I awake to the feeling of warmth radiating through my chest. Before I can open my eyes, my hands cradle my pounding head.
I must be dead. There's no way I'd be able to survive a bullet to the chest again.
My eyes flutter open, and I see Paige cuddling next to me, her hips pressing against mine, her back against my chest. Instantly, I scoot my pelvis away, not wanting anything to press against her. I roll over, my eyes adjusting to the brightness coming into the room.
Where am I?
I eye Paige's arm and notice the tunicate is still on, and the blood dripping down it has crusted over and dried. Her golden hair lies in knots under her head, tickling my face as I move my head away from it.
"You're finally awake." A whisper fills the silence, and I almost jump to my feet. "Thought you were a goner." I see a guard sitting on the ground about three feet away from me. He's still wearing his uniform, but it's splattered with blood, and his gun is clutched in his hands.
I sit up, my head throbbing harder than it did before. I rub a knuckle into my eye. "What happened?" I ask my voice deep from sleep.
"Those damn crickets attacked us." The guard says, moving the sweaty hair clinging to his forehead under his hat. "We had to come back in here. Block the door."
I realize I'm in the compound, sleeping in the tunnel right inside Gate 5's door. The door isn't closed, but something is blocking us from the outside. I see the faint glow of morning seeping through the gap at the top of the gate. Then, I realize what's piled in the doorway and stopping anything from coming inside. Bodies.
"You did this?" I ask.
"Not just me," He motions to the few people lying next to us and further down the tunnel. "They helped. More people were helping us, but the crickets got to them. The name's Wellings, by the way, Thomas Wellings." He holds out his arm for a handshake, and I hurry over beside him and wrap my hand around his, giving him a weak shake.
"Ethan Cooper."
"Oh, I know who you are." He gives a slight chuckle. "Saw you standing next to the Founder before it went to shit."
"Ah," I nod my head. "Let me guess. You were one of the guards that found me in the Control Room?"
"Nah, I was on the Hub floor when the riot broke loose. Tried to help people get out and to the gates. Wouldn't have done that if I knew what was out there."
"How many people are dead?"
"Too many," Wellings says, setting his gun on the floor beside him. "Don't know about the other gates, but we were the only ones that made it back inside before we blocked the door."
I do a quick count of the room. Eight. Only eight of what seemed like a hundred people escaping through this gate returned to the compound. What happened was a massacre.
What about Dally? Or my mother? Did they get eaten by the crickets?
I let some air out of my mouth. "How was I one of them?" I say, more to myself than to Wellings.
"The Founder's daughter pulled you through right when we started." He bumps me with his shoulder. "Right after Jacobs shot you in the chest. He points to another guard sleeping on the other side of the tunnel, and my eyes make their way to my jacket, and I see a small bullet hole just a few inches above my heart, right through my breast muscle. The cloth surrounding the hole is coated with blood, which is still wet and sticky. "It's a miracle what happened to you, by the way. I wonder if you're like Superman." He adds.
I cover the hole with my hand and clear my throat. "You know? You know about my—situation?" I say in a hushed tone. I don't want the others to overhear.
"The Founder's daughter told us everything after we started trying to put pressure on your wound, and the bleeding seemed to stop. I finally believed her when the bullet pushed its way out of your skin." His eyes scan my body, and I can see that he's rewatching it happen in his head.
I give him a tight-lipped smile. I didn't want anyone to know about what I could do. But it was inevitable, especially since those crickets are feasting on flesh.
I point a finger down the tunnel and change the conversation. "If the crickets reached the other gates, couldn't they come down the tunnels and find us?"
Changing the subject works, and he turns to where I'm pointing. "I assumed so," Wellings says. "That's why I stayed up and watched while everyone slept. Looks like it's morning now." He eyes the light coming through the gap above the bodies.
"Should we wake the others? Shouldn't the crickets outside be gone by now?"
"I don't know. It's worth a look." He stands up from his spot on the ground and walks up to the mountain of corpses. Stepping on a woman's head, he pulls himself up by a man's arm and makes his way up to the top. He covers his nose with his fingers and peers through the gap. "Not seeing anything other than a few stragglers still eating breakfast." He jumps down, his boots echoing across the tunnel.
I see a head shoot up at the sound. It's an older lady, my mother's age, with long blonde hair and porcelain skin. She's wearing a blue and black striped pajama set, and pink slippers cover her feet. Her head whips around to us, and her dark eyes soften when she doesn't see a threat. Her clothes tell me straight away that she's a Richling, and a pit in my stomach forms, knowing I'm stuck with her for the time being.
"Moring," Wellings says, giving her a head nod.
But all she does is shift over to the person beside her, shaking them awake. "Kevin, wake up." She says, her voice calm and cautious. "It's morning."
The man sits up, slowly blinking as he looks around the tunnel. He stretches his arms above his head, showing off his silk sky-blue pajama shirt. His chocolate hair shines in the light, and a matching mustache sits on his upper lip. Neither of them has a drop of blood on their clothes.
"Mommy, are they gone?" A little boy sits up beside Kevin. His dark hair is shaggy from sleep, and his red pajama shirt is askew.
"It looks like it, honey." The woman licks the center of her palm and flattens the top of the little boy's hair.
