The Ultimate Sacrifice

  “Do you think you can stay out of trouble for the evening?”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Good.”

  “Can you bring me back some fudge?” I begged. There was a delicious candy shop in town with the best fudge ever.

  “If you behave yourself.”

  I laughed. “Okay.”

  I left the door open so I could hear Noe and Auralee down the hall. I didn’t want to be completely alone. I was working on a school project that I had been putting off when Noe came tearing into the room, her eyes wild looking. I had never seen her look so terrified. “Noe?! What’s wrong?”

  She didn’t respond for a minute and then it all came out quickly. “Mira. She’s in trouble. There are two of them, two big guys, they are…hurting her.”

  The pen in my hand fell to the floor. “When Noe?”

  “Soon.”

  I grabbed my phone and hit Mira’s name. Her phone went to voicemail. I tried again and again. “She’s not picking up.”

  Auralee was in the room now. “What’s going on?” I assumed she was getting everything so I didn’t even respond.

  “Noe, I need to know where.” I grabbed her by the shoulders when she didn’t respond and asked again.

  Her eyes went empty for a minute and then she told me the street names. “Soon. Oh God, really soon.”

  “I need your car.” I put out my hand.

  She reached in her pocket and handed me her car keys. “Thanks. You call me if something changes.”

  “I’ll come with you,” she said.

  “No!” I yelled. “Neither of you can be there.” They knew what I meant. “Give me a head start and go get help. Tell them where.”

  I dashed down the hall and flew down the staircase. I ran as fast as I could to Noe’s car, very glad that she had a fast car. I jumped in and tore off down the road, hoping there were no cops or stupid drivers. For once, I hated the secluded location of our school.

  The normal twenty-minute drive took ten, but ten was still too long. I quickly found the first street I was looking for, then I had to find the cross street. A minute later I came across it. I threw the car in park and got out.

  I spun around in a circle looking for Mira, listening for her. “Slowly, Kassia,” I whispered to myself. I took a deep breath. I could feel her. She was close. Then I heard a clanging noise. I ran towards the sound. I could see her now in a way I would never forget. She was spread out on a car, jerking around as she tried to get free. One dark haired man was holding her arms; another man with lighter hair was on top of her. Her pants were down around one of her ankles. She made a sound and the guy on top hit her. Her legs stopped flailing and she whimpered.

  I stopped a few feet from them. “GET OFF HER!” I screamed.

  The two men’s heads snapped up and stared at me. Their jaws dropped for a second and then they started laughing. “Look. Dessert,” the light haired man said. “Grab her while I finish up here.”

  The dark haired man let go of Mira and turned towards me. He didn’t concern me right away. I wanted the other guy. “I said get off!” I yelled, narrowing my eyes and mashing my lips. I could feel the intense pressure rising in me, taking over my body, exploding from my mind. Suddenly, his body went rigid. He screamed in pain clutching his head. He backed off from Mira’s body.

  I could see Mira struggling to get up. She looked at me and shook her head. “No, Kassia.”

  “Shhh,” I said to her.

  “What is going on? Ralph? What’s wrong with you?” The dark haired guy stopped coming at me.

  I switched my gaze to him. I had no idea if I could do two at once, but we were about to find out. I stared at him until he fell to the ground. The lighter haired man was struggling to get up, but as I focused back on him, he dropped to the ground again.

  I kept them both on the ground as I approached Mira. Seeing her bloody and bruised body made the power surge even more, and the men on both sides of me fell flat on the ground. Both of their bodies were motionless. I was shaking, but I didn’t dare move any further. I didn’t want to let either one of them out of my sight until Mira was safe.

  I had to focus on Mira. I was thankful that she was immune to my gift or she would probably be on the ground now too. “Can you get to the car?” I managed to ask.

  Behind me, someone responded, “She doesn’t have to. We’ll get her.” I immediately recognized Dr. Frost’s voice. “We can’t get to her until you stand down.”

