by Harper North
“Hey!” I shout.
Sky’s flashlight waves as he grabs my arm and pulls me farther down the shore, away from the panic. “Stay back! Cia? Where are you?”
“Over here!” She appears from the darkness, pulling her mother with her.
I open my mouth to shout for Lacy, but remember she’s not here, and we don’t have her or Talen to help us navigate the caves. I’ll have to rely on pure Dweller instinct.
“Quiet!” Reinhart shouts. He steps to the closed door as another flashlight clicks on, and then another. “The crates might exist. If Cal is fair, they do. If not, we’ll need to find another exit.”
At last, people stop pounding on the doors. I recognize two other Dwellers near me in the crowd. We’re pros at knowing what it’s like to be trapped. Many of the former EHC officers stand back, but one man bites his lip, barely able to hide his terror.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t mean to cause a panic.”
Elias and Reinhart both fix me with glares. I close my mouth. Reinhart swings his flashlight toward the tunnel. “Let’s go.”
I take a breath and force a smile at Sky. “This isn’t the first time we’ve done this, right?”
He shakes his head. “It’s kind of our thing.”
Focusing on my breath and the gurgling of the river, I walk with the others in the direction Cal pointed. We move as a messy group, saying nothing and waiting for the truth. Even Emma has no reassuring words for us. Going a mile takes fifteen minutes at a normal pace. If we don’t see the crates by then, we’re in trouble.
Sky shines his flashlight around every curve, casting weird shadows from the stalactites. With each empty stretch of cave, I suck in a sharp breath.
“I don’t see the crates yet,” Sky whispers around the twelve-minute mark.
“Footprints,” I say, pointing at the ground. Like most of the underground rivers I’ve seen down here, a mixture of sand and gravel makes up the shore. People have walked this way before, but I can’t tell how fresh the prints are. “There’s probably a way out. Look!” I point at some square shapes on the ground ahead.
We walk faster, and the beam slowly illuminates three old wooden crates, each one tall and open on top. I break into a run. Sky follows as more footsteps thud behind us.
“Not so fast,” a voice says in the darkness.
I skid to a halt and spot two figures standing behind the crates—two tall men armed with shotguns and wearing the plaid and copper of the Originals. I should have known Cal wouldn’t let us go alone. At least we’ll have proof of how evil Cho is.
“Who are you?” Sky asks.
“Your guards,” the second man says. “If the two of us do not make it back alive and satisfied, then you will never be accepted into Elysian Beach or its surrounding settlements. I’m Blasty, and this is my brother, David.”
“That wasn’t part of the deal,” I sputter.
Both shotguns click.
“Neither was Destroyers coming back down,” David drawls. “But here we all are.”
“Now, one at a time. Choose your supplies,” Blasty orders.
“Let us see first,” Elias insists. He pushes in front of me with Reinhart.
I back off, biting in words. I watch as Reinhart pulls out a single set of metal handcuffs. They swing from his grasp. “These are primitive.”
“How old do you think they are?” Elias asks.
“At least a century. I’ve studied the past and its law enforcement techniques as a hobby for years.”
All the leisure and luxury of the EHC at his fingertips, and of course that’s the hobby Reinhart picks.
“Any weapons?” I ask. “Food?”
Bags shuffle as Elias and Reinhart go through the first crate. “We have pistols. Ammo.”
Blasty glares at Reinhart. It’s a silent warning.
I get the last pistol that comes out of the box. Cal has even included one for Cia, but Sky refuses to let her have it. Instead, he tucks the second weapon into his belt. We go to work taking backpacks out of the second crate and food out of the third.
Reinhart clears his throat and steps in front of all three crates, addressing the crowd. “Failure of this mission is not an option.” He tightens his grip around his pistol. The former EHC commander flicks his gaze to me. “And from now on, any disobedience of my orders must be met with death.”
