Rebel

by Amy Tintera

  “Then we should eliminate you,” I said slowly. “There’s no room here for a human who doesn’t perform well.”

  His mouth opened and closed, panic in his eyes at his own words being thrown back at him. “I . . . I can . . .”

  “So you don’t think I should eliminate you, then.” My grip on his collar was so tight he couldn’t breathe anymore, and he clawed desperately at my fingers.

  “Callum.”

  I looked up at the sound of Riley’s voice to see a blond head crawling out of a room a few doors down.

  Wren.

  Relief washed over me with such force that I started running for her right away, forgetting for a moment about Officer Mayer. I turned to see him scurrying down the hallway, throwing terrified glances over his shoulder. Riley and Beth were right behind me, the human forgotten behind us. Riley fired off two shots, but Mayer was already pushing through the door to the stairwell. Beth made a move like she was going to follow, but two officers burst through the door, and she and Riley started shooting at them.

  Wren lifted her head, her eyes widening as she spotted me. I scooped her off the ground, the gun she’d been holding falling from her hand as I propped her against the wall. A woman lay dead in the room behind her. The officers at the stairwell slumped to the ground, and Riley glanced over his shoulder at me with a nod.

  I pushed Wren’s hair out of her face, keeping my other arm around her waist to hold her upright. “Are you rescuing yourself?”

  She laughed weakly. She was pale and dirty, old blood covering her clothes. Her eyes didn’t focus quite right, and I was fairly certain if I let her go she would drop to the ground.

  “I might need some help,” she said.

  “The Reboot rooms are all locked.” I tightened my grip around Wren’s waist as I listened to Addie’s voice in my ear. “They’ve changed the program. We can’t get them out. And the guards keep coming up here. We can’t hold them off much longer.”

  I cursed under my breath, and Wren tilted her head curiously. “I’ve got Wren,” I said into my com. “Are they ready in front?”

  “Yes,” Addie said, a hint of a relief in her voice. “The extraction team is ready there. We have to leave the Reboots for now, though. HARC reinforcements are coming and we don’t have enough people to take the whole building.”

  “All right,” I said with a sigh, turning to Riley and Beth. “We have to go. They can’t get the Reboots out.”

  “We can break the doors,” Beth said, reaching for her gun. “There’s enough of us. We’ll smash them in.”

  “Addie said there are HARC reinforcements coming. They’re barely holding the guards off as it is.”

  Beth cast an annoyed look at Riley. “We can’t even try?”

  Riley peered down the hallway. “We’re going to go to the Reboot rooms and look, okay? Get her out of here.” He and Beth took off for the stairway at the other end of the hall.

  I swept Wren up into my arms. “You did this with two Reboots and a few humans,” I muttered.

  “Barely,” she said with a cough.

  I talked rapidly into my com, telling Addie that Riley and Beth were on the way to the sixth floor. Wren wrapped her arms around my neck as I ran for the staircase.

  I bolted down to the first floor and Wren only lifted her head as we entered the lobby. The front doors were broken; a few dead HARC officers lay scattered around the front desk. I scanned the space, searching for other Reboots, and found Isaac waving frantically at the front door.

  “Let’s go!” he yelled.

  The sound of gunfire exploded through my com, followed by Addie’s voice. “It’s chaos at the Reboot rooms. There’re too many guards.”

  “Get out,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest. “We’ll come back for them.”

  I couldn’t understand her response through the screaming and blasts. Gritting my teeth, I tightened my arms around Wren, pushing through the doors and onto HARC’s front lawn as our shuttle began to descend.

  Thumps sounded behind me and I turned to see Reboots raining down from fourth- and fifth-story windows. A few more were running through the lobby, and Isaac ushered them all out and took off across the lawn.

  A sea of black-clothed HARC officers followed them.

  I ducked down, trying to protect Wren’s head with mine as bullets whizzed by all around me. Riley appeared at my right side, limping on an obviously broken leg, his gray shirt covered in blood splatters.

  “Beth?” I called as we ran.

  He shook his head with a grim look.

