I could see Jayeden roll his eyes upward in exasperation and heard him draw in a slow breath to calm himself down. “Aria, think logically. You have no idea where they are. You’re injured to the point of bleeding out. Even if you were in perfectly good health and you had a clue on where they were, you’d have no chance.”
He paused and stared at me for a moment as I swayed back and forth. “You’re also about to pass out on me again.” He muttered. He placed a hand on my shoulder and another on my left arm to steady me.
Getting a second wind, I suddenly felt enriched with new energy that chased the dizziness away. I straightened up and determinedly glared at Jayeden. “There is a chance. I’m going to find and help them if it kills me.” I attempted to wrench away from him.
Jayeden watched me with sympathetic eyes, keeping me restrained within his iron grip. Good grief, when did he start working out?
I finally gave up on getting away from him and huffed. Being a red belt in Taekwondo wasn’t really helping me right then.
The corner of his mouth twitching into a small smile, Jayeden drilled that green-eyed gaze into me. “Are you done yet?”
When I didn’t answer, his face grew serious again. “Aria, why won’t you let me take you to the hospital?”
Great. Exactly where I didn’t want the conversation to go. I felt my face grow hot. “It’s a long story. I just can’t go, okay? Please, please don’t take me.” I felt desperate.
He sighed. “Okay. I can’t believe I’m doing this, but okay. I trust that you know what you’re doing.”
Taken aback, I stared at him unblinking. Did he just say what I thought he said?
He nodded to the door. “So, where do you think they went?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know where they took the kids. I just feel that they’re getting further and further away.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Feel? Aria, if you keep talking like this, I’m going to have no choice but to-…”
“You won’t have to do that.” I interrupted. “Just trust me, okay?” I started for the door.
Jayeden reached out and grabbed my left arm, throwing it over his shoulder. He placed his hand under my right arm, practically lifting me off of the floor.
Startled, I craned my head to see him looking down at me. “What are you doing?” I asked, a bit of alarm creeping into my voice.
“You’re not going anywhere without me.” He said softly. His serious green eyes searched my face.
I nervously shifted. I appreciated the gesture, but if he felt my wings through my jacket…
I nodded jerkily and managed a shaky smile. “Thanks.” Determined to get his attention elsewhere, I started once again for the door.
We reached his car with no comments on his end, so I guessed that he was either too nice to say anything or just hadn’t noticed the unusual lump on my back. He let go of me and hovered there for a second, testing to see whether or not I could stand up on my own. Satisfied that I was okay, he unlocked the passenger door and opened it for me.
Once I had painstakingly climbed into the seat and gotten buckled in, Jayeden shut the door and jogged around to the driver’s side. I grimaced as I pulled the seatbelt to where it wasn’t so tight against my tender stomach.
“So, what do we do now?” Jayeden turned the car on and glanced at me as he pulled his Lancer out of the parking lot.
I sighed and leaned my head back. Somehow I knew where they were, like part of me was still with them and unconsciously documenting what was happening. I rubbed my eyes. So many weird things had been happening to me.
“I’m not sure…” I murmured as I closed my eyes. Maybe if I concentrated, I could pull the information out that I was looking for. It was right there, I knew it, but still out of reach. It was like looking at a picture and not being able to make out the object, but still able see the colors. I drowned out the noise of the engine and delved into my thoughts. I pictured myself standing with the others, wherever they might be.
Without warning, I was pulled into the pictures in my mind. I was suddenly sitting cross-legged in a dimly lit room that rocked and bounced violently. It took a minute for my eyes to adjust to the scarce light, but I could make out three faint figures huddled on the floor. I gasped slightly when I realized that each of the figures was chained to the wall.
“Chandler?” I said incredulously to the brown-haired girl hugging her knees beside me. My best friend paid no attention to me. I tried to touch her, but my hand passed through her body like it was vapor. I stepped back in shock.
They were being transported like animals in a truck. Where they were being transported, I didn’t know. I had to find that out. I closed my eyes with a hard swallow and imagined myself in the cockpit with the driver.
I opened my eyes experimentally, and found myself sitting in the seat next to a big, hairy guy behind the wheel. I wrinkled my nose at the smell that wafted from him. I looked around at the road before us and managed to get a glimpse of a few road signs that indicated their location.
I closed my eyes to will myself back into the cargo hold again, when a wave of weakness hit me like a sledgehammer to the head. I gasped and frantically concentrated harder. I had to hurry.
I rematerialized into the dark room with the kids. I hurried over to one of my friends’ side, my breathing becoming labored. I was slowly fading.
I leaned close to the girl, who I made out to be Liah, my friend Gallagher’s younger sister, and whispered quickly into her ear. “Hey, hang in there, okay? You guys are strong; you can do it. I know you can. Don’t give up. I’ll be here to help you soon. Just hang on till I get here.” My lungs felt like they were going to explode.
Liah gave a small groan and lifted her head. She looked straight at me, her eyes widening. She said nothing.
I nodded earnestly, and my heart fluttered. Maybe she could see me. “Alright, Liah. You’re doing great. I know it’s scary, I know it’s hard. But just stick it out, okay? Do that for me.”
Liah was silent, but her eyes grew ever wider.
I gave her a small smile and closed my eyes. I couldn’t stay any longer; already I was blacking out. I withdrew my presence from the picture in my mind.
I vaguely became aware of cool air blowing on my face and the scent of Jayeden’s car floating into my nose. I sighed deeply and relaxed. But that didn’t last very long.
I remembered the road signs I saw. I jerked up. “Turn left here, take I-71 south, get off on exit 220, take two lefts and a right.” My hand flew up to cover my mouth. Where had that come from?
His knuckles turning white from his death grip on the steering wheel, Jayeden threw an astonished look in my direction. “What? How do you know that?”
Sucking in the cool air, I shifted in my seat. “I don’t know; I just do.” I mentally kicked myself for being so careless about what I said. “Um, I think I remember hearing one of the bad guys saying something about going, um, in…that direction…” I trailed off, realizing that I was only making the situation worse by trying to explain myself.
Jayeden looked at me suspiciously for one moment, as if considering bypassing the hospital and going for the loony bin instead, then turned back to face the road. We drove on in silence.
Feeling embarrassed and ashamed of making a fool out of myself, I squeezed my eyes shut and leaned back. Why couldn’t I have been normal? I would’ve gotten along perfectly fine without wings, constant nightmares that scared the bejeebies out of me, and all this other weird stuff that was happening to me today! Why?
Why couldn’t someone understand?
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