shrug.
“When he was born with the dark hair, she knew he would never be accepted. Somehow, she learned about one of our people. She left the baby with them, and they brought him to me.
“For years, he grew, he played, and he was intelligent, but he never spoke. No babbling or cooing, like other babies. Not until he was three, but even then, his words did not come the conventional way.” Jordan leaned forward. “He spoke in my head.”
Forgetting to maintain unresponsiveness, Ellyssa’s eyes widened. Although she knew of Jeremy’s gift, had experienced it herself, the possibility of such an occurrence outside of The Center still seemed unfeasible.
“His words were as clear as those I am speaking to you now. But there was more to it. He could make you know things, understand things.”
“That is what happened to me,” she uttered in disbelief.
“I thought I was going insane, when he first did it to me.” Chuckling, Jordan eased back.
The old man’s laughter was deep and throaty, and fell from him easily. She liked it.
As the chuckle died, Jordan’s dark eyes fixed on her, his expression turned serious. “Do you know why he could do that? Did it have anything to do with The Center?”
Ellyssa considered the chances of Jeremy’s condition being a byproduct of The Center. It would definitely explain Jeremy’s unique ability. And it wasn’t like her father would ever admit such a weakness on his behalf or The Center’s. After all, the only reason Ellyssa had found out about Subject 20, Ida, was because… She paused at the thought.
It was because of Jeremy.
Did the strange dark-haired male somehow know he’d come from The Center?
Ellyssa dismissed the idea. If he’d known, then Jordan would’ve known. But maybe, somehow, he had felt a connection. One strong enough that he’d reached out to her.
As their expectant stares stayed locked on her, Ellyssa wondered how they would react to her own unique ability. Would they accept her as easily as they had Jeremy?
She was torn.
Her complete treachery toward her father, her brothers and sister, of everyone in society. But wasn’t what her father planned a betrayal, too? Genocide of all society, to be replaced by new and improved models.
Ellyssa’s gaze flicked to Rein; his eyes scrutinized her, waiting for an answer.
Now was not the time to share. But, eventually, she had to tell them.
Ellyssa wet her lips. “I am not sure. He could have been born at The Center. If he was, though, I would not have been informed of such matters.”
Jordan nodded, as if he’d expected as much.
“Why was he so far from home?” she asked.
The older man glanced at the doctor, who flipped his head in approval. “We have members in Chicago. They help us with supplies—food, medicine, other things. There are others in Kansas City, to help with delivery.”
She assumed “other things” were weapons, but she didn’t press the subject. No reason to. At this point, it really didn’t matter.
He looked over his shoulder at Rein. “I think it’s time.”
Rein pushed off the wall and came to help Jordan up from the chair.
Jumping to his feet, Mathew rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.”
Ellyssa’s eyebrows knotted together. “What?”
Jordan held his wrinkled hand out to her. “We thought it was time for you to see something beside the inside of this room. How would you like to meet the other residents?”
She stared at his outstretched fingers for a moment. The touching these people participated in was unnerving, but not unpleasant. It was something she’d have to get used to if she planned on staying.
The thought startled her.
Was that her plan? To live in a cave with Renegades? She’d considered the idea before, but not with such definitiveness. Unexpectedly, the idea felt somewhat…comforting and thrilling. Returning to The Center was not an option. She was a failed experiment and expendable. One thing her lessons had taught her, above everything else, was self-preservation.
Ellyssa took Jordan’s hand and curled her fingers around the meaty part of his palm.
Ellyssa walked beside Jordan, her fingers entwined within his, as they worked their way down the winding passages. She busied herself with memorizing the layout.
“Is this it?”
Jordan chuckled. “No, there aren’t any lights in the section ahead.”
They rounded a corner into inky blackness. Blinded, she faltered.
Jordan tugged on her arm. “It’s okay.”
“What is this place?”
“This part is a coal mine, abandoned way before The War. We keep the hospital here, and some of our supplies, due to the drier air.” Jordan stopped and placed Ellyssa’s hand on the rocky surface. “We stay in a cavern. Follow the wall.”
With slow, careful steps, she did as instructed, until the wall fell away and her hand slipped through a fissure. Surprised, she gasped and stumbled forward, almost falling inside. Her shoulder scraped the rocky exposure.
The old man laughed and rested his hand on the small of her back. “Sorry. I should’ve warned you. You’ll get used to it. Like second nature,” Jordan said. “The fissure is large enough for you to fit through, but not two, side-by-side.” He slid his hand from her back to her wrist. “Rein, take her other hand to help guide her.”
Not liking the disorientation, she popped into each of the men’s heads to locate them. None of them had any ill intentions. She felt a large hand bump into her shoulder and slide down the side of her arm, making her skin tingle with a current like electricity. Shocked, she pulled away.
“It’s just me.” Rein’s voice floated at her from the darkness.
“Did you not feel that?” Ellyssa asked, clenching and unclenching her hand.
“Feel what?”
How could he not feel the tingle when he touched her? Confused, she frowned. “I-I do not know. Nothing.”
He found her again, his fingers grazing over the curve of her elbow to find her hand. The tingles followed. He interlaced his fingers with hers, and gave a squeeze. Warmth traveled up her arm and into her chest. Her heart responded. Unsettled, she clamped her mouth shut. The physiological responses his touch elicited frightened her.
“Rein’ll go first.”
As soon as Jordan spoke, Ellyssa was pulled inside, the same shoulder knocking into the edge again. She immediately felt the change. The previous openness disappeared, and the darkness pressed against her.
Was she insane? Trapped between a rocky enclosure and Renegades, and disoriented. They were at an advantage if she failed to pick any trap from their brains. Yet, here she was, trusting a group of outsiders she’d been conditioned to kill. Not in a million years would she have thought this possible.
The thin corridor snaked around bends and curves, growing cooler as they proceeded. The dryness of the air gave way to moisture. Like a computer, Ellyssa’s brain absorbed every detail. The steps. The temperature changes. The ambiance of the enclosure. She filed the information away.
After the last curve, the fissure opened wider and into a lighted room where fluorescents hung from the ceiling. The air in the open room was wetter, cooler, and carried a pleasant, mineral scent. Strange buzzing echoed through an opening ahead.
“The first settlers found it while exploring,” Jordan yelled over the din, between winded huffs. A greyish tint lingered under the older man’s pallor. “It ended up being a great hiding place during the initial raids.”
Impressed with the hard work completed over the years with limited resources, Ellyssa followed the three
