The ARC 02: Talented Page 17

  Something feels off. Maybe it’s just because I’m worried about Lara, or maybe it’s nothing? I just can’t shake the feeling there’s something wrong.

  Hunter’s eyes focus back on me, and I open my mouth to welcome him back, but he stands stiffly and roughly grabs a hold of my arm. He tugs me to follow him and I have to jog to keep up.

  ‘Hunt…’ I begin to ask what’s wrong, but the reason for his sudden movement comes into view across the quad. One of the men in suits is back. A recruiter.

  Hunter steers us to the front gates of the school and out, all the while retaining the firm grip he has on my arm. I can practically feel how scared he is as we head away from the school.

  He continues walking and doesn’t stop until we reach the park near the Mason’s apartment. Once we’ve entered the park, he slows to a stop by the large, grassy field and then turns to me.

  ‘I’m sorry I freaked out back there,’ he says, his voice unusually subdued.

  ‘Hunter it’s okay, I know how you feel about them—’

  ‘Feel about them…’ he repeats, with a dry, humourless laugh. ‘Elle, he was there for you.’

  I gasp and grab my hand to my mouth. He marches away from me angrily, running his shaking hands through his hair. His obvious frustration is palpable.

  ‘Why? How?’ I stutter.

  ‘They know you’re a level one. He was there to relocate you to the west.’

  ‘Oh.’ I take a step back from him and cross my arms over my chest. I’d been waiting for this day to come and it finally has. ‘Mr. Kale warned me this might happen. I’ve been expecting it, but didn’t think it would be so soon.’

  ‘You knew they were coming for you?’

  ‘Don’t sound so surprised… I only wish I had more time to find Sebastian.’

  ‘You’re not going back there. I’m not letting them take you to the west.’

  I shake my head. ‘I don’t have a choice. They’ll be able to track me with this again tomorrow,’ I say, lifting my cuff up to show him. ‘There’s nowhere to hide.’

  Hunter takes a slow, deep breath in and then out. ‘Let’s go across the bridge.’

  ‘What?’ I almost yell. He walks over and takes my hand.

  ‘We may never get another chance. Our GPS functions are disabled and who knows what will happen tomorrow.’

  I shake my head profusely. ‘Hunter, that’s crazy. You’ve barely recovered after last night and I don’t want you risking yourself for me.’ I touch his arm lightly. ‘Finding Sebastian is my responsibility and you’ve already helped me more than I could’ve hoped for. Just because the recruiters are planning on taking me to the west, doesn’t mean we should do anything stupid…’

  ‘No, it’s not stupid. You said Sebastian is a level nine talent. If we find him he may be able to help you with the recruiters.’

  ‘We don’t know what he can do though.’

  ‘I’ve only ever heard of two other nines … just trust me, he’ll be able to help.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘Elle, stop trying to argue with me, I’ve made my mind up and we’re going.’ He begins stalking away towards the riverside. I jog a few steps to catch up and silently walk beside him.

  When we reach the pathway that runs alongside the river, the bridge comes into view ahead. Again it looks so close. So close that surely it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes to reach it. Hunter doesn’t miss a beat as he continues striding towards the bridge.

  ‘I tried this the other day. It doesn’t get any closer,’ I say, as I try to keep up with Hunter’s charge.

  ‘I didn’t try the other day,’ he says.

  I glimpse up at him from the corner of my eye, nervous to look at him directly. The way he walks is fierce and his face is determined. There’s almost an angry recklessness to him right now. I try to ignore it, but it worries me. We shouldn’t be doing this now.

  I look ahead to the bridge. It’s still the same distance away and we’re not getting any closer. It’s just as I expected. ‘Hunter, this isn’t working…’

  He stops and walks over to the trees that line the pathway. I follow quietly behind him.

  ‘You don’t see it?’ he asks, turning to me as we reach the coverage of the trees.

  ‘See what?’

  ‘We’re just by the entrance to the bridge now,’ he says, looking out over the water.

  ‘No, it’s just as far away as before,’ I protest.

