Deviants (11 page)

Burn strides to the window and picks up a rope he’s tied to a steel girder where the frame for a window used to be. He’s pulling it, measuring out lengths, then, choosing a place to grab hold, he wraps it around his thick wrist. “Are you coming?” He glares at me but is smart enough to turn away before I gain focus. He steps over the girder and balances precariously on the edge of the building.

On Burn’s back, my brother hangs helplessly out the window. If Burn releases those straps, or they break, my brother will fall to his death.

“Why use the rope?” I point to the adjacent building. “Why not jump across there?” I’ve seen the power in his legs.

“Too far down. Plus, too risky right now.”

“Why?” Maybe if I reason with him, he’ll step back into the room, instead of leaning out of it, and I can figure out a way to get Drake off his back. “If someone sees you taking Drake, what difference does it make if you’re climbing down a rope or jumping through the air?”

“Stupid to advertise my gift.”

“Gift?”

“Deviance.” He says the word like it tastes bad, and then rechecks the straps holding Drake. Yanking the rope, as if to test its hold one final time, he looks up to me. “Are you coming or not?”

“Halt. Compliance!” someone yells and the door bursts open. Three Comps, followed by Cal, crash into the room; their heavy boots boom against the wooden floors.

Burn grabs my arm.

“Let her go,” Cal calls out. “Stop him.”

Indecision grabs my belly. Should I stay? Trust Burn with my brother?

The Comps point their shockers but don’t shoot, and I realize that if they hit Burn, all three of us will fall out of the thirty-two-story window.

“Now or never,” Burn nearly growls in my ear.

“Glory, I love you,” Cal says and my indecision vanishes.

Cal’s a liar. He betrayed me. Betrayed my brother.

I’ll miss Jayma, but beyond that there’s nothing left for me here.

I nod to Burn, he clamps his arm around my waist and, holding the rope in one hand, jumps back.

My heart leaps to my throat as we fall.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

^“C
AN
I
AT
least move?” I shift against the bulk of Burn’s body. “Trust me. I won’t leave without my brother.”

For what feels like hours, he’s had me pinned beside him in the corner of this tiny space he pushed me into after we dropped from the window. All I know is we’re below ground level, underneath our building, in a small space that’s dark and dirty. He’s only cranked his torch once, just so Drake and I could see that we were both present and unharmed. I can hear my brother breathing, moving every now and again, but otherwise I’m blinded in the complete darkness.

It’s fine for Burn. His strange glasses are special goggles that let him see in the dark. My skin crawls, thinking how he can see me but I can’t see him. Having any boy so near right now turns my stomach, never mind one as scary as Burn. Over the past hours, I’ve searched for another explanation
for the Comps’ arrival on our floor, their pursuit, Cal’s involvement—but I keep landing at the same conclusion.

Cal betrayed me and the weight of the truth is almost as heavy as Burn. Worse, every few moments his betrayal stabs me, poking holes in my confidence and belief in my judgment. Have I done the wrong thing again, by trusting Burn to help us escape?

“What is this place?” I ask.

“Bottom of a garbage chute.” Burn’s deep voice fills the space.

“What’s a garbage chute?” Drake asks, sounding genuinely curious.

“
“Before The Dust”—Burn shifts, moving me—“people dropped their garbage down here from the upper floors.”

“What’s garbage?” Drake asks. While I’ve heard the word, I can’t remember what it means.

“Waste. Scraps,” Burn says. “Things people don’t need.”

“He asked an honest question.” I poke Burn’s hard arm. “The least you could do is give him an honest answer.” I cross my arms over my chest and wonder if he can see my gesture in the dark. I have no idea which way he’s looking. But if he wants me to believe there was a time when people simply threw things away, dropped them down some kind of chute, he really must think me gullible.

“What did they throw away?” Drake asks.

“Skins. Bones,” Burn answers. “Pits from fruit. Old clothes. Things people didn’t want.”

“Wow.” Drake sounds more like ten than thirteen. “BTD everyone in Haven must have been rich.”

“Guess so.”

“If they threw away food scraps,” Drake asks, “how did they make soil?”

“Yes,” I say. “Your story about garbage doesn’t make sense.”

“Soil just formed.” Burn’s voice is low and deep, but reveals no annoyance at our questioning.

“By magic?” Drake asks.

