SAVANTS
The Chapture 34

My room is on the top floor of a half-finished skyscraper hotel on the street in Las Vegas known as the Strip. 

I know my location now because no one's trying to stop me from looking out the window. Lights from the casino gushing into the sky—palm trees, pyramids, rollercoaster rides, everything shimmering.

After a long flight, we landed at an airfield and I was transported into another black car. 

My hopes of getting away from Gator and Halloran at the other end were dashed when we entered the underground parking lot and I was transferred to the hotel in a private elevator. 

Brought into the room, I was then left in the room and told to sleep. My part is done for now, Halloran has explained, and he advised me to rest.

A break? I kicked the white leather chair that was placed near the window. Five-star hotels don't make such a non-prison. Inside the room is a flat-screen TV, a fairly large bathtub, and a colonnaded bed.

Since no physical injuries had happened to me, I was not too worried for the time being about my own fate. The most torturous thing was knowing that Zed and my parents were going through hell.

I had to send them a message that I was okay. I've tried phone—it's no surprise that the phone doesn't have a dial tone.

The door is locked and I can't attract the attention of any living creature at this height except for the birds. I tried telepathy.

Zed never answered my question of whether he could talk to his brothers in Denver but he managed to contact me for a few miles between his home and mine.

Is it possible to communicate with a distance of hundreds of kilometers between Colorado and Nevada? I'm not even sure how far we're.

I rubbed my head, recalling the pain I had just experienced from receiving a telepathic call while still in the car. And there's a Halloran to consider.

Is he going to bother guarding the shield right now, we're out of range? He knows I have a little bit of power as a savant so probably didn't expect me to try something so ambitious, but if he played it safe and detected my efforts, he said, he'll be angry and probably punish me.

Fireworks exploded in the distance, part of the nightly entertainment at one of the other casino hotels. I could see a crystal ball spinning on the roof of the hotel in a reflection on the window of the building across the street.

I hugged myself, missing Zed with his treatment that always surprised me. Unlike my boyfriend (Zed), I don't know what the future holds.

I have to risk disturbing Halloran but I can reduce his chances by choosing the time when he should sleep. I checked my watch, it's midnight. I'll leave it until 2 or 3.

Turning away from the window, I watched my room, looking for anything that could help me. I had to take off my ski clothes, because it was too hot.

I'd wear a hotel cape but I really wanted a change of clothes. There was a neatly folded nightgown on one of the pillows. I shook it, there was a hotel logo and it looked like an item that could be bought at a gift shop.

I wondered if someone thought of providing more of the same, I opened the wardrobe and found a neat pile of T-shirts and shorts. Does that mean they expect me to be here for a while?

This is too much for me to accept. I felt out of place, unable to focus. I remembered the wonderful memories I had with Zed.

°°°

The fluorescent light was still pulsing outside when the alarm jolted me awake three hours later. A police helicopter circled above for a while then drifted away to the north.

On the street, under there cars and hotel shuttles continue to pass by, gamblers are unwilling or unable to stop even in the middle of the night. I poured cold water into my eyes to clear my head.

OKAY. It was time to take a chance on Halloran after going to bed. I hope this kidnapping becomes an exhausting day for him.

'Zed?'

No. gabe. I investigated the darkness in my head, feeling the absence of a shield like the one in the car. It gave me hope that Halloran wasn't wearing his shield.

There's no answer. I pressed my finger against my temple. Concentration. Maybe Zed's asleep too?

No, he wouldn't. He won't sleep knowing I've been kidnapped.  He would try hard to hear a word from me. Maybe I should try again.

I paced the room for a moment, my toes sinking into the deep pile of tapestries.

Or maybe I don't know what I'm doing? I thought back to the things that Zed told me about telepathy, how he made contact with me even though he was alone. He said I was the bridge.

Maybe it would work like a shield, but otherwise? Open and build relationships instead of closing and building barriers?

I tried again, imagining I was building a thin arch bridge between my mind and Zed. I saw it like a picture unfolding from a comic book frame, breaking convention to close the distance to the next picture.

After an hour of thinking that triggered my head to turn white, I felt a change, a subtle flow of energy in the other direction.

'Zed?'

'Sky?' his voice sounded faint, moving in and out of range like a web of spiders dancing in the wind.

'I'm in Vegas.'

'Your voice is unclear. You can't ... How can you ... L'm... Vegas!' vegas!'

'Do you remember what happened at your house? There's them. He's that powerful savant, remember?'

'… power …'

'Yes. They put me upstairs in the hotel .'

'Can't.. you.heard …'

'Hotel 'S. Top floor .'

My head screamed in pain from defending the bridge, but I was determined to deliver my message to Zed.

'Zed, me'

'… love you .. come for you .'

'No!'

'Easier... closer .'

No-no. It's a trap . The bridge collapsed. I could feel it, feel my stomach churning, my head throbbing. Just in a minute. I love you too, but don't come. That's what they want .

'Sky!' I felt the link break and it was the last sound I heard, scrambling my last words.

'Zed.' I was lying on the floor, sweat running down my back, nausea gripping my stomach. I crawled with my hands and knees into the bathroom.

Even though it hurts, I feel a little better for it. Transporting myself to the bed, I fell on the blanket face down and fainted.