“I think it’s malfunctioning. That happens sometimes. That’s why there aren’t any in the Palace Wing except in that one alcove.”
“Malfunctioning? And you just accept it?”
“I don’t really have much of a choice,” I spit out. “What do you want me to do? Go up there and fix it? Do you have a wrench on you? Because I don’t.”
“That’s not what I meant,” he mumbles.
The turret disappears again and I make another try for the wall, but since we’re the only ones in the area, it drops down again and so do I, hitting my shoulder against the concrete. I cry out and Gavin reaches out for me.
“We’ll have to crawl to the other side,” I say, gasping for breath and trying to see past the stars swimming in front of my eyes.
He nods, but his eyes are on my shoulder. “Can you do that?”
“Of course. It’s nothing.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but doesn’t say anything and slithers forward, pulling with his arms and pushing with his legs.
I have no idea if my arm can do anything other than lay there, but I refuse to be a hindrance to him. I will make it to the other side by myself.
My arm, though, has other plans and refuses to cooperate. The slap of footsteps echoing off the walls warns me the Guards are on their way and close. We have to hurry. Finally, with a glance at the turret, Gavin slides his arms around me, then quickly stands, pulling me with him. The turret drops again, but he’s dashing into the shadows next to the abandoned ticket booth before it can do more than hiss. With a quick glance into the booth, Gavin carries me into it and under the control desk.
It’s the perfect hiding place. The Enforcers and Guards won’t come in here because there are no bullet holes in the glass, therefore a waste of time to search for victims beyond a cursory look through the windows, and the attendants won’t return until the Guards give the all clear.
I probe the wound to see if there’s a bullet still lodged there, but it only makes me dizzy and nauseated.
Gavin pulls a first-aid kit from the bag, but I shake my head. “No,” I gasp out. “Get the one on the wall there. We don’t want to use our supplies unless we have no choice.” I whisper more from pain than necessity.
He nods, then quickly and quietly removes the one from the wall. He settles himself next to me and pulls things from it. “I-I’m not sure if I remember how to use that wand thing.”
“I’ll talk you through it, but first you need to check to see if the bullet is still there.”
He raises startled eyes to mine. “What?”
“Please. If it’s still there, we’ll need to remove it.” He swallows and he looks a little pale, even in the dark. “What’s the matter? Afraid of a little bullet? Does someone else have to clean up for you after you kill an animal?”
“That’s different,” he says, not looking at me.
“Not really,” I say with a shrug, and then hiss when the movement causes pain to scream through my shoulder.
Gavin’s eyes meet mine and there’s something undecipherable in them. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
My stomach twists. “Well, that’s too bad,” I say. “It’s going to hurt. There’s nothing either of us can do about it, so I need you to just do it.” He only sits there, watching me. Knowing what I have to do to convince him, I lift my hand to his cheek. “Please,” I say.
He sets his jaw, then presses me against the wall and uses the antiseptic wipes to clean his fingers. “I’ll apologize ahead of time.” Then his fingers are probing the wound and I grit my teeth to prevent myself from crying out.
My other hand claws at the concrete floor in an attempt to curb the dizziness from the black-and-red spots flashing in my eyes. Even my toes curl in my shoes. Anything to keep myself from making this harder on him than it is already. Several times, I have to fight the urge to beg him to stop. I asked him to do this. He needs to do it.
“Tell me about you,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Huh?”
“Please. I need to take my mind off this. Tell me about yourself.”
“Um, okay. Well, like I said, I’m the middle child, which sucks, let me tell you.”
“Sucks?” I ask.
Gavin lets out a strained chuckle. “I don’t like it.”
“Why?”
“Well, you’re always getting blamed for everything. And you’re never old enough for some things, and old enough to know better for other things. It’s the paradox of all middle children.”
I wince and he starts talking really fast. He likes to play something called baseball. He also likes to surf, which apparently requires obscene amounts of time floating over the waves on wood. His father taught him to fish, and his grandfather taught him to hunt, but they both died when he was young. And he still misses them. He never met his grandmother; she died a few months after his mom was born.
His mother taught him to cook and he makes a “mean” steak. Whatever that means. He swears it’ll make even my vegetarian tongue tremble in delight.
He talks about how annoying his sister is now that she’s getting married, constantly vacillating between tears and screaming. And that his brother is a pain to take hunting, because he’s still really young—not even ten—and never shuts up, which is why he’d been hunting with the friend the turret killed. Because he’d wanted to have some peace and quiet and Con, the boy, was the quietest in their village.
We’re both quiet when we realize how close he could’ve been to losing his brother, instead of some boy he’d barely known.
He pushes me gently forward and probes the wound in the back, before letting me rest against the wall again. “There isn’t a bullet. Or any fragments. It went through, like you said.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “Good. Then it just needs to be cleaned and bandaged. The wand won’t work. It’s too deep a wound.”
“Are you sure? We don’t want it to keep bleeding. Isn’t it better to at least try to close it and hope for the best?”
“No. Not unless we absolutely have to. Otherwise I’ll just end up tearing it and making things worse. The chemical hemostat will have to do.” I gesture to a small square silver package in the kit. “Just push a sponge into both sides of the wound. It’ll stop the flow of blood and prevent infection.”
