Destined for Dreams: Book One (25 page)

“That’s not my—”

Nadia squeezes Jacqueline’s hand. “We are getting out of here alive. You have to trust me. We’re strong and powerful. These people, they’re afraid of us too. Pull yourself together. I believe in us.”

Jacqueline forces her feet to move. “We are powerful. We’re getting out of here alive.” She repeats the words to herself and I can feel her fear ease. She’s clinging onto Nadia’s faith and using it to gather her courage.  She closes her eyes for a moment and then meets Nadia’s gaze. “Let’s get Hunter home.”

NADIA

Jacqueline picks up her pace and walks next to me.

“I can sense Hunter’s body,” she says.

I smile. We’re so close I can feel it.

I was worried Jacqueline would put up a fight and make a scene and then push me at the doctors to make her escape. She has no regard toward others and it shows in how she acts. She’s the type to make a deal with the devil and then beg for mercy when it’s time to pay her dues.

“Where do we need to go?” I ask.

We reach the double doors and she peeks through the small window. “We just have to make it past the clerical counter. It’s at the end of the corridor when we enter. That should be close enough.” She crosses her arms and rubs them like she’s cold. “We only have a few seconds to get back out. The secretary is bound to see us.”

I nod. I’m strangely confident that we’ll get in and out quickly without having to face any of the HPA members. If they’re anything like the doctor from the parking lot, then they won’t want to confront us either.

“We can do this,” I say. “You’ll be really relieved once it’s over.”

Jacqueline twists her lips to the side. “I hope so.”

I slide the access card and the screen asks for the pass code. Jacqueline punches it in, and then we stand off to the side when the doors automatically open inward.

The corridor looks identical to the rest of the hospital with white walls and tiles, except for a few framed posters of people I’ve never heard of hanging on the walls. I look at each one we pass and realize it’s a memoriam of people the HPA has lost. I smirk when I see one of our council members on the wall, Veronica Sanders. I guess she never told the board she quit. If only they knew.

I try not to panic at the sound of voices. They’re coming from the end of the corridor, where the clerical counter is. A woman laughs and then a phone rings, and the voices turn into quiet murmurs.

“When we get to the end of the corridor, bend down,” Jacqueline whispers.

Her hands tremble and I reach over and twine my arm through hers. Her lips curve up in the corner, but it’s nowhere near a smile, and I don’t blame her. Someone could come around the corner at any second and see us, and there’s only one way out that we know of. The odds are against us, and I should be angrier with Jacqueline since she’s the reason I’m in this mess, but I feel bad for her. I pity her. She is truly alone in this world.

“Now,” Jacqueline whispers.

I hunch over, dropping my arm from hers. It’d be easier to get down on my knees, but I’m not risking it. I’m too worried about not getting to my feet fast enough to escape.

We sneak past the counter and turn into the first hallway on the right. A doctor strolls down the corridor, reading over her clipboard. She enters a room and I let out my breath. She was too busy to notice or care.

Goodbye, Nadia.
Hunter’s voice echoes in my head and then slips away as quickly as it came. I turn to look at Jacqueline and she nods, confirming that Hunter is gone. I blink tears from my eyes, relieved that it’s finally over. Hunter can live his life again.

“Let’s go,” I mouth to Jacqueline.

HUNTER

The air changes and it’s like I’m watching things happen from a different perspective. I reach out to touch Nadia and my hand passes through her. I’m a ghost until I reconnect with my body. I’m only tethered to this world through Jacqueline and since I left her at my own free will, I could accidentally snap the tether and die if I don’t hurry.

I bound down the hallway and to the last room on the left. I can sense my body behind the door. It’s strange, like I’m stuck in a magnetic pull, and it wants me back. It needs me back.

Without a body, I’m much faster, freer, and I’m not restricted by flesh and bone and the heaviness of it all. I hesitate before going through the door. All I’ve wanted the last few weeks was to be back in my body—to be me again—and now that I’m standing so close, I don’t think I can go through with it.

