No One (Element Preservers, #3.5) Read online

  I hadn't noticed Quinn was carrying a small bowl of something until he placed it on the floor next to me. "Eat." He pointed at the bowl. I hadn't eaten anything for at least a day, but the pieces of bread and cheese that were in the bowl didn't look tasty. Hell, I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to reach the bowl with my hands tied. Quinn seemed to come to the same conclusion, so he reached behind me and undid one of the cuffs and let my right hand free.

  I didn't move. Why the fuck would I do everything they ordered me to? Even the hunger didn't bother me enough to make me throw myself desperately at anything they gave me. Not yet. I slowed my breathing and turned my head so the smell of food wouldn't reach me. I was fine. I wouldn't break. I wouldn't. There seemed to be a huge gap inside of me. A strange emptiness that I didn't know how to fill.

  "Eat," Quinn repeated, tapping his foot against the tiles. "Or I'm going to call Alan to deal with you."

  I closed my eyes. Every day was becoming harder and harder in this damned place. What else could they do to me? Would they wait until they proved I had an element? I'd rather die than let them know about it, and I was too weak to do any real damage to them. It was pointless. My life was pointless. I only served as an entertainment to the scientists. Even people who came to visit the labs didn't show any sympathy for the carriers. There was no one who could save me.

  "Your guardian will hear about this," Quinn concluded, hurrying for the door. Asshole. He no longer bothered to torture me himself. Now he wanted Alan to do it for him. I glanced down at the bowl of food and immediately regretted it. Now I was truly hungry and dizzy from it. Fuck. I banged my head against the wall. The sharp pain didn't help me to clear my head at all, but that was to be expected.

  The door opened and two guards strode in, their heavy boots resonating against the tiles. Alan was nowhere in sight. Was he tired of me too? Maybe he wanted me to die. I was only a problem for him, even though he was one of the best paid men in the country. The guards pulled me to my feet, unsnapping my chains. Since I was too weak to stand on my own, they practically dragged me out of the room, their fingers digging into my forearms.

  I couldn't hide my surprise when they opened the door of one of the small rooms and threw me inside. My knees hit the cold tiles, and I had to support myself on the bed or I would have hit my head. A bed, huh. What was I doing in a room with a bed? I looked around and noticed an empty wooden desk and a chair in the other corner.

  Alan entered the room, locking the door behind him. A frown line seemed to be permanently stuck to his forehead, his lips pressed together into a straight line. I didn't have to be a genius to know that he was displeased with me.

  "Sit." He sighed when he saw I was still on the floor. "On the bed."

  "Why? I'm much more comfortable where I am." I gave him one of my biggest grins. Seriously, if every inch of my body wasn't hurting, I'd get on the damn bed. I just didn't want to waste my energy if someone was going to push me off it a couple of seconds later.

  Alan stepped forward and smacked me on the back of the head. "Do as I say."

  "Ouch." I rubbed the spot where he'd hit me and pushed myself up. Tucking my legs under me, I sat on the bed and glared at Alan. Something rustled behind him and I realized he had picked up a plastic bag. He must have brought it in with him and left it near the door.

  "Are you still moping after that girl?" Alan chuckled, placing the bag on the bed in front of me. "Did you really think a girl would have sex with you because she wanted to?"

  "I could get any girl to have sex with me if I actually left this fucking place." A delicious smell of ham and cheese drifted out of the bag, and my mouth watered. Oh, God. There was a sandwich in the bag, or better said, a piece of heaven that looked like it could melt down... I averted my gaze and tried breathing through my mouth, but it didn't help a bit. Even my stomach rumbled. Fuck. I was losing this game before it even started properly.

  "Whatever you say. Now eat. Then we'll talk about something important."

  I cocked an eyebrow at him. "Important? Like what? Are you finally going to let them kill me?"

  "For once, do as you're told." Alan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not pleased that Quinn keeps complaining about your behavior."

