Hunted (Talented Saga # 3) (28 page)

“What?” Erik asked, spinning around, alarmed at my screams.

“Rat,” I mumbled embarrassed by my reaction.

He tried to hide a smirk.
“They’re more scared of you than you are of them,” he promised, holding out his hand and waiting for me to catch up.

“How far is it until we’re out of D.C.?” Cadence asked nervously.

“It’s about ten miles to Virginia,” Erik answered her. “But it’s only a couple more minutes to where we’re going.”

“I thought we were leaving the city?” I asked, surprised.

“We are, just not tonight,” Erik replied evasively.

I hated all of the secrecy, so I delved into Erik’s head for some more concrete answers.
His mental blockades were firmly in place. A rush of annoyance overshadowed my earlier resolve to trust Erik. I hated being shut out.

“I’m not trying to hide anything,
Tals,”
he promised.
“You’ll understand when we get there.”

Well, that was ominous.
Erik wasn’t prone to over dramatization, but I couldn’t help but think he was being theatrical. Thirty agonizing minutes later, we hit an impasse. Broken concrete and shards of metal were piled from floor to ceiling of the tunnel. “I told you so” was on the tip of my tongue when Erik maneuvered his way to the wall just before where the cave-in began. He ran his hand along the wall until he found a handle. He pulled and a door that had been seamlessly placed in the wall swung open with a loud whine. Rusty metal rungs of a ladder led upwards into an impossibly small passage.

“Duck your head, buddy,” he whispered to Alex before releasing my hand and ascending the ladder.

I watched his feet disappear before I gripped the rungs myself. I wouldn’t have believed the rusty metal could withstand my weight if I hadn’t seen them hold Erik’s. Flakes scratched my palms as I pulled myself higher. Dirt and grime trickled down into my hair from Erik’s shoes. I closed my mouth to keep from swallowing the grossness. The space was so tight and the air so stale that breath barely reached my lungs; I prayed that the end was near. Claustrophobia wasn’t one of my fears, but then again, I’d never been in such a cramped space.

I looked down when I didn’t hear Cadence following me.
She stood at the bottom of the ladder, her face frozen in a mask of horror.

“What’s wrong?” I called, irrationally worrying that I would use up what little oxygen was in the tube by speaking.

“I don’t like small spaces,” she called back, sounding close to tears.

I sighed.
Great, just what we needed, Cadence to freak out now.

“Just close your eyes and breathe,” Erik instructed her from somewhere above me.
“The shaft isn’t long. I’m already close to the top.”

After a couple of false starts, Cadence firmly gripped the first rung, pulled the door shut behind her, and practically flew up the ladder until her head was just below my feet.
Above me, Erik gave a hard shove to the underside of a trap door. A dull light filled the tunnel. I resumed climbing. At the top, Erik grabbed my hand and pulled me the rest of the way through. Cadence was still on my heels, so once I was safely on firm ground, I helped pull her through, too.

The hallway was not much wider than the shaft and Cadence was just as uncomfortable in the constricted space.
I took hold of her hand and sent calming thoughts her way. Her trembling subsided and she smiled gratefully at me.

A faint glow shone in from the space underneath a door to our right.
Erik started moving in the direction of the light as I guided Cadence in his wake.

When we reached the door, Erik knocked three times, paused, knocked twice more, paused again, and then knocked one last time.
Nothing happened at first, but then, three sharp knocks replied. I gasped in surprise. I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d expected to happen or what I’d thought the point of his knocking had been, but for some reason, it hadn’t occurred to me someone would answer. Erik knocked once, paused, and then pounded three more times on the door. After the crude code had been exchanged, the door eased open.

A middle aged man with a full head of gray hair stood on the other side.
He wore thread bare jeans and a flannel shirt with so many patches sewn to cover up holes, it resembled a quilt. When he smiled, bright white teeth gleamed back at us. His eyes literally lit up when he smiled, sending me stumbling several paces back. The irises were projecting a dull, yellow light into the passage where we were still standing.

“Erikson,” he exclaimed, grasping Erik’s arm and shaking his hand.

“Adam,” he greeted the man with a familiarity that shocked me.

Cadence and I stood awkwardly witnessing the exchange, waiting for Erik to shed some light on what the hell was going on.
Adam held the door open and gestured for us to pass through. The vast space was nearly identical to the platform of the first Metro Station. Several men and women patrolled the platform, guns sticking out of the waistbands of their pants. Too many sets of eyes to count bore down on our group when we stepped on to the platform.

