“Why don’t you give them the Test, Reznor?” she suggested. “Then they can prove they’re worthy of a place among us.”
“Out of the question,” Reznor snapped. “Why waste our resources on that? No, take them back to their quarters and let them sleep. Then tomorrow they have to be gone.”
My heart sank as I heard that. Would he really not even give us a chance? Two of the Grounders came and grabbed us roughly by the arms and led us back to our “quarters,” a mud hut that was usually used as the prison when it didn’t house honored guests like ourselves.
“Have a good sleep,” one of the Grounders said, sniggering.
Torchlight burst through the door and dazzled us as men came and woke us roughly.
“What’s happening?” Hayden muttered, but none of them replied.
I had enough time to see it was still dark outside before a hood went over my head and my hands were yanked behind my back and tied.
“Hey, we’re guests!” I cried. “Where are you taking us?”
There wasn’t an answer, just a tug as the binding on my wrists was tightened and I was hauled to my feet. Something sharp prodded into my back and I found myself shoved out of the prison.
“Hayden?” I called.
“Here,” Hayden grunted in reply.
“What’s happening?”
“No talking,” someone barked, and I reeled as something heavy clobbered my head.
We were dragged to what felt like the forest, judging by the amount of times I tripped on tree roots and stumps. My feet slipped in every direction, dreading each step and where it might land. After what felt like an hour of marching, with the hoods blocking our view and leaving us completely disoriented, we came to a sudden stop. Everything went black as I felt a heavy blow to the back of my head. I fell forward, tasting blood in my mouth.
I don’t know how much later it was that I came to, but I found that my hands were untied and the hood was gone. I quickly spotted Hayden lying a few feet away among mossy tree stumps.
“Hayden, are you OK?” I groaned.
“No,” said Hayden. “But I’ll survive.”
“Where are we?” I asked.
I crawled over to Hayden and we helped each other up. We looked around. There was nothing but trees in every direction, dawn light poking through the branches.
“What’s going on? Is this their idea of getting us to leave?” Hayden asked.
“I don’t know, maybe,” I said, frowning. “I don’t like it, though.”
The forest was silent, but a sudden crack made us both tense up.
“What was that?” Hayden asked.
“Came from over there,” I pointed toward a dense patch of bushes. They rustled like there was something hiding in them. “I think we should get out of here,” I said.
“Yeah, I agree.” Hayden and I started to back slowly away from the bushes, which rustled again. “I don’t think we’re alone here.”
There was a crash and a rustle from another direction, and then something that sounded like sinister whispering.
“The wind?” I said. There was another crack, and the sound of leaves crunching under feet padding slowly toward us.
Hayden and I both looked at each other. “Run!” we yelled at once, and took off.
We crashed through the undergrowth, feeling like the trees around us were humming with voices. We knew something was chasing, but with the dense trees all around, we couldn’t see who they were or where they were coming from.
“Is it the Grounders?” Hayden panted. “Have they led us into a trap?”
“I don’t know,” I panted back. “We just need to get somewhere they can’t find us.”
Our feet pounded on the uneven earth, obstacles everywhere threatening to trip us.
“Where? We can’t even see who’s chasing us,” gasped Hayden. I could tell he was getting tired.
“In here!” I cried out suddenly, and flung myself into the hollowed-out roots of a tree. Hayden dived in after me.
We lay on our bellies, gasping for breath but trying to stay silent. The creepy noises were still echoing about the forest, and soon three pairs of feet thundered past. It was the Grounders, and they were tense and alert, holding weapons. We were being hunted.
“What the hell?” growled Hayden when they had passed. “We came in peace. All we did was ask for their help.”
“We don’t know anything about them,” I replied. “They must be mad.”
“We need to make weapons,” Hayden said. He pulled himself out of our hiding place and searched around with his eyes. “Come on, it won’t take them long to realize they lost us.”
