Created (Talented Saga) (31 page)

Supposedly Marcel was there for our protection, but he kept eyeing Erik over his shoulder, and his thin finger never strayed far from the trigger of the handgun tucked into the back of his pants.
He was terrified of Erik. He’d seen him attack the medic. Rumors had been circulating throughout the cottage, growing more and more absurd as they passed from one ear to the next. The soldiers thought Erik a living legend, a highly-trained, extremely dangerous one they preferred not to get too close to, but a legend all the same. Marcel was even convinced he couldn’t be killed. Images of Mac’s Created filled his head; he envisioned them all looking exactly like Erik, each one a carbon copy of the next. As attractive as I found my boyfriend, seeing him that many times over, all fierce and cold with dead eyes, made me shiver.

“Are you cold?”
Erik rubbed his hand up and down my goosebump-covered arm.
“It’s like a hundred and ten degrees outside.”

“Cold chill.
Weird, right?”
I laughed it off since I didn’t want Erik to pry into my head and see what I’d seen in Marcel’s. He didn’t need to know the other guy was terrified of him.

Upon arriving in San Lolito, Janelle brought the hovercraft low and wound through the center of town, pointing out various shops and cafes like a bored tour guide.
Soon the quaint downtown gave way to a stretch of barren earth that time had forgotten. The earth was dry and cracked, with wisps of grass sprouting up in random places. It reminded me of my math instructor at school; he’d been going bald since forever but was determined to hang on to the three hairs he had left.

Several miles of hopelessness later, the world brightened and came back to life as a small city materialized.
Unlike cities such as D.C. that had been retro-fitted to account for global warming, exponential population growth, and the technological breakthroughs of the last two centuries, this California city was being built from scratch. Tall glass buildings lined the main street, which was cleverly named “Main Street.” Solar panels were affixed to the top of each one to provide power to the inside. Oddly, I wondered what effect an Electrical Manipulator had on solar power.

Construction crews were hard at work, sweating their asses off, lifting beams into place and digging up earth.
Only there was very little heavy machinery. All the workers were Talents, and they were using their abilities to build the new structures. This was truly using our gifts for the greater good.

Apparently Erik thought so, too.
He whistled long and low.

“Impressive, huh?” Marcel asked from the front.
“This is one of the first new communities President Crane has commissioned in a long time. Monies from some of the wealthier families on the other side of the border wanting to get their talented children away from TOXIC paid for it. Those folks have deep pockets and are willing to use them.”

“Wow.”
Crane really had been busy. Mac had painted him as the anti-talent, when really he was a proponent of freedom and choice.

“This is us,” Janelle said as she maneuvered the hovercar between two finished apartment buildings.
The alleyway was narrow, and the car barely fit through. In the rear, there was a square parking lot with a handful of numbered parking spaces that I assumed correlated with the apartments they belonged to. Janelle parked in one marked “visitor” and turned off the engine.

Erik perched Alex on one hip and offered me his free hand.
Janelle took the lead and Marcel brought up the rear. Neither soldier had any weapons visible, but both remained vigilant, constantly scanning the area for threats. I thought them a little paranoid, yet that didn’t stop me from sweeping my gaze across the parking lot and checking over my shoulder.

The lobby felt a lot like the school dorms.
A matronly woman with wispy gray hair and big brown eyes greeted us from behind a circular desk set off to one side. She was pleasant enough when she asked us to sign a guestbook. Janelle took charge, writing only her name and Marcel’s in the visitor spot. Even in her beige sundress and shades, the matron seemed to understand that Janelle was a soldier, and didn’t question her about Alex, Erik, and me.

The five of us rode the elevator to the third floor.
Janelle led the way to apartment 315 and knocked. It was Randy who answered the door an instant later. His face, now clean shaven and slightly fuller, broke into a smile.

“Talia!” he exclaimed.
Then he peered past us, his expression becoming anxious. “How did you know we were here?”

“President Crane knows everything,” Janelle answered mysteriously and pushed past him into the apartment.

“I’ll be out here,” Marcel said, taking up a post next to the door.

I stared at him questioningly as I passed.
Was that necessary?

“Can’t be too careful,” he said mildly, repeating the catchphrase I’d heard what felt like a hundred times that day.

Erik and Alex were a step behind me. The little boy had been silent most of the ride, munching on the dried fruit Marin had packed for a snack. He was shy and clung to Erik or me instead of interacting with anyone else.

“Did I hear you say Talia?” a female voice called from somewhere within the apartment.

“I’m here, too, Cadence,” Erik called back.

“Erik, is that you?
You’re alive? You’re okay?”

“Hold on, Cadence, I’ll come get you,” Randy called back to his sister.
To us, he gestured towards the small living room and politely invited us to sit.

While Randy went to help Cadence, Erik and I sat on the sleek leather couch to the left of the entranceway, pushed up against the back wall.
Erik tried to settle Alex between us, but the little boy whimpered, and Erik pulled him onto his lap.

Two matching chairs were arranged opposite the couch.
Each had a folding table set up in front of it. The interior of the apartment was sparse and decorated in all neutral tones. Very calming, I decided. Thin walls made it easy to hear the neighbors discussing the merits of working for some shopkeeper named Rhea or Ray versus trying to get a job on one of the construction crews.

“This is temporary housing,” Janelle explained in a soft voice.
She’d situated herself in front of the window next to the couch. She drew the blinds closed and was using one finger to separate two slats just enough that she could keep an eye on the street in front of the building. “The residents are only allowed to stay here for three months. Gives them enough time to find work and secure permanent housing.”

I nodded.
That explained the dorm-like feel of the place.

“Can’t this thing go any faster?” Cadence’s impatient voice drifted into the living room.

