Rite of Rejection (Acceptance Book 1)

by Sarah Negovetich

  But now I know it can’t be faked. You can’t light a candle and pretend it’s a furnace. This is what I’m fighting to protect. I won’t let the Cardinal have this.

  Daniel pulls back slightly and kisses one eyelid, then the other before leaving the lightest of kisses on my lips. We lean against the wall for a minute, our foreheads pressed together, while we bring our breathing back down to normal speeds. His warm hands on the side of my face have a calming effect.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” Daniel’s face is still so close to mine that the heat of his words tickles my nose.

  I laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “Probably about as long as I’ve been pretending I didn’t want you to.”

  Daniel pulls back to match his dark-brown eyes with mine, and then we’re both laughing. Because it’s easier to laugh than cry. Because all this time we wasted not being together and we might only have days left before the Cardinal separates us for good, or worse.

  Daniel takes my hand and pulls me outside into the blinding noon sun. “I need to show you something.”

  We walk in silence along the edge of the fence. It’s strange how I can experience two completely opposite emotions at the same time. Part of my heart sings with Daniel’s hand around mine, his thumb rubbing soft circles along the top of my skin. But my happiness isn’t complete. We don’t have any of the equipment Daniel needs to hack the Acceptance feed and with the old security room empty I have no idea if we’ll ever find it.

  A few rows away from the security building Daniel stops outside of one of the countless rundown shacks that make up the edge of the PIT. It looks the same as any of the others except for a dingy scrap of fabric tied around the frame of a busted window. Inside, the stench of rot is suffocating. It doesn’t take long to see why. The back corner is stacked to the ceiling with moldy mattresses.

  I choke back a gag and use my fingers to pinch off my nose. My voice comes out weak and nasally. “What are we doing in here?”

  “Why don’t you wait outside? This will only take a minute.”

  I step back out and watch Daniel from the safety of the broken window. Using the neck of his shirt as a defense against the odor, he goes to work pulling mattresses off the pile. When the right side of the mound is moved away, he reaches back into the corner and pulls out a huge box.

  “What is that?”

  Daniel doesn’t stop to show me. He runs to the empty building next door and calls over his shoulder, “Not out in the open.”

  I catch up to him just as he pulls a huge cable out of the box and sets it on the ground next to where he’s crouched over the mystery box. “Did you just pull another burlap bag trick?”

  Daniel pats the floor next to him and continues to pull out random items, spreading them out around him. “The day we left, you went for a walk with Eric.” He pauses to inspect a small switch, but I keep my mouth shut. This is a story I want to hear.

  “I was so mad, at both of you.”

  “What? Why?”

  Daniel sets the switch down on a growing pile next to him and stops to look at me. “I guess that’s not fair. Maybe I was just mad at the situation. Mad that you were going to marry Eric, even though I could tell you didn’t want to, despite what you said. And furious that Eric would get to marry you, even though it was clear he didn’t see you for the amazing woman you are.”

  I grab Daniel’s hand and wish I could go back in time and erase so many things. All that time I spent trying not to think about him, pretending it didn’t hurt to see him with Elizabeth. To know he felt the same way, hid the same pain. Such a waste.

  “I needed to get away and I knew no one would bother me out in the security building. I wasn’t planning on anything, but once I got inside, I realized it wouldn’t hurt to shore up my back-up plan. The Noteboard was already buried out at the fence, but having some spare equipment would be handy as well.”

  “So do you have the equipment we need?”

  Daniel goes back to sorting through the box, laying everything into one of two piles. “I have no idea. There wasn’t time to be picky so I grabbed a box and loaded it up with anything that didn’t look broken. The stinkhouse was a bit of good luck. Unlikely anyone would bother combing through there for loot.”

  I reach into the box and pull out a bulky rectangle with a cracked digital display on one side. All the wires and gizmos are a mystery to me, but this was my idea and I feel like I should help. “So what exactly are we looking for?”

