Phantom Universe (25 page)

“
No?” he quips with a smirk.

She shakes her head again, smiling even wider and still biting her lip.

“
Well, if that’s the case . . .” He leans down and kisses her all over her face, avoiding her lips—much to her aggravation. He pulls away and sweetly caresses her face with the tips of his fingers. “I wish this wasn’t the case, but it’s true that you can’t stay here now that you’re awake.” The relief in his voice at the last part is palpable. “I was afraid you’d be stuck in that state. It was such a deeply rooted fear . . . and all of these
what if
scenarios played out in my head.”

She places a finger to his lips to silence him and he kisses it. A blush snakes its way up her neck and into her cheeks again. Without thinking, she bands her arms around his waist and hugs him tightly, placing her head against his muscular chest. The
tha-thump, tha-thump
of his heart is steady against her ear, his scent savory in her nose. Gage wraps one arm around her carefully, trying not to hurt her, and holds her head against his chest with his other hand.

“
Oh, Flower.” He sighs. “You’ve captured me—wholly and completely.”

She wants to say “Me too” but can’t form the words. Instead, she squeezes him tighter, and he lightly kisses the top of her head, his breath warming her skin.

CHAPTER
26: ALIVE

16 years old

Inside the room, the atmosphere was warm and inviting due to Gage’s presence. But on the outside . . . it’s a whole new world—cold and unwelcoming. The hallways they walk down are darker than the room, and the Leaguers litter the corridors. Some of the faces are kind and sympathetic, some are downcast and unreadable, and then there are a select few Leaguers who glare or smirk with malice and hate. Summer recognizes each of these faces—she’s seen them before. It reminds her of the crew members on the Cosmos. Some were nice to her, possibly even cared about her. Then there were a select few who just acted as if she didn’t even exist—like if they believed she wasn’t there than she really wasn’t. But when she sees the gleaming, hostile eyes of some of the Leaguers, she can’t help but imagine Jarvis and Karl.

It takes her until this exact moment to realize just how wrong she was to ever compare Gage, the man she just kissed—her first kiss—to Jarvis. Gage is
nothing
like Jarvis, but these other men, and even some women, frighten her so badly she seizes Gage’s arm and quivers as they continue to walk down the hallway. Gage glances sideways at her and takes her hand in his, his half-smile reassuring. The eyes of the Leaguers slither from her face to their connected hands now, then back to her face. Half of them look at them questioningly, the other half with disgust. Cameron trails in their wake, her footsteps almost silent.

At the end of the hallway is a set of double doors, huge and metal with two large glass windows that sparkle blue with electricity. A Leaguer stands on each side of the doors, erect and straight-faced as they scan the surrounding area. As Summer and Gage approach them, they both salute to Gage and open the doors for him with a press of a button on their uniforms. Outside is blindingly bright compared to the dim corridor. Summer squints as they step into what appears to be a courtyard. The doors slam shut behind them, and Cameron’s no longer there, slinking away as quiet as a cat.

People are everywhere, hanging out in groups or sitting down at randomly placed picnic tables. Some people are playing games and having fun, others are obviously distraught. They’re all young; none of them seem to be over the age of twenty one. Around them is a high fence with warning signs every ten feet or so explaining that it’s electrical. Some of the people are wearing pajamas, while others are clothed in newer outfits like the ones Gage had bought for her.

Gage squeezes her hand right before they descend the four stairs that lead into the open area. To the left are rows of buildings, each with a white letter at the end with the first starting with A, and the individual doors are numbered. To her left is a square building where a long line of people stand outside the door with empty plates and cups in their hands. She notices that many of the people in the courtyard already have food.

“
The camps are divided by age—this part of the camp is ages fourteen to twenty two. Each room has a minimum of three people and a maximum of five. You’ll be staying in building E, room number twenty with Jaden and Lucy,” explains Gage as he carefully guides her through the mass of people. “All of your things are already in the room.”

My things? What things?

Just like with the Leaguers, the people—or Outlanders, she supposes—stare at them like they’re some strange science project. Some of them glare with more venom than the Leaguers, especially the girls. Summer hasn’t known many women in her life, but the ones she has met were, for the most part, decent people. Now she’s not so sure.

They approach the long rows of buildings where he leads her between buildings E and D. The grass is grown up around the brick that looks old and abandoned. The doors are muddy-white, and the windows next to each door have such a dirty film on them that she’s not even sure her trusty Comet could clean them. The over-grown lawn’s been trampled on and is beginning to turn brown in some areas. A concrete sidewalk has all but disintegrated, the land obviously claiming and devouring it. Summer stares at building E to her right, keeping an eye on the numbers on each door, the first starting at one and going up as they continue down the lane. Building D to her left has numbers on the doors starting at forty and going down as they walk.

A door opens at the very end of building E and several figures step out. As they hike closer, she recognizes Jaden, but that isn’t who her eyes focus on. Summer stops, and Gage’s hand is ripped from hers. He stops and pivots around.

“
Everything all right, Flower?” he asks, his eyebrows scrunching.

Summer looks past him and to the group of people, her hand over her heart, her chest heaving beneath her palm, and tears threatening to explode out of her. It’s him. It’s really him. Blonde hair. Brown eyes. Thin and sturdy. And he’s . . . alive.
So, so alive. Alive. A . . . live
.

Gage’s voice lowers, anxious. “Flower?”

