Winter's Awakening: The Metahumans Emerge (Winter's Saga #1) (6 page)

“Listen, guys. I know this is all a little overwhelming to you. I’ll do everything I can to find your mom, honest I will.” He looked like he was teary eyed for a moment as he spoke. A quick sniff and his emotions were back in check. “Go ahead and settle in, unpack and get cleaned up. I’ll order some pizzas in an hour or so.”

He started to walk downstairs when he must have seen Maze sitting patiently on the first floor landing. “Um, Meg? Do you think Maze would like to hang out in the backyard?” I smiled to myself. Can you imagine what the neighbors would think if I took him for a walk? “Yeah, I’m sure he’d love it. I’ll get some food and water set up for him too.”

Though tired, I found myself heading down the stairs with a spring in my step. Where the heck did that come from? Oh, then I remembered. Cole. Did I mention how good looking he was?

I closed my eyes and shook my head. What am I thinking? Were my hormones that out of control that the first boy I see who’s not a brother of mine makes me all ga-ga?

I focused on Maze now. He leaped out the back door and immediately started chasing a squirrel. That poor little brown thing flew up his tree to a pile of scraggly brown twigs and leaves nestled in the crook of a branch. That must be his home. My imagination pictured him…

I was still chuckling to myself at the thought of how a squirrel must feel with Maze around, when I noticed Cole watching me from the back door. Self-consciously, I tucked my hair behind my ear and looked away. He’s probably just wondering what kind of freak his dad just brought home. Ugh.

As if on cue, Maze raced up to me with a hedge apple in his mouth. He dropped it at my feet and looked up pitifully. In my mind he was saying, “C’mon Meg, after the day you put me though? You owe me a few rounds of playtime!”

“All right, all right fur ball,” I responded to his unspoken dialog, leaned down, grabbed the toy and threw it. Okay, so I’m not used to fences and boundaries. And my throw, though gentle for me, flew over the creek behind the house. That didn’t bother Maze. He leaped to the top of the fence, caught the wood with his front legs then pushed off with his back legs never losing sight of his target. Within seconds, he had jumped back over the fence in one easy leap and dropped the hedge apple at my feet.

Well, if Cole just saw that, he’s sure to have some questions for me. I was too afraid to turn around to see if he’d been watching. I’ll just assume the worst and wait for the sound of the door opening behind me followed by a barrage of, “How did you DO that?” What can I say; I’m pretty strong for a girl.

Moments passed as I rubbed Maze’s head, and all was quiet from the house. Whew! Maybe no one saw. I kept the game very low key from then on and Maze got bored fast. I was too tired, anyway. Actually, a hot shower sounded like a great idea. Something about being surrounded by all those people at the airports made me feel covered in germs.

I headed back inside the house and left Maze sniffing in the bushes. Maybe we won’t be here long. Maybe Dr. Andrews will locate our mom tonight and we can go home tomorrow. I wished so hard that would happen, but the cynic in me knew better. Things were probably going to get a whole lot worse before they got better.

Chapter 15 Dr. Winter’s Awakening

She could hear the ticking of what had to be a clock. The more she strained to hear something besides that tick-tock, the more deafening the silence became.

Everything hurt and her foggy brain wasn’t helping.

She remembered landing at the airport and heading toward a taxi cab outside. And that’s it. That was the last thing she could remember.

Next thing she knew, she woke lying on a clammy floor of a darkened room with her wrists and ankles tied with duct tape. She could feel the thick layer of adhesive digging into her skin, itching like crazy, and tight enough to cut off circulation.

But if that was her only pain, she would be overjoyed. Though she didn’t remember how it happened, she was very sure something was wrong with her head. She could feel her heartbeat pounding behind her eyes and she smelled the coppery, thick scent of blood around her. She had no doubt that she’d suffered a pretty serious head trauma.

Margo willed herself to breathe slowly and deeply, hoping the extra oxygen would help her think.

For twelve years, she waited for this day to come. And for twelve years, she prayed and planned and tried to prepare herself for its eventuality. But even after everything she did to try to set it up so the children would survive, nothing could prepare her for the desperation she felt for their safety now.

If the company found her, did they know where the children were too? Had they already captured them? Were they experimenting on them, again? Or did they decide to eliminate the evidence of their “metahumans?” She shook her head slowly trying to clear it and saw pain-filled stars for her efforts.

The more she thought about the children in harm’s way, the angrier she got. The angrier she became, the more clearly her mind worked.

She was far from helpless.

Growing up in a small Kansas town in a middle-class family, she knew the only way out was going to be with a lot of hard work. She couldn’t take anything from her parents, though they wanted to help her pay for school. They had enough to cope with. You see, she had a baby sister who was special.

Becca was a beautiful baby girl who came home from the hospital with mom and dad when Margo was five. By her first birthday, they started to notice Becca was different from other babies. By the time she was three, they had a definite diagnosis. She was autistic.

There are different levels of autism. Becca was high functioning. There were times when she would just astound the family with her intelligence and humor. But those times were few and far between. Most of her days were spent repeating her comfortable patterns. She loved her “hot pink” marker and carried it around everywhere. She wore shirts with no tags. She liked to play peek-a-boo and organize her letter tile squares into perfect rows of ten.

