by Dana Gricken
After a few minutes, I started to panic. The air in here was limited, and I felt like I was choking. A second later, the car came to a sudden halt. I smacked my head against the side of the trunk, unprepared for the stop. As I groaned, the trunk opened and I took in a large inhale of the chilly night air.
“Breathe, Riley,” Spencer said. “Despite what you think, I still care about you.”
“You sure have a funny way of showing it,” I wheezed in between breaths.
I took in a few mouthfuls of air before Spencer slid another bag around my head. He grabbed my hands, placing a new set of handcuffs on them. I tried to fight him, but his grip was strong. Unrelenting.
He had the grip of a Sentinel, after all. Now I had more than one reason to regret getting him involved.
“Hey, let me go! Haven’t I suffered enough?”
“I’m sorry, but this is the way it has to be,” Spencer replied. “You’ll know what I mean soon enough.”
When he started to pat me down, I nudged him with my shoulder, trying to get him off me. “What do you think you’re doing, Spencer?”
“Relax, Riley. I’m not trying to cup a feel. I’m making sure there aren’t any weapons or devices on you.”
When his hand slid over my back pocket, I gulped. I knew he was going to find whatever crystal Caleb had left for me. I still didn’t know what it was.
“A Tracking Crystal,” Spencer muttered. “Caleb left it on you when he gave you a hug, didn’t he?”
“And if he did?”
“Then he’s smarter than I thought,” Spencer replied. “But he can’t save you this time.”
I heard the crystal drop on the ground, and a crunch as Spencer stepped on it, shattering it. I smelled smoke spreading around us and I knew he’d destroyed it. It had destroyed the hope of Caleb ever finding me too.
But maybe if it led Caleb here, he wouldn’t have to look too far for me.
“Come on,” said Spencer. “The others beat us here already.”
He dragged me with him, guiding me into the distance. I wasn’t free, but at least I wasn’t stuck in the trunk anymore. I tried to find out where I was. We were outside—that much was clear by the night breeze and the pavement below my feet. But where were we, exactly?
“Watch your step,” Spencer said. “We’re going up a small set of stairs.”
Spencer lifted my leg, showing me where the staircase began. He helped me up every single one, and he would’ve been the perfect gentleman if he hadn’t taken me here against my will. After a few steps, we were on solid ground again.
I heard a large door open before Spencer led me inside. I knew I had to be inside a building, because the breeze had stopped and everything was quiet. I didn’t even hear Patrick or the Darkhunters.
“Where are we?” I demanded. “Don’t make me ask twice, Spencer.”
“Don’t worry. We’re here. Just a few more steps, and then I’ll do my best to answer your questions.”
He ushered me into another room, and I heard the squeaky door close behind us. Spencer pushed me down onto a chair, tying my hands against it. Whatever I was bound with this time seemed sturdier than the handcuffs, and less breakable with my implants. He ripped off the bag around my head a second later.
The room was dimly lit. It looked to be a teacher’s lounge, judging by the chairs, coffee maker, and desks around me. The room looked disheveled, and it must’ve been looted shortly after Doctor Zero’s attack.
Could we have been in a school? And if so, which one?
Across from me, Patrick sat in his own chair, tied just like me. He looked relieved once he saw me, but terrified we were both in the same position. Poor Patrick. He didn’t deserve this.
“Hey, kid,” Patrick said. “Guess our evening took a twist, huh?”
“I’m sorry, Patrick. If I had known this was going to happen, I never would’ve brought you along.”
“But we insisted,” Rachel said, walking over to us. “If you hadn’t come with him, the deal would’ve been off the table.”
“A shame,” Patrick mumbled, “to think we could’ve missed this.”
“And about that Tracking Crystal Caleb left on you?” Michael asked, stepping forward. “Spencer told me it’s been destroyed. No one can stop what we’re doing here.”
“Stop wasting our time,” I spat. “What do you want from us? And where’s my dad?”
Rachel looked between Michael and Spencer and nodded. “We’ll get him. Stay here.”
