∞ The Tethered Ones ∞

Chapter 3

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• Luna •

Standing quietly, listening to Chase gloat about what they'd done, Luna grumbled. When she opened her mouth, she immediately closed it as a tall brunette dressed in a tight black skirt and pressed white shirt cleared her throat.

"It'll be interesting to see what all of them can do," she said, stepping around his left side, and staring at the screen. "Not everyone's powers activate at the same time, though."

"You're right, Sadi," he said, meeting her gaze. "This is happening in the largest cities around the world, in many states and countries. I'm sure Tethered Souls who have lived underground or undetected will come out now. They have to have food and water to survive. When they resurface, we'll be there to collect them. They're our special ones."

"Some of those people could be destructive. Like Luna." The woman then laid a hand over his shoulder, bringing her chin down. "We should focus on who's more powerful than her."

Chase shook his head. "Nobody is more powerful than Luna. She's a Pure Soul by genetics, and she is linked with Amir. We'll move to a more suitable location and test their abilities together. Somewhere they can't escape from." 

"Luna!" Nurse Smith exclaimed, causing her heartbeat to accelerate.

Meeting her stare, she replied, "What!"

Glancing back into the room, her stomach turned as she saw all eyes on her, including Chase's. The nurse then scurried quickly toward her and reached for her upper arm, ushering her away from the opened door. "You shouldn't be standing there."

Pulling her limb free, Luna huffed. "You don't have to drag me. I can walk on my own."

"Apparently, you can't," she replied. "You don't know how to stay close and not go snooping around."

"Aw. Do I sense somebody has a girl crush on me? I'm flattered. Truly."

"I don't have time for your petty remarks, Luna. We need to get you fed and move forward with our itinerary."

Crossing into the kitchen, she took a seat at the counter and observed the rustic-style interior. Spotting the newspaper spread out, she glanced at the nurse as she began preparing a pot of Mac and Cheese, stirring the noodles slowly. "So, we are being blamed for the destruction of the world?"

Nurse Smith snickered. "You and Amir helped open a lot of closed doors. By doing that," she stopped speaking for a moment as she reached for a bowl, then continued, "you did our organization a favor. Many people have abilities that our scientists need to understand, and now they can't hide. The hunters can sense them."

"Not if they have protection and someone who is a shield, like me."

"They'll still get caught either way. No one can hide forever. You know that, Luna."

While she had been fixed on keeping an eye on the nurse, her gaze wandered to the newspaper's article on the front page. Journalists across the globe had been reporting what happened on the highway as 'a strange phenomenon.' And everyone in the world was trying to make sense of it.

"It's funny that some of the news stations have been trying to say what you guys did was a hoax and both of you are magicians."

Luna snorted.

"Trying to cover it up is rather pointless," Nurse Smith added. "This knowledge about superhumans cannot be hidden any longer."

As much as Luna hated to agree with her, the woman was right. What happened in Texas — what she and Amir had done — had been recorded and shown all over the world. At some point during the last few days, after their little stunt was blasted all over the internet, most of the videos were taken down, but that changed nothing. The damage was already done. From what a driver had captured in his car showing them lighting up like a light bulb in the middle of the street, and those who stuck around the scene to capture the moment on their cell phones, there was no hiding from the truth.

This revelation was out there, and now people know others have abilities they can't comprehend. But the internet was a funny thing. While some were vlogging about what they had seen and how it was surely 'the end times, others took a more creative route to show their concerns. There was a website created about them already.

The incredibly photogenic glowing picture of Amir and Luna holding hands was on the front page of a website. 

Is this the new coming of Christ?

Are these messengers of God?

Who are these glowing people? Are they even human?

Those were just a few questions asked. Were they human? Luna laughed at that. Even she thought they could be descendants from an ancient Alien race, but there had been no proof of it, so she was still unsure of where her abilities came from. She was just glad they had opened the gap. She was proud of everybody for how they handled themselves in the line of fire. She and Amir had shown their true selves that night. One could definitely tell it was them, especially if they knew them.

The sound of footsteps neared, and her nerves locked up. She wasn't in the mood to speak to Chase or Dr. Kim, and luckily, it wasn't either of them. Instead, Alisha Bankole crossed through the threshold, her dark hair wrapped neatly into a bun.

"Good afternoon, Luna." She stood across the counter, eying her. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm still sore from losing Amir, but I'll live. He'll remember me soon."

