The Forbidden Trilogy (15 page)

I didn't know what to make of it all. What baby? What was
she talking about? As I reclined on the bed, she got out an ultrasound machine.

"I check your belly for sickness," she told me,
her English more broken than normal.

'Shouldn't feel it yet... can't let her see....'

Can't let me see what?

She hid the screen from me as she squirted my abdomen with
cold jelly and rubbed the camera over it.

'Baby too big... growing too fast... definitely
pregnant.'

"Pregnant?" I spoke out loud before thinking.

She flinched. Only slightly, but enough that I knew I had
hit the mark.

"Where you hear about pregnant? I not pregnant,"
she said, clearly trying to deflect the conversation.

'This girl reading mind?... never reads mine... what tell
them?'

Her thoughts froze me. What the hell? I couldn't be
pregnant. I'd never even had sex! It's not that I had anything against sex, but
when your every move is watched and recorded, it kinda takes the romance out of
it. Besides, I'd never met a guy I was really into until....

Oh, my God. Drake, a boy I hadn't even met in person yet,
had already taken over my thoughts and my heart. I needed him. And he needed
me. Where was he?

"Drake?"
Still nothing.

He'd been a part of my waking and sleeping consciousness for
months. With him gone, so completely gone that even his trace mental signature
didn't register, I felt like an empty vessel. A terrifying loneliness and fear
gripped me.

My head swam with conflicting realities.

This couldn't be happening. This wasn't real. I must have
misunderstood her Japanese. For nearly two months I'd spent every spare moment
I could studying her dialect, but there was so much to learn. I probably
misinterpreted the entire thing and panicked for nothing.

Logically, this made sense, but my body knew the truth. Even
as I denied it, I could feel the new life growing inside me.

And suddenly my being pregnant made a horrible kind of
sense.

They needed more kids. If we were right, and they basically
ran a paranormal human trafficking ring, they needed as many of us as they
could get. And what better way to get more paranormals than to breed them? Is
that why they'd gotten rid of Mr. K? Had he come too close to the truth? Is
that why they'd burned down the art studio? Of course, I could never succeed in
public. They never meant for me to have an art career or go to Sarah Lawrence.

Dr. Sato glanced over her shoulder at me as she left the
room, closed the door and.... Did she lock it? Oh crap!

I scanned all the minds in the Clinic that I could find.
Missy talked with Lucy. She was nervous, lying, thinking about Drake. He'd been
moved to another facility. They'd gotten what they needed from him, but she
didn't know what that was. She'd overheard something she shouldn't have, and it
scared her.

I searched for Luke. I usually stayed out of my friends'
minds, out of respect. No one wants to be best friends with someone who is
always spying on their thoughts. But I didn't think he'd mind me sneaking a
peek under the circumstances.

I found him. His mind sorted through information, breaking
into fragments—worried about getting caught, looking at records. My records.

'Sam is pregnant?... what?... what the hell have they
done to her?... oh my God... Drake... that's why they took him... wanted his
powers to breed with... Oh Sam... how will I tell her?... what are we going to do?...
oh shit... Lucy... she'll be eighteen soon... sons of bitches... I'm going to
kill them all....'

I stopped listening, paralyzed. It was true. I was pregnant,
and it looked like Drake was the father.

Dr. Sato didn't release me from the Clinic. My door remained
locked, and she alone came and went. She said I had a dangerous stomach virus
that could make others sick, but to which she was immune. Yeah right.

I celebrated my eighteenth birthday with her and the few
books she allowed to occupy my time. They bored me to death.

Worrying about Drake made me sick, as no one had any useful
information. Missy had been mysteriously replaced by a new receptionist who
knew nothing relevant.

Lucy and Luke's thoughts revealed their desperate need to
reach me, but I couldn't communicate with them like I could with Drake. That
still puzzled me.

Dr. Sato did allow me to keep notebooks, so I started
writing everything I wanted to say to Drake in my special language. That
journal became my only connection to him, or anyone else, for three long weeks.