Gavin tears open the package and carefully pushes a sponge into the wounds. Tears sting my eyes, and I can’t control the wobble when my head spins again.
“Are you all right?” he asks.
“Yes. The chemical burns. It’ll pass.” I lean against the back wall and pray for that to happen soon.
“Are you sure? You look like you’re going to faint.”
“Just clean the wound and bandage it. We need to be able to move quickly if we have to and I don’t want to be in the middle of you fixing me.” I know I’m not being very nice and I hate that, but apparently manners don’t come easily to me when my skin is melting off my shoulder.
He opens his mouth and I think he’s going to say something about my attitude, but then he closes his mouth and firms it into a straight line. He carefully cleans the wound and then covers it with a special bandage that won’t stick to the wound and wraps my entire shoulder in gauze.
So much for not sticking out, I think. Though I appreciate that I don’t have to explain how to clean and dress wounds. Must be his hunter training. I suppose accidents happen and he’d have to know the basics.
“There’s a pressure syringe in there and a purple vial. Just attach the vial to the syringe and press it against my skin.”
“What is it?” he asks, but does as I ask.
“It’s a mild pain reliever. Nothing that will impair me, don’t worry. It will be enough to take the edge off.” I hope.
Gavin injects me, then packs everything nicely back into the kit. “Thank you,” I say, realizing I haven’t said it yet. I’ve only bossed him around.
He smiles and, after a short hesitation, presses a gentle kiss to my l
ips. I hold my breath, panic pinching my throat closed. I mentally shake my head when he settles next to my left side. What’s wrong with me? I’m trying to help a Surface Dweller escape Mother. That’s worse than a kiss.
“It’s not a problem,” he says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “It would kinda suck if my girlfriend died before I could introduce her to my mom, you know.” He watches me out of the corner of his eye.
I blush, and tingles of pleasure bloom all over as I duck my head, hiding my face from view with my hair. I like the sound of that. Even if it was only meant in jest. “My girlfriend.” It has a nice ring to it.
While I wait for the medication to kick in, I debate for a minute or two with myself, then nestle in next to Gavin. He winds his arm around my waist and pulls me closer when I start shivering. At first I stiffen at his touch, but then I relax into him. Just having him hold me makes me feel a little better.
My body is going into shock, but the injection should take care of that. Unfortunately, it can take up to twenty minutes, but at least there will be some kind of relief coming.
“So, how about explaining about that turret thing while we’re waiting? How do you know it was malfunctioning?” He takes my head and pushes it down so it’s resting on his shoulder.
I adjust so I’m a tiny bit more comfortable, but keep my head on his shoulder. It feels too good to move. “I don’t. Not for sure. But it happens often enough there’s a good chance that’s the problem. For some reason, the turrets’ sensors malfunction. No one is sure why or what causes it. Mother has them taken offline until they’re fixed, but it’s almost impossible to anticipate the malfunction.”
“Don’t they get maintenance?”
“Yes. Once a month, and a thorough tune-up twice a year, but it doesn’t seem to matter. That’s why Mother had them removed from the Palace Wing. She didn’t want one going off accidentally and killing us.”
“That’s really kind of her.” His voice drips with sarcasm.
“I asked her about removing the turrets from the rest of the facility and she did remove some, but not all of them. They are there to protect the Citizens from Surface Dwellers.”
“Like me?” Gavin asks, moving his gaze back to me.
“Yes, but you’re in the system. Macie helped me get you in there. That’s why I used the coupling excuse. So I could get your DNA and have it entered into the system.”
He runs his fingers down my arm and then interlaces them with mine. “Why did it leave us alone when we dropped to the ground?”
I stare at our conjoined hands. I have to force myself not to pull away. His skin is golden next to the paleness of mine. I half expect him to start glowing. “It works by motion,” I say. “So it doesn’t waste bullets on a dead body. The minute the targets drop to the ground, it’s supposed to stop firing. Since most people panic and flee when they’re fired on, it works well.”
Gavin’s grip tightens around my hand, grinding the bones against one another. I hiss and he lets up. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “So, because you knew it would stop shooting at us when we dropped to the ground, we were able to beat it?”
“Exactly. And now all we have to do is wait out the Guards’ investigation, then the turret will be taken offline, and Citizens will start returning to this area. Then we can be on our way. Simple.”
He caresses the side of my hand with his thumb. It feels nice, but I have a feeling he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it; while it’s all I can focus on.
“How do we know that another turret won’t malfunction?”
And now we get to the crux of our situation.
“We don’t. We’ll just have to make sure we’re careful and aware of our surroundings at all times. We’ll watch for more malfunctions.”
“How do we do that?”
“The turrets in the common areas are in the ceilings. You can tell where they are by their sensors, which hang down slightly from the ceiling on black posts. We’ll just make sure to watch them carefully. Not to mention you should be able to hear a hissing sound.”
“And if we see or hear a turret, we drop to the ground.”
“Or we get out of sensor range, which will allow us to keep moving.”
