Branded s-1

by Abigail Ketner

  Bruno’s jaw tightens as he thinks. “I don’t know, dude. Could be a trap.”

  “Why would they trap us if we’re already cornered?” I ask in a whisper.

  “Damn if I know… These guys are mentally sick.” Cole’s intense eyes rest on me for a moment. Despite his glistening face with dirt smeared across the side, he still looks amazing. The desire reflected in his expression and the way he protects me make me want him even more. My whole world hinges on how I feel about him. I’d die without him. If Alyssa could see us now… Maybe she can.

  The building I lean against is full of pockmarks as if it’s seen decades of battles. The grout crumbles and barely any of the glass windows remain. Another raindrop lands on my arm, and this time, I know I’m not imagining it.

  “Well, what’re you thinking?” Bruno asks Cole.

  Just then, a figure looms in the entrance, but it’s not a guard. He’s skinny but muscular and short with a long beard. Slung over his shoulder is a large strap with long, slender bullets lining the outside. He carries the largest gun I’ve ever seen a civilian carry. The black brand around his neck is unmistakable.

  “Come with me,” he says with an authoritative voice. He points the gun at us and motions with it for us to move.

  We all stare at him, thinking he’s insane or we’re imagining his presence. Zeus growls again, baring his sharp canines and poised to attack.

  “What about the guards?” I ask.

  “They’re dead, so I suggest you follow me now unless you’d like to sit here and wait for more to show up.” He rounds the corner and disappears.

  Cole shrugs his shoulders. “Here we go. After you.” Cole and Zeus follow so close behind me I can hear their breathing over the footsteps.

  With edgy nerves, we follow the anonymous man. He takes us two more blocks, while avoiding unseen cameras, and around a tall building. Then the sky opens up with a thunderous clap as the rain pours down in waves. My hair drips and my scrubs soak through completely. I kick off my last slipper in the mud, hoping I can snag a pair of shoes soon. Our clothing sticks to us like plaster as we parade around like a funeral procession—shoulders slumped and feet dragging.

  “Hold up. Don’t move,” the man says.

  We pause, frozen in place, trying to figure out what he’s talking about. The scenery here looks much the same as where the driver dropped us off. The small shacks with their corrugated roofs pile onto each other like an overcrowded bookshelf. The rain pounds the metal, making it almost impossible to hear his voice.

  “Now.” The man motions us past him, through a heavy metal door, and into the building. “We have to wait for the camera to pan away before entering. We finally know where they’re hidden so we avoid them at all costs.” He fiddles with his sopping beard while examining us with vigilant eyes. “Sutton sent you—that I know. But why so early and who, exactly, are you?”

  Bruno sits on the hard floor, rests his head against the wall, and catches his breath. He pulls off his drenched, sweaty shirt and wipes his face with it.

  “Nothing happened,” Cole says. “We just need to see Keegan. We brought his sister with us.”

  The man raises his eyebrow and moves closer to me. “You’re his sister?”

  “Yes,” I reply. My whole body wants to collapse from exhaustion. My hands shake and the pain from my cheekbone resurfaces after the adrenaline stops flowing. All of a sudden, I want to sleep for days. No, months. A feeling of weariness seeps through my muscles and down to the tiniest veins.

  Cole wraps his arm around my side to steady me. “She needs rest—lots of rest. And someone to tend to her injury.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” The man makes up his mind and motions for us to follow… again.

  “Dang, man, can’t we just be there already?” Bruno asks with sarcasm as he stands up, stretching.

  “If we didn’t have all this security, we would’ve been blown away by now. Don’t like it, then leave,” the man quips back.

  Cole drags my weight along with his own down a narrow corridor and says, “He’s not complaining—just being sarcastic.”

  Bruno chuckles under his breath.

  The man steps into a room, removes a board from the base of a closet, and a dark opening appears. He steps in and crawls down. “Hope you’re not claustrophobic. Last person needs to place the board back on.” I can never win… Breathe, breathe, just keep breathing.

