Feeling Privleged

 

Chapter Eleven

 

The building is large: steel grey and glass windows. Everything looks so futuristic. You would never guess that this building, hidden by layers of trees, is the place where Chase is being held captive.

Driving up to the security guard, Erik slows the car and gives us all a look signaling that our plan starts exactly now.

I sit in the passenger’s seat, and smile up at the guard who, with his dark sunglasses and stern expression, doesn’t smile back. Time to work your magic, Skye.

“Hi there,” I say, my voice melting slightly so that it’s slow and sultry, and most importantly persuading. The guard looks down at me suspiciously.

“I’m gon’ need the names of the passengers in the car, m’am.” The guard says with a Southern accent. I take in his police uniform and the gun sitting snuggly against his hip. I wonder if this man knows what kind of building he’s guarding.

“Absolutely.” I say with a smile. “I’m Alex McCullough, and this is Reid Matthews.” I say, pointing a finger at Erik. The guard nods, writing down our names.

“An’ the others?” He questions, nodding his head to the backseat where Elena, Margaret, Brody and Logan sit silently.

“You don’t really need their names, do you?” I ask, the persuasion in my voice kicked up a notch. The guard falters and then lifts his sunglasses, peering at me carefully. I smile innocently, blinking my eyes.

“Yes, m’am, I’m ‘fraid I do.” He answers and I sigh, pouting. The guard automatically looks like he wants to say no, but his job depends on these questions.

“You don’t though,” I say, looking up at him with convincing eyes. “You don’t need their names.”

On cue, the guard nods, looking as if he’s in a sort of hypnosis. “Alright, m’am, go right on through.” He says, nodding past him to the entrance to the building.

“Well thank you officer.” I say with a smile, and wave at him as Erik inches the car forward slowly. As the windows roll up, the car is silent. “Well done,” Erik says to me, his eyes approving.

I smile, and am about to say something when I realize we’re right in front of the building. The very building that I was held captive in, and that Chase is in right now.

Erik parks the car and we all sit still, silently, before Brody clears his throat.

“I want Skye to stay in the car.” He says, and his voice is stern. I frown, turning around in my seat.

“Not likely, Brody. I’m going.” I say, peering at him questioningly. Obviously he knows I’m going in, so why is he saying he wants me to stay?

“Dad, she doesn’t need to go in. We’re all risking our lives by entering that building, and quite frankly, we don’t need Skye anymore.” Brody says, not looking at me. He watches his father for a reaction and I turn to Erik, astounded.

“You’re high if you think I’m not going in there.” I say, glaring at Brody. What the hell is his problem?

Erik looks at me calculatingly. “Sorry, Brody, but we will need Skye. She’ll be useful in a fight if one breaks out.” He says, and I smile, smug.

Brody frowns, a dark look crossing his face. “What do you mean she’ll be useful? What is she going to do, Persuade them not to kill her? By the time she finishes Persuading them she’ll be dead.” He says, still avoiding my eyes. I roll my eyes.

“Are you forgetting that I’m also an Extinguisher?” I ask Brody, my eyebrows raised.

His face darkens even more so. “You’re not a killer, though. You don’t have it in you to kill somebody.” He says, voice low. I narrow my eyes.

“I could kill somebody if our lives were in danger.” I say, my voice quiet. Brody looks at me sharply. “Besides,” I say, before he can argue any more, “you’ll be Shielding all of us, right? So I’m not in any real danger.”

Brody clenches his jaw, looking away from me in anger. “Well, then. Let’s go.” Logan says, breaking the tense silence.

We all nod, getting out of the car quietly. Once we’re outside, I see Brody place his hand on the side of Elena’s face, his fingers pressed lightly to her temple. I’m about to question what he’s doing when Margaret fills in the blanks for me.

“With physical contact, Brody can strengthen the Shield he places on people.” She tells me and I nod, watching quietly as Brody closes his eyes, hand still against Elena’s face, looking as if he’s concentrating hard.

About a minute later, he draws his hand away and opens his eyes and Elena smiles at him gratefully, “thank you.” She says.

