Hunted (Parallel Series, Book 3) (Parallel Trilogy)

by Christine Kersey

  “I think it was kind of brave,” Emily said in a soft voice.

  I looked at the girl with wavy auburn hair and thick glasses and smiled. Maybe she wasn’t as much of a follower as the other three.

  “Em, it was stupid.” Madison said it like it was almost too obvious for words. “You know it’s totally against the rules to do that. And Lori said she didn’t even try to hide the fact that she had the cookies.” She looked at Lori for confirmation.

  “That’s right,” Lori said.

  “Maybe the rule is what’s stupid,” Emily said, this time a little louder.

  “Maybe that’s why you’re here,” Lori said with a tone of disgust. “Because you can’t stop yourself from eating stuff like that.”

  Emily seemed to shrink back at the venom in Lori’s voice and I wondered why she sat at this table. I looked at the other three girls. Brittany seemed uncomfortable with the attack on Emily, but Taylor and Madison were nodding.

  “What do you think, Hannah?” Taylor asked.

  “Uh,” I stammered, wondering if I should tell the truth or go along with the program. I decided at this stage of the game, I should do the latter. “I think we should follow the rules.”

  “But what about that rule?” Taylor pressed. “And are you going to eat your power bars?” She pointed to the two bars still on my tray.

  “Why?” I asked, ignoring her first question. “Do you want them?”

  “Of course, but I don’t know if he’ll let me.”

  I turned in the direction she was looking and saw several Enforcers entering the cafeteria and beginning to circulate among the tables. “Why are they here?” I asked, although I knew exactly why.

  “To make sure everyone eats their power bars,” Emily said, looking relieved we’d changed the subject. “Although I don’t know why they care. Plus, everyone always eats them anyway.”

  “They just want to make sure we all get the appetite suppressant in them,” Lori said, like she had all the answers.

  I started to turn back toward the table, but paused to look at Amy. She was talking to her table mates and she seemed like she was comfortable with them.

  “You’d better eat your power bars before the Enforcers get to our table,” Emily said.

  “What will they do if I don’t?” I’d been hoping I could stash one in my pocket to give to Dani and Jack—the sooner I got what they wanted, the better.

  “I don’t know. I guess everyone always eats them, so I’ve never found out.”

  I didn’t think my first day here was a good time to show rebellion, so I unwrapped the first power bar and lifted it toward my mouth. The delicious smell hit my nose and my mouth watered in remembrance. I took a bite and savored the flavor, although my mind raced in fear at what eating these addictive bars would mean. After the first bite I quickly ate the rest, then picked up the next one.

  An Enforcer stopped next to our table. Adrenaline pulsed through my veins as I felt his eyes on me. My hands nearly shook as I pretended he wasn’t there and began eating the second power bar. Go away, go away, go away, I chanted in my mind. A moment later he moved on.

  “He seemed really interested in you,” Taylor said.

  “It’s just cause she’s new,” Lori said.

  I hoped she was right. All I needed was for any of the Enforcers to show special interest in me. “So, you never said exactly why Morgan was brought here.” I still wanted to hear Lori’s side of things, though after all her lies, I wasn’t certain I could believe her.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Like everyone said,” Lori continued, “Morgan brought the cookies to school, which was against the rules. She was also fat.”

  I bristled at her comment. At the time she’d known me I’d only been a little overweight, certainly not what I considered fat. I glanced at the others and saw some of them looking down at the mention of the word. All of them were a little overweight too—that’s why they were at Camp Willowmoss, evidently—so I wasn’t surprised that they were uncomfortable with that label.

  Lori went on, oblivious to the reactions of the other girls. “So, my dad is the head of the F.A.T. squad in our town, and after the incident with Morgan while I was on my date, I’d had enough of her. I tipped him off to what she’d done and then we looked up her weight history and saw she’d recently been gaining weight.”

