by Ramona Finn
I took in a deep breath. “You’re right,” I said. “There’s no turning back. Where’s the shuttle?”
Chapter Thirty-One
The shuttle flew us away from the Sky Labs. As I looked back, the shimmering domes of the flying cities no longer had the mesmerizing effect on me which they’d had before. The Greens glimmered in the sunlight, and I imagined all of the people waiting for me to appear. My heart hurt a little for Ben and the disappointment he would feel when I didn’t show up. I ran my hands over my now mussed-up dress, and relived, for a last moment, the luxury of that old life.
Then I pictured R.L.’s face when he realized that I’d actually pulled off an escape. I closed my eyes and hoped that somehow Tam and her people would escape his wrath, although I knew that to be impossible. I bit back tears and told myself that, as soon as I had a moment, I would mourn them. Then, fear grew like a tree in place of the anxiety I felt. Fear for my parents’ lives. I hoped that the Medic Union would shield them until I could be there to save them.
The shuttle continued over the forest, much like Joe’s drone had before, and finally it landed in a clearing on the other side, far from the Geos entrance and far from the line of sight of the Sky Labs. This was their new hideout, it appeared.
As soon as we landed, Rejs came out to cover the shuttle with branches and leaves until it looked like nothing more than a huge pile of twigs.
Skylar walked with me, leading me to their new cave. As we passed Rejs, I tried to see if I recognized anyone. They, on the other hand, seemed to nod at us. No, not us. At Skylar Two. They were offering him respect.
“You’ve taken your father’s place,” I said as two children ran up to him and touched his clothes in an almost reverence. “You lead the Rejs now.”
“Well, not all of them,” he said. “Just those who followed my father.”
I looked at Skylar Two. He seemed older, as if all of his suffering had aged him too soon. But he also walked with a lightness in his step, and a new sort of confidence that one would expect to see in a leader.
The new cave was much like their old one, but a little bigger. Inside, people had already settled into sections—laying out whatever bedding and creature comforts they’d scavenged. Small fires smoldered and groups of Rejs gathered.
As we walked in, most of their attention shifted to us. They nodded to Skylar Two, but when they saw me, they frowned. Some even shook their heads outright, signaling clearly enough that I was not welcome.
“Do they blame me for the bombings?” I asked, worried. “I swear I didn’t know they were coming until you did.”
Movement that I caught out of the corner of my eye brought another familiar face into view. Skylar Two’s old friend, Donalt. It was amazing. She didn’t look any worse for wear. She was still scruffy with dirt on her face, but other than that, she was all in one piece.
“It’s you again,” she said, with some disdain. She took a swig of water from the skin that hung on her belt. “Trouble seems to follow you everywhere you go.”
Skylar Two reached over and took my hand as Donalt came closer. He was making a declaration to everyone, including his good friend, that he was taking my side, whatever that was.
“I got your message,” he said, a little more loudly than necessary. “And you saved our lives. We got everyone out before the second sweep this morning.”
“There was a bombing this morning?” My heart came to a standstill. Ben had promised it would happen on the day of our ceremony. I just hadn’t had time to think about that.
Skylar Two nodded. “They hit our secondary caves, but we were already gone—thanks to you.” He repeated his thanks so that everyone could hear him. I knew what he was trying to do, and I was grateful. Still, Donalt managed a sneer.
“Come,” he said, ignoring his friend. He led me to a back section of the cave. There, he introduced me to his advisors. One or two I recognized as having advised Skylar One. The others were all new. They looked at me with suspicion but said nothing out of respect for Skylar Two.
He insisted I sit in his chair, and as soon as I did, a wave of fatigue washed over me. All of the adrenaline my body could produce had flowed away, and I was exhausted. I dropped my head into my hands. Tears dampened my silky dress, which I now saw was a ridiculous reminder of the elitist lifestyle of the Greens. This dress didn’t belong in this cave, with all that people here suffered. And maybe neither did I. For the first time, I felt so out of place there. I thought about heading back to the Geos, but recalling my last visit there, I knew I didn’t fit in there, either.
But here I had Skylar Two on my side. And I had a new purpose.
“There’s someone here who’s been dying to see you,” Skylar Two said, touching me on my shoulder.
I looked up, wiping the tears from my eyes. “Wallace!”
Standing behind a fire drum was my old mentor. He looked tired, and old, but he had a big smile stretched across his face. I ran into his arms, not thinking about whether this was appropriate or not. Luckily for me, Wallace returned my embrace. We stayed in a huddle for quite a while. He laughed into my hair and I cried into his layers of clothing.
“I thought you’d died!”
“I thought you died, too,” he said. “Or at least that you’d get yourself killed. Such a reckless girl, you’ve been. If I’d known that was going to happen, I might never have introduced you to the Rejs.”
I looked up at my old mentor. “Tell me. Was your father also called Wallace?”
He looked puzzled. “Yes. How did you know that?”
I told him about Tam and the other survivors. That brought tears to his eyes.
“I can’t believe she’s been alive all this time,” he said, his shoulders heaving.
“I hope she’s still alive,” I said. There wasn’t much hope, but wasn’t that all we clung to these days?
