**
Once we got to Riley’s emergency shelter, I sat down on one of the many cots. My body felt like a rusty hinge unable to move because of the stiffness, and the cut on my hand ached. When I moved, pain would radiate through me. It felt as if every muscle and nerve was in a constant state of distress.
It had been hours since we had come down here. The blinking red light housed in a small metal cage on the wall of the shelter was reflecting off the polished, thick steel door, putting me in a deep hypnotic state. Its pulsing was aligned with the beating of my heart—thump, thump, thump. Was everything okay? I wondered. Were Dane and Walter able to kill Grey? My mind swam with thoughts that seemed to be a mixed-up mess. The only comfort I had right now was that the four of us were safe in the shelter. The one positive thing I learned was that Grey was only after me, so Elle, my family, and my friends were safe. The moment I fled the group, everyone around me became safe. He could have easily killed the remaining Thusian guards, but instead, he followed me. He didn’t even go after Cora or Dane when they ran to the house. But how long would that last?
This solid concrete tomb had become a second home to us lately. Riley had completed it right before the fire. Little did we know that this room would shelter us each time Walter or Dane thought something was wrong.
“So how long do you think we have to be down here this time?” Genevieve asked, sounding annoyed as usual.
She was on a cot across the room, the farthest away from me. She was propped up against the wall, looking at her fingernails, wearing a sheer purple nightgown with a blanket over her lap. She looked as if she had gotten right out of bed and come straight down here. Until now I had managed not to look at her much. Being down here with nothing to do, I could easily get distracted by her again and let the thoughts that had previously caused so much trouble seep in again. And being exhausted made it easier for my mind to wander to places I didn’t want it to go.
“We need to stay in here as long as Walter says we should,” Cora said. She and Riley were playing cards on a grated steel table in the corner of the room. Riley avoided conversations about anything that had to do with security. He thought it was ridiculous that The 4 would be put down here for our protection—we were supposed to be the ones who were protecting everyone else from the dangers the Seekers created. We could handle ourselves, he had said over and over in the beginning. He had argued this point with Walter and Dane on many occasions, with little success. But once Cora agreed to be down here, Riley had nothing else to say. He had decided to grin and bear it. He would never go against Cora, at least not in front of any of us.
“I hope nobody gets hurt, or worse. You saw what happened to the guard Grey hit with his Belos,” Cora said.
When we first got down here, I asked what weapon Grey had been carrying. Riley explained that it was called a Belos, which was Greek for “missile,” “javelin,” or “arrow.” The reason it was named that was because in the right Seeker’s hand, it could inflict extremely precise damage to anyone in range.
“They’ll be fine out there,” Riley said.
I wasn’t sure if he believed that or if he was trying to change the subject to make Cora feel better.
“How are Seekers able to attack us one-on-one? I thought when someone is in need, no matter who it is, they have to help, like Bryce did,” I said.
“If a Seeker attacks someone with their bare hands, then the Thusian side won’t kick in,” Riley said. “That’s how they were able to kill off the old Council, Keeper Wren, and all of his followers. My dad used to tell me all about it when I was little. He talked about the Great Thusian Wars. It was usually my bedtime story.”
“Okay, that’s creepy. Who cares about all of that stuff? Aren’t you all sick of these rules? I am,” Genevieve said, standing up and stretching to the sky on her tiptoes. I glanced away because I could feel a warm sensation in my chest when looking at her. She had to know that an internal conflict raged inside me because of her. This was probably all part of her plan to make me think about her constantly.
“Does anyone here really think we need these babysitters? I know you don’t, Riley. You saw what happened when Thusians who aren’t part of The 4 are around. People get hurt. That poor fool of a guard probably got himself killed trying to protect Nicholas, and for what? Nothing,” Genevieve said, now strolling throughout the chamber.
“Genevieve, this is how it’s going to be for now. We have to go along with the Divine Thusian Council because if they wanted to, they could make things very difficult for us. And I would rather fight against one enemy right now, not two, if you don’t mind,” Cora said with more command in her voice to make her point.
Guilt washed over me. I grabbed some Tic Tacs to help calm me. I was the reason all of this was happening. I had lost my temper and yelled at the Council that we had formed The 4 with help from a Keeper and that The 7 was now complete. I shouldn’t have done that. I put so many people in danger because of my idiocy. Who knows what Bernard Weathers has had to deal with because of it? I never said he was the Keeper, but I don’t think it would’ve been too difficult to piece together who I was talking about. Ester knew and I’m sure the rest did too.
I wasn’t the only one concerned about Bernard Weathers’ safety. Dane also was worried about him being alone at the Thusian vault, and urged him several times over the phone to come here and stay with us. Dane never said anything about him being a Keeper; he just said on more than one occasion that he was an easy target for those damn Seekers.
Dane told us that he had visited Bernard almost every summer when he was younger. He was kind of the father he’d never had. His comments about him had caught me off guard. Dane didn’t remind me of someone who was cultured and sophisticated, the way Bernard seemed. It was funny that I viewed him that way now, because when I had first met him I thought he was some old, deranged hermit living in the hills. I guess, like Bernard, there was more to Dane than I could see.
Dane had to be no more than five-and-a-half feet tall, and he looked like one big muscle. He had dark skin, but not as dark as Walter’s. His full head of hair was braided into neatly kept dreadlocks and pulled back into a ponytail. When he wasn’t making sure the house was secure or having us hide from shadows, he was watching soccer. The green and blue of the Brazilian flag was represented in all of his clothing choices. He was always paying tribute to his home country and, more importantly, his beloved soccer team. I thought it was odd that the Council had picked him to watch over us because he was nowhere near as imposing as Walter. But early in his stay, we had another false alarm, and he picked up Cora as if she was a feather and forced her into the kitchen behind him. He might have looked like he wasn’t strong, but that was just a facade.
I rubbed my face, feeling the tiredness weigh down my eyelids. I longed to be lying under the large oak trees in front of our house, not worrying about anything, with Elle by my side going to sleep. But with those desires, I also thought about the time Genevieve and I spent in isolation away from everyone during the blizzard. I knew I loved Elle and that she was everything to me, but Genevieve was also part of me, no matter how much I tried to push her out of my mind. Whenever I was feeling lonely or struggling with my thoughts, Genevieve somehow always knew and would show up. She escaped from Walter several times a week to come over. Walter had a tough time keeping track of her. He said, out of frustration, that she didn’t need his protection because he doubted if she knew what she was going to do half the time, so Xavier would have no clue how to find her. I think Genevieve was making it known to everyone that no one could control her, and that message was loud and clear.
“So when do you think they’re going to give us the sign that things are okay? I’m tired of being down here as if we’re little kids, not able to wipe our own noses,” Genevieve said. She was acting like a little kid, always asking questions that no one had answers to. She just wanted to hear herself talk, I thought. I think it was her way of dealing with the stress and the
silence.
Four loud bangs came from the metal door a moment later. We all stood and took a defensive posture together. Riley looked through the peephole.
“It’s me,” Walter said. “Nothing’s going on out there now. Grey has left.” Riley unlatched the door, and Walter opened it widely so we could all come out.
“Walter, how’s the injured guard?” I asked, not really sure if I wanted to know the answer.
“He was rushed to Bethesda South. He had lost a lot of blood by the time he got there, but Chase met the team as soon as they arrived, so he’s in the best hands now. That’s all we can ask for,” Walter said, patting me on the back as I walked by.
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