CHAPTER 8
DEATH. THAT’S WHY Reinhart’s resorting to this. He knows we could skip this whole mission if we turned on him, so he’s taking the preemptive stance of killing anyone who shows signs of defecting. Not sure how that’s going to convince the Originals he’s reformed his Destroyer ways, but, to be fair, Cal has threatened to abandon us to certain death in the tunnels if we don’t succeed, and that seems relatively destructive as well. I’m beginning to wonder if it’s possible for anyone to lead without getting blood on their hands.
But Lacy and Talen are waiting, and we don’t have time to stand around debating ethics. Even the two Originals shift from leg to leg, itching to go.
“I wish you’d let me carry my gun,” Cia grumbles as we move out a few minutes later.
“It’s not your gun.” Sky puts his hand on her back, but she storms ahead to walk with Starla. He sighs. “She’ll never have to have one if I can help it.”
“Agreed,” I say, hating Cal even more.
Reinhart and Elias march in the lead along the river, Blasty and David on either side of them. They discuss strategy in low voices, and as much as I try to listen, the cave distorts their words and turns them into long, watery echoes.
“Where do you think Cho is now?” Sky asks.
“I don’t know. If I were him, I’d be somewhere secure. There are more people down here than we thought.” Another shudder races over me as I think of his gathering forces.
“They went underground on the other side of the world,” Sky says.
“I hope so.” I keep watching Elias and Reinhart, who aren’t sharing their plans with the rest of us. Sometimes they whisper, and other times they speak just loud enough to create ghosts in the cave.
After walking for what feels like an hour, we stop. There’s a split in the cave, with one branch leading downward with the river, and the other going upward. Big stalactites hang everywhere, sometimes connecting the ceiling to the floor.
Blasty turns to face us after talking with his brother for a second. “To reach the river that leads to Sunlight Gardens, we should keep following this river. The other cave branch eventually leads to the upper world.” He lets those last words hang, waiting for a reaction, or perhaps for someone to try escaping.
No one makes a move in that direction. There’s no safety up there. Not anymore.
Sky leans close to me. “This was a test. They wanted to see if we were going to do what they said.”
“At least we passed,” I reply as we move out again.
The small river flows faster and faster. I get the idea there’s a whole network of them down here. We walk for another hour, and I sense we’re not going to reach Sunlight Gardens for a while. This way might be safer than walking along the electrified rails, but the uneven ground of the shoreline is taxing. In some places, we have to walk in the water, and even with my enhanced strength, it almost knocks me off my feet a couple of times. I have to lean on Sky to stay upright.
At last, the river evens out, and we all take a break to eat. At least Elias and Reinhart have chosen some fresh veggies from the crates, and they toss us tomatoes that we cut up and savor.
The break doesn’t last long. Blasty and David wave us up, and no one protests as Reinhart nods in agreement. His threat of death hangs in the air.
Everyone quits talking as exhaustion sets in. Every time I close my eyes, I see flashlights, cave walls, and running water. Finally, Blasty announces we’re to sleep on the shore of the river after looking at something Reinhart says is an antique watch. We do, and I collapse on my back without a word to Sky. He lies beside me with Cia a
nd their mother on the other side of him.
“How long is our food going to last?” Cia asks.
“Long enough, Sis. Don’t worry.”
“Stop talking to me like I’m a little kid.”
“You’re barely twelve. To me, you’ll always be a kid.”
I can’t help but smile as my arm touches Sky’s. At least we can keep each other warm in this cave. I drift off again, and when I wake, it’s because Blasty is walking up and down the shore, clapping.
“We are on day two of this adventure,” he says. “Are you still with us?”
I groan but remember Lacy and Talen. They’re still lying in Elysian Beach—maybe—with Cal ready to give the killing order.
We march for a second day, and maybe halfway through it, the river straightens out. A faint breeze blows against us. We must be close to the main river because suddenly the sound of rushing water is twice as loud. Soft light shines up ahead, and as we get closer, I realize it’s the dim yellow of an electric bulb. The dam must not be far away.
And neither is Cho.
