“The look on your face said you were going to make a run for it, and it’s a very bad idea.”
“I’m not going to run.”
“Do you think the soldiers searching for you are your friends? They’re carrying weapons. If you hadn’t gotten out of your flat in time, you’d most likely be dead or in a cell while they tortured you for information you said you don’t have.”
“I don’t have it.”
“They think you do, and I can guarantee they don’t care what tactics they have to use to extract what they want from you.” He frowned. “I, however, don’t want to see you killed, and I won’t do what they will do to get the codes. So, if you try to run, I will knock you out and carry you to our safe house. And even though I’m not as big as Akoni, I assure you I am strong enough to do it. Let’s call it a promise.” He stared, not breaking away. His mouth formed a hard line, one set in steel determination.
Shifting from foot to foot, I looked away from my captor. No doubt he would, and he didn’t need a tranq-gun to accomplish his goal. His expression had said, try me—find out. I was fairly certain I’d have a bad night if I did, so I remained with him and didn’t run like the warning bells in my head told me to.
“Okay.” I turned back to him, certain I’d see the truth on his face. I didn’t.
Eli smiled. Not the kind you gave a stranger in passing, but full wattage. The kind meant to bring a woman to her knees. “See, we don’t have to be enemies.”
I could deal with enemies. It made sense; I could understand the ground I stood on. This friendship, or whatever our relationship had morphed into—I couldn’t even begin to contemplate what it meant. Especially when he looked at me the way he did now. Air whooshed out of my lungs as if I’d been sucker-punched. A bolt of energy zapped me, exploding through my body to the tips of my fingers and toes. For several moments my heart did a crazy skip-jump while my belly fluttered. I pressed my hand to my stomach, willing the flurry inside to still. “If we’re not enemies, what are we?” I swallowed hard.
“What do you want us to be, Iia?” He watched me, his eyes tracking from my face to where my hand landed and back up, reading me as no other ever had. Bold. Blatant. In that stare down, he seemed to absorb part of me. Could he have read my mind, or in the least, the body language I gave off?
The way I reacted to him wasn’t natural, but a side effect of my abduction combined with the stress. I needed to remember to keep my guard up and not fall for the false byproduct of my captivity. One slip, and the consequences could be dire. This could never be love—or friendship. I had a mission to save myself. It could be nothing more, nothing less. “I want us to be strangers. I want to go back to my life before you collided with it.”
“Not going to happen.” His gaze landed on my lips, stopping there. I couldn’t move, though I wanted to. “Those guys out there wouldn’t be as nice. Trust me.”
“Yeah, okay, as opposed to how nice you’ve been to me—abducting me from my home, dragging me unconscious into the sewers, burning my chip and tagging me like some kind of criminal? So very nice of you and un-enemy-like.”
“I saved your ass.”
“Just my ass?”
“Every inch of your sassy body.” He winked.
My knees turned to mush, and I thought for sure I’d collapse. He presented a whole different kind of danger. I’d find a way to escape later. Even if every second in the rebels’ company felt as though a noose tightened around my neck, I wouldn’t bolt first chance. I could be patient, wait for my opportunity, for him to lower his guard, for the other rebels to be away as they were now. My chance would come. But not now. Now, he was too tuned into my thoughts.
“I mean it, Iia. I won’t let you run to your death. Everything I do is for your benefit, even if you can’t see it right now. I will always act in that manner, no matter what I have to do to save you from yourself.”
He continued to watch my mouth, so intense. I thought for a moment he’d move in and kiss me. I finally found my strength and turned my face away. I could still feel his gaze on me, watching me with the intensity of a hungry lion.
“Only because I’m too valuable to you.”
“Not only because I need the codes, but nobody deserves what they’d do to you to protect the grid and their power over the people. Let’s go.” No sooner than the words left his mouth, he started walking ahead as though he knew I’d come along with him.
“I don’t want your protection.”
