Now would be a good time to connect, he told himself as he felt them turning toward him. He squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn't be distracted by anything they were doing-and the images flooded his brain. He didn't know which came from who, and it didn't matter. He heard two heartbeats join his. That meant he'd have a lot of nice veins to choose from. He selected a good fat one from each head and squeezed. He opened his eyes in time to see the guards slump in their chairs, their heads touching.
"Don't they look sweet asleep like that," he muttered as he blasted a hole in the cell and stepped through. Time to find Isabel.
"Get out of here," Max ordered the red-haired girl. She didn't need to be told twice. She bolted. The feel of power in the room was growing stronger. Adam was clearly about ready to send Max off to heaven with Valenti.
But I'm not like Valenti, Max thought. Adam's not the only one who can use power. He focused on his own power, letting it build inside him.
It's gathering too slowly, he realized. I'm never going to be ready before Adam makes his move.
Max could run, but what good would that do? Adam would be right behind him, and out in the corridor Liz, Maria, and the girl would be in the line of fire.
Think. Be logical, Max ordered himself. You don't need the same amount of power as Adam. You just need enough to knock his power off course. And you already have that.
He did. He could feel it. But he had to use it at exactly the right moment. Too soon or too late, and he was dust.
"Come on, Max. Aren't you even going to try to save yourself?" Adam asked. "You could probably stub my toe with that little ball of power I know you've got over there."
"I told you, I don't use my power to hurt," Max answered. His so-called plan would only work if he just stood there and let Adam fire on him.
Adam shrugged. "Have it your way."
Max felt the power in the room pulse. Not yet, he told himself. Not yet. Then a blast of heat scorched his face.
Now! He focused his ball of power straight out in front of him, willing it through the air. A second later an explosion rocked the room, and the wall behind Max burst into flame.
"I can't stay," Adam said. "I have to spread my love around." He turned toward the door. When he opened it, it began to smoke.
Max reached the door only a few steps after Adam. By then orange flames covered it from top to bottom. He ducked through and saw Adam racing down the corridor with one hand outstretched, brushing against the wall. A trail of fire followed his fingers.
"He's burning the place down!" Maria cried.
"We've got to stop him. Come on!" Liz shouted.
Max grabbed her by the elbow. "He's too strong for us to fight," Max answered. "We've got to get Michael, find Isabel and Alex, and then get out of here while we still can."
"I know where he is," the red-haired girl exclaimed. She took off down the flaming corridor, Max, Liz, and Maria right behind her.
When the corridor branched, the girl went left with no hesitation. At least she seems like she really knows where she's going, Max thought.
Adam had obviously gone left, too. He must have been zigzagging because the walls on both sides were blazing. In places the flames were meeting in the ceiling, forming an arch of fire. And smoke. Max was dragging smoke into his lungs with every breath.
"It's right through this door down here," the girl shouted, her voice husky. She took another left. Immediately the air felt cooler. The fire was spreading in this direction, but slowly.
When they reached the metal door, Max focused on the molecules and slammed them. The door lurched open, and long fingers of flame shot through the opening. Max smelled the scent of his own singed hair as he backed away.
"Where is Michael's cell?" Maria cried.
"You can usually see it from here," the girl answered.
"Is there another way in?" Max asked. "I don't think we can make it through here." Even from a few feet away, the heat was almost unbearable. Max felt as if he were breathing lava instead of air. His throat and lungs and the lining of his nose were getting cooked.
"We'd have to double back and make a circle," the girl answered.
"We don't have time," Liz yelled.
"I'm going through," Maria announced. She pulled off her jacket and wrapped it around her head, then she plunged through the wall of flames.
"I guess it's now or never," Max said. He turned around, grabbed Liz by the back of the head, and planted a firm kiss on her surprised lips. "I love you," he said, looking her in the eyes. Before she could respond, he turned and ran.
Liz was so close behind him that she crashed into him when he came to a stop next to Maria. The red-haired girl was through a second later.
"Everybody okay?" Max asked, running his eyes around the group. He hadn't really registered any pain until he saw the blistered patches on Maria's face and realized pieces of his own skin felt as if they'd been splashed with oil from a french fry cooker.
"I don't see Michael," Maria cried. "All the cells are empty."
"That's his right there. Third one down. They must have taken him out," the girl said.
"Michael!" Max shouted. "Can you hear me? It's Max."
Maria started to yell, too. Liz and the girl joined in.
There was no answer.
"We're going to have to assume he got out of here somehow. Isabel and Alex, too," Max said. If he was wrong, he was leaving his sister and two of his best friends to certain death. But if he was right and they stayed down here continuing the search, he, Liz, Maria, and the girl would probably cook.
The girl nodded. "Let me take you on a tour. Starting with the exit."
"We can't leave them here," Maria protested.
"Anyone who stays is going to die," Liz told her, echoing Max's thoughts, as she often did. "They all know that. Michael, Alex, Isabel, and Adam-"
"Wait, did you hear that?" Max interrupted. He closed his eyes so he could listen better. No, he wasn't delusional. That was Michael. Wait. Michael and Alex.
"This way," the girl yelled. She took off down the row of glass cells. One exploded behind them, sending a rain of glass tinkling on the cement floor.
Now Max could hear Isabel, too. Her voice sounded totally different, all thick with smoke. He glanced toward the sound, and through the glass walls of one of the cells, he saw them. His heart expanded with relief.
"Let's go!" Michael shouted as the two groups converged. He wheeled to the left, leading the way. Max dropped to the back. He didn't want to get out and then find out someone had fainted from smoke inhalation on the way there.
"Its not that far," Michael called back as they ran. Max didn't know how he could tell. The smoke had turned the air into a thick gray blanket. With each breath it felt like less oxygen was making its way into his body.
Max's head started to spin. He couldn't feel his feet hitting the floor anymore. But they had to be. Because he was moving. Wasn't he? How could he tell? Everything just looked gray.
He felt an arm slip around him. "You stayed back here to make sure everyone else got out, right?" he heard Liz ask. He could hardly see her. "You're just lucky you have me to look out for you."
"I got the door open," Michael yelled, his words mixed with a coughing fit.
The smoke got a little thinner, and Max pulled in a breath that felt like it was at least half air. A few moments later he and Liz were out.
"Keep moving," Alex commanded. "We're-"
Before he could finish, an explosion threw Max into the air. He landed hard on his back and saw an orange mushroom cloud shoot upward with a blinding flash of light.
Max slowly pushed himself to his feet, wheezing with every breath. What he saw when he looked toward the compound almost made him stop breathing altogether-the sand was burning. Low blue flames covered the ground in a huge square over the area where the compound lay.