∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 28

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• Liberty •

"What do you mean we are surrounded?" Maria asked, suddenly on her feet.

Max turned to her just as Colin stepped into the cabin. "That means they're coming in here whether we like it or not. There's no other way to run without them seeing us."

"No." Liberty was determined to flee with Sarah. "Maybe we can create a distraction."

She could tell nobody was on board with that idea, considering Max was prowling the length of the living room like a caged animal. She wasn't afraid for herself, but for her niece and the innocent people in the cabin with her. They didn't deserve to be hauled off and have God knows what done to them, because she saw what the inside of St. Matthew's was like.

And it wasn't pretty.

"Can anyone fight them?" she asked.

Max passed her a steely look, and then Vikram glanced at her, his eyes wide and palms sweaty.

"We're not as fast and vigorous as other Tethered Souls," her fiancé said, "but we're able to do major damage to anyone who gets in our way."

Her stomach dropped. Doing major damage wasn't enough. She needed to do something now. What if the agents came crashing in through the windows and smashed into the doors just to get Sarah? Max stopped in front of the window, his shoulders squared. Then it hit her all at once. There was no escaping from them outside. She'd seen two of them aiming their weapons at the front, and she couldn't just do nothing. She may not have any superhuman abilities, but she knew how to do one thing. Run.

Four years of running for her high school track team had given her the endurance and drive to push her through any situation she encountered. Now was a time for her to test her capabilities.

"Can they see us inside the house?"

Max paused. "They have the proper instruments to do so. I can't tell if they have anything with them from here."

"What about the woods?"

There was another pause. "Liberty, I don't know. They probably have something on them. I doubt they'd be out there without anything that could seriously harm us."

"Damn." She groaned and slowly backed away into the hallway toward the room Sarah and her parents were in. The rest of them were huddled in a circle in the middle of the room, so she had a moment to formulate a plan.

Rushing into the bedroom, she quickly locked the door behind her and stared straight into her parent's eyes. Her niece kept her gaze on the Yo-Yo she was playing with.

"Mom . . . Dad."

"Honey, what is it?" Lawrence asked.

"I have an idea, Dad." Liberty stepped forward, almost knocking over a stack of DVDs. "It's kind of crazy, but I think it could work. It'll help us during this stand-off."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "Darling, what's going on?"

Liberty took a peek at Sarah, who was still playing with her toy. "Our cabin is surrounded by agents, and if I can climb out of this window, I can cause a distraction."

"Absolutely not, Lib," her father said. "We're not losing you, too."

"You won't lose me, Daddy," she pleaded, holding her parent's hands. "I know what I'm doing."

"Are you crazy?" her mother remarked as she glanced at Sarah. "The others will figure something out. We have to be patient."

"We don't have time," Liberty replied, biting her lip. "Somebody has to do something now."

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, and she cracked it open. Cami and Cassie stood still and then entered the room.

"Great. Both of you are here," she said, staring at them. "I need your help."

"If it involves running outside, you're crazy," Cassie said. "We just saw what they had in their hands."

"Which is?" Elizabeth asked.

"Rifles and machine guns," Cami explained.

Turning around to face her parents, Liberty argued, "See?"

Cami inhaled. "What do you have in mind?"

"If one of you can help me climb through the window, I can take the Impala. They will hear me backing away and go after me down the road." Liberty took a breath. "While I'm driving away, all of you can hop into the Tahoe. Y'all could go the opposite way and they won't find you guys."

Nobody said anything for two whole heartbeats until Cassie spoke up.

"You'll get yourself caught," she said. "Is that what you want to do?"

"We don't have any other options," Liberty replied. "Look, it's better than sitting here and waiting for them to come crashing through the windows. Or them releasing something lethal in our air vents. What then? It'll be better if I pull them away from here while y'all make a run for it."

"No," Cami argued. "We can fight them."

"I'm not like you guys. Neither are my parents," she explained, her lips trembling. "I don't have powers, and truth be told, they could be useful right about now." She looked at both women, two people she became close with for the past few months. "The agents need to be lured away from here. The best plan is to drive away until I'm out of Garland."

"Liberty — " Lawrence began, but she cut him off.

"I'm not taking no for an answer! I just need you guys to watch over Sarah while I run." She moved to the door and tiptoed to the kitchen counter, then grabbed the keys to the car. Spotting Max's cell phone, she swiped it and put it into her back pocket. "I got a phone on me in case anything goes wrong," she said, sliding through the doorway. "So, can I count on everyone for your help?"

She stood there and waited for a moment, the muffled sounds of chatter coming from the front room.

"This is insane," Cami said, stepping forward. "But I'll cover for you."

"Thanks."

"And I'll go with you, Libby," said Elizabeth. "I want to make sure my daughter is safe."

"I love you, Mom."

"How are you going to do this?" Cassie asked.

"Um," Liberty murmured and glanced around the room. "We'll climb out of the window that's connected to the garage. The door is open."

"Okay," Elizabeth said and both of them stepped toward Sarah.

Liberty bent and hugged her close, then whispered, "I'll see you soon, Little Angel. Be safe."

