Adaptive: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The Elite Trials Book 2) Read online

  Ryker grunted under the added weight, shifting his hold for a better grip on my waist. I recognized his clothing as the ones he’d worn outside Tatum City. Unease crawled up my spine. “How did you get out of your cell?”

  He paused, looking both ways before crossing an intersection in the hallway. It was early enough in the morning that traffic was still minimal. Someone was bound to notice us though. “Less than half an hour ago, I noticed my cell door was unlocked after the guard delivered my meal. Sitting right outside was our backpacks and gear, even our weapons. I didn’t question it.”

  We reached the stairwell and he opened the door like he knew it would be there. “How do you know where to go?”

  He held up a slip of paper. “Someone drew me a map to your location and then the exit. And it says that if we get lost, you’ll know the way out.” His expression was dubious, yet curious too, as he waited for my reaction.

  Oh. Crap. The people who’d threatened me, who didn’t want me here. Was this their plan? It could be a trap then. We could be playing right into their hands. Double crap. “Uh. Yeah.” I straightened as best I could, grimacing as the stairs before us rippled like water. “Up or down?”

  “Up.” Ugh. At the sound of approaching feet, Ryker grasped at pieces of my hair and partially hid my face. “Keep your head down.”

  I did, feeling like a fugitive from one of those action movies Jaxon loved. Jaxon. He was probably looking for me. Should I message him? Could I trust him? My sudden doubt sent a bolt of agony through my chest.

  When the passing resident was out of earshot, Ryker whispered, “How well are you known around here?”

  “Um . . .” Did I dare admit to being a part of the inner circle? No. Definitely not. “I’ve made some friends.”

  He snorted softly.

  I took my eyes off the stairs to glare at his face. “What?”

  “You made friends?”

  My lips pursed and I focused on climbing again. “Shut up.”

  “My point exactly,” he muttered.

  If I didn’t need his support so badly, I’d shove him down the stairs. He would survive. Probably. By the time Ryker had us exit the stairwell on the twelfth floor, my body was screaming at me to rest. A headache throbbed at my temples, behind my eyes, and at the base of my skull. I stopped trying to think about what I was doing and concentrated on not blacking out.

  We somehow passed through doors that required a handprint, navigating stairwells and hallways I’d never seen before. No one paid attention to us, as if they were so confident in The Ridge’s security, they’d never thought of the possibility that two people could be breaking out. When we hit a dead end, Ryker swore and backtracked. Several minutes later, he crumpled the map in frustration. “You’re up, Lune.”

  I squinted at our surroundings, then slumped against the nearest wall. “I don’t know where we are.”

  As his jaw hardened and his fingers curled into fists, I remembered why I used to fear him. He was downright scary-looking when mad. But I was too exhausted to feel anything other than mild amusement. “I suggest you rack your memory and fast before someone spots us,” he hissed, “or it won’t just be me who gets locked in a cell.”

  Oh stars. I hadn’t thought of that. For all they knew, I was helping a prisoner escape. Technically, I was betraying The Ridge, throwing away their trust in me—if anything they’d told me had been real. I groaned and closed my eyes. How had this become so screwed up?

  I had a choice to make. I could cry for help and pretend that I didn’t know who Ryker was, that my memories hadn’t resurfaced yet. Ryker would be locked up again and I could continue my life here at The Ridge. Or I could use my ability and search for the way out of here, then finish what I started two months ago. Neither choice was ideal. Without Renold’s chip tying me to him, I could choose a third route.

  I could choose freedom.

  But it wasn’t just about me anymore. I had friends and family who needed saving. I had someone I loved walking to his death. What was the point of freedom if I spent it alone? I doubted my mum was stashed away in a cell somewhere in The Ridge, which meant there was no guarantee I’d ever see her again. At least I had my ability. Someday, I would find her, I promised myself. But right now . . .

  I had a mission to complete.

  “Take a left.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Trust me on this, okay?”

  “I don’t trust anyone,” Ryker groused, sounding way too much like me. Why had I never noticed how similar we were? And if I allowed pessimism to eat me alive like he obviously was, I’d become as cranky as him too.

