Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2) (8 page)

J
erry rushes
by us with Renny in his arms. Blood drips in a trail behind him.

"Hurry Layla," I say and gently prod her forward, but she seems to be in a daze.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she mumbles. Her eyes lift to mine. They are a bright blue. "He asked me to marry him before we left."

I smile, but tug on her arm. "Let's go inside."

Her eyes widen and her mouth turns down. "I didn't give him an answer! I said to wait until—"

All of a sudden her body jerks backward out of my grip. She's moving so fast that she disappears into the darkness before I can do anything. Her screams are shrill and filled with agony. Link fires the gun again, but his aim is high as he's probably afraid of hitting her. I take a step to go after her, but then I'm being dragged backward too, onto the dock.

"There's nothing you can do for her," Smoke says into my ear.

I swing my elbow back, hitting him in the ribs, but he doesn't release me.

"Let me go! We can save her!"

"Not this time, kid," Smoke says. "Boat’s pulling out."

"Link!" I yell. He can help.

Link turns around and jogs toward us, clutching his side. His face is pinched tight like he's about to throw up. "She's not screaming anymore, Sage."

My breaths come in short gasps barely escaping my tightened rib cage.

"Get in," Smoke says and shoves me upwards on top of the submarine, then he calls back to Link, "Pull the lever, then run fast!"

I slip inside, unaware of my feet on the small ladder going down. At the bottom of the cramped room, I scramble to the side, my back pressed up against metal casing. My breathing is fast and raspy. Layla's screams echo in my ears so much that I barely even notice the tight space. I glance around for Renny but don't see him or Jerry.

Link climbs down the hatch, but falls to the ground when his foot slips on the ladder. He slides to the other side of the room to get out of Smoke's way.

"Hatch is closed," Smoke says as he walks over to some kind of dashboard with lots of buttons and lights on it. "Let's get the hell off this island."

He pushes a series of buttons and a low rumbling shakes the interior. Tank is seated near Smoke, grimacing in pain. His blond hair and shirt are completely drenched with sweat while he dabs a white cream all over his bloodied leg. He glances over at me.

"As soon as I'm finished, I'll do the best I can with your arm. It looks bad." He turns to Link, his eyes sad. "You too. Your side will need some bandages."

Suddenly the pain in my arm returns. The whole bottom half of my arm from elbow to fingertips is covered in red. The sight of it makes me dizzy… or maybe I've lost more blood than I realize.

"They took her," Link says, his eyes glazed over. "They just took her, and I couldn't do a thing about it."

I push my back against the wall until I'm standing and cross the room to him. This is probably the worst death he's ever seen. It's the kind that stays with you, haunts your dreams and fills the silence you once enjoyed. I know from experience. Peace is no longer a reality but more of a fluid concept that can slip between your fingers like water from a tap.

With my good arm, I pull him in for a tight hug.

"You did all that you could," I say.

He pulls away from me and looks me in the eyes. "Did I?"

I open my mouth but nothing comes out. I want to say yes, but then that would let me off the hook. I still think I could've done more to save her.

"You kids did real well out there," Smoke says, his voice gentle. "It's a damn shame any of us have to go through something so horrible."

Jerry appears just then from an opening behind Tank. His face is white and eyes red. Blood covers the front of his shirt.

"How's Renny?" Link asks, his voice hopeful.

I resist the urge to cover my ears. I don't want to hear what I know he is about to say.

"He didn't make it." Jerry says the words as if he doesn't believe them, as if any second Renny will come through the door behind him.

Tank lets go of the bandage that he's using to wrap around his leg and takes hold of his arm. "I'm sorry, Jerry. Really I am."

Jerry stares down at him, blinks a couple of times, then his pale face turns a dark shade of red. "This is your fault. People are dead because you couldn't wait."

Tank sits up and raises his hands. "Now let's not say things we’ll regret later. Take your time to grieve—"

"The only thing I'll ever regret is letting you talk me into this suicide mission! I've kept these people safe for years, then you come along and three of my people are dead in less than twenty-four hours!"

My eyes flash to Link, a look that says 'this could be bad', but Link is staring at the floor. Probably in shock at the news of Renny's death. He's known Renny his whole life. Smoke, on the other hand, meets my questioning gaze, but shakes his head as if to say 'don't get involved'.

