by Ivy Baum
“Keep those eyes open. You haven’t even seen the best part yet.”
He slapped a control panel on the wall behind us. Immediately, there was a heavy grinding noise—the tortured sound of metal on metal.
A catwalk began to extend from the concrete cylinder in the center out toward us. It seemed impossibly narrow and fragile.
As it reached our side, it clicked into the catwalk frame.
We were meant to walk across it.
I thought I really might faint, then.
Jax yanked me forward. “Time to test out the catwalk. You think the guys who designed this place had engineering degrees?”
I resisted—though maybe it would be more accurate to say that my legs were paralyzed with fear.
“Come on, now. There are only two ways down to Zero. This way, or the extremely fast way.” He pointed at the space beyond the railing.
And so I forced my legs to move. Step by step, I began to cross the catwalk, with Jax in front of me.
There was a waist-high railing on either side. My hands were clutching it so tightly that they had started to ache.
Shouts echoed up from the other levels.
I wondered where Deo and the others were. Had they been caught? Captured? Or had they already left?
Would they wait for us?
Halfway across, something exploded.
Not the catwalk, thankfully—it had come from one of the lower levels. But it was powerful enough to rock the metal walkway beneath my feet.
I froze, holding on for dear life.
Jax turned. He was speaking irritably into a two-way radio. He gestured for me to continue.
But my fingers had a death-grip on the railing and weren’t about to let go.
“I’ll throw you over my shoulder if I have to,” he warned.
Sol came up behind me. “Let me talk to her.”
Jax looked even more irritated at this, but waved him forward.
Sol leaned in close, one hand on my back—as though comforting me.
But his words were anything but comforting. “Listen, Kes. We need to get out of here. There are a bunch of time-delayed booby traps in this place. If our people had a chance to activate them, then stuff is going to start blowing up very soon.”
I regarded him in horror. Why had we even risked coming inside?
“The charges are all set on the lower two levels. Nothing’s going to explode up here. But if we end up on Zero…”
He didn’t have to finish the sentence.
“I’ll try to distract the Damper. Then you need to—”
“That’s enough!” Jax was rapidly approaching.
He grabbed my arm and yanked me forward.
As Sol was pulled away, he gave me a pointed look.
What did he expect me to do? Use my magic?
He must have known that I couldn’t do all that much. Except maybe get us killed.
There was a commotion below as people scurried to fix whatever had been damaged. Far below, I heard one of the catwalks retracting. It made a horrible scraping sound, like it was half-broken.
Finally, we made it to the central stairs, and I gratefully abandoned the catwalk for the more solid cement landing. There was a concrete wall, waist-high, for a ledge. I tried not to look beyond it.
Jax gestured, and one of his men made a move to grab me.
“Time to meet the Big Boss.”
Just then, another explosion rocked the platform. I stumbled back into the central concrete wall and nearly tumbled down the stairs.
As I shakily stood back up, I saw that Jax was worse off.
He’d stumbled back against the concrete ledge. In the same moment, something darted forward—Sol.
He shoved Jax.
I watched in disbelief as Jax flailed—then tumbled over the ledge and into the empty space beyond.
Chapter 27
Sol went to the edge.
He turned back with a grim smile.
I felt it, then: the strange undertow. It was dark and magnetic, like a black hole.
Sol’s powers were coming to life.
He didn’t say a thing, but I saw his focus go to one of Jax’s men—the one who had sucked the breath out of me.
Then the whites of Sol’s eyes grew black and infinite, and the humanity drained from his face.
I wanted to cry out, to stop him. But it was already happening.
It took thirty seconds for the man to die—for his life force to be sucked out. But it felt like an eternity.
The remaining three men stared at Sol, horrified.
I wasn’t sure how I felt. I knew Sol hadn’t picked the man by accident.
He’d gotten revenge—and it had been awful.
Sol’s eyes were slowing returning to normal. But his voice was rough and inhuman as he said, “This cause—is it worth dying for?”
One of them—the Damper—seemed to shake off the paralysis first.
I saw his gaze go to Sol.
Sol smiled coldly. “You haven’t met many Ciphers, have you? Dampers have no effect on us.” His gaze went to the man he’d drained, lying lifeless on the concrete. “Now, which of you wants to go next?”
Just then, another explosion sounded from below.
Their radios began to squawk.
Sol grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the stairs. “Come on!”
I took one last glance at the men, who seemed absorbed in their radios. “What if they follow us?”
“Then it would be nice if we had a head-start.”
And so I followed him up the concrete stairs. It wasn’t as tight a curve as the back door stairs coming down, but soon I was gasping for breath. Sol kept up a relentless pace, and never seemed to tire.
I shouted up at him. “Where are we going?”
“Front door.”
The front door? “But isn’t it on fire?”
Sol glanced back with a tight smile. “It’s our best option.”
When he finally stopped, I doubled over, gasping for breath. It was only when I looked up that I realized we’d reached Level Seven.
