Embers & Ice (Rouge) (20 page)

“What’s
going on?” asked Jet.

“Trust
me, it’s important. Just… hang tight.”

With
that, she sprinted past Marcus and Mosi to the door on other side of the room
that led to the boy’s bathroom.

“Where
are you going?” called Marcus.

“To
find Will!”

“There
isn’t enough time!” called Chantal.

“I
don’t care!” Hunter yelled back to them. “I’m not doing any of this without
him.”

Then
she was running, through the door and down the stairs to the secret passageway
in the boy’s bathroom.

THIRTY-FIVE

It
was like something of a dream. The institution felt completely barren as Hunter
sprinted down the empty corridor. She took the second door into the boys
toilets, taps dripping, no sound but the buzzing of electrical lights. It made
her uneasiness rise like dust swept up in a cyclone.

Hunter
slipped through the secret door and kept her hands on the wall to guide her as
she hurried down the old wooden staircase. She winced at the sounds she made,
but knew it was more important to hurry. Once she reached the old quarters and
felt along the wall again, she swung open the door to their room and found Will
sitting on the bed with a book between his hands.

“Hey,
you’re-”

“We
have to go,” she said and grabbed the book.

“What
are you-”

Hunter
intended to throw the book at the wall, snatch Will and run. But her hands
froze when she saw the title ‘Holy Bible’ written in silver script on the black
leather binding.

“You’re
reading the Bible?” she gaped. “Where’d you get this?”

“In
one of the other rooms,” he shrugged. Then his eyes narrowed. “Why does it
matter?”

Hunter
let out a laugh. For some reason she was angry, and she couldn’t understand
why. Not when there were far more important things to worry about. “Because
it’s bullshit. If there’s a God, why are we all being tortured like this?”

“Don’t
ask me, I’m not a priest.” He reached for the book and snatched it back from
her hands, almost protectively. “But I need something better to cling onto in
this awful place Hunter, and after what we just saw with Benji, an almighty God
is good enough for me.”

“Well
cling to this then: we’re getting out of here.”

Will
lowered his hands slowly. “What?”

“Come
on, we don’t have much time. There’s something going on in the labs downstairs,
literally every single security guard has disappeared. We’re completely alone
up there, and it’s the best chance we’ve got right now.”

“But
how?”

She
grabbed his hand and smiled. “So far, I have no idea.”

“Great,”
he sighed, but he didn’t protest when she started pulling him towards the door.

They
crept back into the corridor, the chill sinking deep into their skin and the
puddles from leaks in the pipes making their footsteps all the more obvious.
But just as they were nearing the door to the stairs, Hunter heard something
from behind them and they both spun around.

A
light swished under the crack of the other door at the end of the corridor.
Hunter and Will could hear voices, soft at first but now becoming louder.
Someone was shouting to hurry, and they sped up. More light raced past, as if
from a flashlight.

“Who
is that?” Will uttered in her ear.

“I
dunno,” she said, “but I have a feeling it’s something to do with what’s
happening in Terminal One.”

“Terminal
what? Hunter, what’s going on?”

She
ignored his questions and snatched his sleeve, dragging him down the corridor
and creeping to the door. The voices were dying out to the left.
We’ll lose
them!

“Does
this door open?” She ran her fingers over the dark steel-trap door with a large
latch and no padlock.

“I
dunno, I’ve never-”

Hunter
grabbed the latch and pulled hard towards her. It slid aside with surprising
ease, and the door creaked in. Hunter smiled, put her hand on the door and
pushed.

It
led them to another dark corridor, but a little way down the left they could
see a faint glow of light on the walls.
This must be an old passageway that
the scientists use. The electricity is running, so it has to be useful.

“This
way,” she whispered and started creeping down the low-roofed corridor.

“Hunter,
I know you’re curious and stuff, but I’m not exactly up for more punishment,
okay?” She glanced back at him and could just see the crease in his forehead
half-hidden by his hair. Light from up ahead danced like candlelight in his
eyes. “I don’t want to go through what happened to Benji today.”

Hunter
bit her lip.
He’ll find out soon enough.
She kept walking. “I hate to
tell you this Will, but you don’t have a choice. Seven of us were picked for
the demonstrations. Benji was only the first. You’re up after Mosi.”

Will
kept silent as they walked.

When
they grew closer to the light, Hunter saw that the corridor was a long
underground tunnel lined with fixed light bulbs connected by wiring along the
top. The scientists had vanished without a trace.

“I
thought you said we were going to escape,” said Will as they walked. “What are
we doing down here if the others are upstairs?”

