“We can’t go back the way we came. It’s a dead end.”
“So we’re trapped?”
She pointed upward to a small vent on the wall near the ceiling. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
She shook her head. “Come on. I’ll boost you up. We don’t have much time.” Peyton waved me over and cupped her hands.
Without giving myself time to second-guess, I placed my right foot in her hands. She pushed me up to the ceiling.
I dug my aching fingers under the vent grate. “You wouldn’t happen to have a screwdriver or a wedge in your back pocket, would ya?” I whispered.
“No, just pry it open,” she said. “And hurry, they’re coming.”
I pulled with every ounce of strength I could muster. The grate pulled away from the wall, sending me toppling out of her grasp. Peyton caught the grate before it crashed to the floor. I fell past her and smacked into the floor with a groan. If I’d thought everything had hurt before, I was wrong. My head pounded. My knees twitched. I’d lost control over my muscles.
“Get up,” she said through clenched teeth.
I pushed up on my hands, but my arms gave way. “I’m trying.”
“Stop trying. Just do it!” She reached under my armpits and righted me.
“Here.” She cupped her hands again. “Get up there.”
The footfalls around the corner grew steadily louder.
Without hesitation, I stepped into her hands and she propelled me toward the vent. As she pushed upward, I shimmied through the hole. The metal clanged as my hands hit it. She waved me back and I slid farther into the vent, the stench of dust overwhelming. Her fingers gripped the edge of the opening, and seconds later, she was inside shoving me forward.
“Right,” she hissed from behind me.
I slowed to catch my breath, but she smacked my thigh.
“Keep moving. It won’t be long before they figure out we’re in here, if they haven’t already.”
Unable to think of a good comeback, I huffed and inched through the tight space, allowing Peyton to call directions from behind. My hands and knees burned hotter with every move forward.
After what seemed like hours, I turned another corner. Hot air blew in my face.
“There’s an opening ahead that leads to the laundry room.”
I crawled to the source of the hot air and peered through the grate. Several washers and dryers hummed. I scanned the room for people. When I found none, I pushed out the grate. It fell into a laundry bin. I pulled myself through the hole and dropped into the bin next to the grate. Even though the towels stank of sweat, I let their soft cushion soothe my aching muscles. Peyton plopped down beside me. She reached for the edge of the bin, but approaching footfalls made her pause.
“Shh,” she hissed into my ear as she threw a pile of towels on top of us.
A door creaked open. I held my breath. Peyton squeezed my arm in the darkness. My heart hammered in my chest. I said a silent prayer, hoping whoever it was wasn’t coming for our bin of towels. If they noticed the missing grate, we’d be screwed.
The sound of dryer doors popping open made me tense. Moments later, there was a slam, followed by a second and a third. Squeaking noises filled the room. The towels above us rustled. An arm appeared between us. I froze.
Hurried footsteps approached. A female voice said, “Can I help you, gentlemen?”
The arm disappeared from the bin.
“You haven’t seen anyone poking around the laundry room, have you?” asked a male voice.
“Besides you two?” asked the female.
There was a long pause in which I thought the sound of my pounding heart would give away our location.
“Let us know if you see anyone.”
“Of course. I don’t need anyone poking around my laundry room and messing things up. I have a job to do. Now out with you.”
Scuffling feet faded into silence, followed by the same creak of the door. I let out a long breath in relief. Peyton shifted the towels and peeked out.
“It’s clear,” she said.
I stood in the bin, and she helped me out. Moving to the farthest dryer, she shoved it aside, revealing a small hole in the wall where the dryer vented to the outside.
She waved me over. “Time to leave this hellhole.”
I couldn’t have agreed more. But as I stepped toward our escape route, thoughts of Myles and my parents swarmed me. Halfway across the room, I stopped, unable to continue. I couldn’t leave them. Not after everything we’d been through.
“Kaya, now! They could come back any minute.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?” Peyton propped her hand on her hip as if she were about to start tapping her foot at any moment.
“My parents, your dad.” I choked. I couldn’t go on. I lacked the words to say I was tired of leaving people behind.
“Now is not the time for heroics.”
I stood my ground, refusing to move until she caved. “I can’t lose anyone else.” Her expression softened slightly, as if something I’d said had hit her deep down.
“I’m under strict orders to bring you out alive, regardless of what happens to anyone else.”
“No, I won’t leave them.”
“You have to.”
“Why?”
“Because if we lose you, this will all be for nothing. We won’t be able to take down the tracker network.”
I froze. Was everyone in on the plan but me? They all seemed to know something I didn’t—aside from the fact that my tracker was the only one in existence to defy the system.
“They’ll understand,” she said quietly.
“They might, but if something happens to them, I won’t be able to forgive myself.”
“I’ll carry you out of here kicking and screaming if I have to.” She crossed her arms over her chest like she meant business. “If we don’t get your chip out of their hands, then there’s no hope for anyone.”
As much as I didn’t want to leave, she was right. More than right. It was time to go, parents or not. I limped toward the exit with a renewed sense of urgency.
Bending down to crawl through the opening, I inhaled my first breath of fresh air, but it smelt like burnt hair. I halted partway through the hole as my vision went white.
