Cael’s warm breath was on my ear as he whispered, “Iggy, I can tell you’re laying a guilt trip on yourself.” His arms tightened around me. “Please concentrate on staying safe and getting us out of here. I’m counting on you.”
A corner of my mouth pulled up. “You’re counting on me? I thought guys were always the macho ones who had to save the girl.”
“Yeah, well, my girlfriend is a badass superhero who doesn’t take shit from anybody. Not to mention she’s totally hot and I’m crazy in love with her.”
I grinned and kissed him. Then I whispered back, “I don’t feel very badass when you can make me melt like a Popsicle with just a few words.”
Cael chuckled and tucked some hair behind my ear before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine, making me forget everything going on around us.
Until Alex groaned and said, “You two are un-fucking believable. We’re in the middle of an escape, our friends are risking their lives out there, and you two are making out.”
I turned and said, “Our friends? I wasn’t aware you had any friends, Alex.”
Devon stepped in between us. “God, will you two cut it out? Can’t you go a half hour without trying to claw each other’s eyes out?”
Alex took a step toward him. “Keep your mouth shut Devon, or it’ll be your eyes I’m clawing out.”
Then all the others chimed in and everyone but Cael started arguing. A few minutes later, Ibram’s deep voice interrupted us. “Damn! We can hear you guys arguing from the guard shack. Thank god no one’s around. You all sound like a bunch of first graders on a playground arguing over crayons or some shit. What is the problem?”
I started to reply, but then I saw Wesley spearing me with an accusing glare and I ground my teeth together instead. It was obvious that he blamed this on me. Of course he did. He’d always told me I was hot-headed and impulsive. But he didn’t have the right to judge when he hadn’t been around to hear Alex open her mouth.
I focused on the most important words I’d heard and asked loudly so everyone’s attention would be drawn, “There’s no one out there? No guards at all? No staff?”
Val said, “It’s crazy, but no. We didn’t see anyone.”
“Maybe you didn’t look hard enough,” Alex told them.
Wesley folded his arms across his chest. “There aren’t many places they could hide. We’re at the side of a mountain with a sheer cliff and only one road in. Trust me, we looked hard enough.”
“So, are we leaving?” Krish asked.
Alex said, “We have no supplies. No coats. Where are we even going?”
Several people started arguing about where to go given that Jensen could just have them all picked up again. Then that discussion led to another argument about escape being futile. When I heard that, I threw my hands up in the air and stomped out. To hell with them. I hadn’t seen sunlight in two months, and I wasn’t going to stand around in some cave with a bunch of people who couldn’t make up their minds.
I squinted and glanced around to see if any guards had shown up, then I tipped my face up and closed my eyes. I might feel like I was freezing, but enduring the temperature was worth having the sun on my face. I could feel its warmth. I heard birds chirping in the distant trees. A cold breeze blew my hair into my face, but even that felt great. Then a noise close by startled me and my eyes snapped open.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you,” Wesley said.
I looked past him. “Are they still arguing?”
“Yep.”
“Where’s Cael?”
Wesley’s lip pressed into a thin line. “Why? Can’t you go two minutes without him?”
I rolled my eyes. “I just meant that—”
He waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “I told him I wanted to talk to you alone.”
“Oh.” I held one hand to my forehead to shade my eyes so I could see him better. I hated that I kept thinking about him and Alex in the bathroom. “What do you want to talk about?”
“The crazy idea you’ve got in your head.”
I frowned. “What crazy idea?”
“I know you, Iggy. You’re going to suggest they all come with us back to the farm.”
“And that’s crazy?”
“You know it is.” At my pointed look, Wes sighed loudly. “Your parents don’t have the supplies to take care of all these additional people. Not to mention Jensen or the FBI would probably come to the farm with guns blazing. In fact, with all of us at your parents’ place, I guarantee he’ll come. And he won’t ask if we want to come back.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “On top of that, something is wrong about this whole situation.”
I nodded. “It’s way too easy.”
“Jensen is a brilliant scientist working with a team of brilliant people. Not having guards around is so stupid that it’s obviously part of a plan.”
“He might as well have written us a note telling us he was letting us go.”
“And I’m wondering why.”
“And I bet you’re also debating on whether or not to leave these guys behind.” I knew Wesley. He wasn’t friendly or generous or a martyr.
He nodded. “I think it’s best. Having us all in one place is too convenient for Jensen anyway.”
“What about Alex?”
Wesley’s eyes narrowed. “What about her?”
“If we split off from the others, are you going to ask her to come with us?”
“What kind of a stupid question is that?”
I put my hands up defensively. “She’s your girlfriend, isn’t she?”
Wes thrust his hands into his hair and stomped around in circle, mumbling to himself. “You are the most frustrating woman,” he hissed after pausing to stare down at me. “Will you stop acting like such a…a girl!”
“Newsflash, Blondie. I’m not acting. I am a girl!” I pointed an index finger at him. “Furthermore, if she’s coming, you and I are not traveling together. And I’ll be damned if you’re going to bring her to my house but not bring the others.”