“Not like you have a choice,” Michael muttered.
When the three of them left, the door shut and locked behind us. I immediately began to tug on my bindings, rubbing them together in an attempt to break free.
“Don’t bother, kid,” Patrick said. “Tried already. They must’ve remembered our implants.”
I groaned and stopped struggling. I glanced around the room, looking for anything that could help. I saw a window on the far side of the room, but I couldn’t make out any buildings outside. The streets were too dark for anything to reveal our location.
“Pray to every God there is that Caleb finds us,” Patrick said. “Never thought I’d be relying on a soulless to save me, but here we are. Too bad about the Tracking Crystal. Could’ve been useful.”
“I’m not worried,” I replied. “Caleb promised he’d save me, and I know he’ll find another way. He always keeps his promises.”
“I hope you’re right, kid. Doesn’t look like they’re planning to let us go anytime soon.”
When I started to shimmy my chair toward the window, hoping I could somehow open it and fall out, the door opened again. As I peeked into the hallway, I saw armed guards waiting outside. In the event that I did break us free, it probably wasn’t a good idea to exit through there.
Rachel looked over at me and smirked. “Where do you think you’re going, Riley?”
I rolled my eyes. “Where do you think?”
“You can’t escape. We’re several stories high, anyway,” Michael said. “Besides, don’t you want to see your dad again?”
I gasped as Dad walked into the room behind the three of them. He looked uninjured and healthy, though a little traumatized. I wanted to go to him, to make sure he was okay, but my bindings held me in place.
“Dad! Are you hurt? Did they torture you?”
“I’m fine, Riley,” Dad replied, sadly. “It’s you who has the problem.”
“Me? What are you talking about?” I asked, before it hit me.
He was talking about my soullessness. I gulped, realizing the other Darkhunters must have known about it too. It meant any hope I had of convincing them I was on their side was gone. They’d see me as a monster now—as a murderer.
Spencer nodded. “We know you’re soulless, Riley. The contacts were convincing, but your dad told us the truth. I couldn’t believe it when I heard it, but when I look at you, I can tell there’s something different. Something off.”
I looked up at Dad, tears welling in my eyes. “How could you tell them about me? The Darkhunters hate the soulless! Their mission is to kill us all!”
“They promised me they wouldn’t hurt you. They only want to kill the pure soulless—the ones who were born that way,” Dad replied. “When I found out you were soulless, I was devastated. I spent my whole life fighting the soulless, and now you wanted me to accept that my daughter was one?”
“Aw, I’m sorry. It must’ve been so hard for you,” I spat. “And then you decided to join a terrorist organization?”
“They’re not terrorists. They want the best for the soulful,” Dad replied, glaring at me. “I went to our old house, needing some time to think, when Spencer found me. I told him everything, and he agreed to help me.”
“Then your kidnapping was a lie? I was scared out of my mind for no reason?”
He nodded, looking away. “Yes. I’m sorry I lied to you, but it was necessary.”
I couldn’t believe this. My own father, a traitor. He had deceived me and q
uite possibly led me to my death.
“Christ. You make me sick,” Patrick said, glaring at Dad. “Sure, the kid might be soulless now, but she’s still your little girl. Don’t have kids of my own, but I wouldn’t be treating them this way.”
“No one with a heart would,” I spat, looking up at Dad. “You’re a disgrace to the Stark family. Mom will never forgive you once she finds out. After this, I’ll never speak to you again.”
I knew that would hurt him. His lip quivered, and he seemed on the verge of tears. Michael placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t let her get to you, Jeffrey,” Michael said. “What we’re doing here is for her benefit. Go on, tell them.”
“We lured you here to cure you,” Dad replied. “We can save you, Riley. The Darkhunters have a plan.”
I rolled my eyes. “Oh, really? The Sentinel scientists couldn’t find a cure for soullessness. You think these amateurs can?”
