by Adele Huxley
The other athletes held in the pen watched their movement, but like scared animals, they only observed. No one understood what was happening and thankfully didn’t raise any alarm.
Penny was directly behind Phoenix who led the way. He held her at arm’s length as they reached the front of the pen. She rubbed his forearm to encourage him, to show she was right there beside him. With a hard swallow, he carefully stuck his head out to scan for guards. A split-second later, he popped back in.
“There’s two. Walking slowly.”
Penny had an odd thought as she stared up at him. With his jaw and hair, he could easily play Superman. She shook it away and tried to focus.
“We should go one at a time,” she said.
They waited for the right moment, which sped up on her like a bullet train. Penny’s heart was in her throat. It was like the worst video game she’d ever played. The timing had to be perfect and instead of just being able to restart and try again, this was her life. This was the life of Phoenix and the others. But going first, she was the most exposed.
She tried to slow her breathing. She gripped the wall behind as if it were a life raft and she were stuck at sea. What would happen if the guards spotted her? Would she be shot? What about the people in the next pen? Would they shout for help? Was there a guard in there and not in theirs for some reason?
She moved to go a couple times, but held back just as one guard or the other turned. It was a nervy moment but she held tight. The perfect moment came when the one closest turned a few strides shorter than normal, leaving her with a couple seconds when both had their backs to the narrow passage way.
Penny dove around the corner and plunged into the darker pen, almost colliding with a tall, skinny guy with a hawkish nose. Dozens of wide, white eyes blinked at her silently. Her heart thudded against her ribs. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Phoenix came flying around the corner and ran into her.
They stared at each other for a moment before pulling together in a quick hug. They’d made it. Now it was down to the other two.
They pressed themselves against the wall and waited. And waited. It was agony wondering how long it was going to take for the right moment for the last two to get over. Just when Penny was ready to peek her head back around the corner to check things were okay, they confidently strode through the entrance as if nothing were wrong.
Both she and Phoenix gaped at them.
“What?” Claire shrugged. “They both went to the front for a second. Come on.”
As she followed her along the wall to the back, Penny decided Claire was easily one of the oddest people she’d ever met in her life.
The crowd parted silently as if they were infected or dangerous. It didn’t matter. As long as they stayed quiet through the next part, she would be happy.
Claire and Charlie carefully slipped their fingers between the wide, weathered boards at the back. One swung freely from a single nail at the top while two others required some serious coaxing out of position. But before long, they’d managed to work a hole big enough to fit through.
Penny gave Phoenix a look up and down. “Not sure you’re gonna make it big boy,” she whispered, trying to lighten the mood.
He kissed the top of her head. “No way I’m letting you have all the fun without me.” His reaction caught her completely off guard.
Claire crouched down and stuck her head through the gap, scanning the area.
Penny kept an eye on the people around them, all of whom were taking a greater interest in what they were doing. Still, they were quiet, if not eager to jam their way through as well. Nothing she could do to stop that.
Claire popped back up. “Seems clear. There’s a clump of trees a good sprint away. If we make it there, I think we’ll be protected.”
“What about our tracks?” Penny asked in a rush, suddenly terrified. “They’ll be able to follow us.”
She shook her head and tightened the bun on the top of her head. “The snow is all torn up. No way they’d be able to track us. There’s two trails right here,” she said, pointing to the floor by the wall. “But we move quick. Straight line, sprint. Okay?”
Penny nodded. She thought she was going to the throw up or pass out or both. With every breath, she kicked herself for coming up with this stupid idea in the first place.
“Ready?” Phoenix asked. Hearing the slight wobble in his voice only reconfirmed how crazy this all was. After all, he was the guy that sped down icy mountains at top speed. If this was scary for him, then what hope did she have of staying calm?
Claire and Charlie nodded, poised to go. Phoenix rapped on the shared wall between the pens, their signal to the others left behind.
Hadley’s irritating voice was like sweet music to her ears. “Oh my God! I need help! She’s fainted!”
Phoenix grabbed her wrist. “Look straight ahead and run. Don’t look back. Don’t look around. Just run. I'll be right behind you.”
Before she knew it, Penny was through the gap in the wall and sprinting. The cold air stung her lungs and with every step. She concentrated on not slipping. Desperately, she wanted to look back to make sure Phoenix had gotten through, but his words echoed in her mind.
Her eyes locked on the patch of trees ahead, past the two others who ran much faster. No matter how hard she pumped, it didn’t seem to get any closer. Every second she expected to feel the sting of a bullet tear through her leg or into her back, but it never came.
There were no shouts. No warning shots or guards chasing them down.
And all at once, the forest was in front of her. She plunged into it so carelessly, she barely blocked a full branch to the face. With sheer relief and exhaustion, she collapsed on the ground. As she sucked air deep into her lungs, she turned just in time to see Phoenix dip into the thicket.
Clouds of hot air flowed from everyone’s panting mouths. As they quickly recovered, a relief washed over them. They’d made it. Penny sat up and was about to speak when a cry rang out from across the compound. They all tensed, waiting for the noose to tighten around their necks.
