She had a point, and it would certainly be more pleasant to be dropped off voluntarily instead of being tasered and dragged away by force.
“Also, there’s your arm,” Dani said.
I glanced at the bandage on my right arm.
“It needs to finish healing before we take you back. Otherwise it will be very suspicious, don’t you think?”
I hadn’t thought of any of those things and wondered what else I hadn’t thought of. “Yeah, I guess that’s true. But how long will all this take?”
“I think you should be ready to go in three to four weeks,” Jack said, smiling.
“Three to four weeks?” I’d only been in Camp Willowmoss for nine days and that had been pure torture. How would Amy survive for three to four weeks?
“The only other option is for you to turn yourself in as Morgan Campbell,” Jack said, his eyebrows raised. “Are you willing to do that?”
I answered without hesitation. “No, of course not.” Going with a false identity was risky enough. If I admitted who I was, they’d make sure I was in there so long that I’d never get back to the tunnel in time—assuming I survived Hansen and his undisguised desire to kill me.
“Then you’ll have to follow our plan.” He looked at me with sternness. “Agreed?”
Not having any other ideas, I nodded.
He slapped his palms against his legs and stood. “Good. Dani will design a meal schedule for you that should add the weight, and she’ll keep a close eye on that wound. It won’t do to have a scar right where they put the chip.”
“How much weight do I need to gain?”
“I’d like to have you put on about fifteen pounds,” Dani said.
This was not good. Any progress I’d made by all those workouts in Camp Willowmoss would be lost, and not only would I have to start over once I was in there, but it would be even harder because I’d be heavier than I’d been the first time around. Not only that, if I didn’t get inside for another four weeks, I’d only have two weeks to get Amy and get back out before the window of time to get in the tunnel would be closed.
But what choice did I have? I could leave Amy in there and feel gut-wrenching guilt for the rest of my life, or I could do something to help her. When it came down to it, there really was no choice.
Chapter Eleven
After Jack left, everyone wandered out of the room. Everyone but Dani and me.
“Let me see how your arm is healing.” She motioned for me to sit by her.
I did as directed and she unwrapped the bandage.
“It’s healing well, but we need to do as much as we can to diminish the scar.” She smiled at me. “Like Jack said, it would be pretty suspicious if you have a scar right on the spot where they’ll put the chip.”
The idea of being chipped again scared me. How would the rescue work? Would it work? There were so many unknowns.
“I have some cream that will help with the scar. I’ll bring it tomorrow.”
I nodded, a strong sensation of anxiety washing over me as I imagined entering Camp Willowmoss—presumably for the last time.
For the rest of the day I tried to think of things other than my future, and just enjoy the company of everyone in the house. We watched movies and played games. It sucked that I couldn’t go outside, but I didn’t want to risk anyone recognizing me. I still had weeks before I’d be ready to face the world. That trip to the shopping center now seemed silly compared with the important work I had ahead of me, although it was helpful to know that my disguise had worked—at least among the four people who had seen me.
It seemed Billy was avoiding me, which bothered me greatly. I’d hoped he’d try to forget the future too and just be my friend, but instead he seemed to be paying a lot of attention to Brynn, which also bothered me greatly. I tried to ignore them, but Brynn was obviously enjoying being around Billy so much that it was hard not to notice.
Finally I gave up and got a book from the meeting room and went into the room I shared with Kelly and shut the door. I hardly digested the words I read, my mind focused on my plight, and I allowed self-pity to wash over me. I lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling until someone called me to come help with dinner.
At dinner Billy sat by Brynn and ignored me, so I ignored him and pretended his actions didn’t hurt. I even flirted with Mitch, but he didn’t seem to notice, which made me feel like an idiot.
Dani made me eat two servings of dinner. I wasn’t even that hungry, but I ate it anyway, hopeful that the sooner I was physically ready to go to Camp Willowmoss, the sooner I could get this whole thing over with.
That night after Dani, Brynn, and Tracy had left and the rest of us were watching TV—except Jack, who’d gone into his office—I sat next to Billy. “Can I talk to you?” I whispered.
“What about?” he asked in his normal voice.
I frowned. “Please.”
“Fine.” He stood and we walked into the empty meeting room.
“How long are you going to be like this?” I asked.
“Like what?”
I sighed. “Refusing to talk to me.”
He laughed. “I’m talking to you right now.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “That’s only because I practically dragged you in here.”
He folded his arms too. “Look, Morgan. I’ve told you how stupid I think it is for you to go back to Camp Willowmoss. But you’re doing it anyway. Why should I waste my breath talking to someone who won’t listen?”
“So because I won’t do what you want, now you won’t be my friend?” Warm tears filled my eyes at the thought. I tried to hide them, but Billy noticed.
His voice softened. “I’m still your friend, okay? I’m just worried about what will happen to you once you get in there.”
I smiled, grateful that he was starting to be the Billy I’d been counting on.
“When are you going, anyway?”
I smirked. “If you’d stayed in the room, you’d already know.”
“Well, I didn’t. So I don’t.”
I laughed. “It will be a few weeks.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Really? I thought it would be right away.”
