I knew, without a doubt, this was all my fault. All my fault.
****
As some point I’d fallen asleep upon the cement floor. I wasn’t sure how many hours had passed, or what had woken me, but I suddenly became alert, awake almost instantly. I pressed my hands into the cold ground and sat up. The cells were silent, pitch-black. My foggy head was gone, my mind clear. But the thing that stood out the most was my body…tingling with energy. My powers were back.
I jerked my gaze toward Lewis’ cell, but could see nothing. He was still there, I could sense his energy and almost cried out with relief. “Lewis?”
For a breathless moment there was no response.
Then ever so slightly, I heard the whisper of someone shifting. “I’m here.”
A lump of emotion rose up in my throat, nearly choking me. He was here; he was alive. Tears stung my eyes, sliding down my cheeks; this time tears of relief. Biting my lower lip, I pressed my forehead to the bars. By the sound of his voice, I could tell he was sitting on the floor in his own cell directly across from me. How I wished I could actually see him, touch him, kiss him.
I forced my tears back and managed to keep my voice steady. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.”
He’d obviously tried to sound reassuring, but he’d said the words a little too quickly. Of course he wasn’t okay, I’d seen him before the lights went out; I’d seen the blood. “What did they do?”
He paused, and I knew he was trying to spare my feelings. “They tried to find the lost memories.”
I swallowed hard, acid rising up my throat. The pain he must have gone through… I swore in that moment, I vowed to see my father pay. “Did they succeed?”
“No.” There was a pause. “The memories are gone.”
I felt his sadness all the way from my cell. He wanted to remember. I wanted him to remember his past…and me. But not this way. Not by being tortured.
“They’re going to try surgery next,” he said softly. “If that doesn’t work, they’re sending me to another prison.”
No, they couldn’t cut his head open because I knew without a doubt they would kill him. I gripped the bars tightly, as if I could pull them part if I just tried hard enough. “No!”
“I’m sorry, Cameron,” he said softly. “Sorry I couldn’t protect you. Sorry I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”
“No.” I swiped angrily at my tears. I wouldn’t have what could be our last moment together wallowing in self-pity and despair. We would survive this, we would escape. “Let me try something, okay?”
He hesitated for a moment. “What?”
I shifted, kneeling before the bars. “Let down your wall. Let me in.”
When he didn’t answer I sighed in frustration. I knew how he felt. When someone had forced their way into your mind, your innermost thoughts, it was hard to trust. But he’d let me show him the memory, I could only hope he’d trust me again. “Please.”
“Alright.”
I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes. It would work; it had to work. I reached out mentally and felt the subtlest shift of his energy, like a dam that had cracked and the water had started to flow. I didn’t know if it would work, but I wanted to try.
Needed
to try.
Our energy merged together in a swirl of electricity. Quickly, before I lost control, I pictured the field we were in that night he came to me in the dream. Around me a wall of trees sprung to life, and a wide open field formed at my feet. I’d just created my own world. I spun around in amazement, reaching out, and brushing my hands over the flowers, their petals soft and velvety against my palm. They felt so real.
“Do you see it?” I asked, breathless.
“The field?”
I turned toward his voice and there he stood in the field with me. Lewis. “Exactly.”
I’d never been so happy to see him. A warm breeze rushed through the grasses, rustling the flowers around us. We wore our gray jumpsuits, the color washing out Lewis’ pale face. Any excitement I felt disappeared.
I reached up and rested my hand against his cheek, the scruff tickling my palm. “You don’t look well.”
“I’m fine.”
I smiled up at him, sliding my hands over his shaved hair. My body heated under his intense gaze. Those intense blue eyes matched the color of the sky. Without thought, I stood on tiptoe and leaned toward him. I felt his warm breath right before our lips met. A shiver of electricity coursed through my body, heating me inside out. It felt real, so real.
Needing to feel more of him, I slid my hands up his chest and wrapped my arms around his neck. Lewis groaned, pressing his palms to my back and pulling me closer. When I parted my lips our tongues met, the kiss deepening. How I wanted to stay here with him forever, but it wasn’t real. My body trembled, and it wasn’t because of Lewis’ kiss. My energy was fading fast.
