Runaways

by Christopher Golden

  She turned away, hurried to the door and opened it, then glanced back at him.

  “I honestly don’t know,” she said. “I swear to God, I don’t know.”

  Then Gert stepped out and closed the door behind her, leaving Chase to ponder.

  He hadn’t been sitting there three minutes before he got up and went into the bathroom to shower. His whole life, his parents had verbally and emotionally abused him. More than once, his father had taught him a lesson that left bruises. He’d felt less than, ever since he could think at all. Having these friends, having Gert’s love, these were the first things that had made him believe he was worth something. Gert could make up her own mind about the kind of life she wanted and who she wanted to be with, but Chase knew what and who he wanted, and intended to make that crystal clear.

  Karolina knocked softly. She glanced up and down the corridor, wondering if she’d come to the right door. The new Hostel was bigger than she’d first imagined, with what seemed to be a little wing for each of the six families that had once made up the Pride. None of the others had mentioned it, but Karolina felt pretty sure that’s what it was. Her parents had a wing to themselves, with three bedrooms, each with a private bath, all elegantly appointed. Each wing seemed to have its own character, and she was observant enough that she thought she’d identified the four she had wandered into thus far. Some had living rooms, others libraries, one—the Minorus’, she thought—a music room. On a lower level, below all of the living quarters and the main cavern, down circular staircases but also accessible via elevator, was another level comprised of a large dining area, a gym, and a kitchen worthy of a five-star resort. Still deeper there were laboratories, but Karolina didn’t want to go down there. Not ever.

  The corridor in which she stood—the one she’d identified as likely belonging to the Steins, based on the Spartan decoration and the way the lighting faded in and out as she’d walked down the hall—remained quiet. Had she gotten it right? Had Allis actually been in the Wilders’ wing? Now that she’d gotten some sleep, though it was late afternoon, the previous day and night seemed like a half-remembered dream.

  She knocked again, glancing at her surroundings and pondering the idea that their parents had made room for them here. When the Pride had made their original pact with the Gibborim, those Elder Gods of the Earth had promised them six places in the paradise to come when they ruled and the rest of humanity was destroyed. The members of the Pride had been competing for those six places, and then Janet Stein had gotten pregnant with Chase and everything had changed. The six couples had agreed to set aside their conflicts. Each of them would have one child, and that child would receive their place in the Gibborim’s promised paradise to carry on the legacy of the Pride.

  It hadn’t worked out that way. Not even close. But here she stood in a wing of this base that was clearly made to house not just one of the couples from the Pride, but their offspring as well, and a servant or two. Her skin crawled in revulsion at the idea that these people—two of them her own parents—had truly believed that once they’d deigned to reveal the truth to their children, the kids would have gone along with it. The thought chilled her, and forced her to wonder. Had they had a plan? Did they have reason to believe such a thing, or was it just hubris? Worst of all, she wondered what would have happened if they’d each been told the truth at eighteen or twenty-one or whatever age their parents found fitting. Would any of the Pride have been able to present that truth in such a way that their child would have bought into it?

  Karolina rested her forehead against the door, enjoying the cool, smooth surface. They’d gotten lucky last night, she knew that. The Runaways weren’t cut out for the Super Hero business. They were supposed to take care of one another and watch over other street kids, and that was good and noble, but there had to be something afterward. The others didn’t talk about it, but Karolina felt certain that some of them must be thinking about it, especially Nico. She could practically see the thoughts constantly swirling behind Nico’s eyes. That ambition, the yearning for more out of her life, was one of the things that made Nico so beautiful and made them all turn to her for leadership. To her, this new Hostel wasn’t a solution—even a temporary one. It was the next place for them to squat while they ticked off the days until they were old enough to make their way in the world. Karolina felt this keenly, but Molly was too young, and Chase and Gert seemed not only content to keep things as they were, but fiercely determined to do so. Karolina loved them all. They were her family. But just like in any family outside of never-never land, someday the kids had to grow up.