  My face felt wet, but I couldn’t tell if it was sweat or tears. “I can’t. They hurt her!” I cried. I felt something on the side of my neck. Immediately I knew what it was. “Do it,” I told her. And then everything went black.

  I could hear voices, but I couldn’t open my eyes.

  “Dead,” someone said.

  “One or both?” a different voice asked.

  “Both.”

  “Both dead?”

  “How did she…?” a third voice chimed in.

  “She’s much stronger than we all thought.”

  “Take care of them and clean up the mess.”

  “Someone needs to take the cars back.”

  “Is she okay?” I heard Mira’s shaky voice.

  “She’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” That voice belonged to Dr. Frost.

  “She did it for me, she did it to save me.”

  “We know. Lay back and rest. We’re going to get you two home.”

  “They came from behind,” she added, her voice barely above a whisper.

  I felt myself being moved, but still couldn’t wake up. Then I felt a motor start and the vibration of the road below me. It was quiet again, so I slept.

  * * *

  The next time I heard voices, I was able to open my eyes. I was in a bed in the infirmary. I could see Mira sleeping in the bed next to me. Her face was swollen and purple. She had some stitches on her bottom lip and bandages were wrapped around her arm. I could feel myself getting angry again. How dare they do that to her!

  I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. “Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and count to ten,” Dr. Frost said calmly. I followed her instructions. “Good. Again.” I listened to her and the anger receded. “Now, open your eyes and look at me.” I did as she asked. “Can you see me okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Am I blurry?”

  “No. Should you be?”

  She snorted. “No. I just want to make sure you’re not experiencing any side effects.”

  “Side effects of what?” I asked and then I remembered. “Oh, the shot. You had to drug me.”

  “Yes, you remember everything?”

  I nodded. “I think so.” As my memories came back to me, I caught her eye. “I’m scared.”

  She looked surprised by that. “Why?”

  “Because I’m not sorry,” I said simply.

  She nodded. “Believe it or not, I understand. You were protecting your best friend. In a way, I’m almost proud of what you did for her. However, what you did wasn’t good.”

  “Did I really kill two people?” I asked, hoping that maybe I was remembering wrong.

  “Yes.” She confirmed.

  “I…I didn’t know I could do that.” I trembled. As much as I wanted those two dead for what they did to my best friend, I was upset that I had lost control. The power in me had been so great that I caused the death of a human. Two humans!

  “You have a very powerful gift.”

  “How much trouble am I in?”

  “There’s a lot to discuss. Once you’re up to it, we’ll be meeting. There is so much, Kassia, that you don’t know.”

  “That’s the other thing I’m afraid of.”

  It was almost lunchtime when Mira finally stirred. I was sitting up in my bed at that point. They had brought me something to eat and I was nibbling on it. When I saw her moving, I looked over and saw she was awake. “Hey.” I tried to smile.

  The nurse noticed she was awake too and quickly pulled the cu
rtain. Now why did she have to go and do that? It wasn’t like Mira wouldn’t tell me what was going on. I realized I was getting upset over something stupid and took some of those deep breaths Dr. Frost was always telling me to do. My body calmed down, and I finished eating my lunch. Soon after, the nurse opened the curtain back up.

  I hopped off the bed a little too fast. I lost my balance and had to hang on to the bedrail for a few seconds. Then I walked over to Mira’s bed and sat in the chair next to her. I took her hand. Seeing all of her injuries close up brought tears to my eyes. Silently, they fell down my face.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry. I was too late. I should have been there. It’s all my fault.” I sobbed.

  “No, it isn’t. It is what it is.”

  “Did he? I mean, did he rape you?”

  She looked down and I knew immediately he had.

  “I was too late,” I said again. “The one time you need me for something and I failed.”

  “Stop!” She raised her voice a little. “You saved me. They weren’t done with me. It was going to get a whole lot worse. You came as quick as you could. You broke rules. Not just regular human rules either. You broke our rules. You used your gift. You did everything you could. So stop. There is no need to apologize. You saved me.” She pushed herself up to a sitting position, wincing in pain, and we put our arms around each other. It was then that her body shook with sobs along with mine. We cried together for a while.

