by Patti Larsen
Reid hadn’t expected to have to fight for his life right here, right now. But if this is what it takes to win Dr. Lund’s trust and get his friends to safety, he’s happy to let his hunter out.
Reid steps away from Leila, ordering Minnie to stay. She obeys, sitting at Leila’s feet as Marcus moves up beside her, hovering over the both of them. Minnie shivers and whines at him but stays. Leila crouches next to her and hugs the anxious lab while Reid refocuses on Joel. And just in time. He dodges the hasty punch and lands one of his own in the bully’s gut.
Joel doubles over and backs off immediately. It’s not until he straightens again that Reid thinks of the fragile tubes in his pocket and the disaster that it would mean if something happened to them during the fight. But he has no choice, no time to pass them of to Leila or anyone else. Joel isn’t backing down, is in fact barreling right toward him.
Reid twists to the side, offering up the opposite hip in the hope of protecting his precious contraband. Joel’s weight and momentum carries them to the far wall. Reid takes the hit, letting his body absorb the impact while he delivers a solid upper cut to Joel’s jaw. Joel goes flying, crashing on his back to a table, sending chairs skittering with the shriek of metal on concrete as he rolls free.
Reid keeps his distance. He is stronger than Joel, can feel it. Whatever dose of dust he’s taken, the modified dust that the old leader used to save his life, it’s given him more speed, more power. And Reid can tell from Joel’s expression as he shakes his head and massages his jaw that his enemy knows it.
Which means Reid has to be even more careful. There is nothing more dangerous than a bully on the defensive. He wouldn’t put any dirty trick past Joel. And has no intention of being the loser in this fight.
A chair is airborne, crashing it’s way into the wall where Reid had been. He ducks, expecting the next one, saving his life. It’s not a chair Joel throws this time but a knife. It clatters to the side, the tip snapped off from the power of the impact with the concrete.
“’Sumbitch.” Joel rushes forward again, but this time Reid is ready for him and side steps just in time to grip Joel around the shoulders. His opponent may be strong, but he’s dumb like a bull so Reid rides him like one. He flips over onto Joel’s back, using the forward motion to drive his head into the wall.
The bully goes down without a sound aside from the sickening crack of his skull meeting concrete. Reid bends to finish him only to find three guns in his face. He backs off, leaving the unconscious Joel to the soldiers.
Reid returns to his friends, glancing up at Dr. Lund. He smiles and waves at her and she smiles and waves back.
It’s the scariest thing Reid has ever seen. Or done.
His friends don’t say anything but he isn’t surprised. Not with Emme and Nathan there. The two have crossed sides, it seems. They stand off a slight way, in the group but apart from it at the same time. Milo keeps glancing over his shoulder at Emme and shuddering. Reid can guess why.
Still, they need as many allies as they can get and from what he knows of them, Reid is willing to trust.
“This is Emme,” he gestures her forward and she nods to his friends, “and Nathan.” The redhead gives a mock salute. “They were with me when the others weren’t. So we welcome them. Got it?”
Everyone nods and the circle opens. Emme looks oddly grateful.
“We meant what we said,” she says. “About wanting our lives back. That hasn’t changed.”
“If anything, we want it more.” Nathan’s whisper is barely loud enough to hear. “I won’t hunt for her anymore.”
“But Reid,” Emme says, “we’re in this to win it. Please don’t make us regret crossing the line.” Her eyes slide sideways toward the rest of the pack, grumbling restlessly over the defeat of their champion. “We’re taking a huge risk here.”
“Like we aren’t,” Milo snaps.
“You said it, brother,” Sarah says, scowling at the pair.
“What you do or don’t do is up to you,” Reid says. “Everyone here is with us because there’s nowhere else to go. I choose not to kill for the sake of it, or for her. And for now that’s all that’s keeping me on this side.”
His friends are nodding, grunt their agreement, though Marcus looks like he wants to argue.
“I get it,” Emme says. “I do. Nathan and I feel the same way.”
