7

7

Rocks and debris pounded against my body, and I gripped the arm Dorsey had around me. It felt like forever until the sky stopped falling, but when it did, all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. I realized I’d squeezed my eyes shut, and I opened them, slowly. It was very dark, and for a moment, I couldn’t tell what was right in front of me.

Rocks, I realized suddenly. Concrete. The whole building had caved in. It wasn’t uncommon in scrab-heavy areas like London.

Dorsey was still wrapped around me, and I realized with horror that he wasn’t moving.

“Dorsey?” I grabbed the arm he still had wrapped around my stomach.

“Ow,” he said. I let out a huge whoosh of air. “Are you OK?”

“Uh . . . yes? You?”

“Yes? Yes. I can feel all my limbs. That seems like a good sign.”

I was trying to figure out why it was so dark. The building had fallen on top of us, but still, I should have been able to glimpse sunlight.

But Dorsey had yanked me with him just as the building started to fall. Toward the scrab tunnel. I took in a sharp breath.

“Dorsey, that was really smart,” I said.

“What?”

“Getting us into the scrab tunnel.”

“Seemed like the safest option.”

I wriggled away from him and tried to turn, but there wasn’t enough room. I looked up at where the exit hole for the tunnel would have been, but it was now covered in debris.

I looked down. A few slivers of light poked through the rocks, but my eyes were starting to adjust. We were wedged at the top of the tunnel, and I looked down to see a tiny hint of sun at the other end.

“However, I did not consider how we would get out,” Dorsey said, and then took a sharp breath.

“What?”

“Nothing. I think . . . I think I scraped up my back. It’s fine.”

I pushed my hands against a large rock above us, and several smaller ones rained down on us. I coughed and lowered my arms.

“I don’t think we’re getting out that way.” I looked back down at the tunnel.

“Maybe we should wait for them to dig us out. Maddie saw us come in here.”

“Yeah, but who knows how long that will be.” I wriggled against him until I was free and dropped onto my hands and knees. The tunnel wasn’t too tight of a squeeze—the scrab was bigger than us—but I still felt uneasy in the dark, enclosed space. “Let’s try the other end of the tunnel.”

“We have no idea how long that tunnel is. We could be crawling for miles.”

I shook my head, pointing. “There’s light, see?”

“Oh yeah.”

“You OK to move? I could go by myself and come back to dig you out.”

“No, I’m fine.”

I could only barely make out his features in the dim light, but he nodded at me reassuringly. I scooted around so I was facing the other end of the tunnel, and began crawling.

From above, I heard a scream, and then a roar. I winced.

“Jesus, it sounds bad out there,” Dorsey murmured.

“Yeah.” Something skittered across my hand, and I shivered and moved a little faster. “Thank you,” I said, trying to distract myself from the bugs and the darkness around me. “For pulling me into the hole. I think I would have been crushed if it weren’t for you.”

“Oh.” He sounded embarrassed. “Nah, don’t thank me for that. I wasn’t even really thinking.”

“You weren’t thinking, but your instinct was to grab me and try to save me, even though I . . .” I trailed off, not wanting to be rude.

“Even though you don’t like me?” he guessed.

“No,” I said quickly. I almost turned my head to look at him, but it had gotten darker as we made our way through the tunnel. The light at the end was farther than I’d thought. “I was going to say even though I never talk to you.”

“Because you don’t like me.” He didn’t say it as a question this time, but he didn’t sound particularly upset about it.

“I don’t dislike you,” I said. “I don’t really even know you, I guess.”

“It’s all right. I know Gage was a dick to you, and we were sort of friends, so I can’t really blame you. I have bad taste in guys, I admit it.” He paused. “I don’t have great taste in girls either, actually.”

I bit back a laugh. “Were you and Gage more than friends?”

“No. Sadly.”

I made a face. “You really do have terrible taste in guys.”

He laughed, and then moaned. “Ow. Don’t make me laugh.”

“Sorry. Do you think it’s serious?”

“No, I think some of my skin is just . . . not there anymore.”

“You OK to keep going?”

“Too late to turn back now.”

“Good point.” I dug my fingers into the dirt as I crawled a little faster. “Was this a terrible idea?”

“Me pulling us in here? Probably.”

“No, crawling to the other side.”

The light at the end of the tunnel flickered. A large body slithered into the hole and disappeared in the darkness.

I froze.

“I don’t think we had any good—” Dorsey cut himself off as he bumped into me.

I heard a scratching noise from ahead.

“Dorsey,” I whispered. “There’s a scrab.”

I heard him take in a breath.

I fumbled for my weapons pack and quietly pulled out my machete. “Don’t move,” I whispered. “If we surprise it, I can—”

“Clara!”

Julian’s voice rang out from behind me, loud and insistent. Ahead, I heard the scrab snarl.

“Clara!”Julian yelled again. I looked over my shoulder to see rocks tumbling into the hole. Light filtered into the tunnel.

“Do we go back?” Dorsey whispered.

I heard another snarl, followed by a rustling noise.

It was getting closer. I gripped my machete tightly.

I smelled the scrab before I saw it—its putrid breath against my skin. Then I could see its teeth, bared and aimed at my face.

I dropped my arm and drove my machete into its neck.

It screamed, and I pulled my blade out and stabbed it again. It shrank back and then collapsed in the dirt.

Behind it, I saw another scrab slither into the hole.

“Go back,” I said urgently. I kept my machete in hand as I turned and started crawling back the way we came. Dorsey moved quickly, and I picked up the pace, my knees aching in protest.

I stole a glance over my shoulder. I could see the outline of the scrab as it approached the dead one. It was stuck, trying to maneuver around it. I heard scratching noises as it tried to widen the hole.

