I stare at Cheryl’s face, alive with hope and determination. I didn’t think we accomplished anything last spring, but here she is. Proof that I got through to at least one person.
“Hi.” Eric comes up beside me and holds a hand out to Cheryl. “I’m not sure if you remember me or not.”
“Really? You’re not sure if I remember the hottie who signed my best friend’s dance card and then got thrown into the PIT with her? Yeah, I vaguely remember.” Cheryl shakes his hand and then waves a finger between Eric and I. “So I guess you two found each other in the PIT and managed to keep the romance going.”
“No,” Eric and I say together, a little too loud, drawing the attention of a few other people standing nearby.
“Eric and I are just friends.” Though we were almost more. I’ll tell Cheryl the story when we get a chance. It’s the kind of juicy gossip she lives for. “I’m actually married.”
“What? To who? Where is he?” Cheryl grabs my arms and bounces with each question. It’s as if no time has passed at all, and we get to pick up right where we left off, with Cheryl Accepted by the Machine and me standing on the stage waiting for the lights to turn red.
“His name is Daniel, and he isn’t here, but Phillip is his dad.”
Cheryl stares over at Phillip where he’s talking to Oster and another man. I can tell by the curious expression on her face that she’s trying to picture a younger version of Phillip in order to figure out what Daniel looks like. Her eyes pop open, and she smiles at me. “I approve.”
I glance back at Phillip and a sharp pain hits my chest. It’s just hitting me how close I am to my family, but I can’t see them. “How are my parents?”
Cheryl’s smile falters a bit. “Your dad is good, though I don’t see him very much.”
“And my mom?”
“Your mom…”
“Hello.” Ethan materializes on my other side, his hand stretched out to Cheryl and a way too charming smile plastered across his face. “I’m Ethan, and you have to be the most beautiful woman I have ever met.”
Cheryl shakes his hand, but turns to me, all thoughts of my mom disappearing. “Is he for real?”
I can’t help but laugh, because even in the midst of a secret meeting where, if caught, everyone here would be killed, Ethan is still, well, Ethan.
“Okay, everyone, let’s get started.” The man talking to Phillip and Oster lifts his hands and calls everyone’s attention.
Cheryl flashes Ethan a smile I know all too well. One that, if he knew, would warn him to take cover. “Look, you’re cute and all, but I’m a little busy trying to overthrow the government right now.” She flips her hair over her shoulder and walks off to find a seat.
“Oh.” Ethan watches her walk away. “I like her.”
* * *
The conversations in the room dwindle, and people float to the few seats, with most just finding a spot on the floor.
Ethan, Eric, and I move to a spot against the wall, unsure what our role here is tonight.
The man who called the room to order steps into the center of the room like he’s done this a million times. In the harsh lights, his black hair takes on a blue tint. His eyes are small and angled at the ends, but they are alive with excitement.
“Thank you all so much for coming on such short notice. I know you came here tonight under great risk, but I promise that it will be worth it.”
“Enough with the preamble, Clarence,” a man sitting on the floor shouts up at him, but his smiling face matches those around him.
“Alright then.” Clarence holds a hand out to me and bends his fingers to call me over. Ethan gives me a little push in the small of my back to get me started, and my feet carry me the rest of the way.
The second I’m in the full light of the room, the murmurs start. With my face plastered all over the Territories, I must be the second most recognizable person in the country.
Clarence leans over and whispers, “Thank you for coming.” Then he stands to his full height, just barely taller than me, and lifts a hand to recapture the room’s attention.
“As you’ve all surmised, tonight we are visited by none other than Rebecca Collins.”
The room erupts into applause, and I haven’t felt so welcomed among strangers since that first night in Allmore when Liam asked us to confess our reasons for Rejection.
“Rebecca and her friends have been living with a Freemen village, as we expected. However, the Cardinal has turned his focus into seeking out and destroying those villages. It’s our belief that he still desperately wants to capture Rebecca.”
“But why?” Another voice calls from the crowd, but I can’t find the speaker. “He got the United European Union to sign a deal for the Machine. What does he need Rebecca for?”
I take a step back toward the boys, but Clarence puts a hand on my shoulder. “He doesn’t. It’s our understanding that his council has advised him to take down all notifications regarding her escape and allow the people to forget about her, but the Cardinal refuses. Apparently, this is now a personal vendetta.”
His words send a chill up my spine and goose bumps erupt up and down my arms. It was one thing when the Cardinal was after me for political manipulation. But this is different. I always believed he would never stop until he had me, but this confirms my suspicion.
“Obviously, Rebecca isn’t safe staying here in the Territories, but we appreciate her and her friends making the trip here to see us.”
Clarence motions with his hand to give me the floor and steps back to where Phillip and Oster are standing. I stare over at Ethan and Eric. No one said I was making a speech. They both shrug their shoulders, but neither of them steps forward to save me.
I stare back at the crowd, all of them looking up at me with expectation. “Uh, hi.”
Off to a stellar start. “So, no one told me I was going to be talking. Actually, I had no idea where we were even going tonight until about an hour ago.”
