Ordinaries

Chapter 16

Lindsey definitely knew the hunters' building better than us, even if she had only been here a week. Although, it proved a good thing that Camila had stolen a keyring, because Lindsey apparently didn't wield enough seniority to have one yet.

Ahead, Lindsey stood in the middle of the intersection of our hallway and another. Facing away from us, she shook her head and cupped her hands around her mouth, yelling down the adjacent corridor at a group of hunters. "This way's clear! Try the mess hall, I don't think that's been touched yet."

She kept her gaze stationary for a few more moments, and then broke her stoic expression. "Okay, they're gone. Come on," she whispered. "After this door, we're close. Remember, walk. Don't run."

While Camila walked up to the door and pulled out her keyring, Noah came to stand beside me. He didn't say anything for a bit, just standing silently. I felt his hand brush tentatively against mine, and I had to suppress a smile. I grabbed his hand and laced our fingers together; he remained silent, but out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw the corners of his lips turn upwards.

Camila swung the door open, prompting Lindsey to come to the head of our entourage. She positioned herself in front of the door and put on a deadly serious expression. "Okay, this is where it gets really dangerous. Beyond this door is the training and recruitment wing. Luckily for all of you, I've gotten to know it sickeningly well in the last week. But unluckily for all of us, there are weapons in practically every room. And the cameras are going to be a problem again. Regardless of how well we stay out of sight, security is going to see us and alert the hunters. But we should be fine if we just move quickly and quietly. Just don't get caught; if that happens, it's game over for sure."

I dazedly tried to process everything she was saying—next to me, Noah let out a long breath and glanced at me, wariness in his normally warm eyes. Camila and Eric exchanged nervous glances, while Jade just crossed her arms and looked unimpressed.

"Well, if that's all," Eric said.

Lindsey let out a small laugh. "Sorry. I'm not trying to scare you guys, I swear. Just preparing you."

"Don't worry," Noah assured her. "It's much appreciated. We'd still be randomly darting around this freak show if it wasn't for you."

Lindsey nodded. Her gaze flickered over Jade for a split second before she turned around, exhaling deeply. "Alright then. Let's do this."

She put her curls back into a ponytail and stepped through the door. She performed a quick check of the vicinity before motioning for us to come through as well. I stepped through the door, reluctantly letting go of Noah's hand—we didn't need to draw any more attention than was absolutely necessary.

Whoever had designed the "training facility", as Lindsey had called it, certainly hadn't given much thought to privacy. The floors were normal tile like I'd seen a million times before in club bathrooms or kitchens in Ether and Elys, but the walls were almost too much to process. Some were drywall, but most were made up of gigantic panes of glass. Through them, I could see young people in black bodysuits doing everything from jogging on treadmills and sitting in class-like lectures to chucking spears at targets. As I looked at the room to my left, I saw a girl of a rather small size chuck a spear almost as big as her directly into the center of a human-shaped target. I shivered and averted my gaze, thankful that I hadn't faced anyone like that in my battle earlier.

Feeling eyes burning into me, I realized Lindsey had been watching me. She gave me a sympathetic look. "Don't worry," she said. "Most of the hunters are idiots. But occasionally, they get people with real promise—like her. They almost always end up going back to Elys. The hunters who stay, they don't have senses of self. They're stray sheep who need a shepherd. That's what Ventrice and Tatia and Seyan are for them. They give them purpose. They're some of the only real Extraordinaries here." She stared at the girl, who was now sharpening a knife, for a few more seconds. Then, she looked up and nodded ahead. "The helicopter bay is down this way."