35

ALORA

APRIL 4, 2147

The restraints holding me to this table are cutting into my wrists. I tug at them anyway. I’ve got to get out of here, somehow. But I can’t, not with this Inhibitor around my neck, courtesy of General Anderson. I remember how he seemed to take great pleasure in snapping the thin metal band in place, telling me that soon I’d be one less problem he’d have to deal with. He’s fast replacing Palmer as my least favorite person ever.

After Bridger and I were captured at the Unity Day bombing, we were forced to shift back to the present, where we were transported to the DTA building and separated. I don’t know where they took him. Maybe he’s in a medical room like I am, waiting to have his memories erased again.

Soon I won’t remember how much this room looks like the one Dad was in when he was resurrected.

My stomach sinks as the door slides open and a young woman in a navy-blue uniform enters. Something about her looks familiar, but that doesn’t matter. She must be the person who’s been assigned to wipe my memories. It’s useless, but I try to shift anyway. Nothing.

The woman activates the lock on the door before coming over to me.

“Please don’t do this,” I say. “Don’t turn me into a Null.”

A hint of a smile touches her lips. “I’m not here to do that.”

I try to flinch away, terrified of what will come next, but instead the woman shocks me by undoing the restraints.

I sit up, rubbing my wrists. “Why did you do that?”

“Because my brother, Telfair, asked me to. And when he asks for a favor, I know it’s serious.”

Suddenly it dawns on me who she’s talking about. “Professor March is your brother, right?”

“Yes. I’m Captain Olivia March.”

“Thank you,” I say as I slide off the table. I feel a bit lightheaded after lying there for so long.

“No problem. Apparently, there are quite a few people out to eliminate Dual Talents. We need to help each other out whenever we can.” She pauses, noticing my jaw dropping. “Yes, I’m also a Dual Talent, like Telfair. Now, moving on, I heard about what you and Bridger tried to do. You can’t do that ever again. You have no idea what the consequences could be.” This time she gives me a look that reminds me of Aunt Grace when she wasn’t happy with me.

“Have you freed Bridger yet?” I ask.

“No. General Anderson is with him, and I think he’s up to something. I checked and the cameras in their room have been shut off. I also know that Bridger is being transferred very soon. They’re going to take him to a shuttle that’s waiting on the roof.”

“I need to get to him. Bridger says his father is going to do something to stop a bioweapon attack, but I’m not sure that he is.”

“Wait, you’re telling me that Leithan Creed is alive?” Captain March asks. “Telfair didn’t say anything about that. He just said Bridger claimed that a bioweapon is supposed to be detonated soon.”

“Okay, this is going to sound strange, but since you’re a Mind Bender, I want you to do something for me.”

“What, exactly?” she asks.

I steel myself for what I’m about to offer. “I want you to read my mind. You need to see what I’ve seen.”

Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise, then she nods. “Okay. Just try to relax. It’ll be a little uncomfortable for you.”

That’s the understatement of the year. Pressure builds deep in my head, throbbing against my skull. My fingers grip the table hard.

Finally, the pressure dissipates. Captain March takes a step back, covering her mouth with her left hand. “I had no idea. Tel left a lot of things out when we talked earlier.”

“So, can you help me?” I ask, anxious to get moving.

“I wish I could, but I don’t have enough proof to confront the general. What I can do is pretend I’ve been ordered to escort you up to a shuttle, as well. That way you and Bridger could try to steal it and get away from here.”

“I can get there faster on my own,” I say. I start to activate the cloak on my uniform, but Captain March grabs my arm first.

“Don’t do that!” she cries. “The building is filled with sensors to detect cloaks. You’ll set off an alarm the instant you use one.”

Just great—now I feel like the most juvenile dunce in the world. I should have known that; we’ve talked about those sensors in class. After multiple Unknowns had been detected here over the years—Bridger and me included—techs developed a way to constantly monitor all buildings without having to run periodic scans.

Captain March takes a pair of cuffs out of her pocket. “Hold out your hands. This has to look authentic if it’s going to work.”

Reluctantly, I do as she asks. The cold metal bands click around my wrists. For a moment, I regret listening to her. What if this doesn’t work, and we get caught? But then again, what choice do I have? Staying here and doing nothing isn’t an option, and there aren’t many people in the DTA that I know for certain I can trust. Not anymore.

The next few minutes stretch into eternity after we leave my room. Every time we pass someone, I lower my head, but still I can feel their eyes searching me.

Once we exit the elevator at the topmost level, we enter a small foyer with stairs leading up to a door. Captain March climbs the steps and peers through the small window in the door. “The shuttle is there, but I don’t see anybody with it yet. It’s starting to get dark.”