Summer nods slowly, takes a deep breath, and then, without conscious thought, she tears past Gage in a full-fledged run. Gage calls after her but Summer’s focus is only on the blonde hair and deeply brown eyes of Landon. Her strides lengthen. The smile on her face is so wide she wonders if her face will crack. Someone points in her direction, and Landon glances over and sees her running toward him. He freezes for a second. He grins and dashes in her direction. They meet in the middle, and he engulfs her in a gigantic hug, picks her up, and twirls her around and around. It hurts, but she doesn’t mind.

“
Ducky!” exclaims Landon in a deep Scottish accent. “I thought ye were dead until I found Jaden here.” He puts her down just as Gage flies up behind her. Jaden and the other group of people finally catch up with them, watching their reunion.

“
Ye look so much better, Ducky. Wow, the future really does ye well. Ye are even glowing!” Landon walks around her in a circle and appraises her while she just grins and bounces on her feet like everything outside the hospital never happened.

Gage is frozen place, not sure how he’s supposed to react. He’s never seen her interact with anyone like she does with Landon. “Who’s this?” he asks, his voice wavering. His eyebrows draw together, lines wrinkle on his forehead, and he frowns.

“
I’m Landon.” Landon extends his hand. “And ye are?”

“
Gage,” he says slowly while shaking Landon’s hand. “How do you know Summer?” The confused expression hasn’t left his face. Summer reaches back and holds Gage’s hand again in a reassuring gesture. Funny—she’s reassuring him for a change.

“
We were both slaves on the Cosmos together. When the ship blew up we were separated.” Landon’s profound brown eyes trail down to their intertwined hands. “Is this what has ye glowing?” he asks with a chuckle.

Summer nods shyly and swears Gage’s chest puffs out a little at her words.

“
I’ve never seen her interact with another person like she has you,” Gage notes, his tone haughty. “I don’t—”

He’s cut off by Summer’s tugging on his hand. She brings his palm into her grip and begins to write swiftly across it. “Landon saved me from being raped.” There’s a pause as Gage looks between Landon and Summer again. “He protected me on the ship. Best friend,” she writes hastily.

“
Thank you,” blurts Gage to Landon automatically.

Landon chuckles, confused by the exchange. “Um . . . ye’re welcome?”

Jaden steps between Landon and Summer and gives her a quick hug. “You do look better. We heard about the riot outside the hospital, so when you didn’t show up for a few days we thought the worst.” Jaden winks at Gage. “But I see superhero here has taken care of you.” She chuckles. “Anyway, we’re on our way to the cafeteria. Have you eaten?”

Summer shakes her head.

“
Want to come with?” asks Jaden cheerily.

Summer looks to Gage.

“
If you could just give us a minute, she’ll meet you at the end of the building in a few,” Gage says to them with a polite tilt of his head.

“
Of course,” says Jaden with a purring noise vibrating in the back of her throat.

Giggles erupt from behind Jaden, and Summer takes inventory. There’s one girl and two boys she doesn’t know. Up until this point she hasn’t paid any attention to anyone outside her small bubble of friends. They all walk past her, and the three unknowns stray away from Summer like she’s diseased—though that’s the way she prefers it. Jaden and Landon probably told them of her aversions to people, especially males.

Gage walks Summer the rest of the way down the lane, and she notes that door twenty is at the very end. Building D, to her right, ends with door twenty-one. He bypasses her door, though, and pulls her around to the backside of the building.

Completely ignoring her usual shyness, and her sore muscles and bones, he presses her against the crumbling brick wall. Her heart skips a little in alarm and excitement at his eagerness. He pushes his body against hers and leans down to capture her lips with his, being more aggressive than he’s ever been with her. He may not be as gentle as he was earlier, but he still uses great care when handling her. The pain in her hips is still there, but she forgets about it immediately. Every touch and kiss is reverent, as if he’s worshipping her, devout in his caresses. She kisses him back without abandon, the fluttering sensation ten-fold in her stomach. His hands fist in her hair, pulling her closer, and her hands do the same. His blonde hair is smooth as silk and only makes her want to explore more of him, to learn and know how each part of him feels under her fingertips. Her hands travel down his shoulders, grip his biceps, and tickle his arms. Their hearts both find an accelerated rhythm, in harmony with each other.

Where is this coming from?
she wonders.
I don’t know
, she concludes in a kissing stupor,
but I like it. A lot.

He parts her mouth with his at her equal enthusiasm, and his tongue dives into her mouth, the taste intoxicating and fervid. His hands roam down her back, bowing her into his body, and play around the edges of her belted black pants. Then his fingers find their way under her shirt and begin to move up her lower back. He breaks the kiss abruptly, his breath surging quickly along with hers. His eyes stay closed, and his forehead leans against hers as he continues to trace the lines of the scars etched into the skin at her back.

“
These will forever be a reminder to me of how precious you truly are,” he breathes against her lips, his fingers gently tracing a particularly long scar. His eyes open slowly, revealing the fathomlessly, and enticingly, green depths. “I’ll never hurt you like that. You know that, don’t you? That’s why you didn’t flinch or raise your arms when I pressed you against the wall. Isn’t it?” His heavy breaths don’t slow, and his eyes convey the truth in his words.

Summer nods against his forehead, and he presses a loving, tender kiss on her swollen lips. Her heart’s still jumping when he pulls away, and his eyes are so richly green she wants to stare at them forever. He takes her hand into his and continues to gaze into her sapphire eyes. “I won’t be around all the time like I want to be, though I will be around more than I was in the hospital. If I’m not here I want you to stick with Landon, because if anyone lays a finger on you I’m bound to murder them, and then I’ll be locked up and unable to protect you.”