I see movement through the gloom. The Amber Army soldiers are equipped to see in obscurity, so they close in on Aidan, while the cops stand back along with everyone else.
More lightning flashes. In the strobe light, it looks like some kind of thunderstorm inside the monorail. I hear creaking metal overhead. Chunks of the monorail's roof that weren't destroyed by the explosion sway dangerously in a non-existent breeze.
I need to get the people nearby to safety before the roof collapses. But I also feel compelled to help my fellow law enforcers capture Aidan. Even if he is with Charlotte, he is not of my concern. Only she is. She may not like it but she should be grateful that I'm even helping her. Grateful? Since when did I start assuming how others should feel?
But again, I can't make a decision. Then, Charlotte yells suddenly, "Look out!" She abandoned her false apathy in midst of all of the confusion to warn someone that—
Something strikes me hard across the top of the head then. My vision blur instantly and I feel the blood rolling through my hair and trickling down the side of my face.
My legs give out and I collapse instantly to the floor. Everything grows darker around me, as though all of the lights are going out. I blink several times before . . . .
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Charlotte
Currently Listening To: "Anything Could Happen" by Ellie Goulding
"Look out!" I yell as a metal beam snaps off from the monorail roof and falls straight for Liam. I should have thought to push him out of the way but my mind is not functioning properly right now. I'm terrified and confused beyond measure.
When I first saw the Zeppelins, I just knew they were coming for me and that it was the end of the road.
The three Zeppelins that arrived must have received upgrades because I didn't hear any of them until it was too late. Normally, you could hear the buzz of those giant balloons a mile away but not these. They're a lot stealthier than their predecessors and I don't like that.
My heart dropped somewhere below my waist and it remained there even when I found out that soldiers from the Amber Army and police officers were here for Aidan.
Aidan? What has he done to be wanted as badly as myself? I never asked him that question and now I won't be able to. This at least explains why he lived like a hermit in his motor home with nothing but his little brother and his computer for company until Lilly and I came along.
I dive aside and watch helplessly as the beam strikes Liam hard across the head. He falls at once. as the beam that knocked him down collides with the floor with an earsplitting screech of metal.
The bystanders all around cover their ears. I can make out their faces barely in the dark whenever the light overhead blinks golden. They show no concern for Liam as well and that irks me. They all rather watch the spectacle of Aidan evading the Amber Army soldiers than help Liam.
Aidan . . . .
Liam . . . .
Two guys who are a huge part of my life right now and I'm split into two Charlotte's suddenly. One Charlotte has to find out if Liam is at least alive after suffering a blow like that to the head. The other Charlotte has to help her friend Aidan out somehow. But what can I possibly do against six intimidating Amber Army soldiers? Besides, Aidan seems capable of taking care of himself.
The way he moves is uncanny. The strobe light effect makes it look even more bizarre. I glance at him zipping around the monorail with so much speed and agility, almost as if he's teleporting. But I pull my eyes away from him as I drop to my knees next to Liam's limp body. The Charlotte that wanted to check on him defeated the other Charlotte with ease.
"Liam," I whisper with so much fear tainting my voice. I don't even speak in Olivia's voice. To hell with her accent. If Liam is not okay, then nothing else matters anymore.
He's unresponsive, which means two things. I have never prayed much in my life but I pray right now that it's not the worse of the two.
I check for a pulse and thankfully he has one. He's only unconscious but he's still in a place where he could be crushed to death easily by more falling debris.
I grab a hold of his arms. Straining, I start dragging him away from harm and towards the crowd of commuters. No one offers any assistance. I really hate the citizens of Paradise sometimes.
A loud crash. But I don't look up to investigate. It's taking everything in me, all of my strength, to pull Liam along. The light overhead continues to blink and blink and blink, thrusting Liam into light then shadow, light then shadow . . . .
More Amber Army soldiers are approaching from outside. Curiosity gets the best of me and I can't stop myself from looking up when I hear crunching footsteps outside. There's now a hole the size of a cavern entrance where the rear emergency exit used to be. I can see the soldiers clearly advancing up the dark tunnel, their armored suits glinting.