  Stars, please say I’m not already like that.

  “Well, if you want out of here, you’re going to have to, grouchy pants.”

  I felt his shoulders stiffen. “I’m not—”

  “Yes, you are.”

  His eyes narrowed on me. “You’re different. The same and yet . . . not.”

  I pressed my lips together. “Um, thanks. I guess.” I stopped talking and focused—conversing with Ryker took way too much energy. Every few minutes or so, new memories would surface and throw off my balance. Sometimes Ryker had to all but drag me until the ground would stabilize again. To find the exit, I’d conjured an image of the machine Bren and I had ridden up the mountain on. The outdoors was just beyond where the machine was kept.

  We were almost there. Maybe a handful of minutes away. Adrenaline stirred in my blood, dulling the throb of my headache. So close, so close. We rounded a corner and I collided with something. Instinctually, my head whipped up. When I met the startled eyes of what looked like a guard, I bit back a curse. “Sorry,” I murmured, glancing down. Not quickly enough. Suspicion had colored his face.

  He let us pass by, but unease shot through me. I walked faster.

  “What’s wrong?” Ryker said quietly.

  “I think he might have recognized me,” I said, peeking over my shoulder. We were alone. For now.

  He swore under his breath, then doubled our speed.

  “That one.” I pointed to a red door at the end of the hallway. “It leads to the outside.”

  Tugging myself from Ryker’s hold, I broke into a less than graceful jog. Almost there, almost there. I reached the door first and grasped the handle. When I yanked and felt the resistance of a lock firmly in place, fear coursed through me. In a panic, I slapped a hand to the black print reader on the wall. It flashed red, rejecting me.

  No. No. We were so close!

  Ryker nudged me aside and tried the handle without success. I gaped as he reached behind him and pulled out a gun.

  “What are you—?”

  “Stand back,” he said, aiming at the door.

  Bang!

  He blew the lock open, then ripped the door wide. We sprinted inside, and that was when an alarm went off. The ear-splitting screech was worse than a hammer striking my skull. I covered my ears, but the pain was so intense, tears blurred my vision.

  Ryker grabbed my shoulders and shook. I groaned as the action set my head on fire. But he didn’t stop. “How do I get the tunnel door open? Is there a button? Lever? Lune, snap out of it!”

  Tunnel? There was another door? I scanned the room through bleary eyes, noting that it wasn’t a room at all, but a massive cavern. At the far end was a wide, steel door barring the way out. A bullet wouldn’t be breaking through that. I didn’t know how to open it. I didn’t know!

  “Freeze!” a voice shouted from behind us.

  Faster than I could blink, Ryker whirled us around and banded an arm across my chest. Every part of me froze when I felt the cold steel of a gun press to my temple. “Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” Ryker said loudly, his voice echoing in my ears.

  My stomach bottomed out when I saw who’d entered.

  Yukiko.

  Her expression was hard, intent on Ryker, not me. But her gun . . . it was pointed at my chest. “What makes you think I care?” she responded coldly, widening her stance. />
  Without warning, the gun at my temple cocked. I flinched, but Ryker’s grip only tightened. “Open the steel door or I will shoot.”

  For a moment, time slowed. The choices I’d made hovered before me like a movie screen and I couldn’t look away. Leaving with Ryker. Mistake. Breaking out. Mistake. I had made the wrong decisions and would now pay the price with my life. Something in my expression must have caught Yukiko’s attention. She grimaced, then slowly walked to a keypad on the cave’s wall and punched in a code.

  Despite not being able to see it, I knew the door was sliding open when bright sunlight spilled inside, illuminating Yukiko’s irate face. Her gun was still trained on us, tracking our every movement as Ryker walked us backward toward one of the four-wheeled machines. When the engine rumbled awake, she took a step forward. Even with a gun still pointed at her, she continued to advance inch by inch. Ryker growled a warning and she paused.

