Mindsiege (11 page)

The muscles in Jack’s back stiffened. “I know. But I couldn’t have you knowing or thinking about any of it. If Jonas knew what we were planning… I just couldn’t take the chance that he’d stop us or hurt you.” He slipped a finger under my chin and lifted my face to his. Leaning down, he brushed his lips across mine. “I do want to know one thing. Why did you give Jonas a black eye?”

I tried to look away, but Jack held my chin tighter. I swallowed hard. “He kissed me.”

Jack closed his eyes.
That’s all, though, right? He didn’t touch you in any other way?

“No, caveman. Jonas kissed me, and I took care of it by punching him in the face.”

“Why did he kiss you?”

“IIA agents were following us.” I backed away from him, breaking contact, and took a drink of the chai tea. “He wanted to throw them off. And there’s some—” I started to tell Jack about the other clones and The Farm, but I couldn’t form the words. Something stopped me.

Or someone.

Jonas
.

Hi, Lexi. You can’t tell him, yet.

~~~~~

“Are you ready for this?” Jack framed my face with his palms.

Gripping the starfish hanging on a chain just beneath my collarbone, I nodded and said, “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Just remember. You hold the power. Cathy knows what you can do. She’s seen it firsthand, but obviously needs you—needs us—or she and Seth wouldn’t have moved The Program from UK Hospital to Wellington.”

“And she doesn’t know how much we know.” Especially how much
I
know.

“That’s right. For now, we’ll keep it that way. Once we’ve read more of your dad’s journals, we’ll confront who we need to.”

“So we’ll play dumb.”

“And nice.” There was a warning behind those two words.

“Why, Jack DeWeese, whatever do you mean?”

After a lingering kiss on the forehead, Jack opened the door to the school’s large boardroom, down the hall from Dean Fisher’s office.

Stopping just inside, I surveyed the people sitting at the table. President Wellington sat at the far end of the table. Beside him, Dean Fisher smiled, his expression warm and inviting. I had always gotten good vibes from that man. But today, everybody was the enemy.

Kyle sat beside President Wellington, his uncle and only family member that I knew of. His lips curved into a smirk as soon as our eyes met. I’d deal with him and his crazy train-hopping later.

To the other side of Dr. Wellington was his sister, Jack’s mother for all intents and purposes, Cathy DeWeese. Just seeing her made a chill skip down my spine.

Where’s your father?
I asked Jack.

Still out of town, according to Cathy.

As we walked closer and stood at the head of the large table, Cathy pushed back from the table and rose.

“Sit down, Mother,” Jack said. He leaned into the table, his fingers spread wide against the dark wood. “I told you yesterday that Lexi would probably never set foot on Wellington’s campus again.”

“I believe you said you wouldn’t either.” Cathy sat back down and crossed her arms.

I glanced sideways at Jack. He shrugged. He hadn’t shared with me that he’d told his mom he wouldn’t return to Wellington.

“Well,” he started again. “Things have changed. Lexi changed my mind.”

I suppressed the urge to look at him wide-eyed again, for fear of undermining whatever it was he was doing.

“Lexi changed your mind?” Dr. Wellington asked. “Was this before or after you bulldozed through my school’s new fence?”

“Careful, R.W.,” Dean Fisher said, then returned his attention to us. “Let them talk.”

“Lexi and I have returned to Wellington on a trial basis. We—”

Cathy stood again. “You’re hardly in a position to tell us what you will or won’t do on any kind of basis.”

Jack straightened, rolling his shoulders back. “That’s where you’re wrong, Mommy Dearest. I’m eighteen. And Lexi will be soon.”

Dean Fisher motioned with his hand for Cathy to settle down. A very strange unspoken message transpired between them.

“So, as I was saying, Lexi and I are at Wellington to learn. We agree to abide by school rules as we always have, but we will not be held prisoner. We will come and go as we please—as we did before you added all the extra security.”

“That was for you,” Dr. Wellington said. “To keep you safe, not to hold you prisoner.”

“Good, then we shouldn’t have a problem,” Jack said. “The extra security is appreciated as long as it’s not used to hold us hostage.”

Cathy squirmed in her seat. “Everything we’ve added… bringing The Program to Wellington, the extra security… that was for the two of you. And Kyle.” She gestured to Kyle, who nodded in acknowledgement.

I cocked my head, eyeing Cathy. Did she not know about the others—Briana, Jonas, Georgia and Fred? What was Cathy’s motive in all this?

