Phantom Universe (17 page)

“
And what’s this called?” Jaden asks excitedly.

“
Le lunamow, cuisine Leaguer style,” Cameron explains with a grim expression, poking the food like it’s going to attack her at any moment. “It’s actually one of the more edible foods we carry around with us when we’re destined for places far from headquarters. It’s a mix between le luna, a genetically altered vegetable with high fiber and healthy calories, and mows, or mutant cows, as the kids like to call them.”

Jaden is thrilled by this, while Summer gasps audibly and puts her back to the wall. She’s aghast at the thought of someone taking her favorite vegetables, and the lovable cow—not that she’d ever met one before—and altering them . . . mutating them so they are better for humans! It’s just such a selfish thing to do.

Startled silence greets her echoing gasp, and then whispers break out. Jaden and Cameron continue their conversation about the food eaten in the Canadian Federation, while Gage’s voice is absent.

What kind of strange, unusual universe have I stepped into?
She runs a hand through her tangled blonde hair.

“
Summer?” Gage calls from around the corner. “May I . . . are you dressed?”

One knock on the rock behind her. Her blue eyes hide behind closed lids, and her chest aches with worry and anxiety. Things used to be so simple, even if she was a slave before. What is she now? A patient? A burden? An Outlander? Or do they plan to alter her genes until she’s a mutated human with military-controlled super powers? Really, what does she know about this world? It’s not that she is a skeptic when it comes to the things they tell her about. She’s truly afraid of trusting someone she doesn’t know. Anything can happen. Gage has some sort of soothing, almost anesthetic-like, influence over her. His touch is like a drug, and that scares her more than anything—because the Captain never had any kind of hold over her besides the whip (and a few other choice torture tools) that his crew kept just for her. But Gage, he hasn’t even hurt her . . . and she’s already bending to his will, wearing his clothes, staring into his eyes and getting lost. His eyes are a weapon all on their own, and the one thing she’s yet to be able to withstand.

“
Summer.” His voice is like a warming presence, the tone forlorn. “Please, please open your eyes.” Everything he says, how he says it, commands and soothes. Convinces and conquers.

Her eyelids grow tighter—bind to the point of stars shining in her vision—and she shakes her head adamantly. Doesn’t he understand she can’t attach herself to anyone like that? The whole point of escaping was for her to have free will. If he only asks and uses his communicative eyes, she will obey.

“
This is so frustrating,” he says roughly, though his voice is so, so gentle. “I don’t even know you, and you’ve stolen a part of me. Why can’t I let you go and treat you like the other Outlanders? Why does my heart insist I stay and fight for you?” He lets out a lengthy breath, and the heat of it washes over her. “Summer, what are you doing to me? I’d do anything you asked of me. Anything. Just—”

Summer’s brilliant blue eyes open in shock.
He’s thinking the same things I am
. Realization pounds into her. His expression is disheartening, his eyes massive orbs of suffering and remorse.

“
Hey,” he whispers, just like the first time they met.

She wants to kiss him—she wants to hit him. Maybe she wants to run from him. Really, she’s not sure what she wants. The long sleeves of the shirt tangle as she tries to lift her hand.

“
Let me help,” he offers and reaches around her waist, his hand trailing up her back.

Her heart turns to assault mode, battling in her chest, soaking in the oxygen from her rapid breaths, and pumping it through her body with extraordinary force. It tingles and makes her feel wonderful and frightened all at once. His body is touching hers, pressing her up against the rock. His other hand is flat against the rock next to her head. The day Jarvis held her face against the ship’s deck as he shoved her rags over her head come ramming back into her skull like a million hammers nailing the image in to stay.

Her body betrays her emotions too much for her liking. Gage’s breath on her neck as he snakes his arm up her lower back, and the full body contact begins to make her tremble with ferocity. She will give anything to have the image of Jarvis go away and to replace it with Gage’s gentle, tender touches. It’s been four years, but maybe it’ll never be enough time to erase the fear. Gage presses lightly with one finger in the middle of her back before releasing the pressure. The shirt swiftly shrinks, conforming to her curves with ease. He backs away slowly, his hand stopping on her hip, his nose mere centimeters from her ear.

“
Don’t be scared,” he pleads softly. “Please.” He chokes on the word.

Still shaking, trembling, heart banging roughly, Summer decides to not let this rule her life. The sensations are still there, the palpable taste of fear on her tongue, the rain splashing the ground in its passive, unemotional state. The memory’s inside every part of her senses, corrupting and poisoning anything in its path.

Gage pulls away, and through her tears, her pure, undiluted terror, she sees a man with soft, compassionate eyes—knowing eyes. He isn’t Jarvis. There is no comparison between the two. It’s not exactly a revelation, but an understanding. Passion and terror aren’t the same, but Summer must overcome the overwhelming sensations that they are.

Before Gage’s hand slips completely from her hip, she holds her hand over his and pulls it back around. She wraps her arms around his thick, muscular waist, and places her head on his warm chest. And then she weeps all the tears of suffering she’s always afraid to let go. Gasping, gulping, heaving tears—she hasn’t cried this hard since she was four. If Landon is her salvation, Gage is her healer. He holds her with the strength of a million-man army, but with all the tenderness of her heart lying naked in the palms of his hands.

He circles his other arm around her shoulders, rubs soothingly at her back, and pulls her away from the rocks. He says nothing, only holds her as she lets the emotional stain of all the years escape her eyes and brand his shirt. He doesn’t ask what’s wrong, he doesn’t demand answers, and he doesn’t punish her for the squeaks and wails that grow louder as she fists his shirt in the back.