Tank grimaces and stands on his good leg, his hands curled into fists. "Three people? You've lost three people in years? Do you have any idea what's going on beyond the island? We've lost hundreds of our people! All because we’re trying to protect you, an Original." He pokes his finger into Jerry's chest. "I'm sorry for their deaths. It wasn't my intent, but it is imperative I get back to save hundreds of lives that are probably about to go into an unnecessary battle. Do you understand?"

I lean away, my eyes darting back and forth between both of them.

It's a few more tense seconds, before Jerry's shoulders drop. "I'm sorry too. Nobody wins in war. There's a radio behind you. In a few minutes we will be far enough out for you to use it. Call whoever you must." Jerry's eyes go to Link. "Will you help me with Renny's body?"

Link tenses, but he follows after him and together they disappear into the back room.

Tank drops back into the chair and sighs. "Get over here, Sage. Let's get that arm bandaged."

I do as he says, but I don't say anything and neither does Tank or Smoke. The room is already filled with too many lingering words. After Tank finishes with his leg, he turns his attention to my arm, applying cream first and then the bandage. The cream diminishes the pain significantly.

"How long until we reach shore?" Tank asks Smoke.

"About ninety minutes." Smoke is sitting on a stool behind the rudder. In front of him are several screens, which he's monitoring.

Tank groans a little, as if that's too long. He reaches for the radio that's right in front of me. "No matter what happens, don't you dare say a word, got it? You're supposed to be safe within Eden's walls."

I nod. As much as I want to speak with Colt, it would probably be best to wait until I see him in person so I can explain why I left.

"How do you know what frequency they're going to be on?" Smoke asks. "There's got be thousands of possibilities."

Tank punches a number into the box below the receiver. "This month we use the date backwards plus ninety days. So the number today would be 1160. That's on even days. On odd days, it's the reverse. At the beginning of next month, however, all this changes."

Tank presses a button and speaks into the receiver. "Who's listening today?"

The receiver cackles and spits.

"Set the donut down," Tank demands, "and answer me. This is an emergency."

A second later, a man's voice says, "State your name."

"This is Tank. Who's this?"

"Tank?" the person nearly screams. "No joke?"

"Nope."

"This is Lance. Are you okay?"

"I'm alive. Patch me into Colt."

"You got it. I can't tell you how glad everyone is going to be to hear from you."

The receiver cackles again. My heart is beating fast, so fast it almost hurts. It's been months since I've heard Colt's voice.

"Not a word," Tank whispers to me.

I make the motion of zipping my mouth and throwing away the key.

The radio sparks to life. "Tank? Is it really you?"

The swarm of butterflies once again bloom in my stomach at the sound of Colt's voice, and I giggle.

"Yeah, buddy," Tank says. "It's me."

"Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I've seen better days, but your plan worked. It took longer than I anticipated, but eventually Ebony had the Institute's henchmen dump me onto Purgatory. I made my way to Eden and found Stella. I'm coming back now with the information we need."

There’s a slight pause before Colt asks, "How are all the Originals?"

Tank's eyes flash to mine. "Everyone is just fine."

"And Max?"

"He's grown a lot, and talks a lot too."

"Good. How long until you get here?"

I turn away, pretending I'm not upset that Colt asked about my brother, but not me.

"Maybe six hours. We’ll be traveling on foot to the safe house, and driving from there."

"We? Who's with you?"

It's Tank’s turn to hesitate. "No one special. Just a few people from Eden."

"I resent that," Smoke mutters under his breath.

"They're helping me get to the mainland. We ran into some trouble getting off the island so I'm glad they're with me."

"Speaking of trouble," Colt says, "I was about to give the order to send our guys in after you, no matter the number of Institute men guarding the place. If you had waited even two hours…"

"Weren't you the least bit tempted to leave me there?"

Colt chuckles. "You know we don't leave anyone behind."

Don't leave anyone behind? That's new. It used to be that nobody cared about each other, especially since Primes die so young, but it sounds like things have changed for the better. I just hope those changes don't involve Colt forgetting about me.

"Keep holding down the fort," Tank says. "I'll be there soon."

"Stay safe."

The receiver goes dead.

Tank looks at me, but I quickly turn away before he can see the tears I'm fighting back. "I'm going to go take a quick nap before we hit land."

