Phantom Universe (28 page)

“
Did you really?” asks Gage, throwing his head back and chuckling. “Well, that makes more sense for a cause of a fight than a candy bar.”

“
Yeah, but I called him that
because
he took the chocolate,” says Rob. “You don’t just go around taking people’s chocolate. Especially if it’s a gift!”

Gage keeps chuckling. “You look pretty beaten up. I’ll have our on-site doctor take a look at you. If you have any broken ribs we need to mend those immediately.”

“
You should see the other guy.” Rob laughs. “Oh, ouch.” He gingerly touches his ribs. “Yeah, I should probably see a doctor.”

“
Oyi!” Lucy shouts in the distance, and everyone turns in her direction. Avery’s next to her as they run toward them. “Whoa, what happened to him?” She points to Blake.

“
I shut his neurological system down for now,” explains Gage nonchalantly.

“
Where the hell have you two been?” barks Jaden.

“
We went to find a guard who would help,” explains Avery. “Half of them said no. There was one asshole—sorry, I mean Leaguer—in particular that started taking bets on the fight.” He snaps his fingers like he’s trying to remember the name. “Oh yeah, his name was Max, his jacket said M. Everfast.”

“
Stay away from him,” warns Gage seriously. “He’s nothing but trouble, and he hates Outlanders.”

“
Yeah, we figured that out,” grumbles Lucy, a hand on her hip.

“
Been busy, Lieutenant Appleton?”

Summer pivots around to see Cameron in her uniform. Summer had become so used to her wearing her white doctor’s coat that it took her off guard for a moment.

“
You could say that,” replies Gage. “Everyone, this is Sergeant Steen, or Resident Steen if you’re in the hospital.”

“
Please, call me Cameron,” she says sweetly while going over to Rob. “Jeez, you’re turning purple.” She gently touches Rob’s cheek, and he flinches in pain.

“
If you can take care of him, I’ll worry about this bozo.” Gage gestures in Blake’s direction.

“
You’ve got it,” says Cameron with a nod before turning back to Rob. “Can you walk all right?”

Rob nods, and Jaden looks at him in concern.

“
Good. What’s your name?”

“
Rob.”

“
Well, Rob, follow me, and we’ll get you taken care of.”

“
I’ll meet you in the room, Summer. Okay?” asks Jaden.

Summer nods and waves them off.

Landon walks up to Blake, and his glare is unmistakable. “Com’re Ducky.” He gestures her over. She complies and stands next to him. He pulls her close, blatantly ignoring her shoulder and just going for her waist. “I think ye need to get your justice.”

She glances up into his dark eyes, and her eyebrows draw together.

“
Ye know what to do,” he says and backs away.

Everyone stands around her, watching and waiting. Summer stares down at Blake, and in her mind she can see Jarvis’s face beneath the surface of this man. All her hate and anger boil up inside, her blood heating with all the bad things that have happened, how this man tried to take her confidence just like Jarvis did. Her confidence only grows inside her, and she pulls her foot back, her new black boots tipped with steal (thanks to the Leaguer outfit Gage had given her). Blake suddenly wakes, and his eyes flicker open to see her boot come flying at him. He tries to move but she kicks him in the arm where he bruised her. He cries out and holds his arm in agony.

Summer backs away while he writhes in pain, but at the last second she comes forward again and kicks him solidly between his legs. Her foot connects with all the force she can muster, and the males around her groan just at the sight, though Blake’s scream out shines all other noises. Summer turns on her heal and walks away satisfied. Lucy claps, and Landon smiles proudly.

Gage has the device he used on Blake earlier in his hand. He points it at Blake again and presses a button. He goes quiet, his body stilling. Everyone stares at Gage with a rainbow of expressions. “What?” he says with a joyful smile. “If she was going to kick him, I wanted him to feel the pain.”

As Summer approaches Landon he raises his hand in the air, palm forward, and they high-five.

CHAPTER
30: SPIDER

16 years old

Summer lounges on the bed with its flowery bedspread and squeaky springs. Lucy explained to her earlier that the room they’re staying in used to be a motel room and that when she first arrived there was dust everywhere, no water in the toilet, and the electricity didn’t work for two days. She guesses it was abandoned until the Outlanders appeared, and they needed places to put them. Summer holds a rose to her nose—there was one lying on the bed when they arrived. It’s Gage’s signature. The ceiling above her is water stained and looks like popcorn so she prefers to stare at the red petals. She wonders what Gage is going to do with Blake. He carted him off in cuffs and promised her Blake wouldn’t be a bother to her ever again.

Lucy sits in a chair at a tiny, round wooden table chatting away. “. . . and my horse Smoke just ran down that field with a huge, pink hand print on his ass!” She roars with laughter, and Summer smiles at the picture. Lucy has been talking non-stop since they entered the room. Summer’s not sure if it’s to fill her silence or if Lucy always talks this much. The bed squeaks and wiggles under her as Lucy crawls up onto it. There’s something about her that Summer finds very comforting, even if she does talk a lot. Her chatter occupies the silence that Summer never breaks.

“
Can I tell you a secret?” she whispers like someone else is in the room with them. Summer turns her head to the side and looks up at her. Lucy’s curly brown hair poofs from her head, and her green eyes glitter with excitement. “Of course I can tell you a secret!” Lucy giggles. “I actually have two sisters—you know, I told you earlier that I have a deaf sister named Kylie. Well, I have an older sister too, Abby. She’s four years older than me—I’m sixteen, by the way. Anyway, she’s super pretty, and all the boys love her. She gets all the attention in the family.” Lucy frowns like she’s remembering something unpleasant.

