Run (The Hunted) (19 page)

“I hate the carnival,” Milo says. “Too many damned clowns.”

They all laugh, but Reid’s dies early as he pictures the hunters in that role. He’ll never think of clowns the same again.

“So maybe some of us explore while the rest look for the fence.” Drew shakes his head before he’s done speaking. “No that’s stupid. We shouldn’t split up.” He sighs and looks at Reid. “What do you think?”

Just like that they are focused on him and he knows whatever he says they will do. Reid wants to run away, to find the fence and the gate and escape. But for some reason he can’t bring himself to abandon this chance to maybe buy a little freedom and time to find another way out.

“Could this still be a working mine?” Reid asks. “From the other end I mean?”

Drew looks skeptical. “Doubt it.”

Reid thinks about it another minute. “Okay, we have two choices, right? Go back out there and find the fence and maybe the gate. Or we try our luck in here and blow the entrance so the hunters can’t get in.”

They all look shocked. “Blow the entrance?” Milo’s mouth hangs open. “Seal us in here?”

“The thing is,” Reid says, “they may have set up the mine to trap us but they don’t know we have a way to keep them out as much as us in.” The more he thinks about it, the more he likes the idea. “Right? And mines, they have water sources, don’t they? And there are always other exits. Always.”

Drew is nodding even though he still looks like he wants to correct Reid’s thinking. Leila just hugs Milo.

“Outside we’re dead meat.” Now that Joel’s little pact is done the hunters will come after them just for spite. “In here, maybe we have a chance.”

“To starve to death, or die in a cave-in,” Milo says.

“True.” Reid crosses his arms over his chest. “But those are our choices, so pick one.”

No one says anything. Milo clears his throat after a moment while Drew shuffles his feet, small rocks making scratching noises on the stone floor of the tunnel. Leila finally sighs.

“We put it to a vote.” Her eyes lift to Reid’s. “We ask everyone what they want to do. This isn’t a dictatorship. It’s not even a democracy really.” Her smile is small and wavering, but it’s brave and Reid is grateful for it. “At this point it’s all together or go it alone. Whatever we decide as a group, if someone disagrees, they can leave.”

She is right, of course. They have no control over what the others want.

“All right, then,” Reid says. “Let’s go talk to them.”

They emerge into full light and find the pack of kids huddled right at the mine mouth. Marcus sits a bit apart from them, shredding the bark from a stick. He meets Reid’s eyes for only a second before dropping to focus back to what he is doing.

Reid lays out the plans to the group. When they hear about the fence, some are shocked but most, it turns out, know about it already.

“There’s no gate,” Marcus says.

“Actually, technically, there has to be.” Drew goes into teacher mode. “Most likely more than one. Otherwise, how did they get us in here?”

No one argues.

Plan number two is greeted with far less enthusiasm. Some of the kids start to cry and Marcus actually leaps to his feet in protest.

“You’re insane,” he says, whole body trembling. “We won’t have to wait on the hunters. You’ll kill us all.”

After that announcement, those who weren’t crying start and those who were, sob. Reid wants to take the arrogant asshole and shake him. Instead he waits them out, long enough for their fear to cool down before going on.

“Those are our choices. It’s that or sit here and wait for the hunters to get us. Because running is taking us nowhere. It’s just wearing us down so we’re easier to catch.”

Someone hiccups past an indrawn breath, but no one challenges him. There’s nothing to challenge. Reid is right and they all know it.

“The fence, then,” Marcus says. “And your hypothetical gate.”

Kids nod, wipe away tears and snot. Reid hears Drew sigh beside him and turns his head just a little, enough for the boy to whisper in his ear.

“They won’t make it that far.”

Drew is right, of course. Reid has no idea how long it’s been since any of them had water. It’s been over a day for him and he’s feeling the affects again. The stream and the lake are both too far and too dangerous. Unless they can find another water source none of them will get to the fence, let alone be in any shape to make a plan to escape once they find the gate.

Reid decides to try one more time, using the last thread of hope he has been holding on to in an effort to convince them. “There’s a chance,” he doesn’t want to lie to them, “that if we do find an exit from the mine, it will be on the other side of the fence.”

He doesn’t know it for sure. But he has a feeling this mine is their way out, a flaw in the hunter’s plans. Especially if they can seal the entrance and keep the hunters out long enough to maneuver their way to the other side of the mountain.