An hour later, we had two crudely-carved spears made by Hayden. I used a rock to dig a pit, hoping our pursuers might fall into the trap. We lay down not far from the pit, pretending to sleep. We didn’t think it could work, but we had no way of finding our way out of the forest alone, and needed to get a prisoner. Maybe it would give us some leverage.
All I could hear was Hayden’s breathing, hesitant and broken as he struggled to relax. I listened hard. We were so quiet, we should have been able to hear them coming from miles away. We—
Three Grounders leaped out from behind a tree I hadn’t been watching and skirted deftly around the pit I thought we’d hidden well. Hayden and I sprang to our feet, spears raised.
“We don’t want to hurt anyone,” said Hayden. “We don’t mean you any harm, we just want safe passage out of here.”
The Grounders didn’t reply. One snarled and dove forward with his knife pointing straight at my chest. Hayden saw him and stepped in front of me, knocking the attacker aside with his spear. He rammed the butt into the Grounder’s stomach and the man tripped backwards, taken by surprise. With a yelp, the Grounder fell into the pit. I couldn’t believe it had worked. One down, but the other Grounders weren’t waiting politely to attack us one by one.
Everything became a whirl of action. I had no idea what was happening. I wasn’t used to fighting, and all I could do was cling to my makeshift spear and try to keep swinging at the bodies that threw themselves toward me. Hayden was doing better. He seemed to really know what he was doing. He had a cut on his arm, but he spun like a maniac, driving the other two Grounders back toward the pit. Maybe it was adrenaline, blind fury, or genuine skill. I don’t know. I hardly remember any of the details of that fight. I just know that my body was bruised and broken, and Hayden kept the attackers away.
“Dax! Help me with this!” Hayden called over, and I realized the battle was over, and we’d managed to beat off the Grounders.
They were groaning on the floor, and Hayden was working over them with vines, tying their hands. We heaved the third Grounder out of the pit; he had been knocked unconscious by the fall. He wasn’t in a good way. I think his head hit a rock. I felt a little guilty, as I really didn’t want to harm these people. I wanted them to help us get out of this place. But they hadn’t given us a choice. Hayden poked the men with the end of his spear.
“Get up,” he snarled. We had tied them together by their hands, leaving their legs free so they could walk. “You’re going to show us a safe way out of here, and then we’ll let you go. Deal?” The three nodded miserably. Hayden was in his element at this moment.
They trudged ahead of us through the woods, Hayden barking commands occasionally and thumping them with his spear. Eventually we broke through the trees into a clearing, and realized our prisoners had led us into a trap. There were Grounders everywhere. I spotted Reznor and my heart plummeted. I realized we had been lucky back in the forest with just the three attackers. Here we’d have no hope. Hayden froze. But before we could think about running, clapping broke out. I looked around. It was led by Ayah. Then Reznor joined in, and the rest of the Grounders.
“You’ve passed the Test,” Reznor said gravely.
“Test?” Hayden spluttered angrily. “You were trying to kill us!” He marched over to Reznor and held the spear against his throat before the leader
had time to react. “We fought for our lives out there.”
Reznor glanced down at the spear, let out a guffaw of laughter, and batted it away like it was a twig. “Come on, lighten up.” He clapped Hayden on the back. “You were lucky. We had to know you were worth bringing into the tribe.”
“And?” I asked expectantly.
“And I don’t think you will ever be worthy, but you passed,” said Reznor. “Although don’t start thinking that means I like you.”
“And now, feasting!” yelled someone from the crowd.
Hayden turned to me and grinned, his anger dispersing. “I like the sound of that.”
I felt eyes on me and turned around to see Ayah watching me. She looked away. My heart fluttered, but she’d been the one who’d suggested that deadly Test. She’d known it could have meant the end of us.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Dax
“You always have to bring the story back to Ayah, don’t you?” Hayden chuckles.
“That’s the most lucid sentence you’ve said in days,” I reply, grinning.
