The Returning Page 10

  The moment she’d entered the subterranean level, her old friend Lab Coat had greeted her with a syringe made just for her. She’d barely had a moment to register what was happening before the needle was deep in her arm. Then she’d been led to her familiar room and seen Willis strapped in her familiar spot. Terror had filled her bones. She had done this to him. A boy she knew nothing about had risked his life to save her, and she was now going to get him killed.

  Willis came to a couple of moments later and the sick mental game that the Scientist was playing began. Elise tried to get Dr. Reynard to let Willis go, but even as the words left her mouth, she knew all resistance was useless. And then her head had started to swim. Her body felt like jelly, wobbly and uncentered. What had they given her? She tried to wade through the muck collecting in her brain, but it was thickening with each moment.

  Elise watched Dr. Reynard continue toward Willis, the boy completely unable to do anything to stop the man from taking his freedom. A freedom he deserved, a freedom that made him who he was. He’d gambled everything to save her, and now he would lose it all. Elise couldn’t let this happen. Her heart raced and her mind turned as she searched for something, anything.

  Out of the darkness of her mind, a single voice came.

  You have great power in you.

  Remember who you are.

  Elise struggled through her desperation. For days she had been trying to harness the mysterious power that Dr. Reynard so coveted, trying to make the torture stop, with no luck. Her head felt heavy, and she slumped against the guards holding her. She was powerless.

  Let it go, Elise.

  Fear not, and remember who you are.

  Find the light.

  With no options left, she let go of her searching, let go of her pain and panic, let go of her need to find her power, and just acted. As the Scientist leaned toward Willis with his syringe, Elise felt the buzz of energy gather in her chest, and she let her instincts take over.

  Blinding light pierced through Elise’s head, as well as blinding pain. She heard the cry from the guard next to her as he dropped to his knees, and then the room around them vanished and the scene changed. Just like before, the scenery around her took on images of places she didn’t recognize. A childhood home with broken wooden fences. A small shared bedroom, bunks stacked three high. Rain dripping through a leaking ceiling into tin buckets placed on the floor to catch the water. Screaming between a man and woman. Trembling children.

  Then it changed. A young teenage boy in training sessions at the CityWatch barracks. Wandering eyes that followed a specific girl through town. Flowers presented and rejected. More barracks training.

  With each new moment, Elise felt the strong emotions connected to the scenes. Someone else’s emotions, invading her chest. Fear and pain. Loss and need. Loneliness. Anger. Self-pity. It felt as if they all might overwhelm her. She couldn’t even begin to hold on to the images as they cascaded past like moving pictures.

  Suddenly another wave of memories crashed against the first. Completely different, the emotional pull uniquely its own. Somewhere in the distance more cries of agony echoed, but she was too far down the rabbit hole of someone else’s mind to pinpoint specifics. The new memories were all of a small child: his first steps, his happy home, his loving parents. The feelings were warm and comforting, on the opposite side of the spectrum from the first set of emotions.

  The two strains melded together in a hurricane of emotional weather. The energy shot through her like lightning, electrifying her senses. She felt afraid that she’d gone too far, that she wouldn’t be able to climb back out of these people’s minds. The more fear she felt, the more hesitation filled her gut, and the deeper she seemed to fall.

  Let it go.

  Fear not.

  Elise shut out the anxiousness that made her hands tremble and let the voice wash over her.

  Remember you are called.

  With a deep breath, she opened her eyes and saw that it wasn’t just her mind that was filled with light; the room itself seemed to be vibrating with color. She was kneeling, the guards on the floor beside her, both clutching their heads as light danced through the air around them.

  The light soaked its way into her skin and filled her with weightlessness, as if she could float right off the ground. Joy tingled through her blood, and a new sensation overwhelmed her. Confidence. Suddenly anything felt possible. As if she were commanding the waves that had so often threatened to drown her. As if the air around her were waiting for her next order.

  Remember who you are.

  Elise still wasn’t sure who she was—the question had traveled with her all of her days. But she knew she was more than she had previously believed, and that filled her with power. She was much more.

  A scream of pain bounded through the room just as the tip of the needle touched Willis’s neck. Dr. Reynard snapped back, drawing the syringe away. His hand released Willis’s forehead, and Willis turned his head toward the sound. Elise had somehow dropped a guard to his knees. The man was gripping the sides of his skull and grunting in pain. Elise was also on her knees, her eyes closed and dancing violently back and forth behind her eyelids.

  Willis stared as a glow lifted off her shoulders. Powerful energy filled the room, an energy Willis was familiar with, and all fear vanished from his mind. Seconds later, a breeze, soft but sure, floated through the room, touching the hairs on his arms and calling forth his strength.

  “Get him up!” the doctor yelled at the other guard. “Get her away from him!” The second soldier moved, reaching Elise and his fallen friend in several long strides. He went to rip Elise away from the other guard, but he was too late. His eyes rolled back into his head and agony escaped his throat.

  Brilliant light radiated out of Elise, overtaking the room and heating the chill that had been there before. The second soldier fell to his knees, crying out as something worked its way through his mind.

