“You cannot just make these decisions without discussing them with everyone else,” snarls Reznor. “I am the leader of the Grounders, and you are just… You are…” he pauses and thinks a second. “Just because you are the Chancellor’s son in Purenet, it doesn’t give you any authority over us. You are the least experienced and least worthy person here. Except maybe for Lowell and Hayden.”
“Hey,” say Lowell and Hayden at the same time.
His words are like a slap in the face. “We don’t have time to discuss it!” I insist, aware that every second we waste here means we could miss catching that ship.
“You can’t just throw yourself into a revolution and hope it works. It takes planning,” says Reznor. “Why would Cueva even help the Grounders, anyway? What’s in it for them? Why would they want to be ripped out of their cozy, safe lives?”
“The lives of Cueva people are hell,” says Lowell. “If we’re going to persuade them, we need to start as soon as possible.”
“I’m not saying you just raise an army and charge,” I say. “Go to Cueva, persuade the people, make a plan there, then wait for my signal.” I throw him one of the spare watches I’d picked up from the Caribes’ house. “We have to wait for the right moment. This is bigger than just Purenet now. We need to ignite a movement in all the Sanctions, and take on the Emperor himself. We have to strike all at once. When we’re ready, I’ll message you on the watch.”
“This is a suicide mission,” Reznor growls.
“Since when did you care if it was a suicide mission?” I ask.
Before Reznor can speak, Spiro does. “Dax is right. We will no longer live under the control of the Sanctions.”
Reznor looks at Spiro—the old warrior that is willing to die in battle—and knows that he has to agree to this no matter how much he doesn’t want to. “Fine,” says Reznor. “But you owe me big time for this!”
I breathe deeply with relief. There is no way I could do this without them.
“We must go now,” says Spiro. “I’ll show you the only way you will be able to reach that ship without being seen.”
CHAPTER SIX
Dax
Right in the middle of the natural harbor, hidden between cliffsides, sits a huge port filled with ships, goods capsules, and people hurrying around. At the center of it all is the ship. For some reason I’d forgotten how big the ships were; I thought it would be about the size of one or two of the Purenet planes, but this is more like an entire Chancellor compound, sleek and floating. The setting sun flashes red and gold off the towering bow. I’ve seen them before when I travelled with my father, but each time I saw them I was taken aback by the size of them.
“Whoa,” breathes Hayden as we creep through the trees shielding us from the sight of the people rushing about, getting the ship ready. “How on earth do we get on that?”
Not only is the ship huge, but it looks like an impenetrable fortress. We can see how people get in: through a big hatch at the front that’s letting in the capsules. But aside from that, the sides are smooth, leading up to decks too high to reach from the ground. Brown-skinned shipyard workers scurry about the metal walkways that cover the port, pushing carts full of maintenance equipment. They’re the only people we can see outside. There must be Aurum people travelling on the ship, but of course they are afraid of the sunlight. They’ll be hiding in the capsules that glide up and down the ramps, smaller versions of the shuttles at Purenet.
“Dezi, my cousin—the girl my father told you about who left the pyramids for the Sanction—” says Trinity. “She’ll help us.”
“Trinity, do you know where to find her?” I ask.
“She works in the engineering office,” says Trinity. “Father said it would be down by the water to the left.”
I signal to move forward and we slip away from the cover of trees. The light is fading fast, and people are rushing to prepare for departure as the tide changes. If we’re lucky, no one will be looking our way as we break cover and dive for the cluster of ramshackle offices that house the shipyard workers.
“That’s her,” whispers Trinity as we crouch behind a shed, watching the busy workers. “The one with the hair tied in a braid. That’s Dezi.”
“How do we get her attention?” I ask. “Will she remember you?”
“I don’t know,” says Trinity. “It’s been a really long time since she left the tribe. I was only a youngling. She’ll know I’m like her, though. Look.”
Dezi’s muscles flex in the twilight as she heaves a metal bar with another worker. Even though the light is fading, we can see the golden tattoos encircling her arm.
