Dr. Sato didn't release me from the Clinic. My door remained locked, and she alone came and went. She said I had a dangerous stomach virus that could make others sick, but to which she was immune. Yeah right.
I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with her and the few books she allowed to occupy my time. They bored me to death.
Worrying about Drake made me sick, as no one had any useful information. Missy had been mysteriously replaced by a new receptionist who knew nothing relevant.
Lucy and Luke's thoughts revealed their desperate need to reach me, but I couldn't communicate with them like I could with Drake. That still puzzled me.
Dr. Sato did allow me to keep notebooks, so I started writing everything I wanted to say to Drake in my special language. That journal became my only connection to him, or anyone else, for three long weeks.
The torture of isolation, of endless contemplation, forced me to analyze every detail of my existence at Rent-A-Kid. We often got postcards from kids who had left to start their new life, and I got care packages from my "parents." They could easily fake these, use them to keep us passive and hopeful, and from rocking the boat or questioning our lives.
It had worked.
How could I have been so gullible for so long? I had allowed myself to become the ultimate victim in every area of my life, from the Rent-A-Kid nightmare to the bullies at school or on assignment.
And what about my life goals—if I ever got to have a real life? My teachers always encouraged me to pursue linguistics and to do something with international relations. That made sense, but really, once I left here, I wanted to get as far away from this life as possible.
My life up until now had been pretty shallow. And now, just as I saw the truth, they locked me up and made me impotent. Rent-A-Kid turned me into a victim once again, unable to affect any kind of change.
Each time my mind turned toward the baby growing in my stomach, an intense and overwhelming panic took over, until I couldn't think or focus. My heart rate would skyrocket, and Dr. Sato would come in with something in a syringe that put me to sleep.
The utter betrayal and violation of having my body raped without my knowledge.... I had no way of processing this level of terror.
My purgatory ended on a day as boring as the rest, when Dr. Sato came in smiling.
"Good news. Your tests are clear and you can go. You have party waiting and friends. Then you go to New York."
"Wait, I was supposed to have another assignment before I left." I needed that assignment to connect with Brad.
"That canceled. You too sick. But okay for party."
I couldn't believe my ears, so I listened with my mind. 'Can't... disappear... friends miss her... must do party... not showing yet... must move her....'
So they would move me. But where? If only I had Drake's ability to control other people. How did he do that? And how did they catch a streetwise, super-strong guy who could control people? How had they even found him? If they could contain him, my chances of escape seemed pretty slim.
I instinctively put a hand over my abdomen; it happened a lot these days. I moved it before Dr. Sato noticed. The reasons to resent this child, this pregnancy, grew daily. Yet love grew in my heart despite it all. This baby could not be blamed for the way in which it had been conceived, and it was my job to protect it. From them. From the world.
Even the horror of its inception could not keep me from loving what Drake and I had created.
What would Drake say when he found out? If he found out? If he'd served his purpose, what would they do to him? Would they just... get rid of him? I doubted they'd let him go, but my mind refused to consider the alternative.
Dr. Sato handed me a beautiful red ball gown. It was to be a fancy affair, my fake going-away party. After a quick shower, I did up my long hair in a French twist, put on makeup and jewelry from the supplies Dr. Sato handed me, and slipped on my red heels. I was ready to make my entrance.
And my exit.
***
When Lucy and Luke saw me outside the ballroom entrance, they nearly plowed me over with hugs.
"What happened to you?" "We tried to visit but they wouldn't let us in." "Are you okay?" "We have so much to tell you."
"Wow, hold on a sec guys, one at a time. I have a confession to make. I've been spying on you. I know it goes against our friendship code, but I was so anxious to know what was happening."
Luke looked so sad it nearly made me cry. "So you know?" He reached for my hand.
I switched to our special language. "Yes, I know about the baby and about Drake."
They hugged me again—the way friends hug when words just aren't enough.
"We can talk, but we have to pretend like we're celebrating. We can't let them know we know, and we obviously need a new plan. Apparently, I won't be going on that last assignment."
They nodded and, each holding one of my hands, my best friends gave me the strength to play the role of the happy girl heading to Sarah Lawrence.
All of my training did not prepare me for this hardest of parts. My heart broke with each smile. Unshed tears crushed my soul. I mourned the end of my dreams even as a fake smile greeted my small world.
I left the cool stillness of the night and walked into my going-away party. The onslaught of sounds, smells and colors sent my head spinning for a moment. I paused, taking in the scene of happy teenagers talking, laughing, eating.
They all still lived in the bubble created for us. Only we three knew the truth. How would we save ourselves from this? And what would become of them?
Amidst the crowd of school friends, a guard shadowed me. I relaxed at the sight of Gar. He gave the briefest of nods, so slight I could have imagined it, and then he turned back to stone.
