The Hunted of the Haunted

By Allison Ince

After having escaped the Experiment Halls, the Zoeks thought the worst of their problems were over. Hiding from the Elite seemed to be all they had to worry about, but then a young woman comes to their door asking for help.In The Hunted of the Haunted, the Zoeks have to make a decision to help the Elite's next set of victims or remain in hiding. It should be an easy decision for a group of heroic teens, but upon finding out the victims are members of various hate groups and gangs, the Zoeks realize they have a tough decision to make. Will they save the hunted of the haunted or leave them to the Elite?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098051068

Book preview

Chapter 1

Mad Dash

Ruse? The fifteen-year-old girl hollers out into the clear and crisp night sky. Ruse, where are you?

Estrella’s voice grows tight and her muscles tense. As she searches the alley, dim driveway lights grow shadows, and the silence closes in around her. She remembers strolling down the street with her friends. Estrella and the street gang were patrolling for enemies when the black SUV drove up and slowed to a smooth halt. Its dimly lit black doors shined with a gray hue and opened as two men and a teenage girl stepped out. They wore all black suits and smirked with cold eyes.

Estrella remembers the teenager most. Her hair was straight and eyes sharp blue. She pulled out a shining pistol, the likes of which Estrella had never seen before. She remembers the girl’s words: All right, civies, we just want one of you. The word civies still rings awkward and unfamiliar in Estrella’s ears. It was spoken with such a tone of malice and irritation that she is certain it was an insult.

All her friends looked at each other in confusion until one of her friends whipped out his own pistol and hollered, Feds! Run!

All the teenagers scattered like ruby marbles and dashed into the shadows of the neighborhood. One of her friends, Ruse, took her heart-beating palm and yelled, Follow me, Estrella!

Ruse, the girl with short black hair, had just joined the Blood gang a month ago. She led Estrella to a pitch-black alley and suddenly disappeared into the darkness.

Now, Estrella stumbles aimlessly. She grovels for a light amongst the dim yellow bulbs of the driveways that surround her. She swerves around in fright at the distant hum of cars and the scream of tires that bound over smooth concrete. She should have brought her gun tonight, but she did not feel the need being with all her friends.

Estrella’s firecracker-red hair gleams in the yellow light. Her long curls cling to the sweat on her forehead. She glances around, hungry for the sight of one of her fellow gang members.

Ruse? she howls again.

My name is number 2090, Ruse hisses with a toneless voice.

Estrella spins around to see Ruse standing erect and sly. Ruse crosses her arms over her puffed-out chest. Her eyes stare cold on Estrella, and her back is rigid with poise. Ruse smirks just slightly as she stares Estrella down.

Ruse? Estrella cocks her head. That’s not your name?

I have no name but a number and so will you. The girl who was once known as Ramsey growls coldly.

What? What the hell is going on? Estrella roars with grinding teeth.

I was sent to help in taking you away, Ramsey explains.

Sent by the Crips! You’re a rat! Estrella hisses, running forward to attack the weapon of the Elite.

Ramsey, who has been a weapon for a few good months now, merely snatches Estrella’s left fist like a cobra strikes its prey and lets the poison soak in. Ramsey grasps the Blood’s hand and watches with glee as she draws the oxygen from Estrella’s body. Estrella turns a mild lavender hue and crumbles to the ground, gasping for air.

Don’t damage it, #2090! a delightful and sweet ringing voice bellows. This voice, of course, is the voice of our dreadful vixen, Hidey Jaggar.

Ramsey gives no reply and drops the limp hand as if it were bitter to the taste. She sneers down at Estrella.

#3060, Hidey snickers at the unconscious teen.

Chapter 2

The Teacher

It’s been two weeks since my little sister ran away, a feminine and bold voice pouts. And none of you can give me a clue as to where she might have gone.

The twenty-five-year old woman stands at 5'5" with wavy auburn hair that shimmers with orange highlights. Her skin glints with an olive complexion, and her lips are plump and glossy with a blackberry-red hue. She wears a lacy-white baby-gown dress shirt and long black dress pants, along with black high heels. Her delicate thin fingers are graced with antique-rose hued nails, and they rest stern on her hips. She taps her right toe upon the grey tile of the high school and stands in front of three teenagers who wear sore expressions and tough outer appearances.

The teenagers in red shirts rub the soles of their shoes on the ground, scuffing the tile with irritation. They glower at her but more at their helplessness in the situation.

Listen, it’s like we told you before; all we saw were the Feds, okay? We ran off and Ruse and Estrella disappeared. We thought they were sellin’ some good stuff and got busted so they ran away, one of the teens growls with an edgy, tight voice.

The woman’s eyes fall to the grey tile in disappointment. I know Maria would never leave without telling me first even if she were in danger. She would have left me some kind of warning, at least a goodbye letter. Maybe she did run. I mean, if her friends think she was selling drugs, maybe she and her friend did run away together. She’s only fifteen so if she had been arrested, I would know.

That’s all? She digs for more information.

Yeah, snarls another teenager in red, who bares his teeth in defense against the relentless questioning of the woman.

She shakes her head and walks away from them, meandering down the empty school hallway. The hall is dim, and the sunlight beams down on the tile, making the floor appear like shards of sharp glass. She has given up on her questions and suspicions of the foul play that have followed her and Estrella, also known as Maria, all their lives.

I can’t explain it. I just know Maria didn’t run away. Something is wrong, like the night our family disappeared. There is something more to all this, some secret… Jesus, help me.

Runaway, huh? a warm voice splashes and ripples through the woman’s musings.

She veers around to see a male teacher with a baldhead and firm square face. He stands in the doorway of his classroom. She gulps her fears down and stands offish to his sudden approach.

Um…yeah, unfortunately, she sighs.

"I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help but overhear. Tell me, did the witnesses mention these Feds wearing black suits and driving black SUVs?"

Yeah, actually they did. At least from what one of her friends told me earlier, she answers with tight and curious eyes.

"And did these Feds ever mention words like variable, civey, or—"

"Yeah! Civey! I think one of her friends said they heard the Feds say something like that. She perks up. I remember now! One of her friends mentioned a teenage girl calling them that word!"

And did it ever occur to you that federal agents typically aren’t teenage girls? He smirks with kind eyes.

She peers at him with sharp suspicion. What do you know about this, Mr.…?

Ander. My name is Andrew Ander, and I know a lot, he speaks with a weary and yet powerful tone of voice.

Chapter 3

If I Could Run

The tall, five feet eight inches to be exact, seventeen-year-old young man with oak flesh and indigo-blue eyes is led in chains to the juvenile penitentiary’s private interrogation room. His night black hair soaks in the florescent lighting as his blue tattoos of gang symbols glint in the light.

He sits down in the private room with one steel table and two silver chairs. He sits with his head high. Across from him sits a blond girl who we all know as Hidey Jagger. Behind her stands a six-foot man with blond hair and spiky tips as red as blood. She stares at the seventeen-year-old with an arrogant smirk, and he stares back with the same expression.

Hidey’s black suit bursts against the white scenery, and her sunglasses blind the chained teenager from seeing into her deception. She snaps the glasses off