I stop midthought, startled by a loud sneeze. It’s Lucas. A second sneeze, even stronger, follows, then a third. Both hands instinctively fly to his face.
The very instant they do, I discover that I’m no more in control of the three Furies in my head than Lucas is of his body right now.
Deo steps away from me, back toward the wall.
Lucas stumbles forward as two more gargantuan sneezes hit him.
It still feels like I’m at the front, like I’m in control mentally, but I’m physically unable to pull my eyes away from Lucas. And I hear laughter, even though I don’t think I’m actually laughing. It’s just echoing in my head.
Either way, it scares me. Because whatever is going on with Lucas right now, they’re doing it. I’m doing it.
Lucas’s hand gropes for his holster, but before he can grab the gun another sneeze hits, this one so violent that it drives him to his knees. A thin line of blood runs from one nostril.
I hear the plink of metal against metal behind me, then a thick spray of white dust hits Lucas square in the face. He keeps sneezing. I can’t tell if the Furies are doing it or if it’s from the fire extinguisher. My guess would be the Furies, because I still can’t move, still can’t look away from his face.
“Get his badge!” Deo screams. He pushes me forward as the spray begins to sputter out.
A burst of anger surges through me, directed not at Lucas, but at Deo for pushing me. I turn back and snatch the red canister from his hands.
“Ne chipayte mene!” The words fly out of my mouth before I can mentally translate. Don’t touch me.
Deo raises his arms and steps back. “Anna?”
My hands are brandishing the canister like a weapon. The other voices are talking now, and whoever the hell has control of my hands is distracted just long enough for me to shove her backward and spin around to face Lucas.
Who is still coughing, still trying to catch his breath, and very clearly reaching for his gun.
I swing the metal canister with every bit of force I can muster straight toward Lucas’s temple. His head snaps to one side. Before he can slump to the floor, I swing back, in the opposite direction. This time, the bottom of the canister connects directly with his forehead and the skin splits.
Deo rushes toward Lucas and kicks him over. One of the security bracelets is in his back pocket.
I stand there, frozen, with the canister lifted over my head, remembering how frightened I was back in my room. Imagining how it would feel to bash Lucas again. And again. The scariest thing is that I’m pretty sure this time, it’s all me.
“Anna?” Deo’s voice is hesitant. He looks at me, a question in his eyes. “Are you okay? Because we need to go.”
I toss the canister onto a cot and follow Deo to the door. He waves the bracelet at the panel, but the door opens before Deo’s hand even touches the knob.
Cregg stares past me to where Lucas lies on the floor. A look of disgust passes over his face as he reaches inside his jacket. He drops the cell phone he was holding into his breast pocket, then reaches toward what I’m positive is a holster.
Damn it! Why didn’t you grab Lucas’s gun?
It’s not one of the hitchers this time. Just me, yelling at me. And yes, I was distracted by way too many voices in my head, but it didn’t even occur to me to grab the gun. I totally suck at this.
When I look at Deo however, I discover that he does not suck at this. He’s holding Lucas’s badge in one hand and Lucas’s gun in the other.
“Hands where I can see them!” Definitely not a kid anymore, although his voice does crack the tiniest bit when he yells, “Drop your ID onto the floor and kick it toward Anna.”
Cregg does as he’s told. “The lab is being monitored. There are dozens of employees in this building. You’ve got about thirty seconds before—”
“Shut up!” Deo says.
I scoop up the bracelet. “He’s got a gun, D.”
“I know. Down on the floor,” Deo tells Cregg. “Slowly.”
As Cregg drops to his knees, Jaden speaks up.
He’s lying about the monitors. Yes, there are dozens of employees in The Warren, but only ten who work the Highside, the side where you were staying. That’s where they place the newbies and the . . . problem children. And only six of the workers know what goes on in this lab. Those six include Lucas and Dacia. All of the others believe we were transferred, except for—
Daniel and Ashley. Yeah, I know.
Deo waves the gun at Cregg. “Now lie on your stomach and put your hands behind your head. If you move at all, I will shoot you. Anna, take his gun.”
Cregg complies with Deo’s order, taking a deep breath as he stretches out on the tile. Once he’s down, I put a foot on the small of his back and tug at Cregg’s jacket to expose the gun. I take it, but as I stand back up, I catch a glimpse of his face, eyes closed, his expression almost serene.
Déjà vu hits me, but it’s not one of Jaden’s flashes. It’s a Molly memory of Cregg sitting in the cabin, legs crossed, as she snipped off her own finger.