The Mind Keepers (The Mind Readers) by Lori Brighton

He gripped my wrists in a tight grasp. “I’m not letting you go out there alone.”

  “I’ve been alone my entire life,” I hissed. Double crap, I hadn’t meant to say that. Weakness, my mind screamed, show no weakness. Yeah, too late.

  “You aren’t alone anymore.”

  He was right. I didn’t really want to admit it, and I sure as heck didn’t want to admit that I needed anyone, but Maddox was right. Cameron had my back. My aunt was ready to protect me. And Maddox, well, he had never betrayed me after all. I swallowed hard, dampening down the urge to ignore the warm tightness that was slowly spreading through my chest. Pure and disgusting emotion. I was falling for Maddox all over again.

  Better to face my known enemies outside that door than my confusing emotions here with Maddox. “Ok, let’s go.”

  He slowly turned the door knob.

  “Mr. McDowell, you need to come with us,” one of the agents said.

  Maddox pulled a pistol from his waistband, and I wondered who had given him the weapon and when. No way had the gun gotten past Aunt Lyndsey’s watchful eye, which meant she must have actually trusted him. Quietly, we made our way around the piles of boxes. Every step closer sent the energy pulsing toward the surface.

  “Ready?” he whispered in the hall outside the living room.

  I nodded. Maddox surged into the room, pistol drawn. I followed, immediately throwing my energy toward the two agents standing near Henry. It didn’t work. They went stumbling back, but their chips held.

  “Hell,” I muttered. The surge of energy through my body left me dazed. Through the haze in my mind I saw them reaching for the pistols strapped to their shoulders and knew I had only seconds.

  Aunt Lyndsey stepped out from behind the boxes, and flung her energy. Their pistols went flying from their hands toward us. Maddox dropped to the floor, scooping up the weapons. Henry was no help, merely stumbling back into a pile of trash that toppled to the ground.

  “Get down! On the floor!” Maddox demanded, his pistol pointed at them. The two men knelt hesitantly, slowly, upon the dusty floorboards, their hands clasped behind their heads. They knew what to do; this world wasn’t new to them.

  We have two down in the back alley, Cameron sent me the mental message. The other two are headed your way.

  “Crap,” I muttered. “Two more coming.”

  “Shoot them,” Henry growled.

  Maddox slid him a glance. “Shut up, Henry.” He looked my way. “Bindings?”

  But I didn’t have time to find rope. The two agents Cameron warned us about raced into the room, pistols drawn. They were prepared, which meant they’d known we were here.

  “God,” Aunt Lyndsey sighed. “They’re like cockroaches.”

  They didn’t even pause as they pointed their guns at Maddox.

  “No!” I didn’t have time to think. The power surged through me, a heated pulse of energy that came from nowhere and everywhere at once. Instinct had me jumping in front of Maddox and throwing my powers forward. This time the resistance gave way as their chips failed under the strength of the source. Both men cried out, collapsing to the ground. They were still, so damn still. I pulled back the energy, shocked once again at what I had been able to do.

  “Damn you, Nora,” Maddox growled. “You could’ve been killed.”

  “A thank you would do,” I muttered back.

  “Well done,” Aunt Lyndsey said, strolling toward the motionless bodies and kicking their guns toward Maddox.

  I wasn’t so sure if I should be proud. The source, this new energy, made me feel wild, uncontrolled. I liked control. Disconcerted, I crossed my arms over my chest. My body felt buzzed, not my own.

  Maddox tightened his hold on his pistol, glaring at the two men who were still conscious. “Don’t move!”

  “Why are you here?” Aunt Lyndsey asked.

  They didn’t say a word. I felt the shift in the air a moment before the two men cried out, arching their backs and squeezing their eyes shut in pain. I wasn’t sure what my aunt was doing, but she wasn’t playing nice. For the first time, their pain made me uneasy. Maybe I’d grown a conscience, or maybe I was starting to realize that if I wasn’t careful, I could end up just as cold and indifferent to the suffering of others as my aunt.

  “Why are you here?” she repeated.

