I observed the monitors in front of me with little interest. The halls of the compound had emptied since dinner time, leaving the underground area isolated and silent.
Training with Haylie the last few days had been good and bad.
Good, because both of us went back to pretending nothing happened, for which I was grateful. I couldn’t have dealt with another emotional outburst so soon from either of us.
Bad, because Haylie became withdrawn again. She’d been focused and swift in her movements, and had even managed to place a well-aimed roundhouse kick the other day. Her improvement after such a short time was incredible. However, she hadn’t dignified me with one single look since then.
Maybe it was better this way. It seemed as if as soon as we got involved with each other, everything started to go downhill.
Movement from one of the monitors made me strain my eyes. It was funny how that specific monitor in the left corner caught my attention every time. It came from the camera installed in the aisle of my room—and hers.
The door to her room opened, and Haylie stepped out, eyes flipping left and right before staring straight into the camera. She wore an expression I couldn’t decipher, biting her lip before closing the door behind her and disappearing in the direction of the cemetery.
I straightened and swung my head toward the monitor viewing the hallway that led to the cemetery above. Haylie appeared, a backpack settled on her back, which immediately made me suspicious. Why did she need a backpack? Where was she going? For a moment, I considered following her but fought the urge to do so. Stalking her would do me no good.
About fifteen minutes later, Sarah came in. “Hey, have any of you seen Haylie? She’s not in her room.”
“Outside,” I answered, checking the monitors again for any sign of her. Nothing. Strangely, I always felt a tiny amount of trepidation whenever she wasn’t inside the safe walls of the compound. Or under my watchful eyes, for that matter.
“No. I just came from there.”
I frowned. “I saw her walking down that hallway not long ago, and she hasn’t come back since then.”
“I would have seen her. She wasn’t in the cemetery,” Sarah repeated firmly.
My stomach started to do unpleasant somersaults. Something told me I should have listened to my gut when seeing her with that backpack. Was she running away? Did it all become too much to her? Was I the reason for her need to escape? No, it didn’t make sense. She wasn’t the kind of girl to flee.
“Sarah, watch over for me, will you? Josh, search the aisles on the other side, including Jenna’s old training room. Scott, come with me,” I ordered and was already halfway out of the office, not waiting for Scott to catch up.
“Wait, do you think something’s happened to her?” Sarah asked in alarm.
“Let’s hope not,” I said before fast-walking to Haylie’s room, thinking about how I’d chop off the hands of anyone who dared to touch her.
I already knew I wouldn’t find her in her room, but I needed to check, nonetheless. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but my search wouldn’t last long. A yellow Post-it was stuck on the mirror frame beside her bed, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach grew when I picked it up with trembling hands, recognizing Haylie’s handwriting.
They wanted me to come alone. I didn’t know what else to do. I’m sorry…
Crumpling the paper in my fist, I felt my control slowly slip. ‘They’ meant the Hunters, without a doubt.
“What did it say?” Scott asked from behind me.
“They lured her out,” I said in my darkest voice, my knuckles already turning white from fisting my hands. “I need you to trace her. Follow me,” I commanded and dashed out, running in the direction of the cemetery.
What did they plan? How had they contacted her? And how the fuck had they lured her out in the first place? Haylie wouldn’t be so stupid as to follow their orders.… Unless they’d used something as leverage.
As soon as we were outside, I hung back to let Scott take the lead, giving him distance so as not to disturb the sensitivity of his ability. Pulling out my phone, I called Josh.
“There’s no sign of her,” Josh informed me immediately.
“I know, she’s gone. She left a note. The Hunters somehow managed to make her leave.”
“What the…”
“Where’s Jimmy?” I rushed. A qualified Racer would be helpful now.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Scott pointing in the direction of the woods, and I jogged after him, the phone still pressed against my ear.
“Phil drove him to meet Serena at a conference. He won’t be back for a few hours.”
Well, shit. “Go back to the control room and tell Sarah to focus on the cameras surrounding a...” I pulled my phone away from my ear to look at the digital watch on the screen, making a mental note on how much time had passed since Haylie’s escape, “... two-mile radius from here.”
