Tremble (23 page)

29

“Dez?” a familiar voice called. Something shook me and it took some effort, but I opened my eyes.

Everything was bleary at first, but when it cleared I saw Brandt standing over me. His lips moved enthusiastically, but there was only intermittent sound. Like a bad cell signal.

“…it together. I need you…Kale…Dez?”

I climbed to my feet, rubbing both eyes with the heels of my hands. I wasn’t in the holding room anymore. We were standing in the middle of a lush field chock full of daisies and bordered by a trickling brook. Somehow, I’d gotten outside.

No. I hadn’t. I’d fallen asleep.

“Brandt?”

He took my hands. “Dez, look at me. Are you all right?”

“Vial,” I managed to get out. My tongue felt heavy. Like it was weighted down with rocks. The inside of my mouth tasted weird, too. Like I’d been sucking on pennies. I tried to spit it out but that only made it worse. “We still haven’t found it.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know. I told you, I have a contact.”

“Dad’s office. It’s in there. We almost had it but— How did you know I was sleeping?”

“Kale told me they drugged you with some pretty hardcore stuff. Forget about that now. Listen carefully, Dez. Uncle Marshal wants to make an example out of you. We need to get you out of here.” He closed his eyes and for a second, I swore he faded in and out like a hologram. It reminded me of something you’d see in a sci-fi flick.

“This is Kale’s fault. He should have never suggested this.”

“Technically, Vince was the one who had the idea…”

“Dez…”

I shook my head and leaned closer to him. This was a dream. We were inside my head. Still, Brandt smelled like Brandt. I inhaled and let my head fall against his shoulder. “No. This was the only way. Did he get the vial?”

“Kale’s having some issues. Cross has armed agents standing at the end of the hall now. He’s not taking any chances.”

“Where does that leave me?”

“I told Ginger. She knows what’s going on and they’re coming.”

The scratchy fabric of his sweater itched against my skin. “Okay…”

“But I don’t know if they’ll get here in time, Dez. Or if they’ll even make it inside. We need to get you out now.”

I tried to shake my head but sharp pain prevented it. “No. Kale’s close. Don’t give up yet. Please. Give him one more chance.”

“Getting you out is more important right now.”

“Give it another day. Just one more day.” Although the idea sickened and terrified me, I wasn’t ready to give up. Without that vial, it didn’t matter if I got out of here alive or not. Without that vial, I was a goner. So were the other kids.

“You don’t understand.” Brandt pushed me away. His eyes bore holes in mine. “We don’t
have
another day. Cross is staging a very public termination in a few hours. Like I said, he intends to make an example of you. I know what they gave you is strong, but you’re stronger. You have to wake up and get out. Now.”

Wake up?
“Exactly how am I supposed to do that?”

“Try. You can do it. You have to, because that’s not even the worst part,” Brandt said.

“Not the worst part?” How the hell did it get worse than termination—AKA death? And a public one to boot?

“Brandt, tell me what’s going on.”

He looked uncomfortable. “Cross plans on having Kale do it.”

…

When I woke from the dream everything was filmy and raw. I was alone and still in the holding room; Brandt was nothing more than a shadow passing through my mind. Whatever sedative I’d been given was wearing off, taking the comforting numbness right along with it. My arms felt like they’d been ripped from their sockets, and my wrists were more than likely perma-bruised from holding all my weight in the cuffs.

The moments right before passing out came flooding painfully back. Marshal Cross wasn’t my dad. Kiernan wasn’t my sister. The revelation should have made me happy. Knowing I didn’t share any tiny bits of genetic material with those whackjobs should have had me Snoopy dancing until the cows marched home on Judgment Day.

Marshal Cross was a mind-twister, though. There was always a slim possibility he was lying just to mess with me. Kiernan and I shared similar facial features and the same went for Dad. But I supposed if you looked hard enough at most people, you could find similarities among them. I decided, for now, that he’d told me the truth—and that it was good news.

I needed good news.

