Before she could protest further, Ike grabbed her as if she were weightless. Then he shoved her into a sitting position, pushed her down on to a cold concrete step, and shut the door over her.
‘Let me out, please.’ She beat her fists on the door, in spite of the splinters that rammed into her flesh.
‘Keep it down,’ Ike called back. ‘I’ll come for you when I can. It won’t take long. Just stay quiet until I get rid of them.’
From behind her, Kit could still feel the warmth of the kitchen. From beneath, she could feel the darkness and the cold creep up. Something scuttled below, a critter of some type.
Laughter erupted in the room above. Music. Kit lowered her head and, as the dizziness crashed through her, fought for breath.
THIRTEEN
Ike continued leaning against the sink as he watched Jessica and Lucas laughing about what they had liberated that day. From below, he heard a thump and something that sounded like a muffled voice. Shit. He needed to get rid of Jessica for a while so he and Lucas could talk about Katherine. The look on her face as Ike had closed the door over her had been pure terror. Poor girl had been through enough already. Ike would do right by her, though, and she’d be out of there before she knew it.
Lucas put the long white box on the counter and opened it. The smell of sugar rushed into Ike’s nostrils, straight to his brain. His mouth watered.
‘You know how I love cake,’ he said.
Most of all, he loved the frosting, but he had to be polite. His granny had taught him that.
‘What do you think?’ Lucas asked.
‘Chocolate fudge?’ Ike knew that’s what it must be.
‘Boston cream. Vanilla pudding in the middle.’
‘Where’d you liberate it?’
‘Some poor guy’s funeral. He’ll never miss it.’
‘And two fat pink roses.’ Ike reached out for them.
‘Roses belong to Jessica,’ Lucas said. ‘The rest looks pretty good, though. Shall we dig in?’
‘Maybe later.’ Ike used to always get the roses. He stood up to his full height and stared down at Lucas. ‘Could we go outside for a moment?’
‘And freeze our butts off? Anything we need to talk about, we can discuss right here.’
Ike’s dad, Mr Cop Man, would have described Lucas as a bandy rooster, the way he strutted in front of the wood stove with his gelled hair and his puffy little jacket, neither of which made him look bigger than he was.
‘I was hoping we could speak alone.’ Ike glanced over at Jessica.
‘I’ve got a new logic puzzle for you,’ Lucas told him. ‘This is like a Rubik’s Cube on speed.’
Friendship involved knowing each other’s weaknesses as well as strengths. Ike didn’t fall for it, though.
‘There’s something we need to talk about first.’
‘I can take a hint.’ Jessica plucked one of the roses off the top of the cake, took a big bite out of it, and gave Ike a smile full of frosting.
Lucas settled into the beat-up deck chair and watched her leave. Then he looked up at Ike. ‘She’s perfect, isn’t she?’
‘To you, I guess.’
‘She’s one of us.’ Lucas turned around and gave Ike a grin as artificial as the frosting flower Jessica had just taken. ‘Don’t fight it so hard, and we’ll all have a better life here.’
‘That’s what I wanted to ask you about,’ Ike said. ‘Having a better life here.’
Lucas reached in front of him and patted the big stuffed pillow he called a hassock. ‘Come over here so I can see you, friend.’
Ike went but wasn’t sure. The hassock always sank down heavily with his weight, and if he wasn’t careful, a spring would poke him in the ass. Ike managed to avoid it.
Lucas leaned forward and widened those clear blue eyes. ‘What’s on your mind, Ike?’
‘Well.’ Ike got tongue-tied.
‘It’s OK, friend. Just spit it out.’
But he couldn’t. All he could think about was Jessica and the frosting, Katherine down below them, and those blue eyes that seemed to mock him before he as much as spoke. He looked at the cowboy hat Lucas had placed on the table, and that made him a little brave. Lucas wasn’t a god. In his own way, in spite of being a genius, he was as screwed-up as the rest of them.
‘Lucas,’ Ike managed to say. ‘Do you know anything about the Beatles?’
‘How many times have I said I have no interest in old rock and roll?’
