by Laura Martin
When I got back to my room, I shoved my chair under the doorknob and climbed onto my bed to empty out my hiding spot. I spread my meager belongings out on my bed. There wasn’t much. The flashlight Shawn had made me sat forlornly next to my journal, scan plug, and my set of lockpicks. I carefully placed each item into my backpack. Opening my journal, I flipped to one of the damaged pages at the back. I had to write small and squish my words around the hole, but I made a list of supplies I would need to survive topside. It was a long list, and the only place to get everything on it was the marines’ barracks. My stomach flopped sickeningly at the thought. Turning a few pages, I found my meticulous accounting of the marines’ schedule. I’d written it down ages ago when I first started my runs to the maildrop.
I bit my lip as I planned how I was going to get in and out of the barracks undetected. My dad had stolen his supplies from the marines when he’d disappeared, so I knew it was possible. Difficult. Deadly. But possible. I glanced at my supply list again. If I could get my hands on one of the marines’ specialized camouflage body-armor suits and a stun gun, I might just have a chance. Might being the key word. Going topside was crazy, but I knew I’d never be able to live the rest of my life locked underground, knowing I’d passed up my one shot at finding out what had happened to my dad.
I sat back and looked around. Tonight was the last night I would spend in the compound. The thought was bittersweet, and I unscrewed my compass to read my dad’s note again. Just holding it made me feel tougher, more confident than ever that I could do this. And maybe, just maybe, I would find out what had happened to my dad.
I woke up at four a.m. when my alarm began vibrating. Turning it off, I crept out of my bed for the last time. My nerves were buzzing. I pulled on the gray leggings of the compound and an old, long-sleeved gray thermal before grabbing my backpack. I looked around my room one last time. My compound blanket was coming with me, but everything else given to me upon my arrival to the Guardian Wing sat in a neat stack on my bed. Years of conserving and caring for our resources wouldn’t allow me to leave my things a mess. I glanced at my clock. Time to go.
I eased out of my room and closed the door behind me quietly. The tunnel was deserted, and I could just make out the faint light of the guardian’s desk at the end of it. My heart hammered as I crept down the dark tunnel, staying close to the wall. The last door before the lobby was the supply closet, and I pulled out my lockpicks. Shawn had trained me well, and it took only seconds to get the door open. I slid the padlock into my pocket.
The supply closet was pretty pathetic, with only a few of the bare essentials sitting limply on almost empty shelves. After surveying the soap, extra towels, bedding, and various cleaning products, I grabbed a bar of the compound-made soap and slipped it in my bag. I may not be able to shower topside, but if I survived longer than a few days, I was going to need to get clean somehow. That mission accomplished, I picked up one of the large metal buckets used to mop the floor and eased the door back open. I could see the guardian on duty. It was River, and she was awake, scrolling through her port screen. I took a deep breath, and with as much force as I could muster, I threw the metal bucket back down the tunnel toward my room.
I shut the supply door as the bucket clattered and banged loudly against the stone floors. The sound of River scooting her chair back echoed off the stone floor, and I held my breath, praying I wouldn’t get caught. As soon as I heard her run past the supply closet to investigate, I slipped out and ran. I waited to hear my name called, but I reached the end of the tunnel undetected and turned left, pelting toward the marines’ barracks. I slid to a stop outside door number twelve and stood in the shadows, chest heaving. Two minutes later a buzzer sounded, and five marines trotted out just like I knew they would. I slipped inside before the doors could slide shut again.
My eyes scanned the room; I was interested despite having only minutes to get what I needed and get out before the night shift came in. By compound standards it was luxurious. One wall held supplies, while the other had what looked like lockers flanked by thickly cushioned couches. It had a clean, bleached smell and the overhead lights were so bright they hurt my eyes.
