by Jodie Kobe
At my silence, she adds, “All you have to do is stay close to us, and you'll be fine.” She doesn't mention anything about how the last time I had asked to go, she didn't let me; she's letting me now.
She gestures to the group of three she's gathered, including herself. “It’s dark out,” she starts, “so I doubt many patrols will be out. You wanna come?” she asks again. “If you don't feel like coming, that's fine. I understand if you’re tired.”
I’m awake now.
I shake my head. “No, not at all.”
Here's the chance to go outside, so I'm going to take it. “I'll be happy to come.”
I just hope I don't get in their way.
I follow Sabine, Tobin, and the one girl through the dark tunnels. My sweaty palms wipe themselves on my jeans, and I don't realize it until I feel my hands are dry again. We stop by a familiar place, where I remember I had to jump down through the floor to land into this hallway. Except this time we'll be crawling up through the space.
Tobin retrieves a ladder from the wall and we climb to the top. The flight of stairs are what we encounter next. Right before Sabine pushes open the stone trap door that leads outside, I tighten my ponytail and brush off my shirt. Then we step out onto the grass and I immediately look around.
The dark night covers most of my surroundings, only letting me see a few buildings. A couple of lights shine through windows, but I can't see what's inside because curtains block my view. But there are no people walking around, which I find odd. I'm almost expecting something to jump out at me as I look around through the dark. How late is it?
Sabine is the first to talk in the silence. Her whisper is so quiet I almost have to ask her to repeat herself. “Hey Vivian, how’s your stealth?”
I let out a small laugh. “Not very good.”
“Then you better work on it,” Tobin’s low voice whispers out from somewhere behind me. I turn my head to catch a look at him and see he has a frown on his face. “We don’t need you blowing our cover.”
Sabine scoffs. “Shut up, Tobin. I brought her here so she can learn. And we won’t do anything risky so she’ll be fine.”
I don't know what to say to that.
Sabine starts moving and we follow her. I try to land with silent steps, but I don't know if I succeed. All three of them move quickly, but their strides are light.
“Keep close,” Sabine whispers, walking near the walls of the buildings. The other two follow her in a line so I do the same thing.
“Where do you usually get the supplies?” I ask, throwing this question to any of the four people. Sabine is the one who replies.
“Various places,” she says in a whisper. “Sometimes a house if it’s empty, sometimes stuff lying on the ground, or the trash can. Sometimes we actually purchase things with money.”
We stop at the end of a building's wall. Sabine holds up a hand, signaling for us to be quiet. She peeks around the corner, and waits.
“All clear,” she says after a couple of seconds.
And I ask, “Where are we going now?”
Tobin’s voice and expression are grim and cold as he says, “Wherever’s the safest.”
I fold my arms over my chest, trying to keep myself warm.
“Pick up your pace,” Tobin says from behind me, annoyance visible in his voice.
I smirk to myself but jog a couple of steps closer to Sabine. Is this how Tobin always is? Sour and depressed? Or is it because my presence completely ruins his day?
“So you said you search through garbage cans. Is that what we'll be doing tonight?” I ask Sabine quietly. Tobin lets out an irritated breath behind us. The two girls with us have been quiet this whole trip.
Sabine shrugs but spots a garbage can at the same time I do. She jogs over to it and peeks in.
I shift my feet as I watch her pawing through the trash. This isn't what I do every day. She pulls out a flattened box but throws it back into the trash with a grunt.
“Come here,” she mutters, gesturing for me to walk toward her. “Try it yourself.” She makes digging through trash sound like it's the best thing in the world.
Hesitantly, I make my way over to the trash can. The smell of the garbage gets stronger with every step I take. My nose wrinkles.
Tobin and the one girl stand there, waiting for us.
As soon as I get enough strength in me to stick my hand into the scraps in the garbage can, Tobin clears his throat and says, “Can we split up? I’d rather be doing something else than watching the amateur dig through trash.”
