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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Hayley
Seven
Melanie-Anne
January 5
The Centre
Parker didn't remember the air vents being this cold and dusty when she was a kid. She reached up to sweep an errant lock of hair out of her face and sighed. All the air vents looked the same.
"Are we going the right way?" she whispered.
Jarod looked back and shone his flashlight in her face. "Yes."
He sounded offended that she'd even thought to ask. She grinned and playfully swatted him on the behind. "Well, could we maybe move a little faster?"
"What's wrong? Aren't you enjoying the sightseeing?" He swung the flashlight from side to side as they crawled forward. Parker just shook her head. Despite the playful banter, she knew he was just as nervous as she was, if not more. It was probably harder for him to come back here considering all that had been done to him.
He stopped suddenly, his flashlight illuminating a tiny part of the metal tunnel. A child's hand had painstakingly scratched Jarod & Parker. Friends Forever into the surface. He traced the letters with the tips of his fingers and Parker noticed a sad smile on his face.
"It feels like a thousand years ago we did that," she said.
"It was the day you told me you were going to boarding school. I never saw you again until I escaped."
She moved closer to him and squeezed his hand. "Hey, I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere."
"We had some good times, didn't we?"
"Yeah . . . Come on. Let's go get Hayley and Jason."
They crawled in silence until they reached an iron grid. Jarod swung it open and climbed out into the maintenance pipe. He helped Parker out onto the ladder and they both began their descent. Parker recalled a similar instance in this very pipe, only this time she wasn't injured and she was dressed far more appropriately. She also wasn't alone.
She froze and Jarod looked up, his concern obvious. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. Let's just hurry." Her urgency wasn't lost on him and they picked up the pace. She couldn't explain this sudden need to get there; all she felt was a dull knot in the pit of her stomach and the prickling of the hairs at the back of her neck.
They finally reached SL 25 and slipped into the vents, reaching Hayley's room first. Once Jarod checked that there were no red lights blinking on the cameras, they climbed out and dusted themselves off. Jarod swung the light across the bed.
"It's empty."
"Gone," a voice mumbled from the corner. Parker thumbed the safety off on her gun and aimed it as the beam of light hit the speaker.
"Angelo?!"
"Gone where?" Parker lowered her weapon.
The empath shrugged. "With Lyle."
Parker looked in Jarod's direction. Although her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she couldn't make out the expression on his face. "Jason—"
She bolted for the door just as the alarms sounded.
"Parker! Not that way—"
She didn't listen. All that mattered was finding out where her little brother was and keeping him safe. The hallway was empty as she sprinted down to Jason's room. If she'd been thinking clearly, she would have realized that the nurse was not at her desk. If she'd been paying attention, she would have noticed that she was not as alone as she'd thought.
*
"Parker! Not that way—" Jarod turned to follow her but Angelo gripped his arm tightly. He looked down at his friend. "She'll get caught."
"Jason gone too."
That got Jarod's attention. He sank to his haunches. "With Lyle?"
Angelo nodded slowly and grimaced. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
"Angelo!"
A gunshot echoed from somewhere down the hallway. Jarod took one last look at his friend before he pulled out his gun and went in the direction of the shot.
There was silence. That couldn't be good. Please be okay, Parker he prayed.
"Drop it," he heard from his left. He turned to see Willie aiming a gun at him.
"Or what?"
"Or you end up like your little friend."
Jarod followed Willie's eyes and saw Parker propped up against the wall like a rag doll, her legs splayed out in front of her and a crimson stain spreading across her abdomen. Her gun lay a few feet away and her eyes were closed, her jaw slack.
She was too still.
Jarod's hand fell to his side and the gun clattered to the floor. He didn't resist as Willie handcuffed him and dragged him away.
It was his fault; he should have insisted that Parker and Jason stick to the original plan. He should have come for Hayley alone. Instead, he had let Parker come with him and now it had all gone to hell.
"I'm not going anywhere," she'd said and smiled. His knees buckled and Willie jerked him roughly back to his feet.
Should have. Could have. Would have.
Parker was dead and it was all his fault.
*
January 6
The Centre
Nothing.
Then, cold.
She gasped, filling her lungs with air and hissed at the unexpected pain the simple act of breathing caused. She opened her eyes and risked looking around. She was in the Centre infirmary, white curtains cutting her off from the rest of the room. There was an IV line in her right arm and she was attached to about three different monitors. With startling clarity, she could remember being shot, and wished she couldn't. She closed her eyes.