I instantly went into fight mode, mentally preparing myself for an attack.
It didn’t come. Upon closer inspection, the rag-tag army was surveying us curiously. I relaxed, flexing my fingers and rolling my neck to release the tension.

“Welcome to the Underground,” Erik said, turning tentatively to face me and Cadence.

I stared at him at him blankly, at a loss for words. The Underground? What was the Underground?

“Adam, this is Talia,” he said gesturing to me.

I shuffled forward to stand as close to Erik as I could manage and gave Adam a small wave. He smiled kindly.

“Cadence,” Erik continued, pointing to where she still stood rooted in place.
Cadence was speechless, as well, and managed little more than a strangled noise in reply.

“And this,” Erik said, rubbing the tops of Alex’s fingers that were clinging to the collar of his shirt, “is Alex.”

“It’s nice to have y’all,” Adam said. His eyes were no longer glowing, but the small amount of light they gave off illuminated his face. “And it’s great to have you back, Erik.”

“Back?”
I croaked.

“Um, yeah, well, I used to live here when I was little,” Erik replied, refusing to look at me.

“And he’s nice enough to come visit every once in a while and bring us some supplies,” Adam said, winking at me.

Ah, that must be why our packs were so bulky.
It hadn’t occurred to me to ask what was actually in the bags before we left.

“So, I take it this isn’t a social call?” Adam asked Erik.

“No, unfortunately not,” Erik answered gravely. “They’re both Toxic Operatives and the boy was slated to be moved to the school tomorrow, but we learned some things ...” Erik let his voice trail off.

Adam gave him a knowing look.
“So, you finally decided to make a run for it, huh?”

“Yeah,” Erik confirmed.
“We won’t stay long, just a couple of nights. I don’t want to cause trouble for you.”

“No trouble, Erik.
Y’all are welcome as long as you need.” Adam smiled.

“I feel as though I should tell you who they are,” Erik said hesitantly.

“No need. I can guess they are pretty important to you for you to be taking such a big risk.” Adam waved off Erik’s concern. “We’ll keep ‘em safe.”

“Thanks,” Erik said, relieved.

“It’s late. There are some empty rooms upstairs if y’all want to get some sleep,” Adam offered.

“That would be great,” Erik agreed.

Adam gestured to a brunette girl reading nearby. The girl couldn’t have been more than fourteen or fifteen, tops. Her clothes were just as worn as Adam’s and she shared his round cheeks and thin lips. Not his glowing irises, though. Hers were the color of fresh cut grass.

“Leisel, you know Erik, right?” he asked the girl.
She smiled shyly and nodded that she did. “Talia, Cadence, Alex, this is my daughter, Leisel. She’ll show you where to set your things and get some rest.”

I was still so
shocked, I forgot my manners and didn’t even thank Adam before following his daughter up a flight of metal stairs. She guided us through glass doors off to one side of the upper platform and down a long hallway. Either side of the passage was lined with massive glass windows that looked suspiciously like storefronts. I had the odd sense we were in some kind of underground mall, a decrepit, abandon one, but a mall all the same.

Halfway down the corridor, Leisel finally turned into a store.
A large rectangular table occupied the middle of the room. Eight alcoves, partitioned by sheets of various colors, were set up as individual living quarters.

“This is our guest housing,” she explained in a hushed tone.
“There aren’t many people in here now, so you should have some privacy. If y’all need anything, well, you know where to find Daddy.”

“Thank you, Leisel,” Erik said politely.

She smiled at our group before turning to leave.

A soft glow illuminated one alcove, but the rest of the room was fairly dark.

“Cadence, why don’t you take that one,” Erik suggested pointing at a cubicle near the entrance.

“Sure,” she mumbled, hesitantly pushing back the olive green curtain that served as the door.

“I’ll wake you up in the morning. There’s food in the bag if you get hungry,” Erik promised as the curtain swung back in place.

“Want to help me get Alex settled?” Erik asked, looking at me for the first time since we arrived.
His turquoise eyes were a mix of embarrassment and exhaustion. He was just waiting for me to explode and demand answers. And I desperately wanted to do just that, but in an uncharacteristic show of discipline, I refrained.

I unhooked Alex’s sling and he wrapped his arms around my neck, burying his face in my hair.

“You okay?” I asked the small boy. If I thought I’d been through a lot today, it was nothing compared to what the child had experienced. His mother had been killed not even twenty-four hours before. He’d been taken from his home, likely poked and prodded by Toxic’s Medical staff, and then kidnapped by me and Erik. My own problems seemed trivial by comparison.

