Collin flushed white. From his expression I knew he wasn’t faking it. I knew then he had no clue that these children were being taken or bought and forced to live in horrible conditions before being moved to Horatio’s facility. Horatio was building his own ‘army,’ but why were they treated so horribly before they were transported to goodness knows where? What was the purpose of it all? “What-” he stammered. “You’re joking, right?”
I stood up on weak legs. I had this gut feeling that I would no longer have to spy on Collin. I think with the right push, he might be able to be won over to our side. I was beginning to suspect that Horatio had various levels of minions working for him. I had a feeling people like Collin and Mr. Young was willing to work for him, for whatever reason, and they truly didn’t know how Horatio fully operated. I had seen it in Mr. Young’s eyes, and I was seeing it now in Collin’s.
Troy was quick to grab one of my arms.
“Do you think this is a good idea?” Noah murmured quietly.
I nodded. “He needs to know.”
I walked over to the door. “I think there’s something you need to see.” I looked at Collin. I was going to lay all my cards out on the table and hope I was right.
We walked over to the room next door, where my sister still laid unresponsive on the bed, but Chip was sitting up playing with a hand-held video game while cartoons played from the TV on the wall. He looked up with a smile as he held up the video game for us to see. “Look, Noah!” he said excitedly. “I beat four levels already.”
I looked over at Noah and saw a blush on his cheeks, and I had a feeling he had purchased the video game system for Chip to get his mind off his ordeal.
I smiled at him.
“Good job, buddy!” Noah said with genuine excitement.
I walked over and pushed the curtain open where my sister was.
“We removed her feeding tube this morning, but still have fluids going to her through the IV,” Noah said. “She’s still unresponsive, though.”
“What happened?” Collin gulped, his eyes round with horror.
“We had to rescue a group of children from a couple that was holding them for Horatio,” Troy explained solemnly.
“When I last saw her, she was happy and healthy,” I tried to compose myself, so I wouldn’t cry. I pulled the sheets out from under her chin and revealed the scars covering her arms. “She wasn’t battered and broken either,” I whispered. I felt like yelling at Collin and telling him it was his fault and everyone else that had a hand in all of this.
“Ella and I didn’t listen,” Chip said with sadness as he hung his head. “We wanted to go home to our mother and sister. She hated the dog cage. The wires made her uncomfortable. She couldn’t sleep. She was hungry. They moved us all in other cages when I tried to get us free. My cage was made of plastic, I can’t move plastic.”
“He can manipulate metal,” Troy quietly explained.
“How do you know Horatio is behind this all?” Collin asked with disbelief. “Doesn’t he just want a world where the gifted can be free? Where we didn’t have to live in hiding anymore?”
“That’s his ultimate goal, in a way,” Will said quietly from the doorway. “But first he needs likeminded people to help him eradicate or convert the ungifted. He ran out of people willing to work for him. After I worked with him, I realized our goals were different. I want a world where we can peacefully co-exist, and he wants power.” I was shocked to see Will wasn’t alone. Remy, Jace, Drake, Jaxson, Gavin, Jemmy, and Rachel were with him. “Adults are harder to convince, but if you had young impressionable minds like, say, children, they can be trained to hate. Trained to want to follow whoever rescued them.”
“That doesn’t make sense!” Collin insisted. “How can he abuse children and then expect them to willingly work for him?”
“When they are taken from their parents, or bought from their parents,” Will patiently explained. “They are given to nefarious individuals. Eventually they are moved to another facility, where they are ‘rescued.’ They are fed, clothed, and given pretty much anything they want. They are groomed to the point that they are willing to do pretty much anything for Horatio. After all, he rescued them.”
Collin paled and stumbled to find a seat. I suspected that he had seen some of these children. “How-” his voice broke. “How do you know all this? How do I know that this isn’t all lies?”
“They aren’t,” Rachel finally spoke up. “My father could not be bought. Horatio tried to convince my Dad and brothers to work for him on several occasions, and when we wouldn’t, he blew up my house.”
Collin rubbed his eyes wearily and then looked up at Will. “You know, don’t you?” The unspoken question was clear. He wanted to know if Will knew that he was working for Horatio.
Will nodded.
Collin looked over at me, I could see he felt ashamed. “After I injured myself...I couldn’t play football anymore. I had a taste of that rich life. I loved that life. Horatio found out I could block people. Make people unable to use their gifts. Occasionally, I would be asked to go sit outside of a house and use my gift. Then I would get a phone call and be told to leave. I was never told why or whose powers I was suppressing. I never saw what happened after I blocked powers. I just received a nice transaction in my bank account. I didn’t think anything of it. When they asked me to block you, Blake, I thought it was an easy gig. I had a crush on you in high school. I had always been curious to know what it would have been like to be with you. You were different when I saw you again. You were more confident, more carefree, more beautiful than I remembered, and you had a voice of an angel.”
I looked down at my hands. “Did they tell you why they wanted you to use your gift against me?”
Collin nodded. “Your dad felt it was right if you took your rightful place by his side. If you fell in love with me, and I introduced him to you, then you could see that his idea of us being free to be who we are, without fear, was a better concept than hiding. We have a large community here, but we are still forced into hiding.”
I stared at him in stunned silence. “My father?” I asked quietly with dread.
He nodded. “Yeah, Horatio. At least, that’s who he says he is.”
It was my turn to stumble. I was glad Troy was nearby to catch me before I fell.
Chapter 13
I was walking on auto pilot as we went to a private lounge room. I was shocked into near paralysis. I sat down in an oversized armchair and folded my legs to my chest and hugged my knees. Everyone took a seat on the other pieces of furniture or on the floor, facing each other.
“Is he my father?” I asked Will. Somehow, I knew he would know.
He nodded. “Considering recent events, Judge Myers has decided to get involved in your case. He has been helping me try to figure out your story. He had met your mother through the court system. He had met your uncle through the court system. Since he has met you, he feels more compelled to get to know you.