  He considers my face and scrunches his eyebrows thoughtfully. ‘You mustn’t be able to see it because you’re an untalent.’ He smiles at me apologetically as he leans up against a tree and folds his arms, contemplating what we should do.

  ‘I know you don’t want me playing around up there,’ he wiggles his fingers in the direction of my forehead. ‘But if you let me, I should be able to allow you to see what I see, and hopefully there won’t be any issue with you crossing.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ I reply.

  ‘You could just follow me, but you won’t be able to see the bridge, and if you can’t see the bridge, you’ll be walking through thin air. There are guards standing on either end, and if you can’t see them, they will know something’s up,’ he points out.

  ‘It doesn’t sound like I have much choice,’ I mutter, looking down at my feet as I scuff them across the dirt. This all still seems like a bad idea.

  ‘Elle, you always have a choice,’ he says, leaning towards me. ‘I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do.’ I look up at him, meeting his gaze, and there’s such sincerity evident in his eyes that I know I can trust him with this.

  ‘What do I need to do?’

  ‘Nothing really. It might be easier though if you hold my hand.’ I raise my eyebrows, questioning him, which makes him laugh.

  ‘It makes it easier for me to affect what you’re seeing, and I need to conserve as much energy as possible,’ he explains, holding out his hand.

  I start to reach out to him, but then quickly pull back. ‘You don’t think that maybe we should wait until it’s dark?’ I ask.

  ‘No, it will raise less suspicion if we head across in the daytime.’ He looks down at his watch. ‘Besides, we need to be back across the bridge by nine because of the curfew in the north.’

  ‘Okay.’ I place my hand in his and look up into his eyes, waiting to feel differently, to notice his influence over my mind, but there’s nothing.

  ‘It’s not working, are you sure you’re doing it right?’ I worry. He laughs and points to the distance. I follow the direction of his hand and gasp.

  ‘The bridge!’ I exclaim. I fight the urge to rub my eyes. There, just fifty meters away, is the bridge. From this close I can make out the ornate design that runs across the railing and the tall stone figures that stand proudly in the middle of it.

  Two guards pace either side of the pillars that mark the entrance. Behind them is the stone walkway that curves up and over to the far side of the river. It was there all along.

  ‘This isn’t too much effort?’ I ask.

  ‘Nope.’ Hunter gives my hand a squeeze and we begin walking towards the bridge.

  One of the guards notices us as we approach. His whole demeanour stiffens and a frown crosses his forehead. As I look past him, I begin to understand why he’s bracing himself. The bridge is deserted of people.

  I want to ask Hunter why no one is on it, but we’re too close to the guard now to say anything. I feel jittery as my nerves kick in.

  ‘We haven’t been notified of a crossing,’ the man says, when we get to him.

  ‘I’m not surprised,’ Hunter responds. ‘We only just got the order ourselves. They’re expecting us at the academy.’

  He scratches at his head, confused. ‘I’ll need to verify it with command…’

  Hunter glances at his cuff. ‘We’re already running late. Can you scan our cuffs and verify while we cross? If there are any problems you can always comm the guards on the other side.’

  ‘I suppose th
at should be fine. If you could raise your cuffs…’ the man orders, indicating for us to place our cuffs against the scanner he holds. I try to remain composed as Hunter calmly raises his cuff towards the man. The scanner doesn’t touch the cuff, but the guard nods as though it has and turns to me. Before the scanner touches my cuff the guard nods again at the scanner.

  ‘Everything appears to be in order,’ he says, standing back and indicating with his hand for us to continue. ‘There shouldn’t be any problem with you crossing Sir.’

  We pass the man and move onto the bridge at a steady pace.

  ‘Sir?’ I ask, under my breath. ‘What did he mean?’

  ‘I manipulated him into thinking I was someone else. That way, he won’t contact command.’

  ‘And it worked?’

  ‘Apparently.’

  As we near the other side my head begins to feel heavy, like each thought is slow and laborious to think. I feel sleepy and my eyelids sag in response.

  Hunter is absolutely fine. When he looks at me though, a flash of concern touches his eyes.

