“Let’s check to make sure no Soldiers are around,” Radek says before opening the hatch all the way.
I frantically scour my mind for another option. While I procrastinate, Sayda gets up to help Hadwin to his feet. They move to join Radek by the exit hatch. Everyone besides me is ready to go. As Radek reaches to pull the hatch open, Hadwin stops him.
“Wait. I want to thank you for everything you’ve done out here,” Hadwin says to Radek. He then turns to the both of us. “No matter what, you guys keep her safe.”
We both understand his words, even though Sayda is annoyed by them. She is more comfortable as the protector than the protected. Hadwin understands the danger more than I was giving him credit for. He does not want his own limitations to cause Sayda harm. If the situation arises, he means to sacrifice himself so she will be safe. I would feel the same way if Talia were here. Judging by his prior actions, I would expect no less from Radek as well. Hadwin pats us both on the shoulders. There are no words left to speak.
I need a way to stop this. A crazy thought comes to mind. They could camp out here or take shelter in one of the side tunnels for safety while I hike around the cliff to get help. They will not like it, but I may be able to convince them it is the safer option.
Before I have a chance to explain my new plan, a shuffling in the forest catches our attention. Whatever made the sound is close by. We stop to listen. Somehow, the sound shifts to the other side of our clearing. It could be something moving, but maybe it was just a random noise from a smaller creature in the forest. When the sound comes back again, all doubt is erased. Something big is out there. By the rapid change in location of the sound, there has to be at least two of them. We are too far from Munitus for it to be more Guards. That leaves only one other possibility. The fear of another animal attack weakens my resolve to stay out of the tunnel. The rest of it is obliterated when movement flashes among the trees to my right.
The others are still angling to see what is out there when I pull the hatch wide open. If it is what I think it is, we have no time to check for the Soldiers. The others gather around the opening, ready to escape whatever stalks us from the tree line. I move to the side for Sayda to enter first. She resists, wanting Hadwin to go in before her. Radek pushes her onto the ladder, forcing her to safety. Once Sayda is in, Radek and Hadwin immediately follow. Radek uses his own body as a shield to keep Hadwin from falling.
Despite the strong urge to leave him here, I motion for Aamon to go in next. We cannot risk him getting back to Munitus, and I have another idea that may make him useful. As he grips the ladder, another blur of movement streaks between the trees. This time the creature is close enough for me to make out its shape. The mountain lions have returned.
One of them bursts into the open, leaping straight at me. Its extended claws and terrifying teeth reach for me. I jump into the open hatch, barely getting a hand on the ladder to stop myself from plummeting to the floor below. As my hand locks onto the upper rung, the rest of my body swings around, sending me careening into the wall.
The hatch remains open and the claws of the beast reach for me through it. My right arm is too close. The mountain lion rips into me. My own blood splatters into my eyes, casting a red hue across my vision. I feel no pain. The claws are as sharp as surgical blades and combined with the rush of my fear, it dulls the sensation.
I instinctively release my grip on the ladder. My body begins to fall. Before I plummet too far, my left hand finds a hold and locks down, jerking me to a stop. With the force of halting my fall, it feels as though both of my arms have been ripped out of their sockets. I strain to hold on, but the pain and dehydration mix to weaken me. A shade covers my sight. I see nothing and can barely feel my body attempting to descend the ladder. Then, I am weightless. Now there is nothing but darkness.
*
Nyree extends her hand toward me. She stands with Merrick on a plateau high above. They are stuck on the mountain side too high for me to ever reach. Somehow the mountain lions have scaled the cliff and are closing in on them. I am helpless to stop the attack and can only brace myself for the horror of the massacre. Just as the beasts are positioned to pounce, Merrick and Nyree jump off the edge, plummeting downward. Halfway down their trajectory changes. It is impossible, but they are flying. They have managed to escape. My heart races from seeing them free of danger and of our bonds to this place. They call out to me. For some reason, the voices are not right.
