The Similars (The Similars #1)(83)

Levi doesn’t answer. He reaches out a hand, and I take it. Clasping his in my own gives me an instant boost of confidence. We disembark from the boat, paying the fisherman generously for helping us. He wishes us luck—we’re going to need it—before he turns for the mainland.

As my feet hit the sand, I notice that the beach doesn’t feel at all man-made. It’s like a vacation destination. Well, except for the fact that the Similars were never allowed to leave.

“I know the security codes,” Levi explains, as we make our way toward the main building. “It took me years to figure them out, but I had a feeling they might come in handy someday, so I memorized them. They have a regular rotation, but Gravelle won’t have changed them. So as long as no one’s tipped him off that we’re coming…” He shrugs. “We’ll be able to walk right inside.”

“That’s it?” I ask, losing all my bravado. We’re minutes from entering the lion’s den.

“That’s it,” he says. I detect fear and panic in Levi’s voice, even though I know he’s pretending, for his sake and mine, that he’s in control. Before I can respond, he kisses me. Our lips mash together, our teeth banging. It’s not a kiss, really, so much as a last, desperate connection.

“Let’s go,” he says. I take his hand, and we do.





The Compound


We race down the labyrinthine halls in the compound. I follow Levi, trusting him implicitly.

“I’m hoping Pru’s in a dorm room,” Levi says. “Or in the dining hall or study. Otherwise—”

“What?” I ask, watching carefully as he tries the handle of a door, finds it locked, and peers into a small, squat window at the top.

“Nothing,” he answers. I don’t press him.

Declaring the room empty, Levi moves on, peering through the window of the next door. I do the same with the one across from it. We repeat this pattern all the way down the hall, until I find a door that’s ajar and cautiously push it open. Inside is a bare bed and the touch screens Levi described on the bus ride here. There are countless machines and 3-D printers, a wall completely covered in steel cabinetry, and a glass shelf filled with needles in hard plastic cases.

“What’s all this for?” I wonder.

“Most of it was for me and my friends.” Levi glances over a couple of readouts from a printer. “But with us gone, I can’t imagine what Gravelle will use it—”

“Surely you have some idea,” says a voice. I turn to see a figure standing in the doorway. It only takes me seconds to realize who it is.

Sagging skin covers 80 percent of his face. His forehead is traversed by a deep and abiding scar. This is the man formerly known as John Underwood. This is Augustus Gravelle.

“Emmaline Chance.” Gravelle lifts a hand to his face and rubs his chin. “You’re as beautiful as you were as a little girl. Please. You need sustenance and rest.” Gravelle claps his hands, and in what feels like no time, two guards appear behind him. Under their identical white uniforms, they have stocky, hard bodies. Their faces, free of any lines or expression, look almost inhuman.

“Show our guests to the lobby,” Gravelle orders the guards. Levi and I have no choice but to oblige as we are led forcefully by our elbows into the heart of the compound.

A guard pulls me along, and my breath catches as I notice that he wears a gun in a holster. We reach a vast, minimalistic lobby, decorated tastefully with sprawling modern sofas and low glass coffee tables. A million things are rushing through my mind: I’m terrified that we’ll never find Prudence, that this man has already done something terrible to her, that he’ll do terrible things to us. But I try to stay present and keep my bearings.

“Sit,” Gravelle says as he directs us to a couch. A tray of cheese, crackers, and sparkling water waits on a nearby side table. “Eat. As your host, it’s my job to keep you fed, watered, and laundered.”

I do as I’m told, and so does Levi. We sit. We eat. We are starving, not having eaten anything since last night’s candy bars. For a moment, I wonder if the food is poisoned or drugged. I guess we’ll know soon enough.

Gravelle leans back in his chair, his cane on his knees, and watches us eat. “You were a beautiful child, Emmaline,” he muses. “But you’ve grown to be quite stunning.”

“You keep saying that,” I say between bites. “But when did you see me as a little girl?”

“Your father and I were roommates at Darkwood, Emmaline, or did you not know that?” He’s still staring at me. I meet his gaze and immediately want to look away from his intensity. But this last bit of information gives me pause.

“No. I didn’t know that.”

“I see,” says Gravelle. “We were close, your dad and I. I would have loved to have known you more as you were growing up. Now, I am nearly too late…”

I meet Levi’s gaze with wide eyes. Too late? What does he mean by that?

“The two of you have a lot to learn. That can be easily remedied.” Gravelle smiles to himself.

“Where’s Prudence?” I demand. “We know she’s here somewhere—”

Gravelle holds up a hand to silence me. Then he reaches for a bell on a side table and rings it. Its sound fills the vast, impersonal room. Moments later, a diminutive man rushes in. Unlike the guards, he is neither muscular nor intimidating. He bows to Gravelle and speaks in a foreign language I don’t understand. Gravelle responds in the same language. I look to Levi for some explanation. Predictably, he lets no emotion show in his face. He is as stoic as ever. My eyes flit to the door. The two guards stand directly in front of it, their bodies forming a blockade.