Twenty-five minutes was time to run farther, but I held onto the hope she hadn’t gone that far. She didn’t know the woods or the area around the compound. Wherever she wanted to go, she needed to get out of here first, and as the Hunters didn’t know about the location of our compound, they couldn’t have given her directions either.
“Search for Chris and Jared, I need them both. Take Jimmy’s car and wait until I know where we need to go. Be prepared.”
I ended the call and continued to follow Scott. If Jimmy wasn’t available, we needed to rely on another Racer. Jimmy would be furious with me for involving a Freshman, but Jared was the first to come to my mind. There was no time to form a detailed plan.
A few seconds later, my phone vibrated, and I took Chris’ call. I briefly filled him in on the message Haylie left.
“You do realize that, wherever they are, they’ll have scouts out there guarding the area. If they wanted her to come alone, they won’t take it lightly when they realize she didn’t. We need to be careful,” Chris reminded me.
“I know. Phil’s away with Jimmy, so I don’t have a Watcher available. We need to rely on Josh and Scott.”
“Okay, we’re on our way to the car.”
We covered the ground quickly, Scott leading the way to where he could trace Haylie’s scent. She’d wandered northwest in a straight line. It didn’t look like she’d gotten lost out here. The cemetery was huge, and it was already dark. It had taken me months to know my way around here. How did she know where to go?
The woods became thinner until I could hear the sounds of traffic from far away.
“I don’t know if I’ll be able to trace her on the street,” Scott called from a few feet away. I cursed inwardly. Scott would struggle with catching her scent in the middle of the city.
After a few minutes of aimlessly crossing streets, we came to a park. “She definitely crossed this area, but her scent becomes fainter here,” Scott mused.
Helplessness settled over me as I spun around in hopes of spotting a familiar mass of brown hair. What are you up to, Bryceland? Where would they want you to go?
My phone vibrated again, and I took Sarah’s call.
“I found her,” she rushed, giving me the address of the crossroads where a camera caught her. The phone nearly slipped from my grasp when Sarah told me the street’s name.
It took me not more than a second to put the puzzle pieces together. I could only think of one location Haylie would go. “Lauren,” I muttered.
“What?”
“Thanks, I’ll check in later.” I ended the call and quickly texted Chris our location. “Lauren’s house is on that street. They have Lauren and used her as leverage.”
Chris pulled the car to a stop in front of us shortly after. “I know where she is,” I informed the rest as soon as I opened the car door. “They have Lauren. We need to get to her house and check out the surroundings.”
“What?” Chris shouted, panicked. “Shit! Do you know where she lives?”
“Yes,” I said and gave Chris directions.
If I hadn’t decided to go for a drink at Joey’s and give Lauren a lift later, I wouldn’t have known where to look. It was pure luck, considering we’d arrive in time, of course.
When we reached our destination, Chris slowed the car in front of Lauren’s luxurious house, and we all watched closely for anything out of place.
“There’s a backyard on the other side. They probably stationed guards there,” I mused. “Josh, can you hear anything?” Chris killed the engine, allowing Josh to listen closely.
“I hear a female voice,” Josh said, concentrating on his ability. “I can’t make out what she’s saying.”
“Is it Lauren’s?”
“No. She has an accent. Spanish, maybe.”
“Chris, drive around,” I commanded.
He did as he was told, turning on the music as we came to a stop on the other side of the yard where it was enclosed with a metal fence. Traffic was lighter here, so chances were high Catchers could overhear us—blaring music was a perfect distraction.
“Scott, are you able to trace anything from here?”
Scott eyed the area closely. We were far away from the main street, surrounded by nothing else than backyards. “Could work,” he replied and stepped out of the car.
He steadied his hands on the roof and closed his eyes as he let his nose do the work. Impatience made me fidget. Tracers were exceptionally helpful as long as they were in an area unpolluted by the stench of the city, which limited their assignments greatly. Also, they usually needed a lot of focus and concentration and, therefore, time. Thus, Tracers were not suited for the open field where every second counted.
“Why not let Josh listen in?” Jared yelled over the rock song from the back row.