“How do you feel?” Trinity asks urgently. We both look at Hayden with concern. His eyes are still unfocused, and though he came to now and then to contribute details to my story, he’s far from together.
“I… I don’t know,” he mutters. “My head… it’s like everything’s been torn out.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get it back,” I say, trying to sound reassuring. “Don’t you remember the incredible feast they cooked for us after we passed the Test? And you were the hero of the day.”
A faint smile passes across Hayden’s face.
“Ayah really did want you dead,” he says, smiling.
“That’s right,” I say encouragingly, hoping these memories will start to trigger more, even though he still doesn’t seem very connected.
“Was there any girl there you liked?” Trinity tries, but Hayden’s eyes roam unfocused around the room and he doesn’t respond. “All the girls must have been lining up to meet the hero of the day,” Trinity pushes again. She turns to me, despairing. “My connection with him isn’t strong enough. I can’t get anything from him. You—”
There’s a massive creaking, wrenching noise somewhere below us.
“What was that?” she demands. The floor shudders, but our gentle rock continues as usual. I frown.
“Don’t know,” I say. “Probably just the normal toss of the ocean. Or maybe a creature brushing past. Don’t worry about it.”
“It sounded like ripping metal,” says Trinity, getting up. “I’m going to go see what’s happening. I’m of no use here, anyway.”
“OK,” I say, as if I have a choice about what she does. “Stay out of sight.”
She shoots me a poisonous look and I feel stupid for insulting her by stating the obvious. She’s a far more experienced warrior than me. She marches off, sliding out of the cargo bay’s door. The boat continues to rock, and she’s right—the motion feels different. I turn back to Hayden. Although it seemed like a spark of him was back a moment ago, his attention has wandered again and he’s as zombie-like as before.
“What about Skylier?” I try. “She liked you, I think.” It works. Hayden looks at me and starts to smile again.
“Her little boyfriend from Cueva doesn’t stand a chance,” he says.
A booming sound comes from somewhere deep below us.
“That doesn’t sound good,” says Hayden.
“You don’t worry about that,” I reply, beginning to think Trinity was right. “Just think about Skylier. You should tell her about how you helped us pass the Grounders’ test. She’ll be really impressed.”
“You think?” Hayden asks hopefully, but still sounds vague.
“Yeah, I’m sure. I can read her mind, remember?” I feel weird talking about my twin sister like this, but it seems to be working with Hayden.
Hayden smiles again. Is he coming back to us? Something cold tickles my hand. I pull it away, looking down. A small trickle of water slithers its way past my finger and toward my leg as I sit on the steel floor.
“What the—” I say.
Hayden looks too. “Seems we’ve sprung a leak,” he says absently.
I get up and follow the stream toward big bulkhead doors at the other end of the cargo bay. It starts to get thicker, and the farther I go, the more my foreboding increases. There’s a big wheel to open the bulkhead doors, and almost in a trance, I put my hands on it to turn.
“Dax, what are you doing?” Trinity yells from the other side of the room. I spin round and see her running toward me. She reaches me and shoves me away from the door. “If you open that, you’ll flood us out!”
“It’s just a little trickle,” I protest.
“Look!” She points forcibly to the joint between the doors. Water seeps out through the cracks. “These doors are the only thing between us and a tidal wave. The ship has struck rocks. The captain’s got the virus too and has lost control. Those doors are going to burst, and we need to get to the escape pods.”
“Right, let’s untie Hayden and get him out of here. He is getting better, I’m sure of it,” I say.
“I really hope so, because no one with the virus is going to survive this shipwreck,” says Trinity grimly.
We rush back to Hayden.
“Come on, buddy, we’ve got to go now,” I say, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
“They’re all crazier than ever up there,” mutters Trinity to me. “I don’t know if he’ll make it.”
“What are they doing?” I reply, helping Hayden out of the ropes we’d tied him up with.
“Some people are jumping off; some people are still together enough to get into the escape pods. If we hurry, we can get in one too.” She pauses. “I can feel him here.” I shoot her a questioning look. “Death. He’s right with me.”
