No One (Element Preservers, #3.5) (2 page)

"Because I'm... " His grin melted away from his face, and he looked into my eyes, dead serious. "You know how. Same way as you. I might not have an element, but we went through the same training."

"Did the training include touching other carriers?"

"Of course not." He scowled. "They were afraid we'd team up somehow and kill them all."

I swore under my breath and backed down. Ryan let out a sigh of relief, getting back to his usual cocky self. "She's slipping out of your grip, isn't she?"

"Shut up." I shot him a cold glare and headed for the door.

"You'll lose her like you lost Thea."

I paused and focused on my element. Ryan yelped, shaking ice from the sleeves of his black sweater.

"Don't mention Thea ever again," I said. "You know nothing about her."

Chapter 05

4 years ago

The heavy door scraped against the floor, but I was too tired to look up. My hands were bound behind my back, and I could barely feel my fingers. It had been way too long since someone came to check on me, but I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or not. The scientists who had come earlier only asked me thousands of questions I had no intention of answering, and they used their elements around me.

A blond girl who couldn't be older than eighteen approached me, dressed in the white coat and white pants that everyone who worked at the lab usually wore. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail and her light blue eyes regarded me with curiosity. Great, another person who only saw me as a lab rat.

I flinched when she crouched next to me and reached behind me to unlock my cuffs. Her eyes shone with an unidentified emotion when she grinned at me. "Bathroom break, pretty boy."

Supporting myself on the wall, I pushed myself to my feet, eyeing the girl with mistrust. Why was she smiling like that?

"My name is Thea." She cast her eyes down, biting on her lip slightly. "Come on."

Glad that my legs still worked, I followed her out of the room and down the hall. The cameras immediately moved in our direction, but Thea kept smiling and glancing my way. When we reached the large bathroom with numerous showers, sinks and toilets, Thea closed the door behind us and locked it.

"You have 15 minutes," she said, leaning her back against the door and looking at me through her long eyelashes. I headed around the corner toward the showers, deciding to ignore her strange behavior. Whenever someone came for me, they usually looked at me with contempt, glared at me or pretended I didn't exist or wasn't a human being like them.

When I emerged from the shower and put on the fresh set of clothes, I noticed Thea had come closer and was watching me, her head tilted to one side.

"What do you want?" I asked, unnerved by her stare.

"Isn't it obvious?" she said, taking another step toward me. "I like you."

"What?" The white towel I'd used to dry my hair fell out of my hand. My first thought was that I was hallucinating. No one had ever talked to me like that. Did I dare to believe in what this girl was saying?

"I'm not so narrow-minded as the others," she said, now close enough to touch me. "I don't think you're dangerous."

"Why are you working here then?" I met her eyes, wondering how long it would take her to realize that I
could
be dangerous. If she didn't enjoy seeing magic disease carriers tortured and didn't think they were all monsters, then how could she stand to be in this place?

"They pay me well." She shrugged. "A girl's got to eat, you know? My parents are dead just like yours."

My heart constricted at the thought of my parents, but I didn't want to let this girl intimidate me. She was way too confident around me, and something about it bugged me. A small part of my brain was delighted at the idea that someone could actually like me, but I was too used to the idea of everyone hating me.

Thea reached out for me and I grabbed her wrists, spinning her around and pushing her hard against the wall. I pinned her with my body, feeling the call of her element, air. She let out a loud gasp, then her lips spread into a wide smile and she laughed. But the tension never left her shoulders.

"Do you think you can scare me that easily?" she said, and I let go of her wrists.

"What do you really want from me?" I was distracted by the nearness of her lips, and for a second I tried to imagine what it would be like to kiss a girl. I'd seen people kissing in a couple of movies Alan had let me watch, but I'd never done it. No one wanted to kiss or date a magic disease carrier. Not that Alan would allow me to ever have a girlfriend or even let me go out on my own to meet girls.