  First, Bruno squeezes down the creaking ladder into the dark tunnel. Then me. And then Cole carries Zeus on his shoulders. Zeus’s goofy face slobbers all over Cole’s head and he descends with a look of disgust. I feel either free or delusional enough to laugh at them. Zeus is over half Cole’s size. After Zeus paws Cole’s back, Cole crawls back up the ladder to slide the board back in place. It’s a miracle none of us slipped coming down the tiny ladder.

  Then everything is dark. I press my eyelids together, trying to make out my surroundings, but they haven’t adjusted yet. I feel something sharp jab me in the back.

  “Keep moving,” the man says.

  “Do you have a name or should we call you bearded dude?” Cole says.

  “Steven. My name’s Steven.”

  “Thank you for helping us, Steven,” I say as I fumble around.

  “Don’t thank me yet… If you’re lying about who you are, Keegan will put a bullet through your skull. Not once have I heard Keegan talk about a sister—or a family.”

  His statement shocks me. Then I begin feeling sick in my stomach. What if Sutton made the wrong decision sending me here? What if Keegan isn’t happy to see me at all? I don’t want to be resentful, but if Steven’s words are true, then maybe Keegan doesn’t want me here at all. I hate the constant unknown. It eats at the pits of my soul while I wander in the dark.

  In the distance, there’s a faint glow from a flame. The walls open into underground tunnels. They’re wide, laid with metal bars, and tile runs up the sides. The mildew shows through the cracks, and the tiles are tinged red in places. Body odor mixed with the humidity makes my stomach churn. Something wet keeps dripping on my head. If it’s anything other than water, I’m going to vomit.

  Cole rests his hand on my shoulder as if reassuring me. I’m so glad he’s here to help me through this. The warmth of his touch keeps me sane when darkness and fear envelop my mind.

  It feels like hours before we reach the light. The warmth of the fire heats my face and we stop to wait. A group of people sitting around the fire turn to evaluate us as we stand there, dripping puddles onto the floor. Their faces aren’t friendly but aren’t hostile either.

  “Who the hell’s that?” a familiar voice shouts from across the fire. I try to move toward it, but Steven steps in my path. The dark silhouette approaches.

  “No way! Lexi—is that you?”

  My stomach flips hearing him call my name. “It’s really you!”

  “Get your ass out of her way!” he commands the man in front of me, pointing his finger. Keegan pushes his way through the crowd and around Steven and Bruno.

  When he reaches me, he grabs my legs and scoops me into his arms. I wrap my arms around his neck, hugging him so tight I think my arms might break.

  I shout, unable to contain my joy. “You’re here! I can’t believe it! I never thought I’d see you again. I’ve missed you so much!”

  His arms tighten around me as he laughs. “I know! I missed the hell out of you. What happened to you? You look like crap,” he says.

  His comment makes me laugh out loud. He always was honest. “Thanks.”

  “We’ve gotta talk!”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  He puts me down and I look up at him. He’s much bigger than I remember. He’s about three feet taller than me, and his muscles pop out from under his green T-shirt. My brother’s buff! When did that happen? And where is his brand?

  I reach up, pulling his bald head to my level. If it weren’t for his voice, I would’ve never picked him out of the crowd. His curls
have been replaced with a bold, dark tattoo wrapping around his entire head.

  “What did you do to your head?” I smack his chest.

  “It’s a cobra,” he says. “I think it suits my personality.” He winks.

  I nod my head, unsure of what to say. Looks pretty freaking intimidating to me.

  His cobalt-colored eyes fix on my crew. “Who are these guys?”

  “Oh, that’s Bruno, Cole, and Cole’s guard dog, Zeus.” They shake hands and Keegan smiles, but I feel tension for some reason.

  “Well, I need to talk to my sister. You guys can rest up and dry by the fire. We’ll be back.”

  Cole locks eyes with me and shakes his head, not wanting to let me out of his sight. I shrug. I guess it’s safe. I mean, it is my brother. So I follow Keegan down a narrow tunnel and through a small opening. He opens a second door and I shuffle in, ducking under a five-foot walkway and into a room that resembles a cave more than a bedroom. I shiver from the cold.