I can’t live the life that was given to me. I can’t pretend like everything is going to be okay and that somehow I will miraculously change the world. I can’t pretend that I’ll change the thoughts of the board and make a place where Nadia is free from fear—make a place where we can be together. I can’t pretend it’s okay if my mom is a delusional doctor trying to save humanity. It doesn’t even need to be saved in the first place. What will happen to me now if I go back? How will I live my life feeling this way?

“You have to do it or you’ll die.” The words are faint, but they resonate within me. It’s Jacqueline’s thoughts coming through our tether. I look over and see her staring in my direction. She’s the only one who can see me like this.

“Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be,”
I say. I don’t know if I believe in fate or karma or divine intervention, but given all the signs and all that I’ve been through—not to mention what Nadia has been through—maybe I should really think about what I’m going to do. What if it’s not what is supposed to happen?

Hot energy zips through me, like a shock of electricity. “It’s why we’re here. It’s why we went through all this trouble to get you here. You can now make a difference. You’ll have a voice.”

“With no one who will listen,”
I say.

“Then you’ll have to yell and force them to listen.”

I glance from Jacqueline to Nadia and see the fear puckering her eyebrows. She looks so fragile and beautiful with her shimmering, white hair and light gray eyes. She looks like the girl I first met in Jacqueline’s dream. I can’t give up. Nadia would hate me. I would hate me, too.

I lift my hand to wave and before I enter through the door, the agent from the Special Abilities Task Force waltzes up and stands on the opposite side of the counter, just feet away from Nadia and Jacqueline. All he’d have to do is move to the other side to see them.

I’m not going to let that happen.

NADIA

I step forward and then Jacqueline pushes me against the wall. Voices echo around the corner and my heart races. This is the only way for a person to go and we have nowhere to hide. Jacqueline points at a door about ten feet away and I glide toward it.

“Anyone new come through here, Lacey?” A masculine voice asks.

Jacqueline rushes in behind me and partially closes the door.

“Can I help you?”

I turn to see a woman sitting at a desk. She holds a coffee cup halfway to her mouth and I charge her before she has a chance to do anything. I slap my hand over her mouth and lean down.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret,” I whisper. “We’re not here to hurt anyone and we’re just leaving.”

“He’s coming,” Jacqueline says, searching the room. She picks up a metal folding chair and holds it up to protect herself.

I don’t move. I don’t breathe. I just hold my hand over the startled doctor’s mouth and wait for the agent to storm in.

But nothing happens. The world comes to a standstill.

HUNTER

I gasp and sit up.

I rip the breathing tube out and cough and spit. Wires stick to my bare chest and an IV drips clear liquid into my arm. I’m disoriented and dazed and feel like I was hit by a bus. I curl and uncurl my fingers and wiggle my toes and then my ears pop as the tether anchoring me to Jacqueline snaps.

My body is really mine and I don’t have to share it with anyone anymore. It’s awesome and crazy and not to mention a relief to be myself again. I wasn’t sure if it would ever happen, but here I am.

I rub my hand over my scruffy face. I need a serious shave and a few showers. I smell pretty bad. I wouldn’t normally care, but I’m not exactly at home. The last time I was in a body, it was Jacqueline’s and she smelled nice, feminine, but nice. I hold up the blanket to look at the rest of my body and grin. It’s good to be back.

The door swings open and my brother walks in. “Hunter?”

I drop the blanket. “Shut the door, Mason.”

“You’re awake.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I was never sleeping.”

“So it’s true?” He sits down on the edge of my bed.

“Yeah, and I have a lot to tell you, but I need you to yell for help first,” I say.

“I brought what you asked,” he says.

“There has been a change of plans.”

26
. SAVE WHO YOU CAN

NADIA

“Help!”

Voices murmur in the hall as people start gathering to see what’s going on. Dread knots in my chest. The more people around, the harder it’s going to be to escape. Someone will see us.

“Where’s Dr. Agatha? Someone get Dr. Agatha! Hunter Sullivan is awake.”

