by Sarah Noffke
Yawning, Adelaide checked over her shoulder as she hurried down the all-white hallway. It was so early that the receptionist wasn’t even at her desk in the lobby. Adelaide guessed she had most of Parantaa Research to herself. The security guard was actually napping when she breezed by him.
Her heart tightened with nervousness when she swiped the badge over the access pad next to the “suspicious” lab room. It glowed bright green and she pushed the door open. The other door at the far end seemed to stare at her, taunting her with the secrets it surely held. She’d seen the frantic look in Drake’s eyes when he caught her before. They were hiding something in there that they didn’t want anyone to know about.
Adelaide rushed for the other door just as a crash sounded behind her. She sucked in a sudden breath, turning to find a glass beaker busted into shards on the white linoleum. Her eyes darted around, trying to figure out how it had happened. There wasn’t anything around it. She backed toward the mysterious door.
“Who’s there?” she said, her eyes buzzing around the room, still unable to find what pushed the beaker over the side of the counter.
Her back met the door and she spun around, afraid of what she’d run into. Adelaide drew in a steadying breath and reminded herself that the room was empty. She was fine. Shaking still, she slid the badge over the scanner and yanked the door open, ready to see what Mika was hiding. She wasn’t prepared for what stared back at her. Never would she had have expected to see that.
Adelaide hiccupped on her breath. Her large green eyes widened. Her awareness shifted to include something new. “What in the fuck?” she whispered.
Behind her another crash. Adelaide slammed the door shut, spinning around. One more beaker lay in pieces on the floor. Something, or more likely someone, was trying to get her attention.
“Ren? Is that you?” she said, her eyes on the broken glass. A third beaker slid across a foot of space and then slipped to the side of the countertop, teetering before spilling over the edge and breaking. “Okay, I get it. I’m leaving,” she said, rushing for the door.
The hallway was empty when Adelaide exited. She took off at a sprint in the direction of the elevators. Without a doubt, she needed to get out of there. At her workstation she could dream travel to the Institute. Doing it here would be too dangerous since it took a few moments to generate her body on the GAD-C. Her feet moved faster than ever as she rounded a corner and rushed straight into Alexander Drake. Adelaide halted, staring up at the man only inches from her.
Rox, Connor, and Kaleb took the stairs at the back of Parantaa Research. Rox was ready to flash her FBI badge at the security guard, but he’d been asleep. In Roya’s vision, Mika catches Adelaide in a room, trapping her. He then knocks her out and transports her to Olento Research for testing.
Connor flinched when Roya gave them the full report, seeing clearly in his head the sight of a grown man bringing his fist across Adelaide’s face. She fell to the floor, knocking her head on a countertop. Every second made that potential reality a possibility. According to Roya, they were running a bit behind on the timeline, mostly due to fucking Los Angeles traffic.
Sweat ran down Connor’s brow when they rounded a corner. The room where Adelaide could be found was just up ahead. He could tell the door was open. Dread filled his stomach at the thought that Adelaide was lying unconscious on the floor. He pushed his legs faster, but Rox was still in the lead. She froze when even with the door, her eyes going wide. Connor halted, Kaleb behind him. With her hand, she made a slight wave at them. A motion that he thought meant “back up.”
“Where’s Adelaide?” Rox yelled to someone in the room.
“Do you mean Abigail? I’d love to know that myself,” Mika said, his voice making Connor’s chest vibrate with sudden anger. “My clairvoyant told me she’d be in this room right now, but all I’ve found is a bunch of broken glass.”
Taking Rox’s cue, Connor and Kaleb silently turned and ran in the opposite direction. If Adelaide wasn’t in that room then she was somewhere else in the building. The vision of the future had shifted for some reason. They had to find Adelaide and then help Rox.
“So we meet again?” Mika said to Rox.
“Oh, have we met? You don’t really have that memorable of a face,” Rox said, thankful that Connor and Kaleb had taken the hint and rushed in the other direction. The last thing they needed was for Mika to know they were here. If Adelaide wasn’t in this room, then they needed to find her wherever she was.
