Jag straightened at the same time I saw Zenn’s bleached hair, alabaster skin, and cloudy, controlled eyes. The crowd began scrambling away, but I stayed, pinned to the spot by desperation.
Through the pandemonium, Dad’s emotions engulfed me: hatred and triumph, sadness and hope. You have the power to change people, his voice boomed in my head as if it had been amplified and broadcast into the courtyard.
I didn’t ask for this power, I replied. I don’t want it. You don’t control me—and I won’t control others.
Duty or death, he threatened.
I reached for Jag’s hand. “Let’s go,” I whispered. “Please.”
He gripped my hand, twisted the ring on my finger, and murmured something unexpected. “Badlands.”
Dad’s bellow of frustration rang in my ears as I dissipated into a thousand particles.
An evening breeze kissed my skin. Darkness stretched into forever. My lungs cried for air, my mind filled with fog. The teleportation symptoms had never lasted this long. The darkness turned white.
Air rushed at me. I took deep breaths, as if I could store the oxygen for the next time I teleported.
I opened my eyes to the soft glow of Jag’s necklace. The colored gems radiated life the same way he did. In a swift motion, he removed his necklace and placed it in my hand.
I shook my head and pushed the necklace away.
“No, I want you to have it,” he said, closing my fingers around it. “Please, babe, take it.”
“I only want it if you’re wearing it.”
“I’ll wear it again, I promise.”
He was lying, but I put the necklace in my pocket anyway. The stones felt warm, even through the denim.
“Where are we?” I peered around the corner of a building. Lights illuminated the street, but it lay silent.
“Main Street.” Jag hugged me. “Hey, this is where I first kissed you. Guess that made a lasting impression.”
I laughed at the same time I suppressed a sob. It seemed like yesterday that we’d walked down this street. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with him, but those overwhelming feelings filled me now.
I remained silent, still clutching Jag’s hand. The air hissed with the beating of insect wings and the chirp of crickets. But that’s it. No loud laughter. No lounging in the park. Nobody sat at the outdoor cafés, eating and living free.
Now the bad teens shuffling in the street wore long sleeves in one color—beige—and wide-brimmed hats. The little skin I glimpsed was still sun stained, but that would fade over time as the brainwashing continued.
Those who spoke did so in whispers. Girls walked with girls; boys with boys. No stolen glances. No shy smiles. No hand-holding.
The Baddies had been turned good.
“Jag—what’s going on? Why are we here? What—?”
The fire in his eyes boiled into rage hot enough to scare me into silence. A muscle in his jaw twitched.
“This,” he swept his hand toward the controlled masses, “This is what he expects us to do,” he said, biting out each word.
A strong swell of nausea clenched in my gut. “I can’t do that.”
“Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do,” he said.
I saw inside his mind. He didn’t have the option of asylum in Seaside. For him, it was all or nothing. It always had been.
Duty or death.
I opened my mouth to say something when a path of tech blurred in my mind.
“I love you, Vi,” Jag said. “Don’t forget that. Ever. I will always love you.”
“Touching.” Dad stepped out from behind a group of downcast Baddies. He wasn’t wearing an I-love-you-my-darling-daughter expression. More like, I-could-kill-you-without-even-blinking.
But he was wearing his leather jacket. I remembered feeling it against my cheek, inhaling its polished scent. That jacket reminded me not of Thane, but of my dad. The alias of a man who hugged me and broke rules.
My heart pounded with a mix of fear and desperation. Another spark of tech and Zenn appeared a few feet away. He stood like a Mech, stiff and unnatural. His eyes held no life.
My sweet, wonderful Zenn.
Jag squeezed my hand, and I released my tension and hopelessness.
“Chokers.” Dad sneered the word like it was dirty. “An unexpected inconvenience. You have a choice here, Violet.” He smiled, but the expression held no fatherly emotion. “Zenn or Jag.”
I’d already made that choice. A quiet corner of my mind wondered why neither Zenn nor Jag had told me anything.
