In the split-seconds of my free fall, I vaguely remember some old anecdote about sheep jumping off a cliff. How did that go? Thankfully, I don't have time to figure it out because the air turbines gear up and nearly knock the wind out of me. We collectively shoot back up through the hole in the floor and I start hitting and kicking whoever is closest to me as best as I can in mid air. I manage to knock a couple of girls unconscious before the turbines shut off and we're all falling back into the hole in the floor.
On the way down, someone kicks me in the back, sending me crashing into a boy just below me. He twists to face me and starts to strangle me, but he loses his grip when the air turbines come back on. I head butt him and push him away from me, but grab his legs when we emerge from the hole again. Swinging the boy around by his feet, I'm able to knock a few others away from me. There are several unconscious people now, bobbing around in the air and falling lazily with each cycle of the turbines. Seems like the person in charge of the Override is getting confused by all of this motion because some of the trainees are attacking each other. Regardless, I'm still very vulnerable and getting pretty beat up. I need to find a way out of the Plunge.
We fall through the hole once again, but this time I try to position myself close to the edge. When the turbines shoot us up again, I use all my strength to propel myself out of the air stream, but I don't get myself out nearly as fast as I wanted, so I still fall about 10 feet to the floor outside of the hole. My knees buckle as I hit the ground and roll several feet away from the Plunge. I try to get up and run, but my body aches so much that all I can manage is to get onto my hands and knees.
My hair has fallen over my face, and through the dark red strands I can see the rest of my assailants exiting the air stream, some more successfully than others, and advancing toward me. I groan. I don't think I have any energy left to fight. And what's more, I see 6 of the other overridden trainees that didn't follow me into the Plunge approaching from the other side. This is the end, I think. I'm going to be beaten to death by my own peers.
I use the last of my will power to stand up. If nothing else, I'm not going to die on my hands and knees. I push my hair out of my face and watch the trainees closing in on me, some still with sheer panic in their eyes. It's all right, I'm going to see my dad soon.
But then, the lights start flashing and a siren goes off. Through the wail of the siren, we hear this announcement:
"Attention, the air barge is under attack. All capable trainees and other Amplified individuals will be subject to the Override to combat the assault. The Override will begin in 10 seconds."
In the momentary reprieve between Overrides, a few of my previously deadly attackers rush forward and apologize. Even though they just almost killed me, I feel sorry for them. Through my numbness, I try to summon up what it would feel like to be forced to try to kill someone else, much less someone you consider to be a friend. I look beyond them and see Jaren looking sour, he really must have wanted to kill me. Next to him is Aaron, the boy I bested in the hover chamber. He looks angry, but not at me. He may not be my biggest fan, but I bet that he's more bothered by the Override than by not having the chance to finish beating me up.
Then all at once, everyone around me becomes rigid and runs in unison out of the recreation lounge. The massive room clears as even the members of the band fall in line and rush outside. I only see a few people left; some that are unconscious on the floor and a few that are wandering helplessly around. They must have taken Intoxication, like me.
I limp outside to see where the Override is taking everybody. About 100 feet away I see the trainees pouring out of a building carrying guns and other various weapons. It must be an armory. I watch as everyone lines up on the North side of the barge, their weapons at the ready. For a few endless minutes there is complete silence. And then they come.
They fall from the sky and spill over the south and west sides of the barge. There are hundreds of them, wearing heavy black vests and helmets that completely cover their faces, each toting a massive gun. Somehow, I know exactly who they are, and they're not the North. Despite everything the Community did to make them seem ridiculous, it's clear that these people are a legitimate threat.
These are the Dissenters.
Chapter 27
Everything happens at once. The Dissenters open fire. I want the trainees to retreat, to flee — they are clearly outnumbered, but they don't. They are powerless against the will of the Override. My peers return fire, but their bullets, darts and arrows hardly penetrate the heavy protective armor of the Dissenters. I watch a few trainees go down in front and I scream. So much for staying out of the action. My scream alerts a few Dissenters and one of them breaks away and starts coming toward me. From their build, I'm guessing it's a man.
