"I'm going to get a hell of a lot of money for you, darlin'. Do you even know how valuable you are?"
I open my mouth to respond, even though I don't know the answer, but a vibrant zap zings through my body. Then all I can see is darkness.
Chapter Four
The Bleeding Sky
"Come on, breathe," someone begs. "Come on. Come on."
I don't know where I am, but it feels like I'm lying on a cold, solid surface. My head is resting against something soft, and two fingers are pressed to my wrist. I instinctively pull away, but my arm doesn't budge.
"Try giving her mouth to mouth again. It seemed like it was helping." This voice sounds familiar, but it takes me a moment to figure out why.
Ryder, the guy who saved me. He made it out alive.
"It was temporarily helping," the first guy who spoke says. "I can only get her to breathe for a few seconds. Then it's like she gives up."
I will my eyes to open, but my eyelids already feel like they're open. All I can see is light, though. Vibrant light makes my eyeballs ache.
"Do you really blame her after what she's been through?" a deep voice grumbles.
"Shut up, Blaise," Ryder warns. "She deserves to live."
"That's not what I mean." Blaise's tone rises in panic. "I just meant that I ... that she ..."
"Would you two both shut up so I can figure this out?" the guy whose voice I don't recognize orders.
"Sorry," Ryder and Blaise mumble.
"She's weak, and with the burns the lasers put on her ... This is bad." The stranger is so close I can feel the warmth of his breath against my cheeks. "I don't know, though. It's like her body is refusing to give up. She's strong. I just hope it's not too late and there's no permanent damage."
Silence stretches between them. I can hear noises coming at me from every direction: air gusting across my face, the soft puffs of someone breathing, rustles and shifts, and hundreds of other noises pinging at my brain. My senses are on overload, my skin tingles, and my skull feels on the verge of exploding. I inhale sharply, but the oxygen doesn't relieve the ache building inside me.
"I think she's having a panic attack," Blaise mutters. "She's breathing, but I don't think she's getting enough air."
"You know what? I think you're right," the stranger agrees. "We need to get her to calm down."
"Don't look at me," Blaise snaps. "I don't know how to do that."
The rage in his tone sends a wave of fear crashing through me. I claw at the surface beneath me, trying to sit up. The ground beneath me feels damp, and soft yet hard. I breathe in deeply, and the earthy scent of dirt touches my nostrils.
Wait? Am I outside?
"You know more about panic attacks than any of us," Ryder says quietly. "How did you get your sister to calm down?"
"I don't know. Everyone's different." Blaise pauses. "Maybe we should get her in the car. Maybe being outside is too much. Besides, we should probably get going before we're spotted. Ryder and I made it look like we were still in the channels, but the wardens will figure it out eventually and then come looking for us out here."
"Yeah, I know," the stranger agrees. "I wonder how long she's been in there."
"I'm guessing a while." Ryder sounds pained. "Here, I'll carry her. She was more relaxed with me than Blaise."
"Do you blame her?" the stranger asks. "Blaise probably scared the hell out of her."
There's a thwack, and Ryder lets out what I think is a laugh. I'm not quite sure, because it's been ages since I've heard one.
"Just hang on. We're going to help you." Ryder's breath dusts the top of my head as strong arms slip underneath me.
I gasp. Normally, when someone touches me, it's unwelcomed and painful. I don't believe Ryder's going to hurt me, though. At least, I want to believe he won't.
"Easy, Allura," Ryder whispers. "I promised I wouldn't hurt you, and I meant it."
"Why did you just call her Allura?" the guy with the unrecognizable voice asks.
"Because that's her name." Footsteps crunch against the ground as Ryder starts walking somewhere.
"How the hell do you know that?" Blaise asks. "I thought you said they didn't have a file on her."
"They didn't, but when I asked her what her name is, she said Allura." Ryder's muscles flex underneath me.
"She answered you?" Blaise asks incredulously. "She knew her name? Her real name?"
"It seemed like she did," Ryder replies. "I'm not sure where she got it from. If someone randomly gave it to her or maybe she heard someone else say it."
"I'm surprised she knows how to talk," Blaise murmurs. "She looked so confused when you were talking to her in the cell."
"She wasn't confused." Ryder slows to a stop. "She was scared out of her damned mind. She thought we were there to hurt her."
"Of course she did. You were there, posing as a visitor," the stranger says. "I get where Blaise is coming from, though. Most Nameless never learn how to talk. Or if they do, the trauma gets to them and they usually forget. Maybe she hasn't been in the channels for very long. Still, it's weird. I've rescued about ten, and none of them knew how to talk."
