The first thing Jude felt was a tingling in his right hand. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt glued shut by something sticky.

He attempted to turn, but a lancing pain in his right side convinced him it was better to stay still.

His parched tongue traced over his swollen, split lips. The metallic tang of his own blood made him gag.

The memories hit all at once. Being at the air raid shelter, collecting the equipment, being discovered by the soldiers. Octavia being taken away. The beating he’d received.

Where the fuck was he?

Jude took several deep breaths, each one making his chest throb. With effort, his right eye partially opened. He blinked several times, and saw a pale-gray dawn light overhead. Wherever the hell he was, it stank like rotten meat.

Turning his head to the left, he came face to face with the blank-eyed gaze of a middle-aged man.

As Jude’s vision continued to clear, he could see there were more dead bodies around him. Swallowing his horror, Jude realized he was in a pit full of dead and dying people.

The sound of quiet, distressed moans filled his ears. There were other injured people in the pit.

Wrapping an arm around his ribs and easing himself away from the dead man lying next to him, Jude gingerly sat up. Something dug into his right shoulder. He reached around and realized he still wore the backpack containing the equipment from the air raid shelter.

The pit he was in was a long, wide rectangle, about thirty feet by twenty feet. It was full of bodies. Jude had seen this before. It was a death pit. The State used them as an easy way to clear up after a mass attack on a population. When they’d first taken over, these pits had been dug in every urban area.

He’d never expected to find himself in one.

Scanning across the sea of broken and damaged bodies, he tried to find Octavia. Had they brought her here too? The last memory he had was of her being dragged away by a tall, solid-looking soldier with acne scars and a dangerous glint in his eyes.

She’d been foolish to try to escape, but Jude had admired her courage as she’d fought the soldiers. They’d be nursing bruises for days.

Shifting onto his knees, Jude stifled a groan. He had no clue if there were any militia around. The death pits were usually operated by civilians. He didn’t know what they’d do when they saw one of their dead crawling out.

His hand went to the empty holster on his belt. Of course, they’d taken his weapon.

Crawling to the edge of the pit, stifling another gag as he slid on the cold flesh of other people, his fingers latched onto the side.

Jude risked a glance over the edge. There was no one about.

Pain bit into his side as he slowly stood. His chest was swollen and sore, but his arms and legs worked fine. Jude heaved himself over the edge of the pit. He took a moment to get his breath and fight the sickness that threatened to overwhelm him. One eye remained stubbornly closed, giving him limited vision. Anyone could be watching his escape attempt, aiming a pulse laser at him right at this second.

There was nothing he could do, other than hope they weren’t, as he scrambled across the muddy ground, heading toward some trees to give himself cover and time to think.

Jude’s earbud had gone, so he couldn’t comm the bunker. His wrist comm had been smashed.

As he reached the trees, he risked a glance back. What if he was leaving Octavia behind in that pit? She could still be alive. And where were Malachi and Heath? They’d been taken before him, but had they been brought here?

Where the fuck was here? The tepid light suggested he’d been unconscious for hours. He had to get a signal back to the base and let them know what was going on. They would know something was wrong, but would have no clue where he was.

Jude rested against a tree for a moment. He pulled open his shirt, his pulse laser vest gone, and saw deep-purple marks covering his chest where the soldiers’ fists had slammed into him. His head throbbed with a sickening regularity along with his heartbeat. He wasn’t sure he could keep going.

He slid down the tree and landed on his butt.

For a second, his head hung down. Defeat overwhelmed him. Octavia was gone. This was supposed to have been an easy mission. Grab the equipment and get out. The State must have seen them, tracked them to the bomb shelter, and gotten lucky.

“You’re not finished yet,” he said through gritted teeth. Jude eased the backpack off and opened the zipper. Letting out a relieved sigh, he saw most of the equipment was intact. He pulled out a receiver. Octavia had said some of this was broken. If he could get it operational, he could use it to get a message back to base. Let them know he was alive and needed help.

Jude pried a nail under the edge of the cover and yanked it off. Although the wires were frayed, nothing looked broken.

There was no way he could send an encoded message. If the State were listening to the comms channel he used, they’d pick him up instantly. It was worth the risk. He needed help to find the others.

