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

by Christine Kersey

  A short time later someone knocked at my door. I opened it to find Katy standing there, and once again I wondered what had happened to Kiera, the girl who had been my escort on my last visit. I couldn’t very well ask Katy without dredging up a bunch of questions, like, how did I know she was here, and how did I know she was an errand girl? But then I thought of a way to ask.

  “Hi, Hannah.”

  “Hey.”

  “I guess you need to meet with your caseworker?”

  “So I’m told.”

  “Okay. Come with me.”

  I followed her to the bank of elevators and she waved her card in front of the reader.

  “So, Katy. How long have you had this job? It seems pretty sweet.”

  She smiled. “Yeah. I really like it. I’ve been doing it for about two weeks.”

  “How did you get that job? Did you, like, know the person you were replacing and ask her to recommend you?”

  “Actually, yeah. Kiera and I were friends and when she left she suggested me.”

  Bingo. “Where did she go?”

  “Back home. She finished her time here and was able to leave.”

  Mystery solved. At least now I knew people actually left here. Of course my old roommate Alyx had apparently left, but my old friends Piper and Cassidy were still around. I wished I could talk to them and see how they were doing, but I would be crazy to reveal my true identity, so that was a no-go.

  A moment later we walked into the waiting area and Katy left me with the Enforcer who was always there and who never seemed to smile. I sat down without being told—I knew the drill—and waited for Mrs. Reynolds to come get me so she could announce my fate.

  She must have been busy because she made me wait twenty minutes. Or, more likely, she just wanted me to know that she was the one in control—as if I had any doubt.

  “It’s you again,” she said in greeting, and didn’t look happy to see me.

  “Yep.” I couldn’t help it. The way they treated me begged for my disrespect. Of course I would only go so far—I’d learned better than to be blatantly rude.

  She sniffed. “Follow me.” Then she turned and strode down the hall to her office.

  I followed like an obedient puppy, well aware that the Enforcer would be more than happy to put me in my place. We entered her office and she sat behind her desk, and I sat in a chair across from her.

  “I think we’re back to asking the question I asked last night, Hannah. Why are you here?”

  Because I was setup, I wanted to say, but bit my tongue to keep the words from exiting my lips. I settled for, “I don’t know.”

  She laughed. “You and I both know that’s not true.” She leaned forward, like this was just girl talk. “Be honest with me, Hannah. Why do you think you’re here?”

  I met her gaze and decided to tell her what I knew. “This is all just a mistake. I did my job like I was supposed to. Someone messed it up and now Kyle thinks I didn’t actually work.”

  She tapped her chin. “Hmm. That is a dilemma, isn’t it? But there’s really no way to know who’s telling the truth, is there?”

  It seemed like a rhetorical question, so I stayed quiet.

  She sat up straight, like she’d just thought of something. “But there just might be a way.”

  That sounded promising.

  “Is it important to you that we learn the truth, Hannah?”

  This felt like a trick question, but I wasn’t sure why. “Yes.”

  She clapped her hands once. “Very good. I’ll arrange for you to have a lie-detector test administered during this evening’s meeting.”

  Oh no, I thought, as panic built inside me. What have I gotten myself into? “What if I don’t want to take it?”

  She looked confused. “Why ever not? Don’t you want to prove that you’re telling the truth?”

  “Well, yes.” I frantically tried to think of a reason. “But I’ve never taken one of those tests before. How do I know it will work right? What if it says I’m lying when I’m really not?”

  “Oh, they’re very accurate.”

  My biggest fear was that they would somehow get me to admit that I’m really Morgan Campbell. “I don’t want to take it.” I hoped that would be enough. It wasn’t.

  “It’s been decided. You’re taking it.”

  She said it like the decision had been made way before she’d even suggested it. Had it? If so, why? Alarm bells rang wildly in my head. Extreme anxiety made me bold. “When was this decided?”