  “You think this is it?” one of the men panted. He was pale, as if he hadn’t seen much sunlight. He’d probably been recruited early and stuck in those cinderblock buildings for hours, days, only to end up here staring down the end of a pistol, his useless life flashing before his eyes. “You think once you get rid of us it will be over?” He laughed. “You should know better. They won’t let you go. You’re freaks, and you shouldn’t be allowed on this earth.”

  Funny enough, his harsh words did nothing to me. In fact, if anything I felt sorry for him. To know such bitterness, such hatred for another…I swallowed hard. I didn’t want that life—at least not anymore.

  I felt the shift in the air again and knew Aunt Lyndsey was going to throw her energy. No more pain, no more suffering. I was tired of it all. “Wait.”

  Curious, she glanced back at me. I could try to explain my sudden change of heart, but I knew she wouldn’t get it. My sister had obviously influenced me more than I’d realized in the past year. Damn her.

  “There’s no point,” I tried to explain.

  Cameron rushed into the house, followed by Lewis. “You’re okay?”

  Aunt Lyndsey nodded. “Are there more?”

  Cameron shook her head. Her ponytail had come undone, and there was dirt smeared across her forehead as if she’d taken a tumble. Lewis looked just as ruffled. “No, but we need to get the hell out of here now, while we can.”

  I held up my hand, urging her to wait. “I know what we need to do.”

  My aunt looked leery, but Cameron seemed merely curious. She knew me; she trusted me. I gave her a wavering smile. Yeah, I had a plan. They might not like it, but Cameron would have my back. That’s what family was for. Maddox was right. I wasn’t alone anymore.

  “What is it?” Maddox asked.

  “The information.” My heart pounded so hard in my chest it was almost painful. What I was going to suggest was insane. “We send it out over the web.”

  There was one long moment of silence as they let the words settle in. I figured my aunt would be the first one to protest. I was correct.

  “You can’t be serious,” she said.

  I knew why she was upset. We’d all spent our lives hiding our powers, and now I was suggesting we throw it away for nothing. “Think about it. We do the complete opposite of what they want.”

  The two agents flicked nervous glances toward each other. They were anxious. They should be. In that moment, I knew my instincts were right. If we had nothing to hide, they held no power over us.

  “We let it be known what the government has been spending money on, what they’ve been doing behind closed doors,” Maddox added for me. “Whether the public believes it or not, it’s all out there, and they’ll be heavily scrutinized.”

  “And what if mind readers come out to support the claim?” Aunt Lyndsey asked, crossing her arms over her chest, a mulish look upon her face. She still didn’t get it.

  I shrugged. “Then it will only support the claim, and they’ll leave us alone.” I moved toward the computer. “We’ve been trying to hide our powers for centuries, and it’s gotten us nowhere.”

  “And what if no mind readers come forward to support the story?” the agent sneered.

  “If no one comes forward, then the world will assume the government has spent thousands,” I explained, “even millions, trying to find mind readers who don’t exist. There will be an uproar.”

  “No way,” Henry whispered, looking terrified. The poor guy was probably going to have a heart attack—either from the stress or from his diet of pizza and beer. “It’s suicide.”

  “Don’t,” one of the agents said. “It will only destroy your lives.?
??

  “You’ve already destroyed our lives with your secrecy and lies,” Cameron said. “Nora’s right.” She looked at me and nodded. “We should do it.”

  I glanced at Maddox.

  “Push the key,” he said softly.

  Push the key. I glanced down at the enter button, my heart racing. One little key and all of our secrets would be revealed, the very secrets my mom had worked so hard at hiding. But with the truth out, maybe we could finally be free. No more running, no more fighting.

  “Do it, and we will destroy you,” the agent warned.

  “I don’t think so,” my aunt said, turning toward him. “You’re going to leave. You see, we have allies who are placed all around the world, primed to release even more information. Your names and addresses. We’re done being your lackeys, got it?”

  She lied, but they didn’t know that.

  “And if you don’t leave, I will kill you.”

