Hide (Book Two, the Hunted) Read online

“You need to let it go,” Reid says softly. “It’s not your fault. Or mine. Or anyone’s. Just the damned hunters, Milo.”

  The boy nods, snuffles, wiping his face with the back of his hand. “It’s not fair,” he says. “None of it. Drew should be here.” His voice hitches in a sob. “He deserved to make it.”

  “So do you.” Reid squeezes Milo’s shaking shoulders. “Listen, don’t worry about me, okay? I have a more important job for you than to tag along behind me.”

  “Anything.” Milo finally meets Reid’s eyes and he knows the kid means it.

  “I need you to watch him.” They both know who he means. “Can you do that?”

  Milo nods, face grim. “I’ll do one better,” he says. “If he screws us over, I’ll kill his ass.”

  Reid chokes out a laugh. “Just keep your eyes on him. And don’t let Leila stop you from acting if it means keeping the others safe.”

  Milo hugs himself with his thin arms. “Are you coming back?”

  “I just want to have a look around.” Reid isn’t sure if he really means it or if he intends to abandon them at last. He was mad enough when he left Leila behind but now that he’s talked to Milo, his heart isn’t sure it’s ready to cut ties all together.

  “Okay.” Milo takes a step back before rushing forward and hugging Reid around the chest. “Promise.”

  “Promise.” And Reid means it. He’s just not sure he’s willing to do much to help the rest of them. But, for Milo, he’ll come back. If only to report what he’s found.

  He leaves Milo there, watching with the most mournful expression while Reid marches into the forest, blood still boiling over Marcus, leaving before he does something he’ll regret forever.

  ***

  Chapter Nineteen

  Reid tromps through the undergrowth, letting his mind run right down a road into a mess of anger, when he stumbles out of the trees and onto a trail.

  It looks so familiar he immediately freezes before darting back into the shrubs. It’s a hunter’s path, just like the ones he ran on when this whole craziness started. Reid is so sure just setting foot on it will bring the hunters he crouches in the bushes and pants his anxiety out.

  When nothing happens and no one comes, Reid calms. It’s not like there’s cameras or sensors in the dirt. He doesn’t think so, anyway. Reid goes back out on the trail and listens. It’s quiet, just the normal morning noises of birds, insects and small animals, backed up by the sigh of leaves in the wind.

  His relief is short-lived and brings him back into the real world. Resting in town last night was foolish, no matter how good he feels now. He can’t take that risk again. None of them can. And while the hunters may not be there yet, he is sure they are on their way.

  As if in answer to his fear, he catches their horrible song, the faint but unmistakable call that makes his knees weak.

  They are coming.

  Reid runs all the way back to town, covering the distance in record time, the backpack slowing him a little as it snags branches and he realizes if he’s forced to run for real again he’ll have to find another way to carry what he needs.

  It’s not long before his feet leave the dirt and pound over pavement, on his way to the gas station. He sees kids milling around outside, their fear as clear as his.

  “Indoors,” he snaps at them. “Now!”

  They obey automatically, slipping inside, him entering last. He looks around the interior, doing a quick head count and breathes a sigh of relief. They are all here, freshly scrubbed and dressed, some still eating while mostly they hover and shiver.

  They too have heard the call, he’s sure of it.

  “You’re back!” Milo hugs him hard around the middle, his curly hair just brushing Reid’s chin. He smells like soap. Reid hugs the boy back while Leila looks away. But not before Reid gets a good look at her.

  Beautiful. So pale and remarkable it takes his breath away.

  He doesn’t have time for her now. “The hunters are coming.” It’s obvious but he knows he has to say it. “We have to go, now.”

  “Go where?” Marcus doesn’t move but something about his attitude is different. Gone is the sullen anger, replaced by a strong vibe of self-entitlement. Like nothing Reid does can hurt him now. As if Leila’s endorsement gives him license to be an asshole. “We have everything we need right here.”

