See How She Runs (24 page)

I looked around my new digs and noticed that
anything that might be used as a weapon had been removed. Instead
of a mirror, there was a highly polished piece of metal that
distorted my features. I sat on the bed and bounced for a minute.
Well, at least it seemed a little comfortable. I took in my meager
surroundings and wondered if all of the other Seers were given
rooms like this. If so, it was a wonder they had not unionized and
gone on strike for better working conditions.

Perhaps I could form a Seers union. Nah.
That would probably constitute as misbehaving. I threw myself back
on the bed and was surprised at how tired I suddenly felt. I
allowed my eyes to close and I drifted off to sleep.

I don’t know how long I slept. A knock at my
door brought my attention back to my surroundings. I went to it and
was surprised to find I could open it. Why had I not tried to do
that sooner? Standing on the other side of the door was Molly.

“So you went and got yourself caught
anyway?" she said with a look of disapproval.

“Well how was I supposed to know my
surrogate father was a giant backstabbing liar face?" I said
defensively. I didn’t even know this girl and she was berating me
for being stupid. She might have been right but that was entirely
beside the point.

“I know, I tried to warn you, but I didn’t
have enough time. Plus Keith would have known I was up to something
more than he already suspected," she said with a roll of her
eyes.

“Well, um, okay then. Would you like to come
in?" I asked, unsure of what the etiquette for this situation
was.

“Sure, but I was actually coming by to grab
you on my way to dinner," Molly said before entering my room.

She was a little sprite of a thing. She was
only around five foot four and tiny as could be. Her blonde hair
was in loose waves that hung to about her shoulders. She had elfish
features that conjured images of the fairytales my mother used to
read me. I guessed I was staring at her because she awkwardly
cleared her throat.

“You are awfully feisty for someone so
small," I said, hoping I did not offend the only person that might
be my friend here.

“Like TNT. I am small but highly explosive,"
she said matter of factly.

“So, how long have you been with the king of
the asshats?" I asked, hoping she would know I was talking about
Xavier.

“Since I was about three. They came and took
my mother and I while my daddy was gone in training. I have been
here ever since and I have been waiting for your slow ass to show
up," she said, like I had purposefully inconvenienced her.

“Sorry about the wait?" I more asked than
stated.

“Well, when I was, four my mom had a vision
about you and she told me. I have been waiting around ever since.
She said you would save me. No pressure or anything," Molly said
before landing on my bed.

“Yeah, no pressure. Jesus, you would think I
would have gotten a welcome packet. If I survive this, I am totally
designing one. It was a lot to take on when I had no idea what I
was until right before my birthday. I mean, you would think someone
would have at least given me a heads up about being the whole Seer
messiah thing," I said, blowing out a breath.

“Um, sorry about your luck," Molly said,
clearly unaffected by my ranting.

“Well, I won’t be able to save the world on
an empty stomach, so shall we?" I asked before heading to the
door.

“Yep, just follow me. When we get there, I
will give you the skinny on everyone. Just don’t flinch when I
start yapping in your head. Other people will notice," she said as
she led us to the cafeteria.

Not since high school had I been in a place
like this. I had no interest in returning either. The food even
smelled and looked like that of my old high school. I wondered if
they brought in lunch ladies as well. I looked behind the line to
see more of the goons standing about giving everyone the stank eye.
I just made my way through the line and got the most edible looking
selection. It loosely resembled pizza.

Molly motioned for us to sit at a table in
the middle of the room and started yapping away in my head while we
ate. She talked about the gossip first. Like who was hooking up
with who, and who was about to be in deep crap for not fulfilling
their quota for the month. I looked around as she spoke, and I was
grateful that all in all there were only about fifteen women
present. Not counting the ones hooked up to machines.

I must have gotten a look on my face,
because Molly switched gears. She looked hesitant at first, but
then steeled herself for what she was about to say.

