by M. J. Reed
“If she gets to a point where she seems truly repentant I’m certain the decision to keep her detained can be reviewed,” I answered, trying to keep my father optimistic about Sade’s rehabilitation. “Give her a few years to pray and consider her situation. Maybe then she’ll be ready to be matched, to be assigned a productive job suitable to her birthright, and we can pull her out of confinement.” I smiled, weakly. “Who knows, we may have established a settlement on the surface by then. She could be a leader in a brand new world, while I spread the gospel of Solne to those above.”
His eyes flashed dangerously. “Listen, I’m in charge of this city. I’ll decide if we should go aboveground, and I’ll decide who we should send to level seven!” He lowered his voice, but it only made him sound angrier. “I never should have let you send her away in the first place.”
I can’t let my father get in my way. I have to remember that he is just a man and he lost sight of Departure’s mission long ago. “If you let her out of prison now, against the will of the department heads and the pious people of the colony, you’ll plunge the city into a riot.” As I said this, my father seemed to deflate a little, so I continued. “Much of the city has heard the word of God, and without the support of the church I’m not certain what would happen to the Departure’s leadership.”
“Are you threatening me?” Reglin Charr asked, incredulous.
“Not at all,” I answered, knowing even as I spoke that I would do whatever was necessary to bring the people of Departure to the surface. Up to and including harming my father. “I’m only doing my duty to the church. I know that this is hard for you, but I think that in time you’ll see that this is for the best.” I put a hand on his shoulder to try to comfort him. “Based on all the signs lately, I know the time is almost upon us to return to the surface. Ideally, we’ll want Sade to come with us, but, failing that, we’ll want to have her here where she’ll be safe.”
“Safe? You mean locked away? She’s not safe there!” He recoiled from me. “And why are you so determined to leave Departure?”
My mind raced. To make my mark on the new world. To fulfill the wishes of our ancestors. To spread the teachings of Solne to the surface. I was excited to answer his questions, hoping I could reason with him, but he cut me off before I could respond.
“You know what? I don’t want to hear it. There’s nothing you can say that could possibly justify locking your sister away.” He turned his back to storm away. “You’re unbelievable.” He hissed, spitting on the temple floor as he left.
I let myself exhale. One day he’ll understand. I checked my appearance in the mirror, adjusted my robe, and headed towards the public area of the church. Even though the argument with my father had rattled me, I wasn’t going to be late to give my sermon.
The room grew still as the faithful of Departure saw me heading for the parapet. At least my dad gave me the clarity to realize what I need to say tonight.
“We have built a better world, and a better community, through cooperation. But we have long known that one day Solne would need us to return to the surface. Now is the time to move above ground once again, and spread our ideals to what is left of the world.” I paused to let everyone in the audience take in what I had said. “Those who adopt the laws that God has bestowed upon us, the principles that have allowed us to excel in a ruined world, will be added to our family. We will make the world ours once again, purge it of all who would oppose the will of the Solne, and rebuild a better society for mankind.”
There were cheers throughout the room. I held up a hand for silence, but I was pleased with the enthusiasm of the faithful. The room quieted, but there was a crackle of energy throughout the temple. All eyes were focused on me, and I knew I could ask my flock to do anything.
“Now is the time to prepare for the future. Arm yourselves for the journey ahead! Spread the word to other followers of Solne. The next emergency that our city faces will be a crisis of faith and a struggle for our freedom.” I paused as more cheers, and an excited murmur swept over the crowd. “Soon, you will all receive a sign that the time to take back our world has come!” Another cheer lifted me up. Between the positive responses from the department heads I’ve recruited, and the enthusiasm of my followers, I felt more hopeful than ever about my chances of seeing the surface. I smiled out at the adoring crowd. “Now, let us pray.”
Chapter 21
What the hell is the matter with me? I’d been asking myself that same question ever since I threw myself down the stairs, and it’s a good question. I’ve been risking my skin for a girl I just met, even though I just heard her tell another guy she loves him! The memory stung as surely as if I had been slapped.
I felt like an idiot as I sat shirtless in one of Dr. Ward’s chairs, but when I looked at Cora, I knew that if I could do it over, I would do the exact same thing. I sighed inwardly. I like her. I like her a lot, and if this is what it takes to make her happy, I guess this is what I’ll have to do. I looked around Dr. Ward’s home office. Now we just have to figure out where we can find the information we’re looking for.
Dr. Ward’s voice snapped me back to reality. “You’ve ripped a few of these stitches, but it looks worse than it is.” Dr. Ward said, inspecting my injury. “You should be alright, but I’m going to put some antiseptic on the wound.”
Dr. Ward hadn’t been expecting a patient to be delivered to his home office this afternoon, but when Cora walked me here with blood seeping through my shirt enforcers were sent to fetch him right away. The doctor looked unkempt, bordering on sickly, and his office had papers strewn all over. While Dr. Ward treated my wound, I noticed Cora looking around the office. I decided to try to keep him occupied while she poked around.
