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

Chapter Twenty Eight

Enna

It feels like hours later until someone comes back to fetch me. That someone is Victoria. As soon as she enters I strain against my chains, struggling to sit up. The look on her face scares me, even when I'm so mad at her for locking me up in the cage.

"Victoria. What's happened?" She licks her lips and pulls out a key, unlocking the metal strips confining my limbs.

"I just saw Matt..." My stomach plummets painfully.

"What happened? Is he okay? What did they do to him?" She shakes her head and gulps.

"He's fine now. He's being brought to the safe house. But..." Now tears start to stream down her eyes and she leans back against the wall, shoulders slumping. In all of my time knowing her, I've never seen Victoria look so sad, so tired. "Enna, they wanted me to kill him. Me. And the worst part is that... I was going to do it. I was just about to do it when Sam came in with the news of your arrangement."

As Victoria wipes her eyes and swallows, I sit up and quickly throw on the new clothes that I'd been given. It is a gray jacket with matching gray cargo pants and a white t-shirt. I try to wipe away the horrible image that Victoria had described. Before I can help myself, a bitter comment slips out of my mouth.

"Well, that seems like the kind of thing you would do. Betraying someone who trusts you." She flinches a little.

"Enna, I'm sorry for--"

"No." I shake my head. "Forget it. I was just being smart." I stand up with shaky legs and walk around the metal table a couple of times to loosen up my muscles.

"Yes. Well." Victoria straightens up and composes herself. "I was sent to guide you to your temporary living space." She steps into the hallway, and I take that as my cue to follow her. When I leave the room, the corridor I enter isn't familiar at all.

"Where are we?" I ask, breathing in the sterile air.

"The labs on the fourth floor. Your accommodations will be on this floor also." I nod absently, trapped in a cage of my own thoughts. So many things have happened to me over the course of the last few weeks that I hadn't had any time to be still and think about them. Though it's stupid, I start to wonder about the dreams I used to have. The last nightmare, when Matthew had turned into my brother, took place in the room with the cages. And Josh was there, and so was Gale. Maybe the nightmare wasn't so much of a dream, as it was a warning, just like the dream that led us to this base in the first place. But a warning of what? I've already escaped from the hall with the cages, and so have my friends. When Victoria stops at a clean white door adorned with several brass locks, I run into her back. Sputtering apologies, I come to stand beside her. I realize that my breaths are uneven and a nervous sweat has started to form on my palms. When was the last time I could freely be with anyone? Just be at all? Victoria pulls out a key and fits it into each of the locks, snapping them open one by one. I don't know what I expect to see when she opens the door.

But not this.

I face an enormous entry hall fit for a palace, fit for royalty. Sparkling white marble tiles wink up at me under the reflective light of an enormous hanging chandelier, decorative plants artfully placed in each nook and cranny. An elegant steel staircase winds up over the foyer, leading to a second floor that overlooks the living room beyond.