Perfection Page 3

  Missouri.

  Her eyes lingered on the lavish greenery before her—ash, oak, hickory, and pine. Intertwining branches reached toward the heavens. Directly next to the tracks were blackened rocks. She regarded the dangerous streaks of black skeptically. When she jumped, she’d have to make sure to clear the patch.

  She calculated the possibilities and settled on a crouched roll at impact.

  At the door again, she waited with her hand on the lever and listened for any other urgent activity. Not including the muffled musings of people in the adjoining compartments, the car remained quiet. She slid the door open and stepped into the hall. A worn red carpet spread the length of the car from one doorway to the next. Both ways remained empty.

  She searched for the male who had been holding her picture. Through the windows of the adjoining cars, she saw him talking to another attendant. She moved to her right, and then froze at the sound of hydraulics moving, the fine hairs on her neck twitching.

  Without turning around, Ellyssa let her barrier drop briefly and grazed the thoughts of an older male who was thinking of a pretty female…his daughter holding a baby. Air whooshing from her lungs, she turned and looked as an older man with thinning hair stepped into the car. He gave Ellyssa a quick grin before he entered his compartment.

  Alone again, she continued toward the end of the car, where metal steps led down into the baggage compartment. She glanced over her shoulder. The attendant still stood there talking, oblivious to her being one car over. She closed her eyes and focused, weeding away the cacophony of thoughts and feelings from the other passengers, picking his brainwaves from all the ramblings—a near-impossible task.

  Through the constant static, she saw her picture as the man showed another attendant with a nice face and curly hair. They were whispering in hushed tones. The man holding her picture was filling Curly-Hair in on the details. Police were to pick her up at the next stop, thirty minutes from now.

  Apparently, they had not been warned about her psychic ability.

  A musical voice danced through the cacophony of whispered thoughts and erased her hold on the male’s thoughts. A female was thinking about a male she’d met at a party. Violins and a piano played as they spun around on the floor. He held her tight in his arms, and the female remembered the thrill as if he held her now.

  A strange sensation stirred in Ellyssa, one that made her stomach roll and flutter at the same time. She cut the connection off in mid-thought, just as the tinny ringing of footfalls on the metal steps echoed around her.

  Ellyssa glanced at the steps. A blue cap, covering darkish-blond hair, followed by the rest of the woman, bobbed into sight from the lower deck.

  The attendant’s smile stretched from ear to ear. When she saw Ellyssa, it amazingly stretched even further, exposing white teeth. Apparently not all of the attendants had been informed of the dangerous female on the train.

  Stepping onto the platform, she said, “Is there something I can help you with?” Her tone held a happy, high note to it, mimicking the musical quality Ellyssa had heard in her thoughts.

  Ellyssa peeked behind her. The adjoining car stood empty, both male attendants gone, hopefully to the compartment she’d purchased. Relieved, she slipped a false smile on her face. “Is this the direction to the observation car?” she asked, directing her attention back to the attendant.

  “Yes, two cars down. I was heading there, myself.” The female beamed as if she’d found a new friend.

  “Thank you.”

  The woman turned and hit the button on the side of the door. It slid back on its tracks with a snick.

  “Oh,” Ellyssa said while patting her pockets. “I left my camera in the room.”

  The woman’s face fell, shrinking her smile to its original state of ear to ear. “I can wait, if you’d like.”

  “Please, do not bother. I am two cars back,” Ellyssa said, wishing the lady would just go away. “I will retrieve it. Then maybe you can show me the best place to take pictures.”

  The thought seemed to please her. “I have the perfect place.” She hurried through the door, pausing only a second while the door to the adjoining car slid open.

  Ellyssa waited while the attendant strolled away. As soon as the woman’s head bobbed out of sight, Ellyssa descended into the baggage compartment.

  Except for the light that crept in from the platform above, pooling below Ellyssa’s feet, the car was shadowed and cramped. Metal gates held a mound of luggage in place. A thin walkway led from the steps between the rows of towering bags; in the middle of the car, slivers of day peeked between the doors where the baggage was maneuvered in and out.

