Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  Xander grabbed the earpiece. He rolled his eyes - a habit he had finally accepted - when he heard Bronson’s voice asking for ‘Cupcake’.

  He slipped it in and pressed the button, turning away from a sleeping Deryn and speaking quietly so as not to wake her.

  “You know, Bronson, I’m still terribly offended that you have yet to give me a codename.”

  “Would Jackass suffice?”

  Another eyeroll. “Cupcake is sleeping. It’s still fucking early, why are you contacting her?”

  “You’ll do, Jackass. I was contacting you because ...”

  There was a brief but heavy silence.

  “Luka was here.”

  Xander tensed. “Luka.”

  Deryn popped up. Of course she wasn’t sleeping.

  “Not here in our apartment but in the building. He was in your place with his father. He had a bag, so I assume he was getting his things.” Another pause. “It smells bloody rotten up there. Is no one going to clean up the damn mess?”

  “Doubtful,” said Xander, knowing very well that the president would have left Veli’s remains for Soren to deal with. “Did he look alright?”

  “Better but ... but not how he used to look. It’s like it was him physically but his spirit was missing.”

  Xander closed his eyes and took a deep breath, once again regretting his decision to let Luka sacrifice himself to give him and Deryn more time to escape. He should have dragged him out of there.

  When he opened his eyes again, he looked at the clock. Only five minutes until he needed to be at work.

  “Cupcake is awake so I need to pass you off.” Xander took out the earpiece and handed it to Deryn. “Tell me everything he says.”

  She nodded. “Have coffee ready for me in forty minutes.”

  “Will do.”

  He kissed her and left as Deryn put in the earpiece.

  “What happened exactly?” she asked.

  “He doesn’t remember anything.”

  There was no hiding the sadness in the broken man.

  “He was with his father who asked if he knew me. He looked right at me and said no and that he thinks he might have met me once.”

  “Maybe he was lying to protect -”

  “If he’s lying then he’s the greatest fucking actor in the world. There was nothing there, Cupcake. He’s gone.”

  Deryn sighed. “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “Luka’s not an idiot. He was skeptical of it all before he ever met you. I’m positive he’ll come back to our side.” She paused. “It is kind of odd, though. Him not remembering you, considering you met him several days before Xander installed the mind-control chip.”

  “Yeah! And I’d say the first night we met was pretty fucking memorable!”

  Deryn snorted.

  She put her feet on the floor and took a good, long stretch. Well, she was awake, and she’d wanted to start work early that day anyway, so she might as well get going.

  “We’ll get Luka back, Bronson. I promise.”

  Bronson sighed through the line.

  “Are your houseguests still there?”

  Now he groaned. “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you make them your special pancakes for breakfast, and I’ll have Xander make them here? It will be like we’re together.”

  Another sigh. “I wish we were together.”

  “Me too. I miss you and I love you. Tell Quigley that goes for him, too.”

  “She misses and loves us, Quigs.”

  There was some mumbling and Bronson chuckled.

  “I think that means he feels the same. Have a good day, Cupcake. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”

  Deryn smiled. “Yes, soon.”

  She took out the earpiece and switched it off. After putting it back on the nightstand she just sat there for a moment, her chest aching as she thought of how much she missed her little family. Three pieces of her heart were still trapped in Utopia and she wouldn’t rest until they were together again.

  With new determination, she changed into some leggings, an oversized shirt that was meant for Xander, and the proper running shoes Nita had given her. She tied her hair in a messy bun and quickly brushed her teeth in the small basin she’d made so she and Xander wouldn’t have to endure the stares that always came when they lingered in the communal bathrooms.

  Once that was done, she was out the door, sprinting for the wooden track that circled around Blackbird so its residents could train safely.

  After ten laps around the city in the trees, Deryn finished with a final sprint toward the kitchen. She managed to stop just before hitting the wall, then bent over with her hands on her knees as she attempted to catch her breath.

  Deryn heard footsteps and her head shot up. Dakota froze when he saw her.

  “Getting an early start?” he asked.

  Still panting, she gulped and nodded. Things had not become any less awkward between them in the past two weeks. She was starting to wonder if they would ever become friends again.

  He nodded back, unable to look her directly in the eye. “So, I suppose that means you won’t be able to join me for breakfast?”

  Deryn knew he was only asking because he was so sure she’d say no. And as tempting as it was to prove him wrong ...

  “I have to get to work. There’s something I want to finish before -”

  “You have to go to the coast. Right. I remember.”

  “Maybe tomorrow?” she asked hopefully.

  He gave a small smile, still staring at her nose and not her eyes. “Yeah, maybe.”

  Dakota walked to the mess hall door, held it open and motioned for her to go first. She stifled a sigh. They wouldn’t be having breakfast tomorrow.

  There was hope though. Nita had told her just the other day that Dakota had turned down several missions he’d been offered. He was sticking around for her, he just wasn’t spending any of his time with her.

  Deryn thanked him as she walked through the door, not even bothering to look around and see who was there before heading straight for the swinging kitchen door.

  Xander was at his usual workspace peeling fruit. He looked up and smiled when she entered, then lifted a thermos of coffee and handed it to her.

