Hidden (Book 3 of the Immune Series)

Forgiveness (Part 1)

Sakir

Cold water rushes over me, and I gasp for breath, sitting up so fast that my head spins.

"Told you we didn't kill him."

One by one, the figures materialize. Three men and one woman kneel around me, arms balanced on their kneecaps. Each of them wear gray uniforms, topped with leather jackets.

More importantly, they look as if they've tumbled down a fifty foot cliff and barely survived. Except for the woman. She seems untouched. Maybe she was the one who pushed them. The black makeup smudging the underside of her eyes makes her look like the kind of person to shove someone down a hill.

She stands up first, pulling a silver gun out of a holster strapped onto her waist. Black residue stains the muzzle. Have I seen that gun before?

As she presses it onto my temple, ordering me to stand, the events come back to me.

I've been kidnapped.

I lead four people into the solidarity of the orchard and attacked them.

God, how stupid can I possibly be?

I stare up at the woman, licking the front of my teeth.

"I said get up, kid!" she orders again, pressing the metal harder into my head.

"I can't," I mumble fighting for words as my body shakes violently. The water droplets cling to my skin, weighing down my clothes. The bed of the truck sits in the shade, in the middle of a deep forest where the temperature is much lower than the city back home. Winter seems to already have fallen here. It could easily be snowing.

"Why not?" she asks.

"My feet are tied."

We both glance down at my ankles, which are tied together with brown rope, resting between my pant legs and my boots. The coarse strap cuts into my skin, rubbing it raw.

"Dan, I'm not about to carry him in. Cut the binds."

Since I've seen him last, Dan bandaged his face, and now, a strip of white covers the bridge of his nose. The skin surrounding it is purple and green, swollen. I smirk at him as he leans down, slicing through the ropes with his knife.

Then, I kick him, just for good measure. My foot lands itself right in his stomach, sending him sprawling backwards. He screams a long string of obscenities as he gets back up, punching me in the jaw.

"That's enough," another man says from behind me, jerking me to my feet like I weigh less than a feather. "You've done enough damage. The doctor would like to see you now."

He turns me around, and a two story building comes into view.

Concrete walls stretch towards the sky, painted the same gray as the uniforms. A giant '1' has been painted in black paint on the front of the building. Three things stick out to me.

One, there are no windows.

Two, a ten-foot chain link fence surrounds the building, a barrier between us and the wild woods on the other side. Barbed wire curls around the top, glinting in the shards of sunlight that filter through the thick trees.

Third, a double-layer door serves as the only entry into the building. The first layer of the door is metal mesh, bearing a yellow sign that has the words "High Voltage" printed on it. One of the men inserts a key into the lock on the metal screen, pushing it aside with a gloved hand.

Now, I know why they're wearing them.

The door under that is solid metal. He unlocks it with a different key, pushing it open with his shoulder. I'm led into a small kitchen attached to what looks like a living room. A couch and a chair sit across from one another. Books line the shelves; the table holds a pile of them. Two tablets sit side by side on the table as well. Leaves pepper the floor, coming from another windowless door.

"Hello, Sakir."

I whip my head around, glaring at the source of the voice.

The woman stands equal to my height, arms crossed over her chest. Her feathery hair curls around her ears, gray mixing with auburn. Wrinkles line the skin around her eyes, making them look much larger than they are.

"Who are you?" I ask, fighting the urge to pull away from the guards.

"My name is Ava Julien, but I expect you to call me Doctor Julien."

The woman standing before served on the team that created the first strand of the virus. She's just as responsible as my father. She knows him.

"Why are you doing this? You know my father! You were friends with him."

She swallows, taking a deep breath.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bull!" I scream, attempting to pull away from the two men that hold my arms. Neither of them budge.

"Why is he tied up? Cut his restraints. That's not how we do things around here," she says, arms falling at her sides.

"Actually," the woman who brought me in says, "he's pretty strong. He didn't come willingly. Just look at Dan's face."

"Isn't that your fault? Did you really expect a kidnapping to be easy? Let him go."

Dan takes a step forward, cutting through the ropes around my wrists with ease. The moment I feel the pressure fall away, I launch myself at Dr. Julien. The men follow after me, though, and as she sidesteps my attack, they throw me down on the ground, knees digging into my spine.

"Last chance," Dr. Julien says from above me. I bend my neck to look up at her. "If you can't behave I'll have to sedate you." With that, she motions for the guards to move.

They do, fleeing to either side of the room before I can get to my feet.

"I dare you to try," I snap, panting. I'm tired of fighting. My muscles ache; pain splits through my head. The water still weighing me down drips onto the floor, puddling around my feet. It sends shivers like earthquakes across my body, only making me more tired.

"I don't want to do this, Sakir. Please."

When I glance up at her, her face has softened, huge eyes pleading with me. Her lips part slightly; one arm extends in front of her. I would almost let her lock me away, but images of myself laid out like a animal for examination flash through my mind. They are enough kindling to keep the fire burning, even if it's only a red glow within miles of cold darkness.

I grab a book of the center of the table, chucking it towards her. She ducks, and it slams into the wall behind her, sending a picture clattering to the ground. I lunge towards her, but I'm too slow.

The guards grab my shoulders. Another steps in front of me, punching me in the stomach. The impact brings me to my knees, and the woman grabs a handful of my hair, forcing me to look up at Dr. Julien.

"I really am sorry," she says, producing a syringe out of her coat. The clear liquid inside seems murky. I fight against the guards hold, but their fingers dig into my skin. The woman's grip only worsens, too, until I freeze.

"My father will never forgive you for this," I whisper, wincing as she sinks the syringe into my side.

"I'm not looking for forgiveness," she says, from a much greater distance than before. My vision tilts, and I feel the cold tile on my back. "Second door on the left, boys. I'll meet you there in a minute."

The darkness leans in, wrapping its tentacles around my mouth, turning my tongue into lead. They close my eyes, sinking into my ears and filling the empty spaces in my head. Someone drags me across the floor, but I'm immobile, lost in nothingness.