Persona (The Island Book 2) Read online

  “Now what?” I ask, turning back to Deckard. “Do you have any idea what Harold is planning? Is it possible he just wants the whole town to die off from the disease?”

  He shakes his head. “You heard what Ben said when he was talking to the mainland. He thinks Harold's some kind of psychopath, and I have no doubt that he's right. The sickness is just a way for him to weaken Steadfall so that he can do whatever he wants. It almost sounds like he's waiting for something, though, as if -”

  Before he can finish, we both hear voices shouting in the distance. We turn just in time to see a figure racing this way from the trees.

  “Help!” Carly screams. “They've got -”

  A shot rings out and a flash of light slams into her back, sending her tumbling forward until she hits the ground face-first.

  “Guns?” I stammer, as I spot Ben and Leanne heading over to Carly's prone form. “Where the hell did they get -”

  There's another shot, and a flash lights up from Ben's gun as he shoots Carly in the back of the head. For a moment, all I can do is stare in shock. I haven't seen a gun fired since the war, but I think I'm starting to remember my time on the battlefield. In the moonlight, the blood leaking from Carly's shattered skull looks as black as oil.

  I've seen something like this before.

  “Get down!” Deckard shouts, pulling me back into the cave just as more shots are fired, this time straight toward us. Several energy bursts hit the cave's entrance, blasting sections of rock away.

  “Where the hell did they get guns?” I hiss, trying not to panic.

  “The same place they got that communication device,” he replies, as we hear footsteps heading this way. “I'm sure they have plenty of other surprises up their sleeves, too. Come on, this way.” Turning, he starts hurrying into the depths of the cave.

  “We should fight!” I call after him. “Running won't -”

  “Just trust me!”

  Figuring that I can't afford to hesitate, I turn and scramble after him, and to my surprise I find that the back of the cave gives way to a steady drop that seems to lead deeper and deeper underground. I can hear Deckard making his way down, so I take a leap of faith and go after him. The incline is steep and I can't see a anything up ahead, but I quickly reach a cold, damp rocky shelf.

  Suddenly two more shots ring out, and I look up just in time to see energy blasts hitting the wall a little further up.

  “Move!” Deckard shouts, grabbing my arm and pulling me through the darkness.

  “Where are we?” I ask, trying not to panic.

  “There's another way out,” he tells me. “Why do you think I wanted to face them here, if we had to face them at all? I knew it was too good to be true, there was no way they wouldn't realize Carly was up to something. I hoped she'd manage to cover her tracks better, but I knew that was a long-shot.”

  “But if -”

  “This way!” Still holding my arm, he leads me through the darkness. I bump into the wall a couple of times, and after a moment I realize that we're definitely heading downward, deeper underground.

  “Are you sure there's a way out of here?” I ask.

  “I'm certain,” he replies. “I know these caves, I've checked them out several times. I just have to find the right route. We just have to make sure we don't get lost in the dark.”

  He stops ahead of me, and I can hear him scrambling across loose rocks.

  “Just give me a moment,” he continues. “I can find it, I know I can.”

  Hearing the sound of more energy blasts in the distance, I turn and see a faint flash of light a little higher up, momentarily illuminating the narrow, rocky route we took to get here. I can hear footsteps coming this way, and I can't shake a hint of panic at the thought of Ben and Leanne reaching us. They must know that we're no match for them when they're this heavily armed, and I don't like the sensation of being hunted. For a moment, I can't shake the feeling that I've been in a situation like this before, back during my days in the army, and slowly the fog in my mind seems to be lifting.

  Mads.

  I was with Mads in a battle and -

  Suddenly several energy bolts blast out of the darkness, striking the rocks right next to me. I hear Deckard cry out as I step back around the corner, and a moment later he slumps against me as more blasts hit the wall just a few feet away.

  “Are you okay?” I whisper.

  I wait, but there's no reply. I can hear him breathing heavily, though, and after a few seconds he lets out a gasp of pain.

