Cryostorm (22 page)

“And we’ll be able to come there and stay?”

“For now. While everything gets worked out,” Brandon said. “It’s safe.”

“And people there, they’re like us, but how’d they get like that? How’d you get like you are?”

“Born that way. Mutating genes. I’m a third generation. Got it from Mom. She got it from her Mom.” He smiled. “We’ve not run into anyone who’s gotten it from an experiment, though. Since it’s not naturally occurring, except in the offspring, this brings a whole new realm to everything.” He shook his head in that scientific-I’m-awed-way. Sure made me nervous.

I shifted in my seat as I sank my teeth into the soft bun. Mutants, naturally occurring mutants. Wow. And a whole school of them?

“Who organizes and funds all this?”

“Donations. Investors. Government officials help organize it.”

“Government? As in the United States government?”

Brandon nodded. “Once we’re at GEM we can talk more, let’s ride out the storm first.”

I glanced at Georgia. Yeah, how long would that take? All the while Nate was out there. Floundering. At least he might be. I wasn’t really sure at the moment.

“What about Zach and Lois? They aren’t like us.”

“Until we neutralize the threats against them, which are The Center and GenCorp, they, along with your brother and your other friend, Martin, are all at risk. They can stay on the non-students area of the campus until everything is okay.

“You’re going to enroll us in Mutant University without even asking my grades?” I shook my head. “Because they’re pretty bad, you know.”

Brandon laughed. “You’ll do fine.”

“How are we going to find and help Nate?”

“Not sure on that one. Without any Internet and resources, I only have what I’ve learned over the years in passing about hypnotic suggestions. Not sure on the lethality or strength of them, though.”

“Could it be genetic? Or mechanical?” Lois asked. “Like, well, machine implanted in his brain?”

“I would have picked up something while scanning him,” Tim said.

“Maybe. Unless it’s imbedded somewhere, made to look like or blend in seamlessly with muscle or tissue somehow,” Brandon said. “With all that I know about The Center and the bit I know of GenCorp, I wouldn’t put it past them to have some form of technology to mask an artificial part in the body. Especially since they knew people like you and x-ray machines existed. They knew they’d have to hide it.”

“Shit.” I dropped the last few bites of my burger onto my plate, suddenly not hungry. “So, if this device, or whatever it could be that’s controlling Nate, is imbedded like you said, so deep and untraceable, how are we going to get it out?”

Brandon flicked his gaze downward.

“We can get it out, right? I mean, you, Mr. GEM, army guy and all your scientists can get it out, right?” My throat closed.

“I can’t say, Amanda. Without having him here to study, I—”

“Study?” Georgia and I said it at the same time.

“What do you mean study?” I asked. “As in poke and prod and cut?”

“No. No, Amanda,” Brandon said. He raised his hands toward me. “To try and figure out how to help him, we’d have to learn more about how he was created and study him in the sense of how can we save him. Not how can we duplicate him. Or kill him to learn more and advance the sciences.”

I stayed tense, not quite believing him. Georgia must not have either along with Tim and Jasmine. They’d seen what probably started out as innocent before, too.

“I know you’ve been through the needles, Amanda. Zach told me about what happened in Trifle. Then California and your week there. That’s not us. We’re not them.”

“Says you.” I pushed my chair back. “But you’re a scientist, aren’t you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“It’s all over your face every time you look at me and Georgia. And when you talk about Nate. I think you drooled. I mean, what a catch, right? A walking, talking, breathing Frankenstein to learn from, study, and dissect.”

“It’s not like that, Amanda. I promise.”

I glanced at Georgia. She nodded, encouraging me to pull my chair back to the table. My heart hammered. Indecision paralyzed me.

“Mandy, stay. It’s okay,” Zach said.

What did he know about anything?

Tim and Jasmine both nodded as well. They believed him? Trusted him so quickly? I took one more glance at Jasmine, and she smiled as she gave a quick nod. “Look. If they even fart wrong, we’ll do some damage, girl. Remember California?”

True. Between me, Jasmine, and Georgia, we had some serious power. But they had numbers, and I didn’t know what the other peoples’ powers were.

I shook my head clear of the thoughts. No. I should trust them. They helped us. Nate was confident enough to come to them. I needed to get them to help me find Nate and cure him from whatever was compelling him to kill me.