‘I don’t mean the music. I mean the band. They were tight, dude, and then John Lennon hooked up with Yoko, and it all went to hell.’
‘Thank you for sharing,’ Lucas said in a voice so bland that he could have passed for the Weasel. And that was the point, wasn’t it? To make Ike feel like an idiot.
‘I’m saying that Jessica is our Yoko.’
That took Mr Smart Ass by surprise. His eyes darted for a moment, but then the smile returned. ‘Nice metaphor, but incorrect. Jessica doesn’t want to break up anything.’
‘Then why did you give her the rose?’
‘She’s new, scared. And she had a hell of a time getting here. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Ike.’
‘My feelings are fine.’ He shifted his weight on the hassock and hoped the spring wouldn’t get him. ‘But since she’s been here, you’ve changed. All you want to do is hang out with her.’
‘Do I detect a little jealousy there? You’re not interested in her, are you?’
‘God, no,’ Ike said too fast. ‘But I do … I’d really like to bring in someone new. A girl.’
Lucas’s eyes narrowed to slits. ‘Where did you find a girl?’
‘Someone I’ve known. She needs a place to stay, and I figure if you can invite Jessica, why can’t I invite her?’
Lucas folded his hands together. He looked hurt. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you have a girlfriend?’
‘Not that kind of girlfriend,’ he said. ‘She has some issues because of her childhood. Bastards ought to have their balls ripped out.’
‘Does she know about our place?’
Ike stared at the basement door and prayed she didn’t start making noise. ‘No.’
‘You sure?’
‘You think I’m stupid, Lucas? Oh, that’s right. Of course you do.’
‘Strength isn’t only mental.’ Lucas got up and started for the table. Then he stopped, one foot on the trap door. ‘There are many types. Strength of fairness, strength of hope, kindness …’
‘Spare me. You’re channeling the Weasel again.’
‘The man’s not entirely devoid of brains. In a way, we owe him.’
Ike fumbled to his feet and walked toward the sink, hoping Lucas would follow. Katherine would be able to hear their conversation if she had stayed on the stairs. Worse, Lucas could hear her if she screamed.
‘Owe the Weasel? How?’
‘If not for him, none of us would know each other.’ Lucas frowned and then leaned down and replaced the crumpled rug over the door. Ike panicked. He needed to distract him. Then he remembered how Lucas had tried to bait him with the new logic puzzle. Yes, friendship involved knowing each other’s weaknesses as well as strengths.
The red-and-black fire starter lay on the kitchen counter. Ike pointed it like a gun, pushed the release forward, and pulled the trigger. A click and then a slender flame slid out the end.
‘So about this girl,’ Ike said.
Lucas left the rug where it was, stood, and drifted over to the sink like a sleepwalker.
‘What are you doing with that?’
‘I thought we could use a couple more logs on the wood stove.’ Ike extended the flame closer to Lucas. ‘What do you think?’
A thud came from the basement.
Lucas jerked his head away from the flame. ‘Did you hear that?’
‘Didn’t hear anything,’ Ike said. ‘Storm’s kicking up tonight. Hey, I’ll get the logs. Why don’t you light them?’
Lucas passed Ike the potholder and fo
llowed him to the stove. Ike opened the hot door with the thin potholder and rubbed his hands together.
‘How about it, Lucas? This girl Katherine’s hurting as bad as we were one time. Can’t you let her stay?’
‘How can you be sure she’ll keep this place secret?’ Lucas glanced up from the fire, still holding the flame he had used to start it. In the light from their blaze, his eyes took on the same intensity.
‘She’s like us just as much as Jessica is.’
‘But Jessica was a First Year. She remembers what we went through in order to protect who we are. She knows what that bastard put us through.’
‘Katherine’s torture was different from ours, but in the end it’s all the same. Besides, she needs us.’
‘And Ike Boy needs to be needed.’ Lucas flashed that smile that made Ike feel small.
‘What of it?’
‘As I recall, I’m the one who selects the new people.’
‘Then can’t you select her?’
