The Dark and Hollow Places - Carrie Ryan [102]
Inside my steps echo along cold walls, my breath puffs of clouds leading the way. I pass the map room, pausing only to see if anything’s changed, but it still looks the same.
I expected to find the building bustling or at the very least a Recruiter or two wandering the hallways, but there’s no one. Just an eerie silence that makes my heart sound too loud. It isn’t until I round a corner deep in the bowels of the headquarters that I understand where everyone is.
Then I hear the shouting, the moaning, the sound of someone struggling against metal cages. There are few windows to give natural light so the hall’s dim, shadows hovering along the creases between wall and floor. I close my eyes and wait for the scream of surrender. Listen to the pleas for mercy.
I grip the machete tighter, wondering if that’s what they’ll do to me if they find me. Knowing that my death would mean they’d have to find a way to save Elias and my sister. As they keep reminding us, they need at least one of us alive to tether Catcher. If I die, they have no choice but to save the others.
As carefully as possible, I double back and start searching. I pass barren rooms with nothing but dust and sometimes an old desk or a broken chair. It takes a while and my nervousness causes me to sweat, every sound making me hesitate and my senses tingle. I don’t know how long the sacrificed will last in the cage—how much time I have before someone gets bored and stumbles upon me.
Finally I find a storage room, crooked shelves stacked with baskets of food and supplies. I grab an old lantern by the door and light it, start rifling through everything. In the corner I find pouches of dried herbs and plants. One by one I sniff them, pouring the contents into my hands and trying to recall what will bring down a fever. Yarrow? Bloodroot? Coriander? I squeeze my eyes closed tight, trying to remember what Elias purchased for me when I was sick, what it looked and smelled like.
Frustrated, I just give up and shove everything into my pockets, then ease back into the hallway. As I walk to the exit a light sort of fluttery feeling starts to tickle in my stomach—a small sense of relief that everything will be okay.
When the door to the outside appears I get lax and stop straining for every noise. And so I’m utterly surprised when fingers clamp around my arm, twisting me back until I thump against the wall.
It’s a tall broad-shouldered Recruiter with brown hair tucked behind his ears and dark eyes. He smiles, a dimple appearing in his cheek. “This is unexpected,” he says, his light tone almost flirtatious.
“I was looking for something,” I say nonchalantly, trying not to sound guilty.
He tilts his head to the side. “What’s that? Or should I say who’s that?” He winks almost awkwardly. I start to relax, thinking maybe I’m not going to be in trouble. That maybe I can talk myself out of this. After all, it’s not like I’m not allowed to wander around the island, I just haven’t that often.
“A few supplies for Elias,” I say with a shrug, hoping the mention of another Recruiter will ease my way out of here.
He nods and is about to push open the door for me when he notices the machete gripped so tightly in my hand that the skin around my knuckles is white. Before I can say or do anything he jerks his knee into my wrist, slamming it hard against the wall. There’s a bright pain and then my fingers tingle, go numb. The machete clatters to the floor and the Recruiter places his foot over the flat of the blade.
“It’s not polite to bear weapons indoors,” he says, grabbing my arm.
I glance at the doorway leading outside, my escape so close. “I—I just—”
He jerks me from the wall and shoves me down the hallway so hard that I stumble, falling to one knee. As I start to right myself, one of the packets of herbs slips from my overflowing pockets and lands on