The Vault (A Farm Novel) (17 page)

I tried to imagine Smart Com’s offices in the Before. Obviously, this stuff had been here then. How many living spaces did they have on the compound? How many families could it hold? What reasoning had Sabrina given for wanting extensive living quarters in their offices?

Of course, I’d read something once about how high tech companies had expected their employees to work such long hours, they basically lived there. I guess that was the explanation.

I did a surreptitious search of the room, looking for another camera. When I didn’t see an obvious place for one, I did a second, more thorough search that turned up a tiny mic but no camera. Good to know Sabrina’s people were paranoid but not pervy.

I did a quick look around the room, just in case someone had left a pen and paper in here, but of course I was never that lucky. I took the bar of soap out of its box and used the corner of the soap to start writing. If the bathroom was the one room in the place without a camera, then notes on the mirror were the only way I had to actually communicate with Dawn and Darren.

I was a few words into my note to them when there was a knock on the bathroom door. It swung open before I had a chance to respond. Dawn stepped inside, quickly shutting it behind her.

I put a finger to my lips to shush her and then cupped my hand to my ear and pointed to the mic, which was just visible above the medicine cabinet. She nodded, rolling her eyes in a well-duh expression.

Before I could ask her what she was doing, she said, a little loudly, “Thank God you’re okay. I was so worried.”

“What are you doing? Darren—”

“Darren’s watching a movie. I’m sorry,” she said, still talking loudly. “I know you said you didn’t want them to know about us, but I had to see you.”

Then she squeezed by me and reached past the shower curtain to turn on the water.

“Please. Just hold me,” she begged. “I’m so scared.”

But instead of throwing herself into my arms again, she jumped up and sat on the counter beside the sink. And then winked at me.

And I just stood there, holding a bar of soap in my hand like a dumb-ass.

In the background, just over the roar of the water in the shower, I heard an explosion from whatever movie Darren was watching. The shower plus the movie would cover the sound of any conversation she and I had.

Dawn was brilliant.

“So what’d you find out?” she asked in a whisper.

“Not much that I didn’t tell you already,” I admitted.

“But you did find the cure, right?”

“I think so. I won’t know for sure until I can poke around a little, but I’m pretty positive the samples are in a refrigerator in the lab. In Building C.”

“Near the clinic?” she whispered, swinging her legs back and forth.

“Yes.”

“Cool. Then we just need an excuse to go to the clinic, right?”

“Look, it’s not that simple.” By now, the water had warmed up and steam was billowing out from behind the curtain.

“Of course it is.”

“The security here is heavier than I thought. There’s a real chance I’ll get caught or hurt when I’m trying to break out.”

“Wait, what do you mean, when
you
try to break out?” Her voice rose in proportion to her suspicion. Which she must have realized as well, because then she said loudly again, but with more emotion than I could have faked, “Don’t make me leave. I love you so much.”

Despite her words, she looked completely bored. “Jesus,” I whispered. “Are you some kind of actress?”

She grinned cheerfully. “Just three years of drama in high school. I played Anne Frank. But seriously, we are all leaving together, right?”

“Look . . .” I leaned closer, because I hadn’t had three years of drama in high school, and if anyone heard my voice, I wouldn’t be able to act my way out of it. “I know it’s not ideal, but I honestly believe Sabrina needs more people. Yes. She’ll be pissed when I leave, but you and Darren would be safe here.”

Dawn frowned. “You want us to stay?”

“If you’re here, there’s three layers of electrified fences between you and the Ticks. There are countless armed guards. And there are fresh pineapples.”

“You
do
want us to stay.”

“I want you to have the option.” My gaze flickered to the note I’d been writing on the mirror. Enough condensation had formed on the glass that my message was legible. The soap-on-the-mirror trick had worked, even if my handwriting was crap.

Dawn glanced over her shoulder and saw what I’d written.

Seems safe. Please think about staying. I’m leaving at

That was as far as I’d gotten. Dawn squinted at the mirror, trying to decipher my handwriting. Then she turned back to me, glaring.

“You were just going to ditch us?”

“No. I was going to give you the option of staying here where you’d be safe.”

She poked me in the chest. “You know you have issues.”

Yeah. Like I didn’t know that.

She leaned closer and whispered fiercely, “I thought my dad had issues about trying to keep everyone safe. But you make him look like—” She squinted. “I don’t know. Someone really chill.”

I had met her father only a handful of times, but the idea that I might be crazier than that gun nut terrified me.

“Look, I’m not being paranoid. I just want you to know what you’re getting into.”

“Darren and I both know what we’re getting into. So, you know, screw you for asking.” She sounded more annoyed than angry. “We’re coming with you.”

