“They going for the kids,” Crow shouts, pushing himself to standing.
Those children and their TORO saviours don’t deserve this. I won’t be a bystander. I reach out my telekinesis; the force of the chopper is unlike anything I have felt before. Doubt creeps in, but a memory seeps in through the chaos: the clear sound of metal on rock from that night at the cove. I’ve done this before. I can do this again.
The chopper splutters as its propellers screech to a stop. The nose dips, and I drop to one knee, but somehow manage to drag the chopper back through the air. Electrokinesis courses through my body, but I can’t use it in front of Crow, not yet. Anyway, it’s easier to use my telekinesis. I’m an old hat at it.
The remaining soldiers scream in genuine fear. I can hear them trying to start one of the trucks. I step out from the trees, allowing them to see me- to see the blood running over my mouth. I’ve never held my telekinesis for so long, or on something so heavy, and my head feels ready to explode with pressure. The chopper hovers above them for a split-second, and then I release it. As it falls, Crow sends a ball of fire toward it. The chopper and the fire ball hit the truck in perfect unity.
For the second time, I’m catapulted backward. Crow hits into the tree, and I hit into Crow. Both of us roll on the ground until the air graces our lungs once again.
“Come on,” shouts Crow, pulling off his mask. He takes my elbow and drags me over the scorched ground, through the remains of the barn, and into the woods after the TORO and the kids.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
We sprint full speed through the brush and thistles. I don’t even feel them scratching at my legs and arms. I’m exhilarated, and pure adrenaline pulses through me. We have saved innocent people. Crow whoops as we run, he even crows. I laugh despite myself. We are just two, and yet, we took on Towley’s soldiers and won. I’m a fully-fledged member of Shift.
We follow the stamped down tracks made by the children until I see a grey uniform and a gun trained on me. TORO 201 lowers his weapon instantly. He’s taken a back at the sight of me without my mask.
“That’s Theyda Woodman,” says one of the older boys. “She’s Isaac Woodman’s daughter.”
“Wrong,” I say. “I’m Theyda Leason- Teddie. Isaac Woodman is not my father. The government are saying that to make the Non-EVO fear me. I killed Isaac Woodman in Italy, not them.”
The kids all start to talk at once.
“Why do they want you so bad?” the same boy asks. His accusation has changed to curiosity.
“The same reason they want you. I was a child EVO, but there is something different about me—”
“You have more than one ability,” says TORO 201. “I’m a sensor. I can feel more than one strength within you.”
I forget that they have been locked away. They may be the only people in Britain who do not know of my dual-ability. “I’m a Telepathic Telekin.” Actually, I’m a Telepathic Electrokinetic Telekin, but the little known about that, the better.
Murmurs ripple throughout the group, but general consensus is that I’m pretty cool. I’ll take that compliment.
“Come on,” barks Crow. “We’ve got to move. Do not use abilities, okay? There are drones everywhere.”
Crow jogs ahead. The kids follow suit, and I bring up the rear with TORO 201 and TORO 286. A blonde girl takes my hand and the gesture surprises me. She can’t be more than six, and my heart ache for her. Her face is smudged with dirt, and her clothes are filthy, but she smiles none the less. The front of one of her shoes is ripped clean from the sole causing her to limp along. I crouch in front of her, and she climbs on my back. She’s so little, and yet, she could have died today. This injustice must be stopped.
My head screams with a migraine, and my shoulder stings now the adrenaline is wearing off, but I’m damn proud of myself. The little hands clasped around my neck only enforce that for me.
We circle around until we’re back on the track Crow and I had followed, and he holds up his hand as vehicles speed up the road. “The cavalry has arrived,” he says, relief in his voice. “Come on, kids.”
They all sprint from the tree line, whooping and catcalling. Crow leads them like the Pied Piper of Hamlin. I run behind them, basking in their euphoria. The little one on my back giggles as she bops up and down to my footfall. The TORO keep to my side, hands on guns.