"That's new," Luke said, glancing at Gar.
"Yeah. Wonder why they felt he was necessary. But, at least they sent a guard I trust." I hoped I hadn't given away something when I commented about the pregnancy to Dr. Sato. Did they suspect me of knowing too much?
Lucy nudged me. "Don't let it bother you, Chica. Try to have fun!"
I forced a smile back onto my face. "You're right. Why not enjoy it?"
The campus actually had a full-fledged ballroom, not just a gym they converted once a year for dances. We learned ballroom, swing, and modern dancing as part of our education. Parties at our school were high-end affairs.
Scarlet red and royal purple silks draped the room. Lush roses accented the hall and served as centerpieces in crystal vases on the tables. A full band played music suited to dancing in many diverse styles, and students already swayed across the room in long trailing dresses and elegant tuxes.
My mind searched for Drake, the way a woman might reach for her lover across an empty bed. If he'd been here, we would have been one of those couples on the dance floor. His arms would have wrapped around me, encircling me in a cocoon of love and safety. I might have brushed my hand against his chiseled jaw line, and maybe he'd have leaned down and brush his lips against mine for a first kiss.
The fantasy played around me and replaced my reality for just a moment. Then the bubble burst, and I once again stood alone in a sea of oblivion.
"Sam, come on, let's get some food." Lucy and Luke pulled me to the buffet table.
A dozen well-wishers interrupted us on our way there: Greg and Gary, a new couple I only knew in passing; Kyle, who looked dejected and guilty, despite my best attempts to absolve him; Norm and Robyn, another couple who'd been together for as long as I could remember... and so many others. The gift table overflowed with cards and special trinkets from friends. I complimented Robyn on her emerald dress that matched her eyes, and told Norm he was a lucky guy. They smiled and moved onto the dance floor.
Only a handful of kids had left Rent-A-Kid so far. We were first generation paranormals. No one knew how we got our powers, but I was one of the oldest. Kids made a big deal out of these parties, even if they didn't know the person who left. It was the gift of hope, the promise of a future outside these chained grounds. No one missed a going-away party.
It took us a while to navigate through all of our friends and make it to the food, but the spread of goodies made our trek well worth it. The table overflowed with mouthwatering delicacies. I reached to stuff a truffle into my mouth, but my stomach rebelled stubbornly at the smell. Damn pregnancy. I nibbled at some crab rolls instead, to appease my friends. I stole glances at the delicious treats, wishing on this miserable night that I could at least enjoy the chocolate.
Everyone danced. One guy hovered off the ground while he moved to the music, doing break dancing moves in the sky, but he fell to the ground when his date suddenly burst into flames. Jessica, who'd been cooling drinks for her friends, blew on the girl to subdue the flames. The crowd erupted in applause—except Mary, who'd snuck off with the break dancing boy during all the commotion. I'd lost track of how many dates she had stolen from other girls that night. Typical paranormal party.
We endured another hour of snacking, talking and pretending, and I was almost enjoying myself when Mary sashayed toward us, wearing a gorgeous black dress that left her shoulders bare and hugged her chest and hips in all the right places. Her blond hair fell in ringlets down her back.
She puckered her lips at Luke and moved in a way that revealed her well-toned thigh and ample cleavage. Luke ignored her. I hid a smile.
Mary scowled and looked at me. "Sam, you're back. We've missed you. Are you feeling well?"
Did she really care? I kept my answers brief. "I'm fine, thank you."
"I hear you're heading off to Sarah Lawrence soon. You must be so excited."
Did she know something? Why the change of attitude? Niceness and Mary didn't go together, and I didn't trust it at all.
But, regretting my behavior in the bathroom so long ago, I tried to play nice too. "Yes, it'll be quite an adventure."
"Well, be sure to keep in touch." She walked away before I could reply that I would. Her shallow mind mused about the hottest boys in school. 'Gotta get my hands on Luke... how can he resist me?'
I chuckled at that.
Lucy pulled me away and demanded my attention. She stole the night in an electric blue gown that wrapped itself around her slim figure like saran wrap. Luke had matched his bowtie to her gown, completing the look. They made an unforgettable pair.
"Looks like Mary finally learned her lesson after the cafeteria and bathroom scenes. It's about time."
Before I could reply, an achingly familiar voice interrupted my thoughts.
'Sam, can you hear me?'
"Drake! Oh, my God, I've missed you. What happened? Where are you?"
'In another hospital. I don't know where. I've been trying to talk to you, but you haven't replied.'
In my hospital, they'd given me an IV. Could it have been something to control my powers? I could still read Dr. Sato's mind, and kids on campus, but maybe it prevented me from linking long distance.
"I think they did something to me so I couldn't talk to you. I'm out of the hospital now, but I'm at my going-away party. I'm supposed to be leaving for New York tomorrow."