  She gave me a stern look. “Are you questioning me?”

  Since there was no one else in the room, I don’t know who else I would be questioning. “No,” I said.

  “I should hope not. Now go back out to the waiting area.”

  “Kyle said you were going to give me a new work assignment?”

  She waved her hand. “That has yet to be decided. For now, you’ll continue as normal.”

  I wondered what Kyle would say when I showed up to get my cart. “Okay.”

  “Go. I’ll see you in class this evening.” I must have looked worried because she added, “I’m sure it will be fine, Hannah. The truth will come out and all will be well.”

  I knew for a fact that if the truth came out, not only would all not be well, but the crap would really hit the fan. I left her office and sat in the waiting area until Katy came and got me and brought me back to the eighth floor. When I went to the supply closet/office, Kyle was there. “Uh, so I guess I still work for you.”

  He looked up from the tablet where he was tapping something in. “So I heard.”

  Well, at least it wasn’t a surprise to him. He looked back at his tablet, evidently dismissing me. I grabbed the cart and wheeled it out. The meeting with Mrs. Reynolds had taken nearly forty minutes—thanks to her making me wait—so I had a lot of work to make up. I passed the bathroom where Jessica was working, but just wasn’t up to a fight, so I kept going. I stopped at the next bathroom, which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned yet, and got to work.

  As I washed the mirrors I thought about how that night’s lie-detector test might go and tried to comfort myself that they couldn’t make me say anything I didn’t want to, so really I would be in control. Right? Right? The unknown scared me to death—I had no idea what their test really involved and after witnessing Lori’s takedown the night before, I knew Mrs. Reynolds would be more than happy to humiliate me in front of everyone.

  I thought about Amy and how she’d be a witness to whatever would happen. What if the truth came out that I was really her sister? How awful would it be for her to find out like that, in front of everyone? I owed it to her to tell her the truth, in private. But would I be risking my future for nothing? What if I told her and then nothing happened during the test? What if she decided to tell someone what I’d told her because she hated my guts? Could I take that chance?

  I sighed as I began scrubbing the first sink. Even if I decided to confess to her, I wouldn’t have the chance to talk to her privately until after dinner. I would see how the day went and make my decision then.

  Feeling moderately better, I focused on the job at hand and made sure I did my best. Toward the end of my first shift, Kyle stopped by and inspected my work.

  “That looks good, Hannah.”

  His praise hardly made me feel better since he thought I was lying about the work I had done the day before—not to mention that he thought I’d skipped out completely the day before that—but at least he saw that today I was cleaning and doing it right. “Thanks,” I muttered.

  After Kyle left I finished what I was doing, then took the cart back to the supply room/office, then went to my room to work on homework. When it was time to go to lunch I heard a knock at my door and immediately recalled Amy stopping by at the same time the day before. I stared at the door, frozen with indecision. She knocked again, pulling me out of my stupor and I opened the door. Sure enough, there stood my little sister, although she was nearly as tall as me. “Hi, Amy
.”

  “Hey.”

  I opened the door wider. “Come in.”

  “I just came to get you for lunch.”

  “Oh.” That made my decision easy. I couldn’t tell her anything now. “Sure.”

  We took the elevator down to the cafeteria, got our food, and went to her table.

  She scooped up a sporkful of tofu. “So, what’s new?”

  I stopped with my spork halfway to my mouth. “Uh…well, something actually did happen this morning.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  I told her about Kyle accusing me of not doing my job and then meeting with Mrs. Reynolds. “Now she wants me to take a lie-detector test during our class tonight.”

  “In front of everyone?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, at least everyone will know you weren’t lying.”

  I nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Hey,” Chloe said as she and Amber joined us.

  “Mrs. Reynolds is making Hannah take a lie-detector test in our re-ed class tonight,” Amy said.

  Chloe looked at me. “Weird. What’d you do?”

  Once again, I wanted to throttle Amy’s roommate, but just smiled. “I didn’t do anything. That’s the point.”