“Sleep with you?” he mumbled into my once again curly hair.
I wasn’t sure what shocked me more, his request or the fact that he’d actually spoken. On the plane ride from North Carolina, he’d said only one word and he’d been quiet the entire time we were in the tunnels. Remembering my own parents’ murders, I couldn’t say I blamed him. I’d refused to speak for nearly a month.

I looked at Erik for confirmation.

“Of course,” he said, rubbing Alex’s back.

Erik led us to the largest alcove.
The curtained entrance was a muted yellow color and the space looked big enough for the three of us. Then I wondered if Erik planned on sleeping by himself. I hoped not. I really wanted his company.

Erik held the curtain open so I could carry Alex through.
A king sized bed with surprisingly clean sheets took up most of the room. A scarred wooden crate served as the bedside table and a lone dresser with four drawers huddled in one corner.

Erik moved to the bedside table and fiddled with an odd contraption.
Several seconds later, our room filled with a dull orange glow.

“Kerosene lantern,” he explained when he saw my confusion.

“Right,” I agreed, having no clue what a kerosene lantern was.

Erik folded the blanket covering the bed back.
I gently placed Alex on the sheets. The boy wiggled his small body until the pillow molded underneath his head. Erik worked the boy’s sneakers off his tiny feet, then secured the blanket around his shoulders.

“Do you need anything?
Water? Something to eat?” I asked, smoothing Alex’s hair against his pillow. He shook his head and closed his eyes, reaching in my general direction. Not sure what he wanted, I took his small hand and he wrapped his little kid fingers around my thumb. I climbed over the top of him and lay in the center of the bed, resting my tired skull on his pillow.

“I’m going to go talk to Adam about some stuff.
I’ll be back soon.” Erik said as if he were asking my permission. He’d been so in control, so authoritative all night, it was odd for him to seem so unsure of himself now.

“Okay,” I whispered, the weight of the last twenty-four hours bearing down on me.
“Hurry,” I added so softly I wasn’t sure he heard me. The nearly imperceptible nod of his head as he exited was my only indication he had.

Alex’s heavy breathing made me even more tired.
I fell asleep with Donavon’s son still holding my hand.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I hadn’t been out long when familiar fingers brushed the hair from my face and Erik’s arm slipped around my waist.

“Everything okay?” I mumbled sleepily.

“It will be as long as you’re safe,” he whispered in my ear.

Safe. Were we safe? Would we ever be safe? There was no way Toxic didn’t know about this place. The Underground, Erik had called it. Erik had lived here. For years. How had he kept this part of his life secret from me? After telling me about his mom dying and how the remainder of his family lived under constant scrutiny, did he not trust me enough to tell me about the Underground? I was torn between annoyance and hurt.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked, suddenly much more alert.

“About this place? I couldn’t, Tal. Do you think I wanted you knowing that I lived like this for years?”

I untangled Alex’s small fingers and rolled over to face Erik.
“You can tell me anything,” I said seriously. “You want me to trust you, but you have to trust me, too.”

“I didn’t even want to bring you here, but on such short notice, I didn’t have a choice.
I knew Adam would take you in, keep you safe,” he said, kissing my forehead.

“Is Adam a Talent?” I asked, recalling his glowing eyes.

“Light Manipulator,” Erik replied.

“Was he ever part of the Agency?” I wanted to know.

“Nope, Adam was born here. His parents were Operatives, though. Rumor has it the two of them, along with a handful of others, left Toxic after deciding they’d had enough of the politics. Toxic hunted them. They needed a way to stay hidden, so they founded the movement known as the Underground out of necessity. They set up safehouses all over the country to help other Operatives who wanted to leave the Agency, too. Over time, the movement caught on and parents who didn’t want to submit their children for testing started sending the kids to the safehouses to keep them away from Toxic. Since children and their parents don’t always know that they are Talented until after they’ve been tested, safehouses in the testing cities became imperative. This one,” Erik made a wide sweeping gesture with his arms that was meant to indicate the entire metro station, “came about after the cave-in.”

I let that sink in.
Adam had to be in his forties, at least. So if he were born here, then the Underground was old. This wasn’t some ramshackle operation. It had been going on for years, right under Toxic’s nose.

“Do people actually live here fulltime?” I asked.

“For most, it’s just a temporary stop until Adam can arrange to get them safely out of the city. Others live their whole lives here because it’s one of the only stops on the Underground that has never been raided,” he explained. Then, in a barely audible whisper, he added, “That’s why we came here.”