I hurry into the back room with Link and Jerry. Jerry is speaking softly to Link, his hand on his shoulder. I continue on into the sleeping quarters without saying anything. It's the same room I was in when I was first taken to the island. That day, Colt gave me a recording of him admitting his feeling for me. What's changed? It's only been six months, and now he's not even asking about me.

I drop into the nearest bed and close my eyes, releasing a few pent up tears. I know us being together—a Prime and an Original—isn't optimal, and I had tried to forget about Colt, but he simply wouldn't leave my heart.

I fear, however, that I no longer hold a place in his.

I
push aside
the branches in front of me and hold them back so they don’t hit Link in the face. He scrambles by me then motions me forward. We've been walking in the forest for thirty minutes. The trees and bushes are thick here, not as congested as on the island, but enough that it slows us down.

Dawn is upon us, streaming ribbons of sunlight through spaces in the trees above. I'm glad when Tank calls for a break, which is probably more for himself than the rest of us. He's been using a stick to help him walk, but even with it, he has a severe limp.

I drop onto a nearby log to inspect my arm. It still hurts, but the pain isn't as sharp as it was. Smoke sits next to me and rubs the back of his neck. Tank had tried to convince him to go back with Jerry, but Smoke refused. "I'm never going back to that hell hole ever again. I want to die a free man," he'd said. Jerry had muttered that he wasn't a prisoner, but the words had floated away with no acknowledgment.

Before Jerry left, I made sure to thank him for helping us to get off the island. I also apologized, but it felt hollow. He'd lost three people he's known all his life; people he vowed to keep safe. What could I possibly say to make that right?

Ten minutes pass before Tank calls out, "Time to go. We're getting close."

I groan and stagger to my feet. The only thing keeping me going at this point is knowing I'll get to see Colt before nightfall. I jog after Tank and the others.

"Are you sure Jerry's going to make it back okay?" Link asks after dropping behind me. "I feel bad not returning with him."

"You heard what he said. He's made the trip by himself a few times before. I'm sure he'll be fine, especially since it will be day time." I don't mean for my voice to sound higher than it is, but the truth is, I'm worried about him too.

"I hope so," Link says. "I can't bear another friend's death."

I reach out and lightly touch his arm. "I know how you feel. Things are so different out here. I'm afraid it's only going to get worse, though, now that Primes are fighting against each other. We're going to have to watch out for each other, okay?"

He nods and looks like he wants to say more, but Smoke interrupts him.

"Do you know where we're going?" Smoke calls up to Tank. "You seem lost."

Tank hobbles to a stop and looks around in all directions. "There's an old road around here somewhere. It runs parallel with the beach."

"The one we came in on when I was taken to the island?" I ask.

"That's the one."

My mind spins and flashes as it recalls the first time I'd been on the dirt road. Certain landmarks jump out at me, specifically an oak tree Max had climbed when our group took a break. It was only fifty feet away from the trail Tank was looking for, and we had passed that tree a few minutes ago.

"It's back here," I say and turn around to retrace our footsteps.

In no time at all, we are back at the tree. Its base is so wide I couldn’t close my arms around it. Wooden knots as big as my fist protrude all up and down its trunk, making for an easy climb.

"It should be that way," I say and point to my left.

Tank limps past me and leads the way. It takes him several minutes to find the road, as he sometimes has to backtrack. His injured leg doesn't help.

"We're not far," Tank says and turns left on the path. "We need to reach the bunker before noon so let's hurry."

"Bunker?" I ask. "I thought we were looking for a vehicle."

Tank glances back at me and smiles. "You're going to love this." He takes off faster than before in sort of a hopping run.

I jog after him, my curiosity piqued. After a minute of running, I realize something odd about the road. There are deep grooves on each side as if heavy vehicles have traveled on it. Not recently, but the road wasn't like this the last time I was on it. I wonder what could have made them, especially this far out into the woods.

The sun has fully risen now. Its fractured light breaks through parts of the canopy above us, warming the top layer of earth. Parts of the road become muddy, making it slippery especially for Tank. He's had to slow back down and rely more on his makeshift cane for assistance. He continually curses and punches at trees. It's the most frustrated I've ever seen him.

"Hey Tank," Smoke calls from the rear. "You want me to carry you?"