"How many survived out of those?" Ryder asks. "I know the numbers are usually low."
"One," the stranger says quietly. "Their survival rate is extremely low, especially if they were born in the cells."
A hush falls between them. I can hear the rustling of fabric and the creaking of hinges, and then I'm being laid down on the softest, smoothest surface that's ever touched my skin. I'm terrified, but I don't dare move. When I hear a loud bang, though, I flip to my side and curl into a ball.
A hand touches my back. "It's okay," Ryder says.
My muscles ravel so tightly I swear my limbs are about to snap off.
"She's breathing better," Blaise says from my other side. "That's a good sign, right?"
"She still doesn't look completely coherent." Ryder's fingers sketch patterns on my back. "Her eyes are open, but it's like she can't focus."
My eyes are open? I flutter my eyelashes, trying to decide for myself. It feels like they're open, so why can't I see?
"Maybe it's too bright," Blaise suggests. "It was fucking dark down there. Maybe her pupils can't adjust."
"Hmmm ..." Ryder's fingers stop moving. "Give me your jacket."
"What're you going to do with it?" Blaise grumbles.
Before Ryder can answer, the intense light reduces to a dark grey. I blink a few times as my vision comes into focus. Shapes form, dull colors, blurry images. It takes my brain a minute to process everything, and again, my senses struggle to take it all in. But slowly, I start to put together my surroundings.
A black surface is right in front of my face. I splay my palm against it. Cold. Smooth. The same surface is also right below me. Leather? A leather seat. I'm on a leather seat. I don't know how I know that. I just do.
I tip my head toward where my feet are and find Ryder holding a leather jacket over our heads like an umbrella.
"Hey," he says. "Is that better?"
I nod, too afraid to say no.
"Good." The corners of his lips turn upward into a smile, even though his eyes carry a hint of sadness.
It hasn't been that long since I've seen someone smile. In fact, a lot of visitors smile. Ryder's smile doesn't make my stomach churn, but instills safety, which only intensifies when he hands me a bottle of water.
I grab the bottle from him, prop up on my elbow, and savagely consume it. By the time I'm finished, water is running down my chin and neck. I still feel so thirsty, but I'm afraid to ask for more.
Ryder hands me an odd-looking, brown square. "Eat this. I know it's not much, bu
t we'll get you more food when we get to Leviter Station."
I stuff the brown square into my mouth, ignoring the bland taste and sandy texture as I swallow it down.
"How do your lungs feel?" Ryder asks as he takes the empty bottle of water from me and chucks it to the floor. "Can you breathe better now?"
I nod, inhaling and exhaling as I rest my head down on the seat. Now that I'm no longer outside, the dry air feels less harsh and bitter against my lungs.
"We're going to get you out of here." Ryder continues to smile at me. "It might sound and feel kind of weird when Reece starts driving. The car rides like a tank and it can get a little bumpy."
I nod as I hear a rumble, and then the engine roars to life. The vibrations are violent, making my teeth clank together.
Ryder stares down at me with his brows dipped. "Wait, do you know what a car is? I can explain it to you if you need me to."
"I know ..." I clear my throat, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I know what a car is."
His lips part. "How do you--"
"Don't overwhelm her with questions," Blaise cuts him off. "Just let her rest."
I angle my head back, following the sound of his voice. He's sitting beside my feet with his hip pressed against the door, as if he's trying to keep as much distance from me as possible. The jacket Ryder is holding above my head makes it hard to see Blaise's face, so I crane my neck until I get a glimpse of his scruffy chin, his neck, and his arms crossed over his chest. He still looks rough and terrifying, yet now that I'm not inside my cell, I feel less afraid of him.
"Eventually, we're going to have to ask her questions," the stranger, Reece, says from the seat up front. "It's protocol."
"I know the protocol." Blaise glares at Reece. "But you can at least wait until we get back to Leviter Station before you start picking her apart."
Pick me apart? Wait ... Where are they taking me? What are they going to do to me? I thought I was free. Through all of this, I hadn't thought that maybe they were just transferring me somewhere else.
I scramble to get up, knocking the jacket out of Ryder's hand. The light swarms me again, stinging fiercely against my eyes. I blink furiously, trying to get my vision to focus, but it doesn't do an ounce of good.
"Allura, please calm down," Ryder pleads. "I need to get the jacket back over you."
I sit up with my hands out in front of me. "No," I croak. "I won't let you hurt me."