by Sadie Turner
“What would you have done if you weren’t awakened?” Kai whispers in the darkness.
“What do you mean?” I roll over and face him. Our faces are so close that they are almost touching. “Like, if my house hadn’t been blown up and I hadn’t found the Labyrinth?” I shrug. I wonder if I would have gone on with my preplanned life and married Genesis. Then again, that wasn’t really my preplanned life.
“I dunno. I mean, I don’t think I would have been happy,” I admit, enjoying the feeling of laying so close to Kai. “I would have tried to be happy, and I would have followed the plan. But I think I always would have known that something was off.”
“Do you have regrets?”
“No. Not yet. I want to find my father. I want to find my sister.”
“We will,” Kai says earnestly.
“Is that the royal we?” I joke.
“We’re a team, Keeva.” His eyes are so kind. He is genuinely supportive. “Do you know where your sister is?”
“I didn’t. I do now. At least, I think I do.”
“Where?”
“In one of the safe houses. I’m not sure exactly which one, but it’s on the way to the Desalination Plant.”
“We can’t, Keeva. We have a mission.”
I raise my voice a little, “We’re not going out of our way and like you said, it should be an easy extraction. Easy in, easy out.”
“You think you can have your cake and eat it too?” He shrugs, “Look, let’s see what happens when we dock.”
“So it’s not a no,” I say hopefully.
“It’s not a no, but it’s not a yes. Hey, can you grab us a couple of blankets?”
I reach over to the lump of blankets next to me and start to pull one over to me, but it won’t budge. I try again, it is heavy. I pat down the blankets and begin to pull them off one by one until I can see the whites of the eyes of a little girl staring up at me.
“Hey Keeva.”
“Zilli, you are in so much trouble.”
“If Keeva is going to save humanity, I don’t want to miss it,” Zilli pouts.
“You know that you’re not supposed to be here,” Lachlan warns as we confront the headstrong girl.
“I can help,” Zilli insists.
“How?” I counter. She is a child. I have enough on my mind with this mission. I don’t need to add babysitting on top of it.
“I’m small and I’m fast and I’m smart. The enemy won’t see me coming,” Zilli insists.
“Look, there’s no sense in arguing now. She’s here. We’re not going to turn around,” Lachlan says.
“Good, so I’m staying,” Zilli hugs him.
“Not exactly,” Lachlan extricates himself from Zilli. “We’ll drop you off at a safe house on the way.”
I smile at Kai and mouth safe house. Looks like I will have my cake and eat it too.
CALIX’S JOB WAS JUST TO OBSERVE. But Colin was never one to just sit back and watch.
The elite squad of four Protectors allowed Calix and Blue to tag along on their mission; however, their orders were clear: do not engage.
They had docked the helicraft behind a thicket of trees and hiked ten miles to the edge of the volcano where the safe house was located. They spread out around the base of the volcano and waited.
Calix didn’t really want to get to know Blue. Sure, she was pretty and smart, but so was Sarayu, and look what had happened to her. So he kept her at a polite distance. He wasn’t even sure why Sobek wanted her to come along, Blue was hardly the military type, and even though she was a Protector, she still dressed like a fashionista schoolgirl.
Calix and Blue were stationed away from the rest of the group. They were on their stomachs, peeking through the boulders as the first revolutionaries emerged. Both he and Blue simultaneously let out a gasp as the first pair climbed out of the volcano’s mouth-Calix, because he recognized the tall, sad-eyed redheaded girl he saw on his father’s holo wall, and Blue because she recognized her intended partner.
“Kai.”
I am home.
Not my home per say, but the ocean.
Despite the appearance of our young stowaway, our flight is uneventful. There’s nothing to look at when you travel five hundred miles in the dark. We wear headlamps and play cards, but everyone’s mind is on the mission. Everyone except Zilli, who clings to me like an eager puppy.