  “Oh.” Chloe gave Amy a look that said tell me later.

  We ate the rest of the meal without my issues coming up, then I finished working my afternoon shift. Again, Kyle checked up on me, and again, I was glad about it.

  I went to my first class, Social Studies, and saw Piper talking to a girl I didn’t know. I sat where she wouldn’t notice me. Next I had Science with Amy.

  “Are you nervous about tonight?” she asked as we waited for class to begin.

  I was extremely nervous, but not for the reasons she might have thought. “Kinda, I guess.”

  “I would be. I mean, after what happened to Lori last night, and with everyone watching.”

  Like that hadn’t crossed my mind. I nodded and looked at her, feeling more and more like I needed to tell her the truth. “I need to talk to you,” I blurted.

  “About what?”

  I couldn’t believe I’d just said that, but it seemed my subconscious had made the decision without me, but it felt right. “I can’t say right now. Can you talk after dinner?”

  “Of course.”

  I could tell she was curious, but now that I’d piqued her interest, I had to make her wait. After class we went to dinner together. I had to give Amy credit, she didn’t ask once about what I needed to talk to her about. The Amy I remembered would have pestered me until I regretted bringing it up.

  As was his usual routine, Hansen came by our table and gave me a hard time. I wasn’t sure why he zeroed in on me—Amy was the one that everyone seemed to bully—but he’d seemed to dislike me from the moment I’d arrived. Maybe Amy was right and I reminded him of Morgan.

  As soon as we finished eating, Amy jumped up. “Well, I have homework to do.” She turned to me. “Hannah, you promised to help me with our Science homework, remember?”

  I saw right through her ploy. Smiling, I stood. “Yep. Let’s go.”

  Very few kids were leaving the cafeteria, so we got right on an elevator and went to our floor.

  “Can we go to your room?” I asked. All I needed was for Lori to stop by in the middle of the drama that was sure to unfold.

  “Sure.”

  “Do you think Chloe is going to stop by anytime soon?”

  “I don’t know.” Amy looked even more intrigued now.

  Better for Chloe to interrupt than Lori. “Okay.”

  Moments later we walked into Amy’s room. She closed the door, then spun around, a mischievous look in her eye. “Okay. What’s going on?”

  My heart began to pound as several possible outcomes raced through my mind. My mouth had become bone-dry and I had to cough a few times to clear my throat.

  Amy’s expression changed from curiosity to wariness. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

  I nodded. “Sort of.” Why couldn’t I just spit it out already?

  “Here,” she grabbed me by the arm and steered me to her bed. “Sit down.”

  I sank onto her bedspread and she sat next to me, her face intense.

  “Now, tell me what it is.” She paused. “Did something happen with Lori?” Her eyes narrowed as she said Lori’s name.

  I shook my head. If only it were that simple.

  She stared at me, which reminded me of Mom, which made me miss Mom and everyone so intensely that I thought my heart would burst. I threw my arms around her. “Oh, Amy.” My voice was muffled as I spoke against her shoulder.

  She patted my back. “What is it? What is it, Hannah?”

  I pulled away and looked at her, then took a deep breath. I exhaled, then in a rush, and in my normal voice, I said, “It’s me. Morgan.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  She recoiled like I’d slapped her, then confusion and hurt battled for prominence. Finally she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

  I took off my glasses and leaned closer. “Don’t you recognize me?”

  She stared at me, looking me up and down. “But your eyes are the wrong color, and your hair, and…and you just look different.”

  I smiled, relieved she hadn’t run from the room screaming. “That was kind of the point. To, you know, hide my identity.”

  Anger flashed across her face and her voice shook as she spoke. “How could you do this to me? It’s your fault that I’m in here.”

  It was as if she’d shoved a knife into my heart. “I’m so sorry, Amy. I never meant for you to have to go through this.”