“No, not magic,” Burn says. “Things in nature automatically decompose into soil.”

“What’s nature?” Drake asks.

“Plants and animals—but not on a farm. Okay, on a farm, too. But not like the farms in Haven. Farms in the open air, not inside factories.”

“Cool.”

Hearing Drake excited about Burn’s stories, about anything, lifts my spirits and I start to relax. No longer straining against Burn’s bulk, his weight pushing against me starts to feel more like a blanket than a burden.

“How long will we stay here in the dark?” Drake asks.

“Not much longer.” Burn shifts his legs against mine. “We’ll wait until they’ve stopped searching this area.”

“How do you know where they’re searching?” I ask. “Can you read the Comps’ minds or sense their presence?” I intended this as sarcasm. But after saying it, I realize I have no idea what abilities come with Burn’s Deviance. All I know is he scares me.

“I’ve studied the Comps’ patterns, their routines,” Burn answers calmly, not taking the bait my tone tossed out.

“When we get out of here,” I say, “I could use your help getting Drake to our new home.”

“New home?”

“I found us a new place to live.”

Burn grunts. “That roof? You can’t live there.”

My nails dig into my palms. “You were following me?” Of course he was.

He doesn’t answer.

“I suppose you’ve got a better plan?” I try to move my legs. “What is it?”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’ll find out now, or we won’t go anywhere with you.” Frustration builds inside me, and I wish I could think of a way to escape this situation without relying on Burn. I don’t trust him.

“He’s taking us to see Dad.” My brother sounds as if he’s being taken on an adventure, or out for a treat.

“Drake”—I rub Mom’s ring—“Dad can’t be alive. On the off chance that he is, he’s a Shredder. I’m sorry to be so harsh about it, but it’s the truth.”

“Is he a Shredder?” Drake’s voice quavers.

“No.” Burn’s voice is low. “Your Dad’s fine. Trust me.”

Drake’s hand lands on my foot. “We’ll be a family again.”

Not a family. Not without Mom. My insides cave in like I’m using my curse against myself. An aching pain traces through me, but I replace it with rage. “Even if Dad’s alive, how can you be excited to see him? He killed Mom. He ruined our family. Ruined everything.”

Burn whispers something I can’t hear.

“What?”

Burn shifts. “First things first. We need to get past the Comps.”

I grit my teeth, but he’s right. This is no time to cry over what’s lost. I need to be practical, think of what’s ahead, even though it’s veiled with uncertainty.

I move my arm and the dating license digs into my wrist. Suddenly, it’s like the bracelet’s made of acid. I twist and wrench, sliding it down. The pain’s so intense I wonder if I’m breaking my bones, but finally I slide it off. Pulling my hand back, I start to toss the license but stop. I don’t want to hit Drake with the offensive projectile and—I’m not ready to throw out the past.

I shove it into my pocket. In spite of my disappointment in Cal, my anger at Burn, and my determination to survive, sadness creeps inside me, pinching and poking into every available opening. I’m tempted to yield. To let sadness overtake me. To complain. To cry. But I won’t. I’ve worked too hard to block my emotions, and dwelling on the past few days—how everything became so wonderful then horrible all at once—is dangerous.

Feeling sorry for myself won’t do any good. I need a plan. And if Burn’s not lying, if he really is taking us to see our father, I’ll have a chance to confront him, to accuse him, to show him the depth of my hate and—a chill races through me—my hate kills.

“We shouldn’t go this way,” I tell Burn. “Too close to the Hub.”

He turns toward me, a scowl on his face. Drake’s still
under the oversized coat, except now he’s strapped onto Burn’s chest, facing him, like Drake’s an infant. I have to admit that unless I look closely, it’s hard to tell he’s there. It’s more like Burn’s even huger and bulkier.

Limping, I rush to keep up and then tug on his arm. “If we go to the Hub, we’ll get caught.”

Burn turns to me, fire in his eyes. “Quiet,” he says, “and keep moving. Fast.”

He turns sharply into an alley that’s so narrow his shoulders rub on both sides. The light grows even darker as the slowly brightening sky is blocked by short bridges between the buildings above us. He turns another corner and I recognize this alley. It’s the alley where I first saw Burn, and it leads directly to the Hub.

He stops and I slam into his back. He looks around quickly and then goes down on one knee.