This earns me a smattering of laughter and calms my nerves a bit. I take a deep breath and let it out with a ten count. I close my eyes for a moment, and when I open them again, I search for Cheryl. She’s there in the crowd, smiling back at me like I’m the grand prize in a contest she just won. I block out all the other faces staring up at me and pretend I’m still talking to Cheryl.
“Up until we got here, I thought we were pretty much alone in our fight against the Cardinal. My friends and I have been traveling around trying to convince other villages that we can’t wait for the Cardinal to find us. A lot of them are afraid and for good reason. But others understand that the time for hiding is over. We have to take the fight to him.”
The room lights up with applause once again. The faces staring back at me are starving for action. This is why Phillip wanted me to come here.
“I want you guys to know that we have a plan. We are seeking out allies and intend to take out the Cardinal before he can damage this nation beyond repair. But we need your efforts as well. It’s not enough to remove the Cardinal from power. We need a plan for a better government. One that doesn’t rule by fear.”
Heads nod back at me, and I know this group is ready. “There will come a day when we will call on you. And it won’t be to attend a secret meeting in the middle of the night. You’ll be asked to stand in the open and state your opposition to the man who currently holds the power to see you killed in the streets.”
I stare out at them, their faces so full of hope and determination. Cheryl sits on a couch and smiles at me like I’m the best thing she’s ever seen. Will she still feel that way when the guns come out? How many of them will still be standing when the dust settles? These people have never been exposed to real violence. They’ve never lost a friend to a curable disease or an angry guard with a baton, or a gun. Will they still smile at me when their hands carry the blood of the people sitting next to them?
“I can’t promise that this will be easy. Actually, I can promise it will be hard. But it will als
o be worth it.”
A beat of silence follows my last word and then the room explodes with movement and sound. Bodies rush over to me, everyone wanting to shake my hand or say hello. The crowd surrounds me until I can’t even turn around.
A large hand breaks through the crowd to rest on my shoulder, and suddenly I’m being guided back toward the entrance. Clarence steps into the void I left and turns on the charm to get everyone back to their seats.
I turn around and come face to face with Phillip. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. What kind of father-in-law would I be if I couldn’t rescue you from an adoring crowd of revolutionaries?”
I smile up at him. “Not just that. Thank you for bringing us here. I’ve had the Cardinal hunting me down for so long, I forgot that I’m not the only one with reasons to hate him.”
Ethan and Eric join us at the fringe of the room, and we all watch while Clarence answers a few questions and gets the room back to order. The day catches up with me, and I let out a long yawn.
“Okay, I think that’s enough for one night.” Phillip walks over to Clarence and whispers in his ear.
Clarence follows him back to where we’re standing. “You have a long trip back to Blue River, so I understand you need to get going. I just want to say thank you again for coming. You have no idea how much it means for everyone here to know that you’re safe and still working with us.”
“No, thank you. I understand just how much all of you risk by meeting like this, and it’s not something I take lightly. Knowing you are all back here working toward the same goal as us makes it a little easier to keep fighting.”
Cheryl rushes over and pulls my shoulders into a hug. She whispers against my cheek, “Please be safe.”
I nod, my throat thick with emotion. “You, too.” I pull back and stare into her tear-rimmed eyes. “I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to catch up. When this is all over, the two of us need to have a nice long chat on a porch swing with some dandelion ale.”
“Rebecca Whedon drinking contraband liquor?” Cheryl grabs at an imaginary set of pearls in an imitation so close to her mother it’s scary. “What a scandal! What would your mother say?”
“I think she’d be equal parts horrified about the drinking and elated that I managed to marry a councilman’s son. It’s a toss-up.”
Cheryl pulls me into another quick hug, and then it’s time to go.
Clarence shakes everyone’s hand as we follow Oster back up the stairs and out of the building. It’s so dark compared to the cellar, but the darkness is our advantage out here. Oster leads us back to his house, but instead of following him inside we turn and head into the woods, waving a silent goodbye.
Every tree looks the same, but Phillip knows exactly where the transporter is hidden. Without a word, we each climb into our seats, fasten the straps, and take off. Phillip glides us slowly through the trees until we are far enough away from the city to climb. He takes us up to the tree tops and picks up speed.
“It’s still a good trip back to Blue River. Why don’t the three of you get some sleep?”
I’m too tired to argue. With my mind still reeling from our visit to MidWest, I rest my head back against the seat, close my eyes, and let sleep find me.
Sixteen
I’m falling from a cliff in slow motion, and Daniel is at the top reaching out for me, but I’m too far away. My hand stretches up to catch him, but I’m always just out of reach.
My eyes fly open, and my body is awake in an instant. We’re dropping out of the sky way too fast. “What’s going on?”
Phillip doesn’t turn around, his eyes glued to his instrument panel. “We’ve been spotted. Wake the boys up, now.”
I shake Ethan and Eric awake, and the three of us stare in horror while Phillip navigates through the trees way faster than anyone should be going out here.
“It’s no use. They’re still on my trail. They must be using a short range sensor to lock on to my navigation system. We’ll never be able to outrun them.”
“So what do we do?” I fight back the panic coating my words. It can only be the guard out there. There has to be a way out of this.
