Broken - Afflictions of the Evolved (The Evolved Trilogy) Read online

  “Eat up, we’ll burn it off later,” said Taylor already digging into the food. He blew on the potato skin to cool it down.

  I arched my eyebrows at him intrigued. He didn’t have to read my thoughts to know how much I wanted him. My body was betraying me by secreting pheromones into the atmosphere.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter. I meant we would burn it off dancing and checking out the casinos.” He dipped a mozzarella stick into the marinara sauce.

  My cheeks flushed again though I knew I shouldn’t be embarrassed by the implication that I was only interested in sex. I loved him and I wanted to be with him – with all of him.

  “So, how did you pull this off? I didn’t even hear you come in the room?” I asked making conversation.

  “Well, as soon as I saw that dress I knew it was perfect for you. The store clerk wrote the note for me while I picked out a tux. Then I put the dress in our room while you were bathing and I took my stuff to the pool change room so I could freshen up without you seeing me.” He smiled for being so clever.

  When we finished, Taylor left a wad of money on the table and we exited the restaurant. It was a bit chilly outside and the lace material didn’t exactly retain any body heat. Like a gentleman, Taylor removed his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. We continued through the crowds on the sidewalk and into our first casino. No one even asked for our ID.

  Taylor bought a stack of casino chips and split them with me. We played a few games of black jack, roulette and poker. After visiting a few other casinos and winning small increments at each in order to avoid suspicion, we were done gambling for the evening. It was probably just as well since I had over five thousand dollars in cash on me.

  “That’s insane,” I said as I placed some more money into my purse. I placed the strap over my right shoulder and across my chest so the purse clung to my left side hoping to deter a passing by thief from yanking it from me.

  “What can I say?” bragged Taylor, “I’m very talented.” He had played like a pro. Plus he had the added bonus of reading people’s minds.

  “You mean a cheater, don’t you?” I teased as we continued down the sidewalk. I held onto his arm.

  “Okay, so maybe we have a certain edge over the casinos.” He turned his head to smile and wink at me.

  Loud music echoed as we rounded a corner. A long line up blocked the sidewalk. Taylor grabbed my hand and dragged me to the front of the line where a huge bouncer wearing a tight black shirt stood with his arms crossed. “The line up is that way,” the bouncer stated as he pointed with his forefinger towards the end of the line.

  “This is my girl’s first time in Vegas and I want to show her a good time,” pleaded Taylor.

  “No cutting in line,” the bouncer replied in a deep and serious voice.

  Taylor flashed a hundred dollar bill in his right hand at the bouncer. “Sometimes you can make an exception to the rule right?”

  The bouncer squinted his eyes at Taylor. He began to make angry grunting noises. This was not going according to Taylor’s plan. I stared at the bouncer. I concentrated on my thoughts, willing them to be his. “You want to take the money. You want to let these tourists through.”

  The man’s demeanor changed and he discretely grabbed the money and unclipped the red velvet rope barrier to let us by, ignoring the sighs, moans and noisy complaints from the crowd still waiting to get in. Once inside, Taylor eyed me curiously.

  I lifted my hands in the air. “Don’t ask me how I did that because I don’t even know.” I recalled Tawny telling me that among many things, I was also a controller. It felt wrong to me to manipulate people into doing my bidding so I never tested it out before. But what I just did seemed harmless enough to me. We only wanted to have a good time. I wasn’t even sure if it was my thoughts that made him change his mind. Maybe he just felt sorry for us. It was doubtful but possible.

  Taylor just laughed as he removed his coat from my shoulders, placed it on the back of a chair and dragged me onto the dance floor. The dance music blared as we moved our bodies. I had never been a very talented dancer but I let loose and allowed my body to shift and sway, getting lost in the rhythm, my purse bouncing around with me.

  It was early in the morning when the crowd started to clear out. Exhausted from the long evening we decided to call it a night and head back to our hotel for some well deserved sleep. After grabbing his jacket from the chair, Taylor once again placed it around my shoulders. He was always so thoughtful and so patient. Well, maybe not always, but mostly. I could be very stubborn at times.

