Quentin.” He held out a hand. “Sorry but we have to be careful.”
We shook hands and introduced ourselves, but some of the kids kept watching us with distrust. I couldn’t blame them.
We entered a smaller chamber packed with sleeping bags resting on wooden crates to keep them off the wet floor. I counted forty-two.
“Here, take these. They’re empty,” Quentin said, gesturing to three in a far corner.
I put my backpack down on the bed and sat. The crates groaned. They were hard and smelled of rotten wood. Tyler curled up on the other free spot, his back turned to me. He hadn’t spoken in hours.
“I’ll be back there.” Quentin pointed at an opening on the other end of the chamber before leaving with Alexis. I bet he was going to pump her for information about us.
Joshua sank down beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“This is so wrong,” I whispered. “Kids being forced to live like rats in the drains. This isn’t right.”
Joshua sighed. “I know. It’s even worse than on our side.”
“I miss Safe haven.” It was true. I never thought I’d miss it.
Joshua nodded but his expression was thoughtful. “I think we need to talk to Quentin about the cure, though I don’t like sharing that much information with him. I’m still not entirely sure we can trust the Undergrounders.”
“I don’t think we have much choice. Do you think Quentin can help us?”
“I hope so,” Joshua said. He got up and pulled me with him. “Come on, let’s find out.”
The opening Quentin had pointed at led to a duct, maybe ten feet wide and sixty feet long. It was furnished with a long table surrounded by a dozen chairs and a makeshift kitchen. Quentin and Alexis sat at the table. We took seats across from them. Photos lined the wall behind their heads. The light bulb was flickering. I couldn’t make out more than the silhouettes of faces in the photos.
“Alexis told me more about your brother. From what I’ve heard, there’s no use looking for him. Even if he survived the gun shots – which I doubt, he’ll be dead by now. You couldn’t have freed him anyway,” Quentin said without a hint of emotion in his voice. “There’s a base a few miles from here. The military keeps their weapons there. We’re not sure but we think they do tests on bodies there.”
“Could you lead us to the base and get us in?” I asked.
Quentin laughed bitterly. “Haven’t you listened? Your brother is dead. Even if I could get you in, there’s no way we could get out without ending up dead too.”
“The main reason why we came here is to find a cure,” Joshua said.
Quentin’s smile died. “That’s impossible.”
“Do you know where they keep the cure?”
Quentin shook his head. “We don’t even know if there is one. And even if I did know where they kept it, there’s no way of getting it. You can’t just walk in there. It’s heavily guarded. You should get that idea out of your head now.”
“But we need to find it. We can’t give up,” I said. I wasn’t letting anyone go through the torment I’d seen Rachel go through. And as for Dad … It had been four days since he’d left. Time was slipping away from us.
“I can’t help you.” Quentin got up then, but Joshua followed. They glared at each other. Joshua’s eyes drifted to the rows of photographs behind Quentin. His expression froze.
“Who are they?” he asked.
“They’re high ranking employees in the labs - scientists, military. We’re collecting intelligence on them in case we ever do get the chance to do something,” Alexis began, but a glance from Quentin silenced her.
Do what?
I wondered, my mind racing. I thought back to Alexis’s dismissive response to my filming. Could it be that they had actually dreamed about overthrowing the military, too? Could they really be the ones to help us change things?
But my thoughts were cut off, as Joshua stalked off, disappearing through an opening into a dark duct.
Alexis
We shook hands and introduced ourselves, but some of the kids kept watching us with distrust. I couldn’t blame them.
We entered a smaller chamber packed with sleeping bags resting on wooden crates to keep them off the wet floor. I counted forty-two.
“Here, take these. They’re empty,” Quentin said, gesturing to three in a far corner.
I put my backpack down on the bed and sat. The crates groaned. They were hard and smelled of rotten wood. Tyler curled up on the other free spot, his back turned to me. He hadn’t spoken in hours.
“I’ll be back there.” Quentin pointed at an opening on the other end of the chamber before leaving with Alexis. I bet he was going to pump her for information about us.
Joshua sank down beside me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“This is so wrong,” I whispered. “Kids being forced to live like rats in the drains. This isn’t right.”
Joshua sighed. “I know. It’s even worse than on our side.”
“I miss Safe haven.” It was true. I never thought I’d miss it.
Joshua nodded but his expression was thoughtful. “I think we need to talk to Quentin about the cure, though I don’t like sharing that much information with him. I’m still not entirely sure we can trust the Undergrounders.”
“I don’t think we have much choice. Do you think Quentin can help us?”
“I hope so,” Joshua said. He got up and pulled me with him. “Come on, let’s find out.”
The opening Quentin had pointed at led to a duct, maybe ten feet wide and sixty feet long. It was furnished with a long table surrounded by a dozen chairs and a makeshift kitchen. Quentin and Alexis sat at the table. We took seats across from them. Photos lined the wall behind their heads. The light bulb was flickering. I couldn’t make out more than the silhouettes of faces in the photos.
“Alexis told me more about your brother. From what I’ve heard, there’s no use looking for him. Even if he survived the gun shots – which I doubt, he’ll be dead by now. You couldn’t have freed him anyway,” Quentin said without a hint of emotion in his voice. “There’s a base a few miles from here. The military keeps their weapons there. We’re not sure but we think they do tests on bodies there.”
“Could you lead us to the base and get us in?” I asked.
Quentin laughed bitterly. “Haven’t you listened? Your brother is dead. Even if I could get you in, there’s no way we could get out without ending up dead too.”
“The main reason why we came here is to find a cure,” Joshua said.
Quentin’s smile died. “That’s impossible.”
“Do you know where they keep the cure?”
Quentin shook his head. “We don’t even know if there is one. And even if I did know where they kept it, there’s no way of getting it. You can’t just walk in there. It’s heavily guarded. You should get that idea out of your head now.”
“But we need to find it. We can’t give up,” I said. I wasn’t letting anyone go through the torment I’d seen Rachel go through. And as for Dad … It had been four days since he’d left. Time was slipping away from us.
“I can’t help you.” Quentin got up then, but Joshua followed. They glared at each other. Joshua’s eyes drifted to the rows of photographs behind Quentin. His expression froze.
“Who are they?” he asked.
“They’re high ranking employees in the labs - scientists, military. We’re collecting intelligence on them in case we ever do get the chance to do something,” Alexis began, but a glance from Quentin silenced her.
Do what?
I wondered, my mind racing. I thought back to Alexis’s dismissive response to my filming. Could it be that they had actually dreamed about overthrowing the military, too? Could they really be the ones to help us change things?
But my thoughts were cut off, as Joshua stalked off, disappearing through an opening into a dark duct.
Alexis
Similar Books