“The wheels don’t move so well on carpet,” Randy responded calmly.

“Good to see a few broken bones haven’t damaged her spirit,”
Erik sent, sounding amused.

I was glad we’d come.
Maybe the visit had been silly in light of the upcoming attack, but Erik seemed to need this. I needed this.

“Cadence!” I exclaimed upon seeing my friend emerge from a short hallway.
She was looking worlds better than the last time I’d seen her. Gauze no longer covered her face, and the cuts it had been hiding were scabbed over and healing. Randy stood behind her, pushing the wheelchair she sat in.

“It’s great to see you, Cadence, really,” Erik told her.

She actually blushed. It had to be a first.

Randy maneuvered his sister the short distance to the living room and got her situated next to the couch.
I made introductions between Janelle, Alex, and the Chois. Alex had never been overly fond of Cadence, and he shied away from Randy, electing to bury his face deeper in Erik’s neck.

Janelle made polite conversation with Randy and Cadence, asking them how things went at the induction center and whether they were comfortable in their new home, all the while keeping one eye glued to the outside world.
Cadence had found the experience humiliating and degrading, but she was too uncertain of her place. Randy, on the other hand, had welcomed the large sleeping rooms with their bunk beds. Even the communal bathrooms and cafeteria-style meals were like heaven to him. After living in a damp, dank prison cell for years, I’d have agreed with him.

Erik and Randy had never officially met.
Their shared time in Tramblewood had formed an unspoken camaraderie between the two guys that was undeniable. They talked about trivial things like the fact that San Lolito had no good bars, which I found amusing since Randy hadn’t seen daylight, let alone a bar, in like six years.

Having quickly grown bored with our conversation, Alex fell asleep on Erik’s shoulder.
Randy excused himself to start fixing dinner. “Would you guys like to stay and eat with us? I make a mean sandwich.”

“No,” Janelle answered hastily.
“I mean, thank you, but we need to be back at Headquarters before dark. Big day tomorrow.”

“What’s tomorrow?” Cadence asked, confused.

I bit my lip and debated how much to tell her. The attack was bound to be public knowledge within hours after it went down. Did it matter if she and Randy had advanced warning? Who were they going to tell?

I glanced sideways at Erik, who nodded, and then up at Janelle.
She shrugged like it didn’t make a difference to her one way or the other. So, I spared no detail of UNITED’s plans to bring Mac to justice.

“Damn it, I want to go,” Cadence swore and hit the arm of her wheelchair.
Her dark eyes flashed with anger, and the air around her shimmered before she became transparent. Janelle’s expression morphed into one of surprise and unease. She wasn’t alone. In her mid-twenties, Cadence was too old and too acquainted with her talents for her emotions to impact them.

“Sorry,” she muttered, becoming fully corporeal.
“It’s like hitting puberty again. I get upset and go invisible. Sucks.”

I met Erik’s turquoise gaze.
The alarm in his irises mirrored my own.

“How long has this been going on?” I asked in what was supposed to be a casual tone, but came off a little frantic.

Cadence shook her short hair in annoyance. “I don’t know. Since I got injured, maybe?”

I didn’t want to scare her, so I kept my theories to myself.
One look at Erik and I knew we were on the same page. Guilt was emanating off of him. He blamed himself and I didn’t understand why. I dug into his head, and realized he was actually one page ahead of me.

Her inability to control her talents led me to believe she’d been injected with the creation drug – or some derivative of it – at some point.
I was half right, if Erik was all right. He thought her condition was a result of the amplification drug she’d used to heighten her light manipulation.

Cadence was only a mid-level talent, at least she had been.
She’d amplified her abilities, using the same drug TOXIC gave children during testing, to allow her to hold her invisibility long enough to rescue the Kelleys. The drug was supposed to wear off in a couple of hours. If Cadence was still feeling the effects over a week later, that wasn’t a good sign. It also meant Mac’s super-Talents might be even more super than we’d thought. Not only was he injecting people with the creation drug, he was probably amplifying their abilities on top of that.

His army would be on a power-high and might truly believe themselves invincible.
Sure, actually being invincible was different than simply thinking it, but thinking it meant they’d take bigger risks, be bolder, know no fear.

“I’m sure it’s just stress,” I said tightly.
“It does weird things to people.”

“Right, once I get adjusted I’ll be back to normal,” she agreed half-heartedly.

My heart and mind weren’t in the conversation after that. I wanted to get back to the cottage and tell Crane about Cadence and the possibility of TOXIC’s army being super-super-charged. It occurred to me this might prompt UNITED to demand Cadence undergo evaluation.

The entire hover ride back, I mentally weighed the pros and cons.
Erik, who wasn’t fooled by the fake smile I’d been wearing for so long my cheeks ached, threw in his opinions every so often. He was firmly in favor of divulging the information. Better to be prepared, he’d said. Which was, of course, true. I hated condemning her to the evaluation, though. UNITED didn’t need her as proof of Mac’s crimes the way they’d needed me, Erik, and Penny. Studying Cadence wouldn’t advance Dr. Patel’s research into a reversal drug. Still, those reasons wouldn’t stop UNITED from containing her if they thought it necessary.

Alex slept fitfully, sprawled across mine and Erik’s laps like he had a desperate need to touch both of us.
He relaxed some when I stroked his back, but continued to twitch every so often. In between worrying about Cadence and whether to tell Crane about her, I worried about Alex. He’d recently lost both of his parents in violent ways, so nightmares were only natural. It felt like more than that, though. I wasn’t familiar enough with viewing to know if he was having a vision in his sleep, and I couldn’t get a good read on his thoughts while he slept, either.