“So, how are we going to find Nate?”

“Well, the storm is predicted to break tomorrow morning.” Brandon smiled. “How do you feel about being bait?”

Chapter 31

“T
hanks for hanging with me.” I set my glass on the table in front of the couch. “I don’t want to hurry back to the room. Tim and Georgia need some alone time, you know?”

Zach smiled. “Yeah. No problem. Happy to.”

I stretched my feet onto the tabletop and sank down into the plush leather couch. I couldn’t believe how comfortable it was. Zach mimicked my actions, only from the oversized chair perpendicular to the couch. His long legs met my feet and he tapped them.

“I still can’t believe I’m sitting here next to you. That night, when you and Georgia died, and my mom...” He shook his head. “I thought I’d died, too.”

“But you didn’t believe it.”

“Not all the way. My head did. I mean, I’d seen and heard the proof. Newspapers covered it. Funeral. Everything. I—” He shook his head. “I just couldn’t believe it.”

“I’m sorry, Zach. I mean, about your mom. Never got to tell you that.”

“Dad’s still in shock. I think the garage is closing soon. He’s given up. Sits around in a daze, kind of like I’ve been doing.”

“It’s only been few months. Maybe he’ll get better.”

“Maybe.”

“Hey, Zach. There’s something I want to say to you, though.” I sat up. “Um. With everything that happened. You know, and how I contacted you. I—we—it doesn’t mean we can be together now. I—”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.” He pushed himself up in the chair and drew a deep breath. “You’re with Nate now. I get that.”

“You do?”

He nodded. “Not liking it. Not really at all, actually. And I’m pissed he beat you up, but I get it. I’m glad you’re alive, Mandy. I love you. I can’t just stop that.”

“But—”

“It’s okay. I’ll be here for you.” He cleared his throat.

“I’m sorry for everything, Zach. I really screwed up your life. I feel really bad.”

“Don’t.”

I huffed. “Yeah, easy to say. If I hadn’t taken your bribe for a date, none of this would have happened to you. You’d probably be off at State raking in the accolades for being a stellar runner. Dating some normal human chick.” I glanced around. Probably shouldn’t say crap like that too loud around here.

“Yeah, well, whatever. This Mutant University seems okay, too.”

“But you’re not a mutant, Nimrod.”

“They’ll make an exception, I’m sure. I mean, it’s an accredited school. Just considered private.”

I reached for my glass of Pepsi, then sank back into the me-sized hole I’d made in the plush leather.

“You don’t trust them yet.”

“Nope. Not entirely, but I do enough to see if they can help me find Nate.” He was all that mattered anyway. I’d stick it out here if it meant getting to find him sooner.

“You think this bait thing will work?” Zach asked.

“Not much else to try. And if it doesn’t, maybe we’ll be lucky to pick off a few Agents that might show up.” I shrugged. “That’d be fun, too.”

“Oh, wow. You have changed.”

“So, how’s
Samantha
?”

“Okay, maybe you haven’t.” He shook his head. “I can’t believe you brought her up.”

“Yeah, well…”

“Jasmine and Jess did scare her pretty good. But since you’d—um—died, she didn’t have much to hold over me anymore.” He shook his head. “I should have trusted you with what she was blackmailing me with. I’m sorry.”

I nodded, and we sat in silence for a while. Not sure how long, but the light began to dim indicating nightfall was quickly approaching. I glanced at Zach sitting to my right, watching me, and I smiled. “I’m going to head up.”

“I’ll walk you. I’m sharing a room with Tim, so I’m sure it’s safe for me to go back, too.”

“Zach?”

His gentle, steel-gray eyes bathed me in warmth as his gaze swept over me.

“Thanks,” I whispered. “For everything.”

With that finally said, it felt like I’d had closure on the Zach thing. Now if I could just get my current boyfriend back in the picture without giving him the chance to kill me.

Chapter 32

“O
kay, so you think he’ll show?” Georgia strolled beside me smack down the middle of the main square in town.

My heart sagged. “I hope so.” People bundled up in their tundra-wear waddled around, snow crunching beneath their weight. “But there are so many people here. He won’t show up now.”