  "Oh, I have plenty of complaints about him too." Anger spread through me, and I dug my nails into my skin to stop myself from using my element. Who'd have imagined Alan's words could give me energy?

  "Eat," he said more forcefully this time, ignoring my remark.

  "Or what?" I challenged. Alan's hand slid to his belt, and I flinched. Great. He was threatening me. Was it worth it to defy him and the others? Probably not. I couldn't fight them off or cause them serious damage in this condition. Sighing, I grabbed the sandwich and took a huge bite. Oh, God. It was the most amazing thing ever. I couldn't remember when was the last time that I ate normal food.

  "I got a job at the University of Magic," Alan said as I licked the last remains of the sandwich off my fingers.

  My brain was working unusually slow because it took me a couple of seconds to register his words. "What?"

  "I applied for the position of the counselor and they hired me." He didn't even try to disguise the excitement and content in his eyes. Why would he? He wanted to leave this place almost as much as I did. And now he had the chance.

  I licked my dry lips. "So you're leaving." Alan was my guardian, which meant he couldn't go anywhere without me. Even if I often wished I was dead, I didn't really want to die. I could see that now, but what did it matter? Alan had clearly decided to go, and the scientists would never let me leave.

  "Yes, in two months. That's when the semester begins."

  Two months. I had two months. My thoughts flew to my parents and I knew that they were disappointed in me. They wanted me to live and be free, but I couldn't even keep myself alive, let alone break out of the lab.

  "Adrian, look at me."

  I raised my head and met Alan's brown eyes. He came forward and sat on the bed next to me.

  "There is a way for you to come with me," he said, and it was a surprise my eyes didn't pop out of my skull as if I were a cartoon character.

  "How?" I breathed, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.

  "You're almost 18, and the world knows about you. I could arrange for you to be a student at the university, but you need to do something first," he said in a hushed voice. "You mustn't tell anyone about this, do you understand?"

  I nodded, a bit too eager to hear what he was going to say.

  "You need to pass the finals and graduate from high school next month."

  "I can't." I shook my head. "I didn't go to high school. How am I supposed to pass the finals next month?" He was playing me again, wasn't he? The tiny thread of hope was getting thinner and thinner.

  "Yes, you can," he hissed. "You're not stupid. It doesn't matter that you didn't go to high school. You learned something when I homeschooled you and you have a month to learn what you need. Do you really think normal teenagers remember everything they have studied over the years? They study and revise a week or two before the exams, and that's that. You can do it in a month. It's nothing complicated. I can give you the examples of the tests. It's all very similar."

  "And when and where am I supposed to study if I'm only a fucking experiment here?" If Alan didn't want anyone to know about this, then I wasn't sure how we could pull it off. God, I was really stupid. I actually believed him. Was this an experiment too? The ultimate twisted test that would crush me?

  "I thought about that too. You've done very well by resisting the elements and controlling your disease. I will ask Quinn to give you this room so you can rest for eight hours every night. I'll find a way to bring you the books, and you'll have to find the time to study and sleep."

  "Awesome plan." I curled my lip at him, although I probably shouldn't have done that when he was so close to me. "I might as well die trying."

  "I didn't say it was going to be easy." He reached for my
hand and I fought the urge to pull away. "If Quinn knew what I was truly planning to do, he wouldn't allow it. That's why I have to let them experiment on you. I did manage to convince them to consider the idea of testing more pills."

  "Pills?" I choked out. Was he insane?

  "Don't worry. You'll live. It's better than the other thing they had in mind. But you'll have to learn how to hide pills in your mouth. You should never take more than one." He squeezed my hand and let go. "But you must take one or they'll suspect something is wrong."

  "If I survive all of it, then what? I get to be a university student?" I clutched my hands into fists because my fingers were trembling.

  "Yes, you'll have a chance for more or less a normal life until your disease gets worse."

