I opened my mouth to say something else, but the words did not come. His face grew fuzzier until the entire room faded to black.
~~~~
My eyes fluttered open. I stared up at a white, tiled ceiling. I turned my head. I was still on the floor.
“Lexi, can you hear me?”
The voice. I recognized it from recent dreams. I placed my palms on the cold floor and pushed myself up. I fully expected to see the faceless Smoking Man. Instead, I saw Kyle. I reminded myself that Kyle was not Smoking Man.
I focused on Kyle’s dark brown eyes. Was I dreaming?
Instead of cigarettes, I smelled something worse. I crinkled up my nose, and looked around. A disgusting yellowish-brown substance covered the bed Jack had been lying in and the floor around it.
Dr. Wellington lay sprawled on the floor. Out cold, it appeared. Cathy was lying in a fourth bed beyond Sandra.
“What happened?” I asked Kyle.
“Cathy tried to inject you with something after you didn’t heal Sandra, but Jack turned it on her. She’ll be out for a while.”
“And Dr. Wellington?”
“I punched him.”
Jack had Seth in a stranglehold, pushed up against the wall on the other side of the room. “You promised you’d get her out of here.” His forearm pressed into Seth’s neck.
“I couldn’t,” Seth choked out. “You of all people know why.”
“Jack,” Kyle said, “Jack, we have to go. I can’t keep this up forever.”
“Keep what up?” I asked, confused.
Kyle reached a hand to me. He pulled me to stand. My legs felt funny. Weak and tingly. Like they were asleep.
I pushed my fingers into my thigh and barely felt it.
Jack let Seth go, and Seth just turned and stared at us, rubbing his neck where Jack had been pressing. Surprisingly, he seemed to forgive Jack immediately. “I’ll give you as much time as I can, but you need me here on the inside. Cathy and Roger need to trust me.”
Jack crossed the room. He reached to brush hair out of my face and tucked the strands behind my ears. “Can she hear me?”
Strange question. Why would he ask that?
“Ask her.”
He raised a brow at me. I nodded. My head felt strange. Tingly like my legs.
“She’s unconscious,” Kyle said. “But I think I can direct her well enough to get us out of here.”
“Can you run?”
I shrugged.
“I need you to run. If we have any hope of escaping, you need to run.”
Not giving me any more time to deliberate, he grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. The hallway was long and white, like before. Very much like the first dream I ever had with Jack in it. The night my dad was killed.
We ran together in that dream, too.
This time, Kyle followed close behind.
When we reached the top of the stairs, we took a hard turn to the right toward the parking lot.
“She left her backpack around here somewhere. We need it,” Jack said to Kyle.
I turned. No one followed us. Not even Seth.
“It’s behind the bush over there,” I mumbled and pointed with my finger to where I knew we would find the bag.
Jack looked at me strangely, then at Kyle. “Are you sure she’s asleep?”
“Positive. She’s not the only one designed to see inside people’s brains. She’s in a state of non-rapid eye moment, slow-wave sleep.”
We jogged toward the bush. The campus seemed too quiet. My peripheral vision was slightly fuzzy.
“Will she do anything you tell her to do right now?”
Kyle didn’t answer. They were talking about me like I wasn’t even there. So, I was asleep?
Finally, Kyle did answer. “No. I don’t think I could get her to hurt herself or others. But I could lead her anywhere I wanted her to go.”
“Like the night she jumped into the ice-cold swimming pool and forgot how to swim?” Jack glared at Kyle.
“Jack…” Kyle stood with me while Jack rummaged behind the bush and came back out with my pack. “That wasn’t me.”
Jack dusted off the backpack and tossed it over his shoulder. “You understand why I’m having trust issues right now. Someone with a similar ability tried to kill her. If not you, then who?”
“I’ll do what I can to earn your trust. We need each other. And we’ll figure out who’s inside her head.”
“I’m counting on that.”
Jack reached for my hand again. Just as his fingers wrapped around mine, a loud, whirring noise sounded. An alarm. My hands flew to my ears.
