-Worlds Apart- Ruination (26 page)

Their hands are rough and heavy. I want them off of me, I want to break each finger in two. My pants rip and I imagine this is all a dream. I imagine that any second now I’ll wake up and Ty will be here telling me I’m safe. My eyes burst with light as I’m hit across the head, I don’t know what they used but it was hard and effective. It feels like my brains being slammed inside my skull, over and over it slams. It’s pavement, that’s what they’re hitting me with. How didn’t I figure that out sooner? Blood rolls down my face and across my eyes. I wish it was their blood. I need it to be theirs not mine.

My stomach wads and spins as they roll me on my back. Out of nowhere I hear a loud crack. The jangling belt falls silent as my attacker crashes to the side, blood gushes from his head. I focus my eyes and make out the bloodied rock that cracked his head open. Just as my eyes adjust I feel the second attacker pried off me. Ty drags him by his grey sweatshirt pulling him away from me.

“Get up!” Ty shouts. The man sits for a moment before he jumps to his feet ready to fight.

His grey sweatshirt is a blur as he barrels toward Ty. Ty meets him head-on. Both their bodies slam together as they wrestle. They dance in a circle, arms tied together. Ty throws his hip into the man tossing him like a ragdoll onto his back. The man frees a hand and swings to punch Ty but he isn’t fast enough. Ty blocks the punch as he pins the attackers’ arms to his side. I hear the man’s bones cracking as Ty slams him over and over in the face. By now the man’s unconscious, maybe even dead, but Ty props him up punching him ruthlessly.

“Ty,” I whisper but he doesn’t hear. “Ty!” I shout, my ribs jab with pain as I yell.

He drops the man, blood covering his fists. I let him hoist me into his arms. These are the arms and hands that I need to feel. The only ones that I can trust out here. His jaws clenched as he bites down hard. I know what he’s thinking because I’m thinking it too. We should have killed them. He carries me back to the loft cradling me in his arms like Papa did the night of the banquet. I feel his heart pound the entire way. He carries me past the kitchen, artfully avoiding Jon along the way. He lowers me into the bed and turns to leave without saying a word. I hear him run a bath as I lay in shock. Ty comes back into the room.

“I’m gonna help ya up, okay?” I nod as he scoops me up, carrying me to the bathroom. “Bath’s for you. You should take one, it’ll make ya feel a little better.” I nod again. “I’ll be right outside the door. I won’t leave.”

I nod as he steps out. I peel the torn pants off and assess the damage. My bruises are already more prominent than earlier. I lower myself into the bath and soak, instead of crying I think about what I did wrong. That’s what Clint would have wanted and it’s the only way I’ll get stronger.

Chapter 41

I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d been two blinks later. Those two animals coulda killed her. I keep replaying it over and over in my mind. Seeing her on the ground like that made me ballistic. Like something snapped inside me and all I saw was red.

I’ve known for a while that I’ve got a special connection to Nessa. Every night before her dream terrors hit I know it’s coming, even before she wakes. I can sense the building anxiety inside her. It reaches out to me, waking me. I’ve been trying to find a way to tell her but the right time just hasn’t found us. I talked to Kara about it a couple weeks ago. She said she’d read that Prems can be hyper-sensitive to other Prems.

Basically I’ve tapped into Nessa’s emotions and I can’t find a way to turn it off. Thankfully it’s really only the extremes that I feel. I pick-up her fear, excitement, and sometimes rage. The in-between times I’m free from her emotions.

Right now I can’t tell exactly what she’s feeling, I know there’s some rage, I can feel that for sure, but there’s something else in there too. I prop my back to the door, the blood covering my hands has dried into a rusted red color. I reach into my pocket and feel the box wrapping around the necklace. Somehow it managed to stay in my pocket though all the crazy.

Jon has been letting me do odd jobs around the loft to save up money. I saw an advertisement a while back selling a silver locket. I liked the idea of a necklace that could hold someone’s pictures or memories. It seals em up tight, keeping em safe. We don’t have jewelry in our nation so it’s pretty safe to assume Nessa doesn’t have one yet. It’s nothing special but I figure she deserves something nice from me. It’s because of me she’s in this mess. The night we got our new identities I had Zane hack into Centrals records to get her parents and sisters name. I was picking up the locket from the engraver tonight when I felt her terror.

