Delivered: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 7)

by M. J. Kaestli

  Freya looked in his eyes, watching them transform back to his familiar kind, loving, arrogant glimmer. She hesitated for only a split second before she closed the gap between them.

  “I chose you then and I still choose you now.” He whispered in her ear. “But maybe I’ve proven myself enough by now that you can’t call me a babbling idiot anymore.”

  Freya pulled out of his embrace and looked him in the eyes. “If I have to stop calling you a babbling idiot, you have to stop calling me a poster child.”

  Colin scrunched his face. “No. Not worth it. No deal.”

  She pushed further away from him. “Hey! I tried to single-handedly take on the High Council and destroy the very structure of the State. And what am I doing here now? I’m here to fight and destroy them.”

  He reached out for her. Only then did she notice that his hands were heavily bandaged. “What’s this?” She lifted his hand closer for examination. “Do your hands look as bad as Lewis’ face?”

  He grimaced. “Not Lewis. I guess you could say, I had a disagreement with an exercise bike.”

  Just as their moods had lightened, they were walking dangerously close to a cliff in the darkness. She didn’t know if she should continue joking or acknowledge his pain. “I’m sure that the bike deserved what it had coming.”

  His lips pulled into a half-smile, but she knew her joke wasn’t the right response.

  “You didn’t want me to kill Lewis, so I had to blow off some steam in a more creative way.”

  She reached for his other hand, examining the bandaging on both.

  “Thank you, by the way, for sending Gwen. She just kind of stood there and watched till I got it out of my system, then we went to the clinic and she patched me up.”

  Freya nodded. “I’m glad.”

  He looked down, exhaling heavily. “What about Lewis?”

  She cocked her head to the side. “What about Lewis? He’s in the past. And very old.”

  Colin narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to kill him.”

  Freya’s heart suddenly thudded in her chest. “Colin, we need him to talk. I mean, I haven’t been successful yet, but maybe Aakil and Gwen can try.”

  “Freya, we’re going to go in there. We’ll get information from him. It might take all day, it might take a month, but he’ll talk. And once we’re done with him, then I’m going to kill him.”

  She knew he was justified. She knew Lewis could cause problems if they let him live. But she also knew that Colin was no killer. Killing Lewis in cold blood would change him in ways neither of them were ready to deal with. “I think we need to hear what he has to say before we decide.”

  “What could he say that could ever change the fact that he tortured me—twice. Then he tormented and killed my parents, and God only knows who else. If you thought he was dead, clearly he lied to you. So, pardon me if I can’t see a single reason to spare his life.”

  “No.” She sighed. “There is no reason whatsoever to save Lewis. But it’s you I worry about.”

  “Freya, I have to.”

  She nodded but remained silent. She knew it was wrong, but she also couldn’t stop Colin either. He needed to avenge his parents’ death. She just wished he could channel that rage toward the High Council instead of the decrepit old man.

  ***

  Colin marched into Lewis’ office, speaking confidently, “So, Freya, do you know where Lewis tortured and killed my parents? It’s probably the same place he tortured me, but I don’t know how to get there. I can think of no better, more appropriate location than that for us to talk.”

  After Freya had debriefed Colin of her conversation with Lewis, he decided that despite her doubts, they were the best candidates to talk to Lewis. They may both have a personal history, but that might work in their favor.

  Lewis lifted his head. “Colin, there is no question; you deserve your revenge. What I did to you and everyone you loved is unforgivable. But unfortunately for you, you need to decide between gaining information and obtaining your well-deserved vengeance. I’m too old to be tortured. I have a heart condition, a result of the High Council letting me live for too long. I’m surprised my heart didn’t give out when you first arrived. I’ll be dead long before you feel satisfied, leaving everyone without the information you all so desperately require.”

  The room fell into a harsh silence. Lewis was right, and even Colin knew it.

  Colin’s nostrils flared in anger before he asked, “How can we trust anything you say?”

  Lewis huffed. “You can’t. But you might as well hear me out before you kill me.”

  “Really? Because I believe you told Freya that the dome is indestructible even though the State has always accused the rebellion of planning to destroy it.”

  “Yes,” Lewis replied and glanced over at Freya. “That sounds exactly like the High Council I know. How about you?”

  Yep.

  She didn’t answer, not wanting to display any form of agreement with Lewis. The moment he knew he had gotten through to her, it was game over.

  “Did Chastity ever tell you about her mother, Freya?”

  Freya furled her brows. “No.”

  “Did she ever tell you that Colin’s mother was like an older sister to her—her mother almost a mother to Ursa?”

  Colin stepped forward and spun in front of Freya as though he were placing a barrier between her and Lewis. “He’s stalling. He is just jerking us around while the State attacks from the mountain.”

