Maverick (Maverick Academy Series) (28 page)

From the top of the crate, Whit watched Lindsey move toward Rory and Tavis. It was clear to Whit that Lindsey was trying to get a shot at Tavis, but they were rolling around
, making it difficult. Glancing around, Whit wondered if the other three Silent Assassins were nearby. If they were, they weren’t going to wait much longer. As if her thoughts had conjured them, a shot of fire hit the ice cube that contained Mark, shattering it. Mark tumbled free and jumped to his feet. Now Rory was outnumbered five to one.

Ellie, Misty
, and Whit stayed completely still and silent so as not to draw attention to themselves as Rory and the boys circled each other. Whit glanced around for Lindsey, but she was gone. She must’ve run off when Nolan shot fire at the ice cube containing Mark. Not that Whit blamed her; they were going to get Rory, but at least this way Lindsey was safe.

Before long, Rory was secured be
tween Mark and Tavis. Tavis laughed, clearly enjoying the situation. Rory on the other hand, cussed like a sailor as she was led away.

Whit peek
ed over the side and watched Nolan, Darby, and Sam continue their hunt. Once they were out of sight, the three girls climbed down and moved in the opposite direction, putting as much space between them and the opposing team as possible.

“I can’t believe Rory got caught,” Misty whispered.

“What are we going to do now?” Ellie asked, surveying the area.

“Go after Nolan and them, I guess
,” Misty answered.

Whit nodded. “We can’t give up just
because Rory got captured. And I don’t think we can overpower Mark and Tavis to rescue her.” She thought for a moment, then continued. “Maybe I could use mindbending on them, and while they’re distracted, you two get her out.”

“I don’t know, Whit. I say we stick to our plans and use the blanket or bucket. Either way
, we need to find Lindsey. Then maybe a bit later in the game, we can go after Rory. What do you think, Ellie?” asked Misty.

Ellie shrugged then nodded.

“Sounds okay to me too,” Whit agreed.

The girls started walking toward their safe zone
, but worried that they’d be caught. They talked about staying together versus splitting up. Staying together was good in case they ran into Nolan and the others, but it would make it harder to hide quickly or stay quiet. In the end, they agreed that splitting up and meeting back at the safe zone was the best idea.

Whit decided to hug the outer wall of the game floor. There were plenty of crates
there, and she’d use mindbending if she needed to, for more cover. As she moved, she tried to keep her back to the wall and walk sideways, so she could see around her at all times. She was about halfway to the safe zone when she heard whispering close by. She stopped immediately and listened, hoping she’d imagined it. Nope, there was definitely someone talking nearby.

Staying still and breathing silently was harder than Whit thought it’d be. Her hands started sweating and she closed her eyes, hoping the people would pass and go away from her. A few moments later
, she heard them moving in the opposite direction. She sighed in relief.

Suddenly, a hand slipped over her mouth and pulled her away from the wall. Whit felt the person breathing into her hair. The person wasn’t Darby, so that meant it was one of the guys. She knew they were all stronger than her, but she could still do something
, and she didn’t mean to go down without a fight. She started concentrating on an image of Lindsey and Ellie, hoping that her assailant would be scared off. Right as the image got stronger in her mind, though, the guy holding her leaned down and kissed her neck.

Whit spun around
, knocking his hands away, and looked into Nolan’s grinning face. Before she could speak, he pulled her against him and leaned against the wall.

“Looks like we finally get to be alone,” he whispered. “In the dark too,” he finished
, running the palm of his hand under her shirt along her ribs.

“You scared me half to death,” Whit huffed.

He smiled, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I saw you over here and just couldn’t resist.”

Whit rolled her eyes and then completely lost all focus when his lips touched hers. Running her hands up his chest, she
stifled a sigh, knowing someone would hear. She felt one of his hands rub across her hip and then down to her butt, and her heart started beating wildly. Her hands were also busy. One rubbed the back of his neck, while the other stayed on his bicep. Just feeling his muscles made her weak. She wished she could see him.

Whit was so focused on the kiss
that she completely forgot where they were until Nolan ended the kiss and pulled away. He glanced around before releasing her.

“I
’ve got to go, Darby and Sam will be looking for me. I’ll see you after the game. Try not to get caught,” he whispered. “You go first.”