The torture of isolation, of endless contemplation, forced
me to analyze every detail of my existence at Rent-A-Kid. We often got
postcards from kids who had left to start their new life, and I got care
packages from my "parents." They could easily fake these, use them to
keep us passive and hopeful, and from rocking the boat or questioning our
lives.

It had worked.

How could I have been so gullible for so long? I had allowed
myself to become the ultimate victim in every area of my life, from the
Rent-A-Kid nightmare to the bullies at school or on assignment.

And what about my life goals—if I ever got to have a real
life? My teachers always encouraged me to pursue linguistics and to do something
with international relations. That made sense, but really, once I left here, I
wanted to get as far away from this life as possible.

My life up until now had been pretty shallow. And now, just
as I saw the truth, they locked me up and made me impotent. Rent-A-Kid turned
me into a victim once again, unable to affect any kind of change.

Each time my mind turned toward the baby growing in my
stomach, an intense and overwhelming panic took over, until I couldn't think or
focus. My heart rate would skyrocket, and Dr. Sato would come in with something
in a syringe that put me to sleep.

The utter betrayal and violation of having my body raped
without my knowledge.... I had no way of processing this level of terror.

My purgatory ended on a day as boring as the rest, when Dr.
Sato came in smiling.

"Good news. Your tests are clear and you can go. You
have party waiting and friends. Then you go to New York."

"Wait, I was supposed to have another assignment before
I left." I needed that assignment to connect with Brad.

"That canceled. You too sick. But okay for party."

I couldn't believe my ears, so I listened with my mind.
'Can't...
disappear... friends miss her... must do party... not showing yet... must move
her....'

So they would move me. But where? If only I had Drake's
ability to control other people. How did he do that? And how did they catch a
streetwise, super-strong guy who could control people? How had they even found
him? If they could contain him, my chances of escape seemed pretty slim.

I instinctively put a hand over my abdomen; it happened a
lot these days. I moved it before Dr. Sato noticed. The reasons to resent this
child, this pregnancy, grew daily. Yet love grew in my heart despite it all.
This baby could not be blamed for the way in which it had been conceived, and
it was my job to protect it. From them. From the world.

Even the horror of its inception could not keep me from
loving what Drake and I had created.

What would Drake say when he found out? If he found out? If
he'd served his purpose, what would they do to him? Would they just... get rid
of him? I doubted they'd let him go, but my mind refused to consider the
alternative.

Dr. Sato handed me a beautiful red ball gown. It was to be a
fancy affair, my fake going-away party. After a quick shower, I did up my long
hair in a French twist, put on makeup and jewelry from the supplies Dr. Sato
handed me, and slipped on my red heels. I was ready to make my entrance.

And my exit.

***

When Lucy and Luke saw me outside the ballroom entrance,
they nearly plowed me over with hugs.

"What happened to you?" "We tried to visit
but they wouldn't let us in." "Are you okay?" "We have so
much to tell you."

"Wow, hold on a sec guys, one at a time. I have a
confession to make. I've been spying on you. I know it goes against our
friendship code, but I was so anxious to know what was happening."

Luke looked so sad it nearly made me cry. "So you
know?" He reached for my hand.

I switched to our special language. "Yes, I know about
the baby and about Drake."

They hugged me again—the way friends hug when words just
aren't enough.

"We can talk, but we have to pretend like we're
celebrating. We can't let them know we know, and we obviously need a new plan.
Apparently, I won't be going on that last assignment."

They nodded and, each holding one of my hands, my best
friends gave me the strength to play the role of the happy girl heading to
Sarah Lawrence.

All of my training did not prepare me for this hardest of
parts. My heart broke with each smile. Unshed tears crushed my soul. I mourned
the end of my dreams even as a fake smile greeted my small world.

I left the cool stillness of the night and walked into my
going-away party. The onslaught of sounds, smells and colors sent my head
spinning for a moment. I paused, taking in the scene of happy teenagers
talking, laughing, eating.

