The Unlocked (Charlie Hartley Series Book 1) (22 page)

She watched Hilary’s brown eyes
open and stare blankly. For a moment, Charlie feared that Madison was right,
but Hilary opened her lips and uttered, “Charlie?”

After what seemed an eternity,
delight filled Charlie’s chest. “Hilary, are you okay?” she asked again, and
the girl looked at her confused.

“I am, but--” Charlie cut her
words off with a tight embrace. Hilary laughed nervously. “Hey, what’s going
on?”

Charlie studied her face. There
was no trace of the girl who’d attacked them minutes ago. It was only Hilary
she saw, and it was her shield that freed her from Amanda’s control.

“Is that really you now, Hilary?”
Madison asked incredulously.

“Of course, it’s me,” Hilary
replied.

“Hilary, what do you remember?”
Charlie asked.

“I’m not sure. I feel like I just
woke from a dream.”

A metallic clinking caught their
attention as Bradley lifted the bed off him.

"Come on, we need to go,”
Charlie urged Hilary and pulled her up. Still dazed and weak, Hilary leaned on
Charlie for support.

Outside, the guards Madison
knocked down were out of sight. Charlie had no time to entertain her suspicion.
When they reached the corner and rounded it, the crackling sound of a Taser
made Charlie duck, narrowly avoiding an electric shock. She pivoted and pinned
the guard against the wall, his feet several inches off the ground. More guards
arrived, but she knocked them down like bowling pins.

Madison sped up the stairs but
stopped short. "Up!" she ordered, so Charlie pulled Hilary up the
steps with shadows looming close behind them. Taking two steps at a time, they
reached the fourth floor. Gunshots fired over their heads. Charlie created a
force that sent the men crashing into each other.

“What’s going on? Why are we
running?” Hilary asked.

“We’re trying to escape the
institute and everyone else is pursuing us,” Charlie declared.

“Escape?” Hilary repeated.

Charlie feared her shield was
weakening around Hilary’s mind. She stopped in her tracks when they reached the
fifth floor and grabbed Hilary by the shoulder. “Hilary, do you remember what
they did to you? The serum, the missions?”

“I--” Hilary shook her head,
confused.

Madison stepped forward, taking
Hilary away from Charlie. “They’ve been using us, Hilary. Don’t you remember?
We were their puppets! We were taken from the orphanage to be experimented on
and then used as soldiers! But the strings are cut now, so we have to get out
before they stitch us back.”

A flash of recognition showed in Hilary’s
eyes. It was only for a moment, but that was enough for Charlie. She locked
Hilary’s hand in hers and ran with Madison following closely behind. Recalling
the building layout, opposite Amanda’s secret office were the stairs leading to
the rooftop. Charlie led them until she found the locked door leading to the
stairs.  Charlie broke the lock with her mind. She coaxed Hilary but
Madison was not behind them. "Madison!" Charlie yelled.

“Charlie?” Amanda’s voice was
sweet and alluring, unlike the vamp who had drawn blood from her.

"Stay here," she
instructed Hilary before stepping out the door. Welcoming her was Amanda with
her phony motherly smile. Behind her were three guards - Cassandra, Vladimir
and Bradley. Bradley’s thick arm was wrapped around Madison's neck. Charlie
glared at the headmaster, no longer buying her charms.

Her boldness faltered at the
sight of Otto coming around the corner. All the light in his eyes was gone; he
stared at her like a mannequin. She wanted to free him as well, like she had
Hilary. But time didn’t give her the luxury to create another shield when the
entire school body was getting ready to pounce on them. Charlie swallowed her
despair. She had Hilary and Madison to worry about right now.

“Please stop this before anybody
else gets hurt,” Amanda ordered.

"I didn't know you cared
about getting your soldiers hurt. What do you think they risk when you send
them on government missions?" Charlie snapped back, but Amanda's smile did
not fade.

“Where’s my sister?” Charlie demanded.

Amanda shook her head slowly,
“Jeanne is where she’s supposed to be. Don’t worry, she’s safe. Why don’t I
take you to her?” She turned to Otto and a silent command was made.

Otto walked to Charlie, extending
his hand to take her arm. A bitter taste filled her mouth when his skin touched
hers. Cold like the ice he creates. Charlie bit her lip and glanced at Madison,
who watched the scene with both trepidation and vigilance. Charlie nodded and a
silent agreement was forged between the two.

Otto pulled her arm, but Charlie
stepped back, drawing her other arm up and swinging it against the boy's jaw.
Madison sank her teeth in Bradley's arm, who cried out as he pushed her away.
Charlie reached for Madison, and together they created a force that threw all
of them several feet away. Amanda and her army fell hard on the floor while
Otto crashed onto the door.

