Bound to Ashes [The Altered Sequence: Book 1]

6 • Unwanted Guest

[Dev]

Ashton breathes heavily, though probably not from the run, and stares at me like I'm back from the dead. "Dev?"

Before I can say anything he drops the rifle on the ground and bends down to wrap his arms around me. An aggressive hug. "Good to see you, too," I choke out, laughing.

Ashton lets out a frustrated sigh and says, "We all thought you were dead!"

I pull away from the embrace and finally get a decent look at him— his face is... well, it's looked better. A black eye, a cut lip. "What happened to you?"

He touches his puffy eye like he forgot it was there and grins. "Cain wouldn't let me have his rifle to come look for you, so, you know...."

I grin. "Thanks. That couldn't have been easy."

But the moment is dead already. Ashton's eyes are trained on something behind me, tense and focused. I turn and see Alessandra advancing. Slowly, her empty hands rising.

"Oh, um, I guess I should mention...."

Ashton looks at me suddenly.

"Ash," I say as Alessandra approaches and Ashton takes a step back, "this is Alessandra." Her name feels strange on my tongue.

Ashton looks back and forth between me and Alessandra.

"Well, um," he sputters and gestures to Alessandra, "explain." He snatches the rifle off the ground in a clumsy grapple.

Alessandra doesn't take her eyes off Ashton and takes a step forward, sticking her hand out. "You must be Ashton."

Ashton doesn't move.

She just smiles. "I don't bite."

Please don't let this end with blood....

Ashton's eyes dart over to me, and I do my best to not look scared out of my wits. He slowly reaches out and his hand completely envelops her tiny one. Alessandra shakes it firmly, but Ashton jerks his arm away as soon as it's done. Did I look like this back in that white room? Like a jumpy, timid animal?

"I'm here on behalf of my people," she begins. "We mean you no harm and only want to talk."

Ashton's mind is working a mile a minute.

"Where are the rest...?" she asks half to Ashton and half to me.

Ashton glances at me as if asking permission to tell her. I nod. "Jules and Cain are back at the... rendezvous point. We found all the humans dead, so Cain decided it was safe. We've been waiting for you." A wave of guilt crushes me.

"That was my fault," Alessandra says. "We took Dev so we could speak with him."

Ashton bristles slightly at the mention of my name, as if Alessandra is encroaching on our privacy. "About what?"

Even though she's acting composed, her hands shake at her sides and her eyes hover nervously by Ashton's feet. She swallows and says, grinning, "About a ticket out of this wasteland."

Ashton quirks an eyebrow at me.

I just nod. Words fail me.

Ashton rakes his long fingers through his black hair and turns to me. "I don't believe it," he says. "This is too weird."

Alessandra stands quietly: an immovable pillar of confidence in the dusty road. She wouldn't risk her life like this for a lie. Or is she doing it to gain our trust so it's easier to turn on us later? But what if she is telling the truth? Is the promise of her Ecodome worth the risk of betrayal?