Hidden (Book 3 of the Immune Series)

Reunions

Sakir

Blood covers the floor of the glass room in shallow puddles. As I step through it, the water ripples away from my feet in trembling circles. It might be a good idea to clean it up, but the blood reminds me that I'm not dreaming.

This isn't a nightmare.

Three dead bodies really do lie in the floor around me.

I'm not going to wake up.

So, I trudge through the blood and leave red footprints across the cleaner sections of floor. I sit on Isaac's empty pedestal, surrounded by raindrops of broken glass. The lights reflect off the crystal beads and glint like diamonds.

If I had it my way, I would kill Ashford right now. Who cares if the residents of Compound 1 take the vaccine? As long as they're not attacking other compounds, let them get killed in their own stubborn stupidity. Why does it matter so much that everyone receives the shot?

How does Quinn even plan to control the residents after Ashford is gone? Those soldiers have grown up fighting for a president that believes the idea that the end justifies the means. He twisted their minds, and they're most likely stuck that way.

You can't reform someone who doesn't want to be reformed. Some people never change.

He would be smart just to turn his back on them and protect his own people.

A sudden commotion in the hallway catches my attention.

President Ashford looks up from his hands and chuckles.

"Here comes the rescue party to save the day," he says in a sing-song voice. I set my face into stone and refuse to give him the pleasure of knowing he's annoying me.

Seconds later, a heavy knock falls on the door. Grudgingly, I stand up and walk over, only to realize I don't know the code to open it.

"What's the code?" I ask Ashford without looking back at him.

"Why should I tell you?"

I close my eyes and rest an open palm against the door.

"Tell. Me. The. Code."

"I don't feel like sharing."

"Are you five?" I hiss as I turn around to face him. "Act like an adult, and give me the code. They're going to bust it down if you don't. Play along, Ashford."

He smiles at me and shrugs.

"The year the vaccine started was a special year, wasn't it?"

I stare blankly at him. Seriously?

With a groan, I turn back to the keypad and type in the four digits: 2047. The lights blink yellow, then turn green, and the knob turns. I take a step back as two bodies crash into the room.

"Well, hello, Mocha," the redhead says cheerfully, still holding the uniformed guard by his arm. She points the gun at his head, but a smile paints itself across her face. "Thanks for letting us in."

I shake my head and step to the side so the rest of the people can get into the room. Behind her, Quinn stands with his navy pressed suit and badge telling his title. Papa shuffles in last after two more well-armed Compound 5 guards and some ruffled looking Compound 1 guards.

Papa looks me up and down, claps a hand on my shoulder, and pulls me into a stiff hug.

The last time we hugged, I was ten. We stood in the front yard of the Compound 2 infirmary in the cool spring air, two feet away from each other, radiating pain and emptiness. The night sky was bare, and all the clouds from the rain earlier in the day left us to suffer in silence.