I grabbed it and ran outta the building towards where I felt her. That’s how I found her tonight. If it wasn’t for being a Prem I wouldn’t have been there to save her. I rest my head against the door just as the tub starts draining.

Chapter 42

I towel off, my skin’s been sheared from my calf, probably from when they dragged me into the alley. I wrap the damp white towel around me and step into the hall. Ty’s propped against the door.

“Hey,” I say as I step past him.

“Hey. I’m gonna shower. You’ll be alright?”

“I’m fine. Thanks for saving me tonight.”

He smiles, “Don’t mention it. We’re partners now, we get each other’s backs.”

I walk into our room closing the door behind me as he runs the shower. He laid my pajamas on the bed for me. I crawl into them and lower myself into bed. My head touches down and I hear a crackling sound from under my pillow. I’m confused, like maybe the attackers dislodged something in my ear that’s making the rustling sound. I sit up fishing my hand underneath my pillow, hoping to find the source. My fingers wrap around a box. I pull it out, the blue paper has two smears of dried blood that frame the bright yellow bow.  

I clumsily untie the ribbon letting it drop to my lap. I’ve never opened a present before and I try saving the paper as I carefully unwrap it. Ty steps through the door with his towel around his waist. I set the blue paper aside and open the box.

“What is it?” I stare at the silver object in my hand.

“It’s a necklace. A locket to be exact.” He sits down next to me taking the locket from my hand.

“I’ve seen people wearing these on the streets. How’s it work?” I ask. He grins opening the oval charm. I gasp, “Don, Emma, and Emilia…” I say them as I trace my finger across their names.

“I had Zane get their names for me. As long as you’ve got this, you’ve got a piece of them with you forever.”

“Ty I don’t know what to say?” He stands drawing his towel around his hips.

“Thanks is usually standard.” He smirks grabbing his clothes from the closet. He turns to leave but stops at the door. “Nessa, there’s somethin’ I’ve been meaning to tell ya.” I look up, the locket still in my palm. “I didn’t just get lucky and come across you tonight.” He pauses.

“Did you have another vision?”

He turns to face me, “No. It’s somethin’ different… I can sense your feelings.” My face screws-up in confusion. “I know, it sounds crazy even to me. It started durin’ your night terrors. At first I thought it was a coincidence but then I realized I could actually
feel
you gettin’ scared. That’s why I was always by your side in less than a blink.”

“That sounds crazy.”

“Yeah, I know. I talked to Kara about it. She said Prems can do that. We can sorta attach ourselves to another Prem and tap into their emotions.”

I don’t really know how to feel about this. I keep my eyes locked with his as I squeeze the necklace tight.

“So you
feel
what I feel?”

“Not all the time. Just the extremes. I tried makin’ it stop but I can’t. Kara says it just happens to some people. I’m sorry.”

“And the necklace?”

“What do you mean?” He looks confused. “Nessa the necklace was a gift. It had nothing to do with me feelin’ anything for you other than sorry for puttin’ you in the situation you’re in. It’s a gift.”

“Thanks,” I say as I release my grip slightly.

He turns towards the door grabbing the frame with his hand. “There’s a cure ya know.” He wheels back to face me. “They’ve got a cure out here to counter the conciliate-serum. It might cure us from being Prems.” My eyes meet his, I’d never thought of curing my visions before. I didn’t imagine it was possible. “I’ll take it if you want.” He hesitates. “I’ll never have another vision with you again and I’ll stop feelin’ your emotions. It’s the best thing I can come up with.”

I freeze as the possibilities prattle in my head. I’m mad that someone’s able to meddle in my brain and feel my emotions but at the same time it gives me some comfort. If it wasn’t for that I could’ve been killed tonight.

“It’s okay. We’ve just found out we’re Prems. We’re starting to learn what that means, let’s not break that yet.” I answer.

“Deal.” He smirks as he turns to leave the room. I clasp the locket around my neck and fall into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter 43

Jon knocks on our door waking us well before first light. “Time to get up you two. Bags are packed and Jake’s waiting.” He fidgets with his watch as he opens and closes the door three times before he shakes his head walking away.

