Destined (The ARC Book 4) Read online

  Small lights glow by the turnstiles but, aside from that, the large foyer is dark. We don’t have time to try and find another way out though. We’ll have to risk it.

  We silently rush across the room, jumping over the turnstiles as we each head for one of the glass doors. We both try the handles, but they’re locked.

  ‘Elle,’ Lara says, her voice quivering. ‘Can you get us out of here?’

  ‘I … I don’t know,’ I reply. Not knowing isn’t good enough though. I need to get Lara out of here. I can’t let her be captured by these people again.

  I push one hand against the door and focus my will on my hands, so I can try to make a window and get us out of here. With my talent I should be able to sense the microscopic matter of the door that stands before me, but all I can manage to feel is cool glass beneath my fingers.

  The warm tingling place in my chest where my talent resides buzzes, so I know my talent’s still there. But, as I try to tug and pull at the power, forcing it to my hands, it doesn’t respond.

  ‘It’s not working,’ I say, keeping my voice low. Although I’m whispering there’s panic evident in my voice. The recruiters could find us any second. I have the power to save us, but I just can’t control it. Joseph was right. I’m just a scared little girl.

  ‘Elle, you can do this,’ Lara says. ‘Don’t be afraid of your talent, just let it loose. It won’t hurt us.’

  I nod and focus back on the window. I’m still terrified of the recruiters finding us, but I push aside the fear I feel of letting my talent surge to the surface. My talent tingles within me, but instead of trying to restrict it I coax it to the surface and allow it to run freely through my body.

  Warmth floods through me and there’s an almost prickling sensation all over my skin as my talent begins to surge through me. I welcome the power into my fingertips, and it slowly seems to build. Inch by slow inch it gathers and pulses towards my hands. When my hand glows I nearly drop it away from the door in surprise. I hadn’t believed I could really do it.

  I swallow tightly and tense my body for fear of losing the progress I’ve made. I raise my other hand and begin to trace a circle in the glass, large enough for us to step through. A soft glowing light trails my finger until a full circle is made. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to imagine the matter I feel with my hand dispersing. In my mind I command every molecule to slowly separate.

  When I open my eyes there’s an empty space within the circle I’ve drawn. I did it! I take another deep breath, attempting to hold it steady. I hear the sound of an elevator dinging behind me.

  ‘Elle…’ Lara whimpers, but I refuse to look behind me and see what’s there. I’m already guessing there are recruiters, and if I see them I may lose control of the window I’ve created. Then we’d be really screwed.

  ‘Quickly,’ I whisper to Lara, nodding my head at the window.

  I don’t have to tell her twice as Lara darts through the window and I quickly follow her through. I remove my hand from the window and the glow that surrounds the hole I’ve made disappears and the glass door becomes whole again.

  I catch sight of recruiters on the other side of the door. There must be ten of them running towards us from the lifts.

  Lara grabs my hand and tugs me as I swear. ‘Let’s get out of here!’

  I nod and follow Lara at a run as we rush through the streets to the meeting point. We’ve got a good start on the recruiters, and as I push my senses out I can’t hear them chasing us. They must be struggling to get out of the locked building.

  A sense of accomplishment fills me as we run. I have finally been able to do something with my talent, something I wanted. I try to think of what I had done differently. I had been scared, but for once I wasn’t scared of the power within me when I used it. My terror for Lara had allowed me to do the one thing I never thought possible—embrace my talent. Maybe I can get control of it after all?

  I glance back at the street we’ve just come down and watch Headquarters disappear behind a building as we run. I feel a twist in my gut as I watch it go. We shouldn’t have left Hunter behind. He’s not safe there anymore.

  CHAPTER NINE

  When we get to the meeting point we find the rest of the team there, including Sebastian and M. Sebastian rushes towards me and catches me up in his arms. I sag into them, finally feeling safe again.

  April approaches and hugs me too. She looks angry and emotional, like she might be about to cry. ‘You are crazy,’ she reproves. ‘Sebastian just told me what happened and I’m totally locking you in your carriage when we get back.’

