Hunted (A Sinners Series Book 2) (12 page)

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Authors: Abi Ketner,Missy Kalicicki

Tags: #dystopian, #teen science fiction and fantasy, #romance, #dystopian romance, #teen and young adult

BOOK: Hunted (A Sinners Series Book 2)
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I twist around to look at Cole.

“I should’ve listened to you,” Cole says. “I should’ve trusted your instinct. The fence was a trap … and you knew it.”

“No.” I shake my head, taking his fingers into mine. “There was no other way. There’ll never be an easy way for us.”

The sirens stop, and I freeze in the gray light. I don’t hear any more voices. The sounds of shouting, guns firing, and loose gravel under boots subsided as the train left the rail yard, passing the large, black fence surrounding it. Now, it’s deathly silent except for the whirring of the wheels as the train kicks into high gear. I hold my breath, waiting for something to go wrong.

But nothing happens.

My lids grow heavy with exhaustion. There’s nothing more tiring than the feeling you get after the adrenaline leaves your veins. Even though I ache from my head to my toes, I manage to keep applying pressure to Zeus’s bleeding wounds and praying for a miracle.

There’s no turning back. We’re on our way to the Hole.

 

 

Flashes of early-morning sunlight wake me from my slumber. It flits through the slits at the top of the railcar. The gentle humming of the train assures me we’re still moving. I sit up and run my fingers through my tangled hair. No one else appears to be awake. I hear Cole’s soft snoring behind me and see Bruno and Grace asleep in each other’s arms. And it reminds me that love is the only blanket of warmth from this frigid world.

Zeus!
I snap my head toward him and reach over to check his wounds. He’s woofing in his sleep, and his paws twitch. I touch his bloodstained fur, and it feels stiff. Pulling my hand away, I glance at my fingers, rub them together, and realize they’re dry. His bleeding has stopped, and I rejoice for that small gift. I peer closer. His wounds don’t seem as deep as they did in last night’s darkness and chaos. A deep sigh escapes my lips. My eyes drift to the opening at the top of the wall and the light filtering through. Pulling my knees to my chest, I close my eyes, because there’s someone I need to talk to. In a whisper, I begin.

“Dad, I hope you can hear me because there’re some things I need to say.”
Ugh, this is harder than I thought it was going to be. And it’s not like he’ll respond
. I swallow hard and find myself proceeding anyway. “Okay, I’m just going to spit this out, so here goes nothing. I know your dream for me was to fight for the freedom of our society, but I can’t, Dad. How can I possibly do that, when my heart is pulling me elsewhere? Trust me, I realize going after Sutton is pretty much a death sentence. But it’s a risk I have to take, because leaving him there to die isn’t something I can live with. And I’m pretty sure you’d do the same thing, because I know the kind of man you were. This world is one messed up place. It’s a war I can’t win on my own. And now, I have a smaller battle to fight, and I’m praying. Gosh, I’m praying so hard you’ll understand. I love Sutton, and I know you do too, so I need to do this for me, for us. And no matter what the outcome is, I hope you’ll be proud of me.” Tears flood my eyes; I blink, and they spill out. I feel the warm streams sliding down my cheeks, and I lick the corner of my mouth, tasting salt.

“Why aren’t you here, guiding me? You should be here; I need you. I need you so much it hurts to breathe.” I bite down on my quivering lower lip.

I take a slow, deep breath and release it. “Okay, Dad, Keegan … I need your strength more than ever.” The pain of their absence is everywhere, and it eats at my flesh every second of every day. “I love you both so much … and I’m going to do whatever it takes to carry on your legacy, to make sure you didn’t die in vain. Please, watch over me. Please watch over all of us.” I lay back, and Cole’s arms surround me.

“I’m right here,” Cole says. “I’ll hold you, always. You’re my strength, Lexi. So allow me to be yours.”

I turn to meet his eyes. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize you were listening,” I say, tilting my head back into the crook of his neck. “What if I let them down? What if I’m doing the wrong thing?”

“I’m sure they’re extremely proud of you,” Cole says. I whip around and face him, while wiping my tears away. “But maybe you should focus on who’s here for you now. Right here. Right in front of you.”