“Kagen, wake up!” Sayda whispers, waking me from my daze. I focus on her voice and recall our situation. I’m in the tunnel and we’re still in danger. It was just a dream, I tell myself, breaking from the vision of Nyree and Merrick. I open my eyes, yet nothing is revealed. The hatch has been closed, leaving us in complete darkness. The usual dread I feel when cloaked by the stifling blackness does not return to me this time. Instead, the absence of light feels familiar, like I belong here.
“How long was I out?” I ask her in a low voice, remembering we now have the Soldier Guards to worry about.
“Long enough to dress your wound and get the hatch closed,” Sayda says.
“Does anyone have an illuminator?” I ask.
“I have one, but I don’t want to do anything else to draw attention to us,” Radek answers.
“I just want to see my wound real fast,” I tell him, feeling the burning in my forearm from the mountain lion’s attack. I hear Radek’s movement before a faint light appears. Sayda did a decent job of stopping the bleeding and using what was left of my sleeve to cover the wound. Satisfied nothing needs to be added to her work, I look over the others. Sayda is in the best shape of all of us, although she appears utterly exhausted. Radek and Aamon are more beat up, but seem ready to continue. Hadwin on the other hand does not look well at all. With the dim light and layer of sweat forming, he looks like a ghost. Hadwin is nearly out of time. We need to move now.
When I attempt to get up, all of my muscles feel like they are on fire. I am beaten, bloodied, and exhausted. It is a struggle to make it to my feet. Radek has already gotten his bearings in the tunnel and after confirming our direction, he turns the light off. The plan is to only use the illuminator intermittently, if at all. We will be forced to move slowly but in our current condition, that is all we are even capable of. Before we go, I remember Sayda’s suggestion with the communicator as well as my plan for using Aamon. I warn the others before turning the communicator on.
“Securus, this is Kagen Meldon, can you hear us?” I whisper into the communicator. Only a burst of static comes from the speaker. I repeat myself, hoping for a response. None comes. We cannot risk any more noise, so I reach to turn it off. Before I do, another pulse of noise comes from it. My hands fumble the communicator out of surprise. I regain my grip on it and quickly turn down the volume until it is barely audible.
“Kagen, is that you?” Cyrina’s excited voice calls back through the communicator. “Talia will be so relieved to hear you’re okay. She’s been a wreck since we lost communication.”
“Is she there?” I ask, wanting to hear her voice.
“No, she’s… tied up.” The pause in Cyrina’s answer worries me, but now is not the time to press for more details.
“We have to come back through the tunnels. Have Talia send Braeden a message. Tell him a prisoner escaped, and we’re chasing him through the tunnel,” I instruct. “Hopefully that’ll keep the Soldiers from attacking us if we see them.”
She acknowledges the request, and I turn off the communicator. I wish we could go back to the surface and wait for a rescue team, but with those mountain lions around, that is not an option. Even so, now that we know we are not accidently going to Caelum, I feel some hope returning. On top of that, at least for now, we know Securus is still there. The review has not yet condemned us.
For a while this trip felt like it was our death march and we continued on out of sheer stubborn refusal to accept the truth. But now, we have a sliver of optimism to make it back alive. That optim
ism is tempered by knowing how difficult the rest of the trip will be, especially if the Soldier Guards heard my communicator.
I turn to Aamon, knowing he may be a serious problem. “Don’t think for a second you can expose us and get help from the Soldier Guards. Cale thought the same thing until the Controller killed him just to make a point. The Soldier Guards have orders to shoot anyone they find in the tunnels on sight. You’ll never even have a chance to explain yourself before you’re dead.”
After that, we all remain motionless and silent for a while, waiting to make sure we are alone. I stand against to the wall and help hold Hadwin in place while we wait. The contact with another person and support of the wall keep me from focusing on the disorientation of the pitch black tunnel. Other than the sound of our breath, no other noises come. When we are sure our debilitated group is safe, we head down the tunnel.
