Hunted (A Sinners Series Book 2) (20 page)

Bruno leads us down the alley where Cole helped me hop over the ledge so many times before. And just like then, Cole jumps over and reaches out to assist me. His hands tenderly wrap around my waist, pulling me down into his arms. He doesn’t release me until my feet are steady. He lifts my face to his.

“You’re angry with me, I can tell.”

“I’m not mad at you; I’m hurt more than anything,” I say. “You know how I feel about being lied to.”

“We’ll talk soon. Promise.”

“Yeah.”

He touches his forehead to mine and looks into my eyes. “Focus on my voice. We’ve overcome all this; and we’ll do it again.” He kisses my lips, and his are just as chapped as mine.

I nod.

“Okay, you good?”

“I’m good.”

The stench of sewage hits me like yesterday, and no matter how many times I’ve walked through the narrow alley, breathing through my nose still isn’t an option. I hear Grace suck in her breath in front of me.
At least I don’t see any rats this time.

The buildings squeeze us into a line. Bruno’s elbows barely clear the high-reaching walls as he stops at the edge of the street across from the hospital. He checks both ways before turning right. Grace disappears around the corner after him.

And then it’s my turn.

We’re here.

The formerly clean façade of the hospital has aged seemingly overnight. The walls crumble in places. The glass is blown out in the majority of the windows. The main entrance is boarded up with wooden planks and red tape.

Zeus nudges me from behind, prodding me to move. I check both ways and glance up at the top of the hospital where the guards used to be stationed, but no one’s there.
Here it goes
…
I sprint around the corner with Zeus on my heels.

I tap Grace’s shoulder when I catch up to her and Bruno. Cole taps mine. We move from building to building and house to house, in the shadows if we can find them, but otherwise, out in the open.

A bicycle lies on its side against a shack. I wonder who used to ride it. From the way it looks, it used to be blue, but the faded color has surrendered to the orange rust creeping up the metal bars.

Bruno stops to catch his breath, so I press my back against a building, and my eyes are drawn to the black entrance of a small house. There are torn yellow curtains hanging idly in the single front window. A weird sound, like a pot banging around inside, suddenly stops. I squint toward the house when I see the small face of a child peeking back at me.

The wide, hazel eyes of the child are striking against her dirt-caked cheeks. She blinks. Her long hair falls over her shoulders. She looks up and down the street and then returns her stare to me. I’m guessing she’s about six years old. She shifts positions. Then she sees Zeus, and her lips part. Her hands cover her mouth in shock.
I remember that feeling. Oh please, little girl, please don’t scream.

I slowly raise my hand and wave at her, not wanting her to be afraid of us. She waits a few seconds before waving back. But she doesn’t smile. Her eyes look far too mature for her heart-shaped face. I was starting to wonder if anyone had survived the revolt and lived here anymore.

Zeus’s ears perk up, and a low, guttural growl escapes him. Cole grasps his collar. I don’t want the girl to be afraid of him. I catch eyes with Cole, and sensing my panic, he makes Zeus sit. Then the sound of a car approaching interrupts us. My head snaps up. The little girl holds her pointer finger to her sealed lips. She flicks her head to the left and points in the direction of the car, which sounds like it could be about three blocks away, coming quickly. Its muffler makes a loud rattling noise.

Bruno leads us into the crevice of a building and hunkers down. As I take cover, I look back in the window for the girl, and she nods silently. Then she disappears.

The car comes closer, and we slink into the shadows. I hold my breath as it passes. It’s black with tinted windows, like all the others, but I notice a loudspeaker mounted on top of it.

After it’s gone, Bruno stands up. His knees crack. My mouth feels like cotton’s been shoved inside. I’m starting to have a harder time focusing, and occasionally my boots catch on the ground and I trip. Cole grabs my shoulder, but judging by the weary lines on his face, he may be running out of energy too.
When are we going to get there?
It’s nearly impossible to get my brain to think rationally.