  I smile and hug her back warmly. ‘Yes Mum,’ I murmur, with a laugh.

  She pulls back and laughs herself. ‘Sorry,’ she wipes one hand under her eye. ‘I don’t know why I’m so emotional about this.’

  Lara clears her throat, guiltily. I glance over and see tears in her eyes. ‘Sorry, it’s my fault. I’m projecting my emotions. I’ve got it back under control,’ she says. ‘I’m just so happy we got everyone out safely.’

  April smiles at Lara. ‘Well, that explains it,’ she says, winking at me as she turns back to the others.

  Sebastian resumes his place next to me, placing his arm over my shoulder. I feel like he doesn’t want me anywhere he can’t get a hold of me right now.

  He leans in close to my ear. ‘Did you teleport all the way from camp?’ he asks quietly.

  ‘Yeah, why?’

  ‘That’s a long way,’ he answers. ‘It’s definitely further than I’ve ever been.’

  ‘Really?’ I ask.

  He nods. ‘I think we’re only just starting to see your potential.’

  I fall silent at his words. Can I really teleport further than him? I hadn’t even planned it. I was just so terrified for them all. Perhaps it was only possible because I had some serious motivation.

  ‘Let’s get back,’ April says, looking to M for approval. ‘Joseph will send people after us. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible.’

  M nods tiredly and stands, using Soren for support.

  The streets we walk through are dark and uninviting as we head back to South Hope. M is weaker than I’d initially thought and needs longer and longer breaks so our progress is slow.

  Sebastian keeps my hand held tightly in his. I think what I did tonight has shocked him more than he’s willing to admit and he wants to keep me firmly by his side. I’m not about to object though. It feels good to have him there for comfort.

  When we arrive back at the subway the entire team gathers on the station platform for a debriefing. Though it’s well after midnight and we’re all exhausted, April doesn’t want to wait until morning in case we miss something that happened that could put us all in danger.

  Lara’s parents are waiting on the platform and break down crying as they pull her into their arms. Copper is also waiting for me. He leaps up at me, placing his paws on my chest, and licks my face. When he gets back down he gives me an accusing look, and I get the impression he’s not very happy about my unexpected departure.

  He then decidedly ignores me and walks over to Thatch, who is standing by Lara’s family. I follow the dog over to him.

  ‘He was worried about you,’ Thatch says, scratching behind Copper’s ears. ‘I thought he was going to tear the station apart looking for you. You have a very smart dog here.’

  ‘I’m sorry if he caused you any problems,’ I reply. ‘My leaving, it wasn’t exactly intended.’

  ‘Oh, I know,’ he replies. ‘You gave us a scare though. Watching you disappear, then reappear on the screen with Joseph…’ His voice trails off before he continues quietly. ‘I thought you were all going to die. He’s even worse than I thought.’

  I nod. I’ve known for some time now how evil Joseph is. The one thing I have learnt from tonight is how badly he wants me back in the hospital. I wouldn’t be surprised if that whole show on the rooftop was all aimed at trapping me and returning me to the lab.

  ‘I just hop
e that anyone else who was watching was able to get a true glimpse at their leader. Did you see what happened with Hunter?’ I ask Thatch.

  ‘Once you were gone, it appeared like he was trying to escape too. Whether he did or not is a mystery. They cut the feed right after you left.’ He laughs. ‘You certainly made Joseph angry tonight. I’ll give you that.’

  He has that right. Joseph was crazed tonight and our escape will only make him step up his attempts to quash us. We probably only gave him more ammunition against us. I can’t imagine the people of Hope being on our side when he continues to tell them we are dangerous terrorists.

  He may paint us as the enemy but surely people are beginning to see the truth about him. Surely people aren’t going to continue to stand for his rules and restrictions. We saw how fragile his power was in the market square that day. If we could only show people there’s a better way…

  I feel exhausted from using my talent so much tonight and don’t waste time getting back to my carriage. Sebastian walks silently along the tracks with me and Copper, despite his obvious mood with me, stays close by as well. I think he’s scared I’ll disappear again, and wants to keep an eye on me.