I'm still exhausted from being attacked by the overridden trainees, but somewhere inside me I find adrenaline and burst into a run. The Dissenter doesn't shoot at me, thankfully, but he is quickly gaining speed. I glance back and notice that the Dissenters have broken ranks and are splitting up. I can't imagine it's because we're winning, but it gives me hope that maybe something is going well for my peers.
I run to the Coliseum, nearly smashing into the massive doors as I try to escape my pursuant. Unfortunately, he's only about 20 feet behind me. Why doesn't he just shoot me and put me out of my misery? I think. Not that I'm eager to die, I'm just wondering about his tactics. Maybe he's one of those deranged types that likes to tear their prey apart with their bare hands. That disturbing image gives me a jolt of energy and I sprint forward.
I go straight to the wall of weapons and activate the training mode. Running along the wall, I pull off as many weapons as I can, and grab a small pistol to keep with me. I can hear the cracks in the walls opening and the manikins coming out, assaulting the Dissenter behind me. I turn around to check if my plan is working and I'm stopped dead in my tracks by what I see.
The Dissenter is taking on about 7 manikins at once, but he clearly has the upper hand. He's dodging arrows and knives by hitting, spinning, and kicking, all the while pitting the dummies against each other. He moves with more speed and agility than anyone I've ever seen, even the Restrainers. I nearly choke as I watch him flip over and rip the arms off of one of the manikins.
Who is this guy? Is it possible that a portion of the Dissenters have some sort of Amplification? Although, it seems he's using moves different from the ones programmed in the Amplifiers. Even now, he runs up the front of a manikin, wraps his legs around its head, and twists it down to the ground. The last two manikins shoot at each other until rendered lifeless. The Dissenter brushes himself off and turns his attention back to me.
Great, I think, I've been idiotically standing here in awe of my enemy when I could have been getting away. I take off across the Coliseum and fire back a few ineffective shots with the pistol. At least I've had a bit of a rest, while he's visibly drained from fending off the manikins. I head straight to the electrocution room, quickly shut off the electricity, and plunge into the maze of cables. I smile with satisfaction when I hear the Dissenter follow me in. I loop around the back of the room and then run out to turn the electricity back on.
The effect is immediate. The cables buzz to life and the Dissenter yells out in surprise and pain. It looks like he's caught near the back of the room, where the cables are swinging as he struggles to free himself from the agonizing shocks. He grunts a few times, and then suddenly I hear an odd thump and the cables start to retract into the ceiling. As the cords lift, I see a boot on the floor below the button and the Dissenter hobbling back to retrieve it. Of course, I think bitterly, my pursuer is the one person to outsmart this room.
But even more shocking is that the back wall is opening up to reveal row after row of shiny, silver Override machines. My mind starts racing. Why would they be storing dozens of Override machines on the training barge? Did Justin really want to see us succeed in this electrocution room or did he have ulterior motives? Did the Restrainer
s test all of us in here as a control experiment or to ensure that these machines were still safe?
The Dissenter takes a few steps toward the machines, apparently he's forgotten about me for the moment. He reaches into his vest and pulls out a Transmitter. I assume he's about to alert the rest of his Dissenter buddies about the Override machines. Suddenly, I'm filled with a sense of urgency. If the Dissenters get a hold of these machines, we are all screwed. The entirety of our Amplified Community will be at the mercy of these crazed rebels. I go from victim to attacker. I don't know what I'm doing — my Amplifier is still useless, but I just know I have to keep the Dissenters away from those Override machines.
My only advantage is that he doesn't see me coming. I run at him with all of my might and slam into his back before he's able to speak into the Transmitter. We fall to the floor and I try to hold him down by shoving my knee into his back, but he shakes me off easily. Before I know it, he's on top of me and poised to punch me senseless, but for some reason, he freezes.