“They want me to gain weight and they want my arm to heal.”
“Oh. That makes sense.”
“I’m worried though. About Amy.”
“She’s young. They’ll probably go easy on her.”
I fervently hoped he was right.
~*~*~
Five days later Jack gathered us in the meeting room. It was late afternoon, so everyone was there—even Brynn, who’d been coming over every day after school. This was the first time our group had met since my decision had been announced and we were all eager to hear what Jack had to say.
He reached into a small bag and pulled out a rectangular case. “Morgan will wear these when she goes to the F.A.T. center.” He opened the case and lifted out a pair of eyeglasses, then handed them to me.
I put them on and noticed that my vision didn’t change. Evidently the lenses were just clear glass. “What do you think?” I asked the assembled group. “Does it make me look less like myself?”
“Yeah,” Kelly said. “It does make a difference.”
“Don’t forget,” Dani said. “You’re going to be wearing the contacts for the retinal scanner. They’ll change your eye color too.”
“Oh. Well that’s good.” The more ways they could change my appearance, the better, as far as I was concerned.
“Do those glasses feel comfortable, or do we need to adjust them?” Jack asked.
I moved them around against my ears. “They feel good.”
“Those are very special glasses.” He smiled, like he had a great secret. “They have a hidden camera.”
Everyone exclaimed their surprise. I took the glasses off and examined them more closely. I couldn’t see a camera anywhere.
Jack held out his hand and I gave him the glasses. “Let me show you how they work.” He motioned for me
to sit next to him, which I did. “To activate the camera, you squeeze here.” He pointed to the area just above the lens. “You press the right side to start and the left side to stop. You can act like you’re adjusting the frames and turn on the camera.” He handed them back to me. “You try it.”
I pressed where he’d said and felt slight movement, like a button being pressed, but it was only noticeable because I was expecting it. Then I put the glasses on and tried it. “How do you get the video?”
“Two ways. First, we can download directly from the glasses. But they’re also programmed to search for an open wi-fi network once a day. If they find one, they’ll upload the video to a place we’ve programmed.”
“Doesn’t that use a lot of battery power?” Nathan asked.
“Not as much as you might think,” Jack said. “The battery will last for ten hours before it needs to be recharged, which we think will be enough to get the information we need.” Jack looked at me. “I’d like you to wear those around here and practice turning the camera on and off. To make sure you’re doing it when you mean to, I’d like you to do it at certain times of the day while looking at a clock. That way I can tell if you turned it on and off correctly.”
“What am I supposed to record at Camp Willowmoss?”
Jack glanced at Dani. “We definitely need the power bars, but we also want video evidence that you’re being forced to eat them. And of course anything else you think would be helpful for us to see.”
I could think of several things people who’d never stepped foot inside a F.A.T. center would be shocked to see, starting with the Saturday Challenge. I’d told them about what I’d experienced—and they had been disturbed by the details—but I knew it would be even more powerful if they saw it for themselves. Suddenly it seemed I had a greater purpose for going back to Camp Willowmoss. My primary mission was still to get my sister out, but if I could do something to help change things in this world, to really make a difference, that would be really cool.
~*~*~
Over the next week I got really good at turning the camera on and off—so good that I was able to do it without thinking much about it. Jack was quite pleased with my ability, which made me happy. Billy, on the other hand, was less than thrilled about the whole endeavor and continued to try to talk me out of it.
“Morgan, what do you think will happen if Hansen recognizes you?” We sat in the family room watching TV. Brynn sat nearby, her gaze on Billy as he spoke. “Do you think he’s going to just forget what happened?”
At his words, a sharp pain flared in my chest. I was terrified of Hansen, or anyone else for that matter, finding out my true identity. “I know,” I muttered, not wanting to admit that sometimes I felt my resolve slipping—especially when Billy brought up Hansen. That particular Enforcer wanted to kill me, of that I was sure. And though my arm was healing well, and the cream Dani had given me really did help the wound fade, the scar to my spirit was still fresh and raw.
“She’s helping the cause, Billy,” Dani said as she came into the room. “Sometimes it’s about the greater good.”
A warning bell rang in my mind as the words of the pledge came to me unbidden. I pledge to always follow the rules and to take care of my body. I will strive to put the good of all above the desires of one. A healthy me is a healthy world. Was Dani advocating putting the good of all above my own desires? Of course she was. I’d known that from the moment they’d encouraged me to go in and help my sister. But that hadn’t deterred me then and I couldn’t let it stop me now. I had to put aside my fears and focus on what was important to me—getting my sister out. I was only helping Dani and Jack because they promised they would get me out once I’d gotten the information they wanted. I had to believe that they could get me out in time.
Billy glared at Dani, then stood and left the room. I watched him go, a feeling of sadness washing over me that I was losing my one true friend. Of all the people in this world, he was the only one who was trying to keep me out of Camp Willowmoss.
A few days later, after Dani had announced I’d gained six pounds—meaning I was that much closer to going back to Camp Willowmoss—Billy pulled me aside, practically dragging me into the empty meeting room.
“Have they told you how they plan to get you out?” he asked, a worried look on his face.
