stood alone in a sea of oblivion.
"Sam, come on, let's get some food." Lucy and Luke pulled me to the buffet table.
A dozen well-wishers interrupted us on our way there: Greg and Gary, a new couple I only knew in passing; Kyle, who looked dejected and guilty, despite my best attempts to absolve him; Norm and Robyn, another couple who'd been together for as long as I could remember... and so many others. The gift table overflowed with cards and special trinkets from friends. I complimented Robyn on her emerald dress that matched her eyes, and told Norm he was a lucky guy. They smiled and moved onto the dance floor.
Only a handful of kids had left Rent-A-Kid so far. We were first generation paranormals. No one knew how we got our powers, but I was one of the oldest. Kids made a big deal out of these parties, even if they didn't know the person who left. It was the gift of hope, the promise of a future outside these chained grounds. No one missed a going-away party.
It took us a while to navigate through all of our friends and make it to the food, but the spread of goodies made our trek w
ell worth it. The table overflowed with mouthwatering delicacies. I reached to stuff a truffle into my mouth, but my stomach rebelled stubbornly at the smell. Damn pregnancy. I nibbled at some crab rolls instead, to appease my friends. I stole glances at the delicious treats, wishing on this miserable night that I could at least enjoy the chocolate.
Everyone danced. One guy hovered off the ground while he moved to the music, doing break dancing moves in the sky, but he fell to the ground when his date suddenly burst into flames. Jessica, who'd been cooling drinks for her friends, blew on the girl to subdue the flames. The crowd erupted in applause—except Mary, who'd snuck off with the break dancing boy during all the commotion. I'd lost track of how many dates she had stolen from other girls that night. Typical paranormal party.
We endured another hour of snacking, talking and pretending, and I was almost enjoying myself when Mary sashayed toward us, wearing a gorgeous black dress that left her shoulders bare and hugged her chest and hips in all the right places. Her blond hair fell in ringlets down her back.
She puckered her lips at Luke and moved in a way that revealed her well-toned thigh and ample cleavage. Luke ignored her. I hid a smile.
Mary scowled and looked at me. "Sam, you're back. We've missed you. Are you feeling well?"
Did she really care? I kept my answers brief. "I'm fine, thank you."
"I hear you're heading off to Sarah Lawrence soon. You must be so excited."
Did she know something? Why the change of attitude? Niceness and Mary didn't go together, and I didn't trust it at all.
But, regretting my behavior in the bathroom so long ago, I tried to play nice too. "Yes, it'll be quite an adventure."
"Well, be sure to keep in touch." She walked away before I could reply that I would. Her shallow mind mused about the hottest boys in school. 'Gotta get my hands on Luke... how can he resist me?'
I chuckled at that.
Lucy pulled me away and demanded my attention. She stole the night in an electric blue gown that wrapped itself around her slim figure like saran wrap. Luke had matched his bowtie to her gown, completing the look. They made an unforgettable pair.
The Forbidden Trilogy Page 11