Endurance by Ann Aguirre Read Free Book Online Page B

Tunnels led off in so many directions that he had no clue where they were anymore. To rest, they found small spaces they could block off in some fashion, and then they continued, though what they were looking for, he had no idea.
    Sometimes he fought. It was easier than he’d imagined it would be. He smelled them long before he saw them, giving him a chance to give Boy23 to Thimble. The Freaks weren’t as big as he was. They were thin and wretched things with wild eyes and keening voices. Stone often thought they sounded sad. And why not? Who wants to be a Freak?
    This time, four came at him with ferocious growls. Thimble fell back with the brat in her arms, giving him room. She never doubted. Never panicked. While he worried that her trust might be misplaced, he didn’t falter. He went for soft spots, away from the bone. In through the eyes, the throat, up through the chin. He’d learned so fast, the best ways to kill these things, and it sickened him.
    In the distance, he heard a noise, as if someone had stepped on loose rocks. He called, “Is someone there?”
    But there was no reply, just the stink of the dead Freaks at his feet.
    Thimble came up beside him and put her hand in his, fingers twining, and it was sweeter, more arousing, than the tangle of limbs with someone else. It was crazy how much pleasure he took from her small palm, warm against his skin. He wanted to drag her into his arms and bury his face in her hair. She had become his whole world.
    “Did you hear it?” he asked.
    Gravely, she nodded. “There’s something following us.”
    Dread spiked through him, but they could do nothing but move on. Hope had driven them this far; endurance had to do the rest.
    On the sixth day since they’d fled the doomed enclave, Thimble stumbled. He didn’t let her fall. Even in the dark, he always knew right where she was and he watched over her with the same care he’d given the brats in his charge. But Stone knew it wasn’t the same thing. Not at all. The things he felt for her were bigger, deeper, and they filled him up until his chest hurt, and it was hard to breathe.
    “Tired?” he asked. They’d worked out a code. That was what he said when he wanted to know how her foot felt.
    “We should start looking for a place to hide.” And that was how she replied when she hurt so bad she could cry from it, only she was too strong and proud, and he wanted to take her on his back, walk for her if need be.
    But while she’d permit certain assistance, like him carrying her bag, she wouldn’t accept that much help. Stone knew she didn’t want to feel like a burden on him, but it was so obviously the other way around. She had all the brains. Without her planning, they’d have died days before.
    Besides, even if she’d agreed, he couldn’t have. Not with two packs on his back, his weapon, and Boy23. There were limits to what he could manage. But that thought gave him an idea.
    “Why don’t you take the weapon? It can double as a walking stick.”
    “Thank you.” She accepted it gratefully, which told him just how much she hurt.
    “I’ll keep an eye out for shelter,” he went on, changing the subject.
    He wanted to tell her so much more.
    This time, he found more than a door. Half the wall had tumbled down, here, and the stone looked older behind it. The floor slanted down. That seemed better than going Topside, where the light set you on fire, and the water burned the skin from your flesh. Kneeling, he ran his fingers over the seams. Men had pieced these rocks together. It wasn’t natural. That much, he knew.
    “It smells clean.” Thimble stepped up beside him, cocking her head to test the air.
    “I think we should see where it leads.” Shoulders hunched, he waited for her to mock him, like everyone did when he dared to express a thought.
    But he’d misjudged her. Just as he’d never made fun of her foot, she never acted like he was stupid, good only for one thing. “I agree.”
    “Hopefully