  Daniel pauses in his search, but before he can give me a description of what we need, he snatches the object out of my hand and kisses me hard on the mouth. “This is what we’re looking for.”

  My head is a little woozy from his unexpected kiss, but I gather my thoughts enough to form words. “What is it?”

  “This is a transmitter. We’ll use it to broadcast our own signal over the one being used by the ceremony.” Daniel stands up and brushes off the back of his pants before offering me a hand up.

  “What about a camera?”

  “I’ll get the camera tonight.” Daniel stuffs the transmitter into his full pockets and takes my hand to head back home.

  “But where are you going to get one?”

  “I have my choice, seeing as how there are two right outside the Admin building.”

  I stop walking and his hand tugs against my arm. “No, no way. It’s too dangerous. There are guards all over the PIT right now. We can’t risk it.”

  Daniel turns around and brings both my hands up to his lips. “I have to. We need a camera.”

  “I just got you. I can’t lose you now.”

  “And that’s why I have to get the camera. We have to do this, Rebecca. You were right. Getting the truth out is our only chance at stopping the Cardinal in his tracks.”

  “Then I’ll help you.”

  “No,” he says pulling my hands down and lowering his face till it’s even with mine. “It’s enough to put me at risk. We don’t need both of us in danger.”

  “Going alone is asking for trouble. I can help keep a lookout. Make sure no one catches you off guard.”

  “Rebecca—”

  “I’m going, it’s final. This was my idea and I’m making an executive decision. Let’s go get Elizabeth for lunch and then get back to the bunkhouse. We need to make a plan if we’re going out tonight.”

  Daniel crosses his arms and gives me his dimple smile. “Just out of curiosity, when did you decide to become Miss Take Charge?”

  “When the Cardinal decided to mess with my family.” I cross my arms to match his pose. “Is that a problem?”

  Daniel throws his hands up, palms out. “Nope, no problem here.” I catch the smallest of smirks on his face as he turns around.

  I loop my arm through his and we walk back to our home.

  Twenty-Five

  “I think our best bet is to go right before dawn. The moon will be at its lowest. It makes it harder to remove the camera, but it also gives us the most cover.” Daniel draws another line in the dirt next to our bunkhouse to mark the final road leading to the courtyard and then the Admin building.

  “Fine,” I smudge out a little ‘x’ on the diagram with my toe. “But I’m not waiting all the way over by the wash house. I won’t be able to give you any real warning time and besides, it stinks.”

  “Any closer and your warning will have to be run.”

  “Not if I get up on the dining hall roof. I’ll be able to see everything going on in the courtyard and several alleys over. I can give you plenty of notice to take cover and the guards are never going to check the rooftops so I’m perfectly safe.” I take the stick and mark an ‘x’ on the square he’s drawn to indicate the dining hall. “I’m here, you’re right next door at the Admin building, and we’re both home before the sun rises.”

  “And if something goes wrong?”

  “Then I promise to stay on the roof until it’s safe to come down and then run like a good girl back to the bunkho
use.”

  Daniel takes the stick back and uses his foot to wipe away our drawing. “This isn’t a game, Rebecca.”

  “I know.” I step across the smeared picture and wrap my arms around his waist. My forehead pushes against his chest. “But it’s easier if I don’t think about how risky this is. If it’s just a quick trip to the Admin building, I can pretend there’s no risk of losing you.”

  Daniel links his hands behind my back. “Fair enough.”

  “I’m going to dinner.” Elizabeth steps around the corner of the house. “If you guys can bear the separation, you can come with me.”

  Her mood hasn’t improved any throughout the day. Daniel and I tried to explain what our plan is, but she won’t even stay in the bunkhouse if we’re talking about it. I had hoped when we came back with the transmitter she might change her mind, but that backfired when we told her about tonight’s mission to steal the camera.

  The dining hall is packed and everyone is still in high spirits about the general improvements. Faces through the crowd are smiling and laughing as if the Cardinal announced a holiday, complete with cake.

