A Different Kind (28 page)

“Then we’ll deal with that then…but that’ll be then, not now. I’m just not ready for anyone to take you yet. I’m just, I’m not ready to lose you. I’ve had nowhere near enough time to prepare you for what’s coming. Please, Payton,” Logan pleaded.

I was scared; there weren’t any good options. Every choice came with risks, and each one would cost me something. But, like Logan, I wasn’t ready either. I took a breath and nodded.

Logan watched me with wide eyes.

“Yes?” he asked.

I could tell he needed to make sure this was what I wanted. He was good at that after all, respecting my choices, and I trusted him because of it.

“Yes,” I repeated. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Logan smiled, then in a frantic rush grabbed the bag he’d packed earlier. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me out the door. As we raced down the stairs and to the kitchen door, I felt every pounding beat my heart made against my chest. I wondered if I was doing the right thing. I was leaving my friends, my family, my home. I was leaving Jo - I was leaving everything. Logan turned around. As he twisted the door knob, I realized I didn’t have a choice. This was my best option. Logan opened the door and we raced into the night.

CHAPTER

32

T
here wasn’t any reason to run, no one was following us – at least we didn’t think so – but we ran anyway. As the forest flew by in a blur, I found myself glancing over my shoulder. I wasn’t looking to see if anyone was behind us. I was looking back at everything I was leaving behind. Even after Logan’s house was far from my view I glanced back, envisioning all the things that lay beyond the trees. It still didn’t feel real, but with every step the reality that I may never see Jo again, that I’d never see my parents again, that I was leaving and hadn’t even said goodbye, started to sink in. 

There was a chill to the air that night, and my breath puffed out before me in transparent white puffs. I wished I could have grabbed a warmer jacket. I wished I could have grabbed any of my things. I wished I didn’t have to do this. As my thoughts wandered I lost sight of where I was going. My foot caught on a rock and I stumbled forward. My hands flew out before me, but my balance was lost.

I closed my eyes, but instead of crashing to the ground, I felt Logan’s arms around me. As he pulled me back onto my feet I thought about Emma Moody, the girl we’d all named the woods after. She’d died in these woods when she’d tripped and tumbled down a hill, snapping her neck. I’m not entirely sure why her face popped into my mind, other than that I’d tripped. Once it did, I was remembering pieces of the news reports that played when she’d first gone missing. I wondered if similar reports would play once I was reported missing. Then for a second, I wondered why Emma had wandered off alone in the woods instead of staying with her friends on their camping trip. Maybe Emma had been running from something too.

I let out a long, exhausted breath.

“Maybe we should rest for a minute,” Logan said.

I nodded. Taking a few deep breaths, I leaned against a nearby tree.

Logan’s eyes scanned the dark woods. It was eerily quiet. Too late in the year to hear the chirping of crickets; the only noises were the scuttling of critters preparing for winter. The emptiness around us only reminded me that we were really alone now.

Logan walked to me, sighed, then kissed my forehead and laced his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry,” he said.

“For what?”

“For all of this.”

I shook my head. “None of this is your fault.”

Logan sighed again. His eyes met mine. “I just wish I could have done something more.” He pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

I leaned forward. Logan met my lips halfway. The kiss was soft at first, then deepened. I was funneling every emotion that ran through me into that kiss. Logan pushing my back against the tree. I let myself get lost in him. It was too much to think about all the things I was leaving behind. But knowing I had Logan there with me made it bearable. I ran my hands through his hair and tugged gently on his bottom lip.

Logan pulled away.

He sighed. “We should get going.”

I nodded. We started treading through the forest again.

“Logan?” I asked a few minutes later.

He glanced at me.

“Where are we going? I mean, we’re not just wandering aimlessly through the woods, right?”

Logan chuckled. “No I have somewhere in mind. Remember when you asked if there were others like me?”

“Yeah, you said none of them lived around here.”

“They don’t. But there was one guy who lived by us for a while. He kind of used to babysit me. He moved away a few years ago, but he left me his address and phone number, saying to give him a call or stop by if I ever needed anything. We get a Christmas card from him every year, so I’m pretty sure he hasn’t moved.”

“You don’t find that kind of weird? I mean, how close were you with your babysitter…most of mine barely lasted a week.”

Logan laughed. “It’s a little different; we’re both hybrids. It kind of makes us like family.”

“Don’t you think this is kind of a big favor to ask him? Shouldn’t we at least call first?”

“Don’t want to call. Crazy Frank may be crazy, but he could be right about the government listening in on our phone calls. Considering we’ve had men in black stalking us, I wouldn’t put it past them. And, yeah, it’s a big favor, but I don’t really know what else to do.” Logan sighed. “We can cut through the woods to get to the bus stop and take a bus to Dallas. I guess we’ll figure things out from there.”

I nodded. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only plan we had. Things were silent for a while after that as we treaded through the dark. I watched the white mist of my breath dance in the moonlight and shoved my hands deep into my pockets. I hoped we’d be out of the woods soon.

A sharp crack echoed through the woods. We stopped walking. It sounded like a twig breaking beneath the weight of a boot. Instantly my mind conjured images of men in black suits surrounding us in the woods.

A low, shaky breath slid past my lips.

Logan glanced at me. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Before I could object, he was walking toward the noise. I crossed my arms as I hung back, silently praying there was nothing there. A chill ran down my spine as Logan took another step into the darkness.

Then in a flash, I was bathed in light.