We arrive at the volcano and slowly rise to the opening. Magnum docks the zeppelin on a makeshift platform. We carefully climb out, one by one, before scrambling up a ladder, which had been soldered to the side of the volcano. Kai is the first to get out and I am right on his heels. Once we reach the top, I let out a gasp. It is a virtually unobstructed view of the ocean, save a small lighthouse in front of us.
Feelings rush over me: nostalgia, loss, hope. I want to leave everyone and just plunge into the ocean; however, I realize I have a mission to do. Two missions. I have to find my sister and I have to stop Sobek.
“Well, young lady, looks like this is the end of the line for you,” Lachlan says to Zilli.
“Where am I going?” Zilli pouts. She has perfected the art of the sulk.
“A friend of mine runs this lighthouse. You’ll be safe here until we get back.”
“This is the safe house?” I ask.
“Best place to hide something is in plain sight,” Lachlan says.
“But I want to help,” Zilli pleads.
“You will be helping. You’ll be helping Harijiwan. The old goat gets lonely. You can keep him company for a few days.”
“Harijiwan?” My ears perk up. “He is the lighthouse keeper?”
“Indeed. Been running it for the last few hundred years.”
“So he’s—”
“One of us? Yes, Keeva. He’s one of the good guys.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“I’m only going to be a minute.”
“Please let her come,” Zilli pleads, batting her eyes at Lachlan.
“Fine. The rest of you stand guard. I will bring the ladies to the lighthouse. Keeva and I will be back in fifteen minutes.”
“And if you’re not?” Kai asks.
“Then something has happened,” Lachlan says, “and you’ll have to complete the mission without us.”
“I’m coming too,” Kai insists.
“This isn’t a party,” Lachlan groans.
“Let him go,” Magnum speaks up. “It will be good to have someone from the Bandit Brigade with you.”
“Yeah. Rezz, Magnum and I have to divvy up the weapons anyway,” Omri says. They’ve already opened the duffel bag and are pulling out swords and daggers.
“Fine. Let’s go.” Lachlan turns toward the lighthouse.
“Keeva, wait,” Rezz says. She runs over and hugs me, “Good luck.”
I laugh, “You’ll need it more than I do. I get to explore a lighthouse while you’re stuck here with these lug heads.”
Zilli takes my hand, pulling me away. “Be back soon,” I say to Rezz, and I follow the other half of my team to the lighthouse.
“This is so pretty,” Zilli shouts as we approach the tall stone structure. She lets go of my hand and runs ahead to the large door.
Lachlan knocks several times, but there is no answer. We go around to the back where a window is cracked open.
“Wait here,” he instructs and pushes the window open further. But he is too big to squeeze in.
“I’ll go,” Zilli volunteers and squeezes herself through the small space before any of us can protest.
We walk back around to the front door.
After a few minutes, the door is still closed.
“What’s taking her so long?” Lachlan asks. He starts to bang on the door, “Zilli. Let us in.”
Seconds later the front door opens. “Welcome to my castle,” Zilli curtsies.
The lighthouse is deserted. Someone has left there in a hurry. There are two plates with half-eaten breakfast on each and the caffeine is still tepid.
“Something’s not right,” Lachlan says, drawing his sword.
Kai and I draw ours as well and the three of us spread out to inspect the premises.
“Wait here, under the table,” I instruct Zilli, who nods.
I climb the stairs of the lighthouse tower while Lachlan and Kai explore the rest of the rooms. As I ascend the steep stairs, I notice three small doors, almost camouflaged into the stone. I push open the first one. It is an old-fashioned library filled from floor to ceiling with books. I climb a few steps higher and push open the second door. It is a simple, unadorned bedroom. There is a double bed and a table filled with maps and charts. I climb to the highest door and push it open. It is another bedroom, only this one clearly belongs to a child. There are colorful drawings tacked to the walls. There are pictures of butterflies everywhere. Multicolored butterflies of every shape and size fill up the walls of the room. I tilt my head and see more pictures tacked up on the ceiling. These are of the water: bright, childlike re-creations of different views of the ocean from the lighthouse. They are magnificent. So simple. So honest.
