Underground by Chris Morphew Page B

it, but she was right.
    â€˜I’m going,’ she said again. ‘You should too. Make sure your mum’s okay.’
    I leant against the doorframe, wishing we had a better option. ‘All right,’ I said. ‘But we should meet back here. Either way, we should meet back here in a couple of hours. Figure out what to do next. We need to make sure we’ve still got time in case –’
    â€˜Perfect,’ said Jordan. ‘Let’s go.’
    I followed her down the stairs. She darted into the lounge room and opened the window. She glanced up and down the side of the house, then sprung out onto the grass. I climbed out after her, sliding the window shut behind me.
    I crouched down as we reached the front fence. There was a guard patrolling the next block, but he was facing the other way.
    â€˜All right,’ said Jordan, swinging a leg over the fence. ‘See you.’
    â€˜Just don’t –’
    â€˜Yeah,’ she said. ‘No dying. I promise.’
    She jogged off into the darkness.
    I waited a few more seconds, glancing nervously at the security camera even though I knew it wasn’t meant to turn on until midnight, then jumped over into our yard.
    No point trying any of the windows. Not with Mum’s obsession with keeping everything locked. I ducked across the lawn and up the steps to the front door. I peered into the frosted glass, watching for any sign of movement on the other side. Nothing. I tried the handle.
    The door clicked open and I edged through, still half-expecting to find a gun barrel waiting for me.
    Inside, everything was quiet. The light was on in the lounge room, further up the hall. I crept forward, trying to figure out how on earth I could explain to Mum where I’d been for the last six days.
    â€˜Mum …?’ I whispered, walking in.
    But the room was empty.
    A couple of half-full mugs and a bunch of paperwork were spread out across the coffee table. Weird for Mum to leave work lying around like that. She didn’t really do mess.
    I glanced across the hall at the bathroom door, but it was wide open.
    Was she even home? We’d seen her come in this afternoon, but maybe she’d left something behind at work. Maybe she’d gone back to the office to –
    My gut lurched. Maybe it was a whole lot worse than that.
    What if Shackleton had found out the truth about Mum not really being a candidate? What if security weren’t guarding the house anymore because there was no-one left to guard?
    I bolted into the hallway, through the rest of the house, checking every room for a sign of life, panic erasing the impulse to worry about keeping quiet.
    No-one home.
    We would’ve seen them, I thought desperately, sprinting upstairs. Surely we would’ve seen them take her.
    Onto the landing. Still nothing. Lights all off up here. I shot past my bedroom, up to the end of the hall. And stopped.
    A murmur of noise from behind my bedroom door. I threw open the door without even thinking.
    Oh, brilliant.
    There was Mum, sitting on the edge of my bed, head down, crying into the arms of Dr Montag.

Chapter 10

    T UESDAY , J UNE 30
44 DAYS
    Mum’s eyes shot to the doorway. But if I was expecting her to jump up and hug me or something, I was out of luck. She just stared across the room at me, eyes filled with – What was that? Disappointment?
    â€˜Luke,’ said Montag, eyebrows raised. ‘Where have you –?’
    And suddenly, the rage I’d been carrying around ever since he barged into our lives spewed up to the surface and I stormed over, ready to rip him to pieces.
    â€˜Get out,’ I spat. ‘Let go of my mum and get out of my house.’
    â€˜ Luke, ’ snapped Mum. It had been a long time since I’d blown up like this in front of her.
    â€˜No, Mum, listen –’ I said. ‘You can’t trust him. He’s dangerous.’
    Mum turned to stare at Montag.
    She stood up, slipping