“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Lux,” he said, his face hot. “Come on, let’s clean that up.”
She followed him to the water and stood silently as he washed the blood from her knees, though he knew the salt water had to sting the cuts.
When he was done, he was left with a deep sense of dread and guilt. He stared at her in helpless stupefaction, and she stared back unsmiling.
“I’ve decided,” he announced. “We’ll leave now for the other end of the island so we can look around, maybe see some sign of Sophie before we go in after her.”
He said we because it gave him a slight sense of confidence, as if he weren’t going into this alone. But he wasn’t fooled; Lux was more of a liability, even if she could take out three people bigger than her without breaking a sweat. Maybe she was better at handling herself than Jim was, but she was so childlike that he couldn’t even imagine entangling her in his mess. He would tell her to stay put while he went after Sophie, and then the three of them could escape together. That was his best-case scenario; he was fairly certain things wouldn’t go that smoothly.
“Okay, kid, let’s move out.” He held a hand to Lux, and she stared at it blankly. “Take my hand,” he added. “I’ll help you up.”
She did, and he pulled her to her feet.
They trekked along the eastern shore, walking just within the tree line where the ground was firmer and they were concealed from anyone on the beach.
Jim’s stomach grumbled at him as they walked; the coconut had taken the edge off his hunger but it had not entirely appeased it. He found himself fantasizing about cheese fries for the majority of the walk. He asked Lux if she’d ever had cheese fries, and she said no, and once again he was reminded that she wasn’t the average seventeen-year-old girl.
She grew tired long before he did. Her gait had improved, but her muscles were still weak; if she’d been sleeping for seventeen years he wasn’t surprised that she’d be suffering from atrophy on some level. They must have had some way to stretch and exercise her limbs while she slept or she’d be a stick figure, incapable of standing up.
Finally they came to a bend in the shore, and he realized they’d reached the southern edge of the island. When he looked around, he saw buildings obscured by overgrown trees and vines; this part of the resort had been completely abandoned and was well reclaimed by the island. With Lux a quiet shadow behind him, he slipped between two-story villas and dilapidated shops, following a path made of cemented seashells. Grass poured up through cracks in the sidewalk; he felt as if he were walking through a ghost town. Empty, gaping windows stared malevolently as they passed, and he startled when the wind clacked beneath a broken shutter. It sounded like a gunshot, and his heart jumped onto his tongue.
Gradually the villas began to look less abused by the elements and more kept, and he started seeing signs of habitation: a laundry line draped with men’s clothing, a wind chime on a balcony tinkling like a mad fairy, a garden that actually had flowers in it instead of weeds. These must have been the villas the doctors and guards lived in. On the porch of one of the villas he spotted a row of women’s shoes. He snagged a pair of bright blue Nikes and put them on Lux’s feet; they were a bit large so he pulled the laces as tight as they would go and knotted them securely. When he asked her how they felt, she just smiled.
He found the door to the villa unlocked, and, proceeding on pins and needles, he slipped inside. The villa seemed to be inhabited by one person, a woman judging by the coat hung next to the door and the shoes he’d found on the porch. He made for the small galley kitchen off to the left, only to find the cupboards maddeningly empty. When he searched all the drawers, he found a pack of granola bars—no telling how old—which he shared with Lux. She took it with great care, nibbling tiny pieces, the expressions on her face spanning from awe to terror as she ate. In the end, she had half a bar to Jim’s four, and when she seemed content, he didn’t press her to eat more, not wanting to abuse her odd capacity for obedience. He was glad to leave the place; no matter who these people were, rifling through their kitchens made him feel like a criminal.
Eventually the path turned and ran uphill, past a gymnasium and an open-air restaurant with a thatched roof. Though most of the tables were dusty and unused, a handful were wiped clean and had chairs set around them; they must have used the restaurant for meals from time to time. The roof was supported by tall thick poles, and airy curtains served as walls. They fluttered in the breeze. Beside the restaurant sat an old excavator; with its huge arm and claw bending out the front, it looked like a giant, silent scorpion. A crater in the hillside was evidence of recent work, though a lot of dirt had fallen back down into the hole.
