Worlds Between

by Heather Lee Dyer

  Elan told me to signal when I’ve made contact with his New Terra agent, so he could plan our escape. I’ve been in here nearly two weeks and still have no idea who I’m looking for, but Tessa seems like the best bet. She matches the physical description at least, and a couple things Elan told me about, like sucking on the ends of her hair and tapping her toes restlessly.

  It’s too risky to keep the tools in my room, so just before bedtime I move them into the common area. I tiptoe down the hall in my bare feet. While I’m pretending to check out the books, I slide them behind the bookshelf against the wall. It’s late and most of the younger girls have already gone to bed.

  I hear whispers coming from Tessa’s room and press my ear against her door. Is someone in there or is she talking to herself? I duck into my room as the knob turns and heavy footsteps retreat down the hall. I wait on my bed, until the door clicks open again, then grab my towel and head to the bathroom. Tessa likes to wait until the other girls are done showering, so I’m hoping we’ll have a moment alone.

  I hurry as I see the double doors swing closed ahead of me. Once in the bathroom I check under each stall to make sure no one else is in here. Tessa hears me and spins around, towel in hand. I nod toward the single shower we talked in last time, just after I arrived in New Elmira.

  She narrows her eyes, but casually steps out of the range of cameras and into the stall. I strip, wrapping the towel around me, then cross the floor and step in behind her. Unless someone was watching really closely, they wouldn’t have noticed we were both in the same stall together.

  “What do you want?” she whispers.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  Her eyes pierce me and she crosses her arms. “So talk.”

  I hesitate, now that we’re alone. If I say the wrong thing and she’s not New Terra, she could turn me in. There’s only one way to find out for sure. I grab her arm and pull up her sleeve quickly. There, above her Compound tattoo, is a long scar that reaches up to her elbow. It’s the last sign Elan told me to watch for, and the confirmation I need. I exhale a sigh of relief as she pulls her arm away and shoves her sleeve back down.

  “What the hell, Lila?”

  “Sorry. I had to double check before I said anything,” I whisper.

  Tessa tries to push past me, but I block her way.

  “I need to talk to you about Elan.”

  Her eyes widen, but then narrow again skeptically.

  “Never heard of him,” she frowns.

  “My real name is Rya,” I say. “I know you don’t have any reason to trust me. But Elan is worried about you. He says you’ve been in here too long without any messages to the outside. He sent me in to find you.”

  Tessa actually rolls her eyes at me.

  “You’re right. I have no reason to trust you. And there’s no way you’re New Terra. You really were in the woods too long.” She breaks my grip and pushes out of the stall. I’m about to follow her when a siren goes off. Her expression goes from anger to fear. Her whole body tenses, like she’s expecting a fight. When nobody busts into the room, she puts her hand on her chest and takes a deep breath.

  “What’s that?” I ask.

  “The main compound alarm. Whatever it is, it’s bad. We have to go.”

  She runs out the bathroom, pulling on her clothes as she moves. All the girls are hurrying down the stairs, most of them in their pajamas. I follow, my heart racing as the grass tickles my bare feet.

  Outside the mech guards line us all up in rows in front of the dorm, facing the center courtyard. A spotlight turns on and illuminates the grassy field where kids play sports in the afternoon. It’s so bright I shield my eyes. A group of mechs are standing in a tight group, and when they shift, I can see there’s someone standing between them.

  I gasp as he turns his face towards us. Tessa, right next to me, swears under her breath. Her eyes are moist as she watches Gage struggling against the firm grip of the sentinels. He’s wearing thick metal restraints and has a deep purple bruise on his cheek. His lip is split and his jaw is swollen. Drops of crimson blood stain his yellow T-shirt.

  I keep my eyes forward as half a dozen enforcers pass in front of our row. These ones are wearing some kind of protective body armor around their dark uniforms, and hefty sight augmentation goggles. I’ve never seen more than one or two in the compound, sulking in the shadows, which worries me. Is there a security center somewhere in the compound full of human soldiers I don’t know about, or did they come in with one of the recent shipments?