  The old doctor stumbled backward, the light nearly forcing him to the ground. “No, no!” he screamed.

  Willis could see the trembling in the man’s body and the power-crazed look in his eyes. The old man focused in on Elise, her eyes still closed and light still pulsating from her body. Hatred like black oil dripped from the doctor’s eyes as quick, labored breaths slithered through his teeth. “That power belongs to me!”

  Willis yanked and struggled with all his might against the straps. He twisted his shoulders and ankles, trying to get enough space to slip free. The straps cut into his skin and scraped at his muscles. He ignored the pain and pulled harder.

  Elise’s eyes snapped open, staring forward and right through everything in the room. She was caught up in another place entirely, but Dr. Reynard was focused completely on her. Out of the corner of his eye, Willis saw him moving, holding something that reflected off the light vibrating from Elise. The cruel look on the old man’s face was certain, and all the trained sense in Willis’s body surged.

  Save the girl.

  With a fierce cry, Willis yanked one final time at the straps, and the ones around his torso finally loosened just enough for him to snap his arms free. In one swift move, he was sitting up, ripping the second set of restraints from his legs, and bounding out of the metal chair. He crossed the room toward the old man and wrapped his hands around his brittle chest from behind.

  The doctor thrust his head backward and it connected with Willis’s chin, causing him to stumble and lose his grasp on the old man. The doctor whirled and moved toward Willis, the object in his hand clear now. It was a knife. He slashed it in the air at Willis, and Willis stepped back to avoid it just in time. The man charged at him and Willis slid behind the chair that he’d been strapped to, shielding himself from the blade. The crazed look on the doctor’s face intensified. Rage pumped through the veins in his neck and he screamed out in bitterness, thrusting toward Willis again.

  Willis rounded the chair and saw that the syringe was lying on a desk in front of him. He dashed fo
r it, the doctor on his heels, then turned, swinging his arm, syringe poised, and implanted the needle in the meaty part of the old man’s arm. The doctor cried out in pain as Willis injected the yellow substance out of the syringe and then ripped the needle from the man’s flesh.

  A fog passed over Dr. Reynard’s eyes, and his lips faded from violent red to ash. Then his knees buckled forward, and he collapsed to the floor.

  Willis stood for a moment, panting and tensely waiting for the man to strike again, but he just lay there as still as stone, and Willis wondered if he had killed him. He ignored the prick of guilt, reached for the knife that had fallen on the floor to his left, and turned his focus to Elise.

  He slowly crossed the room to her, knelt beside her, and hesitantly touched her shoulder. Like a vacuum, the light sucked itself back inside Elise, and she gasped for air. Fear filled her eyes and she automatically pulled away from Willis’s touch.

  “It’s me,” he said softly. “I’m just going to cut these restraints, okay?”

  She gulped for breath, as if the wind had been knocked out of her, and Willis sliced through the plastic bands that bound her. She pulled her hands free and nursed her raw wrists, her eyes wandering around the room.

  “We have to go now,” Willis said.

  He didn’t wait for her to respond but swept her up in his arms and left the room behind, both guards still writhing on the floor and the liquid from the syringe eating away at the mad scientist’s mind.

  January 7, 2278

  My beloved Elise,

  I’m up before the sun today. The days are cold and the nights are freezing, but the mountain helps protect us from the bitter wind. I should probably be trying to get more rest, for I know what is ahead of me over the next few days. The time has come for the chosen Seven to leave, and my head is a mess with conflicting emotions.

  I can’t decide if I’m happy, worried, angry, afraid, or maybe simply all of them at once. The entire city is alive with an electric energy and excitement like I have never seen. Many have been dreaming of this time for decades. It signifies hope and freedom, the chance to return to the home we all left behind, to be reunited with the people still trapped there, to complete the journey we were all called to.

  But beneath the surface there is a strong sense of fear too. It’s hidden well under the excitement, but I can feel it like a steady pulse. What if it doesn’t work? What if we have waited all this time only to realize that nobody wants to be saved? What if all of this was for nothing?

  We’re supposed to have faith, to recognize that doubt is only possible when we lose sight of who we are, and we aren’t supposed to judge ourselves for losing sight, which is the hardest part, my love. If I’m being honest, which I feel like I can be here with you in this safe place that we share, I am living in a constant state of judgment.

  I judge myself for losing sight of my true nature. I judge myself for needing to remember. I judge myself for aging, for feeling weak and tired. I judge myself for the blame I carry. And I judge myself that I can’t let it go. I know I shouldn’t, and then I judge myself because I do anyway.

  Maybe that’s all this life is, really. Waking up each morning and forgiving yourself. Forgiving the world around you. Seeing things with clear eyes and letting go of the grievances we hold on to for dear life. Maybe that is the only way to really find peace.

  It’s hard to do when the darkness creeps in. When thoughts of you flood my mind or when I’m overcome with worry for your sister. But I am trying to see myself as I hope that you see yourself: blameless, whole, lacking nothing, perfect. For the love given to us calls this forth.

  The darkness is real and dense and ever present. But I will try.

  For you.

  For Kennedy.

