Blindsided Read online

  Seth seems much more comfortable with Brady’s speed than I do. He talks into Brady’s ear—I assume to explain what I did at the waterfall—and seems to trust that his brother won’t drop him. Brady slows the closer we get to the factory. By the time we reach the broken down strip mall, we’re all walking again. Or rather creeping and hiding behind anything we can, just in case.

  There are so many lights in the distance. It seems as if the Army has set up an entire base at the factory, complete with a wired fence and search lights scanning the desert for anyone who doesn’t belong. As we huddle behind a group of rocks just south of the ruins, I catch the distinct sound of machinery and wonder if they’re digging up the place.

  The giant helicopters suddenly make a lot more sense.

  “What do we do?” Brady whispers. “If they got caught…there’s no way we’re getting them out.”

  “Well, better make sure they’re in there first,” Seth says.

  “No.” I put my hand on his arm before I remember we’re fighting. “It’s too far and there are too many places to look—you’ll kill your head.”

  Brady winces. “She’s right, bro.”

  “So what?” His eyes are determined and maybe a little cold when they meet mine. “We already did the invisible thing once tonight, and if either of you suggest that Fi should sneak into that fortress I’ll lose it.”

  Neither of us answer.

  “Okay then.” Seth’s eyes narrow as he begins his search. I try not to cringe as I watch him, but as the minutes pass I worry he’ll be in agony for days because of this. “I don’t see them in the trucks or the tents. It looks like the Army has found something underground though…”

  “Seth, stop.” My voice quivers at the words. “They must have gotten out. Let’s check back at Bea’s house.”

  “Let me make sure.” He grimaces as he pushes his ability, and then he gasps. “There’s a whole building underground! They’ve unearthed stairs and some weird looking machinery. It looks like…”

  He falters, and I grab him in an attempt to keep him up. Brady does most of the work though. Seth probably would have fallen on me otherwise. I try to cover his eyes to make him stop. “That’s enough! They aren’t there, so let’s go.”

  “Wait!” Seth doesn’t flinch at my hands because he sees right through them. “This is crazy. They’re uncovering all sorts of equipment.”

  Panic swells as I picture just how many layers of metal and earth he might be looking through. It’s probably more than he’s ever done, and I don’t know what that will do to him.

  “Seth!” Brady says too loudly when we’re supposed to be hiding. “No more!”

  “Fine.”

  I remove my fingers from his face and wait for Seth’s eyes to focus on me, but instead they fill with horror. Then he cries out in agony and collapses.

  Chapter 12

  Brady lays Seth gently on the ground, while I kneel down and tap his cheek. “C’mon, punk, wake up.”

  “What do we do?” Brady pulls at his hair, and his frightened expression reminds me too much of the time Dad shot Seth. “He’s never passed out before. What if he has brain damage?”

  “Don’t say that.” I can’t think like that, not as I put my ear to his chest and listen for a heartbeat. What if he needs a doctor? When no one knows your real ability, it’s kind of hard to go to the hospital and explain what happened. “He’s breathing, and his heart is beating. The pain must have been too much for his body to handle.”

  “Let’s get home.” Brady carries him, but we don’t run in fear that it’ll hurt Seth more. The whole way back I flip between being on the verge of tears and wanting to cuss Seth out for being that reckless. It feels like he was making a point about my spying and stealing at the waterfall. Like, if I abuse my ability so will he. Or was this underground part of the factory really that interesting?

  Once we’re back within Madison’s borders, Brady risks speaking. “It seems like you guys fought.”

  I look at the ground, not really wanting to talk about it. But when it comes to the topic of Seth being able to see me, Brady is literally the only person I can go to because no one else knows. “He promised not to look at me, but he did. Then he freaked over me stealing the formula. So yeah, I’m a little pissed.”

  Brady nods. “When he told me the story, he said he thought the commotion was because they caught you—so he had to check. You were so close to the Major that he could have shot you point blank, and everyone was running past you while you were completely vulnerable. One wrong move, and you might have been dead.”