I pulled back and looked at him one last time. “It’ll be okay,” I whispered.
The field and Lewis disappeared. Color faded to black, as if a watercolor painting had been drenched with rain. Instantly I was aware of the cold cell floor beneath me. We were back in our prison, the darkness heavy, depressing.
Defeated, I leaned against the bars, silent, unmoving. I was in no hurry to speak for I didn’t want to ruin the moment. I wanted to cling to the memory for as long as I could.
“Cameron,” Lewis whispered. “I know you returned for me.”
Dare I lie? I sighed, there was no point in it. Lying would do no good. We’d all spent too much time trying to hide the truth. “I had to.”
“Promise me something.”
I released a puff of air. “Okay.”
“You swear?”
I paused. “Yeah.”
Leave me behind.
I stiffened. “What do you mean?”
I know you’re planning something. I know you can escape, but you can’t with me. I’m too weak. Leave me behind.
“No!” the word echoed down the hall.
You don’t understand, I have no life! I have no one, not even my memories! There’s nothing to return to. I won’t hold you back when you have a chance to escape.
I slipped my arm through the bars, reaching for him, even though I knew we were too far away to touch, and all I felt was cold air. “You have me, and we’ll make new memories.”
He hesitated for a long moment, then I heard him shift, felt him reach out to me. So close… I could practically feel the energy coming off his fingertips.
“I won’t leave you,” I whispered. “Not ever again.”
Time stretched, but we remained on the cold floor. After some time I could hear the soft, even breath of sleep and knew Lewis had finally given into temptation. His exhausted body had betrayed him.
I moved, trying to get more comfortable but it was impossible. Time was running out. Lewis might be transferred. Worse, tortured again, and I knew he couldn’t handle another round with my dad.
It was time to act. I closed my eyes, preparing to sleep there, on the floor with Lewis, when a sudden thought flashed to mind… Maddox had been wearing a suit. A dark, fancy suit.
Startled, I sat up. Why was it important?
Suddenly it hit me.
I was waiting when they arrived.
The lights burst on, highlighting the ugliness of the cells. I blinked rapidly, giving my eyes time to adjust to the flash. In the middle of the night, Lewis and I had gone to our respective cots, but I hadn’t slept.
“Wake up,” the female guard snapped out.
I rolled onto my back, moaning, my body aching and exhausted. They did it on purpose, Deborah had told me the other night. They liked to tear you from slumber, when you were most vulnerable. It was a way to keep you guessing. Almost a form of torture, and it worked.
I pushed myself up slowly. “What? Is it time for my midnight snack?”
They didn’t respond, they never did.
Watching them closely, I stood and moved toward the bars. From the corner of my eye I could see Lewis on his cot; he was more slumped over than sitting up but at least his eyes were open. He hadn’t died in the middle of the night. I slipped my arms through the bars and the guard slapped the cuffs around my wrists. I was becoming so used to their weight that I barely noticed them anymore.
As they opened the door, I allowed myself a quick peek at Lewis. He looked worse than I’d expected and I had to force myself not to react. Bruises marred the area under his eyes and his skin was so pale, it was almost translucent.
I stepped into the hall, resisting the urge to throw the guards against the bars, grab Lewis and run like hell. But no, not now, not yet.
Don’t come back, Cameron. Don’t come back for me.
I didn’t bother to respond to his mental message. He had to know I wouldn’t be such a coward. I stared straight ahead and followed the guards down the hall. Deborah watched me, although she didn’t say a word, she didn’t need to. I knew without reading her mind what she was thinking: the same thing as Lewis.
Escape.
And I would. Before it was too late. Too late for all of us. But I wouldn’t go alone. We moved out the steel door and up the stairs. My heart hammered madly in my chest, threatening to break through my ribs. Was I strong enough?
I took in a deep breath as we started up a second flight of steps. Just when I assumed I knew where we were going we turned left instead of right. We bypassed the torture room my father was so fond of, and instead the guard pushed through a new door. Another prison floor… this one with just as many cells as our prison, but these cells were full.
