The Thought Readers (Mind Dimensions #1)(54)

Only the Mira on the floor remains.

“But I was about to ask her to practice the new strategy,” Caleb says with visible disappointment.

I can’t help myself. I burst out laughing.

“This is a pretty serious situation, guys,” Eugene says, but I can tell he’s trying his best to suppress a smile. Despite the danger we’re in—or maybe because of it—everyone finds the idea of Mira freaking out like that hilarious. Then again, Eugene implied that she’s acted like this before. Maybe when she was little? It’s hard to picture it now. I wish I could Read Eugene’s or Mira’s mind.

We exit the room. Caleb holds the door for everyone, making me wonder why he’s being such a gentlemen all of a sudden. As soon as we’re all out of the room, I find out.

He’s decided to do a little practice on his own.

All I hear is a quiet rustling of clothing, and the next moment Caleb is holding two guns, one in each hand. Two shots fire at the same time. Two men in the room each have a bullet in their head.

I begin to feel even more confident about the success of this mission.

We walk back to our bodies and phase out.

“Any last words?” Caleb says to us all.

“I’m coming with you,” Eugene says, his voice filled with determination.

“Of course,” Caleb says. “I said I wouldn’t force you. But if you volunteer, well, that’s a different matter.” He hands Eugene a knife. "You’re in charge of stabbing the guy in the corridor, remember?”

I get a knife as well. Great. As though the gun I was given earlier wasn’t bad enough.

We cross the street, for real now. The area is pretty dead, yet it seems infinitely more alive now than when we crossed this road in the Quiet—mainly because all the ambient noises of Brooklyn are back. With the increase in noise, my adrenaline levels go up as well.

Julia picks the lock on the front door in twenty seconds—just as she said she would. So far, so good. We walk through the hangar. My heart rate becomes a tiny bit calmer. This part isn’t all that different from the version in the Quiet. The heavy walls block most of the sounds of the city. The dead men are just as frozen in death here as they were in the Quiet.

“Situation check,” Caleb whispers when we’re near the stairs.

I phase in, and pull everyone else in with me. We walk up the stairs until we get to the corridor and turn the corner again. In the few minutes it took us to walk across the street and through the hangar, the men have not moved; they stand in pretty much the same positions.

“Good,” Caleb says. “We’ll do another check, right before turning the corner. This will be my signal.” He gives us a thumbs-up sign. Not the most imaginative signal, but it gets the point across.

We walk back and phase out. Now we finally get to make the trip up the stairs in the real world.

We all try to make our walk stealthy, but only Caleb succeeds. We get to the corner, and he does his thumbs-up sign. I phase in and pull them all in again. The men are still standing as they were.

“Are you ready?” Caleb says, looking from me to Eugene.

“Ready,” I say.

“Let’s get this over with,” Eugene says.

I notice Caleb never asked to rehearse this part. I bet I know why: he realizes that if given enough information, Eugene might lose his nerve. Or maybe he thinks I’ll lose mine.

We phase out. Everyone looks at me expectantly. I take a deep breath and turn the corner.

My heart is racing a hundred miles per hour, but I ignore it and grab the now-very-familiar Russian as soon as I turn the corner, placing my hand over his mouth to muffle his scream. I hold him as tightly as I can, but he struggles and I know there’s very little time.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Caleb make his move. I can’t afford to pay attention to him, though.

I rotate my body, and Eugene is there with the knife. It’s unclear if he jams the guy with it, or if I push the guy onto the knife myself. However, it’s quickly clear that it’s done—the knife is there, in the man’s stomach.

He makes a horrible grunting sound. My own stomach heaves, but I hang tight.

The grunt is echoed by the sounds of another wounded guard—the one Caleb must’ve thrown the knife at.

The guy I’m holding stops struggling, and I feel him going limp. I don’t want to think about what that implies as I let him slide to the floor. Eugene looks pale as he steps back, dropping his knife on the ground.

Caleb is next to the guy by the door already and is holding the man’s throat in a tight grip, blocking off air and preventing further sounds.

Julia begins to pick the lock on the door. I walk toward her and Caleb, trying to avoid looking at all the blood.

I hear faint screams inside the room. Mira must have started her performance.

Caleb eases the now-limp body to the floor.

I focus on the good things. The plan is going smoothly.

I try not to think of the gruesome parts.

Not surprisingly, there’s a difference between stabbing people in the Quiet and seeing it done in real life. Blood flows. People actually die. The difference is huge. I can also actually throw up in the real world, an urge I fight with all my strength.

Julia is done with the door and looks at Eugene in triumph.

In a split second, her face changes—dread contorting her features. Her fright is contagious. Instantly I turn, so I can see what she sees.