The fact that he and Lily were even allowed in the same space was an almost impossible feat.
As the military swarmed them in the orchard, William had reached out with his mind to the others: Show no aggression. I won’t let you be harmed. Before they were all ushered away at gunpoint, he could see the immigrant’s terrified expression at the voice inside his head. Jane tried to stay with Ryan, but they were quickly separated.
It cut deep to see Lily’s terrified face as she was surrounded by soldiers. Quincy swiftly lifted her in his arms, yelling that his only mutant ability was to eat a double quarter pounder. Not daring to actually touch Lily, the soldiers hesitated and then began to motion Quincy away with their rifles.
William had been quickly directed towards a Marauder. He’d strained for any sight of his grandmother or family, but was almost immediately ushered into the military vehicle. Waiting inside was the tall gray-haired man who’d held the bullhorn.
“My name is General Mark Wolve, and from this point on, you’re going to do exactly as I tell you.”
William had listened to his furious berating: how he’d put the lives of countless people in danger, that he was an instrument of a kind of weaponry that was ripping the world apart, that the government had tried to protect them all and he’d undone everything on the whim of an immature twenty-two-year-old mind—
“We can kill everyone,” William had said quietly. “Everyone here. You. Every soldier. Just like that.” He snapped his fingers. “I didn’t allow us to be taken because you had a sniper set on the girl. I did it because I needed a way to get to North Dakota as quickly as possible. Inadvertently, by separating us, you’ve positioned us in different locations within your military operation. Before you could put a bullet in my head, I could unleash all their weapons. No section of your soldiers will be unaffected. We will survive. You will not.”
The general’s eyes were furious. “So you’d unleash the weapon inside your grandmother? Knowing how it would destroy her? I’m supposed to believe that?”
“I wouldn’t have to. I have complete control over the weapons within the others. You saw the precision I had with the flames. I could activate all of it on your operation, and my family would be untouched. Speaking of safe, I need proof that Dr. Steven Richards is unharmed.”
The general’s lips had formed a thin line. “We offered to help him. Give him the medicine he needed. In the end, he refused assistance.”
“In the end?” William asked.
“Yes, Mr. Chance. The end.”
William fought the urge to launch across the helicopter at the expressionless man. “Now that we’ve established the rules, you’re going to order the helicopters to take all of us exactly where we need to go. I’d like to try and end this. And I need the girl with me.”
His directive had not gone over well, but the show of force with the flames was still fresh. After an hour of heated discussions, the helicopters had taken off. The general had even agreed to allow Lily to ride with William, but had explained that the rest of the Roseworth family would be on the helicopters carrying Jane, Ryan, and the immigrant. If William decided to activate any weapons while they were airborne, his family would perish as well.
William had just nodded and reminded him that the longer they delayed, the more people would die.
Steven.
He’d spent much of the flight thinking about his biological grandfather. What he’d endured in his life, the sacrifice, the scrutiny. How all he wanted in the end was to tell his grandmother the truth about her family. And to help William. Without Dr. Steven Richards, he wouldn’t even be alive at this moment.
I’m sorry, Steven. I’m sorry I didn’t get to thank you.
They’d flown at a relentless pace, stopping only to refuel. The general had traveled with him and Lily, constantly questioning them. William had been completely forthcoming about everything, explaining that all he knew to do was to try and find Lily’s twin, Ava, in the national park. As had happened with the immigrant, whose name he now knew to be Juan, he hoped he could sense Lily’s sister when he got close enough to her.
A chill ran through him, thinking of Lily alone in the darkness of these ravines, wandering beneath the mesas and buttes. He considered entering the dream to try and find Lily’s sister, but after the last disastrous attempt, in which Jane had barely rescued him, he feared he would not escape its grasp again. Whatever it was, there within the stone.
He looked out the window again as they began to land, the true size and vastness of the sprawling rock formations coming into a clearer view. Out there, somewhere, was another little girl identical to Lily.
It had never been Lily’s eyes he’d seen in the stone. It was her twin who continued to emit the diseases when Lily came in search of him. Only when Lily at last found him did he inadvertently wake the weapon inside her in order to protect himself.
Lily had sobbed in explaining the guilt she felt that she had somehow gotten free of the mountain and could not rescue her sister. That by finding William, she hoped he could help her free her sister.
He remembered her words at the fountain. We have to go there! It’s my fault what happened to her…
As the Black Hawk came to a landing along with the others upon the stone he could feel them alclass="underline" Jane, Ryan, Juan. Nanna, too.
The door was thrust open, and William scooted to the edge of his seat, prompting Lily to do the same. The soldiers reacted by raising their firearms.
“Tell them,” William yelled to the general above the sound the blades of the helicopter outside. “Tell them we go where we please.”
General Wolve clenched his jaw. “I need ten minutes, Mr. Chance, to be debriefed—”
“You’ve been in constant communication this entire flight. You have two minutes.”
The general tore out the door, and William remained on the edge of the seat. He closed his eyes.
Jane.
There was a brief pause.
I’m here, William.
Are you alright?
As any of us can be. Your grandmother was with me. They placed her in my helicopter, but they wouldn’t even let us talk. They’ve already ushered her out, but I’ve been told to stay put. She kept telling them that she needed to speak with you.
I’ll find her. I promise I will not allow any of you to be harmed—
Don’t do that. Don’t say that, William. No one knows what could happen next. You’ve successfully convinced them to fear us, which I suppose buys us a bit of time. If you’re going to promise… just say that you’ll be careful. If what we saw in that dream is out there… whatever it is…
I know. Watch over the others.
There was another pause.
Just come back.
William looked out the door. Two minutes were up.
He took Lily’s hand, the soldiers scrambling. They formed a perimeter around them as he and the girl stepped out on the rocky earth.
They’d landed behind the military blockade he’d seen from above. The activity around them—the rushing soldiers, the men and women in suits huddled around laptops—came to an abrupt standstill.
The general stood under a tent among a crowd of camouflage and black. At seeing William emerge, he strode over.
“Let’s go over the ground rules—”
“All due respect, General, you aren’t making any rules. I have to find the girl. That’s all. And I must see my grandmother. Now.”
“I know you think you have us by the balls—”