Paranoia (4 page)

After a few seconds, the sounds of her snores fill the car. I shut the iPad off and then I start to cry.

Chapter Four

Campbell

I wake up bleary-eyed and confused, having no idea where I am. It takes a second for last night to come flooding back to me. Hadley‘s basement. Finding Raine bruised and bloody.

Dinner with Natalia and her mom. The long drive to Maine with Hadley.

I remember getting out of my car and then being chased through the woods. But what

happened after they final y caught me? I‘m in a strange bed and I sit up and look around, trying to remember this room and how I got here. The room‘s large and kind of fancy—like a hotel room at The Four Seasons. My bed even has a red and gold canopy on it. Against the far wall is a large plasma TV, there‘s even a mini fridge in the corner.

Next to the television, there‘s a bureau and a sleek black desk with matching leather chair. A sofa and coffee table sit in the center of the room.

No phone, though. And no windows either. I‘m still dressed in the same clothes I was

wearing last night, so I check my pockets for my keys, wallet and cell .

Nothing. My pockets have been emptied by whoever brought me here.

―Shit.‖ I bend over and cradle my head in my hands. I have a massive, pounding

headache. Snatches of how I got here start to pop into my head. People grabbing me, pushing me, forcing me to walk toward some unknown destination. I think I may have started resisting them, and they either drugged me—which is what it feels like right now—or put a spell on me.

I get up and stride to the door, but of course the handle doesn‘t turn. There‘s a bathroom over to the right, complete with a large tub, shower, and overhead heat lamps.

I look at myself in the mirror over the sink. There are a few scratches on my face, and one across the bridge of my nose. I have a bruise near my collarbone. Other than those minor abrasions and the bags under my eyes, I don‘t look much worse for wear.

Still , I hate this feeling of not knowing where I am or how I got here. It‘s like I‘ve become some puppet, some little wind-up toy that does whatever these people want.

Cast a spell and Cam will turn into a zombie! Look, now he‘s a lover! Now watch him

become a fighter!

Shit, they could probably force me to kill someone if they did the right spell at the right time.

I splash my face with cold water. My headache is slowly fading to a dull throb, which is a relief.

There‘s a brief knock from the other room and then I hear the door open.

―Hello? Cam?‖

The voice is a familiar one.

I walk out of the bathroom, droplets of water still cascading down my face.

Hadley‘s standing in front of the door, holding a large black garment bag. She‘s dressed in tight black pants, and a bright red blouse. There‘s a silky white scarf around her neck.

―Hey,‖ she says. She tries to hand me the garment bag but I fold my arms.

―Mind tell ing me what‘s going on?‖ I ask. ―Am I a prisoner here?‖

Hadley laughs. ―Yeah, Cam‖ she says and rolls her eyes, ―You‘re a regular Count of

Monte Cristo.‖

―It‘s not funny. That door‘s locked from the outside.‖

―That was for your own protection.‖ Hadley lays the bag out on the leather chair.

―What else did your people do to protect me? Did someone put a spell on me last night?‖

―You started fighting, so they injected you with a sedative.‖

―They injected me? Where?‖ I pull up my sleeves and check my arms.

―I don‘t know where. Does it matter, Cam? You‘re fine. They did it instead of putting you under a spell .

We don‘t use spell s around here unless we absolutely have to.‖

―Wow, how big of you. Thanks a lot.‖

―Whatever,‖ she says, and readjusts her scarf. ―I need you to shower, change, and get ready to meet with our operations director.‖

―The who? What are you talking about?‖ I unzip the plastic bag and find a top of the line, navy blue Hugo Boss suit inside. Complete with dress shoes and a red and silver striped tie.

―The operations director. His name is Reed Gagnon and he‘s kind of a hard ass.

We need to be on time and we need to look good.‖

I drop the suit. Glance past Hadley to the door and for a split second, I think about making a run for it.

But she seems to be able to read my thoughts.

―There‘s no way out of here without talking to Reed,‖

she says. ―It‘s pretty simple. Make a good impression, convince him you‘re going to play by the rules—‖

―What rules?‖ I ask my voice raising. I begin to pace the room like a caged tiger.

―Where am I? What is this place? Are you ever going to explain anything to me?‖

―Calm down.‖

―You try being kidnapped and held against your will , taken from one place to the next, drugged, have spells put on you—and see how you hold up.‖

―I know it‘s hard and confusing, Cam, but you have to calm down. Getting an attitude

now might just get you killed.‖

I stop pacing and stare at her. She meets my gaze without backing down.