  Now I wanted her to stop talking. I didn’t know about this part—where she looked at my private information—and now she was telling anyone who would listen that I’d gained weight. My face reddened with mortification.

  “She hadn’t quite gone over her limit,” Lori said. “But I convinced my dad that she was a troublemaker so he adjusted her limits, which put her just over the line.”

  “What’s wrong, Hannah?” Taylor asked.

  I realized I’d clenched my jaw and narrowed my eyes. I’d also balled my fists—which were thankfully in my lap under the table—but my fury must have been clear on my face. I forced myself to relax. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked. “You seem upset.”

  Lori looked at me and raised her eyebrows, like she was waiting to hear my response.

  What I wanted to say: This girl that you all seem to look up to is a fraud and an evil person and deserves to be thrown into a pit of live spiders. What I actually said: “I’m just a bit overwhelmed by everything, I guess.”

  “Finish your story,” Madison said to Lori. “I’m sure Hannah will like this next part.”

  Lori settled back into her seat, a smirk on her face. “You think so? I know it’s my favorite part.” She looked at me. “So my dad and I saw that Morgan had put on the pounds recently, which showed a pattern of weight gain. At first I wondered if she was pregnant—”

  “What?” I said. I couldn’t help myself. Her statement was so outrageous.

  Lori looked a little surprised that I’d spoken out. “Well, yeah. Why else would someone suddenly start gaining weight?”

  “Lots of reasons,” I said, feeling a need to defend myself.

  “Such as?” Obviously she didn’t like to be questioned.

  I didn’t want to go there with her. “So was she pregnant?”

  “She hadn’t reported it, so I guess not.”

  “Reported it?” I asked, puzzled. “What do you mean?”

  Now Lori looked confused. “You do know that if you get pregnant you’re supposed to report it right away so you can get a waiver on your weight gain, right?”

  “Oh, right. Yeah.”

  She did a quick shake of her head, like she was saying I have an idiot for a roommate. “Anyway, my dad didn’t find any filings for waivers or anything, so he submitted a request to have her brought to a F.A.T. center for punishment and re-education.”

  My embarrassment at showing my ignorance of basic rules in this world was replaced by fresh outrage at the role she’d played in getting me dragged out of my home and to this place euphemistically called Camp Willowmoss—like it was some fun time we could have learning to eat healthy and take care of our bodies.

  She went on, completely unaware that she was talking to Morgan Campbell and basically confessing to what she had done. “The people at the F.A.T. Headquarters move pretty fast when a squad leader puts in a submission request. There have been too many times—especially when someone has broken a rule—that the criminal hears about the submission and bolts before they can be picked up.”

  Gee, I wonder why, I thought, my fury notching up.

  “So within just a few hours of my dad submitting the request, the Enforcers went to Morgan’s house.” She grinned. “Here’s my favorite part.” She paused for dramatic effect. “When they went to get her she resisted and they had to taser her. Then they dragged her out of her house—limp as a dead body, I might add—and brought her here.”

  I had to use every ounce of my self control to keep from leaping onto Lori and strangling her in front of the entire cafeteria. The night the Enforcers had come to my hous
e and taken me away had been the worst night of my life. A waking nightmare that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy—well, maybe on Lori since she seemed to find it so amusing—but not on anyone else.

  “I heard she even tried to escape once they got her here,” she continued. “But one of the Enforcers tackled her and put an end to that dream.”

  It was surreal how she was talking to me about what had happened to me, and had no idea who I was. As angry as she made me, I decided that if I wanted to be successful in my mission, I had to become Hannah Jacobs, and an important part of that was to fit in with the group I belonged to by default. “She sounds like a real loser,” I said through nearly clenched teeth.

  “I know, right?” Taylor said. Then she looked thoughtful. “But what I don’t understand is how she managed to escape.”

  “Would you escape if you could?” I wanted to take the focus off of Morgan Campbell.

  Taylor glanced at Lori before answering, which I found interesting. “No. I don’t think it would be worth it to have them after you. I’d rather just get to my goal weight and get on with my life.”