The girl with us runs her fingers through her black hair, agreeing with him. This is the first time I hear her speak, but that's all she says.
Sabine lifts a few objects out of the trash and inspects them, nodding. “Yeah, sure. Just be careful.”
Tobin crosses his arms. In seconds, he's disappeared from our sight, telling us he won't wander too far.
The black-haired girl decides to help us instead of following Tobin.
Sabine clears her throat. “Sorry about my brother,” she says to me, giving me a brief look.
“That’s your brother?” I hiss, my voice just below a whisper. I glance in the direction I saw Tobin last.
Sabine nods. “Yeah. He’s isn’t usually like this, I promise.”
I lift a rag up from the trash can, but hold it away from me at arms length. “I may be the one that’s causing him to act this way,” I say. “He doesn’t seem like he likes me very much.”
Sabine doesn't look hurt, but I'm not sure if telling her this is a good idea, He is her brother after all. I don’t want to sound like I hate him, which I don’t.
Sabine exhales through her nose. “Yeah,” she says, dropping an object back into the trash can. “I noticed. Sorry about that. I might need to go talk to him.”
“It’s fine” is all I say as I take one more peek into the trash can. There’s nothing significant I can find.
There’s only paper and small strips of cloth. Maybe a few pieces of candy as well, but I'm not that desperate for candy.
By the time we finish picking through the trash, which I'm still not used to doing, the trash can’s smell lingers.
Tobin, the one girl, Sabine, and I continue walking through the dark streets. Sabine is carrying a couple of items we found in the trash. Tobin found a newspaper.
The smell of garbage doesn't leave my hands. And I know rubbing them on my shirt won't get rid of it, but I still try.
We stay close to the walls of the building as we walk. It's quiet, right up until the point Sabine turns her head to us. “You want to get some food from one of the markets?”
I almost stop walking. “What? Really? How are you going to do that?”
Sabine disappears into an alley and we follow her.
“We’ve done that a few times just to get a couple of snacks. Bigger groups usually get sent out to get bigger portions of food. I just like to go on random supply scavenges just to get several things for myself or my friends.” She holds up the pencil that she found in the trash can. “Like this pencil for instance. We like to draw.”
I nod, not sure what else I can say.
The dark-haired girl speaks up. “So are we heading to a bakery? I’m craving a cupcake right now.”
Sabine nods and turns to me. “Do you want anything?”
“What’s available?” I ask.
Sabine shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s a bakery. What do you think is available?”
I shrug back. “Maybe a...bagel?”
Sabine nods.
Her brother is next to hear the question. His answers quickly. “I'm coming with you.”
They're leaving us alone? What if someone sees us? I say my concerns aloud.
Sabine says, “Stay down here in the shadows. You should be fine.”
I hope so.
“The bakery’s just across the street,” she whispers to me and the girl. “We should be back in a few minutes.”
Tobin says one last thing to us, pointing a
finger. “If you’re spotted, you run.”
I nod and he focuses his attention at the bakery. Before he and Sabine disappear, I hear her whisper to him, “We’ll get in through the roof like we always do.”
They’re going to go through all this trouble just for some treats. I almost feel like I should complain to them, although I doubt they’d listen to me.
I crouch to the ground and lean against the alley’s wall, my arms crossed over my chest. We might be here for a while.
The girl waiting with me remains standing. “I hadn’t had a cupcake in forever,” she whispers. “We usually eat crackers and fish and other stuff.” Her words carry traces of annoyance. Maybe she doesn't like leaving there as much as I thought she does.
I ask her, “How long have you been living the hideout?”
“Half a month, maybe?”
“Do you like it there?”
She shrugs. “I mean, it’s better than living on the streets. I admit, it gets a little boring there. “You’re new here, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” I answer.
The girl laughs. “You appeared to have a little bit of trouble digging through the trash.”