Brick’s huge frame hangs out of a window, letting out the loudest, happiest crow of us all. Everyone jumps out of the vehicles, cheering and clapping. Finally, we have something good to celebrate.
The kids reach the vehicles first, shaking hands with all the Shift members. Pug notices mine and Crow’s lack of masks and seems a little concerned.
“Remove them,” Crows instructs. “We’ll get Leoni to manipulate their memories later.”
The masks come off, and the kids run around in joyous chaos.
“Okay, tiddlers, let’s get you in the bus,” Brick calls, rounding up armfuls of kids.
I lower the little girl to the ground, so she can join in the fun.
Adam stands at the back of the crowd, hands in pockets. “Why?”
“It was the right thing to do.”
“You could have been killed. Look at you, Teds. You look half dead.”
“It was the right thing to do,” I say, firmer. “Did you mean anything you said at the cove? Decide what you want from me, Adam, because I’m confused.”
There’s a tug on my jersey. “Miss Teddie,” says the little girl I had carried.
I crouch to her level. “You can call me Teddie,” I say.
“Thank you for coming to help us.”
“You are welcome, Sweetie. What’s your name?”
“Millie.” She scrunches her nose, eyeing my stitches. “What happened to your eye?”
“That’s another story,” I say, smiling. These kids have enough to worry about without learning the horrors of the fight houses too.
“A bad story?”
“Yeah, a bad story.”
“Can I make it better?” She reaches out a muddy hand and covers my eye with her palm. It smarts from the pressure, but I don’t let on. I concentrate on her little face- eyes closed- and her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth in concentration.
Everyone else is quiet now, even the other kids. Her hand feels hotter than natural, and my skin burns under her touch.
She lifts her hand and examines my face, a grin spreading over her own. “All better.”
I touch my eye. The skin has healed, the stitches have fallen away, and all I can feel is the thin line of a scar. “That is a special ability you have, Sweetie.”
“I’m going to be a doctor when I grow up. I can help people,” she says. There is a beauty to her naivety.
“You will make a fantastic doctor.”
She wraps her arms around my neck, perching on my knee. “Should I fix your other eye too? I am tired, though.”
My other eye? I check my reflection in the wheel trim. The white of my left eye is totally red from a burst blood vessel. I look demonic.
I shake my head, lifting her as I stand. “I need something to scare the boys, right?” She giggles. “Get in the bus with Brick, Millie, and we’ll get you somewhere safe, okay?”
She springs to her feet, fist bumps me, and races into Brick’s arms.
“That is why,” I say to Adam without looking at him.
His arm slides around my waist, and he presses himself up against my back. “I’m just not having an easy time of letting you go.”
I turn into him. “You don’t have to let me go. Just loosen the reins a little. I’m hard-core remember.”
He plants a strong kiss on the top of my head, pulling me in tighter. “I can do that. Just go easy on me and let me look after you a little...like right now.” He lifts me off my feet, pressing a solid kiss to my lips. The kids on the bus make woo noises, and Adam smiles against my mouth. “We have an audience.” I allow him to scoop me up and carry me onto the van.
<
br /> He places me in a seat, covers me with a blanket, and kisses me once more for good measure. “I’m going to have a chat with the TORO. I think I might be able to help in some way.”
“Do your thing,” I say.
It’s bizarre seeing Adam talking to the TORO. He wore that uniform just three or so weeks ago. He shakes their hands, pats them reassuringly on the back, doing what Adam does best- making people feel safe. He introduces them to Leoni, and they finally climb onto the bus.
Barking catches my attention. The dog from the barn runs from the trees toward us. Pug trains his gun at him, and he growls menacingly, pacing back and forth in front of them. The poor thing is terrified.
The dog sees me as I jump from the van. He whimpers a little before trotting over to me with Pug still training the gun on him.
“It’s okay. He’s with me,” I say, dropping to his level and letting him nuzzle my neck.
Brick knocks Pug’s gun down and swats him around the back of the head. “Get your damn gun out of Cub’s face.”
“I thought it was a wolf.” Pug shrugs. We all chuckle. “What? It looks like a wolf.”