She turns back to me and reaches into her pocket again, this time pulling out a small square key card. She swipes it across the cuffs and Inhibitor to remove them. Once they’re off, she says, “Keep the key card. You’ll need it for Bridger. Now, go. And good luck.”

“Thank you, Captain,” I say. “You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Hopefully we’ll never have to do anything like this again. I hope this bioweapon attack can be stopped.”

When she gets back into the elevator, I push my way through the door and run across the roof, trying to figure out a strategy. I’m not sure who will be with Bridger. Will it just be General Anderson, or will he have guards with him? And what if they have weapons?

But then I realize that, since I’m on the roof and not inside the building, I can use my cloak. At least I’ll have the element of surprise.

I barely have time to press the button and when the door opens again. Bridger comes out first, looking extremely angry. He’s being followed by an older woman, General Anderson, and Bridger’s father. Mr. Creed looks the same as I remember from when I saw him in 2013.

General Anderson orders Bridger and the other woman to stop. Then he calls out, “Alora Mason, I know you’re out here. I checked the surveillance feed and saw that Captain March just escorted you up here.”

Blood rushes in my ears as my heart starts pounding. How could this happen? I stay quiet, hoping he’s just bluffing.

“You might as well come out,” he continues. “Or I’ll be forced to send someone to capture your mother. And I promise it won’t be a pleasant visit for her.”

I hate that man so much. Picturing all the different ways I could hurt him, I lower my cloak and step forward.

Bridger shakes his head and shouts, “Get out of here, Alora! They’re going to set off the bioweapon. The Purists aren’t to blame! You have to get away!”

A trail of fear mixed with anger shoots through me. How could they do that to their own people? “Not without you,” I reply.

Bridger’s father steps forward. “How sweet. I remember what it was like to be young and in love. It sucked because the girl I really loved rejected me. You might know her, Alora.”

It strikes me how messed up this whole situation is. Bridger’s father is showing obvious signs of becoming unstable. He’s wild-eyed and is wearing a maniacal grin, as if he’s enjoying himself.

I swear, this could be the plotline of one of those soap operas Aunt Grace used to watch.

The older woman twists her head around to stare at Bridger’s father. “My son would never act the way you are right now. You must be slipping.”

I get a tiny surge of hope, hearing her say this. So this woman is Bridger’s grandmother. Maybe she can help distract the general and Leithan so I can get Bridger on the shuttle. If I could only get her attention.

Bridger looks at his father, too. “Can Alora go with us? I won’t resist or anything if you let her.”

General Anderson’s mouth curls into a cruel sneer. “There is no way I’m taking a Dual Talent with us. She’s going back in a holding cell, and I’ll deal with her later.”

I focus on Bridger. If I can get the general and Bridger’s father to try to capture me, Bridger and his grandmother can board the shuttle and lock the door. Then I can shift inside with them, and we can leave.

That could totally work. Or it could get me killed.

I steel myself. I have to do it. Locking my gaze on an area just next to the door to the roof, I close my eyes and shift.

When I reappear, I immediately shout, “Get to the shuttle, now!” All four heads swivel to face me.

Bridger falters for a moment, but his grandmother grabs him by the arm and tells him to go. General Anderson runs after them.

That’s when I hear a deep voice from behind me. “Get behind me, Alora.”

I glance over my shoulder and nearly sag in relief. It’s my dad. I have no idea how he got away from Lincoln, but I’m thrilled. But he looks even worse than the last time I saw him. He’s dressed all in black, and he’s clutching his left arm against his chest. I wish desperately that I could hug him, tell him how much I still love him despite what Jode Lincoln forced him to do for so long.

But I can’t right now.

After I scramble to get behind him, Dad raises his right hand at Mr. Creed and beckons for him make a move. “Come on, Creed. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

Mr. Creed’s nostrils flare. “I promise, it’s more than you can handle.”

Dad yells for me to get to Bridger, then charges at Mr. Creed. I start to shift, but I’m glued to my spot. It’s devastating to watch our fathers fighting each other, especially since I can see so much pain etched on Dad’s face. Mr. Creed fires his weapon at Dad. Dad shifts behind him, tries to grab Mr. Creed around the neck, but he wrenches away and takes a swing at Dad’s face.

“Alora, go!” Dad shouts, while trying to grab Mr. Creed’s gun.

I finally snap out of my daze, just as Mr. Creed disentangles from Dad.

He charges at me.

Dad yells for him to stop, but he doesn’t listen. I close my eyes, concentrating on Bridger’s face so I can shift directly to him. But before I can, Mr. Creed shoves me hard. I stagger, turning just as I hit the edge of the rooftop’s edge. I lose my balance, and in an instant I tumble over the side.

The last thing I hear is my father crying out my name.