"Roger that," Alex said.
"Roger that. Your dad would be so proud." Isabel slid a piece of tape over the guard's mouth and shoved herself to her feet.
"You okay?" Alex asked her.
"Yeah," she answered. "I want to keep going this way. I started feeling Michael a little more strongly once we turned down this corridor."
"Adam knows where Michael's being held," Alex reminded her.
"But this feels like the right way. Maybe they moved him after Adam escaped," Isabel answered.
"Let's check it out, then," Alex said. They started down the corridor.
"Thanks for coming with me," Isabel mumbled, without looking at him. Now that they weren't fighting for their lives, it felt a little strange to be paired up yet again.
"No problem," Alex answered.
Isabel tried to zero in on exactly where the feelings from Michael were concentrated. "I think he's somewhere to the left of us," she said. The corridor continued on in the same direction as far as she could see. But there was a door on the left a few feet away. Isabel didn't think Michael was that close. But maybe if they cut through that room, they'd find another passageway.
She rushed up to the door. It was one of those massive metal ones she remembered from the last time she was in the compound. She focused on the molecules and gave them a shove. The door squealed open.
"I know it's old-fashioned, but I always appreciate having a door opened for me," Alex said as he stepped through.
Isabel followed him, and her breath caught in her chest. It was like walking into one of her nightmares. There's a door on the other side of the room, she told herself. All you have to do is walk over to it. Don't look at anything. Just move.
She kept her eyes locked on the door. But she couldn't help catching glimpses of things. Scalpels, and scissors, and even a little saw.
You're halfway through, she thought. And it's not like any of this stuff is going to jump up and start dissecting you all by itself.
Another step. Then another. Then another. You can do it. She bumped into something hard and cold. She glanced down and immediately wished she hadn't. It was a high metal table with troughs lining two of the sides. To catch the blood, she realized.
She reached out and touched the back of Alex's shirt. She didn't want to grab onto him like some pathetic thing. She just wanted to keep two fingers on his shirt. That's all.
She couldn't stop a long, shaky sigh of relief from escaping as Alex reached for the door handle. But before he could pull the door open, Isabel felt a sharp pain in the back of her neck. She reached behind her and felt something sticking out of her skin. She yanked it free. A syringe.
She turned and saw a man in a white lab coat. "Where did you come-"
Her body gave a violent jerk, then her legs started to spasm. The drain in the tile floor filled her vision as she fell.
"That's the door to Michael's cell," Adam whispered.
"Are there guards inside?" Max asked.
Adam shook his head. "They're usually out here."
If they were usually out there, then why did Adam lead them down this corridor without any warning?
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us? That question of Alex's had been running through Max's head all day, like some kind of Muzak from hell.
Max just didn't know. Maybe they should have left Adam at home. But Max thought that he might need the extra power.
This is not the time to start rethinking your decision, he told himself. Adam's here now. There's no turning back.
"You two keep watch," he said to Liz and Maria. "If you see guards, try and knock on the cell door or give us some kind of signal."
"We'll kick their butts if they come near us," Maria answered, her voice quaking.
"Go," Liz urged.
"Let's connect here in case we need to use our combined power inside," Max said. Adam reached out and grabbed him by the wrist.
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us?
Max tried to ignore that question as he and Adam crept up to the cell door. Adam reached out with his free hand and swung it open.
Wait. There was something wrong. Shouldn't it have been locked?
Before Max could formulate any kind of answer for himself, Adam stepped through the door, pulling Max with him.
"Max Evans. You've saved me the trouble of coming to pick you up."
Max jerked his head toward the voice and saw Sheriff Valenti sitting behind a wide desk. A girl with short red hair sat in one of the chairs across from it.
Adam had led him right to the sheriff's office. He'd clearly been planning this all along. But why?
"I hope your sister is here, too. Not that it would be too difficult to run into town and get her," Valenti said. "In fact, I'd enjoy it. I've spent half my life looking for the two of you. Soon I'll have all my aliens safely tucked into their beds."
Max couldn't answer. He felt a twisting in his gut. Valenti knew the truth.
Max grabbed Adam's hand and made the connection.
"Won't that be nice, Adam?" Valenti asked in a hideous kindergarten voice. "You always wanted a bigger family than just you and Daddy."
Max felt the power begin to grow inside him, doubling in size every second. Adam's getting ready to use it, he realized.
Maybe we could make a circle of fire around Valenti to trap him, Max thought. Or maybe with our combined power we can knock him out from here without touching him to make a connection.
Max turned toward Adam. Maybe he could signal him to-
His heart froze. Adam was smiling at Valenti. The same smile he'd given the rabbit.
"Adam, no!" Max yelled. He tried to jerk his hand away, but Adam's fingers were digging into his flesh.
Max twisted around and slammed his fist into Adam's side. Adam released him. "I don't need you, anyway," he muttered.
A flash of brilliant white light filled the room, reflecting off the walls, blinding Max. He blinked hard, trying to clear his vision. He thought he saw Valenti sitting behind his desk. But that was impossible. There was no way he could have survived.
Max wiped his running eyes with his sleeve and took a step closer to the desk. Valenti was sitting there, coated entirely in ash, not one speck of skin showing. He was absolutely motionless. What had Adam done to him?
He heard the girl in the chair behind him making these low moaning sounds deep in her throat. He knew he should go to her, but he couldn't stop staring at Valenti.
Adam moved up next to Max. He leaned forward, pursed his lips, and blew. With a soft whispering sound, Valenti crumbled into a pile of dust.
"Why did you do that?" Max shouted. "There were other ways we could have dealt with him. We never use our power to kill. Never!"
Adam didn't respond.
Max felt a trace of power in the room. It was building fast.
Do you think there's any chance he could turn on us?
Max whipped his head toward Adam. Adam smiled at him.
"What the hell did you do to her?" Alex screamed at the doctor.
Isabel gave another jerk, her eyes wide and staring. Alex could practically feel the pain in his own body.
The doctor dropped to his knees next to her. "I didn't mean to hurt her. I just gave her a shot of a fast-acting tranquilizer. It shouldn't have caused this reaction. I only wanted to detain you until I could call Valenti or one of the guards."
Alex reached down and yanked the doctor to his feet. He wrapped his arm around the man's neck to hold him still. Then he searched the pockets of the doctor's lab coat, coming up with two more syringes. He threw them across the room.