Page 7 of Bait
He scoffed at my warning. Like there was no possibility that he could ever lose his power. And in a way he was probably right, since he was willing to harm anyone who got in his way to hold on to it.
“They will think whatever I tell them to think, because they knowonly I knowwhat is best for our bunker, while you’re trying to kill it.” It was dying anyways. Babies were born fewer and further apart. Our food supplies were not what they used to be. So many people were getting old and sick. Also people were succumbing to “cabin fever syndrome,” except now the council was covering it up.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked after they shoved me into the council’s elevator.
“Shut up.” Becker’s voice was vicious. “Just like your mother, always thinking you know best. That you can say how I manage my people.”Hispeople. I’d always suspected there had been more to my mother’s death than the case of “cabin fever syndrome” they’d claimed took her. But I could never get an answer from my father. I didn’t think it would be wise to attempt to get one from Becker. Not with the edge in his voice. Something told me I should avoid pushing him too far, so I kept my mouth shut. Eventually I was dropped into a chair. My butt hurt at the contact with the hard surface, but I didn’t cry out. What was the point?
They left me there without a word. I screamed and cried for what seemed like hours, but no one came to check on me. My face ached from Becker’s blows, and I couldn’t stop shaking. I was probably in shock. Eventually I calmed down enough to look around. It was dark in the room, but there was enough light to make out that it was some kind of cell. There was a cot against the wall. A sink and a toilet and the door. It was closed at the moment, but there was a little window in it. I stood up and walked to it and found a guard standing right by the door.
“Where’s Becker?” I seemed to catch him by surprise, because he actually answered me.
“He’s taking to the assembly.” Likely some made-up bullshit about how I got the underground crazies and had to be put in confinement.
“Is this a jail?” There was another cell across from mine, but the rest of the corridor didn’t have anything. Other than a large circular door on each end.
“I’m not supposed to talk to you.” I stared at him for a while and then it dawned on me. This was Xavier, Leo’s son.
“I know your dad, he would be devastated to know this was going on.” He sucked a breath, but didn’t turn around to look at me. Just stood at attention by my door. “You knew Torch too; you were friends since you were little.” His mouth tightened, but he kept his mouth shut. Didn’t even look at me. “Are they going to kill me? Is that what they did to Torch?” I didn’t know why I was suddenly fixated on Torch. He’d never been that nice to me and he’d lost his fucking mind after Gregorio. Except now looking back at that night I wondered if he was trying to hurt me or save me.
I knew Xavier wasn’t ignoring me, but he was quiet for a long time, like he wasn’t sure he should. When he finally spoke, his lips barely moved. “We’ll bring you some food and water soon.”
A sliver of hope grew inside at his words, not because of what he said, but because I could tell he was conflicted. That maybe he was doing this because he had to and not because he wanted to. I sat on the edge of the cot for a long time, hoping that my little coded notes had been able to save some of the women I’d helped from being found out. I wondered if Danika was helping Becker figure it out, or if she’d wised up. Soon my mind was drifting in another direction. If this was the hold where they supposedly brought those residents who they considered threats. Then why was there no one else in here? Over the years, I’d seen dozens of announcements of folks who’d been put in the hold, but this place was empty.
I started pacing around the room, trying to clear my head. The more I thought about what was happening, the more I’d panic, and I needed to be able to react to whatever Becker was planning.
Eventually they did bring me water and some food. Xavier even left a blanket. The tray had the Wednesday mid-day meal: a protein paste sandwich, potato and pickle salad, and dried apples. I made myself eat it, and I drank the water. Then I forced myself to close my eyes. I couldn’t tell if it was day or night, and I didn’t have a watch to keep track of time. More than a day could’ve passed, but there was no way to tell. But they brought me two meals, and I was pretty sure I slept for a very long time before Becker came back.
He strode in with purpose, with his hands fisted at his sides. I braced for another blow, but he didn’t hit me.
“Get up,” he shouted after muttering for a while about respecting norms. The norms that kept him and the council as royalty and the rest of us as serfs.
“Where are we going?” I knew it wasn’t anywhere good, but I could never control my curiosity.
“Where you’ll learn your lesson.”
ChapterThree
One of the doors at the end of the corridor opened to a tunnel which was barely high enough to fit two people walking side by side. I wasn’t very tall, and the ceiling was only inches from the top of my head. Xavier, who was next to me, had his bent down as he walked. I shuddered as my arms, bare now that they’d taken my robes, brushed against the cold, wet rock. All the corridors in the bunker were covered in metal sheets or concrete, but this was just stone. It looked like a cave.
Our bunker had been built on the site of some natural caves in Central New Mexico. I knew there were many natural tunnels that sprawled for miles, and as kids my brother and I played in a few. But I’d never been here and I couldn’t tell where we were going.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked Xavier, who didn’t answer. He hadn’t said a word to me since we left the cell. They’d been keeping me in. “Xavier, please,” I pleaded, terrified of what was about to happen to me. Wherever we were, it seemed like we were climbing up. As though we were on a hill, but underground. I thought the level I’d lived in most of my life was the highest point in the bunker, but apparently there was another few dozen feet to go. We were still on the other side of the underground shelter, but I couldn’t see where we were going. It was so dark in here. Two of the guards in front of us had flashlights, but otherwise it was pitch black.
Eventually I spotted what looked like a large metal door and there was a small sliver of light coming from under it. The sight of it made my heart beat painfully and my legs almost gave out. It couldn’t be.
“Where am I?” I yelled desperately, then attempted to run, but Xavier grabbed me. He was saying things to me, but I could not make sense of any of it. “You can’t leave me outside; the air isn’t safe. Please.” My voice gave out at the end, but I was still trying to get loose. By this point, another guard was trying to subdue me, but I bit him and tried to make a run for it once more. I only made it a few feet before Becker caught me by the waist and hauled me back.
“I knew you’d fight me.” His breath was hot, and it smelled like the garlic from the pickles we were always served with our meals. I hated those fucking radishes. And I loathed being touched with his clammy hands. “You always seemed so docile, but I knew there was fire in you.” His hand slid to my breast, squeezed, and I started retching. “The raiders are going to have some fun with you.”
Raiders? What raiders?
“What are you talking about? Who are the raiders?” Were there people on the surface? Was he going to give me to them?
Becker didn’t respond to my question, he just handed me to Xavier, who walked me to the door. “Stop fighting and listen or you won’t make it,” he whispered, not unkindly, as he snipped the zip ties I’d had around my wrists before they walked me out of the cell. I gulped down air and made myself calm down.
“Okay.” I knew by now there was no hold, that there was nothing else. Whoever went against Becker and his council’s orders was being cast out onto the surface with only the clothes on their back.
Xavier gave me a hard shove as one of the other guards pressed the keypad. The door began to open, and the light was so bright it was blinding. The air smelled different, and my lungs seemed almost shocked by it. I couldn’t see what or where I was going into. I couldn’t see anything.