Suddenly—
More chunks of metal fall from the destroyed roof. I stop dragging Liam just in time as boulder-sized scraps of jagged metal stab through the floor right where I would have been in the next second. My path lay mostly blocked now, like an underground passage that has caved in.
The only way I can go is off the monorail through the giant hole in the back.
I release my hold on Liam and turn around. The Amber Army soldiers are having a hard time subduing Aidan simply because he moves faster than normal. I know that sounds weird but it's like he's hopped up on a hundred Alacrity drinks.
And then—
One moment, Aidan is dodging two of the soldiers trying to grab him and the next he's standing in front of me as if he had flown over to me.
"Take this," he says quickly and out of breath. He stuffs a tiny, odd-shaped flash drive in one of my hands.
"What's—"
"Use this to copy Dr. Cato's message in BioLife. The drive will allow you to transfer the files to anything that can store digital data—computers, other flash drives, music players, whatever.
"I pocket the device. "What's going—"
Aidan shakes his head. "No time. Be careful who you trust and—"
Without warning, he's screaming in agony as lightning flashes all around him. Aidan drops to his knees reflexively and that's when I see a purple glow around his body. I blink, thinking I'm seeing things and when I look at him again, the aura has vanished as quickly as it appeared.
The lightning tearing through his insides crackles and fizzles out, disappearing as well. Aidan stops screaming and tells me with a pained face, "I'm sorry", before he's gone.
I try to follow his movements with my subpar vision but he just moves too fast. The next thing I know, he's climbing up through the aperture in the roof. How in the world did he get up there?
"After him," an Amber Army soldier commands his comrades and the cops.
With their advanced suits, all of the soldiers ascend up and through the ceiling hole, including the newcomers. Tiny thrusters appear on their backs and breathe spurts of flame like a mythical dragon. It's unbearably hot in here until they all exit. The cops choose a different route. They run out the back of the monorail and up the narrow space on either side of the track running through the tunnel. All except for two cops, who remain with the lead soldier.
"Stay here," the soldier orders them. "Don't leave unless you see Mr. Richardson."
Both cops nod, as once again the heat turns up inside of here when the soldier jets out of the top of the monorail.
The cops stare at me but they don't say anything. The only thought on my mind is that I need to get Liam and me the heck out of here somehow. I have a bad feeling that the Amber Army soldier wants to question me since Aidan had a particular interest in me before his escape. And if they think I'm the real Olivia Cruz, I can't imagine the trouble I could bring her. It would be Ava Suarez all over again. I still don't know if she ever ran into trouble because of me.
I think, racking my brain. Come on Charlotte, you're clever enough for something. I have an advantage over them. I'm not on the Purge. These bozos are addicted t
o it. I should be able to trick them.
I point suddenly to capture their attention. They follow the direction I'm pointing and I say in a flat voice, "I just saw the guy you're after. He just ran past the monorail." Ran doesn't sound like the right verb to describe Aidan's flashing movements but it's the only word that comes to mind.
The two cops step forward, peering outside. Thankfully, there's a sudden creaking noise that echoes inside the tunnel. I couldn't have wished for a better moment. Thank you creaking sound. I'm forever indebted to you.
The cops bolt out of tram without hesitation. I wait for them to disappear into an access door before I start dragging Liam again. This time I steer him towards the back exit, not even caring that the other commuters are watching me through the gaps between the broken metal. When we reach the hole, I heave and manage to lift him up to a somewhat standing position. Then, we tumble out of the monorail.
I land roughly on the ground, scraping my elbows furiously. To make matters worse, Liam lands on top of me, pushing me face first into cement and gravel. I sputter, spitting out blood and tiny rocks. I can feel the paper cut thin gash on my bottom lip.
I rise to a crawling position and Liam falls off of me. He stirs briefly but he doesn't awaken. Ignoring the burning pain from my arms, I scramble back up to my feet and half-carry, half-drag Liam up the tunnel.
