"It's back here," I say and turn around to retrace our footsteps.
In no time at all, we are back at the tree. Its base is so wide I couldn’t close my arms around it. Wooden knots as big as my fist protrude all up and down its trunk, making for an easy climb.
"It should be that way," I say and point to my left.
Tank limps past me and leads the way. It takes him several minutes to find the road, as he sometimes has to backtrack. His injured leg doesn't help.
"We're not far," Tank says and turns left on the path. "We need to reach the bunker before noon so let's hurry."
"Bunker?" I ask. "I thought we were looking for a vehicle."
Tank glances back at me and smiles. "You're going to love this." He takes off faster than before in sort of a hopping run.
I jog after him, my curiosity piqued. After a minute of running, I realize something odd about the road. There are deep grooves on each side as if heavy vehicles have traveled on it. Not recently, but the road wasn't like this the last time I was on it. I wonder what could have made them, especially this far out into the woods.
The sun has fully risen now. Its fractured light breaks through parts of the canopy above us, warming the top layer of earth. Parts of the road become muddy, making it slippery especially for Tank. He's had to slow back down and rely more on his makeshift cane for assistance. He continually curses and punches at trees. It's the most frustrated I've ever seen him.
"Hey Tank," Smoke calls from the rear. "You want me to carry you?"
Despite his earlier grief, Link laughs. Even I giggle, but quickly cover my mouth when Tank flashes us a deadly look and growls, "Only if you want to lose a hand."
Tank returns to his odd run/hop maneuver. He slips a couple of times, but manages to stay upright. It looks painful, especially when I notice blood seeping through his bandages.
"It was just a joke, Tank," I say, jogging to catch up to him. Even though he's not running full speed, his strides are three times bigger than mine. I match his pace. "We need to change your dressings."
"When we get there." His face is pinched with pain.
I sigh, knowing there's no arguing with him. Tank continues to skip his way forward for nearly three hours before he finally stops. His entire bandage is soaked in blood. Little trails of blood drip down to his heel.
"Sit down," I order him.
"We're here." He points through the trees.
I slowly turn around. Not far from us is a metal building—but not like one I have ever seen before. It's long, rectangular in shape, and much bigger than any cabin you might find in the woods. There are five garage doors on its front, three of them twice as high as normal. The roof is also unusual. Grass and small bushes grow on its top.
"What is this?" I ask.
"This is the bunker I was talking about," Tank says. "Come on. Let me show you the inside."
Tank limps around to the side of the building and stops in front of a door with a keypad. He enters the password. The door pops open, and Tank holds it open for me.
I step inside and freeze, unable to believe what I'm looking at. Link pushes by me, as does Smoke.
"Whoa! What is this place?" Link asks. He crosses to the nearest vehicle and peers inside.
Smoke whistles low.
The room is enormous! Just in front of me are four vehicles, two vans and two smaller vehicles, but parked on the far end are three big buses that must seat at least a hundred people each. All kinds of boxes are stacked against the wall. I walk across the dirt floor to a few of them and read their labels: blankets, kitchen, medical.
"This was Colt's idea," Tank says and looks at me. "It was the first thing he did after you left for Eden. He knew if anything bad were to happen to the island, Originals would need to be evacuated and have a safe place to go."
Smoke circles one of the vans, eyeing it up and down. "And how exactly was this Colt going to get everyone off the island? The sub holds twenty people max."
Tank lowers to the floor and removes his bloodied bandages. "A few miles away, he has a large boat docked. From the sky, it looks run down and abandoned, but that's only because it was painted that way. It would take a few trips, but it will get everyone safely off Purgatory."
"But won't the Institute see them?" Link asks.
"Like I said," Tank says, and grimaces as he presses a cloth to the back of his leg, "it's only for emergencies. If we have to evacuate Purgatory, then being seen is the least of our worries."
A knot tightens in my stomach. I reach into my pocket to feel the small disc Max gave me, hoping I never have to hear it beep.
