ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ Tethered ﮩ٨ـﮩﮩ٨ـ

Chapter 5

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• Luna •

It had been two days since Luna and Sam had their fight. She'd only known that because Nurse Evans had attended to her one evening, and the information was eked out.

When she stepped out of her cell, two guards were standing near the door. Greer was one of them. His familiar face didn't make her feel better, but he and the other guy were just doing their jobs.

Sam came up behind them.

She sighed, wishing he'd leave her alone, especially after what he'd said.

"What's with the frown, Luna?"

She didn't look at him and kept her gaze forward.

"You can't . . . speak?"

"I have nothing to say to liars."

As the guards shuttled Sam and Luna to the elevator, she craned her neck, trying to get a sense of her surroundings. There were several doors like hers, and it looked exactly like the hallway at St. Matthew's. She was startled when a heavy hand landed on the small of her back.

It was Greer.

He gave her an unrecognizable glance, and then she was in the elevator, wedged between him and Sam. She couldn't even lift her hand to brush away the damp, cold hair clinging to the back of her neck without bumping into them.

The guard leaned forward and pressed a button she couldn't see due to his muscular frame. She took a deep breath as she realized she had no idea how many levels this place had.

Sam looked at her as if he was reading her mind. "We're on the sixth floor and on our way to the third. Floors four and five house . . . well, new arrivals."

She questioned why he was telling her anything at all. The layout had to contain essential information. It was as if he trusted her with it. "You mean the victims?"

The other guard stiffened next to her.

Sam didn't care. "People with valuable skills are housed on the fourth floor. They will not be executed."

People's abilities were most likely opening up everywhere after the Trojans were activated. There was no way of knowing how many Tethered Souls there were in the entire facility. She'd imagined about five hundred.

And underground? She detested the thought of being underground. It felt too much like death and mourning.

The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. She smelled food right away—fresh bread and meat. Her stomach grumbled like an ogre.

Sam chuckled. "Luna is still Luna. Your stomach knows no bounds."

Her cheeks blazed. It was reassuring to know her appetite and humiliation remained intact.

"Do you want to eat now or after your exam?" Greer asked. It was the first time she had been asked what she wanted, and her emotions surged.

She paused. "I . . . I can eat now."

As the group stepped out into the wide, brightly lit hallway, he smiled and nodded and she looked away. She had no idea what day it was or how long she'd been asleep. She hadn't been hungry until she smelled food.

"You're meeting with Dr. Reynolds today," Sam said, glancing to the left.

"Yay. I can't wait."

The hand on her shoulder tightened, and despite her urge to swat it away, she remained still. Greer appeared to know how to break someone's neck in three seconds flat. Sam shifted his eyes from the guard's hand to the man's face.

"Mrs. Khan is about to eat," Greer said.

Sam complained. "But the doctor is waiting. So is—"

"It won't take long." Greer shifted next to her while glancing over his shoulder.

"Yeah," Sam scoffed. "I'll let him know."

Greer guided Luna to the left. It was only then that she realized the other soldier had joined Sam. She exhaled a sigh of relief. As they started moving forward, everything spun for a brief moment. He walked in the same manner as Amir, with tall, quick strides. She struggled to keep up while attempting to take in every detail of her surroundings. Which wasn't much. Everything was white, and the lighting system was strong. Both sides of the endless passageway were lined with identical doors. Behind closed doors, the faint hum of conversation was barely audible.

Four rows of clean square tables were spaced apart. The majority of the seats in front were taken. He ushered her to the first available table and forced her into a seat. She glared at him, not a fan of being treated poorly.

"Don't move," he said before spinning on his heel.

Luna watched him walk toward the front, where a small crowd was forming.

She could still make a break for it and risk going to her husband, but the idea made her skin crawl. Her heart sank as she looked around the room. The small nozzles of misery were lined along the ceiling, and the cameras weren't hidden. Someone was probably keeping tabs on her right now.

Staff in lab coats and body armor milled around, none of them giving her more than a simple glance. She sat up straight, wondering how often they saw the person who had revealed their secret sitting right there among them.

Most likely more than she cared to know.

We're here to prevent them from doing more damage to the world.