Reid can’t help but get the feeling it could go either way. That her loyalty is to her and her alone. Fair enough. Reid’s past that, despite what he just said. His friends come first.
Still, if they are going to make this work, he has to act in good faith.
Much to Milo’s shock, expressed by mumbles of displeasure and a gaping mouth, Reid fills the pair in on the plan.
“You can count on us,” Emme says, meeting everyone’s eyes one at a time. “We won’t let you down when the time comes.”
“I’m not sure we can trust them.” Milo says it out loud, in front of them both, eyes locked on Reid as if they don’t exist. “Didn’t she just say she’d abandon us if this went south for her? Besides, for all we know they ate Megan. Or Trey. Or Ashley.”
Drew quietly clears his throat. “Milo,” he whispers, “you could say the same about me, you know.”
Milo looks suddenly stricken with horror. “You didn’t.”
Drew doesn’t say anything, just stares his friend in the eyes. Milo’s brim up with tears but he just nods and backs down.
“We’re starting fresh here and now,” Reid says. “No one blames anyone for anything. Not even themselves. We all know what it feels like to be a hunter. We have no choice when we’re under the influence of the dust.”
The kids all nod.
“Okay,” Reid says. “Time to be model prisoners.”
The group splits up, each going their own way. Reid glances out the windows, sees the sky is now painted with pink and gold and purple. The sunset would be lovely to watch, but the directionality is more important. Now he knows where west is.
And someday soon, he promises himself, he will watch a whole sunset, and maybe even a sunrise, and just enjoy them for what they are.
“Reid.” Marcus is next to him, in his space. But that’s okay. Reid turns to his friend and tries to smile. It’s easier than he thought.
“Marcus.”
His grin is lopsided, a real, genuine smile. “I told you to meet me at the gate.”
Their agreement. Reid almost forgot. When they stole the poison and distributed it among the kids, they all said they would meet at the gate when it was over. Like any of them expected to make it.
Reid shrugged. “Got sidetracked.”
“Tell me about it.” Marcus shuffles his feet, uncomfortable but not going anywhere. Reid can only imagine how hard this is for him after so much animosity between them. But he understands Marcus’s motivations now, sees clearly the life he suffered at the hands of a man who never loved him, who they discovered wasn’t even Marcus’s real father. It healed a lot of wounds.
Reid lets it hang there for a moment then punches Marcus in the arm, a gesture so familiar to both of them, Joel’s favorite form of torture. But Reid’s effort is gentle and makes Marcus smile wider.
“I’m happy you’re okay too,” Reid says.
Marcus punches back, just as softly. “Come on,” he says, “I’ll buy you a pizza.”
After dinner, Reid expects to be put back into his cell for the night but is pleasantly surprised to be shown a cot in a large room with the rest of the pack. He slides the tubes under his pillow for safety before climbing into bed. Drew is beside him on his right, Marcus on his left. Having them there ensures Reid has his first peaceful night’s sleep he can remember since he crashed in the house in the fake town. But this is even better. The wool blanket may be coarse but it’s warm. His friends are around him, and no one is hunting him. For the moment. And though he worries briefly that one of Joel’s cronies might try to take revenge for the attack on their leader, Reid lets that fear go
at last as Minnie settles beside him.
Let them try. He has a watchdog now. Besides, he needs the sleep.
Reid wakes naturally at dawn, energized and completely rested. When he rises, he is allowed to take Minnie outside to do her business before he is guided to a large shower and told to clean up, change clothes. He’s dressed in the same plain gray and white uniform, but it is fresh and smells like soap. He brushes his teeth, even shaves what little fuzz has grown out on his face, knowing that, like his father, he’ll never have much of a beard.
He makes another trip outdoors to throw his dog a stick, thoroughly enjoying the simple act of playing with her so much he almost forgets where he is and why.
He hopes she does too, if only for a little while.
Once in public, Reid immediately changes. As his foot passes the threshold into the cafeteria, he does his best to harden his heart to what he has to do. He knows Dr. Lund is watching, wonders if she has cameras and tells himself that’s a stupid question.
