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

by Christine Kersey

  “Holy crap, Morgan!” Billy jumped up and walked to the end of the couch, then he turned to me. “Mills didn’t tell me it was this bad.”

  I didn’t know what to say. I looked down, then back at the screen and saw Mills hands in the frame as he placed the glasses back on my face. Now I knew that he must have known I could be recording the interrogation and he wanted to make sure the glasses were on my face.

  “How many times did they do that?” Billy asked.

  “Just two more.” It was the first time I’d seen him lose his cool.

  “Just two more,” he echoed in disbelief. He sat next to me, but instead of putting his arm around me, he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

  On the screen, Fred asked me where Billy and I had gotten Jack’s number and when I didn’t give Mrs. Duncan’s name, Holly tapped the screen and my screaming began.

  Billy leapt from the couch and stormed to the back of it, pounding on it, clearly upset by what he was seeing. He stayed back there as the video showed Fred’s face as he listened to me telling him how Billy and I had gotten a ride from Brynn.

  Then Fred asked me the name of the girl who gave us a ride and when I said I didn’t know, he said he didn’t believe me and Holly tapped the screen of her torture device. My screams of agony were unmistakable, and as the picture started to shift as I slid to the floor, I was suddenly righted in my chair and a moment later the screaming stopped

  “I’ll kill him,” Billy growled. “I’ll kill Mills.”

  Nick paused the video and turned to Billy. “You know it’s not his fault.”

  Billy glared at Nick. “He just stood there.”

  I knew exactly how Billy felt, but I was over it. I understood why Mills couldn’t step in then. If he had and his cover had been blown, some other Enforcer would have chased me down and when that Enforcer caught up with me, he surely wouldn’t let me go. I said as much to Billy and he seemed to settle down.

  He stared at the back of the couch for a moment, then came back and sat next to me, which made me happy. He put his arm around me and when he whispered in my ear, his voice broke. “I just can’t stand to see you suffering like that.”

  I leaned my head against his shoulder.

  Nick pressed the play button once more.

  You could hear me telling them Brynn’s name, then sobbing that I didn’t know her last name. A moment later Holly and Fred left, then Holly came back and told me we were going on a field trip the next morning. A moment later the screen showed my face, defeated and pale, as I stared in the mirror in my room. Then in a tear-filled voice I said, “I’m so sorry I wasn’t stronger.” The screen went blank.

  Billy put both of his arms around me and held me. “Don’t be sorry,” he said. “Don’t ever be sorry for what you did.”

  I still felt ashamed that I hadn’t been stronger and been able to resist their torture, but Billy’s words helped to assuage some of that guilt. And knowing they hadn’t captured Brynn helped a lot too.

  “We’ll edit the video to remove that section I forwarded through,” Nick said. “And then we’ll release it online by this evening.” He smiled. “I’m proud of you, Morgan. You withstood a lot.”

  His words warmed me. “Do you think when people see this, it will change their minds?”

  He laughed. “Oh, yeah. There’s some pretty intense stuff in there. When it’s all together like that, one incident after another, it’s pretty powerful.”

  I snuggled closer to Billy, happier than I’d been in weeks.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Nick left the room and Billy and I sat quietly on the couch for a while. As much as I relished Billy’s attention, it was new. He’d never shown affection like this before and I wondered what had changed. I’d been through so much, but I still felt shy asking him how he felt. But I had to. If all went as I hoped, I’d be out of this world and back in my world in two days. Would Billy come with me? I needed to talk to him about it now, while things were calm and quiet.

  I pulled away and turned to him. He looked at me and smiled, which lifted my heart.

  “I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said.

  My smile grew. “Me, too.” I closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them to see him watching me. “Just this morning I’d become resigned to never getting home. And I don’t just mean home in this world.” He opened his mouth to speak, but I put up my hand. “Listen. I know you don’t believe my story—maybe you think I’m nuts—but it’s true.”

  He grinned. “I don’t think you’re nuts, Morgan. But you have to know how crazy you sound when you say you’re from a parallel universe.”

  “So what are you saying? Do you believe me or not?”

  He laughed softly. “I’m holding my judgement in reserve.”

  “Fair enough, I guess.” I stared at him for a moment. “But what if what I’m saying is true—and it is—are you going to come with me? Back to my home?”

  He stared past me for a minute, then focused back on me. “I really like working with Nick and I believe in what he’s doing. I’ve never had a purpose before, but I feel like I have one now. That’s important to me. I matter here.”

  Keen disappointment shot through me. He wouldn’t be coming with me. I looked at my lap, then back at him, a forced smile of support on my face. “That’s great. I’m happy that you’ve found your calling.”

  He looked relieved. “I’m glad you think so, because I think you should join our group.”

  Was this why he was being so affectionate? Because he thought there was a chance I’d stay here and be part of Nick’s group? I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it as my mind whirled. I had a purpose here too. But did I want to live in this world? I’d been so focused on getting back to my home world that I’d never stopped to consider choosing to stay here.