  "Ah, so I should go through all the trouble to be away from this prison for a couple of months?" I said bitterly.

  "Wouldn't it be worth it? You can get whatever you want. You'd be under supervision, of course, but you could go out." The lines around Alan's eyes became more prominent. I could tell that he was impatient. We didn't have much time left to talk.

  "And if I refuse?" I wanted to know all the options.

  "I'll let Quinn do whatever he wants to you. And the last time we spoke he told me he'd like to submerge you in a pool of elemental water." Alan finished the sentence with a slight quirking of his lips. What he found funny was beyond me, and Quinn was definitely a psychopath.

  "Fine. I'll try to do what you want me to, but if I pull it off, I want a car and a driving license. And I want you to take me to my parents' grave every year like you used to before we came here." There were so many things I wanted, but money couldn't buy them.

  "Anything." Alan clapped me on the shoulder. "I'm glad you made the right decision, but remember what I told you. No one can know about our agreement."

  I nodded, chewing on my lip and wondering whether my chances to succeed were good or horrible. Maybe Alan wanted me to die or maybe he didn't. What difference did it make? I had a chance to escape the lab and prolong my life. I could prove Thea wrong. I could do anything.

  Chapter 19

  Now

  Four guards came around the corner, their guns pointed in my direction. Amazing. It took them long enough. Alan placed a hand on my shoulder and stepped in front of me. The faint sound of footsteps behind us indicated that more guards were coming and that they were wearing those special suits that blocked the feel of their elements. I could feel the elements of the guards in front of us just fine, which meant they were the ones who might use their elements.

  "Is there a problem?" Alan asked, his face showing no signs of uneasiness. I glanced at the guards and the guns they were carrying. One of the guns was lighter in color, but it was too far for me to see if the gun was a tranq gun or a normal one. Alan was still shielding me with his body, but he was starting to turn slightly. Oh, fuck!

  It took me a couple of seconds to create a thick wall of ice to prevent the guards from advancing. Luckily for me, none of them was a fire user. Concentrating on the other end of the hall, I formed blocks of ice that nearly came to the ceiling. That should slow down whoever that was coming. The feel of Alan's element intensified, and I turned on him before he could come at me. I was certain that he had planned the whole ambush thing and was in league with the guards.

  "What the fuck are you trying to do?" I grabbed him by the arm, twisted it behind his back and pushed him against the wall. He clearly hadn't expected it because in all these years I had never truly attacked him or tried to fight back.

  "Adrian, calm down. I have no idea what is going on," he spat, and I was suddenly feeling lightheaded.

  "Do not lie to me!" I closed my eyes just in time, or the bits and pieces of earth would have blinded me. "Stop it before I decide to freeze a part of your body. You know I can do it." I intensified the pressure I had on Alan's neck, and the energy of the element became weaker. Opening my eyes, I eased back and let him turn around and face me.

  "Did you really think it would be so easy to capture me?" I didn't have much time because the ice on both sides of the hall was melting. Someone with a fire element must have come to help.

  "And do you really think you can go through all these men alone and unarmed? Your sub-element is impressive, but you won't stand a chance against the guards." The color was returning to Alan's face, and he seemed to have regained his composure.

  "If I go down, I'll take you with me." The invisible clock was ticking and I knew I had maybe half a minute until the guards broke through the ice.

  "Give me the vice presidency and I'll say everything was a misunderstanding." His eyes shone with some emotion I couldn't quite identify.

  "No. If this is how I die, then so be it. Ria will avenge my death." The ice started to crack, but I was strangely calm.

  Alan glanced at the ice, anxiety filling his eyes. "I heard Ria has to go back to the university." He licked his lips.

  "Glad to know you care," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. Since Alan didn't know about Ria's disease, his spies weren't close to Lily or us. Practically anyone could have told him that Ria had to be a student again because the information came from the government.

  "If you want to see her again, maybe we should strike a different kind of deal." Alan had that familiar, calculated look in his eyes. I didn't like it a bit.