She’s paranoid and mad. Of course she has cameras.
The breakfast table is crowded already by the time he gets back from walking Minnie. She stays at his feet as he surveys the hardcore hunter pack, all of them stuffing themselves, faces down over their plates like animals.
Reid sees his friends watching him, waiting for his signal. He picks a target and walks up behind him, leaning in. He can smell Billy’s fear as he immediately stops eating and freezes. He sees Marcus and Drew moving up behind him, faces grim, flanking Reid for protection. He ignores them, focusing on the kid shaking beside him.
“You’re in my seat.” Reid doesn’t wait for Billy to move before yanking the chair out from under him, dumping him on the floor. He scrambles to get up only to come face-to-face with the black lab. She snarls, all her teeth showing, as if she’s enjoying this as much as Reid.
He’s having such a great time he grins. “Get lost.”
The rest of the pack laughs, even his own people. Marcus plants a boot in Billy’s backside, sending him face planting into the concrete before glaring at the girl in the next seat. She gives up her place in a flash while Reid sits down in Billy’s chair as the young man slinks away to the end of the table. Drew shoves his way in as well, the rest of Reid’s friends laughing and joining in the horrible masquerade. Reid then devours everything on the plate in front of him, helping himself to samples from those around him. He and Marcus share a friendly squabble over a plate of pancakes, and it spreads down the line. None of the pack complain as Reid steals their food. In fact, they start running for more for him, restocking his plate with waffles and sausage and scrambled eggs with toast and peanut butter. His favorite. Reid licks out a packet of the nutty stuff, remembering the jar and homemade bread that was his first real meal in the enclosure. Always his first choice, he’ll never take ordinary peanut butter for granted ever again.
He glares at Billy every once in a while. Someone tosses a banana peel at the kid, hitting him on the side of the face. Reid hates himself for laughing, despises the side of him that finds this even a little bit enjoyable. He is not so far gone from the guy who defended the outcasts that he finds it easy. But fun has been so rare and often a distant memory that he commits himself to his role and lets his tension out.
As long as everything stays civilized, and the bullying is only a game, if it means saving his friends, he’ll do what it takes no matter the cost to his soul.
It’s not long before he is stuffed and groaning, the equally full Minnie on her side at his feet.
His plan seems to be working so well he keeps up his bullying tactics. The rest of the day continues the same way with Billy as the main target. Reid doesn’t have to do it himself. The rest of the pack picks up on his weakness and chooses him to torture.
At one point, Drew comes to Reid after Billy is sent sprawling into the wall from a particularly nasty shove.
“This can go too far,” he says.
“I know.” And yet, Reid refuses to soften.
“I’ve been there,” Drew says very softly. “You know that.”
“You want to get out of here, don’t you?” Drew doesn’t answer but Reid knows the truth. “I don’t like it either. But this is how it has to be.”
Reid does everything he can to impress on the pack that he will do to them what he did to Joel if they step out of line. It doesn’t take much. It’s as though they’ve been waiting for him to become the leader they needed.
Even his friends, normally thoughtful and compassionate people, turn into animals. He is so shocked when Sarah picks a fight against a bigger girl and wins, her fists covered in blood and a massive, terrifying grin on her face, he almost blows his own cover. Marcus doesn’t have to do much to intimidate but Milo and Cole turn into a tag team of destruction, even taunting the mercenaries who guard them.
Kieran is the only one who seems to struggle with the dangerous game they are playing. And yet, when one of the opposing pack tries to push him around, the tall, thin and soft-spoken guy slams his attacker into the wall so hard Reid is sure the kid is out for the count. Kieran lets the limp form fall at his feet and gives Reid a slow nod.
Perfect.
But when one of the hunters breaks Billy’s arm, Reid can’t take it anymore.
He lunges in and hits the offender so hard across the face he spins in place before dropping to the floor in a spray of blood from his shattered nose.
