The Gender Lie

by Bella Forrest

  Violet let out a gasp and I reluctantly let go of Jay and turned toward her. Violet had been busy during my chat with Jay. All the items from the bag were laid out in an orderly fashion. Jay had done well—he had grabbed three pistols with several magazines of ammunition and two boxes of ammo. He had also grabbed five of the aerosol canisters that helped keep the vicious creatures of The Green at bay, as well as several tins of food, a few pieces of fresh fruit, two lightweight blankets, a knife, three flashlights, a compass, and three canteens.

  Yet Violet’s attention was completely on the two identical silver cases sitting in front of her, gleaming in the muted light. “How did you know to grab these?” she whispered, her eyes coming up to stare at Jay.

  Jay looked up at Tim, who flushed and ran a hand over his hair. “I told him—they’re important.”

  She stood up, her brows drawn together. “But how did you know to grab the one in the cabinet?” she asked, taking a step closer.

  Tim shrugged. “You’re sneaky. Also… don’t like Desmond. No egg for her.”

  Violet grinned and kissed her brother on the cheek. “You did really good, baby brother,” she announced with a smile. “And you, Jay.” She rested a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I just want you to know how brave I think you are. And I want to thank you for believing in us.”

  Jay blushed again, but beamed at her, his eyes glowing from her praise. Licking his lips, he tentatively wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug and she returned it warmly. The entire exchange was touching, but I could feel time marching merrily forward without us.

  We needed to get going.

  “We should keep moving,” Jay said, echoing my thoughts, as he took a step back. He looked over his shoulder, back the way he had come. “I spent some time laying a few false trails, but it won’t buy us a lot of time… Maybe an hour or two at the most.”

  “I agree,” I said. “Everyone drink some water, but not too much—you don’t want it sloshing around in your belly while you run. Once we’re finished, we’ll begin moving again. Violet, help me repack the bag. The three of us will take turns carrying it.” I looked at Ms. Dale, who nodded at me, her face reflecting her tension and eagerness to continue our journey.

  “The five of us,” contradicted Tim, his voice and stance carrying a stubbornness that I was beginning to recognize as a trait in the Bates family.

  I smiled and nodded. “All right—the five of us,” I agreed. I handed the water bottles out to Ms. Dale, Tim, and Jay, allowing them an opportunity to drink first as Violet and I repacked the bag. Within minutes, we were running again.

  We had packed the bag well—the contents weren’t shifting around or bouncing against my back as I moved, which was a bonus. While I ran, I turned my mind toward Desmond’s plan and the implications it might have on our world if she succeeded.

  Who knew what Desmond’s political aims really were? She had only been clear on what she didn’t like—how could someone so tyrannical and cold-blooded be different than the regime before? I didn’t think it was possible or likely that much would change—instead I feared things would get worse in her grab for power. After all, if she was willing to use her own sons to carry out her dirty work, who knew what she would be willing to do to maintain power.

  Power—there it was again. It baffled me how much people were willing to do and sacrifice in order to gain and keep it. There was a depraved lunacy in the pursuit of it that spoke to the darker side of humanity. I was content without power, so it was hard for me to imagine why anyone would go to such great lengths to acquire it.

  That didn’t stop me from appreciating the irony of the whole situation. Here we were, so-called enemies of Matrus, tearing through The Green in a mad dash to save the very institution that had labeled us as such. Well, I wasn’t sure of my status, but I was pretty sure they didn’t expect a Patrian male to attempt to save Matrian lives. However, I was likely an enemy of Patrus at this point—I had failed in my mission to return Violet to Patrus to face justice for her crimes. And that meant that I was also working to save Patrus from a senseless war that it had no idea was coming.

  It was enough to make me chuckle, and help me keep going in spite of the exhaustion that was sending warning signals rolling through my body that I needed to stop and sit down.

