Phantom Universe (23 page)

“
Hi, Summer.” The man chuckles. “I’m Ethan.” He holds his hand out for her to shake. Summer recoils at the same time her heart skips in her chest. She swallows thickly and attempts to melt into the floor so no one can see her.

“
All right, Ethan. Let’s leave the poor girl alone,” Gage reprimands. “Summer?” he questions and turns toward her. “How about you eat breakfast while we explain your transport to the Outlander camp, okay?”

She nods as he leads her to the table and chair. Cameron sits on the bed while Gage stands like a sentry next to her. She feels like she’s a prisoner and a princess all at once. Maybe they’re the same thing.

“
Everyone, this is Summer Waverly,” introduces Cameron. “She’s a sixteen year old girl from the past. We found her shipwrecked on the beach. From what we’ve found out, she was a slave and has been through a great deal of torture.” Her voice amplifies with authority. “She doesn’t speak and does not deal well with people touching her, especially males.” She points at a few of them, and from Summer’s point of view, it looks like she’s stabbing them.

Summer takes a bite of toast while eyeing the soldiers. The taste is absent, her mind not focusing on anything except those around her.

“
Summer?” Cameron turns to her, and she freezes mid-bite. “This splashy piece of work is Hunter.” She gestures toward a man with russet hair and stormy grey eyes. His skin is dark with a red tint, as if he’s been burned by the sun. He’s incredibly physically fit, and his face is hard like a soldier’s, but the hard lines soften around his eyes. He gives her a small wave of his hand. Summer’s thankful he didn’t attempt to shake her hand like Ethan did.

“
And this is Emma and Zoe,” says Cameron as she points to two girls in the corner. Their looks are the opposite, one with blonde hair, the other with dark brown, though their mannerisms are identical. They both also give a small wave in greeting. Summer glances down, taking another bite of her tasteless toast.

Cameron continues, “Just so you Leaguers can understand Summer better, she has been ‘trained,’ if you will, using negative reinforcement to respond differently to movements, gestures, objects, etcetera, than you or I would.”

“
You’re speaking gibberish,” Ethan calls out, a chuckle still edging his voice.

Cameron lets out an exasperated breath. “It means she doesn’t speak, because in the past she learned that if she didn’t make any noise the punishments would stop.” Incoherent mutterings break out through the room, and Summer catches many of their faces looking pitying at her. “It also means that sudden movements usually correlate with being hit or whipped for her.”

Summer hates that she’s being talked about like she isn’t even in the room, but she’s so used to it that it doesn’t even affect her anymore. She takes another bite of her tasteless toast.

“
Here’s what the plan is, everyone,” says Gage, his voice commanding. “Transporting Summer will not be easy, not with the religious groups protesting in the streets. The reason why I have requested so many guards for her is the fact that she has been in the hospital for two weeks, and it hasn’t been a secret. You’ve seen the news—people are not happy that an Outlander is receiving treatment outside of the camps’ medical facilities. The last thing we need is to have an Outlander killed in transport due to our negligence.”

Summer chokes on her toast, her face turning red with each cough. Gage pats her back absentmindedly, and the action causes her to duck and hold her arm up, all the while choking.
Kill? Did he just say kill?
She shrinks down even lower as everyone stands around her, silent and unmoving. Gage’s hand is held in mid-air, not sure what he should do as Summer coughs and gags until she finally catches her breath.

“
Summer?” whispers Gage while peeking at her under the table. Her arm’s still held over her head. “Flower?” His voice is gentle. He offers his palm to her and it’s like reality snaps back into place. She lowers her arm and takes his palm, her heart still vaulting like a gymnast.

She writes one word on his palm: “Kill?”

“
Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you—especially that.” Truth resonates in his voice, and she can’t help but believe him. He hasn’t lied thus far.

“
Wow,” says Ethan, his smiling, chuckling persona gone. “I guess I didn’t completely believe you until now.” He shakes his head. “Who would do something like this to someone so . . . small and vulnerable?”

“
The splashiest piece of splash,” growls Gage angrily. He helps Summer from the floor—she doesn’t realize how far she has sunk until he’s practically pulling her out from underneath the chair. Once she’s seated again, Gage stands to his full height and says, “This is another reason we need so many guards. If anyone lashes out, touches her, or does anything to scare her, she . . .” he trails off, and Summer chances a glance up at his face. He’s glaring at the ground as if it has personally offended him, all the while rubbing his jaw in concentration.

“
Any intense state of trauma can cause severe physical and mental damage to her,” Cameron continues for him. “She could have a heart attack, become catatonic, or could go into a state of shock. If the last happens, and she’s physically hurt, we might not know it, which can be fatal if we’re unaware.”

“
Exactly,” agrees Gage. “This is not acceptable. Therefore we must transport her with the utmost care.” He reaches down into one of the bags next to her chair and pulls free a black shirt and green and black jacket. “To make our jobs easier, we will be placing her in military clothing. Because it’s illegal to impersonate a soldier, there are slight flaws in the jacket. Most people won’t notice her as an Outlander, especially with her neural implant, but all it takes is one person to point it out to the rest for things to go south fast. So let’s make this quick, and hopefully event free. The hovercar won’t be far from the entrance, but the media are staking out the place for a glimpse of this all-important Outlander. So we had to park it farther out as to not warrant attention. Doctor Rose has promised that no one knows today is her last, but as soon as people see her leave, they might immediately contact the media. We can’t have that—but it is bound to happen. Be prepared.”

