Paranoia (The Night Walkers) (18 page)

Leaning in, I kissed her forehead, and she pulled me close and buried her face against my neck.

“More than anything, though, I love you right now, when you show me who you really are and risk everything to save your best friend.” She kissed the skin of my neck below my ear and her voice dropped to a soft whisper. “Promise me that you’ll come back to me. Promise me I won’t miss finding all the other ways I can love you.”

I tipped her head back and kissed her. I kissed her for all the times I should have been kissing her but hadn’t because of my own stupid mistakes and a world of misunderstandings. I kissed her for all the times I hoped to kiss her from here on out.

Then I drew back, kissing her nose and her forehead before pulling her against my chest. “I love you, Addie.”

She squeezed her arms around me and snuggled up into my neck. “And … ?”

“And … I promise.” It was the first lie—okay, half-truth—in weeks that I didn’t feel at all bad about.

Jack had timed the security patrol that checked the perimeter of the occupied part of the base. They passed by every fifteen minutes, and it took them seven minutes to get out of earshot from the entry point Jack had found for us. Much of the base was underground, and the forgotten hatch we’d be entering through looked half-buried in dirt and overgrown weeds.

Jack said that the later it got, the more relaxed security
would be. We waited until the clock reached three a.m.,
and then watched the patrol make one full round to be certain the timing hadn’t changed. They were still like clockwork. Since they went in a circle, we’d wait for them to pass and then we’d have six minutes to get down to the hatch, open it, get inside, and close it before they came into range around the back side of the base. Also, we had no idea if the hatch was sealed shut, locked, or possibly completely rotted.

No problem.

As soon as the guards passed, I checked my watch and we waited. The seconds ticked by slowly … then the minutes. By the time all seven had passed, my chest felt as though I’d been holding my breath the whole time. We scrambled down the hill toward the hatch as silently as we could. It was sheltered from the main path by a squat building that looked like it used to be some sort of supply depot. The metal on the building’s doors was tinged with rust, but through the windows I could see shelves that were currently in use. One wall across from the door shimmered with bits of silver.

Freezing in place, I turned and waved Jack over. Rub
bing the dust off one window pane, I cupped my hands
over my eyes and peered closer. A small smile spread across my face as I recognized a pegboard—on each nail hung a ring with a small plastic tag and a single key. We’d spotted a parking lot full of vans and trucks not far from the hatch.

Jack gave a quick nod toward the keys, and I knew he’d seen them too. I tapped on my watch and we kept moving.

Only three minutes left, and we weren’t even at the hatch yet. We both sprinted across the last few feet. Rust coated the edges of the metal platform and a thick layer of dust and dirt caked every square inch of the hatch. The lever was chipped and eroded. We brushed back some of the dirt and cobwebs around the old metal. Good news—the entrance obviously wasn’t used much, so we probably wouldn’t get caught immediately when we got inside. Bad news—we wouldn’t get in at all if the lever broke off when we tried to open it.

Less than two minutes left.

Jack squatted down and pulled to the right with all his weight, trying to get the bolt to release so we could pull up the hatch. The lever didn’t break, but it didn’t budge either. I circled to the opposite side of Jack and, wrapping both hands firmly around the lever, I pushed. Sweat beaded up on my forehead and my heart pounded against my chest. It gave an inch … two, and then made an awful screeching sound and froze up again.

Sixty seconds left.

I pushed harder, grunting and straining at the effort as the rough edges dug into my palms. It still wasn’t moving. Jack looked at me, eyes huge, afraid. Now was the time. We had to hide and try to find another entry point, or give it one more try and risk being caught. I sat down and pulled back, gave one massive kick against the lever with both feet. It came unstuck, and Jack fell backward when it swung free. We lifted the hatch and it released an awful squeak. Inky blackness was the only thing I could see down the hole.

Less than thirty seconds.

Jack jumped into the darkness without so much as a glance at where he’d land. I followed behind. My left hand caught on a rung near the top of the hole, which nearly jerked my arm out of my socket, but I didn’t make a sound. I pulled the hatch shut and locked it.

