There Once Were Stars

by Melanie Mcfarlane

  “That’s because no one is relocating. The Order is taking them.”

  “Why would you say something as ridiculous as that, Nat?” Grandmother’s eyes shoot daggers toward me. She’s still afraid.

  “They still have the virus. They use it and run test on these people. Not everyone is immune anymore.”

  “Lies!” Grandmother shouts. “Get out! It’s all lies.”

  “No, it’s true.” I turn to Grandfather, pleading. “Remember Waldorf? He worked with Mom and Dad. Well, today he confessed to everything. He was the one—the one who—”

  “The one who betrayed your parents.” A strange voice comes from the living room.

  A man steps out in the open. His face has changed over the years, more wrinkled and half-covered by a bushy beard, but I recognize him instantly as the man who was outside the dome. This time I know why he’s familiar to me.

  “Uncle?” My mouth drops open in shock. “Uncle Alec?”

  “Yes, Nat,” he says. “It’s me.”

  “How did you get inside?”

  “Evan helped me sneak in on the back of one of your expedition trucks,” Alec explains. “Since then, I’ve been in the Outer Forest. When it was safe, I made my way here to Mom and Dad.”

  “I can’t believe it is really you.” I run and hug my uncle as tight as I can. I have a decade of hugs to make up for. Over his shoulder, I see Xara and her mother are here as well.

  “Is it time to go?” Mrs. Douglass asks. I should have known she would be a rebel.

  “It’s time.” I nod. “I need to get go back.”

  “I don’t understand. Can’t Evan and the others handle it from here?” she asks.

  “Roe has my mother’s proof,” I explain. “But everything else is screwed up. I need to get back and save Evan. They’re taking him for testing.”

  “Nat,” Alec says, “Evan can take care of himself. He knew this mission was dangerous.”

  “No.” I step back, shaking my head. “You don’t understand. There is no way out of there. He’s trapped, and I can help him.”

  I take another step back toward the door. They don’t understand. I can’t lose Evan. I need him. I grab the door handle behind me.

  “I’m going,” I say. “You can’t stop me.”

  “Nat, wait!” Xara calls after me as I turn and run from my grandparents’ apartment. I make my way to the Axis. I know what needs to be done, and I’m sure there’s a way we can do it, and save everyone.

  CHAPTER 29

  I walk back into the dome, unsure of where to go first. The girl at the front desk looks at me, confused. I need to distract her some way, so she doesn’t alert the Order that I’ve returned.

  “Where’s Leta? Wasn’t she here earlier?”

  “She’s not on until later,” the girl says, eyeing me.

  I have Jak’s ID card clipped to my shirt, hanging backward, so she can’t see the face on it.

  “Silly me,” I fake a laugh and start walk toward the elevators. I click the button and see the receptionist stare at me in the reflection on the steel. I get onto the elevator and punch in Floor 18. When the doors close I exhale, and my hands shake as I tuck Jak’s ID card away. I hope Roe is in her office.

  The entire lab is in an uproar. Boxes are on desks, papers are strewn all over the tables, and the scientists are emptying the shelves.

  “What’s going on?” I look around at the chaos.

  “Something happened up in Microbiology,” Cardinal says. “Roe didn’t say much. All the members were called up there.”

  “Did you all get the immunity serum?”

  “Yes, right before she got the call,” Mrs. Richards says.

  “Good. I don’t know if Roe is coming back. Has anyone notified Sophie?” I need to make a plan, but first I have to catch up.

  “She’s been hiding Leta since the night shift. Leta was flagged for making illicit ID cards. They’re going up to Systems to run the message on the monitors. Thankfully, our contact there is still a supporter. Soon everyone in the dome will be shown the proof,” Mr. Richards says.

  “Okay,” my voice shakes. I can’t believe this is really happening. “Can all of you be in charge of the immunity serum? I have something I need to do.”

  “Don’t worry.” Cardinal assures me. “We’ll get it out safely. But don’t wait too long. You don’t want to get caught in here when the Axis comes down.”