Sarah looked up and nodded. "I love you, Auntie Lib and Mammaw. "

Straightening, Liberty turned toward her father and hugged him. She then walked to the window, pulling it up.

Liberty stepped out first, followed by her mother.

"Ready?"

"I suppose so," Elizabeth said.

Taking a deep breath, both of them ambled to the car and slid into the front seats. Looking at Cassie and Cami, she murmured, "Once we're down the road, let the house know we've left."

Cassie nodded, and she kept her eye out for movement from the backyard. "Okay. Be careful!"

"You, too!"

Sitting behind the driver's seat, Liberty stayed still, calming her nerves. This was absolutely insane — the craziest thing she'd ever done. Worse than burning the cheese sandwich she made earlier, scarier than going to a job interview, and more stupid than trying to get Luna and Amir out of St. Matthew's. But this was all she could do.

What am I doing?

Her hands shook as she shoved the key into the ignition and gradually backed out of the garage, and rolled onto the dirt road, narrowly missing the Dodge Durango. Coming onto the highway, she honked her horn and hit the gas, squealing out on the pavement. She was clenching the steering wheel like she was on an amusement ride at the fair, and she drove as if she was auditioning for NASCAR. Both of them kept glancing in the back as she flew on the highway, expecting agents to come after her. But each time she checked, they were nowhere to be seen.

Maybe this plan hadn't worked?

Her mind whirled when she thought about everyone at the cabin. What if the agents rushed into the house and grabbed everyone? Then this little escapade was all for nothing. Her heart leaped into her throat. She should've listened to them. They must've known her plan was going to fail. Her foot faltered on the gas pedal and she began losing control of the wheel.

"Liberty!" Elizabeth yelled. "Honey, you're going to get us killed if you don't pull over!"

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, tears pooling in her sockets. Then, the cell phone rang from her back pocket. Reaching for it, she glanced at it. Unknown caller? She wanted to ignore it, but maybe it was important. "Hello?"

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" Vikram screamed into the phone. "I can't believe you left, and —"

"Vikram, stop!" she screeched. The tires swerved into the other lane. "We'll be fine. Did you get Sarah out?"

"Yes, Lib. Sarah's fine. But you're not! We can't spot any agents following us, and since I was told that you took the Impala, you're almost out of gas. You're going to have to pull over soon."

After he said that, she looked at the gas meter and they had less than a quarter of a tank. "Damn!" she yelled, causing her mother to jump. Fear spiked her heart rate. "I guess we're going to have to keep going until we run out."

"I've never been more frustrated at anyone in my life." He paused, his breath heavy. "Where are you?"

She glanced out the window. "I'm near a football field. I can't see if anyone is around it."

"Of course, you can't, Lib." He sounded irritated. "They have special equipment that can cloak their bodies to everyone, even if they're not tethered. We didn't know that until a few seconds before you left."

Oh. Well. Crap.

Elizabeth stayed quiet as her daughter argued with him over the phone.

"I can't believe you ran off with your mother," he whined.

Liberty's temper snapped under the fear. "Don't do that, Vik! We needed a plan, and I wanted our niece away from them. They're after her. Not anyone else. Well, maybe me. But I am an adult and can run. Sarah is just a child. What would happen if I didn't drive off, and they crashed into the cabin? We'd all be headed to a compound underground and never heard from again. I had to do something. So stop being such a damn baby."

A huge gap of silence circulated the air, and she had worried that he hung up on her. Then, when he spoke, his voice was strained. "I'm sorry, Liberty."

His voice rippled through her soul. Her eyes shifted to her mother, and then toward the trees beside the field. She drew in a deep breath, but it got stuck. "I didn't know what else to do."

"I know, baby."

"Vikram —"

"I'm sorry, Lib. I don't want to fuss at you. I can't be like my parents. That's what they had always done since I was a little boy. Arguing."

"Baby, I know," she replied, her blurred gaze darting toward the entrance.

"Just stay on the phone with me," he said, and she put him on speaker. "We'll come find you. Max's phone still has the locator installed in it."

"Okay."

"Don't get out of the car or anything. You hear me, Mrs. Rahul?" Liberty grinned and wished he could see her after calling her by his last name. If she'd learned anything, it was that life was short. It was better to seize every moment you possibly can with the one you love. In her case, it was to marry Vikram, the person she wanted to spend eternity with. "Lib?" he said after another stretch of silence passed. "Oh, God. Did something happen?"

"No, I'm here," she whispered.

"Phew! That makes me feel so much better. What about Elizabeth?"

Her mother looked at the phone and moved her mouth close to the speaker. "I'm okay, Vikram."

"Good. Max and I aren't far away."

"Okay. We're pulled over to the back of the stadium," Liberty explained as she looked up. The moon rolled behind a cloud, turning everything pitch black. She couldn't see or hear anything, and a horrifying feeling crept up her throat. Reaching down, she grabbed the key ring and held it tightly in her hand in case she needed a weapon. "Maybe I shouldn't have done this."

Max barked a short, harsh laugh. "No shit, Sherlock."

"I wasn't thinking," Liberty said and glanced at her mother. "How much —"

A shadow moved around the back of the car, creeping silently into the dark. Tendrils of terror climbed their way up her throat, and her jaw clenched. The key in her palm was now hot. "Vik?"