  Hinges creaked. A quiet voice said her name. Karolina turned to see that she’d been in the right corridor but at the wrong door. Allis stood framed in the bedroom doorway across the hall wearing nothing but a T-shirt and underpants. She had her arms folded across her chest and she glanced along the hallway as if she feared Old Lace might suddenly appear to eat her.

  “Hi,” Karolina said. “I guess I had the wrong door. Did I wake you?”

  Allis took a step backward into her room. “I’ve been awake for at least an hour. I didn’t want to set off the alarm.”

  A twinge of guilt made Karolina move toward her. “I’m sorry about that. It’s not…The sensors are off right now. The others are up making…well, it’s after lunchtime, so I guess we can’t call it breakfast, but they’re in the kitchen making food. Do you want to put some clothes on and we can go get something?”

  Allis gave a quick nod. “Come on in.”

  Karolina did so. The bed had been made so perfectly it looked unslept-in, and her clothes had been piled on a skinny chair of aluminum and black faux-leather. Allis pulled off the T-shirt and Karolina caught a glimpse that made her blush before she glanced away. More concerned with Allis’s privacy than Allis herself was, she shut the bedroom door. The girl climbed into her clothes, but as she dragged her own shirt back on, Karolina saw her begin to shudder. Allis hugged herself, back still turned as she sniffed and then swiped at her eyes.

  “Hey,” Karolina said softly, hating that she was crying. “You’re okay.”

  “Am I?” Allis asked, an edge to her voice.

  “We’ve all felt what you’re feeling. I know how cast adrift you feel. But you’re safe and you’re alive. We can figure out the rest.”

  Allis still didn’t turn around. “You had them. Your friends. You weren’t alone. And they had you.”

  Karolina touched her arm. “Allis, you’ve got me, too. I’m not just going to let you go back to—”

  Now she turned, shuddering as she hugged Karolina. “You don’t get it. I need to go. I’ve got to get out of here. This is all…it’s crazy. Maybe you’re used to this stuff, weird cults and super powers and dinosaurs, but I’m just me. I don’t belong here.”

  “You don’t belong on the street, either,” Karolina said, holding on to the shorter girl. “Where would you go?”

  “I don’t know,” Allis said, her breath warm at Karolina’s ear. “I’ve been thinking about it. I have a cousin who goes to college in Atlanta. She might let me crash—she was always nice to me when I was little—but I haven’t been able to find her on social media and I don’t know how else to get in touch with her.”

  Her body shook. Karolina took half a step back and saw the tears on Allis’s cheeks, saw the deep sadness of this lost and lonely girl. She held Allis’s face in her hands and started wiping the tears away.

  “We’ll help you find her. I know it’s crazy with us. I know you must be afraid. Sometimes I forget what it’s like to live in the normal world, but I promise you’re safer with us than you are out there alone. Please let me—”

  Allis kissed her. It happened fast. One second Karolina was talking, wiping away those tears, and the next the girl’s lips were on hers and her heart jumped. She flinched backward, but only a little. The kiss started rough and urgent, searching for contact, but it turned softer, lingering, with little breaths stolen between them. Karolina knew she o
ught to pull away, but Allis had risen adorably on her tiptoes and their bodies pressed together and the kiss deepened.

  It was Allis who broke off. They stayed in an embrace, but Allis tilted her head back to look up at Karolina, wary and hesitant.

  “I just totally went for it. I didn’t know if you were thinking—”

  “I wasn’t, but—”

  “Oh, God. That’s embarrassing.” Allis pulled back a little further.

  “—it’s definitely okay. More than okay.”

  “I’ve been dying to kiss you. I wanted to run, just wanted to get the hell out of here, but I kept thinking if I just took off I’d never have the chance to kiss you.”

  Karolina felt her pulse throbbing in her lips, like her heart lived in her mouth now. “I’m glad you stayed.”

  “You’re not shocked?”

  A smirk touched the edges of Karolina’s lips and she bent to kiss Allis again. She took her time, brushing the other girl’s mouth with hers, then kissed her on the tip of the nose.

  “Does that seem ‘shocked’ to you?” she said.