  I look at Seth, placid in his brother’s unwavering arms. No matter how hard I try, it’s impossible to see myself like he does. He saw a naked girl walking around a bunch of armed soldiers—but I felt completely safe in my shell of invisibility. I’m not sure whether I should love him for wanting me safe or resent him for seeing me as weak. “Well, he forgets no one else sees what he does.”

  “It’s true, but you do realize he’d fall apart if he lost you, right?”

  Brady’s words make the guilt rush in, leaving me defenseless. Seth’s spent his entire life picking up the pieces from his mother’s death. Of course he’s majorly worried about my safety. “It’s really annoying when you go all ‘voice of reason’ on me. Now I can’t be mad at him.”

  He smirks. “You’re welcome.”

  We take every side road through town, hoping to avoid any of Juan’s people who might be out. The last thing we need is another threat right now. By the time we get back to Bea’s house, it must be almost daybreak because it seems lighter than before. Everyone is standing out front, and I hear Bea yell, “There they are!”

  “Tell them Seth tweaked his knee and fell asleep while I was carrying him,” Brady whispers as they run toward us. “I’ll take him inside. Come when you can.”

  “Okay,” is all I get out before Miles grabs my shoulders and looks me over like he could see if I was injured.

  “What took so long?” Graham says at the same time as Miles.

  I glance at Brady, who is already taking Seth to their house. Bea and Hector follow him, asking all sorts of questions. I hate lying to Miles, but I don’t have a choice. “Sorry we worried you. Brady didn’t think we should run after Seth hurt his knee.”

  Miles lets out a relieved sigh. “After everything we saw at the factory, we were thinking a lot worse.”

  “Yeah, I bet. They were at the waterfall, too. I heard the alert when you guys tripped the alarm.”

  “Just how close were you to hear that?” Graham asks with a suspicious glare.

  I gulp, hoping they don’t freak out as much as Seth did. Pulling out the papers, I hand them to Miles. “Close enough to get this.”

  As he unfolds the sheets, Graham and Carlos crowd around him. Their jaws drop when they read the top line. I’m not sure if I’m seeing horror on their faces or disbelief. Miles looks up first. “Fi…”

  “I know, but we needed it. After hearing their conversation I think we might know the location of what they want,” I say before he can tell me I shouldn’t have done it. I don’t want to hear it again right now.

  He nods slowly. “I wish Spud had time to check, so you didn’t have to do this. Seems I can’t keep anyone I care about safe.”

  “We can’t talk about this out here.” Graham snatches the papers from Miles, folds them, and hands them back to me. “Let’s get some rest—we’ll decide what to do with this later.”

  Carlos gives him an incredulous look, eyes glowing in the dimness. “Who died and made you king?”

  “I…” Graham seems sheepish.

  “He’s right. We should rest,” I say, wanting to see Seth as soon as possible. “Meet at my place for dinner, okay? We’ll fill each other in then.”

  Carlos doesn’t seem completely satisfied with my answer, but then glances back at his home. “If our parents weren’t about to wake up to an empty house, I’d fight you on that. Tell Bea and Hector to hurry b
ack home.”

  “I will.” I turn to Miles and Graham. “You guys can go. I’ll just make sure Seth’s okay. Brady will drive me home.”

  “Don’t take too long,” Miles says. “Mom won’t overlook you staying out all night.”

  I shrug. “Sometimes I sleep over at Bea’s after movie night.”

  “I’m guessing you call her, though,” Graham points out.

  Rather than admit he’s right, I roll my eyes and head for Seth’s house. “I can handle Mom.”

  No one answers me back, and when I turn around they’re already a speck in the dawn sky. Carlos trudges to his house as I knock softly on Seth’s door. I figure that’ll be enough for Hector to hear. When it opens, I’m met with a face that surprises me.

  It’s Seth’s dad, wearing only pajama pants and staring at me with a face that screams drunk. This is maybe the fifth time I’ve seen him since I met his sons. The first time he walked in while Seth and I were making out in the living room—super great first impression. Not that I feel the need to get his approval, but it makes an already awkward situation that much worse.

