Tremble (Denazen #3)(14)

“Dez,” Alex warned.

I ignored him. During the summer, Kale and I had to literally drag a couple of the Sixes, kicking and screaming, back to the hotel for their own good. I was over it. If they wanted the help, then great. We’d be there. If not, we had no right to force them. Denazen was all about taking away free will. I wouldn’t do the same.

“This thing you can do—the ability you have to see things happening someplace else—has made you a target. Before you were born, your mother—your real mother—was given a drug. It was supposed to enhance your ability so you’d be stronger. More powerful. She was part of a science project called Supremacy just like my mom.”

“The problem is,” Alex cut in with a harsh sidelong glance in my direction, “it has a nasty side effect that eventually leads to death.”

“Or murder,” I added. Ashley looked a little green. Good. She needed to understand this wasn’t a game. “What do you know about your parents?”

She picked up something on the table next to the couch and began fidgeting with it. A paintbrush. “My real parents? Nothing. I was adopted two weeks after I was born.”

How was I supposed to tell this girl her adoptive parents were probably going to kill her in her sleep? It wasn’t something that rolled off the tongue. “Think of this house as—as a zoo.”

“A zoo?” she whispered, pale.

“You were raised in captivity by people hoping to breed a monster.”

Her eyes bugged out and she dropped the paintbrush. It hit the floor and bounced, ending up under the coffee table between Alex and her. “Breed— Wha—?”

I thought my analogy was pretty sharp, but Alex didn’t agree. In hindsight, it might have been a little too graphic. Accurate, but graphic. He shot me a look that threatened violence and continued in a more neutral tone. “We think your parents—the people who adopted you—work for a company called Denazen. They’re supposed to watch you for signs of development.”

“Development?” she squeaked, fingers gripping the edge of the cushion. “What are you talking about? My mom is an artist and my dad works in construction.”

“Have you noticed anything strange about your abilities lately? Anything abnormal or new? Maybe something you couldn’t do before but can now?”

Her eyes narrowed and the fingers on her right hand started picking at the fabric on the couch cushion. Bingo! She’d given herself away.

“Look, I wasn’t kidding. There’s no time to play games. Not for you and definitely not for us. Cut the crap and just be straight.”

“Dez—”

“Sorry, Alex. No one coddled me when I found out. It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid. Just do it.”

“That’s the Nike slogan, not Band-Aids,” he said with an exasperated sigh.

I always knew I was different from everyone else, but it wasn’t until I met Kale that I learned how different that was. The truth of it had turned my universe inside out. But I adapted. I had to. It was the only way to survive. Ashley was either going to sink or swim.

“Whatever good-cop-bad-cop routine you two have going, I’m not really interested.” Ashley stood and pointed to the door. “I think you guys should go.”

“There’s no good-cop-bad-cop. Only the truth. And if you don’t let us help you before it’s too late, you’re going to die. Maybe it’ll be a stranger. Maybe it’ll be your own parents. But you’ve been scheduled for termination. You and me—we’ve officially become obsolete.”

“You know you sound insane, right?” She threw both hands into the air. She might not believe us 100 percent, but we’d planted a seed. Sometimes that was all we could hope for.

“We know how this sounds, but it’s the truth,” Alex said. He flashed her a smile that, at one time, would have made my heart stop. He’d always been good at putting people at ease. Maybe it was the way he looked at you. Like you were the only one in the room and he was totally absorbed in anything and everything you were about to say.

“These people want to use your ability to do some really messed-up things. The problem is, the drug they used to boost your power is toxic. As you get older, your body can’t handle it.” He tapped the side of his head, frowning. “Screws up your mind. The signs come on slowly, but they probably would have started by now. You turn eighteen soon, right?”

“A little more than four months.”

“Humor me for a sec,” I said, balancing myself on the arm of the couch as she sat back down. “Hallucinations, paranoid delusions, unsteady mood swings… Any of that ring a bell?”

Ashley’s brow furrowed. “As in, have I experienced any of them?”

“These are just some of the more common warning signs. There are others,” Alex said. “Please. Just give us a few more minutes?”

From the way she kept looking from Alex to the door, I didn’t think she’d agree, but after a moment, she nodded. “How can you even be sure I’ve got one of these—”

“Abilities?” Alex flashed her his patented Elvis smile and leaned a little closer. “We know you can see things that are happening in other places. It’s called remote viewing.”

She hesitated for a moment before sighing, then stood. “You showed my yours, so I guess I could show you mine…” Ashley bent over and pulled open the red backpack on the end table. She rifled through, withdrawing several loose pieces of notebook paper. Handing one to Alex, she said, “I did this a week ago.”