“In Cornwall?” Coco says, laughing.
“It’s a Tamaskan. My Grammie had one when I was a kid,” says Rio. “They’re loyal to a fault. I think Adam’s got some competition.”
“He’s beautiful,” I coo. “Look at those eyes.”
“He has heterochromia iridis,” says Lizzie. When she realises that none of us know what she is talking about, she sighs loudly. “Simply put, it’s a gene thing.”
“You’re one of the gang, then” I say, as he rubs his head against my neck.
Adam crouches beside the dog and scruffs under his neck. “He’s not got a collar.”
“I’m keeping him,” I state.
“What? No way. That flea infested mutt ain’t getting in my truck,” says Kid.
I lead the dog to the steps. “It’s okay. Pug can ride in the mini bus.”
Everyone bursts into hysterics, and I give Pug a wink.
“Oh, boom!” shouts Brick. “You just got owned, Puggy boy.”
“She’s been around you lot for too long,” Pug says. He can’t hide the smile curling at his lips. “One nil to you, Cub. The game is on.”
“What’s d-do we call h-im?” Seth asks.
I grin at Adam. “Mr Darcy.”
“I ain’t calling a dog Mr Darcy,” Jude says, rolling his eyes.
“Just Darcy, then. Do you like that name, huh? Darcy?” He licks my face. “I take that as a yes.”
“Seriously though, is that dog getting in my truck?”
Brick, Pug, and Rio all turn to glare at him. “Shut up, Kid!” they shout in unison.
***
I stretch and every part of my body aches. My face is squished up against the window. Whispered voices fully rouse me. It takes me two attempts to shift in my chair to face them. “Man, I’m hurting,” I say.
Adam stops me from moving any more. “Take it easy.”
“I think it was that barn you lifted,” Crow states. “It looked kind of heavy.”
“Yeah, it was a bit.” I say, laughing.
Adam rolls his eyes. “You lifted a barn?”
“Or it could have been the chopper she crushed like a tin can.”
“I reckon it was that chopper that left me looking this pretty,” I say, pointing to my red eye. “The explosion is to blame. My back is killing me.”
Adam lifts my top, and his face tells me everything I need to know.
Crow’s jaw has swollen to twice its size, and he has a slight limp. “I’m looking pretty similar. I remember a boom, then hitting the tree, and then Teddie slamming into me. I reckon my knee caused that damage, but fair is fair, your skull did this.” He points to his face and works his jaw gently. “How’s the skim? I thought we were goners when that hit.”
I pull my jersey from my shoulder and examine the grazed and scabby patch of skin. “Forgot about it.”
“I didn’t. My undies need chucking after that,” he says, laughing.
Yana screws her face in disgust. “I’m just glad you are both alive to tell the tale.”
“Why have we stopped here?” I ask Crow.
“It’s safer for us to travel at night. As soon as it gets darker, and we’re all packed up, we’ll head out.”
“Where’s Darcy?”
A face pops up between our headrests, tongue hanging out. I pay him some attention before turning to Crow.
“Have you contacted Grayson?”
Adam and Crow share a tentative look. Crow has concern written on his face. He’s usually so head strong with his plans- all or nothing. “Yes. Syndicate is holding a rally in a few days.”
“What kind of rally?”
“A peace rally, apparently,” Adam adds. “We reckon it has been planned for a while.” He rubs at the back of his neck, and they share another look.
“What are you not telling me?”
Adam takes my hand. “The government have called you out as the head of E.N.C. They’re saying you orchestrated the bombings. However, Grayson has stooped lower than low. Syndicate have announced your allegiance to them against your wishes.”
“He what?” I shout. Crow jumps, grimacing in pain as he does so. Leoni and Jude join us. Leoni offers me a black coffee and I drink it greedily. “He wouldn’t do that?”
“He has. Grayson spouted crap about taking risks, but he left out the bit about those risks being with someone else’s life,” says Adam.
I can’t believe he’d stoop so low. “He must be desperate, because I wouldn’t have pegged him as under-handed.”