Evan as we steadily move closer to the safety of Securus, it seems so far away. Our bodies are beyond weary, and our last stores of energy rapidly decline. Not long after we begin walking, Hadwin becomes too weak to help us move him. Radek and I are now forced to carry him. We each wrap one of Hadwin’s arms around our shoulders to lift him. The tips of his feet drag as we walk, causing more noise than we would prefer. We do not have enough strength left to carry him any other way. Even Aamon no longer resists us. He has no escape route left, only the structured tunnel ahead.
As we trudge forward into the darkness, waiting for the light of Securus to save us, it becomes agonizingly clear Hadwin is not the only one on the brink of death. Despite the continued effort of moving Hadwin, I am no longer sweating. That combined with the pounding headache, constant nausea, and lightheadedness tells me I am dangerously close to succumbing to dehydration. Even without being able to see the others down here, I am sure their condition is not much better. Now that I think about it, the darkness surrounding us feels appropriate. Like our bonds in Securus, we will either escape it or be consumed by it. There are no other options.
Chapter 30
Our movement through the tunnel is agonizingly slow. Radek intermittently turns on his illuminator to check our progress. Each time he does, the light reveals the same thing, the tracks we are following and the smooth walls of the man-made tunnel. Even though we pass some side passages, there are significantly fewer of them than anticipated. The air down here is cooler than the surface, which would be soothing if it were not for the staleness of it.
Each step I take is forced. My legs resist the effort, insisting they have no strength left to give. If it were not for the others, I might collapse right here. The only thing stopping me from doing so is the even more arduous burden that would place on Radek and Sayda, not to mention what would happen to Hadwin. He depends on us. His breathing is shallow, and he no longer speaks at all. I fear it may already be too late for him, but unlike with my other friends, we can do something to try to save him. No matter what, until every last ounce of strength is depleted, I will continue.
After a while, lights begin to flicker and dance across my field of vision. It’s just the effects of the dehydration and poor blood flow, I tell myself. Still, the rhythmic movements entertain me. The delirium that will soon follow is inevitable, so I might as well enjoy it. The hallucinations must be getting worse because it almost sounds like the lights are whispering to me. I hear them calling out to me. “Kagen,” the whisper says. It is not until something forces me against the wall that I realize the voice is not coming from the lights. Radek is trying to get my attention.
“Kagen, the Soldiers are coming. We have to hide,” he whispers to me while huddling the group together.
The Soldiers? I don’t see any Soldiers. He’s probably starting to hallucinate too, I think to myself. The dancing lights are now only at the corner of my eyes. I turn back to them, mesmerized by the movement. It takes me a few more seconds to understand they are not hallucinations at all. The lights are the Soldiers patrolling the tunnel. They are coming toward us. The situation jolts my mind back to reality. We have nowhere to hide.
We knew this was bound to happen, but secretly we had all hoped for the path to be clear. The fear in the pit of my stomach returns, just like when the animals were hunting us. Only this time is worse because instead of searching for sustenance, these predators are enforcing the brutality of Caelum as well as Malin’s personal vendetta against me. I have been rationalizing in my own mind that they might spare us if we stumbled across them. Now, faced with the imminent encounter, I know better. If only there were an exit hatch nearby, I bemoan in my mind.
“Do you remember what the lead Soldier said when we saw him last?” I ask Radek, who continues to help me keep Hadwin upright.
He does not answer, but the appearance of a faint glow from his illuminator tells me he understands how desperate we are. We turn around to look for any escape behind us while using our bodies to shield the illuminator’s light as much as possible. Even so, it will be visible if they look hard enough. We try to move quickly, but despite the effort, our steps are slow and plodding.
We futilely search for a ladder or exit hatch, though we have seen none on our trek so far. None of us have enough strength left to move fast enough to get away. As the voice in the back of my mind whispers for me to give in and accept our fate, I notice a slight change in the wall next to us. The continuous, smooth, solid walls are interrupted by an uneven dark spot.
“Look, we can hide in there,” I whisper to the others, pointing to the cross tunnel.
Before shoving Aamon into the opening in the wall, Sayda grabs him by his shirt. “Remember what Kagen told you about the Soldiers? And don’t forget I still have my knife.”
