“Like I have much of a choice in the matter,” I said dryly.
“True. Not everyone has had the same experience as you. Most of us were grateful to get out of the Heights and have somewhere safe to stay.”
“I didn’t mean to dump on you. Everything is so different; I’m still trying to adjust.” I nudged my shoulder against his. “Thanks for not wanting to beat the crap out of me.”
He smirked. “You’re welcome, Red.”
The longer I stayed at the Institute, the more frequent the visions came, as if they were telling me my time was almost up. As days went by, I’d become less afraid of not waking up and more afraid of what my dreams might hold next. I clung to the moments when I could see Dash’s face, and feared those that left me shaken with a sense of hopelessness. The visions were never the feel-good dreams that had you smirking in your sleep. Nope. Nada. Not here.
The few people I cared about in this cracked out world were always in danger. What good was this ability if I couldn’t do anything to protect them, save them?
It was a pattern I wanted to end.
Tonight was no different.
The spotlight went to Star this time, and I was a little taken aback. Star lay in an all white room, flat on her back, a light shining bright over her face. The room was too clean, like an operating room—sterile. Beside her sat a tray with a syringe, a tube filled with something disgusting, and other surgical tools.
Even immersed in a vision, my stomach pitched.
Heels clattered on the tile floor, and Star turned her head toward the doctor cloaked in a mask, gloves, and a white smock. “Remember to stay still. This will only take a moment,” the doctor mumbled from behind the mask, picking up the syringe and sucking up the goo from the test tube.
Star’s fingers clutched the end of the medical table. “Just like a shot, right?” she asked. Her voice quivered. It was nice to know I wasn’t the only human afraid of needles.
“Quick, like a bee sting. It will be over before you know it. Then you can check on Charlotte.”
My ears perked at the mention of my name. Was the face under the mask my mother’s?
It couldn’t be, could it?
And yet I recognized that voice, and the phrase about a bee sting sounded so familiar.
Without hesitating, the doctor jabbed the needle into Star’s neck, pressing down on the plunger and injecting the liquid into Star’s bloodstream. Star relaxed her shoulders, relief reflecting in her eyes.
The doctor started rattling off the potential side effects: fever, rash at the entry site, muscle aches—the usual. It all seemed routine, until it wasn’t. As the doctor spoke, Star’s whole body started to jerk, her muscles spasming. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and foam formed inside her mouth, dripping out of the corners.
Star! I screamed, but the vision was always a parallel world I was unable to penetrate. As a bystander, I watched my friend die on the metal table.
The doctor didn’t seem shocked or alarmed and did nothing to help Star. She appeared disappointed. Leaning over my lifeless friend, she closed her eyelids before reciting the time of death. Six thirty-seven.
I had to find a way to save her. I couldn’t let this be Star’s future… her end.
On my way back to my room after another grueling day of training, I took a detour to the fourth floor. No particular reason why, other than maybe I could reason with Mom. I had struck out with Dad, but maybe Mom would be sympathetic to my plight of letting Dash go, calling off this stupid manhunt. If Mom and I ganged up on Dad, there was no way he could say no.
It had crossed my mind to enlist Ember, but I wrote her off as a lost cause. For reasons I didn’t understand, my sister hated me. She took sister rivalry to a new level of crazy. So that left Mom.
When the elevator doors dinged and opened on the fourth floor, I turned to Saber (my guard for the day) and grinned.
“What are you up to?” he asked. “This isn’t the housing unit.”
“Duh. I’m going to see my mom. There’s no need for you to follow me.”
Saber, to my great shock, didn’t argue, and since there was only one way in and out of the lab, he really had no reason to. Leaning a shoulder against the wall, he shot up a what-are-you-waiting-for brow at me.
I rolled my eyes and went inside the glass doors. What a meathead.
The lab was like a rat maze. Pristine white halls stemmed off each other with doors and windows lining both sides. Having only been here once before, the layout was unfamiliar. Eventually I was bound to come across the right room. I peeked into each large window as I passed, running my hand along the cool wall. The structure of the Institute was impressive—more modernized than anything I’d seen out in the Heights. I mean, just having electricity and plumbing was huge. It felt almost normal, minus all the supernatural stuff that went on.
I listened to the clap, clap, clap of my shoes and rubbed my hands up and down my arms. Why is this place so stinkin’ cold? It reminded me of the holding houses, and I didn’t like the feeling.
I turned the corner and hesitated, a noise capturing my attention. Muffled voices traveled down the corridor. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure I was alone, and my ever-present babysitter hadn’t decided to follow me after all. There was no one in sight. The fourth floor was the only unguarded area but had the most security, with keypads on every door. They were definitely trying to keep people out … or in.
Hugging the wall, I inched silently closer to the voices until I could make out what they were saying and identify who they were.
My parents.
Whatever they were talking about, they didn’t want anyone to overhear. The door to this particular lab was ajar just slightly, as if my father had forgotten to close it behind him or he hadn’t intended to stay long.
I wedged myself into the corner by the door. “How is she?” Mom asked.
“Charlotte is just fine,” my father assured her.
I had to snuff out the snort that rose up my nose. My father didn’t know jack about how I was really doing. He never took the time to see for himself. All he really seemed to care about these days was my chart and what I could do in the training room.
“And Ember? Is she still giving Charlotte a hard time?”
“Ember is Ember, full of determination and tough love.”
Is that what he called it? My sister was a bully with an authority complex. One day karma would knock on her door.
“Do you think he’ll come back for her?”
They had to be talking about Dash. I knew it.
“No,” Dad said sharply. “He isn’t someone who thinks of others. He is long gone. My guards haven’t been able to locate him since the last run-in. He’s in hiding, where—if he is smart—he will stay.”