"Mari Quillen?"
His voice. It's the voice. The mysterious voice from the recording on my device. I struggle to free one of my hands and hurriedly pull off his helmet.
And suddenly I'm staring into the honey-brown eyes of Miles Paxton.
Chapter 28
The words come quickly and from both sides. We shout over each other in a jumble of confused excitement.
"Where have you been?"
"Why didn't you try to find me?"
"What are you doing here?"
"Did you get my message?"
"When did you join the Dissenters?"
"Are you still Amplified?"
"Why did you leave me?"
My last question silences Miles. He looks caught off guard and stares at me inquisitively. I take in his features. He is absolutely striking. He has the same smooth, tan skin and thick black hair that I remember, and the past three years have sharpened the angles of his face. His eyes are so intense, yet softened somehow by their honey-tinged color. I feel my pulse quickening. Seeing his face again brings back all the memories, all the feelings of betrayal.
"Why did you leave me?" I repeat, getting up from the ground with some difficulty. "You were my only friend, and you just disappeared! I didn't even know if you were still alive! And right after my father had died — "
"I lost my entire family!" Miles explodes, jumping to his feet. "I didn't trust the Community and I didn't want to be part of it anymore!"
I exhale as I remember that Miles' father, mother, and older sister all died of the 12-hours virus. His neighbors had taken him in after that, but he never seemed to recover from the loss.
"Mari," Miles continues, "I'm sorry. But I thought you would follow me."
"Follow you where? You never told me where you were going!"
"I didn't know where I was going!" He retorts. "I just thought you'd be smart enough... "
"Smart enough to what? Run off into the desert and magically stumble into you? Leave behind my family and the chance to be Amplified?"
"The chance to be Amplified?" Miles spits out in disgust. "So that's what it comes down to? You chose Amplification over me?"
"I didn't know there was an ultimatum," I fire back.
"And what has Amplification done for you, Mari? It's just held you back and put you under the scrutiny of Governor Plenaris."
"How did you — ? "
"We're tapped into the Community's surveillance system," Miles explains. "I've been watching you since I left."
I should feel violated and a little creeped out. So why do my cheeks flush with pleasure?
"Plus Felix has been keeping us updated," Miles states.
"Felix?"
"Yeah, he's our spy. Smart kid." Miles chuckles. "He's a big fan of yours. He was supposed to get everyone on the air barge Intoxicated before we got here, but it seems like there was a snag."
Yeah, I think, a bunch of trainees were trying to kill me.
"So that was your big plan?" I ask sarcastically, "To render everyone useless so you could come up here and slaughter us?"
"It's an effective plan," Miles responds. "How do you think I got past the guards at the nutrition factory?"
Of course. So simple, yet brilliant. Like throwing your shoe at a button to avoid being electrified.
"Plus, we didn't come up here to kill you guys. See?" He holds up his huge weapon, and I can see it's only a tranquilizer gun. I look down at my pistol and feel a twinge of guilt as I remember that a few minutes ago I was trying to kill Miles. Well, before I knew it was Miles.
"So what did you come here to do?" I ask.
"We came to find these," Miles replies, gesturing toward the Override machines.
"Oh great, so we'll all be subject to the demented whims of the Dissenters," I remark harshly.
Miles frowns at me. Probably because I've just inadvertently insulted him. I guess I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that Miles is a Dissenter.
"No," Miles says slowly, "we want to destroy them." The confusion must show on my face, because he continues his explanation. "It's bad enough that the Amplified can be overridden by the Community, but if these machines were to be overtaken by someone else, it would be disastrous. You'd have an instant army at your disposal. The potential damage would be devastating. I can't even imagine what would happen if the North got their hands on these... "
"You know about the North?" I interrupt.
"Of course. Haven't they told you?"
"They've intentionally kept the North a secret," I respond. "Who are they?"
