Ravens (27 page)

Don’t worry, love
, his serene
voice soothed her.
I could never leave you, especially in a place like this.
You won’t be here longer than a day. I promise, just trust me
.

Kendra jerked away, startled by the
sound in her head.

Relax. I’m coming. Just do what I say
, he coaxed.

“What?” Kendra asked aloud.

Melody peered over her book.

“What should I do?” Kendra conversed
with the door.

Remain calm and tell them the truth.

“But that would be the wrong thing to
do,” she whispered as she stepped away from the door and stared up at the blue
surveillance strips.

No, listen to me, darling, and listen
carefully. I can get into their heads as long as you’re there. I’ve been around
this place, and I know what they want. They want Ravens to tell them about the
parallel dimension and reveal where the portal sites are for their research.
They keep this from the public until the result of their research has been
confirmed so they don’t cause panic, but Ravens don’t cooperate, so they are
medicated and tortured.

I’m not going to let that happen. Just
tell them the truth, just the story about traveling to the other dimension.
Don’t tell them where the portal site is. Once they’re convinced that you’re a
Raven and not some crazy person, they’ll ship you off to another facility.
They’ll drug you again. Don’t be scared, though. I’ll have the doctor use
majority saline, and you will be slightly sedated. That’s the best that I can
do since several people will check you before you leave, and I can’t jump into
that many heads at once. It doesn’t matter what they plan on doing to you in
the labs because you won’t be going there.

I’m going to get into their minds when
they start driving and they’ll drive you closer to home. By then, you’ll be
fully recovered from what’s in your system now. Be ready to move, because I’ll
give these hunters what they want: an encounter with a Raven.

Kendra spouted out a ruffled breath.

Do it, do it now. Look straight at them
and tell them what they want to hear.

Kendra shivered and rubbed her arm.

Trust me, my love, this is how it will
end and it will end here. I will rescue you, and you’ll be free to go wherever
you want, whether you go to your parents, run away elsewhere, or portal back.
As long as you’re safe and out of their hands, I’ll be happy. I will not let
them do this to you.

The calmness in his voice echoed in her
thoughts. It couldn’t be too farfetched to believe that he could and would
liberate her from another world. 

Kendra had a few choices. One: claim
sanity and claim she didn’t have any knowledge of Ravens, both of which
wouldn’t go over well with the psychiatrists. Two: play the insanity game and
over time pretend that her “crazy person” medication actually helped her to
become better, while keeping the truth hidden. Three: give in and tell them the
truth, everything they wanted to know without any leverage.

Liam offered a fourth option, which was
by far, the best. She trusted him. She loved him. She wanted so badly to get
back into his warm arms. She wanted her abilities back. She wanted Julie back.
She wanted to be a Raven, to be what she was meant to be. She would no longer fight
it.

Kendra dropped her hands to her sides
and relaxed her fists. She spun around and leaned against the door as she
looked up to face the cobalt strip over the window. Though exhausted, she had
no other choice.

Kendra exhaled. “I’m a Raven. Is that
what you want to know?”

Melody peered over the pages of her
novel again.

Kendra went on, “I’ve been to the
parallel dimension and had their abilities. You’re hunters, and I’ve faced
parallel hunters, too. You don’t scare me. From my viewpoint, you need me. I
have nothing to hide if you want information. I even honor your need. It’s just
research. I’d rather tell you peacefully.”

“What are you doing?” Melody hissed. “Do
you think you’re a bird, chirping and no one understands? My last roommate
tried to admit that, thinking that’s what they wanted to hear, and she’s gone.
I don’t think to a better place. You made a mistake.”

Kendra craned her neck to get a decent
view of the illuminated but empty hall through the small door window. Kendra
waited for an hour at the door before her legs begged for relief. With an
irritated groan, she went to her assigned bed and sat down.

She wondered where Liam went. He
remained absent from her thoughts ever since she blurted what he demanded. No
one appeared.

Kendra still fought the remainder of the
sedatives that carried on in her bloodstream. The silence of the room engulfed
her, calmed her, and before she knew it, she drifted to sleep. A snort of
breath against her face awoke her some time later.

Kendra opened her eyes and stifled a
cry. Melody drifted over Kendra like a pale ghost. The ghastly sight of the
teenage girl made Kendra’s heart brutally pound deep beneath her ribs, crushing
against her lungs like a tyrant.

“They’re coming for you, you know?”
Melody whispered, then cocked her chin toward the door. Her dry, blonde hair
tickled Kendra’s face.

As Melody straightened, Kendra scrambled
to her feet. Melody moved back to her corner and scrunched into a tight ball on
her bed as the doorknob turned. Mr. Dandial examined the room through the
barred window before opening the door.

“Sit,” he ordered, closing the door
behind him.

The man didn’t come alone. Dr. Orian
stood at the doorway inside of the room and a guard waited outside. Dr. Orian
impatiently tapped his right foot while clenching and unclenching his jaw. He
tightened his left hand around something in his lab coat pocket.

Kendra scrutinized his hands before
facing the doctor. He was an older man with slight jowls and thin lips. His
balding head only added to his sinister image.

Kendra dragged her eyes away from the
doctor’s glare and studied the stern Mr. Dandial.

Kendra gulped and sat up, hoping this
would work. When Dr. Orian approached, she held out her arm, her fist
unclenched and relaxed. She stiffened the muscle at her jaw as she restrained
the natural urge to fight and flee.