Five blocks. Six blocks. Seven blocks pass in a blur of desolation. I tell myself to speed up, but my legs are heavy, like I’m dragging them through mud. Our stops become more frequent. Every time we start out again, Grace sighs. I’m irritable, and the sweltering heat doesn’t help.

“Dude. I’m pissing brown,” Bruno says after taking a quick break.
Come to think about it,
I haven’t peed all day.

“Thanks for sharing that with the group, love,” Grace says.

“Just keeping it real.”

“So this is what it’s like being around him twenty-four seven,” I say to Grace.

“I’m afraid so. Sarcasm is Bruno’s trademark. I’ve learned to roll with it.”

My eyelids start to flutter, and my head begins to bob.

“Lexi, you still with me?” Cole asks, putting his hand on my waist. I lean against a wall, closing my eyes.

“Not so much; my head’s spinning,” I say.

“Hang in there; we’re almost there,” he says, sounding dehydrated too. I bring my hands to my face and rub my burning eyes, but the spinning won’t stop. My body leans forward, and he catches me with both hands. “Whoa, there. I got you.”

He hoists me over his shoulder.

“You don’t have to carry me,” I say. But it comes out sounding more like a long groan.

“Yes I do and I am. Where I go, you go. And you weren’t moving.” He grunts under my weight. His shoulder pushes through my stomach, but I don’t have the strength to argue with him.

“Dear God in heaven, please say we’re here,” Grace says, holding on to Bruno’s arm.

“Well I’m not God, but we’re here,” Bruno says.

Cole lowers me to the ground and bends over to catch his breath. Zeus plops down next to him, his nearly dry tongue dangling from between his teeth.

“It’s that building right over there.” Bruno points.

“Hallelujah,” Grace says, raising her hands in the air.

“One last push,” Bruno says, wiping sweat from around his eyes, “and we’re in.” He straightens his back and lifts his chin.

Cole extends his hand to me and pulls me to my feet. “Do you think you can manage?”

“Sure.” I twist the ring around my finger, drawing strength from its inscription.

Bruno sprints along the building, checks the timing of the cameras, and then shoves through the heavy metal door. Relief floods through me.
It’s open
.

It’s dark inside except for the light that spills through blown-out windows. The smell of feces and urine fill the air. My skin crawls at the sight of rats the size of small cats skittering across the floor in front of me. Empty water vials and cans of peas litter the floor.

“Lexi, come on,” Cole says, and then I realize I’ve fallen behind.

We follow Bruno into the same monotone office space as last time, where chunks of drywall lie crumbled on the floor. Empty bookshelves and a desk covered in dust sits in front of a chair that has been turned over.

Bruno points to the open closet marking the entrance to the underground. Cole eagerly, but carefully, lifts the floorboard panels in the closet and then peeks into the empty space.

“I can’t see a damn thing,” he says.

“Hold up; I’ve got a flashlight,” Bruno says, pulling it out of his pack. Bruno shines the light in front of Cole, making a pathway for him.

“That’s better; I’ll take Zeus down the ladder first,” Cole says.

I remember how this went last time.

Sure enough, Zeus whines as he crushes Cole’s face with his oversized paws. Cole curses the entire way down. Who knows how Cole has the strength to carry him after everything we’ve been through.

“Okay, Lexi, you’re up,” Bruno says, moving aside so I can make my way down the rickety ladder.

Stepping into the shaft, I use my right foot to feel for the next rung down. It’s slippery and just as precarious as the first time I made this trek. I close my eyes, willing myself to concentrate on getting down without slipping off and hurting myself. The light from Bruno’s flashlight is like a small candle to an abyss. It barely just reaches the bottom of the landing.

Soon, almost everyone is down, and Bruno replaces the board at the top. The ladder creaks as he climbs down. I hear a snapping sound.

“Oh shit!” Bruno says.