When we reach the access door, I pause to listen for the cops' imminent return once they figure out I've hoodwinked them. I don't hear anything, so I open the door and peer inside. No one in sight. I quickly grab a hold of Liam again and tug him across the threshold.
A flight of stone steps zigzag their way all the way down to level ground and the streets below. I can't imagine the bruises Liam would have if I tried to pull him down the steps. Luckily, there's a functional elevator in here or we both would have been screwed. I press the down arrow and wait for the doors to chime open, my heart fluttering madly inside of my chest. Any moment now, the cops or Amber Army soldiers could return and if they catch me fleeing with an unconscious White Agent, the scene would look eerily suspicious.
The elevator doors open to reveal a tiny elevator. It takes an act of the Core to situate Liam's limp body inside so that I could join him and have access to the button panel. The doors close behind us and after I tell it to, the elevator drops down several stories in a matter of seconds.
When the doors open again at the bottom, I freeze and ease my way out of the elevator without stepping on Liam. The coast is clear, so I haul Liam out onto a grassy hill overlooking a part of the city. Sweating profusely, I lift him up slowly, tossing one of his arms over my shoulders. Using strength from my reserves that I never knew I possess, I make my way slowly down the hill, careful not to fall.
I try not to think of how the soldiers and the cops would react when they returned to the monorail and found that Liam and I had disappeared like Aidan. I do think about Aidan though and I hope he manages to get away. I can sympathize with him since I know what it's like to be on the run. As soon as Liam and I are somewhere safe, I want to return to where Aidan had parked his home and left his little brother. I want to make sure that he's okay, but something tells me that if he is okay that he would be long gone somewhere whenever I arrive. With a cloaking vehicle, it would be impossible for me to track him down.
Three times I stumble and nearly send both Liam and I rolling down the hill. I move us closer to bottom of the incline and that's when I hear them this time. Zeppelins. And they're coming to scan the area for any sign of Aidan.
I have to get us somewhere inside. A building won't keep the scanners on the Zeppelins from picking up my vector, but there are things I can do to shield myself, especially in a place full of people. I squint against the setting sun and look down. I recognize this part of town and several streets that intersect each other, such as Sovereign Road, Lowery Boulevard, and Libria Drive.
Libria Drive . . . .
I suddenly know where to go but the Zeppelins are coming in hot. There's no way I can hide in time by helping Liam the rest of the way by myself. I make a quick choice based on impulse. The grass we're in is high enough to shield him if I lay him down. And if I'm quick enough . . . No, I have to be quick enough. I don't want the Zeppelins to discover Liam out here either, especially since he's currently unconscious.
I drop Liam's body gently onto the ground. I rearrange him until I'm sure he's comfortable. Then, I look around, trying to remember this area and searching for landmarks to guide back to this exact spot in a little while. The thunder in the skies crescendos as if a storm is brewing. I don't have much time left. A patch of purple wildflowers grow nearby. This seems to be the only place on the hillside where they grow. Perfect. That'll do. I commit the sight of the wildflowers to memory and then I move quickly down the hill, allowing momentum to carry me along at a swift pace. I wish I could move like Aidan. I mean, how was that crap possible?
Stupid Amber Army. Stupid cops. Why did they have to show up when we were so close to going to BioLife and revealing the rest of Dr. Cato's message to the late Noah Emerson? They ruined everything. How did they even know that Aidan was on the monorail? The entire thing doesn't make sense at all.
At the foot of the hill, my momentum carries me out into the road where I nearly crash into a moving car and not the other way around. I pause until the traffic clears and then I dart onto Libria Drive.
I hope they're there, I think to myself as I scan both sides of the street, searching for 5310. The odd numbered buildings are to my right, the even ones to my left. I focus only on the left side, my body aching horribly. My elbows continue to burn and blood continues to drip into my mouth. I know I look worse for wear because I definitely feel that way.
