by Jodie Kobe
I freeze. Then, without warning, my body completely snaps. I kick, trying to get the wires around my legs to untie. What's inside the syringe?
“Get that away from me!” I almost yell out. But the girl doesn’t flinch as she walks toward me, holding the syringe in her hand.
Marcus is calm and collected as he stands up. The girl stands behind me, but doesn't do anything. She's waiting for Marcus to say something. Is she going to inject whatever is in the syringe, right into me?
“Like I said, Vivian,” Marcus says, putting his hands behind his back. “There’s no getting out of this. You will help us.”
“No,” I say, for the nth time.
But I can't stop the syringe from impaling me. There's a pinch in my arm, then it stops just as suddenly as it came. The girl does not appear in my vision again.
“What is that?” I ask, clenching my teeth.
Marcus gives me a tiny smile. “It’s simply a tracker. When you'll be taken to the criminal's hideout, we'll know exactly where you will be located. Easy, right? See? You really have no choice in this.”
I still have a choice. I can choose not to enter their hideout. I can stay outside and live on my own.
But I’m not a survivor.
The next words Marcus says make me freeze. “Knock her out.”
CHAPTER 13
V I V I A N
There’s a pulsing in my head as I open my eyes.
I’m on the concrete, in an alley...sprawled out in a small puddle of water. I squint my eyes.
An unusual blue glow is coming from under the skin of my right forearm. As I stare at it, the memories come flooding back in.
The tracer.
Marcus had it injected into my arm. That’s the cause of the glow. I rub and tap at the spot, but the glow remains. Damn it.
Groaning from my pulsing head, I push myself to my feet, using the alley walls for support. The right side of my t-shirt is wet from the puddle of water I woke up in. I brush a hand over the soaking wet half of the shirt, grimacing.
The sun is already setting, leaving orange and blue streaks in the sky. I stumble out of the alley, my hand clutching my head.
A woman passes me, and when she throws a glance my way, her brow is furrowed with disapproval. I'm about to ask why she's frowning like that when I catch a word out of her mumbling sentence. “...drunk...”
Before I can tell her it’s not what she thinks, she’s gone and I feel too nauseous to come after her. The streets are occupied by people and cars, but despite my sudden claustrophobia kicking in, I force my wobbly legs to keep moving.
A bench is not too far away, so that's where I decide to sit down. My head spins, and pulses, and no matter how hard or how long I try to rub my temples, it decides to stay. Why am I like this? The thought of this being a side affect of a drug slips into my head reluctantly, but I push it away.
Pedestrians and cars pass by. While I watch them, I notice they decrease one by one, at the same time the sun starts to disappear.
Last night was a mess. I remember my first step out of the hideout. I remember the group I came with.
But something happened; I just can't grab on to the memory. There was a gunshot, but I don't know who is the one who took the bullet. And where did the group go? Have they been kidnapped like I have, or are they safe? I need to find them somehow, but I don’t know how. Marcus would have told me if they caught someone, wouldn’t he? He seems like the type of person who would share his accomplishments, but I don't know him enough to say that I'm correct.
The group could be fine. But maybe...maybe they’re getting interrogated right now. What if they get the same tracker I received?
I sigh and lean back on the bench, perplexed on what my next decision should be. The only thing I’m certain of is I can’t go back to the hideout, not when my location can be tracked by the police. I have to stay away. But what if someone notices my absence? I'm not sure that will happen.
The blue glow on my right forearm is gone. What does the light even mean?
“Hey, ma’am!” a man’s voice suddenly calls out from my left. I turn my head in that direction, suspicious that he's taking to me. Sure enough, a man stands there, finger in my direction. He wears a dark blue uniform. And barely peeking from behind his back is a rifle. This man is an officer.
I get to my feet and slowly make my way over to him. He tells me, “You should be heading home by now, judging by how late it is.”