“Keep walking, Amanda,” Brandon’s voice chimed in my ear. I’d almost forgotten I was wearing an earpiece. “Go through the main area like we discussed. Then toward the end of Main Street, there are some empty buildings and vacant lots. And remember, he might already be here, watching.”

Great.

“Thanks for coming with me,” I said to Georgia.

“Sure.” She grabbed my hand, and I tilted my head to the side so it rubbed against hers. “You see anything?” she whispered to me.

“Nope. And we’ve been walking for over thirty minutes. Mind sending some warmth my way?” I glanced at her.

She squeezed my bare hands. She hadn’t even bothered putting gloves on.
Show off.

“If he doesn’t show, we’ll head up to GEM and regroup there, okay? We’ll figure it out.” She winked as she spoke.

Probably to remind me that she wasn’t buying what she said. If Nate didn’t show today, Jasmine, Tim, Georgia, and I were bolting. We’d get Nate on our own. Brandon didn’t seem too invested in him other than studying him.

We moseyed down the street, finally nearing the end of town. The people thinned out considerably, but quite a few still wandered around. Tourists, carrying maps and cameras mostly. Who wouldn’t want to come visit this place? It was stunning with all the trees, mountains, and newly laid snow.

A winter wonderland for them, but a personal hell for me.

Each minute I was away from Nate had me feeling more angry and sad. Angry at The Center. Sad because I missed him. His smile. His touch. His kiss. At least Zach had stepped down, gracefully—well, mostly gracefully. Didn’t need that added onto everything. I had enough guilt to carry when it came to him, but with his constant pawing and pining it was worse.

He must have seen my dedication to Nate. For that I was grateful.

We reached the edge of the town area. Straight ahead lay a snow packed road to God knows where. To the left, the interstate. To the right there was the path around the last building. It, as the previous one, was abandoned. Probably a former gas station by the tall awning constructed in the middle of the lot. The roof sagged from the weight of the snow, and I could see why it’d been boarded up. Totally not safe.

“Looks like a bust.” I swung Georgia’s hand. “Shit.”

“Let’s do a loop around this old, crickety thing, maybe he’ll still show.”

I glanced to the sky. The noon sun beamed and had chased away the remainder of the clouds that tried to spit more snow on the already heavily coated ground. Had to have been about three feet with piles from the snowplow topping five and six feet.

We crunched our way down the sidewalk—er—snowwalk, and then around the back of the building. No path, just a sea of snow as the yard. Two deer popped their heads up and looked in our direction. They were creeping outside the cover of trees, sniffing the air.

Georgia and I stopped, and she pulled in a sharp breath. “Beautiful.”

“I think I know what’s going to be in your sketchpad next, huh? In between Tim’s pictures.” I scanned the area, then focused on the animals. With the grace of a swan, they leapt back into the cover of the trees.

“Amazing,” she whispered.

I released her hand and iced mine down. “Want to mess around a little?”

“Now?”

“He’s not coming. We’ve been walking for almost an hour.” A snowball formed and hovered above my palm. Her eyes flickered orange, and she took off running into the middle of the sea of snow.

I cast a quick look around. “We all clear, Brandon?”

“What’s going on?”

“Any humans around?” I flicked my other hand up and conjured a snowball.

“No, but—”

“Then it’s time to play.” I tossed a snowball, and it thumped against Georgia’s back.

Her flames ignited, but as I threw the other one, she streamed heat from her hand, and it vaporized. My heart hammered as I called my powers to the surface, icing my body in its armor. I glanced around, looking. Waiting. Hoping my little playtime distraction would lead Nate out.

Georgia streamed lava-hot streaks at me, so potent it melted through my ice enough to where I had to up the chill factor.

“Nice!” I stumbled.

On the backside of this run-down building, a green, paint-peeled, door hung crooked on its hinges. Both windows beside it had been busted out. Only darkness remained inside.

“What are you guys doing?” Brandon yelled into my earpiece. I think it rattled.

“Just letting off some steam,” Georgia said as she sprayed me again, this time with flame.

The ice sizzled off my skin and it almost hurt. Close to a burn.

“Dang, girl,” I said. I showed the ground my palms and blasted. Instantly ten feet in the air I had a bird’s eye view. I tilted my palms forward so I went back. My feet landed on the soft, snowy roof, and I cut the stream.