THE MRES TASTED horrible after eating home-cooked meals over the past weeks. A few months ago and this meal would have been a delicacy, but now it was hard to stomach. Mouse never left my side as we ate, her worried eyes darting continually to mine. Doc’s serum worked magic on my body. What had once felt feverous and weak, now felt rejuvenated. Even the cut on my chin had scabbed over with surprising speed. It seemed like such a waste of talent, that a man like Doc Porters was residing in an underground culture with limited resources. If he had access to the machines and technology here, his potential would be endless. I wondered vaguely what would make a man of his talents leave a place like this, if his reason had been like my parents’ or if they were his own. Either way, I would never know. My parents’ reasons died with them and we would be lucky to see tomorrow, much less Doc again.
By the time I finished my meal— an old habit of never wasting anything, no matter how bad it tasted— I noticed Mouse had barely touched hers. More food had been pushed around than actually eaten. Upon meeting my gaze her eyes filled with tears again. She set aside her food and signed. I’m sorry. The pain was clear on her round face. Glancing up, I saw that Triven and the other two men were bent in conversation as they heated their meals.
I spoke in a low voice as to not call attention to us. “You knew this would happen didn’t you? That we would be ambushed?”
She shook her head. I could tell she was being truthful.
“But you thought this might happen?”
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling.
“You wanted to protect us.” I knew this even without her answer. Mouse wasn’t trying to be defiant before; she was trying to help us.
“Is there another way out of here?” The men’s murmurs had stopped. They were listening now.
She nodded again, but I could see the hesitation behind her eyes. There may be another way out, but our chances weren’t good and it wasn’t going to be easy. It also didn’t escape my attention that she was scared, though I couldn’t be sure if it was because of the situation we were now in or because she was back inside The Sanctuary.
“We can’t get there from here, can we?”
She shook her head.
“We have to go up to the surface.” I assumed and she nodded, confirming my thoughts. I opened my mouth to ask her another question, but it never made it past my lips.
Brant what’s-his-face jumped to his feet, descending on us with alarming intensity. Triven was only steps behind him, both of their meals forgotten on the ground. Maddox picked up Triven’s and began to eat it, obviously unconcerned.
“Why the hell are we listening to this little misfit? She’s the one that got us into this freaking mess in the first place. Don’t touch me!” He shook off Triven’s warning hand. “All we have done is listen to this brat and look where we are! Stuck in a freaking drainage system while being hunted by enemies we know almost nothing about, not to mention the fact that the rest of our team now lies dead in the Ravagers’ back alley. I say screw the kid. She got us in this. Hell she might even be the cause of it, so she should get us out. She’s the one they want anyway! If we just hand her over, maybe they will give us asylum—”
I had had enough. His fat little sausage finger was pointed at Mouse’s terrified face. Even in my depleted state I was faster than he was. In one bound, I threw Mouse protectively behind me and grabbed his finger, bending it so far backwards I could feel the bones threatening to break. The massive blonde guard fell to his knees before me, twisting to try and free himself. But I held fast.
My voice was perfectly even when I spoke. “We will be moving forward with the plan as instructed by Arstid with one amendment. We will acquire civilian uniforms and blend in. While topside we will gather as much information as we can, but our main objective now is to escape. Together. We are sitting ducks here and this little girl is our only hope of getting out. If you come anywhere near her, if you so much as look at her wrong, or even look like you’re thinking about betraying us, I will put a bullet in your head. No hesitation. Got it?”
I bent his finger back further emphasizing my point.
He screamed through his teeth. “Got it! I GOT IT!”
I set him free and began packing my bag. “We leave on the hour.”
New World Rising Page 37
