The Believers (The Breeders Series - Book 2) by French Katie

Author:French, Katie [French, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Katie French Books
Published: 2013-11-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

As the sun sinks low in the west, my mind whirs. I roll the black, slashed words around: Caution: HF. Do not Open. For 14:13. The Caution is simple enough. For 14:13 tightens my insides. Why would they keep a huge barrel of caustic chemicals locked in a room? What is 14:13? A time? A date? They’ve already been tampering with the water. Then I remember Mage telling me her father said it would be better to die than to go with the Breeders. Will they use this poison on us? How long do I have to figure it out until these lunatics dump it in our water and wipe us all out?

I point at the black scrawl, the smell of chemicals still hanging in the air. “What d’you think this is?”

He swallows hard and looks down at the barrel. “I…I don’t know.”

“You don’t know? What do you think about the number 14:13? A certain time of day? Some sort of code?” I stare at his face in the dim light of the warehouse.

He blinks uncomfortably, pushing up his glasses. “Riley, I really, uh, don’t know.”

“Rayburn, seriously. This is important.” I hit my hand against the barrel. The plastic vibrates and the liquid sloshes inside.

“Is it?” he says, dropping his eyes to the floor.

“Yeah,” I say slowly. “I think it is.”

He blows out a frustrated breath. “It could mean absolutely nothing, Riley. It could be someone's favorite number or their shoe size.”

“Their shoe size?”

“You know what I mean.” His eyebrows fold down and his stammer is nearly gone. His next words come out forcefully. “You are so busy looking for a way out maybe you haven’t considered that we just stay.”

I blink, taking in his words. This was the last thing I expected him to say. “Stay? Stay here? Rayburn, we can't—”

“Can't we?” he says, gripping the sides of the barrel. “We have food here. Shelter. I have meaningful employment. No one tries to shoot us. There are…” His eyes lock on a stack of hardcover books. “There are many benefits to becoming a member of this, uh, this well-formed society.”

“Well-formed society?! I…I can't believe what I'm hearing.” I nearly spit the words. “Why would you say this?”

“Why? Because I have so much to look forward to on the r-r-road?”

I stare at him, my mouth open. “What about Clay?”

Rayburn won’t look at me. “Clay can take care of himself.”

My anger flares hotter. “You’ve never liked him.”

His head jerks up. “W-w-wait a minute. He never liked me. Not the other way around.”

“That doesn’t mean we let them take him.” I shake my head, frustration building. We are running out of time. Crank and Donut will start missing us soon.

He turns and begins striding back to the warehouse front doors. “Good luck with your wild goose chase, Riley. Let me know when you g-g-get us excommunicated.”

I grit my teeth and watch him leave. Then I shove the barrel back into the closet and lock the door. I don’t care what he says; I have a bad feeling about that barrel.

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