Why hadn't they come after them yet? With better weapons and more people they would be able to take her down.
Then, she felt it. A strange sensation began to creep through her veins, an almost numbing feeling that caused saliva to rush into her mouth at the same time that her body began to feel heavy. She'd felt this before, when she'd been at the mercy of The Commission.
Her gaze drifted toward the man lying motionless within the hall. Dead, because she had drained him dry. Her mind tripped back to when she and Julian had been locked beneath the school and their food had also been drugged. She couldn't move, she could barely even think as the world lurched before her. They had pumped the man full of drugs and sent him after her as bait. She wondered if he'd known their intentions when he'd attacked her or if he'd been as in the dark as her when she'd fed from him.
A shiver worked its way through her as goose bumps broke out on her flesh. She turned back to the door and desperately searched for the switch. She fought to remain calm but her mouth was beginning to feel like she'd been sucking on pennies and her legs were turning to rubber.
She turned back to the rooms lining the hall. None of them appeared to be a control room, but there had to be one that stored all of the supplies and more than likely held the key to their exit. There had to be a way to escape here but she didn't have time to find it.
Cassie fell before Luther and grasped his shoulders as she shook him roughly. He didn't so much as moan in displeasure. "Luther!" she hissed. "Luther you have to wake up! Luther!"
Cassie shoved herself up and staggered to her feet. She almost fell back to the ground but managed to steady herself by bracing her hand against the wall. The drugs were wrapping her within their tentacles and trying to draw her into the dark depths of a sea she wouldn't awaken from. She tried to remember how long she'd been able to stay awake when she'd been drugged before, but she couldn't quite recall. There had been nights she and Julian had stayed up talking for hours before drifting to sleep, but that didn't mean anything. The Commission could have decided not to drug them on those days, or they could have given them those hours in order to manipulate them and watch their relationship grow.
The night they'd escaped, Julian had been far more drugged than she had. But he'd also dealt with a fair amount of torture that day. They may have given Julian more that night in the hopes that he would recover faster and they could renew their games, or he may have just been more susceptible to the effects of the drugs in his weakened state.
Either way, it didn't matter, if she didn't get them out of here soon than they weren't going anywhere.
Cassie wracked her brain for some solution to the problem but either the drugs, or the panic, were keeping her from processing thoughts properly. She was at the first door before she realized she'd traveled this far. Before realizing she had no idea where she was going, or what she was trying to do. She shook her head as she tried to clear her cloudy mind but she failed miserably at it.
She retreated toward Luther, determined to keep him protected for as long as possible. She may have failed him, but she wouldn't let them take him without a fight. She crouched before him and had to steady herself with both hands in order to keep from falling over. She was starting to see double as stars began to burst before her eyes.
Her thoughts turned to Devon. This would destroy him, he wouldn't survive it. Tears built in her eyes, she fought to stay awake, but she could feel her lids drooping as they became heavier. Luther stirred but she wasn't surprised when he remained unconscious.
Cassie wished that he would wake up if only so she could say goodbye. She heard the sounds of people moving about before she spotted them creeping out of their hiding spots, coming for them already.
She pressed herself against Luther as she strained to keep her bleary vision focused. Sister Anne stepped into the hall, but her caring, open persona had been discarded, along with her phony nun attire. Now her dark eyes were cold and malicious. A muscle twitched in her cheek as she glared at Cassie. A fully loaded crossbow was pressed against the side of her thigh.
Another man and woman stepped out from behind her. They also bore weapons but Cassie knew it would be Anne that came for her, if that was even her real name. Cassie seized hold of Luther's hand as she tried to draw strength and comfort from his warm touch.
She still had Dani and Joey's powers, something that these people had no way of knowing. However, she wasn't sure how well either of them would work right now. Zane's astral projection would have been handy, but she already felt as if she were splitting apart without actually doing it. There was Adon's fire power, but that would be a last resort. She was a little nervous that she may kill them all if she used it in these tight confines.
She could feel the pulse of life that signaled the electrical pull of the earth surging into her hand. She didn't know if she should make the first move, but she did know that she couldn't simply crouch here and wait for them to attack her. Anne took a step toward her and raised the crossbow as Cassie slammed her hand off the ground. Though it wasn't the way that Dani released her power, it felt right to Cassie.
The power thrummed from her hand and sizzled across the ground in a bolt of electricity that she could actually see as it zigzagged toward her enemies. Shock and horror filled their eyes, apparently they hadn't known what she was capable of, or they'd thought that the drugs would keep her abilities locked away. Either way, she had the brief advantage of surprise on her side.
Anne fired the crossbow seconds before the electrical bolt hit them and knocked them off their feet. Cassie didn't have the reflexes or thought processes to react quickly enough. She fell to the side to get away from the arrow but it wasn't good enough.
A cry escaped her as she was knocked back from the force of the impact. The arrow drove into her shoulder, sliced through muscle and shattered bone before bursting partway out the other side. Cassie was briefly stunned by the pain tearing through her, and the fact that she'd just barely gotten out of the way in time.
She grabbed hold of the end of the arrow and grit her teeth as she broke it off. A low moan escaped her and she began to shake as a thin layer of sweat coated her body. She was wobbly and barely able to focus as she righted herself and sought out her predators. Closing her eyes she wiped the sweat from her forehead before forcing her lids open again. She didn't know how much time she had bought her and Luther, but she didn't think it would be much.
She was barely aware of the blood trailing down her shoulder, soaking her clothes, and dripping off of her fingers as she turned back to Luther. She was unsure what it was that she sought from him as she grabbed his arm. She just knew that she couldn't sit in this hall and wait for them to be picked off like fish in a barrel.