'You were in the hospital? What happened? Are you okay?'
He had no idea about what I'd been through or that I was pregnant. What to tell him? Ahh... I so did not want to have this conversation.
My hand went to my stomach again.
"Sam, you okay? You look pale. Come sit down." Luke guided me to a chair and Lucy brought me some punch. Gar hovered nearby, trying without success to blend in.
"Hey. I have to talk to my friends for a minute."
'Sure.'
I spoke in our language. "Drake's okay. He's in some hospital. But I... I have to tell him about the baby."
They nodded sympathetically and watched over me while I linked back to Drake. "I need to talk to you about something, but I don't know how to say it."
'What's wrong? Are you okay?'
What could I do? I just blurted it out. "I'm pregnant. And it looks like you're the father."
And that is how I turned the whole world quiet for a moment. Drake sat in mental silence. Luke and Lucy looked heartbroken. And the rest of the world disappeared.
Drake broke the silence first.
'I believe you. And I think you're right. I think they're... um... harvesting me for reproductive purposes.'
Despite how horrible everything seemed, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at his choice of words, at how proper he was trying to be. Lucy and Luke eyed me curiously. I explained what Drake had said. Lucy smirked, and Luke laughed.
I sobered up pretty quickly, though. How could he be so certain? "What did they do to you?"
'I can just tell that things were done to... parts of me. I didn't know what to make of it until now. How do you know you're pregnant though? They didn't tell you, did they?'
"No, but I overheard some of the doctor's thoughts. And Luke saw the records. That's why they took you. You have incredibly strong and rare para-powers. And I can tell. My body is different."
Luke and Lucy interrupted our conversation with a glance over my shoulder. I turned to look.
My bodyguard headed our way. "Is everything okay?"
I smiled as sweetly as I could. "Of course! Just tired from all the partying."
Gar nodded and walked back to stand in my shadow.
He may have been committed to protecting me, but he still worked for them.
***
The night crawled on. After the formal dancing, the music picked up and included songs our age group actually knew. I declined all offers to dance, instead spending my time with Lucy, Luke and Drake. His presence was like finding a fresh water lake in the middle of the desert. I couldn't get enough of his voice, his thoughts, the weight of his mind in mine.
My headaches had become less severe the more I practiced remote linking. My powers were getting stronger, more controlled. Before, everyone's thoughts inundated me, but now I could tune out people selectively. Such a relief from all the inane clattering. Most people didn't understand, bombarded with their own thoughts, unable to find peace in even that. To have that multiplied by everyone around me was hell. And people generally weren't very interesting. Most of their thoughts were recycled, replaying on an endless loop.
My appetite improved halfway through the party, and I ate a little bit of everything on the table, finally satiating my craving for chocolate.
The party wound down after 1 AM. All of our friends said their goodbyes and wished me luck. Envy and hope surfaced in their eyes. Everyone yearned for the time when they could be free to live the life of their choosing.
For a moment, I longed for the false peace that accompanied their ignorance. They all had such hope—the hope I tore from my closest friends, who now had to stay here knowing that their future would not be the one promised. I pushed away the twinge of guilt that crept into my heart. They needed to know. I needed to know. We couldn't escape the truth by remaining blind to it. Now that the truth had been forced on us, maybe we could find a way out of this mess.
What would they do to me once the baby was born? Would they keep using my body for more and more pregnancies, until I became a useless shell? Then what? Kill me? Being a Rent-A-Kid prisoner seemed a much better life compared to a future as a baby factory, all the while knowing that my children were here, rented out like property, awaiting the same fate as me.
I couldn't let that happen. I wouldn't let that happen.
'Neither will I,' Drake said.
We arrived at my room with Gar right behind us. Would I be locked in tonight to keep me from trying to escape?
Where would I go? How would I save Drake? I had too many questions, no answers, and no idea what to do.
Lucy and Luke came in, and we all sat on my bed, with me in the middle. I lived in the manner in which my many personas would have expected to live: in luxury. No doubt, my new quarters would not be this fine. After all, my new role didn't require me to be comfortable and at ease in wealth, did it? I just had to ovulate properly.
"What do we do?" I spoke out loud in our made-up language, but English in my mind. Confusing, but I didn't know who might be spying on us.
"You should try to escape tonight," Luke said. "We could help you get out. There's a fence by the north field that had a short last night. We could get through that."
"You don't think they're monitoring those too? And what about the brick walls past the fence? And whatever is beyond that? And the guards, and the trackers in our arms?"
Lucy fought tears. "You can't let them take you, Sam."
My body numbed. "What else can I do right now? We can't escape with so many people watching. And I can't leave Drake, wherever he is. They'll probably put us in the same facility, right? I mean, if they're using him to breed, then we should be able to find each other. Maybe we can escape from there, and then we can get help for you guys."