"I want this," Thea breathed, closing the distance between us. Her soft lips brushed against mine, and I fought hard not to lose control of my disease. But Thea's element was tightly locked inside of her rigid body, and I moved my lips against hers. Someone banged on the door, and we jumped apart.

"I guess our time is up, pretty boy," Thea said with a pout, straightening her coat. "I'll see you soon."

Chapter 06

Now

Having made sure I was alone in the hall, I dialed the number of Alan's office at the university. Even if he wasn't there, the call would get reconnected to his business cell phone. I knew it was risky to call him, even with a hidden number and an anti-tracking app, but he was my only hope. If someone knew how to train a carrier so he wouldn't crave elements so much, it was his team of scientists. Their methods might be cruel, but maybe their knowledge could be useful.

The phone rang and rang until a gruff voice answered. "Yes?"

"I need to talk to you. Somewhere private," I said, not bothering to introduce myself. Alan knew damn well what my voice sounded like.

"Ah, Adrian. What a nice surprise."

"Cut the crap. Will you meet with me or not?" Ria and Lily would kill me if they knew what I was about to do.

"Of course I will. I'm still your guardian." Alan chuckled. Oh yeah, I could tell how satisfied he was with this turn of events. I had to be smart and get what I wanted from him without putting myself in danger or giving in to his demands. Unfortunately, I couldn't meet with him in a public place for fear someone would recognize us and call the press.

"Where can we talk?" I felt around for elements, but many of Lily's people didn't have them anyway, so I had to rely on my hearing and stop talking if someone approached. Although, Lily had hired mostly people with elements to keep Ria safe because we didn't want other carriers to suspect the Element Preservers was in the league with carriers.

"My old house."

I briefly closed my eyes, fighting against the wave of images from the past that came into my mind. The house Alan and I used to live in was only a couple of miles away from the city... and from the labs. "See you there tomorrow morning."

"I'll be there. You have piqued my curiosity. I wonder what you could possibly need from me this time because I'm sure you need something."

"I'll tell you tomorrow. Come alone or I won't show up. Not even element-blocking suits will help you because I'm ready for them too." If Alan prepared a trap for me, I would have to find another way to talk to him.

"Am I supposed to trust you that you won't kill me?" Alan said, but he didn't sound concerned.

"If I trust you, you'll have to trust me too. We both have our elements and that's enough of protection." I ended the call before he could say anything else.

Chapter 07

Now

I stood in front of the two-story house that had been more like a prison to me for the most of my life. Alan's element pulsed inside the living room, and he was alone as far as I could tell. His car was the only one parked in front of the garage, and I couldn't see any suspicious activity during my tour around the neighborhood. Alan could never hold me long enough until his team came if they weren't nearby.

Someone could still be hiding in the basement, but I hoped Alan knew he wouldn't achieve much by kidnapping me. The device for showing body heat I'd "borrowed" from Lily's techs only showed Alan's presence. For the first time in my life I was glad the house was separated from the rest. My hand hovered over the knob for a moment, but then I braced myself and opened the door, memories of the first time I tried to escape this place flooding my mind.

Chapter 08

7 years ago

I hadn't seriously thought about running away from Alan until he announced it was the time for us to visit the laboratory and do some tests. I was beginning to show the symptoms of the disease, so Alan told me I'd have to be monitored and examined. What scared me the most was that he hinted I'd have to stay in the lab for an extended period of time. Judging by my brief visits to the lab for a couple of checkups, staying in that white, disinfected, closed space wasn't something that I wanted.

It didn't even matter that I had no money and no one who could help me. I knew Alan's routine well enough to find a perfect timing to leave the house unnoticed and circumvent his guards and the alarm system. I didn't think Alan still believed I'd try to escape after all these years.

As soon as I woke up, I grabbed my clothes and went downstairs to find Alan, who was just finishing his breakfast. He looked up at me, a slight smile curving his lips.

"Good morning," he said, folding his newspaper. "I hope you didn't forget we have an important appointment this afternoon."

