The Forbidden Trilogy (22 page)

Several scans later, and God knows what tests, they gave me
something to ease the pain and relax the baby. She moved inside me, growing,
trying to break free of the confines of my body. I tried to link to her, to
tell her it wasn't time.

Maybe it was. How did I know? This was no normal pregnancy.

Oh, my God, what if they genetically altered her somehow?
What have they done to us?
These thoughts consumed me for the rest of the
day, but I didn't have the strength to read minds, and Dr. Pana never left me
alone long enough to try.

Still, I didn't need my powers to know that my baby was
dying, and so was I.

We had little time left. I'd only been able to set Drake up
with enough saline to last no more than a week. He'd already used four days'
worth, leaving us three days to escape before the real drugs returned and he
lost his powers again. We couldn't—

I noticed the smell first—a mix of alcohol and baby powder.
Then the crying.

I lay in yet another sterile hospital room. Across the hall,
where the crying originated, was a closed door marked Nursery. Not many babies,
maybe two by the sound of it. A woman in a lab coat entered my room and pulled
the curtain, blocking my view.

'Sam, keep your eyes closed and pretend to be asleep.'

It was Ana, the woman I'd met with Rebeka. I got a closer
look at her before feigning sleep. Her large kind eyes, the color of chocolate,
were genuine and warm—nothing like the doctor's. Her lilting accent—Spanish, I
think—gave her voice a musical quality. Going against all logic and reason, I
liked her instantly.

I hesitated a moment, then opened my mind to explore hers,
hoping she was someone I could trust.

'I know you can hear me, Sam. And I can hear you. We
share gifts, you and I, so listen to me. Do not try anything reckless right
now. You and your baby are in danger. Do you understand?'

I almost had to pinch myself to return to the moment.
"Who
are you? Why are you working at this horrible place?"

I could feel that she didn't belong here. This life made her
sick with anger and fear.

'There is more to the story than you can see right now,
but I am a friend. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I'll try to help
you and Drake. He's in danger. They can't control him for long, and once he's
harvested, they'll kill him.'

My heart sank to my feet, waiting to be stampeded by the
cruel world that enslaved me.

'Stay asleep. They're watching us. I know the medication
they put you on to control your powers isn't working. They don't know this,
which is the only reason they allow me around you. I'm the only doctor they
have that can fix the mess they made with these pregnancies, so they have to
let me treat you. Don't despair, child. I was once in your position, a student
at what you call Rent-A-Kid.'

"If you were one of us, why are you helping
them?"

Despite how much I liked this woman, my anger bubbled out.
And why shouldn't it? We'd all had our lives ripped from us, torn apart by
these greedy bastards who only wanted to use us for our powers.

'I know it doesn't make sense, but... please know that I
have my reasons. Unlike you, I didn't have help. If I hadn't stayed on, they
would have killed my children.'

Of course! That niggling sensation of familiarity—her eyes,
her smile. Just like Lucy. The shape of her face—exactly like Luke's. Twins
never happened at Rent-A-Kid. Except them. I probed her mind deeper than
normal, delving into thoughts hidden well beneath the surface. Images flashed
at me: babies born, her fear and love, her holding them and kissing them. Her
losing them.

My own heart ached with her pain, as I watched her story
unfold in my mind.
"Luke and Lucy are your children."

Love filled her mental voice.
'Yes. I had them in this
clinic almost eighteen years ago. I was your age at the time. They were allowed
to stay with me while they nursed, but once they showed signs of powers, they
were taken away and put in a special childcare center run by the organization.'

Her children were my best friends. I loved them almost as
much as she did.
"They were told they were abandoned at a hospital,
left in the care of social services."

'No. No! I would never have left them if I had a choice.
I love them with all my heart. They keep me going.'

"I know. I saw. I can connect with them, and help
you talk to them."

I'd seen into more than just her mind, I'd seen into her
heart. I had to help this woman. She wouldn't hurt my friends or betray us.
Besides, we were all dead if we didn't find someone to take our side.

'You can do that? You have that much power?'

"With Drake's help, yes. We've done it before. Would
you like to meet your children?"

'Yes, more than anything. But not until you've rested and
recovered. You nearly lost your baby, and would have died yourself. Your body
has been through a significant strain. I can't let you push your powers while
you're in this condition.'

"Is Rebeka okay?"

She worked on me, checking different parts of my body while
we linked. When I asked about Rebeka, her hands fumbled. I felt a small tremor.

'I'm so sorry, but she and her baby died. I tried to save
them, but the bastards wouldn't let me give her the treatment I'm giving you.
They tried to manipulate the genetics of the child, controlling which
para-power it would get. They don't just want to make more paranormal kids,
they want to make kids with very specific gifts.'

Repulsed? Yes, but not surprised. I couldn't be surprised by
anything they did anymore. They were monsters.

"But why? What do they need to do this?"

'I don't know, but these are long-term plans. Perhaps
they've tracked which kids get the most money when rented out, and want more of
those.'

Greed. Always at the heart of this organization.

"Will you help us escape?"
Might as well
lay it all on the table.

'If they catch any of us, we'll all be dead. And so will
my children.'

"Ana, Lucy will be eighteen soon. They'll breed her,
and what do you think they'll do with her once they've used her up? Is that the
life you want for her? For your grandchildren? Help us collect enough evidence
to take this place down, and help us escape. Drake knows someone on the
outside—a reporter."

'Do you promise you'll help my children?'

I wanted to help them, but how? I couldn't even help myself,
and I had a baby to take care of. Would I be able to handle it all?

Ana saw my hesitation.
'I know you're scared. I'll help
you and Drake. I know you'll do the right thing when you're free.'

Her cool hand touched mine, a brief moment of human contact
after so much isolation. I tried to stay still, asleep, but I wanted to jump up
and hug her.