There were no catcalls or cursed words thrown at us as we walked down the corridor. No one beating metal cups against the bars. Except for the thump of our footsteps, the area was deathly quiet. Pale faces stared at me from the corners of cells, hopeless faces. Some stood at the bars, some sat on their cots. All looked like they had given up on life.
Guilt shook me to the core. These were the people I had helped my father torture. Yeah, some were bad, but some were also normal mind readers…like me. I jerked my gaze away. The worst part was knowing that even if I managed to escape, there was no way I could help these men as well.
At the end of the hall we pushed through a double set of barred gates. A man sat at a desk, barely glancing away from his security monitor as we moved by him. Desperately, I studied my surroundings. Where were they taking me? Why?
They opened a steel door and the cool night air swept into the room. Sweet, cool air! I swear to God, I almost cried out in happiness. I wasn’t positive how many days had gone by since my imprisonment, since I’d seen the outside world, but it felt like years. I wanted to drop to my knees and kiss the soft grass. The door shut with a thump and the dark night surrounded us, cloaking me in a false sense of safety.
“Did she resist at all?” My father’s voice emerged from the darkness and my hope fled. It would be a million times more difficult to escape with my father here.
“No, sir.”
“Very good.” He stepped into the light, another two guards with him. “You will behave, if you wish to see your friends.”
But the arrogance of my father’s tone was completely forgotten as hope bloomed within me. I’d been right all along. He wore the same suit he’d worn that night they’d had the party here. The night I’d truly felt like a puppet in my father’s madness. The night I’d known I would eventually leave this hell.
The memory whispered through my mind. It had been only a couple weeks ago, although it felt like another lifetime. I’d dressed to impress, following my father like I was some sort of enamored puppy dog.
“There will be some important people here,”
he had said.
I was counting on those same important people being here tonight. I glanced around the open area, spotting the parking lot and the many cars. They were having another gathering and just like last time, I was the main attraction. Only on this night, I wore a prison gray jumpsuit, instead of a dress.
My father spun on his heels and started toward compound two. “Bring her along.”
Firm fingers bit into my arms and jerked me forward. The fence went around the entire perimeter, and beyond that, another fence. Large spotlights lit up the grounds and guards strolled the area. They wore dress suits, no guns in hand, but it was obvious they were there to protect their esteemed guests. They didn’t worry me. The guards around the compound meant there were fewer in the woods and surrounding areas.
Dare I try to escape now?
Not yet,
the words whispered through my mind. Where the message came from, I hadn’t a clue. My own consciousness, the universe? I wasn’t sure, but for some reason I trusted it.
They opened the door to compound two and I was led inside. Helen sat behind her desk; a woman who had barely paid attention to me when I’d worked here, but now watched me curiously. I knew what she was thinking even though she had a chip in her brain that blocked her thoughts.
Traitor.
I could see the contempt in her eyes.
I looked away, disgusted with her. As if I cared what she thought about me.
“Are they settled, Helen?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Very good.”
They opened the gate behind her and led me down the hall. Each thump of footsteps sent me closer to my demise, the sound mocking me, ticking off the time. We moved by the many rooms where they questioned and tortured prisoners. Where
I’d
questioned and tortured prisoners. Maybe this was payback for what I’d done.
Damn, why hadn’t I tried to escape while we’d been outside and I’d had the chance?
My father shoved open a door and we moved into an empty room. There was that typical chair and metal table, but the tinted window across the room was larger than I’d remembered. I knew without a doubt there were men and women behind that window. Lots, if the pulsing energy I felt was any indication. I was the new toy, and Dad was using me to show off to the investors. I wasn’t surprised.
But I was shocked when Maddox strolled into the room, his scent heartbreakingly familiar, although his presence didn’t offer the comfort it used to.
He barely met my gaze as he demanded, “Sit.”
I wanted to punch him, kick him, demand he look me in the eyes if he was going to help destroy me. He shoved me back. My knees buckled and I sank to the chair. Whatever. Maddox didn’t matter; none of these people mattered. I scanned the room through my lashes…five in all and two more outside in the hall. Who knew how many on the other side of that window.