"What's downstairs?" Smoke asks.
I turn around. Smoke's standing at the top of an opening into the floor on the far side of the room.
"Give me a second to fix this leg and I'll show you. It's the best part."
While we wait for Tank, I check the bandage on my own arm. It's bleeding again but not enough to change it.
"How's your side, Link?" I ask.
He stretches a little. "I've had worse."
Tank stands and looks down at his freshly bandaged leg. "I think I'm good. Come on." He limps to the top of the stairs.
At the bottom, he says, "Illuminate." One by one, a series of lights reveal the immense room. Rows and rows of bunk beds fill most of the space, with a bunch of tables and chairs toward the back. The size of it takes my breath away. Link nudges me, his eyes wide.
"Bathrooms are over there," Tank says, pointing to his left. "And on the opposite wall, where you see those double doors, is a kitchen with all kinds of food."
"What's behind that metal door?" Link asks. He's staring beneath the stairs we just came down.
"The weapons room," Tank answers. "Let's hope no one ever has to use it."
"I don't even know what to say," I breathe.
Tank lowers his gaze to me and says in a quiet voice, "This should show you how important you are to Colt. His biggest priority is always you and your safety."
My heart heats to a thousand degrees, but I cool it before it becomes an uncontrollable fire. It's still been a long time since we've seen each other. His feelings could've changed. I think back to how he hadn't even asked about me when he spoke to Tank.
But despite my doubts, I still cling to a sliver of heat at the center of my heart. I need to see Colt to know for sure whether or not to extinguish the flame.
"How soon can we leave?" I ask.
Tank heads for the stairs. "Let's go right now. There's a lot to do, and not much time to do it in."
16
It takes all day to reach New York City, even with a vehicle. Tank drives the back roads as much as possible, but most of the old highways and streets are overgrown and broken into jagged chunks of aged asphalt and concrete. He sometimes has to drive off-road and create his own path. Smoke curses over most of the bumps, at least I think he's swearing. I don't recognize some of the words.
Daylight turns to dark. We should be tired, but not one of us has even yawned. Link can't stop talking about everything he sees. It's all so wondrous to him having only known Eden his whole life. Smoke, however, does have memories of the outside world, but the landscape has changed into something unrecognizable.
"Where are the real houses?" he asks when we pass through a neighborhood of metal houses, all the same size and shape. "Where's the originality?"
"It's amazing!" Link says from the front seat next to Tank.
Smoke spits tobacco out the open window. "My parents made our house out of trees with metal as an accessory and not the other way around."
"Boring," Link says.
"Practical and efficient," Smoke retorts.
"Wait until we get to the heart of the city," Tank tells Link. "Then you'll really be impressed."
Link leans forward to stare out the windshield. Smoke also looks out the window, but only to scowl at everything.
I remain quiet and keep my eyes closed. The last time I was in this city, I nearly died.
It's after midnight when we arrive at HOPE's New York safe house, parking in the underground parking lot. From the outside, the building appears abandoned with the windows in the first two floors mostly broken, but all of that is deliberate. The real operations are on the upper floors. We all crowd into a small elevator, Smoke and Link still arguing about how everything looks.
I focus on my breathing, in and out slowly. It will only be thirty seconds until the doors open, and I will be free of this small space.
I'm anxious to see Colt, but I keep my emotions in check. Very few people will support our relationship, that is, if Colt still wants one. I just hope he is as happy to see me, as I know I will be to see him.
It's not just Colt I want to see though. Anthony and Jenna too. Even though I only knew them a short time, I consider them family now. Anthony is like the protective uncle I always wished for, and Jenna is the little sister I never dreamed of having.
The elevator doors open into a large room. Because it’s the middle of the night, I expect the place to be quiet, but it's anything but. Primes are walking to and fro as if they are in a hurry to complete a task. My mind immediately registers the many kinds: Dresdens, Speeders, Mudders, and even a Trix. One of them, a tall, female Dresden with a thick blue stripe in her black hair notices us and walks over across the tiled floor.
