Chapter Twenty Eight

Missing

The musty motel room gave me a slight headache but was an improvement from the dank cell. I kept the window and door cracked to circulate the stale air. When I woke at 5 AM, I could run unrestricted. I pushed myself harder than I was able to since leaving the cell. Blood seeped through the bandages on my wrists when I collapsed. My chest heaved. Throbbing shot through my ankles. Every inch of my body trembled. When my breathing normalized, I pulled myself up and ambled back on wobbly legs.

On the way, I caught the sight of Ari running through the woods. I stopped before we crossed paths. My heart thumped and once again, I broke out in a sweat. He stopped about 30 feet away. I put my hand up to wave. His eyes were cold and hard. He jerked his head forward and he sprinted off.

A hollowness occupied my chest. My eyes burned with tears that could not fall. My heart screamed to run after him, but my brain said no. I did not stand a chance against the Paynes. My best bet was to just leave. I found myself staring west, which offered more for me - another fresh start.

I shook my head. No. I cared what happened to my friends in Charlestown. Rose counted on me. I would regret leaving for the rest of my life. The pain in my chest subsided and I sauntered back to the village.

An uproar resounded outside Dorothy's building. From a distance, an unfamiliar blond woman struggled against a couple men and shouted about the Church. She pleaded for Ari to bring her back to the city. I did not observe him among the chaos, but I walked down a different street to avoid the scene. A couple blocks down, Rose waited by the outdoor fighting ring. I jogged over to her.

She threw a small wooden box at me. "I wanted to wake you up, but you were already gone. Before you put that on again, let's spar."

"Of course, I do not want you to throw cold water on my head when I am sleeping. What is this?" I tore the box open and unveiled my cyber-band. "Are you kidding?"

"It will do you some good."

For the first time in years, I opened up. Every strike was blocked but chipped away at the stress and resentment.

After a half an hour, I rested my hands on my knees, inhaling deeply. Our sparring session drew a crowd. "If you're rusty, I would have loved to spar with you three months ago," Rose said. "Let's give them a real show."

I smirked. The familiar tinge of the energized implants spread through my joints and muscles. I leaped straight up in the air. Six feet. Not bad. I jumped one more time - ten feet and a back flip.

"Show off," Rose said. "Don't hurt yourself."

Despite the sweat and quivering muscles, I found myself smiling. The more time that passed, the more I felt like myself again. After another half an hour, I doubled over, gasping for breath.

Rose put a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go visit Dorothy."

"Can I go take a shower? So I can mentally prepare myself to talk to that self-centered woman again?"

"Not yet, let's go."

I pulled myself together. More requests to do things I did not want to do. I walked beside her with my fists on my hips.

Dorothy's building towered three stories with an enormous deck on top, the largest building in the village by far. I had never been inside. We headed up the outdoor stairs and rounded the second-floor balcony. A door opened up into a control room with monitors covering the walls. I blinked rapidly and stared. How did they acquire such equipment?

The room was abuzz. Every monitor showed a different location. Surveillance covered the entire area and even the outskirts of the city.

Dorothy spotted us and rushed over. "Thank goodness. They're gone."

"Who's gone?" Rose asked.

"Arthur and Candi. She found one of the underground passages to the city. He ran after her."

What was she to him? My stomach hardened. Why did I feel like that? He thought I was dead and moved on.

Rose rubbed her fingers on her temple. "How would she find out about that?"

"There is an entrance in the house they locked her in."

Brilliant move, I wanted to say. "How long ago did they leave? Haven't I seen ATVs around?"

"An ATV won't fit through the entrance."

"No kidding. I was talking about following the tunnel above the ground."

She shook her head. "You cannot follow above the ground because of the cliffs and steep hills."

"Lovely."

"Lily can catch them," Rose said.

I snapped my head toward her.

"I want one of my men to go. To make sure she comes back."

"He will slow her down. She can stop them before they reach the city if she goes alone."

"Not good enough. I want Jefferson to go. You'll leave as soon as I explain the situation to him what's happened."

There was only one thing I wanted to do with Jefferson, and it did not include cooperation. When my eyes fell on him, my shoulders slumped. Above a swollen nose, dark purple rings encircled his eyes. I wished I was the one who had bloodied his lip.

Dorothy led us to a rundown cottage at the southern most tip of the village. Every window was encased with a mesh of metal bars. The porch groaned under our weight. Smoldering ashes and a blanket in front of the fireplace were the only signs of life. Dorothy continued to the back of the house, past a dilapidated chair and torn couch coated with a thick layer of dust.

It was far better than the accommodations I had. I spent months wallowing a cell and the Payne girl got her own cottage. My gaze bore a hole through Dorothy's back.

We entered into a small immaculate kitchen. An empty glass and half eaten sandwich laid on a little round table. Dorothy opened a door to the right and flipped a light switch, revealing a staircase descending into darkness.

She looked apprehensively at Rose. "I don't know about this. Are you sure she won't leave Jefferson and run off?"