  “The State could bomb this area, but you would be shielded and safe. In fact, you could gather every human survivor on the surface inside of here. As long as those access points are well-guarded, the State can’t ever touch you.”

  Colin hung his head. “Lies. The State always said the rebellion was trying to take down the dome. Why would they say that if it were unbreakable?”

  “Chastity’s mother was a scientist in Cheyenne Mountain. She was a part of a team that developed the power source for the transport device and then was brought back to the dome to work on a project to make it unbreakable. Your mother knew this. The rebellion wasn’t trying to take down the dome. Your parents were suspected of leading a rebellious group who were smuggling people out of the dome because they knew of a community of survivors near here.”

  Colin spun around and looked at Lewis. “Hope. That’s what they call the community.” Colin’s demeanor hardened. “How would you know that? Did they surrender that information while you tortured them?” Colin spat.

  “Why don’t you both take a seat as there is much you still don’t know. You may as well get comfortable.”

  Freya stepped forward. “Why don’t you answer Colin’s question first?”

  “Fine. No. In the entire time I spent torturing people for information, your parents were the first I’d seen to hold out. Unfortunately for both of you, someone else had surrendered their names many years before. But because of their interests in Freya, action was never taken until they had served their purpose: to shift Freya’s loyalties.”

  He keeps making sense. Could he really be telling the truth?

  “As I was saying, the rebellion wasn’t trying to destroy the dome. They always planned to get as many people to that community as possible and to take the transport device and colony world. But as soon as Freya arrived, they knew exactly why the State sent her. They immediately shut down their smuggling operation and shifted their focus to overtaking the colony.”

  Colin gave a dry laugh. “You know Lewis, if I’m not mistaken, I’d almost think you respected my parents.”

  A soft smile bent Lewis’ swollen lips. “Oddly enough, I did. Especially your mom. Even with all my experience and training, she got inside my head while I was trying to get into hers. And she had me pegged. Her words haunted me for years, but age plus isolation has given me perspective on my life. Now that it’s all said and done, I respect the hell out of her, out of Chastity, and from what I’ve gathered, her mother Hope as well.”

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nbsp; “Gee, that’s swell,” Colin sneered. “But I didn’t come here to hug it out with you. You want to live, switch all this bonding information into something useful.”

  “Why don’t I make you a deal? I need something. Medication. Freya, in the top desk drawer, there is a bottle of pills. It’s my heart medication and I’m overdue to take it.”

  Colin’s head snapped up. “Nice try. We won’t untie you.”

  Lewis shook his head. “I don’t need to be untied to take pills. Just place two of them in my mouth, and I will swallow them dry.”

  Freya headed toward the desk, but Colin cut her off. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

  “Colin, without my medication, I may not live long enough to answer your questions. Besides, you didn’t hear what I’m willing to offer in exchange.”

  “And what’s that?” Colin’s eyes narrowed.

  “The identities of the High Council.”

  “What! You can’t know that. No one knows that.”

  She may accuse him of lying, but the way her heart pounded in her chest said otherwise.

  Colin stepped closer. “And how will that help us? Aren’t they in the mountain? Which you claim is impenetrable.”

  Lewis gave a slight shrug. “Correct. But what if I’m wrong? What if, like everything else, the mountain’s security is just another ruse? If you can find a way in, it would be invaluable to know who your prime targets are. You kill them, there is no State. It would certainly make victory easier and save lives. You know most of the people in the mountain are innocent, just as you all were. They don’t deserve to die just because the State controls them.”

  Freya continued to the drawer and found a bottle of pills as instructed. She dumped two into her palm, tossing the empty bottle in the bin, and walked over to Lewis.

  She stood just out of his reach. “Tell me, are they in the database? How will we know what they look like? If you only give us names, that’s not much use to us.”

  “I took screenshots of them during our meetings. And before you ask why I saw them, it’s because of their plan to abandon me in the dome. Dr. Rhetta thought I needed to feel as though I was part of their family to stave off any suicidal tendencies that I might have developed in isolation.”

  Just hearing him mention Dr. Rhetta was enough for her. As ridiculous as it seemed for the High Council to expose themselves, it also sounded just demented enough to be one of Dr. Rhetta’s plans.

  Freya moved closer. He opened his mouth while she cautiously dropped the rough textured pills inside. As promised, he swallowed them dry. She stepped back to Colin’s side.

  “Thank you. I have a private file on my tablet—”

  “Wait. And let me guess,” Colin disrupted, “we need to untie your hands in order to unlock the tablet and give us the pictures.”

  “Colin, our Security system is shut down; anyone can access my tablet. What you don’t know, is where to find the file. Do you want to waste time looking for it? It could take you months to sift through everything. Your time would be better spent protecting your people and looking for a way inside the mountain.”

  “Wait,” Freya suddenly regretted handing over the pills so easily. “If you think we can get inside the mountain, why did you tell us to gather everyone inside the dome?”