“Because he wouldn’t be much help tuning in on possible guards who keep silent all the time,” Chris explained. “Josh will be more helpful when we’re inside.”
“And what if they have Tracers themselves?”
“Doubtful,” I answered. “Tracers aren’t the first choice when it comes to guarding routines. And even if they had a Tracer stationed, he’d need to be very skilled to trace us here. Scott is the best one I’ve ever met. No one can compete, trust me.”
The door finally opened, and Scott sat back down.
“Three guards, one of them female. I smelled blood, someone must be hurt. Relax, it wasn’t Haylie’s,” Scott added in a rush when he noticed my nostrils flare in fury. I let out a sigh of relief. “Haylie’s scent crosses the yard. I guess she’s inside the house, but I couldn’t trace her that far.”
“Okay.”
“We need to take them out before they can sound the alarm. Could you make out a specific direction?” Chris asked Scott who nodded and pointed to where the Hunters appeared to be hiding in the shadows.
Chris looked at me. “Let Jared run them down, and we’ll finish them off.”
I nodded, agreeing to his suggestion. “Can you do this?” I asked Jared when we all got out of the car. He grinned, excited for his first mission.
“Piece of cake. I’ll knock them out in no time.”
“Okay, go!” A huff of wind, and Jared was gone, the low fence no barrier for him. “Scott, stay in the car and keep your phone close.” Scott nodded, and Chris, Josh, and I followed to where Jared had vanished into the darkness.
A second later, muffled sounds rang through the open space, and two figures slumped to the ground. One was knocked out, and Chris didn’t hesitate to break his neck with his bare hands. The other was trying to scramble up, but I quickly smacked my elbow in his jaw before he could make a noise, splitting the lower part of his jawbone in two.
“Over here,” Josh whisper-shouted, and I followed the direction he was pointing at a few feet away.
We hurried over to a crumpled figure on the ground—a woman, just like Scott had predicted. An arrow protruded from her neck, the tip sticking out on the other side. She wasn’t hurt as Scott had assumed—she was clearly dead. I knelt down and plucked the arrow out to examine it.
“An arrow from Haylie’s crossbow,” Chris muttered in surprise. So, this explained Haylie running off with a backpack.
“She assumed the area was guarded and came from the backyard. She took out this one, but the other two must have caught her,” I concluded with gnashed teeth.
“She’s in there. I can hear her,” Josh whispered with a nod to Lauren’s house.
“Do we have a plan?” Jared wanted to know, jumping from one foot to the other in excitement.
I hesitated before answering, considering our options. The house was huge—a three-story building with massive glass windows. I couldn’t see through them, as dark curtains obscured my view. The light was on on the second floor. This was probably where we would find Haylie, Lauren, and their kidnappers. We didn’t know how many and which kind of Roes would await us in there.
My gaze fell on a set of glass doors leading to a deck in front of the swimming pool. I indicated for the others to follow, and we silently made our way along the fence, crouching low. When we reached the doors, I yanked on the doorknob.
Locked. Fuck.
“How do we get in?” Jared asked, but before any of us could answer, a muffled cry came from above.
“Lauren!” Chris panicked, nearly shouting loud enough to give away our position. “There’s no time, we have to get in. Now,” Chris exclaimed and sprinted for the doors. I wanted to stop him before he made a rash decision, but a second cry tore through the air.
Unmistakably Haylie’s. That made my decision in a split second.
Chris swung back his arm, shattering the glass easily with his elbow. Now that noise certainly alerted to our presence, but it didn’t matter anymore. Time was of the essence.
We all stormed inside, momentarily blinded by the complete darkness. Before we reached the first floor, more shouts rang out, and heavy footsteps pounded toward us, announcing battle. I elbowed my way through the others, shoving Jared behind me.
Something solid connected with my jaw, and I stumbled sideways, hitting the wooden railing with my ribcage. Didn’t see that one coming. Damn those Racers. Fighters were powerless against them, unless they got a good hold on them first.
Jared reacted instantly, leaping over me and bouncing on the attacker. A moment later, said guy lay on the floor.
