Page 89 of Captured Immune

“Where?”

I wait until we pass a dark blue pickup truck driving on the other side of the road before I answer. “Ideally, I’d take you to the safe house my parents left for me, but I can’t find it. So, we’re going with Plan B.”

“Which is?”

I run a hand through my hair until my fingers get caught in some dried blood. “Um, I haven’t figured that part out yet.”

Her jaw drops. “What?”

“Hey,” I say defensively, “my only plan was to get you away from Victor. I haven’t been able to strategize beyond that.”

“So you expect me to just blindly go along with this nonexistent plan of yours? I thought you had more than this.”

“I do. My plan exists. It just exists... in the future.”

She laughs—a really condescending laugh. “Thefuture? That’s wonderful. That’s just wonderful.”

“All right, Miss Sarcastic-and-judgy, I’m open to ideas if you’ve got ’em. Do you know of a place we can stay where they can’t find us? Preferably underground.”

“Why underground?”

“Trackers can’t sense people while they’re underground. I mean, I could go without using my powers forever, but there are Trackers out there who can sense people without waiting for them to use a gift. They’re rare, but they exist. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Plus, in general, if we’re underground, it’ll be harder for them to find us.”

Our car reaches another intersection. I turn left, hoping it’ll take us toward Nevada. If Arella asks if I know where I’m going, I’ll lie because there’s no way in hell I’m admitting to her that I’m driving off ofgut feelings.

I’d use my GPS if I still had a phone. Earlier, after I hover-logged through the forest with Arella slumped over my shoulder, I climbed onto my motorcycle that was hiding behind some trees, then placed Arella over my lap, straddling my front and rode off. I kept her secure against me with one arm while I controlled my bike with the other. We rode away from Shadow Ridge until my damn motorcycle ran out of gas. That’s when I stashed my bike out of sight and continued on foot.

At one point, I stopped to give my arms a break from carrying Arella. When I pulled my phone out of my pocket, it came out in two pieces. I don’t know why I was surprised, because if my ribs got smashed, it’s likely my phone did too, so I ditched the broken device on the side of the road and kept carrying Arella until I found a place for us to hide.

A smelly barn wouldn’t have been my first choice, but at that point, I would have settled for any type of shelter. I was exhausted, everything ached, and I needed to sleep so my body could heal. Unfortunately, the little nap I had did nothing for me. I still feel like I’ve been hit by a train—multiple times.

Now that I think about it, even if I had my phone, I probably wouldn’t turn it on anyway. What if Victor was tracking me on it?

“Is your parents’ safe house underground?” Arella asks.

“Yes, but like I said, I don’t know where it is. I know the general location, but that’s it.”

“How do you know the general location?”

“My parents left me a message—sorry, ariddle, in my childhood teddy bear telling me about it.”

Her eyes go wide as she gasps. “That’s the bear that kept asking you for a password!”

“Correct.”

She perks up in her seat. “What’s the password and riddle? Maybe I can help.”

I don’t want to, but I have to let go of her hand to be able to dig into my pocket. Otherwise, I’d have to drive with my knees, and my body is way too fucking sore for that.

After shifting Arella’s diamond necklace to the side, I find the button-shaped device. I haven’t pressed it since I was whacked against the ground, so I hope it still works.

I press the button.

Nothing happens. No robotic voice saying, “Password?” Not even a sign that it’stryingto work.

I press the device again.

Still nothing.

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