They all still lived in the bubble created for us. Only we
three knew the truth. How would we save ourselves from this? And what would
become of them?

Amidst the crowd of school friends, a guard shadowed me. I
relaxed at the sight of Gar. He gave the briefest of nods, so slight I could
have imagined it, and then he turned back to stone.

"That's new," Luke said, glancing at Gar.

"Yeah. Wonder why they felt he was necessary. But, at
least they sent a guard I trust." I hoped I hadn't given away something
when I commented about the pregnancy to Dr. Sato. Did they suspect me of
knowing too much?

Lucy nudged me. "Don't let it bother you, Chica. Try to
have fun!"

I forced a smile back onto my face. "You're right. Why
not enjoy it?"

The campus actually had a full-fledged ballroom, not just a
gym they converted once a year for dances. We learned ballroom, swing, and
modern dancing as part of our education. Parties at our school were high-end
affairs.

Scarlet red and royal purple silks draped the room. Lush
roses accented the hall and served as centerpieces in crystal vases on the
tables. A full band played music suited to dancing in many diverse styles, and
students already swayed across the room in long trailing dresses and elegant
tuxes.

My mind searched for Drake, the way a woman might reach for
her lover across an empty bed. If he'd been here, we would have been one of
those couples on the dance floor. His arms would have wrapped around me,
encircling me in a cocoon of love and safety. I might have brushed my hand
against his chiseled jaw line, and maybe he'd have leaned down and brush his
lips against mine for a first kiss.

The fantasy played around me and replaced my reality for
just a moment. Then the bubble burst, and I once again stood alone in a sea of
oblivion.

"Sam, come on, let's get some food." Lucy and Luke
pulled me to the buffet table.

A dozen well-wishers interrupted us on our way there: Greg
and Gary, a new couple I only knew in passing; Kyle, who looked dejected and
guilty, despite my best attempts to absolve him; Norm and Robyn, another couple
who'd been together for as long as I could remember... and so many others. The
gift table overflowed with cards and special trinkets from friends. I complimented
Robyn on her emerald dress that matched her eyes, and told Norm he was a lucky
guy. They smiled and moved onto the dance floor.

Only a handful of kids had left Rent-A-Kid so far. We were
first generation paranormals. No one knew how we got our powers, but I was one
of the oldest. Kids made a big deal out of these parties, even if they didn't
know the person who left. It was the gift of hope, the promise of a future
outside these chained grounds. No one missed a going-away party.

It took us a while to navigate through all of our friends
and make it to the food, but the spread of goodies made our trek well worth it.
The table overflowed with mouthwatering delicacies. I reached to stuff a
truffle into my mouth, but my stomach rebelled stubbornly at the smell. Damn
pregnancy. I nibbled at some crab rolls instead, to appease my friends. I stole
glances at the delicious treats, wishing on this miserable night that I could
at least enjoy the chocolate.

Everyone danced. One guy hovered off the ground while he moved
to the music, doing break dancing moves in the sky, but he fell to the ground
when his date suddenly burst into flames. Jessica, who'd been cooling drinks
for her friends, blew on the girl to subdue the flames. The crowd erupted in
applause—except Mary, who'd snuck off with the break dancing boy during all the
commotion. I'd lost track of how many dates she had stolen from other girls
that night. Typical paranormal party.

We endured another hour of snacking, talking and pretending,
and I was almost enjoying myself when Mary sashayed toward us, wearing a
gorgeous black dress that left her shoulders bare and hugged her chest and hips
in all the right places. Her blond hair fell in ringlets down her back.

She puckered her lips at Luke and moved in a way that
revealed her well-toned thigh and ample cleavage. Luke ignored her. I hid a
smile.

Mary scowled and looked at me. "Sam, you're back. We've
missed you. Are you feeling well?"

Did she really care? I kept my answers brief. "I'm
fine, thank you."

"I hear you're heading off to Sarah Lawrence soon. You
must be so excited."

Did she know something? Why the change of attitude? Niceness
and Mary didn't go together, and I didn't trust it at all.