Lucas glanced back at the flames the way he would an old friend that he was reluctant to leave. ‘I’d have to talk to her,’ he told Ike. You can’t just bring in any runaway off the street and expect them to fit with the dynamics of this group.’
‘You told me yourself we need fresh blood – someone who doesn’t share our history and dysfunction.’
‘I only meant we need a variety of skills here,’ he said. ‘More drones. And our dysfunction, both as a group and individually, is what makes us strong. No one will ever break our bond.’
‘Not even Jessica?’
‘As I said, she’s one of us. Besides, it’s pretty clear that she likes Wyatt.’
‘She always has,’ Ike said. ‘That’s why she put that whole rescue thing in motion that night. What are you going to do about it?’
‘Not a thing.’ Lucas pulled his down jacket closer and stood up as straight and tall as a guy his size could. ‘This compound is about being who we want to and were meant to be. It’s about celebrating what the Weasel tried to take from us. If Jessica wants Wyatt, that’s what I want.’
‘And if I want you to let Katherine stay here?’
‘Then that’s what I want.’
Ike almost gasped. Dealing with Lucas was usually a bigger challenge than Killer Sudoku.
‘Thanks, man.’ He leaned down and closed the door to the wood stove. The room grew dimmer even though it was early afternoon.
‘Except.’ Lucas’s voice deepened.
‘Except what?’
‘She’ll have to do something to prove herself.’
‘No sex,’ Ike said. ‘I told you what she’s been through.’
‘I get that, but she still needs a test. Something that will prove we can trust her, and something that will bind her to us in case she changes her mind later.’
Ike remembered the test at the Weasel’s camp, and what had almost happened to Wyatt. He pulled his gloves over his scarred hands.
‘Nothing like that,’ he said. ‘Don’t make her hurt anybody.’
‘I can’t make her do anything. Let’s put our heads together.’ He almost bounced to the front door on the balls of his feet. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was a happy little boy, which in a way he was. ‘I’m sure we’ll figure it out.’
‘We always do,’ Ike said.
Then, as if he had forgotten something, Lucas walked back, and Ike hoped it wasn’t to check out the basement.
He marched up to Ike and put out his hand. ‘Still friends?’
‘Always.’ They shook the way they had that first day.
‘No woman is going to come between us.’
‘If you say so,’ Ike said.
Lucas pretended not to hear. He headed to the table. When he turned, his eyes gleamed the way they had the day they met.
In his extended hand sat the remaining rose. Ike reached out for it, and Lucas shook his head.
‘I’m taking this to Jessica,’ he said, his tone apologetic. ‘Got to keep my word. You understand.’
FOURTEEN
Kit sat on the cold step and held on to it as if she were steering a vehicle and would crash the moment she let go. She was huddled like a child, unable to speak or scream. Clammy air touched her face and slid along her neckline, making her think of those creatures Ike had described to her. Kit could barely breathe, and her mind rushed back to a time so far in the past that she barely had words for it. Locked in. Locked in forever. Cold. No, she could not go there. Jessica might be only a wall away. Kit had to stay strong until she could talk to her.
At first, she had tried to shout. Then she realized that enduring this and dealing with only Ike later might be far better than dealing with whatever was going on above this horrible place. Unable to see, she had leaned against a loose brick and knocked it to the floor. The hopeless sound it made when it hit the floor convinced her to just sit. As the chilled air started to feel like dust in her nostrils, she shifted position again and accidently dislodged a second brick. She felt as if she were falling. She let the brick go, but her bag went with it. Both dropped into the pit below.
‘Please,’ she said to no one.
Ike didn’t dare leave her here. He would come back. Yet Ike must be crazy or close to it. If Dr Weaver was correct, these kids had all been lost at some point, disturbed, and maybe dangerous. Now, here she crouched, in their basement, on a Tuesday afternoon that would soon ease into night. Her bag held her phone. Kit had only one choice.
