Hunted (2 page)

I tightened my arms around Billy and strained to hear sirens.

A moment later, I heard them.

Chapter Two

Adrenaline pounded through my veins and I squeezed my eyes closed, concentrating on the sound of the approaching sirens, trying to gauge how close they were. The volume grew louder. I opened my eyes and looked in the motorcycle’s side view mirror and saw an Enforcement vehicle advancing, red and blue lights flashing brightly against the darkness. The sound of the motorcycle engine changed as Billy gave it more gas and we sped up.

I looked over his shoulder at the speedometer and saw we were nearing seventy miles an hour—thirty over the speed limit. Only a few cars traveled the road, but I saw a red light up ahead and worried what would happen if we ran it, afraid we would be hit. Just before we reached the intersection, the light turned green and we shot past the car that had been stopped at the light.
 

I glanced in the side view mirror again and saw the Enforcement vehicle gaining on us, and when I looked forward, I saw another Enforcement vehicle coming at us from the front. Billy must have seen them too, because when we reached a side street a moment later, he slowed and turned right, then we surged onward. We were in a business district with stores lining both sides of the street. Billy slowed and turned down an alley on the left, then down another on the right.
 

The Enforcement vehicles hadn’t been far behind when we’d turned off of the main street, and I expected them to appear behind us at any moment. As we traveled down the alley, I saw a man carrying out large bags of trash from the back of a store, the light next to his door illuminating the area. He looked at us as we flew past, but didn’t react. When we reached the end of the alley we found ourselves on a quiet street—most of the stores had closed for the night—and we turned left.
 

I heard the sirens, but the sound wasn’t quite as loud and I felt a rush of hope that we’d lost our pursuers. Then an Enforcement vehicle materialized at the end of the street, right where we were headed. Billy turned into a parking lot that stretched behind the row of stores and I gripped his waist as we bounced over the entrance to the driveway. There were no parked cars and we crossed the lot free of obstacles and exited into another alley. The backs of stores were replaced with residential garages as we entered a run-down neighborhood.
 

The only sound in the quiet night was the sound of our motorcycle and the sirens pursuing us. We turned down a street where modest houses were crammed against each other, and wound our way through several streets, turning randomly, trying to lose the Enforcers who were chasing us. We slowed as we drove down yet another alley, trying to quiet the sound of our motor.

A man jumped out in front of us, waving his hands and motioning to an open garage. We drove up his driveway and into the garage next to a beat-up old car. The man followed us in and dragged the door closed behind us, hiding us from those hunting us. Billy shut off the engine and when we heard a siren pass the garage and fade in the distance, my shoulders relaxed. We slid off the motorcycle and removed our helmets.
 

“Thank you,” Billy said.

The man looked like he was in his late forties, his short brown hair shot through with gray. “Glad I could help. Why don’t you come in and have a rest.”

Sudden exhaustion engulfed me and I followed the man and Billy inside and sank onto a nearby couch. All I wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

“Why were the Enforcers chasing you?” the man asked.

Billy, who stood near me, glanced at me, but I was too tired to come up with a good answer. “Just a case of mistaken identity.”

“Oh? Who did they mistake you for?”

“Uh, I’m not sure,” Billy said.

“Huh,” the man said. “Well, I’m Tyler. What are your names?”

“I’m Brian and that’s Michelle.” Billy didn’t miss a beat when he used the names he’d told Mrs. Duncan earlier that day.

“Hi,” I said, trying to keep my eyes open.

“Can I get you something to drink?” Tyler asked.

“Water would be great,” Billy said.

Tyler went into his kitchen and a moment later brought back two glasses of water. Billy gulped his down, but I drank mine more slowly. As I sipped, I listened intently for the scream of the sirens, but didn’t hear any and hoped that meant the Enforcers had given up their search.

“Do you live around here?” Tyler asked as he watched us.

“Yeah.” Billy said.

“Whereabouts?”

“Look, we appreciate you helping us out, but we’d better get going.” Billy looked at me and motioned with his head that we needed to leave. “Our parents are going to start getting worried.”

“Really now?” Tyler smiled. “Actually, you aren’t going anywhere.”