Then I listened and waited.

According to my watch, we’d taken too long. The security patrol could have been close enough to hear us, but I didn’t know if they had. And if they had, I didn’t know if they’d recognize what it was they’d heard. I listened, but all I could hear was the echoing sound of my own breath, the pounding in my ears.

Then my vision filled with light. I let go of the rung on instinct and fell right on top of Jack. But the light wasn’t coming from the top; it was coming from Jack’s flashlight, and I’d just smashed it. We sat at the bottom of the hole and I heard Jack moving around and banging the flashlight a few more times, but nothing happened.

“Well, that’s perfect.” His voice echoed strangely, like he’d somehow managed to be on all sides of me at once.

“Tell me we brought two.”

“I could, but it would be a lie.”

I got to my feet, feeling along the walls. Everything around me felt like cold metal and I could hear the scurrying of rodents from somewhere off to the left. “Did you see anything while the light was on?”

“Enough to know that this tunnel goes both directions.”

“Do you know which way to go?”

He breathed out in a big gush and I could actually hear him scratching his head. “I’m a little turned around from the fall … but I’m pretty sure it’s that way.”

“Uh … you know I can’t see you, right?”

He grabbed my shoulder, found my chin, and pointed my face to the left. I jerked back from his grasp. “I’ve got it.”

“Besides, that’s where I can hear the rats.” I heard him start walking. “And rats follow food.”

We walked for two minutes, feeling along the walls until we came to a door. I cursed under my breath. What I wouldn’t give for a window about right now. I listened intently, but couldn’t hear anything on the other side. Jack turned the handle; it wasn’t locked, but it wasn’t quiet either. Apparently everything in old abandoned bases creaked. Who needed an alarm when every door had a loud screech to warn you about intruders? He pushed it open a crack and light spilled into our tunnel.

I listened for rushing footsteps or shouts, but there was nothing but the faint buzzing of fluorescent lights. Jack pushed it open further and peeked his head in. He waved for me to stay put while he stepped into the room. He was gone for one second—two—three—and then opened the door wide and smiled.

“Welcome to the old NWS headquarters, a.k.a. Taker Central. Don’t expect a warm welcome.”

Stepping out beside him, it took my eyes a minute to adjust to the light. The room we were in was mostly empty and about the size of our two-car garage. In the very center two power cords hung from the ceiling, and below them sat electronic equipment of every shape and size. I recognized a couple of machines from trips to the hospital. They measured heart rate and blood pressure, stuff like that. I didn’t know what the rest did, but it seemed pretty clear that it was all medical equipment. Two walls were formed of metal, while the other two were partitions made from white sheets that hung from the ceiling. Given the partitions, it was impossible to tell the actual size of this room, but it was clearly massive.

Walking to the white sheet on the right, I peered around one edge without touching it. This next room was the same, except it only had one metal wall; the section we’d come in from was in a corner.

We walked through section after section like this. We’d passed through a dozen, maybe more, before I heard the first voice.

“ … does it seem to be going?”

A second, more nasal voice responded. “She’s been in almost a full week.”

“Any adverse reactions?”

“None. Her vitals all look strong.”

“And the host?”

“She’s checked in with Cooper a couple of times and seems to be adjusting well.”

Pushing away Jack’s hand, I peeked around the edge of the curtain and saw a single hospital bed in the next room. Two men stood beside it, one in a suit coat and the other in some kind of camouflage military vest. They continued to talk about pulse and brain wave activity. The one in the suit belonged with the nasal voice I’d heard and was clearly the person with medical training. The other seemed to be in charge—of the Takers, the experiment, the whole base? I couldn’t tell, but he projected a clear sense of authority.

Even with all that, the most interesting person to me was the one in the bed. The one hooked up to over a dozen tubes, wires, and monitors … I couldn’t see her face, but I didn’t think I needed to. Chloe had told us she was the first Taker to do a trial of Eclipse. We’d just found where they were keeping her body.