“You’re right, I shouldn’t worry about what I can’t control. Ugh.”

“What?”

“Why are you always right?”

“Ha. That’s far from the truth. Lexi, I’ve been wrong so many times in my life. We all have. But I think the only option we have is to accept our mess-ups and move on.” He runs his thumb across my lips before leaning in and kissing me. “And knowing the kind of man you say your father was, I think he’d be doing exactly the same thing.”

“I hope I make the right choices when … ” My voice trails off.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. Promise,” Cole says. I rest my head on his chest and inhale the faint smell of sweat mixed with soap. “Zeus seems better.”

“Yeah. His wounds aren’t bleeding anymore, and they’re not as deep as I thought. Which is a very good thing,” I say. “As long as we keep his cuts clean, he should be fine. It would’ve killed me if he’d died.”

“I know. You’ve really become attached to Zeus. That means a lot to me,” he says.

“Cole?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you scared? Because, to be completely honest … I’m petrified.”

“We’re all scared. We wouldn’t been human if we weren’t.” He links his fingers with mine, pulls my hand to his mouth, and then kisses it. “And remember, our mission is to save Sutton so he can get to the monitors. We aren’t trying to save the world.”

“Without a doubt.”

Bruno stirs.

“Man. What the hell? How long have we been asleep?” he asks, scratching his head. Bruno and Grace squint against the light. “Sleeping on the way to the Hole … Who does that?”

“Apparently we do,” Cole says with a light chuckle. It’s nice hearing him laugh.

“How long before we arrive?” Grace asks.

“There’s only one more stop before the Hole,” Bruno says. I watch as he digs around in his bag. He swigs some water, then hands it to Grace.

“I’m afraid to ask, but how exactly do you know that?” Grace asks, before taking a drink.

“My first assignment was in the rail yard, before I became a rock-star guard inside the Hole.”

More silence follows as the seriousness of what we are about to do sinks in.

I wrestle with my bag, searching for a bottle of water, when Zeus flops onto his belly and shoves his head into my lap as if asking for water too. The heat inside this railcar is suffocating; I imagine it must be even worse for Zeus.

My stomach rumbles, and my neck muscles tighten at the thought of trying to pass another station before getting to the Hole. This is what my nightmares are made of.

We travel for the next ten minutes or so in silence.

The gentle thumping of the wheels grind to a halt.

We all freeze, staring at each other, not knowing what to expect.

Cole and Bruno immediately jump up, checking their weapons and gathering their wits. We hear noises from outside, voices yelling. I can almost smell the blood that might shed any second. My hair stands tall on my arms as I scramble to get my bag, Zeus, and my weapons secured. Shouting and crying catch my attention. Even through the walls, I can sense their fear.

“Are we here?” I ask Bruno. His attention is fixed on the door, his jaw’s locked, and his eyes are narrowed.

“It’s the last stop. That’s all you need to know,” he says in a tight voice.

I imagine the desperation of Sinners at the last stop. Their last breath of freedom before losing their freedom forever.

“Stay hidden and we won’t have trouble,” Bruno says.

Yeah, okay.

A glimmer of light reflects off my ring. It’s been so long since I’ve looked at it. I find myself reading it again.

“You can overcome anything, short of death.”

You’re right, Dad. I sure as hell can. But how many times?

Suddenly, a loud squealing sound echoes throughout the metal car we’re in, and the door begins to slide open. Grace and I take positions behind Cole and Bruno. At first, nothing happens. I hear Zeus let out a low, menacing growl, and I put one hand on his neck to break his fixation on the door. My heart’s getting ready to explode out of my chest.

And we wait.

The guards shout orders as Sinners respond with cursing and cries. I’m frozen in position, holding my breath … waiting for something. Anything.

And we wait some more.

Anxiety gnaws at my insides. I clench my teeth as a single droplet of sweat travels over my brow.

“Form lines!” a loudspeaker blares over the din. “Sinners will no longer be allowed to work outside the Hole. If any of you try anything, try to leave, you will be shot.”

Why can’t Sinners work outside the Hole anymore? Why keep them locked up when they are needed for work?
Now, getting back out is going to be harder than I thought.