I sat up straighter, on alert, my gut telling me this wasn’t like Mrs. Duncan, who had insisted we stay because she didn’t like what the government had done. My sudden movement must have startled Tyler, because his gaze shifted to me.

Never taking his eyes off of us, he reached into a drawer behind him and withdrew a gun, pointing it at me. “Sit down, Michelle. Or should I call you Morgan?”

Billy sighed and shook his head. “What do you want?”

“What do you think?” His hand never wavered. “The reward money.”

My gaze was glued to the barrel pointed at my head and all exhaustion had fled.

“Billy, you go sit down next to your friend.” Tyler waved his gun like a pointer, directing Billy to sit next to me.

I tore my gaze away from the gun and watched Billy as he slowly sat next to me. Our eyes met, but I couldn’t read his expression and wondered what he was thinking. I knew what I was thinking.
This guy is either going to shoot us or turn us in
. And I found neither option acceptable. I turned my gaze back to Tyler and as I looked at the black gun in his hand, I wondered what it felt like to be shot. I hoped I wouldn’t find out.

“What do you have in that backpack, Morgan?” Tyler asked.

Just everything that I needed to get back to my world. “Nothing.”

“Really? Well, let’s have a look. Dump it out on the floor.”

I took the pack off of my back and slowly unzipped it.

“Dump it on the floor to your left.”

That would put everything out of Billy’s reach, which was obviously what Tyler wanted. I turned the backpack upside down and the water bottles fell out first, quickly followed by the hatchet, the two stun guns, the GPS device and the first-aid kit.

“Now kick everything toward me. And drop the backpack too.”

I did as he asked, the barrel of the gun pointing steadily at me.

Tyler used his foot to push everything to the side, even further away from both me and Billy. “You have an interesting assortment of items that you travel with.” He picked up one of the stun guns. “Nice.” He put it on his hip. “Now,” he said, grinning, “You both sit tight while I make a phone call.” With his free hand, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He pressed some numbers, then held the phone to his ear.

His gaze never wavered from Billy and me and I wondered how we’d get out of this.

“I want to talk to someone about the reward money.” His gaze flicked between Billy and me. “Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have some information that will lead to their capture. But I want to know what it would be worth to you if I can turn them over to you.” His grin faded a bit and he glanced away, but only for a second. “What do you mean, the price is the same? If I can deliver them right into your hands, I think you should pay me more.” As he listened to someone speak, the look of satisfaction he’d held a moment before turned to anger. “Now you listen here, I have the two punks you’re looking for and I won’t turn them over to you until you agree to double the reward.”

I glanced at Billy and he looked at me. Then I saw his lips curl into the tiniest of smiles and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was:
This guy’s greediness is his weakness.
 

“I’ll give you one minute to think it over,” Tyler said, then he pressed a button and shoved the phone into his pocket.

“Not giving you what you want, huh?” Billy said.

Tyler pointed the gun directly at Billy. “You shut up.”

“Shhh,” I whispered, hoping Billy wouldn’t make the man any more agitated.

“Listen to your girlfriend, you worthless piece of trash.” Tyler sneered. “They’ll see it my way. Look at all the trouble I’m saving them. They won’t have to waste time chasing down you two losers.”

The venom in his voice surprised me and I spoke without thinking. “Why do you hate us so much?” Tyler’s gaze shifted to me, as did the gun, making me wish I’d stayed quiet.

“What you don’t understand is that I don’t care about you at all. I think you and your kind are a burden on society.”

“Our kind?” Billy asked.

His attention turned to Billy. “Yeah. You know. People who think they don’t have to follow the rules.”

The pledge I’d been saying five times a day in the F.A.T. center immediately popped into my head.
I pledge to always follow the rules and to take care of my body. I will strive to put the good of all above the desires of one. A healthy me is a healthy world.
 

“What rules didn’t we follow?” Billy asked.

I wondered if he was trying to distract the man or just irritate him.

“Shut up, kid,” Tyler said. “Just shut up.”

“I think your minute is up,” Billy said, smirking.

