Eadlyn Selects

Keep Your Enemies Close

Hale hauls me up to the church loft and then slams the door shut. I curl up in the blanket and try to keep Kile's face in my mind's eye.

Wait. I am wasting an opportunity. Hale is off guard and surprised for the first time since this nightmare started. I have to find a chink in his set-up.  

 I kneel in front of the metal box and try to pry it open. Locked still, of course. I scour the room for a key.

I find nothing. It's odd how tidy the small loft is. I assume he is letting me sleep on the floor in his room to keep an eye on me, after the close call with Burke. I find it unsettling to prefer one hateful man over another despicable man.  

I stare at the pile of mattresses. It looks warm and soft.

Why does he get the comfort? What could I do to wreck it? I sit on the mattresses and sigh. So, so soft. I lie back and put my grungy socked feet up on his blankets. 

I am as comfortable as I have been in days. I'll jump up when he walks in. After finding a position that doesn't hurt my back, I try not to fall asleep. My blinks come more and more slowly, the toll of the day's work sapping me. The last dash for freedom took all I had, and probably didn't work. What if the fabric fell out? What if Kile doesn't find it? What if the groom who cares for his horse throws it away? What if he doesn't understand it? Thinks it's a mistake?

My only hope is a pinpricked scrap of fabric.

I sigh, dizzy with fatigue. I tried, that's something.

I hear distant voices. I sit up and strain my brain to focus. From this position, I can hear another part of the church. My captors are arguing. 

Concentrate, Eadlyn!

Hale's voice.

Sounding angry.

A woman's voice, Neena? Yes, it sounds like her. I shiver with hate for her. Other voices sound out. A man. Maybe two.

They must be below me and tucked under, maybe in an office behind the pulpit. I bet the first floor walls and doors are rotted and patched poorly. This might be my chance to find out who is in charge.

"Enough!" Hale shouts. The rest go quiet.

"It was too close," he says loudly. "From now on, we need to know where the search parties are at all times, and where he is. If he finds out they are looking for her, it will be twice as hard to hide her. The people love him more than they love America or Maxon, that's for sure. The houses he's churning out are miracles."

"I don't like the way he looked at you," says Neena. "I think he suspects."

"It doesn't matter. He didn't see her. When he comes back to see the prototype, I'll make sure it sucks and that she's miles away. It would be too weird if we flat out refused to cooperate with him. No one would turn away business like his without trying. It'd raise red flags."

"Do you think he saw me?" Neena asks.

"Of course not. And for all he knows I'm a laid back guy who loves fashion. We don't have anything in common. It makes sense I'd be in the textile business. Good thing he didn't see me in the mines. Or, maybe he's heard rumors about me. No matter. He can't prove a thing. How's the pyro team doing?"

"On schedule. We should be ready by Friday," a male voice says.

"Any extra?"

"No, we had enough for eight bombs and we made eight bombs. Nothing was wasted. I'm proud of my team."