  I leaned against the couch cushions and stared at the screen where a short while before we’d listened to me being tortured. If I stayed here, that could happen again. The Enforcers could capture me and take me back to Camp Stonewater and keep me there forever. If I went back to my world, that threat would be eliminated. But what about the other Morgan? When I arrived back in my home world she would be thrust back here and she would be in immediate danger and wouldn’t even know it. That wasn’t fair either.

  But it wasn’t my fault that I ended up here. I hadn’t known that tunnel was actually some kind of wormhole to an alternate reality. But it was my fault that I’d screwed up so badly. I hadn’t taken the laws here seriously enough and then had made an enemy out of Lori, who had falsified records and gotten me hauled off to Camp Willowmoss. I looked at Billy, who had an expression of hope on his face. “I don’t know.”

  His expression faltered a bit. He took my hand. “Morgan, after all you’ve been through, you would be a huge asset to Nick’s group. You have knowledge that no one else has. You’ve been inside one of their prisons.”

  “I was mostly kept in my room, so I don’t know that much about the rest of the place.” I paused. “Except for the interrogation room. And the rec room.” I looked at Billy with incredulity. “Did you know the kids there have a room where they play ping pong and air hockey? Why didn’t they have that at Camp Willowmoss?”

  Billy laughed. “Oh yeah. Mills told me about how they set that up for you.”

  “Set that up for me? What do you mean?”

  “Mills told me that to persuade you to cooperate, they set up that rec room and brought in some kids from who knows where to come in and pretend like they lived at Camp Stonewater and got to hang out in this rec room so it would look like fun.”

  “Really? They did all that just to trick me?”

  “Yeah. I guess it’s not too often they capture someone who is so involved with the resistance groups, and they were pretty desperate to get information out of you. I mean, can you imagine if they tracked down Jack and Dani? Those two probably know a lot of information that could be harmful to other resistance groups.”

 
“I know. That’s what I was worried about too. That’s why I tried so hard not to tell them anything.”

  He gazed into my eyes. “You did good, Morgan. No one could have withstood what you did and not say anything.”

  His words made me feel better about giving up some information. “Did you notice that they believed me when I said I didn’t know the name of the woman who gave us the phone numbers?”

  “Yeah, that was pretty awesome.”

  “I just couldn’t give them Mrs. Duncan’s name.” Then something occurred to me. “But what about the motorcycle? If the Enforcers got it—which they must have since we left it at that guy Tyler’s house—wouldn’t they know it was taken from her?”

  “Technically it would have been registered to her son and he didn’t know anything about us. But I would think Mrs. Duncan would be savvy enough to claim it was stolen.”

  “I hope so. I wouldn’t want to drag her into this.”

  He looked down, then back at me. “So what about it? Will you join our group?”

  I knew what my answer had to be. “Billy, I can’t. I want to get back to my family in my world.”

  He let go of my hand and sighed. “You don’t even know if you can get back.”

  “Don’t say that. I have to get back.”

  He looked away, then back at me. “Morgan, I need you. Please. I want you to stay.”

  His words shocked me. He’d never professed anything besides friendship before. I shook my head in confusion. “What are you saying?”

  He clenched his jaw, then stared right at me. “When Dani forced me to leave and I knew it was possible I’d never see you again, it made me realize how much I’d come to care about you. And then last week when I saw the press conference with Tasco, and I saw you sitting there, chained to that chair, then taken away to Camp Stonewater, I almost went crazy with worry. Nick had to physically restrain me to keep me from going after you. I’m glad he talked some sense into me, though, because it wouldn’t have done either of us any good for me to show up at Camp Stonewater to try to get you out. That was when Nick told me he had already talked to Mills about doing what he could to get you out of there.”

  I was overwhelmed to know how much Billy cared about me. I’d missed him terribly, but it had never occurred to me that he was thinking about me too.

  Billy took my hand and his voice softened. “Morgan, you’re my best friend.”

  His best friend? I thought I’d felt vibes that it was more than that. Disappointment settled in my heart as I looked at him and knew I liked him a lot more than just a friend.

  He must have seen the look on my face because his smile grew. “But after all that’s happened, I’ve come to realize that my feelings run much deeper than mere friendship.” The look of earnestness on his face intensified. “That’s why I want you here. With me.” He leaned closer. “Stay, Morgan. Stay with me.”

  Overwhelming desire crashed over me. Desire to have Billy in my life. Desire to go home. Why couldn’t he just come with me?

  Then he reached out and gently placed his hand on the back of my head, and as he leaned toward me he held my head still. I looked into his eyes as he bent close, then I tilted my face toward his. His lips touched mine and an explosion of feelings cascaded through me. His other hand slid around my waist and he pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around his neck, loving the feelings he evoked in me.

  When he pulled away I felt breathless.

  He smiled. “Wow.”

  Thrilled he felt the same way, I grinned.

  “So will you stay?” he asked.

  “I have a better idea. Come with me. I want you to be in my world, Billy.”

  His mouth tightened and he turned away, then he looked at me with fervor. “I can’t. I’m needed here.”

  Tears filled my eyes. “But I need you. You’re my best friend.”

  He sighed and pulled me into his arms.