"Otto." Charlie
breathed his name, wondering if she could save him too. She and Madison went to
him, but his eyes glared and he grabbed their arms. Cold spread fast on their
skin, making the two pull away, but his grip tightened. A blizzard wind blew
the two girls away, sending them skidding across the floor. They moved to rise
but floated instead. Madison screamed while Charlie searched for Cassandra, who
had switched gravity off for them. She focused her power on the gravity
manipulator, but the door to the stairs opened and Hilary walked out.

"Hilary?" Amanda
uttered in surprise. She smiled at the girl, but it immediately fell when
Hilary sent fire in their direction. Cutting off Cassandra's concentration,
Charlie and Madison met the floor face first with loud thuds. They got back on
their feet as Charlie eyed the windows behind Amanda's army. She grabbed
Madison's hand and tugged her to take hold of Hilary's. With one pull, the
glass panel windows exploded. While their tormentors took cover, Charlie used
her shield on Hilary and Madison and hurriedly retraced their steps back to the
lower floors.

"I'm fine," Amanda
convinced Vladimir, who had used his body to shield her from the explosion. He
helped her up and she dusted her suit.

“Follow them,” she commanded her
students and the guards. Amanda Pitt stood in shock while her army filed out of
the building in pursuit of the escapees. Etched in her mind was Hilary’s image
firing at them and escaping with Charlie.

Breathing heavily and aching with sore muscles, the three
reached the first floor without any more obstacles. They expected to exit
through the laboratory front entrance but armed guards made it formidable.
Charlie pulled the girls away before anyone noticed them. Pausing momentarily,
Charlie considered taking the guards out before the rest of the students came
for them when she heard quiet footsteps. She turned abruptly, ready to attack.
It was Natalia, the school psychologist. The woman, whose disheveled hair stood
out oddly, placed her fingers over her lips and motioned them to follow her.
The three exchanged looks of confusion and wariness. Charlie weighed between
possible evil and definite evil and told the girls to follow Natalia.

More footsteps, many more grew louder and they drew closer.
Natalia turned to them in consternation. She opened the nearest door and
motioned them to enter. Quietly shutting the door behind them, they listened to
the shuffling shoes of the Andreians who pursued their rebellious classmates.
Charlie watched Natalia fiddle with her phone and a high pitched alarm went off
somewhere in the building. The heavy footsteps outside frantically ran in the
direction of the sound, leaving the hallway empty once again. Natalia opened
the door slightly to make sure. "It's safe, let's go."

"Wait!" Charlie said, overtaking her mentor and
blocking her way. "What's going on? What are you doing?"

"There's no time to explain," Natalia began, but
Madison interrupted. "Ms. Worthington, I'd rather take time than be led
into a trap."

Natalia shook her head in disbelief. "Alright, but I’ll
talk as we walk." The girls agreed. "Okay, come on," Natalia
said as she walked back into the building when Madison stopped her.

"Where are you going? The door is that way." She
pointed to the opposite direction.

"You can't go there. If you make it to the entrance, it
will be easy for them to spot you. Besides, more guards await you there. I have
a different route in mind." And she turned on her heels and left the three
girls confused in her wake.

Natalia walked up the stairs where the girls had come from.
"I've been working with Joshua, Charlie. I applied for the job at ANDREI
to get information for him,” she began. When she reached the top landing,
Natalia raised her hand, signaling them to stop. She quickly swept the hallways
of the second floor before she motioned for the girls to follow.

"It's been quite difficult to dig up information from a
secret project within a confidential government project. But when you came
along, I had hope," she continued as she led the girls to the bridge
walkway towards ANDREI.

Charlie tapped her shoulder, "What do you mean 'when I
came along'?"

Natalia smiled shyly. "I had you dig up the information
for me. Even when I found out where Amanda Pitt hides all her private files, I
never could have opened that door myself." Charlie’s jaw dropped.
"You're the one who gave me that DVD?" Charlie had already suspected
the psychologist, but it still came as a shock to get confirmation from Natalia
as she nodded assent. 

Keeping their heads low, they crossed the bridge to ANDREI
without arousing the enemy. Both Madison and Hilary expressed their confusion
about Charlie's and Natalia's conversation, but Charlie promised to explain
later. The hallway’s security feature was disabled when Madison and Charlie
used their powers to open the door.  The halls of ANDREI looked forlorn.
Charlie took side glances at every corner and every room they passed, trying
not to recall the brief time she’d regarded the school as her second home.
Distractions were not needed at this point.