“Not now.” I groaned.
“What?”
“My tracker’s resetting.”
“Shit. Are you kidding me?”
“I don’t kid—” Before I could finish my sentence, she shoved me through the hole. “Hold on. I can’t see a thing.”
“We don’t have time to hold on. They’ll be on us any second. Keep moving. I’ll guide you.”
I plopped onto the ground. Wet grass brushed my cheek, and dampness seeped through the knees of the scrubs. The white slowly faded from my vision. I struggled to focus through the blur and blinking lights. Peyton hauled me to my feet and dragged me, the damp soil squishing between my toes. Ahead of us, I could make out the faint outline of trees. My breaths grew heavy. She ignored my discomfort and pulled me into a run.
“Keep going. Don’t stop until we’re deep into the woods.”
My limbs fought every step as my bare feet slipped on the wet grass. My chest burned with each inhale, but I refused to give in. The treeline seemed like a mirage growing farther and farther away. Just when it appeared we would never reach it, we crossed over the threshold. The quiet rustle of the trees welcomed us, but the swooping blades of an approaching unicopter grew louder in the distance.
Twenty-Four
We ran, dodging trees and leaping over fallen limbs. My legs strained with each leaf crunching beneath my feet. I cringed as rocks stabbed into the souls of my feet. My mouth was so dry, I could hardly swallow. Every piece of me throbbed with a dull ache. My mind screamed to keep going, but my body slowly failed me.
I collapsed onto the forest floor, twigs and leaves digging into my hands and knees. “I… can’t… run… any…more.”
�
��It’s okay. You don’t have much farther to go.”
“Bailen.” I coughed, unable to say more. Thankfully, his name alone seemed to say everything I was thinking.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
It was such a short statement, but I knew he was sorry for more than just the capture. He was apologizing for everything that had gone wrong, including icing me out. With those three words, I knew we would be okay. Still trying to catch my breath, I shook my head, hoping he’d realize how sorry I was too.
He closed the gap between us and wrapped me in his arms. His lips met mine, stealing any remaining air I had left. I didn’t care. The kiss took every awful thought and every pain from my body. His hands cupped the back of my head. I winced as his fingers grazed the sore spot. He started to pull away, but I leaned in closer. Our lips parted and the kiss increased in urgency. I wanted to stay in the moment forever where I was safe and nothing else mattered. Where everything that had gone wrong didn’t seem to exist anymore.
A throat cleared behind us. Bailen drew away much too soon.
“I hate to break up the lovefest, but the authorities are breathing down our necks, and she has an active tracker.”
Bailen removed some sensors from his pocket and tossed them to Peyton. “Put these on her.” He disappeared behind a tree, returning with a bag. “We’re going to have to take you offline. And we have to do it on the run.”
He pulled his laptop from the bag.
“Is that what I think it is?”
“Yep.”
“But I thought TROGS was lost.”
“I rebuilt the portable version from my old code. Do you really think I’d not have a backup plan?”
My body relaxed while he booted up TROGS. There was something calming about seeing him so focused.
Peyton tossed me a pair of boots. “Put these on.”
I shoved my feet into them as she stuck the sensors on me and ran the wires over to the laptop.
“Can you carry this and run?” Bailen’s eyebrows furrowed.
I shook my head. “I don’t know if I can run anymore.”
“It’s okay. I’ll stay right by you.” His attention flicked at Peyton. “You better go ahead; let them know we’re coming in hot.”
She didn’t waste more than a single nod before sprinting into the darkened trees.
Bailen helped me to my feet, slung his bag over his shoulder, and picked up TROGS.
On TROGS’s giant clock, just over four minutes remained until I was offline. It would be the longest four minutes of my life. I wasn’t sure if I could run for four seconds, let alone four minutes. The fear must have been written all over my face because Bailen kissed me on the forehead.
“You can do this. I’ll carry you if I have to.”
“I hope that won’t be necessary.” I forced a half-smile to hide the growing fear. If it went badly, I’d be back in that cell with needles shoved in my arms. Or even worse, they’d be prepping me for brain surgery.
“Whatever you do, don’t stop moving,” Bailen said.
We started at a bit of a jog. He quickly pulled me to the left.
“Didn’t Peyton go the other way?” I asked.
“We have to keep the authorities away from the hideout. At least until you can disappear.”
Keeping pace beside him, I stumbled over branches and underbrush. Bailen always caught me before I face-planted in the dirt. Somehow, he managed to hold TROGS in one hand and keep me upright with the other.
As the timer ticked down, lights penetrated the canopy of the forest, signaling the arrival of the unicopters. The swooshing of their blades generated a wind that whipped up stray leaves. The authorities were practically on top of us, a sure sign the ground team wasn’t far behind. The countdown read a little more than two minutes. How had only half the time passed? We’d been running forever.
The distant sound of an engine tore me from my thoughts. Their ground vehicles were catching up to us. “We’re never going to make it.” I gasped. My wobbly legs were numb.
“We will. Follow me.” He turned left sharply and backtracked the way we’d come.
