Ultramarine | The Darkest Minds Fanfic

Chapter 13, Sheena

The sky had turned into a pale purple when we reached the front of the Ranch. Lilac. I heard Cole's voice whispered in my head.

　　He had driven us through the night, despite I offered to take over. He looked exhausted, but I guessed he just didn't trust me enough to let me steer the wheel after what happened with Ruby basically hijacking the car. Still, I could tell his mood was getting better and better with each mile we pushed forward.

　　Ruby woke up from her sleep as we passed by the row of silver warehouses. "There it is." Cole pointed to one of them for us to see. They all looked the same to me, to be honest.

　　"Are they here?" Ruby asked, and I felt my heart sank. Cate. What if she isn't here?

　　"We'll know in a second." Cole answered simply.

　　He parked the car in front of a used-car dealership, and let out a long breath.

　　"Okay, ladies," He raised his face heavenward, and said, "Are you ready?"

　　For what? I wanted to ask.

　　"What about him?" Ruby asked, pointing to Clancy Gray.

　　"I'll get him later." He said. "He won't wake up anytime soon, right? Lilac?"

　　"Yes." I answered. "Not for another twenty-four hours."

　　Ruby seemed torn, but she eventually gave in to her exhaustion. We moved out of the car, and followed Cole to the front of a bar. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked.

　　"Is this a bar?" I heard Chubs whispered somewhere behind me. "Are we allowed to go in? We're not twenty-one."

　　"Oh, Grannie." Came Vida's grunt. "I can't even."

　　Inside the glass window was what I imagined a standard mid-western cowboy bar would look like—wooden shelves, pleather seating booths, rock band posters lining the wall, interspersed by photos of swimsuit models on sports cars.

　　"Do we have to break in?" I heard Ruby asked.

　　"Nah. I was just checking to see if they were still using the joint as a front. The entrance to the Ranch is behind the bar." Cole answered.

　　He moved on to lead us to the alley beside the pub, and punched six digits of code into the keypad beside a door. A flash, a beep, and a click later, we were let into the back room of the bar.

　　"It's a long way down," Cole said over his shoulder. "Anyone afraid of heights? The dark? Nah, of course not. You guys are champs. Just be careful, you hear?"

　　He led us to what looked like a small bedroom, and crammed us all in there before he started to try and open the tunnel that led to the Ranch. I saw why immediately—the door had to be closed for him to lift the bed, which was hiding a trapdoor.

　　That was our way in. Cole kicked the door open, and Tommy and Pat—boys we pick up in Tehachapi—leaned over the half-lit hole and said at the same time, "Cool."

　　I really don't see what is cool about it. Well, look on the bright side—at least from the smell of it, this tunnel would be less nauseating than the one in HQ, physically speaking.

　　I tried not to think about what I found at the end of that other tunnel, and squeezed my eyes shut. Cole's hand was the next thing I felt, falling on my shoulder. I opened my eyes, and met the blue in his.

　　"Stick with me, okay?" He said, a faintest smile on his lips.

　　It looked weird, this tunnel. It was...lit? decorated?—by strings of Christmas light, and it veiled the tunnel in an odd, foggy filter. I imagined that to the person who set this up, it should look cozy, comforting, but now that I was here, all I felt was disoriented, like I would float out of my skin any second.