Jim crept around the restaurant and found himself looking up the hill at the building where he had found Lux. Guards stood in front of it, looking more alert than they had that morning. Three doctors were walking briskly up the hill toward them, talking animatedly. Something was up. They all looked riled and excited—had it anything to do with him or Sophie? He had to assume it did, and that they were right now hunting for him. A dark helicopter crouched on the grassy clearing between the building and the bluff; that was new. He was certain it hadn’t been there that morning.
There was no sign of Sophie, though he knew it wouldn’t be that easy. He waved to Lux, unnecessarily since she seemed bound to follow him anyway, even if he walked off the edge of the cliff beside them, and he moved north, using fences, shrubs, and palms for cover. There was no way, with this kind of activity going on, that he’d have a chance of getting inside while any light lasted. Not that darkness would be much help; light posts dotted the perimeter of the building, and floodlights were fixed over every door. He could hardly expect to slip in the way he had that morning by sneaking through a door opened from the inside.
“Okay, here’s the plan. We’ll wait here until—”
Jim froze, then dropped to the ground, motioning for Lux to do the same. A triplet of armed guards walked by, toting rifles and moving with haste, as if on the hunt. Jim’s pulse quickened; he was certain now that they were onto him. On the bright side, if they all ran off to look for him, he’d have a better chance of sneaking in to find Sophie. On the not so bright side, if they knew about him they probably knew about Sophie, which meant she could be locked up and guarded . . . or worse.
The guards had almost passed them by when the wind caught the black ball cap on the third man’s head and whisked it off. He turned to grab it, and it blew into the bush behind which Jim and Lux were crouched. Jim had milliseconds to make a move; he could stay put and hope the man didn’t spot them, or he could start running now in hopes of putting as much space between them and the guards before they could start firing.
He hesitated too long. The guard plucked his hat from the branches and then shouted when he saw Jim.
“RUN!” Jim bellowed to Lux. He grabbed her hand and sprinted into the trees, away from the guards and the resort.
The thickness of the foliage made running difficult; he kept snagging his foot on vines and rocks and barely avoided smashing face-first into the palms. He glanced back and saw the guards following; they zigzagged through the trees, which, at least, prevented them from getting a shot at either Jim or Lux. He wondered if they would risk shooting her; he got his answer when he heard the crack of a gunshot. He glanced at Lux to be sure she wasn’t hit.
They emerged from the trees and onto an old putting green that was flooded with an inch of muddy water. Water splashed up his legs and filled his boots, but he didn’t dare slow down. Lux tripped when they reached a sand pit, the soggy crater catching her by surprise. He helped her up and pulled her along. They vaulted up the opposite bank and found themselves in even denser undergrowth. The trees and ferns and shrubs tangled together in a mess of leaves and vines, like a giant trap intent on snaring them.
Looking back, he saw that they had gained a short lead on the guards, but if
they stopped for a moment the men would have no trouble firing at them. By weaving back and forth, he was able to avoid giving them a direct shot, but as the ground began to incline, their pace slowed.
Ahead of them was a mountain, a short but steep pyramid of rocks and greenery, devoid of trees. He knew he had to avoid the open area; it would only give the guards that much more of an advantage if they began firing. So he cut to the left, rounding the foot of the mountain and heading directly toward the declining sun, Lux a half step behind, her hand clenched in his. Light beamed at them from around the tree trunks; he felt as if he were running into some kind of otherworldly portal. The leaves glowed around them, dewdrops catching and reflecting light like a million tiny prisms. Behind him, he could hear the guards thrashing and yelling, calling for them to stop.
A bullet pounded into a tree to his right, and his heart jumped into his throat. He ran doubled over, trying to make himself a smaller target, and he began weaving between the trees like a drunk, careening this way and that. He dropped back a step so that he was between Lux and the guns.