A sadistic smile unfurled on Mika’s mouth. He lifted his hand and as he did, Rox rose in the air, floating. “You know, I read your FBI file and discovered that you failed one portion of the training. Someone doesn’t like small spaces. I think I should have a box made especially for you.”
Rox fought, trying to break herself free of Mika’s telekinesis. However, he had a tight hold on her, so strong was his power. “You’re such a thoughtful man,” she said.
He flicked his wrist and she slammed into the wall behind her, still hovering in the air.
“Is that all you got?” she said, lacing a satisfied smile on her mouth.
Mika narrowed his eyes at her, stepping forward. He was obviously confused as to why his assault didn’t have an effect on her. “What skill do you have?” he said.
“How did you find out who I am?” Rox said, changing the subject.
“My invisible spy gave me information on everyone in the Institute. I know all about the people in there,” Mika said, raising his hand and with it Rox flew up to the ceiling, banging her head hard, but not feeling it.
“Apparently, you don’t, since you don’t know what my Dream Traveler skill is,” she said.
He jerked his hand down, and Rox crashed to the ground, no yelp of pain from the act. She remained in a sturdy standing position.
Mika stepped out of the room, staring straight at her. “It’s time we stopped playing games. Tell me where Adelaide is and I’ll kill you faster, rather than slower,” he said.
He couldn’t really kill her, Rox knew, but he currently had her frozen with his telekinesis. She couldn’t move a muscle. This man was extremely powerful to be able to do this with his skill. And that meant she was absolutely screwed.
Connor and Kaleb made a circle around the building by running in the opposite direction. The hallway seemed to run the circumference of the building, Kaleb noticed. They moved soundlessly through the corridor, thanks to the grace of the wolf.
Coming around a corner, they froze when their eyes met the wide back of a man. He had a mostly bald head and just in front of him Kaleb could see a small figure, her red hair the only thing he could make out. The man made a good wall.
“Oh, won’t Mika be happy to see you,” the man said, his words covered in a German accent.
“I’ll be going now,” Adelaide said on the other side of him. “Step aside.”
“This time your hypnosis won’t work on me,” the man said. “I’m on to you, little girl. Don’t you know I’m one of the most powerful scientists alive? Don’t think you can outsmart me.”
He then grabbed Adelaide’s forearm and hauled her in the opposite direction from Connor and Kaleb. The man was a great deal stronger and larger than Adelaide, towing her forward. Her eyes widened with alarm when she spied the two of them, Connor and Kaleb, before being yanked away. Connor raised his palm, probably about to use his fire.
Kaleb laid a hand on him, stopping Connor. “I’ve got this,” he mouthed. And then he did the thing that had become second nature to him. He paused time. Instantly Connor froze. Adelaide froze. German Jerk froze in mid-step. This never got old.
Kaleb, knowing he had less than a minute, darted forward. He yanked the access badge out of Little Red’s hand and swiped it on the door to the right. He pried the scientist’s fingers off of Adelaide and then shoved him hard, pushing him with his super strength through the open door. He sprinted for a computer station on a desk and ripped a cord from the back. Then he pulled German Jerk�
��s hands behind his back and bound them with the wire. He made sure it was tight and then darted back through the open door and closed it. With the similar intention as before, he released time. Adelaide fumbled forward and then blinked at Kaleb.
“You!” she said. “You stopped time didn’t you?”
Kaleb only gave a proud smirk, which Adelaide returned, looking relieved. She then swiveled her eyes to Connor, who rushed forward, throwing his arms around Adelaide.
“You’re safe,” he said, lifting her off her feet.
Her eyes grew large over Connor’s shoulder, but she squeezed him back. When he released her, he kept his hand on Adelaide. “Hurry, we’ve got to rescue Rox.”