  “That’s what they want you to think.” Reid doesn’t have time to argue with them. “Don’t you get it? This whole town is a trap. Look at this.” He holds up a package of chips someone dropped on the floor. “Look at the expiry date.”

  “Yeah, a month ago.” Marcus rolls his eyes. “They’ve been here forever.”

  “Okay,” Reid says. “Now think about the pit. The bones.” He sees their faces fall, their fear increase. “The burned stuff under them. Think that happened a month ago?” Reid has no way of knowing for sure, of course, but his gut is telling him not. “That means this place,” he waves around him, dropping the bag, “has been restocked. Restocked. For us. Or kids like us.”

  They are at their limit now, he feels it. They are ready to break, to run at last. Until Marcus speaks up again and ruins everything.

  “We can hide here.” They sway back and are lost to him. It’s obvious from the looks on their faces. “There are tons of places. Spots we can defend if need be.” He looks right at Reid. “Or we could go running around the woods again, waiting for the hunters to pick us off, one by one.”

  “Like where?” Reid needs them to see, to understand. “Where will you hide?”

  “The house down the street has a basement.” Megan is getting used to speaking up. He’s surprised she has pretty red hair and a ton of freckles, none of which he noticed when she was dirty.

  A couple of kids mutter agreement and Marcus nods like that’s his idea exactly.

  “There, you see?” He sits back, arms crossing over his chest. “We’ll board ourselves up in the basement.”

  “And then what?” Reid looks around. “Slowly run out of food while the hunters wait you out? And if they decide to attack, will you be able to hold them back? You won’t have an escape route this time.” He meets Marcus’s eyes. “They’ll keep the house surrounded.”

  “An attic then,” another boy pipes up. Reid doesn’t really recognize any of them now that they are clean.

  “Same problem,” Reid says. “Worse, actually. They can just pull the ceiling down and you’re done.” He sighs. “If you want to hide, you need somewhere with lots of exits you can watch. And defend. A basement or attic just won’t cut it.”

  “And your idea is better?” Marcus gets to his feet, approaching slowly in an arrogant strut. Reid would love to beat it out of him but holds back. He’ll need all of his energy and refuses to waste another ounce of it on Marcus. “Out there, no protection?”

  “Our best protection is to keep moving.” Despite his physical reserve, Reid won’t let Marcus win. Can’t. “And now that we’ve found the fence, we can search for the gate.”

  Marcus laughs out loud. “The gate. Right, your gate.”

  “There has to be one. How else do the hunters get in? Bring these supplies?” Are they swaying back to him? It’s hard to tell, there is so much emotion in the room.

  Marcus pushes on, relentless. “Tell me, Reid, how do you think that plan will work out, then? As well as your first one? Trapping us in the mine?” He snorts, looks around. “Look where that got us.”

  “Clean,” Cole says in his clear voice, blonde hair shining in the light. His blue eyes lock on Reid and he smiles. The kid looks like an angel. “Clean and alive, with a full stomach. And safe, at least for now.”

  They sigh as one, look at Reid like their hero again. He wants to shake them all. They are not safe. His whole body craves the need to run. He can’t believe how calm they are, how willing to stay there with the hunter’s call, no matter how distant, still echoing in his bones. And even though Cole isn’t making a move to leave, not even Marcus has a comeback
for that one. Reid is happy to see him shrink in his arrogance a little.

  Reid is about to thank Cole for speaking up when the boy shocks him. “But I still agree with Marcus.”

  Everything stops. All eyes turn to Cole. He looks sad but decided, a holy cherub with dark circles under his eyes and a face aged beyond his years. “I’m sorry, Reid,” he says. “I’m tired of running. There has to be a way to stay here and make a safe place for ourselves.”

  “Until when. You’re rescued?” Reid can’t believe Cole is standing against him, willing to risk the hunters.

  “I’m not stupid,” Cole says. “I know that’s not going to happen. And there’s a good chance we’ll have to run again soon. But until then I need to rest. We all do. Eat, gather our strength. This isn’t forever. Or probably for very long. But I’m staying until I can’t stay anymore.”