That had been worrying me too. Sometimes I hated how he voiced my exact fears, making them all too real. “Not yet.”
He sighed and looked away. When he looked at me again, his eyes flashed with anger. “And you believe that they actually care enough to get you out?”
“Of course.” Actually, I had no idea, but what else was I supposed to say? “They’ll need the glasses back. Plus the power bars I can get.”
He shook his head. “Weren’t you listening when they told you that the data from the glasses can be uploaded automatically?”
“Yes.” His logic upset me—mostly because it was right on. “But we don’t know if there’s an open wi-fi network at Camp Willowmoss.”
“Of course there is.”
“But it’s probably secure. So the glasses won’t be able to access it.”
“Unless they’re programmed to break into it.”
I chewed on my lip, trying to come up with a good response. “But what about the power bars? They need some so they can analyze them and verify the drugs.”
He looked at me like I was an idiot. “I’m sure they can get their hands on the power bars in some other way.”
“Oh, really? Like how?”
“They can take them from a delivery truck or something.” He grabbed my shoulders. “Morgan, don’t you see? They’re using you. As soon as they get the video they want, they’ll leave you hanging.”
I stared at him, my eyes locked on his. Was he right? Would they do that to me? Then I thought about the betrayal he’d experienced from his own parents. Of course he wouldn’t trust anyone. I wouldn’t either if I’d been through what he’d been through. But this was different. We were working together. As a team. They wouldn’t do that to me. And then there was my sister. I had to get her out of there.
I shoved his hands away. “I’m not doing it for them. I’m doing it for Amy.”
His jaw clenched, then he said, “Fine. Don’t expect me to wait around and watch you destroy your own future.”
A wave of panic rushed over me. “What do you mean? Are you leaving?”
He just shook his head and walked away, leaving me all alone.
I almost ran after him to beg him to stay. I didn’t know what I would do without him there. It was true that lately all we’d been doing was arguing over my decision, but I felt a bond with him. We’d been through the most terrifying days of my life together. What would I do if I couldn’t talk to him?
Chapter Twelve
The next morning when I came into the kitchen for breakfast and saw Billy sitting at the table, relief swept over me—I’d half-expected him to be gone. Mitch and Nathan were making breakfast.
“Hi,” I said, as I slid into the seat next to him, determined to act like everything was fine.
“Hey.” He didn’t seem very enthusiastic, but I didn’t let that stop me.
“What do you want to do today?” I smiled brightly, hoping to cheer him up.
He smirked. “We can watch TV. It’s not like we ever do that.”
“No thanks.” That was one activity I was sick of.
He leaned toward me and spoke in a soft voice so Mitch and Nathan wouldn’t hear. “Let’s get out of here for a while.”
My eyes opened wide. “Outside? Like, in public?”
He tilted his head to one side. “Don’t you think it would be a good idea to see if your new look is still working? You know, since soon you’ll be going right back into the lion’s den.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
He nodded. “Okay then. Let’s do it.”
“You mean everyone, right?”
“No. I mean just you and me.”
“But what about before? When that boy recognized you.”
“I’m willing to chance it if you are.”
I wondered if he was testing me, to see if I really had the nerve to go out in public. For some reason it was important to me to prove to him that I could do it. Maybe if he saw I could get away with being in public unrecognized, he’d finally support my plans to go back to Camp Willowmoss. “Right.” My voice didn’t express as much confidence as I’d meant it to, so I nodded vigorously for good measure.
He smiled, but he didn’t seem happy. “Great. Right after breakfast.”
We both seemed to eat slower than normal—I don’t think either one of us was too eager to do this, but neither of us wanted to admit it. Finally we couldn’t put it off any longer.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready for what?” Nathan asked as he ate his breakfast.
“Morgan and I have something we need to do.” Billy didn’t show a hint of worry.
“Oh.” Nathan seemed disappointed to not know what was going on.
Billy raised his eyebrows at me so I pushed my chair back and stood. “Okay.” I tried to sound confident. I followed him out of the kitchen and toward the front door. He opened the door and held it for me and I stepped out front for the first time in two weeks. Jack’s house had been an oasis and I’d felt completely safe there. Now, I felt very exposed, even though we were just standing on the front porch.
Billy closed the front door and stepped off the porch. When I didn’t follow, he turned toward me. “Really, Morgan? You’re willing to go back to Camp Willowmoss, but you won’t even step off Jack’s porch?”
Wanting to prove that I could do it, I gathered my courage and walked toward him into the sunlight. The bright light hurt my eyes—I’d been inside so much lately I’d almost forgotten how good the sun could feel on a mid-October morning—and I put my hand up to block the sun. Then I strode past him. “Let’s go already, Billy.”
He laughed as he followed me down the driveway and to the sidewalk. We walked side by side and my confidence grew with each step. It was easy to feel safe since there were no cars around. Then a car appeared at the end of the street, heading right toward us. As it approached, my heart pounded. When it pulled up next to us, I nearly screamed. The passenger side of the car was closest to us so I couldn’t see who was inside. “Who is that?” I frantically whispered.
Hunted (Parallel Series, Book 3) (Parallel Trilogy) Page 9