“Does the fact that you’re treating me mean that Syndic Charr has decided against killing me? Or are he and the department heads still trying to make up their minds?”
The doctor looked gobsmacked. “Oh, I don’t think they’ve reached a decision yet.” He answered, awkwardly. “But I’m hopeful that they’ll see that you should be allowed to stay here.” I didn’t reply. The doctor shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and stopped meeting my eyes. He finished cleaning my injury and stowed his emergency kit back in his desk. “This cut was healing up nicely until you hurt yourself again. You need to be more careful, young man.” He said, trying to fill the silence. “I’m going to get you a few painkillers, I’ll be right back.” With that, he slipped through the door of his office and headed into another room to search for my medicine.
“What are we looking for?” I whispered to Cora as soon as the door closed.
“If it’s anything like the genetic records my dad has to keep on the plant strains we grow, he should have to keep both a physical and digital copy. We won’t be able to get to the digital copy without a password, so we’ll have to find the paper copy of my medical records.” She answered, pulling open drawer after drawer of files.
It didn’t take long to find the records Dr. Ward kept on the people in the city, but finding Cora’s file was a much more difficult task. The information seemed to be stored in no particular order and took up multiple filing cabinets, drawers, and baskets around the room.
I was acutely aware that the longer our search lasted, the higher our chances of being discovered. “I’m not finding your information in here. Can you tell how these are organized?”
Cora shook her head. “You’d think he would at least alphabetize them. I have no idea how Dr. Ward works like this.” She said, skimming the last few files in one of the cabinets for her name. “Check the bottom drawer.” She suggested, moving on to the next filing cabinet.
Much to my surprise, the bottom drawer didn’t contain any medical files, but it was filled with several bags of liquid.
“Whoa! Check this out.”
Cora was at my elbow in a second. “Did you find it?” She prodded one of the bags. “What are those?”
I picked one up and held it for her to see. “Booze. A decent amount o
f it for one person. Looks like the doctor has a serious drinking problem.”
She took the bag from me. “Alcohol is illegal here. Where would he have even gotten this?”
“People who want these kinds of things always seem to find them.” I mused. “On the surface, you can find alcohol everywhere. You can still find hooch in places where it’s hard to find food.”
“I feel sorry for him,” Cora said. “It must be hard to keep a secret like that from everyone.”
I was struck by her compassion. Cora is such a caring person. If it weren’t for her taking care of me, I bet I wouldn’t be doing as well as I am. I might not even be alive. I owe her a lot.
“What are you-” Dr. Ward let the pill bottle he had fetched clatter to the ground as he realized what we had discovered. He rushed across the room at us, reaching Cora first. He ripped the bag from her hand, splattering its contents across the office floor, and grabbed her by the wrist. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
Cora kicked the doctor in the shin and attempted to twist free. “Let me go!” She yelled.
I reacted before I had a moment to think. I spun Dr. Ward around by the shoulder and punched him squarely in the nose. He released Cora and recoiled, falling back against the wall and shielding his face. When he pulled his hand away to look at us, I could see that his nose was bleeding heavily. The room was still except for Dr. Ward’s quiet whimpering.
Shit! His nose looks broken. “I’m sorry.” This guy brought me back from the brink of death, and I just paid him back by breaking his nose. “This isn’t how I wanted this to go.”
“How you wanted what to go?” He asked, exasperated. “Punching me in the face? Because I think you did a pretty good job of that.” He said, gesturing to the blood now running down his chin. “Making a mess of my office?” He asked, waving his hands at the spilled booze and the disheveled papers around the room. “Because from where I’m sitting you’ve done a great job of that! What exactly were you trying to accomplish?”
Cora grabbed the box of tissues Paul kept in his office and brought them over to him. He flinched as she dabbed at his nose, but she helped him staunch the bleeding.
He just grabbed at her a moment ago, and she’s already trying to care for him. I thought, relaxing my guard. It’s a shame she’s already spoken for. I thought as I watched her soothe the doctor.
“I know you changed some of the matches.” She told Dr. Ward gently. “I need to know if you changed mine.”
Dr. Ward’s eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know that?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I answered sternly, crossing my arms across my chest. “We just need to know. It’s important.”
“I did change your match.” He sighed, accepting another tissue from Cora. “Wrenna Greer wanted her son to marry into a more prestigious family, and she had caught me with-” Dr. Ward gestured to the putrid liquid that covered the floor. “So I set you up with Jarno in exchange for her silence.”
“Oh,” Cora said, turning to me. “I guess, I was supposed to be matched with Lonn.”
She doesn’t seem as happy as I thought she would. Maybe her fight with Lonn last night made her a little less eager to be with him? I almost smiled at the thought.
“What? Lonn Amici?” The doctor asked shaking his head. “No.” Dr. Ward got to his feet and headed to another set of files piled in a corner. He somehow managed to quickly pull a file labeled “Halax, Cora,” from the middle of the unkempt stack. “No, you were never paired with Mr. Amici. I have your original match here if you want to see it.” He offered the file to Cora.