She said she'd be back as soon as possible, and left.

***

Then Dr. Pana came in. His evil stank up the room. I allowed
myself to "wake up."

"What am I doing here? What happened?"

He trailed his finger over my exposed stomach, making my
skin crawl. "Come now, Sam, you aren't stupid. You know more than you're
letting on. You're pregnant, but you nearly lost the baby. Once you're stable,
we'll move you to a new room. You're the only expectant mother here at the
moment, so you'll have it to yourself. What you're doing is for the good of
humanity. It's important. We wouldn't keep you here if it wasn't."

Propaganda bullshit!

"I want out of here. You have no right to do this to
me!"

I kept my mental link with Ana, and added one to Drake. We
explained our plan and how she could help.

'This is risky,'
Ana said.
'I don't know if it
will work, but I'll help. You're right: doing nothing will only ruin the lives
of more children. It's time, after all these years, to act against them. I have
files—names, dates, information I've been collecting for a long time. Like you,
Sam, I was trained in spying and collecting sensitive information. A mind
reader is rare in the paranormal world. It's why they let me live, and trained
me to become a doctor. I was their greatest asset. But also, like you, their
greatest threat.'

'We need to act fast.'
I knew Drake feared losing his
powers again, but he sounded calm.
'I only have two more days of the saline
replacements.'

Out loud, I kept up a forced argumentative conversation with
Dr. Pana—aware of his mental fingers latching onto my mind—while plotting
mentally with Ana and Drake. I confused myself a few times, but we managed to
create the beginnings of a plan.

"What will I do when we escape? What doctor will
know what to do with me and my baby on the outside?"

'I don't know. You will need medical care.'

"Come with us,"
I begged her.
"We
need you. My baby needs you."

'The babies here need me too. They barely survived when
the mothers died. And my children need me. If I leave, they'll hurt them. What
if we can't rescue them in time?'

"But if we escape, won't they suspect that you
helped us?"

'Probably, but I'll have to risk it.'

"Okay, I understand you can't come with us. I don't
want anything happening to my friends. They're the only family I have too, you
know. So we need to make you look innocent."

Drake jumped in.
'We'll have to hurt her, make it look
like we, or I, attacked her to free you. It's the only way.'

"No!"
I felt Ana and Drake flinch at my
mental scream.
"We can't hurt her. She's risking everything to help us!"

'No, he's right, Sam. It's the only way to make me look
innocent and let you escape. If we don't convince them I wasn't involved,
they'll kill my kids and me.'

As far as plans went, this sucked. I hated always being at
the mercy of these jerk-offs. When did my life so completely fall apart?

"How do I keep my baby safe?"

'I'll give you enough supplies and drugs to care for you
and the baby, and to slow down the growth rate. The medicine will work. Just
remember to take it regularly.'

Our conversation ended, and Dr. Pana took me to my room and
locked me in. Despair rifled through me, shooting darkness and fear into my
heart. I let the pain gnaw at me, tear apart my hope, and when I'd cried every
last tear in me, I made a simple vow: no more of that—time to move forward.

I never got to see the babies, but in my mind, I heard their
cries and the whispered lullabies Ana sang to them to lure them back to their
dreams—the same lullabies she'd sung to Luke and Lucy when they were babies.
Each lilting song broke a piece of my heart when I thought of how Rent-A-Kid
had torn apart their family.

I lived in isolation again, without even the outdoors to
look forward to, this time. Babies filled my dreams and consumed my waking
moments. A part of me resented this newfound responsibility. I didn't want it.
I was only eighteen, nowhere near ready to be a parent. I hadn't even met the
father in person yet.

Ah, get over it. Stop the damn whining and just get on
with it!

***

The next day we prepared for the great escape. It would
happen late at night. Ana had arranged to be on the night shift. She seemed on
the verge of tears, but she held it together. Drake was ready, sneaking in
opportunities to strengthen his body. I was ready... mostly. My body felt
stronger, but my heart raced uncontrollably from fear.

We had one more thing to do before setting out. We linked
Luke and Lucy with Ana.

"Hey guys, sorry I haven't been back to talk to you.
It's been a crazy couple of days, but... um... there's something I want to tell
you about."

'Are you okay? What's happened?'
Lucy didn't sound
like herself. The stress of all this dampened her normally bright spirit, which
made me even more determined to get out of here.

"You guys, your mom didn't abandon you. She was one
of us. They bred her and took you away when you were babies. She's here, linked
to you now, and is helping us escape. Her name is Ana."

Silence. And shock. Their thoughts spun in a tornado that
made it hard to keep up.

Ana spoke first.
'My children, I'm so sorry for what
you've been through. I've done everything I can to keep you alive, to make sure
you're treated well. I have loved you all this time.'

'Mom? Are you really our mom?'
Luke could not hold
his tears.

'Yes,
mijo
, I am. And I never abandoned you. They
stole you from me, just like they stole me from my parents.'

Luke's voice was strained.
'Who's our father?'

'I don't know,'
Ana said.
'I wish I could tell
you, but I could never find the records. I'm sorry.'

We kept the link open as long as we could. Ana and her
children talked about everything, from favorite movies to their para-powers.
Luke loved that Ana and I shared mind reading. It also accounted for Lucy's
lie-detecting ability. Para-powers were shaped to some degree by genetics,
though that didn't explain how the line of paranormals started in the first
place.

The conversation went on for a long time. Hearing them all
cry and talk at once hurt my head. I wanted to hug everyone.

The craving for physical contact surprised me. Most people
didn't really think about it, normally. I would sit next to Luke and Lucy on
the bed with our legs touching, or we would hug. Other friends would hug me or
put an arm around me. Some level of physical contact was natural, something we
didn't even think about.