Resilient (31 page)

“She’ll have you, apparently,” I snap. I’ve seen the way he looks at her, and I don’t like it.

“I’m not here to steal your girlfriend.”

“Then what are you here for?”

“To survive. The only way to do that is to stick together.”

And that’s that. I let Livia know about our situation, and we gather our things. We reach the room the attendant assigned to us, located on the outer side of the second floor. Daniel opens the door and I throw the bags inside. “Dibs on the shower!” Livia calls, grabbing her stuff and heading into the bathroom. 

I sit on the edge of the bed and watch as Daniel goes through the TV channels. 

Eventually—and it takes a while, since I’m not quite sure what to say—I ask him, “So, how do I get an ability to develop? You said I also have a healing ability, but for it to develop, I need to practice. What does that mean?”

“Our abilities already exist within us,” he explains without taking his eyes off the television screen, “but only surface as we need them. When I was a child, after Emily put me to bed, she would lock herself in a room and talk into a recorder. She would stay there for hours sometimes. I really wanted to know what she was saying, so I would try to hear her through the walls. One day, it worked. I could hear not only her, everything that was going on around me. That was my first ability to develop. Since then, I’ve been able to hear things from miles away.”

“So I should cut myself and wish for it to heal, and it will eventually work?”

“I wouldn’t cut myself if I were you—break a finger or something, and yeah, it’ll eventually heal. Just make sure you’re not around your element.”

“My element?”

“Every one of us has an element that makes ours abilities weaker.” He shrugs. “Even the scientists don’t understand it. When you are around it, you may not be able to use one or more of your abilities.”

“And that’s why I can’t empathize with people when I’m in the water?” Livia asks, walking out of the bathroom. “I’ve never understood why. I always assumed the water made me stronger, and that’s how I was able to block people’s emotions, but it was actually making me weaker?”

“Exactly.”

“I haven’t been in a situation that made my abilities stop,” I say. “So is it possible that I don’t have an element?”

“No, you have an element.” Daniel almost looks amused. “You just haven’t been around it yet.”

After I take a shower, it’s Daniel’s turn, and he locks himself in the bathroom. I go to Livia to say goodnight. She’s already in bed, ready to give in. “Lay here with me,” she says. “Hold me until I fall asleep.” 

I lie down next to her and she wraps her arm around my waist and settles her head on my chest. I put my arm around her and trace my fingertips over her wet hair. She laces her leg around mine, making herself comfortable, steadied. I reach for the blanket and I pull it over her.

“Adam?” She says, tilting her head up to look at me.

“Yeah?”

“The first time I met you, I thought you were a jerk, but once I let you in, I saw that there was a lot more to you than a hot, douche-y football player.” I snort at that. “I hated that I couldn’t show you who I really was—I thought you couldn’t love me if you knew. I kept my secrets because I was afraid of losing you.”

“I hid that side of me, as well,” I say, trying to soothe her. “You don’t have to apologize—”

“Hold on, let me finish!” She nudges me gently. “No other person has ever made me feel the way I feel when I’m around you. I’ve never felt butterflies in my stomach until I met you. I guess what I’m trying to say is that…” She pauses, biting her bottom lip and I see her blushing. “I love you,” she says, and her beautiful smile takes over her face and my whole body shivers. 

I want to tell her how much it means to me, but I lose myself looking into her eyes, so I lower my face close to hers and I kiss her softly until it isn’t soft anymore, our tongues meet, and passion overtakes me. But we both hear Daniel’s shower shut off and Livia lies back on her pillow. I sigh.

“I hope this cabin in Noatak has more than one bedroom,” I grumble, and she grins, slightly shaking her head.

“Good night, Adam.” She curls into the crook of my arm and rests her head above my heart, and that’s how I fall asleep, breathing her sweet scent.

*                            *                              *

I wake up startled. Livia’s weight on me is gone. I look to the other side of the bed, and relief washes over me. She’s sleeping peacefully, snuggled up with her pillow. I admit I could get used to this.

As I lie back down, I hear a car door shut outside. I sit up on the bed and I see Daniel standing against the wall with his finger against his lips, telling me to be quiet. My heart starts to pound faster as footsteps come up the stairs—slow, sneaking. I hear doors being unlocked and examined one by one, so softly that Livia never stirs.