  He fisted my shirt, dragging me sideways until my butt plopped onto the machine’s seat. He joined me a second later, barking at me to drive since he refused to turn his back on Yukiko. I had no clue how to work one of these things, but when I’d been plastered to Bren, I felt the way he’d twisted the handles and pressed on the lever at his feet. My fingers briefly squeezed a handle lever. We jerked forward, then stopped.

  I was about to do it again when Yukiko yelled, “Stop!”

  “Go, Lune. Go now,” Ryker growled, wrapping an arm around me.

  My body went rigid, not from his touch, but from the effort of not looking back. Guilt gnawed at me, tugging and pulling until I couldn’t help but glance at her one last time. Stars. I shouldn’t have. Tears were streaming down her face, tears of betrayal. The sight crushed me. My chin wobbled and I opened my mouth, needing to explain, to apologize. Something.

  But the opportunity was there and then gone as a shadow passed over her eyes. Determination. Regret. She’d made her own decision. “You know I can’t let you leave, Lune,” she called out. Her voice shook, but remained steadfast. “I have to protect what matters most. You know that.”

  I stopped breathing when her eyes narrowed, when her gun raised level with my head. Every part of me screamed at her not to do it, but I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. The shock was too much. She was going to kill me. My friend. Was going to shoot me.

  Bang!

  I jerked. Stabs of adrenaline burrowed under my skin. I waited for pain to register, for darkness to take me. Instead, I watched time slow to a crawl as Yukiko fell back, landing hard on the ground. My brain didn’t understand. Didn’t want to. But when Ryker turned around and I saw the deadly focus in his eyes, I knew.

  “No,” I whimpered, looking again at Yukiko’s unmoving form. “No. No, this can’t be happening. No.”

  Wake up, wake up. This isn’t real.

  Ryker’s body pressed heavily against mine, blocking my view of her.

  I snapped.

  “Let me go. Let me go right now, you cold-blooded killer!” I shrieked, clawing at the arms boxing me in. In response, his foot knocked mine aside as he took control of the machine. He grabbed onto the handles and we lurched forward. I howled in rage, trying to pry his fingers free as we picked up speed. But his grip was a vise. I remembered his words to me, spoken with so much surety.

  I can see better than you, smell better than you, hear better than you, but more importantly, I am faster and far stronger than you.

  No. No! Was he a Sensor like Bren? If so, I wouldn’t be able to get away. Not now, not when my body was weak and he held the weapons. We burst into the morning’s light just as shots were fired from behind. More guards must have arrived a moment too late. My throat tightened when I thought of Yukiko lying lifeless on the ground, so I switched off everything. My mind, my emotions, my body. Any more pain and I’d automatically shut down anyway. At least this way, I’d be awake.

  The world streamed by as we shot down the mountain at breakneck speed. There was no road, only thawing dirt and rocks. The land wasn’t white anymore but brown and budding green. It was all a blur as we swerved around trees and navigated the rocky terrain. I clutched at the machine—an ATV I remembered now—as we veered sharply to avoid a tree stump, doing my best to stay out of Ryker’s way.

  He was practically on top of me, breathing down my neck. I wanted so desperately to shove him off me and watch him tumble down the mountain, but I’d probably join him a second later. And at the speed we were going, I wouldn’t survive.

  Just as I was going to yell at him to slow down, I heard the roar of another ATV. Ryker glanced back and swore. The machine jolted forward, pressing me further against him. Shots fired. The tree next to us splintered. Ryker curled himself around me, making a smaller target as he wrenched on the handles, changing course.

  When more bullets zipped past, Ryker grabbed my hand and forced me to grip the lever. “Drive,” he barked.

  “No!” I shouted, struggling to pull free.

  “They’re shooting at you,” he growled, slapping my other hand onto the handle. “If you want to live, then drive the blasted ATV!”

  I ground my teeth together but did as instructed. After only a few moments of guidance, he let go. I almost crashed the machine a second later, narrowly avoiding a tree. I should have known what Ryker’s intentions were, but when he returned fire, I startled. Then wanted to scream my frustration. They were my friends. This shouldn’t be happening!