  “You okay? I’ll see if I can get you another set of clothes.” Keegan carefully lights a lantern and the room comes alive. “This is where I sleep.”

  It’s almost bare except for the cot covered with a quilt and a pile of books lying in the corner. The quilt forces me to pause. I pull it between my fingers and examine the stitching.

  “Is this?”

  “Yeah. It’s the only thing I took when I left… It reminds me of the good times,” Keegan says sadly. He sits on the cot and gestures me to sit as well.

  “Oh.”

  He takes my hand and reads my mind as I examine the plain space. His room reminds me of a burrow with dirt-caked walls, dim lighting, and a musty smell. “It’s not as bad as it looks. I only sleep here.”

  “I guess. I don’t do well in small, closed spaces—that’s all.” I face him, but can’t think of what I want to say. Or I know everything I want to say and don’t know how to verbalize it for fear it’ll all come out wrong.

  Thankfully, he senses my hesitance. “I regret leaving you every day of my life,” he says. “But… I had no choice. There was only a small window of opportunity to get in here.”

  “Why here? Out of all places, you came here. You could’ve been killed and you didn’t ever take into consideration who you were leaving behind.” I don’t want to be angry with him, but part of me just can’t fathom leaving him behind if our places had been switched.

  He puts his face in his hands. “Of course I did—I still do. I always wondered if I’d see you again, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think it’d be in the Hole. But you have to understand, I had no choice. I had to do what Dad asked of me.”

  I yank his hands away from his face. “What are you talking about?”

  “He never told you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Dad hated everything about this place. He hated the commander. He hated his lack of morals and how the commander snuck up on everyone just to gain control. He hated that he took away the ‘innocent until proven guilty.’ He hated watching all these innocent people getting torn away from their families simply because someone didn’t like them. It’s sick. I mean, look at you. We both know you did nothing wrong. You shouldn’t be here and there’s thousands more who are innocent.” Keegan breathes deeply and exhales while looking up at the ceiling. “Dad’s goal was to destroy the Hole and revive the old judicial system. No, it wasn’t perfect. The system failed some innocent people as well as freed some who should’ve been found guilty—but it was better than this. Dad fought day in and day out, trying to find ways of making it better.” As Keegan’s words register, it hits me.

  My father believed in the revolt.

  One time, he told me that he wanted to change the world for the better. He wanted justice for all citizens, the way it should be. Honestly, I never understood what he was referring to, but now, I have no doubt he wanted to destroy this hellhole. He wanted the stories of countless faces unjustly accused heard. People just like me.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve come with you.” I lean into him and feel his warmth wrap around my shoulders. “I miss Dad. I miss him so much it hurts. When he died, a part of me died right along with him, but I realized I still had my brother—he’d love and protect me. Then you disappeared and my entire world shattered into a million pieces. Every person I ever loved and trusted vanished out of my life and I was left in the hands of a—” I stop.

  His arms squeeze the air out of my lungs. “I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I can’t take back what I did to you, but you have to believe me when I tell you I had no idea what kind of man our stepfather was, what he was capable of doing, what he would do to you. If I did, I never, ever would’ve left you. Ever. If I knew he was going to torture you, I would’ve killed him myself and taken you with me.”

  “How—how do you know about that?”

  “Sutton told me.”

  “Wait, what? Sutton told you?” I stand up as anger shoots through me. “How would he know?”

  Keegan grabs my hands and swings me around. “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

  “Tell me what?”

  He doesn’t answer.

  “Tell me what, Keegan?” I notice a twitch above his eye. He sits back down and pats next to him. I remain standing.

  He inhales. “Sutton was Dad’s best friend.”

  CHAPTER 17

  My heart stops for a moment and I gaze at him in shock. “What are you talking about?”

  “They’d been best friends since childhood. Practically brothers.”

  “Then why don’t I remember him?” I shake my head in confusion. “I don’t remember seeing him.”