"Why risk it, Ms. Worthington?" Hilary raised the
question as they made their way to the ground floor of ANDREI. "What are
you trying to gain by being a mole inside the institute?"

"Forget the government. If you get caught, who knows
what Ms. Pitt will do to you," Madison warned.

Moonlight spilled through the glass doors of the institute,
light reflecting the glistening dew. Natalia reached for the door and turned
back for them. Her eyes were sad and her expression somber. The memory of day
she’d first met the woman came back to Charlie. Beyond that door was the garden
where Natalia spoke about her past. Charlie remembered Natalia speaking about
her adoption, and about tracking down her lost sibling, only to find out he was
already dead. The file she’d found in the archives about a certain deceased
student allowed the puzzle pieces to fall in place.

"Justice." Natalia answered Hilary's question
before opening the door.

Natalia quickly ushered the girls around the garden leading
towards the dormitory. “You can escape through the woods surrounding the
field,” she said. They reach the stone pond in front of the entrance to the
dormitory and Natalia climbed on its edge. She held out her hand to assist
Hilary to climb over, then Madison and Charlie.

Behind the pond, a steep dirt path led to the thick foliage.
The three followed Natalia into the woods, imploring good faith. She took them
a few meters away from the dormitory, then stopped. “This is as far as I can
go,” Natalia announced.

“What?” Charlie said. “I thought--”

“I need to stay inside ANDREI,” Natalia declared. “Their
operations won’t stop when you girls escape. On the contrary, this may speed
things up so I need to have my eyes and ears ready for new information.”

“Isn’t your cover already blown with you helping us, Ma’am?”
Madison asked, but Natalia smiled at her.

“That’s the reason I deactivated the electricity and
security cameras here.” Displaying her phone to them she lamented, “Unlike you
guys, my power lies here.”

Natalia then proceeded to instruct them. “Now, Charlie. I
need you to find Joshua. He can keep all of you safe. Go straight through these
woods until you see the south school perimeter wall close to the west end. Walk
in that direction and you will see a water tunnel concealed in some bushes.
Here’s a pair of bolt cutters to cut through the wire mesh, Hilary. I trust you
girls will be able to squeeze through the opening and emerge on the other
side.”

She continued, “Listen carefully. When you get out, walk
west till you find the road. Get in the truck with a cartoon frog sticker; it
will be waiting for you.” Natalia looked over at Charlie to tell her, “You’ve
met Brian, Charlie. He’ll give you a ride to where Joshua is. ”

Charlie was about to ask who this Brian was, but Madison cut
her thoughts. “Ma’am, what about our other schoolmates?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t do anything for them right now. But
Joshua is forming a team, and he can help you save the others,” Natalia assured
them.

The three girls looked at each other. Guilt weighed on their
hearts at the thought of abandoning their friends at ANDREI. But all of them
knew there wasn’t much they could do by themselves.

“Take care of them, Ms. Worthington... Natalia,” Charlie
said. “If you can, don’t let the institute abuse them.”

“I won’t,” Natalia promised. With one last nod, she turned
to return to the institute that had trapped them all.

Freedom awaited them beyond the woods. Charlie felt they
were prisoners who broke free and were now running for their lives while guards
and attack dogs pursued them in the darkness. With the moon and stars to guide
them, and the stadium lights from the school field filtering through the trees,
the girls followed Natalia’s instruction. Hilary walked ahead while Charlie and
Madison followed close behind her. Charlie’s heart pounded like it never had.
She felt the pangs of hunger and thirst. Food and drink were luxuries none of
them had the time to address.

The musty smell of moist leaves and damp soil was a novelty
after exposure to the antiseptic odor of ANDREI and GEN Laboratories. Charlie
noticed the woods surrounding the field, but she’d never seen anyone enter it
before. She had an eerie feeling about being in woods she had never set foot
in.

Looming beyond the woods was the concrete facade that
isolated ANDREI and GEN Laboratory from the world. A smile formed in Charlie’s
lips. Freedom was to be theirs soon. Charlie paused briefly to look back at the
school. Memories of her struggles and triumphs washed away the fatigue in her
muscles.

I will return. For Jeanne. For everyone
.

The lights in the school field seemed brighter than usual.
Charlie scanned the vacant field, not expecting anything. As if in a trance,
she stared ahead in incredulity at a lone figure in the center of the field.
She slowed her pace and glued her eyes on the person standing in the middle of
the vast space. She recognized the figure.

Charlie walked towards a tree that stood between them and
the field and planted her hands on the trunk. Eyes widened in surprise as she
spoke, "Jeanne?"

"What are you doing?" Madison walked up to
Charlie, pulling her arm. "Let's go," she hissed.