“Don’t be scared, Drake,” I say. “I’m right here.”

“Hush.” With a swipe of his arm, Burn pushes me back against the wall, then scans the alley for movement. Bending, he rubs his hands over a rough spot on the road until his finger catches a small metal ring. Hooking the ring with his index finger, he lifts a huge iron disk as if it weighs nothing, right from the surface of the road. It reveals a deep, dark hole. Great. He’s going to toss us into a pit.

“You first.” He points to the hole and I try to shake my head, but my neck’s seized in fear.

“Take the ladder,” he says. “Wait at the bottom. Move. Now.” His voice is quiet but comes out with cannon force. When I don’t move he adds, “You’re not strong enough to
pull the cover shut behind us, so if you’re coming, you’re first. Move—now.”

My body sparks into action. I crouch down, and after verifying that there is, in fact, a ladder starting just below the road’s surface, I reach for the top rung. But before I can get a good grip, Burn lifts me and shoots my legs down the hole. I stifle a scream, but he lowers me slowly enough to give me a chance to catch the ladder with my hands and feet. In seconds, the light disappears as Burn and Drake move into the hole above me.

Vibrations from the ladder buzz through my hands and arms and shoulders, so I quicken my pace to avoid having one of his huge boots land on my fingers. This is crazy. I’m climbing down into a bottomless pit with no light or end but it’s not like the streets above are safer. Not for us. Not anymore.

My foot reaches down for a rung, but doesn’t find one. Moving down, I stretch, my leg searching for the ground. What now?

Burn’s pounding feet continue above me then stop. “Jump!” he barks.

Drawing a deep breath, I push off and let go, bending my legs in anticipation. The impact sends pain shooting up my spine and into my joints. My injured ankle screams in protest.

“Out of the way!” Burn yells.

I leap back and air rushes past me as he lands with a huge thump inches away.

“Drake?” I need to hear his voice.

“I’m fine.” He barely sounds scared, and while I’m relieved, I almost want to be angry. Doesn’t he know that he’s strapped to the body of a crazy and dangerous boy who could very well plan to eat us for dinner?

Burn turns on a torch that reveals a small space. It’s a miracle I didn’t slam my head on the wall when I jumped back. Another few inches and I’d have knocked myself out. Burn loosens his coat and Drake lifts his face from Burn’s chest.

“You okay?” Burn asks.

Drake grins. He actually grins.

“Once we go through there”—Burn gestures to a door I just noticed—“keep close to me and don’t talk. Look like you know where you’re going. We need to move quickly, make sure no one stops us to ask for our numbers.”

“What’s out there?” I ask.

“A mall. Only Management’s allowed, but we need to cut through it to get to the tunnel’s entrance.”

“What’s a mall?” Drake asks and I’m glad, because I want to know, too.

“A mall’s a cluster of underground stores with a corridor down the middle.” Burn turns to me. “Act like you belong.”

I stifle a laugh. Since I discovered my curse, all I’ve done is pretend to belong. “Did you mention a tunnel?”

Burn nods without really answering. I know from Cal that Haven has a series of tunnels running outward from the main city like spokes. Since the city boundaries are fixed, there’s no other way to expand, and from what I understand, most of them are used for storage and manufacturing. Burn
must live in the tunnels.

“Keep close,” he says gruffly. “And be quiet.”

He opens the door, and then wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me into his side. I feel Drake’s leg through the coat and hope we’re not hurting him. He can’t feel but he can bruise.

But any thoughts of protest are overtaken by the sights and smells around me. It’s like we’ve walked out into an entirely different city, something from a story. It’s well lit down here and the colors are overwhelming. It’s not that I’ve never seen colors before, but these are so much brighter and stronger, as if everything else I’ve seen has been muted, painted over by a thin film of gray. My dingy jacket that I thought was green, looks brown.

And the smells. Fresh fruits and vegetables cover tables at the front of some shops—just sitting there!—and I wonder how the shopkeepers prevent people from stealing. I don’t see any Comps, but there must be cameras. I look around but don’t see any. A woman, dressed in a bright red dress and high-heeled shoes, made out of shiny black leather, studies an apple and then places it into a small basket along with a leafy plant that’s as big as a head. She picks up something yellow that looks fresh and shiny with a green stem at its top, and then she steps up to the shopkeeper and hands him a card that he scans and passes back to her.