Dashing across the room, I grabbed a coil of rope, large canteen, and a ration pack from the wall of supplies. The stun guns were locked inside a large glass-fronted case, and I rattled the handles hopelessly, knowing my lockpicks didn’t have a chance against a fingerprint-coded lock. I’d just have to make do without one. Along one wall was a long low table, and I stopped when I saw that three of the marines’ specialized, high-tech ports were plugged in to charge. I picked one up so I could see if any of the holes in the side would fit my dad’s port plug. I unscrewed the back cover of the compass and held it up to the port screen, but the plug inside was much too small for any of the available holes. It wasn’t until I’d tucked it back inside my shirt that I noticed the small security camera in the corner of the room, its red light flashing. Recording. I’d only ever seen cameras at the compound entrances. This wasn’t good. I bolted for the door.
Slipping out of the barracks was surprisingly easy, and I took off toward the topside entrance. Running uphill was a lot harder than running down, and my labored breath echoed eerily in the silent tunnels. I had an hour before North Compound awoke and my absence at school was reported, but only five minutes before the night-shift marines discovered my theft and the compound went into full lockdown. If I was still inside when that happened, it was all over. I was young, so I probably wouldn’t be executed—the usual punishment for jeopardizing the survival of the human race—but I wasn’t positive on that.
I was almost to the last turn that would lead me to the entrance I’d used the day before when the blare of an alarm sliced through the air. My heart stopped, and I hesitated for a moment before breaking into a full sprint. There should have been two minutes left before the marines even made it back to their barracks. How had someone already discovered the theft? The security camera? My careful calculations didn’t matter now. I was out of time.
My leg muscles were on fire when I finally skidded around the last corner that would lead me to freedom, just in time to see the emergency gate come crashing down. The bars sizzled with the high-voltage electrical charge designed to prevent a dinosaur from entering the compound, and I barely stopped before colliding with them. Ten feet away, just beyond my reach, sat the compound entrance. My eyes raked over the gate, but I knew there was no way through. The blue electricity that raced over the iron bars would stop my heart if I touched it. For a system designed to keep monsters out, it was horribly effective at keeping me in. I balled my hands into fists as angry tears pressed against the backs of my eyes. Swallowing a scream, I slammed my closed fist against the side of the tunnel wall. Stone bit into my knuckles, sending white-hot pain up my arm, but I didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered now. I’d failed before I’d even begun.
The sound of running footsteps came up the tunnel behind me, and I whirled, my jaw clenched, my feet braced. A figure emerged from the shadows, and the flashing emergency lights illuminated Shawn’s familiar face. I felt a momentary rush of relief, followed immediately by gut-wrenching fear.
“What are you doing here?” I cried as Shawn dashed past me to the holoscreen embedded in the concrete of the tunnel wall.
He began typing something, his forehead scrunched in concentration. “I’d ask you the same question, but apparently I know you better than you know me.”
“You don’t understand.” I could hear the desperation in my voice, and I glanced nervously back down the tunnel, wishing there was somewhere for us to hide. “You need to leave. They’re going to think you stole stuff.”
He gave up on typing and ripped the entire cover of the holoscreen off the wall, letting it fall to the stone floor with a crash. He began pulling at wires. “Sorry, can’t do that. Give me a second.”
“You might not have a second,” I warned. I could hear pounding feet and shouts getting clos
er. I flicked my eyes up to the security camera. The red light winked at me, and my stomach clenched. Someone had fixed it. I turned back just as the gate suddenly flickered and then powered off. I blinked in shock. Without the snapping electrical charge that made it so deadly, it was nothing but widely spaced iron bars.
“Hurry up,” Shawn said. “I could only deactivate it for thirty seconds.” Before I could say anything, he’d ripped my backpack off and shoved it through the bars, pushed me after it. Turning myself sideways, I held my breath and squirmed through. As soon as I was clear, Shawn’s pack flew through the bars, and he threw himself into the same gap I’d used. He got about halfway through before he got stuck, his chest and back wedged tight between the unforgiving iron. He grunted and squirmed, his eyes wide with panic. Lunging forward, I grabbed his arm and, bracing both feet against the bars, I yanked with all I was worth. If the gate came back on now, we were both dead.
