“Liam!” I say, rushing over to him. I hug him as hard as I can. He looks fine. He hasn’t been mutilated. “Thank god!” Gadya rushes over too.
But then I pull away from Liam. He’s staring at me blankly. And he hasn’t hugged me back.
“Liam, it’s me!” I yell at him, confused and scared. This is the boy I love most in the world, and he doesn’t even seem to recognize me.
He tries to form a word but his mouth barely moves. “Who . . . ,” he begins.
Without thinking, I raise my knife and slash the IV line. Gadya comes around and starts pulling the IV needle out of his skin.
“Who . . . are . . . you . . . ,” Liam begins again.
“They’ve done something to him,” I say, feeling sick.
“I know.” Gadya sounds just as worried as I am.
“Maybe it’s just a sedative,” I tell her, glancing down at the liquid now dripping onto the floor.
“Maybe.”
Gadya and I help him off the table.
“Is it time . . . for my surgery?” he asks us. His eyes are closing, as though he’s about to fall asleep.
“No,” I tell him. “No surgery today. We’re getting out of here.”
Gadya and I get him standing on two legs. He seems like he’s about to pass out, but he manages to stay upright.
“This way,” I say, dragging him toward the door as Gadya helps me.
Guns continue to fire all around us, as bullets ping off the metal corridors.
Liam sways unsteadily at the doorway.
“Liam, we need to go fast,” I tell him. Although he’s clearly under the influence of a drug, some part of him seems to understand. We start navigating the hallways at a rapid pace.
I’m on his left and Gadya is on his right. We are rushing down the halls, trying to find a way out.
I hear more gunfire. And from outside, the sound of feelers in the air. Boys are using guns taken off dead guards to fire back at the feelers. For now they are keeping the remaining guards and the machines at bay, but eventually the buildings will be overrun by the UNA.
“We need to get out of here,” I say, as Gadya and I hold on to Liam, dragging him along with us.
“And where do we go?” Gadya asks, as we keep moving.
My mind is racing. “There must be vehicles here somewhere. I mean, we’re not back on Island Alpha. There are roads and cities nearby. The scientists and guards must have cars so they can get to and from work.”
“Maybe it’s a residential lockdown facility and they all live here,” Gadya says.
“Maybe.” I turn to Liam. “Do you know if there are any cars here? Any vehicles we can use to escape?”
He looks at me blankly. “Cars . . .”
“Liam’s not gonna be any help to us yet,” Gadya points out.
“I can see that.”
I start looking around for any indication of a parking lot or carport. There has to be something.
A boy races past. I grab his arm. “Cars. Vehicles,” I say in a rush. “Have you seen any?”
“No, but if I do, I’m gonna destroy them! We’re going to burn this place to the ground!”
He shoves me aside as he keeps running.
“Thanks for nothing!” I yell after him.
But then another boy comes up behind us. This boy is lean with dark skin and a shaved head. His fingers and knuckles are bloody, as though he’s just beaten someone up. “I heard what you said,” he tells me and Gadya. “I think I can help.”
“You know where the vehicles are?” I ask.
“This way. I’ve seen some in a hangar out back. Come with me.”
We start following him as he darts down the hallway. Liam is coming back to life—or at least his body is. He starts moving faster and faster. We race along the hallway after the boy.
Finally we reach a metal doorway and he steps through it. “Be quick, or other kids are going to tear them to pieces,” he says.
We step through the doorway after him.
I see the vehicles sitting there, gleaming and untouched. But they are not normal-looking cars. They are armor-plated trucks, with huge tires and thick glass.
Gadya and I rush over to the nearest one with Liam.
“Are there keys inside?” I ask.
The boy opens his hand. “No. But there are keys right here.” He tosses them to me. I catch them.
“Want to come with us?” Gadya asks the boy.
Surprising me, the boy shakes his head. “I’m going to stay here. I have to get revenge on the people who tortured me.” He pauses. “This is the start of the revolution, though, right?”