We stood on a small circular landing.
Don’t look down, I reminded myself.
I forced my gaze upward. At first I saw nothing—only more roughly-hewn rock.
Then I noticed it: a small, circular hatch. It was at least ten feet up. How were we supposed to get up there?
But Sol was already on his way to the control panel by the railing. A moment later, a ladder began to extend from the ceiling.
He grabbed the first rung. “Wait here until I get it open.”
When he got to the top, he began to wrestle with the hatch.
I couldn’t see much, but judging by Sol’s prodigious swearing, it wasn’t going well.
Meanwhile, I heard voices. Not the random echoing shouts far below, but voices that were close enough to discern from the ambient chaos.
Swallowing a wave of nausea, I forced myself over to the concrete ledge and looked down.
Several stories below, a half-dozen men were crossing one of the catwalks—making their way to the central stairs.
Which would take them straight up to us.
I ran back and waved to get Sol’s attention. He dropped next to me, his face covered by a sheen of sweat.
The hatch was still closed.
I gestured at the stairs. “I think they’re coming up here.”
“No problem.” He flashed a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “We’ll just go to Plan B.”
“What’s Plan B?”
But he was already on his way back to the control panel. I peered around him and saw his fingers flying over the buttons.
“We’re going to have to go out the back door, that’s all.”
I frowned. A vast, empty space separated us from the catwalk on the opposite side.
I was about to point this out when I heard a mechanical whine. This was followed by several loud clanks, and the unmistakable groan of gears.
I peered queasily over the ledge. The catwalk was extending—outward, from our platform to the opposite wall.
Sol stood next to me, calmly watching its progress.
My stomach clenched. I did not want to cross that catwalk again.
“What about the hatch?”
He shook his head. “It won’t open. Something’s blocking it. For all we know, the whole tunnel’s collapsed.”
Just then, the cavernous space filled with the sound of metal grinding against metal. The catwalk stopped extending.
It was still several feet from the opposite landing.
Sol went back to the panel and punched a few buttons.
He turned to me. “That’s it. We’ll just have to jump the last few feet.”
I froze. “I can’t.”
Objectively, the jump was not impossible. It was probably less than I’d done on track and field day.
Except that on track and field day, I wasn’t trying to leap over an eight-story drop.
Sol was already on his way to the catwalk. He offered his hand. “Come on. We’ll do this together.”
My eyes were beginning to fill with tears. “I can’t do it. You go without me.”
He studied me for a moment. “If you stay here,” he said levelly, “you’ll die. Two of their men are dead. Whoever their Big Boss is, he’s not going to let you go.”
I closed my eyes. Distantly, I was aware that the shouts below had grown louder.
I felt a hand on my cheek.
I opened my eyes to find Sol right in front of me.
“Kes.” His voice was low and hypnotic. “That night at the Prairieview Motel—you remember what I told you about newly-manifested half-bloods?”
Of course I did. Those words had replayed in my head several times a day.
“Well, what I said was only partly true.” He paused. “Yes, many of them die because they’re not equipped to deal with the Hunters. But for some of them, it’s a choice. They make a choice to die, because they’re too afraid to do what it takes to live.”
His dark eyes seemed to fill my entire field of vision. In that moment, I nearly forgot about the terrifying empty space beneath my feet.
“You’d think that nothing would be scarier than dying, but I know the truth. I’ve seen it a million times. I’ve watched half-bloods just like you make the choice to die rather than save themselves.”
I nodded.
His eyes narrowed. “You have to make the choice, Kes. You have to choose to live. I can’t make it for you.”
I thought back to the first day of senior year.
Dad had left back in June, and by now, everyone knew about it.
I’d thought about killing myself rather than going back to school. I’d never been suicidal. But it seemed the easier option.
How could I get through that first day? How could I endure the sidelong looks, the whispers, the humiliation?
In the end, I went to school that day. And the next day, and the day after that.
It wasn’t that I’d grown brave overnight, and it certainly wasn’t because I’d stopped caring what other people thought.
No. It was the simple realization that my only other choice was to lay down and die.
And I had made the choice to live.
I took Sol’s hand, though I was so numb from fear that I barely felt it. “I’m ready.”
I didn’t look down as we crossed. Instead, I focused on the back of Sol’s head, on the dark hair that spilled down his neck.
When we got to the gap, I nearly changed my mind. It was wider than it had seemed from the landing.
Empty space yawned in front of me, impossibly wide.
Sol squeezed my hand. “You can do this.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks. “You first.”
I watched as he leapt over the gap, his movements graceful and seemingly effortless. Then he held out his hand for me, and waited.
No choice but to live.
I leapt.
And then, as though no time had passed, my feet were hitting the opposite landing and Sol was pulling me to safety.
The rest of the trip went by in a blur.
We emerged from the outhouse into the soft evening air. It was beautiful, peaceful even. But I knew we didn’t have much time.