  We reach the end of the bridge and pass another set of guards who salute Hunter. Finally I’ve made it to North Hope. It’s quiet here, and the cobbled stoned streets and ancient stone buildings make this place feel darker than the east. There are no flashy skyscrapers and the narrow roads are empty of cars. The few people roaming the sidewalks keep their heads down as they hurry about their business. It appears to be almost deserted.

  ‘This way.’ Hunter tugs my hand and sets off down one of the roads.

  ‘Do you know where you’re going?’

  ‘Yeah. I’ve been to the talented dormitories before,’ he replies.

  ‘You have?’

  ‘Yes.’ His tone of voice firmly puts an end to any further questions I may have. He lets go of my hand. ‘I shouldn’t need to mess around with your head anymore,’ he mumbles.

  ‘It wasn’t so bad.’ Aside from seeing the bridge, I couldn’t even tell he’d been doing it. I take a quick glance behind me as we go around the corner. Amazingly, the bridge has vanished, just like magic, and once again the river flows steadily in its place.

  As we walk deeper into the empty area of the city my legs feel heavier and each step I take is harder. I’m exhausted after last night and my body appears to be running on less than empty. We are crazy to be doing this right now. I wish we could’ve waited until we’d both recovered.

  I keep walking, trying to ignore how tired I am, but my feet begin to stumble unsteadily beneath me.

  ‘Do you think we could rest for a moment?’ I ask, exhaustion getting the better of me.

  ‘It’s not much further,’ Hunter replies. He stops though when he looks at me. He must be able to tell how worn out I am.

  ‘Shit,’ he mutters. He quickly grabs a hold of my hand and my fatigue lessens. Soon I barely feel tired at all.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I ask. I feel amazing, compared to a few minutes ago.

  ‘Do you remember what I said about what it’s like for untalents over here?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘That’s what was happening to you. The energy the talented give off is very powerful. When so many are gathered in one place it can have this effect on untalents. Maybe we shouldn’t stay here too long,’ he says.

  With Hunter holding my hand we continue on, with a renewed sense of urgency. I can’t let him drain his energy to protect me. What if we run into trouble? We need to find Sebastian fast and get out of here.

  As we turn around a corner Hunter abruptly tugs on my arm and pulls me down an alleyway. We walk deep into the dark shadows of the alley and then he pulls me down low to crouch behind some wooden pallets.

  ‘What are we—’ Hunter places one finger against my mouth to silence me.

  ‘Recruiters,’ he whispers, effectively causing me to freeze. ‘They’ll be suspicious of anyone like us outside the dorms.’ The minutes drag by and I barely even breathe. When it seems safe, I crane my neck to look over the pallets and check what’s happening. There’s a man beyond the alley on the other side of the road. He looks like he’s… Hunter grabs my shoulders and pulls me down.

  ‘What are you thinking?’ he whispers urgently. ‘He’ll see you!’

  I shake my head. I still feel the urge to stand up and try to get closer to the man. Is he doing this to me?

  I return to being a frozen statue, but the recruiter must’ve seen me because moments later there’s the echo of footsteps entering the alley. My heart beats faster and faster as he draws closer. I look over at Hunter for reassurance, but his eyes are wide with panic.

  He drops my hand and I immediately feel exhaustion overwhelm me. I lean back against the alley wall and watch him, praying he’ll know what to do. His eyes focus and the smallest flicker of a violet flame dances across them.

  The recruiter continues to move closer. Through a gap in the pallet, I see his feet come into view just on the other side of it. I can hear his slow and steady breaths. He’s heading straight towards us and clearly knows we’re here.

  He appears from behind the pallet and stands so close to where we hide he only has to look down to see us. I draw back against the wall and hold my breath, waiting for him to turn and find us. He doesn’t though. He doesn’t even look like he’s searching for us anymore. His body has become rigid and his face has a blank expression across it. After a few moments, his shoulders relax. He breathes a long, calm breath out, lights a cigarette and turns to walk back to the main road.

  He stays by the entrance to the alley for a while before moving away. Even after the man has disappeared from sight, Hunter stays crouched in his position, his eyes completely vacant of any expression.

  Finally his eyes slip back into focus. ‘He’s gone, but we’ve lost a lot of time,’ he says.

