Part 20 (2/2)

”h.e.l.lo?” I whispered, looking toward the gray sky. ”Could use some help about now.”

Shockingly, G.o.d didn't respond.

”Fate it is.”

I moved along the fortress Aaron had built, my hands scratching against the rough brick. To think I'd believed this place a stunning, magical home when I'd first arrived. I knew better now. It was nothing more than an elegant prison. At the corner of the estate, where the bricks met in a sharp angle, I paused. Still too dark to see much of anything, but I could just make out that ocean s.h.i.+mmering under a crescent moon.

”Where are you going?”

The soft, sudden voice sent my heart leaping into my throat. I spun around. A small child stood before me. She wore jeans and a sweats.h.i.+rt, but no coat. ”Who are you?” I demanded, then glanced sharply around, looking for someone who might claim her. There was no movement in the darkness beyond.

”Caroline.”

Was she a test? Some sort of set up? ”Are you...did you come from the children's dorm?”

She nodded. Her blonde hair was long and straight, her bangs cut at a perfect angle that framed her large eyes. The girl I'd seen on my arrival, the girl who'd appeared in my steel room the day I'd been meditating.

”You should go back. It's cold. If they find you missing they'll worry.” And come looking, which wouldn't be good for me.

”Are you leaving?” she asked, stuffing her hands into the pockets on her sweats.h.i.+rt. She was six, maybe seven, although I certainly wasn't a great judge of age where kids were concerned.

”No, of course not,” I lied. ”Now go back to bed, okay?” I shooed her with my hands, but she just stood there, staring at me like a dog after a treat. ”Listen kid, you have to go, please.”

”You look like my sister.”

I hadn't been expecting that response and her sweet little statement tore at my heart. ”Yeah?” d.a.m.n, if my voice didn't catch. ”Well, she probably misses you, so go back to your room so you can see her, okay?”

”She's not there.”

c.r.a.p. This just kept getting better and better. ”Did they take you from your family, Caroline? Did they make you leave your sister?”

She nodded, her large eyes s.h.i.+mmering now. She was going to cry and then I'd cry and we'd be caught.

”I miss her, but I can't talk about her because they won't let me.”

The anger I felt toward Aaron rushed through my body in a heated wave. For one insane moment I wanted to tear through the door and demand they return the children. Instead, I knelt before Caroline, my knees. .h.i.tting the hard dirt with a thud that jarred my body. ”Did your parents know? Did they understand that you were being taken away? Or did...Aaron do something to make them forget?”

She shrugged, looking confused. ”I don't know.”

”It's okay.” I grasped her narrow shoulders. ”Do you know when they took you? A year go? Two? ”

Her brows drew together, her lips puckering. ”It was winter and cold. I didn't get to open my Christmas presents.”

No Christmas presents? Now that was just plain wrong. ”Do you remember where you lived Caroline? What town?”

She frowned. ”Ohio, I think.”

Ohio? Ohio might as well have been another country at the moment. I hadn't realized these abductions took place across states. I stood. I knew what I had to do and even as I thought the words, Caroline said, ”Take me home?”

How could I refuse? What was one kid anyway? Surely we could sneak onto the boat together. They'd think we were siblings. In fact, it might work better this way. And if her parents didn't remember her, Grandma would let her live with us.

”Okay, come on.” I took her hand, her tiny fingers chilled. We needed to make it to town fast; she wouldn't last long in this cold weather. It was a ridiculous plan. I knew that, but I had no choice.

”Where will we go?”

Already with the questions? It wouldn't take long before she'd realize I hadn't a clue what I was doing. ”I'm not sure.” I slipped one of the straps of my backpack from my shoulder, intent on finding a sweater that would fit Caroline. She needed something to block the chill wind.

She latched onto my sleeve and tugged. ”This way.”

I didn't miss the fact that she was pulling me back toward the house and the way we'd just come.

”No,” I said. ”We need to leave now.” What had the kid forgotten? A stuffed bear or some other ridiculous object that didn't matter at the moment? Didn't she understand how important it was that we escaped ASAP?

”Caroline, we can't go back.”

”Please,” she whispered. ”I know where we can leave.”

My knees almost buckled in relief. ”Are you sure?”

She nodded. What choice did I have? Follow a six year old or stumble around the yard on my own until I was caught? We followed the outside wall of the southern end of the house, heading toward the back. The entire way, that d.a.m.n fence followed, mocking us. The sky was turning to gray, dawn breaking. My anxiety flared.

”Caroline, are you sure-”

”There.” She pointed to a dark impression in the earth that ran underneath the fence. ”A secret tunnel.”

I darted the small distance and hunched down. It was a drainage pipe that led underneath to the sh.o.r.e. Definitely small enough for Caroline to fit through, maybe small enough for me. When I lowered myself to my belly, I could see the gray light at the end of the dark tunnel, beckoning freedom. There was also a thin layer of water along the bottom of the metal pipe. I didn't have time to think about what could be living and growing in that water.

My top priority was the diameter of that tunnel. If I got stuck, or if there were rats or spiders...no, it didn't matter. I had to try. Stepping back a few feet, I slipped my backpack from my shoulders and tossed it over the fence. Fortunately it sailed over the top and landed with a thud in the sand on the other side.

”I'll go first,” I muttered.

Caroline nodded her agreement, her little round face full of trust. For a moment panic took hold. My G.o.d, this little kid trusted me to get her out of here. I should have forced her to return but it was too late now. My conscience wouldn't let me leave her behind.

I lowered myself into that small gulley, then lay flat on the cold ground, frost biting into my sensitive palms. The ground was hard as I inched my way into the metal tunnel. Small rocks bit through my jeans and jacket, sc.r.a.ping my legs and stomach.

I reached the tunnel, didn't pause, but flattened myself to the ground. The thin layer of ice that had formed over the water cracked. Bitterly cold, it soaked my clothing, chilling my flesh. I bit my lower lip, dug my elbows into the ground and surged forward on my forearms into the pipe. I just fit, my shoulders sc.r.a.ping against the metal sides. This was my only chance. Caroline was counting on me. I couldn't let Aaron erase my memory.

The moment my torso was inside that tunnel, a tinkling of panic threatened to overwhelm me. What if my hips got stuck? I ignored the shouts of warning coursing through my mind. I told myself the tunnel would remain the same size all the way through, that if I fit now, I'd fit ten feet in; I wouldn't get stuck halfway in and drown when the tide came.

Thankfully, it was too cold and damp for spiders and rats. One small blessing. My harsh breath echoed against my metal coffin. No rats, no spiders, but the ground could collapse, my panicked brain taunted. I could get stuck.

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. No, I was almost there. If I could straighten my arms, untuck them from my body, I'd be able to touch the cold air ahead.

”Almost there, Caroline,” I said, forcing my voice to sound jovial. I pushed my elbows under my body and inched forward, slower than a snail. The ridges along the pipe hurt, digging into my muscles. ”Almost...”

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