Sara nodded enthusiastically and looked around, as if she might be forgetting her purse or something. She shrugged and giggled lightly to herself. “I guess I’m ready to go!”
Alessa turned to leave, but as she did, a mark on the wall caught her eye. When she looked closer, she realized the deep gouges carved into the concrete were letters – names, actually.
Her name.
“Sara, take Janie for a minute.”
Sara scooted up under Janie’s other shoulder.
Alessa dropped to her knees and examined the methodically scraped lines to be sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.
A-L-E-S-S-A.
The lights flashed over the wall once more.
And next to it, I-S-A-A-C.
Alessa. Isaac. And then again, a few inches away: Alessa. Isaac. And again, and again, and again.
With each flicker of the light, comprehension dawned over Alessa. The walls – every inch of them – were covered in Alessa’s and Isaac’s names. Joe had been here, all right.
Alessa reached forward, tracing her fingers over the gashes in wonder. The moment her fingertips brushed the rough surface of the wall, a powerful rush of feeling zapped through her body. Alessa closed her eyes, letting the thoughts and emotions run over her body like a cool summer rain.
What she saw brought tears to her eyes.
Joe knew he wasn’t going to make it out of here. He was scared and angry and confused, but there was one thing he’d been sure about:
Joe had wanted Alessa and Isaac to be together.
Alessa could see Joe’s final thoughts. Her own face, lit up with laughter. A young Isaac tumbling off his bike. And she could feel what he felt in that moment, hear what he was thinking.
He wanted Isaac and Alessa to take care of each other in his absence. He wanted them to be happy.
All the guilt that Alessa had been feeling the past several weeks melted away in that single moment. She had it in her power to give Joe exactly what he’d wanted – finally, she could love Isaac unreservedly, protect him, make him happy, just as Joe himself would have done. And she could accept Isaac’s love without condition in return.
Alessa brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a low sob of relief. As her lip brushed against the smooth metal of the ring at the top of her palm, she realized suddenly that she’d been thinking of everything all wrong. Joe was never the wedge between her and Isaac – he was the glue that held them together, the metal that bound her and Isaac into one.
How could she ever have lost sight of that simple truth? She promised herself – and Joe – that she never would again.
“Less – are you okay?” Janie breathed.
Alessa stood, nodding her head, her eyes still trained on the revelation on the wall in front of her. “Yes. Yes, I’m okay now. Let’s keep moving.”
The sirens continued to blare, but with Sara’s help, their progress toward the exit was much faster. They soon slipped out the side door unnoticed.
In the first dim light of morning, they snuck through the alleyway toward the sewer grate that would bring them to the rendezvous point.
Sliding underground behind Janie and Sara, Alessa caught sight of a vast brigade of soldiers – Paragon’s soldiers – assembling in the prison yard. A long caravan of vehicles snaked alongside their neat rows, loading man after man into armored trucks.
Her heart leapt to her throat as it dawned on her that all those soldiers were coming after her. Paragon had realized that something big was happening; they weren’t about to let the rebels go without a fight. And as long as Alessa and the people she loved were with the rebels, they’d be right in Paragon’s target.
It was time to execute the next phase of her plan.
35. FLIGHT
The hike through the sewers was long and winding and dark, but more frustrating for Alessa than anything was the fact that she finally had her sister by her side after all these months and she couldn’t talk freely about anything with Sara tagging along. Not about Joe, or Isaac, not about her new empath abilities – and most certainly not about her plans to steal away to safety, far away from the rebels. Now she knew how Janie must have felt on the drama last fall, to be so close and yet so distant.
Alessa had taken a few moments to fill Janie and Sara in on where they were headed, and both were eager to leave Paragon for the new base at Raptor. Alessa had known she’d have difficulty convincing Janie to flee the rebels, which is why she’d originally planned to trick her into coming. But seeing her sister again, the last thing she wanted to do was lie to her.