  Ellyssa grabbed the top rail of the gate and made her way to the sliding doors. She grasped the lever and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. It was evidently locked in place while the train was in motion. She’d have to disconnect the wiring.

  With the aid of the limited light, she ran her hands down the smooth metal, over rivets, to the edge of the door, then down the wall until she touched the plastic-coated wires. Using the cable as a guide, she moved her hand back up until it stopped at a little box. She gripped the wire and yanked. Friction burned her palms as the cable slipped beneath her fingers.

  Ellyssa reestablished her grip, wrapping the cable around her wrist and hand, and placed one foot firmly on the wall. Taking a deep breath, she kicked back with all her force. The cable easily snapped, catching her off-guard. Backpedaling, she stopped when her spine smacked against the gate.

  The pain was instant and sharp, but quickly cooled to a soft throb. The flesh was tender to the touch, but besides the bruise destined to discolor her pale skin, no real harm done.

  She returned to the door and wrenched back on the lever. The door slid with a groan, revealing a grassy landscape past the blackened rocks that whipped by at a staggering speed.

  Holding tightly onto a handle bolted into the frame of the door, Ellyssa poked her head out into the wind. Her breath hitched in her chest as the sudden blast of air hit her. Her hair flapped wildly. She pulled back inside.

  The original plan of hitting the ground and ducking into a crouched roll dissolved into bouncing and tumbling wildly along the long, green blades of grass. Jumping at the current speed was possible, but if she landed at a wrong angle…she shook her head. Whatever she was looking for certainly wasn’t intended to end in massive injury or death.

  Think. Think.

  But what other avenues were there? Attendants stood outside the door of the compartment she’d purchased. Ellyssa knew police would be waiting for her at the next stop. She’d have to take the chance.

  She moved into the shadows behind the luggage and slipped the jumpsuit over her skirt. Draping the bag over her left shoulder, she readied herself, calculating the distance to the grass past the jagged rocks. She grabbed the handle again and tensed on her haunches, but instead of jumping, she swayed to the right as a thin squeal of rubbing metal emanated from beneath her, then she rocked back as the train slowed.

  Ellyssa leaned out again. Ahead, the ground gave way to a slope. Anything beyond was lost in greenery.

  Another squeaking protest, and she swayed again. Were the police stopping the train before it reached town? Her father wouldn’t be stupid enough to give her a warning. He’d want the element of surprise.

  Ellyssa wasn’t going to stick around to find out.

  As the brakes were applied again, she ducked inside and tightened the strap on her bag. Peeping around the edge one more time, the drop-off quickly approaching, she counted to three then flung herself out into the air. For a moment, time slowed to a crawl. The black rocks, the landscape, and the grass sharpened into fine detail as she flew over them, then gravity snatched at her legs and everything blurred. At the sudden jolt of impact, she wrapped her arms around her head and let her knees buckle beneath her to absorb the shock. She tumbled through bracken and bramble.

  Every stick, bit of unleveled ground, dirt clot, sticker, rock, and
clump of grass struck Ellyssa’s body with a vengeance. Pain exploded through her, keeping her alert and aware of Mother Nature’s retribution.

  After a few more painful thumps, Ellyssa came to a stop on her stomach, her arms still wrapped around her head. She stayed motionless and listened as the rumblings of the train sped along the track.

  As the roar faded into a soft rumble, she looked up and immediately regretted the movement. Tortured muscles screamed in agony. She watched the caboose disappear around the bend.

  She wanted to run, but her body wasn’t ready. Breathing in short, shallow gasps, Ellyssa wiggled her toes and fingers and flexed her legs and arms. Her muscles moaned, and the joint of her elbow popped, but nothing seemed broken.

  Gingerly, she pushed herself onto her knees. Then, with even more care, she rose to her feet. Angry muscles shook under her weight as she looked down the tracks.

