No One (Element Preservers, #3.5) (6 page)

"We haven't done it here, but I've met someone who did." Clary focused on the papers on her desk and started flipping through them. "As far as I can remember, the new carrier couldn't function without the touch of the other carrier. He was like a rabid animal, snapping at people with elements."

Fuck. That didn't sound good at all. "Did they manage to stabilize him?"

"Eventually." Clary looked up. "But he was isolated from others for a whole year, I believe."

"Did they try to put them back together once the carrier was in control again?"

Clary's face brightened as she found the paper she was looking for. "Yeah. It didn't go well. The carrier kept losing control and they had to isolate him all over again."

"Can I see the file?" I approached the desk, my eyes never leaving Clary's, my lips slightly parted.

"Of course." She handed me the file, watching me expectantly. I snatched the file and skimmed through it. The list of things they'd done to the carrier during the test made me sick, but I focused on what I wanted to know. Ah, yes. It said the carrier was fine for a couple of hours when he was completely in control and it was safe for him to touch another carrier. Things were suddenly looking up for me.

This meant Ria could touch me only for a short time while she was fully in control of herself. The only problem was that the test subject didn't have elements like Ria. "Do you think it would be easier for the carrier to stay in control if he had an element?"

"Not necessarily, but we can't know." Annoyance flashed across Clary's face. "Those carriers with elements somehow managed to avoid us because we can't tell if they are carriers or regular people. I wish we could catch one of them."

"Me too." I lied, giving her a broad smile. "I have to go. Thank you for your help. It was nice to meet you."

"You're welcome." She snatched a card off her desk and offered it to me. "Call me or send me an email if you want to discuss some other ideas, especially if you get a carrier with an element."

"Will do." I took the card and strode to the door. As I closed the door behind me, I crumpled the card in my fist and threw it in the nearest trash can. Lily's team thought people would realize carriers weren't a danger now that they knew the truth about elements and sub-elements, but it seemed like nothing changed. Scientists still wanted to catch one of the
improved
carriers and do experiments on him.

Someone grabbed me by the arm and pushed me against the wall so hard that my breath was knocked out of me. Alan's face appeared in front of me, his fingers digging into my arm. For a moment, I forgot that I wasn't a helpless boy anymore.

"Let go of me before I kill you," I sneered at him.

"Where did you go? Are you out of your mind?" Alan hissed, stepping away from me. "What if someone recognizes you and I'm not nearby?"

"I can take care of myself." I rolled my eyes. It was ridiculous when Alan got all protective of me as if he hadn't let the scientists do to me whatever they wanted.

"Not in here." Alan placed his hand on my back and guided me down the hall. "Did you forget how hard it was for both of us to get out of here the last time?"

I met his brown eyes and nodded. Oh, I remembered. I remembered it way too well.

Chapter 18

4 years ago

Only a week had gone by since Thea left, never to return. The scientists became extra annoying because their plan with Thea had failed, so they had to invent new ways to torture me. Starvation, sleep deprivation and beatings were among their favorite methods, and I was getting weaker by each day. My element was the only thing that kept me alive, even though it was harder and harder to use it and control it. I barely had enough energy to breathe. And even breathing hurt since two or three of my ribs were either bruised or broken.

I was sitting on the floor. The cuffs tied to the wall were the only thing holding me upward. Pain shot through me every time I moved, but I still closed my eyes and tried to reach my element. The air around me went cold just as someone opened the door of the room. Quinn frowned, and I was afraid he could tell something was wrong, but he shook his head and approached me. I tended to use my element only when no one was in the room with me or when I was about to lose control. The scientists were suspicious, but so far they hadn't managed to prove anything.

I hadn't noticed Quinn was carrying a small bowl of something until he placed it on the floor next to me. "Eat." He pointed at the bowl. I hadn't eaten anything for at least a day, but the pieces of bread and cheese that were in the bowl didn't look tasty. Hell, I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to reach the bowl with my hands tied. Quinn seemed to come to the same conclusion, so he reached behind me and undid one of the cuffs and let my right hand free.