“You’re the second person to ask me that,” I tell him. “So yeah, I guess it is. We came back here from Island Alpha to take over the UNA.”
The boy’s eyes widen.
“Rip this place up for us,” Gadya tells the boy. “Burn it to ashes and kill all the guards that you can.”
The boy nods.
We hear crashing noises from somewhere in the laboratory and then a dull thump of an explosion. An instant later I feel the floor ripple. Someone is setting off grenades.
“You better hurry,” the boy says.
I open the door of the truck, and I get into the driver’s side. I put the keys in the ignition, and start the engine. The boy helps Gadya get Liam inside. Liam sits between us in the front, as Gadya climbs on board too and swings the door shut.
The boy reaches down and passes Gadya a gun through the open window. “I got this off a guard. Careful—it’s loaded.”
“Awesome,” Gadya replies. “Thanks!” She discards the empty gun in the back and clutches the new one.
The boy darts back to join the melee.
“I assume you don’t know how to drive this thing,” Gadya says to me, as she rolls her window up.
“Neither do you,” I point out. “And Liam’s no use to us right now.”
“Fine. Then you work on driving, and I’ll do the shooting.” She lowers her window a crack and sticks the muzzle of the gun out of it. “Let’s get out of here!”
I put the truck in reverse and begin backing out of the garage. While it’s true I don’t know how to drive a vehicle like this, it seems pretty straightforward. Not much different from a car. I push the pedal down, and hear the engine roar.
“Faster!” Gadya yells.
It’s easier to steer the vehicle than I expected. I glance over at Liam. His eyes are looking a little clearer.
I keep backing up, picking up speed.
“How do we open the garage door?” I ask. There is a large, fortified metal door blocking the garage off from the outside world.
“I don’t know! The kid didn’t say.”
“Great,” I reply, gritting my teeth. “We’re going to have to drive right through it. Brace yourselves.” But as we approach, going even faster, the door begins opening on its own. It must have an automatic sensor.
For a split second, I feel relief.
But then I see what’s waiting outside, beyond the door.
There’s a battle raging between the kids and the guards. There are people everywhere fighting, and the endless flash of gunfire.
I spin the wheel as we pass through the opening, tires squealing, so that we’re facing forward. My wounded arm aches, but I ignore the pain.
“This isn’t good,” Gadya mutters, surveying the carnage.
I see several feelers in the sky, zooming down and firing at kids. I also see guards swarming out of the trees, with even more guns. Still, the boys are fighting with everything they have.
I press the pedal to the floor and we tear forward across the grassy field. We need to get out of here as fast as possible, and into the forest, where we can flee on foot.
Gadya begins shooting as we drive. She lowers her window even more and leans out with the gun, firing at guards as we pass them.
“Be careful!” I yell at her, afraid that she’s going to get hit.
“I’m fine!” she calls
back over the constant noise of gunfire. “Worry about yourself!”
A group of armed soldiers in full riot gear is headed our way. Our vehicle, and Gadya’s gun, has attracted attention. I push the vehicle to go even faster. Liam is still out of it, his head lolling sideways.
The guards open up their guns on us and we’re suddenly peppered with bullets. The windshield splinters but holds even under the heavy barrage. The glass must be bulletproof. Gadya screams and pulls away from the window. She hurries to close it as fast as she can.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Just got nicked,” she says. It looks worse than a nick. Her arm is bleeding badly. She tears off part of her shirt and uses it as a makeshift tourniquet.
More bullets hit our vehicle. I keep driving, aiming at the forest beyond this battle.
Suddenly, a large explosion rocks the truck, and part of the ground opens up right in front of us. The windshield is pelted with debris.
I cry out in surprise and spin the wheel, trying to avoid the hole in the ground. The truck almost topples into it. I manage to avoid the pit at the last second.
“Grenades!” Gadya yells.
