At last she turned.
“Hi,” Derek said, his eyes sparkling with optimism. “I hope you don’t mind that I had Michael speak for me.”
She glanced back at the dancers. Michael caught her looking at him and gave her a thumbs-up.
“I thought everything was going so well until Wednesday.” Derek put his hand tentatively on her waist. “Then you acted like you didn’t even know me. I didn’t understand. I thought we’d hooked up.”
“Yeah, well, things happened.” She looked at him. She knew he’d never believe her even if she did tell him that she woke up that day and couldn’t remember her own name.
“Let’s dance.” He pulled her to him.
She stared into his eyes. He was sweet and likable. She’d never hurt his feelings, but he was no Michael Saratoga. She glanced over his shoulder, but Vanessa and Michael were gone now.
“You know, I don’t feel very well,” Tianna said, and made a mental promise to herself that if she got through this night, she would never lie again. “I’ve got a headache.”
“Are you getting headaches since that hit you took in soccer?” He looked concerned.
“Yeah, from the soccer hit.” She started to pull away.
He squeezed through the dancers after her. “You’d better see a doctor,” he suggested. “I’ll give you a ride home.”
“It’s all right.” She stopped at the door. “I can walk. I don’t want to take you away from the fun.”
But he had already left the building without getting his hand stamped. He kept glancing down at her legs as they peeked out from beneath her skirt.
She sighed. In trying to get away from him she had left her backpack inside. She started to ask him to go back and get it for her, but he spoke first.
“I’m sorry about the way I treated your cousins the last time we were here. I thought maybe that’s why you were upset with me.”
“What cousins?” She put her hands on her hips and studied him.
“Those weird punker dudes.” He shrugged. “It’s hard to imagine they’re related to you, but they said—”
“Derek, what are you talking about?” She was getting a real headache now. A strange buzzing in her head made her squint.
“I just felt bad about the way I treated them,” Derek replied. “I didn’t know they were related to you. They explained everything to me when I saw them at Starbucks today.”
It dawned on her. “Mason and Justin?”
“Yeah. I told them you’d be here tonight.” He smiled and pointed. “There they are.”
Justin and Mason slowly walked toward her. Their eyes flashed with red and gold sparks as if a fire burned inside their heads.
“They’re not my cousins, Derek.” She needed to do something and fast, but she didn’t want Derek to see her use her power. Somehow she felt that the less he knew, the safer he would be. The best thing to do was flee. She started to run, but Derek grabbed her hand and stopped her.
She turned and stared into Derek’s eyes. They seemed triumphant. Was he one of them?
CHAPTER NINETEEN
TIANNA WOKE UP AND blinked. She was lying on her side, arms behind her, face pressed against a cold, damp concrete floor. Slowly, thin bars of pale orange light came into focus on the wall above her. It looked like the outline of a door. Another grayish glow to her left appeared to be a dirt-streaked window. She must be in a cellar. That explained the foul odor of mold and mildew.
She couldn’t remember how she had gotten here, but at least she still had the memories of who had captured her. Justin and Mason wanted her for something. She was sure they had kidnapped her so they could turn her into one of them. Her chest tightened as her apprehension deepened. What were they?
Then she recalled how Derek had stopped her before she could escape. She wondered if he had always been part of their group. He had seemed like such a nice guy.
A scuttling noise made her heart drop. It sounded like tiny feet dragging a long skinny tail. She hated rats, and she wasn’t waiting until one was in her face; she was leaving now. She tried to move, but something stopped her.
“No,” she moaned. Her hands and legs were tied. She stretched her fingers and felt the ropes and knots binding her wrists, then concentrated her telekinetic powers to loosen them.
“Tianna?”
“Derek?” Her head jerked around. She couldn’t see anything but shadow.
“Are you down here, too?” His voice seemed shaky.
“Yes.” She tried to sound calm to reassure him.
“Those dripping water sounds are driving me crazy,” he complained.
She listened. She hadn’t noticed the constant ping and drip of water coming from the corner. “Yeah, I guess it would have bothered me, too, but I just woke up.” She hadn’t been sleeping, exactly, but it was close enough to the truth. Her mind continued working on loosening the knots that held the ropes around her wrists.
“I thought I was alone.” His relief was obvious.
She was grateful he wasn’t in league with Mason and Justin, but at the same time her heart sank. It was going to be harder to escape now. She would have to protect Derek. Then she remembered that her last thought before blacking out had been that he had betrayed her. So what was he doing here?
“Why did you stop me when I tried to run away?” she asked, not bothering to hide the accusation in her tone. She felt the ropes loosen and now tried to uncoil them with her mental energy.
“I thought you should speak to your cousins,” he explained in an embarrassed voice. “But I guess they weren’t your cousins after all.”
“How could you think they were?” She started to scold him but stopped. Anger was a waste of time, and she needed to conserve her energy.
“I’m sorry I believed their story about your family squabble. I swear I thought I was bridging a gap so you could all be together for Thanksgiving. I didn’t know it would end up like this.”