  I push open the door to my carriage when we get there and stand on the steps looking in. Kelsey is staying with Mia tonight, which is a weight off my mind.

  I glance at the cold, empty space and shiver. Part of me wishes she was fast asleep in here. The place is so uninviting and I could really use the company tonight. I turn to Sebastian.

  ‘I don’t want to be alone tonight,’ I say, so quiet I worry he may miss my words.

  I see him slowly swallow. We slept in the same room for years when I used to live with his family, but asking now feels so different. He doesn’t answer but simply takes my hand and climbs into the carriage with me, shutting the door behind him.

  We both take our shoes off and collapse onto my bed. Sebastian wraps his arm around my shoulders and I snuggle into the crook of his arm, feeling safer than I’ve felt in a long time, and immediately fall to sleep.

  When I wake I forget that I’m not alone and nearly let out a scream when I find an arm draped across my waist. It takes me several moments to remember Sebastian is there and, when I do, I immediately relax.

  I glance at the time on my cuff. It’s well after 10:00 A.M. and I’m slightly surprised Mia and Kelsey haven’t come in to wake me yet. I consider getting up in search of them but look down at Sebastian’s arm over me and decide I can probably wait a few more minutes.

  I can hear him breathing deeply behind me. We didn’t get to bed until the early hours of the morning, so he’ll probably continue sleeping for a while longer.

  I huff out a breath and decide to get up, my body protesting as I slip out from under Sebastian’s arm and stand. I feel weak and shaky this morning. My body is completely exhausted and I suspect it has more to do with the talents I used last night rather than the lack of sleep.

  I pause before leaving the carriage to look at Sebastian, who sleeps soundly. His hair is ruffled and there’s a smile touching his lips. My insides tingle as I look at him and I have the sudden urge to return to bed.

  Instead, I leave quietly and head down the tunnel to the station platform. My feelings for him are growing stronger, but I don’t know what to do. Every day we are in danger and every day I risk losing him again. I need to stop caring about him so much because I won’t be able handle it if he’s taken from me again.

  There’s no one at the platform when I arrive. I slowly move to the boxes of food at the end of it and take out a tin of corn. My movements are tired this morning and simply walking to a seat and opening a can seems like an effort.

  Footsteps sound down the tunnel and I look up as April emerges from the darkness. Her eyes are heavy and her shoulders sag. She looks as tired as I feel. She slowly pulls herself onto the platform and makes her way to the food, pulling a can from one of the boxes.

  ‘Food,’ she groans happily, as she comes to take a seat beside me.

  ‘Did you sleep okay?’ I ask.

  ‘I should be asking you that,’ she says. ‘Sebastian never made it to our room last night…’

  I glance away and look decidedly down at my corn. ‘Nothing happened,’ I say quietly.

  She gives a soft laugh. ‘I’m only messing with you. Whatever’s going on with you two is fine. I just don’t want to hear any details.’ She gives an overacted shudder, which makes me smile. It’s good to know I have her blessing and she better believe I would never give her any details if anything did happen. Something would of course have to happen, which I don’t currently feel certain it will.

  ‘Have you checked in on M?’ I ask, deciding it’s definitely a good point to change the topic of conversation.

  ‘No. I’ve asked Henry to take a look at him this morning and make sure he’s okay. He may need to be moved to the clinic for a little while. They treated him very badly while he was in Headquarters. He won’t talk about it, of course, but I think they tortured him. There’s a look in his eyes that wasn’t there before…’

  I place my hand on hers. ‘We’ve got him now. He’s going to be okay.’

  She nods and I can see tears springing to her eyes. ‘I tried so hard to be a leader while he was gone, but I’m worried he’s going to be disappointed in me. Our people wouldn’t listen to me and it’s my fault we didn’t get him out of there sooner.’

  I give her hand a squeeze. ‘I’ve never seen anyone try as hard as you did to make the right choices for everyone in this group. You made the right decision choosing to wait until now to rescue him and he’ll understand. We nearly lost Lara and Sebastian trying to get him out. It was always going to be dangerous.’

