She sat up. Her head aching. Something must’ve happened. She must’ve stopped them then passed out in an instant. She must’ve...
She opened her eyes.
That’s when the dread hit her.
“No,” she said. “No, no, no. Not now. Please, not now.”
But there was nothing she could say that helped.
Iqrah’s eyes were open, but she could not see.
She was blind.
And she was alone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“You might wanna sit down for this, buddy. If you’ve got your heart set on this place, and you really dunno what’s goin’ on out here, you’re in for a bit of a shocker.”
Noah stared into Shel’s eyes as they stood there in the middle of the road. Late afternoon. Silent, but for the wind whistling down the streets. It gave Noah a sense that something could be coming. Something dangerous. There was always the threat of something dangerous lurking around the corner.
But right now, that threat felt even more pronounced than ever.
And that threat felt like it was going to come from Shel’s words rather than anywhere else.
Words he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear.
“What’re you trying to say?” Noah said.
Shel raised her eyebrows. “Still standing? Not sure that’s wise.”
“Just get on with it, okay? I need to know what I’m dealing with here.” Even though deep down, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear. Because he’d allowed himself to hope. He’d allowed himself to do the hardest thing—to believe.
And that belief was dangerous.
It was belief he’d guarded himself against all this time because of where it’d got him in the past.
And he sensed his core beliefs were about to be shaken, all over again.
“That place you’re heading,” Shel said. “Morecambe. You’ve probably figured by now it ain’t no good.”
“What do you know about it?”
Shel sighed. “You see... these people I told you about. The Reds. They’re old Society dudes who’ve gone rogue. They’ve got their own goals. Their own agenda. Their own ideas of how society should be run. Oh. And their base? Morecambe.”
Noah shook his head. “But Kirsty...”
“Ahh. Some girl lie to you? Sounds about right. They do it all the time. Take someone close to a person. Frame ’em into luring people back there. And then they get ’em to work for ’em. Test on ’em. Doesn’t matter whether they’re special like you or not: their goal is creating some kind of vaccine, making some kind of discovery that’ll leave the balance of power with them. Not the rest of the Society. They’ve got their own agenda.”
Noah’s stomach sank. He couldn’t believe it. Kirsty. She’d told him Iqrah’s parents were there. Told him they were heading somewhere safe.
And he’d trusted her.
He’d believed her.
A sadness welled inside. A sense of betrayal. Because this was another person he’d dared to let himself get close to...
He needed to learn his lesson about trusting people. About having faith in people.
“Iqrah,” he said. “If she’s...”
“If she’s headed there,” Shel said, “then jeez. She ain’t gonna stand much of a chance, my buddy. Seriously. They’re ruthless. I’d rather end up in Renault’s slavery than with them. Hell, I’d rather the bog-standard Society crooks got a hold of me than end up with them. I’ll end it before they get their hands on me; you’d better believe me.”
Noah’s cheeks flushed. This really wasn’t what he wanted to hear right now. But he needed to face up to reality. Needed to face up to the truth.
Needed to face up to his worst fears.
He took a deep breath.
And then he walked around Shel, up the road.
“Hey,” Shel said.
Noah stopped. Looked back. “What?”
Shel frowned. “Where the hell you think you’re going?”
“You know where I have to go.”
Shel’s eyes widened. “Did you not just hear what I told you, man? It’s a death trap.”
“Death trap or not... someone I care about is in danger. I can’t leave her to walk right into that trap. I’d die before I let that happen.”
Shel shook her head. “What—what about me?”
“What about you?”
“Well, you said you had like, some plan for me? Some purpose for me?”
“Oh,” he said. “You’re interested in what I have to offer now?”
Shel rubbed the back of her head and sighed. “Look. I know we got off on the wrong foot. But you don’t seem all that bad a guy, Noah. I’m worried what’ll happen to you if you go wandering in there. Especially if you really are as special as you seem to be. These Reds... They’re vicious. They’ve got plans. Real nasty plans. I worry for the whole damned lot of us if they get their hands on you.”
“Then what do you propose?”
Shel frowned. “Huh?”
“You got a better idea?”
She opened her mouth. Then she closed it. Her eyes widened like an idea had sparked in her mind. “Actually, I do. But it’s kinda mad.”
Noah narrowed his eyes. “Tell me more.”
She sighed. “It involves meeting Renault.”
Noah shook his head. “That psycho? No chance.”
“Renault ain’t a good guy. But he hates the Reds as much as the rest of us. Took a lot of his people. If we could get Renault on board... we could have some numbers. Make a real go at attacking ’em, or whatever. I think it’s mad, but it might just be the only way. Unless you have a better idea.”
Noah rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t like it. But what other option did they have?
“One problem,” Shel said.
“Course there is.”
“Renault doesn’t have nearly enough folks. Or enough weapons. So unless you’ve got some hidden secret friends who can help, it’ll be dead in the dirt.”
Noah went to shake his head.
Then a thought sparked in his mind.
“You said we need numbers?” he said.
Shel nodded. “Yup.”
“And weapons?”
“Uh-huh. Why? You got someone in mind?”
Noah looked over his shoulder, back down the long, harrowing road.
And despite all the horror, despite all the terror, a smile crossed his face.
“I think I know exactly who can help us.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Iqrah sat in the middle of the alleyway and kept on trying to convince
