Page 12 of Jager's Prey
“Hurry.” Miriam implored us.
“How do you pay for all of this?” I had to ask.
Miriam blinked at me in confusion until Jager translated.
“Um—scavenge.” She smiled, proud of herself. “We find spare parts in dump.”
She then spoke with Jager who smiled and looked back at me.
“They visit the dumpsters around the area a lot.” Jager relayed. “So, parts from old computers, cars—any kind of electronics. Like back home, you’d be surprised the things people throw out.”
Miriam spoke again and Jager nodded.
“Sometimes, they find whole tech that works fine.” Jager told me. “The only thing was, they were outdated. They have people with them that are engineers, designers, software creators—it wasn’t hard.”
“Oh!” I mused, surprised.
We followed her, down a series of stairs to another door and after going through the same security, we were admitted into what looked like an entire community underground.
“Whoa.” I managed.
Miriam said something and Jager nodded.
“She wants to remind us that this place is a secret.” Jager translated. “It keeps refugees and people who want their freedom safe. It’s a safe place for women who left abusive relationships and the like.”
I nodded. “I remember.”
“Come.” Miriam beckoned, leading us away from the crowd and down another set of tunnels. “Boy here.”
Miriam opened the door and stepped to the side. When I entered, Cage was reading from a tattered book, sitting on a makeshift bed. He looked up and shifted backward, almost as if he thought the wall would swallow him.
“My name is Mack Salazaar.” I told him.
“American?” He asked.
I nodded and he exhaled loudly.
“Are you here for me?” He wanted to know. “They said no one would come for me.”
“We’re here for you.” I assured him. “And we’re going to get you out.”
“We?”
I shifted so Jager could enter the space as well.
“I’m surprised they sent anyone to get me.” Cage spoke, keeping his eyes on Jager. “Dad said if anything happened, I would be on my own.”
“That wasn’t exactly true.” I told him slowly.
What kind of father did that?
“I have nothing to go home to.” Cage replied. “Mom and dad are both gone now. And their families—well, aren’t exactly stable.”
“Let’s worry about these things one step at a time, right?” I hunched down in front of him. “First we get out safely back onto American soil, then we can tackle what’s next.”
Cage spared me a glance then returned his eyes to Jager.
“We won’t leave you until you’re safe.” I promised him.