  After quite some time, someone spoke up, “Girls, we need to talk. If you’re both ready, let’s go to my office.” It was Mr. Eaton.

  I helped Mira stand, and we followed him down the hall.

  When we stepped into his office, I was surprised to see Noe, Auralee, Daxton, Zane, and Dr. Frost there. “What’s going on?” I looked at everyone.

  “Kassia, there is a lot more to our world than you know. You have always been special because of your gift. There are so few of you. We’ve tried to keep your gift a secret, only known to those here at the institute. But, now with last night’s incident, we’re pretty sure that word will spread.”

  “How? It was only us there.”

  “We don’t think so,” Mr. Eaton said. “There are many things lurking in the shadows. Many things watching.”

  “Well, if they’re watching us, can’t they see us here. Wouldn’t they know about me already?”

  “No. The institute is protected. There is an invisible shield that extends just beyond the perimeter of the campus, where the clearing begins. Not even some of our own kind can get through. So, there isn’t a way for them to see what happens here. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways. Things can get out.” Mr. Eaton turned towards me. “Kassia, when you first came here, there were already whispers about what you could do, but you hadn’t killed anyone and that was important. The others didn’t care too much if you weren’t killing.”

  “And now they do?”

  He nodded. “Once it gets around that you killed two people last night, I’m afraid they will come for you.”

  “Come for me?” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

  “Once you’ve killed, it’ll be easier to do again, and your power will want you to. Demons want you on their side. They want to capture and use you.”

  I gasped. “But, I don’t want to kill. I mean…I did want to kill those men for what they were doing.” I glanced at Mira. “But, I don’t want to kill. I don’t want to be a monster.”

  Mira put her arm around me. “You’re not a monster.”

  “These demons, how will they use me? Can’t I just kill them?”

  “My best guess is they will somehow try to get in your head.” He pursed his lips. “Brainwash you in a way. Then you’ll take orders from them.”

  “No.” Tears fell from my eyes. Hey universe: Anything else you’d like to throw at me right now?

  “How do we keep her safe?” Mira asked. I felt horrible that she was worried about keeping me safe when she had just been…violated.

  “We hide her, we train her, and we never let her use her gift again,” Mr. Eaton said. “It wasn’t a coincidence you four were put on the same floor. You all need to be a team. Auralee, you can read the thoughts of people close by. Make sure there aren’t any threats. Noe, you can see the future. Make sure nothing is coming. Mira can do the clean up so people don’t get suspicious. There is something else. I heard about the time Daxton was able to help you stop your emotions.”

  My head shot up. “You heard?”

  “Yes. He pulled you into a dreamland and your anger slipped away.”

  “Yes.” I glanced over at Daxton.

  “I think he should be part of the team too. He and Mira can stop you if you get angry.”

  “And what if they aren’t there? What if I hurt Noe or Auralee?” I certainly did not want to do that.

  “They’ll have these,” he said, holding up one of the jet injectors. “We’ll give one each to Zane, Noe, and Auralee.”

  I nodded. “Good. What about Zane?”

  “Zane can talk to anything. A person who doesn’t speak English, an animal, he might be able to get more information this way.”

  “Hmmm…” Now came the all-important question. “Where do we go?”

  “We have to figure out a plan. We will need to get you safely out of here first.”

  “Won’t it look weird? A bunch of kids traveling around without adults?” Mira asked.

  “You won’t necessarily be out in the open. But, if questions arise, that’s where you come in. Compel them.”

  “Everyone?”

  “If you must.”

  I could tell she wasn’t sure if she could do that.

  “I couldn’t even compel those…assholes last night,” she muttered.

  “What?” Mr. Eaton asked.

  “Nothing.”

  I hated stopping my friends from living their lives. “Isn’t there anything you can do to me? Can you strip me of my gift? Can you scramble my brain? That way these demons won’t want me and everyone can live normal lives?”

