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

by Christine Kersey

“Very good,” Fred said.

  I felt the opposite of very good. I felt horrible for giving them as much information as I had.

  “Now,” he said, obviously pleased with the way things were going. “Where, exactly, does Jack live?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. I fell asleep while she drove and when I woke up we were in the garage.”

  His smile faded. “Surely you spent time outdoors while you were there?”

  I was so happy that I couldn’t tell them where Jack lived. “No, they didn’t let us go outside.”

  “What is the name of the girl who brought you there?”

  Oh no. Maybe they’d believe me if I claimed ignorance. “I don’t know. Just some girl who picked us up and dropped us off.”

  “Are you sure about that, Morgan?”

  “Yes.”

  He sneered. “I don’t believe you.”

  Searing pain blew threw my head and down my spine and I thought I was going to explode from the inside. I screamed in agony, and arched my back, but as I began sliding to the floor, strong hands held me in place on the chair. I squeezed my eyes closed, and used every ounce of my will to endure the pain. Finally it stopped and I gasped for breath.

  “Let’s try this again,” Fred said. “Who was the girl who picked you up?”

  I couldn’t take it any longer. Their torture had broken me. I couldn’t fight them any more. “Her name is Brynn,” I whispered. “She’s a student at the high school.”

  “What’s her last name?”

  “I don’t know.” I watched Holly’s finger move closer to the device and I began to sob and scream. “I don’t know. I don’t know. I would tell you if I knew.”

  Holly’s finger moved away from the device.

  “What is Jack’s last name?”

  Tears streamed down my face and snot dripped from my nose. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything else. I swear!”

  Fred abruptly stood and motioned for Holly to follow him. She slipped the device back in its case, and followed him out of the room, taking the device with her.

  Now that I knew what the object in my head could do, I felt extremely vulnerable. Someone could press that button at any moment, sending me into throes of agony, maybe even killing me. I stared at the table and tried not to think about what information I’d just given them. I just wanted to blank it all out.

  I sat there, waiting to see what fresh hell was in store for me. A short time later Holly came back in the room. Just the sight of her sent tremors of fear coursing through me. The woman was evil, pure and simple.

  “You did okay, Morgan.” She sat across from me.

  When I saw that she didn’t have the device with her, relief cascaded over me. They must be done with their questions.

  “We still need your help though.”

  A wave of dread rippled over me.

  “Tomorrow you’re going on a little field trip. You’re going to help us find Brynn.” She smiled. “I know you’ll be eager to cooperate. We’ll leave first thing in the morning, so make sure you’re ready.”

  I was too frightened to speak.

  She looked at the Enforcer who stood against the wall. “Mills, undo her hands.”

  He did as he was asked and I rubbed my wrists and rolled my shoulders, then wiped the tears from my eyes.

  “Time to go back to your room, Morgan,” Holly said as she stood.

  As we went back to my room, I didn’t speak. I felt so defeated by Holly and the people in this world. All hope had been crushed. We reached my room/jail cell and Holly led me inside.

  “Be ready in the morning, Morgan.” Then she left, locking me in.

  I went to the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. My face was pale and my eyes were dull with despair. I remembered the camera was running and I spoke into the mirror. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t stronger.” Tears of shame filled my eyes and I reached up and turned off the camera. I set the glasses on the counter and washed my face, then lay on my bed and closed my eyes.

  I had the world’s worst headache, obviously due to the object at the base of my skull. I reached back and felt the bean-shaped object, wanting to dig it out with my bare hands, but knowing I wouldn’t be able to without the proper tools. Even if I did somehow get it out, they’d just put another in.

  Instead, I imagined how the next day would go. We’d go into the high school and walk among the kids. Holly would most certainly be next to me with her finger over the torture device, ready to press it if I so much as looked in the wrong direction.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  The next morning I woke early. I hadn’t slept well—tossing and turning all night in anticipation of what the day would bring. In the middle of the night, when it was darkest, I couldn’t stop the thought that this was it. I was stuck in this world forever. There would be no way for me to reach the tunnel in time. Today was Friday and the deadline was Sunday. The only time I’d been out of my room was when Holly had accompanied me, and now that I knew about the torture device, she had complete control over me.

  As promised, Holly appeared at my door first thing that morning. I’d had time to shower and eat one of the power bars that had been left for me—but only one. I was so stressed that I’d hardly been able to eat that, but I managed to keep it down. I wore my glasses as I’d done every day, never knowing when I might need to record something, although it all seemed pointless now.

  “Good morning, Morgan.” Holly seemed extra cheerful.

  I, on the other hand, felt lifeless and dull. Hope is what had kept me going and now it was gone. Crushed, snuffed out. I would do what I could to protect Brynn, but now I knew my breaking point. So did Holly.

  “Let’s get going,” she said. “We have a lot to do today.”

  I followed her out of the room and she took me to the first floor. Mills was waiting for us. I glanced at him and felt physically sick. He was as much of a monster as Fred and Holly. He’d stood by and done nothing to help me when I was being tortured. Not only that, he’d held me in the chair during the torture. He didn’t even acknowledge me as he held a door open for us.

