Mindsiege (29 page)

I rubbed my chest. My heart beat so loudly I was sure Jonas could hear it in the middle of this silent hallway. I began concentrating on pocketing information, attempting to keep him out of my head—even though my previous efforts to do this had been mostly unsuccessful.

I watched the back of his head. He didn’t react. I could only assume I’d been able to shut him out. For now. I simply couldn’t risk Jonas aborting our mission when we were this close to Addison.

Anyone getting out of the cars?

Not yet. We’re tucked behind some bushes.

Jonas and I continued around the corner and stopped in front of a dark blue door. I heard distant sounds of a horn or something. An alarm, maybe.
What is that?

Don’t worry about it. Let’s keep going.
The look on Jonas’s face didn’t comfort me.

We slipped inside the room. Addison still sat in the middle of her bed, staring straight at the TV—but the TV wasn’t turned on. I looked from the TV back to her. “Addison?” I whispered.

She didn’t move. What had they done to her? This was not the little girl I met last week.

Lexi! You’ve got to get out of there,
Jack yelled.
They know you’re there. An agent just rushed by us saying your name into his wrist microphone.

I couldn’t leave. I wouldn’t leave Addison. Not like this.

I don’t believe it.
Jack said, panic behind each word.
We were wrong. It wasn’t Cathy. It was… Lexi, listen to me. Stop whatever you’re doing and turn around.

What is it? What’s wrong?

Jonas stiffened. The movement was slight, but he obviously heard me.

Sandra just got out of one of the vehicles with…
Jack’s voice trailed off.

I stretched my fingers, then curled them into fists at my side.
Who’s with her? Talk to me, Jack.

Jonas turned and stared at me. My eyes darted from him to Addison, who looked so tiny, just sitting there as still as a statue in the middle of a hospital bed.

My dad, Lexi! My dad is with Sandra.

I cringed at Jack’s words. I squeezed my eyes tight. Was there no one we could trust?

Jonas slipped his hand into mine and squeezed. “We’re here. This doesn’t change anything.”

I knew getting inside The Farm had been too easy. I’d have to help Jack with this latest shocker later. Jonas was right. We were here and Addison needed us. I had to focus.
Jack, I need Georgia to pay attention. Something’s wrong with Addison. I’m going to see if I can dislodge her tracker right now. She’s not moving. It’s like they’ve shut her down, mentally. She won’t even speak to me. She’s comatose. And Jack?
I closed my eyes tightly for a moment.
Anita is here.

Silence.

Jack? I’m sorry about your father, but I need you to stay with me. I’m not leaving without Addison.

I’m here. And so is Georgia. She’s ready. She can hear everything you say. Please be careful. And hurry. There are six agents entering the building with my dad and Sandra.

Jonas grabbed Addison’s hand. “Her hand is freezing.”

I brought up the image of her brain. The same brain I had studied and healed all too recently. Instead of brightly colored neurons firing like fireworks, the activity in her head was slow and the coloring of the neurons and surrounding tissue was dull, almost brown in color. I moved around in her head. A strange coating covered many of the surfaces I knew to be responsible for processing information. I kept searching. When I reached the spot at the base of her brain, I saw it—the tracker. The tissue around the tracker, and along a path from the tracker to the back of her neck, was bruised. I would need to extract the tracker the same way it went in.

Georgia, you with me? You see the path we need to take?

Yeah, I see it. But what happens if we fail?

I studied how the tracker was lodged. If I were to move it as it lay, the prongs would puncture her brain and spinal cord in several locations. I couldn’t predict how much injury that would cause, or if I could heal her fast enough to prevent long-term damage… or death.

We won’t fail. Can you see each of the prongs? There are eight of them.
Just like a spider.

Yes, I see them.

The prongs all come from tiny holes in the tracker,
I explained.
I need you to slide each prong back inside the tracker itself.

I watched silently. It was slow going. It took more than a minute before the first prong was hidden inside. While I witnessed Georgia working a miracle, I smoothed Addison’s hair and tried to pocket all of my emotions and thoughts.