“Where is she?” Adelaide said, allowing herself to be dragged forward. “Oh, she’s in the room where I previously was. And Mika has her!” she said, all the information coming to her instantly, like she was reading it from Connor’s mind.
“Yeah, and I think I know how to save her,” Connor said.
“I think that will work,” she said, pulling her hand from his and then changing direction. “Come on, Kaleb. Let’s go be a distraction.”
Kaleb, not understanding the conversation that seemed to have happened silently, spun around and followed Adelaide as Connor continued in the opposite direction.
Adelaide was too overwhelmed by what was happening to appreciate the first time she ever had a telepathic conversation with someone and actually enjoyed it. She and Connor communicated through touch so effortlessly. She wasn’t even bothered by being in his mind, but that was probably because his thoughts all related to the current mission.
She didn’t stop until at the corner of the hallway, Kaleb on her heels. Stepping into the other hallway, Adelaide focused her eyes on the man who now had Rox suspended in the air, his hand held high, probably to strengthen his telekensis. The girl appeared frozen, her limbs like marble.
“Hey, asshole,” Adelaide said, earning Mika’s attention. He turned his head over his shoulder, looking at her. “I quit!”
He set Rox down, but kept her close. Again she didn’t move.
“Well, well, well,” he said, his eyes on her and then skipping to Kaleb. “It appears it’s my lucky day.”
Connor stepped into the hallway, his focus on the man in the silver suit, his back to him. Rox was too close to Mika. He’d have to be careful, but thought his plan could work, if Rox moved at the right time.
“Actually it’s not your lucky day,” Connor said, pointing one finger at Mika’s heels and firing off a single bolt of fire. It flew down the hallway, shooting at his loafers. Mika spun around, his eyes jerking to his feet before pulling them up to look at Connor.
“You,” he said, a conviction in the one word. Behind him, Rox, who had appeared frozen before, backed up in the direction of Adelaide and Kaleb at the end of the hallway. It was because of Adelaide’s telepathic link that the two were able to communicate so efficiently. She instantly understood what to do, all because of that connection. Connor had been overwhelmed with relief when Kaleb had gotten Drake off her. He hadn’t meant to hug her, but now he was glad he had.
“Yes, me, you fucker. Ready to pay for what you did to us?” Connor said, raising a hand in the air and shooting a fireball at Mika.
The other man pulled his own hand up at lightning speed and a blast of water shot out, blocking the fire, extinguishing it. This was followed by a laugh. “Why do you think you have elemental magic? Who do you think you inherited that from?” Mika said.
“What, now you think you’re our father?” Connor said, wondering how he was going to trap Mika now. The three behind him disappeared, probably headed in his direction.
“I’m your creator and there is power in that,” Mika said.
Connor pointed his hand down as he heard the footsteps at his back. He’d never tried anything like this, but he hoped it would work. With a preciseness to impress he swiped his hand across the space, creating a line of fire in front of him that instantly made a wall of flames between Mika and him. Then he spun in the opposite direction, joining the others at the stairwell. They nodded with relief at Connor when they met and then the four dashed down the stairs and out of the building. By the time Mika had washed away the fire, they would be out of Parantaa Research and safely dream traveling back to the Institute.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“If you call one wolf, you invite the pack.”
- Bulgarian Proverb
“Mutterficker,” Mika heard Drake curse from down the hallway. The old German man came around the corner, rubbing his wrists as Mika extinguished the last of the flames.
Drake’s distracted eyes shot up as he drew near. “Did they get away?” he said.
“What do you think?” Mika said, turning for the room where he was supposed to have found Adelaide according to Isha’s clairvoyant vision. Shattered glass littered the floor in several places. “Someone was here, though. And then Rox and a few of the others showed up. Kaleb, Adelaide, and Connor.”
“I only saw Adelaide. I absolutely had her and was dragging her to you,” Drake said, still rubbing his wrist.
“Then what happened? How did she get away?” Mika said.
“I don’t know. One moment I was bringing her to you and then an instant later I was in lab room AB-26 with my wrists bound. I can’t account for the time in between,” Drake said.