Whit was shocked that he was letting her go. She turned to move toward her safe zone and felt a light pat on her butt. Turning
, she saw Nolan wink at her before moving around one of the stacks of crates.

By the time Whit made it
back, everyone was waiting on her. Of course, they hadn’t made out with their boyfriend for a few minutes. She still couldn’t believe he had found her, given her a kiss, then left. He could’ve captured her easily, she knew. And yet he’d let her go.

Of course, she’d let him go as well, she reminded herself.

After a short break and discussion, the foursome decided to go after Sam as their primary target, though they’d take any member of the opposing team if they had the opportunity. The plan was basically the same, but instead of Rory subduing their captive after the blanket dropped, Ellie and Lindsey would do it. Freeze him or mesmerize him; either one would work.

The girls followed Misty quietly through the crates
, looking around for anyone on the other team. Whit glanced at the clock, which read 4:17:15. They were behind right now, and had to catch up if they were going to have a chance. They circled around, keeping their eyes peeled for any movement or shadows. They passed the pond and the doorway leading to the maze of hallways without seeing anyone.

After walking
for what seemed like hours, but was really only about fifteen minutes, Misty signaled for them to hide. Whit carried the blanket as she climbed up a stack of crates, Misty following closely behind. Lindsey and Ellie hid close by, knowing that for the plan to work they had to get to the person under the blanket quickly, and then use their powers.

The
n they waited and waited. Whit knew Misty wouldn’t have stopped them unless she’d heard something, but they must’ve moved in the other direction. Right when she’d decided to climb down, she heard footsteps. A shadow moved around a stack of crates in front of them, on silent feet. Whit watched it and knew it wasn’t Darby or Tavis, but didn’t know who it was. The blanket was hovering over the person, just waiting for him to move into range. The guy slowly crept forward, finally moving directly beneath the blanket. Whit held her breath and dropped it on his head.

Ellie jumped out and got in front of the guy right before he ripped the blanket away.
As soon as she could see is face, she smiled directly at him. Whit could see that it was Sam, and that he was clearly entranced by her. But before Whit could climb down, a fireball hit the ground at Ellie’s feet. Whit watched, horrified, as Ellie fall back onto the ground. Lindsey tried to freeze Nolan’s legs, but he intercepted everything she threw with fire.

Whit and Misty
rushed down, but didn’t make it to Ellie’s side in time. By the time they got there, she was already completely surrounded by Nolan, Tavis, Sam, and Mark. Whit slinked behind a crate and frowned, knowing there was nothing she could do to help Ellie.

She looked around, but couldn’t find her friends. One thing was for sure: t
hey needed to regroup, and fast. Whit ran toward their safe zone again, hoping Misty and Lindsey would think the same way. As she moved, she glimpsed the clock: 3:10:12 remaining.

Chapter 33

Misty, Lindsey, and Whit sat in their safe zone in silence. No one seemed to know what to say. Whit felt a bit defeated, herself. Half the time was gone, and so was almost half their team. After discussing their options, the girls decided to take a breather and eat a snack, hoping the sugar would give them some energy and some ideas.

Whit ate her granola bar and sipped her water quietly. How could they rescue Rory and Ellie? That was what they needed to do, but how?

They finally started talking, and eventually a plan worked itself out. Whit would distract Darby, who must be guarding their safe zone, so Misty and Lindsey could free Rory and Ellie. If Darby didn’t move away, Lindsey would freeze her. They’d noticed when Ellie was captured that all the guys were out hunting, leaving only Darby guarding the hold. They just hoped it stayed that way.

The girls slowly made their way through the crates to the water. Twice they had to stop and backtrack because of the boys. They had divided up
into pairs, but all of them were on the girls’ side of the water. If they could cross the water or wall separating the sides, the girls thought, they wouldn’t have to worry about being hunted anymore. They just needed to do it without the boys realizing where they’d gone.

