Ethan slipped into view at the bottom of the slope ahead of us. He waved us forward with one hand, the other pointing at the spire from Tack’s map. Green Eyes had arrowed straight for it.
“I knew this place had secrets,” Tack muttered. “I hate being right all the time.”
When we arrived at Ethan’s position, he motioned us in close. “The rock formation has a crack at its base,” he whispered. “She went inside there. We should hurry.”
We ran single file though the next section of forest until we reached the spire. Vegetation grew thick around its base, with no visible path. The crack was subtle—if Ethan hadn’t witnessed the girl entering with his own eyes, we might not have noticed it.
I reached the opening first and paused. The three of us nodded our commitment to one another, then slipped into the fissure. I flicked on a flashlight, being careful not to let the beam travel too far ahead of us. After two turnings the uneven stone walls smoothed, giving way to a wide, evenly chiseled tunnel. I glanced at Tack, and he gritted his teeth. This corridor had clearly been improved by human hands.
A rasping sound echoed just ahead of us. I froze and flicked off the flashlight, plunging the passage into darkness. Holding my breath, I listened hard. The noise repeated. Then my eyes began to adjust to another light source leaking from somewhere around the next bend. I crept forward slowly, being careful where I put my feet.
At the turn, I hesitated. The rasping continued, mixing now with grunts and the occasional hiss. Heart in my throat, I peeked around the corner.
Green Eyes was ten feet away with a switched-on lantern at her feet. She’d backed up against a stone wall and was jerking her body up and down, as if doing squats. Her forehead was sweaty, her face a mask of concentration. I quickly realized she was trying to free her hands by sawing the bonds against something on the wall, but what loomed just beyond her drove all other thoughts from my mind.
I straightened and stepped forward without thinking.
Green Eyes spotted me and her eyes popped. She snarled, charged headfirst.
I stepped aside and stuck out my foot, tripping her with ease. She tumbled to the ground with a howl.
I barely noticed. Scarcely heard the gasps behind me.
My eyes were glued to the end of the tunnel.
To the thick steel door cut directly into the stone wall.
“What the hell?” I whispered.
I spun to stare at Green Eyes. She’d rolled onto her back and was panting at the ceiling. A trickle of blood ran down her pale face. Our eyes met, and she heaved a deep sigh. Then she spoke her first word.
“Shit.”
PART THREE
CHRYSALIS
17
MIN
We camped in the hills overnight.
I was too exhausted to descend right away, and Sarah didn’t push. The next morning we waited until the sun crested the mountains before heading down. Anyone looking would have trouble spotting us in the glare.
I trailed a few paces behind Sarah, thoughts churning, seeking a solution that remained frustratingly out of reach. The image of Toby’s limp body kept crashing my thoughts. Or Kyle’s terrified face as he was swept under the hungry black water. I squeezed my eyes shut to banish the memories, and nearly face-planted as my shoe caught on a rock.
How many people died in Sarah’s flood? Fire Lake kids and strangers together. What a waste. A screaming horror of a waste.
Then work the problem. Find a way to save your friends.
If everyone at Ridgeline had been taken prisoner, who was left to resist? We knew so little about our enemies. They were better organized and better supplied than us. They were also armed. I kept arriving at the same disheartening conclusion—in a straight-up fight, we’d lose. We might’ve lost already.
“Stop.” Sarah dropped to a crouch and peeked over a boulder.
I moved up beside her. Below us, near the valley floor, four strangers were huddled where the path to the caves met the one we were traveling. Their voices rose in argument. One of them—a stocky, dark-skinned boy with bleached-blond hair—pointed directly at us. Sarah and I ducked.
“They found our trail,” I hissed.
“You think?” she shot back, scanning for a better hiding place. But we were halfway across a saddleback ridge and there was nowhere else to go. Cautiously, I snuck another look. Two boys were marching up toward us while the other pair waited at the intersection.
“They’re coming,” I whispered, beginning to sweat.
Sarah’s fingers closed around a baseball-sized rock. I swallowed. Did the same.
In moments we heard heavy footsteps. “ . . . waste of time,” one voice was saying. “We got almost all of them. Who cares about a few stragglers? We can scoop the rest whenever we want.”
“You wanna tell her that?” the other replied. “I’d pay to watch that conversation.”
“Shut up,” said the first, but with a tremor in his voice. There were more treads, then the first voice continued in a quieter tone. “I hate it in here, is all. Bad memories.”
“I hear that.”
They were ten feet away. In seconds they’d pass the boulder and see us.
I tensed, ready to plant a rock in one of the bastards’ teeth. I was surprised they couldn’t hear my heart banging against my rib cage.
“GUYS!” someone shouted from the bottom of the slope.
The footsteps halted directly beside the boulder. Gravel crunched as the boys turned.
“DOWN HERE! COME ON!”
“Ah crap, Miguel’s down!” the first voice said. “I told you the tall dude didn’t go this way. He’s headed back to their village.” The treads pounded back downslope. I took my first breath in a full minute.
Tall dude? Derrick? I rose cautiously and peered along the trail. One of the intersection guards was on his back, with the black kid leaning over to check on him. I smiled meanly. Score one for our side.