“Listen to me. In just a second, I’m going to stop the transporter. There’s no time to land. You’ll have to jump out the door. It’s only about five feet.” Phillip runs a hand over his face, and I have to stop myself from reaching out and pulling him into a hug. “As soon as you hit the ground, you need to find cover. I’ll lead them away from here, and then you guys need to head southwest to get back to Blue River. We’re only about ten miles out.”
“What are you going to do?” My fingers dig into Phillip’s shoulder, because I’m afraid I know exactly what he’s going to do.
“I’m going to take the transporter further north, away from you three. I’ll bail once I’m far enough away, and with any luck I’ll be just a bit behind you getting back to Blue River.”
“Then we’ll just wait for you and all travel back together.”
“No.” Phillip’s shout echoes around the small space. “You’re too important, Rebecca. My top priority is to keep you safe, and that means getting you out of here.”
He won’t say it, but we all know that the second the transporter stops moving, the guards will be all over him. Phillip will have no chance to escape.
“You’ve got to go.” He reaches up and slams his fist into the overhead light to keep us dark when the door opens. “On the count of three.”
I unlatch my belt and wrap trembling arms around the man who raised Daniel to be such an amazing person. “Thank you.”
He nods, but never takes his eyes off the trees zooming past us. “One. Two. Three.”
The door lifts just enough for our bodies to squeeze through. Ethan and Eric jump first.
“Take care of Daniel and tell him how proud I am of both of you.” Phillip squeezes my arm then nudges me out the door.
I hit the ground hard and roll. Leaves and twigs grab at me, clinging to my clothes, scratching my face and poking my back. I stop moving and lie silent on the forest floor. I jump up, hissing in a breath. My hip is on fire, but I don’t have time to stop. I need to get deeper into the trees before the guards spot me, and I jumped out of a perfectly good transporter for nothing. I have no idea where I am. With the canopy of trees blocking the moonlight, I’m barely able to see my hand right in front of my face.
The whir of a transporter engine comes into focus to my left. I crawl as fast as I can into a thicket of bushes and hold my breath while the sleek machine speeds past me in pursuit of Phillip, stirring dead leaves and dirt into the air. My best guess is the guards just came from the south, but I have no idea where Eric and Ethan are.
I wait as long as my nerves can stand in case the guards decide to double back, but they don’t come. I stand up on shaking legs and walk in the direction I think I’ll find the boys. My hands are thrown out in front of me so I don’t walk into a tree. Every step I take on my right leg shoots a throbbing pain up into my hip. I must have hit the ground harder than I thought. Ten miles just got a lot further.
“Rebecca?” A whispered voice calls from up ahead of me. I walk faster in that direction, afraid to call out in case there are guards on the ground as well. The voice calls out again, this time from my left. If I don’t respond, we’re never going to find each other.
“Ethan?”
There’s a rustling to my left, closer than it was just a second ago. “Rebecca, tell me that’s you.”
Relief spreads over me. It’s definitely Ethan. “I’m here.” My eyes adjust to the darkness, and a person-shaped shadow runs toward me.
Strong arms pull me tightly. “Thank the stars. You didn’t land near us, and I was so worried.” Ethan grabs my hand and pulls me into movement. “Come on. We’ve got to get to Eric and get out of here before the guards come looking.”
“Where’s Eric?”
“I’m over here.” Eric stands leaning against a tree. I can’t
see his face, but his voice is tinged with strain. “I think my leg is broken. I must have landed wrong from the jump.”
My throbbing hip just fell way down on the priority list. A broken leg will make it nearly impossible for Eric to walk ten miles back to Blue River.
“We’ll just have to be your crutches.” Ethan drapes one of Eric’s arms over his shoulders, and I move to his other side to do the same.
We’re an awkward trio considering how much taller than me they both are, but it’s the best we can manage. Ethan is right. Once the guards find Phillip, chances are they’ll come back here looking for additional passengers. We need to be long gone way before that happens.
The sky crashes open with a bone rattling thunder and then drains her tears. Heavy, cold drops of rain pelt everything, soaking through my layers of clothes in less than a minute. We need shelter and a hot fire, but we won’t be getting either.
With Eric hopping on one foot between us, the three of us turn toward what we hope is the south and head back toward Blue River. I try to focus on keeping Eric steady and listening for guards over the pounding rain. It helps keep my mind off the pain in my hip and the fact that Phillip has likely just been captured. The man I thought was dead just yesterday will most certainly be by morning.
Seventeen
The sun has yet to crest the horizon, but a pale ghost of white hovers over the edge of the earth just waiting for her arrival. The rain lightens to a mist, then stops altogether, but it’s too late. My feet are numb, as are my fingers, nose, and neck, and the throbbing pain in my hip long ago turned every step into a blistering agony. All we can do is keep walking south in the hopes that we’re getting close. None of us have any idea if we’re even going in the right direction.
Eric still hobbles between Ethan and me. Even with keeping the weight off his broken leg, every jostling step has to be killing him. He bites his lips to keep from whimpering, but he can’t hide his pale complexion in the growing light. We need to get him somewhere he can rest before he passes out completely.
Rite of Redemption (Acceptance Book 3) Page 11