Forbidden (The Seeker Saga, #2) (16 page)

“And Mr. Stannis,” I said  Two people were hanging onto their lives by a threat. Both were my fault.  It was time to take responsibility for what I had caused.

Chapter Nine – A Rush through the Dark

Eve and I rushed back to the other girls as fast as we could with Rob’s near-dead weight slung between us.  I held the crystal so tight in my palm that the edges threatened to draw blood.  I didn’t care.  Never again would I make the mistake of letting go. 

It was a struggle for the two of us to carry him.  Rob was all hard, dense muscle, and because of that was much heavier than he looked.  I was reminded uncannily of the night I dragged Liz to the clinic with Madison and Zoe.
 
But these were different circumstances.  Much
direr
circumstances.  And we faced different dangers.

We hadn’t moved far through the forest when Rob’s breathing became shallower.  It frightened me.  I prayed we hadn’t found him too late.

“I won’t let you die,” I promised.  Eve grunted on the other side.

We went as fast as we could, but even so a good twenty minutes must have passed before we reached the other girls.  Shadows shifted in the night the whole time, looming menacingly.  The trees around us rustled wickedly.  Branches I didn’t even see scraped my sides, scratching the exposed skin of my face.  But that didn’t matter.  Getting Rob the help he needed mattered.

I saw the light from the other girls first.  But I was too exhausted to cry out for help.  Hauling Rob all this way, coupled with the shock of finding him, the lack of sleep, and the stress and disorder of the last two days was more than I would expect to deal with in a lifetime.  In ten lifetimes.  Thankfully, one of the other girls spotted us before I had to use my remaining strength to call to them.

The light ahead exchanged hands, and the next thing I knew
it was bobbing towards me through the trees
. 
When it was finally close enough, I saw who was carrying it.

“Hey!  What took you guys so long…?” the words died in her throat as her eyes came upon us.  Wet, ragged, and carrying a limp Rob, we must have looked like something out of a horror movie.  But she surprised me by reacting much better than I had.  She turned, ran, and called for the other girls.

Madison and Liz came racing to us.  “What happened?” Liz demanded.  Her eyes were big and full of worry. 

“The prisoner got out,” Eve said.  “I don’t know how.  Rob took a nasty welt.  He’s lucky he wasn’t killed.”

“
We’re
lucky,” I corrected.

Liz bit her lip and nodded. 
She
reacted better than I had, too.  “Alright.  We need to get him to the clinic.  Come.  We’ll take him from you.”  Ashley, being taller than Madison, stepped forward with Liz to take Rob from me and Eve.  We passed him to them, and the physical relief of that was astounding.  But the burden was not yet lifted from my shoulders.

Madison ran back to where they had been originally. To my infinite relief I saw that the girls had managed to make a litter.  It was constructed from the lengths of their jackets and tied to two decently-sized branches, just like Madison had explained.  Mr. Stannis was already on it.

“How is he doing?” I asked Madison, but it was a throwaway question raised only from obligation.  All my real worries were with Rob.

“Better, I think,” Madison said.  “At least, not any worse.”

“That’s the first good news I’ve heard in a while.”

Liz and Ashley came up behind us, and placed Rob gently on the litter beside Mr. Stannis.  Never in my life would I think I’d be in guardianship of two bodies. 

There were five of us in total, and four ends to the litter.  Carrying it aloft could have been managed with just Mr. Stannis, but with Rob there too, it was simply too heavy.  The litter had to be dragged.  Quickly, the decision was made that I would take the lead while the rest of the girls pulled the litter.  I had my crystal, and was the only one strong enough to be able to make use of it against any threat. 

We decided to make our way to the clinic through the forest rather than on the path that ran from the dorms to the main yard.  Even though the path would have been much easier, and perhaps it would have even been possible to enlist somebody’s help, we had to be aware of being exposed to our enemies.  The woods were the only place that would give us cover.

