"Why?"
He remained silent as they walked along the west wall. Finally he spoke, "I never wanted to work with the other guys, 'cause they would invariably treat me like a child."
"Oh. I'm sorry. It must have been terribly frustrating to look like a fifteen-year-old for so long."
"Almost five hundred years." He glanced at her. "I'm glad ye never knew me that way. Ye've always seen me as a man, as the man I felt like inside all those years."
"You're a wonderful man, Ian."
He took her hand. "Och, yer puir fingers are frozen." He sandwiched her hand between his.
"That's the oak tree Carlos climbed." She pointed with her free hand. "The courtyard is just over the wall."
He released her hand. "I'll take a look."
She blinked when he started to rise to the top of the wall.
"All right. Come." He extended his left hand toward her.
"I can't—" She stopped when his body dropped a few feet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. Then he levitated back to the top of the wall.
She flung her arms around his neck.
His teeth flashed white in the dark. "Ye doona need to choke me, sweetheart. I willna drop you."
"Sorry." She tried to relax. "I'm not used to floating six feet off the ground."
"That is Ward Three, aye?" He pointed.
She squinted to see across the dimly lit courtyard. "Yes." No doubt he could see much better than she.
"Ye see the shadowy area to the right of the building? It's close to the back entrance. We'll teleport there first."
"Okay." She steeled her nerves. The black, dizzying sensation sucked her in, then she stumbled as her feet landed on hard ground.
"Steady." He led her toward the back door. It was locked, of course, but through the glass window they could see a plain hallway, lined with doors on each side. The doors were open, and light spilled from several onto the shiny linoleum floor.
A female nurse padded down the hall in white athletic shoes. "Eight o'clock! Lights out!"
The lights clicked off, leaving the hallway dimly illuminated with a few emergency lights. The nurse walked away, presumably toward the nurses' station by the main entrance.
"Those must be the bedrooms," Ian whispered. He pulled her to his side. "Let's go."
Darkness swirled around her once more, then she found herself with Ian in the hallway. The air was hot and stuffy. She took the left side of the hall, while he took the right. They moved silently across the floor, checking the name tags next to each door.
Four doors down, she spotted the name Vanderwerth, Sabrina. She motioned to Ian, and they both slipped inside the dark room. She could barely make out the twin-sized bed on a raised platform. There were no dressers, just open shelves like bookcases. No place to hide anything. No lamps, no mirrors. A body was huddled under the plain blanket. Sabrina's blonde hair gleamed dully on the pillow.
Toni hunched down beside her. "Bri, can you hear me?" She touched her shoulder.
Bri moaned. "Leave me alone, you creep."
"Sabrina, it's me, Toni."
"Toni?" She rolled onto her back. "You can't be Toni."
"I am Toni. I've come to get you out of here."
Sabrina rubbed her eyes. "I'm just dreaming. I'm so delusional."
"No, you're not." Toni grabbed her hand and squeezed. "It's really me. Now come on. We're leaving."
Bri struggled to sit up. "I'm kinda sleepy. Can't you come back in the morning?"
"No, we're leaving now." Toni realized her friend was too doped up to think clearly. She located her slippers beside the bed and shoved them on her feet.
"This is taking too long," Ian whispered. "I'll just grab her and go."
Bri squinted at Ian's dark shadow. "Who are you?"
"He's a friend," Toni explained. "Ian. He's going to help you escape."
Bri giggled. "Escape? You can't escape from here."
"No' so loud, please," Ian whispered. He leaned out the door to check the hallway. "Hurry. I hear someone coming."
"He talks so cute," Bri whispered.
"He's Scottish." Toni pulled Bri to her feet and led her to the doorway. "Ian will take you first, then come back for me."
Bri glanced at the back door. "We can't get out that way. It's locked."
"Ian can get you out." Toni removed her jacket and put it on Bri. "It's cold outside."