Gavin’s silent, and I start to get drowsy as the minutes drag on.
He startles me when he finally speaks. “What’s up with that sign on the other side of this booth? Also? Why is there a booth? It’s not like you need tickets or something. Do you?”
I laugh. “No. It prevents unauthorized travel between Sectors Two and Three.” I pause, trying to remember what sign he’s talking about. “The ‘Caution: Stay clear of tracks. Strong magnetic fields in use, which may affect the operation of your nanobots’ sign?” When he nods, I say, “All Citizens have nanobots—little microscopic robots—in our bodies to prevent pressure sickness.” At least, that’s what I thought they were they for, but now the journal has me questioning even that.
“Pressure sickness?” he asks.
“There’s so much pressure at this depth, gases would eventually build up in our blood,” I explain. “The nanobots make sure to clean out the excess so we don’t get sick. They actually accelerate healing, too. They’re pretty amazing. You’d get them, too, if you stayed.”
“So how come I’m not getting sick down here?” he asks.
“It takes a long time, and you’re more at risk if you go back to lower pressures quickly.”
“The bends,” he says.
“Yes.”
The Guards’ voices grow closer, which means they’re nearly finished. The turret has been taken offline if they’re creeping into sensor range. They’ll just make sure there aren’t any more dead bodies over here, and will soon move on.
I place my finger over my lips and gesture to the windows. Gavin nods and we both make sure we’re in the shadows of the desk and not visible from the windows.
“All clear over here,” a Guard calls. It sounds like his voice is just on the other side of the glass.
A young female voice from slightly farther away calls, “No sign of the renegades?”
“No, sir,” the first Guard responds, confirming my thought that the girl is an Enforcer.
“Very well. Go back and attend to the wounded.”
The station is quiet. I wonder if it’s okay to take a peek and see if everyone is gone. However, before I can, I hear Mother’s voice. “Did you locate my daughter?”
At first I start, because I think she must have joined them, but the voice is tinny and I realize it’s just her holo. I let out the breath I was holding.
“No, milady,” the Enforcer states. “The turret malfunctioned.”
Mother makes a noise of disgust. “This wasn’t a malfunction, you idiot.”
Gavin and I exchange a wide-eyed look.
“Milady?”
“I removed their DNA from the computer. The camera caught them in the Square. If this turret went off, it was because it didn’t register their DNA.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Conditioning is an important part of your daughter’s training. But there is no need to fear. All the Conditioning takes place while she’s asleep. She will feel nothing other than a quick sting of the needle filled with “happy juice” that will ensure the perfect atmosphere for Conditioning.
—EXCERPT FROM SO YOUR DAUGHTER HAS BEEN CHOSEN TO BE AN ENFORCER. CONGRATULATIONS! PAMPHLET
Of course it wasn’t a failure. Were they ever? Probably not. The computer was programmed to locate by DNA. All they had to do was delete the person from the computer, so it would think they were Surface Dwellers and open fire.
That was exactly why Mother wasn’t afraid to go down to the Detainment Center to speak with Gavin. She knew they wouldn’t go off.
Gavin and I wait for them to finish their conversation, hoping Mother will drop something else important, but she doesn’t, and I have to wonder if she knows I’m nearby and wanted me to hear that I’d been removed from the computer. I pray they don’t ge
t smart and decide to check the booth. They’ll find us in a heartbeat.
They don’t, and I hope it’s because they think we ran with the crowd to blend in, even if I’m especially grateful we didn’t do that. How many more lives would we be responsible for if we had?
“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not your fault,” Gavin says. He runs his hand down my arm and interlaces our fingers again.
I shake his hand away, not in the mood for his coddling. “Yes it is. I was stupid enough that I didn’t think Mother would pull our DNA from the computer. She used my own plan against me.”
“What else could we have done? How else would we get here?”
“I don’t know.” I clench my fist so hard my nails dig into my palm, breaking the skin. “Something. Anything would have been better than getting innocent people killed because of me.”
He takes my hand and straightens out my fingers. There are four little half-moon shaped marks in the heel of my palm. “Let’s put that off to the side for now. We need to get to the subs.” He pauses as he stares at me.
I shake my head, but he cuts off my refusal. “She’s going to kill you, Evie. The turret was planned to go after both of us. Not just me. I’m not leaving you here. You’re coming with me.” His tone becomes more forceful with each word and I’m pretty sure he’s close to demanding that I listen to him this time.
Even though I can’t imagine leaving my home, I don’t see a choice. If I stay, I’ll die. Mother will see to that. The wound in my shoulder is proof.
Slowly, I nod. “Okay.”
“No, you don’t— What?” He looks dumbstruck at my agreement and I have to laugh.
“I said, okay. I’ll go with you. You’re right. She’ll kill me if I stay.”
He closes his eyes and lets out a long breath. His features visibly relax before he opens his eyes again. “Great. How are we going to do it now if our disguises aren’t going to work?”
“I don’t know. Every time I plan something she’s one step ahead of me.” I rub my hands across my eyes. Voices are coming our way, along with the scraping of shoes against concrete. “We have to leave this room. The Guards have opened the station again. The booth worker will be back soon.”
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