We continued our way up, only to meet another one, this time thankfully not one as swift on his legs. Chris gave him a kick to the shin, followed by a set of punches to his kidney. The guy slumped down with a moan but managed to pull out his gun. Jared didn’t waste any time and grabbed his wrist, the rifle pointing to the ceiling. The kid was a fast learner.
A shot rang out and debris from above trickled to the ground. I rushed forward and drove my foot into the guy’s neck, placing it at a strategic point so it would snap off the staircase. A satisfying crunch told me I’d done my job. Bolting up the stairs, I ran through the first set of doors on the right.
“My, my, my… Look who we have here,” a malicious and sharply accented voice teased.
It belonged to a woman with long black hair, clothed in an equally black dress flaring out at the bottom. When she slowly turned around to reveal her features, I heard Chris gasp behind me.
“Aitana…”
I came to an abrupt halt. I’d never met the woman Chris often spoke about. As far as I knew, she’d killed one of Chris’ best friends on their first mission, running off before anyone had a chance to catch her. Chris had a hard time getting over it. He’d sworn to kill her one day in return. Well, he could count on my help.
A sweet smile crept over her exotic face. “I wondered when I would see you again.”
A whimper from behind her caught my attention. I spotted Lauren to the left held captive by a Hunter. Her back was pressed against him, a knife positioned on her throat. Its blade already pierced her skin, a drop of blood running down her neck. Bruises and cuts covered her face.
On the other side was Haylie. She seemed unharmed, but unlike Lauren, she had two Hunters holding her in place. Both had her arms in a strong grasp under her elbows, giving her no option to flee. Her look was one of determination, her nostrils flaring as if she’d bolt into action the second she got the chance to do so.
She sent me a pleading look, shaking her head as if to say, why did you follow me? I sent her an equally determined look, telling her, I’ll always come for you. Gathering from the gritting of her jaw, she understood.
“Let them go!” Chris shouted in a dark voice he only reserved for his enemies, but his command fell on deaf ears. Aitana barked out a laugh, her eyes glinting with humor.
“Oh my… That’s not how this is going to work, my dear.” If her amused tone was anything to go by, she enjoyed every second of our helpless situation.
“What do you want?” Chris retorted, his hands fisted at his sides while throwing fearful glances at Lauren.
“Your Natural, of course. What did you think?” Aitana asked rhetorically. “Although…” she continued, folding her fingers in front of her, “the plan changed, as it seems. I promised not to harm her friend if she came alone.” After a dramatic pause, she added, “She didn’t.” Her words sounded like she’d hoped it would turn out exactly as it had.
The Hunters hated ‘humans,’ as they called them. They were undeveloped and meant to be destroyed. In their opinion, evolution created Roes to replace the primitive population. They were too shortsighted to see that all Roes were just as human as the rest. Aitana was looking forward to killing Lauren just for the sake of having one less annoying human on earth. The only reason they didn’t wipe out the entire population at once was fear of turning the mass of humans against them.
“She came alone and left us in the dark about what she was about to do, but we traced her as soon as we noticed she was missing. Keep Lauren out of this,” I tried to reason with the crazy woman, despite my increasing rage. I needed to handle the situation professionally, or one of the girls could get hurt. I cursed inwardly for being the one to sort this out. Jimmy would know how to handle the situation. I wasn’t a diplomat and preferred to settle things by force.
“I don’t care what the reason is,” Aitana snapped, all false sweetness in her tone gone. “We had a deal.”
“The fuck we had. You blackmailed me. I wouldn’t call that a fair deal, you bitch! If you touch her, I swear to you...” Haylie shouted from behind, fighting against the restraints, but the two guys holding her didn’t even flinch.
“What? What would you do, Natural?” Aitana spat, whirling around to face Haylie with a sneer of distaste. “Destroy the house with your little ability? Create an earthquake and bury us all beneath the debris?” She let out a crazy laugh. “Your ability to wield gravity is still in baby shoes, and it hasn’t even been activated yet. You’re no worthy opponent for me.”