He switched on the receiver, switched it to output mode and tested it. A gentle, reassuring buzz signaled it was working. “Kade. Are you receiving this?”

The receiver continued buzzing gently.

He tried again. “Is anyone receiving this?”

Despair hit him. It must be faulty. Maybe the output channel was corrupted. He lifted the cover off again and stared at the workings. Everything seemed fine. He tried one more time.

“Danni. Kade. Anybody.”

“Jude! Holy fuck. Is that you?”

Jude let out a relieved sigh. “It’s me. Kade, where are the others? Have you heard from them?”

“No! What the hell happened? One second everything was fine and then the signal cut out. We’ve been trying to reach you all for hours.”

“The militia found us,” said Jude. “I have little time. Can you track this signal?”

“That won’t be a problem,” said Kade. “You’re not hiding your location. You’re broadcasting this to anyone listening in.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” said Jude.

“I can see where you are.”

“How far away from base?”

“We’ll get you as quickly as we can.” Kade wisely didn’t give away either of their locations.

Jude pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose and winced. He wasn’t thinking straight. If he wasn’t careful, he’d reveal too much. If the State were listening in, they’d discover not only him, but also the Old London base. “I can’t find the others. Heath and Malachi were taken. Octavia too. We were separated.”

“Don’t worry,” said Kade. “We’ll get you. You’ll be fine.”

“I need to move,” said Jude. “If I shift this signal around it will take the State longer to track me.”

“You don’t sound good,” said Kade. “Are you okay to move?”

“I’ve been better.” His fingers touched his ribs. “I’ll live.”

“Jude, I’ve dispatched a team to come to you.” It was Danni. “Stay off this channel for as long as you can. We’ll let you know when we’re close.”

“Great. I’ll get moving now.”

“Stay safe out there.” Danni sounded concerned.

“I’ll do my best.” Jude took his time packing up the receiver, trying not to aggravate his injuries. As he stood, he swayed on his feet, and the world spun. He staggered to the side and landed on his knees. Shit! He must have a concussion.

Jude tried standing again. The world tilted, and he rolled onto his side, biting back a scream as his ribs dug into him.

He had to get up and keep moving. But nothing wanted to work. His legs and arms were limp and his vision blurred.

He couldn’t give up now. He needed to find Octavia. He had to make sure she was safe. Heath and Malachi could still be out there, too. There was no way he would give up.

Taking a deep breath, Jude tried again. He made it to his feet, staggered three steps, and darkness descended on him.

***

“IF YOU KEEP FIGHTING me, traitor, I will make the rest of your short life a living hell.” The soldier with the acne scars glared at Octavia.

She’d gotten in two hard kicks to his shins as he’d dragged her, and then thrown her, into the back of the military van.

“It will be worth it. And keep your filthy hands off me.”

A sneer crossed his face. “You can’t fight me forever.”

“I’ll fight you until I stop breathing.” If this disgusting thug tried anything with her, Octavia wouldn’t care about dying. He was not going to harm her.

The soldier in the front passenger seat turned and grinned at them. “I think even you draw the line at fucking a corpse.”

“I don’t want her now. She’s too ugly for my liking.”

The soldier in the front looked Octavia over. “She’s not bad.”

“Then you have her.”

“No one’s having me,” she growled.

“Like you get to have a say in that.” The soldier in the front of the vehicle gave her a curious look. “You sound familiar. Have we met before?”

Octavia glared at him. “Never.”

“I’m sure I know you.”

She clamped her lips together. If he recognized her voice, recognized her as Flame radio, she was in trouble.

“Are you saying you know this traitor?” asked the acne-scarred soldier.

The soldier in front continued to stare at her. “I’m not sure. I don’t recognize her face, but there’s something familiar about that voice. It will come to me. I’m good with voices.”

As the vehicle moved, Octavia looked for a way out. The back door was locked and the gap into the cab was too small to get through. She was trapped.

She tried to loosen the bonds on her wrists, but they wouldn’t budge.

Her thoughts went to Jude, and she felt sick. What were they going to do to him? He wouldn’t tell them anything. He’d die before he did that.

Octavia blinked away tears. He was strong. He would be fine. He had to be.

