He steps forward again, and I snatch him back, shoving him to the wall so hard his head smashes against it. He yelps.
“Gavin!” Evie says, tugging on my arm.
I ignore her, shoving Asher into the wall again. “Damn it, Asher. Just flippin’ listen to me for once. You’re going to get us killed.”
He scowls at me and rubs his head, but doesn’t say anything. When the doors finally slide open and no one steps out, I palm the plasma gun and double-check to make sure it’s loaded before stepping out into the hall.
It’s a relief to see there’s nothing in there. Not even any of the green goo. I signal for the others to come, and while Asher glowers at me when he gets to me, he gets into the elevator without saying a word. I ignore the concerned looks Evie keeps shooting me and press the button for the bottom floor. I’m pretty sure that’s where the Tube station is anyway. I can’t really remember where we’d started from when we were here before. I just know it was a relatively long elevator ride. But it’s not like we can’t start at the bottom and work our way up until we find the right floor if I’m wrong.
Snakes roll around in my stomach as my nerves act up. I really don’t want to go back to the other side of Elysium. It makes the most sense to go there, but I don’t know how we’re going to get past the turrets and cameras. Even if we’re not shot, the cameras will catch our every move. Evie might have been able to delete us from the targeting systems last time, but it seems unlikely Mother hasn’t had her little trick undone by now. And there’s no way Evie can get us back in the system now. Not without her memories.
We’ll just have to use those maintenance tunnels again and hope we don’t set off any of the turrets as we run from the Tube to the tunnel. Of course, the problem with that is, Evie has no memory of how to break the security on the doors. Maybe it’ll come to her. Maybe just being in the area will spark some of her memories.
The way she’s looking around like she’s never seen an elevator before, I don’t hold out much hope for that.
When we’re finally about to hit the bottom level, I step in front of Evie and hold the plasma gun out in front of me. This is where our luck runs out. I’m sure of it. Evie makes a frustrated noise, but doesn’t argue. Behind me Asher cocks the Reising, and steps up next to me.
I lift an eyebrow at him.
He shrugs. “You’re not the only one who can protect her.”
Evie makes that sound again. “I don’t need protecting,” she says, but her voice wavers. There’s no doubt in my mind that if she was herself right now, this wouldn’t even be up for discussion. She’d be in front of both of us, strapped to the teeth and ready to take no prisoners.
I grunt in response, but turn my attention back to the doors as they slide open. I’m not sure what I expect, but it isn’t what I get: freezing cold water flooding into the car. It gushes in so fast the only thing I can do is inhale a single breath before it closes over my head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
EVACUATION GATHERING LOCATION! PLEASE PLACE SAMPLES INSIDE NEXT TO PALM READER!
—SIGN ON STORAGE ROOM DOOR
Evie
As the water closes over my head, the memory of something similar flashes in my mind, but I shove it away. There’s no time and it’s not like it’ll help. I force my eyes open, then wish I hadn’t when the seawater sears my eyes, but I have to be able to tell which way is up.
Something tugs on my hand, pulling me out of the car, and I almost scream, but manage to clamp my lips together to keep from letting loose and losing the much needed oxygen. The familiar roughness of the hand tells me it’s Gavin and while I try to look around for Asher, it’s a lost cause. It’s too dark and I can’t see anything.
My lungs burning, I kick as hard as I can, letting Gavin pull me. Just when I can’t hold my breath any longer, we burst through the surface, our heads hitting the ceiling. Seconds later, as Gavin is practically begging me to tell him I’m okay, Asher surfaces next to us, gasping for breath. He frantically looks around and when he sees me, I can see him relax. He swims closer, panting a little.
“You okay?”
Coughing, I nod and ignore the pain in my chest. “Just in a little bit of shock.”
He turns to Gavin. “What the hell, dude? Are you trying to kill us?”
Gavin only gives him a look. “If I’d known that was going to happen, I wouldn’t have brought us down here. It wasn’t like this before. I don’t know what’s going on, but we have to get out of here,” he says.
We all turn around in circles, but I can’t see anything. None of this looks familiar to me, though I’m starting to get small flashes. Gavin running, me slung over his shoulder. Shooting some kind of blue light at people running behind us. Clouds of ash where the people stood.
Something brushes my leg and I scream as my imagination forms the image of one of those blood- and gore-covered brutes, wrenching me under the water. Then, because I still haven’t caught my breath, I break into harsh coughing.
“What?” Gavin pulls me behind him and looks around frantically.
“Something … brushed my leg. I don’t know what it was.” I accidentally inhale a mouthful of water in my panic and nearly choke.
Gavin shoves a wall of water at Asher. “Come on. Stop playin’ around.”
Asher holds up his hands before slamming them back into the water to paddle. “Don’t look at me. I didn’t do it.”
“What the hell was it then?” Gavin’s eyes are taking on that frenzied look again, but it doesn’t take long to find out his answer. An obviously dead body floats by just under the surface, its eyes wide and unseeing. We all watch as it continues its meandering path past us. And I’m pretty sure the reason it’s moving is because wherever the leak is, the water is still coming in.
“Oh Jesus,” Gavin says, while Asher starts gagging and flapping his arms around in an obvious attempt to get away from it. He only ends up drawing the body closer.
My body feels numb and there’s a pressure deep in my head as it buzzes from the shock.
Gavin focuses on me. “Can we go back to the Surface now?”
I want to say yes. I want to say forget this, forget all of it, but I shake my head. “I can’t. I need to find the answers.”
He sighs, but looks resigned. “Well, we have to get out of here at least.”
“If this is like any of the buildings in Rushlake, there should be stairs near this elevator,” Asher says, trying to stay calm, and Gavin nods. “So who wants to look for it?”
Another body floats by and I shudder so hard I bite my tongue.
They both stare at each other; then Gavin holds his hand out in a fist. I open my mouth to tell him he can’t force Asher to try and find it, but then Asher holds his out too, just short of touching Gavin’s. I watch, completely confused, as they lift and lower their hand three times; then Gavin splays his hand out flat at the same Asher brings out his index and middle finger in a sideways V.
Gavin nods. “Right.” Then he takes a deep breath and his head disappears under the water before I can say anything.
I paddle over to Asher. “What was that?”
“Rock, paper, scissors. The ultimate decider.” He manages a shaky smile and I shake my head and wait, metaphorically holding my breath until Gavin’s head appears again.
He pops up, sucks in a breath and goes back under before anyone can say anything. He does this five more times, taking longer and longer and making me more and more anxious until he finally comes up with a look of triumph.