• Luna •

[ P A R T  T W O]

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Dashing out of the community, Luna peered back and checked to see if her family was still behind them. They were.

Amir reached for her seat belt and grinned. "I want to keep you safe, Moon."

"What about you?" There wasn't another seat belt on his side.

"I'll be okay."

"Are you sure?" Amir nodded.

"Did St. Matthew's ever tell you about their special serum they were formulating?" Colin asked Amir.

"I was shown a lot of things," he replied, swerving to the side when Colin hit a curve.

"Were you ever told about a certain serum that can eliminate the connection between Tethered Souls?" Colin asked as Faisal propped a foot on the dashboard. Luna hoped the airbag wouldn't deploy because her best friend was up there with him. "This serum can take out a pair's connection instantly. It's called The Elimination Serum. Chase nicknamed it 'Ellis'. A pair would be eliminated from each other, and from being a Tethered Soul altogether."

"What?" Luna's stomach ached. "Have they had any success?"

"Indeed, they have. Since we've left, my contacts have told me Dr. Kim barked orders at the lab techs to get it formulated."

Amir's eyes narrowed. "I never saw it. I saw the chemicals that were used to create the formula, but I thought nothing of it. I remember now how Chase checked on the status of the serum the first time I saw him. I didn't know what he was talking about."

"It's a new weapon they'll be using to capture our kind," Colin explained. "And it's dangerous. Not only has it eliminated a Tethered Pair, but it also ended up killing one soul in the experimental stage. It can hurt our brains, lungs, and heart. What they'll do is launch a group of tranquilizers with the E. L. S. liquid laced inside it."

Ice drenched her spine. "What happens if a soul is hit with one?"

"They'll pass out. You two will probably have nothing to worry about, considering you're a new breed of Souls they can have their fun with. But you need to understand something. If they bring these bad boys out, people can die, and we could have a catastrophic war on our hands. Tethered Souls is at war and always has been. Our powers are used as weapons. Especially for telekinetic people. They're the dangerous ones and are number one on the hospital's hit list."

Luna froze. She couldn't move, much less feel Amir's finger trailing up and down her skin. She felt paralyzed. The end was near, and many innocent people will die. Sarah's life was even more in danger.

"We can't let anything like that happen." Luna turned toward Amir. "We can't let anyone die."

"We won't." Amir's jaw clenched. "But we can't stay back there, either. We have to keep moving before we worry about anything else."

Her heart thumped as she looked at Colin. He didn't look so convinced and probably had intel on what was going on right now. She knew Amir was trying to comfort her and help calm her nerves, but guilt continued to pile on top of the terror that lies ahead. If anyone was killed . . .

"Stop," Amir whispered. "Let it go."

"How can I let it go?"

Amir didn't have an answer. The terror was like an endless wormhole, pulling her in its direction as they continued West toward Texas. Two hours later and a few souls from their group popped in the Hummer to check on them.

Cassie informed Luna that Sarah was asleep, but she needed to be changed. She had a nightmare and ended up soiling herself. So both cars pulled over to the side of a vacant highway and hid the cars behind large bushes. Luna jumped out and ran over to her daughter, then helped clean her up.

"We'll be at a new place soon. I promise," Luna said, holding her.

Sarah smiled. "How much longer?"

"A few hours. Tops." Colin walked by and winked. She giggled. Then her smile grew even wider when she saw Amir.

"Daddy!" He scooped her up into his arms as everyone went to the bathroom and grabbed some food from their ice chest.

"So, where to now?" asked Colin, gazing at Vikram as they stood in a circle with the map in his hands.

"We have to drive North towards a town called Monroe and then we'll continue on our way to Dallas." He folded the map and glanced at each of them. "My contacts there said it's secure. But we have to be there in three hours. That's when they close the entry inside."

Luna glanced at Amir and her family. "Let's go. Sarah needs to be protected."

"As do you, Luna," Lawrence said, looking at Amir and Luna. "You too, son."

Luna looked over and spotted Raul standing alone with his hands shoved into his pockets. "Hey."

"I am so sorry for this," Raul murmured. "I should have known about Chase. I should have picked up on all the signs, but my feelings for you had sometimes taken over me." Was he . . . Wait, he couldn't be admitting that he had feelings for me. Now? "I guess I saw Esther as a distraction for myself, but I fell for her. I wanted to build a life with her."