It took time
– lots of it – but the girls made it into the Silent Assassins’ side of the game floor. They’d decided going over the wall would be the least noticeable and they wouldn’t be as exposed as they’d be on the water. The wall that divided the sides was around 15 feet tall and it was made out of wooden boards that had uneven edges. This allowed the girls to find finger holds and footholds, which helped Whit because she didn’t enjoy high places and she needed all the help she could get. Whit was the last one to go over, which meant she’d been the lookout for Misty and Lindsey. It had been a very stressful couple of minutes while she’d waited for the girls to cross, knowing that at any minute one of the guys could pop up and catch her. The climb up and down had been so nerve-racking that her hands were wet with sweat and she’d worried several times about falling.

As soon as her feet hit the ground on the other side of the wall, Whit felt an immense amount of relief.
Now they should be safe since they’d seen all the boys searching the other side. Misty slowly led Whit and Lindsey through the crates, stopping every so often to listen. Whit noticed that this side of the wall looked identical to the other side. In her mind, she’d thought there would be some differences, but there weren’t. Misty signaled that they needed to speed up, and began to pick up the pace.

Now they had to move quickly,
because time had really ticked down. Whit saw that only 2:02:15 remained. If they could just rescue Rory and Ellie, they might still have a chance. When the enemy hold came into view, the girls huddled behind some crates and watched as Darby relaxed in front of the door. Misty signaled to Whit, gesturing that it was time to get started.

Whit
nodded and moved slowly away from Misty and Lindsey until she was twenty feet away from their position, then stepped out of hiding. She waited for Darby to glance up, but when she didn’t, Whit called her name quietly.

“So the boys left you all alone, huh? That must be a first,” Whit said sarcastically.

“Whitni, what a nice surprise. I’d hoped I would see you at some point,” Darby said with a nasty smile.

The smile looked evil to Whit, who had started moving backward, trying to draw Darby away from the hold.
No telling what Darby actually wanted to do to her. “Well here I am. I’m sorry that you and Nolan didn’t work out. You know, since he liked me better.” She continued to move backward, and smiled when she saw that Darby was following her.

“Ah, poor Whitni. You just don’t get it.
He was only using you,” Darby said with a smirk. “He’s very competitive and just wanted to win. We’d all hoped he could get more info out of you, but what he did get was useful.” Darby snickered.

Whit felt confused, but bef
ore she could answer, the breath was knocked from her chest by what she saw. Her parents standing next to one of the stacks of crates, smiling at her. She stood staring at them, then started moving toward them in wonder as her eyes began to tear up.

“What’s going on?”
she cried when she stood less than 5 feet from her parents. It had been so long since she’d seen them. She’d missed them so much these past few months, and couldn’t believe that they were there, in front of her. She tried to touch them, but her hand went right through them. She couldn’t look away from them, though, even when she heard running footsteps behind her and a great commotion over by the hold. In the next instant, she was grabbed from behind and picked up. Whit glanced back to where her parents had been, but they were gone.

It was
Mark carrying her to the hold, but Whit was confused. What had just happened? Were they ghosts, or had she just imagined them standing there? Darby’s laugh and voice stopped her thoughts.

“
Pitiful little Whitni,” Darby smirked, then snickered. “You look confused. Was it not good to see your parents?”

“You’re such a bitch!” Whit screeched as she struggled to escape Mark’s hold so she could kick Darby’s ass. Mark held her tight and after several seconds of trying, Whit
went limp hoping the dead weight would be harder for him to carry. It must have stunned him for a second because she was able to break away. Whit turned and sprinted toward Darby with her fists clinched. Darby was talking to Nolan and didn’t notice until it was too late. Whit shoved Darby to the ground and quickly straddled her. She had just thrown the first punch when Darby twisted her shoulder knocking Whit off balance. Now that Darby had an arm free, she pushed and clawed at Whit trying to free her body. Whit knew the boys would soon pull her away, so she quickly threw a punched that landed squarely on Darby’s cheek. Her hand felt like all the bones had shattered and Whit lost focus for a few seconds, totally consumed by the pain. She heard Darby cry out and start shrieking loudly calling Whit all sorts of names. Mark was on her before she recovered from the punch. She cradled her hand against her chest as he carried her into the hold and sat her down next to Ellie. As the door shut, Whit saw Darby whisper something to Nolan as she sneered in Whit’s direction. The only thing that gave her comfort was the huge bruise already spreading over Darby’s cheek.