  I reach in and grab one vial, putting it in my pocket where the microchip is secured. As much as I despise Waldorf, I plan to carry out his last request for the best of mankind.

  I stop at the door of the lab. “My uncle is alive,” I shout back. “He’s with my grandparents. They’re going to start evacuating the dome.”

  “Alec is alive?” Cardinal’s jaw drops. “How is that possible?”

  “He escaped that night,” I explain. “That’s the real reason Evan is here. He came with Alec to carry out my mother’s plans.”

  I leave the lab, but not before noticing excitement build in Cardinal’s eyes. I really don’t know anything about her; not where she comes from, and not why she’s on the Expedition team. Maybe we’ll have the opportunity to get to know each other when all of this is over.

  The elevator takes me to Floor 2, where I was not long ago. Papers are strewn all over the floor, filing cabinet drawers are left open. But no one is scrambling around; all the people are standing in front of a monitor showing gruesome photos of the infected.

  Residents of Dome 1618, you have been lied to. You have been lied to by the Order and you have been lied to by your elected government. They have stolen your loved ones off the streets and used them for biological testing, infecting them with the virus that brought on the Cleansing War. They have kept you inside the dome as prisoners for the last decade. It is safe to go outside the dome.

  We are bringing the Director and the Delegates to justice. We are bringing down the Axis. Please evacuate the dome immediately, for your safety.

  Join us. Join the rebellion. You no longer need to be divided. No longer do people need to live afraid. Join us on the outside where you can start a new life.

  The message repeats from the beginning.

  Catherine spots me and runs over. “Last I heard, you were dragged off to the Learning Institute. I’m glad you’re okay. As you can see, things have gotten out of control here.”

  “What happened on Microbiology?”

  “The Delegates went up there with the Director,” she explains, quickly whisking me away from the group, down the hallway into the Director’s office. “They had a meeting with the Head of Microbiology. All Samson has been able to message me is that there was an attack and the Director has been injured. It sounds bad.”

  “That’s because the Head of Microbiology gave himself the virus before meeting with the Director.” I walk behind the Director’s desk and press the button for B3.

  Catherine stares wide-eyed as the bookcases reveal the hidden elevator.

  “I need to go find Evan,” I say.

  She nods. “Samson and I will help people get out of the dome.”

  “Ask Jak, too,” I say. “He helped me. He really is good inside.”

  “Take these.” Catherine passes me a gun and a small device. “Samson gave me those to protect me. But if you’re going where I think you’re going, you need them more than me. Use the one to protect yourself and the other to destroy whatever you need to.”

  I shove the device in my pocket and take the pistol. The cold steel of the gun feels awkward in my palm, without Evan nearby to direct me. I grip it tight, and brace myself as the doors slide shut.

  CHAPTER 30

  B3 is darker than it was last time I was here. Fluorescent lights still flicker above, but now some bulbs have jagged holes, like open sores where bullets have ripped them apart. The lights cast their uneven glow down the bare walls, reaching across the floor toward the open doors of each cell, as if w
elcoming my return.

  The gun shakes in my hands as I inch my way down the hallway. Gripping it tight, I point the barrel out in front of me and search each cell, one-by-one. Empty. I pause at the last door, letting my breath out in a strangled exhale. There was an infected in there last time I was here.

  I pivot through the open doorway, but almost drop the gun immediately. The infected that lunged at the door the last time I was here, now lies slumped on the floor with her head bashed in. Blood pools in her lap, where it’s already began to dry. My stomach rebels as I grab the wall, feeling my way out of this horror show. Visions of Evan, trapped down here with these monsters, fill my head, but I push them out and move down the hallway to the right.

  Each step I take makes my skin crawl as the screams that fill the hallways of B3 get closer. I try to ignore them and focus on the windows of each room. Each has shelves and furniture knocked over, but only one has an infected. It lies on the floor in a pool of blood, its twisted face staring up at me. I cover my mouth in an attempt to keep down the contents of my stomach, and force my feet to continue to the end of the hall. What happened down here?

