Chapter Eighteen #2
After a few moments, she gently lowered her hands, maintaining one in a firm fist. “Okay, one of you try it out. Then we’ll wait to make sure it’s safe to continue.”
Kevin smiled. “I know you’re eager to go first, Ryan. Have at it.”
As I focused, I could feel the force field she conjured.
It was a protective shell, completely invisible, but so thick it set the hair on my arms on alert.
I pushed my reach a little further, instantly running into the sheer wall of her power.
I could feel everything inside: the tingly vibrations, the heat, and every trapped sound.
My powers were back. The sudden, raw surge made me feel alive as the charge pulsated through my veins.
I crouched low, pressing my right hand flat against the floor.
As I drew the energy up, a purple tint bled through my skin, tracking the lines of my veins.
I held up my left hand, holding a ball of energy in it.
I stood up, smiling, before realizing I might’ve just put us all in danger.
I let go of my purple ball and we waited.
Gabby dashed to the monitor and spun it around so we could all see the live feed.
The three of us stared at the screen, instinctively taking turns blinking, making sure we didn’t miss any movement.
After twenty eternal minutes, Gabby smiled. “Okay, they would’ve been here within five minutes if they’d been able to sense your power through my force field. I think we’re safe.”
Kevin and I took turns using our powers. It felt great, not just because we weren’t meant to stifle our powers, but my bones didn’t ache as much anymore. Looking back, I think I was so tense from holding it all in that I hadn’t realized I was causing my own pain.
“Anali and Antonio are going to be happy they get to train again soon,” I said.
Dr. Ryder was standing next to us, taking notes. “Yes. Yes. We’ll need the brother and sister,” he said, looking behind us. “Why aren’t they here?”
“Kevin and I came here first to make sure our powers would remain undetectable. Plus, we needed to see how much space we had to work with before everyone showed up.”
“Right,” Kevin said. “Gabby, you think you can contain the field if we all use our powers? It’s a lot to keep in at once.”
“I don’t think the strength matters. It shouldn’t go through the force. But if it does, I will be able to feel it since I’m controlling the inner clearance. The outside block is what I have to worry about. What you do within it is fine.”
“That’s correct, young man. You can all train with no trouble inside the force field my daughter creates.” Dr. Ryder smiled, raising his chin.
“That’s amazing, Gabby. I don’t understand how you do it, but I can also amplify you to help reinforce your field if you need it.”
Her eyes widened. “That would be cool to try!”
“Well, no time like the present,” I said.
Time had a funny way of slipping through our fingers, especially when we were neck-deep in taking advantage of Gabby’s incredible force field.
It was as much fun as it was scary. Gone were the days when all I wanted to do was fight a hospital monitor.
Not that I missed those days, considering I didn’t know who I was.
But at least then, I had a fighting chance.
Now? Everyone’s lives were at stake. Literally everyone’s.
I could put on a brave face, but the more I watched the news, the more it wore me down. Park’s Optimized Order wasn’t about us living, but about us being prisoners in a cage designed to look like freedom. Ugh. I wanted to optimize her face, all right.
Kevin had been gone for a week, setting things up for when it was go time.
Meanwhile, our boys, Nick, Chris, and Antonio, had started their undercover gigs at all three of Park’s facilities.
Nick’s text updates were a mix of complaining about the bad coffee and serious observations.
Chris, being Chris, sent long emails with nothing but a play-by-play of all the employees’ movements.
Antonio, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying his role a little too much, sending us selfies in his security guard uniform with captions like “Agent Antonio on duty!”
“Guess who’s back? Gimme this little guy,” Annie said, and she picked up Jack from the playpen. “I’ve missed you just as much as I’ve missed using my strength, cutie pie!”
“Hey,” I said, stretching my neck. She’d just returned from the lab, where she’d spent a lot of time lately. Bracelet-free and chipper as heck.
“Uh-oh! Are you tired of watching him?” Nick asked as he grabbed Jack from Annie’s arms. “Cover his ears. He can’t hear Aunty Ryan admit things like that.”
“No, are you kidding?” I laughed. “I love this guy.”
“You sure it’s not too much babysitting?” Annie asked.
“Nah,” I said, trying to stretch my hip flexors and closing my eyes for a moment. “My body is just tightening up again. My legs, arms, and neck are killing me! And don’t even get me started with my spine.”
Annie frowned. “Don’t tell me you held him the entire time we were gone?”
“No, we ran around quite a bit. I think I’m just sleeping badly, or something. It started when we were in the Hamptons, but it comes and goes.”
“Yeah, because she misses Kevin.” Jay placed some pizza boxes on the counter. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back soon enough.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s not that. I think I’m on edge with things taking so long. The more time passes, the more I’m worried about everyone else.”
Ever since the guys’ reports about Luminaries being kept in cells, my anxiety had been skyrocketing.
Robert said they’d been enduring this for years, and a couple more months wouldn’t change much, but that thought offered little comfort.
He mentioned they were left to themselves on a daily basis.
It should have been a relief, but instead, it just left me feeling helpless.
Imagining them stuck in those suffocating walls nagged at me constantly.
“Did you hear from Kevin today?” Annie asked.
“Yes, he’s still working on leaving everything set up in Nashville. He’ll be gone longer than we planned,” Nick said. “It’s almost impossible to leave all the transportation ready for when we need it without raising any flags.”
“Right, and paying for extended parking is out of the question,” Jay said. “What are his other options?”
“He found a guy who’ll bring the van and leave it there,” I said. “Kevin told him he wanted to surprise his ‘soccer mom’ wife.”
“That should work,” Annie said. “As long as the guy doesn’t put two and two together after we’ve raised the alarm.”
I could feel the sweat forming in the palms of my hands. “What if he tells them about Kevin? This plan is so wild, even I’m beginning to question it. And he still has to figure out the other cars.”
“Ryan, always so brave. Feeling scared?” Jay asked as he approached me and rested a hand on my shoulder. “What’s got you shaken up? Kevin knows what he’s doing.”
“It’s not just that.” I looked up at him. “I can see now what Chris has been talking about. Have you guys not watched the news? Park is terrifying.”
“We don’t have to rush it,” Annie said. “But the longer the guys work for Park, the greater the chance of them being caught.”
My heart sank. “I know. We’ll move forward with the plan.”
“Yes, sweetie. I think we have to.”