Enders(14)

“Where’re you taking me?”

“Down where it’s safe.” He held his phone up to the entry gate to pay to admit us.

The gate opened and we started our descent. We curved down, level after level. Once we had made it to the lowest level, he parked the SUV in a spot in the corner. This far down, we were the only vehicle.

He turned off the engine.

“I’m going to let you out, but you’ve got to listen to me. You can’t run away. There’s nowhere to run. Give me a chance to explain everything and you’ll see why the safest place to be is with me.”

I was trapped down there in a garage with a Starter who said he was the son of the Old Man. Great.

“Okay?” he asked.

I nodded. He unlocked the doors and we got out. I looked for the exit. There was one door that led to the stairway, one that was a service door. And an elevator. Otherwise, there was the ramp we came down on.

“Hey,” he said, leaning his back against the side of the SUV. “Remember our deal? You’re going to listen and give me a chance to explain.”

I stood several feet away from him and also leaned against the SUV. One of the many things I learned from my year living on the streets was that mirroring a pose put a person at ease.

What he was claiming, could it be? Why would anyone claim he was a blood relation to a monster unless it was true?

To gain my trust.

“So you ready to trust me? Enough to listen?” he said.

“I don’t know who to believe anymore. I’ve been told not to trust anyone.”

“Let me guess. My father told you that, right? I know. I know that he can communicate with you in your head.”

Hair rose on the back of my neck.

“So he said, ‘Trust no one but yourself, and then question that,’ right?” He folded his arms.

The eerie feeling of having someone repeat words you heard inside your head … there was nothing quite like it. It was worse than if he had seen me naked. “How did you know?”

“That’s exactly what he used to say to me,” he said. “He messed with my mind my whole life. He’s good at messing with heads.”

“In more ways than one,” I said.

So Hyden was the Old Man’s son.

“We have to protect you from him. This is the safest thing for you.” He knocked on the side of his SUV.

I looked it over. It was painted a matte gunmetal gray and was built low and heavy, like a squashed tank. I guessed that it was bulletproof. Maybe even bombproof.

“Your car?” I asked.

“My protection,” he said. “And now yours.”

I was about to protest when we heard the hum of an engine. A car was coming down the ramp. I got closer to him and accidentally brushed his hand with mine.

He sucked in air as if I’d burned him.

“Sorry, did I … hurt you … ?” I asked.

He pulled his arm close to his body, as if he was wounded. “No, it’s all right.”

It was clear it wasn’t from the visible pain in his eyes. Even the edge in his voice betrayed him—he was lying. But there wasn’t time to pursue it because a vehicle entered our level, drawing our attention. It was a beat-up truck. As it passed us, I saw that the driver was an Ender wearing a scruffy green uniform. Maintenance man, maybe. He stared hard at us and parked his truck at the other end of the level.

Hyden watched the maintenance man get out of his truck and walk toward the service door before he unlocked the van doors.

“See this?” Hyden pointed to the thick walls of the vehicle. “It’s a blocker.” He knocked on the side of his door. “Lined with ti-steel.”

“This must have cost a fortune,” I said.

“How much is your life worth?” He looked directly at me.

“I don’t know.”

“You’re priceless to some people,” he said, looking away. He patted the side of the car. “When you’re in here, my father can’t access your chip.”

Just hearing those words made me shiver. I was there, talking with the Old Man’s son. I never could have predicted this.

“What does he want with me?” I asked.

“You’re one of a kind. The only Metal whose chip has been altered so you can kill when someone’s occupying you. And you retain your consciousness. I’m sure he wants to study your chip.”

“I’m happy to give it to him. I’d like nothing more than to get it out of my head.”

Hyden looked at me with serious eyes. “If only it were that easy.”

My stomach tightened.

“There’s so much I have to explain,” Hyden said, “and it’s all going to sound weird.”

“What’s not weird? Voices in my head, a chip that could explode, now you telling me the only way to be safe is to be in a tank lined with ti-steel for the rest of my life.”