The Touch

Chapter 39 - Safe

I awoke to see lights and tiles hanging from the ceiling and I was being carried out on a stretcher. I looked up towards my right and saw Max smiling down at me.

"You're safe now Lacey. I'm here with you".

I drifted in and out and could faintly hear others around me. I woke briefly to see I was in the back of a large truck with voices talking fast and it sounded like children were crying. I looked to my left and saw Blind Bird and Samantha sitting next to me. I summoned enough energy to squeeze Blind Birds hand and she pulled it towards her lips and kissed it.

"Everything is going to be okay now Lacey" she whispered.

"Where are we going?" I whispered hoarsely. My throat felt like I had swolled dust and it was dry. I was so thirsty.

Samantha gave me a few sips out of a water bottle which felt so cold and refreshing.

"We are heading to the main underground network Lacey. I have never seen this place but I have heard of it. This is the largest hidden centre in the world for CWT members. No one knows where the location is as everything is sent in code that only the CWT council members know and only those trusted know where it is" Samantha replied.

"Why is this place so special?" I asked.

"This place is where children have been rescued and are sent here for their safety and to work on their skills. Think of it as a training facility for people with the Touch. It is a sanctuary, a place where we can all feel safe" Blind Bird said.

"How is our girl doing?" a voice said behind my head and I moved it slightly to see that it was Max.

Fresh tears came to my eyes as I remembered the vision and how he has saved my life. "Max thank you. I don't know how I can truly express what I am feeling. You saved all of us".

"You are welcome Lacey. We have quite a trip ahead of us as the CWT centre is two days drive from here, so I need you to rest and not talk. You need to conserve your energy".

"Are the children okay?" I replied hoarsely

"They're fine. We got everyone we could" he replied.

I looked at Samantha and Blind Bird and instinctively Blind Bird replied "Mirabelle died Lacey. Part of a wall collapsed on her when the bombs went off. A few other children and a couple of parents were also killed and Dr Martins is dead too".

It was all so much to take in. Tears slid down my cheeks as I recalled the kindness Mirabelle had shown me. Samantha slipped something into my hands and I knew that it was Mirabelle's beloved novels.

A sob erupted from my chest and I cried softly for her and the other children lost.

"Try to get some sleep Lacey. You look so tired and we need to give you some food when you are ready as you have lost a terrible amount of weight" Max said.

I nodded and closed my eyes as the exhaustion took me and it felt so comforting hearing familiar voices around me. Exhaustion took over my body and I slipped into the blackness with the satisfaction that if I didn't come out again then at least we had been rescued and were now heading for safety.

I only woke a few times on our trip to the CWT underground centre. I did not recall seeing where we were driving to at any stage of our journey but remembered Samantha cleaning my feeding tube and then a liquid substance being injected into the tube. I also looked up at one stage and saw a drip bag had been attached to the inside of the truck and was dripping slowly into the needle that had been inserted into my hand.

I was weak and I felt so heavy lying on the mattress in the truck. My energy levels were low but by the time I had been in the truck for the second day I could feel some of the strength returning to my body.

Max and Samantha looked after me tirelessly on the trip and I remembered hearing them having a discussion about the serum that had been injected into me. They sounded worried and I heard Samantha question Max about whether that Serum was the same one that had been given to the children which had always ended fatally. Blind Bird would often squeeze my hand to get a response from me and I would squeeze her hand back weakly.

"She is not doing well Max" Samantha said. "I really hope that when we get there they have the correct medical people who can find out what is going on in her body".

"I am sure there will be all the help that we need and more Samantha" Max replied. "But as you know, no one here has ever been to the CWT institute, so what it even looks like is a mystery to us all".

"Well I hope for Lacey's sake that you are right. Have you noticed that the brightness that shone from her eyes before has gone again? I know that she didn't have it for a very long time, but I am worried that what Dr Martins wanted to do has actually worked, that her abilities have gone".

Max touched my hand gently. "I hope that you are wrong Samantha, I really do".

Could Max and Samantha be correct? Had I lost my abilities?

On the morning of the third day I could sense that the atmosphere in the truck had changed. There seemed to be an excitement and I could hear the children asking their parents what time we were going to arrive. Who is going to be there? Would they be able to have their own rooms again? Their parents tried to answer them as much as they could but I knew they were also in the dark about what we were going to see.

I looked over and saw Blind Bird with a smile on her face.

"Why are you smiling Blind Bird?"

"I am smiling because I know that you are going to be fine".

I still felt so weak and I knew that I had lost a lot of weight, but was glad that maybe she had sensed something good was waiting for us.

The truck slowed down and I saw Max move up towards the window that joined on to the cab. He was talking to the driver for a while then turned around to face us.

"We are at the road that leads to the CWT. We should be there in about ten minutes".

Excited gestures and hugging moved around the cabin and some women were comforted by their children and husbands as they cried with relief.

Max came up and knelt down next to me.

"They know that you need help as they radioed it in to the institute, so you and a few others will be sent to the hospital straight away. I have to get everyone sorted to their rooms but Samantha and Blind Bird are going to go with you".

"Okay" I said and then placed my hand on his. "Thank you so much for everything you have done Max".

Max looked at me and then kissed me on the forehead. "I would never let anyone harm you Lacey and I will always make sure that you are safe".

I looked at Max and the real him maybe for the first time. He had deep brown eyes which were like chocolate with flecks of gold running through them. I don't know why I had never seen this look in his eyes when he looked at me but it was the same look that Slade had when he told me that he loved me. Was it possible that Max had feelings for me?

He looked at Blind Bird and Samantha. "I will find you both as soon as I can and take you to your rooms".

Samantha took his hand and patted it in a motherly way then Max moved towards the front of the cab.