I heard the commotion of approaching footsteps. I looked at Jonas, who was typing away on the computer.

When the footsteps registered with him, he met my gaze. “They’re coming.”

Lexi, I can’t see Addison’s brain anymore, Georgia said.

Sorry.
I pulled up the visual of Addison’s tracker again, while I spoke to Jonas. “You have ten seconds to convince me that you didn’t know John DeWeese had been working with Sandra. If you’re not honest with me, I can’t promise how hard I’ll work to make sure you make it out of here with me.” With my thumb, I fiddled with the ring on my middle finger. I imagined the paralyzing liquid sloshing around inside the pearl.

“What are you talking about?” I felt his eyes studying me. I continued to monitor Georgia’s progress. “Of course I didn’t know.”

I didn’t take my other hand off of Addison. Georgia had managed to tuck in five of the prongs.
Keep it up, Georgia. You
’
re doing great.

“What are you up to?” Jonas asked.

I felt the intrusion into my head, different from Jonas’s normal entrance. This presence blew in like a thin fog, elusively sliding in and around crevices. This was not Jonas, but Ty. I immediately began moving pockets around, hiding thoughts and feelings. I tried to categorize and pocket the image of Addison’s brain the way Jonas had taught me.

He grabbed my arm and jerked me up. “What have you done?” He shoved me hard across the room, then turned to Addison, who remained still.

I scrambled to my feet and ran to the door. Instead of swinging it open with my shaking limbs, I turned the steel lock, locking us inside. I wasn’t leaving without Addison. And I couldn’t take Addison in her current state.

Ty, in Jonas’s body, grabbed Addison’s head roughly, lifting her hair and examining the back of her neck. There was a bandage covering the spot where the tracker had been inserted.

Kyle, Briana, you guys have to get out of here. Try to make it to the back door. Use whatever force you have to use to get out of here.

Jonas/Ty turned. He tilted his head. A slow, sly grin spread across his face. At the same time, I felt the stabbing presence of his mind invasion.

I had to focus. I kept one mindful eye on the tracker inside Addison’s head, and one on the contents of my own head.

Lexi, I want you to stop what you’re doing to Addison, right now.

This time it was my turn to grin. I was tired of these mind games, and for some reason, by concentrating hard on his presence, I was able to shove his demands to the side. I had full control over my actions. For the moment, anyway. I pushed away from the door, and stepped closer to him instead of backing away. “No…
Ty
… I won’t.”

Georgia had seven of the eight prongs tucked safely away. Addison still hadn’t moved. Not even when Jonas/Ty had shoved her head forward.

Behind me, the door rattled.
Hurry, Georgia.
I wasn’t about to let Georgia, and therefore Jack, know that I was now with Ty, or that others were trying to get into the room. We knew this might not go well. It was the risk we took. It was the risk
I
took.

Lexi, you do not have a choice.
He slithered in and around my head like the serpent that he was.
You will stop what you’re doing.

I didn’t know how, but I was completely capable of choosing not to follow Ty’s orders. Maybe because Jack and Georgia were taking up the bulk of the guest space inside my brain. I was able to sense Ty’s presence and at the same time keep charge of my own mental faculties.

Keys rattled. Whoever was on the other side of the door was coming in. I was in trouble.

Finally all eight prongs were tucked neatly inside the tracker.
Georgia?

It’s me,
Jack said.
Georgia’s out for now. Tell me what’s going on. Did she succeed?

Yes. The prongs have been tucked away, but the tracker is still there.
I searched my mind. Georgia was gone. Was she suffering a seizure? Jack was there, my constant. Ty was searching frantically. And there in tiny hidden spots was Jonas. Was he hearing my thoughts? Was he capable of shutting Ty out? Or had Ty taken over?

Jonas?

Nothing.

The door flew open behind me. I whipped around and backed up. Sandra entered, followed by two agents. I skirted around the bed to stand on the opposite side from Jonas/Ty.

Sandra is here,
I said to Jack.

We’ve got to get you out of there.

Take care of Georgia. You know I’m not leaving without Addison and some answers.

