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  They all did.

  Reid spins from them, his disgust replacing any need he had to protect them. How could he care when they didn’t? When their cowardice let an innocent kid drown? They make him so sick he can’t stand to look at them.

  He loses his train of thought when something bright shines in his eyes and he blinks, hand rising to shade his face from the setting sun.

  Reid gapes at it, not believing it’s real at first. He stumbles forward to the wide cave mouth, tripping over rocks and debris, falling to his knees in the thick grass just outside the opening. Below him, spread far and wide, is the most beautiful sight he has ever seen.

  Trees, more trees, and hills in the distance. The best part, the most amazing sight, however, is the town. A whole town, lights on, smoke coming from chimneys in happy puffs. A real place with real people.

  Reid knows what it means and it makes him laugh.

  Against all odds, they’ve made it past the fence.

  He collapses again, this time drained by relief, making his limbs rubbery, his vision blur.

  “We did it.” Milo crouches next to him. “You did it. You got us free.”

  Reid shakes his head. “That doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

  Milo looks off into the distance, at the town, civilization so close Reid can smell the wood smoke drifting toward the cave. “Still,” Milo says, voice very soft. “Thanks.”

  He leaves Reid in grateful peace. He’s in no condition to talk to any of them. It’s almost worse, knowing how close Eric was to freedom.

  “We’ll have to be careful,” Leila is saying. “We have no idea if these people know what’s going on. They might be in on it.”

  But from the sounds of their growing excitement, the kids don’t want to listen to her.

  “A real bed,” Alex says.

  “Hot food,” is Megan’s squeaky wish.

  “A shower.” Even Leila is being sucked in now.

  “I’m not waiting.” Marcus. He shoves past Reid and heads out.

  “We agreed!” Cole calls after him. Reid is stunned they’ve made a decision without him while knowing he shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore. “We don’t go until full dark.”

  Reid agrees despite himself. And wonders when the nighttime became more comfortable to him than the day.

  Before he can act or say anything about it, Marcus is moving. The rest of the kids can’t stand it, obviously, because they follow in an eager, shoving mass.

  Reid gets to his feet. Time to move on. He glances back at Eric, wondering what to do with the body and sees Leila gently composing his little arms over his chest.

  “We’ll be back for you,” she says to the soaked, limp form, now empty of any care for what happens to him. When she stands and turns, she catches Reid’s eye. “We will.”

  He shrugs and looks away. Cole is standing in front of him. He looks as keen as the others but holds back, shuffling from one foot to the other in quiet impatience, wet hair clinging to his face and cheeks like strings of dirty thread.

  “Go on,” Reid says.

  Cole grins at him wide enough to split his face and runs out the cave mouth and down the slope, sneakers squelching loudly, full of water, as he disappears into the forest.

  Reid goes more slowly, Leila beside him. It’s not long before they catch up with some of the kids. Their immediate excitement-fed speed has worn off, the water soaking their clothes dragging them down. But their joy is no less and they smile and laugh and talk in loud voices as they hurry as best they can down the wooded hillside to the town.

  Reid glances back over his shoulder, up at the cave mouth, a sudden fear winding its way through his heart. The hunters obviously have an aversion to water, but if they somehow manage to follow, things could get very bad very quickly.

  That thought makes him hurry.

  They catch up with Marcus, bent in half, gasping for air. Reid’s anger returns when Leila goes to see what happened. There is blood on the guy’s face and he looks angry himself.

  When she touches his arm he jerks himself free of her. “Just fell.” She nods and backs off. Her eyes lift to Reid’s and for a moment he considers rejecting her. She saved Marcus and let an innocent boy die.

  But he can’t, not while under the influence of her clear blue eyes. His heart softens and lets go of all the pain of the past few days in that moment he is connected to her. So, he smiles at her instead, not sure why it’s important she knows he’s forgiven her, and is thrilled when she smiles back.

