Within These Walls

Chapter 40

There's a dent where Eli's body hit the passenger door. I'm not surprised when a guard checks on him and pronounces him dead. The impact would have killed anyone, Mod or not. I don't know what happened to him, but Blaine does. He steps in front of Marcus and punches him across the face.

Marcus reels back but stays on his feet. He doesn't look surprised, and it takes me a few seconds to understand why. Marcus did this to Eli. Just like when he struck Rudolph and sent him flying, he used his power to kill Eli. Only he didn't have to strike anyone this time. He used his ability with his mind like he was always meant to.

"You must be out of your mind," Blaine says, his fisted arms tense at his sides. He looks exactly like Marcus does whenever he's angry. "I didn't spend eight years training you to fight Blanks so you would behave like a jackass now."

The sound of flesh connecting with flesh makes me flinch.

"I didn't lose my wife to stand by and watch you defend one of them." Another punch jerks Marcus's face to one side. His mouth is bloody. "And I certainly didn't join Gardiner and claw my way to the top to allow more of their kind to exist in our world."

Breathing heavily, he stands over Marcus and rubs his knuckles. I stay on the ground, holding my throbbing nose. I'm forgotten for the moment but my terror isn't going away. Blaine resumes delivering blows, alternating between fists as he hits him over and over. I'm certain he's going to kill him when a voice rings across the compound.

"That's enough, Jonathan!"

He pivots to face Sam as he approaches the trucks, flanked by at least a dozen armed guards. He's dressed in dark trousers and a white button-down shirt, looking nothing like the man I've known for most of my life. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up to his strong forearms and his usually-slick hair is tousled. He looks as imposing as Blaine.

"We'll take it from here," he says to Blaine.

I never thought I'd be relieved to see Sam, but there's no denying the way the knotted fear in my stomach unfurls just a little. There's still too much history between us, but between Blaine and Sam, I'd pick Sam every time. At least there's a method to his brand of madness.

"I'm still in charge, Parker," Blaine replies. "Don't forget that."

Sam doesn't react to his harsh tone. "I know. Who else has the authority to order the men to shoot down my helicopter on the pretext that it was hijacked by teenage escapees?"

"I would do no such thing. And that's not the issue right now." Blaine jabs a thick finger in Marcus's direction. "Look at what you did to this boy. I know you were trying to turn him against me, but all you've succeeded in doing is confusing him."

"Disobeying your orders doesn't make him a traitor."

"But killing one of our men to protect a Blank does."

"A Blank?"

"Your stepdaughter," Blaine says, his outrage giving way to snide satisfaction.

I see Sam's cold blue eyes clearly in the dark. "Come here, April."

I trudge toward him, knees shaking, and startle when Sam's guards swing their rifles in my direction. Even Reed, the skinny man who drove me to and from the research facility numerous times, has his weapon trained on me. I recognize the bearded one to my right. He's the guy who was shooting up at the helicopter earlier. I guess Sam talked him out of it.

"Did you take the serum?" Sam asks me.

"N-no. I wasn't having symptoms at the time, so I gave it to someone who needed it. I only became like this after Eli—"