“And, like I said, we appreciate it,” Jack said. He was good at the “nice” game.

Cathy relaxed in her seat. She traded glances with Dean Fisher and President Wellington, nodding in some silent agreement.

“So,” Dean Fisher began. “I guess neither of you have missed much school. A lot has happened since Friday night, though. Are you both okay, physically?”

We looked at each other, then nodded.

“One last thing.” Our heads both snapped toward Cathy. “You will attend all Program classes. I’m sorry that Friday night was a shock to you. And I’m sorry, Lexi, that your father was less than honest with you about how you were created… and what you were designed for…”

My spine straightened and I stepped up to the table, ready to blast Cathy DeWeese for even suggesting that my late father was anything less than a perfect dad to me. It wasn’t her place to criticize him. Jack grabbed my hand and held tight.
Just let it go. You’ll get an opportunity to say your piece later. We’re playing nice, remember.

“…But if you’re here to learn, you will meet with Seth as soon as possible to get The Program integrated into your schedules.”

Seth nodded, still silent.

“Great. Fine.” Jack pulled on my hand and started to turn.

We were just about to the door when Cathy spoke again. “Oh, and one last condition. For Lexi.” We turned. I gripped Jack’s hand tighter. My other hand clenched into a fist, anticipating what this woman might say. “I’m going to need your help with Sandra.”

Chapter Twelve

“How did you turn out so amazing, when she’s so… so…” Jack raised his brow at me, mid-rant. “…So
not
amazing.”

“Because she and I don’t share a single ounce of DNA?”

“Smart aleck.”

Though it felt like I’d been away from campus for weeks, I’d only missed one day of classes and four mornings of swim practice. I wanted to go for a swim right then, but Jack convinced me that getting back into our classes was more important.

We walked toward the dorms. So far, no one even looked at us funny. It was as if Friday had never happened. To the other students, it probably hadn’t.

“Remember, Cathy’s syringe and drug were not meant for you last Friday,” Jack reminded me.

“But she didn’t tell me that. She tried to force me to heal Sandra even then. She held that syringe filled with God-knows-what like a murder weapon if I didn’t obey her.”

“I know, but she promised the weapon was meant for Sandra. Sandra is her enemy, not you.”

“Uh-huh. I just happen to look like Sandra.” And I just happen to be the one who can bring Sandra out of this coma that she put herself in.

What do you mean she put herself in the coma?
Jack asked.
How do you know that?

Seth told me she injected some sort of genetic manipulating substance into her own brain.
I snapped my head toward him. “Wait. I didn’t direct that thought at you. I’ve been blocking you.”

We were almost to the girls’ dormitory. Jack grabbed my arm and stopped me. “I don’t understand why you’re so insistent on blocking me completely, but sometimes your thoughts just slip through. I don’t know.”

I averted my eyes, tried to pull away, but Jack tightened his grip. A couple of freshman girls stumbled out of the dorm, giggling as they walked passed us.

“Lexi, look at me.”

“What?” I sighed, finding his eyes. Did I really have to explain how I didn’t want him inside my head?

“What is going on with you?”

Silence built up between us like steam trapped in a teakettle. He continued to stare. “I don’t want to live like this. I live in constant fear of someone inside my head. Listening to my every thought. Manipulating my mind and my actions.” I sucked in a breath. “I have to find a way to shut you and anyone else out.”

“You think I’m manipulating you?”

I cocked my head and smiled. “I’m back at Wellington because of you, after vowing not to return.”

“Hmmm. Good point.” His forehead wrinkled. “But you do see why Wellington is the place where we might find answers?”

“No, but it’s a place we can live while we search.” Especially since the few people I knew outside this school were now dead.

He rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand and started to lean toward me. I thought he was going to kiss me, but his grip tightened and his face scrunched up as he pulled back.

“What is it?” I asked.

“It’s Jonas.”

“What’s Jonas? Where?”

“He’s inside your head.”

I searched the edges of my mind for any sign of that tattooed jerk. “Why can’t I sense him? He’s said nothing.”

But he’s there. I can sense him right now while I’m touching you. The question is: Can he sense
me
when
I’m
inside your head?

I shivered, and Jack pulled me into a tight hug.
This is why we’re at Wellington.
He kissed the top of my head.
Go get what you need. I’ll meet you in class.