  I stand and stretch my legs out, trying to release some of the stiffness in them after spending all that time stuck in the same position. Hunter looks drained and I feel guilty as I take hold of his hand again. I want to tell him to turn around and go back to the east without me, to let me finish this alone, but I know how damn stubborn he is. Hunter would be more likely to chop off his left arm than give up now, and he doesn’t even know Sebastian.

  When we emerge from the alleyway, dusk has settled over the street and the lamps that line the road flicker on. I clasp Hunter’s hand tighter, worrying at how much time has already passed.

  The road becomes steep and when we reach the peak of the rise we come across a tall iron fence that borders a wall of thick, unkempt bushes. Using a footpath just beside the fence, we follow it until we reach a set of large metal gates.

  ‘We’re here,’ Hunter announces.

  Through the thick wrought iron bars stands a large mansion, set back from the road. A dirt and gravel driveway lined by overgrown hedges winds its way up to the building, where two men in suits are illuminated by the porch light that shines out over the front yard. They stand in a relaxed fashion by the entrance to the house. More recruiters, I assume. I glance up at Hunter, nervously, but he doesn’t seem too troubled.

  ‘If we keep to the shadows of the trees lining the drive I should be able to handle two,’ he reassures me. ‘What block was he in?’

  ‘Four,’ I respond, automatically. I rack my brain trying to visualise the file. ‘Yes, definitely four,’ I confirm.

  He nods and goes to push open the metal gate.

  ‘Stop!’ I whisper, grabbing his arm. Another recruiter appears from around the side of the house to join the other two.

  ‘It’s pretty dark, it won’t take much mind control to handle another one,’ he replies.

  ‘Shhh!’ I pull him back from the open gate. The new recruiter’s stance is oddly familiar. I wait with baited breath for him to turn so I can see his face more clearly.

  ‘Elle, I said it’s fine—’

  ‘Shhh!’ I hush him again, my eyes glued to the new recruiter. Where do I know this person from? If he would just show his face…


  The recruiter turns to point at one of the cars by the front gate and my breath catches in my throat.

  I know that face. I’d know that face anywhere.

  Ryan.

  ‘What is he doing here?’ I whisper.

  ‘You know that recruiter?’ Hunter asks, darkly.

  I nod in response. ‘He was in the ARC with me. Although it’s pretty obvious now I didn’t know him well at all.’

  I watch him closely as he talks to the other two recruiters. It all makes sense now. He was always disappearing and knew things the rest of us didn’t. He’d hidden the fact he was an official from me, so should I really be surprised?

  He begins to walk away from the other two and I follow his movements. Once he’s several feet away from them he stops in his tracks, and stands still for a moment, before vanishing.

  ‘What?’ I say, a bit too loudly. I rub my eyes and look back at the empty spot I’d just seen him in. ‘Did I really just see that?’

  Hunter laughs and goes back to pushing open the metal gate. ‘And you say you’ve watched Talented,’ he jibes. The laughter doesn’t reach his eyes though and he looks more uncomfortable than he did before. Maybe even he is intimidated by Ryan’s talent?

  ‘But where did he go?’ I ask. Hunter shrugs in response.

  He pulls me into the compound and instead of being nervous or scared I feel consumed by shock at what I’ve just seen. Ryan must be extremely talented. Can it really have been him? And if it was, what is he doing here?

  Hunter sticks to the shadows under the trees as he leads me down the driveway. I grasp his hand tightly and hope like hell he knows what he’s doing.

  The guards don’t look at us as we walk towards the house. As we get closer, instead of heading for the front door, Hunter directs us around the side. ‘The dormitory blocks are round back,’ he whispers.

  The side of the house is cloaked in darkness and I stumble often as we make our way down the pathway. Hunter, on the other hand, is remarkably steady as we blindly wind through a maze of bushes.

  As we near the back of the house bright lights come into view up ahead. The whole area is lit up like it’s daytime. There’s a large open quad and behind it there are four buildings, which are several stories tall, standing in neat rows. The square is filled with young people joking about and relaxing at tables.