Page 52

AUTUMN

T he basement stretches on farther than I thought.

I press on, staying close to Jace. Everything is pitch black at first after reaching the edge of the lightbulb we turned on, but then Jace finds a candle.

When he lights it, I almost wish he hadn’t.

The soft glow reveals narrow corridors winding into the shadows, walls sweating with something damp and streaked with dried brown stains I refuse to believe are anything but rust. The decay and mildew cling to my skin and the stink of it all settles into my lungs.

The flame of his candle flickers as we move deeper.

His gun remains raised in one hand, while he holds the candle with the other.

“Are you doing okay?” I ask, nodding to the candle.

Jace turns his attention to me and his dark brown eyes hold an intensity that takes my breath away. “After seeing you trapped inside a burning car, no fire on this earth can ever cripple me again.”

My stomach flutters at his words and lift onto my toes to give him a quick, sweet kiss before continuing our search.

Lucy’s cries of denial echo out behind us, and I feel so bad for her.

She never knew she played a part in her brothers’ secret dealings, and now she’ll never be able to go back to her normal life.

Or, whatever counts as normal nowadays. The faces of the women locked behind the bars, their skin bruised and their eyes hollow.

That’s something I doubt she’ll ever be able to unsee. I know I couldn’t.

We move past another rusted pipe, and the shadows pool around us thicker. I wrap my hands around Jace’s arm. “I don’t think there’s another way out,” I whisper.

Jace grunts and scans the walls. “You think they’re smart enough to cover their exits?”

“I think they’re smart enough to trap people.”

We check every inch of the walls, looking for seams, hidden panels, anything that might indicate a concealed door. My fingers trace along the damp concrete, feeling for irregularities.

“There has to be another way out,” I mutter to myself more than to anyone in particular. “No one builds a place like this without an escape route. Even if the brothers covered it up.”

Lucy’s voice echoes faintly behind us, still arguing with herself and stumbling through denial. “My brothers wouldn’t. This isn’t who they are.”

I clench my jaw and swallow the heat that flares up in my chest, choosing to save that fire for the ones who deserve it.

The corridor opens into a smaller room. Crates are stacked on top of each other and tattered clothes are strewn over broken furniture. This looks like an old office of some kind. I immediately start checking around the perimeter for hidden doors or panels.

Jace lowers the candle, casting shadows that stretch along the walls.

His face hardens when his gaze catches something partially tucked behind one of the crates.

I follow his line of sight and see papers.

His lips move into a thin line. He reaches for them and flips through the brittle sheets.

His eyes must catch on something, because his body stills.

“What is it?” I step closer. He tilts the papers for me to see the G.L. stamped clean at the bottom of the page. I turn the page to the next. There it is again. And again. My heart skips a beat. “Where is this from?”

“Genesis Labs,” Jace answers. “You were right. G.L. isn’t a person, it’s a place.”

I take the papers from him and scan through them as quick as I can.

Reports. Lists of names with dates and descriptions.

“These are records of people they’ve taken.

Look.” I point at one entry in particular.

“Purple hair, female, age 22-24, immune candidate. Exchange for medication.” My throat tightens, but I force out the words anyway.

“They were tracking Summer. Or me. Both of us, maybe. They knew about her before they took her.”

“Immune candidate?” Jace reads over my shoulder. “Immune to what?”

I flip through more pages, my hands trembling with rage and shock. “Wait. Here.” I stop on a page with more detailed notes. “Subject shows no infection after multiple exposure tests. Blood work indicates potential for vaccine development. Requesting transfer to main facility.”

Jace’s expression darkens. “They’re experimenting on people. They’re looking for someone with immunity to the virus.”

“And they traded Summer to this Genesis Labs.” My voice sounds hollow even to my own ears. “They’re human traffickers with a fractured superhero complex. They round people up and sell them to whoever these G.L. people are, but not before running these sick tests on them first.”

Jace carefully tucks the papers into his jacket. “We need to show these to Mars and Caspian.”

There’s a whistle, then a crash, then a thud. A body slams down the stairs in a flash of platinum blond .

“Caspian.” I run back down the corridor and turn in time to see him hit the bottom of the stairs. He groans, and blood collects at the corner of his mouth. I dart through the dim basement and drop to my knees beside him, then cradle his head in my lap with shaking hands.

“I’m sorry,” he groans, trying to sit up.

“Stop,” I whisper, brushing his hair back. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay.”

My words die when I look up at the three figures standing at the top of the stairs, grinning down at me.

“Thought we heard rats in the basement,” one of them sneers, tapping a knife against his thigh while his lips smack together as he chews gum. “Isn’t that right, Richy? Thought we had rats.”

My hand flies to the knife at my waist, and my grip tightens around the handle. I shift my body to protect Caspian.

I look up into the grinning face of the annoying gum-chewer. “No, not rats. Wolves. And we’re done running.”