Tested

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

The rules had changed. We had all been given clothes to wear, white tracksuits that marked us all as different, made us a beacon in the night in case we tried to run. That’s why we were sticking with daylight. Those who guarded us had grown anxious, constantly whispering together in the corners. I had a strong feeling that it was now or never. I doubted the Guardians planned on letting us leave; as far as I was concerned, it was just a matter of time before they put us down.

In the canteen, I hummed Pria’s song to keep my nerves calm. Parker refused to look at me from across the table, but the corner of his lips twitched as if he were trying not to smile. I blew out a breath. We would be okay. We had to be okay. I bided my time, waiting until the right person walked by.

He was tall and stocky, a nervous man driven to anger by the captivity. He had been wavering on the edge for days, and I knew I could break him easily. I tripped him, laughed like a hag when he fell, and stared up at him defiantly when he fumed down at me.

“Keep walking,” Dad said loudly.

“She tripped me!”

“She’s a child. You’re a grown man. What are you doing?”

The man squeezed his eyes shut for a second before walking away. I laughed again, louder this time, and a couple of others joined in nervously. That was it, the button that needed pressing. Being mocked by everyone was his pressure point.

“I’m not having this,” he wheezed, his face turning red. The Guardians all jerked to attention as if by a silent signal. The man grabbed my shoulder, and Dad was on his feet immediately. He had ordered me, over and over again, not to react, not to fight, but the fingers digging into my skin hurt, and a slight red mist wavered before my eyes. The Guardians jumped into the fray as others got involved, people desperate for a way to release the tension, not caring who was right or wrong. Not caring about much of anything anymore.

And then screams of “Fire!” filled the air. I slipped my hand into the pocket of one of the Guardians and stole his wallet.

“Nobody move,” somebody shouted.

“Are you crazy?” I yelled. “There’s a fire! We have to get out or we’ll all die in here!” It wasn’t hard to throw a tinge of hysteria into my voice; I was already heading in that direction.

The sounds of chairs scratching across the floor echoed loudly, fear and panic filling the room. People pushed each other, pushed the Guardians, pushed on and on, piling out of the doors and overwhelming the unsuspecting Guardians outside.

Parker sat as still as possible in his seat, his eyes smouldering. I leapt over the table and pulled his arm, but he didn’t move. The scent of smoke filled the air. The fire was fast, out of control even.

“Jess, we need to move,” Dad cried, catching my hand.

“We can’t leave him! He’s alone!”

Dad hesitated then helped me pull Parker out of the seat. The boy shook his head, a strange look on his face.

“I can’t do it,” he whispered.

“Yes, you can,” I said firmly, holding his arm and forcing him out the door.

We made it outside into sunlight, onto a street. Too many people in white tracksuits milled around, dazed and confused. We pushed through the crowds, desperate to get ahead of the stragglers.

And then the cars pulled up, pickup trucks with armed people in the back. A curvy woman with streaks of red in her hair raked her eyes over the crowd.

Guardians ran amongst the fleeing people. One gripped Dad’s arm and tried to fling him to the ground. That red mist hazed in front of my eyes. I closed my fist and walloped the Guardian in the face. Dad tripped him, but the Guardian jumped back onto his feet, agile as a cat. He swung out at me, and a thunderous noise sent everyone to their knees. Only Parker stood tall, his eyes wild and red as the fire exploded through the windows of the safe house.

Recovering, I grabbed Dad’s hand and called for Parker to follow. He was too hot to touch. We ran from the fire that raged behind us and the circling Guardians. The captives split up and scattered. We ran faster, encouraged by the confusion.

I glanced back at the building. The fire was out of control and spreading quickly. The woman was still standing on the back of the truck, but her gaze had fixed in my direction, a weird smile on her face. She pointed a finger at us.

I didn’t wait. I raced on, closely followed by Dad and Parker. The streets ahead of us were cleared, as if people had known there would be trouble. In fact, those cars had arrived too fast to be a reaction to the fire. Had something else been about to happen? I kept running with the others, realising a couple of people had followed us. They were slower, would get in the way of the Guardians if they chased us. I wanted to cry at that thought; I was as bad as Dad.

“Here, young one!” a female voice called out. “Inside before they catch you.”

An elderly woman with worried eyes beckoned us from the doorway of a shut shop.

“Come on,” Dad said, and we rushed past the woman and into darkness. She let the others in, too, before locking the door with shaking hands.

“They’ll be looking,” she said. “Go through that door and squeeze in behind the bookcase. There’s a hole in the wall. Behind it is the storage room of the building behind us. It’s been locked up years, so they never go in there. That’s where the rest have been hiding. And keep quiet. No magic, if that’s your thing. I’ll be in with food later, tell them.”

I looked at Dad, but the others had already run at her words, even Parker. Shrugging, I followed. Anything was better than being stuck in that place with the Guardians. We squeezed past the bookcase in the dark, climbing through the hole into deeper darkness.

The others explored, but Parker, Dad, and I lingered by the hole, trying to hear what was happening inside the woman’s shop.

“The fire’s still burning,” Parker said. “I think it’s spreading. I have to go back and fix it. I need to see it, to concentrate on cooling it down.”

“You can’t,” Dad said, but Parker was already gone.

“I’ll be back,” I whispered. “Wait here.”

“Jessica, stop it!”

“He might listen to me. I won’t let him go out there.”

Dad relaxed, and I ran after Parker.

When I got into the shop, the woman wasn’t there. Parker was busy unlocking the bolt to get outside.

“Stop it,” I hissed. “We can’t go out there.”

“I’m not asking you to,” he said. “But if I don’t, the fire will make it here anyway. People will die. I don’t want that. I’ve lost control of it. I panicked, Jess. I can’t let anyone else get hurt.”

“I’ll go with you,” I said after a second, unwilling to let him go alone. I knew he would do what he felt was right whether I went with him or not. “But we’re coming straight back.”

He nodded, but I doubted he was listening to me. The door opened. We stepped through and raced back the way we came, toward the smoke darkening the sky.