  “Not that I know of.”

  Auralee patted my knee. “It’s okay, Kassia. I don’t mind.”

  “Me neither,” Noe said.

  Mira and I looked at each other for a long moment. “You know I’m not leaving your side,” she said.

  “I don’t know. It sounds too dangerous for everybody. Maybe I should just go?” I suggested. I didn’t want to be responsible for the deaths of my friends.

  “Kassia, that’s ridiculous.”

  “I don’t…I just…ugh!” I sighed heavily, throwing my arms up in the air.

  “We have some details to work out. You should go back to your rooms and pack up. I’m not sure when or where we’ll be sending you. Just be ready.”

  I stayed behind for a minute after everyone else left. “Mr. Eaton? Shouldn’t I have some sort of punishment?”

  “You were protecting your friend.”

  “But, I killed them.”

  “Yes. It’s all been taken care of. Besides, I think you’ll punish yourself enough.”

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “Go on then and be careful.”

  Mira was waiting for me outside. Just looking at her made me burst into tears. Her right eye was swollen; her lip was busted and bruises covered part of her cheek. By saving her, I had put us all in danger. We hugged for a moment, and then she whispered, “Let’s go.”

  Back in our room, we packed one bag each to be able to move quickly if needed. It wasn’t like we had a whole lot, but leaving our room and belongings behind felt wrong. We were supposed to be here, not on the run.

  That night, Mira had nightmares. I curled up with her and held her as she sobbed. “It’s okay,” I whispered. “You’re safe.”

  I began thinking about my own nightmares, the ones I had been having for years. They could be coming true. Demons. Monsters. Coming for me…to turn me into one of them. I
shuddered. I couldn’t let that happen. What if I was to run by myself, now? Everyone was sleeping. I could sneak out and be miles away before they even woke up. Then their lives wouldn’t be in danger.

  Yes. That’s what I had to do. I looked at Mira and kissed her cheek. Carefully, I slid out of the bed and grabbed my backpack. I opened the door and came face to face with Noe. “Really? Did you really think you’d get far?”

  “Aw…shit. I didn’t think about you.”

  “Gee, thanks. Go back to bed or the window. We leave together.”

  Mira stirred. “What’s going on?”

  “Your roommate was trying to run away.”

  I set my backpack down. “I was trying to keep you all alive.”

  “I know,” Noe said. “All the same…we’ll go together.” She turned and disappeared back into her room.

  “I can’t believe you were trying to leave!”

  “Mira! I don’t want you to get killed!” I raised my voice. “It’s gotta be easier for me to hide, then trying to hide six of us!”

  “You have a point there. But, we’re not normal, Kassia. You have to remember that. We’ll get by just fine. Besides…” she said and closed her eyes, “I need you. Now go to sleep.”

  I sighed knowing I had lost this fight. I crawled back in bed with her and somehow managed to fall asleep.

  Chapter Seven

  A knock at the door woke us up. I rubbed my eyes. It wasn’t even light out yet. Mira answered it. “Time to go.”

  Hearing that, I was out of bed within a second. We grabbed our bags and left the room, closing the door behind us. The four of us met the two guys in the parking lot. Mr. Eaton was there. He handed each of us an envelope. “This will provide identification and access to money. Do what you need to blend in. Go wherever you need to go. Don’t tell me. Buy a disposable cell phone once a week and call the number in your envelope. Use the password as well. If the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t provide the matching password, hang up and move locations immediately. We’ll let you know how the threat is on our end.”

  He reached into his pocket and took out a set of keys. He handed it to Daxton. Taking one last look at each of us, he said, “The SUV is yours, go now and be safe.”

  He hurried away. We all stood there staring at each other for what seemed like an hour. Finally, Mira spoke up, “Where do we go?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, we can’t stand around here any longer. Let’s get in the car and just start driving,” Daxton suggested.

  “Fine.” I threw my bag in the trunk and hopped in the back seat. Mira sat next to me, Noe and Auralee sat in the middle, and the boys sat up front.