Page 126 of Captured Immune

“Keep it moving, asshole,” a woman yells back. She steps out from behind the waterfall first, making my heart drop. She’s not just any woman. She’s an Enforcer, a fully uniformed zovernment official, with her blonde hair tied into a tight bun at the top of her head.

From her holster, the Enforcer whips out a gun. “I said to keep it moving! Otherwise, I’ll shoot you with another dose of perrizo to knock you out. Then I’ll drag your ass across the ground instead. Is that what you want?”

I grip Arella’s arm and hold her tight as if the Enforcer is threatening her, not Victor.

In silence, Victor steps out from behind the waterfall. He’s handcuffed and attached to a long chain. On that chain are the rest of the people I sense, marching out of the cave behind him, cuffed at the wrists and fixed to the long chain. I recognize a few of the people as the leftover ZIRDA agents from before. The others, I don’t recognize at all. I can only assume that means they’re on Victor’s side.

Three men step out from behind the waterfall, wearing the same light-blue uniform as the Enforcer woman. How many Enforcers are here? And how did they find this ZIRDA base? ZIRDA hides from the zovernment just as much as they hide from everyone else. Did someone call the Enforcers here as an attempt to get Victor arrested? If that’s the case, why are the Enforcers arrestingeverybody?

“Stop at that tree and don’t move,” the female Enforcer yells at Victor, then marches past all the chained people and shouts down the cavern. “Did you get everyone?”

A deep male voice from behind the waterfall answers her. “We’re gonna go back to do one more sweep.”

“Great.” The female Enforcer points at the three men in uniforms. “You guys keep an eye on these delinquents. I’m gonna go help with the sweep.” As she heads back into the cave, the last people on the long chain step out.

I recognize Ruby and Katie right away. Neither woman looks too banged up.Thank fuck.But where is Pixie?

Just as awhooshof air blows Arella’s hair into my face, someone’s emotions pop up behind me. Then something sharp pricks my neck, making everybody’s emotions disappear from my head.

Arella yelps as she slaps a hand over her neck. “Ow.”

Suddenly, my wrists are heavy. A pair of thick cuffs has appeared around them. Arella’s wrists are cuffed too. They’re so heavy, they make her fall over into the grass.

Anotherwhoosh, then a slender Hispanic man in a light-blue uniform stops running in front of me. He presses a finger against the wired device in his ears. “I found two more hiding in the woods. They were on their way back in when they saw us coming out.” The man pauses for a moment, then says, “Yes, ma’am. I’ll add them to the chain.”

“Wait, no,” I say. “We’re not with them.”

“Yeah, sure. I’veneverheard that one before.” In a mocking, high-pitched voice, he says, “No! I’m not a Royal. I haven’t committed any crimes or killed any Ordinaries.”

“We haven’t.”

“Yeah, yeah. Good try. Now, get up, and don’t try to run. You won’t get far.”

Even if this man wasn’t a Speeder, I wouldn’t try to run. I’ve been trying to make a fireball appear in my hands while he talked, and I haven’t seen a single spark.

Katie gapes at me and Arella as we step out of the tree line with the Enforcer behind us. “Trey?”

“What the hell are you two doing back here?” Ruby says.

“Where’s Pixie?” I ask because that’s the more important question.

Ruby shakes her head and furrows her eyebrows together. In a choked voice, she says, “At least she went down doing what she loved most—kicking a Royal’s ass.”

A little piece of my heart breaks for that strong woman I barely knew. She spent more time torturing the hell outta my ears than anything, but in the end, she helped save me and Arella. She’s a fucking hero in my book.

The Speeder attaches Arella to the chain first, then he does the same to me.

“You okay, babe?” I ask.

She offers me a slight nod. “You?”

I nod back. Physically, yes, I’m okay. Emotionally, I’m fucking terrified.How the hell are we gonna get outta this one?

The Speeder presses a finger to the device in his ears. “Y’all almost done in there?” A pause. “Cool. I’ll do another sweep of the perimeter.”

With awhoosh, the man is gone.

I eye the other three Enforcers guarding the people in cuffs. Each Enforcer looks like he could easily toss a tank over a building.

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