My heart broke for him.
His parents had been so scared for their children, they’d traded sunlight and fresh air for the safety that the Underground safehouse provided. I couldn’t even imagine what it must be like to live with the constant worry that at any moment, your home could be invaded and your family torn apart. I guess I was about to find out, though.

My decision to take Alex and run meant I would be forced to make tough choices.
The moment I walked out of the Hamilton, I’d turned my back on my life and the closest thing to family I had left. All that mattered now was keeping Alex away from Mac. I was prepared to sacrifice everything to make that happen.

“Where is Adam’s wife?
Leisel’s mother?” I asked, dreading Erik’s response. A part of me felt sure I wouldn’t like the answer.

“She died in a raid a couple of years ago,” Erik told me, sorrow filling his features.

So many lives lost, I thought. How did no one in power see the testing laws were doing more harm than good? I wondered whether Adam’s parents and the other founders of the Underground knew the Agency was creating Talents and it that was why they’d left. Was it possible the atrocities had been going on that long?

“That’s awful,” I said quietly.

“Yeah, it is. A lot of the members of the Underground want to take a stand, stage another rebellion against the Agency and put an end to the testing,” Erik continued.

A rebellion?
The ragtag group of men and women I’d seen on the platform when we’d entered the station certainly didn’t appear to be a match for Toxic’s trained forces. They didn’t stand a chance. Ian Crane had tried to wage war against Toxic and only succeeded in splitting the country in two. Sure, he now controlled the western corner of the United States, but what had he actually accomplished?

An unsettling realization dawned on me.
Crane had staged a rebellion. Crane had taken a stand against the Agency. The official party line was that he didn’t believe the Talented belonged with the general population and that there shouldn’t be a special school and government division devoted to their training and welfare. But if you put a slightly different spin on that idea, it wasn’t much different than what a faction of the Underground wanted to do. The part of the Underground that wanted to fight instead of run wanted to end testing. What else did they want? To stop forcing children to go to the McDonough School. The only difference was that according to the Agency, Crane hated Talents, thought we were freaks of nature. But as I’d recently learned, the powers that be in the Agency couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth.

“Was Ian Crane ever part of the Underground?” I asked.

Erik hesitated. He seemed to be weighing his next words carefully. “I don’t know for sure,” he finally said.

I gave him a look that was pure skepticism.

Erik sighed. “Supposedly, Crane’s parents were among the original defectors from the Agency.”

The information didn’t shock me nearly as much as it should have.
It made sense, actually. It explained Crane’s loathing for Toxic and what it stood for. He’d probably been raised to hate and fear Toxic, and by extension, the Talented.

“But you don’t know whether Ian Crane was ever part of the Underground?” I pressed.

“The Coalition’s rebellion was before my time, Tal. All I know for sure is Adam and the other Conductors routinely smuggle talented people into the Coalition’s territory. And those people live happy lives. Crane doesn’t round them up and kill them or anything.”

“But Crane’s rebellion was over the fact he wanted Talents suppressed and hidden, not valued and taught to use their powers for the greater good.”
The notion was so ingrained in me, the response was automatic. I felt like Mac’s parrot, dutifully reciting the mantra.

“So the Agency says,” Erik replied softly.
“How much do you really believe of what Mac has told you, Tals? You can’t tell me that you don’t have doubts after everything that has happened today.”

Erik was right; I did have a lot of doubts.
The one that scared me the most – the one I had yet to admit to myself – was whether Ian Crane was truly responsible for my parents’ deaths. After meeting Crane the previous year, I started to feel as though there was something fundamental I’d forgotten about the night they died. I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

“What do you think?” I asked Erik.
“Do you think Toxic has twisted Crane’s views to make him the enemy?”

“I don’t know what I ‘think’, but what I know is that the Mandatory Testing Laws are wrong.
Imprisoning people for noncompliance is wrong. Injecting children with experimental drugs to create powers is wrong. Using our blood to make more people like us is wrong,” he answered, growing angrier with each statement.

I sent calming thoughts in his direction, but he was so worked up, they had no effect.
I was also concerned his voice would wake Alex, but the boy’s soft snores told me that was pretty unlikely.

“Penny was Talented,” Erik said in a much more even tone.
“If Crane really hates us so much, then why did he have one of us working for him?”

That point had been nagging me for a while, too.
When I’d been on Crane’s compound in Nevada, I hadn’t encountered any obvious Talents, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. And I seriously doubted Penny was the exception to the rule. If Crane had one, he had more.

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I muttered.

