Chapter Twenty-one
Rash had just reported the bad news to Ava. She was not happy. He sent a signal that he’d be using his powers and began the search. One more time in desperation.
But once again, nothing.
Rash looked at the calendar on his fridge. The Xs mocked him ruthlessly, reminding him of his failure.
One day . . .
Two weeks . . . Three . . . Six.
Two months.
Where had they gone? And how could he find them again? Of all the times, this was when they stayed away from technology? He’d have to go to his last resort, but he wasn’t ready to burn that bridge. Not yet.
“Ryan. RYAN!”
I had been gripping the chair arms tightly, desperately hoping the feeling of my bones being crushed would stop, but my grip was so strong that I ended up breaking them off. I hadn’t even noticed. I looked at Kevin, who’d been shaking me.
“You okay?” he asked, grabbing the two wooden pieces from my hand and placing them on the table next to me. Whatever. The chair was old and flimsy, anyway.
“Yes, sorry. I think I had a panic attack.” I looked up at the sky. “For a second, I felt I couldn’t do this again, but it’s fine. It’s okay. I think I deserve a second of weakness, right?”
“Of course you do. You’re the strongest woman I know.”
“Don’t let Annie hear you say that.”
“Oof! Second.” He blew a whistle. “You’re the second strongest woman I know. Don’t ever tell her I said that. I like my bones intact.”
So do I. “Okay. Dinner is ready?”
“Yes.”
I stood, inhaling the crisp, cold mountain air. I wish it could numb the pain . . . good-for-nothing freezing waste. I’d been sitting on the balcony in yet another cabin. That’s all I knew about where we were: there were mountains and trees in our view.
After we’d made that last run for it, we met up with everyone at an abandoned drive-in movie theater.
Chris and Nick immediately excused themselves to talk privately.
When they returned, they gave us each a bottle of water, a sleeping pill, and a sleeping mask so we couldn’t see where we were going.
They were the only two who knew our location.
That way, if one of us was taken, the rest could remain safe.
At this point, we were out of safe houses, and we couldn’t risk it again.
I remembered asking what would happen if either of them were captured. Chris had simply responded, “We’d make sure we weren’t alive to give you up.” They each had a tiny, pressurized capsule hidden behind a molar. One hard bite was all it took . . . and it would be over.
It had been a little over two months since that conversation. And every second that passed added a new layer of dread. The hiding out, the fear of being found before we were ready—it was beyond frustrating.
I wished I could say it felt like déjà vu of the last time I was hunted, but it was so much more than that.
I was stuck in the past. Sadly, not emotionally, but almost literally.
No matter what year it was for Earth, the fact was I’d just time-jumped nine years, learned to accept myself as Alexa, regained a whole life lived by Ryan, reconnected with the love of my life, and couldn’t concentrate on any of it.
Back then, I was stifled by the unknown world of powers and the pressure of being a wanted murderer, with my face on every news outlet. And now, as fate would have it, I was back on the news by popular demand.
This time, though, I was suffocating from the inside out. The bones in my body were threatening to explode with every breath, and I honestly didn’t know which was worse: the mental strain of the past, my current physical state, or the emotional pain of my cursed present.
But I had to keep myself together. Everyone needed me, and I wouldn’t fail them again.
I might shatter into pieces, but I would make damn sure the shards of my bones would carry out my last will: save my family.
It had been way longer than anticipated trying to figure out what could be done, but I couldn’t for the life of me think of a proper plan just yet.
I stood up and tried stretching away the lingering pain, forcing a smile. “I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
“You can try to hide it, Ryan. But I can see it.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I can see the bruises. I know that’s why you only let me touch you in the dark, but you’re not fooling me. Why do you think I stopped?” He sighed. “Everyone else sees right through it, too.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the decorative mirror in our bedroom, turning me to face it.
He gently lifted the back of my shirt just enough to see. And honestly, I didn’t have the energy to stop him. “Kevin, I—”
“Just look.”
The dark, bruised lines extended from my back all the way up to my neck and continued along my limbs.
“Oh.”
What else could I say?
Not long after getting to the cabin, I noticed the increase in my dizzy spells and the constant soreness. It had all started when we first time-jumped. But it was nothing compared to this. Now, I could feel it for certain. And if that wasn’t enough, they were also visible.