“Do you think you’re the only person I’m protecting in this situation? Your living or dying affects more than your personal little bubble.”
Perhaps I struck out some in anger, or maybe his words hit a nerve I didn’t even care to contemplate. Disappointment washed over me, and the reason why didn’t make me feel any better. He’d done what he’d done to get the codes without killing me. He cared little for me, other than I could take the Net down and save everyone from the government. How considerate.
8
Who would think a balmy island could be so cold at night? It had been a long while since I’d gone anywhere in the evening, even before the curfew went into effect. I scrubbed my arms, trying to bring heat back to my flesh, and glanced around the cave opening. It resembled a barrel-sized hole behind some bushes and under a rock ledge, invisible unless you were looking for it. I wanted no part of crawling into the darkness, which I concluded at first glance would be the only way to go into the cavern Eli swore sat inside.
I’d once heard there was this master painter who had over two dozen variations of black in one painting. As I stared at the entrance to a cave, I doubted anyone could capture the absence of energy the way the simple hole in the ground did. There was no black like it. It could be a bottomless void for all I knew. Black like the night couldn’t describe it. Even with a dim illumination from the moon and stars, night contained energy. The nothingness before me looked as though it could swallow me whole and I’d cease to exist. It yawned open, stone teeth bared, a giant ready to devourer anyone foolish enough to enter.
In the span of a minute or so, I resolved that whatever sat inside the cave, I’d have no part of it. I’d never liked tight spaces, or the dark and unknown. One could call me a coward. I didn’t care.
“I don’t think we should wait for my crew to circle back, so I brought you this way, a secondary route the government doesn’t know about, and one I’ve traveled hundreds of times. My brother and I stumbled across it a couple years back.”
“Brother?” My brows shot up. Why did it surprise me he’d have a sibling as rebellious and dangerous as himself? Obviously, his parents had as much regard for the law as he did to have raised two children, and both who ignored regulations. Who had two children? Even one of a pair of twins was terminated by doctors upon discovery of multiples. There were no twins on the islands.
“Long story. You’ll get to meet him eventually. There’s a whole different world out there you know nothing of, Iia, and before this is all over, you’re going to know why we are all fighting so hard to bring a new order to the islands.”
I nodded, not quite sure I wanted to get one-on-one with the world he spoke about or close enough to him for him to show it to me. So far, my association with Eli had put me on Sententia’s shit list, a place I’d rather not be nor escape from. I’d be forever labeled a criminal, and everything I’d worked so hard to get had vanished in seconds when he burned my chip. I eyed the mark on my hand and sighed.
And then he had this brilliant idea about climbing around in holes in the ground, as if I’d completely lost my mind and would go along with him. No, I was pretty certain I wouldn’t.
As if reading my thoughts, he changed the topic. “We will have to crawl through some tight spaces to get to the main cavern where the rebels stay.”
“What?” I eyed the cave, liking it even less. “What do you mean tight spaces?”
“I mean we will crawl, wiggle, squeeze, and move through some areas which are snug—but passabl
e. I’ve been through them more than once.” He eyed me. “You’ve got curves, but you can still make it no problem. Even Akoni can do it.” He turned and lifted a large rock, pushing it to the side, pulling out a bag from a hole where it had been. “It’s called caving or spelunking.”
“I know what it’s called. You keep supplies here to engage in illegal activities?”
“Yeah, doesn’t everyone?” He grinned and pulled out a couple of head lamps, the kind miners would’ve worn once upon a very ancient time, and tossed one to me. Upon closer inspection, I realized they were handmade, with some kind of generator I’d never seen. I studied the device for a few moments before I knew the maker. Tyler’s signature was all over the headlamps. Which meant what? He was working for the rebels before he died?
“It works off your body heat and sweat.”
Leave it up to my friend to come up with light generated from body heat. I frowned. The government considered any technology not running off the Net illegal, and Tyler knew that. They’d arrested him for it. “This is highly illegal.”
