by Silver, Ruth
CHAPTER 19
The party had been much too short. Henry had announced the news of the thirteen women who were pregnant and that there was a possibility all the women who had been under Isaura's influence in Torv may in fact be fertile. The crowd buzzed with electricity at the news and the excitement roared within Spade.
Inside our quarters I slipped out of my dress and into pajamas while Joshua changed before climbing into bed. “What a night.” I slipped in beside him.
“What's that?” I asked lying on my back, my head turned slightly in his direction.
“You forgetting when our anniversary is.” Joshua laughed dropping a kiss to the tip of my nose. “It's okay, you're forgiven.”
“Oh, come on.” I rolled my eyes. “You know the exact date?” So much had transpired over the course of the year that I was glad just to know the day of the week when I woke up.
He moved to lie back on the mattress, not giving me the satisfaction of an answer. “You did amazing tonight.”
“What do you mean?” I rolled onto my side to face him.
“You figured out something none of us could have discovered on our own. What was it like, to travel through time?”
I laughed. “I didn't believe her. Never considered it was possible. In fact in my dream, when I'd been under Isaura's spell–” I paused, hating how it sounded, but I had been helpless under the sedative. I felt Joshua rest his hand on my arm when I'd paused, urging me to continue. “You told me it wasn't real. That it was what she wanted me to see and believe but it had been a trick. You were the logical side of my mind trying to talk reason into everything that happened.”
Joshua laughed. “Do I sound like that?”
Slipping closer to him, I pulled the covers up around us. “Sometimes you do. I don't mind it. For all that we've seen, it's good to have someone logical and sane.”
The smile spread wider across his face. “Are you declaring yourself insane?”
I laughed, shaking my head in dismay as I rolled Joshua onto his back, straddling his waist. “I would never do that.” I smiled staring down at him. I leaned down, dropping a kiss to his lips, feeling my pulse quicken and the warmth of his body pressed beneath mine.
“Olive,” he rasped, opening his eyes and staring up at me. They had darkened a deeper shade of blue and my cheeks flushed. My fingers moved across his arms, danced over his abdomen as I pulled at his shirt. “We have to be careful, remember?” he breathed between kisses.
“I've been careful. The doctor here procured plenty of Siliphium and I've been having it every night for the past four months.”
“Thank God!” He laughed, rolling me over and covering me in kisses.
CHAPTER 20
The town of Spade had moved its resources of building the town to manufacturing more clothing and food. Preparations were being made for a larger schoolhouse within Spade as word grew that thirteen children were soon due and others were pregnant from natural conception. An entire baby boom had happened overnight. From the moment the festivities had ended five months ago, more women had conceived and would soon give birth to a new generation of children. It seemed impossible that everything was going so well. New members of Spade were studying midwifery and becoming doctors. Others focused on making sure the children were cared for, even if that meant the new mothers needed additional help with cooking and cleaning.
I couldn't have been happier. I was no longer the only girl capable of naturally conceiving a child. I was no longer one in a few who had been treated with Mindonsiphan. Isaura may have wanted me, but I was no longer significant to her. I was just another ordinary girl. For the first time since Joshua and I had gone on the run from the government I felt the overwhelming sense of relief. It all seemed perfect, albeit a little too perfect.
That afternoon while Joshua and Aidan spent time with the commanding officers of Spade securing the borders and gathering intelligence I headed over to the schoolhouse to visit Adelaide when she'd finished her studies for the day.
“Olivia!” Her eyes lit up with excitement.
“Adelaide.” I smiled and her arms tightened around my neck as I'd bent down to her level for a hug. “You've grown so much.” I was surprised by how much she'd shot up in the past few months.
“I'm seven now.” Adelaide pulled back showing me her fingers proudly.
I couldn't help but give her another hug and knew I'd need to find a birthday gift to give her the next time I visited. “You look seven.” I smiled and stood up taking her hand.
“I know I do!” Adelaide boasted. “We had chocolate cake for my birthday at school. It was so good!”
I laughed, glancing down at her. “It sounds delicious.”
“Is it true?” she asked, keeping her voice down. “That all those women are just like me? Special?” An excitement brewed within Adelaide and it was rising to the surface.
“They're alike but different,” I offered. “You've both been treated with something called Mindonsiphan,” I explained to Adelaide. “However, they were given something else we don't understand. Isaura did that and we provided an antidote so technically you should be alike but we don't know if there are any side-effects of what she's done to them.”
Adelaide gave a confused look. “I don't understand.”
“Me neither,” I admitted with a laugh. I led her towards the city center and together we sat on the stone edge of the water fountain.
“Why'd you come for me today?” Adelaide asked.
I smiled, wrapping my arms around her again. “I missed you.” I kissed the top of her head. “You've grown so much and I've been busy but I wanted to see you.”
“I missed you too. A lot.” Adelaide pulled me in for another squeeze. I didn't mind it. I smiled, patting her back, but my hands froze upon hearing the roar of a drone. Adelaide's body froze in my arms.