“I took a lot of biology and chemistry in high school. I even took a few extra classes. I know about science, Riley,” Rachel began. “Our cure isn’t perfect, but we have to try.”
“What about Patrick? He’s not soulless. Why is he here?”
“Because,” Michael said, circling Patrick, “he saw my wife in her last moments. He was close to her—a little too close, if you know what I mean. I’m not stupid. I figured it out, Ramsey.”
Patrick’s eyes widened. “Hey, look—I never wanted any of that to happen. Hel wouldn’t want this for us, you know!”
Michael leaned forward and punched Patrick in the gut. He groaned, heaving from the pain. I lurched, trying to get to him, but the bindings still held me in place.
“Patrick!” I yelled. “Step away from him, you lunatic!”
“That’s enough, Dad,” Rachel said, pulling her father away. “We still want him alive. Stark seems fond of him, anyway—and he’s good to have as leverage.”
“You brought him here to torture him and use him against me? Is that it?”
“We brought him here for answers about my mother. That’s all,” Rachel replied. “My father can sometimes get a little…carried away. I apologize.”
Patrick groaned, sitting up straighter. “Apology not accepted.”
“Dad, stay here with Patrick Ramsey. I’ll send in some soldiers to monitor the situation. Interrogate him and keep him tied up,” Rachel said. “Spencer, Jeffrey, and I will take Riley to the lab.”
To the lab? What were they going to do to me there? My heart raced at the possibilities.
Michael smiled. “With pleasure. I’m going to get a lot of answers out of you, Ramsey—whether you like it or not.”
“What do you want me to say?” Patrick asked. “I don’t know more than you do. Helen was killed. It was tragic, but that’s what it is.”
Michael snarled. “I’m not talking about the soulless. My daughter can question Riley about them. I want you to tell me why my wife found you so irresistible—why she’d risk throwing away what the two of us shared!”
Patrick said nothing. The mention of Helen must have been painful enough, and he needed to be careful with what he said next. Michael was like a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode.
I didn’t trust Michael one bit. Out of everyone here, he seemed the least stable. I wanted to stay with Patrick, to make sure Michael didn’t kill him out of rage or jealousy, but I knew the Darkhunters had other plans.
And so did I.
Spencer and Rachel walked over, removing my bindings from the chair. Once my hands were free, I pushed Rachel into a nearby bookcase with all my might. The shelf collapsed on her, and the books trapped her underneath. She wasn’t a Sentinel and didn’t have implants, so I needed to get her out of the way first. Spencer was the one I wanted.
When Spencer lunged at me, I twisted out of his grasp before I pulled him into a chokehold. I had learned a lot about it after my time as a fighter in the Depths. If Severin the Strong and Wayne the Whisperer had still been alive, I knew they would have been proud of me right now.
“Let us go,” I said, “or I’ll kill Spencer right here.”
I didn’t want to do it, but they didn’t need to know I was bluffing.
“Two can play at that game, Stark,” Michael said, pressing his pistol against Patrick’s temple. “Don’t think I won’t do it.”
“But you’d be killing a soulful,” I replied. “Doesn’t that go against your beliefs?”
“No, I’d be killing a soulful conspiring with the enemy,” Michael shot back. “But if I had to kill a soulful to save lives, then I would.”
“Riley, you can stop this,” Dad said, stepping forward. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret.”
I sighed. I believed Michael was capable of murder. I let Spencer go, preparing to surrender. Michael lowered his pistol, placing it in his holster. Patrick sucked in a breath, but when he looked up at me, he looked angry—not grateful.
“Shouldn’t have done that, kid,” Patrick said. “Would’ve gladly died if it meant you could escape. You need to get away from these nut jobs. Don’t worry about little old me.”
I shook my head. “I couldn’t do that, Patrick. As both your friend and the General, your safety comes first.”
“General?” Dad asked. “The others elected you to be their General…even though they knew you were soulless? I don’t understand it!”
I nodded. “No one has a problem with my soullessness but you. They trust me, and they’re willing to look past my dark eyes to see me for who I am.”
