Chapter One

Dust particles drift lazily through the air, distant drops of water striking cement. My footsteps echo loudly over the curved walls, further emphasizing the suffocating silence. "There's something down this way," calls an echoed whisper, causing me to freeze as my pulse quickens. A cone of light ignites in a bend further ahead, heavy footfalls growing louder; i quickly press myself against the cold wall, bending my back to contour the curving wall. My skin crawls and i shut my eyes, two sets of heavy boots passing by. Pushing off of the wall, i open my eyes and shudder again, facing two large figures trudging down the dark tunnel, one after the other. With a flick of my left wrist, a small needle rockets forward, embedding itself in the closest figure's neck, toppling them to the ground with a grunt. The first turns around with a yelp, raising a blinding light to my eyes. I growl and lunge forward, crying out when a blunt object connects with my right temple. "You disgusting freak!" shouts a deep voice, the object striking my temple again. With a slight prick under my tongue and a little pressure, a thin stream of luminescent blue liquid bursts out of my mouth, past the light. "What the hell!" he shouts, dropping the flashlight to the concrete and reeling. The liquid glows brighter as it eats away at the plastic visor attached to his helmet; with another flick, a second needle drives itself into his throat. Grasping at his neck, he coughs and sputters before falling back with a thud. My head throbbing, I take to stripping the men of their protective equipment: two thick black vests, two pistols with an extra magazine for each, and a single salvageable helmet. After wrapping my haul in the first man's shirt, I walk away with the bundle in my arms, muttering "That hurt, douche."

Backtracking through the tunnels, the walls widen into a large chamber, two raised concrete platforms on either side of the lower path. Several people populate either platform, chatting quietly amongst themselves. A dark woman turns when she spots me and grins, leaving her conversation to drop down to the path. "Hunter," she breathes, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Hey, Scale, I brought you something." She pulls away, regarding the bundle tucked under my left arm. "Seekers? None have come around in two months."

"Only two," I tell her, "they went down relatively easy." Pushing my haul into her arms, we share a small grin before climbing onto the leftmost platform. "I'm gonna go find Scout and see if she got any activity. It's rare to see a small team of Seekers." Scale nods, a few strands of wavy black hair falling in front of her face, "I'm glad you came back okay," she says, "I'll go give this to Quarter."

We part ways, and I slip through quiet conversation, greeting several people as I go. I spot a boy no older than ten, his dark hair contrasting his pale skin, and his red sweater turned a rusted brown along with a worn pair of jeans. "Sentry," I call, drawing his gaze, "where's your sister?"

"Let me find out for you," he says, shutting his eyes, emanating a series of soft chirps and clicks. His ears open like the bloom of a moonrose, spreading with ivory petals, a large, dark orb in the center. "I'll never get used to that," I mumble, bringing a small grin to his face. A moment later, the bloom retracts and his eyes open, "She's on her way back, she should be back soon."

"Awesome, thanks," I tell him with a nod, moving to the edge of the platform and sitting down, my legs swinging over the edge.

"Hey," Scale says, sitting next to me. "She's on the way, I'm just waiting," I tell her, ignoring the dull throb in my head. "There's something I need to-" Scale is cut off by the arrival of a young girl of seven, her white dress stained with dirt and grime and her light brown hair tied in a ponytail reaching her shoulders. "Scout," I call, dropping myself to the path. "Hunter, you're back. I didn't think your watch ended yet," I chuckle, "I actually stayed a little longer, and I'm glad I did. Two Seekers were wandering through the tunnels." Her face contorts in thought, "Were they armed?"

"Pistols, but they chose to use batons. Pretty confident in themselves, but they didn't put up too much of a fight." Scout presses a finger to a tender spot on my head, causing me to hiss softly, "Yeah, looks like one of them got a good hit in first." "I'll be fine," I tell her, "I can handle more than a baton to the head." Taking a step back,

Scout turns to face Scale, "I need you to go tell everyone to be on alert, especially on watch. We can't risk Seekers finding us."

With a nod, Scale trots away, disappearing into the crowd. "We're lucky it was only two. I never heard them, so if not for you patrolling, they very well could've found us." I sigh, picturing the alternative, the Seekers massacring the innocent beings that now chatter with one another, blissfully unaware. "Everyone, listen up," Scale starts, now standing atop a large mass of stone, drawing the attention of both platforms, "I know the past couple of months have been peaceful, our crops doing better than usual, and no reports of Seekers. Today, two were seen in the tunnels. They didn't get far, taken down by our friendly neighborhood Hunter," a few people turn to face me, turning their attention back to Scale a moment later, "from now on, we have to be more careful. When you go on watch, be sure to stay light on your feet and keep your head on swivel. We can't risk them finding us."

Scale continues her speech as I steer myself toward one of the tunnels, striding quietly into the darkness. The Seekers have been after us for years, trying to kill us all with minimal loss to their own people, when they're the ones who made us. They're trying to eradicate the population they gave birth to. We're like this because of what they did, we are their mistake. Suddenly, my legs are pulled from underneath me, bringing my chest to the ground with a thud. My head whips to the side, catching a glimpse of another armored man, a long stick in his hand. From the stick sprouts a loop of thick wire, wrapped around my ankle. My heart races and I yelp, quickly flicking my wrist to launch a needle at the Seeker. "Hunter!" he shouts in a feminine voice, narrowly ducking the projectile with raised hands. With the blink of my eyes, the Seeker vanishes into the darkness, replaced by a milky-skinned young woman with light green eyes, dark red hair tied into a loose ponytail behind her head. I breathe heavily, hanging my head; "Siren, how many times have we been over this? Announce yourself. I was ready to kill you." Blood rushes to her face. "I did. I called your name three times, you tripped over a piece of the rail."

"Sorry," I start, pushing myself to a stand, "I guess I was a little preoccupied." She grunts, crossing her arms, "So, the Seekers?" I sigh. "Two. Batons and pistols, no gas or grenades. Vests and helmets." Tapping a finger to her chin, she hums softly. "A reconnaissance team? Scouts?" She sighs. "Doesn't matter. What's important is that everyone is safe and you're back in time for the next salvage run." I groan, rubbing my temple, "Another one? I hate salvage runs." Siren nods. Growing footsteps draw our attention down the long tunnel, too far to spot the source. "Hunter!" Scale shouts as she appears from the darkness, arms waving as she runs. "Scale? What is it?" She skids to a stop, panting heavily, "More Seekers! They have a foraging party pinned in SZ-4!" My body tenses. I found the first two in SZ-7. "The first two must have been scouts for a bigger group. Where are Brutus and Lash?" Siren shifts nervously next to me. "They were pulling security for the foragers. Sentry says Brutus is hurt bad." I sigh, "Okay, let's go." Without waiting for a response from either, I spin on my heel and launch myself into a sprint back toward camp. Surging past the now empty platforms, a small amount of reassurance tells me that the others have taken to hiding;

Good, stay out of sight, stay safe.