The bread had patches of mold growing on it, but I broke those sections off and divided the remainder in two. I gave some to Chad, and he sat up on the bench and listlessly struggled to swallow it. After that, he ate one of the apples and an orange.
Despite my hunger, I still found it hard to eat. Outside of here, I would have discarded all of this into the garbage without a second thought. Now I realized this meager supply could mean the difference between life and death.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chad lay back down and went to sleep. I settled onto the bench with the remaining food and began to think. I’d identified Zachary. Now we had to get out of this place. That meant devising an escape plan.
I glanced over to Drink and Recoil, who both looked rather down in the dumps.
They’ve been here for years, I thought. Surely they’ve had some thoughts of escape.
‘Hey guys,’ I said. ‘Interested in some food?’
Recoil looked at me as if I’d just said a dirty word, but Drink nodded in a friendly enough fashion. I took one of the oranges, lowered my shield momentarily, and tossed it toward him. He instantly started eating. Recoil’s eyes opened wide, but he said nothing.
‘Want some?’ I asked.
‘Sure.’
I repeated the action, and a moment later, Recoil was hungrily biting into the apple. I waited until both men had eaten their share. They both still looked hungry—who didn’t in this place—but they appeared a little less hostile.
‘I want to talk strategy,’ I said.
‘Okay,’ Drink replied.
‘You’re still going for the Noble Peace Prize?’ Recoil asked.
‘We need to get out of here,’ I said.
‘Really? I hadn’t thought of that.’
I persisted. ‘You guys have been here longer than me,’ I said. ‘How do we arrange an escape?’
A sound came from the bars separating the mods from the humans. I glanced over to see Zachary with another man. Carefully keeping my shield in place, I crossed to them.
‘Hey,’ I said.
Zachary pointed to his friend. ‘This is Frank Seth. We overheard you talking.’
‘And?’
‘Frank thinks there’s a way out.’
‘How?’
‘It’s through your side,’ Frank said. He was an older man, maybe about sixty, and thin as a stick. His beard reached down to his waist. ‘Your mod friends should know about it, but we want out too.’
I wondered how to handle this. Obviously, I wanted to get Zachary out, but I had to do it in such a way as to not appear obvious. We had a cover story—that we’d been abandoned by our government. Maybe now was the time to use it.
‘I want to get everyone out of here,’ I said. ‘Every single inmate.’
Zachary smirked. ‘Good luck with that.’
‘I’m going to make the government pay for what they did to us,’ I said. ‘First, they wiped our memory. Then they experimented on us. Then they dumped us in here like criminals.’
I hoped I sounded bitter. It wasn’t too hard, actually, because a lot of the resentment was real.
‘Ask your friends about Edmund Domain,’ Frank said.
Zachary nodded. ‘It’s probably our best bet if the story’s true.’
‘We’ll talk later,’ I said.
I returned to the others. Fortunately, my shield was still holding. My powers hadn’t failed, and a good thing too. With Chad out of action, I was the only one who was still able to fight.
‘Tell me about Domain,’ I said to Drink and Recoil.
Recoil shrugged, but Drink was happy to talk. ‘Domain is one of the mods,’ he said. ‘He has his own alcove. Apparently, there’s a tunnel at the back of his alcove.’
‘A tunnel?’ I said. ‘Like out of here? So why doesn’t he leave?’
‘He’s too large,’ Recoil said. ‘He can’t fit through the hole.’
‘You’re kidding.’
He shook his head. ‘I’m serious, little one,’ he said. ‘Once you see Edmund Domain, you’ll see what I mean.’
‘What alcove is he in?’
Recoil exchanged glances with Drink. ‘Information isn’t free.’
I supplied each of them with another piece of fruit. They wolfed it down before answering. I actually felt sad for them. Obviously, food had been whisked away from them so many times in the past, it was vital to eat first before it could be taken away.
Drink finally continued. ‘Maybe Domain was human,’ he said. ‘Once. That was a long time ago. Now he’s some sort of monster.’