I gun the engine again, and we continue forward. I see the grenade launcher now, sitting on the shoulder of a soldier only a few hundred yards away. He’s preparing to fire again. We are his target.
Gadya rolls down her window an inch.
“Gadya, no!” I tell her, worried that she’ll get shot for a second time.
But she just puts the muzzle through the open part of the window and begins firing right at the soldier.
Gadya’s bullets strike their target just as the soldier unleashes another rocket-propelled grenade at us.
He topples backward and the grenade shoots straight into the sky.
“Nice work,” I tell her.
Then I take one hand off the wheel for a second to check on Liam. I find his hand and squeeze it. I need him to be okay, or else none of this will have been worth it.
But he doesn’t squeeze my hand back. I feel sick with worry.
“Liam, are you okay?” I ask. I risk a glance at him. His eyes still look glazed. He must still be recovering. I turn back and put both hands on the wheel. I keep driving as fast as I can. Gadya closes her window. I hear a detonation as the grenade lands somewhere behind us in the fray of the battle.
Feelers zoom overhead, no doubt tracking us, and preparing to shoot. But there’s nothing we can do about them. I just keep driving, headed toward the nearby forest and hoping that we can make it there before we all get killed.
14 THE PLAN
A MINUTE LATER, WE reach the edge of the clearing without being shot or blown up by a grenade. I keep driving straight into the forest, dodging trees without stopping. The vehicle shakes as we run over rocks and thick underbrush. Thin trees get snapped by the force of our momentum and the weight of the truck.
But I realize we can’t keep going. The forest is getting too thick.
“Watch out!” Gadya yells at me, as I narrowly avoid a huge tree trunk.
We slam against another tree and the impact jars us sideways. I’m going to have to stop driving soon. There are larger trees ahead, and the armored vehicle can’t handle the terrain. There’s no way to continue.
I bring the vehicle to a juddering halt.
“We have to get out!” I yell.
Gadya is already swinging open her door. I grab the keys, and open mine.
“Help me with Liam,” I tell her.
Together, we get him out of the car.
“You need a weapon,” I tell him. He seems like a shell of himself. He’s still not recovering. I hand him my knife. He takes it and stares at it for a moment.
“Thanks . . . ,” he mumbles. Then he looks at me blankly.
I realize that he doesn’t know my name.
“I’m Alenna,” I tell him, fighting back panic. “Don’t you remember me?”
He looks at me. “No.”
“I’m Gadya,” Gadya says. “Ring any bells?”
He shakes his head, sounding dazed. “I’ve never seen . . . either of you before. . . .”
My heart sinks. He doesn’t even remember who I am. I need Liam back. I need to make sure that whatever was done to him isn’t permanent.
“Try to think hard,” I tell him. “Try to clear your mind.”
He just keeps staring at me. “Where am I?” he asks. It’s worse than I thought.
“We better move,” Gadya says.
I nod. “Can you run?” I ask Liam.
“I think so,” he says.
“Then let’s go.” Together, we race alongside Gadya into the forest, leaving the vehicle and the battlefield behind. I was afraid that feelers or soldiers would travel after us, but they are completely occupied by the army of boys. The sounds of constant explosions and gunshots reach our ears. We head deeper into the forest, seeking protection.
We run for a long time, making our way through the brush.
We only stop moving when we can no longer hear the sounds of the battle anymore. We find a small clearing. All of us crouch down to the ground, breathing hard. Liam’s eyes are starting to look a little clearer now.
I hug him tightly. “I’m so glad you’re alive.”
He hugs me back tentatively. “Same here.”
“You still don’t know who I am, do you?”
He shakes his head. “No. I mean you sort of look familiar. But beyond that, it’s just a blank.”
Gadya sees that I am on the brink of tears. “I’ll give you two a moment alone,” she says. “But remember, we have to keep moving soon.”
She walks about twenty paces away and crouches there, keeping watch for us so that no one attacks.