  “Deckard!” I hiss. “Can you hear me?”

  “I'm fine,” he stammers, although it's clear that he was hit. “I know which way to go, it's straight ahead but if they've got night-vision, they'll get a good shot at us.”

  Reaching out, I start steadying myself against the wall, but after a moment I feel some kind of wide metal pipe running through the rock-face.

  “Deckard,” I whisper cautiously, “what the hell is going on down here? There are pipes!”

  “I know,” he mutters, clearly in pain. “I've been checking them out for months now. They seem to run deep into the mountain.”

  Before I can ask any more questions, I realize I can hear footsteps coming closer, although after a moment they stop.

  “What are they waiting for?” I whisper. “Do they think we're dead?”

  “We have to make a break for it,” Deckard replies. “Ready? One, two -”

  “Wait!” I hiss, as I hear a couple of low, rumbling sounds heading this way. “What's that?”

  I wait a moment longer, before realizing that I've heard the same sound before. I don't know when exactly, probably during the war, but...

  A fraction of a second later I hear a faint, almost imperceptible clicking sound coming closer, and in a flash I remember what it means.

  “Grenades!” I shout. “We have to -”

  Grabbing Deckard's arm, I pull him forward through the darkness. More energy blasts hit the rocks all around us, but we manage to get to the other side and clamber up over a pile of rocks. I slip and almost fall back, but at the last moment I'm able to grab a section of rock and pull myself forward, before reaching back and hauling Deckard up after me.

  “No!” he hisses, pulling me in a different direction. “This way!”

  I still can't see anything, but I know I just have to follow him and hope that he was right about there being another way out of here.

  Suddenly there's a massive blast from behind us as the two grenades explode. A huge flash of light bursts through the darkness and the force of the detonation sends me crashing forward against the rock as the ceiling starts to collapse. Unable to see anything, I let out a cry of pain as more rocks come down, burying me in darkness.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Iris

  Stumbling and almost tripping, I manage to stay upright as I make my way closer to Steadfall. I can see the town up ahead now, although part of me thinks it might just be a mirage. I thought I was further away, that it'd take me weeks to get back, but now I'm starting to realize that my travels had taken a meandering path, that I was much closer. In the haze of madness, I'd begun to -

  Suddenly there's a loud boom in the distance, as if something exploded. I freeze for a moment, but silence quickly returns to the island although I soon realize I can hear panicked voices up ahead, as if the sound caused a wave of panic among the residents of Steadfall.

  Which means they're alive, at least.

  I have to keep going.

  I have to warn them.

  Limping through the darkness, I try to quicken my pace even though my ravaged body is close to collapse. My vision is a little blurred and I feel as if I might tumble to the ground at any moment, but somehow I'm able to get to the wooden fence that surrounds the town. Then, and only then, do I feel my knees start to weaken, and I take a moment to rest before stumbling toward the gate that leads directly into the center of town.

  “Iris?” a voice calls out.

  A mo
ment later, people run over to me and I feel someone slipping an arm around my waist to hold me up. I try to turn and see who it is, but I can feel myself slipping into unconsciousness. People are touching me, though, and helping me through the mud. Maybe I'm delirious, maybe I've completely lost my mind, but they certainly feel as if they're real. By some miracle, I've managed to find my way home and -

  I pause, almost slipping into darkness, before forcing myself to stay awake. I can't rest, not yet. First, I need to find Asher.

  “I's okay,” someone says, holding me up. “Iris, we've got you, we just -”

  Pushing past, I stumble through the mud before tripping and falling. This time, when I try to get to my feet, I feel as if all the energy has drained from my body, even as I feel people grabbing my arms and hauling me up.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Asher

  “They're buried down there,” Ben's voice says in the distance. “They're dead or dying.”

  “Shouldn't we see the bodies for ourselves?” Leanne asks. “Harold told us we had to make absolutely certain they were both dead.”

  “What do you think they're gonna do? Crawl out through a mountain of rubble? When we get to the top, we'll throw a couple more grenades down to really seal them in.”