He pointed back at me. “Do not call me Blondie. And no, I never even considered asking Alex.”
“Asking me what?”
I looked past Wesley’s shoulder to find Alex marching toward us. “This is a private conversation.”
“Not when it’s about me.”
Cael was close behind her, followed by everyone else. They ended up forming a semi-circle around me and Wes, which immediately put me on the defensive. My boyfriend said, “What’s the plan, guys? I assume you have one after chatting it up out here.”
Pippa’s hand fluttered across her chest. “What are we supposed to do now?”
“Not stand here,” Wesley snapped and headed off down the dirt road that led away the mountain.
“Come on guys. We can talk about it on the way.” I motioned for them to follow me as I set off behind Wesley.
“Just wait a damn minute!” Alex yelled.
“Why?” Brodie called back, running to catch up with me. “So we can wait for Jensen’s staff to come back? I’m with them.”
Cael jogged up to my right side. “We going to the farm?”
I nodded, unsure whether or not to bring up the idea of going without everyone else. Up ahead, I noticed Wesley was heading into the woods that bordered the road. “Where are you going?” I called out.
“I don’t think we should be walking right out here on the road where they’ll all see us if they drive up.”
I veered off to follow him, and then I glanced behind me. Though everyone was following, they wore expressions that ranged from worried to pissed off.
Pippa said, “Iggy. Where exactly are we headed?”
“First, we need to find the nearest town and steal some supplies. Then, I’m going to the only place I feel comfortable at — home. You all are welcome to come with me.” I was right behind Wes, and I saw his back stiffen. He whacked at a branch in his path. After he’
d passed, the branch whipped back and nearly smacked me in the face. “I live on a farm. We’ve got enough food and supplies to last a while.” I glanced over at Cael and found him giving me a sympathetic smile. He agreed with my plan.
“But…but I want to go home,” Krish whined. “I miss my family.”
“Me too,” Pippa agreed.
The low mumbling rose to an annoying chatter. “Look, you guys can do whatever you want,” I told them. “We all miss our families. I’m just offering an option.”
Ibram said, “We should all stick together until we hit town and get supplies. Then we can split up.”
“I’ve got nowhere to go,” Val said. “Iggy, if you don’t mind, I’d like to go with you.”
I tossed her a smile. “No problem.”
“Same here,” Brodie said.
Two people, I thought. We could handle a couple of extra people at my farm. I looked at Cael to say something, but he was staring at the ground. He was an open book, and I could tell exactly what he was thinking. We were all talking about going home to our families, but he still had no idea what had happened to his parents. I put a hand on his back and he looked down at me. “We haven’t given up, Cael. When we get back, we can do some digging and come up with a plan to find them.” He didn’t respond; rather, he pulled ahead of me and pushed his way through the forest as if he was late for a class.
People quieted down and concentrated on moving. We walked for a couple of hours, following the road but keeping hidden in the woods. No cars ever came, and the forest thinned out at the edge of a small desert. Instead of stepping out of the woods, Wes and Cael stood behind a tree and peered around the trunk to study the scenery. I stopped beside them and rested my hand on a tree trunk. “Not many places to hide out there.”
The dry, gray-brown landscape was dotted with squat, scraggly scrub brush and tufts of dead grass. Beyond the desert was another mountain that looked as if not a single tree grew on it. “We should move left, well away from the road. Then we can cross.” At their sour expressions, I added, “On the bright side, all this hiking is keeping us nice and warm.” Neither of them responded or even looked at me. “Okay, then. Well, let’s get a move on.” I stepped past them and felt a hand curl around my bicep.
Cael said, “Why don’t we let everyone rest for a few minutes?”
I turned and studied the group behind me. Shayla was still trudging toward us, her hand gripped tightly in Ibram’s who appeared to be pulling her along. Brian was wheezing a little, and Krish had plopped down on the ground to lean against a tree. Even Alex was breathing a little hard. I hadn’t realized we’d been keeping such a fast pace. “Tell you what,” I began. “Those of us who aren’t tired can go on ahead. The others can wait a bit and then meet us at the top of that little mountain over there?”
“Little mountain?” Krish puffed. “Do we have to climb that thing?”
I said, “From here, I can see that the road angles steeply. It’s a little more work to make our own way up the mountain, but if we stick to the road, it won’t be much easier, and we won’t have many places to hide if we hear a vehicle coming.”
She nodded. “Okay. But I want to rest for a bit.”
“Me too,” Shayla said. Beside her, Ibram told us he would stay back with the group who wanted to rest. He tapped his watch and said they’d take fifteen minutes before starting off across the desert.
“All right. But I’m anxious to see what’s over that mountain, so I’m going to move fast. I’ll take my rest on the other side.” Honestly, I was nervous, irritated, and unsure, and I had excess energy to burn at this point. I’d given an open invitation for people to come to the farm, but I hoped Alex didn’t take me up on that offer. I didn’t like the girl, but I didn’t have it in me to say, “Whoops. I meant anyone but you could come to my farm.” So all I could do was hope that she didn’t decide to tag along. Surely Wesley wasn’t enough of a reason for her to tolerate hanging out in my presence.