“There,” Charlie breathed, pointing back to the barn.
They watched in horror as a young guy with short, reddish-blond hair attempted to follow their lead.
Penny turned just as a second shout echoed across the expanse. The guy dropped the blanket he had wrapped around his shoulders as his foot slipped out from under him. He hesitated. It was like his lower half wanted to run left while his upper tried to flee forward.
He fell to his knees. The guards came into view from the far left as he attempted to scramble back up. Penny could only watch in silent dread as one guard took a knee, raised his rifle, and squeezed off a rapid burst of shots.
The guy fell at just the right second to avoid the first round. One of the guards ran toward him while the other tracked him with his gun. And as he turned toward the small grove of trees in which they all hid, Penny tensed. It was only a few steps, but in that fraction of a second, she wished for him to be caught.
Another rapid pop-pop-pop made her jump. The man fell to the ground. The guards swarmed.
Maybe it was her imagination, but she could almost see a ripple of relief run through the small group.
Maybe I just want to make myself feel better for wishing someone dead…
“Come on. We have to keep moving,” Phoenix said, turning toward the bus.
Chapter 18
Penny struggled to keep up from the start. After all her insisting she was fit enough to run, she’d severely underestimated how difficult the journey would be.
The tense, frightening trip was made worse by knee-high snow, steep inclines, and the ability of all the others to talk and jog at the same time. On top of all of it, she had to throw her complete trust into their direction. Because she’d been knocked out on the way to the encampment, the only sense of direction she had was to go up the mountain. Beyond that, she would’ve been lost.
They marched and ran in a
single file, trading places so the person plowing ahead in the front could catch a break. Jog for a few minutes, walk for a few more, back and forth, back and forth.
After a while, she was oddly thankful for the exhaustion only because it distracted her from the near-crippling anxiety of getting caught. Her mind drifted into an odd trance-like state. Her world shrank to the surrounding sensations. Crunching snow. Panting breath. Burning muscles. Biting cold. She was so lost in her own thoughts she jumped when someone spoke for the first time in almost an hour.
“There it is,” Charlie whispered.
Unfortunately, the trees thinned out significantly as they approached the final slope. The bus looked untouched. The front dipped into the ditch, putting it at an odd angle.
“The roads haven’t been touched,” Phoenix noted, scanning the road first up the mountain and then down. Judging from what little she could see through the trees, Penny had to agree. No plow or other vehicle had gotten through the pass.
She fought to catch her breath, aware how ragged and uneven it sounded compared to the others. Hell, the fog coming from her mouth was big enough she worried it might float up like a smoke signal.
Her eyes tracked to the left a few dozen feet in front of the bus. A soft, snow-covered lump lay in the middle of the road, presumably the driver she’d seen killed. Penny scanned the immediate area around them for a similar lump, realizing they were standing right around where Rhett would’ve run through.
“I don’t think anyone is watching it,” Phoenix said. His voice jarred her from her thoughts enough to make her jump. He focused on her, eyes silently asking if she was okay.
“No, right. I think it’s clear,” she said between breaths. “There’s a button to the side of the front door that should pop it open.”
“Otherwise, we pry it apart,” Claire nodded.
Without further conference, they dashed up the steep slope, across the slippery road, and to the relative protection of the other side of the bus.
Penny thought she would throw up from fear and exhaustion. She doubled over with her hands on her knees, desperately gulping cold air into her lungs. She peered over as Phoenix pressed the button by the front door.
Nothing happened.
With a growl, he repeatedly slammed the heel of his hand against it until the hydraulics kicked in.
They piled onto the bus, shut the door, and breathed a sigh of relief for the first time in hours.
Penny collapsed in the front seat. She slapped her hand down on her bag, still right where she’d left it. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, cold sweat drying on her forehead.
Claire and Charlie moved to where they’d originally been sitting.
Phoenix paced a few steps along the aisle and returned. He grabbed the back of the seat behind her and whispered low enough the others couldn’t hear.
“You have to tell them what’s going on.”
Penny wiped her upper lip with her shirt sleeve before pulling off her coat. It was amazing how sweaty the run had made her. “What do you mean?”
“About you. About the spy. Everything. They deserve to know what we’ve all gotten ourselves into.”
Penny balked but remained silent. She peered over the back of the seat and watched the odd couple pick through the remnants of everyone’s belongings.
“I can’t do that,” she replied softly.
Phoenix clenched his jaw and straightened, barely restraining an outburst. With nostrils flaring, he crouched down.
“I’m a lot of things, but I’ve never been accused of being too smart. That chick down there is ridiculously clever. You need to tell her what you’ve told me. She can help.”
Penny plunged her hand into the deepest part of her bag. “I don’t need help.”
“Right. Cause everything is going to plan so far, right?”
“Fuck off,” she cursed without venom.
“You know I’m right.” Phoenix’s tone was soft and understanding, which drove her crazy. He was correct. But it was hard enough revealing her true identity and purpose to him.
Penny grappled with the pros and cons as she rummaged through her bag. “You know the word ‘secret’ in the title ‘secret agent’ isn’t just for show, right?”