“It’s all right,” she sighed.
“I should have been suspicious,” he countered. “I’m such a dunderhead.”
“No, you’re not,” she reassured him.
“But I knew better,” Derek insisted, “I saw what they were doing Tuesday night, and then I went ahead and believed their story. They said you were stubborn.” He stopped, and when he continued, there was a light tease in his voice. “Okay, maybe that part of their story is true.”
“Thanks,” she answered sarcastically as the ropes around her wrists dropped free. She brought her hands in front of her. They prickled painfully as the blood flowed back to the tips of her fingers. She shook them, and when they were no longer numb, she examined the ropes around her ankles.
“What did they do to me?” she asked. “Why was I unconscious?”
“You won’t believe me if I tell you,” he answered.
“Right now, I’d believe anything,” she assured him. “You can’t begin to imagine everything I’ve seen in the last two days.”
“Their eyes turned yellow,” he answered finally. “And they used them to make you pass out.”
When she didn’t laugh, he continued. “You don’t think it was my imagination?” He didn’t wait for her to answer. “You know about them. What are they? Something supernatural? They look it. So tell me.”
“I wish I knew,” she answered as the first knot tying her ankles came loose.
“Maybe they escaped from a genetics lab? I mean, you see it in the movies all the time—maybe the government really is working on some kind of superhuman.” He took in a deep breath and was silent for a moment as if considering what he was going to say next. “Do you think they’re Martians?”
“Martians?”
“You know, guys from outer space. They can…” He started, then stopped as if he was still in awe of what he had seen.
“What?”
“Talk right in your head.” Derek let out a long breath. “I know you can’t believe me—”
“But I do,” she answered blun
tly.
“You do?” He seemed relieved.
“Yes, they’ve been chasing me for a long time, and somehow on Tuesday night they stole my memories.”
She could hear him moving as if he was trying to get closer to her. “That’s why you acted so strange Wednesday morning at school?”
“Yes.”
He was silent a moment. “And you’re not really a runaway. I mean, you are, but you have a reason to be on the run.”
“I guess I’ve been running for a long time.” She felt sad and quickly changed the subject. “Did you hear anything that could help us?”
“Yeah, I overheard them on the car ride over.” He stopped as if something had suddenly baffled him.
“What?” she asked, sensing it was important.
“They’re waiting for a third guy to show up so they can take us down to the beach. They’re going to cross us over, whatever that means.”
“I know it can’t be anything good,” Tianna answered.
He sighed. “There’s no way to escape, so I guess we’ll find out.”
“How can you be such a pessimist?”
“We’re both tied up,” he answered. “The ropes are too tight. I’ve been trying to loosen them, but they won’t budge.”
“They didn’t tie me up,” she lied. She figured he couldn’t have seen her working the ropes in the dark, anyway.
“They didn’t tie you up?” He sounded surprised.
“I guess they thought I’d remain unconscious.”
“Untie me, then,” he urged.
“All right.” She stood and tripped over something in the dark, then stumbled and fell on Derek.
“Ouch,” he moaned.
“Are you all right?” she whispered, and realized she was lying on top of him. She liked the way his body felt so familiar and comfortable beneath hers. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes, suddenly regretting all the mean things she had said to him.
“Aren’t you going to get up?” he asked.
“Sure,” she answered, and let her hands smooth down his chest and then his arms. She was surprised by the feel of his rock-hard muscles.
“I work out,” he murmured unexpectedly.
“What?”
He snickered. “The way you’re feeling my chest and arms—”
“I am not.” She jumped up, indignant, then knelt beside him. “I was searching for your ropes.”
“Liar,” he whispered.
She felt a blush rise to her cheeks and was glad it was dark so he couldn’t see.
“The ropes are tied around my ankles and wrists,” he said, but there was still laughter in his voice.
Her fingers traveled down his jeans leg and found the rope. The knots were too tight. It would take her forever if she picked at them. Instead she imagined the coils wiggling free. Within moments she tossed the ropes aside.
Derek stretched his legs. “Thanks. Get my hands.”
She pushed a stack of boxes aside, then felt the ropes that held his hands behind his back. The tips of her fingers touched his palm and lingered there as if they had memories of their own.
“Is there a problem?” he asked.
“No, why?” she answered, not wanting to take her hand away.
“Just that you’re taking so long.”
She used her telekinetic powers to undo the ropes. As soon as his hands were free, he waved them in the dark, searching for her.
“You okay?” he asked. His fingers brushed across her cheek and settled lightly on her chin. He leaned closer. She drew in air. His warm breath caressed her lips.
“Come on,” he whispered. “We’ve got to get out of here.” He grabbed her hand and helped her stand.
She wondered if she would have let him kiss her if he had tried. She didn’t understand her disappointment that he hadn’t. She liked Michael, didn’t she?
Then she froze. Hollow footsteps pounded on the floorboards overhead.
“They’re on the move,” he said cautioning her.