“It’s always the Voices who don’t want to say too much,” Dad said. “If Jag would’ve been honest, we wouldn’t be here right now. Zenn too. But Voices are always worried about influencing people with what they say. Your dad went through the same thing, Jag. That’s why I had to get rid of him.”
A cruel smile marred Dad’s face. “Stefan Barque made the transmissions you listened to for most of your life, Violet. He felt so bad about it, he actually became bad. He was dangerous, but at least he imparted his gift to his son.”
Dad spread his arms and gazed around the city. “Look what we can do. We’ve turned this uncontrolled city into a haven of prosperity within a few weeks. Violet, you have amazing abilities. You could run a city this size—you could run ten cities! The world could be yours. There are precious few with your power. We could work together, be a family again. Please, V, choose wisely.”
The word V stabbed through my heart. I was being torn in a million different directions. I could do what Dad wanted and serve the Association. I’d envisioned it a hundred different times on the trek to Seaside. But it had never ended well. Not for me, not for Jag, not for Zenn.
Maybe I could return to the oceanic region, where I could do something useful and respected with my control. And Jag and Zenn could come with me. We could all live a free life.
Choices, choices, I thought. I hate making choices.
“The Association has authorized the dictatorships here,” Dad said. “We’ve moved our breeding and recruiting program to the southern region, an area that has produced great Thinkers in the past.” He paused, pinning me with a dangerous look. “This is your last chance to join without consequences.”
I stared right back at him. “Why do you care?” I asked. “Just go back to Freedom and leave me alone.”
Dad took a step forward, anger painting his face with dark shadows. “I care because it’s my job to find mind rangers and bring them to the Association.”
I wanted to retreat, the rawness of discovering he was simply “doing his job” slicing into my heart. For a moment I convinced myself this man wasn’t my father.
Jag’s grip tightened and reality crashed down.
This man—Thane—was my father, my horrible, rule-following, brainwashing father.
But I didn’t have to be like him.
“I have to return to Freedom with at least one of you,” Thane said. “Violet, you can make this so much easier for everyone if you’ll just come with me to Freedom. Zenn and Jag can both go free.” He took another step forward. “Please.”
“Did you even love Mom?” I blurted out, desperate to know that my entire life hadn’t been a plan.
“I chose the most susceptible Goodie so that my genes would completely overpower hers. I got two mind rangers out of the deal.” His smile sickened me.
Suddenly my mother became the victim. She must have known her husband didn’t love her. And her daughters reminded her of that fact every day.
I sagged into Jag, who laced his arm around my waist and whispered, “Doesn’t matter, Vi. I love you. Ty does too. Zenn always has. Even Pace adores you. You don’t need Thane.” I didn’t care that he used his voice, didn’t care if what he said was true or not, didn’t care that both my parents hated me.
Jag loved me.
“I need you too, Violet,” Thane said. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time. I’ve worked my whole life to establish c
ities as places of refuge for the people, somewhere they could have food and water and a job. Somewhere they wouldn’t die in the wild. We all need the guidance of the Association or our planet will die.
“Soon enough, Seaside will fall too,” he continued. “The Association is waiting for my report before reclaiming the oceanic region. You could rule that region, Violet. Any way you want.”
“He’s lying,” Jag whispered. “We have tech. Our methods of travel are clean. Nobody’s going to die.” Jag’s eyes burned from within, the same way the jewels on his necklace did. He was right. Our world wasn’t as bad as Thane made it sound. Do we have to control people? Can’t they understand reason?
“No, Violet. They can’t,” Thane said, answering my thoughts. “They’ve always served themselves instead of thinking about their duty to others. They need someone like you to tell them what to think about, who to help, how to care about something besides their own selfish needs. The human race has always ignored those less fortunate than themselves, thinking that by ignoring the problems, they’ll just go away.” He laughed, the sound cruel. “But just look around. The problems don’t go away. They just get worse until you’ve got people blowing up buildings, without consequences. That’s what happens without a Thinker. Without someone like you telling those selfish people how to behave.”