Six steps from the bottom, the whole thing gives out. Bruno lands, with a crash, on his back. The flashlight skitters across the floor, and for a minute, he doesn’t move. His hulking figure lies on the hard floor with the flashlight spinning in circles, before I reach down and pick it up. Grace rushes over to him.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” she asks. He groans. “Move your toes.” In the dim light, I watch him wiggle his toes. “Did you hit your head?”

He mumbles.

“What?” she asks in a panicked voice.

“No, but your shirt’s in my face,” he says as he pushes her back an inch. “Not that I’m complaining about your boobs but … ”

“You’re such an apple,” she says, a chuckle coming out of her. Bruno laughs weakly and rolls onto his knees.

“First cracker … now apple?” Cole asks. “Grace, we’re starving, and you’re cursing with food?”

“I know, sorry. But it’s a habit.”

“Now I know how the giant felt when he came down the beanstalk.” Bruno laughs at himself. I can’t stop myself from snorting. Grace takes Bruno’s hand and hugs him close, then she shoves him away and frowns at him.

“Guess we’re not getting out the way we came in,” she muses over the broken ladder.

I flick the light down the tunnel, eyeing the weeping ceiling, the bars lining the walls, and the black hole at the end. This time, no firelight welcomes us. In fact, all you hear is the dripping of water and the echo of our voices against the pitch black.

“Where’s Steven when we need him?” I ask, remembering the first time we arrived, when Steven escorted us underground. Now, it’s Cole’s turn to chuckle.

“I wonder if he got out,” he says.

“He did,” Bruno says. “He was in my group, remember?”

“Say, where’s the dripping coming from? I’m about to start licking the walls,” Grace says. She looks at Bruno, and the flashlight casts weird shadows beneath her eyes.

Zeus takes off ahead of us. He stops to whizz a few times, but nothing’s coming out, and he raises his head to look at us while making a snuffing noise. In the darkness, his eyes shine an eerie green.

“Oh, don’t worry … we see you, doofus,” Cole says. “Your hose ran dry. It happens.”

I shine the flashlight ahead, occasionally flicking it to our feet to make sure there’s nothing for us to trip over. I still feel weak, but the drop in temperature wakes me up. My head’s clearer. Or maybe I just have hope.

“Keegan lived down here, right?” Grace asks, lowering her voice into a whisper as we walk.

“Yes, he did.” My voice trails off.

We enter the space where my brother Keegan and I reunited around the fire for the first time in years.
I was so happy to see him.
God, how I miss him.
A charred, black spot stains the floor where the fire had been. Blackened wooden planks used for seating look abandoned and sad. The heaviness in the air settles in. Zeus sniffs around and finally settles on an old t-shirt lying on the floor in front of him, dirty and forgotten. My feet freeze in place.

It’s just … empty, a disturbing reminder of what used to be. A hand touches the back of my neck and squeezes. It’s Cole, of course.
If only Keegan were here now.
He’d know what to do. He’d have an answer, even if it wasn’t the right one. He was passionate about what he believed and never backed down from anything or anyone. My brother had a heart of gold. I loved him. I love him still.
And someday, I’ll bury him like he deserves.

Zeus’s head perks up. His ears stand up straight as he woofs at something.

“Zeus, what’s there?” I ask as we all turn toward the hallway.

I point the flashlight down in the direction he’s looking.
Was that a face I just saw?
I squint and step in that direction. By now, Cole’s next to me, hand on his gun.

“Come out with your hands over your head,” Bruno says in a firm voice. It echoes into nothingness.

Zeus continues to growl, each one getting louder. But no one answers, and the shadows play with my mind. If I think too hard, I see bodies moving in the darkness. The flashlight feels slick in my sweaty palms. I stop moving and listen intently for noise. Zeus’s whole body points in the direction of whatever is out there. The drip, drip, dripping of water sliding off the pipes overhead makes the only identifiable noise.

“Show yourself,” Cole says. I hear nothing in response. Cole doesn’t lower his gun. He’s focused on the energy of his dog. He knows Zeus would not be acting this way if there wasn’t anybody out there.