Two sets of footsteps approached, accompanied by a familiar squeaking, and a tiny whisper in the back of her head urged her to feign sleep. She recognized the first voice as Raines'.
"So she'll recover completely?"
"Yes." A voice she didn't know, and the rustle of paper. "There is some tissue damage but the bullet missed all her vital organs. Unfortunately, we couldn't save the baby."
"Baby?!" Raines sounded as surprised as Parker felt. Baby? She'd had no idea she had been pregnant with Jarod's child.
Then it hit her: had been. Past tense. As in, no longer pregnant.
She should never have insisted that she come along.
"Miss Parker was pregnant?" Raines asked. Parker felt him looking at her and her skin crawled. She could only imagine what he would have done with her child.
"How far along was she?"
"I'd say, about two months."
Two months! How had she not noticed? Now that she thought about it, she could pinpoint the exact date. She, Syd and Broots had been in Denver, following up what she'd thought to be a false lead and Jarod had arrived at her motel door dressed in a silly Spiderman suit. He'd said he wanted her to go trick or treating with him and she'd laughed and pulled him inside and said she'd go straight to the treat part.
"So. Miss Parker, you were pregnant. I wonder if you were planning on sharing this little tidbit with us."
She hadn't heard the doctor leave and forced herself to pay attention and stay calm. There was no telling what Raines would do if he knew she'd overheard.
"It's a pity Willie's aim wasn't better. Your child would have been a godsend, especially now that your brother has run off with his two." He sighed. "Ah, well. C'est la vie."
His two? But she'd thought—
Mr. Parker was practically sterile. There was no way that Jason could be her brother. In the back of her mind she'd known but never acknowledged this. It would have opened up too many other questions. Truth be told, she'd wondered if Jason was hers and Jarod's child but she'd been too scared to run a test.
But Lyle as a father? She found it hard to imagine; yet he had managed to rescue the children where she and Jarod had failed.
She felt a clammy hand on her brow and it took all of her willpower not to flinch. "I think you and I need to have a nice, long chat when you wake up. Father to daughter, eh?"
She wanted to vomit. As soon as Raines' footsteps faded away, she allowed herself to open her eyes. With the back of her left hand she wiped away the tears that burned their way down her face.
Oh, Mama, what the hell is going on here?
Seven
Melanie-Anne
January 5
The Centre
Parker didn't remember the air vents being this cold and dusty when she was a kid. She reached up to sweep an errant lock of hair out of her face and sighed. All the air vents looked the same.
"Are we going the right way?" she whispered.
Jarod looked back and shone his flashlight in her face. "Yes."
He sounded offended that she'd even thought to ask. She grinned and playfully swatted him on the behind. "Well, could we maybe move a little faster?"
"What's wrong? Aren't you enjoying the sightseeing?" He swung the flashlight from side to side as they crawled forward. Parker just shook her head. Despite the playful banter, she knew he was just as nervous as she was, if not more. It was probably harder for him to come back here considering all that had been done to him.
He stopped suddenly, his flashlight illuminating a tiny part of the metal tunnel. A child's hand had painstakingly scratched Jarod & Parker. Friends Forever into the surface. He traced the letters with the tips of his fingers and Parker noticed a sad smile on his face.
"It feels like a thousand years ago we did that," she said.
"It was the day you told me you were going to boarding school. I never saw you again until I escaped."
She moved closer to him and squeezed his hand. "Hey, I'm here now. And I'm not going anywhere."
"We had some good times, didn't we?"
"Yeah . . . Come on. Let's go get Hayley and Jason."
They crawled in silence until they reached an iron grid. Jarod swung it open and climbed out into the maintenance pipe. He helped Parker out onto the ladder and they both began their descent. Parker recalled a similar instance in this very pipe, only this time she wasn't injured and she was dressed far more appropriately. She also wasn't alone.
She froze and Jarod looked up, his concern obvious. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. Let's just hurry." Her urgency wasn't lost on him and they picked up the pace. She couldn't explain this sudden need to get there; all she felt was a dull knot in the pit of her stomach and the prickling of the hairs at the back of her neck.
They finally reached SL 25 and slipped into the vents, reaching Hayley's room first. Once Jarod checked that there were no red lights blinking on the cameras, they climbed out and dusted themselves off. Jarod swung the light across the bed.
"It's empty."
"Gone," a voice mumbled from the corner. Parker thumbed the safety off on her gun and aimed it as the beam of light hit the speaker.
"Angelo?!"
"Gone where?" Parker lowered her weapon.
The empath shrugged. "With Lyle."
