The Enhanced

Chapter 14

It was easy to get lost in the woods.

Gnarled roots crawled over the ground. If there was ever a path, the forest had hidden it away long ago. Sunshine filtered in through the trees, bathing the foliage in dappled light and false reassurances. No matter how bright it was, one wrong turn and it would take hours to get back.

Alex told Aria as much, but she still insisted on going. He chased after her even though he said she was on her own if she got lost less than a minute ago. His arrival was met with an amused look.

"Why," he demanded a little breathlessly, "were you so eager to do this?"

"It was loud," she admitted.

Alex couldn't argue with that. He'd woken to Klaus and Eli having a shouting match over something nonsensical. Even Foster joined in with his own barking. Having to dodge animal feces out here was a little annoying, but it was infinitely more peaceful.

These woods were familiar to him. He went in and out of them every day, but he still found himself tripping over uneven ground if he wasn't careful enough. The third time he tripped, Aria caught him by the arm and steadied him before resuming her usual pace, gliding through the woods with graceful ease like she was a part of them.

"What do you do for the Elites?" she asked the fourth time he fell.

"I recruit," Alex told her, brushing dirt off his jeans. He was going to have to change before he left for his meeting later.

"Just anyone?"

"There's a certain profile they look for."

Young, but smart enough to stay out of trouble. Angry. The more rage they had, the more fight they had in them. The less likely they were to give up and Knox wanted that, saying that the tired ones had already given in and there was no room with them for those.

Sometimes he felt he was little more than a mere marionette on string, dancing at the promise of freedom. He mouthed the words his puppeteer spoke, promising safety he never felt.

Soon, Alex would tell himself. Soon things would be better. Soon the waiting would pay off. Soon all of this would mean something.

Aria hummed, craning her neck back to look at something in a tree. There was a bird perched on one of the higher branches, trilling. "What if they don't join?"

"That's fine. It's their decision. The ones with family usually do since we provide safe houses for them if they join."

"Mm. Do you trust them?"

"The recruits?"

"No, the Elites as a whole."

This gave Alex pause. He studied the girl in front of him, wary of how similar she seemed to Klaus when it came to matters of trust. "I do."

"Then why hide me?"

Alex frowned. "What's brought this on?"

She shrugged. "I'm just curious."

Alex didn't answer the question and she didn't press, but he knew she noticed his silence.

✗

The dilapidated shack was tucked away in an abandoned corner of the city. It was as ugly on the inside as it was on the outside, which is to say, very. The windows were crudely boarded up, shattered glass swept up into a small pile in a corner. The walls and the red posts that ran down from the ceiling were covered in indecipherable graffiti. 

This was Alex's third time visiting his potential recruit here. The mold on the ceiling looked worse with every visit. The guy, Zayd, mentioned it was making his little brother sick, but it wasn't like they had anywhere else to go.

The kid, Zain, was hiding behind one of the posts - small with dirty clothes, a bandage on his head and bruised wrists. Even though he was small for his age, he seemed fairly healthy, judging by the rosiness of his chubby cheeks. He never spoke to Alex during his visits, just watched him with caution.

"Hunters tried grabbing him yesterday," Zayd said.

Alex's first thought was that the guy was definitely going to join up now. The second was guilt that that was the first thing he thought of. This is what he'd become. A cog in a very big wheel. Sometimes he worried that if he thought about it hard enough, he'd pop loose, lose the only way he knew how to help.

Alex crouched in front of the kid and tried for a smile. "Rough night, huh?"

A small nod.

"I brought your brother some food." He held up a stack of take-out boxes. "You want to join?"

The boy glanced at his brother for approval before nodding again, more eager this time.

"Wash your hands," Zayd said and the boy practically ran.

They say down on the floor and set out plates. Alex opened up the boxes when it was clear Zayd wouldn't and shoveled a generous portion onto his plate with a demand that he eat.

"He was missing for hours," Zayd said. "I thought he was dead."

"You found him."

"I didn't. He came running to our usual spot in the middle of night. Said another Enhanced they tried grabbing helped him." Zayd shoved his food around his plate. "He saw her kill one of them. I'm glad they're dead, but I wish he didn't see that, you know?"

Alex piled rice onto Zain's plate. "How's he holding up?"

"He cried all night, but he thinks it's cool now." Zayd ruffled Zain's hair as he came running back to his seat. "Let's see 'em."

Zain showed him his hands, front and back, with a toothy grin.

"Nice and clean! Dig in."

Zain did exactly that, teeth tearing into his food ravenously. He didn't speak as he ate, apparently content with eating and listening to the other two talk. After he finished, he held out his palm for the usual piece of candy Alex always offered him.

Alex handed him a piece of chocolate, pleased when the boy smiled. "So," he asked, when Zayd was done eating. "Have you thought about my offer?"

Zayd watched his little brother unwrap his candy like it was something sacred before turning a determined gaze to Alex. "I'm in."