He thinks about it for a moment, then nods. “Yeah, they probably do.”
“What could the UR have that the rebels want?”
“The list could be endless, Jules.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and look up at him. “So now we really need to get out of here, because I have no desire for the rebels to send me back to the UR.” He nods and I release a sigh of relief.
“We need to concentrate on getting the energy source for the portal. I still wish I knew what they were after. I hate not knowing all parts of the equation.”
“Reece might know.” Maybe he kept it from me.
“I think we should find Reece and Jo and figure out where to go from there.”
“Which means I have to figure out where they are.” Great.
We open the door to the hallway and I look both ways down the dim corridor, with Evan standing behind me. “We were held in room 325.”
“That’s good,” Evan whispers in my ear. “It’s probably a few doors down. This is 319.”
“So I wasn’t too far off where I landed us.”
His arm wraps around the front of my waist, and his lips brush my cheek. “You did great.”
I place my hand over his and take a deep breath to steady my nerves. The butterflies in my stomach from his touch don’t help. “Let’s do this.”
We creep down the hall and stop outside the door and try the knob, but find it locked, which doesn’t surprise me. The guards always had a key. I rap lightly and wait. Evan steps to the side, and I give him a questioning glance.
“Who is it?” Reece’s voice is muffled.
“Reece, it’s me.”
The door swings open, and I’m left gaping. How could they open the door?
Reece and Jo stand in front of me looking as surprised as I feel right now.
Jo grabs my arm and drags me into the room. “Where have you been? What happened?”
Reece looks livid. “They said Evan took you away.” He moves toward the door, when Evan steps in the opening.
“I didn’t have a choice. And I brought her back.”
Reece looks like he might punch Evan again. I tug Evan through the opening and shut the door.
Evan must sense Reece’s attitude because he stands with his feet apart in a defensive stance. “They showed up with an official decree to execute Julia. I couldn’t let them do that.”
Reece’s face pales then hardens. “How did you travel?” he asks, giving Evan a suspicious look. “The box was sent to Julia’s world.”
Evan hesitates. He seems to be evaluating Reece. “I created a new one.”
Reece’s back stiffens. “They said they checked all of our things and didn’t find anything.”
Defensiveness prickles the hairs on the back of my neck. When did Reece find that out?
“I started on it while you three went to Deacon City. I finished it on the way here. I was in the woods working on it the night Julia was attacked.”
Reece looks unconvinced while Jo watches me with a guarded expression.
“So where was it?” Reece asks. “And how did you get it?”
“I hid it in Julia’s bag.” When Reece starts to speak, Evan holds up a hand. “She didn’t know. She had no clue until I told her that she had it.”
Jo looks at me with hurt in her eyes. “You lied to me. It was the blasted radio, wasn’t it?”
I don’t answer.
“It wasn’t her fault, Jo,” Evan says. “I made her promise not to tell anyone.”
Jo’s eyes are glassy. “Even me?”
“Especially you and Reece. Telling you could have put you in danger.”
Reece’s hands clench at his sides. “But it’s okay to put Julia in danger?”
“I didn’t mean to.”
“But you did anyway,” Reece spits through gritted teeth. “And then you risked her life and had her bring it to you.”
“No! I didn’t tell her to bring it to me. I didn’t even tell her what it looked like.”
Jo shakes her head. “It’s not that hard to figure out when a radio shows up in her bag that she didn’t put in there.”
Evan doesn’t answer.
“Sure, you didn’t tell her to bring it to you, but you told her that you built it, and you told her you had it.” Reece counters. “What did you expect, Evan?”
This isn’t going at all how I hoped.
“And why did you both just take off and leave us here?” Jo asks.
“Evan told you,” I plead. “The guards showed up with an order to kill me. Evan did it to save me.”
“So you left us behind?”
I feel guilty that I momentarily considered it. I hope my guilt doesn’t come through. “No! We came back to get you! When we thought it was safe, we came back to another part of the compound and came straight to you.”
“They think we’re part of your plot to escape.”
“We’re here to fix that,” I say.
“And how are you going to do that?” Jo asks.
Evan’s chest expands against my back. “Reece, what are they really after?”
Reece’s jaw tenses. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t think they want information about traveling. I think they want something else.”
“What in the world makes you think that? They beat me up this morning trying to get information about it.”
“You mother had access to the equation, but it was missing a part my father didn’t figure out until she left. Why isn’t she asking me to solve the equation?”
“I don’t know.” Reece’s face scrunches in confusion as he shakes his head. “Maybe she doesn’t trust you to solve it.”
“Then why hold me? Why not tell me what they want and then figure out if it’s right or not?”
Reece shakes his head again but he appears less certain. “I don’t know.”
“I think they want something else.”
“What?”
“I think they held me prisoner to keep track of me. Think about who my father is. We know the UR wants Julia. What if they plan to trade us for something?”
The expression on Reece’s face tells me that he doesn’t see this as farfetched.
