The Forbidden Trilogy(91)

He sat down in a chair opposite Brad and crossed his legs. "I got an email about the hair sample I sent in for testing. You had copious amounts of drugs in your system—a designer drug, actually, that is a blend of several narcotics. The length of your hair showed that the drugs have been in your system for years. Your entire hair follicle had traces of it."

"So that means they've been feeding me drugs for as long as I've had my hair?"

"Basically, yes."

"What drugs?"

"It looks like a blend of opiates, something resembling meth, and something else the lab has never seen. I speculate the effects of this drug would create a slight euphoria, augmenting the organization's ability to use subtle coercion, and perhaps environmental controls, to keep all of you kids happy and unquestioning about your circumstances."

Brad cleared his throat. "So, in plain English, what you're saying is they drugged the kids to keep them happy and complacent, right?"

The professor mock-scowled at Brad. "More or less, yes."

His words relieved a guilt that I didn't realize I'd been carrying. "So I'm not just a gullible idiot for believing them all these years?"

"You were never that, even without the drugs."

"Then why did I believe Drake when he started questioning things about my life?"

"I thought about that, and I suspect it is a combination of the hormones released in your system from the pregnancy and good old-fashioned love. The chemical and emotional connection you and Drake formed likely changed your physiology enough that you were able to think through the drugs. It looks like the vitamins you received every three months were really drugs, and they probably wore off around the time you went into withdrawals."

"That means all my friends are still getting drugged up." I placed a hand over my belly. "What about the baby? Wouldn't this be bad for the baby too? Drake, we need to link to Lucy and Luke and tell them what's happening. We can't put this off anymore, not even for my health."

He frowned, but didn't argue. Smart man.

The professor gave a pointed look to Brad and walked out of the room.

Brad jumped up from the chair. "Right, we'll just go work on the blog some more. You two talk to your friends."

He closed the door behind him, leaving Drake and me alone.

Drake brushed stray strands of hair from my forehead. "Are you sure about this? Opening yourself up could give whoever is tracking you more access."

"I hadn't thought of that, but you'll be in there with me. Together we're pretty strong."

"Okay, but if anything goes wrong, we get out and shut down the link. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

We held hands and closed our eyes. The physical contact helped strengthen our focus, making the link more powerful.

The universe expanded and time stood still. Drake and I merged into one thought, one heartbeat, one breath. At this level of connection, direct thoughts were no more necessary than they would be with one's self. Every secret, every hidden corner, every nuance of memory lay open and transparent. This level of intimacy required complete trust—nothing could be held back.

Our collective mind pulled from memory the mental signatures of Luke and Lucy, as distinct as fingerprints, as familiar to me as their voices. We slid in gently; unlike my mind assault on Kylie, this wouldn't hurt them. It merely expanded their capacity to "hear" beyond the range of their ears.

'Sam? Is that you?' Lucy's mental voice carried her signature enthusiasm for life. I had missed her more than I allowed myself to acknowledge. All my love for her and Luke carried forward in my thoughts as images, emotions, memories.

Just as all their worry and fear crashed into me.

Luke and Lucy were in trouble.





Chapter 38 – Lucy



It didn't take as long as Lucy expected to fill Sam and Drake in on the changes at Rent-A-Kid. Rather, the shock on both ends took the most time to process.

Lucy's skin crawled at the thought that the school had force-fed her and Luke and everyone here drugs their whole lives. What kind of long-term damage would their bodies suffer? And poor Sam, going through detox and withdrawal while pregnant—how awful! Lucy wished more than anything she could be there for her friend during all this, instead of stuck planning a rebellion.

Luke's mental voice broke through her thoughts. 'So what do we do about this Seeker dude?'

"Drake and I will need to figure out a way to track him. He must be somehow connected to your power problems. Nothing else makes sense at this point. When you go on your assignment, can you figure out a way to email us photos and a layout of the security at the school? Mark off which buildings are off-limits, where the soldiers are stationed, that kind of thing. We'll find a way in as you guys plan a way out. A two-pronged attack on them may be our best bet. Lucy, can you hack into the school and see if you can find anything useful?"