Next, Brody places his hand to Logan’s temple, closing his eyes again in concentration.  

Slowly, Brody goes through his family, Shielding all of them one after one. As everybody gets things from the car—blue prints of the building included—Brody turns to look at me, his eyes dark.

He reaches a hand up cautiously; pressing his fingers to my temple, and lets his hand rest against my cheek. I watch him carefully, looking for any signs of his anger towards me. Brody frowns slightly and then opens his eyes to look at me warily. “I don’t want you to do anything stupid in there, Skye.” He tells me, and I can feel my self confidence droop. Does he really think I’m stupid?

“I’m not a five year old,” I snap at him.

Brody sighs, dropping his hand from my face slowly. His eyes watch me carefully. “Promise me you’ll be careful,” he says.

I frown, rolling my eyes. “Fine, fine, I promise.” I say hurriedly. “Now stop being all pissed at me.”

Brody looks away from me, shrugging his shoulders. “Sure, Skye.”

And with that, we all look at each other calculatingly. “Are we ready?” Margaret asks us, her voice weak. I nod, as do the rest of the group.

And so we walk, straight up to the building doors, straight into the workplace of the Company.

I see quite a few Company members wandering around the building, clad in white lab coats, eyes cold and distant. Not knowing where to begin looking, we walk up to what looks like a receptionist.

“We’re here to see Rueben Scurry,” Erik says, his voice even and confident. The receptionist, a young woman with blue-black hair raises an eyebrow and pauses typing for a moment to look over our group with critical eyes. Her eyes linger on Brody, and he shoots her a charming smile, causing her to look away and focus on the task at hand.

“He’s not in right not,” the receptionist says, looking at Erik. Her black eyes slide back to Brody and he steps forward, leaning over the counter to look at her. “Are you sure about that?” He asks, signaling behind his back for Elena to step in. Elena, the Illusionist, makes the receptionist “see” Rueben walking toward the desk with an angry look on his face. “Well, never mind then! It looks like he’s here after all. He’ll be in his office shortly. Turn right at the main lab, and then keep going straight. It’s the last door on your left.”

Brody gives one final grin to the receptionist before turning away and nodding in the direction of the main laboratory. Silently, we all walk towards it. Well, everyone except for Logan, who reaches forward and presses his fingers to the receptionist’s forehead, Removing any memory of seeing or talking to us.

When Logan catches up, we’ve passed the laboratory, and are walking down the long hallway to Rueben’s office.

When we reach the last door on the left, we see a steel door and security scanner outside of it. Margaret, having worked for the Company previously, knew to expect this.

“You can’t get into Rueben’s office unless you have a Level 5 clearance,” she explains, and Erik nods, realizing what he has to do.

When an employee in a white lab coat walks past us a few minutes later, I step in front of him, smiling charmingly. “Hi there,” I say, a grin plastered on my face.

The man squints at me, as if trying to figure out if he should remember my name or not. When he realizes he’s never seen me before, his eyes relax and he nods at me in greeting. By then, I’ve distracted the man enough that Erik has had time to Adapt into him, taking his shape and basically…becoming the man’s exact twin. The man, not looking at anyone else, steps around me and continues walking down the hall, not noticing that anything happened.

I turn back to the group and Erik smiles gratefully at him—only it’s not Erik’s face anymore, it’s the mans. Which is so weird.

Pressing his hand to the screen outside of Rueben’s office door, a scan begins; analyzing Erik’s fingerprints to ID him. When the scan is complete, it ok’s Erik for clearance, and the lock is released on the door. Fading back into his own body, Erik pushes the door open quietly, bringing a finger to his lips in the worldwide “quiet” gesture.

Quietly, we follow him through the door, cautiously stepping inside Rueben’s office. “I’m not surprised you’re here,” a deep, light voice says. I tense: Rueben. He’s looking outside, his back facing us, with his hands folded behind his back. We stand still, silently, unmoving.

“I assume you came for Chase,” Rueben says, turning around. He runs a hand through his dark brown, salt-and-pepper colored hair.