She breathed. She only heard the hum of
the blood rushing through her veins and her shallow breathing. The hum grew as
she focused on the doctor. She didn’t flinch or show any emotion when the
needle penetrated her skin or when she felt the cool liquid enter her body and
race through her arm.

Kendra glanced at the needle with her
chin lowered as she stared at Mr. Dandial. She lifted the corners of her mouth
into a smirk. The man stared at the young woman with obvious confusion, perhaps
wondering what she was smiling about.

The guard outside brought in a
wheelchair and by the time Kendra sat down, she passed out, drifting between
reality and a drug-induced sleep.

****

“Think this one will actually talk?” Mr.
Dandial asked while driving the government sedan.

“Hopefully, but if not, we’re prepared
to take the necessary steps,” Dr. Orian spoke from the passenger seat. “You
know the way, don’t you?”

“Yes, sir, I know a short cut.”

“Great, I just need to go over my
notes.”

The doctor peered through his glasses at
the file in his hands, paying little attention to the road. Liam pried into his
head and made Mr. Dandial go in a different direction than where he intended on
going to.

“It still amazes me how easy it is to
convince a family into giving up their kids to our research without even
knowing it,” Mr. Dandial spoke.

“If she really traveled through the
portal, they’ll never see her again. And if she never had and made up some
crazy story, at least she’ll get real treatment,” the doctor commented.

Kendra heard them but could not see
them.

Wake up!
The voice
snarled.

Kendra moaned, but the sound didn’t
reach her lips; it was all in her head. She couldn’t move, but her thoughts
stirred with the aid of the low voice.

I’m not giving up on you that easily
, he hissed.
No
one deserves to be in their hands, especially you. Wake up, Kendra!

What? Where am I?
The sound of
her voice throbbed as a dull ache in comparison to his illusions.

She mentally gasped, recalling the
ongoing events. She could make out everything beneath her heavy lids, but
couldn’t move. Kendra struggled to lift her hands, to speak, but every part of
her body felt heavy. Her movements were lethargic, as if she moved through
sand. She could only sit there, buckled in with her hands on the seats, palms
facing toward her. This was what it felt like, trapped in her mind.

Darling? Can you hear me?
Liam asked.

Liam?
Kendra responded with her own
thoughts.

I have a plan, but you need to move. Can
you do that?

I can’t move.

I’m going to get you out of this car and
you might be without me for a while, but once you can get moving, get back to
the barn.

I don’t understand how this will work.

Just tell me if you’re in? Will you
escape the only way I know? Will you trust me?

You mean will I to go back to you, back
through the portal?

Yes.

Okay
, she didn’t hesitate. Liam was
right. She had to trust him.

I’ll have to leave you for a bit to get
into their heads, but don’t worry. I’m gonna take care of these criminals.
And then, he
vanished.

****

Liam left her thoughts and pried into
the minds of the hunters.

“So what do you think about this one? A
bit of a fighter, wonder how long she was there.” Mr. Dandial made
conversation.

“What’s going on with the weather?” Dr.
Orian asked.

The sunny, autumn afternoon sky changed
into a shadow of despair. White clouds darkened and expanded like growing
claws. The clouds didn’t stop until they consumed every last spot of azure sky.
The heavens roared and streaks of lightning penetrated the clouds.

The torrent gave birth. The rain fell in
sheets in the suddenly uproarious climate. A chill crossed the earth like a
prowling tiger stalking the shadows.

“Tornado?” Mr. Dandial asked. “Flash
flood?”

The rain pounded down on the car, and the
windshield wipers moved rapidly, desperately trying to offer a clear view. They
failed.

“Watch out!” the doctor cried.

The driver swerved at first sight of the
stranger and ran off the road. A young man stood in the middle of the desolate street.
His back was hunched, and he stood with a sinister and looming pose in the
darkening afternoon. His hair was heavy with rain, clinging to his face as the
water dripped from his locks and landed on his sodden gray shirt. He stared at
the car, and growled through pressed lips. His chest heaved beneath the soaking
attire, and his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

The men rubbed their temples.

“That one looks like he should be locked
up,” Mr. Dandial growled and opened the door.

“What are you doing? He could be
dangerous.” The doctor grabbed his partner’s arm.

“Dangerous compared to us?” Mr. Dandial
emerged from the car and left the door open.

Dr. Orian followed.

The men kept one hand in their pockets,
clutching the tazers in case they needed to put down the young man. They
approached him cautiously.

Liam stood in the middle of the road
beneath the rain. Lightning struck the sky above.

The men gasped. They drew their weapons
as the stranger’s eyes sparked white with fury. The electricity wound down his
throat and arms, and a ball of energy formed at his fists. His chest heaved and
his breathing became audible beneath the downpour.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Get up
, Kendra told herself, not
knowing why the strangers swerved off the road or why they left her alone with
the doors open. She didn’t care. It was a way out. Liam promised to make it
happen, and she only had one chance at freedom.

She willed herself to move, to wiggle,
to writhe, until finally, she clumsily unbuckled her seatbelt. She didn’t know
how she could make it past a few feet without the men noticing her and going
after her, but Kendra placed her trust in Liam.

Her fingers moved like Jell-O, wobbly
and useless.

Agh! All I need is to press the stupid
thing!

She focused on the door. The lock
wouldn’t come up. It must’ve been child-proof, or in her case, crazy
person-proof. She climbed out the passenger’s side. Maneuvering out of the car
while still somewhat sedated was like leaping a mile without a running head
start. It didn’t seem possible or logical, but had to be done.