“Well, tell him to keep his hands off Hayden,” I say, and heave him to his feet.
“I can make it,” Hayden says. So he’s clearly been paying some attention.
Trinity keeps a firm hold of his arm anyway. She’s not taking any chances. Only once we’re out of the cargo bay does the chaos on the ship really become clear. The whole corridor outside is under a couple inches of water, but I can see it rising even as we splash toward the stairs leading to the upper decks. Hayden doesn’t resist as Trinity drags him up the steps. I punch a guy in the face who runs at us as we get out onto the deck.
“Get away!” I yell, but the guy just comes at us again like he has no control over anything he does.
Up here, the scene is far worse than I imagined. Looking over the rail, we see bodies floating in the water, and more joining them as crazed sailors dive off the ship. I can see the rocks we hit. It’s not just rocks, it’s the actual land. A cliff faces us as the ship creaks and groans, with straining metal being wrenched apart by the merciless ocean and the sharp rocks the waves are pushing us up against. Panicked crewmembers manically try to loosen the escape pods, as the few people left unaffected by the virus on this boat try to get off alive. Their task isn’t easy, though, as they’re attacked by the sick at every turn. A group of them have formed a defensive ring, protecting two men who are trying to get the pod ready, fighting off the crazed people who throw themselves at them.
“This way,” says Trinity, pulling Hayden toward the bow of the boat. “There are too many people here. We should get to a quieter place on the other side. Some of those people are still sane enough to shoot us if they realize we’re intruders.”
We hurry along, but when we reach the other side of the ship, the scene is no better. Life pods hang off the sides, but there aren’t any that we can use. They’re either overrun by virus people or being made ready by sane crewmen. There aren’t any pods left for us.
“What do we do?” I ask, looking about for other options. “Are there more pods on higher decks?”
“No, I don’t think so,” says Trinity, looking about as well. “They’re all on this level. Thi
s is the closest to the sea. Over here, come on.”
We follow her to an empty spot where a life pod has just vanished over the side, hydraulics lowering it down to the churning water. As soon as we reach the rail, though, Hayden seems to have other ideas. He starts struggling, and lifts a leg over like he’s going to jump off.
“Hold him!” yells Trinity. “Don’t let him go. I’m going to get a rope to lower us down.”
“What?” I say, not really understanding the plan.
“Hold him!” Trinity screams as Hayden tries to fling himself over the rail.
“Let me die!” he pleads.
“No!” I shout. “We’ve been through too much together. You owe me, you can’t just take your exit.”
“I can’t do this anymore, please,” says Hayden.
“You’ve got to pull through for Skylier, if not for me,” I insist, yanking him back and pinning him to the floor, sitting on his broad chest. “She loves you, you know. You have to get out of here. We’re going to rescue her! We can’t do it without you.” As I say the words, I don’t know if they’re true or not. But I know I have to try everything I can.
Trinity’s back holding a rope. She ties it to the empty pod rack and flings it over the rail. We hear a thud as it hits the top of the descending pod.
“Come on, we’ve got to jump onto the roof,” she says, climbing over the rail, grasping the rope. Within a second she’s climbing down the outside of the ship toward the heaving waves. There’s a clang as she lands on the pod roof. “Now you!” she yells up.
There must be people inside, I think. Hayden’s struggling as I try to coax him toward the rope.
“No, don’t make me go,” he moans. “Let me die.” He tries to pull away and scramble over the rail. Meanwhile, the pod has reached the water.
“Hayden, you’re coming with us whether you like it or not,” I say, and I grab him as the pod looks like it’s about to float away.
Below, Trinity ties the other end of the rope to a rung in the roof of the pod. She beckons urgently. It’s now or never. I wrap my arm around Hayden’s waist. Luckily in his illness he’s lost most of his bulk, but he’s still heavier than I could have imagined. I climb over the rail, yanking him after me, clutching the rope in my other hand.
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