My palms tingle with nerves as sweat sneaks in between my fingers. Ahead, Reinhart and Elias stop. The two of them huddle with David and Blasty, muttering in low voices while the rest of us watch. At last, Reinhart peels himself away and faces us, expression blank.
“Ahead is the river many of us used to escape the dam,” he says. “Approaching the dam along the river would expose us to the enemy. We will take the caves as close as we can to the dam. Cho will likely be nearby, overseeing operations. It can only be a matter of time before he moves on the other settlements.”
“Reinhart and I have been talking,” Elias continues. “A big group is hard to hide, but a few people might make it into Sunlight Gardens and stake the place out before we attack. Cho expects us to come back with reinforcements.”
“But there’s no doubt he has trouble monitoring the caves,” Reinhart adds. “There are too many for him to manage.”
Around me, people nod, but no one volunteers.
“I want three people to go into the Gardens and find where Cho is hiding,” Reinhart orders. “They are to report back what they find before we attack.” A sly gleam fills his eyes. “Fin, Sky, as the two of you are Dwellers, and adept at sneaking around, I nominate you to scout.”
Elias’s jaw falls open. He might be angry at me, but he’s not willing to send me straight into death. “We have highly trained ops here,” he protests.
My pulse pounds on the side of my throat. Without Lacy and Talen, we’re even less likely to survive Cho’s lair than the last time we were there. Pressure settles on my shoulders, and I force in a breath. The air is stale and dry, but I won’t show weakness to Reinhart.
“Fin and Sky are the best here at dodging the law,” Reinhart says. “And they’re the most motivated to capture Cho and save the Auras.”
He’s using Lacy and Talen against us. Balling my fists, I stare him down, and the air thickens between us. With a few words, I could end Reinhart, reveal the truth, but Elias steps in front of him, eyes begging me to stay quiet. I bite my tongue.
Sky nods beside me. “Fin and I will stake out the place. We’ll find Cho.”
He shouldn’t have to come. I’m the one who screwed everything up, not him.
But warmth fills my chest and chases away the terror. Sky’s no longer pushing me away. We’re in this together.
What Reinhart says goes, and with a glare to our gathered crowd, he reinforces that. Elias doesn’t dare say anything. I can’t read his expression now.
“Can we send an op with them?” Elias asks.
Reinhart softens his gaze. “We can send Emma. Her intelligence will help them navigate the Sunlight Gardens. If we can gather more information on the electrical grids, that would be excellent. With luck, we might take the dam while we’re at this.”
Emma steps forward, not daring to look at Reinhart. We’re the three on his most hated list. She’s a fellow screw-up, having taken Cho to the Monster’s Nest with us.
“How long should we take before you decide to make other plans?” Emma asks.
“Twenty-four hours,” Reinhart says. “If you don’t come back by then, we will consider you dead. And don’t come back until you have information on Cho’s whereabouts.”
* * * * *
The rest of the trip through the caves is short. Too short. We take narrow catacombs and squeeze between rock formations long worn down by flowing water. The river’s never far. Its gentle roar echoes off the walls at all times. Our big group walks single file, with me, Sky, and Emma right behind Reinhart. Elias has moved himself to the back of the group.
We reach a small opening that looks out on the massive wall of the dam. I crane my neck to see over Sky’s shoulder. Water spews out of the dam’s openings, and a blue tarp covers the still-broken window of the control room. Cho and his people haven’t repaired it yet.
Two of his guards—a man and a woman in white tank tops with their green SNA jackets tied around their waists—stand on the shore beside the dam, looking out on the rushing river. The woman’s gun has a sniper scope. She’s here to shoot anyone trying to come out of the vast cave network, and I doubt Cho has put anyone unskilled in her position. The man eyes the top of the dam occasionally and paces with his automatic rifle.
And all we have are pistols—six rounds in each gun at a time. I have more ammo in my backpack, but reloading might be a problem.
Reinhart’s sending us on a suicide mission.