“Come on, quick!” I grabbed her arm and pulled her with me towards the secure stone walls and inside the corridor safe out of sight. I waited for a brief moment seeing the plane circling overhead and knew without a doubt nothing good would come of it. “Go inside!” I told her, pushing her in past the stone doors.
“Not without you!” Adelaide shouted. She stood defiantly just outside the door where she'd be safe.
“Fine.” I pulled her with me into the room, shutting the door behind us. The earth grumbled and quaked as the engines above roared. I closed my eyes counting no longer one but three drones.
“Why are they here?” Adelaide's voice shuddered with fear.
“I don't know.” It wasn't entirely the truth. We'd released three-hundred test subjects that had been held against their will. That didn't come without a cost. I heard the first bell and then the second and third. It was a warning chime to get off the street and find a safe place to hide. Some buildings held hidden passages but most were secure with the stone surrounding the city.
An eerie sense of quiet bestowed the town. “Stay here,” I instructed. I glanced back to make sure she hadn't moved as I slipped out the door. The drones no longer flew overhead. The buildings of Spade had been left untouched. If they had planned on bombing us they hadn't. It felt odd. Joshua had the ability to take them down, he'd done it once before in Shadow. My feet rushed along the corridor careful to stay hidden as I made for higher ground. With each ascent uphill I glanced out the stone pillared windows seeing nothing until I reached the south entrance of the castle. Outside three drones had landed and a man stepped out of each.
“We come here to speak to your leader!” one man shouted, showing us his hands. He was unarmed but that didn't mean anything. I knew what some men were capable of even without physical weapons.
Walking up towards Henry's chamber, he exited his room glancing at me. “You can't go out there!” I was adamant. “It could be a trap!” I didn't think anyone from Torv could be trusted.
“What if it's not?” Henry asked. “What if we turn away help?”
“Help doesn't come in drones.” I didn't believe
it.
Henry eyed me skeptically. “I took you into Spade without hesitation.” He walked past me, heading down the corridor towards the gate.
“Wait!” I shouted and Henry paused, turning around staring at me. “What if Isaura is out there?”
“Wouldn't she have already attacked us? I'm going with my gut instinct on this,” he answered and turned towards the gate. I couldn't stop him but I could do everything in my power to protect him. From the open stone window I witnessed two guards pat the three men down. A moment later, Henry stepped outside the gate and spoke with the unarmed men. I was surprised he'd stepped outside, risked his life – even if the guards had been confident the men weren't armed.
After several minutes, Henry invited them through the gate and inside the castle walls. Together the four of them met in the advisors’ chamber: a meeting room large enough for twelve. Henry invited Joshua, Elsa, Cate, Aidan, and myself along with his advisors as we sat around the long table.
Henry spoke first once everyone had gathered. “It has come to my attention that Isaura has started up another pregnancy initiative within Torv. There is a plot brewing to assassinate her and we are going to supply the militia that will be the ones to do it.”
I glanced at Joshua, never so much as moving my lips. Do you trust them?
I think we have to. They have risked everything to come here and share with us their information, he answered.
“Who will be going?” I asked.
Henry sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I haven't decided that yet.” He turned towards the men from Torv. “What else can you tell me? We know the women we've rescued have all been healed of infertility.”
The older gentleman with slanted eyes and warm golden skin nodded. “We've suspected as much. Isaura has the science right but her heart and methods are unpredictable. She's wild, reckless and putting people into a deep sedation and experimenting on them without their consent. The biggest problem we've yet to face is her next step. She wants to show results and then charge people for the ability to conceive. It's not strictly about wealth for Isaura but fame as well.” He explained, “She's power hungry and will stop at nothing to achieve what she desires.”
Joshua spoke, his hands together on the table. “What would you have us do?”
Another visitor from Torv stared at Joshua. He looked familiar but I wasn't sure from where. “We've met before, on the original council for the Republic of Cabal.” He reintroduced himself. “I'm Fabian. Our plan is to have you smuggle the women from Floor Seven off the premises and switch them with the women who had previously been part of the project. Isaura is smart, but she's terrible with remembering one subject from the next. They're lab rats to her and she wouldn't be wiser to it.”
“It's too risky.” How could we trust what they said was true? How would we know that the women wouldn't die in that lab? I couldn't trust these men, the same ones who hadn't helped in finding Joshua when he'd been abducted by Craynor. The same men who hadn't done anything for me when I'd been taken by Isaura just months ago. It had been my family and friends who had risked their lives for me.
“I won't lie about the risks,” he affirmed. “It is dangerous but we need someone to take her out. She's going into the seventh floor next Wednesday to begin the second stage of fertilization. We need the women switched when she goes in. They can be armed for all I care,” he said. “We need Isaura taken out and we need your help to do it.”
Henry considered the suggestion. “ Why can't you bring in trained soldiers and place them on the seventh floor? What you're suggesting isn't just soldiers but the women who already escaped her wrath.”
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We only have one shot at this. If we fail Isaura will know we're not working with her and we won't be given another opportunity. We're coming to you because she will recognize the faces but assume they're from the current group. She won't suspect anything.”
Henry frowned. “How do you know she won't remember they're from the first test group? Can you guarantee that?”