"I didn't." I approached the table, extending my arm toward him so he could take off the damn tracking bracelet off my wrist. I had to wear the bracelet all the time except when I took a shower. Apparently, the bracelet wasn't waterproof.

Alan unsnapped the black bracelet with the help of a small, button-like device, and placed it on the table. "Be quick." A warning flashed in his dark eyes and my heart started to beat rapidly in my chest. Could he know what I was planning? Keeping my face empty of all emotion, I headed upstairs to the bathroom. A sigh of relief escaped me when I locked the door behind me. I changed out of my pajamas and put on a black sweater and a pair of jeans. My ear pressed against the door, I listened for any movement. One of the guards should pass any moment, leaving back door unguarded.

Heavy footsteps resonated on the thick carpet, and I held my breath until the guard went away and I couldn't hear him anymore. Very carefully, I unlocked the door and turned the knob, slipping out in the hall. Every creak of my sneakers made me stop and strain my ears. Alan's voice broke through the silence and I almost jumped out of my skin. It took me a couple of seconds to realize he was talking to the guard in the kitchen and that he had no idea what I was up to.

Since I didn't have any more time to waste, I sneaked all the way to the stairway. Alan was still talking to the guard and laughing about something, so I dared to descend the stairs and slipped into the hall that led to the back door. There was a padlock on the door, but I'd seen the code and memorized it the last time that Alan used it in front of me. The lock made a little beep as the light flashed green, and I pushed the door open.

I dashed across the lawn, hoping to reach the row of houses and disappear in the narrow streets. Someone tackled me from behind, and I fell face first into the grass. Heavy weight pressed me down, and my hands were bound behind my back. Someone pulled me up to my feet, and I could see Alan approaching me, a smug expression on his face. The bastard had clearly anticipated my attempt to escape. Fuck.

I fought against the guard's tight grip, but I couldn't move a muscle. Alan stopped only a few inches away from me and wound his fingers into my hair, painfully pulling my head to one side.

"Don't even think for a second that you could outsmart me," he hissed into my ear, then stepped back and nodded at the guard. "Take him to the car and don't let go of him. We're going to the lab early."

Dread spread through me in waves, but there was nothing I could do. I was completely at Alan's mercy.

The guards dragged me into the castle of white tiles and people dressed in white coats. Even the lights glowed with white brightness, so I had to squint to be able to see something. Whether I wanted it or not, somehow I always ended up in the damn lab. They took me to one of the numerous white rooms, but this one had a see-through glass that was looking at some sort of a yard. Someone pushed me from behind toward a dark-haired woman, who, strangely enough, was wearing an impeccable black suit.

"I hear he tried to escape." The woman looked straight at Alan as if she couldn't see me.

"Yes, he
tried
." Alan's voice was full of pride. "What are we going to do about that, Valeria?"

"I don't know." Valeria's cold hazel eyes met mine, and I realized she was assessing me like a cat who had found a new mouse to play with. If the tone of her voice was of any indication, she knew exactly what she was going to do to me. "Can he feel elements?"

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no," Alan said casually. "His disease developed only recently."

Valeria strolled over to me, and I fought the urge to back away from her. Too bad that my hands were still tightly bound behind my back or I would have tried to fight my way out. It didn't even matter if I died in the attempt. Death couldn't be worse than being a lab rat, could it? The only obvious problem was that I wouldn't be alive then, and even if my life sucked most of the time, I wasn't ready to part with it.

"So, carrier, did you really think you could run away from us?" She placed her cold hand on my cheek, her nails digging into my skin. "Did you really think we'd endanger the safety of the citizens and let you roam the streets?"

"Don't touch me, bitch." I wrenched myself out of her grip, giving her my deadliest glare.

She had a grace to flinch, but then her eyes narrowed and she pinched her mouth together. "How dare you insult me!" She yelled, her voice echoing through the small space. "Haven't you taught him anything, Alan?"