I reach for Livia, nudging her. She opens her eyes and I gesture for her to be quiet. She pulls herself up as she realizes what is going on. I slip on my sweater and tennis shoes and place my passport in my back pocket. Livia does the same and then she snaps her head in Daniel’s direction. They hold gazes for a moment and then she nods—some kind of communication passed between them that I can’t hear. 

Livia gestures for me to follow her and we take positions in the restroom, which is right next to the door. With her hands, she instructs me to take out the first guy in, and Daniel will get the others while she’ll run to the car, and we’ll meet her downstairs. I shake my head—I don’t like the idea of her running off on her own. But the way she looks at me tells me I have no other option. 

I clench my fist as I listen to the footsteps coming closer, only a couple doors down, or maybe even just one. There are three or four of them from the sound of it. If we’re outnumbered, it’s not by much. Livia’s face betrays her panic and her eyes are already pleading for this to work. 

A key slides into the lock. I clench my fist tighter. Our bedroom door swings open.

I immediately kick the bathroom door and it flies off its hinges, collapsing against the wall and half-blocking the entrance. Two people pass the bathroom. Someone enters right in front of me, and I hold myself in place. She’s just a girl, my age or even younger. She resembles Livia with her dark hair and fair skin. She advances on me, and I slam my fist into her shoulder; she staggers back. Daniel is shouting, “Don’t let her deceive you—she’s everything but fragile!”

The girl regains her balance and comes at me again. I kick her with all I’ve got, right below her knee. I hear her bone breaking and she falls, just enough time for me to leap over her and into the room. In a blink of an eye she’s back up again, standing between me and Livia. I take a fast look to my right and I see Daniel wrestling with a guy, and another man lying on the floor. 

The girl turns on Livia, who is holding a trash can in front of herself, as if that’s going to help her. The girl laughs. I take advantage of her distraction, jumping high onto her shoulders and rolling forward. As I flip over, I hook her arms with my legs, flipping her over. Thank you, wrestling team. I pin her down and shout, “Livia, go!”

Livia sprints out of the room, and a weight lifts from my chest. I only hope no one else is waiting outside. 

Daniel has miraculously gotten two guys down and handcuffed to each other—where he got handcuffs from is a mystery. “You gotta knock her out. It will give us a couple minutes.” I give him a wary look. He sighs and walks up to us.

“You won’t go very far. They’ll catch you!” the girl spits out, voice muffled with her face pressed against the floor, and I realize this is the first time I’ve heard her speak. Daniel ignores her, kneeling down and placing his hand on her neck.

“Using your finger, put pressure on her carotid artery. That restricts the blood flow to her brain, and she’ll pass out.” Even as he’s speaking, the girl stops struggling and her face goes slack. 

I let go of her, feeling a little dizzy, and we run to the door where Livia waits outside, crouching at the edge of the building. “There are more of them coming!” she says, looking down to the parking lot. Four men are getting out of an SUV and heading this way. 

“Follow me!” Daniel whispers, taking off in the opposite direction. I grab Livia’s hand and we follow him, running down the stairs and dashing toward the main road. When we’re out from under the building’s shelter, gunshots ring out. My leg erupts in fire and I lose Livia’s hand. 

“Go!” I yell when she slows down. “I’m right behind you!” She keeps running. I hit the ground. My leg burns, bile rises in my throat, and at that moment, I’m afraid.

I stop running when I realize Adam is not right behind me. I turn around and he’s lying on the ground a hundred yards away, screaming in pain. The air bursts from my lungs as I shout his name. Daniel grabs my wrist and pulls me backwards. His grip is strong, but with a fight, I wrench my wrist free and run for Adam—but two more armed men approach, sweep his arms behind his back, and haul him away from me. 

“Go! Run! Please, Livia, run!” I hear him shouting, but I can’t move. I’m paralyzed. He’s angry, in pain, and desperate to see me go. He hardly fights—only enough to keep them occupied while I escape. A burning anguish begins to grow inside of me. My knees go weak as the ache in my heart turns into crushing weight. I scream his name and tears stream down my face.

I watch as they drag him away. I don’t bother to move. Let them come for me, they can have me. Adam’s pleading voice grows in my head and I feel his pain. I feel it, I see it; everything. I see his mind and, for the first time, I’m dragged inside of his memories.