I don’t recognize him from anywhere, which means he probably doesn’t know me either, which is good. He doesn’t know I don’t live here. But I play along, nodding, “Sorry. I felt like staying out here for a couple of hours more. I’ll be heading home now.”
He returns my nod, and when I expect him to say something else, he walks off. I go the opposite way, looking over my shoulder to see where he is. He has stopped at the corner of the block with his back turned to me.
I keep moving, heading farther into the town.
A building appears in front of me, the letters OPEN glowing orange above the doorway. The building is worn down, but the windows are bright, which shows that the lights still work. There are no other letters telling me what this building actually is. A bar? A restaurant? Something tells me it's one of those options. But it's still open when no one is outside?
Curious, I keep walking, heading for the building. But as I get closer, I see that there are no curtains shielding the windows like the other buildings have. Whatever is inside this bar is free to be seen by passerby.
Round tables have been placed around the building's room. A counter is all the way on the other side, and someone occupies it. A woman. She must be the worker Other than her, there is one customer seated at one of the tables, hunched over a sheet of paper. This must be some kind of bar.
I pull the door open and step in.
As soon as the woman spots me, a large smile appears on her face. But she looks tired, and I understand that she would rather be asleep than wait for customers who are not likely to show up. In a clear, loud voice, she calls from across the room to me. “Can I help you with anything?”
My eyes settle on an empty table by the window. “Can I just sit down?” I ask her.
Her hand gestures around the whole room, so I take that as an invitation to pick my own table. I sit down and turn my head toward the window. The streets look darker from here, and completely empty. So at night, everyone disappears into their homes. But what if they don't follow their curfew? What happens then?
“Would you like a menu?”
The woman's voice interrupts me from my thoughts, and I turn my head to look at her. I had not heard her footsteps, but she's standing right by my side.
She sets a sheet of paper in front of me, and before she walks away, I ask her for the time.
Almost midnight.
I pretend to study the menu, but in truth, I'm staring out the window. As good as it sounds right now, I cannot order food. I have no way of paying, so I'm just going to have to sit in this silence and act like I'm still making my choice.
Through the window, I see two figures turn the corner in the dark street. Their stride is fast, but they aren’t running. One of them—the female—is turning her head left and right, almost like she's looking for something.
A familiarity tugs at my stomach, and as soon as I squint my eyes to get a better look at her, I realize she's Sabine.
What is she doing here? Did Marcus kidnap her like he did me? Did he let her go with a tracker in her arm? Is she choosing to stay away from the hideout to keep the others safe?
I hastily look around the room, not sure what I’m looking for exactly. A hiding spot? A way I could casually walk out? Sabine and the man with her are heading toward the bar, and I'm not doubting they won't spot me. I'm right by the lit window. Surely Sabine has memorized my face enough to figure out it's me? Is she looking for me?
No, that's impossible. I'm not that important.
I leave the menu at the
table and push myself up from the chair. The worker notices because she calls out, “Leaving so soon? Aren't you going to order?”
I shake my head and put my hand on the doorknob. “I’ll come back later.” It sounds more like a question, but I leave it at that, slipping through the door and shutting it behind me. There is no blast of wind to my face like I'm expecting. It’s calm and humid.
My short conversation with the lady inside was long enough for Sabine and her companion to get from the other side of the street to where I'm standing.
Sabine stands right in front of me, jumping back when she realizes that it's the short, new girl she found. “Vivian?” I'm surprised she remembers my name.
I nod slowly.
Sabine lets out a breath of air. “You’re okay!” She points behind her. “A team was sent out to search for you, and we’ve been looking everywhere! And here you are!”
I blink. “You have? How long have you been out here?” How long have I been with Marcus Kent?
Sabine shrugs. “Caleb sent us out today in the morning. We stayed outside for a couple of hours, but we couldn’t find you. When it got dark, we tried again. Where have you been? Why didn't you come back to the hideout?”