  “Mr. Mitchell,” I say, trying to suppress my discomfort. “You’re up early.”

  “Never went to bed.” He reeks of alcohol, and he scratches at the blond scruff on his face. “Seth’s in his room with the others.”

  “Okay.”

  He leaves the door open for me and walks away. It still blows my mind how well he can walk though I’ve only seen him high and drunk. Seth told me he has perfect balance. So even when he’s on a construction site it’s hard for people to tell how smashed he is, because he can jump from beam to beam and land as gracefully as a cat.

  “Seems like you guys had quite the party tonight,” Seth’s dad says as I follow him down the hall.

  I gulp. “Something like that.”

  “Things sure have gotten interesting for my boys since you showed up.” He shuts his bedroom door, leaving me to ponder what that’s supposed to mean. Then again, it could just be the ramblings of a drunk man.

  I open Seth’s door without knocking. Hector sits at the desk, trying to look cool though I can tell he’s worried about his best friend. Bea is at the edge of the bed, and Brady takes up most of the floor. They all turn to me when I enter.

  “How is he?” I ask.

  Brady cringes. “He’s out.”

  I nod, knowing this means way more than Bea and Hector can understand. Hours have passed without Seth waking up. As worried as I was when it happened, that doesn’t compare to now. Just how long can he sleep before we really do have to take him to a hospital?

  “He better have just tweaked his knee,” Hector grumbles. “If it’s worse, there goes our soccer season.”

  Bea rolls her eyes. “Nice way to show you care, bro.”

  Hector holds up his hands. “What do you want me to do? Burst into tears?”

  “Just don’t be a—”

  Seth lets out a loud groan, and his hands go straight to his head. Hector stands, his eyes filled with panic as he puts his hand on Bea’s shoulder. “We better get outta here. He’s gonna be pissed at you for waking him up.”

  Bea stands. “Okay.”

  Brady ushers Bea and Hector out while Seth continues to moan. Just as Brady’s about to leave, he leans down to whisper, “Take care of him while I get some meds.”

  “Of course.” I shut the door behind Brady and rush to Seth, who’s curled into a ball and buried in blankets. He jumps when I touch him, as if he didn’t know there was anyone here. Maybe he didn’t, because when his eyes meet mine they’re filled with fear and pain.

  “W-who are you?” he whispers.

  “It’s me,” I say as softly as I can.

  He still winces at my voice. “I…you…you’re a skeleton.”

  My eyes go wide. I don’t want to make him talk more, but I’m pretty sure he’s saying that he’s seeing through layers he doesn’t want to see through. If I’m a skeleton, this whole room must look crazy to him. He might not even be able to block it with his eyelids.

  “It hurts so much,” Seth says through gritted teeth.

  “Shh.” I lie next to him and put my hands on his head. My fingers make little circles over and over, but this time it doesn’t seem to help. Seth keeps wincing and cringing like every move he makes hurts.

  Brady finally comes back with water and two large, white pills. “Get him to take these.”

  I stand, taking the pills and glass from him. “What are they?”

  Brady looks to the side. “You don’t wanna know, Fi. But trust me, they’ll help.”

  He doesn’t have to say more—I’ve heard them talk plenty about their dad’s love of pain meds. These must be from his stash. His illegal stash. As much as I don’t want to give these to Seth, he actually does need them. “Here, Seth. Can you sit up to drink a little?”

  Seth shakes his head. “I’m not taking those. Give them back to Dad.”

  “But…” I look to Brady, unsure of what to do. Arguing right now seems majorly counterproductive.

  Seth holds out his hand. “Just…stay…with me.”

  I sigh, wishing he wasn’t so stubborn, wanting him to feel better so I could tell him that. But I set the glass and pills on his desk and crawl into his bed. Seth wraps his arms around me tightly, his head nestled into the crook of my neck. His breaths are ragged from pain, and I hold him as close as I dare.

