Recreated

Chapter Nineteen

I haven't stopped thinking about it. It has been driving me insane for the past week since it happened. Surely she sees it as something more.

John warned me away, but after this....? It's possible, but how long will this last?

I can't just forget about her, because she's always there. Joking around after physical therapy, laughing at my pitiful jokes, staying positive........

She understands me. There is no other way to explain.

"Hey!" Tyler waved his hand in front of my face. "Weirdo! Listen up!" I blinked, and Tyler raised an eyebrow. "Dennis, looks like our buddy's in loooooove." He sang the last word.

"Really dude?" I rolled my eyes. "How old are you again? Three?"

"Twenty four, if you must know." He winked. "But my mind..... that's a different story."

"Whatever. I need to go take Adria to training. Her abilities are really developing well. In a few months, she will have complete con......"

BOOM!

A sudden blast rocks the entire barn. Pieces of plaster rained down, lights flickering. One more blast hits, and we're plunged into darkness.

I pull out my phone to use the flashlight,  but my phone won't turn on. "My phone won't work!"

A chorus of agreement rises, and someone says, "They must have a digital interrupter with them."

I shoved through the small room, tripping over a stool, but finding the door successfully. I felt my way down the hallway until I found a lit up stretch. I ran toward Adria's room. The lights eventually cut out, but I still ran along.

Suddenly, I tripped. I squinted, and felt around with my foot. The floor was torn up, broken from the explosions. Which means the explosions were closer to Adria.

I carefully picked my way through the flooring wasteland. I soon reached Adria's door, but she wasn't in her room. No sign of her cane (she still used it occasionally, because it took strain off her legs), which means she hadn't been here during the explosions.

The garden! She had to be there! I raced to the elevator. Never have I hated elevator music so much.

I gaped at the barn. The roof had split, and there were huge craters where the doors had been. Everything was destroyed, and sparks were  falling from broken computers. A desk fell to the ground a few feet from me, and that fueled me to move toward the garden door.

I burst out the door. Glass had crumbled in, and dirt had exploded along the walls. Broken planters laid on the ground. Overhead planters dangled from overhead, ready to crash down at any moment.

I saw Adria, across the garden, and when her head turned to me, her face was etched in fear. I ran forward, only to be stopped by the barrel of a gun pointed between my eyes. "Ah, Jace. I honestly didn't think I would see you again."

Grayson stared me in the eyes. He lowered the gun. Maybe I can get to Adria before he redraws the gun.....

Seemingly reading my thoughts, he intervened before I could do anything. "Don't move a muscle. Before you get to Adria, each of you will have multiple gunshot wounds." He motioned with the gun toward her. "I might still shoot if you don't say the right thing."

I sucked in a breath, and he chuckled. "Jace, I still need her around. I wouldn't kill her. Just scar her and/or mutilate her. I do need to test if she has a regrowth factor. Maybe......"

"Don't. Touch. Her." I growled.

He laughed. "Fond of your little pet project?" He paused, as if deep in thought. "Tell you what. You promise to continue helping me, and I don't harm her. Much. Disagree, and I can put her through unimaginable pain." He paused, then smiled evilly. "For science, of course."

"You won't hurt her?"

"Much."

I bit my lip. "Okay. I'll do it. Only for her."

He smiled. "You are to listen to my every command, or I will be required to implant a computer in your brain like I did to Adria. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Okay. First, I need you to prove you will listen."

"How?"

He turned the gun to me, handing it to me. "Shoot her."