I had a brief flash of the two of them together in Wesley’s bathroom, and I felt the anger rise up inside of me. I quickly retied my shoe laces and started sprinting. There was no way I was going to hurt these people again. I couldn’t let my petty jealousy cause injury. And now that I knew my anger could cause me to lose control and hurt others, I felt like a walking time bomb. And why was this happening now? I’d never had a problem like this before. Did it have something to do with learning to control water and non-living objects?
I leapt over a large and rock and wondered if the others knew what I’d done to them. As far as I knew, no one had discussed what had happened. But the subject would undoubtedly come up, and I wouldn’t have a defense against their accusations. I deserved their anger. Something about me was broken, but if I told them that, they would just think it was an excuse. Maybe if I gave it time, my body would go back to the way it was. Maybe Jensen had been slipping us drugs in our food…something that made our abilities strengthen and evolve. After all, Pippa and Ibram’s powers had changed too. And if that was true, then being back home would mean I’d get back to normal once the effects of what he’d given me wore off. The idea was a bit of long shot, but I wouldn’t put anything past Jensen.
I just had to give myself some time. Time to get back to the abnormal normal state that I was in before coming here.
“What’s with the frown,” Cael asked next to me. He wiped the sweat out of his eyes.
“Wow,” I said, ignoring his question. “You’re keeping up with me.” I glanced behind me to see Wes, Brodie, and Val close behind.
“The last time we ran like this, I had trouble keeping your pace. I worked on my cardio a lot at the underground’s gym. Don’t want to be embarrassed like that again.”
I laughed, and then we fell into a comfortable silence for another fifteen minutes. I had to admit that I was impressed Cael kept up and didn’t even seem to be struggling. When we reached the base of the mountain, the two of us walked in circles, catching our breaths while waiting for the others. Val was tall, and her long legs had carried her past Brodie. But Wes was a former champion cyclist, and I knew his legs had muscles that didn’t quit. He proved that when he climbed the mountain with ease, his thighs pushing off rock after rock without pause. Val and I brought up the rear, probably because we didn’t have the arm strength that the men had.
After another thirty minutes, I was dying of thirst. If only it would rain. Or even snow. Any form of water would work. My lips were chapped and my jeans stuck to my sweaty skin, making it even more difficult to climb. I watched Cael haul his body over a rock ledge, his muscles bulging and stretching. God, he was hot. And then he turned to help me and Val up the easy way. After pulling Val up, he locked his hands around my wrists and practically pulled me up like I was dead weight. He made it look so easy.
He grinned. “I think I finally found something I’m better at than you.”
“And that’s just fine that you climb faster than me because I’ve been enjoying the view.” I winked at him and he laughed.
Just above us, Brodie let out a string of curse words that shocked me. Whatever he was staring at had to be very bad. Beside him, Wes shook his head and clenched his jaw.
“What? What is it?” I scrambled up beside them and looked out at the valley below. We could see for endless miles, and we new exactly which direction to go to find a town. Unfortunately, the town was on fire. Black smoke billowed into the sky from a half-dozen sources. I could see the highway this side of the town was full of cars, many of them on fire. People were running everywhere. Gunshots were being fired, and from the extended rat-a-tat sounds, I knew they were illegal automatic weapons. Something in the distance exploded, shooting out flames and smoke. The Emergency System sirens were blaring.
It was a war zone.
“What the hell?” Val breathed. She collapsed onto her butt and rested her elbows on her knees.
A strange sound grew louder, and I dropped into a squat when
a huge military helicopter zoomed past faster than I’d ever seen one move. Another one followed. Wordlessly, we stood and watched them circle the city. On the far side of town, I saw a flash of light. One of the helicopters had fired a missile. It hit the center of a large group of vehicles, blowing everything to hell with a reverberating boom.
I put a hand to my face. “What’s going on?”
Cael shook his head. “This is way worse than New York.”
“Why is our military bombing a town on our own soil?” I pointed to the right. “Is that a jet?”
“Two of them,” Brodie confirmed.
“Four,” Cael corrected, pointing to another place in the sky where two more jets swept down. One of them fired a missile at the other and my hand flew up to cover my mouth. The jet being targeted surged forward with a sonic boom, the missile behind it streaming smoke as it curved upwards in pursuit. Then two more jets fired their weapons. One missile reached its target and a plane exploded, pieces flying everywhere before falling to the earth in smoking, burning chunks. A parachute sail popped open, a perfect target for the jet that came toward it. The gunfire was loud, and the bullets streaked through the sky like super speed fireflies. I knew the pilot was dead even before his chute collapsed, sending the form at the end of the lines plummeting to the ground.
“This isn’t practice,” Val said. “This is the real thing.”
Brodie breathed, “I can’t tell if we’re fighting our own military or another country’s.”
“What’s happened in the two months we’ve been gone?” I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The three remaining jets disappeared into the distance. A helicopter fired another missile at the ground. For what seemed like forever, we watched the city being bombarded and destroyed. And when the rest of our group showed up, they joined us in silence, mouths gaping.
Users Page 29