"Mari, there is so much outside of the Community," Miles says gravely. "There are other cities and communities, and the North is probably the most threatening. If they gain control, it's gonna be hell for the rest of us."
My head reels as I attempt to process this new and life-altering information. What's beyond the Community? How many other people are there?
"I talked to your mom about it briefly when she was hiding me at the farm. We're trying to come up with a plan."
I snap out of my thoughts. "You talked to my mom?" I ask, nearly delirious with confusion. But then I remember what my mom had mentioned in the Adhesive and I'm filled with anger.
"You! The Restrainers were looking for you!" I fume. "What would they have done to my mom, to Daniel, if they had found you? What on earth were you doing there that could possibly justify putting my family in so much danger?"
"Calm down, Mari!" Miles yells at me. "I was just getting some seeds and machinery designs. But mostly, I was there to find out about you!"
I'm lost for words. I know I'm blushing again and I wish more than anything that I wasn't. I'm angry that he left in the first place and that he's now a Dissenter, but underneath all that, I'm elated to see him again. I should tell him. I should let him know how much I missed him, but I can't bring myself to say it.
"Mari," Miles says gently as he moves a few steps closer, "I had to fight. I had to leave. But you have filled my thoughts every single day since then."
My breath catches. All of my other concerns and anxieties slip away as I take him in. He closes the small gap between us and I try to lean in, but I can't, because suddenly I hear a faint voice in my head and my body stiffens.
"Mari, kill him."
I'm not at all surprised that it's the Governor's voice I hear coming through the Override. The Intoxication I took must be wearing off. I take a step back and look up at Miles in alarm. He's the last person on earth I want to kill right now.
"Are you okay?" Miles asks, clearly concerned. My hand automatically lifts the pistol and before I know it I'm aiming at Miles' head. "Run," I whisper shakily. "Mari, what are you doing?" Miles demands.
"Run!" I yell at him. I concentrate all my self control on not pulling the trigger, but still Miles doesn't move. The voice comes into my head again, more powerful this time.
"Mari, kill him!"
My hand is trembling and I'm sweating from the effort of resisti
ng the command.
"Miles, get out of here!"
My resolve is momentarily weakened from screaming at Miles, and I pull the trigger, but I'm able to shift my aim slightly downwards before I do. The bullet hits his shoulder and knocks him to the floor, but thanks to his heavy vest, it doesn't penetrate. He stands and gives me a desperate look, but finally exits the room.
My body starts to run after him, still trying to complete the command, but I manage to throw myself on the ground. My body writhes and I fire off a few shots in the direction Miles went, but he's safely out of range.
I have to figure out a way to make the command impossible to complete, I think. Every muscle is straining against the urge to stand up and follow Miles. I scream in agony as I twist around and shoot the rest of the bullets at the rows of Override machines.
My body relaxes and a few of the machines explode. Looks like I helped the Dissenters out a little bit after all. I'm completely exhausted and I can only imagine the damage that's been done elsewhere on the barge. But what drains me the most is the thought that I may never see Miles again.
Chapter 29
I'm really starting to hate these chairs. Almost as much as I hate these patronizing and intimate meetings with Governor Plenaris. I've been sitting here alone in the control room for about 20 minutes, waiting for the Governor and whoever else is invited to this exclusive conference to show up. I feel too restless to be stuck by myself in a small room.
A few minutes after Miles left, one of the Restrainers found me in the Coliseum and escorted me over to the control room, explaining that Governor Plenaris wanted to meet with me. I was able to draw a little information out of the stoic Restrainer on the way to the control room, mainly that the Dissenters escaped with a few override machines, and that while there were numerous injuries, no one was killed. It was a little eerie walking across the barge. Even though I knew they were only unconscious, it was jarring to see dozens of trainees lying wide-eyed and lifeless on the ground. It looked like the Dissenters tranquilized almost everyone. I wonder why they left so quickly when there was almost no resistance.
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