  In no time, we were back at the hotel even with my heels on. I removed the key card from my purse that Taylor had given me earlier in case we became separated. After swiping the key in the slot of the door and pushing it open, I took one step and paused. My spidey senses tingled.

  “What is it?” asked Taylor placing his hand on my shoulder as if he could sense my emotions with his touch. That would be a cool ability.

  I turned my head towards him. “I’m positive I left the lights on.”

  I didn’t have time to react. A strong arm grabbed me and yanked me into the dark room almost pulling my arm out of its socket. I was pulled with such force my body bounced off the bed and onto the floor. The wind was knocked out of me and I was disoriented in the dark. I had to think fast if I was to get out of this predicament.

  “Lacey,” screamed Taylor. In my mind I urged him to run. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him.

  The lights suddenly turned on and from the floor I saw Taylor run towards a bald man in a trench coat. As Taylor got closer, the dark entity extended then pointed his arms into the air forcing Taylor to spring backwards and land crashing into the television. Pieces fell to the floor along with Taylor. The dark entity relentlessly continued towards him.

  I gathered myself from the floor and jumped onto the man’s back, placing him in a chokehold. He grabbed at my arms and struggled backwards. I tightened my grip but was forced to loosen it when I felt my hair being pulled from behind. My body twisted and I dropped to the floor on my knees.

  The second man dragged me across the carpet as I screamed in pain. The shrieking stopped when an invisible force squeezed my throat tightly. On the brink of unconsciousness I heard the smash of breaking glass. With my face plastered against the carpet I tried peeking out of the corner of my eye. I was able to see a black blur run out of the room through the doorway. I coughed hoarsely, thankful I was able to breathe again.

  After my coughing fit I jumped up, ignoring the carpet burn that gnawed at my knees. I ran towards the window where Taylor was standing, blood dripping from his forehead. I handed him a Kleenex from the box on the dresser. We both looked down and saw a body lying motionless on the pavement below. A crowd had gathered and onlookers pointed up at us. Sirens rang out in the distance.

  I grabbed my suitcase but was stopped by Taylor who shoved the tissue into his pocket. “There’s no time for that,” he yelled. “The cops are already on their way.”

  We ran out of the room and into the stairwell thinking the security guards and police would take the elevator. I took off my high heeled shoes so I could move faster. By the time we reached the bottom I thought I was going to throw up. I regained my composure, placed my shoes back on my sore feet and held Taylor’s hand as we opened the door to the lobby. Jessica spotted us and picked up the phone. Spiteful bitch.

  Once outside, Taylor and I quickened our pace and walked around the corner to where our Mustang was parked. We stopped abruptly when we saw a uniformed police officer peering through the windows of the car with a flashlight. A second officer was talking with the valet who handed him a set of keys.

  “Just calm down,” whispered Taylor.

  “How the hell do you expect me to do that?” I asked with a frenzied voice. Adrenaline flowed through my veins.

  Taylor pushed my shoulders against the building and stared into my eyes. “Lacey, everything will be okay. We’re g
oing to get another ride and I am going to take you somewhere safe,” he said in a calm and soothing voice.

  I felt my heart returning to its normal rhythm and nodded my head in agreement. If saving the future didn’t work out for him, he could always become a hypnotist.

  The streets filled with the sound of sirens. Taylor and I walked away from the chaos through alleys and side streets until a red jeep caught Taylor’s attention.

  “This is exactly what we need,” exclaimed Taylor.

  He forced the locks with his mind and we both jumped inside. I concentrated hard on the engine and within seconds the jeep started. Not only could I apparently control people’s thoughts but I could control inanimate objects. Taylor looked at me surprised. I shrugged my shoulders. I was just as astonished of my newly acquired abilities. I knew that I could move things with my mind but I didn’t realize I could start an engine with it. That would have come in handy during the break out at Clear Waters.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as we drove towards the highway.

  “A place where we will not be found,” replied Taylor. “A place called Serenity.”