Plus, if she could get Janie on her side, the two of them might just be able to convince Isaac to see reason. Alessa would much rather Janie and Isaac come with her willingly, after all. But if she couldn’t find time to talk to Janie alone, it looked like she was going to have to go with the original plan of deception. Alessa could only hope that they’d forgive her later.
The other problem was that she hadn’t taken into account the possibility that Janie would be so weak. It was one thing to slip away into the woods in full health – but could Janie really make it in her condition? Isaac would help, of course, but there wasn’t much any of them could do if those creatures made a reappearance. Alessa didn’t think Janie had the strength to defend herself…
She was worried about her sister.
She seemed drawn and sullen – and tired, too tired. If it wasn’t for Sara, Alessa would have been practically dragging her through the sewer by now. Alessa had never seen Janie so beaten.
“Janie, how are you feeling?” Alessa spoke quietly to keep her voice from echoing through the tunnels – the last thing they needed was to attract attention from Paragon’s guards.
Janie blinked and nodded an “okay,” her breaths coming short and fast as she strained to keep upright on Alessa’s and Sara’s shoulders.
“Do you need a break?” Alessa stopped in place. “Sara, let’s take a quick break.”
“Sure thing,” Sara heaved. She looked like she could use a rest, too.
Alessa found a dry spot on the floor and helped Janie down so she could catch her breath. She crouched next to Janie and squeezed her bony shoulder, trying to ignore the bite of the sharp bones under the skin.
Janie’s eyes seemed miles away. Something was troubling her.
“Janie, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“No, no.” Janie shook her head. “Just tired. And – and disappointed.” She sighed and looked up at Alessa. “I promised Nikhil, Less. I promised he’d be okay. Now I don’t even know if he’s alive.”
“How were you even talking to him? You said you got him a note?”
She nodded. “I dug a hole between our cells.” She took a deep, shuddering breath and exhaled slowly. “It was a long shot, but I was going crazy in there by myself – I had to see if there was someone there. And then it turned out to be Nikhil, and I knew I had to do something.”
Alessa knew that Janie blamed herself at least partially for Nikhil’s disappearance off the show last fall, when his storyline had intersected with Alessa’s without the producers’ approval. Janie had known at the time that Alessa was meant for Isaac, and that the whole “ghost” aspect was a setup, but she hadn’t yet revealed any of this to Alessa and had even encouraged Alessa to date Nikhil, staying in character to go along with the love triangle she thought the producers were laying out.
But it turned out Nikhil was the star of a different drama altogether – one that was never meant to overlap with Alessa’s – and the producers had punished him for his unknowing transgression. Janie said she should have known, since she had a contact within the producers at the time.
“I taught him how to resist the stitch,” she explained. “I promised him we’d find a way to get him out, either from his cell or whatever drama he ended up on next. And then one day I just never heard back…”
“Maybe he did resist, and now he’s biding his time on another show waiting for you.”
&nbs
p; Janie sighed. “Maybe. I hope. All I know is that definitely wasn’t Nikhil in that cell.” She shook off a shiver.
Alessa chuckled. “No, the Nikhil I remember had a little more… charm.”
Janie smiled. “We should keep moving. I’m better now.”
Sara helped Alessa pull Janie to her feet, and the three of them headed on down the tunnels at a much swifter pace than before. Alessa guided them through the route she’d memorized to the abandoned section of town where the old train depot was located.
When they reached the right spot, Alessa led them up through a manhole that opened into what was once an underground railroad station. It had to be a hundred years since it was last used, but the rebels had brought it to life once more. The hushed chatter of hundreds of excited voices echoed down the hall as refugees crowded the platform, waiting for the arrival of whatever Carlos and Sato had rigged up to get them out of there. Alessa had never seen the entire rebel force assembled together – she was impressed.
After climbing from the sewer further back in the tunnel, Alessa, Sara, and Janie picked their way carefully down the tracks until they reached the platform and clambered up onto it. The wide, open room was abuzz, the air electrified with the tension of hope and fear. The planned hour of departure was drawing near, and everyone was clearly anxious to get going.