Both boys turned toward the noise. “Crap,” Jack said. “We have to hurry.” He looked at me. “You hear me? I want you to run as fast as you can.”
Instead of heading into the parking lot, we took off toward the stables. We ran along the edge of the barn to the far side then darted into the woods behind it, very close to the spot where Jack had found me sneaking back into Wellington after discovering him at Addison’s hospital bedside.
I did as I was told and ran. Trees passed by us at rapid speed. I stumbled several times, but Jack steadied me.
Something tugged at the back of my mind. We couldn’t go much further, but I didn’t know why.
Then I saw it. The electric fence.
I pulled on Jack’s hands. “We can’t. It’s turned on.”
“She’s right,” Kyle said. “I can hear the buzz.”
Flashlights darted through the trees behind us. Dogs barked. We were being chased. It felt real, but at the same time, I still thought I might wake up from a nightmare any second.
Jack pulled his phone out of his back pocket. After dialing, he brought the phone to his ear. “We’re here.” He stared at the fence, into darkness.
Through the shrubbery on the other side, toward the road, I heard the motor of heavy machinery followed by the sound of limbs crackling and small trees crunching. Bright headlights became a spotlight on the three of us, coming straight for us. I gasped.
Jack pulled me further to the right. I looked behind us at the approaching flashlights. The sound of barking dogs rose above the commotion of the tractor.
It reached the fence and plowed right through. Sparks flew as the tractor slammed into and tore down the fence.
Voices erupted behind us. “I see them. Stop!”
“Let’s go,” Jack said to me. “Watch your step.”
Flashlights lit our path by people whose faces remained hidden to me.
“Jack, I’m not sure how much longer I can keep Lexi in this state.” Kyle stepped lightly behind us. “I’m starting to lose her. And my vision is getting weaker.”
“What do you mean?” Jack’s grip tightened around my hand. “What will happen?”
“She’ll fall deeper into sleep. Uh…” Kyle hesitated. “She’ll just collapse, I guess. And I’ll go blind.”
“Shit. Why didn’t you tell me this?” Jack squeezed my hand. “Look at me, baby. We have to hurry, okay?” I nodded. “Step only on grass and dirt. Avoid the wires. They’re live.”
I still couldn’t see the faces behind the flashlights lighting our path to the other side.
I stepped on grass just like instructed. I swayed slightly. My head started to go a little fuzzy. “Jack?”
He turned to me. “Hang on, Lexi.” He steadied me and led me across the wires. “Five more steps.”
“I’m losing her,” Kyle yelled behind me.
My vision became weaker. My legs went numb. My equilibrium was off. I reached out my free hand, grabbing for air.
“Jack, catch her.”
I stuck a leg forward. Leaned closer to the other side. Two more steps. “Jack!” I screamed out. My feet were leaden; my body was falling like a chopped down tree.
I felt a hand on my opposite arm. Jack leaped in front of me, then took me with him. I soared through the air, over the rest of the electrical fence.
We landed with a hard thud on the o
ther side of the fence. Jack’s body cushioned my fall. He coughed like the air had been knocked out of him.
I lifted my head briefly. My fingers grazed the outline of his jaw. His lips. His face came in and out of focus. “You’re always there to catch me,” I whispered just before I drifted away.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Voices entered my consciousness in hushed tones.
“She’s going to be fine,” a female voice said.
“You don’t know that.” Jack’s voice was a bit raspy. “Why won’t she wake up?”
“She will. It hasn’t been that long.”
“It’s been almost two days.” His voice sounded louder this time.
Two days?
“Why don’t you go take a shower? I’ll stay with her.”
I recognized the voice. It was Georgia. The African-American girl with crazy eye shadow from the bar where Jack’s band played. That seemed like a lifetime ago.
“No. I’m not leaving.”
I felt a drop of warm moisture land on my hand. Jack sniffled loudly.
“I’m going to help with dinner. Everyone’s going to be hungry.” There was a long pause. Then, from further away, Georgia said, “Does she know?”