He took another step forward and gestured lazily to the statue next to him. “I have to return with one of you. So will it be Zenn?”
His laser-gaze bored into Jag. “Or Jag?”
When he looked at me, his features softened into the face of my father. “But I really need you, V,” he whispered.
48.
Before I could speak, Jag shoved something in my mouth. “Swallow.”
I obeyed before groaning from the spike in techtricity. A moment after I choked down the purple pill, the burning in my chest faded. I blinked and saw Ty and Pace standing in front of me on the sidewalk.
“All you have to do is make a choice.” Thane edged closer to Zenn, who stared straight ahead. “I told the Association you couldn’t make choices. I asked for authorization to kill or capture any of you on sight. They wouldn’t listen—and I obey the rules.” He glanced at Ty. “Hello, daughter. So what are you two going to do now?”
No one spoke. Nobody moved.
“I can’t believe my daughters have turned against me,” Thane continued, his words sharp as steel. “I sacrificed everything for you two.”
“Shut up,” I growled. “That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. And believe me, I’ve heard some real shit.”
Jag laughed and threw his arm across my shoulders. “That’s my Vi,” he whispered before kissing my temple.
Thane narrowed his eyes. “Get your hands off my daughter.”
I laughed a little too loud. “Yeah, that’s a good one. Like you give a damn about me. You just want to use me for my powers. If you cared, you wouldn’t have left seven years ago.” I slowly wound my arm around Jag’s waist in an exaggerated gesture. I tucked my hand in his back pocket, and smirked.
“I had to. I—”
“Yeah, yeah. Your duty. I’m so freaking sick of that. Save it, Dad, for someone who cares.” I glared at him, daring him to do something.
He glared back, waiting.
“Gavin?” Jag asked. I wasn’t sure how many other unspoken words followed her name, but she looked at me and then him. She shook her head slowly, and I took that to mean that whatever she’d seen remained unchanged.
Zenn blinked and looked right at me. On the outside, he looked controlled. I studied him, finding his mind easily. He loved me. He hated my father. He was still resisting in his own way, but he needed my help.
“Jag.” I tried to shake my hand out of his. “We have to help Zenn.” He’d already been broken, but maybe he could be fixed.
“Let Zenn go,” Jag said. His voice reached a new level of control. Powerful, well developed, commanding. I felt an overwhelming urge to get Zenn and drag him to Jag.
Thane’s smile evaporated. The emotion in his eyes blanked out. Then the intense burning came back, hotter and brighter than before.
He laughed again, but this time it sounded low and terrifying. “That was very good. You almost had me there.” His face took on a wild quality. Dangerous. “Now what?”
All I could think was, Save Zenn. I took two steps before my arms were pinned to my sides. Jag still had one arm, and now Ty held the other.
Zenn, save Zenn. I broadcasted my thoughts toward Pace as I struggled against the grip.
He met my eye before sprinting into the street. He let loose a wild roar and flung himself at Thane. They collided with a crunch of bone and a spattering of blood.
A sickening thud sounded, and Pace didn’t move again. Thane spit blood and wiped his mouth as he stood up. Ty had one hand on Zenn’s jacket when Thane thrust his fist forward.
A jet of white mist hit Ty in the face. She choked and stumbled, knocking Zenn back toward Thane as she did.
I buried my face in Jag’s chest so I wouldn’t have to watch my sister die. “Stop!” I screamed. Everything turned still, silent. Thane waited—like I was the one calling the shots.
Because I was.
Oh. No. I was in control here.
No, no, no. Bile rose in my throat. The clenching in my gut wasn’t from the bloodstained stones in front of Ty, though that would’ve done it. No, I’d become what I hated—a Director.
I’d finally found myself.
But I didn’t like who I was.
