“Yes?” Paige answered, trying to appear stern, and sound like a grown-up.
“How's the situation in the canteens? Are they empty?” The woman asked, and to be honest the question took her by surprise, not knowing what to say. But luckily the woman continued.
“I’m late for the supper, and I’m starving...”
“Oh yes, they are fairly empty,” Paige jumped in, happy that was the only thing they wanted to know. “And the food is really tasty today so hurry up,” she added, hoping they would leave that much sooner.
As they left, mumbling a thank you, Dave looked over at Paige with a wide grin on his face. “Look at you, already making friends with the Blue Coats.”
“Come on! Stop teasing me Dave, I almost slipped,” she confessed with a grimace. “I don’t even want to think about what would happen if they asked me something I didn’t know but was supposed to as one of them.”
“Well, in that case,” Dave pondered while turning a corner in a corridor, “you could pretend to be a little drunk and tell them a joke.”
“Oh, you’re so funny!” Paige countered while pretending not to be impressed by it. And it hit her how he had the ability to help her relax even in the most dangerous of situations. It was a rare gift.
“Do you have any idea where your Mom’s cell is?” Dave asked suddenly, changing the subject and with it the mood between them.
Once again, they were all business.
Paige racked her memory trying to remember exactly which cell she had been put in while she was watching her on the screen. She wanted to search her again, but she was so busy, and that supervisor looked at her like a hawk would look at prey, so she only had time to create the loop. Which was more important, anyway?
“Kind off,” she replied honestly.
There were many cells around them now, and some of them were full of occupants, most of which were asleep.
Luckily for them.
“I guess we have to go around this corner, and if I’m not mistaken, she should be down there somewhere.”
“Ok, lead the way,” Dave replied, having full confidence in her and that touched her.
As they moved towards the cell, Paige remembered it was her Mom’s. Unfortunately, once they stepped in front of it a very big surprise awaited them.
Paige was horrified to find out that it was empty.
On no, Paige wanted to cry out.
Mom? Where are you?
Chapter Twenty-Five
Paige looked at the empty cell and didn’t know what to do.
She was prepared for a lot of things, for Angela to be in one of her strange phases, for her to be injured, for the guards to discover them... but not for this.
“Give me the key,” she said to Dave, holding her hand up.
Frowning, he handed it over.
Paige unlocked the door and yanked it open with a little more force that was necessary.
Rushing inside, she checked the small cell as if expecting Angela to be hiding in one of the corners, or under the bed.
“Damn it!” She snapped, frustrated, not caring if she was making unnecessary noise.
Mom is gone! What am I supposed to do now? Where to look?
She spun around as if waiting for some divine intervention, that naturally never came.
“Paige, are you sure this is the cell she was in?” Dave asked her softly. And she wanted to snap at him for saying something like that but on second thought it was a legitimate question.
She was certain a second ago, but now... She wished she simply made a mistake.
“I think so, Dave. It has to be,” Paige replied honestly. Still, stepping out of it, she started looking around at the other cells.
Most of the people inside were still fast asleep and the rest simply paid no attention to them.
Am I in the right place? Paige asked herself.
Unfortunately, she was.
She remembered it clearly, of course, Paige had a big problem with directions, that was no secret, but then again, she was pretty sure this time.
“Absolutely sure?” He insisted.
“Yeah,” she replied defeated, sighing.
“Maybe she escaped?” Dave suggested, sounding hopeful.
And Paige simply shrugged in return. She didn’t know what to think or do at the moment.
Did she escape? Paige wondered.
Is she all right? Where is she?
Maybe she was back on the Green Level, looking for them?
Paige was going through all the options. Somehow none of them rang true.
As she continued to look around, a guard in a blue uniform walked up past them.
It all happened so fast Paige didn’t even have time to panic.
He didn’t pay attention to them. But as he was walking by, Paige heard him humming a lovely tune. And it made her frown.
It was strangely familiar to her and Paige was certain she heard that song somewhere in the past.
Suddenly, it hit her. She knew that tune, from her mom!
And because of it, she acted purely on instinct.
“Excuse me?” Paige said, taking his arm. He stopped and turned to face her.
“What?” he asked. And despite his abrasiveness, he didn’t look angry, simply confused.
“I’m really sorry for bothering you, but,” Paige started politely, hoping that would help her cause. “I thought you could help me.”
“And what do you want?” He asked, eyeing her with slight curiosity.
Dave stood right by her, ready to take over if the guard did something wrong. Or if Paige messed something up. Whichever came first. Even though he couldn't know what was inside her mind, and where she was heading with this guard, he still had her back, and that meant everything to Paige.
Paige wondered how to phrase what she wanted to know, without sounding suspicious or like a lunatic.
“To be honest, I just heard you humming a tune while you were walking past me, and,” she paused.
This is the tricky part.
“You’ve probably heard it from a woman, haven’t you? From a woman who was in this cell today,” Paige added quickly. The guard simply looked at her, so she asked further.