Slowly, she carefully butt-walked herself down the stairs and tried to ignore the sudden activity of creatures that had been here longer than she had and were disturbed by her presence. She could do this, one cold slippery step at a time. She tried to conjure Richard’s face, and hated the fact that they had argued. Once she got to the bottom, she would call him first, and he would find her. They would deal with the rest later. Right now, she just wanted out of here. Hands on each side of her, she needed to push herself down to the next step. She could see a thin rectangle of light coming from the bottom, but that door was padlocked. She had only one way out, and that was the way she had just come. First, though, her phone. As she started to shift herself to the next step, she reached out and felt a sturdy object beside her. The bag. She stifled a cry, shoved her hand into it, and felt for her phone.
Too nervous. That’s all. She just needed to empty it out, but she couldn’t see well. Maybe best just to scoop through it with her fingers. She touched her wallet, her makeup bag, a tampon, her credit cards, and flimsy papers that must be grocery store receipts. No phone.
She lost track of time. As before, she sat motionless, thinking nothing, being nothing, letting time pass.
A noise at the top of the stairs alerted her. But she glanced down to where the outline of the padlocked door had been and saw nothing. It must be night.
With a creaking sound, the top door opened, and Ike’s heavy shoe landed on the top step.
‘It’s OK,’ he said. ‘We worked it out. Kind of. Come on up.’
‘Not sure I can,’ she told him. ‘Can you unlock the outside door?’
‘Don’t have the key.’ He stepped farther down and put out his hand. ‘Come back up here, to me. You can do it.’
‘They’re too steep.’ This was ridiculous. She could climb a flight of stairs in her sleep. But these stairs – too close together, too shallow, and too cold – had no rails. ‘It will take me a minute.’
‘I’ll come get you.’
Ike skimmed the steps like a dancer. In spite of his size, he made it down in seconds. Once he landed on the step in front of her, he put out his hand again, this time close enough for her to touch. ‘Grab hold of me, Katherine, and we’ll get you out of here.’
‘Why did you leave me?’ She fought to keep the fear from her voice.
‘Had to talk to Lucas. I’m sorry. I never meant to make you stay down here, but I had to wait until I was sure he wouldn’t see you.’
He reached out for her hand. As he did, his feature
s came into focus. In the darkness, he looked even scarier. In the dim light of this place, she forced herself to ignore his appearance and focus on his voice, which was kind.
‘My bag.’ She handed it to him.
‘No problem.’ He leaned over her. ‘Just hang on to my hand. We’ll take as long as you need.’
‘Is anyone up there?’ she asked.
‘Not right now. They went for pizza. Usually, Lucas, Jessica, and a few others stay here, but since Wyatt arrived, Jessica has all kinds of ideas of places to go. I know you don’t like the idea of staying in my quarters, but it’s best for tonight.’
‘You’ve got to drive me back to town,’ she told him.
‘One job at a time. And the only job I can handle right now is getting you out of here.’
‘I need to leave here tonight. Maybe we can sneak out before they get back.’
He squeezed her hand. ‘Just a few more steps.’
She took a breath and struggled behind him. Finally, they reached the top of the concrete stairs, and Kit tried to rush into the warmth of the room.
She missed a step and stumbled. Somehow, the next step slid from beneath her too. She screamed all the way down, feeling the sound inside her head as well as outside as she bumped uncontrollably like a child in a snowsuit down a hill. When she landed, she wanted to cave into herself, but this was the moment she had to get strong.
‘Don’t move, Katherine.’
Ike hurried down the stairs. Adrenaline kicked in with a jolt. She would move, all right. She would get the hell out of this place.
Kit shot up and immediately felt her ankle.
‘It’s OK,’ Ike told her. ‘Stay right there. I told you to be careful.’
If she had a remaining brick to throw at him, she would have, but the pain in her ankle was too real for her to balance on it now. She needed him to get her out of there.
‘Easy does it.’ He reached down and took her arm. ‘Lean against me. I could carry you out of here if I had to, but it’s best if we do it this way.’
She did as he asked. Every step sent fire through her foot and her leg. She could limp, but that was about it. The only way she could get out of there now was with him.
Goodbye Forever Page 11