They traveled for twenty minutes before the vehicle stopped. Octavia tried to see outside. She got a glimpse of a gray building before the back door was pulled open.

“Everybody out who’s going to die today.” The soldier with the acne scars jumped in and shoved her in the back.

Octavia fell out of the vehicle and onto her knees, her hands still tied behind her back so she couldn’t cushion her fall.

He dragged her up by her hair. “Watch that last step.”

“Go screw yourself.”

“In your dreams.” The soldier dragged her through a set of double doors and into a waiting area.

A narrow-faced man sat behind a desk, enclosed in glass. He peered over the top of his spectacles. “Have we got a new inmate?”

The soldier nodded as he dragged Octavia to the desk and shoved her hand onto a fingerprint scanner. “She won’t be staying long. We’ll get her processed and then get her talking.”

“I won’t tell you anything,” said Octavia.

The narrow-faced man gave a quiet chuckle. “My dear, they all say that when they first arrive. Everyone talks. Don’t fight the inevitable.”

“I’ve got nothing you’ll be interested in hearing,” said Octavia.

“You’re working with the Ember brothers,” said the soldier. “We’re all interested in that.”

“What happened to the other brother?” The man behind the desk tapped a port screen in front of him. “We have... Heath in a cell already.”

“He didn’t make it,” said the soldier.

Octavia’s eyes widened. She stared at him. “Are you talking about Jude? What the hell have you done to him?”

The soldier grinned. “Were you hot for him? Bad luck, sweetheart. He wasn’t as hardy as the other one. He stopped breathing after he’d gone a few rounds with my colleagues. They thought about reviving him, but then figured one less Ember brother in the world is a good thing. They slung him into a death pit. He’ll be fly food by now.”

Octavia bit down on a sob. Jude couldn’t be dead. “I don’t believe you.”

“You can believe what you like,” said the soldier. “You don’t see him here, do you?”

Octavia glanced around the room. It was a soulless, gray box. Other than the two soldiers who’d been in the truck with her, there was no one else there.

“You’re all alone,” said the soldier.

“I won’t be for long,” she said. The others back at the base would know what was going on. They wouldn’t abandon them.

“Hold on! I do know you.” The soldier by the door walked closer, his eyes narrowed. “It’s your voice. It’s so unusual.”

“You’re mistaken.” Octavia swallowed the fear creeping up her throat. She should have kept her mouth shut.

“Fuck me sideways.” The soldier shook his head and grinned. “You run that radio station, Flame.”

The soldier with the acne scars stared at her. “You’re frickin’ kidding me. This is the little bitch who passes on all the information about us? She’s working with the Ember brothers?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Octavia.

“It is you. I have to admit, although I hate your fucking traitorous guts, I love the music you play.”

Octavia glared at him. “I don’t play it for you.”

“Suit yourself. This is a bonus. The boss will be delighted. We finally ended this bitch’s reign.”

“Does this change what you want done with her?” asked the man behind the desk, a bored expression on his face.

“We need to inform the commander,” said the soldier with the acne scars. “He might be interested.”

“We could get a promotion out of this.”

“Cell fifteen is empty and ready if you want to take her there,” said the man behind the desk. “It’s just been hosed down.”

“Let’s move, dancing queen.” The acne-scarred soldier shoved her again.

Octavia couldn’t concentrate as they hauled her along a plain white corridor. Jude couldn’t be dead. She wouldn’t believe it.

Maybe they were lying and Jude was in one of the cells. She clung to that hope as they stopped outside a door. Once unlocked, the soldier with the acne scars pushed her inside.

“Enjoy your new home,” he said as he freed her hands from the restraints. “We’ll be back for you real soon.”

As soon as the door was locked, Octavia searched every inch, looking for a way out. There were no cracks or weaknesses in the wall, no window to get through, and no hinges on the inside of the door. She tugged at the metal grill on the door until her nails snapped, but it wouldn’t budge.

She had to get out. She needed to find Jude and make sure he was okay. Pounding her fist against the door, she stopped and held her ear against it, straining to see if she could hear anyone. She heard nothing.

“Jude. Heath. Malachi. Are any of you in here?”

There was no response to her shouts.