To Tank she says, "I heard you made it. Glad you're back."
"Thanks, Kay," Tank says. "Where's Colt?"
"Not sure. You'll have to check with operations."
Link thrusts his hand in front of her. "Hi! I'm Link."
Kay wrinkles her nose at his hand, as if she's unsure what to do with it. Instead of shaking it, she asks, "What are you doing?"
Link's face turns a deep scarlet, and he quickly withdraws his arm.
Kay narrows her eyes, then looks from Link, to me, and finally to Smoke. "Are you three Originals?" Before either of us can answer, she whirls on Tank. "Why would you bring them here?"
"I had nothing to do with it," he answers. "Come on, you three. Let's get you out of this circus before anyone else notices."
I keep my head down as I follow Tank, only occasionally looking up. Every room I pass is occupied. In some of them, it looks like they are making weapons, and in others, people are sparing. It's so unlike when I was here last time. There might've been two dozen people then, but now there are too many to count.
Link and Smoke can't stop staring at all the exotic-looking people. The many televisions imbedded into the walls also distract them, especially Link who has never seen one before other than in pictures. All we had back at Eden was an old digital projector.
Some of the wall TVs are playing different news stations, while others are broadcasting announcements about the city. I catch one of the rotating messages: "Soldiers kill two Primes suspected of sympathizing with the terrorist organization H.O.P.E. and imprison seven."
A pain settles deep into my gut. So much has changed in the last six months. Primes didn't used to fight against the Institute, but now it seems like it's all out war. Tank was right.
When we turn a corner, Link leans toward me and whispers, "What did I do wrong with that girl back there?"
"You initiated contact with her. Primes don't touch others."
"Why not?"
I think about how to give a simple answer to a very complex question. "Less contact with anyone is better because they die young. It spares them future pain."
He huffs. "That doesn't even make sense. I was just trying to be polite."
Tank approaches a closed door and turns around to face us. "You guys can't go in here. Only those who have been cleared by Colt or Anthony can enter."
"What's going on in there?" Smoke asks.
Tank pats the door. "This is where the magic happens. It's where we intercept the Institute's correspondence, track their soldiers, set up missions."
"So all the cool stuff," Link says.
"What about the US government?" Smoke asks, his voice laced with anger. "In my day, they were a force to be reckoned with."
Tank's gaze lowers to the floor. "That was thirty years ago at least, but they lost their authority when the Institute tightened their control on oDNA injections. So just like everyone else, they do whatever the Institute wants to make sure they can live as long as possible."
"Damn shame." Smoke brings his lips back to spit on the floor, but seems to think better of it. Instead, he spits into a nearby garbage can.
Just then a shorter woman with white, spiked hair walks past a hallway that crosses into ours.
"Hey Thelma!" Tank calls to her.
The woman turns around, giving me a clear view of her wide eyes. They are a vibrant blue with yellow specks. Her cheekbones are abnormally high, yet her lipless mouth is small, making it appear as if she has no mouth at all, only a round hole. She is a Salum, one of the more gentle primes whose bones and skin heal quickly.
"Welcome back, Tank," she says. Her voice is high-pitched and child-like.
"Thanks," he says. "Hey, would you mind taking these guys to the cafeteria while I speak with Colt and the others?"
My pulse races. Colt is only feet away. I self-consciously smooth my hair down.
She glances at the door behind Tank. "Sure, but Colt isn't in there."
"Where is he?" Tank asks.
"Sleeping, hopefully. He didn't get any rest the whole time you were missing, but after you radioed in, he said he was going to crash for awhile."
Tank's brows furrow. "What about Anthony?"
"He should be in there." Thelma turns to me, Link and Smoke. Her eyes linger on Smoke, probably because she hasn't seen anyone over thirty before. "You shouldn't have brought Originals here, Tank."