5314 . . . 5312 . . . 5310 . . . There it is! A two story brick building that I totally didn't expect. The lower level is a French cuisine restaurant called Jacques. I can't believe that they meet here. How can they keep their meetings a secret if they congregate in a restaurant? This suddenly seems like a bad idea but I don't have another choice. The Zeppelins are closing in fast and I need help recovering Liam from the hillside.
School let out over an hour ago so hopefully they'll be here. Hopefully, they decided to "study" today. I don't know how often they come together. I never had an opportunity to ask Emma that question after we chatted that day in the library.
I barge right into the restaurant as if I own the place. My sudden entrance, especially the door banging against the wall when I open it, alerts a group of kids huddled around a table draped in a red and white checkered tablecloth and cluttered with books. An elderly couple also emerge from what I assume is the kitchen. The lady bears a giant knife in one hand and wields a dish towel in the other. Everyone feeds me passive looks, so I make sure that my own face, Olivia's face, mirrors theirs.
My eyes stare at the table of kids. Most of them I recognize from school, although I don't know any of their names. And there's Emma sitting in the center of the group, playing the part of indifference very well.
"Miss Cruz?" The old man calls in a low voice. He recognizes me, which makes sense as Olivia Cruz is one of the most visible news reporters in all of Paradise. "Table for one?"
I shake my head and respond, "I require assistance. I—"
"Charlotte?" Emma says and it takes me a moment to realize I had spoken in my own voice.
I nod and then she smiles, much to my astonishment. "It's okay everyone," Emma speaks loudly, standing up from the table. "You can drop the charade. She's my friend. She's one of us."
"Charlotte, as in Charlotte Tatum?" A boy with black hair asks Emma. "But she looks like Olivia Cruz to me."
"It's a long story," I say, as Emma comes over to me and gives me a bone-crushing hug. I glance around fleetingly, expecting someone to alert the authorities that a criminal has come into the restaurant, but no one does so. The old couple is even smiling from their post behind the checkout counter. This is also unexpected and baffling but I have more pressing m
atters. "I need some help," I tell Emma after she has finishing jarring my insides with her tight embrace.
Emma's face twists from happiness to concern. "What's wrong?"
I proceed to feed her the very quick version of what's going on, as the Zeppelins fly nearer. I only hope that we can get back to Liam in time.
And then—
With a zap and then an echoing boom, the lights go dead inside the restaurant. The Grid has been silenced. The Amber Army wants Aidan really, really bad.
And still, the Zeppelins approach.
Chapter Thirty
Liam
The images have no sound.
They're just shuffling memories that leave me to wonder if I'm dead. No. No. No. I don't think so. The dead don't dream, do they? Only people who are alive dream, those who don't rely on the Purge. People like me aren't supposed to dream but yet I am doing so now and I have done so a few times in my life, much to my horror. No. I'm not supposed to experience horror. But I do. What a paradox.
The memories pass in quick succession, a quick montage of my life but out of sequence.
I see Charlotte sitting on the monorail. I pretend I don't notice her by glancing away whenever she almost catches me staring at her. All of those times I have seen her and imagined that she would make a good White Agent were just my mind feeding me a contorted version of the truth. I didn't admire her because she could become a wonderful agent. I was admiring her for another reason. Her eyes. I cared about her back then, although I didn't know her at the time. How is that possible? Do people who are full of emotions care about people at first sight? Does something trigger inside of them that connects them to a person they don't even know, an invisible bond? I'm attracted to Charlotte. I always have been and I realize that now as the memory of spying her on the monorail fades.
I'm a kid again, six years old and saying goodbye to my family before I leave to start my White Agent training. It's not much of a goodbye, just a silent exchange between my parents and officials from the White Agency. Ramos is one of those people who come to retrieve me. He wasn't a superior officer back then, just an agent who had climbed through the ranks quickly. He also had a lot more hair and was less muscular. While Ramos leads me away, I recall thinking one thing: why did the White Agency train kids at such a young age? I could have said no. I was old enough to understand but I didn't say anything. I left with Ramos clutching my hand because it seemed like the natural thing to do. The Purge had already ensnared my mind.
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