"Hey, let's not worry about what happened. It's okay that you had feelings for me, and I'm glad you cleared the air, Raul. I wished it was at a different time and better circumstance, but what happened back at the house you were brave," Luna told him. "The reverend was wrong for betraying us, and he needed to be stopped before he could do more damage. You did it for us. You did it for Sarah."

"I wished I would've explained myself sooner, but I didn't know how. Nothing would've changed. I know."

Luna softly chuckled. "Don't sound so sure. I could've left Chase a while ago. I was about to leave him until all this happened."

"Yeah, but you have Amir. And he is perfect for you and Sarah." She gave him a tiny smile.

"You're one of my best friends, Raul. I cherish it, and I'm here for you."

"Hey!" Colin yelled, whistling to the group. "Time to move. My contact said we were followed by Chase until we lost him in Alexandria."

Luna climbed into the car and sat near the window and curled against Amir's waist, trying to calm the terror running through her body. She hated being on the run. She hated going into hiding. And she hated Chase. She was disgusted with all that her ex had done and continued to do.

Her stomach flipped a few hours later as they neared the busy city at dusk, heading West. Different colored red and neon lights were flashing harshly, and their faces were pinned on the billboards up ahead, showing the headline, "Wanted: Severely Deranged Mental Patients."

Traffic had ground to a halt thirty-five miles South of Dallas, an endless stream of vehicles that looked more like a car lot than the road.

"Well, crap." Colin smacked the wheel and made the horn honk. "They must have caught us somewhere outside of Dallas."

"That's the understatement of the year," Amir murmured behind Colin's head. "We need to weave around these cars."

"Unless you have a new scientific teleportation device in your back pocket, there's no way out of this. There are some side roads I know of, but they are farther down this highway."

With shaky fingers, Luna maneuvered out of her seat belt and scooted forward until her knees pressed against the passenger seat. She glanced back and saw Vikram and her family still back there, two cars between them. "Do you see the traffic on that side? The cars aren't moving." Luna pointed to the end of an exit road. A line of cars that were set to head toward Arkansas stretched from there to an exit sign. "No one is going anywhere."

"Let's not panic," Colin said. "There's probably an accident up ahead. Or maybe a drunken nudist was running through the forest. It has happened before."

A few seconds of silence loomed inside the car. Then someone outside laid on the horn. "Or more likely scenario is that they are searching every vehicle for us. The interstate and highway exits are blocked," she added.

"I think he is hoping his "trusted" contact didn't turn on him, Moon," Amir said. "Who are we to bring a dose of what we've been facing into reality?"

"My contact wouldn't do that, and they can't keep me informed of everything while Chase is near them," Colin confirmed.

Luna reached for Cami's hand and held it close. They were sitting ducks, and both of their hands were sweaty. She wanted to say something else, but then they heard a helicopter flying in the sky. "Damn."

Another one followed, incredibly low, and the whirling blades looked like they could chop off any of the tall trees on their side.

"I'm going to find out what's going on," Faisal said. Luna and Cami threw on a hijab Mera gave them to cover themselves. "I'll be right back."

Faisal stepped away from the Hummer, weaving around cars before anyone could object. Irritation flashed across Colin's and Amir's faces. "Do you think that was a good idea, Colin?" Luna asked.

He shook his head. "No. But how else will we get any answers? They know about everyone in this car and are after Sarah in the other one. No one is safe."

A soft knock on the back window caused Luna to jolt. It was Raul.

Amir rolled down the window. "We have a few problems."

"Figured. Traffic isn't moving at all up there?" Everyone shook their heads. "Where did Faisal go?"

"He had to go pee," Amir said, snickering. "I'm kidding. He's checking things out."

Someone behind Raul whistled and honked, but he ignored them.

Faisal returned, huffing under his breath. As he climbed back into the Hummer, he popped his knuckles loudly and looked at everyone, Raul still standing at the window. "Guys, I have good news and some bad news. Which one do you want first?"

Right then, Vikram, Darren, and Mera appeared in the back seat. Amir's face turned pale as he began gripping the edge of his seat. Luna knew he was close to smacking something. "Just give it to us."