―Killed?‖ I repeat. ―I thought you said you were bringing me here to help me!‖

She sighs. ―We‘re a small group, Cam. Very small .

Very tight-knight. And we‘re headed for a war with some very powerful people. I believe you and Natalia could help us win this thing, but some of the others around here think maybe we‘d be better off if you just…went away.‖

―And they‘ll kill me if I don‘t make a good impression?‖ I laugh crazily, feeling my heart start to race. ―You lied to me, Hadley. You said you were bringing me here to get the bond between me and Raine broken.‖

―That‘s what I‘m trying to do!‖ she says. ―But you have to trust me, Cam. We‘re not bad people. If we were evil, I would have just killed you and Raine when I had the chance. But I didn‘t, did I?‖

―None of this makes sense.‖ I grab the suit and throw it over my arm angrily.

―But since I seem to have no say in anything, I guess I‘ll go shower and clean up

for…what is it, my trial?‖

Hadley laughs, like I‘m being ridiculous. ―It‘s just a conversation, and if you act normal and reasonable, there won‘t be any problems. I promise.‖

―Right.‖ I go into the bathroom and turn on the shower. It turn the dial all the way to the left, so that that water gets so hot that the whole room steams up and the droplets scald my skin.

It feels good, and the heat starts to clear my head.

I need to think. I need to prepare myself for what‘s ahead. Obviously I can‘t trust Hadley, but I also don‘t know where I am or how to escape. I realize I don‘t have any choice but to play along for a while, pretend to be a good boy, tell them al what they want to hear.

But at some point I‘ll see an opening to escape. And when I have a chance, I‘ll be ready to take it.

After my shower, I put on the dark blue suit, which fits so perfectly that I might as well have purchased it myself. When I final y emerge from the bathroom, Hadley‘s pleased with my appearance.

―Breakfast,‖ she announces with a smile, handing me a cup of coffee. Laid out on the

coffee table are eggs, bacon and toast.

―You‘re quite the hostess,‖ I say, wondering how hard it will be to pretend that I don‘t hate her guts.

I‘m hungrier than I thought, and I eat it all within minutes. The eggs are a little runny and cold but other than that, it‘s not bad. I wish I could have seconds. ―Is this a last meal?‖ I ask, sipping my coffee.

Hadley shakes her head. ―Just breakfast, Cam. No ulterior motives.‖

―So what kinds of questions is this Reed dude going to ask me? What do I need to tell him?‖

―Just the truth. Just be yourself,‖ she says.

Right. Just be myself. Look how far that‘s gotten me.

***

Hadley takes me to a large building in the middle of the compound. It seems like the kind of place you‘d hold a town meeting or something. There are lots of long maple benches, probably forty or fifty, in neat little rows, all of them empty. Shiny white marble floors sparkle under the overhead lights, and there‘s a huge table at the front of the room. Two people are seated at it, watching me with a mixture of curiosity and…something else. Annoyance? Hatred? Fear?

I have no idea. I just know that I‘m in trouble.

Hadley leads me to the table and sits down next to me, acting the part of my lawyer. Or maybe my mom.

Reed is different than I expected. He‘s younger, for starters – he doesn‘t look much older than me. He‘s got short, dark hair and even darker eyes. Beneath his white sweater he seems kind of muscular.

I hate him on site. He grins at me, showing even white teeth.

―Campbell , my name is Reed and I‘m the director of our community. And this,‖

he says, motioning to the woman at his right, ―is Annabel e Trudeau. She‘s the minister of affairs.‖

Annabel e doesn‘t so much as smile at me. Her face is pale and flawless and she looks like she could be Reed‘s younger sister. But maybe she‘s older. I can‘t real y tell how old she is –

she could be fifteen, or she could be twenty. Whatever she is, the way she‘s looking at me makes me think she‘s one of the people who would like to see me…disappear, as Hadley put it earlier.

―Nice to meet you both,‖ I say, smiling and pretending everything‘s cool. Act like they‘re college football recruiters, I tell myself. Impress them, be charming, and maybe you‘ll get out of this without too much trouble.

―So, Hadley, how much does Campbell know about us?‖ Reed asks.