“No.”
I sighed. “It's risky, but if we can control which room she enters first, perhaps we only have to infiltrate one room.” It was safer than moving an entire floor again. We did it once. I was confident they were better equipped with security on all floors now.
Henry glanced at me. “You want to be the one on the table, don't you?”
I shook my head. Isaura would recognize me if I were lying motionless as a test subject. Someone else though, well-skilled and trained in her Mindonsiphan abilities could do it. I could be there, hiding beneath the bed or in a closet, prepared to strike the moment Isaura entered.
Joshua glanced at me, refusing to voice his thoughts aloud. I want to be on the team but I don't want them to know. We need a backup plan in case they can’t be trusted.
Agreed. I glanced at Henry with a faint nod.
CHAPTER 21
Everything about the plan was sound. I flew with Fabian back to Torv. Janessa, a test subject from Torv, would join us, and Joshua would fly another drone in secret to secure our plan. I hadn't found much time to say goodbye. I needed time to prepare in Torv and though I wasn't rusty in my training I was concerned about being quiet, unnoticed and well-hidden. I would have to work on my own stealth abilities to be sure Isaura wasn't the wiser of our plans.
Fabian offered me a place to stay in the medical facility on the third floor. It was a private office, his apparently. It had a leather sofa and he'd left a pillow and blanket, prepared for someone to partake in his plan. I just hoped we weren't being set up.
I locked the office door once he left, knowing I didn't have much time before the plan went into effect. I rummaged around the office, glancing through his desk and eyeing his papers. There were names and DNA tests. I didn't understand what I was looking at, but it appeared important. Had he left these things for me to find? Against the wall was a dark gray metal filing cabinet, four towers tall and four towers wide. I pulled open the first drawer, my fingers flipping through realizing it was by year. I didn't know anyone born this year. The files went back ten years. I dug around until I found the section from seven years ago, searching by name hoping to find Adelaide's birth records, and paused on Adelaide Wells. Pulling her file, I placed it on the desk, fingering through the pages, one by one. The first page was a record of her birth with both of her biological parents’ signatures as well as the physician and governor's signature. I could barely read the names. The next document consisted of a DNA test. I had no idea what I was supposed to look for. I kept moving through the pages, landing on a checklist. It was bizarre to stare at, to see what the government had the ability to do. The top read Checklist for Subject 13279. To the left was a series of boxes, all had been marked and accounted for. Beside the checklist the first line read Sex of Subject: GIRL with the underlined portion handwritten in to the document. The next line read Eradication of genetic diseases and mutations: COMPLETE. The box next to it was checked. The third line down made my stomach flop Infertility Potential: 100%. I reached around to the cabinet behind me, grabbing another file, searching through it blindly for the same page to compare. A Checklist for Subject 13293, the third line read Infertility Potential: 100%. I pulled a third and then a fourth folder from the filing cabinet. Each one giving me the same answer: Infertility Potential: 100%. Had the government intentionally been keeping its population infertile or was the checklist created to make sure no one was missed? Who had brought these files into Torv and were there more in the other offices?
Sighing, I replaced all but Adelaide's birth record back into the folders and put them back in the filing cabinet. I shoved her birth record into my pocket. It was a long shot to find her parents but I had their names. Maybe I could find out what happened to them.
I stretched out on the sofa, staring up at the ceiling. The tiles were white with black specks, two feet wide by two feet long, spaced perfectly apart. What was up there? Duct work? A ventilation system?
A moment later one of the tiles slid open and Joshua came down with a grin. “That was easy,” he laughed, repositioning the tile as it had been, untouched.
I sat up, smiling wider. “I knew you'd come.”
“I wasn't sending you back into this place without me. Not that I doubt your abilities,” he added. “Just no sense in trusting the enemy completely.” He was right. How could we blindly trust the people who had betrayed us?
“I found something,” I told him, pulling out the folded piece of paper handing it to Joshua.
“What's this?” he asked reading it over.
“Adelaide's birth record. I'm hoping we can find her biological parents.” They were out there, somewhere. At least I had to believe they were still alive. Joshua handed it back to me and I slid it back into my pocket. “Are you ready for tomorrow?” I asked knowing I was anything but ready. Nervous more accurately explained how I felt. If it didn't work and Isaura had the bracelet on, she could easily toss me back to 2225. It was a risk worth taking.
Joshua grabbed a seat with me on the couch as he pulled the blanket up and over us. “Not really.” At least he was being honest. “I'm just glad no one but you knows I'm here.”
“Me, too,” I admitted. It gave me butterflies to know that even if Cabal wasn't to be trusted, Joshua had my back.
Joshua shifted on the couch, leaning against me with an eager smile. “So I was thinking. Do you remember when we first came to Shadow and snuck out that night, searched the town, and wanted to see what was going on?”
“I remember trying to look for a way to escape.” We remembered things differently. “What about it?” I raised a curious eyebrow at him.
“How about we sneak through the ducts and explore this place. It's after hours. No one’s in their office. Maybe we can uncover some useful information to take with us to Spade.”