  The sun had long since faded, and we had paused shortly before to pull out the flashlights that Jay had provided. Now we ran in pairs, with one person holding a flashlight to illuminate our path. Occasionally, Jay and Tim would break off to help disguise the trail to buy us more time. We paused more than once to drink water, catch our breaths, or pass the bag. Even with all that activity, the hours slipped by in a tense silence with no sounds save for our footsteps and labored breathing.

  The steady sound was lulling us into a false sense of security. After hours of not seeing anyone other than Jay, we were beginning to nurture the hope that we had somehow lost any pursuers. I had thought it through, and I was fairly confident that the boys would have likely stopped when night fell. The forest was a scary place during the day, and for all of their enhancements, they were still young enough to fear the dark and the creatures that inhabited it.

  It turned out that we were all wrong on that account.

  Just as I began to hear something new over our falling footsteps, a shout came up from the forest behind us. I skidded to a stop, my muscles protesting the sudden change in status. Whipping around, I cast my flashlight toward the forest behind us; I was breathing heavily behind my mask, sweat dripping down my face and chest.

  Ms. Dale had already pulled her gun, much to my annoyance, and Violet’s hand was twitching, like she wanted to hold hers. I held my breath, straining to hear.

  The seconds turned into a minute as I listened intently, my muscles twitching from overuse. A faint rustling drew my attention, and I took a step forward, staring intently at the intermingled vines, branches, leaves, logs, and bushes, trying to make out anything through the wild chaos of the forest.

  I heard the rustling again, drawing closer. Something was behind us, approaching at an alarming speed. I turned back to the others and nodded.

  “Run. As fast as you can. Get to the river.”

  Violet and the others nodded and turned, beginning to run in spite of the clear exhaustion that was stamped into them. Fear was a powerful motivator, however, and they ran, ignoring their aches and pains with one singular goal in mind.

  I followed closely behind, keeping an eye out behind us. The new sound I had begun to hear was exactly what I had hoped—the river. Hopefully the bridge was still there, but who knew how long we would have to search the banks before we found it. I wasn’t even sure if it was further to the north or south, and I only had Alejandro’s word that it was there.

  Still, I clung to the hope that we would see it and be able to cross it before the boys behind us caught up.

  Violet was the first to spot the river, and let out an excited, albeit ragged, cry. “Over here,” she shouted, her boots kicking up clumps of earth. I pelted after her, coming to a stop a few feet away from the water that seemed to glow. The trees parted here, allowing the light of the moon to illuminate the banks of the river.

  I quickly scanned up and down the river and gave an audible sigh of relief when I saw a gigantic overturned tree connecting the two banks a few hundred feet north of us. “There,” I said, pointing to the natural bridge.

  The others began racing toward it. The tree was ancient—probably the oldest thing in the forest, given its size. Even sideways, the trunk was wider than I was tall by three to four feet, and it stretched all the way across the water.

  Violet was in the process of scaling the trunk to get on top when a sharp crack of a breaking tree branch came from the dense tree line directly behind us. I didn’t stop to look, just began shoving our group up the trunk as quickly as I could. I climbed up behind them, about to urge them to run, when I realized I didn’t have to. They weren’t wasting any time.

  Norm
ally, a crossing like this would be slow going. Even though the trunk wasn’t submerged in the water, the tree trunk was slick—one wrong move would send us into the water. However, we didn’t have the luxury of being cautious. We ran toward the other side. About halfway across, I heard an excited shout, and turned back to see two boys break through the tree line and leap up onto the tree trunk, not even breaking their stride.

  Adrenaline surged through me, and I raced across to the other side. As I approached, I looked at Tim and Jay. “Push the trunk in the water,” I bellowed as I brought myself to a full stop, whirled around, and dropped to a knee. I pulled my gun and aimed at the boys who were still crossing. Immediately Jay and Tim began pushing, and I could feel Jay’s impossible strength as the tree that likely hadn’t moved in a long time shifted slightly.

  The boys opposite me felt it too, and froze, their eyes bulging. I exhaled, trying to find the air to shout again. “Go back, boys, or we will defend ourselves.”