  “Thank you,” she said, giving him a kiss before taking a much-needed sip.

  “You know, some girls look cute when they sweat. You turn bright red and your hair frizzes.”

  Deryn smacked his arm. “Ass.”

  She glanced over to where a girl she didn’t know was mixing pancake batter.

  “Any chance you can make me a batch with Bronson’s recipe? I promised him we would eat the same thing so it would be like we’re together.”

  Xander looked at the girl, who happily met his eye. He’d been working in the kitchen for almost a week at that point and everyone he worked with learned very quickly not to fear him.

  “I’ll gladly switch jobs if you want. Personally, I hate pancake duty,” said the girl.

  “Always such a damn complainer,” said Nita, coming through the door that led to the chicken coop with a large basket of eggs. She plopped the basket on the counter and wiped her hands on her shirt. “Okay, Ruby. Make us some pancakes.”

  And so he did, following the recipe he knew by heart after watching Bronson instruct Deryn so many times. She got the first plate - after Nita and the other kitchen workers all split some, of course.

  “That is damn good,” said Evangeline, who had also been turning down missions so she could hang around the base with the rest of her team. Deryn knew how difficult it was for Xander to work beside her each day, though he never admitted it. She was constantly reminding him that it was already too late for Anna Bellamy and he had been as merciful as he could. But it was never enough. His memories as a Guardian would forever haunt him, just like Deryn’s memories as a slave. As much as they hated those pieces of themselves, they were still very much a part of them.

  With her plate of pancakes and mug of coffee in hand, Deryn he
aded for the back door.

  “Wait!” called Nita. “Talon should be here soon. Don’t you want to eat with him?”

  “Not today,” said Deryn. “I have work to do before we head to the coast.”

  And then she left.

  Nita frowned at the closing door. She turned to Xander.

  “Does she ever eat in the mess hall?”

  “She’s had dinner there.”

  “Once. When you had the night off.”

  “Don’t sound so damn scornful about it,” he said. “I don’t control her. She eats where she wants to eat.”

  “But if you pushed her -”

  “She’s her own person.”

  “Ruby.”

  “Mallard.”

  Nita cringed. She hated her family name. “You know perfectly well that you have sway over her. Talon knocks on her door every morning to ask her to have breakfast with him but she’s either already gone or says no. Would it really be so hard for you to just suggest that she maybe take him up on his offer? We’re trying here and she’s not ...” She stopped and sighed. “She’s not taking to us. Still. She and I were best friends once and I’d like to be that way again someday.”

  Xander poured some batter onto the griddle and got his spatula ready. “You want to be her best friend again? Try asking her about what she went through during her five years as a fucking slave. She’s not going to have small talk with you until you address the damn elephant in the room.”

  Nita blushed. “I just figured when she’s ready -”

  “She’s never going to be fucking ready.” Xander flipped his pancakes. “You have to push her. I did. The day after I took her in. And do you know where we were after two weeks together? She felt open enough to ask me to buy her things, to tell me about her nightmares. We had trust.” He put the finished pancakes onto a plate and poured the batter for the next round. “I’ll mention to her that she should eat with her brother in the fucking mess hall.”

  Nita swallowed. “Thank you.”

  She turned away and went to her station, cracking several eggs into a large bowl. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so embarrassed. Of course he was right. Deryn wasn’t just going to offer up information about her time as a slave. She needed to be asked. To let it all out while the friend she used to tell everything to listened. But if Nita was being completely honest, she was absolutely terrified to hear everything Deryn would have to say.

  CHAPTER 23

  Deryn stood hunched over a table, biting down on the tip of her tongue as it stuck out of the side of her mouth. She was so focused that when someone touched her waist, she screamed and immediately took a defensive stance. She released a breath when she saw it was only Xander.

  “I thought you might be hungry,” he said, holding a sandwich on a plate.

  “What do you mean? I just had breakfast.”

  Xander cocked an eyebrow and motioned toward the clock on the wall.

  2:43 P.M.

  “Shit,” she said, turning her head when she heard Chelsea and Danny laugh. “Did you two eat lunch?”

  They both nodded. “We asked you to come with us and you said no thanks,” said Chelsea, still chuckling.

  Deryn groaned. Of course she responded like a damn robot.

  “Making progress at least?” asked Xander, putting the plate on the table.

  She nodded, grabbed the sandwich and took a big bite. “Wanna see?” she asked after swallowing.

  Xander said yes and she lifted the knife she’d been working on. Her knife.

  It had all started three days after they’d arrived, when Danny and Chelsea got out of the medical ward. They had come to Deryn and Xander’s room to thank him for sharing his blood and saving Danny’s life. While talking, Chelsea and Danny mentioned that they were the base’s two main weapon developers. They had worked in the Government Lab in Utopia and were fortunate enough to be on their way to the Black Market in Outer City when all hell broke loose that day five and a half years ago in Eagle Center. They took a chance following a group of fleeing Outsiders and the rest was history.

  Deryn had asked to shadow them the following day and she’d been working there ever since. While building her Element, she had drawn sketches of several other weapons she’d wanted to create but didn’t have the means to do so. Now she did.