“It sure is. But this gear comes from Akoni, his contribution to our cause.” Eli winked at me and retrieved a coiled nylon rope, sliding it up his arm and resting it on his shoulder. “You’re going to have a blast, I promise you.”
“I’m not doing this.” I wanted to toss Tyler’s cursed invention down. “This technology—it’s wrong. It got its creator killed.”
“Akoni lives and breathes. I’d say it hasn’t.”
I held the lamp up. “Akoni didn’t build this. Tyler did.”
“Your ghost?”
“Yes.”
“Akoni built it, trust me. There’s a lot you don’t know about him.” He slipped his headlamp on and hit a switch. The light from his bulb blasted me in the eyes, and I jerked my gaze away. Eli hefted a coil of rope onto his shoulder.
“I know he didn’t build this equipment. Some technology carries a signature, like a fingerprint, so unique the maker is obvious to those who know what they’re looking at.”
“Does it matter?”
Did it? Not really, but why we needed it happened to be a whole different matter. Sweat-and body heat powered headlamps? Rope? I didn’t like where this situation was headed. Not one bit. I’d been thinking a well-lit, paved tunnel. Not crawling. Not squeezing. Dark and snug never came to mind. And the rope…dear God. I frowned at the lamp, flicking the pad of my thumb across the lens. Where had Tyler even found the parts to build equipment like this?
Buying something like this would certainly raise a few red flags and get the purchaser reported. The components were not so easily acquired either. So, it meant black market, making this whole venture a lot more dangerous. Akoni could say what he wanted. He hadn’t created this tech.
“You need to put it on. We’ll wear it while we navigate the caves.”
“What? Are you out of your mind? I’m not going in there. I have claustrophobia and the fear of crawly things.” I wiggled my fingers at him, as if demonstrating could convince him of my sincerity.
Eli snorted. “It’s not bad once you learn to take shallow breaths, as you’ll have to squeeze through in a few spaces. As long as you listen to me and do as I say, you won’t get stuck.”
Stuck? Blink. I shoved the lamp back at him. “I don’t do tight enclosed spaces which may or may not have bats, snakes, and spiders. I’d rather take my chances out here with the soldiers.”
“You don’t have a choice. We’ve got to get out of this preserve, and this is the only option.”
“When you said caves and tunnels, I thought open, with walkways and paving, not…” My stomach twisted and knotted.
“When did I give you that impression?”
“You said tunnels!”
“And they are. Natural made tunnels—with lots of nature in them.” Eli smiled. “You’re not going to tell me you’re scared of spiders and bats?”
“Among other things.”
“Well, the bats are all out feeding right now, so you shouldn’t have any issues there. The only land-dwelling snake on any of the islands is tiny, non-venomous, blind, and not much bigger than an earthworm. Nothing to worry about there.”
I doubted his story. Let me put my hand down on one and I’d certainly lose it. Not to mention my biggest fear. I shivered. “And the spiders?”
“I’m going ahead of you. I’ll run into them first, and they will more than likely flee from the light. Creatures who live in dark places tend to shy away from illumination.”
I nodded, not sure any of what he said would ease my fears once I was inside, but he sounded reasonable.
“If you don’t come with me now, the soldiers out here will get you. Akoni is leading one of those squads. He’d rather kill you than have his squad discover who he’s really working for. Besides, there’s only a few areas we have to crawl through. The rest is walking and climbing.”
“That’s it?”
“And in one spot, we might have to swim if the tide is up.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You didn’t say anything about swimming.” My frame, though slender, tended toward muscular. I closed my eyes, remembering the one time I’d gotten adventurous and let the current take me into water over my head. I’d sunk like a lead weight, my mouth and nose filling with seawater, my vision going dark. It was only when someone clamped onto my wrist and pulled me to the surface that I’d decided swimming wasn’t for me. I’d never do it again.
“Part of the tour. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” Eli grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze, but the action took me back to the fateful day I’d almost drown. Why did it feel like I’d sunk over my head in the ocean again?