“All the members of Enlighten Tribe have them. I will show her mine and she will know I’m from the tribe.”
“She’s heading for the building on the end,” says Hayden. “We should meet her there.”
“No, I’ll go alone,” says Trinity. “If we all go there’s more risk of being seen. She might get frightened off. Let me speak to her first.”
“Trinity, do you see death?” I ask.
“No.”
“Hurry,” I say, realizing there are fewer and fewer capsules waiting to glide up the gangway. “They look like they’re nearly ready to depart.”
It feels like Trinity has been gone for hours. My legs seized up a long time ago, and I’m resting alongside Hayden on the uncomfortable ground filled with twigs and insects. Now that we’re alone together, his betrayal sits between us like a big lump of unmovable rock. I brought him because he’s always been there when I needed him in battle, and today he proved that. Well, to be honest, he’s been proving himself since we left Purenet. I can’t imagine doing things without him.
But quiet moments like this let my mind drift to how he stabbed us all in the back and handed the Grounders over to my father. Hayden is pretending to sleep to avoid talking about what he did; I know he's pretending because I’ve slept beside him before and he snores like an old man.
“Come on.” Trinity appears behind us from out of nowhere, proving what great lookouts we are—not. The sun has completely set now, and she moves like a shadow. I hope her shadow, Death, isn’t with her.
“Will she help?” Hayden asks.
“She’ll try, let’s go,” says Trinity quickly.
My legs are stiff from being on the ground for so long. Trinity leads us down a cramped path behind the huts. At first it feels like she’s taking us away from the ship, but then we circle round and end up at a small side dock. A shape comes toward us from a low building. I tense up and my hand flies to my gun.
“Relax, it’s Dezi,” says Trinity. I squint as she approaches and see a short, wiry woman, skin covered in grime and oil.
“So you’re Dax,” she says in a tone I can’t read. Is she impressed? Disgusted? I can’t tell. Her face is creased with age and the effects of hard labor. She must be about thirty years older than Trinity. She looks like she won’t take any nonsense.
“Thank you for agreeing to help us,” I say.
She grunts. “Huh. If it weren’t for Trinity, I would have called the guards on you already. It’s not just me I’m risking here. If I get caught, all the engineers will suffer.”
“We’re greatly indebted to you,” I say.
“Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever,” says Dezi, already walking away. “Come on. I’ll get you into the engineering bay, but after that you fend for yourselves.”
We follow silently as she approaches the shed by the side dock. There’s a pile of metal piping there and she lifts the end of one. Trinity grabs the other side.
“You boys get another one and carry it like this,” she commands. “If we’re sneaking, people will see something and be suspicious. You have to make the guards think you’re engineers too.”
My heart stops beating. “Will this really work?” I ask.
“Don’t worry,” she says. “To Aurum guards, everyone else looks the same. You’re tanned enough to pass for one of us in the dark. But not for long. Let’s get
going.”
Hayden and I lift the pipe together and realize it’s a lot heavier than it seems.
“Oof,” Hayden grunts as he lifts.
“Come on, you weakling,” I joke with him. “Don’t want Dezi to think you’ve never done any real work.”
A gangway connects the side dock with the gigantic hull looming above us. Two guards stand on either side of the entrance, checking papers as workers carry the last pieces of equipment on board.
I hope none of the other workers give us away, but no one’s looking at us.
It’s almost completely dark now, and it looks like people just want to get the job finished. As we approach, I can hear the water slosh against the ship. Dezi and Trinity clatter up the gangway first, and we watch Dezi hand over a tablet which one guard inspects briefly and hands back with a nod. The two of them vanish inside and we move to follow.
“Clearance,” states the guard, sounding bored. My pulse starts to race. I thought they’d just let us through.
“We’re… we’re...” stumbles Hayden.
“We’re part of that consignment,” I say to the guard. He narrows his eyes.
“Listen, you. You know the rules. No clearance, no entry.”