  I peek around the corner, where the long hallway leads to a set of gates. Between the iron pickets, long arms reach for me. Their screams are louder here, bouncing off the walls and piercing the air. I want to hide my face and cover my ears, but I force myself to look. I have to know if Evan is one of them. I need to know if I’m too late.

  But I can’t see him in the sea of faces, so I keep moving around the bend to the other labs. Here, there are only three rooms, and there are no beds or tables, just empty space. The first two are dark, still I peer through the shadows with a shred of hope that Evan is inside. The third room is lit, and the bodies of three infected lie sprawled across the floor.

  I jump back and scream as a bloody hand reaches up and bangs on the window from below. It leaves a long streak of red as it slips down the glass. Scrambling for my gun, I point it at the window, but nothing moves again. Pull yourself together, Dacie. I take a deep breath, then shuffle closer to the glass. Evan’s face comes into view; his body lies slouched against the wall like nothing more than a rag doll. A cry escapes my lips as I drop my gun and push open the door.

  I hold the door open with my foot and stretch out so I can reach him, without locking us in. His mouth hangs slack and his eyes are only open a slit. His hair is matted to his forehead, caked in blood, and his shirt is ripped to threads, barely intact, with one sleeve missing.

  “Evan,” I whisper. “Evan, it’s me, Nat.”

  “Nat.” My name escapes his lips with a murmur.

  “Come on,” I say a little louder. “I’m here to help you.”

  “Nat,” Evan says again, this time more audibly as he opens his eyes. He groans, trying to push himself up, but his shoulder looks like it might be dislocated. “Is that really you?”

  “It is—” I struggle against my tears as I drop to my knees. “Can you push yourself this way? We need to go.”

  Evan looks at me, as a tear falls to my cheek. He stares a moment, as if finally accepting I’m really here, and then begins to drag himself in my direction, stopping to catch his breath as he winces against the pain. All I can do is stand there, helpless, just as I’ve felt most my life trapped inside this dome.

  He looks up at me, his eyes stronger, and more determined. “Are the guards gone?”

  I nod. “Something happened to the Director. All the Members have been called to Microbiology. B3 is empty.”

  “It’s starting.” Evan flashes a half-smirk at me as he pulls himself closer.

  Once he’s within reach, I pull him by his good arm out to the hallway. The door slams shut behind us, echoing in the hallway, where it intermingles with the screams of the infected.

  “What happened in there?” I sit next to him, anxious to be close but afraid to touch him.

  “They made me fight those—things,” he says, choking on his words. “I told them I was immune, and their tests wouldn’t work on me, but they still tried to infect me. Once they saw I wouldn’t turn, they decided to try other tests. Survival tests. That’s what these rooms are for.”

  My chest tightens as I realize the horror of his words. “They must have done this before, to others.”

  “The first one was the hardest,” Evan says. “It was a woman in a cell. I kept thinking, ‘Are you a mother? A daughter? Someone out there misses you.’ But I had no choice.” His voice breaks. “She came at me, again and again. Finally, I had to kill her or she would have torn me apart.” A shudder runs through his body and I put my hand on his good arm to soothe him. “The second was a little easier. It was that one that almost caught you, so I pretended I had to kill it to save you. These last three ... well, I almost gave up, but I remembered you and how they’d taken you to the Learning Institute. How, if I never tried to escape here to come and save you, you might forget me.”

  I lean over and brush Evan’s hair from his face. “I would never forget you.” I kiss him softly on the mouth, and his lips part open and move with the weakness and yearning of a broken man who has a second chance at life. In that moment everything dissipates—the fear, the pressures; it’s just us like it was always meant to be.

  But we’re not free yet. I break away, running my thumb along his lips as my palm rests against his cheek. “Alec is inside the dome, and the message has gone across the monitors. I think the Director has been infected by Waldorf. It’s time to go.”

  “We have one last thing to do,” Evan says. “We need to get to B1.”

  “No. We need to get help for your arm.”

