━━━─── • ───━━━

• Luna •

After Sergeant Decker appeared at Luna's door, she grumbled. "Hi, Luna. I'm here to escort you to another part of the building."

She got up despite not wanting to. Amir stepped around the corner and smiled sweetly. Before asking, she closed her mouth.

She glanced at Dr. Kim and a patient walking toward an elevator.

After tapping a button she couldn't see, Sergeant Decker turned toward her. When he stopped the elevator, Amir froze. While she worried about what would happen next, her breath caught in her throat.

"Mr. Khan, you know where Camille Taylor is in the hospital, don't you? You hid her, and they haven't found her. Vikram said you're smooth." Sergeant Decker's attention was on Amir. "Cameras are off. I can't believe you two are escaping."

Luna couldn't believe Amir would break them out now. That was the reason behind his smirk.

"How do you know Vikram?" she asked.

"No time to explain. Seriously. But you can escape now." Sergeant Decker turned toward Amir. "I know. Why didn't I mention I knew Tethered Souls? I can't become a target. No, I am not one of you, but my wife is. I'm an implant. There are many of us around." He paused briefly. "Mr. Khan, your escape plan is insane."

Luna thought of the children's ward and Decker's wife's tethered partner. Are we freeing them?

"Really, guys?" Decker grumbled, placing his beret in his pocket. "Trust me. You'll need me."

"You can't be serious. I'm not sure I trust you. Either of us," Amir said.

"I don't care," Sergeant Decker murmured. Then he turned to Luna. "I need Cami's location to get you out."

Amir knew. He hid her. Clever.

"Don't say anything," Luna told Amir.

"Amir wants the kids to run wild downstairs. Distract everyone. What's next? I can set you free. You'll need help."

Luna shook her head. "I don't know. Our kind can't trust anyone."

"Would Vikram betray you?" He backed off when she shook her head. "I'll never betray him. He saved me."

Luna confronted Amir. "It's your call."

"If you think . . ." Amir stared at the man. "Before betraying us, reconsider. I'll pull your eyelashes and nails off."

"We're saving Cami, too," Luna said loudly.

"I'm fine with that. I can't worry about Joanna. She's been in her too long, and they have her sedated." Sergeant Decker turned and sniffed. "Let's get this started before midnight. That's when shifts change," he added, facing Amir when he reached down and began the elevator again.

"Where is Cami?" Luna asked.

"I took a nurse's outfit from a linen closet for her." Amir smiled deviously at Luna. "We need a plan."

"I wanted to apologize to both of you," Sergeant Decker said. "I hated seeing you both suffer. I was here on a mission."

"Don't mention it," Amir said, hugging Luna's waist. "Anything to get her out."

"But how?" she wondered.

"We need the fastest way off the top floor," he said, looking at Sergeant Decker.

"Just so you know, getting out won't be easy. World War Three will happen. Amir, your life will change. Forever. Saving a patient costs everything. To the outside, this is still a hospital," Sergeant Decker said. "We may have to shoot-to-kill. Are you sure about this? Both of you?"

Luna stared at Amir. "You worked hard for your career in Pakistan. Don't do this. We'll figure something out."

"No. Moon, I'm rescuing you. I came to save you. My life is your life."

Luna nodded as he wiped her eyelids.

"You two remind me of a couple from Days of Our Lives. You should both be cast." Sergeant Decker's suggestion made Luna snort and Amir glare.

"We'll let the kids out downstairs, then take the elevator to the roof." Amir kissed Luna's forehead. "Most of the staff are sleeping. I spiked their drinks." Luna smiled at that while he continued. "We only have to worry about the people who are walking around. The roof has a fire escape to the ground."

"Why not run outside?"

"All outside doors are locked. Darren hacked into the firewalls and disabled them. But those doors require a key card and a password."

"Oh."

"This facility's interior doors only need passwords. Few use keycards. The soldiers outside in the field are who we have to worry about, but the frantic children running amuck inside will be a distraction." Amir breathed and looked into Luna's eyes. "Run. This property is on fifty acres of grass. Can you run, Moon?"

She nodded. "We need to flee."

Sergeant Decker touched the panel. "Ready?"

Luna was eager when he pressed a button and the lift shifted.

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor.