“We’re going to figure it out. Right now, though, the most important thing is to keep you and Alex safe,” Erik said, pulling me closer.

I titled my head up and kissed him softly, feeling as if it had been a million years since the last time our lips had met.
The physical contact grew more intense and intimate quickly until Erik gently pushed me away from him.

He laughed softly.
“Not with the kid around, Tals.”

“I should have made him sleep with Cadence,” I grumbled, only half-joking.

I settled for molding my body to Erik’s, pressing my back against his chest while he curled his form around mine. He ran one hand lightly up and down my arm. The tension ebbed from every spot Erik touched. I could feel how tired he was, but his concern for my wellbeing took precedence. Along with thoughts of experimental creation drugs and how my life had been turned upside in less than twenty-four hours, I realized that I hadn’t left the closest thing to family at the Hamilton. My family was here with me in this bed, in this metro station. Erik was my family now. I wasn’t the only one making tough choices and sacrifices. The two of us were in this together. And for better or worse, so were Cadence and Alex.

Seeing as we were several stories underground, I had no way to judge what time it was when I finally woke the next morning.
Erik and Alex were gone and I could hear people bustling around outside the curtain. I sat up slowly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Pushing the partition aside, I emerged from the makeshift bedroom. There was no electricity, but the room was lit with the same odd lanterns that sat next to my bed. A handful of people were eating breakfast and laughing, several I didn’t recognize, several I did, and one I had to do a double-take to be sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

Henri was sitting wedged between Erik and Cadence, munching on cheese and grapes.

“Henri!?! What are you doing here?” I exclaimed, stumbling towards him.

“Morning to you, too, sleepyhead,” he greeted me warmly.
Henri stood from the rectangular table and wrapped his long arms around me, lifting me from the worn carpeting. When he set me down, I smiled up at him. His brown eyes were tired and sunken into his face. Wisps of his silky hair were sticking out every which way. The jeans and gray t-shirt he wore were streaked with dirt and grime from his trek through the tunnels.

Alex, who was practically sitting in Erik’s lap, perked at the sound of my voice.

“Tals?” he called, turning his head in my general direction and stretching his fingers for me.

“I’m right here, sweetie,” I said turning from my former teammate and rushing over.

He scooted further into Erik’s lap and patted the air next to him.

Henri laughed.
“Jeez, Tal, first you get Erik into a monogamous relationship and now you have him babysitting? Your powers of manipulation are stronger than I thought,” he joked.

Alex bounced happily on Erik’s knee as he popped grapes into his mouth.
I rolled my eyes to let Henri know how I felt about his commentary.

“You’re hilarious,” I quipped, stealing a couple of grapes from Alex’s pile and shoving them in my mouth.
“But seriously, what are you doing here?” I asked between grapes.

Henri looked uncomfortably at Erik, who pointedly refused to meet his eyes.

“Hey, buddy, why don’t you sit with Cadence while you finish your breakfast so I can take Tal for a walk?” Erik asked Alex in an upbeat voice.

“
Tals.” Alex pounded his small fist emphatically on the table.

“Why don’t we eat our breakfast together first,” I suggested, giving Erik a pointed look, but he wouldn’t meet my gaze either.

The jovial atmosphere at the table was underscored with a tension I didn’t totally understand. Everyone sitting there had a million reasons to be on edge, but it felt as though I were missing something. Henri’s presence heightened my unease. I doubted he’d made the trip for purely social reasons.

My offer to eat breakfast before handing him over to Cadence seemed to satisfy Alex, who felt his way from Erik’s lap to mine and settled in.
I took my time selecting a slightly stale muffin I wagered Erik had stolen from the kitchen at the Hamilton. In fact, all the food on the table looked as though it had been left over from the previous day’s breakfast buffet.

The conversation resumed as I peeled the paper off my chosen chocolate baked good.
As others finished eating, they began to filter away from the table until it was just me, Alex, Erik, Cadence, and Henri. When I couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer, I cajoled Alex in to letting Cadence play with him and reluctantly went with Erik. Henri chose to stay behind, which deepened the sense of dread I was already experiencing.

“So, what’s up?” I asked as we strolled down what I was now convinced was an old shopping mall.
I’d thought so the night before, but now with all the lanterns illuminating the hallway, I was positive. The ceiling had even been painted light blue with fluffy white clouds and flocks of birds. Benches were set up every couple of yards with plastic plants next to them to give the impression that we were outside. The effect was touching; the lengths the inhabitants of the Underground had gone to to make their small city feel like home were impressive.