  “Nat, there’s no time. You have to put my arm back into place.”

  “What! I can’t do that.”

  He winces as his good arm moves the dead one out to his side. “Come sit over here.”

  I reluctantly follow his directions.

  “Now, lean over, grab my hand and put your foot against my torso for leverage. Very slowly, pull my arm towards you.”

  I start to pull and Evan howls out in pain, yelling, “Don’t stop!” I keep pulling, and soon the infected drown out Evan’s shouts with their shrieks. I’m rewarded with a popping sound.

  Evan lies panting on the floor and I let go of his arm. “Thank you.” He rotates his arm as if nothing happened. “It’s tender, but it will work.”

  “We don’t need to go to B1. Catherine gave me a device to kill the infected down here.”

  “We need to carry out Alec’s plan. We need to shut down the boiler. Not only will it give the resistance a chance to take over, it will shut down all of these terrible experiments.”

  “The experiments are over, and we weren’t able to get to the virus, because Waldorf blocked the freezers. Now we can’t shut down the boiler systems. If we do, the virus will release itself on the entire dome.”

  “Dammit,” Evan says. “Take me to the elevator, then. Let’s get out of here.”

  I realize I left Jak’s key card on the Director’s desk. How stupid. Of all the things to mess up on, after getting this far, a key card is our undoing. “We can’t get out.” I hold out my empty hands.

  “There’s another way,” Evan says. “Through the dumbwaiter. I found it when I was down here last time. It’s how you get food from floor to floor. We will take it up to B1, and leave from there.”

  “I thought only B3 had an exit?”

  “I thought so too, but when Mrs. Watson took our key card up to Engineering, she found the master blueprint. There are exits strategically placed all over this dome.”

  “Why haven’t I heard about this before?”

  “Nat, there hasn’t been time to explain every little detail. Let’s get out of here.”

  I grab my gun from the floor, and follow him around the remaining curve of the hallway. We’re nearly back at the entrance when he points to the small elevator. There’s a keypad next to it.

  “We have to take turns,” h
e says.

  “I’m going first. You’re injured. Plus, I have the gun.”

  “No. I’m going first.” His eyes focus on me. There’s an urgency in them. I’m sure he just wants to get as far as B3 as quick as he can.

  “I’m the one who taught you how to shoot,” he continues. “Plus, I can’t climb in without your help.”

  I want to argue, but I know he’s right. After some awkward climbing, he finally situates himself in the small box, with his knees pulled up to his chest. It smells like old metal, rusted to the point I hope it stays together. He flashes me a weak smile, as I key in B1. The dumbwaiter jerks before grinding upward. After a few minutes, the chute groans as the dumbwaiter makes its return.

  The tiny device Catherine gave me weighs heavily in my pocket. My job isn’t done. I run back to the gated area, past the room where Evan fought for his life against three infected, who were once innocent people, stolen from their homes on the surface. When I arrive at the gates, the infected reach toward me, as if they’re begging. There’s only one thing I can give them now—peace.

  I pull the device from my pocket. It’s a tiny sphere of smooth silver metal, with a single button that marks the surface—a tiny little button that controls all of the lives of those in front of me. I look back at the infected. No. Their lives ended a long time ago. It’s now or never.

  The button presses with surprising ease; I roll the grenade along the floor until it disappears in the middle of hundreds of feet of the infected. I pause one last time, taking the images of their faces and imprinting them into my memories. If no one remembers the mistakes we made here, how will we stop from making them again?

  I run as fast as I can back to the dumbwaiter, where it sits like a gaping hole waiting for me to climb inside. I scramble in and reach around, keying in my destination. With a jerk, the dumbwaiter creeps upward and I slide the door shut. But the moment everything goes dark, the dumbwaiter shakes violently. It screeches to a stop, and I brace my arms against the walls of my small enclosure. I know I succeeded—the infected have been eliminated, but I can’t help but feel a prickle across the back of my neck as my hairs rise at the thought of being trapped in this tiny box. I bang my hands on the walls beside me. Nothing.