Julian’s face appeared at the entrance of the tunnel. “Come on!”

We crawled even faster, and Julian’s face disappeared as he extended his hand.

“Come on, Gage!” he yelled.

“I’m Dorsey, you dick,” he growled. “You killed Ga—”

“Just take my hand!”

Dorsey scrambled forward, finally reaching the tunnel entrance. He braced his foot against a rock to propel himself up and Julian grabbed his arms, yanking him out of the hole.

The scrab had made it around the dead one, and it moved through the tunnel with alarming speed, its beady eyes fixed on me. It lunged.

I used my machete as a shield, narrowly missing getting a claw in the face. I slashed my blade across its face, and it screamed.

“Heads up!” Julian yelled.

I glanced up and then leaned back as he thrust his machete down and into the scrab’s ear. A second scrab was right behind it, and it stumbled as its buddy fell backwards.

“Give me your hands,” Julian said, dropping his machete and holding his arms out.

I grabbed them, letting him help me climb out of the rubble. The scrab was right on my heels, and Dorsey leaned around us to sink his blade into its neck. He sighed, sitting back on his heels as the scrab fell back into the tunnel.

“Are you OK?” Julian panted. He still had a grip on my arms, and I quickly pulled them free. I ignored the question and turned to Dorsey, who was still on the ground. I stood and extended my hand to him.

“Thanks.” He winced as he stood. I leaned around to see his back. His shirt was torn, his skin bloody and raw.

“You all right?” I asked.

He nodded. His gaze shifted to Julian.

I turned to look at him. He was dirty and sweaty, and behind him I spotted a pile of rocks that he’d had to move to dig us out. He stared at me for a moment.

“I should go see if they need help elsewhere,” he finally said. “It’s bad out there.”

“Those are MDG scrabs,” Dorsey said, pointing to the one I’d killed earlier. Only its foot stuck out from the rubble.

“Did you send those?” I asked, my voice shaking.

He gave me a baffled look. “Why would I send scrabs to attack you? I followed you here to protect you. I knew you needed the help.”

Dorsey looked so deeply confused by my needing help that I felt a burst of affection for him.

“There are a lot of injured recruits out there,” Julian said. “I’m going to go see what I can do.” He turned to go, hopping over rubble. The entire building had cratered in, including the shops on either side of the clothing store.

On the street, recruits were everywhere, some of them dirty and bloody. The ground was littered with dead scrabs and humans.

Maddie was running across the street, her expression frantic until she spotted me. I climbed out of the broken window, and she crashed into me, throwing her arms around my waist.

“Oh my god, I saw that building go down, and I thought you guys were dead. I was trying to get over here but—” She cut herself off as she pulled away, and I saw that she was crying.

“Is everyone OK?” I asked, and then realized how stupid that question was. I could see three dead recruits from here. I swallowed down a wave of terror. “Is the team OK?”

“I—I think so. Priya and Laila are . . .” She trailed off, turning to the street and pointing. “There they are. With Patrick.” They were helping to pull an injured recruit out from under a dead scrab.

“Please no hugs,” Dorsey said, and I looked over to see Noah pulling his arms back as he approached him.

He peered at Dorsey’s back and winced. “Come on, you need to get to the hospital.”

I looked at each team member in turn. “Where is . . .” My throat closed as I turned left and then right. “Where is Edan?”

Maddie grabbed my hand. “Edan! He’s fine. I saw him.” She used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. “He’s there.”

I turned to see him in the middle of the street, staring at us. I waved, but he didn’t respond.

“I have to . . .” Maddie swallowed. “I don’t know. Help somewhere.” She started to take off, but I grabbed her arm.

“Julian’s here,” I said.

She froze. “What?”

“Don’t make a scene, OK? But he’s here, and we saw some MDG scrabs, so we’re going to need to tell the police about that.”

She stared at me, understanding my meaning. She slowly nodded.

I let go of her arm and ducked around a few recruits as I headed toward Edan. He was still standing motionless in the middle of the street. His chest was heaving up and down too quickly, like he’d just been sprinting.

I walked quickly toward him. He didn’t move.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, his shoulders curving forward, and when he looked back up at me, I could see that he was crying.

Edan and I didn’t really hug—we hadn’t since the night Julian killed Grayson and we lost three team members. But I pulled him into a hug as soon as I was close enough to touch him.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me so tightly that it was a little hard to breathe. I curled my fingers around his shoulders. Breathing was overrated anyway.

“Is Dorsey . . .” He pulled away, wiping both eyes quickly.

“He’s fine,” I said. “He scraped up his back, so he’s going to the hospital, but it’s not serious.”

“Jesus.” He blew out a slow breath. “I thought you both were . . .” He didn’t finish the thought.

“Hey! Can I get some help over here?” a voice called. “We’ve got a recruit under some rocks!”

I looked in the direction of the voice, but several recruits were already running to help one of the UK team leaders. I realized suddenly that there were bodies in the street—dead bodies. Recruits. At least five that I could see right in front of me. Another three when I turned slightly.

Edan ran a shaky hand through his hair. “I’m going to go help over there.” He pointed to where recruits were helping civilians out of an overturned bus. I spotted a flash of black coat.

“No.” I grabbed his hand. “Not there.”

He gave me a confused look, and I pulled him in the opposite direction. “Let’s go help over there.” I pointed across the street to where Priya and Laila were helping injured recruits.

“O-OK?” He held my hand tightly as I steered him away.

“Julian’s over there,” I explained quietly.

“What?” he whipped his head around to look over his shoulder. “Why is he . . . Do you think he had something to do with this?”

“I really don’t know.”