  The trees thin ahead, at the edge of town. Reid’s smile fades all at once. Something is wrong. His instincts have kept him alive this long. He can’t ignore them anymore. And while he can’t pinpoint what the exact problem is, there is an absence that troubles him.

  Then he gets it. Sound. The town is silent. The only noise he hears is the kids talking and laughing. No cars, no dogs barking. Nothing. It’s enough to make him slow and pay closer attention.

  Something is horribly wrong. He calls out to the others, to tell them to wait, but some of them are further ahead, right on the edge of the tree line and they are laughing so loudly they don’t hear him. He starts to run, a stumbling, halting jog all he can manage, yelling louder, but they don’t hear him, they can’t and they are stepping over the threshold into the town and his terror shoves him forward, right on their heels.

  He stumbles over a root and then he is free of the trees, his heart pounding out his terror, waiting for the attack to come.

  The kids turn around, suddenly silent, and stare at him, their own fear rising again. No one says a word, the silence only broken by the soft hoot of an owl waking from its daytime rest.

  Reid holds his breath, waits for it. But nothing happens. No attack, no hunters, no death and blood. Only the stillness of a small town that shouldn’t be so quiet.

  For a heartbeat he wonders if he is just being paranoid. The rest of the kids exit the trees, going more slowly, following his lead at last. But the draw of the houses and cars and little general store are too much for them to resist for long. They break into eager clusters, going their own ways, exploring without concern.

  Reid stands at the top of what looks like the one main street in the place. The asphalt feels odd under his sneakers, the scent distinctive. He realizes he missed it, an element of civilized life he never knew was such a big part of him.

  Reid turns and looks up the road. It winds away into the trees, two lanes, a jagged and much faded yellow line bisecting it. A grin splits his face when he sees a familiar sign. The interstate. There’s a ramp up ahead for the interstate that means he is right after all.

  Quiet or not, weird or not, they’ve made it. Still, his mind tries to justify the silent town. As he walks past a parked car, he notices it’s filthy, covered in dust and rust. Maybe whoever created the experiment emptied the place because it was too close to the testing area? That makes sense. A lot of sense, actually. Reid wonders if there are other abandoned towns around the perimeter of the fence, havens just like this one, the residents paid or forced to leave their homes behind.

  Reid continues down the street, into town. There are a handful of houses, a couple of storefronts and what looks like a gas station at the far end. So, a transient place, more of a rest stop for travelers. It makes his argument about the abandoned state of it even more likely. Not many folks to move. A little money would set them up elsewhere, probably better than they had it before.

  Reid stops in the center of town and listens again. The kids are audible, calling out to each other to come see this or that. There is a faint breeze, just enough to rustle the treetops. The odd birdcall. But above it all there is another sound, a familiar hum he has heard before.

  Reid turns on his heel, trying to find out where it’s coming from. His right. In the direction of the off ramp and the outside of town. He follows the sound, wondering if it’s the buzz of cars he’s hearing, his heart lifting. That would be perfect. A short rest here and a walk to the highwa
y and they are saved.

  The trees are thick on the backsides of the houses. He has to push his way through the undergrowth, holding branches back, starting to sweat almost immediately despite the chill of his still-wet clothes. Cobwebs wind over his face, making him sputter and he pauses to wipe them free. When he does, he sees something looming in the distance, just through the trees, and goes toward it.

  Reid steps through the last of the shrubbery and stares. He isn’t capable of anything else. There before him, towering over him in the early light of the waning moon, humming to itself in self-satisfaction, is the chain link fence.

  ***

  Chapter Sixteen

  It’s all Reid can do to not collapse in a heap and never get up again. The fence just stands there and hums its electric heart out, offering nothing in the way of comfort. It can’t be. It just. Can’t. Be. Reid’s head whips back and forth, searching both directions while he paws through his memories of where the moon should be. It’s possible he’s wrong, and somehow he’s made it and is looking at the reverse side. But the glowing half disc above him tells him what he needs to know as it climbs overhead, uncaring and about its own business.