  “Addie?” I said, panic making its way into my voice.

  He pointed and I threw a glance over my shoulder to see Addie running behind Gabe, trying to block any bullets before they hit him.

  The shuttle landed and I hustled inside, pressing my back into a corner as I slid to the ground with Wren in my arms. Reboots piled in around me, bleeding and talking loudly. There weren’t enough, and I craned my neck as I tried to see if more were coming. There were a few stragglers on the lawn, but had we lost everyone else? We’d come in with sixty and we were leaving with what? Thirty? Forty? Plus one more.

  I pressed my lips to Wren’s cheek and ran my hand into her hair as I let out a shaky sigh.

  “You terrified me,” I said, breathing heavily.

  She smiled, leaning into my neck. “I terrify lots of people.”

  I wrapped my arms around her tighter, and a scuffle at the shuttle doors made me lean over. We were lifting off the ground, and I saw Addie’s face, tight with fear. Her hands were covered in blood, pressed into the chest of someone. I stretched my neck to see.

  Gabe.

  “What do we do?” Addie asked, looking around frantically. The Reboots exchanged baffled expressions. “Who knows what to do with a gunshot to a human?”

  THIRTY-TWO

  WREN

  I SHIFTED AGAINST SOMETHING WARM AND SOLID AS I WOKE UP. MY vision was tinged with purple, a side effect of something Suzanna and Officer Mayer had given me, and I squinted at the glass wall in front of me. I took in a sharp breath.

  I was in a HARC facility.

  “It’s okay.” Callum’s voice was in my ear, his arm looping around my stomach before I could jump away. “We’re in the Austin facility. HARC’s not here anymore.”

  I slowly pulled away from him, blinking as spots appeared in my vision with the movement. I was weak and hungry and my body didn’t feel quite right.

  We were in a Reboot room, on one of the beds. The other one was empty, and the room was bare except for the beds and a dresser. The facility was deserted outside the glass wall, but I could hear the nearby murmur of voices.

  Callum had dark circles under his eyes and spots of blood on his white T-shirt, but he smiled widely at me and I crawled into his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he pulled me close.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, extracting myself and looking down at my dirty clothes. “I’m gross.”

  “No you’re not.” He scooped me back into his lap. “I think you look pretty good for what you went through the past three days.”

  I moaned against his shoulder. “Was it only three days? It felt like a hundred.”

  His arms tightened around me. “Yeah, it did.”

  We sat in silence for several minutes, the sounds of people talking drifting into the room. I finally pulled away enough to see his face.

  “So you want to explain how we’re hanging out in an empty HARC facility?”

  “After you went missing, I gathered up the Reboots and we stormed the city. Got HARC to leave. And we figured you’d head here if you could, so we stayed.”

  I nodded. “Well, I tried.”

  “I know. Addie told me.”

  “Which HARC facility was I at?”

  “New Dallas. We tried to free all the Reboots there, but . . .” A pained look crossed his face. “We didn’t have a lot of Reboots and no human support. We couldn’t get the doors unlocked.” He pushed my hair back w
ith a small smile. “But the point of the mission was to get you, so I’d say it worked.”

  “Are all the humans in Austin gone?” I asked in confusion.

  He shook his head. “No. HARC ordered them all to New Dallas, but lots stayed here.”

  “Ah. They just didn’t want to be part of a Reboot rescue mission.”

  “Freeing Reboots is no longer their main priority.” He rolled his eyes and scooted off the bed. “Anyway. Are you hungry? I snagged you some food from the stash downstairs.”

  “I’m starving. I haven’t eaten since the reservation.” I slid off the bed and quickly realized standing was not the best idea. My legs were shaking and the world started to tilt again. I grasped the edge of the bed and quickly plopped down on the ground.

  “You okay?” Callum sat down in front of me with two pieces of bread and a jar of peanut butter. He dipped the knife into the peanut butter and spread it across one of the pieces of bread, holding it out to me when he finished.

  “I’m fine.” I took a big bite and then another.