And it looked like they were prepared to handle many, many more Takers just like her.

twenty-five

As Jack found a path through more of the partitions, I memorized each and every step. I’d already made up my mind. When we left, we were taking Chloe with us. Red-hot anger flowed through my every cell, and I fought with each breath to keep Darkness locked up. Even without his influence, a big part of me wanted to end this Taker if we couldn’t save Finn. Why should she live when she’d cost him his life?

I followed close behind Jack as he led the way out of the medical center and into the main halls of the base. He seemed to have figured out exactly where we were, because he was taking each turn with increasing speed and confidence. Except for slowing to check each hall and room for people, we were making great progress. The halls were mostly empty. Jack had explained that most of the Night Walkers didn’t actually live here, so they were operating under a skeleton crew at night.

We came to a desk with a security guard sitting at it. We waited, watching for the opportunity to get past him. He had a tablet out and was staring at some old TV rerun. Jack gave me a nod and I snuck into a room behind us and knocked over a stack of empty boxes. When the guard came in to investigate, Jack wrapped one arm around his neck. But the guard was stronger than he looked. He rammed himself backward, slamming Jack into the wall. My heart sped up in my chest when I saw him grab for the gun on his belt, and I moved much faster than I’d expected. The dream with Addie had really worked wonders. I hooked my arm through his, pushed it back, and kept the gun out of his reach. Then I pulled it from the holster and slid it across the floor. Jack still clung on, and the guard was turning purple … then faded to a pale blue before finally collapsing to the floor.

Just as he stopped struggling, Jack held one finger to his lips and we caught our breath, listening. It took only a second before I heard it too. Footsteps crept through the hall outside our room. They were deliberately soft, and then there was a whispered voice. I couldn’t make out the words, but the voice still made my spine stiffen. It meant two things. There was more than one person—

And they knew we were here.

I stood closest to the door and held my breath as I heard someone get close. As soon as he reached around the doorway to flip on the light switch, I grabbed his wrist and jerked him into the room. I barely processed the shocked look on his young face—he wasn’t much older than me—before I swung hard and fast. My arm vibrated as my fist connected with his cheekbone. My knuckles were throbbing. When he fell back, he hit his head against a shelf and collapsed to the floor.

I spun in time to see Jack knocking a walkie-talkie from an older guard’s hand. He reached for a gun at his waist, but Jack kicked the front of his right kneecap and the man screamed and crumpled like wadded-up paper. In two movements, so fast my eyes could barely keep up, Jack grabbed the gun from the guard’s belt and slammed the butt down against the top of his head. Then he moved over to the guard I’d decked, who was moaning, and knocked him out as well.

And then there was silence. Jack picked up the walkie-talkie, turned it down almost all the way, and clipped it to his belt. He stood at the door, listening intently for noise in the hallway as I pulled the guards into the back of the storage room and tied them up with some rope we’d brought in my backpack. I shoved them back behind a row of shelves.

The entire process had taken about two minutes. Jack was more than well trained; he was more than efficient. Seeing him in here … the way he never freaked out or seemed scared … he was like a machine.

Probably a good thing I’d never let Darkness convince me to get in a full-on fist-fight with Jack. He was very good and could probably kill me with his pinky or something … if he wanted to.

Finally, we came to a maze of hallways where every door was barred. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped, my feet glued to the floor. We’d been in such a hurry, and I’d been so worried about Finn and getting inside and everything else we were doing that I’d never stopped to think about what would actually happen when I found Dad.

I was about to see him for the first time in nearly five years. I’d recognize him, I knew, because I’d seen him when Jack had made him appear in Mom’s dream. But would Dad know me? Would he recognize me? I’d changed a lot since I was eleven.

I didn’t even want to think about the other question hovering in the back of my mind:

Did he even want to see me?

Jack continued moving down the hallway, peeking through the small square windows into each cell. He’d made it around the corner before he noticed he’d lost me and came back. His jaw was tight, and I was suddenly nervous about what we might find waiting in these cells.

