When you’re finished, you leave the bodies for the wildlife. You come in anonymous and leave anonymous.
Located in northern Colorado, in the middle of protected land where there is no accidental human interference.
“That’s it,” I say as I stare at the drone image of the property. I know it well. I’ve stared at the satellite view many, many times. “That’s what we’re looking for.”
“What is it?” Jessica asks.
“What did you find?” Levis asks at the same time.
“They hunt them like they’re wild game. Animals.” Chills cover my body. “They’re let loose in the woods and hunters… hunt them.”
“Oh my god,” Jessica says, covering her mouth. “Brek won’t survive that!”
I close my eyes as a heavy feeling settles over my chest. We need to go now. I can’t wait for the next truck. I don’t care if that means storming the fucking property. I need to?—
“No,” Dad says, his hand gripping my arm again. “We’re all going to need to have a little confidence in Brek and stick to the plan.”
“We don’t have a plan,” I hiss.
“We do have a plan. You and Azlan will be among the next shipment. You’re going to break Brek out from the inside. We’re going to use the next day to prepare. That means we need you at your best because you’re going in unarmed. Time to get techy, Voss. This is your department and not something the rest of us can do,” Dad says.
I close my eyes. Bringing my hands to my face, I scrub against my skin until my glasses nearly slide off my face. I don’t know what to do. The sense of urgency, of being too late, is sitting heavily on my chest.
There’s no time. There’s no time. There’s no time.
“What kind of tech?” I ask.
“Something to track you to start with,” Dad says. “I need to know where you are.”
“Something to monitor your vitals,” Myro says. “Let’s get Doc here so he can interpret the numbers we see on the vitals.”
Dad nods. “Yes. Good. What else? Can you somehow arm yourself without it being visible?”
I need to think clearly, but it’s fucking difficult. Brek is on a wild game preserve as the fucking game to hunt! That man is not built to survive in that kind of environment.
I’m startled when Uncle Noaz takes my chin and forces me to look at them. “I know what it’s like to be faced with losing someone you love with all your heart. I know you feel the clock ticking down inside your chest. I understand the way your fear is screaming at you, drowning everything else out. What Brek needs right now is you on your game, Voss. You need to beat the clock, but in order to do that, you need to be clear-headed.”
I take a breath and glance at where Emerson is playing on the floor beside Briar. Uncle Noaz didn’t rescue their day-old son by storming a place in terror. They went in with a plan and came home with their new baby boy.
“Okay,” I say and sit up. “Learn what you can about this place. Get in contact with the people there and act as if you’re scheduling a… hunt. I’m going to see what I can figure out for undetectable weapons or something.”
“That’s my boy,” Dad murmurs.
28
BREK
The barracks isquiet and tense as we eat breakfast. The only sounds are of the people moving around and silverware against plastic plates. Everyone keeps glancing toward the board, waiting for the dreadedflipflipflipflip. Right now, it’s just black. All the little slots are blank.
I glance down at my plate. I’ve only managed to eat a couple bites. My stomach rolls and flips. A sour taste remains in my mouth. I know I need to eat. I’m going to need some sustenance and strength if I’m called out again. But I feel too close to vomiting.
“Eat,” the guy in front of me says as he gently kicks my foot.
I put a bite into my mouth, but it tastes gross. The food isn’t bad here. I’m not going to say it’s gourmet, but as far as being prisoners kept to be hunted at a person’s whim, the food is decent. Absently, I wonder how much it costs to book a hunting trip here.
What price do you put on hunting a human? It better be a lot.
Time continues to move. I think we all collectively hold our breath as we look at the board when the time comes. Silence. Seconds drag. All sixty seconds as we stare.