"God, Jaime. The boy's hair doesn't matter right now." Kevin huffs as he gets off the floor. Jaime responds with an eye roll and straightens the boy's shirt. "What's the damage?" Kevin says to Wellings.
"Well, we're the last that I know of. Not going to go looking for others." Wellings steps towards the family, giving the scared boy an easygoing smile.
"I think we should," Jamie says, pushing herself off the floor. "Strength in numbers."
"Who knows how many demons are lurking out there," Kevin says. He makes eye contact with me, and his eyebrows raise. "Aren't you the boy who murdered Dr. Chapman?"
The question alone makes heat rise in me. "No, I was framed by the Founder."
Kevin scoffs. "I'm good friends with Henry; he would never do that." He looks to Jamie for reassurance, but she pulls the little boy close instead.
"Why would he frame you?" Her smugness shows through her attitude.
A hand rubs at my temple. "It's a long story."
"I want to hear it." She bites back. "If I'm going to be near you, I need to know you won't murder me in my sleep."
"I didn't murder you just now, did I?" I say.
Her eyebrows scrunch. "I don't need to listen to someone sass me, let alone a Grub." She tilts her chin to the ceiling.
The comment makes me get to my feet. "Look here, lady," I say, wiggling my finger at her as I stride a couple of steps toward her. "I don't need the unnecessary judgment from a woman who's done nothing in her life except be her husband's housewife."
"Don't insult me!" She raises her voice.
"Jamie, calm down. He's just an angsty teenager." Kevin says, putting his hand on her arm.
"Can we all just get along?" I hear from behind me. Paige sits up, her hair falling over her shoulders.
I let out a breath of air. "Yes," I say. I walk up to her and kneel, eyeing the bite on her arm. "How are you feeling?"
"Better." She smiles as I help her up off the floor. "I'm glad you're okay." Her eyes flick to the bullet hole in my jacket.
"Mr. and Mrs. King," Paige says, stepping closer to the family. "I want you to know I trust this boy with my life. He's not going to hurt you."
Jaime laughs, her tight lips curling up at the ends. "How could you say that when he cut off your father's hand?"
Paige's eyes shift to me, embarrassed on her face. "That was my fault."
"No, no, no." I put a hand on her arm. "My outburst doesn't justify my actions. I'm sorry."
"I know you are," She moves her hair over her ear. "I shouldn't have kept anything from you."
"Can we quit the therapy session?" Jamie barks. "We must figure out what to do before those things return."
"They're not." The new voice startles me. The other guard is awake now. He takes his hat off the floor and puts it over his buzzed head. "Crickets are nocturnal. They only come out at night." He points to the yellow glow above the bodies. "It's morning."
"What's your name again?" Jamie says, pulling the boy to the other side of her.
"Jacobs. Or you can call me by my first name, Noah."
"Jacobs is fine," Kevin says as if to push off the fact that guards have first names. "So you're saying we can go outside now?"
"My guess is as good as yours," Jacobs says. He gets off the floor and kicks the guy lying beside him, still asleep. "Wake up."
The man couldn't be younger than fifty. His hair is graying and is as long as his shoulders. His face is home to a neglected beard, and his clothes are tattered, worn, and full of blood. He's not even close to me; I can smell that he reeks of alcohol.
I'm not the only Grub.
With a grunt, he sits up off the floor and wipes his face with the back of his hand. "What's going on, Noah?"
"Looks like we're all introducing ourselves, Dad." Jacobs helps him off the floor with a strong arm. "This is Red, my father."
"Nice to formally meet you." Paige gives him a warm smile.
Red gives her one back but quickly scans the mountain of bodies behind her. "Did we do that?" He says, his voice deep and musky.
"You don't remember, old man?" Kevin says, shaking his head. "You're father's a drunk." He says to Jacobs.
"The hell I am!" Red hiccups.
"This isn't getting us anywhere," Jamie voices, shaking her head. "We have to do something soon. I refuse to let my Liam be in danger." She motions to the little boy that's still clutching to her thigh. He buries his face into her leg harder, shielding his face from any of us.
"What do you want to do?" Kevin says to his wife. "Who knows what else is out there."
"It's better than staying in here," Jacobs says.
"I don't think so." Jamie huffs. "We have food. Shelter. Beds. The gates are open now, so there's air in here."
Jacobs shifts his feet. "Who knows if the air goes all the way underground."
"Of course it does." Kevin shakes his head. "There's air in caves, isn't there?"
"Yeah, in caves without airlocked doors." Jacob rolls his eyes.
"So you're saying we can only stay in places that connect to the tunnels?" Paige speaks up, her voice squeaky compared to the men's.
"My guess is yes. So we can only go into the Hub and Dining Hall, and all residences would be airlocked and would only give us minutes of air." Jacobs says.
"I say we look for survivors," Jamie says. "I can run to my residence and grab some normal clothes." She pats Kevin on the arm. "Don't worry. I'll be quick."
"We could grab some food from the Dining Hall, too," Wellings says, picking up his gun from the ground.
"So it's settled. We're going back into the compound?" I ask, reluctance in my voice.
"It seems so," Paige says, her arm clinging to the arm of my jacket.