Mindsiege Read Online Free Page A

Did she have some supernatural ability? Or even more important, did she suffer greatly when she used it?
    “I don’t know,” Jack said. “I promised her I would help her run if that’s what she wanted. Not a single one of us should be forced to embrace this life that was chosen for us.”
    “Fine.” Jonas lifted the object up to his mouth. It was a cigarette. “I’ll take her wherever she needs to go. And stay with her if necessary. It would be my pleasure.” His words rolled right over the smirk that spread across his lips as he stuck the cigarette in his mouth. When he flicked the lighter and the flame sparked, I flinched at both the noise and the fire.
    “It’s necessary. Don’t forget someone tried to kill both of us last week. And Cathy was ready to imprison us at Wellington Friday night.” Jack shook his head and added, “I’ve got to confront my dear mother.”
    “If Lexi needs to come back here, we’ll deal,” Georgia added. “We need to watch over each other.”
    I stood there, my back plastered to the brick. My heart raced as a suppressed memory surfaced. Images of the previous night flashed back to me. Images of me by the fire pit. Fred had played a guitar and sung.
    My eyes darted around the yard beside the house. I drilled the palm of my hand into my chest, attempting to massage my panicked heart. Jack assured me that Jonas could protect me. That he was loyal. Loyal to whom?
    Events of the previous night slowly seeped into the outer fringes of my mind. Images that at first seemed like distant memories were becoming clearer. Jonas had stomped out a cigarette at my feet last night. He practically admitted to drowning me in the pool. He forced Kyle to stick his arm in the fire.
    “Thank you, Georgia,” Jack said, snapping me back to the present. “Kyle and I will be leaving shortly. I’m fairly certain Lexi will be ready to leave when I do.”
    My mind reeled through memories or dreams—snippets of reality—that I suspected were planted there by Jonas: like when he pointed a gun at my head a couple of weeks ago, and when he led me outside into the cold on the night the fire alarms were tripped in the Wellington’s girls’ dorm.
    It was Jonas. He got inside my head the night my father died. The night he forced me to jump into a freezing pool. And this morning when…
    That was why he suffered a panic attack. Not because of the lies he told Jack now.
    A train whistle blew, startling me from the dark memories, the darkest of all being the one of Smoking Man—Jonas—forcing me to almost drive a knife into Jack’s chest. This image had been only a blur in my subconscious, but it now came into focus.
    Jonas. It was him. I remembered. And he threatened to force me to hurt Jack if I revealed his identity.
    The whistle blared again, calling out to me.
    The train approached slowly, running behind the houses. My grip tightened around the strap of my backpack.
    I chanced a glance around the corner of the house again just as Jack passed through the front door. Jonas and Georgia traded looks, then followed Jack inside.
    Would Jonas actually hurt Jack? Or was he bluffing to get me to submit to some demand of his?
    Jack would be leaving shortly. And taking Kyle. He’d be safe then. Away from Jonas. Away from me.
    As the train moved closer, I saw the open car. Empty. Everything that the presence inside my head had said to me scrolled through my memory like an out-of-control teleprompter. He needed me.
    He would force me to hurt Jack if I didn’t comply. But I couldn't hurt Jack if I was nowhere near him.
    The train whistled—a signal. Or a sign.
    I ran. I ran as fast as my legs would take me. I ran through the backyard of the neighbor’s house, past the swing set. I ran alongside the train, the open car. I let the backpack slide from my shoulder and tossed it into the car. It slid across the metal floor.
    I felt Jack’s presence ease inside my head. Lexi, where are you?
    I reached out my hand and