“Come on, come on,” I pleaded through gritted teeth as I strained backward. My joints creaked as I pulled with all my might. Suddenly, with a pop, Shawn came free of the gate, and we both flew backward, landing in a tangled heap on the rough stone floor. The gate reactivated. My heartbeat hammered in my ears as I untangled myself from Shawn and darted for the tunnel entrance. With a flick, I turned on the holoscreen. Shawn rushed up beside me and together we began frantically scanning the ground above.
“It looks clear,” Shawn said.
“Looks can be deceiving,” I said, biting my lip so hard I tasted blood. “Those things stalk compound entrances.”
Shawn adjusted his pack. “They’ve seen lunch-on-legs pop out of the holes in the ground too often not to. We will have to risk it. I’ll go out first and signal if it’s safe.”
“You aren’t coming,” I said, pulling him away from the ladder. I glanced back at the holoscreen. Still clear. “Stay here. Claim I tricked you into this or something.”
“Stop!” The shout came from behind us, and I whirled to see three of the compound’s marines trapped behind the sizzling gate that had almost killed us. One of the marines was messing with the same holoscreen Shawn had. I looked back just in time to see Shawn’s feet disappear through the compound hatch. Gritting my teeth in frustration, I followed.
As soon as I was out, I clipped the large metal padlock from the storage closet onto the hatch lid, sealing it shut. The marines would just have to backtrack to a different entrance hatch before they could follow us; this one was closed for business. I’d known that I’d need a head start, but I hadn’t planned on needing it this badly. I also hadn’t planned on being responsible for a life other than my own. I stood up and jumped when I noticed that Shawn had a small black stun gun in his hand. How in the world had he gotten that? The guns packed a big enough electrical punch to stun a five-ton dinosaur, and I had thought it was impossible to steal one. Obviously, I’d been wrong.
“Which way?” he asked. He was whipping his head left and right, his eyes frantically scanning for potential threats. I yanked my compass out of my shirt. The dial spun crazily before finally settling on north.
“That way.” I pointed toward a tightly packed bunch of pine trees to our left and took off, Shawn close at my heels. Moments later we were among the thick trees. I sighed in relief and felt myself relax a fraction. The trees grew too close together for most of the larger dinosaurs to maneuver through. It was our only advantage over the beasts. Most of them hadn’t been built to survive in Indiana’s dense forests and were confined to the open areas where their massive bulk could move freely. The smaller ones that made their homes in the trees wouldn’t bother us unless they were hunting in a pack. I hoped.
An earsplitting screech brought me up short, and I whirled to look back at the compound entrance. A few marines had emerged in an attempt to follow us, but they were now in retreat, sprinting toward the hatch. The pack of deinonychus I’d met the day before had returned, and I bit my lip as I saw one of the marines stumble three feet from the entrance. Shawn cried out as the man scrambled for the hatch on his hands and knees. He made it inside, but part of his right leg did not. I choked back the bile that rose in my throat as the dinosaur swallowed his prize and began clawing at the concrete surrounding the hatch.
“We need to move,” Shawn said. I nodded as guilt tugged at my guts. That man had lost part of his leg because of me. We ran.
Ten minutes later the compound sirens had faded behind us, and I stopped, breathing hard. I’d never been topside this long before, and the air felt heavy and moist, as though I were breathing water. It wasn’t a pleasant sensation. The deinonychus attack had ensured that no one would be able to come after us for at least a few hours. We could rest, just not long. The fact that the marines had even bothered to risk their lives over a few ration packs and a suit of body armor was shocking. I would have thought they’d be glad to be rid of me. I turned to face Shawn. He had his hands on his knees, and his face was an alarming red. Sweat drenched his gray uniform.
“Okay, Shawn Michael Reilly.” I huffed. “Spill it. What are you doing here?”
