Corey tried to focus on what he was doing, but his mind kept wandering back to Teri. He wasn’t sure what kind of mentalist stuff was going on with Ruddy and Xeke, but it was obvious they could communicate with each other. What if they could read his thoughts? The last thing he needed was for them to pick up on how worried he was.

  He hadn’t seen or heard from Teri since they’d left the doctor’s office. He’d gone to look for her a few times, but George always popped up to chat with him before he got too far. He knew they were being watched and there was no way to look for Teri without acting suspicious.

  For all he knew, she was standing right next to him. But he had a bad feeling—it had been days, and she had been so despondent the last time he talked to her. She didn’t need to be alone right now.

  If Ruddy and Xeke would tell him what the hell happened, then maybe he could figure out what to say to her. He didn’t have the first clue what they’d done or why they couldn’t tell him about it, and he couldn’t come up with a scenario that made sense.

  He returned his focus to the young man in front of him. After Corey had fixed Hunter’s arm, word spread around town. A steady stream of sick and injured people were showing up at the cottage where he was staying.

  “There we go,” he said. “You should be feeling better. You had a staph infection.”

  The man shuddered. “That sounds bad.”

  “It can be. I’ve taken care of it, but you need to keep cuts clean and bandaged. I might not be here next time.”

  “I … I’ll try,” he said.

  He nodded. “Can you send in the next person, please?”

  “Of course. Thank you, sir.”

  He took a moment to gather his strength. Using his powers non-stop was going to cost him later, but he wasn’t going to turn away sick patients. So I’ll be tired for a few days. At least I can look at myself in the mirror.

  The next patient came in. She was in her late forties. Before he even touched her, he could sense the damage in the tendons of her elbows and shoulders. Her hands were callused, dirty, and radiated pain. She could barely hold on to her tattered coat.

  “So, how do you like it here?” Corey said.

  “Oh, it’s wonderful,” she said. “I used to live in Phoenix, but this is so much nicer. There’s plenty to eat and it’s not crowded. Mayor Wiley really takes care of us.”

  Corey smiled and nodded again. It was the same answer he got from everyone—almost word for word.

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  “I’m surprised the doctor didn’t give you something for this,” he said. “Aspirin, at least.”

  The woman flinched. “Oh, I wouldn’t bother Doctor Zimmer with something like this. He’s got more important things to do.”

  Again, pretty much the same answer he got from everyone—regardless of the extent of their injuries, they assured him it wasn’t worth wasting the doctor’s time. And in spite of the four-star restaurant that served free food, most of them were malnourished.

  He couldn’t heal her hands in one session, but he did what he could to ease the pain.

  “I really appreciate it, sir,” she said. “I haven’t felt this good in years.”

  “Well, you had a couple of other minor problems I took care of,” he said. He didn’t see any reason to mention the scarring in her lungs; almost everyone in town had it. Another piece in the puzzle.

  “Can you ask the next person to come in, please?” he said.

  The woman stood to leave. “I wish they were all like you,” she whispered.

  A few minutes later, Richard came through the door.

  “Howdy, Corey,” he said. “Good to see you again.”

  “Hey, Richard,” Corey said.

  Richard stopped inches away from Corey’s chair and loomed over him.

  Corey looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

  “Oh, I’m fine,” Richard said. “Just wanted to see how you’re getting along.”

  “I’m doing great. Kind of busy right now. I’ve got a long line of patients waiting.”

  Richard shook his head. “Leslie was the last one. Everyone has work to do and they don’t need to be standing around.”

  Corey’s eyes narrowed. “So you sent everyone away?”

  Richard studied him. “I can see you’re a man of high morals,” he said. “But be realistic. We do things a certain way around here, and you don’t have enough power to rock the boat.”

  “A ‘certain way.’ Meaning that certain people have it all, and certain others have nothing. Am I right?”

  “The strong have always dominated the weak,” Richard said. “We don’t try to dress it up here. We don’t need anyone coming in and stirring the normals up. You treat them too good, they start getting uppity. I’m sure you understand that. Don’t you?”

  “I understand,” Corey said. “I was only trying to help.”

  “Not a problem,” Richard said. “You’re our guest, and as long as you follow our rules, you and your friends are welcome here.”

  “So to be clear, you’re telling me I can’t heal anyone else?”

  “You can heal anyone who comes to you,” Richard said.

  “But I don’t guess anyone else will dare come see me after you talked to them.”

  “Maybe those who’ve earned it,” Richard said. “We don’t work for them, they work for us. We don’t want people getting … confused about where they stand.”

  “I guess I don’t have much choice, then,” Corey said.

  Richard shook his head. “Come on, Corey. We’re better than them, and you know it.”

  Corey stared down at his hands.

  “And there’s no need to worry your friends with any of this,” Richard said. “Young people can be rash, don’t you think? I’d hate for anyone to get hurt.”

  “I would, too,” Corey said. He forced himself to keep his eyes down.

  “We understand each other, then,” Richard said. “Good. Glad to have you on board.”

  Corey ground his teeth. It won’t do me any good to get mad now, he thought.

  As much as he hated it, Richard was right—about some things. Xeke and Ruddy were young and rash. Especially Ruddy. And with Teri missing, Corey had no doubt Ruddy would go full-on Incredible Hulk if he found out what was going on here.

  He needed more information. They had no idea what Richard or George’s powers were, or even who the other afflicted were, and without Teri they had no way of knowing. Their truck was wrecked, they had no food or supplies of their own, and they were trapped here. And on top of that, after what had happened with Teri he wasn’t even sure he could trust Ruddy and Xeke.

  He was going to have to figure this out on his own.