  It’s not Marcus then that keeps them there, that gives them permission to cave in and quit. It’s Cole’s simple truth. And Reid can hardly blame them. It’s a damned good argument. But Reid simply can’t agree with.

  “Vote on it, then.” Marcus raises his hand. “All for staying.”

  Cole’s arm shoots up. Megan’s. A handful at first, then more. Finally, all of them, Milo, looking shame faced and terribly sad, and Leila included. Little Alex hovers next to Marcus and refuses to look at Reid, his arm shaking as he holds it high.

  “Reid?” Leila’s voice is soft and pleading.

  “I can’t,” he says. “This is wrong. I won’t play into their games anymore.”

  Their arms all drop slowly. The worst part is, he’s sure they know he’s right but are too afraid to leave now that they’ve found a shred of normal to hang onto. But it’s a lie, all of it, and Reid can’t stand another second.

  “We’ll put all our efforts into fortifying a position,” Marcus says while Reid watches. No one tries to change his mind. Not even Leila who never gives up trying.

  Reid doesn’t respond to that or even think about what comes next. It’s like a huge knife has cut the tie between him and them. He feels the separation like a blow but doesn’t show it. They have chosen. They are turning away from him physically as well as emotionally, talking among themselves, making their plans without him. He stands on the outside, looking in, even though he is right there with them still.

  For better or worse and for the wrong reasons, they have chosen Marcus. And while Reid knows if he changes his mind, tells them he is staying, they will welcome him back and beg him to lead them. But Reid can’t trust any of them anymore.

  Or himself, for that matter.

  He turns and leaves the station, walking in slow deliberate steps, moving on while the kids do the same.

  ***

  Chapter Twenty

  Reid spends the remainder of that terrible morning and part of the afternoon following the fence. He feels weighted down, as though something sits on his shoulders, driving him into the ground. It takes him almost an hour to figure out it’s loneliness he is feeling. The sounds of others beside him, Leila’s hand brushing against his. Milo and Cole alternating their arguments with giggles. Little Alex and squeaky voiced Megan.

  But not Marcus. Never Marcus. Reid pauses when he understands what’s holding him back and picks up a rock. He flings it at the fence, watching the cascade of sparks with some satisfaction, picturing the target as Marcus’s face and not a spot of chain link.

  He isn’t sure it will help but it does make him feel better. Enough he is able to carry on.

  Settled into the idea of being alone, he moves on. He discovers he’s been trudging along next to the fence in the clear space the builders made between the woods and the barrier, so wrapped up in feeling betrayed he almost forgot what’s out here with him. Now at peace with leaving the others behind, and despite the absence of further hunter cries, his good sense takes over again, driving him into the relative shelter of the tree line. Even then he shudders from time to time at how exposed he really is.

  The fence curves away in the distance, an endless ribbon of dark metal. Reid wonders what happened to it, that the normal shine he’s used to from chain link is missing until he has a duh moment. They’ve done something to it, of course. Probably to mask it from obvious view from the air. There’s no way the creators would want the general public finding out about their little experiment.

  Reid pauses when he hears a cry, but not from fear. This is a different kind of cry, one he recognizes with great affection. He looks up and sees a bald eagle circling low overhead, giant wings actually casting a shadow over his face as it spins down toward the ground. It settles on a tree not far from him, so majestic Reid finds himself smiling in wonder.

  His father was the first one to show him a bald eagle nest, pointing out the massive mass of sticks and debris at the top of a dead tree. Every year for many years they returned to find the same mating pair in the same place. Reid loved to watch the giant birds circle, their white heads shining in the sunlight, calling to each other. How lonely they seemed, but, as his father said, at least they had each other.

  That’s when he has another duh moment, only this one is intensely personal. He sees the eagle as himself, the lone hunter, aloof and too proud to bend. Sees his father’s smile in his memory as they shared the constant visiting ritual. It stops him in his tracks, and he stares at the beautiful bird while his mind and his heart work it out.