The coldness from the stone floor and walls seeped into Octavia’s bones. She turned slowly, staring at each wall, willing there to be a way she could get out. But there wasn’t. She was alone.

The desire to find an escape route was slowly replaced by fear. When she was fighting, she didn’t have a chance to think. As Octavia sank onto the bare floor and wrapped her arms around her knees, she gave in. Just for a second, she allowed herself to feel the failure.

Swiping a single tear from her cheek, Octavia jumped up. The soldier said he’d be back. That gave her a chance. She’d be ready for when he returned. She could take a weapon and fight her way out. It was a slim chance, but at least she had one.

When she got out, she’d retrace her steps, and get back to the air raid shelter. There must be some clue or a trace left behind showing her what happened to the others. The militia must have ambushed Heath and Malachi and overwhelmed them. They were seasoned fighters and wouldn’t have gone easily.

There had to be evidence of that fight, evidence of which direction the vehicles went. Octavia wouldn’t give up searching until she’d found Jude and the others.

She slowed in her pacing of the cell as she heard footsteps approach. The grill was pulled back and a face she didn’t recognize peered in. “This is the prisoner?”

“Yes, sir. We believe this is the traitor who broadcasts on Flame radio.” She recognized that voice. It was the scar-faced soldier.

The stranger stared at her. “Interesting. Tell me, how have you been getting your information about us?”

“I’m telling you nothing.” Fear made her insides clench.

“Bring her to the interrogation room.” The door lock was opened.

Octavia didn’t hesitate. She charged toward the soldier blocking her way, slamming into him with her elbow.

She landed a good first punch on scar face, and was reaching for his holster when her hand was wrenched away. A muscular arm wrapped around her throat and squeezed.

“Just give us an excuse, princess,” growled the soldier behind her. “Traitors deserve to die.”

She choked as her airway closed off but continued to fight, kicking her legs out at anyone who got close. She locked gazes with scar face and smirked at him, willing him to get close enough so she could land another punch.

“Steady now.” The stranger moved into her line of vision, a sly smile on his face. “We’ll get what we want out of you.”

Octavia was dragged along the corridor by her throat, her breath coming out in short gasps as black dots danced across her vision.

Scar face pulled open a door, and she was marched through.

There was nothing in the room other than a small table and two chairs.

Octavia was shoved into a chair and her hands shackled to it.

The stranger walked to the other side of the table and leaned his knuckles on it. He had slicked-back black hair and wore a black suit with a white shirt underneath. He would have been handsome if it weren’t for the cold menace that radiated off him.

His gaze ran over Octavia several times.

She kept her chin up and met his stare.

“You’re the infamous broadcaster.” The man smiled. “I don’t think much of your taste in music.”

“As if I care about that.”

He shrugged. “I’m Commander West. I look after this region.”

“Congratulations. You’re doing a lousy job.”

“I disagree.” Commander West smirked. “I have a particular interest in your work, since I handle communications. I always know when you’re sneaking into this region, spreading your malicious lies about what we do and helping the resistance in their futile attempts to bring us down.”

“It’s not so futile,” said Octavia. “They’re winning.”

“They may win a few small skirmishes, but we have total control. We always have.”

Octavia pressed her lips together and glared at him. The two soldiers remained by the door, blocking any chance of getting out.

“How have you been able to infiltrate our communications channels so effectively?”

“I haven’t.”

“Even I recognize your voice. You have been listening to us and passing on information to the resistance fighters.”

Octavia sucked in a breath. “Tell me what happened to the others.”

Commander West’s eyebrows rose. “Your companions? I imagine they have been processed in a similar manner.”

“That soldier told me Jude’s dead.” She gestured with her chin toward the scar-faced soldier by the door.

“Then he must be.” Commander West turned and looked at the soldier. “What happened?”

“She was with one of the Ember brothers,” said the soldier. “We had fun with him. He didn’t handle it well. We took the body to the death pit on the south side.”

Commander West’s top lip curled. “I would have liked to have spoken to him.”

“You have the other brother,” said the soldier. “He’ll tell you everything you need.”

Commander West nodded before turning to Octavia. “Your companions are giving us the information we require. Then they will be sent to death. Is that what you wish for yourself, as well?”

“If it gets me away from you, then yes.”