Tyler glared at Billy, then pressed a button on his phone and pressed it to his ear. “Time’s up,” he said into the phone. He paused, evidently listening. “Have it your way.” He pressed a button and jammed the phone into his pocket, then looked at us. “Guess you guys aren’t worth as much as I thought.”

“Or maybe they traced your cell signal and they’re on their way over right now to pick us up,” Billy said. “And give you nothing.”

I hoped he was just trying to scare Tyler, but I knew he was probably right, which terrified me.
 

A look of panic crossed Tyler’s face. “Time to go.” He waved his gun at us. “Both of you. Out to the garage. Let’s go.”

I didn’t need to be told twice—I had no desire to be captured by the Enforcers—and jumped to my feet. Billy was right next to me. Tyler stayed behind us, making it impossible to pick up any of the items I’d dumped from my backpack.

I opened the door to the garage and stepped out. As my gaze settled on the motorcycle, I wished we could jump on it and ride away, but I didn’t think that was what Tyler had in mind.

“You sit on the passenger side,” he said to me.

I opened the passenger door and sat down.

He closed the door, but pointed the gun at my head through the open window. “Now, Billy, you open the garage. If you run, I’ll kill her.”

My gaze shot to Billy’s face, wondering if he’d abandon me. If he wanted to run, this would be his chance. Billy’s eyes snapped to me, then to the garage door. I watched him walk to the garage door and reach for the latch that would allow him to slide the door open. He disengaged the latch and pulled and the door rumbled open. He stood in the night air, his back to us, and I held my breath, waiting to see what he’d do. Finally, he turned around and walked to the car.

I exhaled in relief and my heart surged with warmth toward this boy who had done so much to help me.

“You’ll drive.” Tyler tossed Billy a set of keys, then climbed into the back seat directly behind me.

Billy slid into the driver’s seat and looked at Tyler in the rear view mirror. “I don’t have my license yet.”

“Don’t matter. You drive and if you try anything stupid, I shoot the girl.” He pressed the cold barrel against my neck, and I felt a shiver of fear race up my spine. “Let’s go already,” Tyler said.

Billy turned on the engine and we backed down the driveway. “Where are we going?”

“Go to the corner and make a right.”

Billy did as he was told. A moment later several cars flew past us and turned down Tyler’s street. Under the street lamps I could see the cars were filled with Enforcers.

Tyler swore under his breath.

I gasped at how close we’d come to getting caught. When I looked at Billy, he glanced at me, then pointedly looked at the seatbelt hanging next to me.

“Looks like we made it out just in time,” Billy said.

“Shut up and keep driving.”

I took advantage of Tyler’s focus on Billy and slowly pulled the seatbelt across myself and softly clicked it into place.
 

“Do you have a safe place we can go?” I asked, trying to draw Tyler’s attention away from Billy so he could put his seatbelt on. “A place where they can’t find us?”

“Of course I do. Do you think I’m stupid?”

Based on the fact that he hadn’t considered his cell signal was traceable, in fact I did think he was stupid. “No. I was just wondering where we’re going.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw that Billy had managed to put his seatbelt on. I also knew Tyler wasn’t wearing his—he was leaning in too close to me.

“Turn left at the corner.” His eyes were on Billy, but the gun was still pressed against my neck.

We turned and I saw a wide street lined with shopping centers. Only a few cars were on the road, making me feel like we stood out. “Won’t they be on the lookout for your car now?” I asked, as I pictured the Enforcers swarming us.

“Yeah, probably,” Tyler said. “But what’s the worse that can happen? They drag you two back to the F.A.T. center? Who cares?”

“They’ll probably take you too,” Billy said, a smirk on his face. “You know, for ‘helping us escape’.” He did air quotes with one hand as he spoke.

“What are you talking about? I’m not helping you escape.”

“That’s probably not what it would look like to them,” Billy said.

I sat silently, focused on the metal pressed against the tender flesh of my neck. As Tyler spoke, the pressure of the barrel lessened and I hoped he would move it away from me.

“Why don’t you just drop us off here, then you’ll be in the clear,” Billy said.

Tyler was quiet for a moment, apparently thinking it over. “No, then I’d get nothing.”