“I don’t suppose you’ll hand him over without a fight,” Erik says, eyes unemotional. Rueben smiles, a slow, evil smile.

“Am I that transparent?” He asks, eyes dark. He sits down at his desk, shuffling papers around and then opens a crème colored envelope up, retrieving a key from it.

“Just hand him over, and nobody gets hurt.” Erik says, his voice conversational. Rueben shakes his head, running his fingers over the grooves in the key.

“It’s not so simple,” he explains, rising from his chair and walking slowly towards us. Brody shifts his weight so that he’s standing in front of me and he presses his fingers gently to the back of my hand, allowing another Shield to wash over me.

“It can be.” Erik says, nodding his head at the key in Rueben’s hand. “Just pass me the key and we’ll get Chase and leave. No trouble.” He promises, voice still light.

Reuben looks at Erik with sincere eyes, and then he looks at Margaret, Logan, Elena, Brody and me in turn. When his eyes land on me he smiles widely, causing Brody to step even more so in front of me, blocking me from Reuben’s view.

“I see my remedy worked,” Rueben says, still smiling openly. “I’m glad to see you survived, my dear Skye. I always did like you.”

I keep my eyes lowered, my body tensing. “I feel so privileged.” I tell him sarcastically. Reuben laughs, throwing his head back.

“That’s my girl,” he says, looking at me with a sort of kindness in his old eyes.

“She’s not your girl,” Brody says, his voice low. Rueben’s eyes snap over to Brody, watching him carefully.

“Ah, but Brody, she’s not yours either.” He says, causing some sort of reaction in Brody. He snarls, his hands curling into fists, but Logan steps in and presses a strong hand against Brody’s forearm, signaling to him to cool it. Brody lets his muscles relax and he cracks his neck, looking away from Rueben.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Erik repeats, getting back to the point.

Rueben’s eyes grow cold, the kindness disappearing. “Your son belongs to me,” he says and his voice is harsh. I wince. “However, I’m willing to make you a deal.”

Erik raises an eyebrow coolly. “And what’s the deal?”

Rueben smiles at me again, making me shiver. “You can have your son back,” he says, walking leisurely around his office. “But in turn I will get Skye.”

Brody and Logan tense, their heads turning sharply to look threateningly at Reuben. I, however, don’t feel threatened. I step forward, around Brody, and towards Rueben.

“Fine,” I say, my voice strong. If I’m going to save Chase, then I’m more than willing to sacrifice my own freedom.

Erik shakes his head. “No deal. Take me instead.” He says, but Reuben just smiles, eyes untiring.

“This isn’t a compromise.”

I shake my head at the both of them. “I already said it was fine. What are you waiting for?” I ask Reuben, ignoring the sound of protests behind me. Rueben looks at me, his eyebrows raised. He holds out his hand, the key on his palm, face up. “Go on,” he says to me, eyes testing.

I reach out, grabbing the key. My hand brushes against Rueben’s skin and I unleash my second Talent, allowing myself to Extinguish Rueben. However, nothing happens. Rueben smiles, shaking his head at me slowly.

“You tried to kill me,” he states with a voice half full of wonder, half full of admiration.

“I guess that makes us even.” I say, shrugging, unbothered. Don’t tell me Rueben got all freaking invincible while I was away.

“You can’t kill the person who gave you your Talent,” Rueben tells me, still smiling as if unbothered by his almost murder. I shrug again.

“Well isn’t that a shame,” I murmur. I hold out my hand behind me, the key in my palm, and wait for somebody to take it. Fingers brush against my palm, taking the key, and I lower my hand, my eyes on Rueben.

“You can retrieve your son now,” he says, smiling at Erik and Margaret, who look stunned. Erik shakes his head stubbornly.

“You’re not keeping Skye.” He says, not moving.

Rueben shrugs. “Then I’ll keep Chase. It’s one or the other, Erik. You pick.”

I turn around, my eyes wide and honest. “Pick Chase.” I say, my voice quiet. “You guys can be a family again.” I whisper the last part, knowing that it’s what’s right and accepting it. Brody’s hands are curled into fists.