  She glared at me. “But I am, aren’t I? Just because you didn’t mean for me to, that doesn’t change the hell I’ve been through, that I’m still going through, does it?”

  The knife twisted this way and that with each word she spoke. She still hates me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I turned away, ashamed for all the pain that I had caused her. I wiped at my eyes and turned back. “Please forgive me, Amy. Please.”

  She gazed at me a moment, then stared at her lap, and finally looked at me. She sighed, and the anger in her eyes faded. “I don’t understand, though. Why? Why would you come here now?”

  My voice dropped to a whisper. “Because of you, Amy. To get you out.”

  “Oh.”

  Her fury seemed to have run its course, and as I spoke, my voice shook with threatened tears. “Please don’t hate me.”

  She gazed at me for a moment, her eyes softening, then she burst into tears. “I could never hate you Morgan. You’re my sister.”

  Just then the door opened and in walked Chloe and Amber. Chloe looked at Amy’s tear-streaked face, then she looked at me. “What did you do?”

  I laughed, which made Chloe look even more furious, but I couldn’t help it. I was glad she had such a fierce friend.

  “It’s okay, Chloe,” Amy said through her tears.

  Chloe rushed over to her. “What’s wrong, Amy? What happened?”

  Amy looked at me, then back at Chloe. “Everything’s going to be fine.” Her tears slowed. “Could you just give us a little time?”

  “I guess.” She backed away, still looking at me with suspicion. “Let’s go to your room, Amber.” Then they left.

  “Thanks for not telling her who I am,” I said.

  Amy looked offended. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

  “Not at all.” And I meant it. She was very savvy about this place. “I just mean…never mind.”

  She smiled. “It’s okay. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” She paused. “But how did you get in here? How did you trick the eye scanner thing?”

  I told her about meeting Jack and Dani and our plan to get information to share with the world. She wanted to see the glasses. I handed them over and she examined them, but couldn’t detect the camera. I told her how the plan was for them to come get the two of us out once they had the information they needed. I didn’t mention my deadl
ine of November tenth. I told her that as soon as I’d seen the Enforcers taking her away, that was when I’d begun planning everything.

  “So you’re doing all this for me?”

  “Yes. Of course. You’re my sister.”

  She smiled.

  “But I don’t understand the deal Mom made that got you sent here.”

  She laughed. “Oh, believe me. There was no deal. That’s just what they said, but they took me even though Mom begged them not to.”

  I should have known Mom would never agree to any sort of deal.

  “What’s going to happen after I get out? Am I going to have to be in hiding forever? Will they take Mom and put her in here?”

  I didn’t want to think about that part of the plan because I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I didn’t see any reason to worry Amy. “I’m still working on that angle, but don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” Now I sounded like Jack and Dani when I kept asking what plan they had.

  “Okay.” Amy obviously had complete trust in me, which made me feel even more responsible. She was quiet for a minute. “What if they find out who you really are during that lie-detector test?”

  That was my worry too, but I didn’t want her to stress over it. “They can’t make me say anything, so I just won’t tell them.”

  She nodded, accepting my reasoning without question.

  “We should probably do our workout,” I said. “No sense in getting ourselves into trouble.”

  “Yeah.” She stood. “I’ll come get you after I change.”

  “Okay.” I went to my room and changed and a short time later the two of us arrived at the gym. We warmed up, then I got on an elliptical machine and Amy got on a stationary bicycle. It must have been Austin’s night off, because an Enforcer I’d never seen before was monitoring the kids working out.

  After we finished our workouts we went back to our floor. As I showered and got ready to go the re-education class, I tried to control my anxiety. But as I thought about Amy and her reaction to knowing it was me, I felt better. The two of us went to the classroom floor together.

  When we walked into the classroom I immediately saw that a table and chair had been placed in the front of the room. A blood pressure cuff sat on the table, along with a small metal box that had wires coming out of it. Attached to the wires were two thick straps.