“We can’t come out here,” I say. As soon as we leave this cave, the woman with the scope will find us. She’s at least two hundred feet away—too far to shoot from here. Worse yet, the shoreline offers no cover. I turn to face Blasty. “Are there any other caves that’ll get us closer than this one?”
He looks around at Sky, who stands right behind me. “Can you climb?”
“Sky and I can.” I remember the long climb up from the mines that started this whole ordeal. It feels like a million years ago. “But Emma can’t.”
“I forgot she was like us,” Blasty murmurs. He looks to Reinhart, as if reconsidering this whole plan.
“Emma goes,” Reinhart says firmly. “She’s good at figuring things out.”
“Well?” I look at Blasty because that’s better than looking at Reinhart. He knows these caves much better than we do.
“There’s some old scaffolding along the walls of the chamber that the Creators left,” Blasty explains. “We haven’t tried to climb it in years, but she might be able to navigate it.”
Emma looks at me as her pupils widen. My back prickles, and I know Reinhart’s waiting for my reaction.
“We’ll help you,” I tell her.
Blasty leads us through a few more narrow caves and we come to another opening that looks up at a cliff rather than the dam. The cliff is mostly smooth stone, without many handholds, and the metal scaffolding leads up to an area I can’t see from here. It’s just as rusted as the catwalk we used a couple of days ago was.
We could lose Emma.
I can’t stand for this. I whirl on Reinhart, but two former EHC ops stand behind him.
“Emma’s not going to make it.”
“She must,” Reinhart says. “Are you disobeying my orders?”
“No,” I say. “I’m making an observation. We need someone who can climb with us.”
“I can go,” Cia says.
“No,” Sky demands.
“I’ll go,” Emma insists, stepping in front of me. “If I lie down on the scaffolding, it’s far less likely to fall out from under me. The way we distribute our weight matters.”
“Sky and I will do the same,” I say. “Let’s go find out where Cho is.”
“We have a plan,” Reinhart says. “The rest of us will scatter and investigate the caves. Quietly kill any of Cho’s people that you find, and don’t let the main group discover the bodies.”
I push ahead, determined to go first. I have to crawl uphill on my st
omach to reach the first part of the scaffolding, and now I’m aware of how high we are. Down below, the two guards continue to patrol and watch the river. The top of the dam waits fifty feet away. The scaffolding steps up to the railing and the blasted concrete wall Cho and his goons emerged from before.
If I make a loud noise, the sniper could hear it, even over the roaring river. If we fall, Cho’s people will know we’re here.
But, like a snake, I wiggle onto the first level of scaffolding. It sways a bit, threatening to toss me into the river a hundred feet below, but I crawl across as rust clings to my top.
Sky follows.
Behind him, Emma pants in terror.
I slide my body onto the next level. Higher. This one groans and swings on the rusty chains holding it up.
“Fin,” Sky whispers.
“I’m okay.”
“I’m heavier than you. Not sure I’ll make it.”
I wiggle forward. “One person per section at a time. We can’t risk any more.” I dare to peek over the edge. The sniper’s still watching the river and the shore while the other guard eyes the other side of the dam. Then he turns toward us, and I flatten against the scaffold to avoid his gaze.
I listen.
Nothing.
“We’re good,” I say.
I inch forward, every move calculated and graceful. I study the rusty chains, shifting my weight to avoid straining the ones that look the weakest. Sky follows my lead, and behind him, Emma does the same. The edge of the dam gets closer, and despite my racing heart and aching throat, I don’t want to reach it.
But at last, I do, and I rise to climb over the railing. The hatch to the spiral stairwell remains open, but I hear nothing in the darkness, and neither guard shouts down below.
“Most of the guards must be at the station,” Sky says, echoing my thoughts as he squeezes between the rails. He lands on his stomach and catches his breath for a second.
“Emma.” I hate to leave him, but I rush to her aid. She, too, crawls on her stomach on the final level of the scaffolding. Lifting her head, she eyes the chain in the left corner. Her pupils widen as she sucks in a breath.