With that out of the way, the next order of business was to find a way out of this mess. If what Brandt said was true, my clock was ticking. Ginger was sending people, but even if they could get inside, we didn’t have nearly enough manpower or resources—despite Dax and his big fat bankroll—to launch an all-out raid on a place like Zendean. I hadn’t seen much of the complex, but from the way Kale spoke and the things Brandt said, it had to be massive with huge amounts of security. The building itself had stretched on forever—I’d peeked as we pulled into the lot.

Cringing, I tugged on the chains to test their security to the wall. They didn’t budge. Not that I could have reached, but now would have been a perfect time to test that hairpin theory Brandt had about picking locks.

I sighed and accepted the truth. Getting free from the chains was going to be impossible. At least without a key. So that simply meant I had to get someone to unlock the cuffs
for
me.

I scanned the room. On first sweep I didn’t see a thing. There was the desk in the corner, the chair Dad had pulled closer, and a small table a few feet away with a pack of cigarettes and a lighter sitting on top of a stack of papers.

Papers.

Wow. My focus issues were getting worse. Why worry about picking a lock when I could simply mimic my way out of this mess? I closed my eyes and pictured paper. It was a small object, resulting in nothing more than a tingle, which was a relief. After mimicking Kiernan and myself earlier, there was no way I had another full-body swap in me. At least not for a day or so.

The familiar tingle raced up my spine, and when I opened my eyes, I tore the cuffs from the wall with ease just like I had with Ben’s at the airport. That’s why Dad had put me to sleep. Since my ability had surged, it was the only way to keep me under control. But how long did they think I’d be out? And how long
had
it been? There was a good chance they’d be back any minute to haul me off to their public hanging. Brandt was right. I needed to be gone by then.

I crossed the room, fully intending to mimic my way right the hell out, but something caught my eye on the way to the door. It was a painting in the corner, leaning against the wall and partially concealed by the desk. I knew I needed to go, but something about it wouldn’t let me leave. Not until I saw the whole thing.

Hurrying across the floor, I swiped the painting from behind the desk and laid it across the top. The tarnished silver plaque on the bottom said
W.V.K
. The man depicted, somewhere in his forties if I had to guess, sat tall in a high-backed chair and wore a black brimmed hat and a dapper-looking suit. I couldn’t date it—I’d failed history miserably—but it was definitely old. Early 1900s, if not older. The man looked so familiar and yet I couldn’t place him. He had a long black beard and mop of thick hair with the slightest curl at the ends, and his expression was fierce. Like a hunter scanning the wild for prey. It reminded me a little of Kale’s.

I reached for my phone and, of course, found it missing. Duh. They’d taken it. A picture was out, so I committed as much of the picture to memory as I could and started for the door.

I got two steps before someone walked in.

30

I frantically dove to the desk for something to use—or mimic—into a weapon. I grabbed for the only thing I could find—a stapler. Spreading my legs, ready to wield my office supply of death, I faced the door.

“Dez?”

The stapler fell from my hands and clanked to the desk with a rattle, then rolled onto the floor.
“Aubrey?”

Something shoved him aside, and a blur of black and blue stormed the room and flew straight at me. Kale swept me into his arms and squeezed so tightly I had a hard time breathing. “Are you all right?”

“Fine,” I gasped. “Can’t—breathe—but fine.”

Kale looked confused for a moment before letting go and stepping away. “Oh. Sorry.” He glanced from me to the wall, then back again. “If you’re free, what are you still doing in here? We need to leave.”

He was right. If this kept up, I’d need a babysitter. God only knew what would happen the first time something shiny passed in front of me.

“We have to hurry,” Aubrey said, tapping the doorframe to get my attention. “I caused a distraction, but we don’t have a ton of time. We need to get to the lab.”

Kale nodded, and we followed Aubrey from the room.

Aubrey led us around the first corner and down the hall. Tinted bubbles lined the ceiling, making me nervous. They were smaller versions of the ones you saw in department stores. “Aren’t these cameras? Can’t they see exactly what we’re doing?”

Aubrey smiled. A sly, mischievous grin that made him look years younger. “Not everyone here agrees with what Cross and the Council are doing. We’ve got the cameras covered. Don’t worry.”