Even though it was tough going, a steely determination gripped our group.  We had one common goal that drove us.  We had to get the men to the clinic.  Both of them.

All of us were on high alert about our surroundings.  But I had to be so most of all.  Every single tree, every single shadow could be a threat.  The man who attacked me had escaped.  He was now free, and somewhere on the island.  Of course, he had no idea where we were.  If he were anywhere near the caves when Eve and I got there I would have sensed him through my crystal.  So there was no way he could be stalking us.  Unfortunately, the assurance of that logic did nothing to ease the tension between my shoulders.

Rain continued coming down.  We trekked through puddles and mud, our feet sinking into the earth.  Sometimes the trees gave small protection from the rain, but those always seemed to be the moments when an icy gust of wind sliced through our clothes like a frozen blade.

Aside from our labored breathing and the rain there was silence.  I winced every time a branch scraped against another.  As we walked, I tried to quiet my breathing for fear of making a sound.  But I knew our entire procession made enough noise to wake an entire village. 

I kept my crystal clutched in my palm the whole time.  It was there, and it gave me some comfort, but I could not afford another catastrophe like with Stannis.  I could
not
lash out again.  At the same time, I had to keep the girls safe.  There was simply no middle ground.

We were determined, but slow.  An hour had easily passed by the time we reached the edge of the forest just north of the clinic.  I knew it by the way the trees let up just a little way ahead.

“Stay here,” I whispered to the girls. I ran to the edge quiet as a hare.  Crouching beside the great trunk of an evergreen, I watched.  And waited.  Not a sound disturbed the night except for the patter of rain.  The shadows of the forest would soon be let behind, but as soon as we stepped into the open valley before the clinic we would be in most dangerous part.  We’d be out in the open, where anyone could see us.

The land before me sloped up naturally, and the clinic was just beyond the rise.  A dull light over the crest of the hill gave away its location, but nothing more.  I waited, and listened.  The dull thud of blood in my ears was the most obvious sound. 

Nobody was around.  I thought I knew that.  But a nagging uncertainty kept prodding the back of my mind.  There was a better way to check than this.  The only way to really be sure the path was clear was to use the crystal.  But could I trust myself not to lash out if I felt someone again?  I had to.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mind to the crystal.  Immediately, all the extrasensory perceptions flooded into me.  There was nothing extraneous – just the connections, and just the ones I needed.  That was a surprise.  Before, I had to struggle with power flowing through me before feeling the connections.  It was as if this time, the crystal understood what I wanted.  But maybe I was just more accustomed to it.

The blue light flashed out, but I didn’t need it to see.  The connections the crystal gifted my mind provided much better vision.  I felt out, searching for anybody else.  I knew the presence of the five girls behind me, knew the make up of every tree, knew the rodents nesting in the roots, knew the birds asleep in the branches, knew every single blade of grass in the field before me.  I scanned it all, my mind burning in overdrive, and thankfully found no one.  Not close enough to cause trouble, anyway.  The only sentient beings in proximity were the animals. Nothing else.  I released the crystal. 

I ran back to the girls.  There was no need to explain what I had done.  “You bring the litter,” I told them, “and I’ll run to the clinic to get help.”

One of the girls grunted her affirmation, and I spun on my heels and raced back.  As soon as I burst from the shelter of the trees the real strength of the storm became clear.  Raindrops as heavy as bullets pelted me as I ran.  It was impossible to see farther than twenty feet in the downpour. 

I topped the rise, and the pale light from the clinic below gave me hope.  Somebody was there.  I ran down the slope and nearly lost my footing on the slick grass.  Thunder crackled overhead, momentarily lighting the field around me.  In the dark that followed shadows rose in the corner of my eye, twisting into menacing shapes and figures.  Fear gripped me, fear that we hadn’t got here in time.  But hope glimmered through that dread.