  An empty car sat just outside the door. Mills held the back door open and Holly motioned for me to get in. I did, and Holly got in next to me. Mills climbed behind the wheel and we set off.

  “We’ll start in the parking lot where you and Billy got away from Tyler,” Holly said. “We won’t be there for a while, though.”

  I rested my head on the seat back, trying to pretend I was on my way somewhere fun—like a movie or shopping—but the smells in the car made it hard to immerse myself in that fantasy. There was a slight odor of vomit—probably from some poor person who had recently been hauled out of their house, and an underlying scent of fear. Maybe that was emanating from me, but I still sensed it.

  A while later we turned into a parking lot. It was mid-morning on a Friday and there were lots of cars and activity here.

  “Where did you go once you got away from Tyler?” Holly asked.

  I knew I didn’t have a choice. For my own survival I had to cooperate. “We ran in that direction.” I pointed to the street Billy and I had run down.

  Mills drove out of the parking lot and slowly cruised down the street. It looked different during the day, but it still looked familiar.

  “Now where?” Holly asked.

  “We spent the night in a shed in someone’s backyard.”

  “Point out the house.”

  I remembered it was on the right side of the street. Looking for the shed roof above the fence line, I stared out the window. “There.” I pointed to the side yard of a house where the shed could be seen above the fence.

  “Good.”

  I could hear the excitement in Holly’s voice but I couldn’t work up enough energy to care. Mills pulled up to the curb and Holly wrote down the address.

  “Then what did you do?” she asked.

  “We spent the night in the shed, and the next morning we followed some kids t
o the high school.”

  “Which direction?”

  I pointed and Mills pulled away from the curb.

  “Turn right at the corner,” I said.

  Mills did as instructed and after a few minutes the school came into view.

  “Is that it?” Holly asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Pull into a parking space, Mills,” Holly said.

  A moment later we stopped.

  “Now, Morgan. Let me tell you how this is going to go.” As she spoke, she pulled a small case out of her purse, then took the torture device out of the case. “You’ve become familiar with this, yes?”

  I nodded, terror winding its way around my body and squeezing, like a thick rope.

  “We’re going to walk into the school together and you’re going to look for Brynn. If you see her, do not speak to her. Just point her out to me or Mills.” She paused. “This is the important part. Do not, I repeat, do not do anything stupid or I will not hesitate to use this.” She held up the torture device. “Are we clear?”

  I nodded.

  “One last thing before we go in.” She paused. “Describe Brynn to me.”

  Her question caught me off-guard. Should I tell her the truth or make something up? She held up the device, which decided it for me. “She has long auburn hair that she usually puts in a ponytail, and she likes to wear dark eye-liner.” I felt despicable for telling her the truth.

  Holly smiled and patted me on the knee. I leaned away from her, disgusted by her touch.

  A few minutes later the three of us walked through the main doors. There weren’t very many kids walking around as most were still in class. Near the entrance was a large, open area filled with long tables with benches attached to them.

  “It’s almost time for lunch,” Holly said. She led us toward an area that had a good view of the seating space, and we stopped. Mills stood on one side of me, Holly on the other.

  A short time later a bell rang and kids poured out of classrooms and flowed in our direction. I looked at the faces, searching for Brynn and hoping with all my heart that she was absent.

  “You’d better hope she’s here today,” Holly said, as if she read my mind.

  I wondered what would happen if she wasn’t. As I looked at the faces of the kids in the room, I didn’t see anyone who looked familiar. Then I noticed some kids looking our way and pointing. Holly must have noticed too, because she sighed loudly and said, “Any luck?”

  I almost laughed. I was having zero luck lately. Instead I said, “No.”

  “Are you even trying, Morgan?” she asked, irritation in her voice.

  “Yes, but I don’t see her.” Then I did. She was walking with two other girls, talking animatedly to them, oblivious that dangerous people were here to find her. And she looked exactly like I’d described. As much as she enjoyed changing Billy and my looks, I’d hoped she had changed her own.

  It only took a minute for Holly to notice her too. “Is that her?” She pointed in Brynn’s direction.

  I couldn’t deny it. I was petrified to lie, knowing what Holly was willing to do to me. My head still pounded from the questioning the day before. “Yes,” I whispered, feeling sick.

  “Mills,” Holly said. Then she gestured with her head in Brynn’s direction. Holly looked at me, warning clear in her eyes, then she held the torture device in her hand in such a way as to remind me that she had it—as if I needed reminding.

  Mills walked away from us and toward Brynn, who was on the other side of the room. There were dozens of kids between him and Brynn, slowing him down.

  “Is that Morgan Campbell?” a boy sitting nearby called out.

  Dozens of heads turned in my direction—evidently I was famous—and then loud chatter erupted. Several kids started walking in my direction, smiles on their faces and cell phones in their hands. I ignored them, my gaze going to Brynn, who had been too far away to hear my name. She was in deep conversation with her friends, unaware that Mills was approaching her.

  Warn her, my mind screamed. It was bad enough that I’d led them right to her, but now I was going to stand by and watch her be captured? They would inject the same object into her neck that they’d put in mine. I pictured her writhing on the floor in unimaginable pain, telling them where Jack’s house is, which would lead them to capture Jack, Dani, Mitch, Kelly, Tracy, Nathan, and anyone else who was at the house. I couldn’t stand by and let that happen.