  BOOK TITLE

  2.

  serenity

  “So what exactly is Serenity?” I quizzed Taylor as we sped along the highway in our stolen jeep. Nothing spelled out romance like evading arrest and grand theft auto.

  “Serenity is sort of a sanctuary for extremely gifted children. We’ll be safe there,” explained Taylor as he played with the radio.

  “Gifted children from the future?” I prodded while staring out the window and checking the passenger mirror periodically. I was keeping an eye out for headlights from cops or anyone else who might be after us. We needed to distance ourselves from the city as the sun would rise soon. I leaned back in my seat; my head was feeling too heavy for my shoulders. I envisioned sleeping on a firm mattress with fresh linen and a cozy comforter.

  Stopping me from nodding off, Taylor responded. “Nope, these are gifted children from the present time. However, some of the counselors are from the future.”

  I tilted my head against the passenger window and stared at the passing trees. There was so much more I still needed to learn about Taylor and the evolved. I thought about Triona, the first evolved member I had met briefly at Clear Waters until she was locked away in the basement. I thought the basement was something made up to scare the new people but I witnessed with my own eyes what went on there. I was still saddened by the thought of the victims who were tied to beds and forced to take medication to keep them zoned out. I shuddered when I realized that I could have been a victim but chose to run away before that could happen.

  After the escape, we met up with Zed, who brought us a reliable car in order to hide away in a cabin he had rented for Taylor and I. Later, Zed came to the cabin to warn us that our location may have been compromised. On our way to the safe house, I met Tawny who tried to rescue Sable herself but failed. At the safe house I met Jake, Chloe and Link who all ended up rescuing Sable then assisted in our after hours bank robbery after Tawny and Sable returned to the future. I told myself the bank robbery was okay since this bank in particular had ties to terrorism. That was pretty much the list of time travellers I had met so far. Oh, and the bad guys. I can’t forget the bad guys no matter how hard I try.

  After driving for hours, stopping for food and to gas up, then driving for a couple more hours, Taylor turned onto a dirt road.

  “Are we there?” I asked when we stopped. I was so sick of driving. My legs kept cramping up and I felt nauseous. It took my body a few moments to realize the jeep had come to a standstill.

  “No. But we both need to get some sleep. I know you’re exhausted, Lacey.” He reclined his seat in preparation for a nap.

  It was true. I was running on fumes but had stayed awake for moral support for Taylor. It didn’t seem fair that I could sleep while Taylor drove. It was a shame that I couldn’t just teleport us to where we needed to go. It was a miracle the last and only time I did.

  As I moved my seat into recline mode, Taylor covered me with his jacket. He insisted I take it as he was warm enough. Of course he was. He could run around the Arctic in his boxers and still be warm enough. He kissed me on the forehead before returning to his side of the vehicle. I’m sure his eyes were burning more than mine considering he did all of the driving. It didn’t take long for the both of us to fall into a deep slumber.

  “Lacey, wake up,” a soothing voice said in a low whisper. Taylor didn’t want to startle me awake.

  When I opened my eyes it was dark out. I gently rubbed them and wiped some drool from my mouth. I let out a huge yawn as I glanced at my watch. It was just after midnight.

  “Happy New Year’s, Lacey,” said Taylor rubbing my cheek with his fingers.

  With everything that had happened I completely forgot it was New Year’s Eve. I became angry at the dark spirits for finding us so quickly and ruining what was supposed to be a magical time for me and Taylor. I knew it wasn’t Taylor’s fault but I found it hard to put on a brave face and share his enthusiasm.

  “Lacey, this wasn’t the evening I was expecting either,” he said. He rubbed his forehead in disappointment.

  “I know. I don’t blame you. I’m just frustrated. A couple of months ago I was your average teenage girl. Now I have people trying to hurt me at every turn. Maybe I would be better off in a loony bin.”

  I wanted to take those words and stuff them back into my mouth. It sounded like I had regretted my decision to run away from Clear Waters with him and become part of this mission. I tried to apologize but the words wouldn’t come out. I swallowed dryly. I could see the pain on Taylor’s face and I hated myself, knowing that I was the cause.