He feels them sway toward him, but Marcus is quick to counter the change in mood.

“How do you know there’s another way out?” He is through the pack, standing in front of Reid. Again the challenge hangs between them, Marcus too timid to grasp it physically, but having no problem using words.

“Of course there is,” Drew answers for Reid. “There has to be. It’s a safety thing. All mines have an extra exit.”

Reid has almost won them thanks to Drew. He puts the final shove on the pack, speaking past Marcus. “You don’t have to come. You can all decide and do what you want. But I’m going in the mine, with or without you. I’d rather face the uncertainty in there knowing at least I’m not being hunted than stay out here and run until I can’t anymore. Until they catch me and gut me.”

They don’t get a chance to answer. The howl of a hunter does it for them.

The call is so close they panic and race into the mine as one. Reid shoves his way inside after them, calling for Drew. “The dynamite!” Drew is way ahead of him, letting the kids rush past, guarding the precious explosives with his body. Reid reaches him just as the last two kids run by and hears Drew grunt in pain. He clutches his left hand to his chest as Reid kneels beside him. One look tells Reid the bad news. Three fingers are bent at odd angles. He curses and tries to take Drew’s hand, but the boy shakes his head, light flashing from his glasses.

“It’s fine,” he says. “Get the sticks.”

Reid gathers them carefully and hurries back to the entrance, Drew on his heels. Marcus and a couple of the other kids are still there. He is speaking to Leila in a hushed whisper and she is listening. Nodding. Reid doesn’t have time to think past the jab of jealousy that makes him flinch. She looks up when he emerges at a run before glancing away again. Is that guilt he saw on her face?

Milo tugs his arm. “They’re coming!”

“Get inside,” Reid says. “Watch the others. Make sure they don’t go too far or get hurt.” He spins back to Marcus as Milo takes a deep breath and plunges into the darkness. “Still want to make a run for it?” A hunter howls. So close it makes Reid’s flesh crawl. But he holds his ground, six sticks of dynamite in his hands.

“I guess we’ll have to do it your way.” Marcus moves past Reid and disappears into the tunnel. Leila follows him. She hesitates next to Reid as though she is going to say something.

“We have to hurry.” He knows it comes out gruff, but he can’t deal with this right now. She bobs her head and leaves him there with Drew.

The boy still cradles his broken hand and looks as panicked as Reid feels.

“You’re not kidding.” His head comes up and he shudders when another howl echoes closer. The hunters have almost found them.

“What do I do?” Reid turns and looks at the mine entrance.

“We need to find holes to stick the dynamite in.” Drew points at one. “There, right there, see it?”

Reid does, though he is sure he wouldn’t have if Drew didn’t point it out. A small crack sits just past the entrance, only wide enough to shove the stick in sideways. The wick hangs out, dangling down.

“Great,” Drew says, “now take the extra line and splice it on.”

“What extra?” Reid spins on his friend and Drew groans.

“There was a spool of primer cord in that box,” he says. “Here, leave these with me.” Drew makes a pouch with the bottom of his t-shirt, using his healthy thumb and index finger on his left hand to do it. He hisses when Reid dumps in the weight of the five sticks. “Now go get it!”

Reid runs. He makes it to the rubble and the box in record time, barely registering that his breath is shallow, or the burn in his legs from the dash. He’s just too used to being afraid for it to trouble him any more. He can hear the murmurs of the frightened kids and spots them just past the pile of dirt, waiting for him. But he can’t think about them right now.

He hunts around for a bit, desperately looking for what Drew told him about and almost gives up before he spots the spool of thread-like cord lying on the other side of the tunnel. Someone must have kicked it during the dash for safety.

Reid grabs it and runs for the entrance, his heart lifting. Finally something is going right for a change.

***

Chapter Twenty Four

When the tunnel entrance collapses in front of him, Reid is so shocked he almost doesn’t stop himself in time. He has to back-pedal, crouch and cover to keep from being hurt or killed by the falling rubble. The entire front of the mine gives way with a horrible grinding and grumbling roll of destruction. It takes a moment for the rocks to settle, but Reid is already moving before they do—while calling out Drew’s name.

He coughs and chokes on the dust, forcing his way forward, slamming his shins into sharp boulders, ankle aching from twisting over a clump of rocks. Reid’s mind is empty of thoughts of himself, the pain a distant cry he ignores. He can only think of the boy he left behind at the tunnel mouth, his friend now somewhere in the wreckage.

