“No clue. But I think I can make a pretty good guess as to how it happened, after the fire we just saw in the lab.”
“Um . . . Anna? I saw what happened in the lab. You, on the other hand, weren’t simply watching. You were doing it. How the hell . . .”
“Didn’t only pick up Will. Oksana. Two other women, as well. Wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that one of them did all of this when she was alive.”
He kicks one of the larger rocks out of our path and turns back to me, clearly worried. “And you think you can control her? Or them? Because you didn’t really look like you were in control.”
“I couldn’t back there. But I don’t have to. They stayed behind in the lab. So did Will. It’s just Jaden now.”
Deo lets out an audible sigh of relief, followed by a bitter chuckle. “You were trying to control five people in your head. I couldn’t even handle one.”
“It’s not the same thing, D. Not the same thing at all. My invaders were actually on our side. Cregg on the other hand—”
“Whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”
The windows on the lower level are barricaded. Only tiny ribbons of light shine through. When we reach the main level, I work my way to the door and twist the knob. The door opens a fraction of an inch, then stops. No security panels here, just plain, old-fashioned boards and nails.
Deo backs up a few steps and rams it with his shoulder. The door creaks, but that’s about it.
He takes another try, with pretty much the same result.
Then I hear Jaden.
I got this. Probably. I mean . . . I’m used to a bigger body, but the principle’s the same.
I’m reluctant to give Jaden control. He didn’t seem nearly as angry about my refusal to shoot as the others were, but I’m pretty sure Jaden also wanted me to pull that trigger.
Yeah. I think I’d have killed them, but, hey . . . you know what you can live with and what you can’t. And even if that wasn’t the case, I ain’t stupid enough to go back up there.
Okay, then. But hurry.
I grab Deo’s bare arm as he’s backing up to charge the door again. “Hold up, D. Let me take a stab at it.”
He raises an eyebrow, and gives me a look that I’d definitely find insulting if I had time to stop and think about it. But he steps aside.
Jaden takes a deep breath once he’s in control and moves me forward a few steps. I feel my knee lifting up, high enough that it should throw me off balance. But it doesn’t. He twists slightly and thrusts my foot toward the door.
I hear nails popping, but the door remains in place.
We back away, and he kicks once more. Harder. This time, the door swings open, but I also feel a sharp twinge in my ankle . . . the same one I twisted jumping out of Aaron’s car.
But we’re out. That’s all that matters. And Jaden slides back gradually this time, rather than the quick exit that left me bent over a trash can.
Deo’s expression is a little less dubious now. “Whoa. Short Stuff got some new moves.”
“Yeah. New moves, but same body, unfortunately.”
“You okay?”
I nod and test my weight on the ankle as we move outside. It’s tender, but not too bad. I’ll be able to run, although I doubt I’ll make top speed.
Illegible graffiti is scrawled on the four columns in front of us. The fire that blazed through the building couldn’t take out the sections made of stone. Like the columns, the steps are still standing, although some sections seem to have been chipped away.
“Which way?” Deo asks.
I scan the area, trying to find something that seems familiar from the vision. Off to the right, I see water in the distance. To the left is the clearing, with buildings on both sides and a line of trees beyond.
“That way.”
As we run, I discover why these visions landed Jaden in a psychiatric center. It’s like being trapped in a dream.
I hear the noise of the helicopter—I’d forgotten that part entirely. But some part of my brain still goes through the motions of thinking it’s an airplane before recognizing the sound of the rotor.
When I turn back and see the man running toward me, part of my mind knows it’s not Cregg.
I know it’s Daniel.
But the section of my brain that controls my mouth doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. “Faster, Deo! I think it’s Cregg.”
I hear the man yelling my name, and that other part of my brain, the part that isn’t in control, recognizes Daniel’s voice. But that doesn’t stop me from running in a blind panic, terrified that Cregg is going to catch us.
I know I’m going to trip as we begin to run downhill. I can even see the street ahead, and the lights of the car driving past, just beyond a layer of brush and briars. But I can’t slow down. Can’t stop myself from looking up at the power lines. Can’t stop myself from stumbling, and can’t tell whether it’s a damned root or a rock that trips me.