  “Yeah, me too,” Brittany said.

  I looked at Emily and Madison and they nodded their agreement.

  “What about you, Lori?” I asked, and all eyes went to her. “Would you escape if you could?”

  “No. I’m here to follow the rules.” She glanced around to see if anyone besides our table was listening.

  “How long are you here?” I still wondered what she had done to be sent here.

  “Six months,” she said and her shoulders slumped a little.

  I almost felt sorry for her—after all, I knew what it was like—but after the story she’d told me, it was hard to work up much sympathy.

  “Why are you in here?” I asked. “Since you obviously don’t need to lose weight.”

  She smiled slightly—I assumed because of my compliment—then compressed her lips into a straight line. “I just met you, Hannah. Why do you think I would tell you something that’s none of your business?”

  One of the girls snickered and my face reddened at the scolding. A moment later I was saved by a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Katy, the girl who had brought me to my room, standing next to me.

  “Come with me, Hannah,” she said. “You have an appointment with your caseworker.”

  Images of Mr. Madsen flashed into my mind and I hesitated.

  “It’s okay,” Katy said. “She’s not so bad.”

  She? So it wouldn’t be Mr. Madsen. I pushed back from the table and stood, taking a final look at Amy who was sitting quietly now and staring at her empty plate, then followed Katy across the room to the bank of elevators. My quick glance at my sister had worried me. She’d seemed chatty earlier, but now she didn’t seem engaged in the conversations going on around her. Was the earlier image just a facade? Was she having a harder time than I’d thought when I’d first seen her? I really wanted to talk to her—would she recognize me—to get a better idea of how she was doing and to somehow give her hope that this nightmare would be over soon.

  A few minutes later we were in the waiting area that I’d been in several times before.

  “This is Hannah Jacobs,” Katy said to the muscular Enforcer who sat behind the desk. He looked familiar and I was pretty sure he was the same one I’d faced when coming to this room before.

  “Your card,” he said, holding out his hand.

  I gave it to him.

  “I’ll see you later, Hannah,” Katy said.

  I nodded to her, not feeling as terrified as I’d felt when Kiera had left me alone with the Enforcer the first time I’d been here.

  “Stand on the x,” he said as he went to the camera and put my card in a slot.

  I did as he asked, but feared getting my picture taken. What if Hansen saw it and recognized me? What if someone else saw it and recognized me? The waters of danger seemed to be lapping against my ankles and I feared how deep they would become—would they drown me?

  “Look at the camera,” he demanded and I realized my face was tilted downward.

  I looked up and he pressed a button, then handed my card back to me.

  “Have a seat.”

  I slid the card into my pocket and sat down, the Enforcer just feet away. I visualized my photo going out onto their network and some facial recognition software identifying me as Morgan Campbell, and a dozen Enforcers bursting into the room, their stun guns at the ready, Hansen in the lead. I found it hard to breathe as my gaze kept darting toward the door, but it remained closed.

  “Hannah Jacobs,” a female voice stated.

  I looked up, and when my eyes met those of my caseworker, they widened. It was Mrs. Reynolds. The woman who had led the counseling group every night. The woman whose gaze had turned me cold every time it had zeroed in on me. This was my caseworker? Perfect. I blinked and forced myself to settle down. “Yes,” I said.

  She smiled briefly. “Follow me.”

  I followed her down the hall, pretending to adjust my glasses as I turned the camera on. I wasn’t sure exactly what kind of information Dani and Jack were looking for, but I figured this meeting could be interesting.

  “Right this way,” she said, holding open the door to a small office.

  It looked just like Mr. Madsen’s had looked and I assumed all the caseworkers’ offices were identical—although it was smaller than Dr. Tasco’s. I remembered the office of the man who ran the place—Billy and I had quite literally dropped into his office through the ventilation system on the night we escaped. Remembering that night brought a small grin to my face and a small degree of comfort that I had done it once, so I could do it again.