“
Yes, Sir!” they all chant.

Gage squats next to Summer, and their eyes lock. She reaches for the hand holding the black shirt and wraps her fingers around it. His lips twitch up, though he’s really trying to struggle to even attempt a smile, she notices. Something is upsetting him, and she hates that she doesn’t know what it is so she can fix it. “Take this bag here into the bathroom and get changed.” His finger traces her face, his frown only deepening. “If it were up to me, I’d hold your hand the whole time, Flower—but that will look suspicious. Are you going to be able to handle this?” His voice is full of sincerity.

She bites her lip and conveys with her eyes how unsure she really is about the whole departure.

“
You owe me three hundred bucks,” twangs one girl to the other—Summer’s not sure which one’s Emma and which is Zoe.

“
And everyone said no girl could break him,” sighs the other girl theatrically. Both of them have very thick, southern-American accents.

Ethan and Hunter exchange eyebrow raises and begin to laugh.

“
Go on, get changed,” Gage says to Summer before standing and facing his comrades. Through the door Summer can hear them talking about her—though, surprisingly, none of them have anything bad to say.

“
I really like her,” Ethan says, his voice boisterous and full of humor.

“
Me too,” agrees one of the girls, twanging hardcore with her accent. “I’m just worried how she’ll react at the camp.”

“
If it was up to me there would be no camps—the whole institution is just ridiculous!” rages Hunter.

“
Trust me,” Cameron cuts in, “I think we all agree on the Outlander camp splash going on.” She sighs heavily enough that Summer can hear it through the door. “I’m just glad she’s doing better than when we first found her.”

“
Oh, man,” says Gage dejectedly. “She giggled and thought I was going to beat her for it. I still can’t get that image out of my mind, her cowering in utter terror that any second I would strike.”

“
Are you sure the camp is a good idea for her?” one of the southern girls asks seriously. “I mean, isn’t there another alternative?”

“
I’ve thought of everything, and all the options I want to choose are illegal,” explains Gage wearily. “And we know those aren’t really options anyway. At least not right now.”

CHAPTER
24: RIOT

16 years old

The air is thick with a mix between apprehension and anticipation. Gage explains to Summer that he must be up front since he’s the commanding officer; it’ll just look weird and suspicious if he stands next to her while other Leaguers walk ahead of him. Gage gently strokes her cheek with the tip of his finger, caressing down to her lips and hesitating at the corner. His eyes are intense as he looks between her gazing blue eyes and her red, perfectly pouty lips. He gives a tiny nod and backs away, moving toward the door. The rest of the soldiers close in around her, which instantly makes her breath pick up.

Cameron smiles encouragingly at her, the dark-haired girl, who she finally found out is named Emma, takes up flank on her other side. Though Summer does feel more comfortable with females, even they make her nervous. Gage opens the door with a slide of his hand and exits, followed by Hunter, his russet hair shining under the hospital’s bright lights.

“
Here we go,” says Cameron under her breath and steps forward.

Summer keeps pace with her and, once on the other side of the door, Emma makes sure to fill any space between Summer and the hospital’s busy staff and visitors to her left. Cameron’s still a constant guard to her left. Ethan and Zoe follow behind so quietly Summer constantly looks back to make sure they’re still there. She sees many curious glances focus on the now closed hospital door they just came from, the people in the hospital don’t even glance into the blur of uniforms that stride past.

She can’t help but take heaving breaths as Gage quietly speaks encouraging words to her. “You’re okay, Flower. No one even notices you’re with us.”

“
Deep, steadying breaths,” coaxes Cameron next to her. “You’ll blow our cover if I have to stop to give you oxygen. We’ll make it through this.”

They enter into a small room like the one she was in when she was first brought here. Inside she feels claustrophobic and isn’t sure why they are in there in the first place. When the door slides shut and her stomach flies up into her throat, she reaches for Gage’s palm and quickly writes, “What is this room?”

He roars with laughter and glances back at her. “It’s an elevator. Did they not have these two hundred years ago?” Wrinkles march up his forehead in question.

“
Of course they did,” says Zoe behind her.

The doors slide open to reveal the reception area of the hospital. Then it all makes sense. Gage chuckles at her expression—he can see the understanding in her eyes. They exit the elevator in somewhat of an orderly human shield around Summer. She’s able to see around them enough to glimpse at the chaos that awaits just outside the hospital’s doors. People crowd the front doors holding signs with scrolling words like, “It’s the Exodus all over again!” and “Protect our children, kill the savages!” and “Outlanders are demons!” She almost stops mid-stride, but Cameron pushes her forward, a serious expression straightening the lines of her face.

“
Keep it tight,” orders Gage.

They all move closer to Summer, and she beings to feel like she’ll suffocate. Doors slide open and guards salute Gage as they pass. The masses outside are screaming and yelling obscenities, the word splash is . . . well, splashed all over the scrolling signs. Her heart triples its beats as they enter into the discord.

“
It’s her!” someone shouts and voices rise in a massive tidal wave of heated fury. Fingers begin to point in her direction, and the media swarms them.

“
It’s the Outlander!” a female spits out.

The media is quickly overtaken by the fanatical religious groups with their “God kills Outlanders” signs, and their eyes a proverbial piercing pitchfork in her forehead. It’s a riot gone wild.

Emma is pushed violently into Summer who can’t take it anymore. Her heart is about to explode and sweat beads on her forehead. She wraps her arms around her head and ducks down, hiding from the massive amount of people who want to hurt her.