He took her hand. "Och, yer puir fingers are frozen." He sandwiched her hand between his.
"That's the oak tree Carlos climbed." She pointed with her free hand. "The courtyard is just over the wall."
He released her hand. "I'll take a look."
She blinked when he started to rise to the top of the wall.
"All right. Come." He extended his left hand toward her.
"I can't—" She stopped when his body dropped a few feet. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. Then he levitated back to the top of the wall.
She flung her arms around his neck.
His teeth flashed white in the dark. "Ye doona need to choke me, sweetheart. I willna drop you."
"Sorry." She tried to relax. "I'm not used to floating six feet off the ground."
"That is Ward Three, aye?" He pointed.
She squinted to see across the dimly lit courtyard. "Yes." No doubt he could see much better than she.
"Ye see the shadowy area to the right of the building? It's close to the back entrance. We'll teleport there first."
"Okay." She steeled her nerves. The black, dizzying sensation sucked her in, then she stumbled as her feet landed on hard ground.
"Steady." He led her toward the back door. It was locked, of course, but through the glass window they could see a plain hallway, lined with doors on each side. The doors were open, and light spilled from several onto the shiny linoleum floor.
A female nurse padded down the hall in white athletic shoes. "Eight o'clock! Lights out!"
The lights clicked off, leaving the hallway dimly illuminated with a few emergency lights. The nurse walked away, presumably toward the nurses' station by the main entrance.
"Those must be the bedrooms," Ian whispered. He pulled her to his side. "Let's go."
Darkness swirled around her once more, then she found herself with Ian in the hallway. The air was hot and stuffy. She took the left side of the hall, while he took the right. They moved silently across the floor, checking the name tags next to each door.
Four doors down, she spotted the name Vanderwerth, Sabrina. She motioned to Ian, and they both slipped inside the dark room. She could barely make out the twin-sized bed on a raised platform. There were no dressers, just open shelves like bookcases. No place to hide anything. No lamps, no mirrors. A body was huddled under the plain blanket. Sabrina's blonde hair gleamed dully on the pillow.
Toni hunched down beside her. "Bri, can you hear me?" She touched her shoulder.
Bri moaned. "Leave me alone, you creep."
"Sabrina, it's me, Toni."
"Toni?" She rolled onto her back. "You can't be Toni."
"I am Toni. I've come to get you out of here."
Sabrina rubbed her eyes. "I'm just dreaming. I'm so delusional."
"No, you're not." Toni grabbed her hand and squeezed. "It's really me. Now come on. We're leaving."
Bri struggled to sit up. "I'm kinda sleepy. Can't you come back in the morning?"
"No, we're leaving now." Toni realized her friend was too doped up to think clearly. She located her slippers beside the bed and shoved them on her feet.
"This is taking too long," Ian whispered. "I'll just grab her and go."
Bri squinted at Ian's dark shadow. "Who are you?"
"He's a friend," Toni explained. "Ian. He's going to help you escape."
Bri giggled. "Escape? You can't escape from here."
"No' so loud, please," Ian whispered. He leaned out the door to check the hallway. "Hurry. I hear someone coming."
"He talks so cute," Bri whispered.
"He's Scottish." Toni pulled Bri to her feet and led her to the doorway. "Ian will take you first, then come back for me."
Bri glanced at the back door. "We can't get out that way. It's locked."
"Ian can get you out." Toni removed her jacket and put it on Bri. "It's cold outside."
"Sabrina, do you have visitors?" A male patient shuffled toward them. His Batman pajamas were faded to a dull gray, but the gold bat on his chest still gleamed.
"Hi, Teddy," Bri answered.
Ian groaned.
"I'm going to escape," Bri announced, then giggled.
Ian stepped close to Toni and whispered, "Keep him quiet. When I come back for you, I'll erase his memory."
"Okay." Toni buttoned up her jacket on Bri. "Don't be afraid. You can trust Ian."
Sabrina startled when Ian wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "What are you—"
She vanished, along with Ian.
Teddy gasped. "Oh my God!"
"Not so loud," Toni whispered. "I can explain."
"He's a superhero!" Teddy exclaimed. "He rescued her with his superpowers!"
"Teddy, are you out of bed again?" a male voice boomed in the distance.
"Aw shoot, it's Bradley," Teddy muttered. "I wouldn't have to roam around if he wasn't so—"
Toni grabbed Teddy by the shoulders. "Don't tell him Sabrina escaped. Do you understand?"
He blinked. "Okay."
Toni ran into Sabrina's room, climbed into bed, and covered herself up to her ears.
"Teddy, what are you doing out of bed?" Bradley's voice sounded closer.
"I–I saw a superhero! He was just here, and then poof! He vanished."
"You are crazier than hell," Bradley muttered. "Get back to your room."
"I'm not crazy," Teddy mumbled. His shuffling footsteps grew dim.
Toni exhaled with relief. Sabrina's escape was still a secret. She froze when she heard a sound. Was Ian back so soon? Her skin prickled as all her senses went on alert. Something was wrong. Footsteps approached her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Sabrina," Bradley whispered and stroked her hair.
Bile rose in Toni's throat. Oh God, she wanted to leap out of bed and slam a fist down his throat. But she didn't dare. She couldn't let him know that Bri had escaped. She needed to buy some time to give them a chance to get away.
She swallowed hard. Was this why Bri had called her a creep earlier? Bradley must have touched her before while she was groggy on medication.
"Sabrina," Bradley whispered again.
There was a dull thud, and a body fell on top of her.
Toni scrambled out of bed and away from Bradley's body. He was sprawled across the bed, unconscious.
Teddy stood there, holding a thick book. "I don't like him. He's a bad man."
"Thank you, Teddy."
He smiled sheepishly. "I haven't been taking my meds. I knew I needed to watch that creep."
Ian zoomed into the room, and his gaze fell on the unconscious nurse. "What happened?"
"It's a long story," Toni said. "But Teddy saved me from being molested."
Ian stepped toward Bradley. "This man was taking advantage of the women here?"
"He's been trying to," Teddy said. "That's why I roam the hall at night."
"Bastard." Ian placed a hand on Bradley's head. "There. He'll sleep till morning. Let him explain his presence here in Sabrina's bed."
"Cool," Teddy whispered. "You have some kick-ass superpowers, man. What's your name?"
"Ian."
Teddy frowned. "Dude, you gotta get a better name than that. And you need a cape."
Ian chuckled. "Like a vampire cape? I have one of those somewhere."
"That would be awesome, man."
Ian approached Teddy. "I have to erase yer memory now."
Teddy stepped back. "No! This is the coolest thing that's happened to me in ages. I want to remember it."
"Ian." Toni gave him a pleading look. She understood how Teddy felt. She didn't want to lose her memory, either.
"Toni, he knows we helped Sabrina escape."
"Take me with you," Teddy begged.
"Nay." Ian shook his head.
"Seriously, dude. If you take me with you, then I can't tell anyone what you did. Not that I would, but they might try to hypnotize me or something. I'm not really crazy, you know. I was just depressed, 'cause I didn't have anything to look forward to, but with you guys, I could be really happy."