‘I don’t think I’ve seen him,’ I said.
‘You haven’t,’ Recoil said. ‘He only comes out once every few weeks.’
‘How does he survive?’ I asked.
‘Like I said,’ Recoil replied. ‘He comes out every few weeks to eat—’
‘But how—’
‘—one of us.’
It took me a moment to make sense of this. He comes out every few weeks to eat one of us. He ate people. Really ate people. My mind reeled at the thought. Maybe Drink was right. Maybe Domain wasn’t a human being at all, but some kind of animal.
At least, I hoped he was—the alternative was too horrible to contemplate.
I shook my head. Whatever the story, Domain had to be beatable. But what if this story about the tunnel was just that—a story? How could there really be a tunnel leading out of here?
‘There was an earthquake a few years back,’ Recoil explained. ‘It shook the whole place up pretty bad. There was actually a breakout, and a few inmates escaped. That was how Domain ended up here. When they brought him here, they didn’t bring him down the stairs like everyone else. They brought him through the new tunnel.’
That made sense. ‘But they must have sealed the tunnel back up,’ I said.
‘Probably,’ Recoil said. ‘But it may not be as difficult getting through as all those stairs and locked steel doors.’
‘So why haven’t you taken on Domain?’
‘Even I’m not that powerful.’
‘He tried once,’ Drink said.
‘Once was enough,’ Recoil said.
‘Okay,’ I said thoughtfully. ‘Then tonight’s the night. We’re breaking out of here after lights out.’
‘What we are you talking about?’ Recoil asked.
‘Whoever wants to come with us,’ I said. ‘Tonight we’re leaving—no matter what.’
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Brodie helped to arrange the tables in the main hall for dinner. She felt annoyed and frustrated but did her best not to show it. Jason had taken her on the tour of the inside of the complex. He’d been thorough but had refused to show her anything below what he referred to as Level D.
‘That’s off-limits,’ he said firmly.
‘What’s down there?’ she’d asked.
‘It’s off-limits,’ he repeated, and that ended all further conversation.
Now she was lifting tables and arranging chairs with the others. She felt like she’d made no headway at all. They’d been here for days, and she’d still not seen Ferdy. For all she knew, he could be dead.
Ebony sidled up to her, carrying a bunch of chairs. She looked across the hall. ‘Hey, look who’s joined us,’ she said.
Brodie turned.
Dan!
‘Hey!’ she called.
He was on the other side of the hall, engaged in an animated conversation with a bunch of kids the same age.
Dan turned around, said something to the others, before arrowing over.
‘Brodie! Ebony! How are you doing?’
‘How are we?’ Ebony said. ‘How are you? Are you feeling okay?’
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘As good as new. I’ve been getting to know some of the other people here. Aren’t they great?’
Brodie felt like she’d fallen down a rabbit hole. ‘Great?’ she asked. ‘Are you joking?’
Dan looked offended. ‘Why? What’s wrong?’
‘
What’s wrong?’ Brodie hears her voice rising. She didn’t want to create a scene, so she forced a smile. ‘A lot of things are wrong here. We need to find Ferdy and escape.’
‘Sure,’ Dan said, casting a glance over at the kids he’d been helping. ‘I know that.’
‘Have you seen Ferdy?’ Ebony asked.
‘No,’ he said. ‘Have you?’
‘Have I?’ Even the ordinarily quiet Ebony looked angry. ‘I wouldn’t be asking you if I had. Are you okay, or is there something wrong with your brain?’
‘There’s nothing wrong with me!’ Dan snapped.
Oh no, Brodie thought, as she glanced over at the kids he’d been talking to. One of them was a pretty girl.
‘He’s in love,’ she groaned.
Dan looked angry. ‘I don’t know what you mean!’ he snapped.
Brodie could imagine this conversation getting out of control, so she decided to change the subject. She explained what they had found out about the Doomsday virus and the reason for their capture.
‘Are you sure?’ Dan asked. ‘The people here seem nice.’
‘They’re brainwashed,’ Ebony said flatly. ‘And it sounds like you are too.’