I held up my hands to ward off the protest I knew she’d make. “If they try to stop us—and they will try to stop us—they’ll shoot first and ask questions later. If one of you gets hit—”

“Then one of us gets hit.”

“If they catch us and one of you is hurt, there’s a good chance they won’t bring you back to the infirmary.” I’d seen it happen on Farms. Someone got hurt and medical supplies were too precious to waste, when fresh blood was just as valuable.

Dawn seemed to consider the issue for only about half a second. “You forget. I have medical training. If Darren is wounded I’ll patch him up. If I’m wounded, then I can talk him through it.” She eyed me shrewdly. “I notice you’re not worried about what’s going to happen if you’re wounded.”

“No.” I didn’t know what else to say to that.

“Because you’re one of those abductor things?”

“Abductura,”
I corrected automatically. “You know about that?”

She shrugged. “Zeke told me.”

“I didn’t think Zeke knew.”

Jesus. Was there anyone who didn’t know?

Yes. There was at least one person who didn’t know. Lily.

And once I did finally manage to save her, then I had to tell her the truth about me. And I’d have to face up to the very real possibility that our relationship was . . . weirdly one-sided. But I couldn’t think about that now.

Dawn hopped down off the sink. “I don’t know. He said that some of the guys from Base Camp had known all along and I guess someone told him.”

Some of the guys? “Who?”

“I don’t know.” She took a washcloth and started scrubbing the soap off the mirror. Then she dropped the washcloth on the floor and turned back to face me. “So what’s the deal? Are we going to shower first?”

“What?”

“Before we break out of here? Are we going to take turns showering or what? Because you seemed pretty jazzed about the idea of taking a hot shower.”

“I’m . . . yeah. I guess.” Hell. I could certainly use the time to clear my head.

“Take your shower,” she told me. “But when you get out, be prepared.”

“For what?”

She shrugged, giving a little smile. “Well, if the cure is in the clinic, then we need a reason to go there, right?”

“Yeah,” I said, still not making the connection.

“So be ready.”

“What are you going to do?” I demanded.

“I’m going to take care of it. I’ll be creative.”

CARTER

I showered quickly because I still wasn’t sure what I should “be prepared” for.

I considered and dismissed the possibility that she was going to tell Marek about her nurse’s training. That would pique his interest, but wouldn’t necessarily get her taken to the clinic. Or Darren and me.

I dried off and got dressed. The first actual hot shower I’d had in months and I didn’t even get to enjoy it. I was just pulling my hoodie over my head when the bathroom door slammed open. Darren stood in the doorway, hands clenched, jaw twitching.

Darren, who was easily one of the nicest guys I’d ever met—looked pissed. This was a guy who’d smiled and laughed after I’d nearly beaten the crap out of him. When we first met, his entire family had pointed guns at my chest, but he’d been one of the voices of reason.

And now he launched himself at me. He grabbed me by the front of my sweatshirt and swung me around, flinging me out of the bathroom. I stumbled back into the bedroom and caught myself just before I landed on the bed.

Here’s the thing about fighting that a lot of people don’t get. Yeah, it’s a little bit about size and muscle. It’s a little about surprise. It’s a lot about training, practice, and experience. But more than any of those things, it’s about will. In a fight, a lot of times it comes down to how badly you want to hurt the other person. Are you mad enough or scared enough, do you want to hurt them badly enough that you don’t care if you get hurt? That you don’t even notice?

I had Darren on height and muscle. I don’t know, maybe I had him on training and experience. I’d been to the academy and fought my way out of a lot of tough situations, but he had like five older brothers, so I figured he’d been defending himself against them since he could walk.

But when it came to will, he had me beat. Times ten. He wanted to rip me limb from limb and I didn’t even know why.

I liked the guy. I needed the guy on my side. I sure as hell didn’t want to hurt the kid. So all I could do was defend myself.

He lunged toward me, swinging at my jaw. I managed to dodge that blow, but not when he brought his other fist into my right kidney. Pain exploded through my gut and I crumpled over. He slammed his fists into my exposed back, which hurt way more than it sounds like it would. I managed to sweep my legs around, scissoring his and toppling him to the ground. I tried to scramble back, but he grabbed my leg with one arm and brought his fist down onto my knee. I rolled away from the punch—which was good, because I so didn’t need a broken kneecap. This was getting serious. I kicked my foot out toward his gut, but he rolled out of the way. Somehow the ball of my foot connected with his nose. Blood spewed across the floor. We both scrambled to our feet.

I held my hands out in front of me. “What the fu—”

But Darren wasn’t done yet. He launched himself at me again and this time he punched me right on my jaw. I stumbled back a step, tripped on something on the floor, and went down. The back of my head slammed into the floor hard enough that my vision narrowed. I could feel the blood roaring through my brain.

Holy shit, the little bastard had knocked me out. And I still didn’t even know why.