  When they pass again, I focus on Gage, wondering what he’s done to deserve this punishment. Although I’ve seen him whispering with Tessa, I didn’t get the feeling he was one of the revolutionists. I wish I knew more about him.

  “You are given everything you need here.” A voice booms across the compound. It doesn’t take me long to find the speaker. He has dark hair that’s slicked back away from his bushy eyebrows, and his blue uniform is studded with glowing patches, that illuminate his face from below. He must be some kind of general.

  His face isn’t covered like the other enforcers, but his pupils are so large and black they look like olives. Next to him is the doctor I met on my first day, but now he’s wearing a crisp, navy blue jacket and tie that seems out of place.

  “You should be grateful for what you have, and desire nothing. Yet this boy has stolen from the community. From the Kreons.”

  Gage is shaking his head violently.

  “It wasn’t me!” he shouts. “I’m loyal to the kingdom!”

  One of mech guards slaps him and he crumples hard into the dirt.

  I step forward, but Tessa catches me by my wrist.

  “Don’t,” she hisses at me. “There’s nothing you can do for him now.”

  I step back in line, just as the general pulls out two shiny objects from a bag he’s holding.

  “We caught him sneaking out of the girl’s dorm,” the general continues, “a place he obviously does not belong. When we searched the common area, we found these.”

  My chest tightens, and suddenly I can’t breathe, as the general holds out my stolen tools for everyone to see. The ones I hid behind the bookshelf, less than an hour ago.

  “The Kreons depend on me to enforce the law in New Elmira and the other compounds like it, but my options are limited. I’ve had to study history for inspiration. Do you know what the punishment for stealing was in some of earth’s more primitive cultures?”

  He pauses dramatically, before nodding at the guards. Two of the uniformed soldiers pull Gage to his feet, forcing him to tiptoes. They grab his right arm and hold it tight, as a mech guard aims the metallic weapon embedded on his arm. Before we can even take a breath, Gage’s arm has been severed from his body by a red laser. Gage screams and falls to his knees, as the guard passes his disconnected arm to the general. He lifts it up, along with the tools, so we can all see its fingers twitch, and then go still. I want to vomit.

  “May the punishment fit the crime,” he says.

  I’m numb with shock. There’s a roaring in my ears and after a moment, I realize it’s the other children around me, hissing their approval. The sound makes my skin crawl. All I can do is stare, as the mech guard uses the same laser to cauterize the stump of Gage’s arm. He convulses with pain, showing the whites of his eyes, before laying still in the dirt. His forehead shines with sweat, and I can’t tell if he’s still breathing.

  “This boy has failed to live in accordance to our rules. You will show him no sympathy. But I’m in a generous mood, so we’ll give him a chance to redeem himself. Who knows, maybe he’ll still become a worthy servant to the Kreons. After a week or two in isolation, I think.”

  The younger girls behind me are choking back sobs as mech guards carry Gage into one of the armored vans. I watch the doors grind open, sick to my stomach. The remaining guards bark orders, and we return, single file back into our dorm room. My legs feel like jelly, and I can
barely remember how they work. I tremble as we pass through a row of guards and swipe our tattoos under the scanner.

  No one speaks as we stumble up the stairs, but despite the general’s warning, the hall is filled with the sound of sniffles and soft crying. I reach my room but I can’t get myself to turn the knob. Tessa steps next to me and I look up. She doesn’t reach for her doorknob either. Her eyes are red and she has tears falling freely down her face.

  I try to push back the swirling storm of emotions. I’m angry at the Kreons, for treating us like cattle, for taking over our planet, for taking both my parents, and then my brother away from me. And I’m angry at the human general, who can be so cruel to his own people. But behind that, I feel a deep shame, burning a hole in my gut.

  “I’m sorry, Tessa,” I say quietly.

  “It’s not your fault,” she says, without looking up. I bite my lip, and in the silence, she snaps her head up and locks gazes with me. There’s a shock of recognition, as she reads the guilt in my expression, and before I can react she slaps me hard across the face.