Phoenix glanced back to the others before reaching out for her free hand. She stared at it, gaze tracking up to his with dull surprise.
“Are you okay?” His hazel eyes searched hers intently. “I mean, with everything that’s happened… are you alright?”
She nodded once. “I’m fine. Are you?”
A shallow dimple formed at the corner of his mouth before he swooped in to kiss her. Her instinct was to back away, but the hand he quickly placed on the back of her head stopped her short. She melted into it for a moment, giving in.
The cocky smile he gave her as he pulled back made her want to slap and kiss him again all at once.
“Tell them.” Penny opened her mouth to protest once more but he called out before she could stop him. “Hey guys? Can you come here for a second?”
Penny jumped up to her knees, clutching at his arm in near-desperation. “Phoenix…” At the very least, she wanted to try the sat phone before giving anything up.
Claire and Charlie looked up with almost matching expressions of concern.
“Everything okay?” Claire asked. She slipped a black knit cap on over her head as they ambled to the front of the bus. It tamed her wild curls and showed off her athletic, thin features. It was like seeing a fluffy dog wet from a bath.
“Under the circumstances? Fucking fantastic, right?” Phoenix chuckled as he nudged Penny’s shoulder.
Claire slipped into a seat a few back from while Charlie lingered in the aisle. It was difficult to start this conversation, not knowing how far back she’d have to go for it to all make sense. Telling Phoenix had been hard enough.
“Go on,” Phoenix urged.
Penny squeezed her eyes shut, pushing against every part of her mind that screamed how dangerous this was. It was one thing to put her trust in one person, but now she was having to lay the truth out to two more…
“I’ve been lying to you.”
“Well, that’s not exactly fair,” Phoenix cut in. Penny’s eyes flew open at the interruption. First he demands she reveal herself, then he controls how she goes about doing it? “What? That’s not exactly the best way to start,” he snapped defensively.
Despite the dangerous situation, her temper flared. “You’re suddenly an expert now, are ya? Fine,” she snarled, slamming her arms across her chest. “You do it then.”
He straightened but not before giving her a disappointed shake of the head. “Penny wasn’t sent here to cover the Unity Games as a journalist. She actually works for the government. So when she says she’s been lying, it’s for a good reason.”
Penny watched the other’s reactions. Charlie’s mouth parted in surprise. He blinked from Phoenix, to her, to Claire in quick succession.
Claire, on the other hand, didn’t show an ounce of astonishment or shock. With a placid expression, she calmly waited for Phoenix to continue as if he hadn’t already dropped the bombshell. He seemed to notice her lack of reaction as well.
“Did you hear what I said? Penny was sent here because of—” He trailed off, looking to her for guidance. “Well, can I say? Is it legal or—”
Penny snorted. “See? Isn’t as easy as it looks, is it?” She licked her lips and finished for him. “There was a perceived threat of unknown origins. They sent me to identify it.”
“It makes sense,” Claire sniffed.
It was Penny’s turn to be surprised. “It does?”
Her eyes narrowed a touch, as if unsure if she were being mocked. “You don’t do much writing for a journalist.”
Phoenix beamed down at her with an irritating amount of pride. “Told you she was smart.”
The phone balanced on the bag to her left beeped. She recognized the sound but looked anyway, answering the unspoken questions of
the others as she made sure. “It’s rebooting. It’ll take a few more minutes.”
Charlie cleared his throat before speaking. “I guess that means we might’ve been a little unfair the other night… back at the Lodge.”
“See? Right?” Phoenix jumped in. “I told you all there was a perfectly reasonable excuse for all the secret videos we found on her computer.”
As much as that memory of them all ganging up on her stung, it was nice to know that Phoenix had defended her after the confrontation.
“So have you done it?” Claire asked, her eyes focused solely on Penny’s.
“Done what?”
“Identified the threat.”
“You mean other than the armed men who kidnapped us?” she replied with more humor than snark. The others didn’t find it nearly as funny as she did. After a rapid recalibration of her dark sense of humor, she pressed on. “Phoenix thinks it’s important you know one vital part of the whole mission. When I was sent here, I was told to be on the lookout for someone inside the American team who might be helping the terrorists.”
“A spy?” Charlie whispered. The color drained from his already pale face. “Do you know who?”
“We don’t know for sure,” Phoenix answered for her.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye.
We?
It was odd feeling like she was part of a team, that he knew enough to answer on her behalf. But she couldn’t deny the comfort there either.
The satellite phone beside her beeped again, pulling her from the conversation completely. She trusted Phoenix to carry on in her place. As she waited for the phone to connect fully, she listened as the discussion carried on.
“But you know for sure there’s a spy within our team?” Charlie asked, seeming to cling to the hope it wouldn’t be true.
Before Phoenix could reply, Claire jumped in. “How many people are believed to be involved altogether?”
“Did a spy from another team tell you about the one on our team?” Charlie bounced back.
Phoenix sputtered a couple half-responses as the pair bombarded him with questions. Penny saw it would take another minute before the phone reconnected with a passing satellite, so she jumped in.