Bruno slowly slides toward the door, peeking outside quickly and then snatching himself back. My eyes widen, waiting for him to signal to us.

“How many?” Cole asks in a whisper.

“Too many,” Bruno responds.
Please don’t let them find us.

“Okay, let’s get this car loaded,” a voice says from beyond the door. He’s close. Too close.

I hear footsteps resembling those of an army and brace myself. First, a dirt-covered hand appears. Then, slowly, a shoe appears through the doorway, and a person enters the car. Neither Cole nor Bruno move. Grace tenses behind me, and I’m a ball of nerves and adrenaline.

She doesn’t see us yet. I pinch Zeus’s neck, like Cole taught me, to quiet him.

The moment her eyes flick up, they bulge with terror. I motion her to move further into the car and allow others on, so she doesn’t arouse suspicion. To my surprise, she steps forward. Upon seeing Zeus, who stands beside me with his ears perked up at full attention, she stops in her tracks. Her eyes flit from Zeus to me, and back. When she begins to back away, I pull Zeus away from her. She finds a spot in the corner and cowers, curling into the fetal position.

Next, a man enters. Then more people file in, their eyes surprised, but their mouths sealed. It’s almost like a comradery between us. We won’t hurt anyone, if they stay quiet.

“Move faster!” I hear the loudspeaker shout.

People begin shoving in, piling in until there’s only standing room. Bruno and Grace are separated from Cole, Zeus, and I. I’m starting to feel claustrophobic. By now, I’ve lowered my gun. Zeus is getting restless. Every time he moves, he steps on someone or something and they groan.

Bang!

The gunshot ignites panic in the car. The accused shriek, cry, and step over one another to get on. I’m pressed against the wall, looking around frantically for the others.
Where’s Grace
? She’s too short to spot among the throng of Sinners. Bruno is easy to spot. He sticks out like a sore thumb.

“Anyone else want to try to pull that stunt?” the voice on the loudspeaker screams.

My stomach plummets when I think about the day I was brought to the Hole, and I imagine how these people must feel. I wonder if they are all guilty of the crimes they’ve been accused of, or if they could possibly be like me, wrongfully accused. Soon, we’re all packed in like sardines. Shoulders to shoulders, backs to backs, and I’m breathing someone else’s spent air. Beside me, a girl who looks like she can’t be more than twelve years old stares back, terror but also hope crossing her face. I reach in my bag and offer her my water.

“It’s going to be okay. Here, take this.”

A small and timid hand meets mine as she takes the water from my grasp. I can’t look at her too long. My heart is breaking from this little gesture.

I feel lightheaded, and my clothes are almost completely soaked through with sweat. I focus on the vein pulsing in Cole’s forehead next to me.

“Guards! Seal the doors.”

I bite down on my cheek and duck my head, hoping to blend in to the crowd. But we aren’t home free yet.

Zeus lets out a low growl, but stays in place.

“It’ll be okay,” I whisper. I link my hand with his collar, for extra insurance.

A guard at the door fixes his glance in our direction. He stops and probes the packed car with his eyes. I move backward, accidently stepping on Zeus’s paw. He lets out a loud, sharp bark.

“Zeus, stop it,” Cole says, not realizing what happened. The guard’s eyes zero in on Zeus, and I consider putting myself between him and the dog. My breath catches as he lifts his gun. “No!” I scream, and then everything seems to happen in slow motion.

Cole is up, gun drawn, pointing at the guard.

I shove Zeus behind me and see the girl I gave the water to back away from me. She’s afraid of me!

I quickly turn back to the guard. He has a sick, sadistic smile plastered across his face. He recognizes me. I reach up and try to cover my brand.

His barrel’s now aimed at my chest.

“Lexi, get down!” Cole says.

Bruno shoves people aside like he’s swimming. When the guard pauses, Bruno grabs him. He gets his giant arms around the guard in what looks like a hug. Then, in a motion of sheer power, he violently twists his head. I hear a sickening snap as the body crumbles to the platform. Bruno kicks it away from the train, then whips his gun out from his waistband.

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