  “Is it just me,” Daniel says, sliding onto the bench, a bowl of greasy rice in hand, “or does everyone seem a little too excited about some cleaned up garbage?”

  “I was thinking the same thing.” I poke a finger into the rice and prepare myself for the first awful bite.

  “You two stay here for a minute. I’m going to do a little investigation.” Daniel stands back up, a casual smile on his face as he walks over to a group of boisterous men a few tables away. One of them must be telling a joke, because on cue the whole table breaks out into gales of laughter, Daniel included.

  He sits down and joins in the conversation, his face never betraying the true intention of his social visit. Daniel leans in to say something and everyone else instantly turns to more smiles and exaggerated arm movements. A wide smile breaks out on Daniel’s face, but the little lines above his nose give away the real concern hidden behind his jovial expression.

  Daniel stands and shakes hands with one of the men, before walking a bit too quickly back to where Elizabeth and I wait. He sits down and the easy smile he wore just moments ago is gone without a trace.

  “The new fence posts have finally caught everyone’s attention.”

  “Then why does everyone look so happy?” I give up on the bowl of rice. “I expected rioting in the street or at least an angry mob.”

  Daniel pushes the bowl back at me. “You need to eat.” He takes a bite from his own bowl to prove the point. “They don’t know the poles are for a fence. The workers told them the Cardinal ordered construction of new buildings throughout the PIT.”

  My bowl is halfway to my mouth, but I set it back down at Daniel’s words. “You’re kidding. So they think what? The Cardinal decided we deserve new bunkhouses?”

  Daniel pinches the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. “That’s exactly what they think. The men I spoke to were all bragging about the workers letting them help hold the poles while they poured the cement.”

  “So what?” Elizabeth says, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “So they spend the next few days on cloud nine until the fence goes up. They’ll be mad and then they’ll move on like the rest of us.” She stands up and marches away from the table.

  “I’ll see you back at the bunk.” I stand up and push through the crowded room to follow her.

  Outside, a steady stream of people are making their way to dinner, but I finally spot her at the edge of the courtyard. “Elizabeth, wait for me.” If she hears me, I can’t tell. I run to catch up with her. “Wait a minute; I want to talk to you.”

  Elizabeth whips around, her hands on her hips. “What do you want?”

  Her glare stops me a few feet away. “I thought we moved past the place where you hate me?”

  “We did, until you convinced Daniel to go along with this ridiculous plan.” She turns to walk away again, but I hook her by the elbow and force her to stay and talk to me.

  “This is our only chance of staying together.”

  “All you’re doing is increasing your chances of ending up in Quarantine again.” She jerks her arm back out of my hand. “I’m warning you. If Daniel gets caught tonight, it’d be best for you to not even bother coming back to the bunk. We’ll be done.”

  I stand in the middle of the empty alley and watch her sink into the crowd. So much for not feeling the pressure of tonight’s mission.

  ***

  Our heavy footsteps are the only sound interrupting the still night. There are only a few hours until sunrise, so we have to move fast. Daniel leads me around the edge of the courtyard, darting from shadow to shadow until we reach the back of the dining hall.

  “Don’t you want to go over the hand signals one more time?” Daniel weaves his fingers together to create a foothold.

  “Stop stalling and help me up.” I put one foot into his hands and use the boost to reach the top of the dumpster. From there I have to jump up to catch the ledge of the roof. A year ago, I wouldn’t have had the strength to pull myself up, but months in the PIT have changed me in more ways than one.

  Daniels stands on the ground ready to catch me if I slip. I grab the ledge and, in a very unladylike move, swing my legs up onto the roof.

  Crouching down to keep a low profile, I crawl to all four corners and make sure no one is around. Rushing to the back, I lean over the edge and give Daniel a quick thumbs-up. He grins back at me, his dark face almost disappearing in the night.