I gulp and take a gamble. “You’ve let me on this boat six times already this evening, do you really need me to waste time and show you the clearance again? To be honest, the last time you didn’t even check, so I left it in the office.”
“Come on, we’re already running late,” Hayden says to the other guard, sounding bored. “Let us pass.”
“No, rules are rules,” says the first guard. “I’m not getting in trouble for you. We have to check all clearance every time. If you were lax about it last time, then I’m going to report you to Command.”
“I-I wasn’t,” the other guard mumbles, but I can see my gamble has paid off. He’s lying.
“If you have clearance, go back and get it,” says the first guard.
“Look, my boss is going to kill me,” I try. “We were meant to be following her with this. She needs it now.” If we’re sent away, I don’t know how we’ll get in.
“What’s going on?” snarls a voice from inside the ship. “Didn’t I say these two were with me?” It’s Dezi. She pokes her head back through the entrance and shoves her documents in the guard’s face. “What are you two jokers playing at? We have a ship to repair or it is never leaving.”
“All right, all right!” says the guard, flapping his arm at us to enter as a wave of relief floods me. We’re on board. We’re on the Aurum ship.
We march past the guards and follow Dezi through clanging metal corridors until she halts by a pile of piping and we lower our burden.
“Trinity’s hiding in there,” she says, nodding toward a huge iron door. “It’s a cargo bay. Not very comfortable, but it holds all the pine logs Aurum is trading with Cader Sanction, so no one will have a reason to go in there once the ship is underway.”
“Thank you, most sincerely,” I say.
“OK, you’re welcome,” says Dezi gruffly, already marching away. “If anyone catches you, you’re on your own. You don’t know me; you don’t know anyone. And if they catch you stowing away, they’ll kill you without question. Aurum folks protect their wealth.”
I can’t thank her again because she’s already gone, so we both heave the heavy cargo bay door and slip inside. The movement of the deck beneath our feet is already changing as gangplanks clang, and I sense we’re casting off.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dax
The floor shifts and tips beneath us—just gently, but the motion is making my stomach churn. Trinity is already curled up in a corner.
“Is this what it’s like at sea then?” Hayden asks. “I’m never coming back. Once we find land again, I don’t care where it is, I’m never leaving it.”
I grunt. My head feels fuzzy with the queasiness and I can’t muster enough thoughts to reply. There’s nothing comfortable about this cargo bay. The logs are tied together with enormous straps and shudder against each other with the heave and swell of the ship. They creak and groan, smelling of resin, which was pleasant to start with but is now adding to the cocktail of nausea in my stomach. The bay is huge, but the logs are stacked up to the ceiling, making us feel closed in. There’s a little light coming from dim bulbs above, but not much. It’s hard to know what time of day it is.
“I need to get out of here,” I mutter. “I need fresh air.”
“I know,” says Hayden. “And food.”
With my stomach the way it is, I can’t bear the idea of food, but it must have been twelve hours or so since we got on this hellish craft, and I’m feeling weak. Maybe eating will actually make me feel better, but I can’t imagine how.
“I’ll go and scout about.” I feel brave saying it, considering how I feel. “You two stay here so we don’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“Not a chance, I can’t stay here. I need out,” says Hayden.
“We should all go.” Trinity lifts her head, eyes barely open. “We’ll be quicker if we all go and split up.”
“OK, but we need a plan,” I say. “We can’t just go wandering off into the ship. Someone will see us and everything will be ruined. There’ll be guards.”
I tap my watch and tell it “map.” A plan of the ship pops up, and it’s enormous. “There must be food stored in one of these cargo bays,” I say.
Hayden nods. “No doubt,” he says. “But it’ll be guarded.”
“All the same, if we can access food near our hiding place, we’ll have more chance of getting through this voyage alive,” I say.
“OK, I’ll go check out the cargo bays,” Hayden offers. “Are there kitchens? Where do the crew members eat?” Hayden adds.
“Hold on, I’m looking.” I scan the map. “Ah, crew canteen. There must be kitchens nearby. And over here, officers’ canteen.”