I open my mouth to talk but my first couple of words are stuttered. “I abandoned you guys that night when those guards came.” I pause and look down at my feet. “Then something happened.”
“What happened?” Sabine whispers. The man behind her, who I still have no idea who he is, tries to say something, but Sabine stops him. “What happened?” she repeats.
Instead of answering her question, I say, “What happened to you? There was a gunshot. Was anyone hurt?”
Sabine laughs, but I don't see humor in that. “Nobody was hurt. Except that man that tried to shoot us. Tobin bashed that guard’s head on a brick wall.”
I cringe and find myself taking a step back. Had that resulted in the guard's death? I’m reluctant to ask, but I do anyway. “What happened to him?”
“Who? Tobin or the guard?” Sabine must know who I’m talking about. I couldn't care less about Tobin. Without waiting for an answer, she adds, “He blacked out, I think. Probably got a concussion.” She shrugs like it’s no big deal and grabs my arm to try and drag me forward. “Let's go.”
Back to the hideout, I’m guessing. I plant my feet on the concrete and pull my arm back. “I can’t go,” I say.
Sabine looks taken aback. She blinks a few times, staring at me. “Wha—? What do you mean you can’t go back? Sure you can.”
“The police are tracking me.” I point to my right forearm, where the blue glowing light of the tracker had been visible once. It’s not there anymore so I don’t have any visible proof of the tracker to show to Sabine and the man with her. She just has to take my word for it.
She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean? Is that where you were all day?” Her voice rises. “Helping those guards?”
I shake my head. “No. They shot me and I blacked out. I woke up tied to a chair and...I talked to someone named Marcus.”
Sabine tilts her head back and laughs. But it’s a shaky laugh. Her voice cracks when she says, “That leader guy? He’s tracking you right now?”
“Yes. He wants me to lead him to your hideout.”
Sabine takes in a deep breath. “But you won’t? That’s why you don’t want to go back.”
I nod. “I’m going to stay out here. If he’s listening in, then he knows what I’m trying to do.”
Sabine scratches her head. “We could send out a couple of people to protect you out here. You won’t be alone.”
“No. I don’t need any help. Just go. Before anyone comes.” Maybe they're already here, watching. Or maybe they're never coming at all. I wouldn't know. My hand tries to wave off Sabine. “Go.”
“Are you sure you’ll be fine on your own?”
“No,” I say. I don't how long I'll be able to survive on my own, but I'll find out soon enough.
“I’ll get you some help.” Sabine starts backing away, pointing to me. “You stay safe for now. Don’t get into any trouble.” She disappears, the man following after her, before I can even think of anything else to say. She doesn't know me that well, so why does she want to help me?
I don’t need her to put anybody in danger just so they could protect me. I'm fine on my own with however many days fate decides to give me.
CHAPTER 14
RIAN
It's like nothing but this wilting, gray field has ever existed. That's how it appears through my eyes. Uninhabitable and toxic. And I had never in my right mind thought I’d be standing on Earth's ground again.
Is this what Vivian saw?
Fox, Laurey, Addison, and I have been walking for what feels like a long time now. The device still continues to mark Vivian's location, and the radio built inside our helmets still works between the four us, but we can’t call the guys back in the complex.
The signal doesn’t reach that far. We were told to keep going, even if we lost the signal. They were expecting this.
“We could’ve at least packed a lunch,” Fox’s radio voice says inside my helmet. I turn to look over at him and see he’s still walking with us. Well, not really walking, but dragging his feet after him. When we left the building, he had been enthusiastic, making jokes and gazing out into the field just like we all were. But that excitement disappeared quickly.
Addison sighs. “Well, I can’t really make you feel better by telling you we’re almost there, because I have no idea if we are.” She points far into the distance. “All I know is we have to keep going that way. What if nothing lives there?”
“Snakes could live there,” Fox starts. “Tiny ones.”
“Or squirrels,” Addison adds. “Or chipmunks.”