“First of all,” he said, holding up one finger. “Don’t call me that. I feel like you’re about to assign me a work detail.” I rolled my eyes and pulled out my canteen, taking a small sip. I would have to ration it until I found fresh water. When I tried to offer it to Shawn, he shook his head, pulling out a much bigger canteen than my own and taking a few deep pulls. I eyed his backpack curiously. He’d apparently gotten his hands on more than a stun gun.
“Yesterday,” I accused, “you went on and on about how no one survives topside.”
Shawn shrugged. “That’s because no one does.”
“Then why are you here?”
Shawn sighed and shoved his canteen back in his bag before looking at me. “To make a long story short, I decided that I wasn’t going to let you go alone. So this morning, I was planning to sit you down and tell you that I was coming with. I even brought all my gear along to show you that I was prepared.” He frowned. “Then I get to your room, and you’re already gone. I thought I was too late. I beat a path for the compound entrance, and that’s when I heard the alarm and found you stuck behind a dinosaur stun gate. So here I am. You’re welcome.”
“You’re welcome?” I asked, eyebrow raised. “Says the boy who got stuck in the gate.”
“Oh, right.” Shawn looked down, a little sheepish. “My grand rescue did lose a little something when that happened.”
I shook my head stubbornly. “This is a horrible idea, Shawn. You can’t come with me.”
“I can,” he countered. “And”—he paused dramatically, looking around himself—“it looks like I already am.”
I just scowled at him, my arms crossed.
“Seriously, why would it be so horrible to have me along?” he asked.
I began pulling on my new camouflage body armor, ignoring him. “There is no way you have all the gear you need,” I pointed out, motioning to my suit.
“Already taken care of.” He pulled out a suit identical to my own.
I gazed at him in surprise. “How?”
“You aren’t the only one who knows how to steal things around here.” He began to pull his own suit on over his gray compound-issued pants. I noticed with envy that his suit fit him like a glove where mine hung in loose wrinkly folds, the high-tech fabric bunching awkwardly at my elbows and knees. I was just under five feet tall and small-boned, which meant that nothing the marines stocked would have fit me well. I brushed aside the thought; I would have to fix that later.
“What about your aunt?” I cajoled. “Won’t she be frantic if you just disappear? Go back now and you can claim you had nothing to do with me leaving or stealing the body armor or . . .”
“Stop,” Shawn interrupted me. “We have two options. Option one is that we both go back to the compound. Where it’s safe. I know my aunt could smooth this whole mess over.” He saw the look on my face and sighed, resigned. “Option two is that you stop whining so we
can get on with finding whatever is in the middle of Lake Michigan before something shows up to eat us.”
My resolve to send him back faltered. “But your aunt?”
“She’ll be fine. She has her new baby to worry about. She barely notices I exist these days.” Shawn grinned, but something felt off about that. His aunt was the only family he had left, and I couldn’t imagine her being okay with her nephew’s illegal escape from the compound.
“You said yourself that no one survives up here,” I tried one more time. “I believe the word you used was insane?” When he just looked at me, I sighed. “Option two.”
Shawn grinned.
“But if you die, don’t blame me,” I snapped.
“Do dead people blame you for things often?”
I groaned. “I’m already regretting this decision.”
He raised an arrogant eyebrow at me. “Do you even know how to use that suit you’re wearing?”
“I know how to use it,” I said. I did know how. You put it on, and it made it harder for dinosaurs to see you. I didn’t think they had instructions beyond that.
“Do you know what this button does?” He flicked a button on my right shoulder, and the suit started to constrict around me like a balloon deflating. I gaped at it in surprise.
“How did you know how to do that?”
“Just do. A side effect of being brilliant. Should we get going again?”
I bit back my retort and nodded. He was right. The farther we got from the compound, the better.
“Shawn?” I asked as I readjusted my pack on my back. “Why do you think the marines bothered to come after us?”