I step into the room, careful not to disturb anything. I walk over to the small desk where an unfinished picture rests. It is a picture of a skinny redheaded girl wearing equestrian pants, a leather vest, and tall boots. Me. And I am standing just outside the lighthouse, on the volcano with my sword drawn. I don’t understand. I look closer. The picture is unsigned. I look above on the wall at several of the butterfly pictures. They all bear one signature.
Sun.
Where is she? I race up the remaining stairs, up the catwalk to the lighthouse tower. It is similarly abandoned. Where is my sister? The light is automated, but there are so many footprints in the dust that it is clear people have been up here recently. There are two sets of adult footprints and one child’s size footprints. Where is she hiding? I look across the water and over the terrain. In the distance, I can see Omri and Magnum sitting on the ground sharpening the weapons. Rezz is standing on the side of the cliff. I am about to turn when I spy a group of Protectors sneaking up behind them, ready to ambush them.
“Rezz!” I scream. “Rezz!” My cries are lost in the wind. I am too high up and too far away. “Rezz!” I continue to scream in vain as I watch the pair of Protectors creep up behind her and taser her to the ground. One of them throws her crumpled body over his shoulder. It is like watching my father get taken all over.
I race down the stairs to where Zilli is still under the table.
“Where are Lachlan and Kai?” I demand.
“Still looking around.”
“Lachlan! Kai!” I scream.
There are sounds of heavy footsteps running toward me as Lachlan and Kai burst into the room, swords drawn.
“Are you OK, Keeva?” Kai asks.
“Our team is in trouble,” I shout and race out the door.
The mountaintop is deserted.
“Where are they?” Zilli asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. “They were here ten minutes ago. I saw a team of Protectors coming up behind them.”
“Are they dead?” she persists.
“I don’t know,” I snap.
Kai and Lachlan spread out to look for our missing teammates while Zilli and I wait on edge of the volcanic cliff.
“Keeva, what’s that?” Zilli points downwards.
Sure enough, barely sticking out of a thicket, just a few feet down the cliff is a pair of black boots.
“Wait here,” I instruct as I lower myself down, finding footholds in the rocks. As I get to the landing, I see Magnum’s crumpled body. His lip is smashed and he has a bloody nose.
I shake him violently, “Magnum, are you OK?”
He nods, dazed before he finally mumbles, “Protectors. They surprised us.”
“I know. I saw. What happened?”
“They thought there’d be more of us, but we told them it was just us. They didn’t believe us.”
“Where are Rezz and Omri?”
“They took them. Tased them and took them.”
“Why didn’t they take you?”
“I’m too big. Maybe they thought they couldn’t lift me. They beat me and pushed me over the cliff. Didn’t wait to see where I’d land. Luckily, I fell on the bushes here; otherwise, I’d be dead.”
“Can you stand?”
He nods and I help him up. His body is not bruised other than the cuts on his face. He gingerly climbs the rocks and I follow. Kai and Lachlan are waiting.
“What happened?” Lachlan demands.
“Omri was one of them,” Magnum finally says after drinking water from Zilli’s canteen. “He was a traitor.”
“I knew it,” Kai shouts.
“He tipped them off and they were waiting for us. When I realized what was happening, I knocked Omri out so he couldn’t tell them about you. They had already tased Rezz. Maybe she was a traitor too.”
“She wasn’t a traitor,” I insist.
“Fine. Well, they took her. I was the only coherent one and they tried to torture me. I told the Protectors that it had been changed from a six-person to a three-person operation and we were the only ones left. That’s when they punched me and pushed me over the side. They took Omri and Rezz.”
“Where did they go?” I ask.
“I don’t know. It all happened so fast and then the next thing I knew, you were helping me up.”
Lachlan assesses the damage. “Well, they got the weapons and the food supply. We’re going to have to hoof it from here. If Omri tipped them off about the safe house, he probably tipped them off about our contacts up the coast.” He looks at all of us. “We’re on our own now. So we really have to stick together as a team.”
