Unplugged: The Hidden World (#2, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Sixteen

Enna

I wake in the back seat of a jeep, next to a motionless body that I assume to be Gale's. My back and legs burn and throb as though I were dragged along the ground then slammed against something. I try to move my arms, only to discover that they are tightly bound together. My back pocket's empty. They took my gun.

"Gale," I hiss. She doesn't respond. The starless morning sky dashes by above me as the jeep trundles forward on uneven ground. I wonder how long we'd been traveling; I also wonder how I became unconscious in the first place.

"Gale?" She doesn't move. Blood trickles fluidly from a cut on her cheek, and I use my sleeve to wipe it away. When I start to think about what happened, my chest tightens and my breaths wheeze through my nostrils. I try to tell myself that we will find a way out, but deep down I can't help thinking that the base will be my last destination. I think about Gale, and how she spent her entire life waiting for this moment, only to have me come along and screw it up.

At least Matthew and Mom and Ariel can get away, I think to myself glumly. A tear escapes the corner of my eye and rolls down over my cheek. Suddenly, Gale twitches awake. I watch her warily. She looks around quickly as though confused, then relaxes a little when she sees me.

"Great air conditioning, huh?" Just now I notice the freezing air slamming against my body. I shiver involuntarily.

"I'd give it five stars," I mutter. Gale shakes her head and tries to remove the rope binding her wrists. "It won't work."

"Just thought I'd give it a try." She shrugs sadly, letting her arms relax.

"You two better shut your mouths if you don't want to get into any more trouble," someone hisses from the driver's seat.

"Victoria?"

"Who else do you think?" She hisses. A mixture of emotions--anger, fear, sadness, hope--rushes through me at the sound of her voice. She must be different from the rest of the Workers. After all, she agreed to help us in the first place, even though I'm almost positive that she knew who I was.

"Were you going to help us, even when you knew my real identity?" I ask her. She ignores me.

"Enna Price..." She mutters to herself. "I can't believe I found Enna Price!"

"And Gale McAllister," Gale mutters gruffly.

"Yeah, but do you have a million dollar reward on your head?" She retorts. "We knew the whole time that you were plotting against us. We're not stupid. It was only a matter of time before we ended up capturing you." Gale's face turns white, and she decides to take a different approach.

"Listen, I know all of this is sudden and you want money. I get it. Isn't that what we all want? But wouldn't you agree that there are more important things than money?" I mouth at her "What are you doing?" She sounds more like a school teacher than a hostage. Victoria must agree with me, because she laughs sharply.

"Guilt or mushy words can't hold me back anymore," she says coldly. "I'm not like you two. I have a goal, and you can't stop me."

Suddenly, the cart begins to slope downwards. I peer around the open walls to see something strange: a large concrete ramp sloping into the ground, into the deep darkness of the Earth. Is it only me, or does Victoria look uncomfortable? In a matter of moments, we descend into complete blackness. Air continues to rush past me, causing my hair to swirl around my head like a messy halo. The cart picks up speed, still carrying us downward.