"Don't worry," Decker said. "We'll take another elevator to the children's ward from here."

She was flooded with panic when they entered a quiet hallway. She knew she couldn't go back, even if it might be a trap. Their plan must continue.

Sergeant Decker held Luna's shoulder like he had when taking her around the building. Amir huffed on her other side.

Two people were in the hall, but they ignored the trio.

The group reached a bright hallway, and the lobby had two counter staff.

"Mr. Khan. Sergeant Decker," one housekeeper whispered, admiring Amir but looking at them both. "May I help you?"

The other petite woman looked at Luna and opened her mouth. "Luna Carlyle's here—why? Mr. Marquette isn't here."

Luna snorted.

Sergeant Decker stood at attention. "Dr. Kim wanted her to see Matthew's progress. She may understand why children are admitted."

They shook their heads. One woman spoke. "That's a bad idea. Matthew is asleep for the night."

"If not him, anyone else," Sergeant Decker added.

"Dr. Kim specified that no one enters or leaves after eight p.m. It's almost eight," the housekeeper replied.

"Should we call Dr. Kim and tell him you're disobeying his orders?" Decker argued. Working with a crooked doctor taught him a lot.

"No. You don't have to do that."

"You won't show us the kids' progress?" Decker stared.

"We can't—"

"You know what?" Amir produced a syringe. "Protocol this."

Luna saw Amir pricking the woman's right arm and the other woman screaming toward the door. Sergeant Decker followed, taking her down.

"Two down, several more to go," Sergeant Decker stated.

Amir spotted Luna's eyes. "Open the doors. Can you do that?"

"I got it!" the sergeant yelled.

The airtight doors opened when he pressed a wall button.

Sergeant Decker dropped something cool and heavy in her hand. A gun. The firearm startled her.

"Protect yourself, even if you don't use it." He stood next to Amir while he opened all the doors, and she thanked him. "One minute. The kids know we're here. Be careful with them. They're telekinetic."

Luna froze. He just outed them. They were stronger Tethered Souls. And now this facility made sense to her.

They collect people with special abilities.

Amir and Luna left the nurses' station with Sergeant Decker. A man gasped from a sliding door.

"Sergeant Decker—"

Amir punched his cheek, knocking him back. His eyes closed as his blue lab coat flapped. Amir's blow knocked him out. Men in lab coats joined in when they heard someone screaming on the floor. Amir appeared ready to kill anyone who crossed Luna. Sergeant Decker turned and grabbed people running passed him by the neck.

Alarms went off and chaos erupted.

Luna watched as Sergeant Decker, in charge of security at double doors, kicked and punched every worker who passed through. They flew like toys one after another. She didn't realize his greatness until now. He always helped Tethered Souls.

Amir turned around and noticed that the halls were still full of lab employees.

"You should all go back to where you came from," said Sergeant Decker.

Two men stayed to witness everything while others fled like mice. "We'll stop you!"

"Run!" Luna screamed, shooting the wall behind them. "Now!"

They fled.

She felt better after that. Her first gunshot. Amir pulled her behind him. Locks dinged around the small area.

No one expected this.

Matthew emerged from his room with a sad face, followed by a group of children running around like ants. Similar haircuts. White trousers. White shirts. White sneakers. She saw their smart faces as their auras hit her. Some children grew up there, and some have suffered worse than she has.

"Thank you." Matthew's words bothered her. But she didn't care. He stood before Sergeant Decker and lifted his arm. He wore a tiny crimson bracelet. "Joanna is located on the third floor. Room 310. And your son is safe in Japan."

"You've been a big help," Sergeant Decker replied, shaking Matthew's hand. It was like a business deal.

He removed Matthew's bracelet after gathering his information. Matthew turned to the horrified employees gathered against the wall. "Our privileges were all we wanted. We weren't allowed to see the fireworks."

Screams greeted Luna when she whirled around.

Matthew and the little kids used a syringe that smelled like cyanide to inject each person. The young children had been traumatized.

Luna stepped up to the mayhem and watched some workers dropping like hot potatoes and others clenching their knees while Matthew yelled at them with a floating syringe pointed at the crew.

Telekinesis.