Haylie blinked in shock, her fight against the two men behind her momentarily forgotten. “How do you know about my ability?”
A good question, and one I feared the answer to. The sweet smile on Aitana’s face returned. “Oh, I have my sources.”
That was bad. Very bad. I glanced in alarm at Chris who shot me an equally anxious look.
“You say you don’t fear me? Well, as far as I remember, you already ran from me once,” Haylie shouted back. I frowned. What was she talking about?
“I was weak back then, and I didn’t expect any distractions. Thanks to you, we left a mess and had to suffer the consequences,” Aitana hissed.
A deep growl came from Haylie, a sound I’d never heard before coming from her. Her anger nearly came at me in pulsating waves. I secretly hoped she could keep herself in check before losing control and allowing the Bluster to overtake. However, Haylie was distracting Aitana, which allowed me to assess the situation.
There was one Hunter on Lauren. I assumed he wasn’t very skilled in combat. His awkward stance and his nervous glances told me he felt unsettled. A newbie, probably. No match for me.
The two clasping Haylie were a different matter. One of them was a Fighter. He was one hell of a rock with dark blue veins running through the muscles of his neck. The other one didn’t look like easy prey, either. Another Fighter? No, he wasn’t sporting as many muscles, but he was lean with long limbs. A Racer, probably. Of course, Aitana would use her strongest soldiers to keep the Natural in check.
Then, there was Aitana, who was a Racer, as far as I knew from Chris, flanked by another woman who looked more like a man. This one was bulky with wide shoulders and strong neck muscles, her face so androgynous, I would have mistaken her for a man if it weren’t for the two tiny bulges that were her breasts.
A Fighter.
Female Fighters were rare and usually more dangerous. The extra amount of testosterone produced in the body didn’t mix well with estrogen. They were unpredictable and easy to snap. No idea what goal evolution had wanted to achieve with that creation.
So, it was four against five—not counting Lauren and Haylie. At least, I hoped I could keep them out of this. And Josh wouldn’t be of much help, either.
“Consequences?” Haylie screamed in disbelief, yanking once again in an attempt to shake the two guys off her. “You killed my sister!”
Shawna. The woman Haylie had told us about whose companion had stabbed Shawna with a knife. Aitana had been in on this. Fuck.
Aitana quickly regained her composure. “Technically, I didn’t. It was my partner who swung the knife, if I remember correctly. It was necessary, but I’m not here to chat with you about my motives. I want to get this over with.” She turned back to me and the others. “I’ll give you the opportunity to end this peacefully. The Natural comes with me, and I won’t harm her little human friend.”
“Don’t listen to them. You can’t trust them, Haylie!” Lauren shouted in desperation. Haylie gave her a warning look as the Hunter behind Lauren poked her skin with the tip of his knife, daring her to make one wrong move.
“You want Haylie to come with you? Why? As far as I know, you kill Naturals. Why keep her alive?” I asked in hopes of winning more time and paced to the left. Haylie’s crossbow was lying in one corner, and I counted on Chris to bolt for it when the time was right to attack.
“Why would I tell you?” Aitana countered.
“You tried to kill her once already. Why the change of mind?”
Aitana chuckled. “We never tried to kill her.”
“Are you kidding me?” Haylie exclaimed. “As far as I remember, I was nearly stabbed as well as scorched when you attacked me.”
Aitana rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Think again. Did one of us try to stab you to death? No. And Dorian never aimed at you, he just hadn’t counted on you being such a fool as to fling yourself in front of that stupid boy. Thankfully, he pushed you out of the way.”
That boy. Ricky… They’d never wanted to kill Haylie but get rid of the rest of us. I clenched my fists in an attempt to stay in control.
“We wanted to incapacitate you, not kill you.”
That left Haylie slack-jawed, and I could see the confusion on her face as she tried to put the puzzle pieces together. I knew what she was thinking, and her next words proved me right.
“But you killed Shawna because she was like me. You—”
“We were stupid back then,” Aitana snapped. “Now we know…” She broke off before revealing the reason she wanted Haylie alive.
“What?” Haylie prodded.
Aitana huffed. “As if I’d tell you.”
