Lock : 17
Barely 10 minutes later, the hallway door swung open once again. I jumped to my feet and stood at the very back of the cage. A man in blue scrubs was pushing a trolley with a plastic tub on it. He also held what looked like a rifle, but different than the ones the guards held. He stopped at a cage with a new hybrid and aimed the gun through the barred door. Before I could blink, he had fired the gun and a dart whistled through the air, hitting the girl in the arm. She collapsed to the floor seconds later.
Tranquilizer? I glanced over at Brenda and she nodded.
It wears off pretty quickly.
The man hoisted the door up and moved inside. He placed a tail lock over the barbs and quickly exited the cage, locking the door down behind him. He moved on to the next cage.
The man stopped in front of my cage and lifted the gun to aim. I gulped and waited. The dart hit my shoulder and red hot tendrils spilled through my body. My knees buckled and I dropped forward onto the ground.
I could still think, still feel, but was paralyzed from the neck down. The man's rough hands grabbed my tail and exposed the barbs, then hesitated, frowning. The tail lock slipped into place and he stepped out of my cage. The drugs really were wearing off rather fast. Already I could slowly move my arms under me.
You broke your tail? Brenda stood close to our shared cage wall, one hand gripping the bars. I groaned and pushed myself up onto all fours. Nausea swirled in my stomach and made my head spin. How did that happen?
What are you talking about? I sat back against the back wall and closed my eyes, willing the nausea to go away.
One of your tail spears is broken off.
I don't know. I held my head in my hands. I did stab a wraith yesterday…
Where did you stab it? This was Minho's voice. The memory of the wraith crawling through the cave entrance filled my mind. It had done something to me. It had rifled through all of my memories, then started hurting Thomas. Why had it affected him and not me?
He stabbed it in the heart. Alby now. I opened my eyes and looked over at Minho. He was still sitting on his bed.
It went through my memories. I glanced at Alby, who nodded.
WICKED calls them Tractatori, it means manipulator. They go through your memories, find something, then warp it to disable you. It's how they hunt.
I looked down at the concrete floor. It must have been doing the same thing to Thomas. But somehow, it didn't work on me.
I think I blocked it.
Some people can. Brenda slowly sat down in the corner of her cage.
I frowned, a word coming to mind. Instinct. It had felt natural, automatic even, to block out the wraith. I didn't want the creature in my mind, so I had pushed it out. It wasn't even that hard to do.
Not everyone can?
"Get some rest, Newt." Minho sighed and lay down on his bed. "Tomorrow will be pretty hectic."
…
I lay on my side on my bed and gazed out at the dark landscape just outside my cage. It was all flat and grassy, a large open plain devoid of trees or even rocks. The moon hung high overhead and faint shadows of the bars splashed across the floor. Nearly every hybrid around me in the 25 cages of this hallway were asleep. Nearly. There were a few who lay awake just like me. They were scared, tired, and silently wondering about what tomorrow would bring.
Thomas? I tried again. He was still here somewhere, his puzzle piece remained firmly in place.
Newt, are you okay?
I let out my breath in a sigh of relief. I think so. Where are you? Where is Lizzy?
She's here with me. He sent a mental image of the inside of his cage. It was identical to mine, but looked to be on the opposite side of the building. Lizzy lay huddled in her bed in the cage next to Thomas. It was darker there and the moon was not visible.
Are you in the same group?
Yes. They said we're supposed to find a wraith and distract it, then group A comes in. He sounded just as confused as I felt.
The wraith that found us in the cave, what did it do to you?
Thomas paused for a long time before answering. Just brought up memories.
He kept those memories hidden from me, though. There was a small piece of him that he kept locked away, and it felt like a small defect in his presence. Like a rock in your shoe.
Me too.
I'm hungry. The change of topic was sudden enough to make me pause. The Keeper says we can't eat until we find the wraith tomorrow.
Hunger twisted my stomach and I held my breath, trying to stop it from growling in the silent space. Slowly the feeling passed and I let my breath out quietly. I hadn't even thought about food, I was focused on the chaos that had happened over the past 24 hours. But Thomas was right. I was starving.
Is Lizzy okay?
She's fine, just a little shaken up.
They said we have to find a monster in another world. Lizzy's scared voice pushed. What monster and what other world? What are they talking about?
Just stay close to Thomas, Liz. I'll come find you tomorrow.