THIRTY
SITTING ON THE EDGE OF MY BED, MY FINGERS tap an anxious staccato against my thighs. I focus on my impending escape, concentrate on this. A difficult task when glassy, dead eyes keep intruding on my thoughts. I wonder things. Who was he before someone studied his DNA under a microscope? What was his name? Shaking my head, I shove away the crippling thoughts. I can’t afford them tonight.
I tell myself that escaping here won’t land us in a bigger mess, in more danger. I close my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose. Not that I can change my mind now even if I wanted to. Sean is coming for me. I’m going with him. I promised. And I want to go.
My chest tightens, clenches and squeezes with the desperate hope that we make it out of here. Rising from the bed, I walk to the window and stare out the blinds. Perimeter lights edge the building and grounds. I hear the purr of an ATV before I see it roll across the lawn. It’s the only sound in the night. The building is as quiet as a tomb.
No alarms have gone off, and I can’t help wondering how we’ll get out of the building. They lock us in at night. Security sits downstairs.
A faint click sounds behind me. I spin around, staring first at the door and then everywhere else all at once. Dim light pours into the room, saving me from total blackness, and I identify Sean as he steps inside. The fear ebbs, replaced with a new kind of tension.
“Sean,” I whisper, my heart pumping harder.
He shuts my door behind him and leans back against it. In the gloom, I can detect the rise and fall of his broad chest. Like he just ran several flights of stairs.
Nervously, I brush a strand of hair from my cheek. My gaze darts around before coming to rest on him again. Of course I can’t help replaying the last time we were alone in my room. I swallow against the sudden dryness of my throat.
I moisten my lips. “You made it.”
He moves, closing the distance between us, advancing with steady strides, eyes gleaming and dark. His hands slide along my cheeks, lifting my face to his. He kisses me, hard and swift. His hands move from my face to my back. Fingers splayed wide, he pulls me against him, wrapping me up in his warmth.
Warm tears roll down my cheeks. He’s the only one. Since all this happened to me, he’s the one that’s been there for me. The one to make me feel like I’m still a person. Not a pariah. Not the monster in the dark. He’s never told me what I am. He’s just assured me that I’m not anything I don’t want to be.
Our lips fuse hotter, more urgent. I throw my whole weight against him. Off balance, he staggers, arm looping around my waist. We fall back on the bed, me sprawled over him.
I kiss him like it’s the last time. Because who knows? It could be. If we’re caught, we’ll at least have this. I work my hands beneath his shirt, skate my palms over his flat stomach, revel at the quiver of his warm flesh under my hands.
He thrusts me from him, his fingers scoring through my hair, holding it back from my face so that he can see me. “Davy. We don’t have much time. Gil’s waiting downstairs, hiding in the stairwell.”
I take a bracing breath. “Yes. Of course.” We’re really doing this. “Let’s go.”
The door creaks open and we fly apart, Sean pushing me behind him.
“Hey.” It’s Gil, his dark eyes shining behind his lenses. “We’ve got to go if we want that head start. The guards change shifts in a couple hours.”
I grab my backpack. Sean takes my hand and we’re moving. Walking through the door and out into the silent hall without a backward glance. There’s no sight of anyone on my floor. We take the stairwell, my heart pounding so hard I’m afraid it can be heard a mile away. At the bottom floor, Gil eases the door open and peers out.
At first glance, the guard looks asleep at the desk, but then you notice his complete and unusual stillness and the odd way his head rests on the surface. Sean creeps toward his desk and deposits the keys there that he apparently used to open my door. We start to slip past him, but suddenly I stop. On impulse, I move back to the desk, my pulse now a feverish throb in my throat. I snatch up the keys, motioning Sean and Gil to wait, and race back up the stairs. At Sabine’s room, I unlock the door. She’s already up, standing tensely beside her bed, her small frame trembling. Her fearful expression eases somewhat when she sees it’s me but remains wary.
“I’m getting out of here,” I whisper. “You can stay or come with me.”
She hesitates only a moment before grabbing a pair of pants and slipping them on over her shorts. She stuffs her feet into her shoes, not bothering with the laces. I don’t have to warn her to be quiet. She follows me soundlessly down the stairs, past the sleeping guard and outside.
Sean and Gil are waiting by the door, their expressions anxious until they spot me. Their eyes widen slightly at the sight of Sabine behind me. Pushing open the door, Sean motions me to hurry. My steps quicken and together we dive outside. The air hasn’t cooled off much and I’m immediately doused in the humid evening. I look left and right, scanning our surroundings. My heart pounds a frantic rhythm. We take a left. I listen for sounds as we move along. Nothing. Not even the purr of the ATV patrolling the grounds.
We hug the shadows, rounding the refectory, heading west. The same direction the carrier had taken last night in his dash for freedom, where the perimeter wall is at its lowest. A pang sharpens my chest at the memory, at the bitter, bitter wish that he had made it.
