Chapter 24

We stopped twenty minutes later. A warehouse spread out before me. It was more than a single warehouse though. It was a freaking complex. Dozens of identical buildings sprawled out before me.

A chain link fence surrounded the perimeter. The only road through was blocked with a gate and a guard. Hunter slowed the car and rolled down the window. The guard stepped forward, looked at Hunter then at me. He nodded and flipped a switch. The gate rolled open and Hunter drove through.

"Welcome, Victoria. We've been waiting a long time for you to come here." These were the first words Hunter had spoken to me since we had left.

"Can't say I return the greeting." I studied the complex. Security was tight. Not only was the only road out guarded, but armed men patrolled the area. Each was packing, and none of them were guys that I wanted to cross.

"Take a good look. No way in, no way out, unless we allow it." Hunter read my thoughts. "That fence is electric. One touch and your internal organs will be fried faster than you can blink. If you can make it to the fence that is."

"Why all the security? You people worried someone will steal a crate of packing peanuts?"

Hunter ignored me. The car slowed to a stop. A guard approached us and opened the door for me. What a gentleman. I slid out and watched Hunter. He whispered a few words to the guard and left.

"This way." The guard didn't waste words. He pushed me lightly towards the closest building. I heard the buzz of a door and I was pushed inside.

The first thing I noticed was that this was no ordinary warehouse. A long, dimly lit hallway stretched onward. Doors lined both sides, equidistant from each other. Bare light bulbs hung in the middle of the hall.

The guard pushed me down the hall. We walked past half a dozen doors before stopping. Each door was identical to the one before it. He turned the knob and I was ushered inside.

"Wait here," the guard said flatly. He closed the door and I was alone. The only light I had from the dim hall was gone. Now, with no light, I couldn't tell how big the room was. Or if I was alone.

Claustrophobia took over. It felt like the walls were closing in. Or that I was being buried alive. When the guard left, I heard the lock click. There was no way out.

The panic had to be pushed away. When someone came back for me, I was going to be ready. I got ready to do what I did best.

SNAP

I let the power shake through me. With the wolf on my side some of my fears evaporated.

Even with my heightened senses, I still couldn't see. But that was all right. I listened. Smelled.

I made out the smell of packing materials. This is where Hunter had been before he showed up in the ally. I could smell the overwhelming scent of plastic and tape. There was something else. Lavender and jasmine. Mom.

"Mom? Are you here?" my voice was soft. There was no answer, just an echo. She wasn't here anymore. But the thought of her being held in this room, all alone, made my blood boil.

I didn't need rage right now though. I needed a plan. I needed my pack. I had never tried to reach them this far away before. But I needed to try.

Closing my eyes I focused on the cords that connected us. I opened the passages to our minds. They were weak. The boys were so far away, but I had to try.

I didn't even know if they were flaring. But I prayed that they got my message. Using all my strength I fired out a single message.

Come to the warehouse. Be careful.

The words burst from my mind like a bomb. A recoil like I never experienced hit me.

SNUP

I fell to the ground, panting. The force of my message had knocked the flare out of me. Now it was up to the boys. All I could do is hope they weren't too late.

There was a click and the door opened. Hunter stood before me, a cruel smile on his face.

"Come along, Victoria. Time to meet your host. He had been anxious to meet with you."

On shaky legs I stood and followed Hunter out the door and into the hall.

Hunter was silent as we walked. The hall stretched on impossibly long. At the very end I made out a single door. Hunter stopped outside it and knocked once.

It swung open on its own and Hunter gestured for me to walk in. He didn't follow.

"Welcome, Victoria." There was one other person in the room. A voice that was all too familiar to me. It came from a desk on the other side of the room. He sat in a chair, his back to me.

"Did you let my mom and Cooper go?" I asked. That's all I cared about right now.

"Yes, they were both released unharmed at the city Marina. But, they are no longer your concern."

"Why don't you turn around, and introduce yourself to me properly? You know everything about me, but I don't even know your name." The man chuckled.

"I suppose you're right. It's bad manners of me. But I must warn you; you won't like what you see." Slowly the chair turned and I saw my captor's face for the first time.

It took everything to not gasp. This man, if he could be called that anymore, stared at me with cold eyes. His skin was leathery and stretched. He was five pounds of a man shoved into a one pound sack.

While I had never seen injuries like this in person, I knew from Aunt Tempe that they were caused by severe burns. From how severe the burns were I would say someone tried to roast this man alive.

I knew who he was.

"We finally meet, Mr. Sinclair. I've been looking for you."

Robert laughed. "I told you before, girl, I haven't heard that name in a long time. Robert Sinclair died in a fire years ago. I am Blair Nova. And you, Victoria Brennan, are going to help me lead mankind into a new and brighter future."