  “It was you,” she breathes. My cheek is still stinging, and I’m sure it’s turning red, but I don’t deny it. Suddenly she grabs my arm and pulls me into her room. Sobbing, she pulls me over to her bunk and hides us both under her blanket. I wrap my arms around her until she stops shaking. But then I feel something hard pressed against my thigh. I glance down under the covers and see a small data drive.

  “It’s what Elan sent you in for,” she whispers. “We need to get you out of here, tomorrow. Do you have a way out?”

  I pull back in surprise, but grab the flash drive and tuck it into my pocket.

  “Maybe,” I say, “but it’ll be harder without the tools.”

  “Get a message to Elan,” she says. “And your brother. I’ll help if I can, but we have to act fast. There are more Kreons coming, more than we’ve ever seen before. They’re looking for something in the mines, and they’re getting close. I think it’s some kind of weapon. You have to get this information to New Terra, as soon as possible.”

  “You’re not coming with me?” I ask, gripping her hand. She chokes back another sob.

  “I can’t leave without Gage. And there’s more I need to learn.”

  I nod, looking into her hazel eyes. I think this is the most emotion I’ve seen out of her since I’ve known her. I’m not sure how to console her, or if there is even a way to.

  “Get your brother out. Find the weapon. Then come back for us, before it’s too late.”

  A shiver goes up my spine.

  “Why the change of heart?” I ask. “You trust me enough now?”

  She shakes her head. “I don’t have a choice now. You’re naïve, and reckless. I thought Elan was crazy, trusting you with a mission like this. But maybe I get it now. You’re good with tech, and brave. You’ll make a good addition to New Terra. If we both survive this place, maybe we can be friends someday.”

  “I’d like that,” I say. “Though I’m not planning on joining the revolutionists.”

  She pulls back suddenly, drying her eyes.

  “What’s that supposed to mean,” she asks warily.

  “My father told me the rebels caused more damage than good. That the only way to survive was to avoid conflict, live free in the wilderness. Wait until they leave.”

  Tessa’s face turns a bright shade of pink. “And you still believe that? After being here? Don’t you get it, the Kreons aren’t going anywhere. They’re cultivating a new society. You think they’d waste all this effort training humans if they weren’t sticking around?”

  “I don’t know,” I say. “But what use is fighting against them? You saw what they did to Gage. What can we do against that kind of power?”

  “Whatever we can,” she glowers back. “Otherwise the Kreons will exterminate us. Hide out in your cabin too long and you’ll be the only one left who isn’t a brainwashed servant. Is that what you want?”

  “I don’t know what I want,” I replied. I didn’t want to get sucked up in a useless cause, but could I really go back to my little valley and pretend like none of this ever happened? It was too much to even think about.

  “I’m only doing this,” I say, scratching my arm, “to get Jamie and I out of here.”

  “Then maybe I was wrong about you,” she snaps suddenly. She stands up and I take that as my signal to leave. I pause at the door, closing my eyes briefly. When I open them again, I push my shoulders back and straighten up.

  “I’ve survived this long without the revolutionists,” I whisper.

  “Let’s hope you come to your senses,” she shoots back. “Before you get us all killed.”

  NINE

  THE NEXT MORNING I’M EXHAUSTED from tossing and turning. Every time I fell asleep, my dreams were full of Gage’s screams, the bright flash that took his arm, and the cruel smirk of the general as he raised it up as a warning. And with the flash drive burning a hole in my pocket, it could be me next.

  Tessa is quiet during breakfast and doesn’t talk to anyone. I feel bad about the way we ended our conversation last night, and I have more questions now that my head is a little clearer, but we never have an opportunity to be alone. I shuffle in line behind the others, going through the motions, when I see Tessa dart out of line. She takes a bite out of an apple, then tosses it towards the garbage can. It misses by a foot, then rolls across the grass, stopping within a few feet of the gate.

