Unbound

Chapter 19

Hayden's first thought was that he'd fallen asleep in church, and the service was over. He knew that when he opened his eyes people would be milling about, talking to each other and discussing the sermon his dad had just delivered. Could he play it off? Had many people noticed? Of course they had. He'd probably lose his computer privileges for a week because of this.

"What the fuck is going on?" someone nearby asked.

Hayden's eyes popped open at the words—no one talked like that while in church, though he'd thought it a few times—and found himself sitting on the floor with his back against a concrete wall. Boys and girls stood all around him, most looking in the same direction.

Then he remembered—the rooftop, the demon. Zareen had called it Peter. He'd hurt her, then... nothing. His mind was blank. The last thing he remembered was Zareen's body crumpling to the ground. He glanced at the people nearest him, hoping to see her face.

"Why won't they tell us anything?" asked a girl in the crowd.

Hayden tried to rise, but his head swam and he collapsed back against the wall. He felt at the back of his head and found a lump there the size of an egg.

"Take it easy," one of the boys said, squatting down next to him. "Looks like you got hit by a truck... a few times."

"Where am I?" Hayden asked, squinting at the boy.

"Prison, looks like," said the boy, glancing around.

Prison. Buses full of kids. Zareen's vision.

Hayden slowly pushed to his feet, ignoring the sudden blinding pain and the black spots that danced along the edge of his vision.

"Zareen!" he called out, trying to see her through the milling people. A few heads turned to look at him, but none of them hers. He looked at the boy he'd been talking to. "Is there a girl named Zareen here?"

"Not that I've seen..." said the boy cautiously, a confused look on his face. "But, there's a ton of other kids here, in other cells, so..."

Hayden pushed through others to reach the cell bars. The room was big enough to hold at least fifty people, crammed in as they were. The area outside the cell was lit by fluorescent fixtures high above, and in every other cell were kids. Zareen had been right.

"Zareen!" he called out. People shouted back, asked what was going on, screamed for help, but none of the voices belonged to her.

"I don't think she's here man. I know I don't know anyone else here..."

Hayden turned to find the boy there, again. There was something familiar about him, something that tickled the back of his brain. "How did we get here?"

The boy shrugged his slight shoulders. He appeared to be Asian. "No clue. I was at home—then I woke up here. Like you, only without the beat down."

Nothing like how I got here, Hayden thought, remembering the black figure of Peter.

Zareen had to be here, somewhere.

"Have you seen whoever it is keeping us here?" Hayden asked.

The other boy cocked his head, as if thinking about his answer. "Well," he started, then shook his head and went on. "I've seen men in orange jumpsuits walking around, with DOC on their backs. I... guess they are in charge?"

Hayden nodded. The men in orange jumpsuits were likely prisoners, and were now Taken.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" the boy asked, still with that odd look on his face.