Inside the van, Deo and Junie were waiting for us.
Deo frowned at our approach. I saw something cross his face—first relief, then concern.
I looked around—and then it hit me.
“Where’s Clover?”
Chapter 28
Junie’s face was ashen.
“We got separated. We were scouting out opposite sides of the Mess when a patrol showed up. I ran to hide in the stairs. Clover went the other way. I should have gone after her.” She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
I felt my stomach clench. If Clover had run into the guys we had…Well, her chances weren’t good.
Judging by Deo’s face, he’d come to the same conclusion.
I looked back toward the entrance. How long would we wait? And how long until Blood Right soldiers started pouring out of the exit?
Sol looked grim. “They know we’re here. We need to get out of here.”
Deo nodded. “Take the van. I’ll stay back.”
Junie regarded him with horror. “You can’t go back in there. It’s suicide.”
“I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet.” His face was closed, his voice curt. “Just—take the van. Get on the highway and don’t stop for anything. I’ll find you later.”
“Deo—”
“She’s my responsibility. I’m making this choice for me—not for any of you.”
We piled into the van—everyone except Deo. As the door shut behind me, I caught sight of Deo removing something heavy-looking from his backpack.
Sol was behind the wheel, and Junie had crawled up to the console.
But I couldn’t stop staring out the back window. “We’re not really going to leave them, are we?”
The van had started to move. Sol was proceeding carefully through the underbrush. “This isn’t a fairy tale, Kes. There’s no guaranteed happy ending. If we go back in there, we could all end up dead.”
“What about Deo and Clover?”
They were almost certain to end up dead.
“Sometimes there are no good choices. Sometimes you only get to pick the least worst option.”
Junie said, “We’re not abandoning them. We’re just going to move to safety while Deo tries to rescue her.”
I settled unhappily against the rear window. Dusk was beginning to fall, but I kept my eyes trained on the dim forest beyond, searching for any sign of movement.
We hadn’t gone very far when something caught my ears. It took me a second to recognize that it was shouting—coming from behind us.
I felt alarm—and then relief when I recognized a girl’s voice. Clover.
I shouted to Sol, “Stop! Stop the van!”
“What?”
Junie had turned to see what was going on. Just then, two figures emerged from the underbrush.
Deo and Clover were sprinting at full speed behind us.
Junie, who had crawled to the window, laughed. “Sol! They made it out! Now pull over so they don’t have to chase us!”
Junie yanked open the rear door and Deo and Clover piled in.
Deo was out of breath, but grinning from ear to ear. “I thought we were going to have to hitch-hike.”
Amazingly, Clover looked no worse for wear—but much more out of breath.
The van began to move again.
Junie had gone into one of the large duffel bags and had retrieved several energy drinks and protein bars. She handed them to Clover and Deo.
“What happened?”
Clover looked embarrassed. “When those guys showed up, I ran off. I found some sort of storage room and hid in it. But then I started hearing explosions and people shouting. I figured I had to just take the risk and get out of th
ere.” She flashed a rueful smile. “Sorry I took so long.”
Junie grinned. “Well, you scared the crap out of us.” A beat passed. “We’re glad you’re okay.”
We had finally emerged onto the highway, and the van picked up speed. But as the excitement and adrenaline bled away, a cold realization set in.
We had nowhere to go.
Sanctuary was the last safe place on earth—and now it was gone.
I was afraid to ask what we were going to do now.
Deo crawled up to the front and climbed into the seat next to Sol. “We need to talk. What happened in there—it wasn’t the Capitol.”
“I know.” Sol told them how we’d been accosted by soldiers in the Rec Dec, and how they’d threatened to take us to Zero to meet the Big Boss.
He didn’t mention the part where he’d been looking for something.
Maybe he’d been searching for something sentimental. Was he embarrassed that he’d put everyone’s lives at risk for something less than important?
“Those weren’t Hunters,” Deo said, and there was something dark in his eyes.
“What did you see?” Sol asked.
“Bodies. In the Barracks. Some were our people, but others were not. They were half-bloods. Unmarked. But they had this strange tattoo.”
Sol nodded, and a silence settled over the van.
Junie said, “Sol, what aren’t you telling us?”
He hesitated, then sighed. “They call themselves Blood Right.”
It occurred to me, then, that Sol had known about Blood Right ever since his encounter with them back at the party at the Lofts. Maybe even before that.
And for whatever reason, he hadn’t shared this information with the others.
Deo broke the silence. “They’re half-bloods?”
“Unfortunately, yes.”
Junie said, “But they attacked Sanctuary. Why? What did they want?”
Sol shook his head. “I’m not sure. They wanted it to look like the work of the Capitol.”
Deo said, “You’ve met them before, haven’t you?”
Sol looked uncomfortable. “Yeah. Back in White Falls, they tried to recruit Nev. When she didn’t sign up…well, they didn’t take it very well.”
Deo gave him a sharp look. “Why didn’t you tell us about this before?”