Page 20 of Awakened Gifts

“That’s enough, I said!” Captain Fricks growls as Hedin drops the uranium-tipped whip.

I can’t help the few cries that escape me, even though I desperately wish I could. I don’t want to give them the satisfaction of knowing my pain. But it’s just too much.

“You’re feeding her too much blood,” Hedin hisses. “Every time she drinks a drop, her savage tries to break free. She’s going to kill us all if you keep taking pity on her. Remember why we’re doing this.”

“You think I don’t know why the hell we’re doing this?” Captain Fricks barks.

The whip has struck my body at least thirty times in the past hour. Every time a surface has rattled, Hedin has offered a painful lashing. My body is covered in my own blood, and the uranium is bleeding deeper into my veins. Ordinary hybrids would be dead by now. Even with my ability to heal without blood against uranium, I’m growing closer to the cusp of death.

“I’m the one who has dedicated my life to bringing Penelope back! But we’re not monsters, Hedin. Penelope wouldn’t want this. We can take her blood humanely,” Captain Fricks continues, and I turn on the table to spit up a wad of my own blood as my body shakes, overloaded with too much pain that I can’t lock out.

How do you humanely rob someone of something as precious as their entire body’s blood? Twice? Fucking psychos.

I’ve tried everything. I’ve sent messages to Jase, Rex, Kellan, Mom... anyone my emotions have ever connected to, but I don’t know if any of it has worked. I’ve only ever thought about it in theory and regret never having tested it.

I’m pretty sure I would have been rescued by now if my messages had gone through. I’ve all but given them my exact location. With the ten clues I’ve sent, they should be able to stand right on top of this underground bunker.

“And what do you think will happen when the Scorpions get her? Do you think they’ll show as much mercy as we have? I’m trying to keep this bitch from killing us. That’s it. The needles aren’t creating enough pain. The pain is what shuts her down.”

Bastards. They’ve exploited every weakness I have, and I served myself up on a silver platter. I should have kept my empathic weaknesses a secret instead of sharing them with the world.

“If we could have—”

His words are interrupted as something vibrates the entire building, and it’s sure as hell not me, even though Hedin’s eyes narrow in on me like I’m the source. Captain Fricks turns pale, though, and relief washes over me.

Mom. It has to be Mom. Thank God.

Chunks of the ceiling crumble and crash to the floor as the vibrations become violent, and volatile explosions on the surface ring out.

“Fuck. She found us,” Captain Fricks spews, reaching for a gun from the wall and loading it with shaky hands.

That’s when Hedin’s eyes grow wide and he becomes an ashen ghost of a man in front of my eyes. “How?” he whispers.

“Fuck if I know,” Captain Fricks growls, and I almost weep with joy. Mom’s here. She’s finally here. They got my messages.

Then the top of the bunker is ripped off like the lid on a can of sardines, and the fresh night air meets me for the first time in so long. But it isn’t relief I feel when I stare into the purple eyes glowing brighter than even mine.

“There you are, James. And look, you found her for me. You must have forgotten to call me,” the woman says while dropping to the concrete floor. Her knees barely bend, and then she stands in front of me, her eyes taking in every tortured bit of my body.

An army on the top becomes visible—faces covered by ski masks. They’re dressed in black combat uniforms, and they all have guns trained on us. While I lie here exposed, wearing my tattered clothes and remaining chained in place, a promise of death whispers through the wind.

Tethered to the table, I’m forced to watch as Hedin and Captain Fricks both tremble in fear. She slowly struts toward the captain, her eyes washing over me once more and then returning to him. She looks so much like my mother, and I really don’t like that.

She has her dark hair, her high cheekbones, and even her sassy walk. It’s unnerving and shudder-worthy.

Captain Fricks tightens his lips and stands taller, prepared to die with dignity. She kisses his neck as she circles him, and he grimaces as though her touch is sickening.

“That reaction is a little insulting, James,” she says, seeming to enjoy his obvious disgust. “You’ve spent centuries in my bed. Lying to me, using me, fucking me, and manipulating me. Now you’re acting as though my touch is worse than uranium,” she hisses seductively, pushing her lips against his neck again.

Captain Fricks stupidly reaches for his gun, and with barely a wink, Alice sends him sailing across the room, pinning him to the wall with his arms spread as though he’s on a crucifix. The gun drops from his hand and clatters to the floor. Hedin tries to run, but the bored emergent exerts no effort to sling him across the room, pinning him in the same manner beside the captain.

Casually and calmly, her cold, dead eyes turn to face me. I’ve always wanted more family, but a demonic grandmother isn’t what I had in mind. It’d be nice if some people stayed dead.

“There you are, granddaughter,” she says, an ominous edge to her voice. Her eyes trail over to see the large tank that holds my blood, and a wicked grin curls up on her face. “And it looks like someone has done all the hard work for me.”

“NO!” Captain Fricks yells, but he’s punished for his outburst when she flicks her wrist.

I can’t see the damage being done, but I can hear his wails of pain, and I cringe.

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