"Let's go," Sergeant Decker insisted, pushing a wheelchair across the room. He pushed it to keep the doors open. "Kids, you can run in any direction you want. Let us go first."

"Thank you!" came from the children.

Amir gripped Luna's fingers. "You okay? I'll hold your gun."

"No," she said. "This is how I'll get out of this place."

"Okay, but try not to shoot yourself or me," he said.

"Or me!" Sergeant Decker called out.

Sergeant Decker pushed the button for the roof as soon as he got in the elevator. A siren went off somewhere in the building. The ceiling lit up orange when the lights went out.

"We've got to get out of here," he stated once the elevator door opened.

Soldiers and staff were scattered throughout the hall. Luna watched Sergeant Decker and Amir shooting men as others shouted commands. She knew Amir had taken self-defense classes, but seeing him use it made her pleased. She was proud of him for being able to hold his own.

She drew her gun and shot a soldier in the left shoulder when he came after her.

"Stairs. That way!" the sergeant shouted as they turned.

"Didn't realize you shooting a gun could look so incredible. Moon, I'm a little turned on." When he called her that, she cherished it. "Cami is waiting. Let's run."

Red domes flashed above them as they hurried along the hallway behind Sergeant Decker. The mob fled as both men fired at people behind them.

A swarm of children ran out of two elevators once they passed by. Luna stopped and watched the kids get vengeance. She needed to see what they could do.

The escapees were no longer the adults' priority. One of the small girls stopped in the hallway and picked up a gun on a fallen soldier, giving Luna a mean look. She giggled and dropped the gun after shooting a lab member in the leg. The gun tased the employee, who fell facedown.

She rushed toward a male guard, who yelled, "Lydia! Quit!" But she didn't. She snatched a used syringe off the floor and put it into his wound.

Luna staggered.

This wasn't good. The children were furious.

Amir and Sergeant Decker ushered Luna away to focus on what they were doing. "We'll go that way," Sergeant Decker said as he moved through the crowd.

Luna's sneakers were smeared in filth and fluids as she walked past people on the floor. It leaked through her soles, but she didn't care. They couldn't stop.

Sergeant Decker opened a staircase door, and she ran in, nearly falling over the stairs. Strong arms pulled her into their chest. She glanced up. Amir.

"I nearly lost you before. Never again."

He kissed her cheek as he caressed her face.

Faisal joined them and ran up the stairs. "Hey!"

"What have you been up to?" Luna asked him.

"Keeping my sweetheart company on the rooftop as she sits patiently for everyone else," Faisal said, racing after them.

Other soldiers ran, but Amir and Sergeant Decker protected the three of them. Bullets scattered, knocking down guards.

The group was getting closer to the roof door.

Decker peeked at Luna on the roof. Cami went to her when he opened the door. After breaking the door latch, they escaped down the stairs.

"What's with the nurse's outfit?" Luna asked Cami.

"Oh. It was plan B. A security guard saw Amir scooping up clothes and stopped me from hiding and acting like a nurse to get us out the front door."

"Damn."

They followed the guys to the roof. It went straight down and looked dangerous, yet guards and staff inside couldn't get out and they had to start climbing. Darren and Vikram appeared just a few seconds after they let Cami go first.

"Be careful, Cami. I'm with Liberty and Vikram in New Orleans. We'll meet soon," Darren told her, and she nodded.

"I brought the serum, Luna," Faisal said as she paused, shocked by how big their circle has grown. "I created the antidote."

"Awesome." She had no other words.

"Everyone should talk later. If we don't hurry, they'll notice us," Sergeant Decker said.

"Okay." Luna took two steps down, her voice shaking, and Faisal and Darren left.

Amir climbed after her.

Sergeant Decker advised, "When we land, we can't take any cars from the parking lot. All have tracking devices."

"My rental doesn't," Amir said.

"Yours does."

"What?"

Sergeant Decker took a short break before continuing. "Yes. Chase ordered technicians to install tracking devices under every car's driver's door." He withdrew and continued his plan. "The fence has a hole in it. Once there, we can open it and head south. That leads to New Orleans. We'll reconvene in Crescent Park. It's a small bayou with cottages and camping. It's open all night. Four miles away."

"Four miles?" Luna inquired.