I expected to see her lunge for the folder, determined to find out who her intended should have been, but instead, she stayed put. “I don’t need to see it.” Cora turned abruptly on her heel and headed for the door. “Thank you, Dr. Ward. I’ve already gotten what I needed.” I followed her out, leaving the bloodied doctor behind us.
“Are you alright?” I asked, hurrying to catch up with her.
She didn’t answer me.
“Hey!” I called. “I want to help, but I need to know what you want!” I grabbed her upper arm and used her own momentum to spin her around to face me, determined to find out what she was thinking.
Her eyes burned. She still didn’t answer me, but she did respond. She stepped closer to me and wrapped her free arm around my neck. The feel of her body pressed against me send my mind spinning. Since arriving in Departure my imagination had conjured up a few images of Cora and I alone together, but no figment could compare to the reality of our situation. Time slowed, and the world melted away around us. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips to mine, sending fire coursing through my veins.
When she pulled away all she said was, “More.”
I hardened, wanting to give her all of myself. I kissed her again. I want to make her scream my name. I want to make her forget about Lonn, and Jarno, and all this craziness. I ran my hands through her hair and gently pulled her head to the side so I could kiss my way down her neck.
That’s when we heard footsteps approaching. Cora tensed in my arms. The footfalls were close. Before I had time to react, Cora guided me to an inconspicuous spot near the entrance of the closest building. She pressed a finger to her lips.
Almost as soon as we reached the shadows, a security officer strutted along the street where we had just been standing. I held my breath as she strolled by, oblivious to our presence. As soon as the enforcer had rounded the corner, Cora laced her fingers through my own and nodded for us to continue.
As she pulled me along all I wanted to do was stop her, push her against a wall, and take her. Of course, I’ve done riskier things since I’ve arrived here. I thought, trying to justify doing yet another incredibly reckless thing. Unfortunately, my common sense prevailed, and I settled for watching the sway of Cora’s hips as we made a beeline back to her place.
As we headed back towards the Halax house, I knew we had taken an enormous risk by confronting Dr. Ward. I knew there could be dire consequences. But I also knew by the way Cora moved, by the way she smiled, and by the way the light in her eyes danced when she kissed me, that she was finally free of Lonn Amici.
Worth it.
Chapter 22
It was late by the time we started back for the night, and the lights had already been dimmed for curfew. We had a close call along the way, but so far our luck was holding. My dad is out tonight, supervising the night shift, and we’ve somehow avoided being caught by an enforcer. Still, I breathed easier after we crossed the threshold of my house.
“Do you think he’ll call security on us?” Wyatt asked as we made our way to my dad’s office. It was the first thing either of us had said since our kiss, and though it was an important question, it wasn’t one I wanted to think about.
“I have no idea,” I replied, genuinely unsure. “He probably doesn’t want to have a lot to do with security right now, given the liquid contraband stinking up his office.”
Wyatt’s face reddened just a touch. “Well, if he’s not going to sick the enforcers on us, he’ll have to think of a pretty convincing explanation as to why his nose suddenly looks broken.” His expression hardened, and he quickly changed the subject. “So, um, are you doing okay? I know you were hoping that you and Lonn were supposed to be paired up.”
“I’m not as disappointed as I thought I would be,” I answered. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and maybe Lonn and I were never meant to wind up together.” I looked down at my feet, nervous to admit to Wyatt how I’ve been feeling about him. “I always thought that finding the right person was just a matter of fate, but lately I’ve been thinking that it’s more a matter of choice. Last night I think Lonn made it pretty clear that he wants to choose Priya. As for me,” My heart pounded in my chest. I can’t tell if I’m more afraid of Wyatt rejecting me, or of having him return my feelings. “Lately I’ve been interested in someone else.”
“Really?” He asked with a grin. “That’s su
rprising.” He took a step closer to me, and I was suddenly aware of how alone we were. Wyatt is much taller, and stronger than I am, but the nearer he got, the safer I felt. Wyatt closed the space between us, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me in for a kiss. I drank the moment in, cherishing every touch. I kissed him desperately, biting gently at his lower lip. His hands moved from my waist to my ass, and he lifted me onto my father’s desk.
I squeaked, surprised at being suddenly, if momentarily, held aloft. Feeling how easily Wyatt had boosted me onto the desk sent a storm racing through me. I ran my fingers through Wyatt’s hair and kissed him hungrily. He tentatively cupped my breast through my shirt, and it gave me a thrill. I’ve never gone this far with anyone before. I felt a growing wetness between my thighs and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end with excitement.
Wyatt had positioned himself between my legs at the edge of the desk. He put a hand on my knee and traced upwards along the inseam of my shorts. By the time his hand reached the junction between my thighs, I was frantic for him to touch me. I pressed myself against his palm as he rubbed me through my clothes. I moaned happily into his shoulder as we settled into a rhythm that I appreciated.