  “But Harold said -”

  “We'll tell him we saw them die,” Ben continues. “We'll say we saw Asher's lifeless corpse, and that we couldn't drag it up and take it with us 'cause the other guy was still alive. We'll say we tossed some grenades down to finish him off. Seriously, there's no chance in hell that either of them could ever get out of this. Stop fussing over everything, there's no point. They're both dead.”

  I wait, holding my breath in the darkness with large slabs of rock pressing down against my body. After a moment I hear footsteps heading away, and I realize Ben and Leanne truly believe I'm dead. Turning, I try to wriggle through the darkness, squeezing through the gaps between rocks. Finally letting out a pained gasp, I twist around and force my way through a narrow space, and then suddenly there's a distant boom that shakes the entire cave system. I guess Ben followed through with the plan to blow up the cave's entrance, and I hear the sound of more rocks falling just a short way over my shoulder.

  “Deckard?” I whisper, my voice trembling with fear. I wait, but there's no answer. “Deckard, how do we get out of here? Can you hear me?”

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  Iris

  “Easy!” Olivia says as she holds a wooden bowl to my lips. “Drink, Iris. You need water!”

  Unable to hold back, I gulp as much water down as possible. My throat burns and there's a grinding pain in my belly, but I'm filled with panic and as I look around at the other faces in the hut, I can't help noticing that there's no sign of Asher. Deckard isn't here either, which seems strange. I thought they'd be the first to come and check on me.

  “What happened to you?” Olivia asks, setting the bowl down and then passing me a cooked rabbit leg. “You look -”

  “Asher,” I try to say, although the only sound that comes from my mouth is a vague, two-syllable grunt.

  “Iris, just eat.”

  “Where's Asher,” I mouth carefully, hoping that she'll understand this time.

  She hesitates. I can tell she knows what I said, but clearly something's wrong.

  “Tell me,” I continue, making sure to move my lips slowly and clearly. With a slowly growing sense of desperation, however, I realize that there's no way I can communicate with any of them. Asher just about learned to read my lips, but she was the only one.

  “She probably wants Asher,” says one of the other women, loitering in the doorway.

  “Someone should explain,” a man adds.

  I keep my eyes fixed on Olivia, but I can tell she feels uncomfortable.

  “Things have changed around here, Iris,” she says finally. “Since you left, there have been some... disagreements about certain things. A lot of people became concerned about the direction Asher was leading the town, and then when we really started talking about our fears, the solution became obvious. Asher, what I'm trying to say is that Deckard left and -”

  I shake my head.

  None of this can be true.

  “He did leave,” she continues, “and then...” She pauses again. “Iris, it was a very difficult decision, but we decided as a group that Asher had to leave. As you can imagine, she didn't take it very well, but it was in the town's best interest. Asher had to -”

  “Asher's dead,” Ellis says suddenly.

  Turning, I see that he's standing in the doorway.

  “Ben and Leanne just came back a few minutes ago,” he continues. “They said they ran into Asher and Deckard out by the caves somewhere. Apparently Asher murdered Carly, so...” He pauses. “I guess it's good it's done, in a way. I mean, we all knew she wouldn't just give up and leave. Now we can -”

  Pushing Olivia away, I hurry to the door and out into the town's central clearing, just in time to see that two unfamiliar faces are explaining things to a small crowd that has gathered.

  “She was almost feral,” the guy is saying as I get closer. “Her eyes were wild, like she'd finally lost her mind. She and Deckard rushed us, but I managed to stab Asher in the face. There's no way she could have survived that. Leanne wounded Deckard, too, but he dragged Asher's body away into the depths of the cave system. We followed, but the ceiling started to collapse and they ended up getting buried. She's definitely dead and Deckard can't possibly escape.”

  “Are you sure about that?” a nearby voice asks.

  Turning, I see another new face stepping closer.

  “No doubt at all,” the first guy replies. “I promise, Harold, I saw Asher die.”

