So, we went back to the shop and Fred showed Rubi, Murphy, and Roald where they could sleep. We all felt guilty about just crashing when we were operating on a time limit, but it couldn’t be helped. We couldn’t keep going nonstop.
Besides the Scions thing, we couldn’t deal with Pittman yet either. It was going to take Wren a while to make absolutely certain that machine was safe, and then make the changes we needed to reach out, grab him, and bring him to us. As motivated as we were to do this quickly, we were even more motivated to do it safely. The last thing we needed was to screw up somehow and accidentally transport all of us over to that island prison. Or grab the wrong person and bring them here. The thought of taking one of those psychopaths and letting them loose in this city, especially considering everything else that was already going on here, was enough to temper my panic just a little bit. It forced me to accept that this couldn’t be rushed. We were only going to have one shot at doing this properly, and we had to make it count.
So, we couldn't rush it. I assured Wren that we were going to wait until she was absolutely certain it was ready, and that she could take the time she needed to get it there. I knew she didn't really believe me about that last part. Every minute counted right now, we all knew that. But she did promise to be thorough and careful. She knew as well as I did just how important this was.The poor kid didn’t deserve this sort of pressure. But then again, I was pretty sure none of us deserved it.
At least she had some real help now. Not just because Paige was back and able to contribute her own technical knowledge, but Qwerty too. Hell, his power was basically perfect for working alongside Wren. Not the tagging power, of course, the other one. It basically allowed him to watch anyone who was building or fixing something and tell them how to do it better. He was able to sit on the table, observe Wren’s work, and give incredibly helpful advice. Yeah, we had lucked out when we met him, that was for sure. Which was fair, considering how much bad luck and just general problems kept cropping up. Seriously, the Scions had taken over Peyton’s mother’s apartment and were threatening to have their wannabe candidates kill hundreds of people if we didn’t get the cure to Pittman’s bio-attack fast enough? Who decided that needed to happen right now? We deserved something decent to try to balance it.
While they were busy working on that, with the help of the others (those who didn’t desperately need to sleep anyway) lifting, carrying, and holding things, I had other stuff I had to do. At least it would work as a distraction. First, I called the mercenary hospital and checked on Bobby. They said he was recuperating okay but he was asleep at the moment and they wouldn't wake him up. There was no way I was going to push the issue, so I thanked them and promised to check in later.
From there, I met up with Izzy and Amber at a coffee shop, embracing both of them tightly before we sat in the back booth and whispered to catch each other up. Well, at least catch up somewhat. Obviously there was a lot of… extra stuff, too much to get very deep into. But I did tell them that I had all of my memories back--or at least I was pretty sure I did. I told them both about Anthony, and everything I remembered about Bobby. My voice kept cracking through all of that, and I had to take a few breaks. But both of them were patient and just waited for me to get through it. I had already talked through this stuff with Paige, obviously. But she had known all of it already. Somehow, it was different explaining the details to people who hadn’t been there. It gave me a few new insights into my own feelings. Nothing groundbreaking, but still. It just… made me feel everything that much more. In some ways, that was hard. The pain was far more fresh than it should have been, even though it had been over five years, because I was never given the chance to actually process it. Now I was processing, and it was, well, a work in progress.
Of course, we didn’t just talk about my stupid personal traumas. There were more immediately important things to get into. Specifically, everything that was going on right here in the city. It was early Friday morning, but there was no school today. For various obvious reasons, they had canceled it. The city was panicking even about the idea that the bio-attack could have spread, if Cup was actually affected. Obviously, there were people who didn't believe that and thought the Scions were just fucking with everybody. Which, honestly, was fair. But enough people believed them that trying to have a normal school day would have been a complete joke. Even if we were there, no one would be able to concentrate on the actual work.
Honestly I was surprised this coffee shop was open. A lot of businesses weren't. The jaded part of me reminded myself how much the Ministry probably hated this. After all, their whole point was to keep the city as profitable as possible. They definitely wouldn't want to have half the businesses in town shuttered because so many people were afraid to leave their houses. In this very specific situation, we were completely on the same side. Which made me wonder if I should have told them everything about Bobby and what we were trying to do when we met with Fisher and Price before. If I had, what kind of help could they provide? Would it be worth giving them more information than they already had just so they could set us up with any extra equipment Wren needed to make absolutely certain this plan of ours could go off without a hitch? Would they even listen, or would they just think I was rambling about stuff I didn't understand and couldn't actually do?