  The shiny cars had disappeared around the bend and behind a wooded area. Just beyond the curved tracks, less than seven kilometers away, grey and black roofs, like the grains of pepper, peeked through clusters of trees and rolling hills.

  The police would be there, waiting at the depot, stupidly thinking she’d soon disembark, completely unaware. But only if no one had seen her jump from the train. If that had happened, then they would be alerted already, possibly with close coordinates to where she lingered now.

  She had to move.

  Urgency signaled Ellyssa’s taut muscles, and pain shot through her leg into her hipbone. Unexpectedly, she staggered before regaining her footing. She had to take control. This wasn’t the first time she’d been pummeled. Defense and martial arts classes had left her bleeding and bruised, limping away the few times she’d been defeated. None of her peers held back, nor did she. Weakness was not tolerated.

  Using her years of training, Ellyssa inhaled and, like her emotions, shoved the pain into a small box, then let adrenaline flow along with the release of endorphins. She sprinted across the grassy length onto a recently sown field, leaving evidence of her flight within the newly overturned soil.

  Time was something Ellyssa couldn’t afford to waste on erasing her steps. She had to hide, and was unsure of what lay on the other side of the tree line. For all she knew, the trees served as a divider between unseen farms to help with soil erosion, or maybe a vast forest stretched beyond the field. In either case, she was determined to put as much distance between her and the town as she could.

  Her breaths even and deep, she picked up her pace. Puffs of dust kicked from beneath her hammering feet. Beads of perspiration formed on her forehead and trickled into her eyes. Warmth clung to the edges of her sinewy muscles, reminding her that pain from her tumble was sure to visit later.

  Leaping over a low fence and slipping between rails, she left the train tracks about four kilometers behind. Gradually, the vegetation started to take more distinct shapes. Instead of a blur of greens, the darks separated from the yellows. Browns and tans peeked between the sheltering leaves.

  Adrenaline surged, and a metallic taste flooded Ellyssa’s mouth. She embraced the extra boost and plowed forward, bursting through the tree line and into an area thick with bushes, ferns, and tall trunks of various shades from greys to browns to rusted colors.

  Safely hidden within nature’s cover, she kept her strides long and quick. She angled left and ran parallel to the tree line. For a moment, she wondered why she chose that direction, but her speculations eased as an intense stitch in her side caused her sprint to dwindle to a light jog and finally into a fast-paced walk.

  Huffing, Ellyssa stopped and stooped, hands on knees. The stitch was bad, but the threat of her overly taxed muscles seizing up was worse. She let her hands fall between her feet and stretched before she made her way back to the edge of the farmland.

  From between two hickory trees, with limbs stretching over into a latticework of twigs and leaves, she peered out across the rolling field. The town was completely hidden, lying behind a canopy, except for one building with a steeple shooting free from the greenery.

  She wished her gift could extend to the train station to snatch the thoughts of her pursuers. Had they searched the train? Did they know she had jumped? Were they organizing a search party?

  Even though she couldn’t predict their exact plans, she knew they’d eventually resort to using dogs. She turned and disappeared into the foliage, looking for trees to help hide her scent.

  Depleted of the adrenaline rush and the sweet numb of endorphins, Ellyssa’s muscles and bruised flesh moaned under her sweat-sodden clothes. Her thigh sang a song of pain beneath the crimson-colored rip running along the seam of the jumpsuit. She gingerly poked the threadbare fabric and hissed.

  Ellyssa sat on a fallen log and extended her leg in front of her. The jagged tear ran from mid-thigh to her knee. Raw pink meat showed between the edges of the frayed material. She tried to pull the fabric free from the wound, but blood stuck the material to the tender flesh. She gave up and retrieved scissors from her bag, along with one of her two bottles of water.

  She’d broken two of the most important rules of her training. The first was, always come prepared for anything. But she hadn’t had the time after all the secrets she’d found. Her priority had been erasing her identity from the mainframe then disappearing.

  The second rule was to never underestimate the intelligence of the enemy.

