Beyond the Walls

Chapter 5

"Elle," Ruben sighs, as if the breath has been knocked from his lungs. He takes a tentative step forward, green eyes narrowing at me.

"Ruben," I whisper.

Then he blows out his cheeks and snatches me into a hug. "Elle." He mutters my name into my hair, pressing his lips against me as we embrace. I bury my face into his shoulder and breathe in the scent that I have missed so acutely. When we at last pull apart, tears stain my cheeks and he catches a single droplet with the pad of his thumb. "What have you done?"

I open my mouth to respond but no words leave my tongue.

Ruben sighs again, his gaze fogging over with frustration. "No matter," he says, reaching for my hand. "Come with me, Elle. We will get you out of here."

"No, I can't." I withdraw my hand from his and hurt flashes across his eyes as I do so. "I need to stay here."

"No, you don't. You do not owe these people anything. Come with us, Elle. The others are just outside and we will take you back home."

"You don't understand, Ruben. My place is here. They will hurt you and the others if I don't comply with his desires."

"He, as in the Commander?"

"Yes. Now go. You need to go, Ruben, before they catch you," I fairly hiss.

"I am not leaving you, Elle. We came all this way for you," he bites back, eyes blazing into my own.

"I didn't ask you to, Ruben!" I have to keep my voice measured so as not to result in shouting.

"I had gathered that," he says coldly. "Since you gave me no warning whatsoever that you would be leaving. Do you have any idea what it was like, Elle? To wake up after such a night? To see you gone, and to find that prophecy in your room?"

My jaw snaps shut.

"Please just come with us, with me. We will tackle whatever follows this together," he whispers.

His green eyes desperately boring into my own at last drag me from my stubbornness. "Okay."

I change into my signature black leggings, tank top and shrug my father's leather coat onto my arms. I swing my sword over my shoulder and secure my belt to my waist. Finally, I step into my boots.

"I'm ready," I affirm, tucking my dagger into its sheath at my side.

He nods. "Follow me."

Ruben gently lowers himself into the gap in the floor before dropping off, disappearing below the floorboards. I quickly follow suit, landing in a narrow, low rising tunnel, much like the underground tunnels of the Floodgates. Ruben reaches back up through the gap and replaces the air vent cap, carefully making sure it is secured in place.

"Where are the others?" I whisper, straining my eyes against the dark to make out Ruben's figure.

"Outside. They've hidden in the trees." Despite his whisper, Ruben's voice bounces off the walls surrounding us. "It's just Killian, Monet, and Aston. Ajax needed to stay back with the city."

"Okay, take me to them."

He takes my wrists in his hand and gives me a gentle tug forward. With his other hand, Ruben pulls out his small flashlight and a narrow beam of light illuminates the path before us. We press forward. Keeping our tread light, Ruben leads me around multiple corners and down several narrow, low-rising tunnels. At last, he pauses in front of a large opening that drops away into a black abyss.

"This is the old garbage shoot," Ruben whispers. "There isn't any trash to land on, there are bushes instead." And without another word, Ruben sits on the edge and pushes himself away, disappearing with a whoop, thundering down the side of the shoot. He lands with an echoing crash, followed by muffled voices. Drawing in a breath, I lower myself on the edge and let myself go, skidding down the side of the shoot. With a sharp, teeth-rattling thud, my feet connect with the ground, knees buckling beneath me. My body rolls ungracefully through the bushes, sticks and twigs catching on my skin before, at last, I come to a stop.