Reid forces his way on, the spool of cord still clutched in his hand. It’s almost completely dark in the tunnel now, most of the entry blocked by chunks of rock and debris, only thin lines of light seeping through the cracks, dust swirling in the penetrating shafts of sun.

“Drew!” Reid spits out a wad of dirt, lungs burning for another reason. “Drew!”

“H-here.”

Reid spots a familiar penny loafer and dives for it. He travels up the boy’s leg to his chest and finally finds his head. There is enough light to see him by, a convenient beam reaching the rocks above his face as Reid forces a large stone out of his path so he can reach his friend.

Reid gasps at the sight of Drew and draws back, heart clenching, mind fleeing from the truth.

Drew’s mouth is coated in blood, his glasses askew, one lens shattered. And still he manages a lopsided smile even as he struggles for air. “Hey, Reid.”

“Drew.” Reid leans closer, forces himself to look at the full extent of the damage. A large rock rests on the boy’s chest, several others pinning his legs. Reid’s first impulse is to shift the main one, but Drew cries out so horribly when he tries, Reid stops.

“I can’t… I can’t feel my legs.” Drew’s breath comes out in short, heavy pants, the pain each one causes him written all over his face. “I think my back is broken.”

Drew swims in Reid’s vision as tears well and pour down his cheeks, dripping onto his friend’s chest. Reid reaches out, one hand gentle on Drew’s shoulder. Instantly, as though that light pressure released a dam, a pool of blood gathers around the edges of the rock, spreading over Drew’s T-shirt. Reid pulls his hand back, but whether he caused it or it was simply inevitable, what’s done is done.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.” Reid rocks back and forth a moment. “Drew, please, you have to be okay.”

Drew tries to answer him, but his mouth is full of blood, it’s running down his chin and over his neck, pooling in his collarbone. Reid can’t stand it, reaches for the rock again, attempts to pull the stone free. Someone’s hands are on him, tugging him backward. He fights against those hands until he realizes they are Leila’s.

“We have to help him.” Reid can’t stop crying. She is crying too, and Milo just behind her. The rest of the kids pile up in the dark, watching, silent. Marcus doesn’t say a word, just stares at Drew with a blank expression.

Leila crouches next to the dying boy. “Oh, Drew,” she whispers. Reid pulls her back away from their friend so hard she stumbles and Marcus has to catch her.

“We have to get him out!” Reid’s shout brings a shower of fresh rocks and dirt down on them, but he doesn’t care. Some of the kids flee back inside the tunnel, but most remain, eyes locked on the bleeding kid under the rubble. Reid swings back to Drew. “We’ll get you out, okay? Don’t worry.”

Drew coughs and blood spews over the stones, bright red droplets shining in the shaft of sunlight for an instant before they fall. “Reid.” His voice is barely a whisper. “Reid.”

Reid sobs once and falls down next to Drew, clutching at his right hand. He feels it then, the hard smooth shape of the lighter. Drew’s eyes meet his. Close. Open slowly.

“One of the sticks… was damaged… didn’t notice… too late…”

Reid just holds his hand.

“You have to go.” Drew coughs again, weaker this time. His breathing is harsh, bubbly. The pool on his chest has soaked his shirt and now joins the blood from his mouth, running from his collarbone over his shoulder into the darkness and dust.

“No.” Reid shakes his head so hard he feels pain shoot through his temples. No. He can’t. Not Drew. Not now. He will not leave his friend behind.

Reid won’t survive another loss. He’s sure of it.

Drew pulls his hand free and flicks open the top of the lighter. That’s when Reid notices the dynamite sticking out of the rubble next to him. “I can… make sure… they don’t… follow you.”

Reid tries to take the lighter away, but Drew is oddly fast for someone so close to death. “I don’t… want them to… eat me.” It’s a whisper. As if he doesn’t want anyone else to hear. “Please, Reid. I can’t let them… do that. Okay? Please?”

That’s it then, and Reid knows it. There is so much blood and Drew’s pale light is fading fast. Reid steps back, allows Milo a moment. They whisper together, quickly, solemnly, before Milo retreats back down the tunnel. Leila is next and Reid may not be able to hear her words, but he can’t miss the sound of her grief. It colors her last soft moment with their friend before she too leaves, Marcus trailing along behind her.