Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(6)
Chapter Four
Armed with my backpack, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed fresh air while Jack attempted to arrange my protection.
I didn’t think I needed a bodyguard, but I did need a ride. I didn’t even know where I was. And I definitely wanted to separate myself from Jack until I figured out who was inside my head trying to harm him. We were better off apart for now.
I opened the back door and stepped out into the October air. The early morning breeze was cool, but the sun warmed my cheeks instantly.
The safe house where Georgia, Jonas, and Fred lived was nestled among other older brick houses, very much like the house I grew up in with Gram. Autumn leaves rustled in the wind, their vivid oranges and yellows fluttering high above me. A rusty-chained swing creaked at the house next door. And beyond that, railroad tracks.
Embers in the fire pit in the middle of the patio still smoked from the night before, giving off a distinct campfire-like scent. Eight Adirondack chairs were scattered around the area. I imagined the threesome having small gatherings at their house often. I could easily picture them living a normal life together. To their outside friends, assuming they had friends, they were simply three roommates starting out in life.
A small twinge of jealousy churned in the pit of my stomach. I wanted friends, normalcy, to live on my own away from the threats that haunted me now.
I followed a line of stepping stones around the side of the house to a gate in the picket fence that enclosed the backyard. A couple of guys walked by the front of the house. Satchels crossed their chests and hung low at their hips. Another passerby sped by on a bike, a backpack strapped to her back.
We were close to a school. I glanced back at the railroad tracks again. We had to be near the University of Kentucky. There were a lot of older brick homes near the football stadium, from what I remembered from the few times I had visited campus.
I heard voices coming from the front of the house.
“Jonas, I can’t send her out alone,” Jack said.
I squeezed between a bush and the side of the house, positioning myself so that I could see Jack, Jonas, and Georgia standing on the front porch, and clearly hear their conversation. Luckily, they were too engrossed in their discussion to notice me.
“Take her with you,” Georgia suggested.
“You know I can’t do that. They’ll force her to heal Sandra, and it could kill her.”
“You don’t know that, Jack.” Jonas’s tone was more serious than it had been earlier that morning. “We need Sandra. What if she can take away your nausea and how sick you get when you heal people?”
Jack and I hadn’t had time to discuss whether we actually believed Sandra could heal some of these symptoms we suffered. I would argue we had these abilities and these side effects because of Sandra.
“Speaking of,” Jack said, “want to tell me why you suffered a panic attack this morning?”
“I was just playing around.” He paused and looked away, almost directly at me. I glued my back to the side of the house and out of their sight, praying he hadn’t seen me eavesdropping. “There’s this hot girl next door. I wanted to see if I could get her to undress in front of the window.”
Ewww. Gross.
“Sounds like it was quite a panic attack for such a small request,” Jack said, seemingly quite unaffected by what a pervert Jonas was.
“Now you see why I need Sandra. I can’t have even the smallest tasks sending me into a full-on crazy episode.” Jonas tapped his head with his knuckles.
I peeked around the side of the house. Studied Jonas. His hand shook nervously at his side, then reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a small object.
“None of this changes the fact that Lexi doesn’t want to accept that part of her genetic makeup yet.” Jack—always the optimist.
He’d been so supportive of me as I discovered what we were. There was no doubt in my mind that he would continue to try to shield me as we searched for more information about what it meant to be cloned and how we were genetically modified.
“Yet?” Georgia repeated. “But you think she will, eventually? Will she become a part of The Program?”
By piecing tidbits together, I had learned that we each had special abilities, some similar, some not. Jonas had an ability similar to mine if he could force a girl to undress. And we all seemed to have certain adverse side effects—nosebleeds, projectile vomiting, panic attacks. I studied the deep lines across Georgia’s forehead. She was worried. Did she have some supernatural ability? Or even more important, did she suffer greatly when she used it?
“I don’t know,” Jack said. “I promised her I would help her run if that’s what she wanted. Not a single one of us should be forced to embrace this life that was chosen for us.”
“Fine.” Jonas lifted the object up to his mouth. It was a cigarette. “I’ll take her wherever she needs to go. And stay with her if necessary. It would be my pleasure.” His words rolled right over the smirk that spread across his lips as he stuck the cigarette in his mouth. When he flicked the lighter and the flame sparked, I flinched at both the noise and the fire.
“It’s necessary. Don’t forget someone tried to kill both of us last week. And Cathy was ready to imprison us at Wellington Friday night.” Jack shook his head and added, “I’ve got to confront my dear mother.”