Jude laughs. “He’s a rat.”
“I read him. Everything he has done has been to make up for that. He has good intentions.”
“Good intentions don’t always equate to good decisions,” Crow intervenes. “I think this rally is a dangerous move.”
Jude rubs at his eyes. “I agree.”
“If you believe that, then why are you taking the kids to him?” I ask Crow.
“Where else can we take them? We’re not a day care.”
“Grayson wouldn’t endanger them,” I say. It’s a bold statement, but I trust in it. “I want to smack him in the face- again- for using me, but he’ll do everything to keep those kids safe.”
Leoni leans over the back of my chair. “His motives make him unstable. Power can blind people. Add that power to revenge, justice, whatever you want to call it, and it becomes toxic. We’ve seen that first hand with Isaac Woodman.”
“Don’t compare Grayson to Isaac,” October interrupts. “Teddie is right. He wouldn’t endanger anyone intentionally. Not even Teddie. He thinks he’s making the right call.”
“You think this rally is a good idea?” Jude asks her.
“There is no basis for good and bad decisions anymore. All we can do is wing it. Somebody has got to do something. At least Grayson is trying. He’s crossed a line, but he’s trying.”
***
I drink watery soup from a polystyrene cup. Thankfully, Emiko found some herbs and grew a large enough bunch to flavour what I’m assuming is practically water with a bit of tomato floating in it.
Cooper sits down with Adam and Wheeler, drinks down his soup in one, and then asks what there is to eat. The kids laugh, and despite his hardship at making relationships with adults, he’s a hit with the young ones.
Darcy hangs about my legs, following my every step. I chat to Yana- just the two of us- a rare occurrence lately. We haven’t properly spoken since the warehouse.
I hug her tightly. “I’ve missed you. We haven’t had a chance to talk properly. How are you doing after the detention centre?”
She shrugs. “You know this might sound weird, but I think it made me stronger. They tried to break us, and they did some awful things.” She rubs at her bruised wrists subconsciously. “But I know what I’m made of now. I’m good- better than good. I always felt like a lost cause, little Yana wh
o needed saving, but I’m not that person anymore. I am strong.”
I hug her again. “You’ve always been strong, Yana. Don’t ever forget that. You are a warrior.” She blushes a little. “So, what’s the situation with Crow?” I whisper.
She glances over at Crow. He turns away from us, caught in the act of eavesdropping. We’re not in earshot, but Yana turns away as she speaks. “It’s complicated. We were never in a relationship, but we weren’t strictly friends.”
I chew my lip and raise my eyebrow slightly. “Okay, I kind of guessed that much, but what does that mean for right now?”
Yana rests her head on my shoulder in mock despair. Well, half mock despair. “Last night was awful, Teds. Ian asked if he could come to my room with me and I said yes. It was going fine until we started getting heavy, and then I just couldn’t do it. I felt guilty.”
“Because of Haydn?” I ask. She turns her head against my shoulder to look at me. “Does Crow even know about Haydn? Perhaps, if you explain yourself it won’t be so awkward. He’ll give you some space.”
“But I don’t want him to give me space. Oh, god, I’m such a mess. I love Haydn, but at the same time I just want... I want...”
“You want a jolly good seeing to,” I say, into her ear.
Yana laughs out loud, and everyone looks in our direction. She guides me a little further away from the group. “Shush, but yes, I guess so. I’ve been through a lot and I want a little fun. I want to be happy again. You know that is the first time I have laughed in ages.”
“It feels good, huh?” I say. “Jokes aside, Haydn would want you to find happiness. We all know that life’s too short.”
“I think I’ve scared Ian away. I’ve bruised his ego.”
We both look over to Crow. Again, he is watching us, and again, he quickly averts his gaze.
“Just explain about Haydn. Crow will understand.”
“How are you doing?” she asks me. “I can’t believe Grayson.”
I shrug. “What can I do? It’s done. I’m as mad as hell, but at least it’s Syndicate claiming me and not the E.N.C, I guess.”
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 50