I glanced over my shoulder. I could run, but I still didn’t know if it would be the best idea. My government might want me dead, and Eli seemed convinced they did. The longer I remained in his company, the more I began to believe him. Could it all really be true? And avoiding Akoni did sound like a good idea. There was a man who’d rather I died.
Like a good, law-abiding citizen of Sententia, I’d never traveled through the forested areas, restricting most of my walks to the cities and floating fields. As for vacation, I wasn’t a stranger to the beaches, and the sandy surfaces had been as close as I ever got to nature. The color of the sands varied, from black to yellow to green and even red. The jewel-toned coastlines were one of the few places residents of the islands were allowed to visit, and during the summer, became popular hangouts on the weekends.
People still swam and surfed since the solar flares and food shortages but limited their down-time pursuits to occasional visits—once or twice a month—choosing instead to work toward community survival two or three weeks straight before unplugging and soaking in the golden sun by the ocean.
Society considered anything more to be lazy, and on a chain of islands when your survival topped the list, you didn’t want to be the one not pulling his or her weight.
* * *
An hour later, I found myself on the verge of a panic attack. Stone walls closed in, and I could swear every inch the tunnel grew tighter. At least the area where Eli had been concerned we might have to swim had not been under water. I kept trying to tell myself I’d lucked out there as I wiggled tighter into a one-way tunnel.
“Okay, this one is a bit tricky,” Eli called back to me. “Stay right there while I navigate through this bend, and then I’ll tell you what you’ve got to do to get through it. Okay?”
“Yeah.” Like I could go anywhere. I stared at the soles of his boots, wondering why the heck I’d thought crawling through caves would be a good idea. My knees were raw from the pumice surface of the cracks and natural tunnels we’d wiggled through for the last twenty minutes even though I wore pants. So far, it had been a straight shot. Now that he’d spoken up and mentioned a bend, and he’d provided instruction on how to get through it, I wanted to retreat. My heart began to beat faster, and the rock crevice I lay in seemed to collapse. Eli’s fe
et disappeared, and my panic skyrocketed.
“You still with me, Iia?”
“Eli.” I gasped and shifted, trying to look over my shoulder, but that proved to be impossible. I had to get out of this place. Now. Pant, pant, pant. In a matter of seconds, a thin sheet of perspiration coated my forehead. A drop formed and rolled down the side of my face. “Eli!” I couldn’t breathe. Like the day I swallowed the ocean and my lungs felt heavy, here, in this tight space, hundreds of feet underground, it seemed as if the crushing weight of the earth sat on top of me. I knew the pressure I felt didn’t exist, but my mind swore the weight of the mountain crushed down on me. I struggled to draw air into my lungs. My mind buzzed. Dust coated my tongue and nostrils with an earthy mineral taste. Much like blood. “Eli,” I squeaked.
“Calm down. I’m right here.”
“You’re sure you know where you’re going?” I tipped my face, but my light didn’t reach but five feet into the darkness. He’d vanished.
“Yes.”
Frowning, I scooted forward. I had to move, do anything but lie there when it felt like thousands of tons of rock could drop on me at any moment.
“Stay where you’re at. This is a tricky part.”
“Why?”
“I will explain in a second.” Eli grunted and a rock fell somewhere ahead of me, bouncing off the sides of a cave wall, seeming to drop down, the sound growing faint until it vanished.
I began to pant again. “What was that?”
“We are coming to our first open cave. Listen carefully.”
“Listening.” I fisted a handful of pebbles. “That stone sounded like it had gravity issues.”
“Don’t worry about it. Focus on my voice, and follow my instructions. Okay?”
“Okay.” But I didn’t feel okay. I wanted to vomit. The sour taste of bile flooded my mouth. God, I was going to puke.
And then his voice brought me back from the verge of panic. “As you exit the tunnel, turn to your left side and curl toward the right.”
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