“Me too?” Zilli asks.
“I’m afraid so,” Lachlan mutters before heading north.
CALIX COULDN’T STOP STARING at the bodies.
He and Blue had watched the events from a safe distance from the moment the redheaded girl, the older man, the little girl, and the boy called Kai went off to the lighthouse, and his team had immediately taken action. He had watched as the Protectors surrounded the three remaining rebels and violently threw the boy and the girl over the cliff.
Calix stared at the mangled corpses below. He had spent his entire life without seeing anyone die, and now he had witnessed three murders firsthand—the two rebels and the woman he had killed with a swipe of a few numbers on a tablet. Suddenly, he felt sickened. The past few weeks of training with his father seemed pointless if the end game was to simply kill the enemy. He had loved drinking energies, but death was not a solution he was comfortable with.
He wanted to scream out to the remaining rebels, “There is a traitor among you.” He had watched quietly as the boy called Magnum climbed down the cliff as another Protector punched his face until he bled. They made Magnum seem like a victim. He was Sobek’s sleeper. The one who had infiltrated the resistance and would lead the Protectors to Taj. Calix was confused. He could no longer tell who was good or who was bad. His father’s ideologies didn’t make sense.
“C’mon.” Blue grabbed his hand. Magnum had told them that the rebels were heading to the Desalination Plant. The Protectors would take the main road to get there and be waiting for the rebels’ next move, of which Magnum was still uncertain.
Calix allowed himself to be pulled by Blue toward their destination.
But he was conflicted about what he would do when he got there.
I am angry.
My sister was there. At that lighthouse. I missed her by just minutes. Harijiwan probably caught wind that the Protectors had been tipped off and he and my sister left before they could be captured. I am now more determined than ever to find her.
Our bedraggled group walks for the rest of the day, sticking to the coastline. We daren’t stop at the preplanned safe houses or jeopardize the revolution by contacting Taj’s allies in fear of compromising their safety.
We are alone, hungry and heartbroken. Lachlan use
s his skill set to find edible roots and vegetables, and I help him desalinate water for our canteens. At night we make a fire to stay warm. Zilli and I curl up together and I think about my friend. Poor Rezz. What am I going to tell Gina? I promised her that I would keep Rezz safe, and I failed. I look at my bracelet. How are my instincts helping me now? I had no idea Omri was a traitor. I never saw it coming. One-third of our team is gone and it’s my fault. I wiggle away from the sleeping Zilli and join Lachlan at the fire.
“What are our options?” I ask quietly. Everyone else is sleeping. Was it only a few months ago that I was excited to go to summer camp? Just an ignorant teen. Now, I am commanding a renegade mission, and I have lost two members of my team and let a third get injured.
“Well,” Lachlan sighs, “with only the weapons we are carrying, we are now without our two greatest assets.”
“What’s that?”
“Power and the element of surprise. Omri and Rezz were our two of our three weapons specialists. They were our security. We are now without our primary soldiers.”
“We still have Kai and Magnum,” I say hopefully.
“True, but protection is not their skill set. They are an effective offense, but useless on defense.”
“And our element of surprise?” I ask.
“Omri probably tipped the Protectors off to our final destination, and if they’re not chasing us now, they will be waiting for us there.”
“Omri didn’t know what the final plan was.”
“No,” Lachlan nods. “Only you and Taj know that. She wanted it that way.”
“So, we still might have a chance to complete our mission. As long as we can get to the Desalination Plant, I can destroy the fluoridation chamber.”
“Without the skills of the Craftsman Brigade, it’s going to be a tougher journey than we planned.”
“So we’re doomed.”
“Not necessarily. I’m good for a trick or two, and we have you and Zilli.”
“What good is Zilli?” I say nodding at the sleeping child.
Lachlan is quiet for a moment, deciding whether to speak. Finally he says, “Keeva, why do you think Taj assigned Zilli to track you?”