AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No reaction. He was motionless, and I couldn’t get near him to help. I shoved the old canister of lethal gas into the plastic bag, burying it under the pile of tampons and pads, and headed straight for the Bridge at a purposeful trot.
No more sprinting. My chances of being seen were rising every second that passed. I had made a two-minute loop of myself, hunched over my computer. I assumed that position again, and disabled Invisibility Cloak with a swipe of my finger.
Jana was nowhere to be seen, but the cleaning cart was gone. Halliwell was supposed to be able to see all things at all times, but I could only hope that he’d miss this morning’s anomalies.
People were starting to trickle in. I grabbed some more coffee, took my plastic bag, and retreated to my apartment. I didn’t dare activate another loop once I got there, though I desperately wanted to. Too many anomalies in the system already. More people awake to notice them.
I went into the bathroom, shoved the syringes into a pink silk makeup bag, thinking of how Jana’s eyes had brightened as she measured out drugs. How that dead tone in her voice came to life as she used her skills and powers to help me, selflessly, and to her own personal danger and detriment.
God, how I wanted to make her come with me. To force her to believe that she had a future, away from this place. Away from Halliwell.
But I couldn’t make her do it. And that tooth was a hell of an impediment. I did not know how to solve that problem, but I still wanted to give her something.
I got into the closet, dug into the false bottom of the suitcase, and got out one of my contraband smartphones. All activated, charged, ready to use.
I went out onto the balcony to one of my deck chairs, held the phone down between my legs, and downloaded Invisibility Cloak onto it. Then I sent a text to the number.
u have the power now. do as u like with this. use it, toss it in the ocean. your choice. thx forever.
She was going to do my hair and makeup later. I could discreetly slip it to her then. But that video would be heavily scrutinized, analyzed, after the fact. Too risky.
I pocketed her new phone and wandered out into the corridors to the best blind spot on this floor, and activated Invisibility Cloak again. Then I made my way swiftly to Jana’s apartment, which was at the far end of the residential hall from my own.
Halliwell’s passcard let me in. Invisibility Cloak had no loop for this place, so I had to be quick. It was completely different from my luxurious apartment, just a plain, cramped one-bedroom with a small window that looked out on an inner courtyard. Like a hotel room, but more drab. The walls were plain and bare, like a nun’s cell.
I went to her featureless bedroom and slid the smartphone under her pillow.
That was all I could do for her. I hoped she’d appreciate the gesture, and not feel oppressed by it. The woman had enough problems already.
Afterward, I steeled myself to go back to the Bridge and work on Glow-worm. Cool, calm and collected. As if I didn’t have this whacked out, deadly adventure planned for later in the day.
I still couldn’t believe I was doing this. Breaking Shane Masters out of jail— and persuading him to help me save Reggie. If he survived the escape at all.
He couldn’t possibly object to me breaking him out. It was that or certain death, right? So I hoped that having freed him would make him kindly disposed toward me. That he would be willing to help. If the drugs didn’t make him, well… psychotic.
So many unknowns. But this was Reggie’s only chance, and there was no looking back. After all, there was nothing to look at back there anyhow.
Just scorched earth on every side.
CHAPTER7
Shane
Idragged my miserable, raggedy ass back to consciousness with great reluctance. I hurt too much to be awake and aware. My head pounded, my neck burned where I’d been shocked, the scabby, bloody mess of my throat stung, and every other fucking part of me ached and throbbed. My neck was swollen up, that fucking wire digging deep into raw, puffy flesh. My body was sticky with blood, old sweat.
I dragged myself slowly up into a sitting position as recent events reassembled themselves in my head. It seemed more like a dream, not a logical sequence. It still made no sense. The redheaded siren in the sexy evening gown. Taking down her hair. Dropping her dress. The glass wall, grinding miraculously open. The siren, in my arms. That kiss, that climax.
Then zap, the collar, burning and cutting me full force. Fuckingwow.
What was the point of all that drama? Beat me all to hell.
It took a long time and grim concentration to steady my legs enough to walk on them. I staggered over to the food drawer. A meal had been left in it. A paper-wrapped sandwich, a bottle of water, an apple. I took out the water, but didn’t bother with the food. After a bout with the strangle-wire, I could barely get water down.
I usually passed my long, empty hours meditating, focusing on moonscapes, star fields, ocean waves, migrating birds. Not today. I just dragged my body over to the cot and sprawled on it. At some point, I heard another meal being automatically delivered through the mechanical drawer in the wall. I didn’t even roll over.
I wished the sick bastard would just kill me. The difficulty of breathing through my inflamed throat made sleep impossible. I just lay there, and fought for every breath of air I took, while pain hammered at my brain with every stubborn heartbeat.
Time crawled by. I slipped in and out of consciousness. I kept seeing my redheaded siren seductively unbraiding her hair for me. Showing me her tits. Then I heard the microphone buzz. The line was open.
