Page 28

Breathe in obedience. Exhale dissent.

“Come in, Brock?”

They whirled in shock at the voice echoing from the device.

“Yes, hello?! We are reaching you from Apollo.” Adan’s eyes danced with excitement as he gripped the walkie-talkie.

The ensuing long pause made her muscles tighten.

“What comes alive in the shadow of the night?” the cryptic man asked.

Adan reeled back in confusion. “What?”

“What comes alive in the shadow of the night?” The masculine voice pitched lower.

“I…I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re not with Brock. I’m ending the line.”

“No, no!” She snatched the walkie out of Adan’s hands. “This is Khalani Kanes from Apollo. We need your help. The crops in Apollo are dying, and our leaders aren’t doing anything to stop it. They’ve already started killing people. We need the city of Hermes to help us, or we’re going to die,” she rasped, holding the walkie close to her mouth .

A lengthy silence crept through the narrow space like a knife waiting to strike. Even Takeshi leaned forward, waiting for an answer.

“If you’re not part of their government, how did you get this secure line from Brock?”

“We are being held as prisoners in Apollo, along with Brock. They confiscated all his belongings, but we managed to steal his walkie back. I’m telling you the truth. Please…you need to help us,” she begged.

The unknown man didn’t respond.

Khalani’s fingers trembled as she clung to the faintest thread of hope that their suffering hadn’t been in vain.

“I’m sorry. Hermes can’t help you,” the unknown voice stated.

“Did you not hear what I just said?”

“I heard you perfectly. But if what you say is true, Hermes will not send help. Not when the same thing is happening over here.”

Derek exchanged a wide-eyed glance with her. “What did you say?”

“The killing is not only in your city. Our leadership in Hermes has started placing our homeless and outcasts in work camps. And once you go in, there’s no coming out. So, if you’re looking for Hermes to send Apollo resources or manpower, you’re wasting your breath.”

Adan turned away in disgust, and Khalani’s shoulders hunched. They were too late. They would lose everything.

Everything .

“But you might still make it.” The man’s voice crept through the static like oxygen.

She clutched the device tighter. “What do you mean?”

“There’s a resistance group within Hermes who may be able to help you. The Death-Zoner, Brock, was one of them, and he delivered needed supplies from Apollo. If you want to survive, you must travel to Hermes.”

The hard lines of Takeshi’s body went rigid next to her, his energy becoming more overpowering by the second, filling up the entire room with his presence, a silent predator waiting to pounce.

And by the looks of it, on her.

“We can’t escape,” she breathed into the walkie. “The radiation suits are locked away, and we wouldn’t know where to go. ”

“If you can escape, Brock is your only way of survival. He can guide you to us, but you need to leave soon while the weather is still good. Contact me when you reach the Gateway Arch, and I will sneak you into Hermes. This is your only chance, so take it or die. Goodbye.” The line went dead.

They stood in complete and utter silence, staring at each other incredulously.

“Shit,” someone whispered.

“Do you believe him?” Khalani asked.

Adan frowned in disbelief. “He didn’t sound like he was lying.”

“What are the chances of Apollo and Hermes experiencing the same crop failure?”

“Astronomically low,” Derek muttered. Khalani raked her hand down her face. The prospect of them traveling to Hermes, on the surface? The idea was insane.

“Give me the walkie,” Takeshi demanded, holding out his hand.

She hesitated, unable to read his cool expression. Even in the face of unfathomable news, Takeshi always kept his composure, his face the most challenging book to read. His scorching eyes were unyielding, and she reluctantly handed him the walkie.

“Are you going to report us?” she asked as he placed the device in his back pocket, fear sliding through her veins like icy-cold water.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Listen to me carefully. You don’t mention this to anyone, understand?” He leveled each of them with a harsh glare and waited until they nodded. “There is no making plans or plotting escape until I find out more information. Is that understood, Kanes ?”

Her lips drew together as Takeshi centered his fierce gaze on her. He was the last person she wanted to take orders from, but they had no other choice now.

“Fine.”

“Good. Now, walk out this door and don’t look back.” His deep voice reverberated in the enclosed space with such authority, they quickly obeyed and rushed out of the tight closet .

Takeshi’s body heat crowded her space, and the memory of his tongue tracing her neck made her ungraciously slide out the door as fast as she could.

She smoothed her dress, trying to calm her erratic breathing, and hurried back to the kitchen, afraid of her own actions if she looked back.

****

Back in Braderhelm, she continued to work on autopilot, there physically but gone mentally. Her thoughts were consumed by what the mysterious man suggested.

Escape.

Leaving Apollo behind and fleeing to Hermes for refuge.

Traversing the deadly surface of the earth.

Her chest tightened further, not from fear, but because the idea coiled inside her heart like a breath of fresh air after drowning in coarse gravel.

Every sign pointed away from Apollo, and the voices in her mind that begged Khalani to find the truth no longer spoke faintly. Answers lay on the horizon, and after ceding control her entire life, she would no longer sit back and let someone else decide her ending.

“Look,” Serene whispered. “There’s Brock.”

Khalani, Serene, Derek, and Adan hovered in the far corner of the pit. It took little convincing for them to agree that trusting or waiting for Captain Steele wasn’t viable. They needed to escape Braderhelm.