We tuck ourselves into the refuge of the small side passage. The jagged walls contrast with the tunnel we just left. With the opening being so constricted, this crevice is unlikely to serve any function for the Soldiers, though it is exactly what we need. They could easily walk right by us in here. We go far enough in to be invisible, but close enough to hear when they pass. Even though we found this tunnel quickly, our cover will not matter if the Soldier Guards noticed our light.
We all stand in silence. None of us chance sitting down or changing position for fear of making noise. I hear Hadwin’s ragged breathing pattern in my ear and nothing else. After an eternity of waiting, the Soldiers draw near. Their artificially manipulated voices bounce off the walls and mix within the chamber, making their conversation impossible to decipher. At this point, I do not care what they are saying as long as they keep moving. The voices grow louder until they sound like they are next to us.
My body tenses as their footsteps draw near. The narrow tunnel amplifies the steps, making it sound as if they were walking right on top of us. I watch the tunnel opening until the footsteps start to pass us. They did not see us. When I look away from the entrance, my excitement is crushed by the bright light shining into our tunnel, exposing the wall behind us. The light has not found us, but if they come any closer, we will be revealed. I hold my breath, pleading for them to stay in the main tunnel and not enter our side passage. All sounds from the Soldiers have stopped. Did they see our light? Do they know where we are?
Just when I am sure they know, the light vanishes and their footsteps resume. They’re gonna pass us by! I think to myself, elated by the sheer luck of it. The sounds from the Soldier Guards steadily fade, easing my tension. In another minute, we can resume our trek to Securus.
“Wait!” Aamon screams out from behind me.
To my horror, he sprints out into the tunnel, chasing after the Soldiers. His outburst was so unexpected that none of us were fast enough to stop him. Hadwin’s full weight slumps onto my shoulder, nearly collapsing me to the floor. Radek released Hadwin to chase down Aamon.
I do not join the chase. There is no point. It would be impossible for the Soldiers to not have heard Aamon’s cry. What will happen now is out of our control. Aamon’s outburst has stripped away our last chance of survival and with it, the last r
eserves of my strength. I lower Hadwin to the floor before staggering into the main tunnel. The bright lights of the Soldiers have turned back toward us. They focus on Aamon, who wildly runs after them.
“There’s something you need to know!” he shouts while sprinting. I barely see the Soldiers against the harsh glare of their lights, but the weapon one of the men raises is unmistakable. The same massive handgun I have seen up close sets its aim on Aamon. It has to be Malin. Without warning, a shot explodes from the gun. Aamon is knocked from his feet by the blast. His flailing body almost flips while crashing to the ground, coming to a rest at the feet of the merciless Soldiers. Well, that’s one problem taken care of. The morbid thought crosses my fogged mind.
The Soldiers turn their attention to Aamon’s pursuer. Radek stopped in place when they shot Aamon. This time Malin restrains his gun. With Radek out here, he knows Talia’s toy cannot be far away.
“Where is he?” Malin demands while breaking formation.
“He isn’t here,” Radek says. “I was chasing the prisoner myself. The others turned back long ago.”
Malin steps forward, fully into the light of the Soldiers behind him, revealing the same dreadful wolf, hunting us from his shoulder. Unsatisfied by Radek’s answer, he raises his weapon, taking aim at Radek. “I will only ask once more. Where is he?”
His threat is not a bluff. If Radek does not give up the rest of us, Malin will kill him. Knowing that giving me up would also put Sayda in danger, I have no doubt Radek will not tell him. But even if Radek sacrifices himself, the Soldier Guards will not stop looking for me.
“I’m here,” I say as loud as my weakened voice will allow.
“You shouldn’t have lied to me. It’s a shame really, you had so much promise,” Malin says, looking past Radek and stomping toward me. As he does, a flash of light erupts from the formation of Soldiers. The terrifying beam strikes Radek, twisting his body as it falls onto the metal tracks.
The Controller (The Securus Trilogy Book 2) Page 29