  The tree moved again, rolling slightly under my knee, and I used one hand to steady myself, staring down the barrel at them. The boys took in me, the gun, Jay and Tim, and finally took a slow step back, much to my relief.

  The log shifted again, and I met their gaze solidly. “Run,” I said.

  They ran.

  I held my position for a moment longer, and then staggered to my feet and moved toward the group, dropping down heavily on the ground. I moved next to Tim and Jay and pressed a shoulder to the tree, struggling against the weight of it. Violet and Ms. Dale shoved in next to us, and together we strained. The log resisted at first, but under our combined efforts, it shifted slightly. We continued to push for several more moments, our strength fading, when suddenly it began rolling so fast that I almost fell face first into the mud.

  The massive tree rolled into the river with a splash, and we hurried backward to avoid the toxic water.

  I looked at everyone and smiled. “Well… that was easy, right?”

  Everyone groaned except Violet, who rolled her eyes at me—and then groaned.

  38

  Violet

  Hours had passed since we helped Jay shove the giant tree trunk into the river. Viggo had led us several hundred feet down the riverbank before announcing that this was where we’d stay for the night. All of us had laid out the blankets and eaten some food, and I took first watch. I woke up Tim for the next shift, and then promptly passed out.

  We probably would’ve remained sleeping had it not been for a loud voice calling Viggo’s name. I jerked awake with a start, managing to wake Viggo in the process.

  “What?” he said as he bolted upright. I stood up slowly and moved over to the riverbank, looking down it. Ms. Dale was already there with her gun drawn, indicating that I had only gotten about two hours of sleep. A bright light was shining from the bow of a boat, blinding me with its intensity. I raised my arm, shielding my eyes from the light.

  “Who’s there?” I called, holding the gun against my thigh and slightly behind me.

  There was a metallic scraping sound as the light panned right and away. Blinking my eyes to rid them of the black spots dancing across them, I slowly focused on the image of a boat drifting closer. As I squinted, I saw a familiar head of white hair, topped by an equally familiar cap.

  I started to smile when I saw Alejandro’s face, and then hesitated when I began to wonder what he was doing there.

  Until his smile broadened when he saw Viggo, his eyes glittering with merriment.

  “My boy!” he crowed, and Viggo laughed. I stared at the two and a massive click fell into place as I recalled Alejandro’s missing friend. I shook my head, chuckling at my own idiocy.

  “Hey, Alejandro. I see you got my message,” Viggo called, stepping up next to me and dropping a casual arm over my shoulder.

  Alejandro’s smile grew even bigger—which I didn’t think was possible—as he took in Viggo’s action. I felt my cheeks grow hot under his scrutiny, and gave him a little wave.

  “Hello, Alejandro,” I said.

  “Hello, girl. It’s good to see you again! Who’s that with you? Two boys… a dog… and a lady. Hello, ma’am. Gentlemen. Canine.” He whipped his hat off his head and bowed deeply. “By the way… does anyone know who tried to sink me by throwing a massive log into the river?”

  Viggo chuckled and shrugged. “It’s a good tale, but one better told on the move, wouldn’t you say?”

  Alejandro guffawed and nodded. “Well then, stop lollygagging on the shore and let’s get a move on! You know how I love a good story…”

  An hour later, we were all lounging on the boat, save Jay and Tim, who were sleeping below in Alejandro’s room. Alejandro had listened intently as Viggo filled him in on everything—and I did mean everything, from me coming to Patrus to steal the egg to the events leading up to now.

  Alejandro nodded, and shot a few of us some considering looks, but remained quiet until the end of Viggo’s story. Once Viggo had finished, Alejandro took a moment for himself, silently considering the implications of everything.

  “So, let me get this straight—Violet stole a stolen egg with a partner who tried to kill both of you. Violet flew that partner’s flying machine into The Green and crashed. Meanwhile, Viggo gets assigned to hunt her down, but in the midst of this, Viggo shoots Ms. Dale, then y’all find a building built mostly underground. An abandoned building, save for some one thousand boys who were experimented on and given advanced abilities. You were discovered by a rebel faction, led by Violet’s now dead partner’s mother, and she wants to manufacture a war between Matrus and Patrus so that she can destroy both and assume control over both nations, uniting them under her command?”

