The Dream Crashers ✓

23 - Rooftop

And in my current state, I was too weak to stop them.

Lucy practically begged her father as she said, "You have his mother. And now you have his sister too. Surely he'd cooperate without Luke—"

She was so twisted. All she cared about was Luke. It didn't matter to her that her father had kidnapped and drugged her classmates and was planning to wreak havoc on mankind. She just wanted to keep Luke, and only Luke, safe.

In some parallel universe, he would be over the moon about this.

"Lucy. That is enough. I've tolerated your absurd fondness for this boy up to this point, and I'm not standing for it anymore," Pennington said darkly. "If you don't want him to meet the same fate as your mother, then I suggest you cease this foolishness and follow our plans."

She looked like she'd just been slapped.

"Lucy," Luke said. "You don't have to listen to him—"

He groaned as one of the men holding him struck him across the face with the butt of his gun. Luke's back was to me so I couldn't see much, but it sounded painful. Lucy started yelling for the man to stop hurting him.

I wanted to scream too. Desperation clung uncomfortably to my skin as I willed for something, anything, to happen. This was like a nightmare that I desperately wanted to wake up from.

And suddenly, the man who had hit Luke was thrown across the room. My eyes followed him as he slammed into the wall with a loud thud and fell to the ground.

I hadn't done that.

The thugs obviously didn't know where to aim their guns. Uncertainty was etched onto their faces as they realized how useless their guns were against supernatural capabilities.

"Did you do that?" Pennington asked Connor.

"You said you wouldn't hurt anyone if I helped you," Connor said through clenched teeth. "You lied."

"Don't act so betrayed, as if you didn't already expect it. It wasn't my first and it most certainly won't my last time, I'm afraid."

Suddenly, AJ groaned weakly.

"He's still alive. Oh thank God, he's still alive," Luke said. "Please, he needs a doctor."

"Be quiet. I won't tolerate your outbursts any longer," Pennington said. I heard a squeak from the chair as he stood up. "The next time you feel like opening your mouth, we'll put a bullet into another one of your friends. And next time, we'll make sure they're dead." Then to Connor, he added, "And I suggest you don't try anything like that again."

"I should just kill you. It'd be so easy."

"Yes, it would be quite easy, wouldn't it? Except you would regret it dreadfully. You see, I have a heart rate monitor hooked up to me right now, and if anything happens to me that causes my heart to stop beating, the guards I have watching over your mother won't hesitate to kill her."

My brother balled his fists in anger, and Luke whispered, "It's not worth it, buddy. Not right now."

AJ was becoming paler with each passing minute. At this point, I could almost wiggle my fingers. Fat load of help that was going to do for him.

"You still haven't told me where my dad is," Connor said.

"That's because you've yet to give me what I want."

I concentrated my power on Connor. I wanted him to look over so I could show him that I was awake. I didn't have much strength, so I wasn't sure if I could even reach him.