  I kept the tears at bay, but knew that I had lost him. After what he’d gone through in his life—his parents kicking him out, then betraying him—he’d been adrift. Now, belonging to Nick’s group, he had an anchor and a purpose. It gave his life meaning. I couldn’t expect him to leave that behind for me and an unknown world.

  But I couldn’t give up the life I’d known just to be with him either. Although I believed in what Nick and his group were doing, I also believed that my purpose was to be found in the world from which I’d come. I had to go back to discover what that purpose was.

  We sat on the couch, his arms around me and my head tucked against his chest, and I drank in the moment, knowing it would end in two days.

  “My tech people have put the video online,” Nick said as he came into the room.

  Billy and I pulled apart and turned to him.

  “What about my family?” I asked.

  He nodded. “They’ve been picked up and they’re on their way to a safe place. Did you want me to arrange for you to go there?”

  “Yes, I’d like to go see them.”

  “Great. We’ll leave in half an hour.” Then he turned and left the room.

  I looked at Billy. “Do you think the video will have as much of an impact as Nick seems to think it will?”

  He nodded. “I hope so. People’s eyes will be opened to what the government is really doing—the lengths they’re willing to go. It’s going to be a rude awakening for the people who refused to believe there was anything bad going on at the F.A.T. centers.”

  An idea occurred to me. “If the video’s going to make that much of a difference, then you can come with me.” I sat up straight, a wide smile on my face. “I know there’s still a lot you can do to help Nick, but if people start changing their minds, then there will be less for you to do, right?”

  He smiled, but it seemed sad. “Morgan, you don’t understand. I want to be here, in this world. It’s where I belong. And you belong in your world.”

  A lump formed in my throat. “So now you’re saying you believe I’m from another world?”

  He laughed. “I guess I’ll find out soon enough.”

  I swallowed several times, trying to push the lump out of my throat. “Will you help me get to the tunnel?”

  “Yes, of course. I’ll do everything I can to help you.”

  That was all I could reasonably expect from him. “Thank you.”

  Billy stayed at Nick’s place while Nick took me to see my family. It was wonderful to see all of them, although Mom and Dad were worried about having to be in hiding.

  “It may not have to be for as long as you think,” Nick told Dad.

  “And why is that?” Dad asked, his arm around me.

  “The video your daughter provided, showing how she was treated, has been put online and I’m confident that it will change the minds of a lot of people.”

  Dad smiled at me. “I can attest to the way things work at the F.A.T. centers. They are not pleasant places to be.”

  I spent the rest of the evening with my family, loving every minute of their company, but eventually it was time to leave. I explained to Mom and Dad that I had some things to take care of at Nick’s place, but that I would be back soon. We said our good-byes and Nick brought me back to his house.

  Once we arrived, he showed me to the room where I’d be sleeping. “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you’d like, Morgan,” he said.

  “Thank you. I appreciate that. But actually I have somewhere I need to go the day after tomorrow. So I won’t be staying here for long.”

  He nodded, though I could tell he was curious. “Okay.”

  He left and I got ready for bed, putting on the pajamas that had been laid out for me. I looked out the bedroom window—happy that I didn’t have to peer through thick bars to see outside—and enjoyed the view of the beautiful gardens that surrounded the house.

  I slept well that night, feeling safe and secure in this house that seemed isolated from reality.

  The next morning Nick asked Billy and me to meet with him in h
is office. Wondering what news he might have, I walked with Billy down the hall and into the large book-lined room. Nick sat behind his desk, staring at a computer. When we walked in he smiled.

  “Come see this.” He motioned for us to come around and look at the screen with him.

  I looked over his shoulder at the webpage he had up. It was the video that I had recorded on my camera.

  “See how many views there are?” Nick said, wonderment in his voice. “It’s gone viral already, and it’s only been out since yesterday afternoon.” He turned and smiled at me. “What do you think about that?”

  “I think it’s fantastic.”

  “What are people saying about it?” Billy asked, focused on the effect it was having.

  “I’ve read through some of the comments,” Nick said. “The theme seems to be how disgusted people are with what’s happening. There are even some people who have posted that the same types of thing happened to them, but they were warned not to tell anyone for fear of awful things happening to them or their families.”

  “Have any of the news outlets picked up on it yet?” Billy asked.

  “Not yet, but they can’t ignore it for long. There’s too much public outcry now.”

  A feeling of satisfaction washed over me, and I knew what I’d gone through had made a difference.

  “Please have a seat,” Nick asked us, and we sat on the couch as we had the day before. “Morgan, last night you told me that you’re going somewhere tomorrow. Are you still planning on that?”

  I glanced at Billy, who looked at me with a half-smile, then I looked back at Nick. “Yes, absolutely.”

  “Is it something you can postpone?”

  I shook my head. “No way. No.”

  He sighed.

  “Why?” Billy asked. “What’s wrong.”

  “With the release of this video and the reaction to it, the Enforcers will be out looking for you, Morgan. And they’ll be more determined than ever to capture you.”

  My heart skipped a beat at his statement. After arriving here and feeling so safe, I’d put the Enforcers out of my mind and had somehow thought going to the tunnel would just be a formality to getting home.