“Why’s he acting so weird?” I ask Ty. I’ve never seen him like this.

“Don’t mind him. He gets this way before a big mission. He’ll be alright.”

I roll out of bed pulling on the long elastic outfit Kara gave me. It’s insulated but light-weight. The next few months leading up to January are going to be brutally cold. Thankfully Jon and Kara packed provisions to take us through until the mission.

“Morning, Jon.” I yawn as I greet him.

“Morning Lindsay,” he answers. It takes me far too long to catch onto what the heck he’s talking about.

“Lindsay. Right.”

“I suggest you and Eric start using those names. Read your file; get to know your new identities. You never know, it could save your life.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll do it. Right Lindsay?” Ty’s hands are on my shoulders. “She can be a bit ornery but that’s why I married her.” He playfully squeezes my shoulders and walks away.

“Joke all you want but I’m serious. This could mean life and death for you two and the freedom of your people.”

All joking aside I get it. I just don’t like admitting the importance and responsibility I’ve gotten myself into. Jon escorts us out of the house taking us through the underground shuttle system. We exit to street level climbing inside his craft.

“Buckle up,” Ty says.

Just as my buckle clicks in place my body’s plastered against the seat as Jon flings down the accelerator, rocketing us forward. He drives like a maniac in the open roads and before I know it we’re interlacing in and out of trees and rocks.

My heart’s hammering and my knuckles are clutched white. Ty and Jon look relaxed in the front. Guys can be so dumb. Just as fast as we took off we slam to a skidding halt. The craft idles a foot above the ground and my stomach tosses and turns threatening to expel breakfast. Ty opens the door and I robotically give him my hand.

“You okay?” He asks sinking me to the ground.

“What was that?”

“I told ya he gets weird before missions.”

“Well you could have warned me a little more thoroughly.” I shake my head as we take off behind Jon walking through the thick woods. Out of nowhere there’s Jake standing beneath the most monstrous black craft I’ve ever seen. “Holy,” I gasp. Ty turns to me.

“You don’t remember it?”

“Should I?”

Jake interrupts, “It’s only the craft that saved you.”

“This is? I don’t remember anything about it.”

Jake grins, “Yeah, she’s a beauty isn’t she? No time to fool around though, daylight’s almost here and we’ve got to get across the walls before patrols spot us.”

I turn to give Jon a hug and thank him for all he’s done. Words can’t express the gratitude I feel or the debt I owe him.

“Where’d he go?”

Ty looks unfazed. “Jon? He’s like that. Doesn’t like goodbyes I guess. Did the same thing to me when I went after you.” I’m speechless and wounded. Jake waves from the ramp leading into the craft.

“Come on you two.”

We hike the oversized duffle bags to our shoulders trudging up the ramp into the belly of the massive craft. I can see what remains of our rescue months ago. There’s a hospital bed in the corner with medical machines and oxygen tanks stacked to the side. I can only imagine the chaos it was on here.

The craft flies smoothly through the night, touching down to our charred hillside just as first light breaks. Jake powers off the craft helping us unload our supplies.

Being that Ty and I have never set up a tent, Jake takes the morning teaching us how to build and secure the tents Jon packed for us. It’s a fortress by the time it’s done, a real camouflaged castle.

The first room holds all our meals and cooking supplies, they lay tidily along the left side. Straight ahead are the beacons and radios we’ll need to communicate with the team on the other side of the wall. To the right is a large metal chest with the words ‘caution-explosives’ written across the sides. It’s our bomb materials.

The tent’s tall enough for me to stand straight up in but Ty has to duck or else the top of his head scrapes the roof. He’s tall, almost six-three. I commandeer the room to the left, setting it up as my own. I have my own cot, a stack of clothes, and a sealed container carrying my contacts, Central uniform, and my new ID badge. Ty’s room is in the opposite corner of the tent. He seems so far away now. I’m used to having him next to me, close enough to hear him breathing.

By the time everything’s unpacked and we’re settled, the sun’s gone down and Jake’s safe to leave.

“Well you two… God speed.” He says smiling as he leaps up the ramp in three steps. As the craft lifts off it hits me how quiet it is out here.