  They are still on the wrong side of the fence.

  Reid does fall then, his knees taking the impact as he lets himself slump forward, out of strength and so tired he’s ready to quit. But he has one thing to do before he can curl up and let it end.

  He has to tell the others. The thought of them in the town, running around, making so much noise, spikes his fear back into reality and forces him to move. It takes him a few tries to find his feet and even longer to make his way back through the underbrush but he does at last.

  Just on the other side of the trees, he spots three kids sitting on the bonnet of a car, stuffing something into their mouths. They look up as he approaches. One of them is Alex. He grins around chewing and holds out his hand to Reid.

  “We found food.” Reid stares at the processed cake in the thin plastic wrapper, chocolate filled with white icing calling his name. He takes it but can’t bring himself to open it yet.

  “Get the others.”

  Alex stops chewing, stares. Reid sags against the side of the car.

  “Why?”

  “Just do it.” The plastic makes a soft popping sound as the air releases. Reid breathes in the sugary sweetness, knowing his insides will punish him if he eats it on his wasted stomach, but so hungry his need wins. “Now.”

  Alex dashes off while the other two remain, bits of cake falling to the ground as they open one bag after another and demolish the food like animals.

  Reid lifts the round treat to his nose and smells it, savoring the aroma. His teeth close over the slight crust of the sugar shell, tearing a giant bite from the cake. It tastes like heaven and light and gives him a sugar rush almost immediately, his head aching from it, but he simply stuffs the rest into his mouth and liberates another from one of the boys.

  By the time the other two lie groaning on the hood of the car, their bellies swollen from the amount they’ve eaten, Reid has devoured four himself and Alex has done his job.

  The rest of the pack straggles in, trailing food packages and water bottles, emerging from various homes they’ve looted. Reid watches them come, shoving aside the nausea rising from his sweet meal, crossing his arms over his chest while he debates how to tell them. Marcus and Leila are the last to arrive, he stuffing his face and she looking dazed and a little fearful.

  Reid wishes he had better news for her. She meets his eyes and hers widen.

  They are all staring at him, some with impatience, others just blank. They can’t handle another failure, he knows it. They’ve been through so much, this will break them. But he has no choice and they’ll find out on their own as soon as they try to leave.

  “We’re still inside the fence.” There’s no easy way to tell them so he lets it out in one blow. They don’t flinch like he expected them to. Or move. They just continue to stare. Reid turns and points. “Just through the trees. Over there. I found it. The edge.” He can’t help himself when he repeats, “We’re still inside the fence.”

  Someone moans. A slow sway starts in the pack, like the group is attached by fine wire, wobbling them side-to-side. Leila’s eyes fill with tears and she looks away. Cole’s mouth opens, closes fishlike, his throat working, unable to speak. Even Milo looks like Reid punched him in the chest.

  One of the boys on the hood of the car turns on his side and vomits up his sweet meal in noisy protest.

  Only Marcus speaks up. “I don’t believe you.”

  Reid has nothing to say to that. He shrugs. “Go see for yourself.”

  They do, Marcus leading them. In ones and twos they trail along after him, not wanting to go but having no choice in the matter. Reid can see it in their faces as they turn to go to the fence, the battle between lying to themselves and needing the truth as clear as their returning despair.

  And though he’s told himself he won’t, Reid goes with them. He’s seen it, but he needs to be sure he’s right. Perhaps his hunger has made him hallucinate and there is no fence. It’s a hopeless wish, a desperate grab for something he needs so very much to be true.

  But not so. Marcus finds an easier path through the heavy bank of trees. Leave it up to him to take the simple way. Either that or the passage of the kids has opened a corridor. No matter the cause, Reid finds himself standing in front of the barrier in short order, his skin pebbled with goose bumps from the electricity in the air.

