I’m at the top of the staircase, before they even realize I’ve moved. There’s rustling as they all scurry after me. I catch the soft flutter of Aiden’s voice, but I don’t turn back. My feet lift me down the dirt tunnel, the lanterns quivering as I brush by.

But halfway down, I suddenly stop. Maci. How can I just leave her behind? Especially after she saved me. I slow to a stop and wait. Because I know he’s following me by the sound of his pulse flowing up the tunnel.

Finally he rounds a corner. “You’re ridiculously fast,” he pants when he reaches me. “You know that.”

“Why do they want to kill me?” I ask. “Why are they all scared? And where’s Maci? No one better hurt her.”

“Maci’s fine. She’s right where you left her.” He grabs his side, winded. “And they’re afraid of you because you spoke of the Highers.”

“So you do have them around here.” I immediately turn on my defenses, looking for a weapon.

“No, we don’t have them around here,” he says. “But we know what they are. We all used to live in The Colony at one time or another.”

I stare at him, trying to remember. “How can I not remember you? Or any of you?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugs. “Too big of a place, I guess. I mean, did you know every single person that lived there?”

“No, but what’s the big deal?” I ask. “Why did they panic when I mentioned the Highers if there are none around?”

“Because,” he puffs out a frazzled breath and then sketches the white line beneath his eye with his finger. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

A scream echoes from the distance. I glance up the hall, wondering where it came from.

“Kayla.” His voice brings me back to reality. “You want some answers?”

A simple question, but it stuns me. “Yes.”

He offers me his hand. “Then come with me and I’ll give them to you.”

I eye his hand with uncertainty, not sure if I can trust him, unsure what fear I’ll feel when I touch his skin.

“You can trust me,” he says, urging his hand at me.

Reluctantly, I place my hand into his. What overwhelms me is a shock. Because I can’t sense his fear.  No. When I touch Aiden, all I feel is serenity, peacefulness and calm, like this is where I belong.

But still, it makes me uneasy. Because it’s something I’ve never felt before.