Alisha gave her a soft smile, then glanced at the nurse and back to her. "I'm sure he will. Honestly, I'd feel the same way if my husband and my family couldn't remember me. My heart would be broken."

"Then you know how devastated I am, Ms. Bankole."

"Yes." She reached behind her for a bottle of water, then passed it to Luna. "Hopefully, Amir will unlock another ability. Maybe something that can trigger his memory."

"But that's not what you want." Luna twisted the top off and guzzled her water like she ran a marathon.

"It's not up to me whether or not his memories come back."

Pressing her palm against her forehead, Luna sniffed. "What you guys did was wrong."

"What did you think would happen?" Alisha scoffed. "Did you truly believe that you'd get away after exposing yourselves to the entire world?" She took a sip of her tea. "Did you honestly think you guys could hide forever?"

Coldness radiated over Luna's body. It had never crossed her mind about the consequences of her actions. She and her crew exposed things to the world that no one was ever supposed to know. She even thought the whole incident could all be a trap, and she'd practically prepared herself for it, but she knew there was nowhere else to run at that moment. They had to hide somewhere if there was a place to hide.

Luna stared at her. "Where . . . Where are the others?"

"They escaped. We have no idea where they are."

Relief coursed through her. At least Sarah wasn't held against her will. That gave her some sort of comfort.

"Truthfully, we only thought we'd just catch one of you. Either you or Amir. But catching him, too, made things a bit more . . . exciting." She paused. "We had to find a safe house quickly and Daniel Kim offered his. All the prisons, jails, psychiatric facilities, and St. Matthew's facility are all closed down. Everyone from each of those buildings has escaped, thanks to you and Amir."

Yeah, Luna's relief had suddenly crashed and burned in a fiery glory, and then fear seized through her. Never in a million years had she thought about the defectives, and any criminals escaping their cells and doing more damage than they'd done to get locked up in the first place. Never in a million years had she thought the world would be ending by something she had done. Never in a million years . . .

"But now," Alisha continued, breaking Luna from her thoughts, "we aren't sure where we'll go to. We imagine our electricity and running water won't stay on for too long. We need to study what you and Amir can do as individuals and as a couple. That's what Mr. Marquette wants."

"Why?" Luna asked.

Alisha stepped next to Nurse Smith as she poured macaroni into a small bowl. "It's always 'why' with Tethered Souls. Even I'm tethered, but you don't see me asking 'why' all the time."

"It was just a question, Mrs. Bankole."

"It's never just a question, Luna. We have learned through our studies that the bond between a pair of Pure Souls is quite intense, especially if they combine their bloodlines. From what we've gathered, you and Amir are something special, something more powerful than anything we've ever seen."

Luna quivered under her breath. Even though Nurse Smith placed a steaming bowl of Mac and Cheese in front of her, she was suddenly not feeling hungry anymore. She knew her and Amir's lives were in their hands, whether she liked it.

"I know you're scared and confused."

"Yeah, I'm feeling both of those things right now," Luna admitted.

"That's understandable. But we aren't as bad as you believe we are. We don't want to perform harmful experiments on you for the pleasure of it. We could have gotten the others, but we didn't. We let them get away." She clasped her hands in front of her and tilted her chin forward. "You will see our organization isn't the enemy here."

Not the enemy? Luna barked out a laugh. They were the enemy — a greater threat than all the prisoners combined — because they had the world's governments behind them. Because they could catch Tethered Souls and do whatever they wanted to them. Those people have family and friends they will never see again because they were born with a special ability.

Anyone who was a Tethered Soul was screwed, regardless if their abilities were active.

 • • •

It felt like forever since she'd eaten Mac and Cheese. Luna was too amped up to check the house out and strategize a way to flee with Amir. But sitting in silence drove her to pace the length of her room. Her nerves were stretched to the point that each time she heard footsteps around her door, her heart leaped into her throat. 

She was frightened of what they'd do to her next. She didn't want to give in to the darkness she had inside of her, and she knew that's what they were waiting for.

Since she was ushered back to her room, no one had bothered her. She hadn't heard a peep from Chase or Dr. Kim, or even Nurse Smith. The world was in distress and all she could think about was — "Amir?"

Her eyes snapped open. "You love eavesdropping in my mind, I see," she said to Faisal as he stood next to a dresser.

