stomach it. The water bottles they threw in were all she dared to handle.
After that they had come for her again, and it had started all over. She’d lost count of how many cycles of the same treatment she’d endured.
Between the interminable bouts of interrogation, she had nothing but barren time to think. Think about everything.
Just a few days ago, she was finishing up her last spirited swimming practice in Palo Alto. Drying off from a great workout. Two hours in the pool and she’d broken some of her personal-best times. Her coach had been ecstatic, and pleaded with her to keep going. But she’d said no. Though her times were better than they’d ever been, she’d needed a break. Mentally she had become exhausted thinking about what the Olympic trials would mean to her. Her coach had wanted her to stay sharp, but she needed to step back before the sharpness nicked her. Time with Bobby would have unwound her tight thoughts and kept her focus on track with her impressive output in the pool.
How quickly things had derailed. Now she had some kind of mysterious mind power from a serum Bobby had created. Her brother had been killed for trying to make sure it didn’t fall into the hands of the very people keeping her captive, testing her like some interminable lab experiment and treating her like she was the world’s worst enemy.
And she was alone.
Rubbing her arms, then instantly regretting it as her skin prickled from the drugs she had been given, Harper thought about Rome. Had he been subdued after she passed out? Or had he brought her into this hideous hole? She desperately preferred to believe the former, but knew deep in her exhausted gut it had to be the latter. The fright on his face had been obvious. Rome believed she was a threat. Which was precisely the reason he was sent to detain her and bring her here in the first place.
He’d promised he wouldn’t, but that all had changedwhen she used her strange power to save them. It had been difficult, and she hadn’t even been sure she’d be able to do it, but she didn’t see any other way out of Bobby’s house. So she’d done it. And it worked. The only problem was, it had turned Rome against her.
She’d deliberately kept her power from him, hoping she’d be able to somehow explain it once they’d learned more about what was going on. She’d put her faith in him, having no one else to trust, and he’d betrayed her. One moment, the man had held her close while her grief overflowed, and the next, he’d pushed her back into her worst nightmare.
Could she really blame him? Honestly, she herself was frightened by the power surging through her mind and body. But he’d asked her to trust him. She had, and look where it had gotten her.
Never again. She would do this on her own. Just as she’d vowed that night in the forest. She was truly alone.
Sitting in the cold darkness now, Harper realized that it didn’t matter. For whatever reason, they were keeping her alive. Only taking her to the edge of her limits, allowing her to look over the cliff, see the valley of death, but never plummeting into the merciful void.
They needed her. Whatever this serum was that Bobby had been working on, they wanted it. That meant Bobby didn’t want them to have it. That he wasn’t involved in all of this trouble.
That would keep her going. Keep her believing that she would somehow survive this and get the revenge she was beginning to crave. The only thing she wanted now was to make everyone involved pay for it.
It wasn’t just for Bobby anymore. It was for what they were doing to her. For Rome bringing her here. For being accidentally injected with that serum and having a destructive energy surging through her mind. She didn’t ask for this, never expected it. But she would finish it. Find her answers and find vengeance.
A clank and a grinding noise diverted her attention. They were here again. A bright artificial light cut through the pitch-black, shining
After that they had come for her again, and it had started all over. She’d lost count of how many cycles of the same treatment she’d endured.
Between the interminable bouts of interrogation, she had nothing but barren time to think. Think about everything.
Just a few days ago, she was finishing up her last spirited swimming practice in Palo Alto. Drying off from a great workout. Two hours in the pool and she’d broken some of her personal-best times. Her coach had been ecstatic, and pleaded with her to keep going. But she’d said no. Though her times were better than they’d ever been, she’d needed a break. Mentally she had become exhausted thinking about what the Olympic trials would mean to her. Her coach had wanted her to stay sharp, but she needed to step back before the sharpness nicked her. Time with Bobby would have unwound her tight thoughts and kept her focus on track with her impressive output in the pool.
How quickly things had derailed. Now she had some kind of mysterious mind power from a serum Bobby had created. Her brother had been killed for trying to make sure it didn’t fall into the hands of the very people keeping her captive, testing her like some interminable lab experiment and treating her like she was the world’s worst enemy.
And she was alone.
Rubbing her arms, then instantly regretting it as her skin prickled from the drugs she had been given, Harper thought about Rome. Had he been subdued after she passed out? Or had he brought her into this hideous hole? She desperately preferred to believe the former, but knew deep in her exhausted gut it had to be the latter. The fright on his face had been obvious. Rome believed she was a threat. Which was precisely the reason he was sent to detain her and bring her here in the first place.
He’d promised he wouldn’t, but that all had changedwhen she used her strange power to save them. It had been difficult, and she hadn’t even been sure she’d be able to do it, but she didn’t see any other way out of Bobby’s house. So she’d done it. And it worked. The only problem was, it had turned Rome against her.
She’d deliberately kept her power from him, hoping she’d be able to somehow explain it once they’d learned more about what was going on. She’d put her faith in him, having no one else to trust, and he’d betrayed her. One moment, the man had held her close while her grief overflowed, and the next, he’d pushed her back into her worst nightmare.
Could she really blame him? Honestly, she herself was frightened by the power surging through her mind and body. But he’d asked her to trust him. She had, and look where it had gotten her.
Never again. She would do this on her own. Just as she’d vowed that night in the forest. She was truly alone.
Sitting in the cold darkness now, Harper realized that it didn’t matter. For whatever reason, they were keeping her alive. Only taking her to the edge of her limits, allowing her to look over the cliff, see the valley of death, but never plummeting into the merciful void.
They needed her. Whatever this serum was that Bobby had been working on, they wanted it. That meant Bobby didn’t want them to have it. That he wasn’t involved in all of this trouble.
That would keep her going. Keep her believing that she would somehow survive this and get the revenge she was beginning to crave. The only thing she wanted now was to make everyone involved pay for it.
It wasn’t just for Bobby anymore. It was for what they were doing to her. For Rome bringing her here. For being accidentally injected with that serum and having a destructive energy surging through her mind. She didn’t ask for this, never expected it. But she would finish it. Find her answers and find vengeance.
A clank and a grinding noise diverted her attention. They were here again. A bright artificial light cut through the pitch-black, shining
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