“Ellyssa?” Leland asked.
A trap!
Why else would he be here?
Ellyssa’s instincts kicked in automatically. Before she could think, she reacted. Her fist snapped out and connected with Leland’s chin. His head whipped back, and he stumbled out of view. She pushed herself out onto her feet into a small audience of surprised faces, her back toward the table holding the crates.
“Easily disposed of,” Ellyssa thought, as she evaluated the five carrying guns.
Next would be Leland. He posed the most danger, after the armed people.
The doctor’s assistant leaned against the wall. His hand covered the lower part of his face, and he stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. She noted the blood on his shirt.
Surprisingly, no one had made a move toward her, and all the muzzles were pointed down, but Ellyssa had no intention of waiting for them to react. She kicked the gun out of the hands of the male directly in front of her. Before the weapon even hit the floor, she stepped forward, palm out, with the intent of striking his nose. The male flinched, face scrunched, waiting for impact.
“Ellyssa! No!”
Woody’s voice stopped Ellyssa from following through, her hand a fraction of a centimeter from her target. She glanced sideways.
Woody stumbled toward her with a piece of packing foam twisted around his legs. He waved his arms frantically. “It’s okay. You’re safe.”
Confused, she looked at the armed guards. The muzzles remained pointed toward the floor. She looked at Leland. He hadn’t moved at all, his hand still covering his mouth and chin, eyes still wide with shock.
Woody kicked off the foam and rushed to her side. He grabbed the hand threatening the stranger, pulling it to his chest. His warmth radiated within her, reminding her of Rein. Ellyssa paused.
“You’re safe,” he repeated.
As Woody slid his arm around her shoulders, Ellyssa glanced around at all the surprised faces. The male she’d almost struck bent over and picked up his weapon off the floor.
“What happened?”
She pointed at Leland. “Do you know who he is?”
Woody’s eyebrow cocked. “You do?”
“Yes.”
Leland lowered his hand. Blood splattered his face, and his bottom lip was split wide open. He took a tentative step forward. “I can’t believe it,” he said.
“You know each other?” asked Woody.
Leland nodded. “I used to work at The Center.” Directing his attention to Ellyssa, he brought his fingers to his mouth, touching his injury. “I’ve never seen any of you move like that. You were a blur.”
“What are you talking about? You ran experiments on all of us, like we were rats,” she sneered.
“Yes, but during tests, none of you ever performed with such efficiency. It seems, when you feel truly threatened, your instincts go into hyperdrive.” He shook his head. “You were amazing.”
Woody looked from one to the other. “Will someone explain what the hell is going on?”
“You do not know?” she asked Woody. She turned toward the crowd. “Do any of you know?”
A pretty female, no older than thirty with curly, golden-blond hair, stepped forward. “You’re one of The Center’s children.”
Stunned, Ellyssa faced the curly-haired female. “You know about us?”
“We’re well informed of the atrocities happening within The Center.”
“Did you know Leland is Dr. Hirch’s assistant? He helped raise us, train us, and perform experiments on us. He is an active part of the atrocities.”
“Was,” Leland corrected. “I no longer work for the doctor.”
Ellyssa faltered. “What?”
“He reassigned me.” Keeping his distance from Ellyssa, he walked over to the table. “It was a hard blow to our cause.”
Her eyebrows knitted. “What cause?”
Leland studied her for a moment, a slight tic working at the corner of his mouth, then he waved his hand in an arc. “All of this. What do you think we’ve been working toward all this time?” Before Ellyssa could respond, he continued, “Freedom. I’ve been gathering information.”
The possibility of Leland performing such an operation was unbelievable. Her father’s intelligence far surpassed the young assistant’s. Ellyssa scrutinized him from behind narrow lids.
“You don’t believe me? You can easily know,” he challenged.
The others stood silently, perhaps shocked by his request. Ellyssa didn’t have to read their minds to know they had been informed of the gifts bestowed on her and her siblings. They watched, seeming to expect her to perform some miracle, like she was some sideshow attraction. Anger percolated through her veins.
“You know I cannot,” Ellyssa whispered, casting a sidelong glance at Woody. She hoped he wouldn’t say anything about her own recent discovery of learning to block out the white noise.
“Why don’t we go outside?” Woody suggested as he squeezed her upper arm.
“Good idea,” said Leland. He turned for the door. “The rest of you, stay here, please.”
Curly-hair, who had spoken earlier, stepped forward, her gaze raking across Ellyssa, like she was a dangerous animal. “Do you think that’s wise?”
After her initial reaction upon seeing Leland, Ellyssa didn’t blame the female. Her fear was valid.
“It’s perfectly safe,” the former assistant assured.
Leland held the door open for Ellyssa and Woody. Ellyssa’s muscles tensed as she walked past the male who had been a huge part of her earlier life. As soon as they were outside and away from the house, she wheeled around. Fear registered on Leland’s face, and he stepped back, but she had no intention of hurting him. Right now, she wanted answers.
“You have been part of this the whole time?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“How could you do that to us? To fellow human beings?”
He sighed. “I’m sorry, Ellyssa. Sorry for everything Dr. Hirch subjected you to, and I’m sorry I helped him. But what would you have had me do to stop it? What could I do?”
Ellyssa opened her mouth to say something. Anything. Words tumbled around her head, but truthfully, the situation had always been out of Leland’s hands. He was blameless. Just like she had been when Rein had confronted her. If not him, someone else, and maybe they wouldn’t have been as kind. She shrugged.
“Unbelievable,” Leland stated, shaking his head.
“What?”
“The change in you. Your facial expressions.” Leland’s hand twitched, as if he wanted to touch Ellyssa’s face to verify his observations. “How long have you been experiencing emotions?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Please continue with your story.”
“I suppose it doesn’t matter.” he said, still looking at her with amazement. “Anyway, being part of the whole process gave us more information than we could have hoped for. I was able to share the technology involved as well as Dr. Hirch’s plans. I had to stay.”
“Why were you reassigned?”
“He started to murder citizens for the sake of experimentation. I began to protest.” He straightened his back. “The others’ abilities have grown.”
“What do you mean?”
“Wouldn’t you rather see for yourself?”
It felt strange for him to invite her into his mind; she, like her siblings, had been forbidden to use her abilities on her father or his assistant. After the files she’d found on the computer, she understood why.
Secrets not meant for any of the children’s eyes.
She easily blocked out Woody as she focused on Leland and delved into his thoughts. Everything opened before her, like pages in a book. A story unfolded, from the time he had come to assist her father, when she was about five, to when the doctor had released him.