Know what?
Jack must have given her a look because she continued. “Does she know about Fred, Jonas, and me?”
“No. Never really got a chance to tell her.”
I heard the sound of footsteps and a door closing. I willed my eyelids up. They were so heavy.
Jack scooped my hand into his. “I should have told you everything the minute I met you. Or when you figured out we were part of the cloning project.” The weight of Jack’s head pressed down on my hand. “I had so many chances to tell you everything. I thought running would be better for you.”
I wiggled the fingers of my other hand. Then I tried my toes. I wanted to reach for Jack, but failed at lifting my hand. I wanted to tell him I forgave him. He was here now.
I would never let him push me away again.
“How can I tell you the rest now? After what you did for me?” Please wake up.
I am awake.
Jack lifted his head away from the hand he squeezed and gasped. “Open your eyes.”
I’m trying. I can’t. I’m so tired.
How are you feeling?
I’ve been better.
“Why did you do it? Why did you heal Addison?” he practically sobbed.
For you.
Jack sucked in a labored breath and let it out slowly. I thought you might die.
Is she okay?
“Seth is working on it,” he said. “Hopefully, he’ll get her moved before Cathy and others figure out what you did.”
What do you mean? If Seth knew what I did, he’d be coming for me.
“Oh, Lexi. If they figure out that you have the powers they hoped you would have, they will stop at nothing to find you. I’m still not even completely sure who “they” is. But since Addison is still in a coma…”
We’re safe for now? I didn’t believe that for one second.
“I have to go back to Wellington.” He laid his head on my chest.
No. I squeezed my eyes tight. Slowly, I was able to lift my hand and place it on his head. I ran my fingers through his hair. You can’t.
“I was never supposed to leave. But I had to get you out.”
My eyes fluttered open and I found his dark blue eyes with mine. I didn’t want to argue with him. Not now. Not yet.
“Did I ever tell you my favorite color?” He pressed his lips to my hand.
I shook my head.
“It’s the strange, beautiful color of the ocean. A deep, emotional green. The color of your eyes. They change color at times, you know?”
“What color are they right now?” My voice sounded hoarse from no use.
He narrowed his gaze. “The color of a raging sea.”
“You’re not going back to Wellington.”
“Not tonight. But I have to tomorrow.”
I pressed my head back, hard into the pillow, and breathed deeply.
Jack pleaded his case. “Cathy will take Addison off the feeding tube and coma-inducing drugs if I don’t. Then she’ll know. All it takes is one MRI, and they’ll know what you did. But if I go back alone…”
“They’ll leave her under and not suspect,” I finished for him. “As long as you cooperate long enough to get her moved.”
“And we’ll fake her death and hide her away.”
He made it sound so easy for a person to assume a new identity. “Oh, well, yeah. Just pretend to kill her. No big deal. Then it’s happily-ever-after. Just like you were hoping for me.”
“Don’t do that. You know we don’t have a choice. They’ll force you to heal Sandra… and next time… What you did could have killed you. I won’t lose you.”
“We do have choices.” I could still run. We could still run, before Seth comes after me like he promised. Why did Jack not see that Seth would stop at nothing to have me heal his sister, our creator? “You can choose not to shut me out again.”
“Can we talk about this later? There’s something else I’d rather do now.” A sneaky grin crept up on his face.
Because I was too tired to argue right then, I snaked my hand around his neck and brought his head closer. His lips tapped mine, teasing at first. Once. Twice. Then they closed over my lips with a need I had not felt from him before.
When he finally broke away, I pulled back the covers and he crawled in and held me as we both slept.
~~~~
When I woke again, I realized I had no idea where I was. I felt better. Not one-hundred percent, but better. Jack was not in the room.
I slipped out of the bed and made my way across the room. As soon as I opened the door, I heard voices. They got louder as I walked down a hallway toward a light at the end. I was in some sort of modest ranch house.
“You can’t be serious,” Georgia was yelling. “I, for one, am not setting foot on Wellington’s campus. Not after what you’ve just told me. Have you forgotten the state you brought your girlfriend here in? You really think she’ll go back there?”