The lab was three floors below the holding room, and when we got there, I was surprised to find it empty. We skidded through the double doors and Aubrey took off toward a tall glass cabinet on one side of the room, while Kale made a beeline for a small desk by the door marked
Exit
on the opposite side.

“What are we looking for? Is the vial in here?”

Aubrey threw open the doors and started pulling things out. Several glass bottles crashed to the floor, and I cringed as they shattered, causing an echoing clatter. After a moment, he exclaimed, “Got it!”

“Got what?” I flew forward to get a better look. “What are we here for?”

“These.” He turned and held out a tray of glass vials filled with smoky gray liquid. Domination. It had to be. “We came for these.”

“Found it,” Kale called on the other side of the room. He raced toward us, something small and golden in his left hand. “Where is she?”

“Right here!” someone else called, bursting through the door. “Right here. Everyone’s tied up with that electrical issue and the fire.”

It was the girl from the panel room. “Devin?”

She flashed me a smile and winked. “I’m a friend of your cousin’s.”

“You’re Brandt’s contact?” I didn’t know why, but the fact that she was a
she
surprised me.

Devin wrapped her arms around me, gave a quick squeeze, and took the tray from Aubrey. Then, she took the gold thing from Kale—a door key—and disappeared through the exit without another word.

“Domination,” Kale said, taking my hand. “We needed to get a batch. Just in case we don’t find the blood. Devin is taking it out to one of Ginger’s people.”

A small blossom of panic bloomed in my chest. “You didn’t find the vial yet?”

“He found the safe,” Aubrey interjected, closing the cabinet doors. “But the blood wasn’t there.”

“Maybe the blood is gone. Used.” Kale frowned and nodded at the door where Devin had taken out the case. “That was a brand-new batch. They could have used the last of the blood to make it.”

“There wasn’t much left and Cross had the lab working nonstop to pump out as much of the drug as they could,” Aubrey said. “If the blood is gone, that batch might be the only chance at a cure we have.”

I couldn’t speak. If the blood really was gone, our only hope was Domination. With a 50 percent survival rate, I wasn’t loving the chances.

Kale tugged me toward the door. “We have to live long enough to worry about it first, and that means getting out of this building in one piece.”

“That’s her!” a man shouted from the front of the room. Three additional agents burst into the room behind him, cutting off our escape.

I glared at Aubrey. “Is there anyone you didn’t invite to our little escape party?”

One of the agents pulled out what looked like a cross between a walkie-talkie and a cell phone. “They’re in the lab. I repeat. In the lab.”

“Why are we standing here?” I whispered with a nod toward the exit door. “Shouldn’t we, I dunno, make a break for it?”

Kale tensed. “Devin took the key. That door doesn’t open from the outside—or inside—without it. We’re trapped.”

I turned my attention back to the four agents by the door. The one in front with the walkie shook it then growled, tossing it to the ground. The electrical distraction Aubrey mentioned. That must be why it wasn’t working.

Three of the agents sprang forward in attack mode, while the fourth ran the other way. I had to stop him before he told anyone where we were or what we were doing. I darted after him, ignoring Kale’s screams to stop. The deck was stacked against us, but if every agent—and loyal Resident—in the building came down on us, we were as good as dead.

He was fast, making it up three flights of stairs and to the third floor landing with impressive speed. I had a hard time keeping up, but managed—barely. That was it. My mind was made up. When this was all over, I was going to take up running again.

I rounded the last corner on the third floor landing just as he disappeared through the door. The building had a weird setup. The stairs ended, but a small sign with an arrow directed me to a set of elevators. I burst through the door just as he reached the elevator at the other end of the hallway.

I kicked as hard as I could, urging my feet to carry me faster as smoke started filling the hall. Great. Now something was on fire? This just kept getting better and better. The elevator doors opened with an echoing
ding
and he slipped inside, furiously mashing the button on the wall. The doors started to close. I wasn’t going to make it.

With one last push, I propelled my body, kicking my legs forward and tilting back. I hit the ground, right hip first, sliding the rest of the way. Across Zendean’s pristinely polished floor—and into the elevator just as the doors whooshed shut.

Of course, now I was alone in a steel box with an armed man three times my size.