closer, frowning, angling her head in different directions. It almost looked like her eyes were reflective when the light caught them just right, a ring of silver around the blue. She backed away from the mirror and her eyes were simply blue again.
Unsatisfied with the normalness of the reflection looking back at her, she lifted up the shirt and felt the smooth skin of her stomach. It was taut, unblemished. It wasn’t right and that bothered her, made her fearful. Honor took a deep breath, letting the fabric drop down to cover her abdomen, and left the bathroom. She wouldn’t be finding any answers hanging out in a restroom and she was not one to cower and chew off fingernails in worriment.
She hadn’t even taken a step when Talley careened around the corner and rushed at her, his eyes bulging. “Hide. Now. Hide .”
“ What? What’s going on? What are you talking about?” She winced as he squeezed her arm and dragged her toward the bedroom, stumbling behind him.
“ They’re here. Outside the door. Don’t hide. Shit. Take my gun. Take it. I have another. Go out the window.”
Talley grabbed her face so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. His expression was tight-lipped, his eyes fierce. “You run , Honor. You understand me? You run like you’ve never run before. There are tunnels under the town, going into other towns. Down by the old rock quarry, there’s an opening into them. Do you know where that is?”
Honor nodded roughly. The unused rock quarry was two miles outside of town. She used to run to it and back almost every day.
“Go there. It’ll be harder for them to find you underground. But be careful. They all lead to UD facilities. Go. Now. Go out the window and you run .” His fingers dug into the flesh of her skin.
She wordlessly nodded, shaken and scared, but not for herself, for Talley. “I will. I’ll run,” she promised in a whisper.
His grip slackened on her face just as the front door banged open. Talley shoved her behind him, reaching for his gun. “ Run. ”
Honor wanted to tell him to take care of himself, but there was no time. So she ran, through the hall, jumping from the open window of the bedroom and down two stories to the hard ground, the jolt of impact barely registering in her mind. Shouts rang out behind her, the firing of a weapon momentarily freezing her, and then she sprinted—her mind set and focused on the quarry and nothing else.
Trees and houses faded away, the earth around her became silent. Run, Honor. Just run. The fact that she was wearing flip-flops was a deterrent for speed so she kicked them off, the rocks and gravel of the road digging into the soles of her feet nonsensical.
It was strange—her strides were longer, faster, and the usual burn was nonexistent. Her lungs easily accepted and released air, her arms pumping to speed her up even more. It took half the time it used to take her to reach the quarry. Thirst didn’t hit her, weariness stayed away. Honor felt more like a machine than a human.
She swallowed, shaking her head as she searched for an opening that led to underground. She didn’t want to think about what she was. The gun remained cool in her grip, no sweat making it slippery. Honor looked at the firearm made out of dark metal, unaware of what kind or caliber it was. She hadn’t really had a lot of training on weaponry before everything went from bad to worse.
The mountain of pale orange rock and sand loomed above her, tall and unapologetic. She almost missed the opening. It was behind an area of jutting rock, undetectable to anyone not looking for it. Sliding around it, Honor kept the weapon raised. She knew where the safety was and she knew it was on, she knew how to aim and fire; that would have to be enough. Her arm scraped against the rough rock wall and she winced, staring as the cut immediately healed. Honor’s breaths became shaky.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
Instant darkness formed around her as
Unsatisfied with the normalness of the reflection looking back at her, she lifted up the shirt and felt the smooth skin of her stomach. It was taut, unblemished. It wasn’t right and that bothered her, made her fearful. Honor took a deep breath, letting the fabric drop down to cover her abdomen, and left the bathroom. She wouldn’t be finding any answers hanging out in a restroom and she was not one to cower and chew off fingernails in worriment.
She hadn’t even taken a step when Talley careened around the corner and rushed at her, his eyes bulging. “Hide. Now. Hide .”
“ What? What’s going on? What are you talking about?” She winced as he squeezed her arm and dragged her toward the bedroom, stumbling behind him.
“ They’re here. Outside the door. Don’t hide. Shit. Take my gun. Take it. I have another. Go out the window.”
Talley grabbed her face so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. His expression was tight-lipped, his eyes fierce. “You run , Honor. You understand me? You run like you’ve never run before. There are tunnels under the town, going into other towns. Down by the old rock quarry, there’s an opening into them. Do you know where that is?”
Honor nodded roughly. The unused rock quarry was two miles outside of town. She used to run to it and back almost every day.
“Go there. It’ll be harder for them to find you underground. But be careful. They all lead to UD facilities. Go. Now. Go out the window and you run .” His fingers dug into the flesh of her skin.
She wordlessly nodded, shaken and scared, but not for herself, for Talley. “I will. I’ll run,” she promised in a whisper.
His grip slackened on her face just as the front door banged open. Talley shoved her behind him, reaching for his gun. “ Run. ”
Honor wanted to tell him to take care of himself, but there was no time. So she ran, through the hall, jumping from the open window of the bedroom and down two stories to the hard ground, the jolt of impact barely registering in her mind. Shouts rang out behind her, the firing of a weapon momentarily freezing her, and then she sprinted—her mind set and focused on the quarry and nothing else.
Trees and houses faded away, the earth around her became silent. Run, Honor. Just run. The fact that she was wearing flip-flops was a deterrent for speed so she kicked them off, the rocks and gravel of the road digging into the soles of her feet nonsensical.
It was strange—her strides were longer, faster, and the usual burn was nonexistent. Her lungs easily accepted and released air, her arms pumping to speed her up even more. It took half the time it used to take her to reach the quarry. Thirst didn’t hit her, weariness stayed away. Honor felt more like a machine than a human.
She swallowed, shaking her head as she searched for an opening that led to underground. She didn’t want to think about what she was. The gun remained cool in her grip, no sweat making it slippery. Honor looked at the firearm made out of dark metal, unaware of what kind or caliber it was. She hadn’t really had a lot of training on weaponry before everything went from bad to worse.
The mountain of pale orange rock and sand loomed above her, tall and unapologetic. She almost missed the opening. It was behind an area of jutting rock, undetectable to anyone not looking for it. Sliding around it, Honor kept the weapon raised. She knew where the safety was and she knew it was on, she knew how to aim and fire; that would have to be enough. Her arm scraped against the rough rock wall and she winced, staring as the cut immediately healed. Honor’s breaths became shaky.
Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it.
Instant darkness formed around her as
Similar Books