“No. I don’t want her anywhere near that place.” Jack spoke with certain finality.
“Oh, but you’d subject your other friends to their freakishly controlling ways? They had an electric fence put around the school, Jack. What kind of non-prison facility does that?”
I padded lightly into the kitchen. Georgia and Kyle turned toward me. Jack opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. “Please, don’t let me interrupt,” I said. “You were telling Georgia how you were planning to keep me away from Wellington.” I looked around for something to drink.
Reading my mind, Jack walked to a cabinet and pulled down a glass for me. After fixing me some ice water, he stepped behind me and slid his arms around my waist as he kissed my neck. “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I eyed the others. “So, real names?”
Georgia, Jonas and Fred looked back and forth from each other. Jonas stepped forward. “We’re exactly who you think we are. We go by Georgia, Fred, and I’m Jonas. Our real names are dead to us.” They were the other three cloned from the original test group. They made up the rest of the seven.
“And I see you’ve met Kyle.” I nodded at him. “Thank you for your part in getting me out of there. Seeing okay?”
“You’re welcome and yes, I am now. Glad to see you up and around.”
“The only one missing is Briana.” I sipped my water and eyed each of them before I turned to Jack. “What’s the plan? When do we go get her? And Danielle? And expose Cathy and Dr. Wellington for the monsters they are?”
The others all shifted. Georgia crossed her arms. She looked different without all the dark makeup from the first night I met her. As did Fred without the guyliner.
“It’s not that easy.” Jack intertwined his fingers with mine and pulled me closer. He stretched an arm around my shoulders and
pulled me into a tight hug. “Seth called while you were showering. Cathy wants to make a deal with us.”
I tried to pull away, but Jack held on tight. “What kind of deal?” I mumbled into his chest.
“He didn’t say, but Seth and Cathy both think that the IIA is behind your father’s death. And they think that if the IIA killed Peter, there’s nothing stopping them from killing a clone that knows more than he or she should. Especially if they think for one second that someone has evidence to expose them.”
I pushed against Jack’s chest. This time he let me, but his severe eyes locked onto mine. “Which is why they think we’ll seek refuge at Wellington?” And they’d have me right where they had wanted me all along—inside The Program.
Jack nodded.
The IIA did not try to drown me in your pool.
I know. I thought of that. Jack ran his hand through his hair. From the looks of it, he’d done that quite a bit.
I turned and eyed each of them—Kyle, Georgia, Jonas, and Fred. The only one missing from the original seven was Briana. According to Dad’s spreadsheet, there were more clones, but they were all younger. There were only seven in the original test group.
Since I didn’t believe Briana had tried to kill me the night I went to the bar with Jack… And I didn’t think she was capable of drowning me… Someone in this room tried to send me to my grave early. Quite possibly, someone in this room murdered my father.
Jack stepped behind me again and slid his arms around my waist.
Georgia spoke first. “Look, I know you both feel comfortable that Cathy isn’t trying to kill us, but come on…”
“She’s a controlling freak,” Fred said. “If it weren’t for Seth, I’d have run long ago.”
Jonas laughed. A low rumble vibrated in his throat as he shook his head. “Jack, if you think for one second your mom and dad, not to mention Seth and Sandra Whitmeyer, are going to keep us all safe from the IIA, you’ve lost your mind. They aren’t concerned for our safety.”
“We’re all tired,” Georgia said. “Let’s sleep on it. Nothing is going to be decided tonight. Fred, I’m sleeping in your room. You can show Kyle the basement.” She turned to us and smiled warmly. “You two can keep my room.”
I looked down at my hands, suddenly embarrassed by what that suggested.
Everyone dispersed after that, obviously exhausted and grumpy.
Jack gripped my hand tightly as he led me back down the hallway. He pulled me into the room I had been sleeping in. It was a very nondescript room. Nothing decorated the walls. The only color came from the lavender down comforter on the bed. I was probably the only one who wasn’t tired.