“Or birds,” I add.
Silence follows.
Fox breaks it. “Hang on.” He crouches down on his knees and pokes his gloved hands into the earth’s ground, occasionally pawing at it.
We all watch him. Addison is the one to question his actions aloud. “What exactly are you doing?”
Fox keeps digging. But then he stops and brings his face closer to the small hole he’s made. He reaches into the soil, stands up, and holds his hand up to his face, his fingers pinched like he’s found something small.
“What?” Addison walks over to stand by his side. She snatches his wrist and pulls his hand closer to her helmet-covered face, trying to get a better view of what he’s found. “What is that?”
“An insect,” Fox says. “Proof that’s it’s possible something can live out here.”
I walk over to Fox. “You found a bug?”
Fox nods and brings his pinched fingers in front of my face. I squint at it. Sure enough, I see the black bug.
“And you just happened to have picked it up?” I ask.
The pane of glass built in the helmet is too dark for their face expression to be seen. The sound of their voice is the only thing I can use to at least get a small idea of what they're feeling. So I just stand there, gaze locked on the black pane of glass.
Fox continues to examine the insect between his fingers. “Something else lives here too. We just have to find it.” I can hear a smile creeping on his face as he says these words.
Addison is about to say something, but I interrupt. “How about we just keep going, okay? Every second we spend, we might be putting ourselves in danger.”
“Or putting Vivian in danger,” Laurey, who has barely spoken this entire time, says.
Fox snorts. “She might already be dead.”
~~~
My feet are throbbing, and I can't help but think that maybe I have a thousand blisters on my skin. I'm only minutes from collapsing onto the ground, and I'm sure if I do, I won't wake up again.
The last time we ate anything was an hour before we left the building. And how many hours we’ve been on the move is something I can't answer.
If we did pack food, it's not like we'd be able to
take off our helmets and eat it. Not in this toxic environment. But how was Vivian able to breathe? There had been no protective suit over her when she had been thrown away. If she is able to breathe this, maybe we can too. But I know the air is not the only thing that I should be worried about. It's what sort of threats are out here.
But nothing has come up so far, and our weapons stay where they are, in their holsters. Laurey told us she doesn't want to be forced to shoot, and secretly, neither do I.
“Oh, look at that!” Addison’s voice exclaims. I snap out of my thoughts and focus on what she’s pointing at. Green weeds. I haven't been focusing on my surrounds at all these past several minutes, so I have not noticed that we have just come across green plants. So much different from the gray environment we have been walking across. I feel a small smile start to creep onto my face.
Addison starts toward the purple flowers ahead of us, running her hand along every plant she passes. She turns her head around to look at our surroundings, yelling, “This is beautiful!” Since there’s a radio right in my ear, her shout vibrates, and I cringe as my ears start ringing. My black helmets prevents me from rubbing my ear.
The sound bothers Fox too. He mutters something I can't understand, and then adds, “Dude, don’t shout. We’ll go deaf.”
Addison turns back to us three and gasps. “Wait! Plants make oxygen, right?”
Fox coughs, but it sounds more like he thinks the answer is obvious and Addison shouldn't be asking the question. At least that's what I think. “Yes,” he answers.
“So,” Addison starts,“that means there’s oxygen out here, right? We’ll be able to breathe without our helmets.”
“I agree with that,” I say. “But...along with the oxygen, there could be a bunch of other chemicals mixed in.”
“Maybe there aren’t,” Addison mutters, looking less enthusiastic than she had been. She looks down at her feet.
“Might be or might not, I don’t want to take that chance,” I say.
~~~
Hills emerge on the horizon ahead of us. They block the view of whatever is behind them. Seeing them gives me new motivation. Maybe because there could be something on the other side. Vivian could be on the other side. Did she really walk the same distance we did? That’s unbelievable. Why would she just decide to go see what’s out here? Had she tried to find access to the underground complex? We would have let her back in.