  We bumped over gnarled roots and loose rock, the jarring motion sending spikes of agony through my head. My eyes wouldn’t open more than a squint, so I saw what was ahead too late. I only had time to shout a quick warning before the rocky ground fell away, leaving us airborne. With my heart in my throat, I screamed all the way down in terror and, stars help me, elation. Something must be wrong with me because I had missed this thrill of danger charging through my blood.

  But when we landed and every bone in my body shrieked at the impact, common sense returned with a bang. No, that was the sound of us still getting shot at. Ryker faced forward again and wrapped his hands around mine, taking over the steering. “Are you crazy?” he yelled in my ear, then clutched the lever until we were once more playing a deadly game with gravity.

  “You already know the answer to that,” I replied as I checked on our pursuers. Three human silhouettes on ATVs were perched on top of the embankment we’d just fallen from. I ducked as one shot at us, but we were quickly traveling out of range. They must not have liked the idea of dropping to their deaths. Couldn’t blame them.

  Despite the danger shrinking into the distance, Ryker didn’t slow. My fingers ached where he continued to grip them, my back stiff from hunching over. But I didn’t say a word. I was conserving my energy, because when the time came, I only had one chance at escaping this heartless monster.

  When we found a road, I wanted to sob in relief. Although cracked with age and riddled with potholes, concrete was far smoother to ride on than roots and rock. But the ATV sputtered and died about three hours later. At least we’d made it to the bottom of the mountain. Ryker went so far as to hide the machine off the road, saying we needed to cover our tracks. Like they didn’t already know exactly where we were headed.

  I refrained from rolling my eyes, instead acting docile and obedient. Maybe a bit too agreeable since he kept shooting me quizzical looks. But every time he did, I made a show of rubbing my temples and cringing in pain. I was in pain, but I still had enough strength to do what needed to be done.

  We set off on foot after he pulled my coat and boots out of my backpack and told me to put them on. I didn’t protest. The air was no longer freezing with spring just around the corner, but I had fled The Ridge in a thin cotton shirt and shoes that wouldn’t hold up under such conditions.

  I allowed several minutes of silence to drag between us. Well, this felt familiar. The view. The tension. I didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t offered me my weapons. I was staring at my bow now, strapped to his back. But I didn’t need it. I had someth
ing else in mind.

  My boot snagged in a root protruding from the road and I pitched forward right into Ryker. Before I could enact my plan, he twisted around and grasped my shoulders, holding me at arm’s length. I let out a moan and closed my eyes, squeezing the bridge of my nose for good measure. After a moment, he released a guttural sigh of pure annoyance and dropped our packs. He bent and retrieved his first aid kit, popping out two pills from a bottle.

  “Take these,” he said, also handing me a water bottle. I did as instructed, glad to listen for once.

  I waited until he was bent over again and zipping up his pack before I sucked in a weak gasp. “Ryker,” I breathed, letting my arms fall limp. My eyes rolled upward as I tipped forward in a dead faint. He caught me. His guard was completely down, his position awkward, unprepared. I quickly snaked a hand behind him and yanked his gun free. Then I whipped my head up, ramming my forehead into his chin. His teeth clacked together.

  My vision spotted from the sharp impact, but there was no time to clear my sight. I brought the gun up and clocked his skull with my depleting strength, shoving out of his arms before he could pin me down. I had expected the escape to be harder, so I almost fell on my butt as I regained my balance.

  When I’d blinked away the remaining flashes of light, I knew the moment of surprise had ended. I had to act. Now. I pointed the gun at his chest. “Don’t. Move.”

  The look in his eyes. His irises chilled to a crystal blue, their edges blackening even more. That was intimidating. He sneered, but I saw his hands trembling. In rage? Fear? “What’s gotten into you?” he said, his voice deathly soft. Crap. Rage, then.

  Well, I had some of my own. My hands were shaking too as they gripped the weapon tightly, but my aim didn’t waver. “You killed my friend,” I hissed through clenched teeth.