“Do you have any idea where she is now? Was she taken somewhere else?” She stopped herself there, hoping she didn’t go too far.
The guard shrugged her hand off, then straightened his clothes.
That is not a good sign...
“I didn’t hear it from a woman in the cell, nor did I see her, sorry for not being able to help you,” the man said, shaking his head and preparing to leave.
Yet, something about his delivery was off and that made Paige press on.
He knows something, she was sure of it.
“Wait, wait,” Paige said, stropping him. “If you didn’t hear it from a woman, then how do you know that song? I mean, it’s not a very popular one, and if you’re humming it, then you must have heard it from someone, right?” She rambled, grasping on anything.
He eyed her suspiciously by that time but luckily decided to answer.
“Well, yes, I did hear it in passing,” and clearly seeing Paige wanted to ask more, he continued. “And if it’s that important for you to know I actually heard it from a man, he was singing it,” he explained, looking at Paige as though she was the strangest creature in the universe.
Not that she cared, as long as she got some answers.
“A man?” Paige exclaimed, her jaw dropping in amazement.
“Yes,” the guard replied simply.
How could some man know my Mom’s song? Paige wondered.
“Can you tell us more about him?” Dave inquired, playing along.
“Why are you asking?” The guard asked in return, clearly getting curious himself, about her strange behavior. “What’s so extraordinary about a man humming a song?”
And Paige clammed up, not knowing what to say to him.
Why do I suck at lying?!
“Well...” Paige str
uggled for words, and Dave didn't know anything so he couldn't jump in.
Luckily, the guard wasn’t about to press the issue when she simply shrugged.
“You know what, never mind, you are weird, and all this interrogation about a song is really … ridiculous,” he added, shaking his head.
Paige could sense that Dave was holding back from reacting. He was annoyed that someone was speaking to her like that, but Paige really hoped he wouldn’t do anything. They didn’t need any more trouble. Angela missing was a headache enough.
Besides, Paige didn’t care what some random guard thought of her.
Let him think whatever he wanted about her. Because that way, he will assume her harmless.
The guard turned and walked away, once again humming the song to Paige’s complete astonishment.
That guy is really something special.
“Thanks anyway,” she yelled after him.
“That was a waste of time,” Dave grumbled, but Paige disagreed.
There was something going on, and she was adamant to figure out what.
Besides, when that guard mentioned a man singing a song, she had a sinking feeling she knew who that person was.
Paige turned to look at Dave, to share some of her theories when she heard someone calling her name.
With a passing glance between them, Dave and Paige in unison went toward the source of all that noise.
“Paige! Paige! This way!”
And Paige was not so surprised to see Kwan inside one of the cells.
I knew I saw him on the screen, Paige marveled she was right.
“Kwan!” She exclaimed because up to that point she completely forgot about him.
And how could she not, when a lot of things was constantly going on, even though she slightly felt guilty about it.
“It’s so good to see you,” she added, moving closer to his cell. And that was the truth. Even though they had their differences at first, he was the only person on Genesis that tried to stick out for stowaways. “I totally forgot that you’re in here.”
“Forgot?” He asked in confusion.
“I saw you on the screen while watching my Mom being caught and brought here,” Paige explained.
“Oh, I see,” Kwan said. “I saw you speaking with that guard, and I wasn’t quite sure if it was you or not, with those Blue Coats on and everything.”
The rest was implied. He never expected to see them since the last time they were on the same ship together, AJ, Paige and her Mom, were being taken away to the Viper. And Paige was still very much surprised to see him incarcerated.
This is a crazy world, Paige reminded herself.
“Who's this guy?” Dave wanted to know.
“Dave, this is Kwan. The guard I've been telling you about, from the Genesis.”
“Oh, right,” was his only reply.
“Kwan, do you know where my Mom is? Did she escape? Was she taken away?” Paige asked him, holding onto the metal bars of his cell, hoping he would give her some information.
“I saw a guard take her out of her cell a few minutes ago,” Kwan answered instantly.
“A few minutes?” Paige couldn’t believe her ears. She missed her for a few minutes!
“That means we can still find her!” Paige said as a reassurance to herself as she rushed forward, running towards the elevator.
Of course, Dave following behind her.
“Paige! Paige,” Kwan started to call out after her, in panic. “Please, you need to set me free!” He pleaded. “Come back, please!”
We don’t have much time, but he needs my help, Paige stopped in her tracks so abruptly that Dave bumped into her.
“We have to help him first,” she told Dave and he simply nodded.
“Paige, please, they are going to float me out soon,” Kwan continued to shout.
“Please help me get out of this cell.”
Paige and Dave returned to his cell and he looked genuinely relieved to see them.
And that was when Paige noticed that his knuckles were all beaten up and swollen.
What did they do to him, and why? Paige wondered.
“If you don’t get me out, I’ll die. You and your friend are my only hope,” Kwan confessed, squeezing the metal bars.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you out.” Dave
In all the haste, Paige left the key in her Mom’s cell but fetching it took no time at all, but once Paige tried to unlock Kwan’s door, she realized she couldn’t.
