They Are Monsters (Deathless Trilogy, #2)

Chapter Sixteen: Reunions

I'm leading Dr. Wilkes—Joe—down the crawl space behind the walls, over to the drop where the makeshift elevator waits for us. I do as Nina did, and jump over the hole, before tying us both to the rope.

"This is incredibly unsafe," Joe says, examining the plummeting elevator shaft.

"Yeah, it's dangerous," I agree, tightening the rope around us to the elevator. "Now hold on, and when I count to three, we'll both jump onto the plate. Make sure to space out your feet a little to balance your weight."

"This is not going to work, I'm much heavier than you."

"There's really no other option. One, two, three," I count too quickly for him to interrupt, and we both jump on. He's right: His weight is so much more than mine that the plate flies into a vertical position, and Joe and I are left danging on either side of it. A sharp stinging pain pulses from my knee. I know that the plate must have scratched off my skin, but I'm too focused on lowering us to care.

"Help," I squeal as quietly as I can, and we move slowly, one hand over the other, to lower ourselves down. As we near the bottom floor, some of the girls notice our predicament, and rush to our sides.

"Jeez, Isla," Ava says, helping me to my feet and untying the rope from around my waist, "how many times am I going to have to save your skin today?"

Wait, Ava?

I turn and give her a massive hug. "How—?"

"You don't think the Carrier quarters have walls and drainage ducts?" she smiles, and it's like nothing at all happened to her. "I have something for you. A present. Are you ready?" Her smile is stretched across her entire face.

"Is it that Jones is dead or something? I can't wait to hear what you did to him."

"No," a voice says behind me. It's familiar, but I can't place it, though the timbre tastes like mint on my tongue.

There's no way. It couldn't be.

I turn toward the voice and see a familiar face in the crowd: Eleanor Crowley. I can't stop the tears from pouring out of me at the sight of her.

She smiles, her hands together at her lips as if to thank God through wordless prayer, and she comes toward me. She pulls me into her arms and I tighten my hold around her, trying to make sure she's real, when I feel a pregnancy bump between us. She's a Carrier?

"Isla," she whispers, "I have missed you so much."

I bite my tongue to make sure I'm not still dreaming, but I'm wide awake. Eleanor Crowley is alive.

"Is this real?" I ask, just to be sure. "You're not a cyborg or anything?"

She laughs. "No I'm not. Not a cyborg, just a Carrier."

"Does Daniel know?"

"No, but Ian Becker from back home is getting him now. Alexander told me that Daniel thought I was dead."

"You spoke with Alexander?" I ask, stepping away from Eleanor.

"Yes, he's been visiting me."

"Why?"

"Want to sit?" Nina asks Eleanor, not even waiting for an answer, just leading her by the arm to a chair they have set up for her, probably because she's pregnant.

She thanks Nina, takes a seat, and continues, "Alexander found me a few days ago, when he first arrived. He's been sitting with me, sharing stories about you and Daniel. He has been coming to check on the Carriers ever since. He's worried about what Gunther Quail has been up to with us. He's the one with dark hair, right? The handsome one?"