“Listen, I don’t know how you will save us.
I don’t even really know that you can when you get your own stupid
butt captured. But, if you do get out of here, there are things you
need to know. He is working with some of the Council members on a
big plan. I don’t know what it is. I just know that not everyone
that is supposed to be a good guy is fighting for the right team. I
heard one of the other Seers say that she saw some sort of
explosion and then a monster coming out of the smoke, but shortly
afterward she disappeared. Whatever is coming isn’t good."

Molly released my mind as I reeled. So, yea,
there were more big bad guys out there. Fantastic. Could I deal
with the first one on my list before another one took his place? I
looked down at my half eaten cardboard, I mean pizza, and realized
I could not wait to gain any more information. I had only been here
for a few hours and I already knew, without a doubt, that something
bad was coming.

We finished eating, talking about small
things. I asked her how her life was growing up under the
Corporation and she said miserable. Not that I had guessed it would
be much fun. But she told me all of the small things she had done,
little rebellious acts that they had never caught on to. She would
only go so far and then stop. She made it so they would trust her
to leave the compound, but she only gave them part of the
information she garnered from visions or psychic links.

She also told me that she and several other
Seers had been genetically mapped and given something to induce
their visions earlier. It wasn’t one hundred percent effective, so
the Corporation still had to wait for the Seers to reach twenty
five. They were not completely reliable until then.

We headed back toward the rooms and I
stopped outside of my door.

“Um, Molly, I have a weird request. It is a
total invasion, and I will understand if you say no," I said,
anxiously awaiting her response.

“Well, spit it out. Don’t tiptoe around
whatever it is you need to ask. Just ask it," she said.

“Would you let me sift your memories? Just
to see if there is anything you might have picked up on that you
have forgotten. Or any sort of information that might help us
figure out who on the Council is batting for team evil?" I finished
nervously.

“Sure, I have nothing to hide. Like I said,
life under the Corporation is boring and stressful. Plus, I have
like zero personal things that have not already been looked through
by one of the Guardians. So browse away. Just try not to fall
asleep from boredom," she said, and she came into my room and sat
down on my bed.

I sat next to her and grabbed her hand. I
cleared my mind and I started turning back her memories like pages
in a book. Each time I did this it got easier and easier. I looked
through all of the years she had lived here and watched as more and
more Seers were brought in until it abruptly stopped with my
mother. She was the last Seer to be brought here. I wondered if she
somehow protected the others.

I watched all of the little things Molly did
to get under the Corporation’s skin and I watched as her mother
admonished her for her rebellion. All of her life played out before
me. I gathered very little useful information. But in the end, I
knew that I had gained a friend. When I came to the memory of Molly
first seeing me, I felt her relief at the sight of me.

I broke contact with her, bringing myself
back to the present. I looked at her and said a quick thank you. I
always felt guilty about poking around in people’s heads.

“Oh stop it, you shouldn’t feel guilty about
something you were born to do," Molly said.

She really seemed to be an advocate of the
‘drink some water and suck it up’ campaign. No fluffy placations
from her.

“Alright, fine. Listen, I am going to try
and spring us. I am pretty sure my plan will fail miserably,
because I don’t have that great of a track record so far. But, if
you hear a ruckus, know it is time to bounce? Got it?" I asked,
hoping that she would not hesitate to run if the time came.

“Well, let’s just hope this one works out
better than the last. With you blocking all of us, we can’t see
what will happen around you. So, whatever the plan is, don’t mess
it up," she said before getting up to leave.

I hugged her tightly and she sort of stood
there in shock for a moment before awkwardly returning my hug.

“Thank you for helping me, Molly. In all
seriousness, I thought I was on my own in here. Granted, with my
luck, you will just go and turn me in when you leave here," I
laughed awkwardly, really hoping she was not a turncoat. I had
dealt with enough of those to last a lifetime.

“Nah. I am tired of playing at rebellion. I
want the real thing," Molly said while wagging her eyebrows.