“Enough,” Reid snarls at them. “He has to be able to do her bidding, remember? Losers.” Reid stalks away, sweating standing out on his lip as he realizes how far he let himself sink into this role.
He’s worked hard to survive. He deserves a little extravagance. But this is disgusting.
Reid catches Dr. Lund observing. And while he’d rather leap up the iron staircase and take her apart with his bare hands, he takes the opportunity to make her smile by bowing to her and waving. He manages to make her giggle and clap when he then blows her a kiss. It’s horrible and disgusting and rather fun all at the same time.
He’s going to need major therapy when this is all over.
It’s just after supper when his efforts are rewarded. A soldier approaches Reid, gestures for him to follow.
“The doctor wants to see you.”
Reid makes a big deal of getting up, claims some high fives from some of the pack as they make rude noises and comments. He grins at them and follows the soldier, while inside his guts churn and work. It’s what he’s been working for, wanting. But now that he’s on his way to see her, Reid’s fear and anxiety surge up again.
But not because he’s worried about what she might do to him. His fingers slide inside his pocket and explore the thin plastic tubes. This could be his chance to kill her. He knows it will probably kill him too. But if he gets the opportunity to do it, he’ll take it.
***
Chapter Twelve
Dr. Lund’s office is an airy oasis in comparison to the rest of the place. She’s had it painted a pale purple, the walls covered in art, a thick white rug covering most of the floor. But she can’t disguise the bars on the windows even with the gauzy curtains or take away the chill of concrete no matter the paint shade.
A prison is still a prison.
The guard shows Reid inside and closes the door behind him, leaving the two of them alone. She’s shed her white lab coat, dressed casually in jeans and sneakers, a printed t-shirt depicting a roller derby logo stretched across her narrow chest. She holds her arms out to him with a broad smile.
“Reid. Come in.”
She seats him next to her on a leather couch, holding his hand while he cringes from the contact and does his best not to show it. The tubes are in his pocket, right between them. A shift of his hip and he could end it for them both.
“This is a big day, darling. Huge. You and I are about to usher in a new era, a whole, fresh start to the world.” She releases his hand to clasp her own together. “I’m just so happy to see you developing into exactly who I need.
”
He forces a smile, tries to pretend she’s normal and he wants to help her. It’s not easy and he’s never been much of an actor, but her face is so innocent, pigtails disarming. “I’m ready to get started,” he says.
Reid’s act must be working because she pats his knee. “I know, dear,” she says. “I am too.” She leans back. “After all this time, we will make them pay for what they have done. They will see the error of their ways and we shall accept their praise and platitudes just before we strike them dead.” Her eyes glow with a fevered fire, two bright red spots appearing on her cheeks.
“Who, Kirstin?” He doesn’t really want to get drawn further into her madness but he is curious. And not for the first time, he wonders where the money for all of this insanity comes from. “Who are we fighting?”
She scowls. “Everyone,” she says. “Governments, corporations. Those with power who shunned us and treated us with such unkindness.” She surges forward, gripping his face between her hands. “The man. The status quo. Them.”
“But you found a way around them.” Reid reaches out and squeezes her hand, amazed at his own ability to dissemble. “A way to make this happen.”
Her fingers squeeze back. “Yes, darling. A simple matter of some designer drugs sold on the black market took care of the resources I needed. You can buy just about anything with the right amount of money.”
Reid wonders how Rhymer would feel about her talking about him and his men like he’s a purchase.
“Brilliant,” he says, and it really is. As much as she’s probably killed more people with those drugs than he could ever imagine, her plan is simple and makes perfect sense.
His mind makes a connection. “Syracuse.”
She winks one of her amber eyes. “Scum. But necessary. At least for now. We’ll see once his job is done.”
Not just a kid wrangler then, but her distributor. Now things are really making sense to Reid.
“Some day soon,” she whispers, leaning close so he can smell the flowery scent of her hair, “those drugs will contain enough dust to affect everyone who takes it. Think of it, my dear. I shall remake the human race. And when I do, they will worship me at last.”