I close my eyes as sweat seeps into them. The truck lurches forward as we presumably rattle through the main gate and back into the Hole.
An oppressive, eerie silence greets us, not like the first time I arrived, when hordes of people smashed against our vehicle and tried to drag me off. No, this time, under the cover of twilight and a political motorcade, no one is around to notice. It’s just us and the shifting of the engine as it snakes along.
I gradually loosen my grip on Zeus’s neck and feel him relax. The objects Bruno placed on us shift around as we begin to move more freely throughout the truck bed. I hear Grace groan.
“Hey, you okay over there?” I ask. I can’t see or touch her because of Zeus’s hulking body.
“Fine, except for the giant furball next to me forcing all the pipes to smash my back,” she says with an edge in her voice.
“Zeus, come here.” I try pulling him back to me to give her some relief, but he’s gigantic and wobbling all over, trying to push the covers off.
That’s when we hit a massive pothole in the road. The right side of the truck sinks down into it. The metal pipes covering us fly into the air and smash back down on us. I grunt as the truck returns to even footing.
We hit another rough patch, and the truck spins its tires. And then it feels like we’re slowing to a crawl. I swallow my fears, shove away the tarp, and sit up. The metal pipes are sprawled all over the bed. Zeus whines as he pulls himself out next to me, using his front paws to creep out from under the tarp as if to ask, “Is it okay?”
“It’s okay, boy. Come to me,” I say.
“Judas,” Cole says to Zeus with a smirk on his face.
“Thanks a lot, doofus,” Grace half-whispers. “Almost squashing me wasn’t enough for you? Now you feel the need to step all over me?” As Zeus moves away from her, she moans and begins to uncover herself. Her tight curls peek out first, then I see the whites of her eyes as she slides upward against the cab. She pulls her right hand to her chest, opening and shutting it, with a grimace on her face. “Crap. I think my hand’s broken,” she says.
Excellent. “Can you move it?”
“I can, it just hurts when I do.”
“I can take a look at it when we get settled,” I say. “Try not to use it much.”
“Lexi, we’re in the Hole. I’d be willing to bet I can’t make that promise.”
“That’s true. Well, at least it’s still attached, right?”
“That’s a brighter way of looking at it, yes.”
The truck speeds up suddenly. It swings a wide and frantic turn, and the momentum hurls us all to the left and then across the bed to the right. We’re all trying to keep still, to resist being thrown from side to side and back to front. My chest’s pinned against the frame, and the nausea hits me again. Then we’re thrown opposite again. What the hell is going on?
“She’s going to kill us,” I say through gritted teeth. Zeus tries to stand, but steps on a pipe and crashes down. His face registers shock, his brown eyes wide. And yet, he keeps trying.
We rattle along in silence. The road becomes more even. No one speaks as we travel further into the Hole. I imagine no one knows what exactly to say. My body betrays me, and I don’t know how much longer I can continue to swallow down the bile that keeps coming up into my throat.
Our driver shifts into lower gears, and we rumble along, slow and steady. The metal piping continues to rattle, the tarp tangled around our bodies.
And then it begins—the sharp, whizzing sound of a bullet piercing metal as it zips over my shoulder. Then more. I count one, two, three holes before it registers in my brain.
“Get down!” Cole shouts as he yanks Zeus and me down with him. A look of horror and fatigue crosses Grace’s face as she too hits the floor.
Metallic zinging echoes over my head. Our vehicle stops. I struggle to gather my bearings, but the tailgate slams open and moist air rushes in. I’m relieved to breathe in even this air.
“Out!” Bruno shouts. At first I don’t hear him over the commotion outside. “Move!”
Cole moves first, ducking his head and jumping out the back. Zeus follows him, and I find myself pulling Grace behind me. I don’t even look at her, I just grab her wrist and yank. We both tumble out the back and land in a mix of dust and gravel. A small poof envelopes us. But that doesn’t give me comfort. From the chattering of guns, I know we’ve landed in the middle of a firefight. Cole grabs me around my waist, helping me back onto my feet.