“Do you think they heard us?” She used that as an excuse to put her arms around him.
“It sounds like they’re going outside.” He started forward again.
The distant sound of a door opening and closing came to them.
“Yes, definitely they went outside,” Derek said. “Hurry, let’s get to the stairs.
“Stairs?” She followed him blindly through puddles and over stacks of wood and pipes.
“Since the door is up so high,” he explained, “there must be stairs.”
“Yes,” she answered with a sudden rush of excitement. If they could get up to the door, she could use her powers to open it. She hurried after him.
“That’s odd.” He seemed perplexed. “They must have removed the stairs.”
“Why?” She waved her hands in front of her, searching. Nothing was there. Not even a ladder.
She sat down on the floor in total frustration. That’s why Justin and Mason had been so careless. Even if she had come to and used her power to untie her ropes, there was no way she was going to get up to the door. She couldn’t fly. “There must be another entrance. How did they get us down here?”
Derek was silent for too long.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Do you think it’s possible that they took away some of my memories?” He seemed distressed. “I remember the car pulling up out front and the next thing I recall is being tied up alone in the basement, but I don’t remember how I got down here and I don’t remember them bringing you down here, either.”
“Anything’s possible.” She stood and touched the wall. Water seeped over the bricks. Then her fingers felt something marshy and soft. Her hands jerked back. “Yuck.”
“What now?”
“The wall. It’s covered with some kind of creepy mold. It feels totally gross.” She wiped her hands down her skirt.
“We’re in a basement.” He laughed. “I didn’t think you’d be so squeamish.”
“You touch it,” she said.
She heard him shuffle forward.
“Jeez. What is this stuff ?”
She took off her shoes and handed them to him.
“What are you doing now?” he asked.
“I’m getting us out.”
“How?”
She didn’t like the disbelief in his voice.
“I’m going to scale the wall.” Already her mind’s eye had started working a brick to make it stick out a few inches so she would have something to step onto. A soft squishy grating noise let her know she had been successful.
“What was that?” Derek asked.
“What?”
“That sound.”
“My hands slipped,” she explained. “I’m trying to find protruding bricks.” That was partly true. She ran her fingers along the wall. The mold and moisture made the bricks slippery, and even after forcing them out at an angle the surfaces were hard to grip.
Derek stood next to her. “You think you can do it?” he asked hopefully. “Be careful.”
“I will.” Her fingers grabbed hold of another ice-cold slimy brick. She paused to make sure she had a strong hold, then felt with her foot for something to step on. It was worse feeling the gummy mildew squish between her toes. She had to struggle for balance until she could find another brick.
A few minutes later she was almost there. All she had to do now was use her power to open the door, then climb onto the floor and help Derek out. She clasped the jutting edges tightly, her fingers slipping, and concentrated on moving another brick out. A sludgy scraping sound followed, and a glop of squashy stuff fell on her face.
“Yuck,” she moaned.
She blinked, then reached up and felt along the wall for a brick that was sticking out. She wrapped her fingers around it and too late realized it was completely covered with spongy mold. Her fingers slid off and she fell back, plunging to the basement floor.
CHAPTER TWENTY
DEREK TRIED TO BREAK
her fall but only succeeded in tumbling to the basement floor with her. Tianna landed on her back, her head hit the concrete. Hot pain rushed through her skull with the roar of a train as dark clouds pressed into her vision. She sighed and let go.
When she opened her eyes again, Derek was beside her, calling her name and caressing her cheek softly.
She didn’t answer him because all at once her life was coming back to her. The fall had somehow released her memories. So many forgotten moments were flowing back into her consciousness at a frightening speed.
Justin and Mason had captured her on Tuesday night. She felt again the strange sensation of Mason inside her head, controlling her thoughts.
Mason had tried to steal her sense of self and make her one of them. He had shown her a menacing black shadow. The same one she had seen in that other dimension with Catty.
She had felt mesmerized by the whirling dark cloud, and when he had told her to go toward it, she had wanted to even though part of her knew if she did, she would lose herself forever.
But someone had torn her away from Mason and she had run. She tried to recall who, but that memory hadn’t come back to her yet.
Mason’s power had been strong and continued absorbing her memories even after she had escaped. That was why she couldn’t remember until now all the hours spent running and hiding with Justin and Mason on her trail. She had run for miles, slipping into shadows and sprinting down dark alleys. They had almost caught her once and she had fallen down an embankment to escape them. That was why she had so many bruises the next day. She had managed to get away, and finally she had lost them and scrambled up a tree next to the apartment where she lived now. The window had been unlocked, so she had gone inside and crashed.
Then she remembered Pete. That’s how Justin and Mason had caught her. Pete had asked her to dance at Planet Bang. He had seemed like any guy her age, except for the way his hands had been all over her, uninvited. She had tried to break away from him, but before she could, Justin and Mason had grabbed her. She had been able to escape because Derek had come.
“Derek,” she said with surprise. “You saved me.”