He looked like he was about to lose his cool, so Brodie laid a gentle hand on his arm. ‘Dan,’ she said, keeping her voice low. ‘I’m sure a lot of these people are nice, but there’s some bad stuff going down. We’ll need to work together when the time arrives. Just be careful.’
‘Sure,’ he agreed. ‘Of course.’
She leaned close. ‘This is a dangerous place,’ she said. ‘There’s an FBI guy named Ethan Craddock who’s working undercover. He might identify himself to you. Make certain you keep his identity secret.’
‘Okay,’ Dan said. ‘Anyway, I’ve got to go back now.’ The girl was waving him over. ‘I’ll talk to you later.’
He headed back over to the others.
‘Love,’ Brodie groaned, and Ebony gave her a friendly dig in the side.
Susan appeared and started talking to them about the evening meal as they set out tables and chairs for dinner. After the meal was done, she told them Jeremiah would be delivering one of his weekly lectures. Apparently, he was going to be making some sort of announcement.
‘Great,’ Brodie said, trying to sound enthusiastic.
The seats were rearranged in theatre style seating in front of a small stage so everyone could sit around to listen to Jeremiah. At first, the stage was empty, and then some music was piped through the sound system.
‘That’s the theme music from the Superman films,’ Ebony whispered to Brodie.
Oh, dear, Brodie thought. That’s really lame.
The crowd went wild and leaped to its feet when Jeremiah appeared. Everyone clapped enthusiastically until he waved them back down into their seats.
‘Thank you, people of Sanctuary,’ he said. ‘But the applause should be for you. The members of this community are the courageous ones. You have stood up against the New World Order, and you have triumphed.’
There was another round of applause.
Jeremiah spent the next half an hour talking about the New World Order and how the United Nations had been plotting for years against the democratic rights of the individual. It all sounded rather farfetched to Brodie. She found it hard to believe people weren’t more questioning about it, but the whole audience seemed enthralled.
Just before he finished speaking, Jeremiah went through a few housekeeping duties with the group. Then his face became grave.
‘I also have some rather sad news,’ he said. ‘One of our members has unexpectedly passed away.’
A ripple of small cries went through the crowd.
‘Ethan Craddock died this afternoon from natural causes,’ Jeremiah continued. ‘We believe it was a heart attack.’
Brodie felt her own heart give an unpleasant leap.
‘That’s—’ Ebony started.
Brodie nudged her hard, and Ebony fell silent. She knew what Ebony had been about to say. That’s the FBI agent. But now, he was dead. Unexpectedly. From natural causes.
My foot, Brodie thought savagely. They realized Ethan Craddock was with the FBI and killed him.
She looked across the crowd and saw that Dan was looking back at her. He’d turned pale. He looked like the world had just landed on him. Good. He needed a reality check. These people were maniacs and had to be treated as such.
They had to find Ferdy and get out of there.
Their lives depended on it.
Chapter Thirty
I woke up at some terrible hour early after enduring one of the worst night’s sleep of my life. I’d tried getting to bed early, but my mind had continued to turn over as I thought about the coming day.
I’ve got to face Domain, I thought. He can’t be as bad as they say.
Although he supposedly eats people. But he could still be a nice guy. And maybe he was really one of the kids in The Sound of Music.
Probably not.
I nudged Chad into wakefulness. That turned out to be a task in itself. I eventually had to drag him into an upright sitting position. Even then, he looked at me blearily. His face was a lather of sweat with his hair plastered to one side.
I explained the plan to him. He listened in silence until I finished. Then he looked away, and I was shocked to see tears in his eyes.
‘Axel,’ he said. ‘I don’t think I’m going to make it.’
‘You’re going to make it,’ I said. ‘We both are. We’re getting out of here together.’
‘I’m afraid.’
‘You’re going to be okay.’
‘I can barely walk,’ he said. ‘I’m gonna die here.’
‘He’s a dead weight,’ a voice hissed from the darkness. ‘Leave him.’