“What do you remember?” I ask Liam.
“Some of it’s coming back to me. I remember that we’re fighting the UNA. And I remember that they were about to operate on me—” He breaks off.
“Yes?” I prompt. I reach out a hand and touch him again. His skin is pale and he feels sweaty.
“I feel pretty sick,” he confesses. “I mean, my thoughts and memories are just a big jumble.” He pauses. “I also feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“Go for it,” I tell him.
Liam stands up and walks over to the edge of the clearing. For a moment, I’m worried that one of those terrifying metal spiders will be inside him. But he just throws up normally into the underbrush. Then he wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and walks over.
“Feeling better?” I ask.
He nods.
“Keep throwing up if you need to,” I tell him. “Get the drugs out of your system. Maybe that will help.”
“She’s right,” Gadya calls out.
How’s your memory feeling?” I ask Liam.
“Not good,” he says, with a grimace. “Like it’s filled with holes.”
I work hard not to break down. It never crossed my mind that we would rescue Liam just to find out that he doesn’t even remember me. I don’t know what drugs he was given. I don’t know how long they will take to wear off. I don’t even know if they will ever wear off. That thought fills me with dread.
Liam rests on a rock as I rub his back. It feels so good to touch his skin after being away from him for so long. There is so little time for tenderness or physical contact. But it also feels strange to touch him, because I can tell that his muscles aren’t relaxed. They are still tense and he is guarded. He doesn’t know who I am.
“Did anyone try to implant you with anything?” I ask, just to be sure. “Like a metal spider-type thing?”
He looks confused. “Wait. That does sound familiar. You’ve seen those?”
“Yes,” I tell him.
A look of recognition comes across his face. “They’re called Mechanized Implanted Obedience Devices. Or MIODs for short. I don’t have one in me. For some reason they only put them in girls, I think. But they threatened us with them. I remember that.”
“They put tubes
in my neck, and in Gadya’s too. She’s another friend of ours—remember her?”
He shakes his head.
I continue anyway. “They were trying to control us with drugs. They were trying to train us to work for the UNA or something. We cut the tubes out.”
Liam nods. “I don’t think they put anything in most boys because they just wanted to use us as slave labor, at least at first. I remember hearing that they put the MIODs in girls they think are high flight risks, or extremely violent.”
“Why didn’t they put one in me? Or Gadya?”
“They probably had bigger plans for you two. . . .” I can tell that his memories are rushing back now in a flood. “The MIODs are also a form of experimentation—they think they can use them in battle against other countries, to get inside people and take over entire armies that way. There were obviously worse things waiting for me. You saved me from some surgery today. You got there just in time.”
“I know.” I stare into his eyes. “So do you remember me now? Who I am to you?”
He looks back. I see a look of emptiness and sorrow. “I want to remember you. . . . I wish I did. But I don’t. For some reason, things and events are easier to remember than people. It’s like some kind of partial amnesia.”
I nod, trying to stay calm. I know that if I freak out, that will only make things worse. I remember what it was like when I surfaced from the isolation tank back on Island Alpha, and couldn’t remember my situation for a few minutes. It was terrifying. I realize Liam probably feels scared too, but is hiding it.
I take his hand. I tell myself that it’s just taking longer than I expected for him to recover from the drugs he was given. But inside, I feel rattled. Shaken up. I need his support and love. What happens if his memory doesn’t come back?
I’m suddenly overwhelmed by a horrible feeling. If his memory doesn’t come back, will he still be in love with me? What if he likes someone else? If he can’t remember everything that we shared together, then will he still care about me?
“I’m your girlfriend,” I tell him, my voice breaking.
“I guessed you probably were,” he says.
“I love you,” I continue. “We’ve been together for months. We met on the wheel. I rescued you when you got frozen in the specimen archive—” I break off. “Is any of this making sense to you?”
The Defiant Page 18