“
Your cries pierce my heart,” he whispers. “And your emotions are a tangible flavor on my tongue.”

This is when she should flinch, or duck away and hide in panic for the punishment that is to come with such a fit. Instead, he grasps her tighter, his arms made just to hold her. She clings to him as her life falls apart in his hands, hoping he can save her—that he can heal her. That maybe, one day, he can love her, even though she doesn’t truly deserve to be loved.

As her sobs are controlled, and her body’s trembling decreases, she releases her death grip on his shirt. Gage backs away slightly to gaze down at her tear-stained face and begins to wipe them all away. “Hey now, it’s going to be okay. I’ll make sure of it.” He pauses to take in her puffy eyes, her red rimmed lips, and richly blue eyes. He sighs softly. “This wasn’t about that, was it?”

Summer shakes her head spiritlessly.

“
Was it about . . . the guy who . . . you know?” He can’t form the question, as if the terrible idea deeply upsets him too.

Summer responds with a tiny nod, her eyes downcast, staring at his oddly fascinating black boots.

“
You know I’d never do that to you, right?” He swallows thickly when she glances up at him. “Me? I’m safe. No punishment, no rape, no anything you don’t want.” He takes a deep breath and brushes her hair away from her face. “You’ve been traumatized, and I know it’ll take time. But you know what, Summer?” He tips a finger under her chin, his skin warm and soft. “I’ll be here to help—and to prove to you that I’m not that kind of person.”

Summer blinks, and two more tears trail down her cheeks before her lips twitch, just a little bit, into a smile. She gives the tiniest nod.

“
Was that a yes? You understand?” he asks with a grin.

She snatches his palm away from her face and writes across it, “Yes! Yes!”

“
That’s great. Are you ready for me to show you how to use everything in that bag?” He backs away from her and snatches it off the ground.

Her smile shows her answer.

He pulls out a small silver and green packet. “This,” he explains, “is for your teeth. Just pop it in your mouth and let it disintegrate on your tongue for two minutes. Here, try it.”

She flips the packet around and around, wondering how that will clean her teeth. As per his instructions, she tears it open and places it on her outstretched tongue. Then she closes her mouth and waits. Her mouth explodes with the minty sensation of bubbles expanding and attacking every inch of her mouth. She almost spits it out, but Gage rushes forward and lightly holds her jaw closed.

“
Trust me, you’ll feel much better when it’s done.” His grin shows off his brilliantly white smile.

She makes a show of holding her mouth shut by covering it with her hand. When the two minutes are up, and the wild sensation has died down, she looks to Gage for what to do next.

“
Swallow,” he instructs, and she does.

It’s the most refreshing her mouth has ever tasted. This is so much better than any toothbrush. She’s beginning to think she’ll like the future—eventually. There’s just one very important thing missing. Landon.

CHAPTER
18: TRANSPORT

16 years old

That little bag contains everything she needs to brush her teeth, shampoo, condition, and brush her hair, and provides a full body deodorant after she uses the stream of water in the cave to wash off the last few day’s residue. Jaden also finds the bag as fascinating as cooking breakfast.

Gage keeps his distance from Summer, letting her decide how close or far away she chooses to be to him. She’s not sure what to do with the freedom he provides, but enjoys it all the same. They all sit in a circle around the cooked breakfast as the sun hits the rushing water and bathes the cavernous cave in a crimson dawn. La lunamow is served in an Asian-type sauce with the strangest kind of beef Summer’s ever tasted. As she literally licks the spoon clean, Gage offers up the rest of his food. She hesitates for a moment.

“
It’s okay, take it,” he offers again. She accepts it, ravenous from lack of food the past several days. When she finishes with his portion, her belly finally feels full. This is the most energy she’s had in weeks, it seems.

The waterfall, constantly in the background, suddenly becomes a vibrating mass of rippling water. “Ah, that would be the transport. They’re earlier than they said.” Cameron jumps to her feet. “Perfect.”

A flat, oval-shaped, silver hovercraft breaks through the water, and the dust in the cave scatters in a storm. The noise from the wailing wind created by the hovercraft is deafening, and all she can hear is the hovercraft’s engine echoing through the caves passageways and reverberating back. Summer covers her eyes and crouches down, unsure how to react. She reaches out, hoping to find Gage. Not really knowing why she would be looking for him in the first place.
It’s automatic
, she realizes.
I am searching for him because I trust him
. Before she can digest this bit of insight, a hand grasps hers and yanks her harshly to her feet. Blinking, she stares into the face of Max, one of the soldiers of the Canadian League. Her face drains of color. For a moment she considers resisting, but doesn’t know what will happen if she does.

Max, without the scowl, looks terrifying all on his own. His almost-white hair, grey eyes, and milky skin give him a sadistic appearance. With a locked jaw, his eyes squinting at her like she’s just an annoying spider he can easily kill by knocking down her already-weak web, he looks more like a predator. Summer’s light weight makes her easy to throw around, and that’s exactly what Max does. His fingers clasp around her right wrist, pitch her across the cave and right through the open hovercraft door. It’s Paige, the other soldier in the Canadian League, who catches her, yanks her arm up behind her back painfully, and smiles delightfully as Gage storms the hovercraft, yelling at them. His voice is lost in the chaos. Cameron’s arm wraps around Jaden protectively, her cheekbones sharp, eyes starving for a fight, as they step through the hovercraft’s doors. The door shuts, and it’s like everyone’s gone deaf it’s so quiet. There isn’t an eye that isn’t huge, everyone in various states of upset.