Deep in my head, something flutters, and I realize Julia’s memories are back. Being so close to Reece is like poking them with a stick and now they stretch feelers into my mind. Weariness seeps in to my bones. There’s no way I can stay in this world. My life depends on finding those batteries.
Evan takes a step forward. “Look, Reece, I know we’ve had our differences in the last year, and I also know that they’ve involved Julia, but I think we both want to make sure she’s safe.”
Reece gives him a stern nod. “What’s your point?”
“We both know the UR wants Julia so they can kill her and keep her quiet. Are you sure these people won’t trade her to get what they want?”
Reece turns away, cursing under his breath.
Evan sees Reece weakening and pushes forward. “I have the device to cross to another universe, but it needs a new power source. If we can get to the lab and get more, the four of us can leave. We can be safe.”
Jo’s eyes light up.
Reece sighs. “Who says I want to come with you?”
Evan studies him for several seconds. “I know that your mother is here and you just found her. But I need to get Julia out of here, and I need the power source to do it. Will you help us?”
Reece takes several deep breaths, a tortured look on his face. “Yes.”
“But you’ll be at risk if they find out you were part of this. Do you still want to stay?”
Reece doesn’t answer.
I glance at Jo. Turning sends a wave of dizziness through my head, but I ignore it. “I want you to come with us. Will you?”
An array of emotions crosses her face. “Yeah.”
Evan smiles, but it’s forced. “Okay, let’s get our stuff together. Jo, pack anything you want to take with you because I
don’t expect to come back here.”
She nods and heads to our room.
“Reece, do you know where the science lab is located?”
He rubs the back of his neck. “I’m not certain, but I think it’s in the same building as the hall we were taken to when we first arrived.”
“Okay,” Evan says. “That’s a good start. If we can make it to the lab, and get the batteries, we can cross universes right there in the lab. The area where this compound stands is a field in the world we crossed to.”
“How can you be sure you’ll end up in the same universe?”
“I played around with the calculations of the box. Not only is the recovery time after travel shorter, but it has more accuracy where you end up.”
“So the three of you will travel together? You’ll take Jo?” Reece’s voice sounds strained, as though he doesn’t like the idea.
“I don’t want to leave her here alone,” I say, suddenly exhausted.
“I’m here. She wouldn’t be alone.” Reece says, surprising me.
“So we find the science lab, get the batteries—” I’m having trouble finding the words. I stumble to the sofa and sit down before I collapse.
“Julia?” Reece’s voice rises.
“I’m…tired…” I lean back my head and close my eyes.
“Julia?” Evan asks. “Are the memories back?”
Forcing my eyelids open, I focus on staying awake. “Yes, but that’s not it.”
Jo comes into the room with her own bag as well as mine and stops, wary.
My eyelids sink closed and they feel like they have weights attached. “I’m so tired.”
“It’s the effects of traveling twice in such a short time.” Evan’s voice sounds slurred and he sits in a chair next to me. “We’re going to have to sleep this off before we go.”
“You need to go back into the bedroom in case someone comes in.”
Reece is right, but the exhaustion is paralyzing.
Jo helps me up and down the hall to our bedroom. I can hardly make my legs move so I’m grateful when she guides me on the bed.
“Thank you,” she whispers, sitting next to me.
“For what?”
“For wanting me.” She gets up and leaves the room, brushing past Evan, who holds on to the doorjamb as though it’s keeping him upright. It probably is.
He staggers onto the bed, pressing his stomach to my back. “I hope we don’t sleep long. I’m worried they’ll find us here. I didn’t have time to hide the radio.”
I’d answer, but I can’t find the energy.
“We’ll figure a way out of this. Do you know why?” he whispers in my ear.
I force my eyelids open to focus on his words. “Why?”
“Because you’re worth fighting for, Julia Phillips.”
I smile. “I love you.”
The feeling of security makes it all the more surprising when I wake to shouting. I’m disoriented, but Evan jerks upright as the bedroom door slams open, and four men with guns invade our room.
Even in my half-asleep, travel-dazed state, I realize that someone has turned us in.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I’m glad I went to bed fully dressed because the men don’t give us time to do anything but march out the door.
As we walk, I try to figure out who betrayed us. Reece seems to have the best reason, yet I’ve known Jo less time. But they’re hauled off with us, so it makes me question the plausibility of my guess. They could be bringing them along to hide the one who betrayed us, but why? I doubted Jo before, to my shame. I refuse to doubt her again. Besides, if they send us back to the UR, which seems a likely scenario for me, what difference does it matter if I find out who did it?
It’s far more likely that we were discovered by the rebels. Either they found us checking on Jo and Reece, or they saw us on cameras. Like they had in the jail cells.
My mind scrambles to remember where the radio is. If they find it, I’ll never get back to my universe. Right now I need to focus on how we’re going to get out of this.