  Allis smiled, her body relaxing a bit. “I’m going to say no. But don’t pretend it wasn’t a roll of the dice for me. Most girls don’t welcome random kissing from other girls.”

  “You’re not the first girl I’ve kissed,” Karolina said, although this sounded worldlier and more cavalier than she felt. Though she’d had a crush on a boy in the fifth grade, she’d pretty much known she preferred girls since the age of thirteen, when her best friend Lyla Sweeney had kissed her during a sleepover. She’d never gotten around to telling her parents or even saying it out loud, but they’d been actors living in L.A., so in their household being gay was sort of like preferring strawberry ice cream over chocolate. When she’d found out her parents weren’t from Earth—that she herself was an alien—the only thing that made it possible for her to deal with that news without shattering was the fact that being different was not new to her.

  “Maybe I’m safer here after all,” Allis said, and she kissed Karolina again.

  When Allis nudged her toward the bed, Karolina went happily.

  Nico had never been at home in a kitchen. Sure, she could make scrambled eggs, but the dumbest monkey on Earth could make scrambled eggs. The trouble was that Zeke was there watching her, and he had that hair—half shaved, half a raggedy mess. Nico had mastered the tough-chick aura and the laid-back goth indifference, but certain parts of her still perked up around boys as hot as this one. It irritated the hell out of her.

  “What are you making?” he asked, pushing himself up to sit on top of the enormous metal cutting table in the center of the Hostel’s gourmet kitchen.

  “Nothing special. Western omelet.”

  “Can I have one?”

  “Can you make one?”

  Zeke sulked. “Possibly.”

  Nico smiled—which pissed her off. “Don’t be a baby. I’ll make you one.”

  “And me!” Molly piped up, marching back into the kitchen.

  In the corner of the kitchen there was a cooler full of frozen meats and other foodstuffs. Molly had been playing with Old Lace when Nico had first woken up. She’d given the dinosaur a box of chocolate chip cookies, which Old Lace had scarfed down instantly, but she’d left the room to get a damp towel to clean up the dinosaur’s face, mostly to hide the evidence. Gert didn’t like when they fed Old Lace sugary stuff, but Molly couldn’t help giving the dino a treat now and again, and Nico wasn’t going to rat her out. Except that Molly leaving the room had given Nico and Zeke a few minutes alone—long enough for him to plant unwelcome ideas in her head.

  They are unwelcome, right? she thought. The truth was that she wasn’t sure.

  Old Lace had decided that she didn’t like Zeke at all. She’d been huffing at him and hissing, so now—while Nico cooked and snuck glances at Zeke—Molly went into the freezer to find something else to occupy her dino-brain. She emerged in the midst of unwrapping a frozen steak and studied it dubiously.

  “Do you think she can eat it like this? Like a steak-sicle?”

  Before Nico could reply, Old Lace snatched the frozen steak in her jaws and turned toward the freezer door as if to block them from attempting to retrieve it. The sounds of her slobbering and gnawing at the steak were all the answer any of them needed.

  “Okay then,” Molly said. She clapped her hands together. “So…western omelets? What the heck’s a western omelet?”

  Gert came into the kitchen and glanced around, eyes wide behind her glasses. “Wow. This is beautiful. Those Italian tiles…The kitchen is the nicest room in the place.”

  “I blame my dad,” Molly said.

  “Oh, yeah,” Gert said. “I remember you said he loved to cook.”

  Nico blinked. Gert looked like she’d just rolled out of bed. Worse than that, actually. Her hair was a purple mess, a single clip holding a chunk of it up out of her face. Her makeup from the night before had smeared but she hadn’t washed any of it off. She was clearly unshowered and wore an oversize T-shirt and baggy sweatpants with a stain on the front and a sag in the rear. Gert had never been overly concerned about her appearance. This, though—what the hell was this?

  “Do you…Do you want an omelet?” Nico asked her.

  Gert went to the fridge and started rooting around inside it. “That’s really nice of you, Nico. I’d love one.”

  She pulled out a bottle of orange juice. Nico thought it must have gone bad after sitting in there for who-knew-how-long, but Gert spun off the cap and took a long drink right from the bottle.