Dark tendrils sprouted from my spine, resembling branches, and snaked their way along the contours of my bones.
My joints were constantly swollen, but the flare-ups would subside almost as soon as they appeared.
If it wasn’t for the pain, I’d have sworn they were all recurring nightmares.
But now the bruises remained etched on my skin like a living tattoo.
There, with its dark ink pumping pain and fire through me. I will not let it win.
“We need to get back to our time. Or before that . . . before I was hunted. Time is catching up to me,” I said.
“Are you sure? If that’s it, you’ll still be out of time, so you can’t go further into the past.”
“What else could it be? It’s not like I can go see a doctor like a normal person.”
He held me ever so gently in his arms. “I don’t think it has anything to do with being out of time.”
“How would you know?”
“It’s not happening to anyone else. Wouldn’t we all be suffering from the same problem?” He took a step back and lifted my chin to look me in the eye. “Maybe if you’d let Dr. Ryder or David see it, they could help you.”
“How could they help me? It has nothing to do with them.”
“It might,” Annie said.
I turned to see her standing by the door.
I shook my head even though I was in pain. “I’m hungry. Today’s training has me starving and sore.” I snatched my arm away from Kevin.
After dinner, we were looking over the information Robert had left at the abandoned movie theater. “That’s not helpful. Have we had any luck finding other Luminaries?” Annie asked.
“We’ll know more when they’re back,” Nick said.
“WHERE ARE THEY?” Annie snapped.
“Annie, breathe. Chris and Jay will be back soon, and we’ll know more.”
“I just . . .” Annie looked out the window. “I need them here. They should’ve been here in time for dinner.”
“Is it them or is it Jay?” Nick asked.
Annie rolled her eyes. “They can get me closer to Jack. It’s been too long. We need to get him back, and if something happened to them, it could put our plans for rescuing my baby in even more danger. Don’t you agree?”
“Just because Jay made you a promise doesn’t mean he can deliver. Don’t you think I’d give up my life for Jack, too?”
“I know you would,” she whispered, returning to sit next to him.
“You’re putting all your hopes on him. It’s like he’s the only person who can calm your nerves anymore. I feel like you don’t even need me.”
“What?” She tilted her head and smiled. “I will always need you, Nick. I love you. I just . . . I just feel like I can’t unload on any of you. It’s not fair. You’re all too close to Jack. I need someone . . . objective, if that makes sense.”
Nick nodded. “Okay.”
As she leaned her head on his shoulder, it seemed to have a calming effect on him. And that made me feel better—until it didn’t.
One second I was smiling, the next I woke up in Dr. Ryder and David’s latest makeshift lab—a double garage we’d given them as their space.
Once again, Chris had come through for us.
We weren’t sure when he’d gotten it all ready, but he had the cabin fully stocked for everything we’d need. All of us.
We had enough bedrooms and futons to make it through.
Our pantry was filled with canned goods, and we had a sufficient supply of toiletries.
We had our own power generator, computers that operated in offline mode, and we even had access to an old TV via antenna.
The fact that the antennas still worked was surprising to me.
Still, we used it as little as possible.
None of us wanted to accidentally give away our location.
We just didn’t know enough about their Luminary tech person, who I couldn’t be sure of, but thought was the same guy who’d controlled the elevator and me.
Sometimes Nick and Chris disappeared for supply runs.
Other times, they took turns going back for intel and whatever else Dr. Ryder and David needed.
On the rare occasions one of them stayed behind, Kevin or Jay would join the run—but only after taking a sleeping pill for the ride. The rules were absolute.
And actually, the last thing I remembered was Annie being concerned that Chris and Jay weren’t back from their last run.
Then she had shared a nice moment with Nick that made my heart feel incredibly full.
I remembered thinking I wanted that kind of relationship with Kevin once things were normalized .
. . if that time ever came. Right, yes! Then I panicked at the thought that it might never happen—and now, here I was.
I stared at the wall of screens and equipment.
“Hello there, young lady. Welcome back, welcome back.”
I slowly turned to find Dr. Ryder inches from my face. “What am I doing here?” I tried to get up, but there were restraints holding me down. “What the hell? Let me go!”
“You’re going to feel woozy if you try to get up,” David said, walking up to me. “We gave you some sedatives to relax you. You fainted after dinner.”