Sean guides us behind the thick hedge bordering one side of the refectory. The four of us crouch down. I look at the boys curiously. Sean shakes his head at me and motions for me to stay silent. He looks back out at the quad in the direction we just came. I follow his gaze. Nothing. I look back at him questioningly. He motions to his lips, mouthing the word: wait.
Then I see her, muttering under her breath as she stomps a hard line. I’d know that walk anywhere. It’s hard and swift, more like a man’s stride. I catch some of her words. “ . . . know she went this way . . .”
I peer through the spiny leaves and observe acne-scarred Addy’s face. Even in the dark, I can detect the wildness in her eyes.
She stops and looks around, her narrow face drawn tight. Sighing, she props her hands on her hips and calls out, “I saw you! I know you’re out here! I saw you and that twig leave the building. Come out, Davy!”
My heart squeezes to hear my name on her lips. I exchange looks with Sean and Gil, trying to convey my regret that I earned this girl’s wrath so much that she followed us.
“I’ll wake everyone up,” she continues in a loud whisper. “Have fun explaining what you and Sabine are doing out of your rooms!”
I motion that I should go and appease her . . . keep her from making good on her threat. Sean shakes his head fiercely at me, mouthing no. Gil is the opposite, nodding and gesturing for me to go ahead. Sabine holds silent, keeping like a little mouse next to me, probably debating the wisdom of joining us.
I tear my hand free from Sean and step out from the hedge before he can stop me.
Addy’s gaze lands on me. “Hiding? Bit wimpy. Thought you were tougher than that. Where are the others?”
I ignore her question, crossing my arms over my chest. “What do you want?”
“Was just returning from a meeting with one of the instructors when I saw you slip out. Yeah,” she sneered. “You aren’t the only one they think has potential. Turns out I’m excelling so much at Spanish that they’ve started tutoring me in Russian, too.” She takes a single step closer, her shrewd gaze narrowing on me. “Where are you going?”
I stare at her a long moment, weighing my answers.
“I’m getting out of here.” I settle on the truth. She already suspects as much. It would be foolish to lie. “Running away.”
She considers me thoughtfully. I do the same, trying to read her expression and glean something from it. Maybe she wants to leave, too. Who really wants to be here, after all? Surrounded by guards with their electric prods? Instructors with their judging eyes. The threat of detention camps and death hanging over us.
I exhale. Only one way to find out. “Come with me.”
She snorts. “Oh, that’s funny. Nice joke. We wouldn’t last ten minutes out there. Especially with that imprint you’re sporting. No, thanks.” She crosses her thick arms, a smirk on her lips. “But you know what I will do? I think I’ll just go ahead and rat you out. Score me some points with the powers that be. Could always use the advantage.”
I point to my face. “It won’t help you. They’re going to keep pitting us against each other, thinning us out until we’re just a few. Your ratting me out isn’t going to save you. You should come with me.”
She shakes her head. “No.”
“Then at least give me a chance. You don’t have to tell anyone you saw me. Just go back to your room.”
No emotion registers on her face. “Go ahead. It will take me about five minutes to alert the staff. That can be your head start.” Turning, she starts to walk away.
Something inside me snaps. I only see her back walking away from me, on her way to destroy me. To destroy Sean and Gil and Sabine. This twists inside me like a hot poker. I can’t let her do that. I can’t let her go.
I don’t even feel myself moving, but I’m aware that I’m running, launching myself at her, landing heavily on her back. The bigger girl hits the ground with a sharp cry. She doesn’t take it without a fight. She bucks beneath me. I try to stay atop her, squeezing my thighs around her hips.
I grab a fistful of her hair and pull her head back to growl into her ear, “You’re. Not. Telling.” I pull back my arm to strike her.
“Davy!” Suddenly, my arm is caught in an iron grip. I try to pull it free, but there’s no budging. I look at the hand on my arm. My gaze skips up to Sean’s concerned face.
I look back down at Addy, my hand twisted in her hair. I release her and climb off. She flips over, her acne-mottled face red and seething. “You’ll pay for that.” Her gaze moves to Sean. “Your boyfriend, too.” She opens her mouth to scream, but suddenly a rock strikes her in the head. She topples over.
My gaze swings. Stops on Sabine. She stands with her hand poised in midair, as if still pitching the rock.
“Sabine,” I breathe.
She blinks at the sound of her name. “She was going to tell.”
I look back down at Addy, motionless on her side. “Oh, God. Is she . . .”
Sean checks her pulse and shakes his head. “She’s still breathing.”
I exhale heavily. I wanted to hit her. Hurt her. Sean had to stop me. This frightens me maybe the most.
“We need to go.” This from Gil, his gaze scanning the grounds.
I shake my head, staring from Addy to Sabine. She looks so small, so innocent. For the first time I wonder what I really know about this girl.
Sean grabs Addy’s ankles and drags her into the bushes, out of sight.