  For myself.

  Your mother

  14

  Elise swam in and out of consciousness as she was carried from the Capitol Building. Fuzzy images of the grand hallway filtered through her mind, followed by a back door, the vibration of stairs, a damp tunnel, a dark night sky, and finally the smell of grass and pine. Her body shifted as Willis moved along his exit route, but Elise’s mind was too fried to wonder where they were headed.

  She was aware that her brain should be trembling with questions, but instead she felt completely at ease. The light and energy that had radiated from her was still swimming around inside her head. It alleviated her worry and silenced her doubt. So the questions stayed at bay for a while, and she just rested in the knowledge that for the first time in her life she felt connected to herself.

  Not the body that she lived in or the mind that she carried but the soul that was deeper. The part that housed her power. It was almost as if she’d known it was there, maybe even unknowingly interacted with it from time to time, but suddenly, in a moment of clarity, she’d released it upon the world. And now that it was awakened, Elise couldn’t put it back to sleep.

  Not that she wanted to. In fact, all she really wanted to do was drown in it, escape with it, block out the rest of reality and dwell in it. The power, the confidence, the peace. To think she’d had it within her this entire time.

  But as the minutes passed, the world around her started to chip away at the protective layer that the light had created. Then the questions started to sneak through. What had happened? How had she done that? What had she done? How had they escaped? Where were they going?

  She felt her mind and body stirring as Willis paused and set her down. He took heavy, shallow breaths, and Elise saw sweat glistening across his forehead in the starlight. She took in her surroundings. This was not a place she’d been before; it was outside the Capitol Building’s walls. Collections of shops and houses stood all around them, their foundations planted along the pavement of a thin side road. There were hardly any lights on, leaving the buildings dark and still. If Elise had to guess, she would say they were in the outskirts of the city.

  She could feel Willis’s eyes on her and she wondered what he was thinking. He had, after all, been with her, seen what she’d done. Was he judging her? Afraid of her? He already seemed to know more about her than she did herself, so maybe he wasn’t surprised at all.

  As if reading her thoughts, Willis huffed out a breath. “I was expecting some crazy things from you, but that was . . .” His words faded to silence.

  She felt a familiar pinch of sadness bubble inside. Another chunk of the light disappeared from her mind as she remembered that there was still so much she didn’t understand.

  What she did know was that she was just a girl.

  Chink. Another piece gone.

  That she wasn’t in command of her life.

  One more, vanished.

  That they might have escaped for now, but death was still coming for her.

  Pop.

  That she wasn’t actually that powerful at all.

  The peace that had only moments ago felt as close to her as skin was now gone, and in its place was the reality of what she had done and what it would mean.

  “Are you all right?” Willis asked.

  His words yanked Elise from her own mind, and she tried for a fake smile but couldn’t manage one. She was suddenly filled with overwhelming fear and doubt. What had she done? Without thinking about it, she glanced down at her hands in wonder. She had caused such pain and misery with them. She was a weapon. The idea made her tremble.

  Willis reached out and laid his hand on top of hers, but she jerked away. She didn’t want to hurt him too. His eyes held a somber empathy that made Elise uncomfortable, and she shivered against the cold night.

  “We need to keep moving,” Willis said and took a step forward, but Elise didn’t move. Her feet were glued to their place on the street, her body and mind questioning all of her choices. Her mind reeled. It was all too much for her.

  “How did you know how to escape?” she asked the stranger before her. Because Willis was still that—a stranger. But before he could answer, the dam holding back Elise’s queries broke. “How
did you even find me to begin with? And where are we going? What are we supposed to do now? We can’t outrun them; we can’t hide from them. This is insanity!”

  “Elise—”

  “I was just trapped in a room being tortured so someone else could use this,” she said, thrusting out her hands.

  “Elise, please—”

  “What am I? You saw me; you saw . . . What is happening to me?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Elise felt her anger rise. “You know more than you’re telling me, though. I want to know what you know.”

  “Elise, we are in danger just standing out here.”

  “I’ve been in danger my whole life! I won’t move until you tell me what you know about me.”

  Willis sighed. “Your name is Elise Brant. Remko and Carrington are your parents. They live in a city west of here called Trylin; they are some of the original Seers. You have a younger sister; her name is Kennedy. She is with me in this city along with five others who were called here. We escaped the Capitol Building because I have been training for this my whole life, and I found you because I was called to you. But as far as who you are? The only person who can answer that is you. That’s the journey we all go on, the search for ourselves.”

  Elise felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. “No.” She shook her head. “My parents didn’t want me because I’m broken.”

  Willis’s face filled with sympathy. “Is that what they told you?”

  Her brain struggled to absorb all the information he was giving her. She had parents and a sister? Her sister was here? He was called to her? The more she reviewed the information, the more questions she had. It couldn’t be true, what he said. It couldn’t.

  She took a step away from him, and he calmly raised his hands as to not spook her.

  “I have been living with the light the majority of my life,” Willis said. “I was raised in a place that encouraged me, and everyone around me, to interact with it. But I have never seen anyone channel it the way you did back there.”