  “Yes,” I said, nodding emphatically. “That about sums it up.”

  Alejandro blew a breath of air out of his mouth, fogging up the plastic visor for a few seconds. Cursing, he whipped it off his face, used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe it clean, and pushed it back on. He then leaned forward and gave us all a look.

  “This is serious. Patrus is already buzzing like an angry wasp’s nest.”

  “What do you mean?” Ms. Dale asked.

  Alejandro studied her for a moment and then sighed. “After the bombing of a storage facility, rumors started up, speculating who was responsible. With no one coming forward to take credit, the rumors shifted toward agents of Matrus, trying to undermine the Patrian regime. A few days later, there was another explosion—this time at a hotel hosting a meeting between government officials. Only two were killed, but several more were injured. Later, a bomb was discovered on a boat that was supposed to carry King Maxen that day. The next day, another bomb detonated in one of the hospitals. In one of the children’s wards. A male children’s ward.”

  I felt suddenly nauseated. It had to be Thomas, working under Desmond’s orders. Possibly even with other Liberators—ones I hadn’t met or who were working for Desmond from the inside. All those people… all those children. It was beyond cruel.

  Alejandro reached out with one hand and took my other hand into his own, his eyes glistening from unshed tears. “So, what I mean to say is… how can I help?”

  Viggo shook his head, his face pale. “This is the first step of Desmond’s propaganda war,” he said. “Her plan is to make it look like retaliation for the attacks on Patrus. It’s a tinder keg about to explode.” I could feel the tension radiating from him, and reached out with my other hand to take his, squeezing it gently.

  “We couldn’t have known,” I whispered, and Viggo met my gaze. I could see his eyes were also glistening. I stared back at him. “We have to make this better. We’re going to, right?”

  Viggo stood up and walked to the starboard rail, looking out on The Green as we slid past it. “How long would it take us to get to Matrus?” he asked, turning to face Alejandro.

  Alejandro stood up and pulled his handheld out of his pocket. “I can get you there in… twenty-six hours,” he said.

  I grimaced. It was cutting things
close, but it was the best we could do. I looked to Viggo, and he nodded. “That’ll be great, Alejandro,” he said, reaching out for the older man’s hand.

  Alejandro clasped hands with him, and they shook on it.

  I looked over at Ms. Dale, who was wearing an expression I didn’t recognize. “Ms. Dale? What’s wrong?”

  Startled, Ms. Dale turned to me, pushing a few locks of her hair away from her mask. “Something… feels off. This feels too simple for Desmond… I fear that we’re missing something.”

  I frowned, considering her words. “You think there’s something deeper going on? Some deeper game she’s playing that we’re not seeing?”

  Ms. Dale shook her head, her expression one of frustration. “I don’t know… it just feels off. I don’t have anything to offer as proof, Violet. Just a gut feeling.”

  I fell silent, unsure of how to respond. However, I had a sneaking suspicion that Ms. Dale was right as well. This plan was grand, and impressive, but I also felt like something was off.

  But experience had taught me that wild speculation would get one nowhere. Until we knew differently, we had to act on the information we had, and pray that it would help prevent a war.

  39

  Violet

  I stood holding Viggo’s hand as crowds of people pushed past us, making their way to the temple. We had arrived a little earlier than expected. Docking had been… interesting. Ms. Dale had used her credentials to get us past the inspection officials, claiming that it was under Queen Elena’s direct order that we be allowed in, quietly and without any whisper of our appearance. I had kept my head down as she aggressively, but expertly, handled the situation.

  With a final look of longing, Viggo dropped my hand and disappeared into the throngs of people, mostly women, who were making their way into the Temple of the Moon. I watched him leave, heading for the line of men filed up on one side, and turned to Ms. Dale, who offered me a tight, nervous smile.