“Foolish female,” said Commander West.

She licked her dry lips. “Are you a Dinnorm?”

Commander West’s eyes narrowed. He glanced at the soldiers. “What do you know about that?”

Her eyes widened. “You are! Does anyone here know what you really are?”

“What I am is not your concern.” His fingers splayed across the table.

“There’s something off about you,” said Octavia. “This form you’re in isn’t natural for you. You wear a human skin like a badly fitting masque.”

“Watch your mouth when you address the commander,” said one of the soldiers.

Commander West waved away the soldier’s words. “I’ve never liked a curious female. I prefer the ones who keep their mouths shut.”

“I’ve never been good at that.”

Commander West’s nostrils flared. “If you tell me what I want to know, I’ll make your death quick, unlike your companions, who are to be publicly executed. We are to make a show of their disobedience. The death of a high profile resistance fighter like Heath Ember will make others pause.”

“Not everyone is tricked by you,” said Octavia.

“We do wonder why that is,” said Commander West. “How are you able to avoid our... manipulation?”

“Because humans are fighters,” said Octavia. “We always find a way.”

Commander West drew himself up to his full height. “No. We know some of you have a fault or a weakness.”

“It’s not a fault if it means you don’t get to manipulate us.”

He tilted his head. “A brain injury, perhaps?”

Octavia tensed as Commander West walked around behind her. His hands rested on her shoulders, before sliding into her hair.

“From the damage on your face, I’m assuming you had some kind of traumatic head injury.” His fingers stilled as they passed over the hard metallic plate on the side of her head.

She tried to yank her head out of his grip, but he held on tight.

His knuckles rapped against the metal. “This is the problem. When we remove this, you will fall under our control just as everyone else has.”

“You remove that, and I die,” said Octavia.

“Then it is a win for us.”

She hissed air through her teeth. “Better that than be a slave to your orders, like those soldiers.” She glared at the two men by the door. “Aren’t you listening to this? He’s tricking you. You’re being fooled.”

Commander West yanked her head back. “Shut your filthy mouth before I do it for you.”

There was a knock at the door. The man who’d been sitting behind the processing desk entered and handed Commander West a port screen. “That’s everything we have on her.” He left the room without glancing at Octavia.

Commander West dropped his hold on Octavia’s head. He spent a few moments scanning through the port screen. His lips pursed as he read the information.

Octavia took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. There had to be a way out. Even if she died trying, she would not fall prey to these monsters.

“It now makes sense why you could break through our systems. You have an impressive background in undercover work. It took several hours to disable and bring down the agency you were once a part of.”

Octavia didn’t respond.

“It says here you have nobody. Your parents are dead and you are an only child. I imagine that must be lonely. Perhaps this is an excuse you can use as to why you joined the resistance. You were seeking a family.”

Again, she remained silent.

Commander West placed the port screen on the table. “You can be a part of our family if you’d like to be.”

“There’s not a hope in hell of that ever happening.”

“You might think differently once we’ve spent time together.”

She hid her surprise at his sudden change in tone, and stared at the wall.

“I have just the thing for you.” Commander West sat in the seat opposite her. “We require your skills. You will be an asset working for us.”

“I will never work for you.”

“You will,” said Commander West. “Once we’ve removed that metal plate in your head and performed a mind wipe on you. I think you will see things in a very different light.”

Octavia’s head shot up as horror coursed through her veins. “There’s no fucking way you’re mind wiping me.” Mind wipes were brutal and often unsuccessful. You either ended up a basket case or a blank-gazed moron, like the soldiers.

Commander West nodded. “We are not as malicious a species as the Ember brothers and their resistance fighters paint us as. Our medical techniques are advanced. We will remove the metal and replace it with a synthetic material that is not immune to our methods of integration.”

“Mind manipulation, you mean.”

“Call it what you like. Once that is in place, we can conduct a mind wipe. It will remove your memories of your time in the resistance. You will be compliant and willing to all my wishes.” His grin turned feral. “What do you think of that?”

“As I said before, you might as well kill me now.”

He shook his head. “No. Even though you have betrayed us, you can still be of value.” Commander West looked at the soldiers. “Take her to the medical room and have her prepped for a mind wipe.”