Despite his earlier grief, Link laughs. Even I giggle, but quickly cover my mouth when Tank flashes us a deadly look and growls, "Only if you want to lose a hand."

Tank returns to his odd run/hop maneuver. He slips a couple of times, but manages to stay upright. It looks painful, especially when I notice blood seeping through his bandages.

"It was just a joke, Tank," I say, jogging to catch up to him. Even though he's not running full speed, his strides are three times bigger than mine. I match his pace. "We need to change your dressings."

"When we get there." His face is pinched with pain.

I sigh, knowing there's no arguing with him. Tank continues to skip his way forward for nearly three hours before he finally stops. His entire bandage is soaked in blood. Little trails of blood drip down to his heel.

"Sit down," I order him.

"We're here." He points through the trees.

I slowly turn around. Not far from us is a metal building—but not like one I have ever seen before. It's long, rectangular in shape, and much bigger than any cabin you might find in the woods. There are five garage doors on its front, three of them twice as high as normal. The roof is also unusual. Grass and small bushes grow on its top.

"What is this?" I ask.

"This is the bunker I was talking about," Tank says. "Come on. Let me show you the inside."

Tank limps around to the side of the building and stops in front of a door with a keypad. He enters the password. The door pops open, and Tank holds it open for me.

I step inside and freeze, unable to believe what I'm looking at. Link pushes by me, as does Smoke.

"Whoa! What is this place?" Link asks. He crosses to the nearest vehicle and peers inside.

Smoke whistles low.

The room is enormous! Just in front of me are four vehicles, two vans and two smaller vehicles, but parked on the far end are three big buses that must seat at least a hundred people each. All kinds of boxes are stacked against the wall. I walk across the dirt floor to a few of them and read their labels: blankets, kitchen, medical.

"This was Colt's idea," Tank says and looks at me. "It was the first thing he did after you left for Eden. He knew if anything bad were to happen to the island, Originals would need to be evacuated and have a safe place to go."

Smoke circles one of the vans, eyeing it up and down. "And how exactly was this Colt going to get everyone off the island? The sub holds twenty people max."

Tank lowers to the floor and removes his bloodied bandages. "A few miles away, he has a large boat docked. From the sky, it looks run down and abandoned, but that's only because it was painted that way. It would take a few trips, but it will get everyone safely off Purgatory."

"But won't the Institute see them?" Link asks.

"Like I said," Tank says, and grimaces as he presses a cloth to the back of his leg, "it's only for emergencies. If we have to evacuate Purgatory, then being seen is the least of our worries."

A knot tightens in my stomach. I reach into my pocket to feel the small disc Max gave me, hoping I never have to hear it beep.

"What's downstairs?" Smoke asks.

I turn around. Smoke's standing at the top of an opening into the floor on the far side of the room.

"Give me a second to fix this leg and I'll show you. It's the best part."

While we wait for Tank, I check the bandage on my own arm. It's bleeding again but not enough to change it.

"How's your side, Link?" I ask.

He stretches a little. "I've had worse."

Tank stands and looks down at his freshly bandaged leg. "I think I'm good. Come on." He limps to the top of the stairs.

At the bottom, he says, "Illuminate." One by one, a series of lights reveal the immense room. Rows and rows of bunk beds fill most of the space, with a bunch of tables and chairs toward the back. The size of it takes my breath away. Link nudges me, his eyes wide.

"Bathrooms are over there," Tank says, pointing to his left. "And on the opposite wall, where you see those double doors, is a kitchen with all kinds of food."

"What's behind that metal door?" Link asks. He's staring beneath the stairs we just came down.

"The weapons room," Tank answers. "Let's hope no one ever has to use it."

"I don't even know what to say," I breathe.

Tank lowers his gaze to me and says in a quiet voice, "This should show you how important you are to Colt. His biggest priority is always you and your safety."

My heart heats to a thousand degrees, but I cool it before it becomes an uncontrollable fire. It's still been a long time since we've seen each other. His feelings could've changed. I think back to how he hadn't even asked about me when he spoke to Tank.

But despite my doubts, I still cling to a sliver of heat at the center of my heart. I need to see Colt to know for sure whether or not to extinguish the flame.

"How soon can we leave?" I ask.

Tank heads for the stairs. "Let's go right now. There's a lot to do, and not much time to do it in."