More shots whistled around them, and he had the feeling the guards weren’t taking much time to aim properly. Maybe they were just hoping a bullet would happen to bring him down, or maybe they were trying to intimidate him into stopping.
Suddenly the ground dropped off in what at first looked like a sinkhole, but when he looked down he saw it was a kind of hidden lagoon. Bright blue green water shimmered at the bottom; he couldn’t tell how deep it was. There was no way around, and it was just wide enough that they couldn’t jump over it. Jim looked back to see that the guards were gaining on them.
“Lux, listen to me,” he said, taking her shoulders and looking her dead in the eye. “Don’t fight them. They have guns and they’ll shoot you, understand? Don’t try to fight them off.”
“Yes, Jim,” she said amiably.
She wasn’t scared, he realized. She had no idea how much danger they were in. Her naïveté filled him with a sudden wave of frustration, and he nearly shook her to try to make her understand. Instead, he pulled his hands away and clenched them into fists. We’ll just have to try to reason with them, he thought, his stomach heavy with dread. Reasoning with people wasn’t one of his stronger skills.
He turned to face the guards, who had reached them and were slowing down. They spread out, cutting off what few avenues of escape Jim had.
“Hey,” Jim said casually, as if they’d just met in line at the gas station instead of in the middle of a hostile island. “How’s it going?”
“The girl,” one said to another, as if Jim had never spoken. “What do we do with her?”
“Strauss didn’t say anything about her,” the other said. “I guess . . . shoot him and take the girl.”
Jim swallowed. Hard. “Uh . . . guys? Come on, guys. Isn’t that a bit . . . hasty? Let’s just take a step back and—”
The guards raised their rifles, each one aimed at his chest, and instinctively he stepped backward—and the ground disappeared and Jim found himself free-falling. So sudden was the fall that he couldn’t even shout; his stomach twisted as he dropped, air streaming around him. Then, with an enormous splash, he plunged underwater. He immediately began swimming, reaching for the surface. The water was deep and freezing cold and, he noticed with surprise, it was fresh.
Lungs burning, Jim clawed desperately at the water, blinded by bubbles. When he finally surfaced, he sucked in a deep breath and looked around. He’d fallen into the inland lagoon at the bottom of a tall cylinder of rock hung with ferns and vines. The water around him sparkled cerulean, and looking up, he saw the canopy of palms, their fronds golden in the light of evening. There was no way up; the walls around the lagoon were at least thirty feet high, and any possible handholds were obscured by thick, heart-shaped leaves that rolled in a wave over the ground above to pour down the sides of the rock. If he’d had time, he might have used the ropy vines that hung straight down into the water to pull himself up, but time was definitely not a commodity he could afford. The guards appeared above him. Lux’s face was among them; one of them was holding her tightly by the arm and, true to Jim’s orders, she wasn’t lifting so much as a finger to fight them. He had to remind himself that that was a good thing, that if she did try to fight them they’d kill her and him. At least this way one of them would survive.
When they saw him trapped like a frog in a bucket, they began angling their guns at him.
Jim looked around, more desperate than ever. He was treading water, and the effort was quickly wearing him out. Then he noticed something he hadn’t seen before—a light under the water. He gulped down a deep breath and sank beneath the surface, swimming toward the light as bullets zinged through the water around him, leaving spiraling columns of bubbles in their trails. The light came from an underwater tunnel made of rock, and after a moment’s hesitation, he wiggled into it and pulled himself along. He was barely small enough to fit through. His shirt snagged on a root, and he thrashed and pulled until it ripped and he was free.