Spencer brushed himself off, still recovering from my chokehold. “I guess you’re more soulless than I thought. Is that Purity Crystal just for show?”
Great. Now they’d blame my outburst on my soullessness and not on my desperation to escape. That was what I feared the most—their unfair bias.
“Of course not,” I replied, pointing at the crystal around my neck. “It gives me a conscience. If it didn’t, I would’ve killed you already.”
Michael pulled the bookshelf off Rachel, groaning in exertion as he did so. Rachel’s lip was bleeding, and she glared at me when Spencer helped her stand up. I knew it was wrong to enjoy seeing someone in pain, but I couldn’t help the smirk that spread across my face.
“If Spencer wasn’t in love with you, I would’ve killed you already, soulless,” Rachel spat. “Let’s get moving. We have a lot of work to do.”
Rachel and Spencer roughly grabbed me, tying more bindings around my wrists. They pulled me down the hallway, and I struggled the entire way, intending to make it as difficult as I could for them. Dad followed us, his eyes wide with concern and terror.
He was afraid of me, his own child. Patrick was right—Dad made me sick too.
As I left the room and the door shut behind me, I could hear Patrick’s cries of pain.
“Come on, Caleb,” I muttered, closing my eyes. “Find us before it’s too late.”
Part II
10
The Soulless Cure
I twisted as Spencer and Rachel tugged me down the hallway. “You can’t do this! Let me go!”
“Quit struggling,” Rachel growled. “You’re too stubborn to see it, but this really is for your own good.”
I took a look around, trying to find anything that could identify where we were. We passed many vacant classrooms. It confirmed my suspicions that we were inside a school, but I wasn’t any closer to learning which one, or how to get out of here.
And with armed Darkhunters both in front and behind me, it wouldn’t be easy.
We took a left down the hallway and continued forward until we stopped at a laboratory. It must’ve been an old science classroom, with many machines, vials, and strange concoctions lying around. In the middle sat a silver surgical table, like the ones you’d see in a morgue.
“Strap her down,” Rachel said, releasing me. “I need to prepare the transfusion.”
“Transfusion?” I asked, trying to push Spencer off with no luck. “I deman
d you tell me what’s going on!”
“The cure we mentioned,” Rachel began, reaching for a vial of red blood, “requires draining your black, soulless blood. When you’re completely dry, we’ll add red, soulful blood to bring you back to normal.”
“Are you crazy?” I asked. “That’s never been done before. I’ve never heard of it. It might not even work!”
Rachel nodded. “You’re right. This is an experiment for our benefit too. This knowledge could help us bring back our people who were transformed.”
“No, I don’t agree to this. It will kill me! Spencer, please—don’t let her do this!”
“It’s better than being soulless, Riley,” Spencer whispered. “Anything is.”
He pushed me down, holding me on the silver table. Several Darkhunters approached as I kicked and screamed. They tightened restraints around my wrists and ankles.
I tried to twist my body out of it, but it was no use. Whatever they were using to restrain me was sturdy and formidable. I glanced around the room, trying to find a weapon or tool to help me escape, but I found nothing. Everything solid sat out of my reach.
I spotted Dad across the room, watching me from the doorway. The look on his face was a mixture of sadness and anger. Tears welled in his eyes, and I hoped he felt the worst kind of pain right now.
“Dad, don’t let them do this to me!” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “This is murder! You know it is!”
Dad said nothing, but he didn’t take his eyes off me for a second. I couldn’t believe he could stay silent at a time like this.
“And take her contacts out,” Rachel said, still fiddling with the vial. “If this works, we’ll only be able to tell by her irises.”
Spencer nodded, leaning forward. He roughly jammed a finger into each of my eyes, scraping the contacts out. It was painful, and it left my eyes red and sore. With my black eyes on display, Spencer took a long look at me.
“Oh, Riley,” he muttered, throwing the contacts away. “I can’t believe this happened to you. Seeing you like this makes it clear we’re doing the right thing.”