  And we were back to murder and mayhem.

  “You don’t have the power,” the main agent sneered. “And there are more agents coming. Right now, in fact.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe, but I bet if we combine our powers we’ll have enough energy to kill you and all of your friends. Want to give it a try?”

  God, he was young, not much older than me. And if he chose to attack or fight back, his life could be over in moments. I was so sick of death and destruction. “Enough!”

  Maddox rested his hand on my lower back. I’d never allowed myself to find support through another, but for the first time, I took strength in his touch. Slowly, I lowered my hand, my finger hovering over the key.

  Aunt Lyndsey glanced at me. “You sure?”

  I had a choice: I could cling to all of the wrongs that had been done, I could whine about my sad childhood and be miserable for the rest of my life, continuing to hunt down those I thought were responsible.

  Or I could start living…start a new life with Maddox. “I’m sure.”

  With that said, I reached out and pressed enter.

  Epilogue

  8 Months Later

  “Yet another person has come forward claiming the government subjected them to months of torturous testing…”

  I reached for the remote, turning off the television before the children heard the broadcast. The supposed mind reader being interviewed was an obvious fake, but the world didn’t know that; they clung to the stories, hoping to find something supernatural to give meaning to their lives.

  Stories like these had been erupting for months, and I wondered if they would ever die down. Thousands of conspiracy theory websites peppered the web. But without proof, most of the population was merely irate that the government had supposedly wasted millions of dollars studying something that didn’t exist, all while torturing innocent people. The lawsuits would keep S.P.I. busy for years. Even the president was getting involved, bringing the incompetent government employees to task. Maybe someday the truth would come out, and they would prove we existed. But when that day came, we would be prepared.

  “They’re here!” Colin called out from behind the couch where he was lying on the floor, doing a puzzle with Kelly, another mind-reading child. Colin had been sent to us from an orphanage in Ireland when he’d started acting oddly, and he had an adorable accent to go along with his freckled face. One of the adult mind readers there had been fortunate enough to find the boy before the media uncovered his unusual behavior, thank God.

  “They’re here,” he shouted again.

  I grinned. “Thanks, Colin.”

  He hadn’t heard the car or looked out the window, but he knew. His abilities had really started to develop in the past few months, and I had a feeling he was going to be more powerful than most of us. I wouldn’t have been surprised if at least one of his parents had carried the source, if not both. Hopefully, with our help, he’d be able to retain control of his abilities.

  Sure enough, moments later I heard the crunch of wheels over snow. It was Sunday, the day we had a family dinner like most normal people. Yeah, we were an odd group: me and Maddox, Cameron and Lewis, and about fifteen kids. But on Sundays, at least, we pretended we were normal. I moved toward the windows and brushed aside the thick velvet drapes. Outside, the world looked cold and icy, but here in the living room, the fireplace and central heating kept us warm and safe. Sierra approached with Caroline, who was sporting a brilliant red coat. Lewis and Cameron walked more slowly behind them, their heads bent close as they whispered what were most likely romantic nothings in each other’s ears.

  In that moment, a picture flashed to mind: Lewis and Cameron some five years from now marrying on this very island, the summer sun brilliant and warm. I didn’t know where the image had come from, but I knew it to be true.

  Grinning, I let the curtain fall back into place and started toward the foyer. Maddox and I were going on a date next Saturday, and I wanted to ask Cameron’s opinion on a dress I’d purchased. Believe me, even I realized how ridiculous it was that in a year’s span I’d gone from worrying about surviving to worrying about whether a dress made my butt look big.

  The door opened, and a cold burst of winter air swept inside, piercing my woolen sweater and sending flurries dancing gleefully into the hall. Cameron and Lewis had moved to the mainland months ago when Maddox had arrived. We’d all agreed it would be a little too awkward sharing a house. But every Sunday we met to have dinner. Cameron and I had a true sisterly relationship, and we worked daily on controlling our powers so that we would be better prepared when we inherited the source completely. We didn’t need a phone because we could manage to mind talk even across the bay. And I often went to the mainland to meet her for lunch in between her classes at the university.