“OK, you and I will go look for kitchens,” I say to Trinity. “We’ll meet back here in an hour. If there’s any trouble, message each other on the watches,” I ad.
We heave the huge cargo bay doors open, trying not to make too much noise.
“See you later.” Hayden trots off down the corridor. I feel woozy. All I can think about is finding fresh air.
“The crew’s canteen is on deck 5,” I say to Trinity. “You head there. I’m going to find the officers’ kitchen. There must be something there.” And I need some fresh air, I think.
Bright electric light fills the corridors, giving me a headache. The floor beneath me lurches, and waves rise in my stomach. The air smells of fuel. I have to get out into the fresh air. Hunting for food can wait. My watch tells me there should be a staircase nearby, leading to deck 1. We’re in the belly of the ship right now. No wonder we’re seasick.
I glance about, but there’s no one here. What time of day is it? Is it still night? The next afternoon? There’s no way of knowing.
My feet clang loudly on the metal floor. The door at the end of the corridor opens onto a narrow metal stair. I check that no one has seen me and hurry up. The faster I climb, the more urgent my stomach feels. I can taste acid in the back of my throat.
Suddenly there’s a door in front of me, and as I open it, salty air and sea spray hit my face. Outside, finally. The light is dim, but it’s hard to tell if the sun is just setting or just rising. How long were we sitting down in that hold? It felt like forever. It feels like we’ve been on the move nonstop since we set out to rescue the Enlighten Tribe from the mines. I look left and right, but there’s no one on this level. Is this the night shift? I creep out onto the deck. It’s a narrow walkway between the edge of the boat and the wall. The wind bites me and the sea is gray and rolling.
The sea. It’s just so vast, tumbling toward the horizon. My nausea subsides as I watch the ocean. I’m actually enjoying the dipping of the boat with the waves. Their tips crest white. I lean over the edge of the rail, breathing deeply. Great white escape pods hang from the side
of the ship. I wonder if that’s a way off for us. Looking up, I see the decks tower above me. I gaze, feeling myself zoning out.
Snap out of it, I tell myself. No time to enjoy yourself, we’re in danger. We have to find food.
I call up the map on my watch. I should head to deck 8, where the officers’ canteen is. Will there be people there? Are they preparing breakfast already? I curse myself for taking so long to look for food. We should have done it as soon as the boat left port. As soon as this floating fortress had turned to the half-manned night shift.
I retreat back into the stairwell. The stairs go up all the way to the top. I start to run up them, taking them two at a time.
Voices bring me to an abrupt halt. I stop, listening carefully. They’re several decks above, and I can’t make out what they’re saying, but there’s more than one person. What’s more, they’re in this stairwell and heading this way. If I can hear them, they’ll be able to hear my feet clattering on the metal staircase. My heart beats hard. I listen. Three people, definitely, and they’re still coming. Trying to tiptoe, I retreat back down the way I came. There’s a door to deck 4 just behind me, but peering through the window I see a sailor patrolling outside. Damn. I keep heading back down the stairs. Deck 3, deck 2.
I try to walk normally, like I’m just another sailor going wherever I’d normally be heading at this time of day. If I stay a few decks ahead, they won’t see me, only hear me. My heart is in my mouth as I steadily retrace my steps back down. I glance at my watch and realize there isn’t much time before the agreed-upon rendezvous with Trinity and Hayden. What have I been doing with myself? I thought I was only looking at the waves for a minute or so, but as I check the time, I realize I must have been in a forty-five-minute trance. I shake my head to try and clear it. I’m fine, I try to reassure myself.
As I reach deck 1, I hear a door open above me and the voices and footsteps stop. They’ve left the stairwell. Phew. I look at my watch again. There is still time to try to at least locate the officers’ kitchen. The deck 1 door opens and slams into my foot. I yell out and realize there’s a sailor on the other side of it apologizing.
Captured Memories (The Sanction Series Book 4) Page 4