"There is a barricade up that road, so we have a little time to formulate a plan here. The traffic won't be moving anytime soon."

"If that's the good news, then what's the bad news?" Luna asked, gulping.

Faisal gave a grave face and told Amir and anyone around who understood Urdu what was going on. SWAT teams were moving up and down the line of cars, checking inside them, looking for the mental patients who escaped from the hospital as a cover-up, along with making Amir out to be a foreign criminal.

Luna stared at him.

Amir and Raul made a mouthful of F-bombs, and Amir pushed from the back seat, rocking the car a little. A muscle flexed in his temple. "We have to figure out something. My daughter and wife won't become lab rats for them. No way."

"I feel the same way, Amir," Faisal said, glancing back at him and squeezing Cami's hand. "We could just grab a few things and make a run for it. If we run towards that set of forests and go South, we will end up at the Louisiana State Line again."

"Are you serious?" Raul said, his eyes narrowing. "We have a child. There are probably bugs and deadly animals in those forests, and my mother . . ." He pushed off the car, gripping his hands behind his head. "Mom, you can't run. We have to come up with something different."

"If you have a different plan, don't hesitate to share it," Colin said, frowning.

"My mother can't run," Raul said.

"Don't worry about me, son," Mera pleaded with him.

"If they want to run, we understand, but you and I can hole up somewhere nearby," Raul told her. "There has to be a hotel or something."

"We aren't splitting from the group, Raul," she said in a determined voice. "We're staying together."

Luna's heart skipped. "What are we going to do?"

Amir blinked slowly and then laughed. Luna's eyes widened as she realized his idea was outrageous. "I think I know what we can do."

"I only hear crickets." Colin snapped his fingers.

Amir turned toward Luna. "It's risky, insane, and you won't like it."

"I'm listening," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "But I already heard your thoughts."

"I literally hate that we are in a car with a pair of Pure Souls," Colin commented. "Only you two can hear each other's mind despite wearing your rings. Please share your thoughts, Prince."

"Only I may call him Prince. But if you enjoy calling him that in your head, be my guest. Otherwise, his nicknames are for my lips, and my lips only," Luna said, staring at him.

"Can we please just focus?" Cami screamed. "I am scared shitless."

Amir frowned and gave Luna a small kiss on her forehead. "It's something that Colin said about how they don't know about him being a Tethered Soul. And with Luna's new ability, we can change that. We will have a chance to run. They'll notice a disturbance down this way and we'll already be in the woods before they reach this part."

Luna's brain felt like it sat in a frying pan. "Are you suggesting I use my ability to find pairs?"

"Yes. We'll go out there and you can search around for some willing Tethered Soul and let them know they have an ability. Then we'll show them. The world will then know who we are and what is at stake for other souls like us."

"Did you hit your head against one of Colin's curves? You are asking me to connect to the dark side. It's too risky." Luna didn't think she could control herself. It would destroy her from the inside out. "But," she said, coming to terms with her true self. "This could be a test for me. I could go out there and learn to harness my strengths and weaknesses. Use the good powers that I have."

Raul smacked his hands together and made the car jump. "Then let's do that."

"Hold on," said Colin. "You are putting their lives in danger. Just like Judas did back at the house. Tethered Souls stay hidden for a reason."

"It's a good plan," Raul said. "There will be chaos and we can slip away from the scene."

Faisal leaned over in his seat, setting down on his knees. "Once we do this, we will always have to stay underground. This exposes so much more than the world can comprehend, and everyone with dark powers will harness them. The government will be gunning for us even more now. Fake papers won't mean anything to anyone."

"What about Africa?" Cami said, gazing at Luna. "There's a safe community there."

"Kiss that continent goodbye. They will storm each nook and cranny for any Tethered Soul in hiding. And they'll hit other continents too. We can dominate ordinary humans, and the world's leaders have been keeping a lid on this for quite some time. We have powers that can be useful for the government," Faisal explained.

"How do you know all this?" Amir asked him.

"Rajan told me how his wife was telepathically connected to a group of strangers and how they barely escaped from an undercover organization who wanted them. They were called B-R-D-A; Biological Research and Development Agency. Chase is most likely the head of it. The government is with them because they don't play well with anyone who has an ability they can't understand."

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The twists just keep coming. Whee!