“Well, you can’t have her,” I intervened to regain Aitana’s attention.
“Dylan, let me go, I can’t let them hurt Lauren!” Haylie yelled in panic.
I spread my legs, probing with my hands behind me to grab a heavy, golden Buddha statue on the shelf. “Only over my dead body,” I growled in a deadly voice, giving her a look that would tell her how serious I was.
“So it may be,” Aitana replied, and with a flick of her hand, two Hunters shot at us.
One was the female Fighter flanking Aitana, and the other one of the two holding Haylie. Yep, he was a Racer, as I’d feared, but this time, we were prepared.
The Racer came for Chris who quickly bolted sideways to grab the crossbow, while the female Fighter came for me. I withdrew my arm and smacked her with the statue in my hands. The bulky woman didn’t see it coming as it hit her shoulder, taking her off guard. Jared raced forward to grab her from behind and gave me the opportunity to aim a couple of punches at her torso.
A loud shatter resounded, and I turned to see Chris tumbling to the floor between the remains of a glass table. Chris had shot an arrow at his attacker, which was sticking out of his gut, but apparently, it hadn’t been enough to take him down.
“Jared, help him! I’ve got this,” I shouted.
The Fighter in front of me kicked out, and I stumbled. A fist connected with my jaw, but I reacted quickly and grabbed the wrist before it could withdraw. Smashing the edge of my hand into her elbow, I twisted her arm in a painful angle, causing the woman to cry out in agony. Just as I wanted to end her life, I heard Aitana shout,
“Kill her!”
At first, I thought she meant Haylie, but the command was meant for Lauren. The guy behind her adjusted his knife and started to cut on one side. Haylie’s agonized scream tore through the room, and a loud bang erupted. Even the woman currently caught in my grip whipped around to look at the source.
Haylie’s eyes flashed once, then a rumble shook the building, making the ground vibrate below us. I watched her as she flung herself backward, taking the massive Fighter at her back with her. The guy weighed nearly three times as much as her, but he wasn’t prepared for what she had in store for him.
They both crashed back into the wall, his hands still circling her arms. There was a slurping noise like someone getting stabbed, and the guy’s eyes bulged as blood pooled out of his mouth.
It took me a second to realize what had happened. A curved, metallic coat hook on the wall stuck out of his right chest just a few inches above Haylie’s shoulder. My heart nearly faltered. Dammit, that was too close for my taste.
“No!” Aitana shouted and stormed off in Haylie’s direction.
There was no time for hesitation, and I took out the female Fighter struggling to get out of my grip but failing miserably with one mangled arm. I aimed to strike my elbow up her nose with enough force to snap back her neck. Once done, I let her dead body drop to the floor.
Meanwhile, Chris had switched places with his attacker who was now lying in the debris of the once whole glass table—dead. He rushed forward to take care of the guy behind Lauren, while Jared started off to help Haylie.
I dashed forward just as Aitana threw Haylie across the room, but I wasn’t fast enough to catch her and watched in horror as her body collided with a bookshelf. She tumbled to the ground, books falling all around her. I was about to come to her aid, but she was already back on her feet. Aitana tried to dodge me in an attempt to get to Haylie again, but I quickly blocked her with my leg. She stumbled, and I grabbed her hair from behind.
“Try to race now,” I warned her and gave her hair another yank, which made her hiss out in pain.
Chris quickly took out his opponent with another arrow and shouted for Josh to take care of Lauren before coming to my aid. Aitana may have been an outstanding Racer, but not even she stood a chance against two Fighters and a Racer. Soon, she was encircled by us, and I switched places with Jared who grabbed her from behind, keeping her in place.
“Now,” I started. “Why don’t you tell us about your plans? Why do you want Haylie? It looks like you need her alive.” Aitana just grinned, not in the least bit concerned about her being outnumbered. “I’d suggest you don’t test my patience, Racer,” I snapped, lowering my head to level my eyes with hers.
Aitana’s gaze swept behind me to land on Haylie as if she hadn’t even heard me, a cruel smile forming on her face. “You will die like your mother died. I’m looking forward to the day I’ll witness it,” she drawled in a low voice. There was a moment of silence, and I threw a panicked glance in Haylie’s direction.
