Page 14 of Us Dark Few

“I know what you’re thinking,” Adan said, noting her incredulous gaze. “But it was hard enough knowing I was contributing all my time to the Genesis dome, a structure responsible for killing hundreds.”

“You didn’t have a choice,” Derek reminded him.

“There’salwaysa choice. Always.” Regret tinged his voice. “But I refused to be responsible for more deaths by building weapons for them. I turned in my resignation, and the next day, I was sentenced to Braderhelm for insubordination. And my little sister couldn’t stay home like I begged her to.” Adan’s lips pressed together in a tight line, but there was no denying the love in his wayward glance toward Serene.

“You’re my brother,” Serene stated with raw finality. Like it was all the explanation needed.

Serene turned to Khalani. “Our parents weren’t really around when we were younger, so I became quite good at stealing. It started off small—like when I took the special blue hair dye as a kid, not realizing it was permanent.” She chuckled momentarily, but then her eyes fell to the ground. “Eventually, I had to steal food and money every week just to keep us from going hungry. When they arrested Adan, I tried to break into the Master Judge’s office to steal two Genesis passes. The plan was to hide in Genesis before they transferred him to Braderhelm, but they caught me and threw me in here with him.”

“It was a stupid plan,” Adan interrupted.

“At least I had a plan!”

“Why couldn’t you just listen to me and stay home?”

“When have you ever known me to listen?” Serene derided.

“You’re a part of the female species. So never.”

Serene shook her head, turning back to Khalani. “Wouldn’t you do the same? Wouldn’t you go to the ends of the underground for your family?”

There was that word again. Family. No matter how many failures, fights, or disappointments, they were the solid foundation that was supposed to anchor you to the ground.Family could drive you crazy while restoring your sanity in the same breath.

Khalani admired the lengths Serene went to protect her brother. She was always more comfortable being alone. It was safer that way.

But an undeniable part of her longed for that bond. She would move mountains of rock to speak to her parents again, even for a second.

“My family is gone, but if they were here…there is nothing I wouldn’t do for them.” Khalani let out a rough breath and glanced away.

The silence extended, and Serene nodded in understanding. Even Adan studied her with a newfound appraisal.

“I like you, Khalani,” Serene said, breaking the tension. “We survive here by sticking together. We’ll watch out for you, too.”

A fluttery sensation settled in her stomach. Khalani had thought the “every man for himself” ideology would dominate Braderhelm Prison, but Derek, Serene, and Adan all shared something in common.

Their lives were forfeit.

The intertwined endings of their dismal fates connected them.

It wasn’t a connection she wanted, but it was there, nonetheless. If they had survived thus far, maybe there was hope for her too. The odds were infinitesimal, but not obsolete—like a still-beating heart clinging to the edge of life, not quite ready to greet the end.

6

I’m a living, breathing disaster.

Just as aching, vast, and terrible.

The size of Braderhelm continued to impress Khalani with its vast network of tunnels. Apollo was a remarkable engineering feat, mixing natural caves with sprawling man-made caverns to support hundreds of thousands of people. Impressive didn’t do the city justice. But when she entered the pit with Serene, her mouth hung open.

She wasn’t expecting the cavern to be so massive.

Her eyes lifted to the tall ceiling. White lights hung along the stone walls, illuminating the space in a soft glow, a great dichotomy against the rough exterior of Braderhelm.

A pervasive heaviness still hung in the atmosphere, but the prisoners conversed and walked about, seeming more relaxed as they took advantage of the vast space.

A large crowd surrounded a circular crater. It was a dirt pit that extended a few feet deep into the ground, like a shallow pool with no water.Cheers rose from several prisoners as they stared into the pit, their eyes alight with excitement and adrenaline.

Khalani stepped closer to the throng in curiosity, and a series of grunts and punches echoed back. Through the crowd of people, her eyes finally found an opening to peer into the crater.

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