  "A deal?" I had to use ice again or the guards would have gone through, but that action was draining my energy. If the guards brought in reinforcements, I wouldn't be able to hold them off. The only good thing was that the guards weren't trained to use their elements.

  "I want to keep my paycheck and keep an eye on you and your girlfriend. Is there any better way to do that than you going to the same university as Ria? I'm your guardian and I can sign the application for any university you want to go to, as long as I go with you. I'm sure I can arrange for the university to need a new counselor. What do you say?" He looked at me expectantly.

  I chewed on the insides of my mouth. This was what I wanted, right? To be with Ria. I couldn't go to the university with her unless Alan went with me. Faking my identity would be too hard since the whole world had seen me demonstrate my element. I could always stay nearby, but all eyes would be on Ria, and we couldn't let anyone suspect we were together. She wouldn't have time to meet me in secret if she had to be at the university and at her job. Did it even matter if I couldn't touch her? Yes, yes it did, but I couldn't give Alan what he wanted.

  The ice barrier fell apart and the guards came through, pointing their guns at me. Even after they had used their elements on ice, they still trusted their weapons more. I didn't have any weapons, so I wasn't conflicted when I sent ice shards their way. Rolling on the ground, I barely managed to avoid a ball of fire that someone made to destroy my ice.

  "Stop!" Alan yelled, and the guards watched him dispassionately, their fingers on the triggers. I pressed my back against the wall so I could see everyone, but there were too many guards, and paying attention to all of them was tricky.

  "We have orders to capture the carrier, sir," one of the guards said. I used the distraction to freeze the guns and the guards dropped them, cursing.

  "Adrian! That's enough!" Alan shot me a dark look, then his features softened as he faced the guards. "I have the carrier under control. We'll be taking our leave shortly."

  "I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Quinn said..."

  "Call Mr. Quinn if you must." Alan tapped his foot, looking bored. The guard glanced at me and whispered something to his friend, who then ran down the hall.

  "I need your answer now," Alan said, his dark eyes meeting mine.

  "Ok, fine. We're both going to the university." If I thought I had a chance of getting out of here on my own, I'd have refused. I did want to be with Ria, but I didn't want Alan near her. But I figured I could come up with a good plan once Alan and I were out of the lab.

  Alan's lips quirked up and he nodded, clearly satisfied.

  "What is going on?" Q
uinn was surrounded by four guards, and I could swear there was a bulletproof vest underneath his white coat.

  "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. The carrier won't be staying here. I have business elsewhere," Alan stated.

  "You are the one who misunderstood me. I don't plan to let you go." Quinn smiled lazily like a cat waking up from a good nap.

  "Excuse me?" Alan's face paled. "I can leave whenever I want. You can't stop me. The government will hear about this." A quiver in Alan's voice told me that he wasn't so sure about it. Awesome.

  "The government won't even know where you are." Quinn not only didn't want to let me go, he didn't want to let Alan go either. So much about their friendship, favors and whatnot. A second later, bits and pieces of earth and dust started flying around us, blinding us all. The wind blew in my face and it was almost impossible to breathe. I had to use my element or I would have tried to steal someone else's. Gunshots rang through the hall, but I couldn't see who was firing. It had to be someone who came later to help. I couldn't see anything because there was too much dust.

  The energy of Alan's element enveloped me, and the world seemed to tilt and turn upside down. Squeezing my eyes shut, I concentrated on my breathing and tried to find an opening between the guards. Hopefully, no one was wearing an element-blocking suit now that elements were being used right and left. Cameras must have stopped working too. Someone grabbed me by the arm and I stumbled.

  "Go," Alan yelled into my ear, and I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. After all they had done to me, I had pretty good control of my disease, but I had never been around so many elements while they were all being used. My mouth went dry when a current shot up my arm. Alan was using his element while still holding on to me.