Inspiration Point (31 page)

“That’s not as easy as it looks,” Tyler said, although
I have to admit he made it look extremely easy.  “So what do we do now?”

“We go to Emin’s room, everyone will be in
there.”  I could tell he wanted to know how we were achieving this each
night, and I thought it would save time in the meeting if I explained it
now.  I told him how Emin and Zeke were looping the feed into the monitors
and that Emin’s room was sound proofed.  He didn’t ask any questions after
my explanation so we padded quietly to Emin’s room ready for the meeting.

Everyone was waiting for us to arrive.  They were
keen to get started as the three of us had already wasted a bit of time in my
room.  Dad confirmed that our testing was successful and that he was happy
to go ahead with the plan if we could tie up all the loose ends.  I
watched his face, he looked extremely proud as he spoke about our day in the
lab, I could tell he was impressed with my work.

Tyler explained that the only people who knew about us
were Spencer, Davis, Ian and Aunt Maive.  He also went over the details of
where all the information about us was stored and how he was going to ensure it
was all destroyed.  So far everyone seemed happy with the explanations.

“Now before we get onto how tomorrow will play out, I
would like to know what Spencer said to you Hayln,” Dad asked.  I knew my
entire family had been anxious about this all day, so I was happy to put their
minds at ease.

“He made me an offer,” I said bluntly.  “It’s
something we should probably consider if we need a Plan B.  He wants me to
join him as part of his team.  He said he would help me discover my
abilities, while I work in his lab for him.”

“No way Hayln, that can’t be an option,” Zeke
objected.  “Not as a Plan B – not at all.”

“I agree,” Dad said, and Mum and Emin nodded in
agreement.

“I don’t think there will be much of a choice if our
plan doesn’t work.  He has as good as said it was the only way to keep us
all safe.  If I stay with him, he won’t hurt any of you and I will still
be allowed to see you from time to time.”

“But you will spend the rest of your life alone doing
his dirty work, with no one to look after you,” Emin said desperately.

“She won’t be alone,” Tyler said with a somber
voice.  “If we can’t make this work I will have to spend the rest of my
life with Spencer as well.”

“Then we will make Hayln’s plan work – whatever it
takes,” Zeke said suddenly dead serious. 

“Agreed,” Mum said softly.  “Now let’s forget
about that and sort out the details for tomorrow.”

It had suddenly become very tense so I jumped in with
some details I knew we needed to discuss. 

“I need to get hold of a more stable machine to conduct
the current during the experiment.  The one we have downstairs was
adequate for Patch but not for humans.”  I looked at Tyler because I knew
he was our only hope of getting this for us.

“I am not sure where to find that Hayl’s,” he started
saying before Dad stopped him.

“At the University, in Professor Gregor’s lab there is
a machine that will work perfectly.  I can give you a key and passwords to
get in tonight, do you think you can manage that?”

“Absolutely,” Tyler confirmed.

“If you need a car mine is in the block behind this
one,” Zeke added.

“Thanks, that would be good,” Tyler said.

“Just have it close by tomorrow, we won’t bring it
inside until we have them sedated.” Dad said.

“That was something I was going to ask about Ethan, do
you have enough anesthetic to sedate four people, long enough for Hayln to
perform the procedure on all of them?” Mum questioned.

“Yes we do, but I am more worried about getting them
sedated.” Dad explained.

“I have been thinking about that,” Emin joined in.

“Um, before we get into that I wanted to ask
something,” Tyler said sounding nervous.  “You mentioned sedating four
people, I was kind of hoping we wouldn’t have to do this to Aunt Maive.”

The silence was deafening.  “She knows about us
Tyler, and she works for Spencer,” I tried to reason with him.

“I know all that Hayl’s, better than any of you. 
But we’ve only had each other over the past few years, and we have grown
closer.  Mostly due to Spencer’s mistreatment of us – but she is all the
family I have.”

“Tyler how do we know we can trust her.  This is
all our lives we are talking about, including yours,” Mum asked softly.

“I know Mrs Knox, but she has been mistreated
too.  It’s true she started out as one of his allies, but time has changed
that.  We have spoken about it many times.  She has told me that she
is glad she became my guardian but has always regretted the circumstances it
was under.  If given a choice between siding with Spencer or siding with
me, I know who she would choose.”

I could see in his brown eyes how serious he
was.  And it was true Aunt Maive was all he had apart from us.  I
looked to the faces of my family, I could tell they were torn over this
decision.  At the end of the day, we needed Tyler to make this work, and I
had already decided that I trusted him.  So I guess that meant I would
have to take his word on this too.

“Does Aunt Maive know anything about our plan?” I
questioned.

“No, I wanted to talk to all of you first – I wasn’t
even sure what the plan was.”

“How long can you leave her in the dark?” Dad asked.

“Why, do you have an idea?” Tyler sounded hopeful.

“Well, do you think you could keep the details from
her until we have the other three sedated.  Then you could bring her here,
and we can talk to her face to face.  I would like to hear what she has to
say myself,” Dad explained.

“I can live with that,” Tyler agreed.

“Okay then, can we get back to how we are going to get
these three sedated,” Zeke said.

“Like I said before, I’ve been thinking about that,”
Emin chimed in.  “I think we all need to be down in the lab.  Zeke,
Tyler and I should position ourselves around Spencer and the henchmen.”

“Tyler should mark Davis,” I butted in.  “His
special abilities give him extra strength and Davis is the strongest and
quickest.”

“I agree,” Emin said.  “Zeke and I will take
Spencer and Ian.  They all have guns, but I thought we could surprise them
if we could have a syringe with something that would knock them out
immediately.  And if we wore long sleeve shirts we could hide them until
the last minute.”

“I can organize the syringes,” Dad agreed.