~~~~~

Mrs. McMillan frantically scribbled notes across the dry-erase board as I entered Advanced Biology. Danielle, my best friend and roommate, sat up straighter when she saw me. I immediately wanted to hug her, but I was late, and there wasn’t an empty seat near her.

It was crazy to think that it had only been a few days since I’d seen Danielle. A long weekend, really.

Kyle, who sat next to Danielle, lifted his chin in a silent hello. I had yet to discover if my roommate knew that Kyle was the one she sketched for the art show last Friday. She claimed she had met a mystery boy in her dreams and would marry him some day. Did she know Kyle was the one she “planned to marry”? She could definitely do worse, but could I let my best friend fall for a cloned freak?

I forced a smile at them both before I slid into a seat across the room.

“Today, class, we’re going to have a little quiz.”

Shit! I slunk down in my seat just slightly. I’d fail a quiz for sure.

Mrs. McMillan passed out the quizzes. When she got to my desk, she handed me two pages stapled together and said, “Welcome back, Miss Matthews. Do the best you can.”

All I could do was stare blankly at the questions on material I hadn’t studied. I was sure most of it had been reviewed the previous day in my absence.

Want my help?

The muscles in my back stiffened at the sound of Jonas’s words.
No, I don’t want or need your help.

Really? You don’t think you need my help? Then I obviously didn’t explain the situation you’re in very well.

I searched my head, and found Jonas’s presence sitting just on the edge. How can I see him so clearly at some times, but not so much at others? With everything in me, I wanted to knock him off that edge.

I worked through the thirty questions. At least they were multiple-choice. I had a twenty-five percent chance of getting each one correct.

And a seventy-five percent chance of getting each one wrong,
Jonas said.
Speaking of... The answer to number five is—

Stop. I don’t want to know.
I was not going to cheat on a stupid biology quiz.

That was a nice trick last night, by the way.
Instead of being angry, Jonas sounded impressed.
I’m wondering if Kyle and Jack would have succeeded in getting you to leave if Jack hadn’t tranquilized me.

I smiled.
You kind of got what you deserved.

Don’t sound so pleased, Lexi.

Hey, you tranqed me first.
I massaged my temples, irritated by the banter.
What do you want from me, Jonas?
My hand shook so badly, my pencil slipped through my fingers and fell on the floor.

I want you to convince Jack that I mean you no harm, and that you both need me at Wellington.

What? No way. Not going to happen.

I could force you.

If you could force me, you would have done so already.

I want you to get up right now and take your test to Mrs. McMillan. Tell her to excuse you from the quiz and class. You’re failing it miserably. Force her to give you a chance to make up the quiz tomorrow.

Without even thinking, I did as Jonas instructed, and my teacher fell for my mindspeaking, hook, line, and sinker.

Once in the hallway, I dug through my bag for tissues, and treated a lovely nosebleed.

Don’t you want to be rid of those nosebleeds?

Of course I wanted to end all nosebleeds forever, but I was not going to admit that. Not if it meant conceding I needed Sandra.
What I want is to know what you know about my dad and his murder.

Ahhh, yes. Well, like I told you, your dad discovered the IIA’s human cloning project facility.

How do you know this?

I overheard a conversation. Your father trusted the wrong person with this information. He discovered The Farm, told someone, and the next thing I knew, he was murdered. Find out who he told. You’ll be closer to his murderer.