  “Have a seat.” Mrs. Reynolds motioned to a straight-back chair. She sat in her seat, her desk between us.

  I slid into the seat and tried to avoid eye-contact—her gaze still had the effect of making me want to run away.

  “How are you settling in to Camp Willowmoss?”

  “Okay, I guess.” I stared at my lap, my right hand absently playing with the nails on my left hand.

  “Look at me when I speak to you.” Her voice was harsh.

  Reluctantly, I lifted my gaze and met hers. I waited for her to accuse me of impersonating Hannah Jacobs, but instead, she picked up a sheet of paper and quickly scanned the contents.

  She looked directly at me. “You have quite a bit of weight to lose, Hannah. Dr. Bradley said you need to lose thirty pounds.” She paused. “Are you aware of that?”

  Was this a trick question? Of course I was. I nodded.

  “I can’t hear the rocks in your head rattling. You need to speak.”

  Though I was used to her meanness, I’d always thought it had been for show to keep control of the little group of criminals that I belonged to. But evidently she just enjoyed it. “Yes, Dr. Bradley told me.”

  She smiled, but her eyes were cold. “Good. And do you know how you’re going to go about it?”

  Again, this sounded like a trick question, but I played along. “I’ll need to exercise and eat healthier.”

  “That’s right. And when you leave Camp Willowmoss, what will you do?”

  “I’ll continue my good habits.” She nodded and I almost said I couldn’t hear the rocks rattling around in her head, but bit my tongue instead.

  “I’d like you to recite the pledge for me, Hannah.”

  The request was unexpected, but I began. “I pledge—”

  “Stand up when you say it.”

  Slowly, I rose from my chair. “I pledge to always follow the rules and to take care of my body.” I felt like a fraud as I uttered the words I despised, but I continued on like a good little camper. “I will strive to put the good of all above the desires of one. A healthy me is a healthy world.”

  She smiled again. “Very good. You may sit.”

  I sank back into my chair, my knees feeling weak to be under her eagle-like stare.

  “Now, let’s discuss the rules that you must fol
low to have a successful stay with us.” She paused. “I understand you came here voluntarily. What made you decide to do that?”

  This was a question Mr. Madsen—whom I was beginning to miss—had never had the opportunity to ask me and I wondered if it was part of the standard questionnaire they asked people who turned themselves in or if I was being asked for a different reason—perhaps because they knew I wasn’t really Hannah Jacobs. “Well, uh, I had gained some weight recently and my mom thought—”

  “Your mom thought?”

  The way she pounced on my words startled me.

  “What about you? What did you think?”

  Wasn’t it time for her to give me my work schedule and send me on my way? This was pure torture. Then I remembered that this whole thing was being recorded and who knows how many people would see it. I needed to step up my game. “Well, my mom and I discussed it and we agreed that it would be in my best interest to come here and get the help I needed.”

  “What do you think you need help with exactly, Hannah? To learn to stop putting food in your mouth?”

  Her attitude shocked me. Did she really not care at all about helping teenagers who were struggling with weight issues? Or did she just despise us and put up with us because we allowed her to have a job? I was pretty sure it was the latter. “I guess I need help getting into an exercise routine and to learn about nutrition and eating healthier.”

  “What you mean is, you have no self-control and you need us to force you to exercise and to prevent you from eating what you shouldn’t.” She paused, her eyes glittering with undisguised disgust. “Isn’t that right?”

  I was so glad I wasn’t assigned to her before, when I’d been so terrified and uncertain. And what was Katy talking about when she’d said she wasn’t so bad? Had she actually met this woman? “I guess,” I muttered. What was I supposed to say. Actually I’m here to get dirt on you and the rest of the people who work here. And while I’m at it, I’m going to get my sister out of your evil clutches. Even though I would have enjoyed the look of shock on her face, it really wasn’t the time for me to reveal my plans.