Don’t do anything stupid, Lex.

’
Kay.

“Why hello, Son,” Sandra said.

“Hi, Mom.”

Jonas?
I begged.

I’m here.

I let out a large breath.
Thank God.

She’s speaking to Ty. Ty thinks he’s got control of me.

How does she know he’s controlling you?

She assumes Ty’s inside my head and controlling me—and therefore you—because that’s what she programmed his tracker to do.

I don’t understand.

You will in a minute. We don’t have much time. You need to extract the tracker from Addison, if you can.

I don’t know if I can without Georgia. I’m not telekinetic.

Sandra walked over to Jonas, only I was pretty sure Ty was in control, and cupped his cheek. “You’ve done really well, Ty. Do you have control of Lexi?”

He shook his head.

“What do you mean? Why not?”

“I’m controlling Jonas, but she’s not responding.”

“Go get me Ty. Now!” Sandra ordered the agents. One reddened. He wheeled and left the room.

Lexi, listen. You can do this. You’d be surprised what you can do,
Jonas said.
I watched how you got the drug out of Jack’s head—the one that rendered him completely unconscious. And how you removed the fluid from Sandra’s brain. Heal Addison the same way. I’ll work to block Ty from seeing exactly how you work your magic.

This was impossible. I’d had Jack and Sandra puke out the foreign substance. This was not the same.

Sandra turned to me. “After everything I’ve heard, I’m surprised to see you here, Sarah.”

What was that supposed to mean? “Are you disappointed or pleased?”

“Oh, I’m pleased. Very pleased. And when Ty gets here, I’ll show you just how pleased I am. I thought for sure you’d be a coward like your mother.”

Chapter Thirty

I had too much to focus on to consider Sandra’s latest riddle. What could she possibly know about my mother? I spun the ring round and round on my finger. Keeping one eye on Sandra, I brought the image of Addison’s brain up as if I had a projector in my head. The tracker rested at the base of her brain, right where I had left it. The prongs were inside the device.

Her neurons were still a drab brown. Amber, but with no shine.

“I thought you would have Jack with you.” Sandra stared at me from beside Jonas. “Where is he?”

“I left Jack back at school,” I lied. “He would have slowed me down.” Jonas, standing behind his mother, nodded in approval.

Closing my eyes briefly, I tried to move the tracker. It shifted slightly. My heart began beating out of control. Could I be telekinetic on top of everything? Would removing this tiny metal object make me sick? If I became as sick as I’d been the night I healed Jack and Addison, or if I suffered some sort of seizure like Georgia, I was doomed. Sandra would have me.

Who was I kidding? I was trapped already. Hopefully Briana and Kyle were already safely on the outside with Jack and Georgia. No sense all of us going down.

An agent entered the room, walked straight to Sandra, and whispered into her ear. Jonas lifted his chin, urging me to concentrate on Addison.

Keep talking to her,
I mindspoke to the agent.
Keep Sandra busy.

While the agent kept Sandra occupied, I went to work. Closing my eyes, I wriggled the device through the tunnel in Addison’s head that hadn’t yet healed from the recent insertion.

When I had it at the edge, I opened my eyes. Sandra had walked to the corner of the room to listen to the agent. I sat on the edge of Addison’s bed, pretending to look tired. I leaned into Addison. Lifting my hand, I brushed her hair around to hang down in front, exposing the bandage on the back of her neck. I peeled the edge of the bandage back to reveal a red and scabbed-over wound held together by a few stitches.

Again, I squeezed my eyes tight, and with one final push, I urged the tracker out of Addison’s skull, through the scab in her neck, and into my bare palm.

The wound began to bleed. I had no way of stitching it. Instead, I willed the skin to cover the bloody area. And it did heal—somehow. Flesh formed over the raw wound, leaving no sign of the scab or the stitches that were there moments earlier. I had never done that before. Healing superficial wounds was Jack’s department.

Blood dripped from my nose, and my head began to burn like a slow-burning campfire as I fought back feelings of nausea. But no seizure, thankfully.