Unplugged: The Hidden World (#2, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Twenty Two

Enna

I can still feel the ghosts of Matthew's warm hands on my neck, even after he leaves. The loud footsteps in the hallway falter, and I hear Matthew talking in a low voice to someone female: his mother? Then I remember that I had completely forgotten to tell him of his long-lost parent. How could I have? Soon, I hear Matthew's footsteps diminish in volume as he walks away and then Victoria enters our cell.

"Rookies," she mutters with an irritated flip of her hair. From her casual manner, I deduct that she nor Matthew had recognized each other. I don't know if I should feel relieved or guilty.

"So what now?" Gale hisses. Victoria glares at her.

"Eager to get on with things, huh?" Gale shrugs.

"If we're going to die, we might as well get it over with."

"I don't think they have murder on their minds right now..." Victoria mutters carefully. She looks more rested than she did earlier, but I can still sense a certain tenseness behind her professional facade.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I grunt as I get to my feet, brushing dirt specks off of my legs. Victoria opens her mouth as if to speak, but quickly shakes her head and wipes her features of emotion.

"I'm not going to help you. You're prisoners," she mutters, more to herself than to us. Gale gasps dramatically as she stands, glancing around the cell.

"No way! We're prisoners? I had no idea!" She puts her hands on her hips. "Enna, you hear that? This isn't a five star hotel--"

"Shut up and come with me!" Victoria demands, raising a strange-looking weapon. I recognize it as one of the flashguns Matthew had warned us about. Instantly, Gale closes her mouth. Victoria steps into the hallway, holding the cell door open for us. We follow her out warily, not eager to be vaporized. As we are led into Base Central, Workers jeer at us from all sides.

"Those poor things."

"Let's hope they like mystery meat..."

My blood turns to fire and I have to quench the instinct to bash in their throats. Victoria tightens her grip on my arm, sensing my anger. Swiftly, she drags us into the empty elevator. Dread washes over me, and I feel my pulse quicken. Are we going to see the Master again? Victoria presses the "7" button on the elevator wall, and we plummet downwards. My mind races: what floor were the Reptilians and Grays on? Gale coughs shakily in the corner and catches my eye. She looks as scared as I do. As the elevator rockets past dark hallways and labs, my anxiety grows ten-fold. What if Victoria was lying? What if they want to kill us now? What if I never see Matthew again, or my mother, or anyone else I care about? It takes all of my self-control not to groan.

Finally, the elevator comes to a rigid stop and my stomach drops uncomfortably. The doors slide open, and I gasp. Before I can do anything to escape, Victoria drags Gale and I into a hallway, straight through a dark door. Cages rattle and scrape against the walls as prisoners call out for people that they will never see again. A sob catches in my throat, and I cover my mouth so Victoria can't hear me cry. All of the prisoners' sorrow feeds my own until breathing becomes almost unbearable. I turn to Victoria as she pulls us along the endless hallway towards a group of empty cages.

"Please, don't leave us here," I beg, tears streaming down my face. "I'll do anything! I'll stay in the old cell and keep quiet, I promise!"

"What's happening? Where are we?" Gale asks urgently. Suddenly, I remember that I only know of this place because I dreamt about it. You alone hold the key.

"I'm sorry," Victoria says. And I think she means it. "But I have to do this. They'd kill me if I let you go." When her hazel eyes narrow in fear, they remind me of when I stepped forward to save Matthew from being plugged in. When I sacrificed my own safety for his. I don't know why, but suddenly I don't have the heart to ruin this poor woman's life, to send her to her death because she's scared. Heart pumping in my throat, I nod my assent. Before I know what's happening, Gale and I find ourselves twisted awkwardly inside two adult-sized cages. I can't see the other trapped person next to me, but I can hear their ragged breathing.

"I'm sorry," Victoria mutters again, her eyes brimming with tears. With a flip of her hair, she quickly stalks towards the exit, whispering something into a walkie-talkie.

"What--the--hell--were--you--thinking?!" Gale screams, banging her fists against the bottom of the wire cage after each word. "There were two of us! We could have over-powered her and escaped! Don't you understand? We could be free!"

"They would have killed her," I reply, struggling to keep my voice steady. "We would be no better than the Master if we let them do that." Gale stares at me incredulously, then pretends to tear her hair out.

"I wish you'd been plugged in!" She hisses, tears of anguish streaming down over her cheeks. "Look what you've done! We're trapped in cages like lab animals, waiting for God knows what, and the fate of the world is in the hands of people who would no sooner let us live!"

Gale rests her head against the side of her wire cage, sobbing quietly. Well, that made me feel better about myself. Sighing, I lean back against my own cage. The cool wires sting my back. I close my eyes, awaiting sleep, or some form of peace. How stupid of me to think that that would come.

"Enna?" A small voice to my left. A small, weak, recognizable voice. Could it be? I open my eyes warily.

"Yes?" I reply cautiously, lifting my head. The small person that stares back at me has dark, messy hair, wide brown eyes, and a memorable white uniform caked with dirt. He lifts the corners of his mouth in a tragic smile.

"It's me, Josh."