"So I've been told." He places his hand on the doorknob. "Are you going to take them or what?"
She shrugs and turns back down the hallway. "This way."
Smoke and Link follow after her, but before I go, I stop Tank. "I want to see everyone."
"You will. Just give me some time. As much as they like you, they aren't going to be happy you're back. Everything we’re doing here is to protect Originals, not bring them into the fighting." I open my mouth to argue, but he stops me. "But don't worry. You'll get to see them and it will be like old times. Now go, before you get lost."
I whirl back around just as the others have turned a corner. I hurry after them, but not because I'm afraid of getting lost. I've been here before and already know the layout. What I really want is to take advantage of everyone being busy while Colt is alone.
"I hope the food is good here," Smoke says as he struts into the cafeteria. Many more Primes take notice of him, but he is oblivious.
"Me too," Link agrees. "I'm starving."
I tug on Link's shirt before he's all the way into the room and drag him to the side. "I've got something to do, but I'll be right back."
He wrinkles his nose. "Like what?"
"Don't worry about it. I'll meet you back here." I turn on my heel before he can stop me.
I wander down the hall, keeping my head down until I'm at the stairwell. After glancing around, I slip inside and take the steps two at a time up to the fourth floor to the sleeping quarters. I don't know why I feel the need to be sneaky—it's not like I'm doing anything wrong—but I'm pretty sure Tank would be upset if he knew I was looking for Colt. But I need to see him. Away from everyone else.
The third floor is quiet and empty with the lights dimmed. It's painted the same as the rest of the walls downstairs, a pale white that's fading in places. I tip toe down the hall to where Colt's room was before. He could be in a different one, but I doubt it. Space is limited here so there's not a lot of moving around.
All the way at the end, I stop in front of Colt's closed door, my heart pounding against my ribcage. My hand shakes a little as I turn the knob and peer inside. The window's blinds aren't all the way closed. Moonlight slips through the slats illuminating the room in thin stripes. There used to be only one bed
in this room, but now there are four, two bunk beds. A long figure is curled onto his side on the bottom bunk to my right. Draped over the bed's end is a long black jacket. Colt's jacket. The other beds are empty.
I slip inside and close the door gently. I had thought so much about getting to Colt that I never considered what I might say to him when I did finally reach him. Should I wake him?
I step closer, close enough to see the steady rise and fall of his chest. My hand comes to my mouth. He looks so different, much older even. A blanket is tucked loosely around his waist, exposing his bare, muscular chest, and I notice the muscles on his arms are bulkier. His jet black hair is buzzed short, contrasting sharply with his ivory complexion. Black bat-like wings are folded tightly to his back, the only thing that distinguishes him as a Noc, a rare Prime banned by the Institute for having wings. He managed to keep them hidden until I came along.
I lower to the floor, freezing when one of my knees pops, but Colt doesn't stir. I scoot to the side of his bed and watch him… for all of three seconds until I realize how creepy I'm being. What am I doing?
I move to stand, but Colt moans, startling me. His mouth tightens along with his eyebrows, as if he's having a nightmare. Before I can stop myself, I reach out and gently place my palm against his cheek. The lines in his face soften again.
Smiling, I lean forward and kiss him gently on the forehead. I'll come back when he's awake. I'm here now. There's no need to rush things.
As I'm pulling away, my gaze locks with his suddenly open, electric blue eyes. Air catches in my throat, and I'm unable to speak.
The corners of his mouth turn up slightly, and with his free arm, he pulls me toward him and locks his lips against mine. The kiss is gentle and every bit as sweet as the first time we kissed. It's something I've dreamed about for so long that I part my lips and deepen the kiss, longing to be closer to him.
I'm so caught up in the moment that I fail to realize that his lips have stopped moving, and his whole body has become rigid. He moves his face away from mine.
"Sage?"
Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2) Page 10