Well, they would listen if I went to my brother, unmasked myself, and told him everything. He would definitely listen to me then. But I didn’t know if he’d actually help or think I was in over my head and that I should just let them handle it. Besides, that was a bridge I would never be able to unburn. If I was going to do it, I had to be absolutely certain there was no other way. Tempted as I was, with my parents in the condition they were, I couldn't act emotionally. Hell, I already had enough problems with emotions as it was. Right now, we were still working on the machine, and Wren hadn’t told me she couldn't do anything more with it. It was still coming along, we didn’t have to hit the emergency panic button yet. As hard as it was, I just had to force down my anxiety and wait.
With all that on my mind as I took a long sip of my iced coffee, I was a little surprised when Amber spoke up abruptly from across the table. “Are you going to see your parents today?” Her voice was raised slightly, and I realized belatedly that it was the second time she’d asked it. I had just been too lost in my own thoughts to hear her.
Setting the cup down, I glanced at Izzy before nodding. “Yeah, we’re going over there as soon as they open for visitors.” I tried to keep the fear out of my voice. There was absolutely no reason for me to start thinking that my mom and dad were going to suddenly get worse. From everything I had heard, they were completely stable. The doctors were already working on several promising leads about how to counter what was done. Plus, according to Sierra, Simon and the rest of the active Ministry were chasing down the lab that Pittman’s minions had to have used, so maybe they could find something useful there. I didn't believe for a second that that would mean we didn't have to grab Pittman, of course. But at least I could calm down a little bit. Or try to.
According to Amber and Izzy, all the Star-Touched who were still upright were being put to work scouring the city for any sign of the Scion candidates. Not that they were having much luck on that front, of course. It was like looking for several needles in a skyscraper-sized haystack. But they had to at least try. Maybe someone would get lucky. Meanwhile, others were working on trying to find a way to bring down the forcefield around the building. It was obviously something Cup put together, probably before she got sick. My guess was that she had intended it as some sort of emergency safety thing to stop them from being caught if they were cornered somewhere. Which also had to mean they had a way to get out of it, because I refused to believe she would create something to completely trap herself and her brother. Maybe their own teleportation devices worked from the inside. Either way, so far no one had been able to get past it. But they weren't going to stop trying, even if they had to be careful to avoid giving the Scions reason to execute any of their prisoners in there.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Just as I was looking at the time on my phone and starting to say we could head to the Conservators building to check on our parents, Izzy’s phone dinged alongside Amber's. They looked at them quickly before Amber grimaced. “There's some sort of fight going on by the bank on Griswold. We’ve gotta get over there.”
“I’ll suit up and--” I started to say, but Izzy interrupted.
“No, we can do it.” Her eyes met mine intently. “You haven’t seen… you haven’t seen Mom and Dad in a few days. You should go visit them, Cass. We can handle this part.”
“She’s right,” Amber insisted. “It’s just some gang idiots causing trouble. We’re gonna meet up with the rest of our team and deal with them.” She offered me a little smile. “Seriously, we can handle this. Go see your parents, breathe a little. I think you’re gonna need the rest before this is over.”
I didn’t like the idea, of course. But both of them had been handling this sort of thing a lot longer than I had. So, I headed out by myself, catching an Uber to take me to the Conservators building. It was time to see for myself just how my parents were doing.
*********
As I stepped out of the car and thanked the driver before sending his tip on my phone, a text came through from Izzy. She was letting me know that she and Amber were suited up and had just reached the scene of the disturbance. Apparently one small-time gang member had tried to steal a car belonging to one of the Prev Oscuro members. Normally that would’ve resulted in the first guy getting his everything broken, but he ended up having backup. Between that and the fact that none of the Oscuro Touched were around, it had devolved into a full-on brawl right there in the middle of the street. The Minority were all heading in to break it up before things got worse.
Sending back a message wishing her luck and reminding her to be careful, I put my phone away and headed inside. The guard at the front desk welcomed me back, and I reminded myself that, to him, I had just been here yesterday. Sierra had been keeping up appearances by coming to visit the way I would have. Thankfully, she had also given me names and descriptions of the people she interacted with, so I met his greeting with a simple, “Hey, Dave. Anything ummm, new?”
The older, dark-skinned man shook his head. “All the same, Miss Evans. Doctor Porris says they’ve got some high hopes for the treatment they’re working on right now, and if the Maiels show enough improvement, they’ll start your folks on it.”