Becca was thirteen when Margo was accepted to West Point Academy. At eighteen, Margo dedicated herself to military service for the next ten years. In exchange, she received a West Point education and an active duty tour highlighted by special ops training. Then there were four years of medical school at a prestigious university squeezed in for good measure. Life was nonstop, and the time flew by in a blur.

After her military contract was fulfilled, her superiors tried to convince her that her place was with them. She disagreed. Now, she needed to fulfill her next goal. She wanted to find a cure for autism.

There was a small list of laboratories that fit her criteria so it didn’t take long for her to choose The Institute of Neurobiological Studies in Upland, California. If Margo knew then what she knew now, things would be so different. But as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty. She loved her parents so much and missed them terribly. Their passing left a huge hole in her heart.

Memories kept flooding back to her in full color and crisp audio. Adrenaline does that to a person.

She was trying to loosen the tape around her wrists. The ties were so tight they were cutting into her skin with each movement she made. Pain was something she could control. Margo wasn’t worried about the pain. She was worried about damaging herself to where she couldn’t fight when given the chance.

How long had she been here? What day was it? What time? If the company hadn’t captured the children, then where were they? Though she trained them to fight and survive, she was aware that they would have been completely caught off-guard. An involuntary wince had her biting her lip as she continued to work on her binds.

Margo’s mind couldn’t stop racing. What if the children thought to call that number on the emergency contacts lists? And if they did, would her old friend help them? Would he even know how?

All these unknowns were maddening.

“I just need to survive so I can protect the children, God. You can take me as soon as they’re safe. I don’t want to live without them. Please help me, please.” She didn’t even realize prayers were streaming through her mind. She was so focused on loosening the binds around her wrists.

Physical excursion was making her slick with sweat. The moisture was working on the adhesive. Maybe, if I could twist like this, she thought.

A wave of despair crashed over Margo. She was angry at herself for leaving the children alone and angry she let her guard down. Margo was beating herself up with all the “what if’s.” What if I hadn’t published that paper? What if I hadn’t agreed to come to this convention?

She now knew she had fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Get someone to think they won an award so they come to collect the prize, and whammo! Caught! She was feeling furious at herself for being so naïve.

And that’s when she heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Her wrists burned with numbing pain as she redoubled her efforts.

Focus, Margo, she thought angrily to herself. It doesn’t matter how I got here. I’m getting my children, and I’m getting out!

Margo steeled herself with renewed determination. I will not give up my children, she silently screamed. One more agonizing twist and her right hand ripped free of its binds. As she shook the numbness out of her bloody and aching arms, a sense of calm enveloped her. Now she was ready. One more prayer and the door to her cell opened.

Chapter 16 Honey, I’m Home

Alik, Evan and I have tasted pizza before. I mean, we didn’t live in the Stone Age back at the ranch. It’s just, we’d never tasted this kind of pizza before.

The kind that showed up at your door carried by a kid wearing a uniform and a huge sign attached to his beat up car. The kind that came in a cardboard box that when opened, steamed hot juicy mouthwateringly scrumptious smells. The kind that when you lifted a slice from the others—strands of gooey cheese remained attached to the rest of the pizza, as if resisting your advances. The kind of pizza that when you took your first bite, you knew it wasn’t going to be your last. Red sauce dancing between the chewy dough and gooey cheese covered in crispy slices of salty pepperoni.

This was heaven-in-a-box good. This was eat-till-you-hurl good. This was the stuff that made us know our civilization was at the pinnacle of advancement. So even though I say we’ve had food that came in a frozen box labeled “pizza” before, I must confess, I had never had real pizza before tonight.

After dinner, Alik, Evan and Cole headed to the basement to watch a movie. You would never have believed they just met Cole that afternoon. They were like three peas in a pod laughing and joking around with each other as though they’d been friends for years. ‘Course, knowing my brothers, they were still just delirious with joy over the meal they devoured.

As for me, I was so full that all I could do was sit on the basement stairs and play with Maze. From that spot, I heard the garage door rumble open. I stopped and listened up the stairs. High heels clicking on concrete, pausing, door to the house opening…then closing. I heard keys jingle and more heels clicking before a few thuds. That was probably her purse or briefcase being set down heavily. “Honey,” she called. “Hun, are you upstairs? Theo?” Michelle was home.

What the heck was she talking about? She was acting like she expected us to be freaks. Suddenly, my full stomach felt like revolting.

Ugh, why did I eat so much? I thought miserably.

The doctor responded in a whispered tone, probably trying to encourage Michelle to lower her voice. “They seem completely normal to me. Of course, I didn’t examine them or anything. Their mother kept them secluded from the world on their ranch so they seem fascinated at the most ordinary things.” I heard his voice smile as he said that last part. I’m sure he was thinking about Evan and the airport faucet.

There was a loud clanking noise, like a pot being slammed down on the stove. Then, what sounded like a cabinet door banged, then another.

Well isn’t this just wonderful, I thought to myself. “I feel so welcomed, how ‘bout you?” I whispered into Maze’s ear.

“What have you told them about their mother?”

“I’ve told them everything I know…just that their mom was known to exit her plane at LAX and that to keep them safe they needed to come home with me.”