  Taylor turned his body towards the driver’s side door and rested his head against the window. It wasn’t long until he was fast asleep again. I had a harder time falling back to sleep after hurting Taylor. I didn’t really want to end up in a loony bin like in my original – possibly still destined – future. I thought back to yet another one of Taylor’s insightful explanations about how he found me using electronic time stamps (clips of video pieced together of me since the day I was born). It is true when people say “Big Brother is watching.” That is one of the reasons Taylor and I try to keep our faces hidden from the direction of cameras. Maybe that’s how the dark spirits found us; they high jacked surveillance cameras and used some sort of facial recognition software. Well, there certainly weren’t any cameras way the hell out here in “Timbuktu.” Hopefully we were far enough off the grid to get a good night’s sleep.

  I breathed heavily onto the side window and used my finger to draw random designs in the residue. I kept repeating the symbol for eternity over and over until my arm cramped. I took that as a sign to join Taylor in his slumber.

  When I opened my eyes it was morning. My neck was stiff from sleeping in the awkward sitting position so I titled my head slowly from left to right. Through the windshield I saw Taylor walking towards the jeep.

  Before getting out to join him, I placed Taylor’s coat on his seat and grabbed my purse that I had placed by my feet. I opened my door and got out to stretch. I rummaged through my purse and handed Taylor a piece of gum as a peace offering. After popping one into my mouth I finally spoke. “I’m sorry.” I blurted it quickly but quietly before I could change my mind. Apologizing wasn’t the easiest thing for me to do.

  “What could you be sorry for?” he asked smacking his gum and rolling the wrapper in between his fingers.

  “For implying that I regretted all of this…regretted being with you,” I looked down to the ground ashamed.

  “I should be the one apologizing to you,” he said moving closer to me so he could brush my cheek with his gentle fingers.

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” I replied. “It was my choice to break out of Clear Waters.”

  “At my urging,” he insisted. He moved his hands to my waist.

  “Taylor, I don’t regret a
ny of this. I’m just…” I paused. “I’m scared.”

  Tears welled up in my eyes but I fought them back. Taylor hugged me and patted my butt as an attempt at humor. He always knew how to lighten my dark moods. I guessed we had kissed and made up.

  Refreshed, we got back on the road only stopping to buy gas, some outfits, hiking boots, basic toiletries, food and water with the Vegas money I still had stashed in my purse. Luckily for us we weren’t that far off the grid.

  Hours later we were travelling on yet another dirt road until we came to a dead end. After changing into loose clothing and hiking boots, I helped Taylor cover the jeep with leafy branches even though I doubted anybody would ever dare venture this way.

  We left my dress and Taylor’s suit in the jeep. He explained the outfits were way too fancy to bring to Serenity. I had no problem leaving those in the jeep, it was when Taylor suggested I remove my heart pendant necklace and keep it in my backpack that I questioned his motives. I read the inscription, “My heart belongs to you. Love Taylor,” before placing it in a side pocket of my bag.

  Armed with backpacks of only bare essentials, we started our trek through thick brush and overgrown trails. I was losing my patience with branches slapping my face when we finally came to a clearing over looking a ravine.

  A beautiful waterfall rushed into the stream below. If I didn’t fear the police catching up to us or the dark spirits killing me, this would be the ideal place to sit back and relax in its tranquil setting. Taylor’s instructions brought me back to reality.

  “Okay Lacey, we have to climb over the ledge, go across the ravine and up the other side to the ledge by the waterfall.” He used his matter-of-fact voice again, as if normal people did this all the time.

  “Excuse me?” I asked astonished. There was no way I was climbing down jagged and slippery rocks, crossing a stream, and climbing up more jagged rocks. I stood with my hands on my hips like a small child until I realized there really wasn’t another option as I’m sure it wouldn’t be long until the dark entities were hot on our trail once more. It irked me that they seemed to stay just a few steps behind us at all times. Taylor said Serenity would provide us with answers. I hoped he was right.