They worked their way through the crowd combing for familiar faces, Alessa searching for Isaac’s in particular. A handful of people Alessa didn’t recognize ran up to Janie, gushing about how happy they were to see her. It was clear to Alessa that Janie had really made an impact in the rebellion in the months that Alessa had been captured, and she was proud of her sister. She wondered if she would regret taking all of this away from her.
As they skirted past a crowd of stern-looking men – members of Carlos’s militia, Alessa suspected – they finally stumbled upon some faces they knew.
“Lizzie!” Sara shrieked, dropping Janie’s weight onto Alessa as she ran to embrace her friend from the sorority.
Regina and Michael – who’d been conferring intensely beside Lizzie – both dropped their conversation and smiled broadly at Alessa and Janie.
Regina strode to them and took Janie’s hand, turning to Alessa. “I see you found your sister. I’m so glad.” And then to Janie, “Welcome back.”
Janie lit up from within at the commander’s greeting. “I’m ready to get back to work, Regina.”
Regina grinned. “And you’ll have that chance quite soon. Take the next few hours to recuperate, and I’ll find you both when we reach our destination.”
Regina turned back to Michael, who gave Alessa and Janie a quick but enthusiastic wave, and a pang of guilt riddled Alessa’s chest. She would miss Michael.
But it was now or never – she was finally alone with her sister, and Janie seemed to be standing a little taller already. Maybe she’d be able to pull this off after all.
Alessa turned her back to their friends. “Janie,” she began in a hushed voice, “I need to talk to you about something.”
Alessa placed her arm around Janie’s shoulders and gently turned her to the side, facing away from the rebels for privacy. It was utter chaos on the platform at the moment – as long as they kept their voices low, they’d be able to speak in confidence.
Janie gave Alessa a puzzled look but followed her lead. “What’s going on?” she muttered.
Alessa hesitated. “I wasn’t going to give you a choice – since you owe me,” she twitched a meaningful eyebrow at Janie, “– but you don’t look like you’re in great shape at the moment, so I want to talk to you first.”
“Less, I told you, I’m fine. I just need some food and a good night’s rest and I’ll be good as new. Once we reach the base, I’m sure there will be plenty of opportunity to relax for once –”
Alessa shook her head. “That’s just it, Janie… we’re not going to Raptor.”
Janie scrunched up her face. “What do you mean we’re not going? Of course we’re going. We’re here, aren’t we?” She motioned at the crowded platform, all the rebels waiting to leave.
Alessa looked around furtively, to be sure no one was watching them. “We’re just here for Isaac. Once he comes, the three of us are heading out.”
Janie grimaced in confusion. “I don’t understand… Is this a special mission or something?”
Alessa sighed. “Something like that.” She bit her lip – she just couldn’t lie to her sister. “Listen, Janie. Things are bound to get messy for the rebels, and I want us out of here before they do. I stashed some supplies outside – we’ll grab them once Isaac gets here and then we’ll go.”
“We can’t just leave,” Janie protested, too loudly. “Not now.”
Alessa gave her a warning look. “Shh,” she mouthed.
“But I don’t want to leave,” Janie scowled. “We’re so close. We finally have a chance. I want to fight.”
“Please, Janie,” Alessa begged. “All I’ve ever done is try to keep you safe. I’ve never steered you wrong before, have I? Just trust me – it will be the best thing for all of us.”
“For you, maybe. You have Isaac, at least. Am I just supposed to be your guys’ sidekick for the rest of my life?”
Alessa rolled her eyes. “I’m sure eventually we’ll find some other survivors – this is just a temporary thing, until the dust settles with this whole war between the rebels and Paragon.”
“And what if the rebels lose? What if they lose because we’re not with them?”
