Tillie stopped, and that’s when my eyes flew around the place, taking in everything. We were outside, running through a meadow, which was odd, considering. But if I had to guess, I would say we were in the backyard, only the backyard looked to be the size of a damn football field. Tillie pointed toward a barn that was hidden discretely at the back of the house. “In there. There’s a manhole in the floor that leads underground. It’s where they transport stuff that they don’t want documented—ever.”
“Are you saying that some shit has been going on here behind the Kings’ back, or are you saying my dad knew about it and they’re hiding it from The Circle?” Bishop asked from behind me, where he had been the entire time. He had barely touched me since coming back from his slaughtering, and if it wasn’t for the dire situation we were all in, I’d overthink the fuck out of it.
“The latter and then some,” Tillie admitted. She started jogging toward the metal barn. We all followed and waited as Daemon opened the heavy tin door. There was a loud creaking sound that filled the deserted meadow, but once it was open, we all ran inside. Tillie kicked off the manhole cover. It was large enough for us all to jump down and walk through. She went first, and then Daemon handed her the baby before jumping in himself. The order went much like the window, and before I knew it, we were all walking down hidden tunnels. The walls were made of dirt and there were rail tracks that lined the clay ridden rode. Smaller than what you would find for a train, but definitely big enough to hold a small cart.
“These tunnels have areas that curve off to not only all four factions of Perdita but every section too.”
“Every section of this area of Perdita?” Bishop wanted to clarify.
Tillie shook her head, hiking the baby higher. “No. I mean, everywhere on the island.”
“That’s messed up. What the fuck is going on here.”
We continued our trek deeper into the tunnels. Twenty minutes later, the air was tight and sweat was falling off my flesh with every step.
“Tillie,” I called out, wiping away some fallen dirt that had dropped onto my face. It smudged into my sweat and turned it to soft clay. “Is the baby ok?”
Tillie gave me a small smile over her shoulder. “She will be fine once this is over.” Then her legs picked up. “There it is!” We all jogged to an opening archway to the left of the trail. I looked up above, seeing a small metal plate that had “Airport” engraved into it. I let out a sigh of relief just as Tillie pushed open a door and walked through. The space was small, so small that we couldn’t all fit inside at once. Tillie banged on the manhole above her head, and then banged another three times. A lock slid open and daylight slammed into the small enclosure.
“You’re all ok?” Tinker asked, worry evident on her face. “Come on, you’re running low on time.” She reached down and pulled Tillie out, and then Daemon, again, they both switched who was holding the baby—who hadn’t made a sound through the whole way. I was impressed, she obviously got that side from her mother. I grabbed Tillie’s hand and she pulled me up until I was out of the hold and sucking in crisp air again. My chest loosened and relaxed. I turned back to pull Tatum out and then we both grabbed Nate. While the guys were coming out, I took this moment to turn to Tinker.
“What’s your deal?”
“My deal?” Tinker smiled. “Not all of us get to choose our path, Madison, so” —her eyes went over my shoulder before coming back to me— “choose yours wisely.”
I turned my head over my shoulder to see who was there. Bishop.
“Thank you for the advice, but it seems, I can’t choose mine either.”
“You can’t.” Bishop shoulder barged past me. “But I can.”
I swallowed past the hurt that crept up from my chest and into my throat. Sadness gripped to my bones. He cannot be serious.
I HUNG TOWARD THE BACK on the way home. My hands sunk into the pockets of my hoodie and my eyes squeezed shut. I think over the day. I was stuck between two fucking walls in my life. One was the path I knew I should take, and the other was the selfish part of me. I couldn’t say I was battling with either side, because the truth was I wasn’t. I loved Madison, which meant I wanted to be with her at all costs, but when the equation was made up of eighty percent being the risk her life, I wasn’t with it. My mouth felt dry and my palms were sweaty. My shirt clung to my flesh, the residue of blood acting as glue.
Fuck. I hit my playlist. I was being unsociable, considering I really should be asking Tillie how she was holding up. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. The Weeknd “I Was Never There” started playing and my fingers tapped to the beat. My hoodie remained low, above my eyebrows. I continued