Parker looked in Jarod's direction. Although her eyes had adjusted to the dark, she couldn't make out the expression on his face. "Jason—"
She bolted for the door just as the alarms sounded.
"Parker! Not that way—"
She didn't listen. All that mattered was finding out where her little brother was and keeping him safe. The hallway was empty as she sprinted down to Jason's room. If she'd been thinking clearly, she would have realized that the nurse was not at her desk. If she'd been paying attention, she would have noticed that she was not as alone as she'd thought.
*
"Parker! Not that way—" Jarod turned to follow her but Angelo gripped his arm tightly. He looked down at his friend. "She'll get caught."
"Jason gone too."
That got Jarod's attention. He sank to his haunches. "With Lyle?"
Angelo nodded slowly and grimaced. Then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
"Angelo!"
A gunshot echoed from somewhere down the hallway. Jarod took one last look at his friend before he pulled out his gun and went in the direction of the shot.
There was silence. That couldn't be good. Please be okay, Parker he prayed.
"Drop it," he heard from his left. He turned to see Willie aiming a gun at him.
"Or what?"
"Or you end up like your little friend."
Jarod followed Willie's eyes and saw Parker propped up against the wall like a rag doll, her legs splayed out in front of her and a crimson stain spreading across her abdomen. Her gun lay a few feet away and her eyes were closed, her jaw slack.
She was too still.
Jarod's hand fell to his side and the gun clattered to the floor. He didn't resist as Willie handcuffed him and dragged him away.
It was his fault; he should have insisted that Parker and Jason stick to the original plan. He should have come for Hayley alone. Instead, he had let Parker come with him and now it had all gone to hell.
"I'm not going anywhere," she'd said and smiled. His knees buckled and Willie jerked him roughly back to his feet.
Should have. Could have. Would have.
Parker was dead and it was all his fault.
*
January 6
The Centre
Nothing.
Then, cold.
She gasped, filling her lungs with air and hissed at the unexpected pain the simple act of breathing caused. She opened her eyes and risked looking around. She was in the Centre infirmary, white curtains cutting her off from the rest of the room. There was an IV line in her right arm and she was attached to about three different monitors. With startling clarity, she could remember being shot, and wished she couldn't. She closed her eyes.
Two sets of footsteps approached, accompanied by a familiar squeaking, and a tiny whisper in the back of her head urged her to feign sleep. She recognized the first voice as Raines'.
"So she'll recover completely?"
"Yes." A voice she didn't know, and the rustle of paper. "There is some tissue damage but the bullet missed all her vital organs. Unfortunately, we couldn't save the baby."
"Baby?!" Raines sounded as surprised as Parker felt. Baby? She'd had no idea she had been pregnant with Jarod's child.
Then it hit her: had been. Past tense. As in, no longer pregnant.
She should never have insisted that she come along.
"Miss Parker was pregnant?" Raines asked. Parker felt him looking at her and her skin crawled. She could only imagine what he would have done with her child.
"How far along was she?"
"I'd say, about two months."
Two months! How had she not noticed? Now that she thought about it, she could pinpoint the exact date. She, Syd and Broots had been in Denver, following up what she'd thought to be a false lead and Jarod had arrived at her motel door dressed in a silly Spiderman suit. He'd said he wanted her to go trick or treating with him and she'd laughed and pulled him inside and said she'd go straight to the treat part.
"So. Miss Parker, you were pregnant. I wonder if you were planning on sharing this little tidbit with us."
She hadn't heard the doctor leave and forced herself to pay attention and stay calm. There was no telling what Raines would do if he knew she'd overheard.
"It's a pity Willie's aim wasn't better. Your child would have been a godsend, especially now that your brother has run off with his two." He sighed. "Ah, well. C'est la vie."
His two? But she'd thought—
Mr. Parker was practically sterile. There was no way that Jason could be her brother. In the back of her mind she'd known but never acknowledged this. It would have opened up too many other questions. Truth be told, she'd wondered if Jason was hers and Jarod's child but she'd been too scared to run a test.
But Lyle as a father? She found it hard to imagine; yet he had managed to rescue the children where she and Jarod had failed.
She felt a clammy hand on her brow and it took all of her willpower not to flinch. "I think you and I need to have a nice, long chat when you wake up. Father to daughter, eh?"
She wanted to vomit. As soon as Raines' footsteps faded away, she allowed herself to open her eyes. With the back of her left hand she wiped away the tears that burned their way down her face.
Oh, Mama, what the hell is going on here?