“Sounds like they knocked you out. Stunned you somehow,” Mika said, pulling his badge from the inside of his breast pocket.
“I don’t think so. There’s no pain. I have my suspicions based on how things happened and my inability to account for the time,” Drake said and then nothing else.
Mika twisted around. “Don’t tell me you have a hypothesis and not tell me what it is. I shouldn’t have to drag information out of you. Need I remind you that you do work for me,” Mika said, his voice filled with hisses.
“Well, based on the fact that I have no injury and Adelaide’s skills wouldn’t work on me, I think it’s possible that time was frozen. I can confirm this by conducting some experiments on the space. When time is messed with, it leaves behind remnants of relativity, which is one theory of how wormholes get created. I can test the space for signs of this,” Drake said.
Mika didn’t commend Drake, as he was probably hoping. He’d just admitted that he knew how wormholes were created but was going to get zero accolades for such a feat. This was simply because compliments were foolish and Drake had admitted something else. “Why is it that Adelaide’s skill wouldn’t work on you?”
Drake sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, his small eyes dropping. “I’ve been testing certain protocols on myself. As you know—”
“You can shield me from your mind, making my telepathy useless on you. Yes, I knew about that. The others from the Lucidites appear to have a similar shield,” Mika said, appraising Drake. “And now you’ve figured out other skills you can implement in order to resist mind control and hypnosis, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir,” Drake said, pulling his eyes up with a weighty breath.
“Anything else you’d like to tell me?” Mika said.
Drake shook his head. It was obvious that he was hiding something. Maybe he was performing the Dream Traveler protocol on himself. Maybe he was creating powers for himself so that he could overpower Mika one day. It didn’t matter because the old scientist was nothing compared to his boss.
“So you think someone messed with time? Who? And how?” Mika said.
“I’m not sure, but I’ll also be able to pull the footage from room AB-26. Although we don’t have surveillance in the hallways, it is active in some of the lab rooms. That will fill in gaps,” Drake said.
“Yes, do this. I want answers,” Mika said.
“Do you think anyone saw what’s in the storage room?” Drake said.
“I don’t know,” Mika said. “This just means that we need to have it moved ahead of schedule.” He lifted the badge and swiped it across the reader.
It glowed green just before he pulled the door back all the way. The storage room was mostly empty, save for some boxes, and then there was one clear container filled with clear fluid. Suspended in the upright, glass container stood a figure that was more unknown than anything Mika had ever acquired on the black market. He’d paid an ungodly sum in order to obtain this item. And he just knew that with the proper research he could create something incredible using the genes of the specimen.
Mika stepped forward, running his hand over the large clear box. The alien’s eyes were closed because it had been dead for many decades. Still, its blood was valuable and he suspected it could be used for something extraordinary. Mika had spent many years studying this alien race and thought he knew how they operated and what their blood could be used to create.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
“I think we all have to fight the werewolf within us somehow.”
- William Kempe
Adelaide sucked in a sudden breath when her body generated on the GAD-C. She bolted to a sitting position, clapping her hand to her chest. Blinking her eyes, she stared around the room. Only Connor stood, leaning casually against the far wall.
“Where are the others?” she said, brushing her hair back behind her shoulder. She’d been the last one to dream travel, sending back Rox, Connor, and Kaleb first. That was an agent rule her father taught her. The most powerful agent always traveled back last. She wanted to believe that was her, but everyone had been so strong at Parantaa Research in their own way, even Rox. She’d stopped Connor and Kaleb from being discovered when she ran into Mika, according to their quick debriefing.
“They went to update Trent and then Zephyr. Both will be relieved to know that you’re back safe,” Connor said, a coy look on his face, his eyes resting to the left of Adelaide.
She brought her gaze down to where her legs were stretched out in front of her, the pencil skirt tugged up, revealing most of her thigh. Swinging her legs around the side of the GAD-C, she pulled the lavender skirt down, covering herself the best she could.