  She nods, but it doesn’t look like she believes my words. I’ve never seen her so emotional before, she always puts up such a strong front. All the pressure of being in charge must really have gotten to her.

  ‘Look, if you hadn’t taken charge we would have been caught a long time ago. You had to make hard decisions and you chose what was best for everyone. That’s what true leaders do. There are always going to be people who disagree with what is decided, but that’s the nature of people, it doesn’t make you wrong. You’re only eighteen, you need to remember that.’

  April laughs sadly. ‘Most days I feel much older than that,’ she responds. She sighs and slowly stands. ‘Well, for now, I still have to look after our group while M recovers. So, I better get back to it.’

  She leaves via the stairs at the end of the platform, her shoulders slouching as though they buckle under the weight of all her worries.

  After I’ve finished breakfast I check in on Kelsey, who is playing happily with Mia and Amber in their carriage. She pouts when I tell her I’m on lookout this morning. Her pout changes to a grin when I tell her she can look after Copper while I’m gone.

  Copper doesn’t seem quite as happy at the idea of being left behind with Kelsey though. He keeps shooting worried looks in her direction. She’s accidently pulled his tail a few times while playing and he’s grown a little more cautious of her. He gives me such a disapproving look I laugh out loud. It almost seems to say, ‘you’re leaving me, with her? Are you serious?’

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ I say, patting him on the head. I look up at Mia who is doing her daughter’s hair. She has an intense look of concentration on her face as she attempts to braid it. Amber is wriggling like mad, and she throws an empty food tin she’s be playing with onto the floor.

  Mia huffs out a breath and glances at the tin. She flicks out one hand and a gaping black hole opens under the tin. The tin drops through it, disappearing completely, and a moment later the hole closes with a strange suction noise.

  Mia smiles as she catches me staring at the spot where the can had once stood. ‘It’s the handiest talent for cleaning up,’ she replies. ‘All mums should have it.’

  ‘But, where does it go?’

  She shrugs. ‘I have no idea. But wherever it is, it’s fil
led with a lot of rubbish thanks to me. I wish I’d had this talent for a few of my ex-boyfriends.’

  I laugh. ‘Remind me never to get on your bad side.’

  ‘Never get on my bad side,’ she parrots back, making me smile.

  ‘I’m headed on lookout, but I’ll be back later this afternoon. Are you sure it’s fine for Kelsey to stay?’ She’s already been looking after Kelsey since yesterday and I don’t want her to overstay her welcome.

  She nods, focusing back on the intricate braid she plaits in Amber’s hair. ‘It’s no problem. The two girls love playing, so it makes my life easier.’ She briefly looks back at me, and gives me a warm smile. ‘I’m glad you’re okay. What happened last night with Joseph, well, I hope he never comes near you again.’ She shakes her head, as though trying to push the thought from her mind.

  ‘Me too,’ I reply.

  It’s freezing on the surface today and I bury my hands into my jacket pockets as I walk. I had hoped we still had a while before winter hit the city, but the weather appears to have other intentions. At least it’s just bitterly cold today and there’s no rain pouring or wind biting into my face, though the dark billowing clouds in the distance don’t seem promising.

  The lookout point I’m heading for is in a building only another block away from where I am, but instead of continuing on towards it I pause at the intersection. The park I’d hidden in the other day is just across the street and for some reason I feel drawn to it.

  I’ve barely stepped off the sidewalk to cross the road and head for the long grasses when a voice sounds from behind me and causes me to spin around.

  ‘What are you doing?’

  I gasp with surprise as I see Ryan sitting on the stone steps that lead up to one of the abandoned townhouses lining the street. He leans lightly on his knees and while he seems a bit agitated, he looks quite well. My eyes naturally draw to the scar that runs through his eyebrow and his warm brown eyes assess me as I turn to him. I’ve known him since I was in the ARC, but he’s always been a bit of a mystery to me. After overhearing his conversation with April the other night, I don’t feel like I know him at all.