I reciprocate the laugh. “Yeah.” I pause briefly to see if I can catch any sudden sound near us. I hear nothing. “It was kind of bad.”
“It’s not the last time you’ll do it.”
Then we wait in silence. I concentrate on the sounds around me. Nothing but crickets and the light wind.
The echo of footsteps startles me. I lift my head to look toward the exit of the alley. The footsteps aren't Tobin's or Sabine's. The sound is too careless and loud. Someone else is coming.
The dark-haired looks at me. “That's not them, is it?” So she hears it too.
I shake my head and put a finger to my lips. She nods.
The tap, tap, tap of the footsteps picks up speed, but stops unexpectedly. I hold my breath and try to relax. But my heart refuses to calm down. It hammers hard in my chest. A guard must be patrolling the street. Where are Tobin and Sabine?
Crash!
I jump and nearly tumble to the ground. An unfamiliar male voice only gets to form half a word before he gets cut of by something. “Secur—”
So that is a guard. But who's his enemy?
Both Tobin and Sabine skid into the alley, answering my last question. A box rests in each of their hands.
We run the opposite way, farther into the alley, as soon as Sabine motions for us to follow her.
Bang!
I nearly trip over my own feet at the sound. I don't dare look back, as it would slow me down. We slip into another alley as my heart threatens to burst out of my chest.
“What’s going on?” I whisper. No one seems to have heard me.
Two more gunshots ring out. I cringe but keep running, trying to follow Sabine and Tobin to wherever they're taking us. I'm already panting hard. My legs are sore from the sudden sprint. I'm not sure if I'll be able to push myself for long.
Sabine looks over her shoulder and calls, “If it comes to it, we’ll split up.”
Split up? My first time coming with them topside and this happens?
A figure appears around a corner of a building in front of us, raising a long object.
Without a second thought, I dive to my left, where there’s a narrow space created between two buildings. Whatever happens after that is something I don't care to know, and I don't. I only follow the narrow gap, where it appears to lead out onto another street.
Another boom rings out, and a female yelp follows. My blood goes cold and my mind immediately goes to Sabine and the girl. It can't be one of them, can it? What if it's a female guard?
Once I squeeze myself through the alley, I continue running across the new street.
A man dressed in an officer outfit jumps out from behind a large garbage can, raising a gun at me. There is no time to react. I only skid to a stop.
But he shows no mercy. His finger pulls the trigger, and I feel a sharp pinch in my shoulder. An electric shock runs throughout my entire body. My legs give out, and I crash to the cold ground.
~~~
My head pulses as I slowly come back into consciousness. For a few seconds, my eyes refuse to open. But once they do, my surroundings are a blur.
There's something tight around my wrist, digging into my skin. My arms are pulled behind the board that’s supporting my back. I'm in a chair, tied up.
Now I remember blacking out. What happened? Have I been kidnapped?
CHAPTER 12
V I V I A N
The room I’m in is cold and empty.
I've been placed in the middle of it, seated in a wooden chair. Another chair stands in front of me, but it's empty. There's an air vent on the ceiling, so there must be another room above me.
I turn my neck to get a look at what's hiding behind me. Just an empty wall. To my right is a door.
My ragged breathing is the only thing I hear. I blink, trying to keep my eyes from stinging.
Stop it, stop it, stop it. Not now.
I grit my teeth. They can't see me like this, with my face red. I pull at my hands, trying to tear whatever is holding them together. Handcuffs or a chain, judging by the cold wrap around my wrists. My feet are tied to the chair’s legs with what?...rope? I lean forward and strain my neck to check the material binding my legs. Not rope. Wire.
Footsteps coming from the other side of the only door in the room startle me. I lean back and keep my head turned forward, holding my breath and blinking a few more times.
The door opens and my head turns to see the visitor. It’s a man wearing a black crisp suit. Even though he looks organized and clean, his hair is a mess. He has his arms crossed over his chest as he makes his way over to me, stopping right by the empty chair. Very slowly, he takes a seat in the unoccupied chair and watches me. I am the first one to say something.