*  *

I must not have been out long.

When I came to, Dawn was leaning over me, a wet washcloth in her hand. Marek was right behind her. His twin had Darren in a headlock.

Darren looked slightly calmer, but when he saw my eyes flicker open he lurched forward like he was trying to break out of the bigger guy’s grasp. Which so wasn’t going to happen. Thank God.

“What the hell?” I choked out weakly.

“I can’t believe you messed with my sister!” Marek’s twin tightened his grip around his throat and Darren stopped struggling against him. But the pure hate in his gaze didn’t diminish. “I’m going to kill you!”

“I didn’t mess with your sister!” I tried to push myself up, but my head felt like it was going to explode and my vision blurred again, so I lay back down.

Dawn pressed a palm to my shoulder. “Lie down. For God’s sake.” She ran the washcloth down my cheek, where I guess blood must have splattered.

“If you think you can get away with shit like this—”

“I didn’t mess with your sister!”

Dawn looked up at Marek. “He probably has a concussion. Maybe even a broken rib. He needs to go to the clinic.”

That’s when I got it. Yeah, I was being a little dense. What can I say? I had a head injury.

Marek looked at me critically. “I don’t know. You’re supposed to stay here until Sabrina comes back tonight.”

Dawn shook her head as she stood. “If this kind of injury happened out there, outside the compound, I’d say we could wait and see, but if you have any kind of medical facilities here at all, we need to figure out if he has a concussion. He struck his temple, which is one of the most vulnerable spots on the head.”

I’d hit the back of my head. Not my temple. Unless I’d somehow hit something else after being knocked out. But I didn’t correct Dawn. Clearly, this was her play.

As far as I could tell, Darren hadn’t figured out what she was doing, because he still looked like he wanted to rip the guard’s arm off and beat me with it. So I was guessing no.

Marek seemed to be wavering. Dawn walked over to Darren. She refolded the washcloth to expose the clean side and dabbed at his bloody nose. “He probably needs to go, too.”

Marek scowled. “What are you, a doctor?”

She met his gaze unflinchingly. “Actually, I’m a nurse. I’m sure you know how serious head injuries are. And this is his second head injury today. We could wait and see”—she shook her head grimly—“but if we wait too long, there might not be anything we can do.”

And just like that, we were all on our way to the clinic.

*  *

Darren clearly hadn’t known what the plan was when he beat the crap out of me, but he must have figured it out at some point. Either that, or I’d done more damage to him than I thought I had, because halfway back to the clinic, Darren passed out. Or pretended to pass out. I was really hoping for the latter.

Marek had been escorting me and his twin was a couple of yards in front of us escorting Darren when Darren stumbled to a stop, paused for a second with his hand to his head, and then crumpled to the ground.

Marek’s twin tried to catch him and mostly kept him from slamming his head again. Dawn rushed over and declared that Marek and the twin needed to carry him to the clinic rather than try to revive him. She rushed them on ahead with the reassurance that she’d make sure I was right behind them.

Marek gave me a steely-eyed glare. “There’s no way you’ll get out of here. You know that, right?”

Dawn stood and glared at Marek. “For God’s sake, he has a concussion. Of course he’s not going to try to escape. Now go!”

Marek eyed her for another few seconds as if trying to decide if he could trust her. Then he and the twin each wedged a shoulder under Darren’s arms and they carried him off. Marek glanced back often to make sure we weren’t leaving Darren behind and dashing for freedom.

Dawn put a hand on my arm and guided me along behind them slowly enough that we could talk quietly without being overheard.

“You might have warned me,” I said.

“I did warn you. If I’d said any more, you wouldn’t have been surprised when he punched you.” She shot me a sidelong glance. “I’m assuming there are cameras in the bedroom that probably caught the fight.”

“I’m assuming. You took a really big risk.”

“Maybe. But we’re going back to the clinic, right? That’s the goal.”

“Yes, but if Darren or I had gotten seriously hurt . . .”

“Darren’s not that good in a fight and I knew you wouldn’t hurt him.” Her steps slowed for a second and she glared at me. “Besides, we need to get out now. It’s only going to get harder. The longer we’re here, the greater the chance they’ll move the cure. Or increase security on us. Or actually tempt us to stay.”

“Would you be tempted?” I asked.

She shot me a look I couldn’t quite read. “How’d you like that hot shower?”

Hmm . . . Good point. That shower had been amazing. Still, I said, “I’m not going to abandon Lily because a hot shower feels good.

“When we get to the clinic,” I said, changing the subject, “you need to insist we get taken to the lab room. That’s where the samples of the cure are. In the fridge in the corner.”

She nodded, and even though she looked like she wanted to say something else, she didn’t. Instead she fell in line beside me.