When he emerged on the other side, body aching for air, he pushed off the rock with both feet and shot out of the water, sobbing for oxygen. He was in a deep, narrow stream with high leafy banks on either side. The water rushed along, carrying him with it, and he let the current sweep him away. Looking back, he saw the spot where the stream poured out of the lagoon, with the land above it stretching upward. Jim started to relax, spreading his arms and legs so he could simply float to safety. He could feel his pulse in every limb, pounding frantically through his veins. His arms and legs ached intensely from running and swimming and pulling himself through the narrow tunnel. He agonized over Lux, wondering what they would do, if they’d change their minds and shoot her anyway. He heard no gunshot, but it didn’t assuage his anxiety.
The river coursed like a winding road, and he sensed it was slowing. Soon, it widened and grew shallow, and he was able to stand up and walk. Around him, the land had become flat and covered in tall grasses and short, twisting pines. The sky had turned from blue to scarlet as the sun set behind the island. He sloshed toward the sea, soaked and weary, and when he reached a long white beach he collapsed into the sand and lay on his back, eyes shut, breathing deeply of the briny air. The stream broke into a dozen narrow rivulets that cut through the sand and drained into the sea.
Jim lay there for ten minutes without opening his eyes, feeling his muscles relax and his heart rate gradually fall. His mind reeled at how close he’d come to death, hunted through the trees like a wild animal, like a deer chased by a pack of bloodthirsty hounds. He was alive, but he was no closer to rescuing Sophie and now he’d lost Lux as well.
TWENTY-ONE
LUX
She watched mournfully as Jim disappeared beneath the water. She wanted to follow him, but the man holding her was too strong. Recalling how she’d fought the boys and girl on the beach, she knew she could get free if she tried, but Jim had said Don’t fight them.
Her heart throbbed painfully in her chest, and she watched the water to see if he would reappear the way he had when he swam in the ocean, but he was gone.
Gone.
Panic and fear twisted in her stomach she could not see him but she needed him without him she was losing control was falling apart.
The men dragged her away away from Jim and she could not stop them because don’t fight them don’t fight them.
“What’s wrong with her?” someone said. “Is she having a panic attack?”
“Let’s get her back inside. Call Chad’s group; tell them to search this area. He won’t get far.”
“Think he drowned down there?”
“I’m not gonna find out. We’ll go down later and check, with the right equipment, see if he’s there.”
They marched through the trees and Lux marched with them, but she twisted and turned, trying to look back, trying to find him, but he was nowh
ere. Drowned drowned drowned the man had said, and Lux exploded inside couldn’t bear it couldn’t breathe.
“The hell’s the matter with her?”
“Separation anxiety, looks like. I’ve seen it before with the new ones. Sorry creatures can’t handle the stress of being separated from their, well, whatever you call them. Masters? Owners?”
Their conversation wandered out of Lux’s grasp, and she gave up trying to listen. Her heart pounded in her ears. Without Jim to balance her, the world moved too quickly and confusingly, sucking her down and crashing against her like the waves.
Soon they reached a building on an open hill, and Lux gazed at it in wonder. It was huge and black against the setting sun. She didn’t want to go inside. She wanted to run back into the trees to find Jim. But the men dragged her along even when she dug her feet into the ground, and then she had to relent and go with them because don’t fight them.
Inside she found a strange new world, a world of walls and too-bright lights and solid floors that squeaked beneath the shoes Jim had put on her feet. Strange floor, hard and smooth beneath her feet. She stared at it and fought down the panic that battered at her brain.
“You found her!” cried a voice, and Lux looked up. A woman rushed toward her, a woman with tight black curls and blue eyes and a big white coat. She reached out and took Lux’s face in her hands, then studied her all over. The men let go of her arms, and she stood trembling as the woman turned her around, and looked at her hands, at her feet, her scraped knees.
“Poor thing, she’s been all over the island in this state?”
“Found her with the pilot, but he got away.”
“Come with me, Lux. I’ll get you cleaned up. Thanks, Thornton, I’ll take her from here.”
The men left and Lux was glad to see them go. The woman held her hand and led her into a room. She looked around in a daze, taking it all in, trying to make sense of the strange new objects and sounds and sensations.