'I will do everything I can to get us out of here, Sam. I swear it. I need to get off these drugs, and I think I know a way. If you're brought here, you can help. We can do this. But if there's any way for you to escape before getting here, you have to take it!'
"I'm not leaving you alone there. I'll find a way to get us both out, and we'll find a way to save the rest."
"I have to go. I have to get evidence of what's happening here." I scooted off the bed and went to my backpack. Inside, hidden in a secret pouch, lay a tiny camera. I'd kept it out of impulse, though it was against rules.
I palmed it and brought it back to the bed with me. "Look discreetly at my hand. I have a camera that I stole from my last job."
Luke's eyes widened. "You stole a camera?"
I nodded. "It has pictures of me and Tommy on it. I gave him the pictures I had, and I just wanted to keep these."
"How were you ever planning on developing them?" Lucy asked.
"I wasn't thinking about all of that. I just had to have something to prove I knew him."
Lucy sighed. "So you want us to take pictures of this place?"
"Yes, I have artwork depicting everything and everyone here, but I doubt that will count as hard evidence. Especially get pictures of the kids with obvious para-powers."
Luke scratched his head. "Assuming we can get those pictures without getting caught, what would we do with them?"
"We need to find a way of getting this to Drake's friend." I gave them Brad's email and phone number, and handed Luke the camera. "Get this to him. Tell him everything we've told you and everything you've experienced. At least someone on the outside will know that we exist and need help."
A knock at the door startled us all. Luke slipped the camera into his pocket.
The door opened. "It's time to go," Gar said to me.
"I thought I was leaving in the morning?" Panic rose in my chest. This was too real, too fast.
'Relax, we'll find a way to get out.'
I wondered what it would be like to meet Drake in person. He filled my imagination—his voice, his scent, the feel of his skin. He'd taken up residence inside my body, somehow. Would that change when we really could touch, when I could actually smell him and feel him for real?
"Plans changed. Get your stuff and say goodbye." He grabbed two of my biggest bags. I picked up my backpack and a small suitcase—all of my worldly belongings. Apparently, they'd packed everything while I was in the hospital. How thoughtful.
I checked my backpack to make sure my sketch pad and the box from Mr. K were still there. I'd kept the cash I'd earned from assignments in Mr. K's secret compartment. That would come in handy if we found a way to escape.
Lucy's tears finally fell. Even Luke's eyes watered. From the time we were little, we'd only been apart during assignments. Now we might never see each other again.
I hugged them both, then threw on my jean jacket and backpack, and walked out of my room for what would likely be the last time.
Gar closed the door behind us, leaving Luke and Lucy in the room alone.
I turned to him as we walked down the hall. "Don't I even get a chance to change my clothes?" I wiped my eyes carefully to avoid the makeup raccoon look.
"You can change when you get to your new home. Your flight was changed. We leave now."
Could Gar know what fate he was leading me to? I slipped into his mind.
'She'll be safe in New York... will make sure she's looked after... finally out of here....'
He had no idea. At least my own guard hadn't betrayed me on purpose.
No one from the school administration came to give me a final farewell. Strange. Usually they made a big showing, but I guess at 3 AM it didn't matter. And I suspected no one wanted me that close to their thoughts right now, even if they didn't know the whole truth.
"Drake?"
'I'm here,' he said in a gentle voice.
"I'm scared. What if they don't put us in the same hospital? What if we can't escape?"
Even my mental voice wavered from unshed tears. We risked so much, banking all our hopes on an untested possibility. We could be wrong. So very wrong.
'I'm scared too, but we have to believe this will work out. What choice do we have?'
He was right. Even if this plan—hell, it wasn't even a plan, really, more like a pipe dream inspired by desperation—but even if we knew for a fact that it wouldn't work, what else could I do? We had no way to escape, nowhere to go, no one to call. This had to work.
Gar loaded my luggage into the limo, ushered me into the back seat, and hopped into the driver's seat. As usual, we headed to our private airstrip.
'Sam, he doesn't know what's going to happen to you. You have to tell him. He might be able to help you escape.'
"But I need to find you first. I can't go now."
'You must take this opportunity. There might not be another one. Once you and the baby are safe, I'll find a way to get to you. Please, Sam, you have to try.'
"He has a little girl. What if we get caught? It could ruin his career."
'Let him decide what he's willing to do. Don't make him complicit in your fate without giving him a choice.'
My hands shook in fear. He had a point. If Gar really was trying to keep me safe, shouldn't he know the truth, even if that knowledge placed a heavy burden on his soul? More than my life was at stake.
We had maybe ten minutes before we'd reach the plane. Once there, I'd lose my chance.
"Gar, I need to tell you something."
