Seizure(53)

Hi snapped his fingers. “The East Bay playgrounds! They’re a few blocks south of the Exchange.”

“Make noise!” Shelton urged. “Attract attention! This is our way out!”

Watch check: three fifty-eight a.m. Had we really been underground only an hour?

I barely remember my life before these freaking tunnels.

“No one will be on the streets this early,” Hi said.

“Then we can wait!” Shelton snapped. “Someone will rescue us eventually.”

Air drifted from the tunnel ahead. Curious, I stepped to the opening and peered in. The air was gusting, blowing gently, then going still. The cave’s waterfalls formed a creek that ran along one side of the passageway.

Every fiber of my being yearned to explore.

“If we quit now, they’ll split us apart.” I addressed the boys gently, no bullying this time. “All of us will move, probably far away. Permanently.” No one answered.

“We’ll call each other, and text,” I said. “Maybe chat every day. But we won’t live in the same neighborhood. We’ll never hang out at the bunker, or take Sewee to chill on Loggerhead.”

Still no responses.

“If we give up, we can’t protect each other. Can’t watch each other’s backs. We’ll never figure out what’s happened to our bodies. Each of us will be stuck dealing with the flares alone.”

They’d heard it before, but I had to try one last time.

“We either see this through, or abandon our pack forever. No more Virals.”

My hand found Shelton’s shoulder. He didn’t pull away.

“I’m going ahead. I can’t force you to follow, but I’d appreciate the company.”

Ben dropped from above. “I’m in.”

Hi’s head flopped backward, revealing dirt in the creases circling his neck.

“Blaaeeaaah,” he groaned. Then his head came up. “In.”

Shelton merely nodded.

Words of gratitude were forming when a soft whooshing floated from the tunnel behind us. Our heads whipped around. The sound was faint, but unmistakable to our enhanced ears.

Footfalls.

Someone was approaching from the direction we’d just come.

What should we do? I mouthed.

Shelton and Hi looked uncertain. Not Ben. Hurrying to the tunnel mouth, he aimed his flashlight into the gloom.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!”

All noise ceased abruptly.

But no. I could still hear something. Breathing. Just outside the range of Ben’s beam.

Ben stepped back, turned, and raised both hands in silent question.

Crack! Crack!

Bullets ripped the airspace Ben had vacated.

“Run!” he bellowed.

As one, we fired into the tunnel ahead, fleeing for our lives.





I RAN PANTING, then skidded to a stop.

The Virals slammed into me from behind.

“Stop!” I ordered. “We can’t just run blindly!”

“Gun gun gun!” Shelton yelped.

“Why do people always try to shoot us?” Hi whimpered. “We have the worst freaking luck!”


“Quiet!” Ben alone sounded calm. “Kill the lights. We have an advantage in the dark.”

The beams cut off, followed by the lantern. We crouched in silence, breathing hard, listening for sounds of pursuit.

“Wait here.” Ben disappeared down the passage, then hurried back. “Someone’s in the cavern.”

“Could you tell who?” I asked.

I sensed Ben’s head shake. “Too dark. The person’s not using a light.”

“Keep moving,” I whispered. “Everyone still flaring?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s hustle. Hi, you’re in front with me; you’ve got the best eyes. One flashlight only.”

“Awesome.”

“Shelton, hang back and listen for signs of someone following. Ben, stick close to Shelton. If someone catches up, you know what to do.”

“No problem.”

We moved as quickly as possible in the tomblike dark, senses probing for the slightest whiff of danger. My pulse raced. Sweat coated my skin.

Please, no more traps!

Twenty yards. Thirty. Fifty.

With each step, the tension mounted. Water murmured in the creek at my side, kicking my nerves into even higher gear. I begged various deities for the passage to lead us to safety.

“Wall dead ahead,” Hi whispered.

The murmur became a rush of falling water as the passage hair-pinned left and narrowed to a crack.

We shifted to single file and scraped through, one by one.

The darkness on the other side was denser, the air colder. A strong breeze stroked my damp skin.

“Lights,” I ordered.

Shelton powered the lantern.

“Whoa!” Knees shaking, I shrank backward until my back struck solid rock.

We were on a five-foot-wide stone ledge overhanging a deep, black chasm. The tunnel creek was now a waterfall, cascading to an unseen bottom. The shelf stretched forward ten yards before ending at the cavern wall.

Across the abyss jutted another outcrop similar to the one on which we stood. From it, a passage led into the wall behind. The gap between the ledges was at least twenty feet. Infinite.