“Then Hayl’s can do her thing and the only thing left
will be to decide what to do with them after their brain purge.” Emin mocked.

“Do you know where all the men live Tyler,” Mum asked.

“All but Davis.  Ian lives alone in town here and
Spencer in Kings Valley.”

“I have been thinking about this part, and I would
like to take care of it myself.  I hope to be able to implant some
memories to help them come to terms with any memory loss they may have. 
We can drop Ian back to his house, and Davis we can take to a motel or
something.  Spencer will be a little more difficult, but I was hoping you
might help me with that Dad.”

He didn’t seem surprised by my statement so I guess he
must have anticipated my idea. 

“Well that just about wraps it up don’t you think?”
Emin said looking at his watch.

“What time do you want Spencer to arrive?” Tyler asked
as we all stood to leave the room.

“After lunch, by the time Hayln has finished the
procedure it should be dark enough to get them out of the house without anyone
noticing,” Dad answered.

We all said good night to each other.  We were
short on time so I knew Zeke couldn’t come with me to my room, but Tyler had
to.  Dad gave Tyler the keys to get into the university along with the
password.  I walked toward Zeke, and he reached out and held the medallion
around my neck softly in his hand.  I knew he was saying that he loved me,
and I smiled at him hoping he would know how much I wanted to be with
him.  From his expression, I think he did, then Tyler and I left quietly.

I closed the door to my bedroom, and we walked to the
open window.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Tyler asked
quietly.  He was standing very close to me, and I suddenly did feel
nervous, although not about tomorrow.

“It will work, it has too.  I don’t want to spend
my life with Spencer.” I said through a lump in my throat.

“Me either,” he said as he reached to hold my hand. 
“Although I have to admit, when I heard we'd be working together, it did start
to sound a bit more appealing.” He removed his hands from mine and started to
trace them up my arms.  I knew what was going to happen next unless I
stopped it.  I didn’t want anything to jeopardize tomorrow, but I knew it
was time to tell Tyler the truth.

“Tyler there is something I have to tell you,” I said
moving away from his warm hands on my arms.  He looked at me with a kind
expression.

“It’s alright Hayl’s, I guess I already know,” he said
as he reached out and held one of my hands again.  “Hell, I knew as soon
as you said Ezekiel kissed you.  But I thought if I hung in there, you
might change your mind.  I guess that sounds stupid.”

“It doesn’t sound stupid at all, but I am sorry if
I've hurt you.  I never meant to do that.  You are my best friend
Tyler, and nothing will change that - not even a boyfriend.”  I looked
into his deep brown eyes and smiled, I could tell he was putting on a brave
face.  “Friends?”

“Always,” he said as he gave me a quick kiss on the
cheek.  “Now, I have a break and enter at the university to do.  So
if you don’t mind I better get back down this tree without breaking my neck.”

“Thanks, Tyler,” I said as I closed the window behind
him, making sure he was safely on the ground before getting into bed. 
Telling Tyler the truth was a double edged sword.  It hurt to know that
I'd caused him pain, but on the other hand, it was a relief to have him know
the truth.  I hoped that after tomorrow, he would have a whole new life to
look forward to, and we could go back to being best friends.

When I woke I felt a little uneasy.  I guess that
is to be expected, considering what we were doing today. I grabbed my jeans and
a t-shirt and headed to the shower.  The door was shut, and I could hear
someone inside so I knocked on the door and asked how long they would be.

“Just finishing up Hayl’s,” Zeke shouted back at
me.  I could feel the smile spread across my face.  If there was
anyone who could make me forget about erasing three people’s memory, it was
Zeke.

He came out the door still drying his hair with his
towel.  I don’t think I had ever seen him look so amazing.  He was
standing in front of me with his jeans hanging low on his hips and nothing
else.  His chest looked perfect even with some bruising still showing, and
his arms and shoulders showed how well defined his muscles were.  It took
all my effort to drag my eyes away from his body and look at his face, but once
I saw his emerald eyes, framed by his messy wet hair, I truly had to stop
myself from drooling.  I knew my hair had a bird’s nest or two, and I
still had sleep in my eyes, so I suddenly felt extremely embarrassed.  My
behavior seemed to be amusing him, as a cocky smile spread across his face.

“You see something you like Miss Knox?”

“I was just noticing how well your healing, the
bruising looks much better today,” I said stumbling through my words.

“And here I was thinking you were left speechless by
my half naked body,” he said as he closed the gap between us.

I could barely string a sentence together as he moved
closer to kiss me.  As his lips touched mine, I felt a little scared to
reach out and touch his bare skin.  I was worried once my hands were on
his body, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from wanting much more than was
possible here. 

I tried to get my head together before I spoke
again.  “I told Tyler about us last night, although I don’t think he was
surprised.”

I could tell he was glad to hear I had told Tyler, but
he didn’t comment; instead he was appraising me carefully.  “Are you okay
today Hayl’s, you seem a little distracted.”  He had lost all his
cockiness and was genuinely concerned about my mood.

“Nervous about today I guess.  Plus seeing you
half naked doesn’t help with my concentration,” I teased.

“Good, I was starting to worry I had no effect on you
at all,” he said brushing my crazy hair back off my face.  “You aren’t
alone today Hayl’s, and besides, once we get this out of the way we can
organize some of that alone time you requested.”

He kissed me on the neck softly as he walked back to
his room.  I closed the door to the bathroom and jumped in the shower
desperate to calm myself down after having him so close.  By the time I
got out of the bathroom, I looked human again and headed to the kitchen for
breakfast.

Dad was already in the lab, but Emin, Mum and Zeke
were all eating.  I sat down to join them when I heard Davis’s phone
ring.  He grunted a few times and came into the kitchen when he ended the
call.