Through Adam’s eyes, I see myself collapsed on the ground, crying in pain over his broken leg. His awareness grows stronger, like a scent that is strengthening—guiding me to him, and all of a sudden, I can feel his emotions. I feel a surge of love that is enough for both of us, and in that moment, I was safe. 

I open my eyes as I feel a strong arm wrapping around my waist, pulling me up and lifting me off the ground. It’s Daniel, not Adam. Everything after that is a blur of lights as if time is going by at a thousand miles per minute, but my mind is in slow motion—I felt him. 

I empathized with Adam. 

The connection was so strong that, even across the distance between us, I could see into his mind and deep within his soul. My eyelids fall shut as the pain grows and my body gives up on me.

When my eyes open again, I choke back the urge to scream. I look around, but it’s dark, and my back is against coarse tree bark; I’m in the woods. 

“I had to stop,” Daniel says. “I’ve been carrying you on my back for way too long and you’re slowing me down.” I hear him but I can’t find his face. “I’m right here,” he says, touching my arm and shuffling closer to me. I can now make out his silhouette.

“Where is Adam?” 

Daniel sighs. “There was nothing we could do; they took him. I’m sorry, Livia.”

I slide my body down against the tree until I hit something soft. I put my hands down and I touch the snow underneath me. I bury my face in my hands. 

“Look, when we are strong enough, we’ll go find him.”

“It’ll be too late,” I exhale. “He won’t remember us—he won’t remember me.” My voice is barely audible as the ache inside starts shutting me down again.

“They won’t be able to erase his memory,” Daniel presses. “They can’t use their abilities on him, remember? At least not until they figure out his element.”

My eyes snap open and I try to focus on Daniel’s face in the darkness. Reality sets in. I realize that when I empathized with Adam, he was suffering a great deal, emotionally and physically. 

“Pain.” 

Dan stares at me, expression blank. I stand up and take a deep breath to clear my head and wake up. “I empathized with him when he was shot. He was in every kind of pain. I empathized with him as I never have with someone before. It was like I was inside of him, even though he was so far away.” 

“It could be the pain, but it could also be the bullet. Metal could be his element.” He shrugs. “It’s hard to tell Livia.”

“But if pain is his element and the agency finds out, they’ll torture him.”

“The agency doesn’t know, and if Adam is smart enough, he won’t tell them.”

I steel myself against the tree. “We need to go back. I can’t just leave him.”

“We’re too far away now, and even if we were to go back, we’d be outnumbered. You could say goodbye to your memories and Adam.”

“I can’t do this without him, Daniel.” My voice breaks as I try to reason with him, reason with myself.

“Then don’t do it for you. Do it for him. If you go back now, you’ll fail, and if you give up, you’ll be giving up on any chance you might ever have to rescue him.”

He has a point, but there is devastation inside me that I don’t know if I can handle. 

“Look,” he reasons. “Let’s continue with the plan. We go by foot, we don’t stop to sleep or eat, and before you know it, we’ll be in Noatak. We’ll regroup and come up with a plan then.”

I sigh and glance upward. I can just make out the tree branches against the night sky. “Where are we?” I ask.

“On the outside of Whitehorse, Yukon. I ran 272 miles in four and a half hours.” He chuckles. “And with you on my back.”

“You could have left me behind,” I whisper.

“I need you to survive. If they had taken you, I would go back to being alone.”

My eyes narrow as they look to him again. “You saved me because, otherwise, you would feel guilty. I know what you feel, remember?”

“Fine,” he huffs. “So where are we heading next? I don’t have your memory of the documents.”

“Fairbanks, and then we’ll get a private flight to Noatak. My uncle has a cabin in the woods of the preserve. But we don’t have money—I left everything in the room, I only grabbed my passport and the key for the cabin.”

“That’s all we need, and we better get moving. Fairbanks is a long way from here.”

In the beginning of our journey, I run as if I’m running to put distance between myself and the pain inside of me, but it doesn’t matter how far I run; the feeling remains. We never stop moving, and when we aren’t running, we’re walking. I see the sun rise and set, and we don’t stop to eat or rest. When we get closer to the border, we hitch a ride back into United States territory and we enter Alaska without trouble. Fortunately, the guy we hitch a ride with is heading to Fairbanks, and Dan and I are able to rest along the way. The driver drops us off in the old downtown district, and we walk to a small, local airfield. The place looks closed and it appears we’re the only ones here. But I know we’re not. I feel someone’s presence.