Panic raced through me.

Wildly I whirled around, seeking the source of the light. I prayed to find Doggett and his men surrounding me with flashlights, because the alternative was far worse. I didn’t find Doggett. I didn’t see anyone. I looked straight up. The light was above me.
No, no, no.

“Logan!” 

He spun around. The look that fell across his face was of utter defeat. I’d never seen him look so hopeless, so afraid. His shoulders fell, as did his bottom lip. The sight of him made me tear up. I choked back a sob and tried to keep my composure for a little longer.

I pushed my hand to the edge of the light, trying to escape it. I couldn’t. The light felt like glass. While I could still freely move my head and arms, I was unable to step out of its blinding rays. Logan ran to me. He shook his head as his eyes scrutinized my prison, hands hovering before the beam of light. Our eyes met. We stared at one another, neither knowing what to say. Tears fell down his face as they did mine.

“No,” Logan whispered, shaking his head.

I tried to speak, but my words were a knotted ball at the back of my throat. This sickening weightless feeling overcame me. I felt my feet lift from the ground. I started to float into the light. My voice returned, coming out in a sound that was half gasp and half squeal. I looked up into the beam, then back down at Logan, my eyes begging not to lose him. I reached for him and for a moment all Logan could do was stare at me, stunned and disbelieving. I floated higher. He was only seconds away from falling out of reach.

Logan jumped into the light and grabbed my hand. My body jerked, and I dropped a notch closer to the ground. A surprised gasp fell from my lips. Hope filled me as I gripped his hand, but it was short lived. Logan could only pull me down so far. The light consumed us and now we were both floating into the night sky.

“No!” I shouted. “Not you too.”

Logan looked down at the ground. It fell away in a rush. He looked back at me. Though he was scared he tried to smile.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said.

I shook my head.
It wasn’t going to be okay.

T
hey wouldn’t let me scream. They wouldn’t let me move. I didn’t know how they did it, but that light held me motionless as I was pulled into their ship. Tears pooled above my eyes, making their grey faces blurry. I could still blink. The water tumbled down the sides of my face. My vision became clearer. Their faces became clearer – in my head I was screaming.

Large onyx eyes sat in the creatures’ wide heads. Thin, flat nostrils resided above a nearly lipless mouth. I could do nothing but watch them as I was lowered over a metal table, and though I couldn’t turn to look at him, I could see Logan beside me out of the corner of my eye. He was as motionless as I was. The light beam dimmed. I felt my weight mold into the metal table. Metal cuffs were clasped around my arms and feet. Then one of the Greys waved his hand before me. The paralysis melted away. I could move again. I jerked within the confines of my metal restraints. Panicked cries fluttered past my lips as I fought.

Be still.

I froze. The voice had sounded in my head. Had they spoken to me telepathically? My head jerked to face Logan. He had his own group of Greys standing around him and looked as scared as I was.

We mean you no harm.

“Bullshit!” I shouted, then I gulped, worried about what they’d do to me for speaking out.

The alien before me tilted his head and somehow managed to look inquisitive with his large black eyes and thin mouth.

“Payton, just relax,” Logan said in a low voice. “We can’t do anything right now.”

I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to keep my emotions under control. Tears squeezed out and I bit my trembling lip to hold back a sob. After a few deep breaths I stopped struggling and fell limp onto the metal table. I turned my head and stared at Logan. He did the same and tried to offer a comforting smile.

“At least we’re together, okay?”

I nodded, still unable to speak. Then I glanced at the manacles around my wrists. “Can’t we just–”

“No,” Logan said.

I wanted to ask why. We’d spent so much time building my telekinesis, and Logan was already good at it, but I didn’t dare argue or ask questions in front of
them
.

“Just wait.”

I sniffled back a sob.

A sharp pain pierced my arm. One of the Greys was drawing blood. I winced, but the pain was over quickly. When I looked back at Logan one of Greys had done the same to him. Tears trailed down my face as I wondered how we would ever get out of this. One of the aliens at my side held a syringe-like device. It was a large tube filled with a thick black liquid. A long, thick needle protruded from the end. I gulped, pressing my body into the metal table as he neared.

“What is that?” I said in a squeaky voice.

No one answered me.

I watched as the needle neared my neck. It was so long, and sharp. I couldn’t help it. Everything inside me squirmed to get it away. The next thing I knew I was controlling the metal needle and turning it back on the alien. I didn’t think it was possible, but his eyes became even wider and his tiny mouth fell open.

My mind pushed the syringe away from me. It flew out of the alien’s grip, stabbing him in the chest. The creature looked down at its body and the needle that protruded from him. All of the other Greys were watching him now. He stumbled back a step. Two others came behind him, grabbing him by the arms. One pulled the needle free, then together they walked to the back of the room.

A metal door opened. The two aliens guided their injured man into the hall. There was a commotion among the others. No words were spoken but they shuffled about, looking and pointing between Logan and me. My head was cranked to the side as I watched them. One of them pulled out a large metal ring. Holding it in his bulbous fingers, he walked toward me. I didn’t know what it would do, but I didn’t want it anywhere near me.

“Stop!” Logan shouted. “Stop, it wasn’t her, it was me.”

The aliens turned to him. I watched Logan’s eyes scan the room. He looked at the metal manacles holding him to the table. With his mind, he snapped them open. The second his hands were free the Greys rushed him, grabbing him by the arms and holding him to the table.