"What?"

Her heart throbbed. "I love you."

"Liberty!" Vikram screeched.

The passenger side door flew open, and a scream came out of her mother. Then the automatic locks unlocked and blew the driver's door apart, the sound penetrating her skull. One second she was holding the phone and the next she was tossed against a wall. Her fingers bored into her key, ready to smash it into someone's eye. Pain radiated down her back and neck as she hid the key behind her. She lifted her eyes. Her gaze traveled over a pair of black leather pants and a leather jacket. Bleached face. A strong jaw and dark eyes stared into her.

The man smiled. "Fancy catching you here."

"Screw you!"

She glanced around for her mother and saw that she was lying on the ground behind the car, not moving.

"Tell me," the man said, lifting a strand of her hair away from her eyelid. "Where are the rest of them?"

Liberty swallowed thickly as swiveled to the side, moving back and forth like a bird. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"You're seriously going to play dumb with me, Ms. Carlyle?" He gripped her collar and yanked her forward and then slammed her down on the concrete. "You know exactly who I'm looking for."

Her chest rose and fell sharply. The key slipped out of her hand and hit the ground. Her breath caught.

"We need the little girl."

Sarah. Her entire soul shook. She opened her mouth, but she couldn't speak.

"And your group. . . Well, you all have been hiding her." While standing over her body, his form flickered in and out. "Have her come here or I will kill your mother."

Liberty shook her head, reaching for the key. "I'm not doing shit!"

He backed away, placing his hands on his hips. Launching to her feet, she let out a battle cry and lunged forward toward his waist, and swung her arms around his shoulders, aiming for his spine. The key in her hand sizzled like hot coals. Her jab never landed.

A pale hand caught her palm, a bone cracked. His sound was cold and insidious as he whispered into her ear. "You think you can take me?"

He twisted. Liberty heard the CRACK before she felt the pain and her fingers twitched. The key slipped through her fingers and hit the ground. But before she could pick it back up, he kicked it toward the sewer, causing it to fall down the drain. She hollered as a wave of pain rolled through her. "That's for lying to me."

His hand circled her neck and lifted her off the ground. "And this is because you aren't as strong as me."

He threw her back into the field. She hit the grass hard and slid several feet beyond the fifty-yard line. Stunned, she stared up at the pitch-black sky.

"Once again, where is the child?"

Gasping for air, she rolled onto her feet and took off toward the high school. She ran. Holding her hand protectively against her chest, she ran as quickly as she could, her flip-flops slapping against the concrete. She didn't look back. She couldn't. But she hoped her mother was okay. The man came out of nowhere and moved in front of her like a blur. She skidded to a stop, bumping into his chest. Grasping her shoulders, he knocked her back and caused the back of her head to hit the pavement.

"You think you can outrun me?" A cruel smile formed on his pale lips. "Are you playing with me? A Defective? If so, you must be some kind of ignorant bitch."

She scrambled to her feet and darted across the grassy knoll as she gulped in every ragged breath she could. But before she could reach the end, he slid right in front of her once again. He lashed out, not wasting any time. The horror made it difficult for her to maintain control, and she was out of time. She was desperate to find a place to hide.

Bringing her up to his face, he threw his fist back and punched her stomach. She fell back a few inches away from his feet. "Have you had enough yet?" The man abruptly pulled her head back by her hair, and a sharp pain shot down her neck. "I guess not." He stopped and took a look at the car. "I'm sure I can get your mother to tell me what I want to know."

She pushed her skinned hand to the ground, panting. "Stop!"

His booted feet jerked around and slammed directly into her face. She knew something broke. Maybe her nose. She wasn't breathing properly, and her neck hurt.

"Talk now, woman."

Wincing, Liberty curled up and stood straight, his eyes boring into hers.

You'll never get what you want.

Moving at the speed of light, he lunged forward and grabbed her by the throat, lifting her higher than the top of his head. He leaned in, his face inches from her cheek. "I can take your essence and drain you until your heart is no longer beating. But I won't if you tell me where Sarah Carlyle is."

Liberty wanted to be brave. She tried to stay brave and not say anything. All she knew was that no one was out there yet, and she had no choice but to stand up to this agent. Or whatever the hell he said he was. If she let them get ahold of Sarah, she'd never live with herself. She wasn't that weak, and she wasn't going to cave into his demands.

So, she said nothing. And she knew he was beginning to lose his patience with her. Rearing his palm backward, a spark of electricity crackled through his fingertips and pierced her shoulder. She yelped.

Her eyes drifted shut of their own accord, and she felt him press his hand against her sore. Scorching hot pain radiated throughout every cell in her body, and she screamed. She'd almost begged for mercy, but she couldn't. He wanted Sarah, and she couldn't give her to him.

When she opened her eyes, her breath caught in her throat.

Without any warning, a figure crashed into the man and sent her spiraling to the other side of the lot in a messy heap. With intense effort, she yanked herself up and saw the man crouched like an animal near the goal line.

Vikram growled in fury as he stood tall, like an Indian God, avenging his angel.

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