∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 45

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• Luna •

Luna's muscles spasmed uncontrollably as waves of agony washed over her. She could hear panicked voices from a distance, and she tried to understand what they were saying. Nothing made sense except the deep, slicing pain from Hisyl fragments shooting out of another set of nozzles.

Her anguish increased as strong hands gripped her arms. Her mouth opened and she let out a hoarse gasp. She was then lifted and pressed against something warm and solid, and then she recognized the scent of pine. 

Amir.

Then they took off running.

The wind howled and roared into her ears because they were moving so fast. Her eyes were open, but everything was dark as her skin was flayed open with tiny blades.

She thought she heard Cami and Dominique's shocked cries when they slowed down, and then someone said lake. They were on the run once more, and Luna had no idea where Faisal was or if anyone had grabbed him on the other side of the door.

All she could feel was the pain coursing through her body, her pulse racing and her heart pounding.

It felt like days before they stopped again, but she knew it had to be minutes. Her body was, then, surrounded by damp, cold air that smelled like sewage.

"Please, hold on." Amir's voice was harsh. "You'll be cold, but the shards are all over your clothes and hair. Don't leave me."

Don't leave. Don't leave. Stay alive for me, Moon. Don't go.

She couldn't respond, and she reasoned that if it was all over her, it had to be all over him. It had to be on him the entire two-mile journey from the facility to Lake Ramsey. She figured he must be in pain, but he was taking care of her.

After moving forward and sliding a few feet down, Amir prayed softly. The shock of icy water hit her legs moments later, and despite the pain, she scrambled to his body to escape, but he kept going out farther, and the ice hit her waist.

"Please, stay with me," Amir begged. "You can't leave me and Sarah. I won't let you die."

Then they went under, and her breath was stolen once more. The sediment in the musty water was stirred up by her vigorous shaking, and her hair floated around her face, nearly blinding her. But the Hisyl's fire . . . It was diminishing.

Arms tightened around her before being propelled upward. As her head broke the surface, she drew in lungfuls of air. Stars cartwheeled and blurred as he lifted them from the water to the surface.

Water splashed a few feet away, and as her vision cleared, Owen and Vikram dragged Faisal out of the water, laying him on the ground. Ethan sat down next to him, running his hands through his soaked hair, and narrowing his eyes.

Luna's heart sank. Did Faisal...?

Faisal threw an arm across his face and bent one leg. "Damn."

Her knees buckled under the weight of relief. Amir placed his hands on her cheeks and turned her face to his. Dark eyes pierced hers.

"Are you all right?" he muttered. "Speak, Moon, please. Tell me you're okay."

She forced her trembling lips to move. "I . . . I am."

Confounded, he shook his head and threw his arms around her, squeezing her tightly.

"I don't even know . . ." As he twisted away from the group, he cupped the back of her head and lowered his voice. "I was afraid you were going to die, Moon."

"I didn't." Her voice had been muffled. "But you . . . You could have—"

"Nothing is on me. I didn't breathe in the chemicals that came out, and I wasn't hit by the particles." He was shaken. "You could've died in my arms, Luna. You almost . . ."

She remained silent as he squeezed her again, patting her down as if checking to make sure she still had all of her body parts. He moved forward and kissed her closed eyelids, and she almost cried because his body was trembling so badly.

There's no way I'm preparing for your funeral, Moon. Not now.

She turned to face him and cupped his jaw. "I told you . . . Not tonight. I'm not dying on this raid."

Four sets of headlights bounced on them, followed by a flood of voices and questions. Dominique was the first to arrive. She knelt beside Owen and grabbed his hand.

"What happened?" she demanded. "Tell us what happened!"

Curiosity and worry filled the faces of Connor, Zoe, and Cami. Vikram raised his voice. "I have no idea. When the doors opened, they had something come out. It was some sort of gas, but there was no smell to it, and we couldn't see it. Then some tiny particles touched everyone's skin."

"It was like a hundred bees stinging your body." Owen stood up and rubbed his arms. "There is just one other chemical that has that sensation. Hisyl."

"Oh my God," Cami uttered, rushing toward Faisal.

"I saw the name of them," Luna said, lightly coughing. "Hisyl and Chemnisol."

"Damn. They have them in every facility now," Connor said. "Fuck. This is bad."

"I've never seen them develop like that before," Owen continued, slowly climbing to his feet with Zoe and Dominique's help. "I tried to hold my breath and I couldn't. I think I swallowed some of the Hisyl stuff."

"Are you two okay?" Vikram asked, glancing at Luna and Amir.

They both nodded. Her skin ached and her chest felt suffocated, but the worst of it had passed. "How did you know to get us to the lake, Amir?"

He brushed his wet strands off his brow. "I'm not sure. I just guessed and thought it might help us. Get it off our clothes and stuff."

"Good thinking," Connor said. "Damn . . ."

"We didn't even make it past the first set of doors." Owen laughed. "What were we thinking? They have that place wired against anyone who is a Tethered Soul. They even have it wired against Origins. Just perfect."

