Chapter 33 #2
Landon is gawking at us from the front seat. “He’s not fucking sleepy, Brandon! Those monitors inject him with a tranquilizer if he tries to remove them and you just snapped one in half! Fucking hell! He was our only hope!”
“Huh,” Brandon says before giving Nolan’s face a little smack. “He’ll be fine.”
I watch in amazement while he pulls out a package of string cheese and opens it in front of Nolan’s nose like he’s cracking open some smelling salts.
The victim does not stir.
“Huh. I really thought that would work,” he says.
Ellison is a bit panicked now as he smacks Nolan’s cheeks. “Wake up. Wake up, please? Pretty please wake up?”
Lex is holding Nolan the best he can from his position on the floor and he seems to be in some strange bliss while he cradles his head.
“It’s okay. I got you,” Lex assures him.
“If we break the other one, do you think it’ll have the antidote in it?” Brandon asks as he eyes the monitor on his other leg.
“Do not touch the other one!” Landon orders.
He must call Valerie because I immediately hear Valerie over the speakers. “Why did Nolan break his monitor?” she demands.
“Valerie, funny story. Nolan is the only one of us who can control Ellison’s illusion…
and even funnier story, the illusion is currently going after his father.
And Brandon thought that maybe Nolan would like to go to Disney with him but Nolan told him he can’t because of the monitors on his ankles so, umm…
Brandon just like… snapped one in half. Please tell me there’s something you can do to quickly wake Nolan up? We very urgently need his power.”
“How… the fuck… do you guys accomplish anything?” she hisses.
“It’s a very good question, Valerie!” Landon says. “Just please tell us you have like an antidote of some kind?”
“I do not! It’s going to keep him out for an hour or so, and then he’ll be too groggy to even use his power!”
“I mean… maybe your dad can last an hour or two, right?” Landon asks Ellison. “That’s not that long to be locked inside a building with someone who wants to kill you. Like I was locked in a house with Brandon for eighteen years of my life.”
Ellison is currently rolling the window down.
I’m not sure whether he just wants to crawl out of it or is enjoying the way the wind is pelting his eyes.
“I had hope… I had… dreams. It’s all gone.
All of it. We practiced for hours. I was so happy.
He had so much control. We were going to walk in, and he was going to stop him.
It was all going to be over. Finally over. ”
I reach past the unconscious victim and past the perpetrator and finally catch Ellison’s hand, which I squeeze. “Don’t be afraid… you have the rest of us.”
“There’s stopped traffic again,” August says.
“I’ll deal with it,” Landon offers as he waves his hand and the vehicles start parting.
I’m not quite sure they’re supposed to go up on the sidewalk like that, but Landon seems proud of himself and August shrugs and drives through, which gets us close to the building.
The look on Ellison’s face tells me that he’s a bit disappointed we’ve arrived so quickly.
When we reach the office building, there are already people gathered around it and Nolan is still snoozing away. Smoke is rising up from some of the windows that appear to have been broken. I can’t tell if there’s an active fire, but I can hear the alarms going off… and Nolan is still not with us.
Ellison rushes out, but it takes me a moment to scrape Nolan’s body off me and hold it up for Lex to exit the vehicle. By the time I’m out on the sidewalk, I look up just in time to see a man socking Ellison right in the face.
“Get the fuck out of here, you fucking freak!” the man who punched him yells. He doesn’t get another word out before I punch him so hard he hits the ground on his back. I point a gun at his face.
“Don’t fucking touch him,” I snarl as a different man tries pulling a gun on me. I smack it out of his hand so fast that he doesn’t even notice until the gun is pointed at his head.
“You must exit the area immediately,” August demands.
A man tries getting close to August, but Landon throws a trash can in his path which the man stumbles over. “We don’t have to do shit, super freak. Go fuck yourselves!”
“We’re trying to help the people inside,” Ellison says. “So back down.”
“We don’t need help from mutants like you,” a woman screams.
A security guard comes out and I assume he’s going to help, but he simply stalks toward Ellison.
“Get the fuck off these grounds.”
“You are legally required to step out of the way and let us pass,” August orders.
“We have rights too! It’s not all about supers!”
“Go on then, head on in there, and if you die, the other dumbasses with you sure can’t blame us,” I snap.
“Don’t feed into them,” Ellison says.
“I’m not planning on feeding into them, I’m planning on feeding them to your illusion,” I explain.