Summer sits up and leans against the headboard, waiting for Lucy to continue, holding the rose up to her nose again. Secretly, she hopes there’s a vampire or faerie involved in the story—even if everyone tells her they’re fictional.

“
They’re all so proud of Abby with going to college and getting all As, or whatever. But the truth is, she dropped out a year ago and has been faking her grades to Mom and Dad while she tries to get jobs being an actress. She told me if I told anyone that she would tell our parents about the time I wrecked the car when I was thirteen.” Her voice lowers into a whisper. “I told them that the car was stolen.” She laughs, and Summer smiles, wondering what it must be like to be a normal teenager with parental woes. “Truthfully, I’m secretly relieved she didn’t leap two hundred years into the future.” She sighs and joins Summer leaning against the headboard. “Hope you don’t think bad of me because of that.”

Summer shakes her head and gives her a reassuring smile.

“
Good.”

The door flies open and slams against the wall. Summer and Lucy both jump in surprise. “Oops.” Jaden waltzes in, and her brown eyes light up when she catches sight of the rose. “Oh! Is that from Gage?” She waggles her eyebrows.

Summer nods with a tiny smile.

“
He brought her one every day in the hospital!” Lucy exclaims and claps her hands together excitedly.

“
And how do you know that?” asks Jaden as she closes the door with more care than she opened it.

“
There’s a note.”

“
Where?” Jaden’s black hair swishes as she searches for this mysterious note.

Summer frowns at both of them. It’s her note, and Lucy already read it before she knew it wasn’t for her.

“
What? Can’t I read it too?” asks Jaden playfully.

“
I thought the rose was for me at first and read the note . . . on accident,” explains Lucy. “I don’t think she wants you to read it too.” She giggles.

“
Oh really?” Jaden plops down on the bed, making it squeak even more. “And why on Earth would you think this rose was for you, Lucy?”

Lucy’s neck, up to her ears, turns red. “No reason.” She looks away.

“
Liar!” Jaden pokes Lucy playfully. “I’ll get it out of you eventually—and you too, Summer. I want to see this note!”

Lucy scoots to the edge of the bed and stands. She goes to the sink next to the bathroom and fills a plastic cup with water. Summer looks between the two and, for the first time since she can remember, she’s hanging out with girls her age who aren’t ignoring her. One of them even knows and understands her previous life. She may be locked behind some fence, being treated like, well, an Outlander, but she has never felt so content in her life.

“
Letter!” demands Jaden and Summer glances at her with a smile. She pulls the note from her back pocket and hands it over to her. Jaden squeals and begins to read it aloud.

“
Flower, I checked out your room and realized it’s worse than the hospital room. Perhaps I’ll carry on my tradition of bringing you a rose every day to brighten things up. And perhaps I’ll keep visiting you, too.”

“
Awe! That’s so sweet,” Jaden gushes.

“
Keep reading,” urges Lucy, leaning against the counter.

Jaden holds the note up again. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you, sweet Flower. I promise you that I’ll find a way to get you out of here as soon as possible. Until then, I’ll fill your room with roses. With affection, Gage.”

Jaden falls on the bed, faux fainting while holding the note to her chest. All the girls giggle together, Summer falling in even deeper with Gage.

Lucy abruptly screams bloody murder, runs, and dives on the bed between Summer and Jaden, just as Summer slips to the floor to hide between the two beds in the room. A door next to the sink flies open, and Avery and Landon stumble in, Avery with a roll of toilet paper held high like he’s going to use it as a weapon.

“
What is it?” asks Landon frantically, a toothbrush hanging from his mouth, muffling his words. Jaden jumps to her feet in alarm.

Avery spins around, the roll of toilet paper still high in the air, his dark, green eyes wide, and his red hair a mess. “I’ll kill him!” shouts Avery.

Lucy’s hand is over her mouth, her eyes wide. Summer’s peeking over the side of the bed at what the cause of alarm is. She can’t figure out the culprit. Lucy begins to laugh so hard she doubles over and tears pour from her eyes.

“
What?” Landon and Jaden ask in unison.

Lucy removes her hand from her face and points at Avery, the toilet paper roll still held high, then to Landon who has toothpaste dribbling down his chin, and begins to laugh hysterically again. Landon looks behind him, and then his head tilts back as he finally sees part of the cause of Lucy’s insane giggling.

Landon turns to the sink and spits out his toothpaste. “Put that down!” he says to Avery with a chuckle.

Avery drops his hand, his face flushing with embarrassment, and throws the toilet paper back into their room which is connected to theirs.

“
Ouch, you prat!” barks Rob from inside their room. “You’re lucky they gave me some good drugs or I’d kick your scrawny arse for that!”

“
Oops,” says Avery. “It was only toilet paper!”

“
What are ye screaming at?” asks Landon, his eyes darting between Jaden and Lucy. He knows Summer didn’t scream. Jaden points to Lucy. “Well?”

Lucy’s still trying to control her giggles. “There was a spider crawling on the wall, and it was huge! I mean like ginormous!”

“
A spider?” asks Landon in disbelief. “Ye burst my eardrum fer a
spider
?”