As I watched, all four strangers began jogging toward Home Town. I worried for Derrick, but he was smart and capable. He’d lose them in the woods and double back when he could.
Sarah straightened beside me. “The way is clear,” I said, and she nodded. We hurried down the last stretch, then took the left-hand path and disappeared among the cliffs.
* * *
• • •
A surprise waited for us inside the caves.
Charlie rose as we entered, pawing nervously at his acne scars. I spotted Spence snoozing in a sleeping bag against the rear wall. But Casey and Leighton were there as well, sitting by the cold fire pit. Both waved.
“You seen Derrick?” Leighton asked.
“He’s leading some of those jerks away,” I said. “Are you guys alone?”
“We’re the only ones to escape the ambush at Ridgeline.” Casey frowned at the charred logs. “They had guns, and seemed to come from everywhere at once. But Akio and Richie are back from the Outpost. You’re not going to believe their story.”
My blood pressure spiked. “What about Noah? What happened to the others?”
Leighton jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “They’re in the boat cavern. Probably better if you talked to them yourself, so we don’t get anything wrong. They had a rough crossing, and both seemed pretty spooked.”
I hurried into the last cave, barely noticing that Sarah followed me. Why hadn’t Noah come back, too?
I found them standing beside the launcher, looking out to sea. Akio nodded as we entered. “Hey, Min. Sarah.”
“Where’s Noah? Did something happen to him?”
Akio shook his head. “He wanted us to deliver the news, but it’s not going to shock you now. It looks like the Outpost was raided. Probably by the same people who hit us here.”
I tried not to let dread overwhelm me. “What happened to Corbin and the others?”
I made him tell me the whole story, in detail. Then I made him repeat it. Finally, I chewed my lip. “You guys didn’t see anyone?”
“Not a soul.”
“So they attacked the Outpost in concert with the silo bombing.” Sarah began fidgeting with her sweater, clearly annoyed at having to guess at things. “Either that same night or early the next morning. That feels like two groups instead of one. Then maybe the two squads joined forces and assaulted Home Town together?”
A commotion in the other cavern cut off my reply. I heard Leighton shout, followed by an echoing crash. The four of us rushed back to the first cave.
Derrick had returned, but he wasn’t alone. With him was the dark-skinned stranger with blond hair, standing there as bold as could be. Derrick wasn’t restraining him, and the kid didn’t seem unnerved to be surrounded by hostile glares.
Akio and Richie fanned out beside Sarah and me, linking with the others and completing a loose circle around the stranger. Derrick kept glancing at the black-clad newcomer when he thought the boy wasn’t looking. For his part, the stranger stood with his arms crossed, a faint smile tilting his lips. Though nine of us faced him alone, it wasn’t clear who was in charge.
“Derrick, what the hell?” I said.
“Ask him,” Derrick responded testily, scratching his temple. “I led three other dudes away and hid while they passed, but when I came out, this guy walked right up to me and said he wanted to talk. Says he has information we need. I didn’t know what to do, so I brought him here. We can toss him in the ocean if necessary.”
If Derrick’s threat frightened our guest, he didn’t show it. He stood calmly, as if awaiting his turn.
Sarah glanced at me and I nodded. This was her strong suit, and we both knew it.
“Who are you?” she asked.
“Cyrus Haq.” He spoke with a clipped, African-British accent.
“Why are you here?”
“To speak with you.”
“Where did you come from? How are you alive on this planet?”
Cyrus smiled. “That is the question, is it not?”
“He wouldn’t tell me, either,” Derrick grumbled, eyeing the shorter boy with undisguised suspicion. “Claims he wants to help us.”
Sarah regarded Cyrus curiously, like a cat studying an insect. “Help us how?”
Cyrus spread his hands. “I can take you to a friend.”
“In exchange for . . .”
“That’s my business.”
“Who’s this friend?” I asked.
“Someone you will wish to see.”
I nearly growled in frustration. “Care to tell us where this so-called friend is hiding?”
“Chrysalis,” he said simply.
Akio stepped close and whispered into my ear. “That’s what was stamped on the hammer we found.”
Sarah nodded, having overheard. “What is Chrysalis?”
Cyrus held up a thick finger. “First, we must get away from this island. More of my companions are coming, and they’ll storm these caves next. After we arrive I will explain Chrysalis to you all.”
“Arrive where?” I felt like I was losing the thread. “Is there a settlement nearby that we don’t know about?”
“In a manner of speaking.” Cyrus pointed in the direction of the valley. “We’ll go through the lake. With the water drained it’s the easiest way to reach Chrysalis.”
“Go through the lake?” Derrick growled. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Cyrus grinned but didn’t answer.
Akio leaned between Sarah and me again. “Tack’s map pointed to something in the woods beyond the Outpost. A camp, or maybe a base. There are definitely places we don’t know about.”
Sarah raised a fist to her mouth. Chewed a knuckle. A few beats passed, then: “Are you going to tell us how you’re alive on this planet, despite the Dark Star?”
Cyrus laughed with genuine amusement. “It’s easier to show you.”