  “You passed out in the shuttle. I was a little worried. They didn’t give you something we need an antidote for, did they?” He cracked a smile. “Although, there are a few left upstairs. We could just start giving you stuff.”

  I moaned. “No thank you. I’m fine. I think I’ve had enough weird HARC drugs to last a lifetime.”

  “All right. But if you try to eat me, I’m going to go grab a few.”

  I laughed and took the second piece of bread he offered me. “So, the humans. It must be going okay, considering you’re all living here together.”

  Callum’s face hardened as he leaned back on his hands. “Not really. The rebels are mad Micah betrayed them and most of the other humans are probably only tolerating us because they have to.”

  I raised my eyebrows, surprised. “Have you seen Micah since you left?”

  “No. I’m thinking that can’t be a good sign. Who knows what kind of revenge he’s planning?” He leaned forward, reaching for another piece of bread as I finished my second. “I think you were right. Maybe we should go.”

  “Before we get everyone out of the facilities?”

  “I don’t see how we can. We lost even more Reboots because of my stupid plan, and the humans don’t care what happens to us. You were right.”

  “Your plan wasn’t stupid,” I said softly, taking another piece of bread from him. “Worked out well for me.”

  “Yes,” he said. “And thank goodness. I think I would have lost my mind if I’d lost you.” His eyes met mine. “But you were right. It isn’t worth the risk. I just want to leave with you and let the humans figure this out for themselves. Is it really our problem?”

  His voice was heavy, his shoulders slumped, and I sort of missed the overly optimistic Callum, even if he’d driven me crazy at the reservation.

  “The humans were never going to come around right away,” I said. “And don’t pretend like you’re totally okay with running off and abandoning everyone. You’re not.”

  “But I insisted we stay and you got hurt and—”

  “I’m fine,” I said with a frown. “And I made my own choices. I could have taken off by myself if I wanted.”

  “We both knew you weren’t going to do that. You like me too much.”

  I laughed as he grinned at me. “True.”

  His mood shifted and he shrugged, eyes downcast. “But I think you were right. They hate us. They’re not helping us.”

  “They’re scared,” I said. “They got rid of HARC and now they want to stay and not worry about anyone else. I can sympathize.”

  He expression turned incredulous. “Are you seriously arguing for the humans right now?”

  “I . . .” I trailed off, considering how much easier it would be to agree with Callum and take off. It’s what I wanted, just a few days ago.

  And it felt wrong now.

  “I was thinking,” I said softly. “The night before Addie got strung up at the reservation, she asked me to help her. I just blew her off. I didn’t want to stick my neck out and she got hurt. And we both got dropped from a shuttle.” I glanced at the bed on the other side of the room. “With Ever, it was sort of the same. I had an opportunity to help her, and I didn’t even try to fight for it. I did what I always do, which is to follow orders and keep my head down.”

  “Ever’s death isn’t your fault,” Callum said.

  “I know. It’s HARC’s fault. But that doesn’t mean I don’t still feel guilty about it.”

  He reached for my hand. “I didn’t know that.”

  I ran my fingers over his. “I’m tired of HARC controlling everything and thinking they can treat us like this. The first time it got better was when I finally got up off my ass and fought for you. So let’s do it. I’m ready.”

  He laughed softly, looking at me with happy, hopeful eyes. “Are you sure? The rebels really aren’t on our side anymore.”

  “Let’s just go talk to them,” I said. “If they won’t help, we’ll figure something else out.”

  He nodded, squeezing my hand. “Okay.”

  “But not right now,” I said, glancing down at my dirty clothes. “I could really use a shower first. Does the water still work here?”

  “It does. HARC cut the power, but we got it back up.” He stood and offered me his hand. “Gabe got some people working on it before we left. He got shot in New Dallas, but Tony thinks he’s going to be okay.”

  I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. I vaguely remembered a commotion in the shuttle and someone yelling about a human.

  “Hop on,” he said, leaning down and gesturing to his back. “I’ll give you a ride.”

  I felt steadier on my feet after the food, but the world was still swaying. I gave Callum a grateful look and hoisted myself onto his back, wrapping my arms around his neck.

