I brace myself, genuinely afraid we’re about to crash into a small mountain, but then the opening widens, and I realize we’re driving into a hidden tunnel.
“Fucking hell. Is this Kitty’s camp?” Gray asks.
Jasper doesn’t answer.
I peer out the window. “Who’s Kitty?”
“She leads one of the Faithful camps,” Gray says. “We heard murmurings about a tunnel system that takes you to it, but this is the first I’ve ever seen it.”
The headlights catch on the wall, which appears to be a combination of stone and rusted metal. This tunnel must’ve been sitting here for a long time. I don’t know what the original purpose of the infrastructure was, but it’s clearly being used for something entirely different now. And it’s long; we drive for several minutes before reaching the end.
Finally, we emerge into more darkness and more trees. I glimpse the outlines of thick trunks and long, twisted branches.
The van comes to a stop. Jasper cuts the engine and flings the door open. “Let’s go.”
I expect my boots to collide with earth and overgrowth, but it’s gravel. Matching Jasper’s brisk pace, we follow him down another path. We turn a corner past another small rock formation, and my eyes widen in shock.
Up ahead, hidden beneath the canopy of trees, is what appears to be an entire community.
At the end of the path stands a sprawling log cabin, its windows glowing from the soft lights inside and a thin puff of steam rising from a brick chimney. Beyond the main cabin are other smaller ones scattered among the trees. Most are made of wood or stone, with small porches lit by weak lantern light. In the distance, I hear voices, laughter…music.Somebody is playing music nearby. I squint in that direction and catch glimpses of firelight. When I inhale, the smell of smoke and pine fills my nostrils.
“What is this?” Xavier says, sounding as shocked as I feel. “None of our intel ever revealed a permanent settlement this close to the city. In the lawless lands, maybe, but not in the wards. What the hell is this place?”
Jasper grins at us. “Welcome to the Hollow.”
Chapter 36
Before either of us can pepper him with questions, a sharp voice echoes from the rickety porch of the main cabin. “Get the hell over here, Jas.”
Footsteps thud down the porch steps. I see half a dozen people walking our way, a tall woman leading the pack.
“Wait here,” Jasper murmurs to us, then strides forward to meet the group halfway.
I watch as he and the woman share a quick embrace. She has dark hair arranged in dozens of tiny braids and looped around at the back of her head in a loose coil, and her eyes are suspicious, even as she leans in to give Jasper a kiss on the cheek.
“These are Faithful?” I ask Gray.
“Seems so.”
They certainly act like it, waves of suspicion rolling off them, as the woman quietly speaks with Jasper. We receive several dark looks from her companions before she stalks toward us.
“You’re the pilot?” she barks, addressing Gray. “Blake?”
“Indeed.”
She sizes him up with discerning eyes. “You took out an entire Command hangar.”
“Damn right.”
Her lips take on a hint of a smile. “Welcome to the Hollow. We don’t take kindly to visitors, especially strangers, but Jas says you can be trusted.” She nods toward us. “Who are your people?”
“Wren Darlington and Xavier Ford. My security.”
He omits the fact that Xavier is a former Command soldier, which is probably wise. Let Xavier annoy these people for a bit before they discover his identity. By that point, they’ll realize he’s not a threat but a sex-starved asshole who can’t shut up.
“Come,” Kitty tells us. “I’ll show you around.”
My mind is still reeling that there’s an entire secret community less than an hour away from the capital. How have they gone unnoticed?