  Her first project was to make the knives everyone in the Resistance held into more than just a blade.

  The simple gun in the tip had been completed days ago, shooting out a piercing ray of light that could cut a man in half so they wouldn’t have to worry about bullets. Xander had already watched her destroy several test dummies. But he hadn’t seen the second piece of her knife puzzle yet.

  Deryn went to the motherboard and loaded a clear image of a man. She stepped back and threw her knife so it pierced the man’s heart. A black liquid spread through the clear man’s bloodstream, but nothing more. She let out a small sigh and went to retrieve the knife.

  “The ultimate goal is to get the liquid to explode within your victim, but I haven’t been able to get it to work yet. I still need to make some tweaks to my recipe.”

  “You say it like you’re baking cookies,” said Danny with a smile.

  “Won’t the knife explode with your victim?” asked Xander.

  Deryn tossed her knife back into the test subject, waiting for the liquid to spread, then pressed a button on the belt she wore. The knife came flying back to her and she caught it by the hilt.

  “You just have to time it right. There’s enough poison in there to bring three people down.”

  Xander smirked. “I love your twisted mind.”

  Deryn smiled proudly and took another bite of her sandwich.

  The door opened and Talon walked in. She gulped down her bite. He was earlier than expected.

  “The call just came in. We leave in twenty minutes,” he said.

  Her eyes widened. “Shit, it’s early. I haven’t even showered yet!”

  Deryn threw down her sandwich. “Xander, grab me some clean clothes and meet me at the showers. Thank you! Love you!” she said, kissing him briefly before running out the door.

  “Can’t function without me,” he said, smiling proudly.

  Talon rolled his eyes. That damn Leon habit.

  • • •

  When Deryn got out of the shower, her clean clothes were waiting for her but Xander and her dirty clothes were not. There was a small note taped to a granola bar.

  Had to head back to the kitchens. EAT THIS NOW OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. I love you. -X

  Deryn smiled. She carefully packed away the note in the small bag he’d brought for her, then munched on the homemade granola bar while putting on her clothes.

  Once she was dressed, she popped the last bite into her mouth, strapped the bag to her belt and ran out. She used her fingers to brush her wet hair into a ponytail as she hurried to the front of the base.

  Talon, Nita and Laramie were already there and ready to go. Matilda and Piz were standing with them.

  “You sure you’re up for this?” asked Piz, putting his arm around her shoulders when she approached.

  “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?” she asked with a shrug.

  No one answered.

  “You all seem to forget, I didn’t just escape for the first time two weeks ago. I’ve been out for almost six months. I’m fine. Stop babying me.”

  “It’s not babying,” said Talon. “You don’t have much experience outside and we’re concerned -”

  “I can hold my own. I think I’ve more than proven that.”

  Talon and Nita exchanged a look. Deryn hated when they did that.

  “I want to be there, Talon. This is why Dad always went out and explored the world. To find other people out there living. This is why I always dreamed of following in his footsteps. Yes, I’m sure it’s other peoples’ dream too, and I understand the only reason I’m invited today is because I’m Dad’s daughter and your sister, and I’m fine w
ith that.”

  “Of course you are,” said Talon with a chuckle. “And don’t think for one second I haven’t been called out on this nepotism many times over the past two weeks.”

  “For what exactly?” she asked.

  “The private room, the real job instead of cleaning or kitchen duty, the meals you eat in said private room.”

  Deryn shrugged. “Would they rather the mentally unstable ex-slave and her scary Guardian boyfriend slept in a community room with them instead?”

  “I’ve used that very same argument,” said Nita. “We need to get a move on. Can’t be late to meet Talon’s boyfriend.”

  “Funny,” said Talon.

  “The way you and Sam carry on is pretty funny,” said Nita with a wide smile.

  “We’ll keep everyone in the mess hall for dinner,” said Matilda, giving Deryn and then the others a squeeze. Piz did the same.

  “Be safe,” he said. He took hold of the rope as the four of them stepped onto the platform and gently lowered them to the ground.

  It wasn’t a long walk to the coast. They would be meeting Commander Sam Knight and Lieutenant Commander April Park much closer to their base than where they laid their father to rest. They were still far enough away from Utopia that the president wouldn’t be watching. Not unless they encountered some bad luck.

  The four of them kept their eyes open for S.U.R.G.E.s as they walked. It was a never-ending battle with the damn robots.

  They arrived at their destination with five minutes to spare. Laramie returned to the forest to make sure it was clear while the others searched the horizon for an approaching ship. Everything was still.

  “Is he running late?” asked Nita.

  “From what I understand, Commander Knight never runs late,” said Talon, taking a seat on a nearby rock.

  He checked the time. One minute until arrival.

  Laramie stepped out of the trees.

  The moment he did, they all heard a noise they could not explain. A combination of a swish and a motor that had all of their heads darting around, trying to find the manufacturer of such a sound.

  And then their eyes fell back to the ocean. A ripple of water moved oddly, something teal slowly rising. It shot through a crashing wave, a small airship now visible and flying toward the shore, fluttering in place before slowly lowering onto the sand.