Jacqueline’s face falls. She points at the desk and I curse under my breath. The woman I’m holding is Dr. Agatha. We need to leave now. It would be worse for someone to come in here than risk being seen in the hallway. Here, we’re trapped.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Get up and go to the door. If you mention us, I’ll kill you. You don’t even know what I’m capable of. We just want to leave, all right? You can ask Hunter about us if you have any questions.”

The doctor nods and I pull her to her feet and guide her to the door. She walks into the hallway where a dozen people loiter. My heart is pounding so hard, I bet anyone can hear it. I expect Dr. Agatha to give us up, but instead she rushes away and out of sight.

“Let’s go,” Jacqueline says. She drops the chair and it clatters on the floor.

She holds up her fingers and counts to three before bolting out. I’m gliding on her heels, pushing her to move faster. We race past the clerical counter and down the empty corridor to the double doors.

It requires the access card to open and I fumble in my pocket to pull the card out. My hand shakes as I slide it and then Jacqueline punches in a few numbers, but instead of opening, the lock blinks red and displays the words ‘Access Denied’ across the screen.

“Try again,” I say. “You hit the wrong number.”

“Hey!” A feminine voice rises above the resonating murmurs of the crowd around the corner. “Stop! Don’t move!”

I glance over my shoulder at a young woman dressed in an all black uniform. Her black hair is pulled tight into a bun at the back of her head and she wears black eyeliner around her eyes.

Jacqueline punches the buttons again and the keypad beeps as the double doors swoosh open. I push her hard and we run to the elevator and press the button to take us up. The agent runs down the corridor, her combat boots echoing with each thud. She’s going to reach us before the elevator arrives.

It’s over.

I reach up and grab the talisman and yank it from Jacqueline’s neck. She cries out, but doesn’t resist. “I’ll hold her off. Tell Alyssa that I’m sorry.”

And I am.

But I regret nothing.

HUNTER

I thrash on the bed. I yank all the wires off and rip the IV out. I pick up the metal stand and swing it at the wall. Mason stands in the doorway, glancing at me and then to the hallway. My body is weak, but I gather my strength from my determination.

“Get me out of here!” I yell. I have to make enough commotion to get the attention of everyone. If they’re all distracted by me, Nadia and Jacqueline will have a chance. If they can’t get out of here, there won’t be anything I can do to save them. I’d do anything to protect Nadia, even die for her, but that’s exactly what will happen if she gets caught. I want us both to live. We need to live.

“Help!” Mason yells again. “He’s confused and in shock.”

I pick up the metal stand again and charge at my brother. He steps out of the way and I charge into the hall. People gasp and I spit and cuss and swing the IV rod at anyone too close. I hit a guy I’ve never seen before on the shoulder and he reflexively grabs the pole from me and yanks it away.

“Hunter,” a familiar voice says.

I jerk my head and meet Dr. Agatha’s eyes. She was my mother’s mentor and the doctor who recruited her to join the HPA in the first place. She looks me up and down and my jaw twitches as I hold back my embarrassment. I didn’t even bother to grab a robe or anything.

She reaches out her hand to me. “It’s okay, Hunter. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Is it? Is it really, Dr. Agatha?” I ask. My voice lowers a pitch and I narrow my eyes. “Are you going to continue to drug me? I’m not an experiment!”

The hallway goes silent and everyone stares between me and Dr. Agatha. She steps closer. “You’re confused, dear. Please calm down and we can talk about it.”

“Talk about how this is all a lie or how you’re okay with turning against your own kind?” It’s not really a lie. My mom was the one who willingly offered my life force to Jacqueline, but unfortunately she’s not here to take the fall, so Dr. Agatha will do.

“It’s about the girls, isn’t it?” she says, her voice lowered. “You’re protecting them?”

Blinding, red rage slashes through me. How does she know about Nadia and Jacqueline? This isn’t right. They were counting on me and I’ve let them down. I clench my hands into fists and charge at Dr. Agatha. I slam into her and we tumble to the tile and I roll on top of her.