Sarah’s jaw tightened. “You’re asking for a lot on faith. After you attacked us.”
“Not I.” For the first time, a measure of heat entered his voice. “I want the same things you do, I think. But in the end, all roads lead to Chrysalis.”
“What is that?” I blurted, unable to hold back. “Is it part of Project Nemesis?”
Cyrus tsked. “You have it backward. The Nemesis projects exist under Chrysalis.”
It felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs. “So there are other Nemesis projects?”
He gave me an indulgent look. “Of course. But we’re wasting time. We must go.”
Sarah studied Cyrus intently. “Why are you doing this? Why’d you sneak away from the others in your group?”
Darkness clouded Cyrus’s gaze. A subtle shift, hinting at pools of anger just below the surface. “Some have embraced a path that doesn’t sit well with me. But come. I will say nothing more until we reach our destination.”
I looked at Sarah. She arched a brow. Your call.
I exhaled deeply. In the end, there didn’t seem to be a choice to make.
“Okay,” I said, meeting his eye. “We’ll go with you. We’ll meet your mysterious friend. But then you’re going to tell us everything. Whatever this is, it’s gone on long enough.”
Cyrus nodded solemnly, as if concluding a pact. “On that, we agree completely.”
* * *
• • •
As a group we snuck to the edge of the former lake, where Cyrus began descending a muddy bank into the empty bowl itself.
“We’re really going in that sludge?” Derrick grumbled.
“Oh, yes.” Cyrus smiled as he angled toward the bottom of the sun-dried basin.
Exchanging mystified glances, we had no choice but to follow. The group was able to pick a stable path down with out much drama—though Richie slipped in the muck and slid twenty feet on his stomach—but no one had any idea why we were entering a giant mud puddle. Our guide’s back was tattooed by hard stares every step of the way.
Cyrus maddeningly refused to explain. “Come,” he said as we finally reached the lake bottom. “This way is clear with all the water drained, and surveillance won’t track us.”
I stopped short. “What surveillance? Where are my friends, Cyrus?”
“Everyone will have been moved to Chrysalis by now. You must trust me.”
“Trust is earned.”
“And I’ll do that very thing,” he said matter-of-factly, sloshing along through the mire.
I nodded to Akio and Derrick, who were quietly trailing on his heels. We’d discussed what to do should Cyrus break faith, but the stocky boy made no move to escape, leading everyone deeper into the burgeoning swamp. Foul smells and clouds of flies enveloped us. The temperature rose, and my shirt pasted itself to my back. Grumbles merged in an irritated symphony as Cyrus began stopping periodically to dig in the muck with his hands.
“This kid might be crazy,” Sarah muttered, as the sun beat down from above. We hadn’t seen anyone else since leaving the caves, and Cyrus hadn’t looked back once. If this was a trap, it was the weirdest one of all time.
I was worried about Noah, Tack, and all the others, and kept berating myself for letting a stranger lead us into such an awkward position. But I couldn’t think of another course to take. Until we learned the true nature of what threatened us, we were at our enemies’ mercy. We needed Cyrus to clue us in.
Finally, I lost my temper and plodded over to him. “Enough of this. What are we doing?”
Cyrus smiled, but didn’t slow. “It’s here somewhere.”
“We’re stuck in the mud at the bottom of a
dead lake. There’s nothing to find. I’ve run out of patience.”
Cyrus clicked his tongue. “False.”
I nearly growled in frustration. “Care to elaborate?”
“No. Because we’ve arrived.”
He pointed to a line of slimy vegetation. As we approached, a girl stood up, appearing almost by magic. She wore the same black fatigues as Cyrus, though hers were covered head to foot in camouflaging sludge. She had tanned skin and deep brown eyes. The girl put fingers to her lips and whistled. Two others rose from the mud—a pale boy with long blond hair and a hefty girl with wide-set eyes.
The newcomers seemed as tense as we were. Everyone stared at one another until Cyrus broke the silence. “Members of Nemesis One, meet the Nemesis Three Resistance.”
My head snapped to him. “Three? One?”
“We’re One?” Sarah said.
“Correct. Though our class emerged before yours, because we sorted the Program quickest.” He nodded to the other two kids. “A few of us have been meeting in secret and waiting, trying to decide.”
I’d never felt more lost. “Decide what?”
“Whether to approach you,” Cyrus said. “Your group is an anomaly, which has made people uncertain.”
I stepped face-to-face with him. “Cyrus, you have to stop talking in riddles. Tell us what’s going on.”
His expression became solemn. “You’ve been duped rather badly. What comes next will be a shock to your reality.”
Panic spread through my classmates. Casey paled. Charlie wobbled on his feet. Derrick stomped forward, shaking his head. “Don’t tell me this is another freaking simulation. We left the Program behind. It’s over!”
Cyrus held up a placating hand. “I spoke poorly, I apologize. Your Program is over. You are very much alive.” He spread his arms. “It’s this place that isn’t what you think.”
I clamped my fingers onto his shoulder. “You said you could show us the truth. Do it now.”
Cyrus glanced at the black-haired girl. “Parisa?”
Chrysalis Page 14