  “After Sutton became a doctor, he traveled a lot. His residency wasn’t anywhere near where we lived so Dad didn’t see him much when we were growing up. They kept in close contact, of course. Sutton volunteered to come here and work at the hospital. He wanted to take care of people, but at the same time, he wanted to have contact with the inside. Think about it. How else would Dad have gotten all the information about the Hole?”

  His words confirm my suspicions. “So Sutton was his informant?”

  “From the beginning. Sutton knows way more about the revolt than I ever did, but Dad never told me in great detail. He didn’t want us to know anything that would end up putting our lives in danger. Lexi, Dad was amazing. He loved humanity and saw potential in everyone. All he wanted was to get the judicial system up and running again and let the accused have their day in court—like it was before. Because of Sutton, he knew everything that was going on in the Hole—the living conditions, the violence, the torture. All of it. Every day he internalized his anger, his disgust, his hatred for the commander, and did it well.” He leans back, resting his head against the wall. I sit down beside him and rest my head on his shoulder as he continues. “I snuck in the back of a guard’s truck and hid underneath his supplies when he drove into the Hole. When it stopped, I jumped out and made a break for it. I came here in search of answers and found them when I ran into Sutton. Right away I recognized him. I’m not sure how or why, but the second I saw his face I knew who he was. It sorta freaked me out.”

  “I’m actually pretty pissed off right now. Why wouldn’t Sutton tell me? What? He didn’t think I had the right to know—that I couldn’t handle it?”

  “No, it’s nothing like that. Look, we both agreed it’d be best for you to hear all this from me. Sutton won’t overstep his boundaries. He’s loyal, honest, and has a damn good heart. When this is all over, we’ll control this place together, making it right again.”

  “I’m well aware he’s a good guy. It’s just the damn secrets I hate.”

  “Some things, Lexi, you’re better off not knowing.” Keegan lowers his voice in a stern manner.

  I sigh and let Keegan take my hand in his. “Would you please stop trying to protect me? I’m well aware of the horrific things that go on here. I’m living it.”

  He stays silent for a moment and then exami
nes my other hand. “Is that the ring Dad gave you?”

  I hold my body as still as I can. “Yeah, why?”

  He pulls my opposite hand closer to his face, turning it around and watching the light reflect off the gold. “Why the hell are you wearing it on your left hand? I swear to God, if you’re married I’m going to kick your ass. I’m not joking.”

  I pull my hand away, take off the ring, and place it on my right hand. “No, I’m not married. I was rushing around this morning and I must’ve put it on the wrong hand. It’s not like it’s the first time I’ve done it.”

  I hate lying. It reminds me of my stepfather, but I don’t know if he’s ready to hear the full truth about Cole and me.

  “They would’ve taken it from you. How’d you manage to get it back?” He glares at me.

  “They didn’t take it. They never found it. Just don’t ask me where I hid it, all right?”

  He winces in disgust. “Oh, no you didn’t. Wow, that’s—” He shakes his head with disgust.

  “Eww, enough. Please, can we talk about something else—anything,” I say. I hear him laugh under his breath before he speaks.

  “I must say, you have great critical thinking skills.”

  “Keegan!”

  “All right. I’m sorry.”

  “Here… I’ll change the subject. Life in the Hole, it’s glamorous, isn’t it? I especially love the food.” I roll my eyes with sarcasm and he laughs again.

  “Crap, that reminds me. You’re probably starving, right?” A mischievous glint sparks in his eyes.

  I sigh, relieved I don’t have to explain that Cole gave me the ring back. That Cole’s amazing, loyal, and I’m in love with him.

  “Hey, did you hear me?” Keegan asks again.

  “Uh, yeah sure, food sounds great.”

  “Okay, and while we’re at it, I’m going to see if I can find you a pair of boots. No offense, but your feet reek!” He stands and pulls me up after him.

  Keegan leads me down one dank hallway after another. The maze that makes up his hideout must’ve taken years to build. Each passage looks and feels the same with metal bars climbing up the walls, the musty smell, and the constant dripping of water from pipes above.