I reached the clinic, and ran for the door.  The front windows were all dark.  I pulled the handle, expecting it to come open, and nearly fell on my back when it didn’t.  It was locked!  I banged on the door.  Rain continued to swirl around me, soaking my hair, my face, my clothes.  Here, without the protection of the trees, I felt the full effect of the chilling wind.  And the cold.  My hands and face were completely numb.  I couldn’t feel anything in my fist as I continued to pound on the door.  There was no response.

I tried again and again.  Desperation started to set in.  Had I been mistaken?  Was the light in the back of the clinic just one of those emergency lights?  Was nobody inside?  I yelled for someone to open the door, screamed for the help that I desperately needed.  But my voice was drowned out by the howling wind.

Hope was slipping with every second that passed.  There was no sign that anybody was inside.  I banged on the door with all my might, hoping and praying it would come open.  I didn’t know what I would do if it did not.  There was no backup plan.  The girls were all coming here.  And if nobody answered, I would have failed them in the worst possible way.  I would have failed Rob, and Mr. Stannis.  I could barely feel my hands, but a dull pain began to radiate from my fists as I slammed them against the door, over and over.  It was futile.  There was nobody there.  We had failed. 
I
had failed.  The only hope that I could latch onto had been extinguished like a blown out candle. 

I let my hand fall to my side.  Nobody was coming.  I slumped against the door and closed my eyes.  My feet slid back, and I didn’t try to stop them.  Desperation was all I knew.  Nobody was coming.  I had failed.  I—

I heard a click, and the door was pulled open.  It swung so fast I didn’t have time to react.  I fell blindly forward.  Suddenly a pair of hands – strong hands – caught me by the shoulders.  I opened my eyes.  All I could see was the dark outline of an unknown figure. 

“Tracy?”  Immediately I recognized the voice.  And the most liberating and cathartic sort of relief came over me.  It was Doctor
Frame
, the man who first treated me when I just arrived on Traven Island! 
He
was the one person I felt I could trust.  Impulsively I wrapped my arms around him, soaking the front of his shirt, and began crying uncontrollably into his chest.  “Tracy, what’s wrong?” he asked.  But I couldn’t speak.  I was overcome by emotion.  After a minute, he gently eased me away.  “What’s going on?  Tell me.”

“It’s bad,” I managed between sobs.  “My friends.  They’re coming.  Two people are hurt.  They’re bringing them here.”

“Alright,” he said.  “You’re all wet.  And freezing cold.  Why don’t you come inside?  Your friends – where are they?”  He peered over my shoulder to look.

“They’re coming,” I said again.  Another flash of lightning lit the sky, and in that second I saw the young doctor for the first time.  He was as handsome as the day we met.  His hair was slightly unkempt, and he had stubble all over his cheeks, but that did not take away the look of intense intelligence in his eyes.  I could find absolutely no logical reason why he would chose to work here, but I was supremely glad he did.  “They’ll be here any minute.”

“From what direction?”

“North.”

“Alright.”  He pulled me inside.  The entire building was dark, making it impossible to see where we were going.  He navigated it with the ease of someone who knew it very well.  He opened a door, and led me in. A motion-sensor turned the lights on, blinding me momentarily.  When my eyes adjusted, the doctor gave me a bundle of warm blankets and towels.  “Dry off,” he said, “and stay by the radiator.  It’ll keep you warm.  I’m going to go meet your friends.”  Without waiting for a reply, he was out the door.

I looked around to see where I was.  This wasn’t the waiting room near the front, nor was it any of the tiny patient rooms that lined the halls of the building.  It looked more like a lounge, or even a homely living room.  The radiator was located beneath a window. It stood between two large, cozy-looking chairs.  An oriental carpet was spread in the middle of the room, which was complete with a coffee table and mandatory oversized sofa.  There was even a flat screen TV on the wall! 

The crying fit had passed.  I took the towels to my hair, but I was too anxious to just wait there.  Rob was out there, along with all my friends.  I dried my hair hastily, wrapped a towel around my shoulders, and went out.