  “Freya, the moment the High Council realizes what you’ve done, I guarantee they’ll send their one reserve of missiles for Idaho.”

  Colin’s eyebrow arced suspiciously. “One reserve?”

  Lewis gave a soft nod. “They have only ever had one set, only producing them to neutralize the colony each time they sent the rebellion there. I found a photo of a man peering through the dome and used it to convince the High Council to hold off on neutralizing the colony. I encouraged them to get more reserves. As they have now sped up production, they’ll have more in a few years’ time.”

  Freya grabbed his tablet. “So, they have one set they could fire at us at any time, and they’ll have another set soon. How do we approach the mountain?”

  “Very carefully.”

  Colin scoffed. “We got that. What else do you know?”

  Lewis’ head gave a slight sway to the side. “I can only theorize. I know that they’ll send guards to every access. But if they slip up, you might be able to steal one of their vehicles, put on their hazmat suits and gain entry. Or at least have a look around for another entrance. It could take years, but it’s all I can think of.”

  Lewis looked exhausted. She wanted to get as much information out of him before he drifted off, so she knew they needed to prioritize their questions. “Lewis, where did you put the photos?”

  His lips curved slightly. “I have a special tab labeled Dr. Rhetta. I stuffed a lot of folders under her name, but you want Reports.”

  Freya cocked her head to the side. “And weren’t you ever worried she might find it? Or one of the others?”

  “Why would they? She’s dead.”

  Freya felt nothing. She thought she should, but she didn’t. Dr. Rhetta may have been the face of the High Council to her, but Freya imagined they were all the same.

  “So, we will gather everyone inside the dome—”

  “Today,” Lewis disrupted her. “Gather everyone you can from anywhere. The High Council doesn’t know where Hope is, but once you’ve got guards posted outside, it will be too late.”

  “Why would they need to come here when the High Council doesn’t know their location?”

  Lewis’ eyelids closed and took a moment before he could reopen them again. “Because I tried to stall destroying the colony, the High Council is getting more and more aggressive with the drones. Those people might be safer here.”

  Lewis’ head bobbed, the color draining from his skin.

  Despite all the ways Lewis had wronged her, she couldn’t help but feel concerned for his wellbeing. “Lewis, are you okay?”

  Maybe we could lock him in a cell. At least he’d have a bed and get some rest.

  He kept his eyes closed but his mouth pulled into a soft peaceful smile. “It depends on how you define okay. I’m dying.”

  “Dying,” she exclaimed, moving forward.

  “Yes. I’m sorry that I deceived you one last time, but I felt it was for the best. You didn’t give me heart medication, but a lethal dose of the medication that makes people die in their sleep. I had saved some from my time spent in the kitchens retiring civilians. I always wanted the ability to die on my own terms. And now that you’re here, you’re safe, I have nothing left to live for. And although I deserve it, I don’t care to be tortured.”

  He tried to turn his head to the side, but it only bobbed and returned to hang limply on his chest. “Colin, I’m sorry to steal your revenge from you, but it wouldn’t have helped. Trust me. I killed Dr. Rhetta with my bare hands, and I only felt emptier inside afterward. It couldn’t make up for all she took from me, just like I could never return your parents, nor the time you lost with Freya.”

  Her limbs felt icy cold. There were suddenly so many more questions she had for him, yet her mind was incapacitated.

  “If it helps,” Lewis slurred, “put my body in the incinerator. Maybe that will give you closure.”

  This can’t be happening. Not like this.

  “Lewis,” she said, yet couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “It’s okay. It was all worth it, just to see you again.” A string of spittle dripped down his lips, landing on his black shirt. “I hope you do it. I hope somehow you beat them and wipe the name Rhetta from existence.”

  His head fell forward, hanging lifeless. She remained immobilized.

  Colin stepped forward and kicked at Lewis’ foot. No response. He stood behind Lewis and pressed two fingers against his throat. “I don’t feel a pulse. If he’s still alive, he’s barely hanging in there.” Colin swallowed hard. “Do you want me to take him to the clinic?”

  She leaned against the desk for support. “No. Do you know where the incinerator is?”<
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  Colin nodded. “Are you okay with that?” He rubbed a sobering hand down his face. “I mean, this is so messed up, but we can’t change it. I hate him, but I also know it’s not totally his fault. He’s right. Killing him wouldn’t give me back what I’ve lost. Nothing will.”

  “Colin.” She swallowed hard. “I want you to bring him to the incinerator. I think it’s the right thing to do, because it was possibly the only choice he’s ever made for himself. He never got to live his own life, so let’s let him die the way he wanted to.”

  Colin stepped away from Lewis’ body and gently wrapped her in his arms. “I’m glad this is over, but we aren’t done.” He gave her a squeeze.