“Well, I hope that I can make all of your
dreams come true," I smiled as she left.

**********

I spent the next few days with Molly. She
introduced me to the other Seers. They all seemed more hesitant to
form a friendship with me, and I could not really blame them.
Xavier had basically told everyone to watch me. I felt like a bug
under a microscope. Anytime I tried to sift through someone’s
memories, I would almost get caught. I was blocked at every turn.
Unable to get any information, I was starting to get
frustrated.

I was dragged to countless meetings with
scholars. All of which had promised Xavier they would be able to
hack into my wards. So far, none of them had had any luck. I could
tell that Xavier was becoming increasingly more agitated with me as
the days passed, and I knew that if I was going to survive I needed
to act soon. With the lack of information and his rage, waiting was
not worth it anymore.

**********

TWENTY FOUR

That night when I lay down to sleep, I
lifted the ward from my dreaming. I knew it was risky, and I knew
there was a very real chance I would be caught. I had to find
Kennan though. As soon as I closed my eyes he was there.

**********

“
Izzy, please tell me you are safe,"
Kennan said, looking exhausted and drawn.

“
Safe is a relative term at this point. I
am not dead or hurt, so that is something. But he caught me. I was
stupid, I know, but we don’t have time for that now. If they catch
me here they will know I lied. So let me get this out quickly. He
has me in Chicago, you remember the building he worked out of in
the Loop? I don’t know what floor though, sorry. There is something
more. He is planning something big and he has the backing of some
of the Council. I don’t know when, but there was talk about big
explosions and monsters." I breathed a sigh of relief at unloading
everything I had wanted to say.

“
I am coming for you, do you hear me.
Don’t do anything reckless between now and then. No more trying to
save me Izzy, that isn’t your job. I will find you, and I will kill
the bastard once and for all," Kennan said with rage pouring off of
him in crimson waves.

“
How touching dear brother. I thought you
didn’t care," Xavier said from behind Kennan.

I stood stock still and knew that I was too
late. I might have warned Kennan, but I had also let Xavier in.

I looked at Kennan with my eyes wide, and I
could read the same terror reflected back. I ran. I tried to jump
back from the dreaming and I opened my eyes.

**********

Standing over my bed was Xavier and a couple
of his goons. Before I could even mutter the words of the ward to
put it back in place, I was strapped to a board. I tried to scream,
but I had tape wrapped over my mouth. I knew then exactly where
they were taking me. I was getting hooked up. To what end I did not
know, but whatever it was it would not be good.

“I asked so nicely for you to behave and
cooperate, but then you go and betray me," Xavier said as though I
were just a petulant child being sent to a time out.

I looked at him with my eyes full of anger
and loss. I would never get to tell Kennan I loved him. I would
never get to help Molly. I would never even get to shove a sharp
object into the side of Xavier’s throat.

“Now, we are going to play a little game. I
am going to put you back into the dreaming and we are going to have
some fun. Perhaps after you have been there for a while you will
rethink the whole 'not taking your wards down' thing." Xavier
pulled me into the room with the five other women.

I was transferred to one of the medical
tables and they strapped some sort of contraption around my head. I
was frantic. My breathing became erratic and I knew I was on the
verge of a total mental collapse. The fear of the unknown shredded
any courage I had left.

Someone to my left flicked a needle before
sticking it into my arm. I started to go fuzzy around the edges and
then the darkness enveloped me. Only it wasn’t the darkness at all.
Somehow they had induced the dreaming and what I was left in was a
nightmare.

**********

I looked around me, hoping to find some way
out, but knowing that I was trapped. Suddenly, from every direction
the ground turned into a churning blackness. The waves of darkness
undulated in a rhythmic procession toward me. There was no escape.
As the wave drew closer, I saw that it was thousands upon thousands
of insects. If I did not move they would overtake me and shred
every piece of meat from my bones.