“Why
do you think that all the guards disappeared? Something Dr. Wolfe has kept
hidden is suddenly a threat, and I’d give anything to know what it is. It could
be the key to getting out of here.”

“Or
it could get us into serious trouble.”

Hunter
didn’t reply, even though her heart was skipping beats and her entire body felt
clammy with sweat.

The
corridor took a bend and there were two doors on their left and right. A
flickering bulb in the corner gave them enough light to see the inscription on
each door.

“Morgue,”
Hunter read, “or Cell Block?” She turned to Will. “You pick.”

Will
frowned. “What do they need a morgue for?”

She
peered in through the small barred window. Inside the dark room there was a
bank of square hatches like those used for the storage of safety deposit boxes.
At the back was a giant black door rather like a furnace for cremation. There
were other various objects in the room, but it all looked very morgue-like to
her.

She
backed away so Will could peer inside. “Do you think this is where he puts the
bodies of those who die here?”

Will’s
face paled and she wished she’d never mentioned it. He could only be thinking
that this room would be his death bed sooner rather than later.

He
swallowed. “I guess so.”

Hunter
wrapped her arms around herself. The only thing she could do was put it in the
back of her mind and stew on it later. “Come on, let’s keep going.”

They
took the other door marked ‘Cell Block’. This corridor was lit also by light
bulbs joined with wiring at intervals over cell doors like those in the old
quarters. They were so old, they practically blended into the wall. There were
faint numbers and letters etched along the top between each light bulb, about
two meters apart. Hunter ran her hand down the wall as she went, feeling the
moisture. It was danker down there than in the old quarters, if that were even
possible.

It’s
like we’re in a cave.

Hunter
froze. Will bumped into her back and stopped too. Stretching on her toes,
Hunter strained to see what was written near the ceiling and read the number
‘17’ beside the letters ‘DC’.

“Death
Cave,” she breathed.

“What?”

“All
this time, I thought Zac was referring to the entire institution as Death Cave,
because it’s always so cold. But it came from the scientists, from the guards.
From here. Look,” she pointed to the number on the other side that read ‘16
DC’. “These are all cells. Will,” she turned to him and swallowed down the
sickly lump in her throat. “We just found the real Death Cave.”

Before
Will could open his mouth, there came a very faint sound that raised the hairs
on the back of her neck: A moan for help was coming from the cell on her left.
Hunter turned her head and a scream fell out of her mouth.

There
was a face between the bars.

THIRTY-SIX

“Jenny?”
Joshua shot up in his chair beside the hospital bed. He saw her eyelashes
flicker and something of a mumble escaped her lips. “Can you hear me?”

Jenny’s
eyes fluttered open and she squinted at the bright light. Joshua released the
tension he’d been holding ever since she fainted in his arms. Despite ignoring
her and pretending he didn’t care about the kiss, Joshua still worried, and the
only person he’d ever had to worry about was Hunter.

“What
happened?” Jenny muttered, her voice hoarse.

Joshua
grabbed the plastic cup of water and gently fed it to her. “You had a minor
heart attack. You’ve been asleep for 24 hours, but your vitals are well.”

“A
heart attack? But I thought everything was fine.”

He
stared at her a moment, struggling with the truth. It had been hours since he’d
found out about her illness, and since then he hadn’t been able to get the
thought out of his mind.

“Everything
is fine,” he assured her. “The doctor said it’s uncommon for this type of
occurrence given your condition.”

“My
condition?”

“Yes.
Because of your cancer.”

Jenny
went pale and her small hands clenched the hospital rug. Joshua couldn’t help
but remember the very last time she lay in a bed like this just moments before
he almost killed her. “It’s true, I… I had lung cancer. I’m not a smoker, I was
just unlucky. It was early in the treatment when the fire happened at school,
and then the smoke, it… it accelerated the disease. I was pretty close to dying
when you came, and when I woke up in the lab I thought I was dead.”

“The
doctor said the cancer is gone.”

Jenny’s
eyes suddenly filled with tears. “It’s gone?” A small chuckle escaped her lips.
She reached out for his hand and found it. Joshua flinched, remembering the
other night in the hotel room, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from her
glowing face. “I’m cured. Joshua, you cured me.” Joy coated her words and his
heart throbbed, a strange and warm feeling he’d never felt before. At least,
not in a long time.

“What
do you mean?”

“I
thought there was some mistake, and so I checked everything over in your lab
when you went out. I kept fearing I’d have another episode and pass out, but it
never happened. And that’s when I forgave you. You had no idea, but you saved
my life.”