“You’re part of our family,” he tells me, his eyes hooded. I smile sadly.

“I appreciate that. But…you need Chase, okay? Not me. Go get Chase.” I say, my voice even.

Margaret wipes a tear from her cheek. “Are you going to be okay?” She asks me, allowing Rueben to see her tears. As expected, he’s unmoved.

“More than.” I say, smiling confidently. I can handle the Company, right? Right? “Go,” I whisper, nodding toward the door. They each come forward, hugging me tightly, and Logan whispers in my ear “you better be right about this” before pulling away. After we’ve said our goodbyes, they leave with eyes sad but accepting. It’s a tradeoff, and I’ve given them a way out.

After they leave, I’m in the office alone with Reuben and I turn to him, plopping myself down in a chair. “So, what’s for dinner?” I ask him, as if he’s my great uncle and I’m visiting his home. Rueben narrows his eyes at me, smiling, and grabs my arm roughly, shoving me to my feet.

“Let’s go,” he says, pushing me forward, out his office door. I try to snatch my arm away, but he’s got it in his grasp tightly.

He walks me—like a dog—down the hallway and down a set of stairs until we get to a floor with several rooms resembling jail cells. I shudder at the metal bars and cold air and then feel my stomach drop.

Rueben walks me over to a cell, unlocking it swiftly and shoving me forward into it, locking it behind me. He smiles at me, his eyes unkind.

“Someone will bring down food and water three times a day. There’s a bathroom and a bed here and a phone that only has one number on it.”

“Please tell me it’s God’s,” I say, mostly to myself.

Rueben narrows his eyes at me. “It’s mine. Should you be dying of an illness you can call me. But know that you can only call me, and only once. After that, the phone will not work. So you better make it good.” He says, raising an eyebrow. I shrug, looking around my dirty jail cell.

“Nice place,” I mutter sarcastically. Rueben narrows his eyes at me, turning on his heel.

“Goodbye, Skye.” He says before walking away, letting the thick metal door leading into this floor of jail cells to click shut. I sigh, turning away from the metal bars, and sit down on the (thank God) clean bed, leaning my head against the wall.

I sit there for minutes, counting to 100 multiple times, playing tricks with my mind, pretending that I’m not scared and miserable.

When I hear a noise—a scuffing of feet—I ignore it at first, not wanting to think about what it is.

“Rueben?” I call out wearily, sick of being in the jail cell already. When I receive no answer I sigh and lean my head back again, but then there’s the same shuffling of feet, the same sound of movement. And then figures step out of the shadows, keys in hand, breathing shallow.

I smile slowly. “Logan!” I say, relief washing over me. He smiles, and I see Brody, Elena, Margaret and Erik appear behind him. Logan sorts through the keys, trying to find the one to my cell. I smile; glad our plan is working so far.

You see, we knew that Rueben would offer a deal. We had to think things through before hand, get in Rueben’s head and predict what he would do when we showed up. We knew he would offer a deal, most likely one involving me, and we’d agree to it in order to save Chase.

Margaret, who (as I’ve mentioned) worked for the Company for years, knew that they keep captives in the floor underground—in the jail cells. She knew that Rueben would take me there, at least until they had left the building. Our plan was for Rueben to believe that they bought into the deal, and that they would find Chase and leave peacefully. And, as far as he knows, that exactly what they’re doing now. However, they’re actually rescuing me and Chase, leaving with everybody.

Is that not the most genius plan you’ve ever heard? I think yes.

Snapping back to the present, I watch as Logan struggles to find the right key. And then, Chase steps out of the shadows.

“Skye,” he says with dark eyes. I can see a pattern of bruises down his neck, his skin a bluish grey. I can also see various needle wounds and cuts all over his arms, and my stomach churns.

“Chase,” I breathe, my eyes watering. He steps up to the metal bars, sticking his hands through them to hold mine.

“We’ll be out of here in no time,” he tells me, his eyes still dark, distant. I shudder. What the hell did they do to him?