They’re rougher with Evan than the rest of us. One of the men hits him in the back with his gun, and I cry out and reach to stop him. Jo grabs my arm and pulls me back. “Don’t do it, Chipper,” she murmurs. “You’ll only make it worse for him.”
They herd us back to the room we were originally brought to when we came to the compound. Several men and women sit in chairs, waiting for us with looks of impatience. Reece’s mother sits with them. Gathering these people had to take some time. The rebels knew we were there, assembled this panel, then sent the men to take us. All the more reason to suspect betrayal.
We stop in a line in front of the group, and I feel like we’ve just been placed in front of a firing squad.
“Evan Whittaker and Julia Phillips, you’re been charged with treason against the United States of America. Reece Collins, and Jo Duncan, you’re charged with aiding treasonous activities. What do you plead?”
“What?” Reece says with a sneer. “We get to answer our charges? From what I heard, Julia wasn’t given the opportunity to plead anything yesterday. You were just going to blow off her head.”
I cringe at his choice of words.
Reece’s mother looks pale, and her mouth is pressed closed. She keeps her eyes lowered and refuses to look at Reece. My heart breaks for him. She’s rejecting him too.
“So you admit to the charges?”
Reece stares at his mother, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence, but she continues to study the table. “You mean do I admit to helping my friends? Then I’m guilty as charged.”
“Reece,” Jo hisses.
The blood rushes from my head. For once, I wish that Reece would think before he speaks. But Reece isn’t stupid; he usually has some reason behind what he does, even when it seems suicidal. This must be part of some plan.
The group turns their attention to Evan. One of the men clears his throat. He sits in the middle and has an air of authority that the others don’t. “Evan Whittaker, do you admit that you were sent here to spy on our compound and report your observations back to your father and other officials of the United Regions?”
Evan squares his shoulders. “No.”
“You are the son of a high-ranking official. Don’t you think that showing up on our doorstep is unusual and suspicious?”
“No. The three of us were running from the United Regions. We were pursued by the military for the first few days of our flight. After what we did in Springfield, we’re probably wanted for treason. We came here as friends seeking sanctuary. Not enemies.”
“This could be part of some scheme of the United Regions. You could be a Trojan horse, if you will.”
Evan shakes his head and the veins on his neck bulge. “Why are we having this conversation now? Why stick me in a jail cell instead of questioning me earlier?”
But the whole bizarre situation makes Evan’s idea that they want to hand us over seem even more plausible.
One of the women gives Evan a look of condemnation. “We ask the questions here, young man. You will watch your tone.”
Reece takes a step forward. “He’s right.”
Mrs. Collins shakes her head in disapproval and irritation, still refusing to look at Reece.
“My mother defected to your group. I came looking for her. I know that you keep tabs on what’s happening in the UR. You know that the three of us are wanted. Doesn’t that make us less likely to be a threat?”
“How do we know that entire story hasn’t been concocted to make us let you in?”
“How about the wormhole to another universe?” Evan asks in disgust. “How do you explain that?”
None of them answer.
Evan’s voice becomes insistent. “We came as fugitives, seeking safe harbor from your declared enemies. We came in good faith and you treated us as criminals.”
“You used a technological device to escape. That doesn’t sound like the behavior of fugitives see
king safe harbor.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “That’s not—”
Evan interrupts. “Two guards came in and declared Julia guilty of treason and threatened to execute her. Why would we not try to escape?”
“You have technology that you didn’t declare when you arrived.”
Their idiocy knows no bounds. “And why would we have done that?” I ask. “You treated us as criminals, and the device seemed to be our only chance of escape. Why don’t you tell us what you’re really after?”
They stare in me in anger.
“You plan to use us. Evan and I are pawns in some twisted game, and we deserve to know what we’re part of and what you intend to do with us.”
They lean their heads together to whisper, and I worry that I’ve gone too far.
Evan reaches his hand to mine, and we lace our fingers together. Tears fill my eyes at the gesture. United we stand. United we fall.
The group turns to face us. “Julia, is it true you’ve come from another universe?”
This is stupid. I’ve already told them that I have, and they have video evidence of Evan and me traveling. “Yes.”
“You’re wanted by the United Regions for crimes against the state. They’re willing to offer us a valuable asset in exchange for you and the safe return of Dr. Whittaker’s son.”
Evan drops my hand, and his face reddens with rage. “We don’t want to go back. We seek sanctuary.”
“I’m afraid what they offer is much too valuable to give up.”
“They’ll kill her, you know. Are you willing to send her to her death?” Evan asks.
“The lives of many are more important than the lives of a few.”
Reece steps forward. “Then send me with them.”
“Reece,” his mother warns. A flash of fear fills her eyes before her mask returns.
“I’m just as guilty as they are. If they go, I go with them.”
I turn to Reece in horror. “Reece, no!”
The man in charge shuffles several papers and turns his attention to Jo. “From our understanding, you’re not from the United Regions, is this correct?”
“No, I’m from the wilds.”
He looks up and gives her a hard stare. “You’re a survivalist?”
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