The only one that came to mind was his ability to harness the virus.
And now, it felt like he’d lost that. He’d tried to tap into it when he’d been behind the counter back at the antique store. He’d tried to sink into that place he knew he had deep within, as much as it scared him, as much as it was a last resort.
He’d tried… but he’d failed. Because now here he was. And he knew Iqrah would be here too, somewhere.
He opened his eyes again. Shifted his head a little, side to side. He needed to get rational, needed to devise some kind of proper plan. It was no point moping around in here, waiting for whatever was coming his way. He had to fight his way out. He had to escape.
Or he had to die trying.
He felt something in front of his face. Realised it was a blindfold. He could see a little light beyond it. Not bright or anything, but not total darkness either. At least that much was a relief. Not quite blind. Not totally screwed.
He focused on his wrist, then. Tried yanking it away from the wall at the back. But whatever was around his wrist felt tough and sharp, like metal. Handcuffs, probably.
He tried his ankles, then, but they were in the same state. Tried edging forward in his seat or whatever he was on, but again, no luck.
He tried to keep on telling himself he had a chance here, that he could make it here, when he heard something opposite.
A chuckle.
A laugh.
Noah froze. He looked ahead in the general direction of where he’d heard that laugh. Squinted into the darkness. Was he hearing things?
Then he heard a voice.
“Look, pal. I appreciate you wanting to get out of here. But that ain’t gonna happen.”
Noah lowered his head. Sighed. Should’ve known there was someone back here with him. Stood to reason.
Footsteps echoed along the floor of what must be some kind of van, right towards him. “I mean, I get it. Not exactly ideal for you. And it ain’t like you chose this. But you’ve gotta be realistic, pal. You really think you were gonna hide from us forever? Why do you look so goddamned surprised we’ve found you at all?”
Noah gritted his teeth. “One thing I am surprised about is the fact you’d even sit in here with me when you know what I’m capable of.”
The man laughed. “See, that’s the thing. Like the virus, we find ways to contain it. We’ve got our methods and our approaches to keep it exactly where we want it now. The districts. The rules. The perimeters. No Man’s Land. It’s the same with you, buddy. Exactly the same with you. Science is coming a long-damned way.”
Noah frowned. Kept on staring into the darkness, unable to do anything else. “Are you gonna keep speaking in riddles? Or are you gonna level with me?”
The man laughed again. He had this annoying high-pitched cackle that reminded him of a lad he went to school with called Jason. One of those kids who wasn’t popular, got bullied but didn’t help himself either. Always an arse with fucking everyone. Noah tried befriending him once on the advice of his mum. Invited him round for dinner. Worst night of his life. Jason spent the whole time turning his nose up at Noah’s place, saying how much better his place was, how expensive everything was.
Irritating little fucker didn’t get a second invite; Mum made sure of that.
“Okay. I’ll level with you as well as I can, buddy. That dart I shot you with back there? Turns out, it has some nice little compound inside it that stops you and the kiddo doing your wee magic trick. So I’d say don’t even think about trying it, but… well, I ain’t so worried anymore, so do whatever the hell you want.”
Noah’s stomach sank. His one-party trick—one he’d resisted for so long—and now he didn’t have it in his locker, it terrified him.
“Iqrah,” he said. “The kid.”
“Ah. You’re interested in knowing about her, right?”
“And the woman I was with, too. And my… my dog. You’d better not have hurt them.”
A light chuckle followed by silence.
Noah’s heart started racing again. He looked around in the darkness. “Hey. I’m speaking to you. You’d better not have fucking…”
And then Noah saw light.
He squinted at first. Took his eyes a sec to adjust to the brightness.
But as it did, he looked around and saw his surroundings.
He was in the back of what looked like an old police van. Only it had clearly been maintained, modified. A light shone in the middle of the roof, bright and medicinal.
A man stood before him. Holding a blindfold in his hand, the one that’d just been over Noah’s eyes.
He stood there with a smile on his face. No mask. But dressed in Society black.
“You don’t have to worry about your friends,” the man said.
That’s when Noah saw them.
Iqrah.
Kirsty.
Blindfolded and tied to the opposite wall.
Looked like Kirsty and Iqrah were both out, unconscious. Unresponsive.
And on the floor, chained to the bench, Bruno.
“Iqrah,” Noah said, launching himself forward.
Bruno kicked back. Started barking, ears back. But sleepier than usual. More sedate.
But the chains and the cuffs held Noah in place.
There was no breaking out.
There was no getting free of this.
The man walked over to Noah. Put a hand on his shoulder.
He looked into his eyes with these rich brown eyes. His breath smelled like sour milk. He smiled, baring his yellow teeth.
“You don’t have to worry about ’em. At least… not yet.”
He patted Noah on his shoulder.
Then he pulled out a needle and stabbed him in the neck.
“Sleep,” he said. “Rest. You’re gonna need it.”
Noah tried to kick.
Tried to fight.
Tried to resist…
But the blackness came for him again.
And this time, he wasn’t sure he’d ever see the light again.
Chapter Fifteen
The next time Noah opened his eyes, he knew he wasn’t moving