She was shocked, still leaning against the bookshelf for support. Aitana knew way too much about Haylie and her life. I would need to find out what sources she’d been talking about.
Haylie’s face twisted into pure anger before her eyes flashed with the Flare. Only this time, it wasn’t just an activation of her ability.
The Bluster was coming to the surface.
Aitana laughed maliciously, and then everything happened very fast. Haylie launched forward, determined to get to Aitana, but the Racer was quicker, thanks to her ability. She snatched out her hand, grabbed a letter opener from a stack of office utensils on the desk behind her, and plunged it into Jared’s thigh. Jared howled out in pain and lost his grip on her, giving Aitana the chance to escape. A huff of wind, and she was gone.
Then, an outcry of rage resounded, making my blood freeze, and I sensed what was happening before my eyes fell on Haylie again.
“Where is she?” she growled in a deadly voice that was not her own, her hands fisted at her sides as she searched the room for the woman who had just escaped. One look into her eyes, and I knew the Bluster had her completely under control. There was no kindness, no love in those jaylior eyes I came to know so well. Now they were burning like the pits of hell, mirroring the rage and agony from within.
“Shit!” Jared cursed when we all realized what was happening.
“Josh, get Lauren out of here!” Chris yelled, and Josh took off to carry Lauren out of the building.
“Haylie! Dammit, whatever is happening, snap the fuck out of it!” Lauren screamed. Haylie flinched, as if trying hard to come back to her senses, but she was too far gone by now.
The building started to shake again, and a strange feeling overcame me all of a sudden. It felt as if a bowling ball was forming in my stomach, pulling me down and making my movements slow and sluggish. The air was heavier than usual, and even lifting my hands felt weird.
Gravity. Haylie was reinforcing gravity.
Jared lost his balance, Aitana’s knife still embedded in his leg, and tumbled to the floor like a dead weight. Chris stumbled beside him, barely able to keep upright. “What…”
Haylie’s ability was still developing, but apparently, she’d become stronger than we’d thought possible. If I didn’t get her out of the Bluster right now, she’d bury us all beneath tons of concrete in a matter of seconds.
A wave of helplessness washed over me. What was there to do? Haylie had used a kiss to snap me out of it, but I doubted it would have the same effect on her. My gaze swayed sideways to the glass panels. The curtains obscured the view, but I knew a swimming pool was directly below.
It was a crazy idea. It was madness. It was suicide. I didn’t even know how far to jump to avoid hitting the wooden patio in between.
But there was no time left. The more time passed, the heavier I felt, her power humming and purring against my skin. My limbs started to tickle with the blood rushing down my extremities, making them weaker by the second, and the air became so thick, I struggled with getting oxygen into my lungs.
Adjusting my stance, I stomped my feet into the ground, pushing forward with effort. I tried to run, but it felt as if I were swimming against a stream. With a loud “Argh!” and all the body strength I could muster, I finally gained the momentum needed.
Crashing into Haylie, I snaked my arm around her and hurled her with me.
Chris shouted as he realized what I was about to do, but I barely heard him. With every bit of strength in my cells, I pushed further in an attempt to break through the energy pulling me down.
Before we broke through the glass, my other hand came up to shield Haylie’s head from the shards. Pain shot up my arms as the glass shattered under our weight and cut my skin.
We broke the glass with ease, ripping the curtains from its hinges. Cold night air hit me as we sailed through open space. The curtain wrapped around us flew away at some point, making me see nothing but the night sky and flailing legs, and I managed to twist our bodies so she would land on top of me.
An endless second later, my body connected hard with the water’s surface, and cold wetness swept over us. The pool was too shallow to absorb a straight plunge from the third story, and my back connected hard with the bottom.
The impact forced the air out of my lungs and made me see stars. Flowing tresses of Haylie’s hair tickled my face between bubbles of water. I didn’t know if Haylie was still conscious, but getting up was all that mattered.