“I
did it for selfish reasons though.” He took his hand away and shook his head.
“I needed you to help me get Hunter back. She wouldn’t talk to me after what
she thought I did. And I was so lost, I didn’t know how it was possible that
she’d beaten the fire. And… when I went to the hospital and found you I…”

“What?”

“There
was… there was something in your eyes. You reminded me of someone. You were
terrified of me, and that’s understandable, but you were… happy to go. I
thought you’d given up.”

Jenny
shook her head. “I knew my time was coming, but obviously I was wrong. And now…
I don’t care where I go. I’m alive for a reason, and it’s led me here.”

Joshua
was speechless, his throat becoming strangely thick.

“Joshua?”
she continued. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,”
he said hoarsely.

“Why
didn’t you kill me? Why didn’t the ice inside you make you kill me?”

He
grit his teeth. “I guess… I had control all along. Not much, but enough to know
I didn’t want to be a killer. The Iceman told me it was necessary, that I was
doing it for Hunter. But I’m really not that person. I never intended for
anyone to get hurt.”

“Uh…”
There was a knock at the door and Eli stepped inside the room with three
burrito wraps in his hands. “Sorry to interrupt the chick flick moment but… I
brought lunch.”

“Thank
you Eli,” Jenny smiled.

Joshua
grumbled his thanks but was in no mood to eat. He wanted to shoo the boy back
out the door, because he still had questions to ask Jenny.

“Listen
Eli, we-”

“Did
you know there’s a cop outside the room?” he asked casually and bit into his
vegetarian burrito.

Joshua
jumped to his feet. “What? He’s visiting?”

“Nah,”
said the boy through a mouthful of food. A piece of lettuce took a dive on his
knee and he flicked it off. “He’s like right outside our door just… standing
there. He wasn’t there when I left, so I guess he just arrived.”

“Did
he say anything to you?”

Eli
shook his head. Then his expression fell. “Wait, do you think he’s here for
us
?
Oh my God, are we gonna get arrested?”

Both
Eli and Jenny gazed at him and Joshua wished he had something soft to kick
besides Eli. “Jesus, this just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn’t it?”

Eli
stared at the ground as though he wished it would swallow him up. “I’m going to
prison. I’m gonna be someone’s bitch.”

“You’re
not, I am.” Joshua ran a hand through his hair.

Eli
snorted. “Yeah, no offense Joshua, but I think you’re a little less marketable
to bald, fat men with ‘Mom’ tattooed on their biceps than I am.”

Joshua
glared. “You two are supposed to be
dead
, and I’m the only person
attached to you. The doctor must’ve called the cops after pulling up your
record.” Jenny bit her lip. “It’s not your fault,” he added, “I was careless.”

“You
were worried about her, that’s what,” said Eli. He raised his eyebrows up and
down and gave them a smirk, which quickly faded after he caught Joshua’s
murderous, there’s-no-time-for-that glower. “I mean uh… can’t we just tell them
it was a misunderstanding?”

“It’s
not gonna go down that easy kid,” Joshua rushed over to the window and threw
open the curtains. “We can’t talk to the cops; they’ll separate us and try to
pull the truth out, and if that ever happens, we’re all getting hoarded to the
madhouse. Trust me, I know.” He threw Eli his backpack and peered out the
window. “We need to get out of here. Can you walk Jenny?”

She
sat up slowly, ripped out her IV cords and winced. “Yeah. I think so.”

“Good.
I’ll go out first and grab the car, meet me out the front in three minutes.”

The
two of them nodded and watched Joshua duck under the open window and drop onto
the bed of roses outside. Silently he thanked God it wasn’t a two story
hospital room and hurried around the back of the building.

First
her heart attack and now I’ve got the cops on my ass? What a day this has been.
And if the police know we’re here, the Agents can’t be far behind.

The
howling wind had settled to a wispy breeze as he sprinted to the car park, the
lights from the street lamps making the pavement shine around him. For a moment
he had the feeling he was being followed and spun on his heels with his hands
raised, ready for men in black suits to attack. But the car park was empty.

Joshua
put his hand in his pocket to fetch his keys, turned back around and felt his heart
leap out of his chest at the sight of a man dressed in a neat suit and red
striped tie standing a car length away. He smiled, his hands clasped firmly
around the handgun pointed at Joshua’s chest.

“Joshua
Harrison,” he grinned. “Long time no see, eh buddy?”

Joshua
gaped, so shocked he didn’t think to defend himself.

“Jesus…”
he breathed. “Barry?”