Sighing, Alessa argued, “Do you really think that the three of us will make or break the rebels’ chances? I know Regina’s taken you under her wing, but please Janie – be realistic. Look how many people there are here. We won’t make a difference one way or the other – all we’ll do is put ourselves in unnecessary danger. It’s not worth the risk. Isaac and I already know we can make it on our own out there. We already got through the hardest part of winter, the disease appears to be gone, and all there really is to worry about is those creatures. Even them we’ve managed to evade thus far…”
Janie shook her head vehemently. “Even if I was on board with this – which I’m not,” she emphasized, “– Isaac will never go along with it.”
“I know, I know,” Alessa admitted. “That’s why we’re not going to tell Isaac –”
“Not going to tell me what?”
Alessa’s stomach jumped at the sound of his voice. She turned to find Isaac beaming over her shoulder, and he leaned in to give her a firm kiss on the lips. “I see your mission was a success,” he said, turning to Janie and picking her up in a bear hug. “Good to have you back, J.”
Janie smiled brightly at Isaac. “It’s good to be back.”
“Oh don’t I know it,” Isaac laughed. “If you remember, I spent my fair share of time in the luxurious accommodations of Paragon’s solitary unit.”
“I give it four lonely, dank, rat-gnawed stars,” Janie joked.
“At least,” Isaac agreed.
Alessa watched their banter with growing trepidation. Time was running out. Janie wasn’t convinced, and Isaac would never agree. How was she supposed to get them out of there? She knew she should have just conned them. Why did she have to let her conscience get to her?
“So what was I so rudely interrupting?” Isaac asked.
“Alessa wants to –”
Alessa cut off Janie’s tattling – she needed a few moments to figure things out. “Nothing, just catching up. How did things go for your team at the med center?” she asked. If she could keep Isaac talking it would buy her some time.
“Good, good. I got what I was looking for…”
“Prisoners?” Janie guessed.
“Well,” Isaac looked away briefly, “one prisoner – Lizzie, actually,” he explained.
“Oh, that’s great!” Janie added. “I was wondering where she came from.”
“– and a little something else,” Isaac continued. He glanced down the platform. “You’ll see
what in just a minute.”
Janie furrowed her brow.
“Oh, and –” he dropped his voice low. “– keep this quiet for now – I assume Regina will call a meeting about it, but I’m not sure if Lizzie told her yet. I overheard some pretty disturbing stuff at the hospital.”
“About the stitch?” Janie asked.
Isaac shook his head. “About the virus.”
The virus? Alessa paused her internal plotting and perked up.
“Apparently the leaders of the Ruling Class – the Engineers, they call themselves – want to call some kind of truce, so they were keeping Lizzie hostage and brainwashing her with all this information about how Paragon came about and why things are the way they are, why whatever they did was justified…”
“Brainwashing her?” Alessa interjected.
“Well, they claim they were just nursing her back to health after some injuries and ‘explaining’ their side of things so Lizzie could represent them fairly in peace negotiations, but,” he rolled his eyes, “I don’t buy it.”
Isaac was an avowed skeptic, but Alessa was a little more optimistic. Was it possible that Paragon really did want to call a ceasefire?
“Anyway – are you listening, Less? This is the important part,” he admonished.
Having gotten Alessa’s attention, he dropped his voice even lower. “They admitted to releasing the virus.” He let the words hang there for a moment while Alessa and Janie tried to grasp the implications of what he’d said.
“You mean, like, by accident?” Janie suggested.
Isaac very slowly and deliberately turned his head from one side to the other and back. “They wanted to kill everyone.”
Janie and Alessa gasped in unison.
“‘A reset’ they called it, to save the planet supposedly. This one guy – the Developer – he used a computer algorithm to pick who should be vaccinated.”
Alessa’s head was throbbing. It couldn’t be. She knew Paragon leader’s – these Engineers – had done a lot of questionable things on the compound. But driving the entire human race to extinction?
Was anyone capable of that?
“Wait, wait, wait…” Janie was still flabbergasted. “Does that mean we were all saved?”
Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) Page 23