  They are crying, all of them, around him. Even Marcus gulps deep and horrible sobs into the darkness. Reid sees them fall over, clutching at each other, some falling to hug the ground and weep. To have come so far, to survive what they have and still be trapped… Reid was right. It is too much.

  He backs up until he reaches the trees before sinking down, back pressed to a gnarled trunk, the soft ground feeling good under him. He sees some of the kids get up after a while, wipe their faces with their grubby hands and wander off. He does nothing to stop them. Like ghosts, they disappear into the woods, headed for where he doesn’t know and not caring, really.

  It’s hard to care when the road is endless and the only real finish of the story is death.

  Leila huddles nearby, cradling Marcus’s head in her lap as he continues to sob. She meets Reid’s eyes, her face so tired she looks ancient. He knows how she feels. She moves as if to rise and join him but he looks away from her. That’s the last thing he needs right now. Maybe he’s forgiven her for letting Marcus live and Eric die, but she’s continually chosen to help Marcus even after all the things that bastard has done. It’s hard to forget, sitting there with his mortality so clearly drawn out. Or forgive.

  Hate rises inside him. Hate for her, first. And Marcus. Then the fence, followed by the hunters. He even hates his sister, in the end, but finally admits to himself the only real hate he feels is for himself. For his weakness. For not being able to find a way out and being so willing to quit even after everything.

  It shoves him off the ground, gets him fired up. The sugar he’s eaten is enough fuel to propel him forward, at least. He comes to a halt within feet of the fence and glares at it. Fine, the fence. Great. Maybe there are tools in town, to cut it, stop the current. And there’s always the gate. That old hope surfaces for a second before he smothers it. Right. A gate.

  He finds it hard to believe anything anymore. But the idea of an exit won’t leave him and he finally allows it in, a seed of something he can hang onto. Reid knows without it he’ll simply drop and it will be over. Instead, he lets his hate rise to the surface, bending to grab a rock from the ground. He hurls it at the fence as hard as he can.

  It bounces off with a loud bang, sparks flying free, showering over Reid in a waterfall of light. He hears someone squeal in fright but ignores the sound, too focused on the humming thing looming over him.

  His last hope is here. Here at the barrier between him and the outside world. And there is just en
ough of his father in him to fuel a snarl and an oath.

  “I’m getting out of here,” he says to the fence. “And I won’t let you stop me.”

  It ignores him but that’s okay. Reid turns away from it, filled up with need. Tools. And more food. And water. And some rest if he can catch some. Then a hike and a search. Maybe a solution will present itself. But he’s done leaving anything to chance.

  Reid turns, sees Leila still watching him. Her hope is his, her expression lifted. It wrenches his heart to see her look at him like that, as if all this time she has only been waiting for him to fight back so she can have the courage to do so, too.

  While it’s too much of a burden for him to bear, he welcomes it. And her again. Hope will do that to a person, he’s learned.

  He gestures to her, sees her rise and come to him. Takes his hand and holds it in both of hers.

  “I know we can do it,” she says.

  Of course they can. They’ve come this far. His grin is lopsided but it’s there. It doesn’t have much to feed it, but it’s there. It’s enough, for now.

  He turns her gently around and heads for the trees, ready to return to town when Cole bursts into the clearing.

  “Reid,” he says, “there’s something you have to see.”

  ***

  Chapter Seventeen

  “There’s more than enough here to keep us going.” Reid stares down the aisle of the gas station, blinking in the bright fluorescents, amazed at the fully stocked shelves while Cole’s mouth runs on. “We even found these.” He holds up a pair of jeans. They look new. “This must have been some kind of general store or something.”

  Or a trap. Reid’s nervous mind screams that at him while he hesitates. “Have you touched any of this?”

  Cole’s smile fades as Milo emerges from the back with a candy-bar sticking out of his mouth and his arms full of clothing. That answered his question.