“This shows us how much power we have left.” Standing, he dusted off his knees. “We turn off lights at certain points during the day to conserve energy.”
“How many people live here?”
His mouth pulled to the side, as if considering whether divulging such information would prove fatal. A few moments later, he responded, “A hundred forty-seven.”
The number was higher than she’d expected. “All are descendants?”
“Some are. Most are from other camps we brought in. Others were kind of adopted, like Jeremy and me, from parents in society who didn’t want to send their less-than-perfect children to the concentration camps, or have them killed.” His tone sharpened as he spoke. “You know they do that, don’t you? They use the imperfect children as slave labor or, if they are lucky, kill them.” Anger flashed in his green eyes.
She averted her gaze and picked at a thread from the seam of her T-shirt. “I am aware.”
“I figured as much.” He huffed past her to another tunnel. “Come on.”
She stood her ground. “I might have been aware. That does not mean I agree with how the people are treated. I ran across several things I have not agreed with. That is one of the reasons I left.”
Spinning on his heels, Rein’s face hardening into stone, he spat, “You should’ve done something.”
Ellyssa felt her stomach churn as rage boiled up. That was an emotion she knew, and knew well. Muscles twitching, aching to release pent-up energy, she spat back, “Like what? What could I have done? Why do you not tell me what you would have done?” Her voice matched his venom.
Rein rocked on his feet as if she’d slapped him. Lids narrowing, his face pinched into a scowl. He stepped forward, his hands balled into tight fists. Ellyssa instinctively coiled, like a snake about to strike, waiting. The moment never came. As fast as the air sizzled with intensity, it dissipated. His features and stance loosened.
Skeptical, Ellyssa tossed away her previous reservations and plunged into his head. Rein’s thoughts were jumbled, fleeting, shifting from one to the other faster than a deck of cards being shuffled. Brief doubts about why she was here, what she wanted, whether she should be trusted. Regret filtered through for blaming her for a situation she hadn’t caused. He wanted to accept and trust her as easily as Jordan and Mathew had. She was just so damn confusing.
Rein focused on her appearance. The angry pink in her cheeks began to fade, and her hair glowed yellow under the light. He wondered if her hair felt as soft as it looked, like silken thread.
Ellyssa’s midsection quivered and heat pulsed in her veins. She pulled out.
He squared his shoulders, but not in a confrontational way. “I don’t know,” he stated, pulling his fingers through his hair. “I’m sorry.”
“Your apology is accepted.” Her tone was still sharp, but only to mask the sensation of uncertainty.
After all, she was the outsider here. For the most part, everyone she’d met had accepted her, although she should be considered the enemy. What he—the whole community, for that matter—knew had happened in the past was nothing compared to future plans. Society was to be exterminated to make way for a perfect human being. A perfect soldier and Ellyssa’s and her siblings’ genes were the key.
Maybe she should leave. Her father would not give up until she was returned home. The longer she stayed, the greater the risk.
They deserved the truth. She’d have to reveal her secret eventually.
“Ellyssa?”
Snapped from her thoughts, she looked at Rein. He was smiling, not a happy one, more filled with chagrin.
“I really am sorry. That was unfair. It’s just—” He shrugged.
“I understand.”
“Are you hungry?”
Nodding, Ellyssa’s head filled with questions about when she should tell them the whole truth. She turned back toward the direction of the hospital. He shuffled behind her, but instead of following, he put his hand on her shoulder. His grip was firm, and thrilling. She wheeled around, ready to defend; his hands flew up in surrender.
“Wait,” Rein said, amused. “We’re going to the dining hall. It’s time to meet the others. Jordan insists.”
His hand glided from her shoulder to her hand. His touch was different than when he’d held her hand through the enclosure. The soft stroke of his fingers traced along her skin like a feather. She looked at him.
Pulling his lips into an uncertain grin, Rein entwined his fingers with hers, and a pleasant shock ran through her veins, turning her blood into a mixture of ice and lava. Her pulse quickened.
“Come on,” he said with a tug.
Ellyssa followed behind him, cherishing the heat radiating off him. She relished how his touch felt different from the doctor’s or Jordan’s, how her heart hammered in expectation. Unsure and elusive. New and tantalizing.
They entered a part of the tunnel where the lights had been turned off to save energy. Darkness closed around her, but instead of going on high alert, she relaxed. The inky black seemed to last forever, until they turned a sharp corner. Light stretched along the rocky ground and wall and, with it, came the sound of whispered conversations.
A bit further along, they stepped into a room where the ceiling towered overhead. Although the middle part leveled into a large floor, speleothem deposited mineral ornaments had formed along the edges of room. Beautiful formations rose from the floor and dangled from above, and flowstone cascaded into layers of limestone steps. The lack of dripping water told Ellyssa the cave was dead. She could only imagine its spectacular beauty in its heyday.
Shifting focus, her eyes flowed from the picturesque scenery to three rows of lights suspended from long wires. Then her gaze traveled toward the people sitting in the center of the room.
Ellyssa stood still, amazed at the variety of races she’d only seen in history books. Her eyes flitted from one person to the next, noting the subtle to extreme changes within skin tone, hair color, eyes, varying degrees of body and facial shapes, the little ornaments that hung from their ears or pierced parts of their faces. Children sat with parents, smiling and laughing. It was beautiful. So unlike the pale white, sterile world in which she had been raised. Here, everyone was an individual.
The Renegades sat at long, rugged wooden tables on log benches. A far cry from the formal dining room to which she was accustomed. Even without the amenities, though, the atmosphere welcomed her. Warm. Homey. All the things missing from her life.
Rein smiled encouragingly. “Let’s get something to eat.” He pointed to a line of people holding the same red trays the doctor had brought in to her.
She spotted Trista next to the row of hungry Renegades. The perfect blonde stacked dishes into a black bin. She smiled and waved at Ellyssa.
Ellyssa remained with her legs anchored to the ground. An air of wonder, like the day she’d escaped, bubbled in her.
She returned her attention to the people. The pale green eyes of a female she hadn’t met stared at her. Another female, with reddish-brown skin and beautiful auburn hair, elbowed a male, with a large nose and huge brown eyes, next to her. Afterwards, heads swiveled around toward her.
Feeling awkward and out of place, a nervous smile popped unexpectedly onto Ellyssa’s face as she continued to look at all the different Renegades. Then, she met Candy’s glare. The redheaded female’s eyes kept moving from her face to her hand intertwined with Rein’s, and back. The fiery redhead’s face pinched into a look of revulsion. The exact opposite of Jason’s, whose gaze scrolled the length of her body, hungrily.
Ellyssa’s smile fell away.