  A handful of kids were nearly upon me.

  “Can I take a picture with you?” one girl asked.

  “Me, too,” another said.

  I could tell Holly was getting nervous, but there wasn’t much she could do. I glanced at her and saw that she was looking toward Mills, watching his progress toward Brynn. Then I looked at her hand and saw the torture device sitting loosely in her palm.

  Hope surged inside me, a feeling I’d been recently lacking. Could I do it? Could I get away? Deep within my gut I knew this was my chance, my only chance. Before I had time to think it through, I grabbed the torture device from her hand and bolted away, not even looking back to see her expression. Then I pulled in a deep breath and at the top of my lungs yelled, “Brynn! Run!”

  She looked up from her conversation and stared at me. Her eyes widened in recognition, and then she saw Mills bearing down on her. She turned and ran back the way she’d come, putting distance between her and Mills. Seeing that her chances of escape were good, I ran toward the main doors and burst out into the sunlight, my legs pumping harder than they’d ever gone before.

  When I reached the parking lot I saw a vehicle with Enforcers inside moving toward the school. Panicked that I would be caught, I changed direction and ran along the school building, staying close to the bushes. I shoved the torture device in my back pocket so that I wouldn’t drop it, and kept going.

  “Morgan, stop,” Mills called from behind me.

  Not likely. Adrenaline pulsed through my body as pure terror pushed me forward. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Mills gaining on me, but the Enforcers in the other car had turned before reaching the school and were out of sight.

  I kept running and cleared the school grounds, but I could hear Mills’ feet pounding behind me. Even though I’d had a head start, he was bigger and faster than me and I knew I couldn’t outrun him for long, but I was desperate to try.

  I turned down a street lined with houses. I didn’t see anyone around and frantically tried to figure out where to go. I glanced behind me and saw Mills catching up, but I didn’t know what to do to lose him. Then I saw a gate leading to a backyard. It hung open like an invitation. I raced through it, shutting it behind me. A pair of garbage cans were next to the house and I shoved them against the gate, which would at least slow Mills down.

  I tore around the side of the house and went to the back door, but it was locked. I heard Mills trying to open the gate. Complete and utter panic pumped through my body, pushing me into action. I threw myself against the nearest fence, desperate to get over, but my feet refused to gain purchase. Splinters dug into the tender flesh of my palms as I tried to scramble upward. Finally I managed to pull myself halfway to the top. The top edge of the fence dug into my armpits as I tried to heave myself over.

  Powerful arms wrapped around my waist and tugged me downward. Absolute hysteria gripped me and I screamed as loud as I could as I kicked at his chest. Mills ignored my efforts and yanked me to the ground.

  “Shut up, Morgan,” he demanded, but I couldn’t stop screaming even if I’d wanted to, and I didn’t want to.

  I kicked and scratched and fought as hard as I could. There was no way I would go back to Camp Stonewater—or any F.A.T. center for that matter—willingly. At any moment I expected neighbors to come pouring out of their houses and help me, but there was nothing. Not a soul. Were they not home? Or were they just too frightened to get involved?

  Mills just seemed irritated by my attempt to break free. Finally he took the stun gun off of his hip, jammed it agai
nst my side, and pressed the button. I went limp and silent as I stared at him. A thin track of blood seeped out of a scratch on his cheek and I knew it was from me, but it hadn’t been enough to stop him.

  He looked down at me for a moment, then pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and spoke to someone on the other end. “I’ve got her.” Then he gave the address of where we were.

  As I lay there, completely helpless, he took a syringe out of his pocket, and without a word he slid the needle into the skin of my upper arm and depressed the plunger, injecting some unknown liquid into my body. My vision went black but I was still aware enough to feel him lift me up and throw me over his shoulder, then I felt movement as he carried me off.

  Then…nothing.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  When I woke up I was strapped to a bed, an IV dripping clear liquid into my vein. The back of my neck was sore and when I turned my head I saw a bandage on my right arm. Confusion and fear battled for control of my emotions. Where was I? What had happened? I remembered getting away from Holly and running into someone’s backyard, and then Mills catching me and tasering me, then injecting me with something that had knocked me out.

  I must be in the medical section of Camp Stonewater, I thought, terrified. Why did my neck hurt? Had they put in a different kind of device? Something that would kill me instead of hurting me? What about Brynn? Had they caught her? I hoped with all my heart that she had gotten away.

  Then I realized my glasses were gone. Any proof I’d collected would be gone with them. I closed my eyes, the level of my failure crushing me. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remembered was a voice that sounded like Billy’s.

  “I’m sorry she gave you so much trouble,” the voice said.

  My eyelids felt heavy and I wondered if I was dreaming. Why would I be hearing Billy’s voice in Camp Stonewater? Had they caught him too? Fresh despair washed over me. I’d been so sure he’d gotten away. But why would he be apologizing for the trouble I’d been? Was he in on it too? Keen disappointment shot through me to realize the boy I’d trusted with my very life must have turned against me.