  I follow his movements to the front of the Admin building. Using one of our chairs from the bunkhouse, he climbs up toward the inactive camera and works to loosen the first screw. Satisfied that he’s alright for the moment, I make my first round.

  My knees are raw after only a few yards, but I can’t risk standing up and giving away my position. At the front of the building I scan the courtyard and darkened alleys beyond for any sign of movement. Nothing stirs so I head back along the southern side of the building to check on Daniel’s progress.

  He’s moving faster than I thought he would. The camera is already hanging at an odd angle from the missing screws. He has to be at least halfway done.

  It’s tempting to sit and watch him work, but I need to stay alert if I want to keep him safe tonight. I start another circuit along the northern wall toward front of the building again. I bet the view of the sunrise is amazing from up here, but Daniel and I need to be long gone well before that happens. Still no movement in the courtyard. I keep moving, ignoring the pain in my knees.

  A scuffing noise on the ground stops me mid-crawl. It could be just Daniel finishing up with the camera, but I need to be sure. I flatten my belly to the roof and scoot until my face is right at the edge of the building. My eyes scan every inch of ground in front of me, searching for a movement to match the noise.

  The courtyard is empty and quiet. I must have imagined the sound. I scoot back from the edge, but stop when the ripple of a shadow catches my eye. Then another, and from an alley, two red-uniformed workers walk into the courtyard.

  In a fraction of a second I’m up, half running, half crouching back toward the rear of the building where Daniel is still working to remove the camera. I press my lips together the way Daniel showed me and blow out a hard puff of air. The squeaking noise is just loud enough to get his attention.

  I roll my fingers around each other, point toward the courtyard and hold up two fingers. Thank the stars Daniel forced me to learn a few quick hand signals after dinner tonight.

  Daniel nods, but doesn’t stop working. I puff out another breath of air, but he doesn’t even look at me this time. Just nods and moves his hands to take off another screw.

  Scraping off most of the skin on my knees, I speed crawl back to the front of the building. The workers are halfway across the courtyard now and clearly headed for the Admin building. Judging by their pace, Daniel has just over a minute to get out of there.

>   I race back to the building, cramps shooting up my side, to check on Daniel’s progress. The camera is down and he’s using the sharpened edge of a clamp he found to clip the wires. I let out two quick squeaks of air. This is supposed to be our ‘you’re out of time so get out of there’ signal but Daniel keeps working.

  The men’s voices carry up to my spot on the roof. Daniel’s shoulders tense. He hears them, too. I can’t whistle again without the men hearing me, but Daniel doesn’t need me to tell him he has to get out of there.

  “Two more days and we can get back to our regular routine.”

  “I can’t wait. This fence is a bear to put up and the night shift is not helping my digestive system.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “My wife’s dinners aren’t that great fresh. Reheated, they’re plain awful.”

  The men laugh and the sound is way too close to be comfortable. Any second they’ll come around the corner of the dining hall and see Daniel.

  “Hey man, hold up a minute?”

  Daniel finally has the camera disconnected from the wall, but he’s too late. He freezes on the chair, clutching the stolen equipment to his chest. I stare at his face and try to memorize every line, knowing this might be the last time I ever see him.

  “My shoe’s untied. Wait for me.”

  I exhale a silent breath. Daniel’s been given a last-second reprieve, but only if he can move it. He jumps down off the chair, picks it up with one hand, and dashes across the empty space between the Admin building and the dining hall. Moving quickly and silently, he throws the chair up onto the dumpster and shoves the camera down between two black bags.

  “Let’s get out of here.”

  There isn’t time to get him up on the roof. He smiles up at me, winks, and wriggles down into the garbage, pulling bags of rotten potato peels over his head.

  “I hear the day shift is in charge of the actual divide.” I watch as the pair of men walk over to the Admin building door. One of them looks around and I’m panicked that he heard Daniel getting into the dumpster. Instead of moving toward our building to investigate, he reaches into the pocket of his uniform and pulls out a pack of contraband cigarettes.