I followed, but my calves burned. “Where are we going? We’re running right at them.”
“Not quite.” He grabbed my arm and pulled me left again.
I caught a glimpse of a rocky overhang ahead.
With the shrubbery covering the mouth, I’d nearly missed it. If we weren’t so close, I would have missed it completely. A renewed sense of energy coursed through me. I stumbled into the alcove and nestled against the far wall. Bailen dove in next to me and yanked a small kit from his bag.
“What’s that?”
“A new toy.” He opened the case and removed a small box.
I’d seen something like it before. I swallowed hard, memories from that night in the woods resurfacing. “Is that a radio wave generator?”
“Basically. Only I tweaked this so it has a much larger range.” He flipped the switch, and the box hummed quietly.
But the roar of an engine drowned out the humming box.
I checked TROGS. Only thirty more seconds to go. While I was thankful for the reprieve from running, I was ready for the entire nightmare to end.
Brakes squealed. Three doors slammed. The sound of crunching leaves and snapping twigs grew louder.
“Find them. The signal cut out around here,” said a male voice.
“Yes, sir,” said a second.
“Right away,” said a female voice.
My heart hammered, matching the drumming rhythm of the blood pulsing through my ears.
Two black boots appeared in front of the alcove. I froze. Everything went silent.
Beep beep beep.
At first, I thought the alarm was some kind of authority equipment. But Bailen slammed the TROGS screen shut, muttering under his breath. I caught a glimpse of a flashing 0:00 on the screen as it closed.
“What was that?” asked the female.
“What was what?” said one of the male voices.
“I thought I heard something. Like an alarm,” said the female.
We were so dead.
Bailen yanked the nodes from my temples and shoved TROGS into his bag. The radio wave generator followed close behind. He reached into his pocket, but I couldn’t see what was concealed in his fist.
“Get ready to hold your breath and run,” he whispered into my ear.
I nodded, afraid to speak and unsure if I could stand, let alone run, but I’d do what I had to.
“Now!” He lobbed the mysterious object into the air, and a cloud of smoke erupted.
I scrambled to my feet and ran from the alcove, slamming past an agent. Bailen had his hand on my back, guiding me in seemingly random directions until we were out of the smoke. My eyes burned as much as my legs, but I kept going.
We dodged around more trees until he stopped beside a large pile of underbrush. For the first time, I checked behind us, but there was no one.
“Did we lose them?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” He parted the brush, revealing his motorbike. “But I’m not sticking around to find out.”
I collapsed against a tree, relieved we were almost out of this mess. He tossed me a helmet and climbed onto the bike. After securing my helmet, I joined him, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my throbbing head on his shoulder.
He revved the engine but didn’t engage the flying mechanism. We tore through the trees. After some time, we stopped in front of a cave. The mouth was not much bigger than a flying motorbike. Once we ducked inside, the cavern opened up much wider. Grayish-white rock climbed to the ceiling at least twenty feet high.
Bailen cut the engine and helped me off. He wheeled the bike around the mud puddles toward the back of what appeared to be a one-room cave.
“Limestone.” He pointed to the walls. “GPS signals have a hard time penetrating it. Not that we need it with TROGS, but it’s an extra precaution.”
“That’s a good th
ing. You know, in case my tracker decides to defy TROGS as well. I’d hate to be responsible for giving up two Ghost hideouts.” I focused on the mud caking my boots, afraid the previous argument would resurface.
Bailen placed his fingers under my chin and raised my head. “Hey, don’t talk like that. We’ve got you covered.”
“Until it happens again.”
“If it does, we’ll figure it out. We always do.”
“I betrayed the Ghosts.” I braced myself for the second round of ice-out.
“It was an accident.”
I blinked in silence. Accident? Maybe. I’d had no time to think. I’d felt trapped with no place left to go. I went back to the Hive because I’d had no other options.
“You’re one of us. We all know how important you are. And we take care of our own. You have nothing to worry about.” He wrapped me in a tight hug and kissed me. For the first time, it didn’t melt away my guilt.
When he pulled away, he extended his hand, and I accepted. He grabbed his bike with his free hand and wheeled it deeper into the cave, taking me with him.
Tucked in the back, nearly out of sight, was a passage big enough for a person and the bike to fit through. Around two tight turns, Bailen parked his bike next to numerous others.
We continued through a series of narrow twists and turns, illuminated by the light on his watch. I lost track of the number of times we changed directions and squeezed through tight spaces. Even though I couldn’t see well, several new scratches burned on my arms and legs. But it didn’t matter. I was already so battered and bruised, what were a few more scratches?
Around another bend, Bailen flipped off his watch. Through a narrow passageway ahead, a light shined. After we scraped through, the cavern opened wider. We walked into a large room, almost as big as the first room in the cave. The soft glow of hundreds of computer monitors lit up the space.
Bailen reached for my hand. I ignored it. Throwing my arms around his neck, I collapsed against him, letting his body support my weight. I couldn’t stand up straight anymore. He wrapped his arms around me and scooped up my legs. My body fell limp, glad to finally be somewhere safe. He leaned his head on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “Welcome to the Quarry.”
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