Overdose

56. Yvonne Mcreary

When I escaped, I told myself that I was going to change. I was going to do the things I loved again, painting, sewing, spending time with my mother. Those plans were ruined. I had new plans.

With Evan and Nathaniel's help, I managed to map out as much of the Facility as possible. While Lilith didn't remember much, small details sparked her memory and she was able to add a few things. With Evelyn gone, we lost an easy way in. The Master wouldn't be of any help either, as he was no longer there. We were really on our own.

The plan was not simple, nor was it going to even play out the way we wanted it to. But we knew we had to come up with some kind of basic idea, how we were going to get in. How we were hopefully going to get out.

It started with Damion. He was going to do his best to short circuit the security controls, just enough we could get into the entrance. If that didn't work, then we had a backup. Just like Lilith managed to shock Doctor Helena, we were going to try to spill water near the controls and use her powers to electrify those. There was no doubt that there would be guards there, so we planned to have some fend them off, distract them as we got to where we needed to be. Evan and Nathaniel would go upstairs, as they knew that layout better. They would take Ceaser and Xander head on. Meanwhile the rest of us would take care of the guards. Our plan was to try and find a way to shock them, knock them unconscious. From there, Lilith would take Kieran and Tristan to the Containment Unit, and Damion and I would go try and help the prisoners. It was not a sure-fire plan, and the chance of it actually going perfectly was less than desired, but it was the only idea we had. I couldn't say for sure it was what the boys were thinking, but Lilith and I did not want to be the cause of someone's death. We just wanted to get everyone out safely.

However, before we did any of that, we had to figure out how the hell we were getting there in the first place. There were seven of us, which meant two cars. Tristan could drive, and so could Kieran, but we couldn't remember the way. It took some digging through the files Evelyn had given us when we escaped, and we managed to find a general area of where the Facility was located. I, however, had a feeling that just the minute we were near it we would know. The Facility sticks with you, it becomes a part of you. You never forget what you went through, what you saw. It had some kind of forcefield around it, and even once you leave that you still feel it creeping up on you, like the shadow of your past. But once you turn around, it is gone, and you think you're safe until the chill comes again, and the goosebumps rise on your arms, and the overwhelming uneasiness envelopes you, reminding you that it will always be there.

We just had one thing to worry about. Damion's mom couldn't care less about him, it seemed. Ever since he had come home, she didn't bother making an attempt to rekindle their familial relationship. Damion said it seemed like she liked it better when he was in the Facility. I had no family, neither did Lilith or Nathaniel, so it was down to Evan, Tristan, and Kieran to deal with that. Kieran lied to his mom, saying that he was going to be spending a weekend with his friend out of town. Evan and Tristan didn't have it so easy.

We were sitting on the roof a few nights before the journey. "What are you going to tell her?" I asked.

"I've been going over so many explanations, lies...she can't know where we're going, she can't know that we might not be coming back. And if we don't come back...god she's going to have no one left." Evan buried his face in his hands. "I can't do this. I have to, but I can't."

I just stared at him. Our situations were so different. He had a family, he had people who needed him to be alive. I wanted so badly to just grab him and shake him. "We're going to make it back, you shouldn't be thinking like that." But I didn't believe it, and saying it would only make that fear fill me more. Someone had to be positive, be confident that everything was going to go without losing someone, but I couldn't be that person. I could never be positive and believe in what I'm saying at the same time.

There had been something itching in my mind, something I had been thinking about....but I was never sure how to bring it up to Evan. Finally, it just spilled out. "What if we could get help from someone on the inside?" I asked.

He looked at me, confused. "Like who? Evelyn is dead, and Caesar and Xander are clearly not our friends."

"Well, we know that the hospitals are involved in some way, right? And the police as well..." I hesitated to finish the sentence. Evan still seemed to not get where I was going. "And we have an officer in the home-"

"Are you saying my mom might be involved with The Facility?" His voice was loud, and the sudden yell caused some birds in the trees around the roof to fly off, startled. "She doesn't know anything about that!"

"I'm not saying she was helping them, I'm just saying she might know more than she's letting on-"

"Enough. I can't believe you would think that my mother would ever do something to harm anyone, let alone her own son." Evan's look turned into a glare, and I could see his jaw clenching.

"I don't think she's involved, okay? I'm just saying that she's working WITH people who are involved. Maybe she doesn't know exactly what's going on, or doesn't understand, but jesus Evan there's a chance that if she talks to the right person she could get us some information." I put my hands out, gesturing for him to calm down. I didn't realize how hard I was breathing, and I wondered if it was because of how angry he was or how I felt so unsteady that I thought I was close to falling off the roof.

"She wouldn't know anything about that. She couldn't know anything about that. She wouldn't have left me there." I wasn't sure if he was trying to convince me or convince himself. His voice faltered and cracked. "She wouldn't have left me there."

I put my hand on his shoulder. I felt so guilty, I never should have even considered bringing it up to him. "No, no she wouldn't. I'm sure she knows nothing about it. Just forget I said anything."

But I knew he was never going to forget it. I could tell from his face. He looked hurt, and somehow I could tell that me bringing it up to him was not the first time he had thought about it. It wasn't the first time he considered that his mother could be a part of the people who put him through hell for years, a part of the people that killed his father and destroyed his family's happiness. Whether or not she knew everything or a few things, I had a feeling she would know something that would be important. However, I saw how hurt Evan was, and I knew it would break him to hear that his mother did know something, so instead of asking her, I just let it go. Anything she could know that could help us, any answers to questions, were not as important to me as Evan.