  Brady leaves without another word, and it’s just me and Seth. Even though there’s no chance anything will happen, I’m still very aware that this is the first time I’ve been in Seth’s bed like this. We’ve mostly kept to couches or secluded places at school, and it was hard enough to control myself there. Here under his covers, surrounded by him, he’s all I can think about.

  I watch him clench his jaw, listen to the sharp gasps he takes, rub his temples in hopes that it’ll eventually help. If only I could take away the pain. Kissing his forehead, I wonder how I can want someone so much and yet be so chicken about going further.

  If I could just see myself…that would fix everything.

  Chapter 13

  Next thing I know, someone is nudging me out of a deep sleep. I peek one eye open. The room is bright and I squint, but I saw enough to know that I’m still right next to Seth in his bed.

  “Are you okay?” I ask as I force myself to adjust to the sun seeping through the window.

  “Still hurts a little. I can control it again, though.” Seth looks like he’s been through hell, though he still manages a smile. “But if this is how I get to wake up after, I think it might have been worth it.”

  I shove him, though I bite back a laugh. “That’s not funny.”

  “No, it’s awesome.” He puts his lips to my neck, but instead of kissing it he gives me a raspberry. I yelp and giggle, which makes him cringe. He puts one hand to his head. “Okay, maybe I’m not as recovered as I thought.”

  I frown. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. This used to happen when I was a kid if I got carried away—I’d lose control pretty often.” He lies back and stares at the ceiling. “There was just so much to see, and I couldn’t believe I was actually able to see it. I try so hard not to use it…I had no idea I could go that far.”

  Part of me is relieved to hear it had nothing to do with my own recklessness. Of course it didn’t. Seth isn’t like that. “Maybe you can see more than we know, but that was scary for me and Brady. We didn’t even know if you’d wake up again.”

  When he looks at me, I know he can see the worry on my face. As much as I want to hide my feelings from him at times, right now I’m glad he can tell how upset I am. His eyes are soft as he puts his hand on my cheek. “I’m sorry.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry for getting mad at you about looking.” I put my hand over his, wanting to stay here all day. “Just what did you see down there?”

  His eyes light up. “They were digging out this huge underground facility. I couldn’t see much past the lights, but ther
e was all sorts of machinery. I had no idea so much would still be there, but it looks like it was buried before it was ever blasted.”

  I sit up, surprised. “You mean it wasn’t buried in the explosion?”

  “Maybe it was, but the stuff didn’t look very damaged. Old, yeah. Caked in dirt, of course. But it wasn’t shards like on the surface.”

  “Weird.” Pursing my lips, I can’t help but wonder what that means. Did someone at the Radiasure factory get wind of the plan to destroy it? Were they planning to come back for it someday?

  “That’s not the worst part.” Seth’s brow furrows, and he looks away from me. “Before I pushed too hard and passed out, I saw a blue light beyond the dirt.”

  I gulp. “More Radiasure?”

  He nods. “Most likely.”

  “Great. So the Army’s gonna find it.” For some reason this pisses me off, as if I’ve failed because there’s more of that drug in the world.

  “Fi…” Seth says my name like he knows what I’m thinking, but doesn’t know how to answer. “Can I see the formula?”

  I pull it from my pocket and hand it over, but my mind is elsewhere. Major Norton seems like the kind of guy who’ll do whatever he must to complete a mission. He’ll use that Radiasure on his soldiers. I’m sure of it. They’ll get cocky and fight anyone who threatens them. And then what will Juan’s men do to retaliate?

  The Phantom will steal the Radiasure, that’s what. Then the Army will try to arrest him, but that’ll never happen. I can see it playing out in my head, each move escalating the violence. Just like during the drug riots in the seventies, this area will become more like a warzone than a town.

  “This is some dense stuff,” Seth says after a few minutes of reading. “I don’t understand half of it, but I think this is the substance they’re looking for. It’s an element I’ve never heard of: merinite.”

  “Merinite,” I repeat. “It doesn’t say what it is?”

  “It might. I’m not sure.” He shakes his head, setting the papers on my lap. “This is way above me, Fi. Sorry.”