  First, he has no idea where he is along the fence line or how close he is to a gate, if there is one in the first place. Reid doesn’t know how big the enclosure is but he’s been walking it for days now and could spend several more in misery searching it. That is, if he doesn’t get caught first.

  Second, if he does find a gate, there’s no way he can just leave the others behind. Part of him whispers he could, that he would only be going for help, but he can’t bring himself to believe he would abandon the rest of the pack like that. Which means he would be turning around and going back anyway.

  Third, his stubbornness and anger at Marcus is making it harder for everyone to survive. And as much as he despises him, Reid knows he’s not helping matters by being so aggressive himself. It still hurts a great deal, how the kids picked Marcus over him, but even that doesn’t seem right to Reid anymore. Cole said he chose to hide. He didn’t choose Marcus. When Reid puts that together, it not only makes him feel better but goes a long way to resolve the conflict inside him.

  He has to go back and convince them to help. Or stand ground with them. He needs to choose.

  As his inner turmoil comes to a close and he decides to return, the great eagle lifts off again, the sound of its wings a rushing rustle of feathers and air. He watches it go, finds himself waving a little as it does.

  Determined and repentant, Reid turns around. And for some reason, he thinks of Leila. Her face is so sharp in his mind he almost stumbles. Why is he so focused on her all of a sudden? Reid finally admits the truth to himself. It wasn’t the kid’s supposed betrayal that hurt him so much, not Cole or Alex or even Milo. It was hers, the fact she chose to stay with Marcus, that she is determined to save even him, that Reid is so devastated.

  But he can’t have feelings for her. Not now, not out here in the forest while the hunters chase them and kill them. He can’t afford to have emotions like those distract him. It’s too dangerous. And yet, he admits, he cares for his young friends too, and knows he would do anything to save Milo or Cole. Would have done so for Drew if he had the chance.

  Reid knows what he feels for Leila is on a whole other level from that and accepts it at last. He has no intention of telling her, not until they are safe, but at least he is no longer trying to fool himself about how he feels.

  Reid is amazed love can grow in a place of terror and death. Heart lighter and mind made up, he feels better with every step he takes. He’ll convince them, work on them until they say yes. Even Marcus. They’ll see they need to listen, to pay attention. And maybe they’ll be ready when he gets back. Who knows, they might
be missing him. She might be. And that could be all it takes to get them moving again.

  He’s a long way from the town, though the pace that led him away was much slower than the one that carries him back. He spends the entire time going over and over what he can say to them, how he can say it. Reid plays out countless scenarios in his mind, running the gamut from begging them to listen to killing Marcus in a duel. The former makes him grin and the latter does too, but in a fierce way. But when his fantasy concludes with Leila fawning over him, Reid snaps himself out of it and goes back to trying to figure out the best way to convince them.

  Despite his speed, it is near dark by the time he thinks he is almost there. Reid is so wrapped up in what he plans to say to them, that when he hears a breath of movement nearby he almost doesn’t react in time.

  He turns his head at the subtle sound and looks. Something tall and lean eases past, just visible through the trees. Reid is so deep in his thoughts it takes a moment for his panic to drive him to his knees and into cover. He’s too late hiding and he knows it. Way too late. That was a hunter, plain and simple, and Reid is dead.

  Except he isn’t. He huddles there, shuddering, cursing himself for his stupidity and lack of focus. Until he realizes nothing has happened, he is still alive and, from what he can tell, alone. Reid risks a look. The forest is quiet, the last of the light no longer penetrating. His eyes adjust slowly but he is certain, his instincts are too.

  The hunter left him in peace.

  As much as Reid should be grateful, it stirs fear inside him. Why did it leave him alone? It must have known he was there. That leads to another line of questions he doesn’t have time for. The hunters are obviously designed for what they do. Why are any of the kids still alive? When they could simply round all of them up and kill them?

  Reid is on his feet and moving, doing his best to hurry and be quiet at the same time. The answer is obvious yet again. It’s not just about the hunt for these creatures. Most of the fun is in the game.