  “Nora!” Caroline cried out, doing a little twirl. “Look at my new coat!”

  “Very pretty.” I took her jacket and hung it on the coat stand in the corner of the foyer. “Did you get it for Christmas?”

  She nodded.

  Sierra cupped the side of my face and kissed my cheek. “My dear, how are you?”

  She never judged, only loved. The older woman had the uncanny ability to make a person feel better merely by being in her presence. “Good, and you?”

  “Wonderful, just wonderful.” She floated into the living room, resting in her usual chair near the fireplace. The children gathered around her, eager for the older woman’s attention.

  Caroline had moved with Lewis and Cameron to the mainland so they could integrate her into a public school, and so far she was doing amazingly well. It wasn’t our goal to keep the kids locked away, rather to train them to blend into society. They could still use their powers, but they didn’t need to broadcast them. After all, as much as Aaron had tried, we couldn’t keep them prisoner here forever.

  “Hey!” Cameron threw her arms around me in a tight hug. I hugged her back, her familiar vanilla scent wrapping around me, comforting in its familiarity. “You good?”

  I nodded as Caroline skipped up for her embrace.

  I ruffled the girl’s hair as she pulled back. “How’s school going, brat?”

  She grinned. “Good.”

  “Good?” Lewis quirked a brow, hanging up their coats. He’d started to warm up to us, the old Lewis slowly beginning to return. He stuffed his right hand into his jean pocket, that gray sweater he wore stretching across his shoulders. I didn’t miss the way his left hand lingered on Cameron’s back. They always seemed to be touching in some romantic way. “Straight A’s again.”

  The girl shrugged. “It helps when you can hear the answers coming from the teacher’s mind.”

  “Caroline!” Cameron reprimanded.

  “Just kidding.” Giggling, she moved into the living room to find the other kids. It was a sweet picture they made, huddled on the floor, laughing and playing together. My father hadn’t had a Norman Rockwell life. No, we had that perfect family here. The kids looked out for each other as much as any siblings. They knew how perilous our lives were, and how
lucky they were to be here.

  “How are classes?” I asked, slipping my arm through Cameron’s. Both she and Lewis were working on bachelor’s degrees in biology and would go to graduate school for genetics, hoping to understand our powers better. Honestly, I figured some things were just inexplicable.

  “Informative, and at times exhausting.”

  “You’ll do fine.” She’d even got me thinking of going back to school and finishing my degree. Maybe. Someday. Now, I was too content to leave the island. I’d spent so many years running that I needed a year or two merely to stand still. As if sensing Cameron and Lewis’ arrival, the kids came sprawling out of their rooms upstairs, their loud chatter echoing against the walls, feet thundering across the floor and shaking the chandelier above. I grinned as my massive Von Trapp family stumbled down the steps, practically falling in their haste to reach us.

  Drawn by the chaos, Maddox appeared at the top of the steps, my own prince charming. The black sweater he wore stretched across his broad shoulders and matched his tousled hair. The familiar warmth I always felt when I saw him spread throughout my body, making my heart skip a beat.

  “About time you arrived,” he grumbled, starting down the steps. “I’m starving.”

  “I think you’ll survive,” Lewis muttered wryly before heading into the living room. They weren’t exactly best friends; he still blamed Maddox for putting Cameron in danger on more than one occasion. I couldn’t fault him. Maddox and I had once brazenly lived life on the edge, putting not only ourselves but others in danger. But not anymore. Life was full of choices, and I no longer chose to put myself in danger or be bitter and angry.

  “Happy family time.” He winked at me as he hugged Cameron. “Evening, Sweetheart.”

  “Maddox.” Cameron grinned, hugging him back. “Every time I see you I’m surprised the kids haven’t run you off.”

  “Run me off?” He frowned. “You joking? Hell, I’m going to start my own football team.”

  “No way,” I interrupted, “singing group.”

  Truth was, Maddox had come from a large family, and when he’d left S.P.I., he’d lost touch with them. He craved the chaos and adored the kids.