We couldn’t speak much more because Skylar Two called his ‘council’ to order.
An older man, who I recognized as Skylar One’s advisor, stood to speak. “Before we begin, we must formally acknowledge our new leader. We can also not call him Skylar Two anymore, may his father rest in peace.”
Everyone in the group repeated that wish.
“Shall we call him Skylar One then?” someone else asked.
Skylar Two lifted a finger. “If I may make a request,” he began. “I wish simply to be known as Skylar. I am my father’s son, and I’m sure there will never be a Skylar Three. Skylar alone is enough.”
Murmurs of agreement drifted up into the air.
“I like that, Skylar,” I said quietly. He gave me a sheepish grin.
“We have to plan out our next steps.” He faced his council, speaking with his father’s authority. “The Farrows are going to be mad when they realize we took Tylia. And they’re going to unleash all that they have on us. But, I’ve been in touch with the other Rej groups, and with the Unions in the Geos. They’re ready to stand with us.”
“Really?” I gasped. “The Unions are ready to fight?”
Skylar and Wallace both nodded.
“Your dad has been most helpful in our efforts, Ty,” Skylar said. “I must say I was surprised at first, but he’s really committed.”
I was surprised, too. Maybe I didn’t know my parents’ strengths as well as I should have. I’d always thought that I was the one who had to save them. I was wrong, it seemed. We were going to do this together.
“But we’re severely outnumbered and out-teched,” Wallace added. “We’re going to have to be smart.”
“I might be able to get inside information on the attacks if I can contact the right person,” I offered, thinking of Dax and wishing he were still alive. Maybe his brother Max would help. I also thought about Kev, wherever he was. Surely, now, if he was still alive, he would’ve realized his adoration of R.L. Farrow had been misplaced. If I could locate him, I felt positive he would want to help us.
“Excellent,” Skylar said. “Remember, if one person like
Ty could cause so much chaos inside Farrow Corp, together we could all do some real damage. It’s time to take down the Farrow family, once and for all.”
Skylar’s council murmured their agreement. After a short discussion delegating different parts of a potential plan to each member, they scattered, leaving me with Skylar.
“Here we are again,” he said, gazing at me with such happiness that it made me ashamed to be sad.
He walked up to me and I scooted over in the large chair, allowing him to squeeze in next to me. With him being so close, my body was reacting in all sorts of funny ways. I couldn’t seem to control my face—my lips were spread into a silly grin. He curled his arm over my shoulders, and I rested my head against his chest. We sat there in silence that way, just listening to the sounds of his people moving about in the cave.
“This feels right,” he said after a while. “You and me, here.”
“Hmm,” I said, exhaling. It felt as if I’d been holding my breath ever since I’d arrived, and now I could finally relax. We had a lot of danger in our future, but for now, this was nice.
“Did I ever tell you that you’re amazing?” he asked softly.
“Not really, until now,” I chuckled. “But I don’t mind it if you say it again.”
He laughed. It echoed through his chest. “Well, you’re amazing, Tylia Coder. I totally underestimated you when we first met. You’ve toppled the system and made a whole lot of trouble.”
“That’s me, a troublemaker.”
He took my chin in his hand and tilted my face to meet his. His dark eyes searched my face, as if trying to memorize every feature. Being in his arms like this was such a familiar feeling—like coming home after a long, long journey. I knew then that if nothing else went the way it was supposed to, I’d made the right decision in choosing Skylar over Ben.
I sighed and closed my eyes. Skylar leaned in closer, and we became lost only in each other.
End of The Labs
The GEOs Book Two
The Acceptance, June 10th 2020
The Labs, August 12th 2020
The Elites, October 14th 2020
Do you enjoy young adult dystopian fiction? Keep reading for an exclusive extract from The Elites and The Glitch.
About Ramona
Ramona Finn writes about courageous characters who fight to live in broken, dystopian worlds. She grew up sitting cross-legged on her town's library floor - completely engrossed in science fiction books. It was always the futuristic world or the universe-on-the-brink-of-extinction plot lines that drew her in, but it was the brave characters who chose to fight back that kept her turning the pages.
Her books create deep, intricate worlds with bold characters determined to fight for their survival in their dystopian worlds - with a little help from their friends...
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BLURB
Making the right choice always comes with a price.
Tylia Coder has joined the resistance after her ejection from the Labs. Yet if the Farrows discover she’s still alive, her family and friends in both the GEOs and the Greens will be in terrible danger.
What’s more, her supposed death only spurs on the bitter rivalries. The Rejs ramp up their attacks on the Labs’ sky transports, their leader so desperate now that he doesn’t care who gets hurt anymore. The Farrow family in the Labs is only concerned about maintaining the status quo, even if that means others must die to preserve their pampered way of life. But it’s when rivalries among the Geos factions erupt and supplies are all but cut off that Tylia realizes she must do whatever it takes to find the answers she seeks – and truly learn which man in her life she can trust.
In this explosive series conclusion, Tylia must embrace her destiny – or die trying.
