Cole shrugs his shoulders. “Here we go. After you.” Cole and Zeus follow so close behind me I can hear their breathing over the footsteps.
With edgy nerves, we follow the anonymous man. He takes us two more blocks, while avoiding unseen cameras, and around a tall building. Then the sky opens up with a thunderous clap as the rain pours down in waves. My hair drips and my scrubs soak through completely. I kick off my last slipper in the mud, hoping I can snag a pair of shoes soon. Our clothing sticks to us like plaster as we parade around like a funeral procession—shoulders slumped and feet dragging.
“Hold up. Don’t move,” the man says.
We pause, frozen in place, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. The scenery here looks much the same as where the driver dropped us off. The small shacks with their corrugated roofs pile onto each other like an overcrowded bookshelf. The rain pounds the metal, making it almost impossible to hear his voice.
“Now.” The man motions us past him, through a heavy metal door, and into the building. “We have to wait for the camera to pan away before entering. We finally know where they’re hidden so we avoid them at all costs.” He fiddles with his sopping beard while examining us with vigilant eyes. “Sutton sent you—that I know. But why so early and who, exactly, are you?”
Bruno sits on the hard floor, rests his head against the wall, and catches his breath. He pulls off his drenched, sweaty shirt and wipes his face with it.
“Nothing happened,” Cole says. “We just need to see Keegan. We brought his sister with us.”
The man raises his eyebrow and moves closer to me. “You’re his sister?”
“Yes,” I reply. My whole body wants to collapse from exhaustion. My hands shake and the pain from my cheekbone resurfaces after the adrenaline stops flowing. All of a sudden, I want to sleep for days. No, months. A feeling of weariness seeps through my muscles and down to the tiniest veins.
Cole wraps his arm around my side to steady me. “She needs rest—lots of rest. And someone to tend to her injury.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” The man makes up his mind and motions for us to follow… again.
“Dang, man, can’t we just be there already?” Bruno asks with sarcasm as he stands up, stretching.
“If we didn’t have all this security, we would’ve been blown away by now. Don’t like it, then leave,” the man quips back.
Cole drags my weight along with his own down a narrow corridor and says, “He’s not complaining—just being sarcastic.”
Bruno chuckles under his breath.
The man steps into a room, removes a board from the base of a closet, and a dark opening appears. He steps in and crawls down. “Hope you’re not claustrophobic. Last person needs to place the board back on.” I can never win… Breathe, breathe, just keep breathing.
First, Bruno squeezes down the creaking ladder into the dark tunnel. Then me. And then Cole carries Zeus on his shoulders. Zeus’s goofy face slobbers all over Cole’s head and he descends with a look of disgust. I feel either free or delusional enough to laugh at them. Zeus is over half Cole’s size. After Zeus paws Cole’s back, Cole crawls back up the ladder to slide the board back in place. It’s a miracle none of us slipped coming down the tiny ladder.
Then everything is dark. I press my eyelids together, trying to make out my surroundings, but they haven’t adjusted yet. I feel something sharp jab me in the back.
“Keep moving,” the man says.
“Do you have a name or should we call you bearded dude?” Cole says.
“Steven. My name’s Steven.”
“Thank you for helping us, Steven,” I say as I fumble around.
“Don’t thank me yet… If you’re lying about who you are, Keegan will put a bullet through your skull. Not once have I heard Keegan talk about a sister—or a family.”
His statement shocks me. Then I begin feeling sick in my stomach. What if Sutton made the wrong decision sending me here? What if Keegan isn’t happy to see me at all? I don’t want to be resentful, but if Steven’s words are true, then maybe Keegan doesn’t want me here at all. I hate the constant unknown. It eats at the pits of my soul while I wander in the dark.
In the distance, there’s a faint glow from a flame. The walls open into underground tunnels. They’re wide, laid with metal bars, and tile runs up the sides. The mildew shows through the cracks, and the tiles are tinged red in places. Body odor mixed with the humidity makes my stomach churn. Something wet keeps dripping on my head. If it’s anything other than water, I’m going to vomit.
Cole rests his hand on my shoulder as if reassuring me. I’m so glad he’s here to help me through this. The warmth of his touch keeps me sane when darkness and fear envelop my mind.