"It's Jeanne!" Charlie exclaimed. Madison followed
Charlie's gaze.

Her grip on Charlie arms tightened, "I know what you're
thinking but don't do it! We have to get out now."

"I can’t leave her!" Charlie snapped back.
"Let me go to her. I can help her like I did you and Hilary!" Charlie
tried to pull away from Madison but the girl wouldn't relent.

"Charlie, we can save her but not tonight," Hilary
pleaded. "Remember what Ms. Worthington said. Her group can help us save
everyone else, including Jeanne."

"If you have the chance to save your family now, why
would you wait for someone else to do it?" Charlie chided them. Hilary and
Madison were taken aback, giving Charlie the opportunity to free herself from
Madison's grasp and run towards her sister.

She fought away the tears threatening to spill down her
cheeks.

Jeanne must not see me this emotional. She needs to believe
and have confidence in me.

Charlie raced towards her sister, who remained motionless on
the field. Charlie slowed when she was a yard away. Jeanne had her back facing
Charlie.

"Jeanne," she called out. "Jeanne!"

Charlie extended her arms to touch her sister’s shoulders
and pivoted Jeanne to face her. Jeanne's eyes were as blank as they had been in
the secret room. Seeing her mirror image didn’t spark any recognition. Her
expression remained cold and unfeeling. Charlie’s spirits fell seeing her twin
still under Amanda’s mind control.

"Jeanne?" Charlie repeated, her voice cracking.
"We have to get out of here. We have to escape before they find us. I know
a way out."

Jeanne's head turned to the side, her expression curious
like a child’s. "Escape?" she repeated. "Why?"

"Jeanne, we're prisoners here! They control us, to be
at their beck and call. Don't you remember at all? We have to go now. We’ll
come back for the others." Charlie’s words fell on deaf ears. Jeanne's
hand suddenly curled around Charlie’s arm and pulled her towards the institute.

"Ms. Pitt would like to see you," she said, but
Charlie pulled away.

"Jeanne!"

Charlie’s other hand crept up to the locket she was wearing.
She easily used her powers to unclasp it. It slid beneath her shirt and she
caught it before it fell on the ground.

Charlie tugged harder at her arm, forcing its release from
Jeanne's grasp. She opened her hand to show Jeanne the locket. The engraved
name 'Cate,’ glimmered under the light.

"Jeanne, look!" Charlie said, holding the locket
up for her sister to see. "Do you remember? You have one like this, don't
you? One that has your name engraved on it. This is mine. Our parents gave each
of us a locket with our names on it."

Awash with emotions, Charlie’s tears cascaded down her
cheeks. Charlie let out a nervous laugh,

"They probably couldn't tell us apart, even as babies.
That's the problem with twins, right?"

Jeanne's face turned from blank to skeptic upon seeing the
locket in Charlie's hands. Charlie felt a glimmer of hope when she saw the
flash of recognition in Jeanne's eyes. But instead of an embrace, Jeanne pushed
her sister away. She covered her ears with her hands as if shutting out some
other voice. Concerned, Charlie went over her sister and placed a hand on her
shoulder. "Jeanne, are you okay?"

The lights around the field flickered and Jeanne's skin
began to warm rapidly. Charlie only had a moment to step back when Jeanne's
head snapped up and her mouth opened, "Don't touch me!"

She screamed and a blast threw Charlie off her feet, sending
her flying across the field. Sparks of electricity stung her skin; Charlie felt
scorched.  She heard Madison's and Hilary's screams from the woods as she
rolled away, tiny sharp rocks cutting her skin. Charlie coughed, her lungs
constricted. She pushed herself up, feeling the sting of an electric shock
everywhere in her body and realized her hand was empty. Her eyes looked around
but her locket was nowhere to be found.

At the institute, the blaring sound echoed throughout the
premises. A young girl’s scream followed by an explosion alarmed Amanda as she
turn towards the source. She commanded her army of students and team of guards
to disperse and scour both buildings, but she realized that she was in the
laboratory and far from her targets. Fortunately, she’d thought of the
possibility and had placed her best bait for the rebellious teen.

"They're in the school field," Amanda confirmed
with a smile. She turned to Bradley and Vladimir. "Let's go." She
ordered them and the rest to regroup. Victory was hers as she marched the dark
halls of the laboratory. At every turn, more of the scouting teams regrouped
with hers.

"Tell your men to hold fire and not interfere."
Amanda ordered one of the guards, who radioed the instruction to the rest. The
queen bee sent the same orders to all Andreians. She wanted to see the event in
the school field for herself. It would be interesting to watch them test their
mettle and unleash their powers against each other. She still considered her
best soldier and her worst rebel her prized treasures.