Get your copy of The Elite
Available October 14th 2020
www.RamonaFinn.com
EXCERPT
Chapter One
The heat from the midafternoon sun bristled through the canopy of trees, piercing the thick layers of clothing I had on. Sweat trickled down my back, making me itch. Even the chain of my necklace was biting into the back of my neck. I fidgeted with my mother’s pendant, and Skylar’s vial tucked in safely behind it, appreciating the coolness of their surfaces.
I’d fallen behind in the trek and could only just make out Skylar’s figure ahead—he was signaling for us to stop. At least a dozen Rejs stood between Skylar and me. Another five or six froze behind me. At Skylar’s next hand signal, most everyone crouched low on the ground. Some leaned against thick tree trunks. A couple even climbed up into the trees.
Donalt waved me over to the tree she was hiding behind. She was Skylar’s oldest friend, and getting on her good side hadn’t been easy. Only very lately had she begun to be semi-nice to me.
Now, Donalt had her back pressed up against the rough bark of a wide cedar. She indicated that I should take my place by her side. I did so, wordlessly, and she nodded her approval. A deep silence fell over our portion of the forest. Only moments ago, the air had echoed with the crunching of dried leaves and twigs under the footsteps of all the Rejs who were heading toward the Geos’ landing site. With Skylar’s signal, all movement had come to an abrupt end.
If I hadn’t been one of the ones trudging through this forest, I wouldn’t have been able to tell that there were almost twenty people breathing and observing among the trees now. The Rejs were excellent at hiding in plain sight.
Skylar had stopped us about a kilometer from the landing site of the Elite transports. From this distance, I couldn’t see a thing, but I knew the entrance to the Geos was only a few steps from where the transports landed. There would be two elevators traveling into the underground world—one small one for people, and another larger one for crates of supplies.
As we waited for more instructions from Skylar, our leader, the air vibrated with the rumble of engines powering down. The transports had arrived.
The trek over the range of small hills where the Rejs had now set up camp had been the longest I’d ever attempted walking on the surface. Yes, I was immune to the Virus, and it seemed that so was every Rej on this mission, but the idea of breathing in something so vile had still made me uncertain about taking this journey, long as it had been. Things that Ben Farrow, Kev, and the old survivors had said about the Virus mutating, and becoming much more vicious, had left me growing more anxious with every camp we’d set up over the last three days. I could almost picture Rejs falling over and bleeding out through every orifice, telling us that we’d just come up against our old enemy, who was now stronger and deadlier than ever.
Skylar had initially asked me to stay behind in the caves. For my own safety, he’d said. But I couldn’t. This mission was the first since the bombings that had taken out hundreds of Rejs, including Skylar’s father. As the new leader of his band of Rejs, Skylar had managed to persuade several other groups of Rejs to join him in this offensive, and I had to be here with him, to make sure he didn’t go over the edge. His father’s death had taken a toll on him. Even though, over the last two weeks, he and I had barely been able to keep our hands off each other, I’d often woken up to hear him groaning in his sleep, his fists and teeth tightly clenched, tears soaking the bed clothes. He wouldn’t talk about it with me, or with anyone; he always kept up a brave front. When I pried, he said it was more important to look to the future, to the survival of our peo
ple, rather than to the inner emotions of their leader.
Skylar walked back from his position at the front of our group, stopping to give quiet instructions to each bunch of Rejs he passed. I noticed that he put his hands on the shoulders of several of his people. It seemed to me as if he was reassuring them, or checking to make sure they really wanted to be a part of this mission. He had learned from his father, and I could tell that the people loved him. A small twinge of jealousy pinched at my heart. He was mine, in the most private of ways, but he’d never be completely mine. He belonged to his people, and his heart lay with them first.
He handed me a bandana and a beanie, which he pulled out of his back pocket. “Tuck your hair into this, and cover your face. You’re too well known, and we don’t want anyone to recognize you.” He was all business in his tone with me, but I saw the twitch in his eyes, which told me he was worried for my safety. I took the bandana from him, brushing my fingers along the back of his hand. I hoped my smile told him I was capable of taking care of myself.
“Yeah,” Donalt sneered. I’d figured out that this snarkiness was her default mode of talking to or about people. I’d learned not to take offense. “Don’t want the Elites to think that their kidnapped princess has gone all Stockholm Syndrome on them, now do we?”
In the two weeks since I’d been ‘taken’ from the Greens, the little news that the Rejs had been able to glean from their spies inside the Geos hadn’t been great. The Farrow’s TV show, The Cure, told us that the Elites believed—or at least they wanted us to think they believed—that the Rejs had kidnapped me right before my partnering ceremony to Ben Farrow, the ‘favored son’ of our world’s leader, R.L. Farrow. On the show, the Elites were outraged, swearing revenge on the Rejs and vowing to return me safe and sound to Ben’s arms. From what our Rej ‘spies’ had reported, even the off-screen Ben was devastated and furious. That had me worried. An angry Ben, as I’d learned up close, was a vengeful Ben. And that meant the Rejs would have to be on the lookout for more attacks. Skylar was convinced that, with his moving the Rejs’ camp out so far over the hills, the Farrows would never find us. But I had my doubts. Ben was nothing if not determined.