- 16 -

                                    

                                          
"The kid!" The guard screams, and I flinch.
                          
I take a few tentative steps backward, my fingers curling around my gun. The guard lowers his head as I obey his orders, knowing he's got me right where he wants me. I hate it.
                          
Turning my head slowly, I see Brandon is still staring at the body, hands cupped over his mouth in shock. I growl at his pitiful innocence in the face of death. "Brandon." He doesn't hear me. "Brandon, get over here."
                          
He glances up, tears shimmering in his eyes. "They're going to kill me."
                          
"Brandon, you've gotta listen to me. I'm gonna make sure they're not gonna kill you." The guard inside scoffs, but I ignore it. I'm making promises I can't keep. "Brandon, please."
                          
He takes a hesitant step toward me. "That's it," I murmur, wanting to be as gentle as I can in his last moments. Maybe it'll ease my conscience in the future, or maybe it'll just make the guilt worse.
                          
He walks slowly until he's standing next to me, peeking in the doorframe. The guard smiles, exposing teeth that seem too sharp in the dim light. He cocks his head. "C'mere, kiddo."
                          
Brandon stands stock still.
                          
The guard's eyes slip to me, his gaze hardening. "Make him get over here."
                          
The headache is still pounding in my skull, and I know my ability is weak. I know that, even if I can take control of Brandon's mind, I won't be able to leave carefully like I had the first time I met Jason; I would drop my presence all at once, and even if we did survive this, he would probably die of madness anyway. It's a difficult choice to make, but the tears streaming down Janice's face make my decision for me.
                          
Brandon's eyes are pleading when he turns to look at me. "I'm sorry," I murmur, gritting my teeth and forcing myself to wrangle his bioelectricity.
                          
"No, no, no," he pleads, but they quiet down quickly as I gain control of his body. There's a small resistance from his conscience but it's nothing I can't handle, even with a splitting migraine. Blood starts to drip from my nose. With intense focus, I force him to walk, taking unsteady steps into the house. He stands next to the commanding guard, turning to face me.
                          
"Alright, now let him go," the guard says, that stupid fucking grin still stretched across his face. I hold up a finger as I get used to all the nerves in Brandon's body.
                          
"Hold on."
                          
"Let him go, or they're gonna get it."
                          
"Give me a second!" I yell. If I wanted to, I could do what the guard asked, but I have an idea that's probably going to get us all killed anyway, but at least we would go down with honor. Isabelle would be proud.
                          
The guard's smile falls, and his eyes refocus on the sight of his pistol, aiming directly between my eyes. He can't possibly know what I'm about to do.
                          
My eyes roll back in my head and I fall backward. My skull cracks on the wood porch and stars erupt in my vision, but I manage to restrain any yelps of pain. I can't see the guards, but there are no gunshots. Yet. I almost accidentally let go of Brandon's bioelectricity, but I hold tight because all our lives depend on it. 
                          
Footsteps rush toward me. It's only one set, which means one guard. That's all I need.
                          
The barrel of a gun is shoved in my face and two fingers feel around for a pulse on my neck. They're way too high. My heart is pounding and I'm going to die. 
                          
In the blink of an eye, I throw my hand up and curl my fingers tight around the wrist of the guard. Something dangerous and feral roils within me, something I keep chained down deep, but this time, I let it free. Power surges through my veins, singing my nerves, taking over my vision and setting fire to my ribs. My screams of rage turn to screams of pain but even an uncontrollable power can be channeled. I narrow my eyes, staring down the guard above me as my limbs start to seize. I force all the power I can into his single, puny, pitiful mortal body and it soaks through him like a tidal wave, seeping from my veins into his, spiraling up into his fragile brain that can't control it like I can. I can taste iron on my tongue but I don't stop, only tightening my grip on his wrist, feeling bones snap under my fingers. His eyes roll back, only tiny blood vessels breaking the white, and I shove a knee up into his ribcage with as much force as I can muster. 
                          
And then it's over.