“What am I doing here?”
He smiles, but it isn’t a friendly smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “Vivian, right?” he says.
I stare at him, wondering how he could possibly know my name. Probably because of that commander guy I’d met. Denham, I believe.
The man in front of me introduces himself but I’m not sure why I care what his name is. “I’m Marcus. Marcus Kent. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of me, but I’m in charge of running this town.”
A brief memory of Denham mentioning the name Marcus Kent makes it’s way into my mind. He had said Marcus was their leader. What’s so important about me that this leader wants to come talk to me?
“You didn’t answer my question,” I say. “What am I doing here?”
Marcus gives a casual shrug and keeps his arms crossed. “I need some help. You came across so I figured you’d help us.”
I want to laugh. What makes him think I’m going to help him? “Ask someone else.”
“You’re the only one we could get to. We’ve tried in the past, but the others got away,” Marcus says.
I narrow my eyes. “What kind of others?” I say.
Sabine? The girl? Tobin? Where are they?
“The runaways,” he says. Then his voice gets louder. “We know they exist. They’re in hiding. And you’ve been there.”
I shake my head and try to relax. My heart is going a million miles an hour. “I don’t know any runaways or any hideouts. I’ve been living on my own for the past couple of days.”
“You were seen with a couple of them topside. They looked like they were familiar with you. You aren’t strangers. You’ve been staying with them. But the question is where? You’re going to show us their hideout.”
I glare at him. This man doesn’t scare me, no matter if he thinks he does. He's a leader, I know. He has potential to murder me, but I don't know why I barely feel fear around him.
I slide lower in my chair and scoff, simply saying, “I don’t know you.”
“You have no choice, Vivian,” he says, motionless in his chair with his arms crossed
.
I turn my head around to look at the emptiness of the room, answering, “I actually do have a choice. I don’t know where they live so I can’t take you there.”
Marcus rubs his temples. “How don’t you know where they live?” His voice is slowly raising volume. “You were with them.”
“I met a couple of people, but they never took me anywhere.” I notice I’m tapping my feet against the floor. I go still and keep my gaze on Marcus.
Marcus grunts. “You're lying. It's easy to tell.”
I say nothing.
Marcus leans forward and tilts his head. “They have a leader. What is his name?”
He knows there's a leader of the hideout. I have to tell Sabine and the others Marcus wants to find them.
“They took you inside of their hideout, and it's absolutely obvious you're part of it. Where is it? What is their leader's name?”
I notice he's not torturing me. He's only asking questions, gritting his teeth to try to intimidate me. I shake my head. “I've never been to their hideout,” I say slowly. Does a part of him think I'm telling the truth. Can really tell if I'm lying?
I need to lead him away from the hideout. I need to think of something.
“Rian.” The word just decides to escape by itself. I swallow and continue. “That's the name of the leader. They told me his name, but I've never seen him.”
I shut my eyes and look down at my knees. Why Rian? Couldn't I have just thought of some other name?
“Rian,” Marcus repeats.
I nod, trying to remain calm despite the tugging in my stomach. “Know him?” My voice shakes.
“Am I supposed to?”
I don't answer because I don't know.
Marcus clasps his hands together. “You will assist us in this mission Vivian, whether you like it or not.”
I pull on my handcuffs. “I’ve had enough of being part of projects and missions. Just leave me alone. Leave them alone,” I say, referring to the people in the hideout. “What have they done to you anyway?”
Marcus sighs. “Just imagine us as the police. Imagine them as the criminals. Cops want to catch criminals and keep their town safe, right?”
I look at him for a few moments. “You can forget about my help.”
“Like I said, Vivian, you have no choice in this.” He leans toward the door and calls out, “You can enter now.”
I turn to the door as it is pushed open. A young girl walks through, carrying a small box. She pulls the lid open as she nears me. Inside is a syringe.