I pushed with my feet, now easier without the enhanced pull of gravity restricting my movements. With Haylie’s body still tight in my arms, I broke through the surface. I inhaled the air greedily, and was relieved to hear a frantic gasp as Haylie did the same. Loosening my arms around her, I grabbed her head to check her eyes.
The Flare was gone. There was no rage swirling in them, only shock, fear, and utter panic—the complete opposite of the determined, furious girl from before. I wanted to ask if she was okay, but before I could open my mouth, tears streamed down her face, mixing with the chlorine water on her cheeks. Her legs gave out under her, and she slumped against me. I caught her easily.
Brushing the plastered, wet strands from her face, I pressed her against me where she let out her emotions. I’d already wondered when she would hit her limit. Crying women weren’t on top of my list of expertise, but at that moment, I knew what she needed.
Me.
And I needed this, needed the assurance that she was alive, that I hadn’t failed her like I’d failed the others.
I held her close with one hand on the back of her head, and the other wrapped tightly around her torso while she gripped my shoulders, fingers digging in deep. Her body trembled with the sobs racking through her, each slashing at me like the lash of a whip.
The water around us changed its color with streaks of red from the cuts we both sported on our arms. Apart from that, she was unharmed. Safe. The water was cold, and she shivered uncontrollably in my arms, but I didn’t dare move.
This was our moment. Our moment of peace, even in this hopeless situation.
Every barrier standing between us seemed to vanish. In the end, Haylie knew she could count on me. She’d told me once she didn’t trust me, but deep down, she did. The knowledge filled me with a strange sense of pride. I gripped her tighter, letting her know I was there for her while secretly relishing in the feeling of being physically close to her.
A shout made me lift my eyes to see Chris leaning out of the broken window. I indicated we were okay.
Breaking our peaceful moment was the last thing I wanted, but I feared Haylie would freeze to death if I didn’t get her out of the cold water soon.
Keeping hold of her neck, I snaked my other arm under her knees to lift her up. She didn’t protest while I carried her to the edge of the pool and lowered her down on the deck. The floodlight illuminating the pool’s bottom was bright enough for me to examine her wounds.
It was at that moment I noticed her white tank top, now soaking wet and quite transparent, allowing me a good view of her white bra underneath. I cursed my ability to entertain dirty fantasies in situations like these, but it seemed I just couldn’t help myself when it came to Haylie.
I shook my head to clear my mind and tried to focus on potential injuries on Haylie’s body. And not her stomach. Or her hips. Or her breasts…
Chris came out of the building, a limping Jared hanging on his shoulder. “Fuck, Dylan, are you completely out of your mind?” Chris yelled.
“There was no time,” I replied calmly, heaving myself out of the pool and kneeling down next to Haylie.
“Is she okay?” Chris asked in alarm when he saw her limp body on the ground, unmoving.
“She’s fine.”
Her head was turned to the other side, silent tears streaming down her face. It tore me apart seeing her like this, but I didn’t know how to help her. I could only protect her physically, not mentally.
“Damn, Haylie, what were you thinking…” Chris started, but I shook my head to silence him.
“Not now.”
Usually, it was my task to lecture Haylie about running off like that, but right now, I just wanted to get her home safely. Her wounds were only superficial, but I wanted them tended to as soon as possible. She shouldn’t have to endure any more pain.
“Give me your sweater,” I said, and Chris unzipped his sweater to hand it to me. I wrapped it gently around Haylie’s upper body to shield her from the cold… and from my wandering eyes.
“Let’s get to the car before the police arrive. The neighbors have probably raised an alarm. We need to get Haylie to Sarah.” Haylie wasn’t hurt much, but her arms and stomach were covered in shards, blood already staining her clothes.
Chris took care of Jared, and I scooped Haylie into my arms, carrying her to the car. Josh met us halfway and helped Chris with Jared.
“What the hell happened? We heard an awful shattering sound, and we already thought—”
“Long story,” I cut him off, suddenly very tired.
I looked down at Haylie’s limp body. She didn’t say a word, snuggling her head into my chest as if I could shield her from the outside world. I let her, squeezing her once to let her know she was safe with me.