“I can’t do it,” she confessed, frowning. Paige could probably break the entire door but unlocking it the old fashion way was apparently impossible for her.
“Let me try,” AJ said stepping in.
But the key didn’t fit.
How is that possible?
“I’m not their ordinary prisoner,” Kwan said bitterly, gesturing with his head toward the wall next to him.
Paige found his remark intriguing, but still, she followed the direction and there was a control panel on the wall that was facing his cell with digits on it.
But they didn’t have a password.
Well, crap. Paige thought in exasperation.
“What did you do anyway?” Paige asked conversationally, while she tried to figure out how to get him out of there.
Kwan shrugged noncommittally. “Oh, you know, pissed off some people I shouldn't. The usual.”
“Right.”
Translation: Captain Zoya held a huge grudge against him. And a part of Paige felt guilty about that.
So, how to break that lock? She mused, returning to the task at hand.
Clearly thinking the same, Dave checked the time and it was obvious they were running out of it.
The video loop couldn’t play forever without someone noticing, but Paige couldn’t leave Kwan here to die.
The universe really liked to put her between a rock and a hard place kind of situations.
Lucky me!
“What are we going to do?” Dave asked.
“You can’t leave me here,” Kwan repeated, in a panic this time and Paige was saddened to see how the people on this mothership managed to break his spirit. Although, not completely, according to those knuckles of his.
Kwan put on a fight and Paige was impressed by that. They would need a person like him in the future to leave this horrible place so bumping into him was a blessing in disguise.
Paige raised a hand to silence them both and concentrated hard on the control panel.
As she concentrated, Paige felt the Black Mass inside of her. It felt like another layer of her being on top and yet closely intertwined as well. It was strange and terrifying at the same time.
“Paige, what are you doing?” Dave asked in alarm.
“Shush, I need to concentrate,” she snapped back.
And even though she didn’t have the faintest idea what she was doing, she urged it to cooperate. And miraculously something inside of her clicked and the Black Mass in her mind began to work.
It enabled Paige to see that the fingerprints were heavier on some buttons, highlighting what may be the code. And just like that, it was very easy for Paige to punch in the right code. Kwan stumbled out of his cell as Dave watched her in wonder.
“Did you just...” He started speaking. Paige raised her hand to stop him. “We'll talk later.”
And by the expression he gave her, that was a given.
“Thanks so much, Paige,” Kwan said smiling. “I really appreciate it.”
“It’s nothing, really,” Paige replied and really meant it. He helped them in the past, so it was only fair for them to return the favor.
Also, her mind was preoccupied with Angela right now and she wanted to carry on with their plan of finding her at last. “Kwan, did you see the guard who took her? We really don’t have much time, the loop will start over in about ten minutes, and someone will notice what I’ve done,” Paige urged in a rush.
“What loop?” Kwan asked, looking at Paige then Dave questioningly.
<
br /> “Oh, never mind,” Dave told him, with a hand wave. “She just set up a video loop so that we were able to roam the corridors looking for her Mom, without being noticed. And now the time’s running out. We have to hurry up if we don’t want to be caught,” he explained as if it was no big deal, but Kwan’s eyes bulged in surprise.
“Oh, I see,” Kwan answered as they approached the elevator. “I knew you were a troublemaker,” he added lightly with a wink and Paige couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s hurry up, then.”
“So, tell me what you saw, Kwan,” Paige said.
He sighed, thinking this over, and Paige tried hard not to urge him to hurry up, but take his time.
Every detail counted and she didn’t want to mess this up with being impatient.
“Well, I didn’t see much,” he started, much to her disappointment.
“I only saw that the guard that came was younger, fit and with clear military training and he took your Mom out of her cell with force.
Wow, ok, so his - not much, was better than for normal people. But Kwan was a soldier after all.
“Your Mom was confused, like really out of it. I think she thought they were going to float her out?” He spoke quickly, then took a deep breath to continue, but Paige cut in, not being able to help herself.
“What did he look like?”
“Look like?” He repeated, pausing for a moment to think. “Well, I know this is going to sound crazy, because the last time I saw him he held a lot of people as hostages. Yet, I could have sworn it was that Dillon guy,” Kwan dropped that on her like a bomb.
“He was smiling, saying something to her which I didn’t hear because he whispered it to her, but whatever it was she was scared. Did he follow you here?” Kwan asked in alarm.
Yet Paige was frozen in place, unable to move.
Dillon? It can't be. He is dead!
“Are you sure?” Paige managed to choke out.
“Not a hundred present, but yes. There was an arrogant yet a bit crazy vibe coming out of him that stuck with me.”
How is that possible? Her mind spiraled. She killed him on the Viper, floated his body out, too! He should be dead!
“Let me guess. The crazy alien dude you all killed on the Viper isn't dead?” Dave summed it up.
Mothership (Invasion Survivor Book 4) Page 23