"But not Pure Souls," murmured Vikram. "Amir isn't affected."

"That doesn't mean anything," Connor said. "They'll have something designed for him, too. They have staff working around the clock developing things like this."

Dominique shifted her frame. "Amir is still a Tethered Soul."

"True, but he's pure," Connor explained. "His parents are tethered and had him before their powers awakened."

"So, what are you all trying to say?" asked Cami, who was holding Faisal's hand and stroking his hair. "Only Amir can get through the security systems?"

Meeting the group's stare, Connor shook his head. "No. It just means that he won't be affected as quickly as everyone else. He'll feel the effects of tonight in a few hours or so."

Amir groaned against Luna's cheek, holding her close. "As long as she's okay, I'll take it."

"What are we going to do?" Zoe wondered. "We have people in there. What about going through the ceiling the next time?"

"How would we do that, Zoe?" Owen muttered. "If the doors are guarded, I'm sure the sky windows are as well. We're screwed."

"No! No way!" Dominique screamed. "My brothers, niece and nephew, are being held against their will. We've got to do something."

Amir untangled his arms from Luna and stalked over to where the others were standing. He stopped behind Ethan. "You've been in that building before, right?"

Ethan rose slowly, but stumbled. In the silvery moonlight, his cheeks were pale. "Yeah, but—"

Faisal and Amir swung like two cobras. Their fist smashed into Ethan's face. He stumbled backward and fell, landing on his thigh. Leaning over, he spit blood out of his mouth. "I didn't realize they had anything like that!"

"I find that difficult to believe." Faisal followed Ethan's every move.

Ethan cocked his chin. "You must believe me! This has never happened before! I didn't know!"

"Bullshit!" Owen exclaimed. "You orchestrated this. You already knew. You had to have suspected."

"No. No way." Ethan faced the calm water. He rubbed his hand over his jaw. "Why would I do that? My family—"

"You're lying!" Owen screamed. "You were in there! How could you have missed the fact that they had the doors rigged with that stuff?"

Ethan shifted his gaze to Luna. "You must believe me. I didn't expect this to happen. I wouldn't put any of us in danger. I swear."

"Why are you talking to my wife like you're friends?" Amir demanded, yanking his collar.

"She and I have an understanding," Ethan replied. "I didn't know anything."

Luna looked at the sky, unsure what to believe. It seemed stupid for Ethan to set them up, and if he had, wouldn't the organization have surrounded everyone by now? Something wasn't quite right. "What about Titus? Did he know about them?"

"If he did, he would have told us. I promise—"

"Don't," Amir warned, his voice low enough to catch everyone's attention. "Do not come near my wife. Don't say anything right now."

Nothing came out of Ethan's mouth. As he returned to the cars, he shook his head.

After a brief silence, Faisal asked, "How are we going to get in there?"

"I have no idea." As Amir watched his cousin pace, half of his face was bathed in moonlight. "This was a disaster."

Dominique got up. "I'm so mad. This sucks balls."

"We're right back where we started," Owen uttered. "Hell, we're at zero."

"Could they have known we were coming?" Vikram asked, and Dominique shook her head.

"No. Every facility has extra defenses in place, but they are all different. We're up against a well-defended organization with the necessary resources. And tonight just proved why there weren't many employees on hand. Their defenses were up without the need for human security, and it will take an army of us to get through them the next time."

"A tethered army," Amir whispered, meeting their stare.

Faisal headed toward his cousin. "We're not giving up. Tell me you won't give up, please."

"We're not going to." Amir was quick to reassure him. "We'll try again."

Luna didn't even notice she was trembling until Connor covered her shoulders with something heavy. He looked into her eyes before glancing at the headlights. "I always keep a blanket around."

She huddled under the cover, her teeth chattering. "Thank you."

He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded. "Let's get you inside the heated car. We're through for the evening."

He steered her toward the truck, and while the welcome blast of heat felt great, there was nothing to celebrate. The disappointment grew. They weren't just done for the night unless they figured out a way around the facility's defense mechanisms.

They were going around the drain. They were finished, end of the story.

• • •

The ride home, in Dom's words, sucked balls. Both vehicles passed through the gate around one o'clock in the morning. Ethan was quiet as he exited the truck and walked toward his house. He glanced back at Luna once, limping. She knew he was in pain, but she couldn't do anything to help him.

She started toward her and Amir's house, but he stopped her before she walked away. "We'll head home in a second. Let's find out where Faisal and they are staying."

She nodded, realizing they didn't have much time earlier to check out where their group was set up. She was weary and desperately wanted to sleep.

Still wrapped in Connor's blanket, she strolled with him as they walked together toward the SUV and saw everyone slide out. Her skin was so cold beneath her damp clothes that she was numb. Exhausted, her legs shook to keep her upright, but everyone was talking. Owen was trying to keep Dominique calm, but it wasn't working. The group was high on rage and adrenaline, but there was no going back tonight. Not if they wanted to live to see the next day.

"Amir, what are you two about to do?" Vikram asked.