For themselves. For each other.

Even if it meant risking death.

Luck and grace were never staples in Khalani’s life. In fact, she always thought that God had it out for her. But looking at the people surrounding her, ready to sacrifice what was left of their lives for one another, she’d never felt more fortunate.

Khalani turned and narrowed her eyes. Brock was by himself, at the other end of the pit. Alone .

“Let’s go.”

The muscles in Brock’s back constricted as he did push-ups on the ground. Sweat gleamed down his spine. He glared at the ground with such intensity that she hesitated to interrupt him, remembering the swift death he delivered in the pit.

“Sorry to interrupt, Brock.” Her voice shook. “Can we talk to you for a few minutes?”

“No,” Brock growled, continuing to lower himself to the ground.

She glanced at the others warily, and Serene not-so-subtly pushed her forward.

“It’s really important, and I think you’ll want to hear this.”

“Get beat, kid.”

Khalani glared at him and got down on her haunches. “You can’t be more than a few years older than me, so don’t call me kid. We made contact with one of your resistance members in Hermes,” she whispered the last part.

Brock stopped mid-push-up and bounded to his feet. His forehead pinched together, and Brock stepped forward aggressively, the intensity in his grey eyes unsettling her.

“You contacted Hermes? How?”

Brock listened intently as she explained what happened in Genesis, occasionally glancing around to see if anyone stepped close enough to overhear them. His jaw clenched when she finished.

“I know what you’re going to ask me, and the answer is no. I can’t get you to Hermes.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“What do you mean?” Adan leaned in closer. “You can’t get us the radiation suits?”

Brock let out a low laugh. “You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. The radiation suits aren’t a problem because they aren’t even a factor.”

She drew back. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“This information would kill you. But according to you, we’ll all be dead in a year anyway.” His expression hardened. “On my last supply drop heading back to Apollo, I was attacked.”

“By who? Other Death-Zoners?” Derek asked.

“No. I don’t know who they were, probably citizens from Hermes who managed to escape to the surface. They followed me for a few days. You can imagine my surprise when they weren’t wearing radiation suits and showed no signs of radiation poisoning.” Brock glared beyond them.

“Are you sure? That can’t be possible.” Her mouth hung open.

Brock scoffed at her. “I’m sure, sweetheart. I managed to shoot them before they could overcome me. I returned to Apollo and requested a private meeting with the Governor, which he granted. I informed him of everything I saw, and an hour later, I was thrown into Braderhelm without a trial. The Governor spared my life because he didn’t want to draw attention to my death, and he knew my words would be meaningless down here.”

Khalani stared at the ground in shock. Everything Winnie had been telling her was true.

What if Timothy Talbot was real, too?

“Are you telling us that the surface is survivable?” Derek breathed out in disbelief.

“Just now putting two and two together?” Brock scoffed.

“But that doesn’t make sense. If that’s true, why are we still stuck underground?”

He tilted his head. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?”

The tension grew thicker with the weight of his implications, nearly suffocating the air.

Were they forced to live underground, never to walk the Earth’s surface, all because of a lie?

She listed to the side, feeling like she might throw up.

“But if the surface is no longer polluted with radiation, why won’t you help us?” Adan interrupted.

“Have you looked around lately? They’ve doubled up on security. There’s a secret entrance to the surface, not far from Braderhelm. It is one the Death-Zoner’s use, but we’d be shot long before we made it close. For an escape plan to even be feasible, we’d need a guard to help, and in case you haven’t noticed, those are in short supply.” Brock rolled his eyes. “It’s over. Just accept it, as I have. ”

Khalani wrung her hands together. The answer to their problem was on the tip of her tongue, but she was afraid to say it. Terrified of the implications.

“If we find a guard on our side, would you help us then?”

The others turned to her in surprise, and Brock raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“That’s not what I asked. Let me worry about who.” Her eyes blazed with determination. “I know you hate Apollo just as much as we do. You can either stay here and rot, or fight with us and escape.”

“No man has ever escaped Braderhelm.” Brock crossed his arms. “You stand no chance of surviving.”

“Is that so?” She inched closer, and Brock’s feverish eyes narrowed. “Then a woman must not have tried yet.”

Brock studied her for a few moments and let out a crack of a smile. “You talk a big game when I could kill you where you stand. But I’ll give you the chance to defy death. Or attempt to, rather. I will help only if you manage to get a guard to aid our escape. If not, you’re on your own. Don’t talk to me again until you have an update.” Brock walked away.

Serene stared after him with her mouth agape and turned to Khalani incredulously. “You’re not going to say what I think you are about to say.”

“It needs to be Takeshi,” she said in a clipped voice, hating the words escaping her mouth.

They argued with her.

“He is the Captain. That is suicide.”

“I know he didn’t turn us in, but he helped kill all those prisoners.”

She held her hands up. “Trust me, I know what you guys are thinking. But he’s literally the only one whom we could even ask. If he says no, we will just have to do the plan without Brock. We have to try.”

They frowned, unhappy about it, but they eventually conceded.

Khalani took a deep breath, readying herself to confront the one person who unraveled her the most.

The one who restarted her heart only to break it with his own hands.

It was time to face Takeshi.