“I’m going to freeze time and we’re going to move into the building,” August says. “Count of three… two… one.”
The assholes around us freeze and August hurries toward the door. I accidentally kick the one who punched Ellison on the way to the door. Landon rips the door right out of the wall with a wave of his hand instead of simply opening it and we all dash inside.
Time starts up again as I point out the stairs and begin heading up them.
“Can’t we take the elevator?” Landon asks.
“Honey, there’s a fire or something going on upstairs. You can’t take the elevator during a fire,” August says.
Landon shrugs. “I guess everyone’s going to burn up, then.”
“I have faith in you. You’re the strongest man I know,” August says.
I ignore their sappy talk and charge ahead. “Ellison, do you know what floor your father would be on?”
“Top floor. August, Landon, and Lex, can you get the people out of the building who might still be in it?” Ellison asks.
“Leave it to us,” August says.
“Brandon, can you come with us?” Ellison asks, not telling him that we’re going to use him as a meat shield. I’m more than prepared to use his body to protect Ellison.
“Of course!” Brandon agrees as he follows us.
About halfway between the thirteenth and fourteenth floor, there’s a flash of movement when El appears before us. I jerk back, pulling Ellison to safety, but Brandon’s a bit slow on the uptake as El kicks him in the chest hard enough he falls backwards and starts sliding down the steps.
“Get the fuck out of here,” El snaps.
“Why do you insist on ruining my life?” Ellison asks. “Are you not happy until I have no one?”
“You understand nothing!” he screams as he comes for Ellison, but I slide in front of him.
“I understand,” I tell him.
“Fuck you,” he says before disappearing.
I grab Ellison and pull him toward me. “You need to stop yelling at him.”
Ellison gives me a betrayed look. “Are you kidding me? You think this is okay?”
“Of course it’s not okay, but I don’t think he’s the monster you’ve made him out to be. Wasn’t he the one who—”
I jerk back, narrowly avoiding El when he tries to shove me down the stairs with Brandon.
“Go away!” Ellison yells as his illusions rush out toward El. He disappears before they can touch him.
“Brandon, help your brother. We have this,” I say.
I grab Ellison’s hand and pull him after me, thankful when we reach the fourteenth floor. But before I go through the door, I draw him closer. “Ellison, he protected you.”
“This is not protecting me!”
“Who held you those nights you were scared and alone? Who took the brunt of your father’s abuse? Who shielded you from him? Why do you inflict so much hatred on yourself? Why do you blame yourself?”
“I’m not… it’s him!” Ellison snaps as he yanks his hand from me. “He killed Otto. He’s trying to kill you. He’s trying to destroy everything!”
“What if he’s still trying to protect you?” I ask.
“From what? From you? What the fuck are you going to do to me?”
“Everyone in your life has hurt you, Ellison… why would he think that I would never hurt you?”
“Stop talking, Asmodeus!” Ellison shouts before he pushes past me and looks around the deserted office. There’s a room at the end of it that he hurries toward, but when he reaches the door, he can’t open it no matter how hard he shoves against it. It seems like there’s something blocking it.
“Ellison, stop,” I beg.
“Get back! I have to deal with this myself,” Ellison calls while his illusions shove me back. I don’t know whether he’s told them to or his emotions are pushing them. They are beating against the door, trying to break through it as I look over and see El standing there watching him.
Ellison doesn’t even notice. He’s too fixated on reaching the office his father is presumably inside of.
“It’s not your fault,” I say as I start toward El.
He turns his cold green eyes onto me and gives me a cruel smile before disappearing.
I hear his father scream, so I push past the illusions to reach the door. “Ellison, stop, have Aspen go into the room and move whatever’s blocking the door. You’re not thinking straight.”
“Fuck,” Ellison says. The door flings open as his illusions move it from the inside and Ellison abruptly halts.
His father, Calvin, stands there with El holding a knife against his throat.
“You weren’t happy enough ruining my life, were you? You just couldn’t stop,” Calvin snarls. “My biggest regret in life was you.”
I grab Ellison. “Forgive him,” I beg.
“I don’t want his forgiveness,” Calvin snaps.
“Not you. I don’t give a fuck if you die. I will gladly kill you myself,” I growl before turning my attention back to Ellison. “Forgive El.”
Ellison tries jerking away from me. “No! He killed my brother.”