“I know,” I say, taking steady breaths. Logan finally finds the right key and unlocks the cell, sliding the door open to let me out. I give a sigh of relief when I’m out. “Thanks,” I say gratefully and receive various smiles as a response. I turn to Chase, my hand still in his. “Are you…are you okay?” I ask him, my eyes wandering over the cuts and bruises until they land on a part of his skin, right about his wrist, where the skin looks burnt. I shudder.

“I’m fine,” he answers me, squeezing my hand gently as we all walk quietly through the jail cells until we get to the staircase. We then walk cautiously up the stairs, peering around corners before going further.

When we reach the door leading to the main floor Erik takes a deep breath, turning to look at us. “This is the hard part.” He says, and I feel myself start to panic. We can do this, I chant to myself, unsure if it’s true.

My eyes keep wandering to Chase and I keep a tight hold on his hand as we walk down the hallway as if we’re not escaped captives. The employees don’t stop and question us, and my guess is it’s because Elena has created some sort of Illusion so that we look like employees as well.

We walk through numerous hallways undetected and all it going well as we escape outside, walking swiftly to Erik’s car.

We get in his car, squishing us all in, and Erik starts it with a shaky hand. I cannot believe we got out of there.

As Erik backs the car up slowly, I turn to look at Chase again, but his eyes are somewhere else. “You’re not okay,” I tell him, stating the obvious. Chase’s eyes find mine and he smiles slightly, the smile not reaching his eyes.

“Of course I am,” he tells me, lying.

“Please don’t lie to me,” I say softly, my fingers gently brushing over the cuts on his forearm. “I’m sorry.” I whisper, not looking at him.

He nudges my chin up with his finger, looking me in the eye. “It’s not your fault,” he says, eyes loosing some of their distant look. “Okay? It’s not your fault,” he repeats, brushing a piece of hair back from face.

“Was it horrible?” I ask him, my voice low. I peer cautiously at the bruises covering his arms.

“It was bearable,” he responds, partially answering my question. I shake my head, my eyes watering again. “Hey, look at me.” Chase says, wiping a tear away from my cheek with his thumb. I look up, eyes miserable. “It was only bearable because I knew you were safe.”

I nod, pressing my lips together, resting my head against his shoulder. He winces, and I pull back immediately, horrified with myself. “I am so sorry!” I gush, my eyes watering unnecessarily.

“Skye, it’s fine, I’m fine,” Chase assures me, wiping tears away from my face quickly. He nods toward his shoulder, telling me to go ahead, and I lay my head gently against his shoulder again, cautious this time.

Chase traces patterns over my palms, distracting me from all the questions I want to ask, but know can wait.

I’m about to ask something else when I hear an alarm sounding. Tensing, I draw my head up and look out the window, past Chase. Erik slams the brakes down hard, and cusses loudly.

He unlocks the car, telling us to get out and we all do so, quickly. “Get ready to run.” He tells us and we all tense, preparing. “Everybody needs to split up,” Erik says, looking around him guardedly. “And run until you can’t anymore.”

“Dad, why—“ Logan asks, voicing the question we’re all wondering.

When Company employees start appearing around us, one by one, all looking threatening and angry, I realize what’s happened.

“I guess they noticed we were missing.” I say, biting my lip. My hand is still in Chase’s and I tense, ready to run. When Rueben appears, last but not least, Erik cusses again. “Ready…” he says quietly.

“Set…” Brody murmurs.

“Go!” Erik yells, and we all split, running in all directions as fast as we can, our legs racing. Chase and I run through several employees, running past them, running through the forest surrounding us, running over fallen trees and through several ponds. We run until I have to stop, breathing heavily, gasping for breath.

“We can’t stop yet,” Chase says, barely out of breath. Well, he is in stellar shape.

Not that I’m not. But I’m not the one with the six pack, y’know?

“Okay,” I say, gasping for air still. He squeezes my hand gently and I straighten up, getting ready to run again. But when employees show up, surrounding us, all out of breath too, we realize we can’t run anymore.

We. Are. So. Dead.

Reviews

[Aimee]

Great chapter. They keep on getting better and better!

[Rusty]

Keep it up, I really like where the story is going