I stared. This guy was a giant bucket of crazy. It was like standing in the room with a time bomb. And it was ready to blow at any moment.

"What do you need me for?" I voice barely broke a whisper.

"You have an incredible gift. One that I can harness and use to save mankind."

"You're insane. You can't infect the world with what I have. I don't know what will come of it. This virus could kill me for all I know. You will infect billions of people with something you know nothing about!" I was dumbfounded.

"Of course not. I plan to study your power at length. And I have no intention of giving everyone this power. No, my dear girl, only those who are worthy of this new world."

"You did all of this to make me a lab rat? I was wrong, you aren't insane, you're a raving lunatic!" I imagined the horrors that would happen if what was being described came true. Thousands of people infected the way I was. People who could flare. And what about everyone else? What would happen to them?

Fear gripped me. Somewhere deep inside, something snapped. Without controlling it, the wolf came out. Power coursed through my veins. I shut my eyes, waiting for it to pass. This flare came on much stronger than any ever had before. I nearly fell over from the shock of it.

SNAP

It passed. I felt free

"Oh good," Blair said, "The beast came to play."

My glowing eyes locked with his.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

We had watched helplessly as the SUV drove away with Tory in it.

"What was she thinking?" Shelton cried out. "She went with that madman!" He paced for a few moments before stopping and putting his head between his knees.

Hi went to his side, holding him from falling over.

My eyes remained frozen to where I last saw Tory. She had agreed to go quietly in exchange for her mom and Cooper. And to leave us alone.

"We have to get her back," I resolved.

"But how? We don't know where they went." Hi had a point.

"That wouldn't stop Tory. She would find a way if it was any of us."

Shelton straightened. "Maybe we should go to the police. Or tell Kit. What can we do on our own?"

"Don't you get it? We're the only ones who can do something. The police won't understand. They probably won't even believe us. This flaring power we all have now. Tory has proven time and time again that with it we can do anything."

We all knew what to do. The last thing we talked about was the warehouses. That's where we had to go. It's what Tory would have done.

The three of us set off. My mind raced with horrible thoughts of what might happen to Tory in that place. Were they going to hurt her? Kill her? I wasn't going to let it happen.

Walking took too much time. With new resolve, I sprinted down the sidewalk. Shelton and Hi kept as best they could, but neither of them was much in the way of physical fitness.

We're coming, Tory. Don't give up.

The marina was in sight. During the run I decided taking Sewee would be faster. I turned to go down the dock when I heard someone call my name.

A woman limped up the dock. She was thin and dirty, but I recognized her. A dog slowly padded behind her.

"Miss Brennan?"

Her face lit up. Each step looked painful to her, but she didn't stop.

"Boys." Even her voice sounded tired.

Shelton and Hi stood behind me. They looked equally dumbfounded.

"We've been looking everywhere for you," Shelton finally said.

"Where's Tory?" None of us knew how to answer. "Where is my daughter?"

"Ma'am, she…" Hi started to say, "she went with the people who took you. They promised to let you go if she did." Her face fell.

"No. They have my baby. That monster has her."

"Monster?" I asked. "Who is it?"

"He calls himself Blair Nova. The man is sick. Very, very sick. All he talks about is using Tory to create a new world." Miss Brennan began to weep. Her body shook as she wrapped her arms around herself, as if trying to keep warm.

All I paid attention to was that this psycho was probably going to hurt Tory. And I wasn't about to let that happen.

"We're going to get her back. If it's the last thing we do, we will get her out of that place and back where she belongs."

Miss Breannan's face fell. "No boys, it's too dangerous. These men are ready to kill anyone who gets in their way. You can't go after her. We will take this to the police. They can save her."

I looked back at Hi and Shelton. There was no way we were wasting time waiting for the police to do something. We did this our way.

"I'm sorry, Miss Brennan, but we're doing this our way. Cooper, let's go!"

We ran down the road, Cooper close behind. Miss Brennan didn't have a chance to stop us. If she wanted to go to police, she could. But we weren't waiting.

Halfway down the street I got a chill. My body convulsed and I almost fell on my face. Behind me I could make out the same thing happening to Shelton and Hi.

Then came a voice. Tory. She was in our heads, even when we weren't flaring.

Come to the warehouse. Be careful.

She might as well have been standing beside me.

Tory? I fired back. The connection was lost.

"Did you guys get what I had?" Shelton asked, voice quaking.

"Yeah, Tory went Professor Xavier on us. It was weird."

I shook a feeling of dread away. Tory's voice sounded so shaken, fearful. I can only imagine what caused her to sound like that.

"Let's go. We have to get to that warehouse. How far?"

"Two miles, tops?" Shelton suggested.

"Get ready then. It's time for a rescue mission."

Hold on, Tory. We're on our way.

So I tried a little POV swap there. Did you guys like it? Let me know.