Defect - By Ryann Kerekes Page 0,43
around inside my pocket all day. I jam the bread into my mouth and swallow without even chewing. I also have two more pancakes and an apple. I eat both of the pancakes, since I’m not sure they’ll last as well as the apple, but they’re so dry, I have to drink more of the water just to get them down.
Once my stomach is filled, I settle back on the tarp, but I know sleep will be impossible. The moonlit sky is beautiful, and the stars shine brightly. I remind myself it could be worse; it could be cloudy, raining, or I could be badly hurt. I lean my head back against a tree and close my eyes, trying to relax my body.
I hear a twig snap in the distance, and my heart jumps. I listen intently, my breathing shallow, straining to hear if someone or something is out there.
I hear more rustling. It’s closer this time. My eyes stay trained to the spot I heard the sound, but it’s too dark to see anything. If I just stay quiet, whoever or whatever is out there won’t hear me. If only my heart would stop thundering against my chest. I reach for the knife that’s tucked inside my waistband and hold it beside me.
There is definitely someone coming toward me. I can see his silhouette moving closer. It’s almost like he can see in the dark, see right to where I’m crouched. He doesn’t slow as he crosses the uneven ground, and easily navigates branches that reach out to trip him.
I grip the knife tighter, and quietly, slowly, raise myself to standing. Then I wait for him to come.
Chapter 16
I slash out toward him with the knife, but before I make contact, he catches my arm and holds it.
“Whoa, easy, it’s just me,” Will says. After he’s sure I won’t try to stab him, he lowers my arm.
I’m trembling, shaking all over at what I almost did, so naturally, with hardly a second thought. I almost stabbed another person – and Will, at that.
“You okay?” He takes my arms to steady me, and my fingers open, dropping the knife to the ground.
“No, I’m not okay. I almost stabbed you!”
He regards me with a look of amusement. “But you didn’t. I’m fine, see.” He holds his arms out to his sides and turns around slowly. He stops to face me again. “I’m sorry I scared you. I just … didn’t know that was possible,” he says with a look of disbelief on his face. He drops his backpack to the ground beside my feet and sits down.
“What are you doing here?” I stand above him, still too keyed up from his stealthy entrance to relax.
“I have night duty.”
I look him over in his uniform and decide he’s telling the truth. “How’d you find me?”
He reaches for my hand and lets his fingers run up the soft underside of my wrist. It sends a chill up my arm, then down my entire body. “This.”
“You tracked me?”
He laughs. It’s a light, yet throaty sound. I’m certain I’ve never heard him laugh before. “That’s what this test is, Eve. O’Donovan and La Rusa sit around and monitor your progress. I went in the control room to watch the monitors just to see where Kane had taken you – and just like I thought, he dropped you off the farthest. Twelve miles out.”
I can picture them sitting in a room watching a blinking dot labeled 5491, having a good laugh at my slow progress.
He opens his bag and pulls out a bottle of water. “Thirsty?”
I accept it and take a long sip, tilting the bottle back. “So, how am I doing?” I ask, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
He looks down, and I swear I see a smile tug at his lips. “Ah, actually you’re in first right now.”
“Oh.”
“Not what you expected?”
“Not at all. After the wolf …”
“You got the wolf?” He turns to me suddenly.
“Yeah.”
The look of concern on his face slowly fades, once he sees that I really am okay. “I was hoping Bryce would get it.”
“You mean there was only one wolf?”
“Yeah. There are a few other animals they’ll release, but just one wolf. Your ranking will be higher if you finish well, since you’ve received the most difficult challenge.”
I consider it for a moment. I pick up the knife lying between us. Will looks away when I lift my shirt to tuck it back into my waistband. “You