―Not much. I‘ve done just as ordered. Kept exposure to a minimum,‖ Hadley says,

shifting in her seat. ―But he understands how serious the situation is.‖

―Kept exposure to a minimum,‖ Annabel e scoffs.

―Like when you took the Raine girl into custody but refused to erase her per our orders?‖

―You wanted Cam—Campbell —kept alive. Their bond is too strong. If I killed Raine—‖

―Erased,‖ Annabel e corrects.

―If I erased Raine, then Campbell would have died also.‖

―This whole situation has gotten out of control,‖

Annabel e says, shaking her head and tapping a pencil against the table.

Reed turns to me, once again flashing his obnoxious grin. ―What‘s your opinion of all of this, Campbell ?‖

―My opinion of it?‖

―Yes. What do you think of Raine Marsden?‖

―I don‘t like her much. Obviously.‖

Reed smiles a little at this, but Annabel e makes a disgusted noise and rolls her eyes.

―No, none of us like Raine Marsden very much,‖

Reed says. ―And we like her friends even less. Are you aware that she and her kind

would like to kill you, your friend Natalia, and everyone in this compound?‖

―I don‘t know the details,‖ I say, ―And I‘m not even sure how I got involved in all this. I mean, why me?‖

Annabelle‘s mouth drops open. She looks at Hadley.

―He real y knows none of it?‖ she asks. ―None of it?‖

Hadley shakes her head. ―He‘s total y ignorant of our history. And his own.‖

―I want to learn,‖ I interrupt. ―I‘m a fast learner. Just give me a chance. I promise I won‘t let you down.‖

―Give you a chance to do what exactly?‖ Annabel e asks. She leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest.

―Whatever you need me to do,‖ I say.

―Whatever we need you to do?‖ she repeats. ―But you just said you don‘t know anything about us. You don‘t know our plans, our intentions, our goals.‖

―No,‖ I say, ―but I trust Hadley.‖ A total lie. But obviously necessary.

Annabel e snorts. ―You‘ve known her al of a week.

And yet you trust her with your life?‖ She turns to Reed. ―This is ridiculous, Reed. Come on.‖

―I think you‘re being too hard on him,‖ Hadley says.

―Campbell is doing the best he can in a very difficult situation. And I think he has a lot of potential.‖

Annabel e drums her fingers on the tabletop. She glances at Reed and then at me, her

eyes narrowing.

―Why did you attack one of our sentries last night?‖

―I didn‘t know what was going on,‖ I tell her. ―It was an accident.‖

―You‘re impulsive. You‘re weak. And you‘re ignorant,‖

she says.

―Tell me what you real y think,‖ I mutter.

―What?‖ she asks.

―Nothing.‖

Hadley sits forward. ―Natalia and Campbell , together, can give us power. If we don‘t have them, we‘re at the mercy of chance. But if we can bring Natalia and Campbell together, and break the spell Raine has on Cam—‖

―So many ifs,‖ Annabel e sneers. She waves her hand at Hadley as if dismissing her. ―We know that Raine and those with her are getting ready to attack us. Cam introduces an element of uncertainty that we just can‘t have.‖

―Listen, I want nothing to do with Raine,‖ I tell them, annoyed that they think it‘s okay to talk about me like I‘m not even here. ―I‘m on the side of anyone who‘s against her. You have to believe me. I will never help Raine. Ever.‖

None of them say anything. Reed studies me, and his eyes dark and sharp. I feel a sense of uneasiness every time he looks at me, and I shift in my chair. My hands are beginning to sweat, and I feel like I‘m losing control of the situation. ―Look,‖ I say, ―I wish you would just explain what you want me to do. Whatever it is, I‘ll do it. If you think I‘ve done something wrong, if you think -- ‖

―The bond between you and Raine is very strong,‖

Reed says, interrupting me.

―And she‘s focused on having you, using you to make her power greater than it already is. And so we‘re not sure what to do with you. Or Natalia. For a long time nobody knew who you were or even where you were. But you‘ve been located. And now we need to make some

difficult decisions.‖

―And you might kill us—kill innocent people?‖ I ask.

―That doesn‘t seem right.‖

I fight to keep my voice from sounding panicked.

Reed nods at me. ―I agree. It doesn‘t. Unfortunately, in times of war, you‘re forced to consider some very unpleasant choices.‖

―I haven‘t done anything wrong.‖

―It‘s not about right and wrong,‖ Annabel e says, her tone condescending.