Trapped | The Trapped Trilogy Book 1

Sixteen

Sixteen

PETER

Eenie disappears.

I dive back in. I swim as fast as I can, and I slam into something. But there's nothing here. Just water.

"What the—"

I hear airships overhead and I dive under water. I can't see her. I can't find her. She's not in the water. She's not here!

I break the surface again, and shout her name.

Where is she?

I swim to where Ken stands and sit on the mud. My hands cover my face. I lost her. I lost her... It was my responsibility to keep her safe.

I call out her name again. Ken tugs at my shirt, trying to make me get up.

We do need to leave. But I can't leave without her. Not without her.

The airships close in on us. I feel Ken pull on my shirt harder. I fall onto my side.

"We have to go, man!" He shouts.

"But Eenie—"

"She'll be fine!"

I get up slowly. Ken drags me into the trees by my shirt. We sit and watch as the airships land. The president gets out of the ship, followed by five men and a girl—Lease.

"Find her!" I hear Murkas bark.

The men scatter. Lease follows him, typing something in her tablet. They speak back and forth and work their way towards the trees where Ken and I are.

"How much longer until she's unconscious?"

"Approximately two minutes," Lease says, scrolling through something on the screen. "In five, she'll be dead."

"Leave her out there for four."

Where? Leave her where?

Lease smiles.

I clench my jaw.

"Yes, sir."

"She won't know what hit her. She'll be at the brink of dying, and she won't even know why."

I'm out of the trees before he can say another word. I ram my shoulder into his stomach. We fall and I pin him to the ground. My fist is loud against his face. Blood drips from his nose. Lease is clawing at me, trying to get me off. But this guy has been toying with Eenie for too long.

Larger hands lift me off of the beast. They hold me back. I swing my arms around to break free, but the guys holding me find their grips again. One of them squeezes so hard that I fall to my knees. I cry out as pain shoots through my body.

The scumbag is up on his feet. He wipes the blood from his nose and smiles at me.

"I remember you, Peter Hemmings. The boy who was born too early."

I spit at his feet.

"And I remember you, Murkas. The slug that kicked me out because of it."

He chuckles.

"And now look at you. Trying to save this troublemaking girl."

I squirm. The hand starts to squeeze again. Pain shoots through my body and I stop.

"So. Tell me, Peter Hemmings. Where is the Rebellion located?"

"Since you know everything about everyone, you should know that I'm not gonna tell you anything."