Luna sucked in a breath as Sam's words returned to her. Was that the point of this? The Defectives BARDA helped damage was out to conquer the world? Her thoughts raced, torn between wanting to figure out what he meant and not believing anything he said.

Greer came back holding a small carton of milk and a plate with fried eggs and hash browns. He quietly placed them in front of her before pulling out a plastic fork.

Taking a seat next to her, she was focused on the plate. As she slowly extended her hand toward the fork, a lump formed in her throat. In a flash, she remembered what Ethan had said about his time spent at these facilities, including how everything had been chemically coated. She had no idea what to believe anymore, but the fork looked safe.

"It's all right," Greer said.

Her fingers wrapped around the fork, and she breathed a sigh of relief when nothing hurt. "Did you read my mind?"

"Not particularly, no." He swallowed and cleared his throat. "I know Ethan explained how things work here, so your expression told me what you were thinking."

"Oh." She cracked a small smile. "Thank you."

Luna ate quietly. The whole thing was painfully awkward. The guard didn't say anything, and he never took his eyes away from her, as if he was waiting for her to do something crazy. His stare was drawn to her left cheek at one point, and she wasn't sure what he was looking at.

When she was finished, the plate and utensil were left on the table, and staff members rushed over to retrieve them. Greer's hand rested on her shoulder once more, and they walked in silence. This hall was slightly more crowded than the others. They stopped outside of a steel door. He opened it without knocking and motioned her inside.

Another medical room.

White walls. Counters. Cabinets. Trays containing medical instruments. A bed with . . . stirrups.

Her stomach dropped when she noticed a familiar face standing beside the bed, the woman's dark hair pinned neatly into a bun.

Alisha Bankole's black eyes bored into hers, her lips tipped up into a tight grin. "It's good to see you again, Luna."

Luna backed away, shaking her head. Her heart raced as she shifted her focus from Dr. Reynolds to Sam, who was sitting in a plastic chair.

Greer's grip tightened, and he stopped her just as she was about to walk out the door. "Stop," he said quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. "Remember the nozzles."

Luna's head jerked toward him, and her eyes locked with his yellow ones. "I don't want this."

He didn't even flinch. "You'll comply if you want to see Amir again. Otherwise, you'll be executed right now."

"They . . . they care about him." That was a statement rather than a question.

"Amir came from pure souls, and you were created by them. That's what they're getting rid of."

As his words sank in, tears streamed down her cheeks. Luna looked at the doctor, then at Alisha. The latter avoided her gaze, a muscle in her temple twitching. It all hit her like a ton of bricks. She had no idea what she was thinking until that point. That she still had some control over what happened to her and around her.

Dr. Reynolds raised his head and waved. "Good morning, Luna. How did you sleep?"

She wanted to laugh, but her voice croaked. "I slept all right. Thought of my . . . husband last night."

Greer chuckled, Sam wrinkled his nose, and Alisha pursed her lips, clearly ready to move forward with their plans. Luna stood tall and stared at the doctor.

"That's what happens when you keep a happily married couple away from one another," she snarled.

"You'll get to be with Amir soon." Dr. Reynolds took a step to the side and motioned her toward the bed. "But we have to finish your exam first."

Her chest felt pinched, and her hands at her sides opened and closed. She'd never had a nervous breakdown before, but she was convinced she was on the verge of one. "I don't want anyone else in here." The words came out quickly and raspily.

Sam rolled his eyes as he looked around. "I may not be in the room, but at least the cameras are."

Luna wanted to kick him as he brushed by, but Greer was there. She turned to face him, her eyes bulging out of her head.

"No," Greer said as she moved to stand in front of the door. "I can't leave."

"Your guard has to stay, Luna," Alisha said as she approached. "You must be examined."

The doctor handed her a hideous hospital gown and directed her to a curtain. "You can change behind there."

Luna walked behind the curtain in a daze. Her fingers fumbled through her clothes, followed by the gown. Her body was hot and cold as she stepped out from behind the cover, her legs weak while she walked forward. Her arms shook when she hoisted herself onto the padded table. She couldn't look up because she was clutching the gown's ties.

"I'm going to draw some blood," the doctor explained.

She was either hyperaware or completely detached from everything that happened after that. She felt the sharpness of the needle as it slid into her vein to her toes, then by the gentle tug of a tube being replaced atop the syringe.