I didn't move. Why the fuck would I do everything they ordered me to? Even the hunger didn't bother me enough to make me throw myself desperately at anything they gave me. Not yet. I slowed my breathing and turned my head so the smell of food wouldn't reach me. I was fine. I wouldn't break. I wouldn't. There seemed to be a huge gap inside of me. A strange emptiness that I didn't know how to fill.

"Eat," Quinn repeated, tapping his foot against the tiles. "Or I'm going to call Alan to deal with you."

I closed my eyes. Every day was becoming harder and harder in this damned place. What else could they do to me? Would they wait until they proved I had an element? I'd rather die than let them know about it, and I was too weak to do any real damage to them. It was pointless. My life was pointless. I only served as an entertainment to the scientists. Even people who came to visit the labs didn't show any sympathy for the carriers. There was no one who could save me.

"Your guardian will hear about this," Quinn concluded, hurrying for the door. Asshole. He no longer bothered to torture me himself. Now he wanted Alan to do it for him. I glanced down at the bowl of food and immediately regretted it. Now I was truly hungry and dizzy from it. Fuck. I banged my head against the wall. The sharp pain didn't help me to clear my head at all, but that was to be expected.

The door opened and two guards strode in, their heavy boots resonating against the tiles. Alan was nowhere in sight. Was he tired of me too? Maybe he wanted me to die. I was only a problem for him, even though he was one of the best paid men in the country. The guards pulled me to my feet, unsnapping my chains. Since I was too weak to stand on my own, they practically dragged me out of the room, their fingers digging into my forearms.

I couldn't hide my surprise when they opened the door of one of the small rooms and threw me inside. My knees hit the cold tiles, and I had to support myself on the bed or I would have hit my head. A bed, huh. What was I doing in a room with a bed? I looked around and noticed an empty wooden desk and a chair in the other corner.

Alan entered the room, locking the door behind him. A frown line seemed to be permanently stuck to his forehead, his lips pressed together into a straight line. I didn't have to be a genius to know that he was displeased with me.

"Sit." He sighed when he saw I was still on the floor. "On the bed."

"Why? I'm much more comfortable where I am." I gave him one of my biggest grins. Seriously, if every inch of my body wasn't hurting, I'd get on the damn bed. I just didn't want to waste my energy if someone was going to push me off it a couple of seconds later.

Alan stepped forward and smacked me on the back of the head. "Do as I say."

"Ouch." I rubbed the spot where he'd hit me and pushed myself up. Tucking my legs under me, I sat on the bed and glared at Alan. Something rustled behind him and I realized he had picked up a plastic bag. He must have brought it in with him and left it near the door.

"Are you still moping after that girl?" Alan chuckled, placing the bag on the bed in front of me. "Did you really think a girl would have sex with you because she wanted to?"

"I could get any girl to have sex with me if I actually left this fucking place." A delicious smell of ham and cheese drifted out of the bag, and my mouth watered. Oh, God. There was a sandwich in the bag, or better said, a piece of heaven that looked like it could melt down... I averted my gaze and tried breathing through my mouth, but it didn't help a bit. Even my stomach rumbled. Fuck. I was losing this game before it even started properly.

"Whatever you say. Now eat. Then we'll talk about something important."

I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Important? Like what? Are you finally going to let them kill me?"

"For once, do as you're told." Alan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not pleased that Quinn keeps complaining about your behavior."

"Oh, I have plenty of complaints about him too." Anger spread through me, and I dug my nails into my skin to stop myself from using my element. Who'd have imagined Alan's words could give me energy?

"Eat," he said more forcefully this time, ignoring my remark.

"Or what?" I challenged. Alan's hand slid to his belt, and I flinched. Great. He was threatening me. Was it worth it to defy him and the others? Probably not. I couldn't fight them off or cause them serious damage in this condition. Sighing, I grabbed the sandwich and took a huge bite. Oh, God. It was the most amazing thing ever. I couldn't remember when was the last time that I ate normal food.