  The thought surprised her. Was that how she thought of her father now? Ellyssa shook her head. Just over twenty-four hours ago, she’d been an unknowing participant in her father’s plan, doing as he instructed, trying to please him, although she could never show that. Now, she was running from him.

  Her heart ached, and Ellyssa let the feeling consume her while fishing out a tube of antiseptic, her only preparation for injury. Now was not the best time to entertain the feeling; she knew that. But she’d missed out on so much being locked away at The Center, away from all the inferior citizens. Being allowed to show emotions was just the tip.

  Ellyssa’s father had spent years structuring a program to rid his experiments of feelings. She was his unknown failure. Since the age of three, she’d bottled up everything she’d felt and worn an impassive mask. Although she didn’t realize it at the time, her ability to deceive had saved her.

  After the run-in with the dark-haired man, she’d accessed her father’s files and discovered what happened to subjects who’d failed to assimilate, along with finding her father’s secret agenda. The most basic instinct, the first lesson drilled into her, was the instinct to survive. After reading her father’s files, hers went into overdrive.

  The betterment of mankind. Ellyssa scoffed.

  Her father was the very enemy he’d warned her and her siblings about.

  A foreign smile slipped across her face as she snipped away the leg of her coveralls above the knee. Breathing in, she yanked the fabric free. Fresh blood pooled in the gash before flowing over and trickling down the sides of her thigh. She poured water over the wound and cleared away as much of the dirt and pebbles as she could. The cut was ugly, and more pebbles were embedded in the flesh, but the wound wasn’t disabling. She picked out the remaining debris, then swabbed on the pasty antiseptic cream. Using the pants leg as a makeshift bandage, she bound the wound.

  After wetting her mouth, she gathered her items and shoved everything back into the bag. With great care, she stood, focusing most of her weight on her left leg before testing her right. Her thigh throbbed, but it was nothing that could hinder her.

  Slightly limping, Ellyssa continued the search for a suitable tree to climb. She found the perfect launching spot thirty meters deeper into the forest. An old oak with a broad trunk and thick limbs stood next to a giant walnut, the limbs crossing over each other in a desperate attempt to hog the sunlight.

  She pulled out leather gloves and slipped them over her fingers. Securing the bag to her side, she walked around the tree until she found a low-hanging branch. She squatted, hissed, and jumped; h
er fingers brushed the underside of the limb. A tidal wave of pain shot up her leg when she landed. She cried out and hobbled around in a circle, massaging the side of her leg until the worst of the throbbing settled into a soft pulsing.

  She readjusted herself under the branch. Forcing the pain into the back of her mind, she hunkered down, swinging her arms in a wide pendulum motion, and leapt. She grasped the branch and, in one smooth motion, swung her left leg over and pulled herself up. There, she rested, short pants bursting from between her lips.

  Moving from tree to tree would delay her pursuers, but not for long. Her tricks would be easily spotted. The more distance she put between herself and her would-be captors, the better her chances.

  She forced herself up on the thick branch. Dangerously teetering, she grabbed low-hanging limbs to aid her balance. Like a squirrel, she moved from one tree to the next, keeping a rather twisted, southeast course until a break in the towering lumber forced her back to the ground, where she took up a slow-paced jog.

  As the afternoon waned and the shadows grew longer, Ellyssa’s jog changed to a trudge. Weariness pulled on every fiber of her being as she limped and stumbled and emptied one of her water bottles faster than she would have liked.

  As darkness fell and blanketed the woods, Ellyssa paused with thoughts of stopping teasing the threads of her exhausted mind until the sound of gurgling and buzzing insects floating on the air captured her attention.

  Water.

  Although, she knew she couldn’t drink the flowing water without the proper sanitization pill—a bit of information stored in her brain from field training exercises—her mouth still watered like Pavlov’s dog. The water could be used for other things.

  Ellyssa crunched over greenery and broke into a small clearing. Early twilight filtered through sparse clouds, tall grass shifted silently in a soft breeze, and silver moonlight reflected off a shallow stream that babbled over moss-covered rocks.