Alisha was finished after she gave her a thorough exam and took samples from her cervical area. Luna was back in her clothes a few moments later. She sat on the bed, her gaze fixed on the white sneakers that the doctor had given her. They were a perfect fit.

"Your lab results should be available by the end of the day. It's just a formality to see if there's anything wrong," the doctor explained. "We study everything."

"Why?"

"We do this to every female, Mrs. Khan," Alisha explained. "By the way, you're not pregnant."

Luna snorted. She knew she wasn't pregnant and almost laughed at Alisha's news, but she was too sick to do anything other than breathe.

Greer stepped forward and led her out of the room after they finished talking to her. He'd stayed quiet the entire time. She shrugged off his hand on her shoulder, refusing to be touched by anyone.

When the door shut behind them, Sam was leaning against the wall, his eyes opening. "Let's get this show on the road."

Luna kept her lips sealed because if she opened her mouth to say anything, she'd hurt him. And she didn't need to. Not while they were on their way to another room. They came to a halt, and when the guard typed in a code, the doors slid open.

In the room were Major Thibeau and another soldier. The major smiled tightly as he turned to face them. Something was off about his expression. The look of desperation in his intense gaze frightened her.

"Hello, Luna," he said. "I'm delighted you're here."

"Oh, jolly."

Two men dressed in lab coats sat in front of a wall of monitors. The rooms on the screen appeared to be padded. Her fingers were numb from clenching so tightly.

"We can start any minute," one of the men said.

"What's going on?" Luna's voice broke halfway through the question.

Greer took up his position as guardian by the door, while Sam's expression was blank.

"We have a special exam for you," Major Thibeau said, moving to the side of the two men. "You will be able to use your abilities inside this controlled room. We know from previous studies that Origins has some control, but we don't know how much you can do. We're excited to see what happens during this round of testing."

She shook her head. "I won't hurt anybody."

"We still need to double-check. Chase's coma is a prime example."

Her stomach churned with worry. "I don't understand. What will this test prove?"

"Luna. You're a fighter, and after you defeat the patient we've assigned to you, this test will tell us everything we need to know. We'll see how strong you truly are," the major clarified.

A small door to the training room opened after one of the men at the monitors pressed a button. Greer wouldn't let her go until she was inside the training room. Then he did.

Her eyes lit up as she spun around while he moved back toward the door. She started to beg him not to leave her, however he quickly averted his eyes. He then walked away, closing the door behind him.

She darted her eyes around the room, her heart pounding. It was about fifteen feet by fifteen, with a cement floor and another door on the other side. The walls were not padded. Nope. They were solid. The walls were white with red scuff marks. Was that blood?

Oh, no.

Fear faded as awareness rose. The surge of power was little at first, like the tips of somebody's fingers trailing down her arms, but it grew quickly, reaching her core.

It was like taking a first breath of fresh air. Numbness and exhaustion dwindled, replaced by a low sensation of energy in the back of her skull, thrumming through her veins and filling the void in her heart.

Her eyes drifted shut, and she visualized Amir. Not because she could actually see him, but because the sensation reminded her of him. She imagined herself in Amir's embrace as her energy wrapped itself around her body.

Major Thibeau's voice filled the room as the intercom clicked overhead, causing her head to jerk upwards. "Ten seconds."

She didn't want to talk to the moron, but she needed to get this fight out of her system. "For what?"

"Until the door opens."

Her stomach dropped as she stared straight ahead.

A loud thumping noise reverberated through the room before his words could sink in. She whirled around.

The other door was sliding open, inch by inch, across from her. The first thing she noticed was a pair of white sweatpants similar to her own, followed by a black shirt covering broad hips. Her eyes crept up, and she let out a surprised gasp.

Standing in front of her was a man she had grown to know and regarded as a brother. Someone she could trust her life with. His jet black hair was short and spiky, and his brown skin had a few cuts and bruises.

When she noticed his eyes, her heart nearly exploded out of her chest. They were no longer a deep brown color. They were now bright red.

"Faisal?" she whispered, staring at him. "You're a Defective?"

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Dun . . . Dun . . . Duuun . . . Plot Twist #1000 has arrived! More twists to come!