"I got a job at the University of Magic," Alan said as I licked the last remains of the sandwich off my fingers.

My brain was working unusually slow because it took me a couple of seconds to register his words. "What?"

"I applied for the position of the counselor and they hired me." He didn't even try to disguise the excitement and content in his eyes. Why would he? He wanted to leave this place almost as much as I did. And now he had the chance.

I licked my dry lips. "So you're leaving." Alan was my guardian, which meant he couldn't go anywhere without me. Even if I often wished I was dead, I didn't really want to die. I could see that now, but what did it matter? Alan had clearly decided to go, and the scientists would never let me leave.

"Yes, in two months. That's when the semester begins."

Two months. I had two months. My thoughts flew to my parents and I knew that they were disappointed in me. They wanted me to live and be free, but I couldn't even keep myself alive, let alone break out of the lab.

"Adrian, look at me."

I raised my head and met Alan's brown eyes. He came forward and sat on the bed next to me.

"There is a way for you to come with me," he said, and it was a surprise my eyes didn't pop out of my skull as if I were a cartoon character.

"How?" I breathed, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.

"You're almost 18, and the world knows about you. I could arrange for you to be a student at the university, but you need to do something first," he said in a hushed voice. "You mustn't tell anyone about this, do you understand?"

I nodded, a bit too eager to hear what he was going to say.

"You need to pass the finals and graduate from high school next month."

"I can't." I shook my head. "I didn't go to high school. How am I supposed to pass the finals next month?" He was playing me again, wasn't he? The tiny thread of hope was getting thinner and thinner.

"Yes, you can," he hissed. "You're not stupid. It doesn't matter that you didn't go to high school. You learned something when I homeschooled you and you have a month to learn what you need. Do you really think normal teenagers remember everything they have studied over the years? They study and revise a week or two before the exams, and that's that. You can do it in a month. It's nothing complicated. I can give you the examples of the tests. It's all very similar."

"And when and where am I supposed to study if I'm only a fucking experiment here?" If Alan didn't want anyone to know about this, then I wasn't sure how we could pull it off. God, I was really stupid. I actually believed him. Was this an experiment too? The ultimate twisted test that would crush me?

"I thought about that too. You've done very well by resisting the elements and controlling your disease. I will ask Quinn to give you this room so you can rest for eight hours every night. I'll find a way to bring you the books, and you'll have to find the time to study and sleep."

"Awesome plan." I curled my lip at him, although I probably shouldn't have done that when he was so close to me. "I might as well die trying."

"I didn't say it was going to be easy." He reached for my hand and I fought the urge to pull away. "If Quinn knew what I was truly planning to do, he wouldn't allow it. That's why I have to let them experiment on you. I did manage to convince them to consider the idea of testing more pills."

"Pills?" I choked out. Was he insane?

"Don't worry. You'll live. It's better than the other thing they had in mind. But you'll have to learn how to hide pills in your mouth. You should never take more than one." He squeezed my hand and let go. "But you must take one or they'll suspect something is wrong."

"If I survive all of it, then what? I get to be a university student?" I clutched my hands into fists because my fingers were trembling.

"Yes, you'll have a chance for more or less a normal life until your disease gets worse."

"Ah, so I should go through all the trouble to be away from this prison for a couple of months?" I said bitterly.

"Wouldn't it be worth it? You can get whatever you want. You'd be under supervision, of course, but you could go out." The lines around Alan's eyes became more prominent. I could tell that he was impatient. We didn't have much time left to talk.

"And if I refuse?" I wanted to know all the options.

"I'll let Quinn do whatever he wants to you. And the last time we spoke he told me he'd like to submerge you in a pool of elemental water." Alan finished the sentence with a slight quirking of his lips. What he found funny was beyond me, and Quinn was definitely a psychopath.

"Fine. I'll try to do what you want me to, but if I pull it off, I want a car and a driving license. And I want you to take me to my parents' grave every year like you used to before we came here." There were so many things I wanted, but money couldn't buy them.