  He walked into the hallway. The rooms we passed were empty until we turned a corner. There was a group of Reboots standing in the hallway ahead, and more gathered in some rooms. I recognized a few and they waved at me.

  “This isn’t everyone, is it?” I asked, twisting around as Callum reached the stairwell. There were maybe twenty or thirty Reboots here.

  “No, most of them stayed in the city. Took over houses and apartments humans vacated. Some of them built tents. Said it creeped them out to be in here.”

  Maybe it should have creeped me out, but it didn’t. Not now that HARC was out. A HARC facility had been my home for five years. It felt familiar. And safe, oddly enough.

  “But we lost some in New Dallas,” he said softly. “Beth. A few other Austin Reboots.”

  I squeezed his shoulders gently. I hadn’t really known Beth or any of them, but I knew it must have been hard for him to lose people on a mission he’d been in charge of.

  Callum turned into the girls’ shower and gently set me down on the ground. It was similar to the Rosa facility, with stalls lined up and curtains down every row. I opened the shelf to my right and found a small stack of towels.

  “Oh, I have some of your clothes,” Callum said, stepping backward. “You mind waiting a minute? I’ll grab them.”

  I nodded and he disappeared out the door. I slowly walked across the tile floor and sank down in front of one of the shower stalls.

  It was eerily quiet, the only sound a leaky tap dripping water somewhere. The showers had always been a source of discomfort for me. I’d hated watching the Reboots run around, flirting and laughing, half-naked.

  It seemed silly now to judge them when they were simply trying to make the best of a terrible situation. I ran my fingers over my scars through my shirt. It really seemed ridiculous to worry about my scars so much. I had probably made a bigger deal out of them by being so weird about it.

  The door opened and Callum sauntered in, a bag in his hand. He set it down next to me. “It’s just some of your stuff from the reservation.”

  “Thank you.” I grasped the edge of the shower stall to help m
e to my feet.

  “I’m going to go shower on the other side,” he said, taking a step back. “You okay by yourself?”

  I nodded and he smiled at me before turning away. “Callum.” I hooked my fingers into the collar of my shirt before I could change my mind and pulled the material down to expose the center of my chest.

  He turned around, surprise coloring his features as he registered the state of my shirt. He glanced up at my face, then back down to the staples that stretched across my skin before disappearing inside my bra. He looked for several seconds, then met my eyes.

  “I’m sort of disappointed,” he said, his voice amused. “I thought they’d be bigger.”

  I burst out laughing, dropping my hands from my shirt. He took two big steps forward and ran a hand under my chin as he leaned down to kiss me.

  “Thank you for letting me see,” he said quietly, more seriously.

  “Thanks for wanting to see.”

  “Heck yeah, I want to see.” He leaned forward, eyes on my shirt. “Can I see again right now?”

  I grinned, rising up on my toes to kiss him again. He laughed against my lips and I melted into his arms, making the decision to forget about the insanity around us for as long as possible.

  THIRTY-THREE

  CALLUM

  I WALKED ACROSS THE FRONT LAWN OF THE AUSTIN HARC facility that evening, fingers laced through Wren’s. After a shower, more food, and several hours’ rest, she had finally healed fully and looked like her usual slightly scary self.

  Well, almost. She caught me watching her and smiled, an easy, relaxed smile. She hadn’t talked about her experiences the last few days much, but it was like they’d unburdened her in some way instead of adding to the weight on her shoulders. She seemed lighter, happier. She’d even whipped off her shirt to let me see her scars again earlier, when I’d jokingly asked.

  I’d wanted to lay low in the HARC facility for the night, but she’d really wanted to go see the rebels.

  I wasn’t sure what to make of it. Part of me was happy she’d come around; the other part wanted to scoop her up and make a run for it before she got hurt again. But she seemed so calm and pleased about her decision that I’d dropped the idea of leaving when she refused a second time. Despite my annoyance with the humans, I had to admit I was relieved she’d changed her mind about staying to help.