"Faisal and Amir's hotel is right up the road. There might be eyes on the hotel," he continued while they slowly climbed down.

"Decker, do you know of another hotel?" Cami pondered.

"The Frenchman's is a popular motel for out-of-towners. They rarely check IDs. You might get a room there."

They landed after a long time. Sergeant Decker pulled out a few hundred dollars from his wallet.

He placed it in Amir's hand. "This should be enough. I know you didn't bring money because they inspect everyone's belongings before letting them into the facility."

"Thank you. What's next?" Amir asked.

"Go right," Sergeant Decker said.

Luna tasted terror. She breathed and ran alongside the men to the fence. They stopped at a car sitting at the front entrance with its engine still on.

Screams from the front of the building followed. Their freedom was threatened by the huge army at their feet.

Sergeant Decker and Amir quickly shot shots to protect them. Luna saw rockets destroying Humvees and vehicles. Fireworks burst into sparks. She imagined that was probably the hospital's cover-up whenever outsiders asked about the area's loud booms.

Through the mile-long parking lot, she spotted an artillery load on a flatbed truck. "A! Decker!"

When she called him by his pet name, Amir smiled.

Both men and Cami turned to discover what she was next to. She grabbed a gun and ran, firing another shot into the chaos. She watched as soldiers who had been hit by one of their shots fall to their knees in pain. She felt like Wonder Woman, ready to escape this prison.

A dense, gray cloud reached their area from afar, and Luna lost everyone for a moment.

Her hand was quickly grabbed.

Cassie.

"I've got you," she said, holding Luna's hand.

Cassie took her to a small guard post, where the others clung to it. Dr. Kim was visible and blasts were heard near the front gate.

"Find them! Nobody leaves!" he walked around and yelled. "Anyone who lets these patients run away will be fired!"

Whoa. Dr. Kim was adamant that no one escaped his institution. Luna shuddered, realizing everyone was his hostage.

A guard emerged from the thick mist in front of the group. "Hey! Found them!" he hollered.

Luna raised her gun and said, "Believe me. You don't want to do that."

She shot him on the soles of his feet after he ran. He dropped.

Her ears rang and she felt sharp stomach pain. With Amir on her side, he caught her before she slid into the muddy ground. She realized she was tranquilized, not gunned down.

Luna cuddled and rested her head on Amir's shoulder. He clutched her. "What . . ." Her thoughts were incoherent, and she couldn't keep her eyes open. "We have to go, Amir."

"That's what I'm doing, Moon."

When Chase exited out of a door with Matthew and more guards, they all searched the yard. His dirty face and blond hair were stuck everywhere. He ordered a soldier to put Matthew in the back of a huge pickup truck.

Fireworks were still going off.

The children inside cheered and the other patients stood in wonder by the windows. Two nights of fireworks for them. Dr. Kim was doing his hardest to keep the escapees captive during the madness.

"Sergeant Trent, they're in the yard and parking lot!" Dr. Kim shouted beside his guard. "Find them!"

"Dr. Kim," Chase said, walking by. "If we don't find Luna, we're screwed."

Damn, right you are.

"Mr. Marquette, I know. One of the staff helped Cami and Luna."

"Get them now, or else, you'll pay!" Chase yelled, walking away.

"They are such assholes," said Cami next to Luna while they hid.

Amir turned around and saw a truck with its floodlights on. Luna stared as he grinned. "I know what we can do," he winked.

As they trekked across the lot, Amir set her down and held her waist. He stopped behind an SUV.

Sergeant Trent ran toward them as they were about to leap into the truck with the keys in the ignition. "Stop! Whatever you're about to do won't work. You can't leave!"

Luna had to muster all her strength to walk over to him and aim her gun at his forehead before pulling the trigger. "Don't. I have a husband and kids. Please."

Sergeant Decker walked around her and raised his weapon at him. "Brother, I've been waiting for this."

Trent flinched and squinted. Sergeant Decker then tasered Trent's family jewels, knocking him down.

"We have to go now!" he yelled, ushering the four of them into the truck.

As Sergeant Decker put the car in drive, he sped off. Luna watched as he smashed into the front gate and sped down an empty road faster than light before she slipped away into oblivion.

One thing was for certain.

They were out.

They were finally out.

━━━─── • ───━━━