  Harold.

  I immediately tense when I hear that name. Walter mentioned someone named Harold earlier. I'm starting to realize that I might be too late to save Steadfall.

  “It's true,” adds the woman next to him, another new arrival. She seems nervous, almost scared. “I was there, I saw it all.”

  She's lying.

  I can see it in her eyes.

  “I wanted to see the body for myself,” Harold continues, casting a suspicious glance toward me. He pauses, as if he's troubled by my presence. “And who do we have here?” he asks. “A new arrival?”

  “This is Iris,” Olivia tells him. “She was here before, but she went off alone a while back. She turned up just now, she's hurt but I think she'll be okay.”

  “Asher mentioned you,” Harold mutters, stepping toward me. “The girl with no tongue, I seem to recall.” Pausing, he seems worried by my return. “You were one of the founding members of Steadfall, I believe. Didn't you help get it started, along with Asher and Deckard?”

  He pauses again, before suddenly putting his arms around me and pulling me close for a slow, calm hug. I shudder at his touch and immediately pull away.

  “I'm sorry,” he continues, “I didn't mean to overstep a boundary. I'm just pleased to see that a member of the old guard has returned to the roost. You must join me in my hut some time and tell me all about the town's early days, and -” He pauses for a moment, and then a faint smile crosses his lips. “You must forgive me, I forgot for a moment about your inability to speak. Still -”

  He reaches out to put a hand on my shoulder, but I instantly pull away. I'm absolutely certain that he's up to something, but at the same time he seems to have convinced the people of Steadfall to follow him blindly.

  “I'm afraid your friend Asher really did lose her mind,” he says calmly. “Ask anyone here, they'll all tell you it's true. As soon as her authority was challenged, she made a series of increasingly bad decisions and finally a vote was called. It was perfectly democratic and above-board, but she didn't take kindly to the idea that she was no longer welcome here. Evidently she was filled with a kind of blind rage, and her downward spiral was remarkably rapid.”

  “I can't believe she killed Carly,” whispers someone nearby in the crowd. “I
t seems so awful.”

  “It is awful,” Harold continues, keeping his eyes fixed on me. “Carly seemed like a lovely young woman, and she'll be sorely missed. I'm just sorry that she fell victim to Asher's madness, but at least she'll be the last victim.”

  “That's for sure,” one of the other new arrivals mutters. He's the guy who claimed to have killed Asher, and it takes every ounce of strength for me to keep from lunging at him. Maybe I'm crazy and delusional, but I swear I can tell he's lying. Ever since I lost my tongue, I've felt I'm getting a lot better at reading body language, and this guy seems nervy. He keeps watching Harold, as if he's waiting to make sure his story about killing Asher is believed.

  “Tomorrow we'll start planning for our next step,” Harold tells the crowd. “This town has been through so much already, but I believe a new era is about to start. With Asher and her friends gone, we can really start moving forward. I look forward to being a part of the change. For now, I encourage you all...” He pauses for a moment. “Go to sleep.”

  As the crowd starts to disperse, I watch Harold with a growing sense of suspicion. There's no doubt that he's the same Harold who was mentioned by Walter, or that he and his friends are the same trio who destroyed that other town. I remember the sight of burned bodies huddled in huts, and corpses tied to the ground after having been tortured to death, and I'm certain Steadfall is heading toward the same fate. As Harold talks to his two friends, however, he glances at me, and we maintain eye contact for a moment before finally I turn away. If he felt he had to drive Asher and Deckard away, I'm sure I'll be next on his list.

  “Iris,” he says suddenly, as a hand touches my shoulder. “Please -”

  Spinning around, I find that Harold has followed me.

  “Please,” he continues, “would you allow me to pick your brains about an important matter? Ordinarily I'd say it could wait 'til morning, but since you were here at Steadfall from the start...” He pauses for a moment, watching me carefully, almost as if he's studying me. “It's important,” he adds finally. “It's about your friend Asher.”