I glance at Aerin, but she’s scowling at the ground. She hasn’t said a word since we arrived. I’m about to ask her to sit down beside me, when Ava touches my arm.
“You remember Layshell’s brother, right?”
“We never officially met,” I say, “but yes, I do.”
“Talen, this is my brother, Corey.” Layshell smiles down at the ten-year-old beside her. “Corey, do you remember when you were so sick, and I told you about the man who helped me get you food? This is him. His name is Talen.”
“Hiya, Corey.” I grin, and the boy hides behind Layshell’s arm.
“He’s a bit shy,” she says.
“That’s okay,” I reply. “He looks pretty healthy now.”
“He’s much better, thanks to you. Actually, he’s been sleeping on that mat I made for you. I found it at Ava’s before the fire.”
“I left in a bit of a rush,” I say with a smile and a shrug. “I should have taken it with me.”
“About that,” Ava says with raised eyebrows. She clasps my hand in hers like she thinks I’m going to disappear again. “Care to explain what the hell happened to you?”
I glance up at Aerin, and she gives her head a tiny shake as she stares down at me.
“I didn’t mean to be gone so long,” I say, turning back to Ava. “I thought it would just be a day or two, but I ran into Aerin, and then that big quake struck.”
“It was a big one,” Layshell says. “A lot of damage in town.”
“Aerin and I got trapped,” I say. “It took us a while to get back out again.”
“You were trapped for weeks?” Ava looks at me, waiting for a better explanation.
The slim hope I had that Ava might be placated with a partial story is completely destroyed, and I try to think of what I can say that won’t either scare the shit out of her or make her lose any trust in me.
“Not exactly.” I look back at Aerin, but she’s gritting her teeth and looking out at the darkening sky.
“Well?” Ava grips my hand tighter, not about the let the topic go.
“We found a shaft,” I tell her as I wipe my sweating palms on my jeans, “in the side of the mountain. We climbed in it to escape the falling rocks, but we ended up trapped inside instead. We crawled through the shaft, and…well, we found something inside the mountain.”
“Inside the mountain?” Milo leans forward.
“They’ve been there for years!” Keller suddenly blurts out. “I told you all. He’s part of it.”
My free hand instinctively curls into a fist. The last thing I need is to have Keller spewing his shit while I’m trying to explain myself, especially when some of what he says might be accurate.
“Oh, shush, you.” Milo rolls his eyes and waves dismissively at Keller. “Go on, Talen.”
“It’s an old research facility,” I tell them, relaxing slightly. “It was probably built before the Great Eruption and abandoned for a long time. It took us some time to find our way back out again.”
“A research facility?” Ava perks up. “Talen, what in the world are you talking about?”
I glance from Ava to Milo and also to Keller, who is glaring at me and chewing on his lip like he’s about to have an explosive tirade. I wish I’d started this conversation with Ava alone, but at this point, everyone is staring at me and waiting for answers. I look to Aerin for help, but she’s still staring out the opening.
I stand and move close to Aerin, reaching for her hand and looking at her intently. Her eyes go wide, and I can guess what she wants to say.
“We have to tell them,” I say quietly. “We can trust them, and they need to know what’s out there.”
Aerin opens her mouth but then quickly closes it again. She glances down at Ava before pulling her hand away.
“Whatever.” She looks away from me.