Bright red blood stained Ty’s stark face. I moved to revive her, tears already streaming over my cheeks, but Jag held me fast. “Let me go!” I thrashed against him, letting the rage blossom and replace the hurt inside.
“No, Vi,” Jag said, his voice soft and soothing. “Stay with me.” He spoke as a command. I sagged into him, but my eyes never left Ty.
Time slowed. The crickets became the loudest sound.
Thane took one step while I fumbled in my pocket for the tech. I hoped like hell I had the power to do what needed to be done.
I made my choice.
I spun toward Jag. His cheeks were wet.
“Jag, baby, take this and go.” I pressed the diminisher bracelet into his palm.
He looked at it, defiance seeping into his eyes. “No way in hell. I won’t run again. I’m not hiding—”
“Yes, you are. I love you, you idiot, and I refuse to watch you die. Now, go. This is my fight.”
He shoved the bracelet back at me. “No. What’s yours is mine. I won’t—”
I squeezed my eyes shut and forced him to be quiet. “You have to go. It’s the only way I know how to save you. Go, please.”
His beautiful blue eyes glazed over. He fingered the device that would allow him to hide and escape. Just when I thought he was going to slip it on, he looked at me. “But I promised I’d never leave you.”
“So you lied. I do it all the time.” A hole opened in my soul that could never be repaired. I’d lose him, probably forever.
It’s my choice, I thought when I felt the weight of my actions. Thane said to make a choice.
Jag wiped his thumb across my cheek, and I almost collapsed in on myself.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I promise, I’ll find you.”
I nodded, desperate to believe him. “I know you will.” I pried my fingers out of his. Focusing on his blueberry eyes, then his delicious lips, I mentally instructed him to put the bracelet on and run. I imagined him doing it.
A surge of tech burned my face, and I flinched away. Where Jag had just stood, a blank space stared back.
Feeling lost and alone, I sank to my knees. Exhausted and with my new power consuming me, I curled into a ball on the cold stones. Silence pressed down. Slow footsteps approached. I felt the careful caress of a father’s hand. I sobbed at the touch I’d longed to feel for seven years.
“That boy has poisoned you, V.”
I pulled away and staggered
to my feet. “You’re lying. Jag loves me.”
He glanced at Zenn, who remained lifeless. “Well, I can see this is going to be a problem.” His face twisted with determination as his hand shot toward me.
I tried to dodge, but he caught a fistful of my hair. The leathery scent of his jacket stained my senses with unwanted comfort. I twisted, but his grip was firm.
Icy fingers of control stabbed into my awareness, starting where Thane’s fingernails dug into my scalp. “Violet Schoenfeld, you will forget about Jag Barque. You will remember him no more.”
I struggled against his hold. “You forget about him! Leave me alone.” My command entered Thane’s awareness. His grip loosened for a split second. It wasn’t enough for me to get away before he regained control of himself.
I kicked, screamed, swung my arms. Thane stood resolute, holding me at arm’s length where I couldn’t reach him. An intense hatred resided in his eyes. “You will forget about him.”
“No! I need him!” I clawed at his hand where he gripped my hair. “Let me go! I hate you!” Desperation overrode the control I might have had.
A cruel smile painted Thane’s features. “I need the old you, not this new Jagified version. Violet Schoenfeld, forget about Jag Barque. Forget you even met him. Forget he exists.”
I fought his voice, but a black weight slammed into my mind.
“You’ll never make me help you,” I gasped out as the darkness spilled into my memories, covering the guy’s name, his face, his voice.
“I can do anything I put my mind to, Violet.”
Pain rippled from my scalp to my neck and back. Thoughts fled. Memories darkened into sinkholes. Footsteps moved away. Coldness smothered me into a hole so deep and narrow, I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.
“So can I,” I choked out. “And you’ll never . . .”
I couldn’t finish, because I couldn’t remember what Thane would never be able to do.
49.
I’m running. Fast.
Faster than I’ve ever run before. I’m chasing someone, and I desperately need to see his face. He haunts me. He has for months.