Recoil.
‘I’ll ask for your opinion when I want it,’ I whispered back.
I heard movement in the gloom. One of the fires was still burning, and Recoil’s face hovered only inches from my own.
‘You’ve got to leave him if you want to escape,’ he said. ‘You’ve got powers. You might stand a chance. But you can’t have a deadweight—’
I tried to grab his shirt, but my hand bounced off him. I’d forgotten about his ability to repel any attack.
‘He’s not a dead weight,’ I said. ‘He’s my friend. We’re all getting out of here. Together.’
Recoil stepped back a few feet. I heard him saying something to Drink. Probably complaining about me. So be it. I turned back to Chad, who slowly stood. He hovered uncertainly on his feet before clasping my shoulder. Again, he looked like he was about to burst into tears.
‘I’ll help you however I can,’ he promised.
‘I know you will.’
‘Before we do this, I gotta say something.’
‘What?’
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I just want to say thanks. You should be leaving me here, but you’re taking me with you. And after all the things I’ve called you—’
‘We’ll be out of here in a few hours,’ I told him. ‘And we’ll laugh about all this.’
I couldn’t think of anything less likely. I thought it more likely I’d eat off my own foot than look back on any of this and laugh. Still, I had to keep up Chad’s spirits.
‘Laugh,’ he said. ‘Sure.’
Okay, I didn’t fool him either.
Drink and Recoil came over.
‘You guys ready?’ Drink asked.
‘We’re ready,’ I said. ‘You need to point out Domain’s alcove. I’m going in alone to take him down. I’ll give you a yell when it’s safe to follow.’
They didn’t say anything for a moment. Then Drink said, ‘You think that’s a good idea?’
I didn’t bother answering. ‘I’ll get the guys from the other side,’ I said.
A single fire was still burning, but now it was down to embers. Someone cried out softly in the night. On the other side of the enclosure, I saw someone standing in the doorway of their recess wat
ching us. It was the guy who was able to change from human form to gas.
He watched me without moving.
I went to the bars. Immediately Zachary came over, and I focused on forming a field to bend them apart. I did it as quietly as possible, but it still sounded like a terrible racket at that time of the morning.
‘Where’s Frank Seth?’ I asked.
‘He didn’t make it through the night.’
Jeez, I thought. What a place.
‘What’s your plan?’ Zachary asked.
I explained what I intended to do.
‘That Domain is some kind of monster,’ he said. ‘Are you sure—’
‘I’m sure,’ I interrupted. ‘We’ll be out of here before you know it.’
Returning to the others, I noticed Chad was still on his feet, but leaning badly to one side.
‘Which one is Domain’s alcove?’ I whispered.
Both Drink and Recoil pointed to one in the middle. I hadn’t seen anyone come or go from the enclosure during our entire time here. Now I knew why.
‘I’ll go in,’ I said. ‘When Domain is finished, I’ll give you the signal.’
‘What’s the signal?’ Chad asked.
‘You’ll know it when you hear it.’
I went over to the fire and grabbed out a stick with one end fully alight. At least I’d be able to see. I started for the alcove, but even before I reached the doorway, I could smell something from the interior. It smelt terrible—a rotten meat smell. I didn’t want to dwell on what that would be.
Gradually, I allowed my eyes to become accustomed to the gloom. It was a large area. Bigger than I expected. It really did seem to be a tunnel, unlike the little I’d seen of the other enclosures. My light illuminated the floor. Sticks were strewn across the ground like the floor of a forest.
As I navigated my way around them, I glanced down at one of them and saw the timber looked remarkably white.
Uh oh. Those aren’t sticks. They’re bones.
They were everywhere. As my eyes became accustomed to the dark, I realized I was standing in the middle of hundreds of bones. My heart had already been pumping a thousand beats a minute. Now it leaped into high gear. In the back of my mind, I’d thought the stories about Domain were actually an exaggeration. After all, no-one was really a cannibal. That was just plain stupid.
Teen Superheroes Box Set | Books 1-7 Page 27