Right, of course. My parents might’ve been important enough to get the very top of the line, cutting edge care. But that didn’t mean they were going to test the treatments on them. They’d test it on other victims first to see how it went. It was a thought that made my stomach twist itself up a bit. I was conflicted, to say the least.
But I couldn’t really focus too much on that. Instead, I waved to the man and headed further inside. There were a couple more checkpoints I had to pass, but they all knew me by now. Before long, I made it to the elevator and was on my way up to the medical wing. While waiting to reach the right floor, I checked my phone again. That time, there was a message from Paige. According to Wren, it was going to take most of the next day and a half to really make sure everything was set so we could grab Pittman and get answers out of him. The way Paige phrased it, Wren kept trying to apologize for taking so long. But none of them were having any of it, and just reminded her that doing it right was more important than doing it fast. Rushing was a bad idea.
After sending back a message to let me know if Wren needed any extra equipment picked up or anything like that, I stepped off the elevator as the doors opened. There was a brand new knot in my stomach that had nothing to do with the whole Pittman plan. I was about to visit my parents again for the first time in several days. The thought of seeing them in that condition, of knowing that there was still no way to actually help them, even if we were working on that, made me want to turn around and get back on the elevator.
Oh, right, it was about more than that. The realization came to me as I made my way past several nurses and orderlies, greeting them politely. It was also about my memories. This was the first time I would be seeing my mom and dad in person after getting all of my memories back. I still… a part of me was still angry about that. And the thought of feeling that anger while looking at my parents in their conditions, especially when I couldn’t be absolutely certain they would end up being okay, made a thick little ball of guilt settle in my gut. I had to set those feelings aside. Someday, if--when my parents were back to their usual selves, maybe I could figure out a way to talk to them about what had happened, what they had done. But not now. I was going to force those feelings down, put them aside, and focus on what was actually important at the moment.
Despite telling myself that, it still took me a moment to collect myself while standing outside the door to the observation room. Fortunately, I was pretty sure that wouldn’t stand out to anyone. Of course I was having trouble psyching myself up to go in there. I saw a couple sympathetic looks from the people hurriedly passing by as they went about doing their jobs. But they left me alone, giving me the chance to collect myself.
Finally, I let out a long breath and pushed the door open to step inside the room. My eyes immediately went to the window, and I moved that way. Within a couple steps, I could see both beds. This time, my dad wasn’t sitting up. He and my mom were each laying there, though ‘laying’ might have been a bit of an overstatement. They were tossing and turning, almost writhing in their beds. The medical staff had used soft restrains to ensure they didn’t fall off and hurt themselves. But that, in some ways, just made it worse. I had to stand at that window and watch my mom and dad as they were literally tied to their hospital beds, writhing and babbling about completely absurd things that didn’t make any sense. That time, my dad was the one babbling nonsense, while my mother seemed to be experiencing some mystery book she had read as though she was the main detective. From what I could make out, it wasn’t a happy book.
Even now, the doctors weren’t going to let me, or any other visitor, go inside that room. Probably especially not now, since that whole thing with the Scions had made everyone start rethinking whether it was possible for this stuff to infect others and make it out of the building. So, I just had to stand here by the window, staring at my parents like that. Needless to say, it didn’t make me feel any better or help me sort out any of my conflicting thoughts. The fact that one of the reasons I desperately wanted them to be okay was because I wished I could yell at them about everything I remembered was doing a number on my psyche. And the realization that even if they had been okay, I still couldn't say everything I wanted to wasn't helpful either.
In the end, I stayed there for about half an hour. Then I couldn't take it anymore and turned to head for the door. I made it down the hall and onto the elevator, only to hear a voice call out for me to hold the doors as they started to shut. Reflexively, I did so, looking up as a man came on the elevator. A familiar man.
“Hello, Cassidy,” Kent Jackson greeted me in a soft voice as he moved to stand against the far wall. “It’s good to see you again. How are your parents doing?”
“I… I…” Say something. I had to say something. But all I could focus on was the memory of that man looming over my bed, hand reaching out to take my memories away.
His expression softened. “I’m sorry.” Just as I had the panicky thought that he realized I had remembered, he added, “It can't be easy to come here and see your mother and father in that condition. Just let me know if we can do anything to help. Anything at all.”
Don’t punch him, I told myself. Don’t punch him, don’t punch him, do not punch him.
God damn it. This was going to be the longest elevator ride of my life.