Rose narrowed her eyes. "I trust her to do this. That should be enough for you."

Dorothy huffed. "We keep flashlights at each end of the tunnel. Just head straight and you will end up just outside the city."

I glanced at Jefferson, who moved toward the door. The urge to hit him lingered in the back of my mind.

Rose placed a hand on my arm. "No unnecessary risks. Try to stay out of sight."

"I understand, I'm supposed to be dead." I scowled at Dorothy. "Don't want to ruin the surprise."

I accompanied Jefferson down the stairs. He handed me a large flashlight at the bottom.

"How far can you run?" I asked.

"I used to run a couple of miles every day. Once I ran almost ten miles because I felled a deer, a six-pointer, and I couldn't carry it back on my own."

"I was not trying to spark up a conversation,” I snapped.  “How far do you think you can run now?"

"I should be able to make it to the end of the tunnel."

"Good. Let's go."

I flicked on the flashlight and raced down the tunnel. The soft earth padded Jefferson's footsteps close behind me. Soon after, his breathing deepened.

Suddenly his flashlight crashed to the ground, followed by muffled grunts and moans. Now, what? I stopped and looked back. The light did not move. I trotted back and saw him lying on the ground.

"I twisted my ankle," he said.

I breathed out noisily. "You're joking."

He climbed to his feet, using the wall for support. "No. I think I can keep going."

"We may as well go back. There is no way we are going to catch them if you can't run."

He picked up his flashlight. "No," he insisted. "Dorothy chose me for this. I need to stick it out."

Stupid blind disciple, I thought with a groan. We ended up walking the remainder of the tunnel length.

It opened up into a cave surrounded by trees. The sun hung far to the west. There was not a soul in sight. We slid down a sharp incline and into an abandoned neighborhood. Carefully, we navigated the streets. Part of me hoped I had encountered someone I recognized. I wanted to leave Jefferson and to check on the orphanage or drop in on Kira at a minimum.

Jefferson broke me out of my thoughts. "How are we supposed to find them?"

I sneered. "What, you mean you don't know where the Paynes live, work, and spend their free time?"

Redness intensified on his cheeks. "How would I know that? I have not been here in almost ten years."

"I thought Dorothy chose you to for your expertise," I said with a smirk.

He scrunched his face up and then released it. After a few moments, he spoke in a stilted whisper. "Where should we look first?"

I glanced up at the sky. "I'm willing to bet Candi went looking for Charles. This time of day, he will be at the University."

"Why would she go to him?"

"He's the head of their family. Since something happened to her, she would be required to check with him first."

"Oh."

Once at the campus, we crept along the dense, verdant vegetation. Students sprinkled the lush lawn, some reading books under the while others kicked a soccer ball in a circle. Laughter and sounds of merriment filled the air. I yearned for it to stop. They had no idea what was going on right under their noses. They will not be laughing when they learned the truth.

Around the back of the administration building, Ari squatted outside of a window on the third-floor veranda. A delivery truck pulled in right before we left the brush. My body temperature spiked and my heart raced. They almost caught a glimpse of us. We crouched behind a bush to wait. Deer flies flew around and smacked us in the face. I swatted at them impatiently. I wanted the delivery driver to hurry up.

We watched as a load of boxes departed the truck and into the building. We quietly ascended the massive stone stairway and stopped around the corner. Charles's voice boomed out the open window.

"I still can't believe you came back here alone. You should have stayed with him. I told you can't fail to marry him," Charles yelled.

Ari leaned back on the wall and his arms fell lifelessly to his sides. They played him, to try to force him under their control. I wished he had not heard that. I wanted to go put my arms around him, but I would not know what to say.

"But I had to get to Church. I need to go, please, my head hurts. God is punishing me," Candi cried.

"Yes, and he is going to continue to punish you. Go to Church and receive your communion. If you fail to return with him, don't bother coming back here."

In a sluggish, jerky movement, Ari bowed his head and then darted off in the opposite direction. Jefferson moved as if to follow him, but I put out an arm to stop him.

"Let him go. He will be back. He does not have anywhere else to go. We need to get back to shut off that entrance. They will send people to try to find where she was taken," I explained.

"No, Dorothy wants us to bring him back."

I grabbed his shirt and pulled his face into mine. "Don't you understand? You can't run and I can't go off on my own. Charles knew she was taken. He will send people to find the village."

He flinched and whispered, "OK. You're right."

We hurried back to the village as fast as we could. It was late at night and my abdomen gurgled. Dorothy and Rose were posted in the cottage kitchen. Jefferson detailed what happened. Dorothy glared at me when he told her about the twisted ankle as if I had something to do with his clumsiness. I half-listened to the rest of the conversation, unable to concentrate. I wanted food. My hands trembled from hunger. They should have had some waiting for us.

Dorothy barked some orders to destroy the entrance. Rose finally beckoned me to go eat. My thoughts remained with Ari. I could not blame him for his reaction and anything that happened over the past few months. I was sure he would return.