  “Are you feeling okay?” Nico asked.

  Gert covered the juice and put it back, letting the fridge door slam. “Sure. Why?”

  Nico shrugged and went back to chopping vegetables for the omelets she was making. She’d already whisked the eggs but wondered if she needed to do it again. Her thoughts focused on the task at hand, half-distracted by Old Lace gnawing on the frozen steak in the corner and Molly holding her nose and complaining about dinosaur farts, she almost missed the disappointed, almost forlorn look that Zeke gave Gert.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. “Good morning.”

  Gert ignored him, moving across the huge kitchen toward Old Lace and Molly. “You know, this isn’t really healthy for her. She needs more vegetables in her diet.”

  “You feed her vegetables all the time,” Molly said with a pout. “She needs a treat sometimes. It’s not like I gave her ice cream.”

  “Not this time,” Gert said.

  Nico watched Zeke approach her, watched him shift from foot to foot and scratch the back of his head as if he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do. No way, Nico thought. Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?

  “Hey, Gert?” Zeke began. “Do you think we could talk for a second?”

  Gert barely looked up. Her response was a single word. “Why?”

  Zeke stared at her, stumped by the question. “I just thought…I thought…” He shook his head. “Okay. Never mind, I guess.”

  With a last glance, he wandered back over to the enormous metal prep surface in the middle of the kitchen. “Can I help?”

  Nico arched an eyebrow. “Nope. I’ve got it, thanks,” she said, enjoying his awkwardness.

  She didn’t know what had happened between Gert and Zeke last night, but clearly something must have taken place for Gert to be giving him such an icy reception this morning. And Gert showing up looking the way she did suggested she didn’t want to encourage any interest he might have, which made Nico’s head whirl.

  Zeke thought he was some kind of player, hitting on Gert and then waking up and flirting with Nico. She’d known guys like that before. As cocky as Zeke was, she shouldn’t have been surprised. But, really? Gert? She hated how uncharitable, and how conceited, her thoughts were, but she was used to being the one guys paid attention to. Yeah, Karolina might be more traditionally beautiful, with her long legs and supermodel face, but she was open and joyful, and to most guys they
encountered that made her somehow less interesting in spite of her looks. Nico had grown used to guys finding her intriguing. It wasn’t the reason she dressed the way she did, or the reason for the aloof distance she sometimes adopted around people, but if she were under oath, she’d have been forced to admit it was a happy by-product. Guys liked her. They tried to impress her. They did not typically fall over themselves trying to impress Gert.

  Good for her, Nico. Don’t be a bitch. Gert can use the ego boost.

  Nico put a little oil in the omelet pan and began to whisk the eggs again. “So,” she said to Zeke, “we should talk about what’s next. You want to rescue your friends from your parents. I assume we’re not going to be able to slip in unnoticed, snatch them, and run away.”

  “Actually, I’m hoping that’s exactly what we can do,” Zeke replied.

  “Great. You keep hoping,” Nico said. “But we need to prep for things to go horribly wrong. We need a real plan here, and we might need to recruit some help.”

  Zeke grinned, pointing to himself. “I’m right here.”

  “No offense, but you’re one guy, and unless you have powers you haven’t mentioned—”

  “It never came up, but yeah. Obviously I have powers. Our parents are the Nightwatch. We’ve all got powers—me, Tess, and Carlos. Though mine are by far the coolest.” Zeke executed a little bow, as if he heard applause from some invisible audience. “I mean, if you’d even call what I do ‘having powers.’ It’s really an ability. Just one.”

  “If you say ‘awesomeness’ or something about charming girls out of their pants, I will turn you into a friggin’ newt,” Nico promised.

  By now, Zeke had the attention of the others. Molly and Gert had stopped what they were doing and focused on him. Old Lace whined because she wanted their attention, but they were all looking at Zeke now.

  “Okay,” Nico said. “So what is it?”

  “Is it cool?” Molly asked. “I bet it’s something cool.”

  Zeke straightened up. His expression turned serious but there was mischief in his eyes. “I’ll show you. But don’t be afraid, okay? Nobody freak out.”