“Come on.” His words were barely a whisper across the air. He grabbed my wrist, pulling me along beside him until I started moving of my own volition.

We worked together. He went left, I went right, checking every cell. The conditions I saw inside made my stomach turn. Most of the cells had no light or only a single bulb hanging overhead. They were dank and cold, with shivering prisoners in horrifying conditions. Each cell was about half as big as my bedroom, with only the barest necessities inside: a sink and a hole in the corner that served as a toilet. Very little else. Most prisoners didn’t even have cots, although I saw a thin blanket occasionally. One after another … there were people in all of them.

As I checked the next one on my side, my feet halted their forward motion. My gut clenched tight with fury and sadness.

The little blond girl was curled in a tiny ball in the corner of her cot. She held one corner of her ragged blanket between her fingers and tugged on the loose threads with small trembling fingers. I recognized her immediately. It was the seven-year-old who’d gone missing; we’d talked to her parents. It was Audrey Martin.

I grabbed Jack’s elbow and pointed into the cell. When he peeked in, his shoulders hunched forward. I whispered, “Why would they take her? She’s so young … ”

“Some of these people are probably other Watchers or suspected Builders, but most are probably just regular people who got in a Taker’s way or served a purpose. At her age, any Night Walker ability wouldn’t have developed yet … I’d bet she’s leverage. The parents must have something the Takers want.” Jack shook his head and shrugged.

The Takers had caused even more trouble than we knew. I wondered how many of their prisoners were people we’d seen reported missing on the news. From the stories Jack had told me about Takers killing suspected Builders, I wondered if any of the kidnapping victims hadn’t survived even long enough to be thrown into this hellhole.

Jack moved on and gestured for me to follow him, but I didn’t move.

He walked back and looked into Audrey’s room again before closing his eyes tight and frowning. “Your dad first … then we’ll figure out the rest.”

My jaw tightened and I gave him a reluctant nod before moving on to the next room on my side.

We kept checking left and right, again and again. I tried not to look at the people once I realized they weren’t Dad. Not looking too close made it hurt less every time I walked away. I’d never seen, never even imagined, anything like this. No one deserved this.

When Jack got to the last room on his side of the hall, he stopped and looked back at me. I could tell from the look in his eye, from the way he hesitated, that he’d found what we were looking for.

And now he looked scared.

Stepping around him, I took a long deep breath, braced myself for anything I might see, and peeked through the window. The room was dark; there wasn’t even a light bulb hanging overhead, just a barren socket. I could barely make out a form in the back corner on the cot and I didn’t know how Jack could be sure it was Dad, but when I glanced at him, he just gave me a grim nod and waited.

My hands were shaking as I wrapped my fingers around the door release and pried it up. The noise it made wasn’t overly loud, but it wasn’t exactly quiet either. I checked the hall around us and listened, but I didn’t hear anyone coming. So I counted to three, then pulled the door open and stepped inside.

If possible, inside the room was even quieter than the hallway. I crept closer, not wanting to scare him even more than our presence already would. I heard Jack slip into the room behind me and lodge something at the bottom of the door so that it closed most of the way, but not completely.

Seconds felt like minutes, or possibly even hours, passing as I crept closer to the form on the bed. Time didn’t exist, because my heart was pounding too fast and hard for it to keep up. I kept waiting for movement, but the light was too dim. I couldn’t make out anything. Flashbacks of Dr. Freeburg lying dead in his bed didn’t help, and I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat. This was not the same thing. He was not going to be dead when I finally found him. My dad was alive … he had to be.

Jack’s breath was heavy right behind me and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw sweat on his forehead as he stared at the form on the bed. It wasn’t hot here; if anything, it was very cool down in this bunker. Was he as nervous as I was?

Then a shadow broke away from the far wall and sl-ammed into Jack so hard I actually heard the breath leave his body. He was tall, taller than Jack, taller than me. He had Jack on the floor squirming under the weight across his throat in seconds … no, pieces of seconds.