"Actually, no," he replied. "You were thinking so loudly, I heard you from where we are."

She hustled quietly toward the door and gazed out into the hallway. "I haven't seen you guys in days. Where is everybody?"

"I don't know if I should tell you," Faisal murmured, narrowing his eyes. "I want to tell you, but it'll be safer for us if you don't know. You were caught, and they could use any means necessary to get the information out of you."

Luna nodded and sniffed. "I understand."

She wanted so badly to see her daughter and family right now, but she had to resist it since her mind wasn't safe.

"On the bright side, we know where you are." Her stomach fluttered. "Colin's contact informed him that both of you are in New Orleans," he explained as he gazed around the room. "In Dr. Kim's home. Rest assured, a crew of Tethered Souls is eager to bring justice to the hunter." 

"So, we are experiencing our own little Twilight moment here? Like when Edward and Bella gathered many people to testify for their daughter?" she joked, wishing she could watch the movie with Sarah and possibly Amir.

Faisal laughed. "What is it with you and Amir always comparing our livelihood to that of the Twilight Saga?" 

"It's similar. And it's kind of eerie. The Cullens had people coming from all over the world to do something for them. Just like the Khan's."

"Well, we're figuring out a plan to help get you both out. Trust me on that."

"Always, Faisal."

"We have now opened our lives and people have been connecting to us. They want to help." 

Facing him, she gave him a soft smile. She noticed his beautiful dark strands covered his eyebrows and looked darker than normal. He seemed taller in his plain black T-shirt and blue jeans. However, she could also tell he'd been up all hours of the night. His eyes had puffy bags under them, and the way his aura felt, was exhausting. He probably was exhausted, she figured.

Thrusting her fingers through her hair, she tightened her strands into a tiny ponytail. "How is everyone doing?" 

Dark eyes flickered from the window back to her. "We're taking it day by day. Even Sarah." 

That wasn't very helpful.

"Sorry," he supplied, letting it be known he heard what she was thinking. "I didn't mean to bring her up. It's just that Chase can peek inside your mind at any time."

She knows he does. She quietly laughed, remembering how she fantasized about slicing his throat, making him squirm in front of her. That wasn't a pleasant image, and she loved making his life a living hell at any chance she got.

"He peeks into my mind all the time. I can tell when he does when a swimming feeling flutters inside my head." She crossed the room and propped a leg up against the wall. "I've taken care of him. I don't think he enjoys what he sees now." 

"What do you mean?" Faisal asked. 

"I've given him gory thoughts of the many ways I've killed him. It's rather . . . dark . . . in there."

"That sounds stimulating."

"I'm sure it is. Next time will be intimate moments between my husband and me. He'd really get a kick out of that. He wanted Dark Luna, and that's what he's getting."

"You are bad, and you're sick," Faisal said, giggling. "I kind of like this dark side of you."

"I'm sure you do," she replied, walking toward the window. "After all that bastard has done to me, to Amir, and to my family, I'm ready to wreck him from the inside out."

Faisal let out a deep breath. "There's no telling what he has planned for you next."

"I know some of the things he wants to do to me, but we'll be moving to a more secure location. Nobody is sure how long the electricity and water will last here, and there are tests they'd like to conduct."

Hopping up from the bed, Faisal huffed. "Haven't you had enough? If they keep this up, they could fry your brain." He then hissed through his teeth and looked back at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"I'm not worried about the experiments. I have been okay for several months now, enduring the same never-ending agony. And I've always pulled through. I'm just a little skittish about what the next phase is."

"Phase?"

"Yes, Faisal. The first phase was to separate a pair of Pure Souls. Chase physically and emotionally separated Amir from me."

"What?" he exclaimed, balling his fists at his sides.

"Amir and I are only linked to each other by combining our bloodlines."

"The oath you two did at your wedding. I remember that."

"Correct. After Chase had caught Amir, he injected him with a serum that separates Tethered Souls from each other. To make absolutely sure that our connection was eliminated, he ended up killing him, and then he revived him."

He ran a hand through his hair, seething. "That asshole! I'm sorry I used that kind of language in front of you, but what he had done was low. I want to hunt him down." 

"It gets worse," she uttered, keeping her eyes on him.

Faisal's jaw clenched. "What else did he do to him?"

"He erased Amir's memories of Sarah and me, and I'm not even sure if remembers you. His mind is now blank."

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