He let out a breath. "I was wondering about you guys."

"Oh, there's a house around the corner there," Zoe said as she stalked forward. "We haven't had time to settle you three in yet. Sorry." She hissed quietly.

"No, that's fine. I just want to take a shower and change my clothes," Cami responded, looking at Faisal. "I'm sure you'd like to get out of those drenched clothes, too."

He shrugged. "I'm good."

"All right, so do you and your husband want to stay in the two-bedroom apartment we have near the mansion?"

Cami and Faisal laughed and shook their heads.

"We're not married," he clarified. "Yet."

Cami smiled as they held hands.

Meeting Zoe's stare, Faisal added, "But we can stay in the same place. It's no problem. There are two beds, right?"

Zoe nodded. "Yeah, and a couch."

"Well, I don't mind the couch," Vikram said. "I'm just tired, missing India and Liberty."

"She'll be here soon," Cami told him. She moved forward and hugged Luna's neck. "I'm so glad both of you are okay. We cannot afford to lose you."

"None of us can," Faisal added.

Owen walked toward the group and began passing out several bags containing hot food and bottles of water to each person. "Sorry, guys, but General Davenport informed me that we are running low on water, so we are limiting them. We'll get more tomorrow."

Luna cleared her throat. "Thank you. I think we're all just tired."

"I am, too, but I have my own Trojan back there to deal with."

Owen cast his gaze toward the vehicles, and Luna's eyes caught sight of Dominique being apprehended by the guards. Her chest ached as she was handcuffed and screaming about going back to Ramsey. Luna understood how she felt.

"Yup. Welcome to my night."

"I'm sorry, man," Amir said. "I want to go back, too."

"And we will," Owen replied, "but we will plan it better next time. Anyway, why don't you guys go ahead to your homes and we'll regroup after sunrise?"

Luna said her goodnights to everyone, and they all nodded.

Once she and Amir were inside their house, she exhaled a deep breath and stood next to the wall with a lamp in her hand.

"Let's get you washed up and into some dry clothes," he whispered, taking her hand in his.

He went to pick her up in the hallway, but she waved him away. "I can walk."

He made a disgruntled bear-like sound in the back of his throat, but he followed her slow pace. He shut the door after they entered their room, and his pores glistened with determination.

She groaned. Tonight had been a disaster. "I'm a little upset with myself."

He crept over to her, catching the blanket's edges and yanking it off. He then grabbed her borrowed clothes. "Why?"

It seemed obvious to her. "We're a group of superhumans who could have done something different. Vikram can start fires with his mind, and I can freeze time. And wait—" The wet sweater reached halfway up her tummy. Her cold fingers wrapped around his shoulders. "What are you doing?"

"I'm stripping you naked to give you a bath."

Her mouth opened at the same time as her heart flipped. Her veins were filled with a heady warmth. "Uh, wow. Way to show a girl a good time."

In the dim light, a lopsided grin teased his lips. "Your shirt and pants are wet and freezing. And there are probably still traces of chemicals on them. They need to be off of you."

She pushed his hands off of her. "I can do it. I'm a big girl."

Amir leaned in, whispering into her ear. "Don't you want someone to help you? I do have two hands, ones that know what they're doing." He let go and then went to the dresser. "Did you want us to use our abilities?"

She peeled off her clothes as soon as he turned his back. Except for the cold piece of his hair string wrapped around her finger, everything was ruined and had to be removed. The clothes reeked of rotten eggs and murky lake water. She shivered as she folded her arms across her chest. "Please wait to turn around."

Rummaging around for something to wear, his shoulders shook with silent laughter.

"I know it would've been impossible to use our abilities, but maybe not," she answered. "I just think we could have done more."

"You know, everything was fine until we hit those doors." He took a shirt from the closet. "I hate to say it, but I don't think Ethan was aware of the chemicals. The look on his face when you and Faisal went down was too real."

"So, why did you fight him?"

"Because I was full of anger." Amir turned around and offered her a shirt, his eyes closed. "Here you go. I'm not going to look because you didn't want me to."

She chuckled and grabbed it quickly, then threw it on the bed. Her body was covered in gunk and seaweed, and she was embarrassed by it. She'd rather be clean the next time he saw her naked.

When she looked up, she noticed his fingers were split over his eyes. "You were sneaking a peek, mister."

"Ooh. New nickname alert."

Biting her lip, she wrapped the sheet around her body.

He took her hand in his and brought her to the bed. "Sit. I'm going to take care of the bathroom and then I'll be back."

She didn't want to get into a tub of ice-cold water after swimming in a filthy lake, but clean water was preferable to no water. Besides, lying naked in bed together later would be more comfortable.

She sat against the headboard, back on the pillows, waiting for him. The sheets smelled like fresh linen and Amir. He wasn't gone long, but her lids fluttered shut. The chemicals had sapped the majority of her energy, as they were intended. Everyone had been extremely fortunate to escape before things had gotten severely out of hand.

They could've been caught, and life for them would be difficult right now.

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