  She’s already back in line, as if nothing has happened, but I know it’s the signal. I scan the trees, and when I see Elan at the tree line, my anxiety peaks. He nods, but I’m careful to keep my eyes trained ahead of me. Does he know what happened last night? He’s supposed to provide a distraction, so that we can make it through the fence, but after last night’s excitement with Gage the guards will be extra vigilant. Part of me wonders if we wouldn’t be safer just staying in the compound.

  I’ve seen Jamie around the campus. He seems to have made friends in his group. I’ve watched him laughing and playing with them in the common area. He seems happier than he’s ever been. But we can’t stay here forever. Eventually, the Kreons will move us somewhere else to serve them. Sooner, rather than later, according to Tessa. We’ll be separated. Jamie will grow up a slave to the Kreons, or worse—a willing servant, like the soldiers in the black uniforms. It has to be tonight. Before my brother isn’t even the same person anymore.

  In tech class, I look around the room at my classmates, and feel a pang of guilt as I stare at Gage’s empty workbench. But I stuff my emotions down and concentrate on what I need to do next, for Jamie. My nerves are on fire and my stomach is cramping as I go over the plan in my head. If Elan can be trusted, he’ll have a vehicle waiting for Jamie and me once I cut the alarm and fence behind the dorm building. I put my hand in my pocket and run my fingers over the drive I’ve taped against my hip, under the seam of my pants.

  Tessa is the only one who knows my plan, but I’m sure I can trust her, despite our argument. The only problem is, now that my tools are gone I need another way to cut through the fence. The portable blowtorches are locked up after class. I need a pair of sharp pliers but they’re all being used, and if I ask one of my classmates to borrow one, they’ll ask what happened to mine. A day after Gage was caught with stolen tools, I can’t risk raising any suspicion.

  I hear the two-chime warning that it’s time to get ready for dinner, and my pulse spikes. I glance at Tessa, my eyes wide. She rolls her eyes, but then lifts her project back to her shelf, leaving her tools in clear view on her desk. I swipe a screwdriver and slip it into my pocket. I’m about to grab her pliers, but a hand shoots out to snatch them off the table.

  “I’ll put these away,” Rachel says sweetly. “We really can’t be too careful.”

  I want to stab her with the screwdriver, but I just nod numbly and back away towards the door. Over her shoulder, I see Tessa shrug. I barely have enough time to grab a small black bo
x from the shelf before we head over to the cafeteria in single file. I keep my hands in my pockets because now they’re shaking. I don’t take a tray this time, telling Tessa I’m not that hungry. She looks at me strangely. I swipe a few pieces of fruit to stuff in my pocket for later and follow the yellows to our usual table. I hang back at the end of the line. When I spot Jamie I quickly walk over to him and bend down to whisper in his ear.

  “Meet me at the back corner of the dorm right before bedtime.” Then I hand him an orange, and more loudly say, “Make sure you’re eating enough fruit.”

  He starts to say something but I turn quickly and walk back to my table. Everyone in my group stares at me as I sit down, but they don’t say anything. We all know we’re being watched. Tessa gives me one of her warning looks. I need to be more careful, or someone will turn me in for suspicious behavior.

  The evening seems to drag on, as if time has slowed down. I’m anxious and my heart won’t stop racing along with my thoughts. It takes twenty minutes to rewire the battery I stole, praying it will work for what I have in mind. Then I lie down on my bed and wait.

  When I hear the girls start getting ready for bed, I get up and casually walk down the hallway and duck into the stairwell. I’m nervous Jamie won’t show. What will I do if he doesn’t?

  I shake my head at myself. I won’t have another chance. We already gave Elan the signal, which means he has everything ready on his side. I just have to get Jamie and I out of the fence and reach the treeline.

  My stomach twists as I step outside. I hesitate as my eyes glance at the center field. Even from this distance I can see hollow where Gage was kneeling. I quickly walk around the back of the building where another row of perfectly spaced trees runs parallel to the building.

  In the shadows I see Jamie. I smile as my heart feels like it will burst out of my chest. I hurry toward him. When I’m standing right next him, I notice he’s grown since we’ve been in here. I’m about ready to grab him up in a hug but he’s got his arms crossed and his expression is dark.