It was so fast my eyes couldn’t follow the movement, but other than the gush of air from Jack and the thud when they hit the ground, it was nearly silent. Then the figure raised his face and the sliver of light caught on the light blue of my dad’s eyes—my eyes—but the stark desperation in them reminded me more of Darkness’s eyes. The thought chilled me to my core.

He stared up at me as he spoke two words that stole the air from my lungs. “Hello, son.”

I blinked and he smiled, showing smile lines around his eyes that felt out of place on a face so similar to my own. When Dad looked back down at Jack, everything about him stiffened and he pressed harder on his neck. Jack’s face faded from red to violet. Nothing that was happening made sense, but until it did, I wasn’t going to let anyone die.

Grabbing my dad’s shoulder, I jerked on it, but my movements were hesitant and he was too strong. It was barely enough to make him notice me.

“What are you doing?” His expression was incredulous as he turned his face up toward mine again.

“Me? What about you?” I finally snapped into action as Jack’s eyes started to bulge out. Searching around me, I pulled the lump off the bed that we’d thought was a person … it was strategically wadded-up clothes beneath a blanket. I grabbed a shirt and wrapped it across the front of my dad’s shoulders, then took hold of the ends and leaned back with all my weight. Leveraging my body to pull Dad back just enough, I felt a little give, then an inch more … and then I heard Jack gasp in a short breath of much-needed air.

This was not at all how I’d pictured our reunion, but I had to do something before Jack wasn’t alive anymore to tell me his half of whatever the hell was going on here.

“Get off of him.” I pulled harder and Dad glanced back at me, his expression beyond surprised. He looked flat-out shocked.

“Parker … ”

“Get off,
now
.” I jerked him back hard again and inclined his head.

“Okay, fine.” He eased off enough that Jack took a huge breath and started coughing, his face color returning to normal. But when I dropped the shirt, Dad didn’t move any further. He looked very much like the version of himself that Jack had shown me in the dream—his dark hair long and wavy, his beard a little thicker—but there was a raggedness that hadn’t been there before. It wasn’t in his appearance, it was in his eyes. It was a crazed desperation I’d only seen one other place: in myself.

“I don’t know what you think, Parker … ”

I pointed down at Jack with my free hand and kept my voice low. “I don’t know what
you
think. In fact, I don’t know you at all,
Dad
… ”

He flinched and I saw the pain I’d caused in his face. Darkness flared deep inside me, enjoying the punishment I was delivering, reveling in the fact that Dad deserved it. I swallowed hard, pushing Darkness down firmly behind his wall. Ignoring his angry bellowing, I went on, softening my tone.

“Look down at him.” We both turned our eyes on Jack. His arms were by his side and tears rolled down his cheeks. He wasn’t even trying to defend himself. “Does he look like someone you need to fight? Does he look like your enemy? What are you doing?”

Jack shook his head. “No, he’s right, Parker. It’s my fault he got caught. I ignored his warnings. I thought I knew better. I wanted to prove I
was
better.” He took a deep, shuddering breath. “They used me to get him.”

Dad leaned forward, his face and expression furious, but he didn’t try to choke Jack again. His voice was a feral growl. “That’s all, huh? Don’t you have more to confess to your brother?”

“M-my wha—” I knelt back from them in complete shock, but no one seemed to notice.

“No, that’s all. What are you talking about?” Jack was physically trembling beneath him.

“No more lies.”

This time Jack actually looked a little offended. “I’m not lying!”

“You practically gift-wrapped me for them!” Dad sl-
ammed the side of his fist against the ground next to Jack’s head. “You called and told me they had you!”

“They were holding a gun to my head!” Jack spit out, pushing him off.

“But when I came, you weren’t here.” I could hear in Dad’s voice, as he leaned back, that he was starting to doubt. “Instead, they had a whole army waiting to greet me.”

“I only agreed to call you because
I knew you wouldn’t come
!” Jack pushed Dad again and slid up the wall into a sitting position. It was silent for ten—twenty—thirty seconds before Jack uttered four words that were absolutely drenched in pain and regret. “
Why
did you come?”