Page 112 of Sin

“Stop the van!” I shouted, enforcing the words with my power as I directed them at Lewis. I was so fucking grateful that they’d forgotten to enable my cuffs after leaving Keith’s.

Lewis’s hands twitched on the wheel, and my panic rose as I watched the speedometer pick up even more. I needed to overpower Lucas’s control over Lewis if I didn’t want us all to die.

Closing my eyes, I breathed in, letting my lungs expand as I fought to ignore the overwhelming panic. My power swelled in my chest, its warm tendrils writhing and spreading through the rest of my body. It coated my tongue and heated my blood. Focusing, I let out my breath. “Lewis, stop the car!”

My power burst from me, slamming into Lewis with full force.

The brakes screeched as Lewis slammed his foot down. But with the thick sleet of rain, the car started to skid. Lewis came out of his trance long enough to curse as he tried to turn the wheel as we spun, but in his confusion, he overcorrected. We were going too fast. The van spun and tipped…

Memories of going upside down on rollercoasters crossed my mind as the car flipped over and over and over. Each time it hit the ground, I squeezed my eyes shut harder, unable to do more than be whipped around.

Windows shattered, metal concaved, and asphalt crunched as we rolled. Several pieces of glass flew through the air, cutting my skin.

I’ve been watching you.

I blinked, struggling to get my mind to focus. I wasn’t moving anymore, but something felt wrong. Everything hurt, and my head… Why did my head feel so full?

You think you understand, but you’re wrong.

I was upside down, tethered to the car by my seatbelt. The others didn’t stir, whether from injury or their trance, I couldn’t tell. Mare stared straight ahead even as blood from dozens of cuts left crimson trails across her face and hands. I reached out, grabbing for Mare’s hand several times before I finally managed it. I held my breath while I searched for… there. Her pulse was strong beneath my fingers, and I felt the slightest spasm under my touch. Then another. She was there, and she was fighting for control of her body.

Gracias a Dios.

Trembling, I forced my head to twist forward, and my panic rose when I didn’t see Lucas.

I knew. I knew you’d lead me to him. So I was patient. I waited.

My numbing fingers fumbled with my seat belt buckle. Gravity and pain made it a struggle to move, but I pushed through, needing to reach London. I had to make sure he was okay.

It took me several slow attempts before I managed to release my seat belt. I crashed against the roof of the van, sending another jolt of pain through my head.

My ears rang, and something clouded my vision. I tried to blink away the sting in my eyes, confused why I struggled to see. With the feeling flowing back to my limbs, I coerced my hands to move to my head. It was wet and sticky. When I pulled back my fingers, I found them coated in blood. My blood.

It hurts. Why did they do this to me?

Glass cut into my palms as I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, compartmentalizing the pain as I forced my body to move. But then my gaze fell on my wrist, remembering.

“I’m a little snake,” I gasped, feeling the slither of the nanosuit coating my body. Instantly, I could breathe a little better, the suit helping shield me from the rain seeping in from the broken windows.

The glass no longer cut me, and I crawled toward the front of the van.

Blade and Jinx were staring blankly, both covered in a multitude of wounds. Jinx had a head gash that was dripping a steady stream of blood onto the roof of the van, and his mouth twitched. Blade had glass sticking out from her left eyeball, and a low, almost inaudible noise was coming from low in her throat. Both were breathing. Both were fighting.

I realized that Lucas couldn’t fully control them right now. He’d frozen them, but they were still very much there in their heads and trying to break free of his power.

Why hadn’t he tried to break through my shields? Or was he weakened too much right now to break mine, considering my mental barriers were the strongest?

A woman’s voice crackled from the radio, singing about painting the town red.

Red. There was so much red.

My brain struggled to remain the present as memories closed in, pressing against the cage I kept them locked in.

We needed help. We needed to get out of here. I needed… I needed… A phone. Yes, I needed a phone. Then I could contact… Someone. Someone would come.

I want it to stop. I just want to remember. Will you help me?

I clenched my teeth against Lucas’s voice, refusing to give him an inch. I finally reached London’s side, and the first thing I did was check for a pulse. I sagged in relief when I felt the steady thump, thump, thump beneath my fingertips. He was in a similar state as the others. Breathing, but mostly unresponsive. The skin around his eyes quivered, as if he were attempting to move them. There was a slash across his cheek where glass had sliced him, and blood leaked from a wound on his right temple. I spotted a few other minor cuts on his body, but nothing that seemed life threatening.

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