Numbers Raging

by Rebecca Rode

  Fates. I’d made her shoot herself.

  Something clicked over my head. Then Dresden said, “Lights on.”

  The room flooded with light again. Dresden stood above me, one hand on the manual dial for the lights, the other holding a stunner in my face. A hat covered his forehead. I flinched, knowing death was coming, but his gaze was locked on Edyn. His eyes widened in shock.

  The door exploded.

  Pieces of metal and wood peppered my face as I flew backward, knocking the chair over behind me. Edyn had been thrown onto her back. Dresden lay on the floor two yards away, groaning, his hat on the ground.

  Guards poured in. They shouted over each other, the sound fuzzy in my still-recovering ears. While some soldiers raced to Dresden’s side or to Edyn’s still form on the floor, the rest flanked me where I lay on the ground. They yanked me to my feet and locked my arms behind me. My face burned with half a dozen tiny cuts from the broken door fragments.

  While they shoved me toward the door, I glanced back at Edyn. Dresden knelt at her side, then cradled her head in his lap. Edyn’s entire shoulder was covered in blood now, and her face had gone ashen. Her eyes were round and fixed on the ceiling.

  My throat tightened. I hadn’t wanted to kill anyone.

  For a moment that anger, the rage Peak had talked about, sank deep into my bones—rage at Chiu, rage at Dresden for being stupid. At myself for failing. And most of all, anger at the fact that I desperately wanted to tighten my hands around Dresden’s throat.

  I was supposed to be better than Peak.

  “I’ll find a way to tell everyone, Dresden,” I said as a female guard pushed me toward the door. “I’ll tell them President Chiu is coming to slaughter us and you gladly handed us over.”

  “Take her away,” Dresden muttered without looking up. “Everybody else, stop standing around and go fetch a physician!”

  Five soldiers, the ones who had rushed to Dresden’s aid, leaped to their feet and hurried out of the room.

  I turned back to the doorway, resigned to my fate, only to recoil in surprise. The guard holding my arm had a lock of red hair escaping her cap. She met my gaze and grinned.

  Maizel?

  With a start, I realized all the remaining guards were watching her, waiting for some kind of cue. She nodded. Seconds later, my wrists were released and someone slid a stunner into my hands.

  Maizel leaned in and slid my stunner to fatal mode. “Take him out,” she whispered. “He deserves it.”

  Dresden looked up right then. His eyes went wide with surprise, then focused on the weapon in my hands and the guards circling me like a shield. He frantically scanned the room. There was nobody left but Edyn, and his scanner had gotten lost in the blast.

  He set Edyn’s head down and began to scramble backward, but he hit the back of the sofa. He was pinned.

  “Well?” Maizel said, folding her arms. “Kinda short on time here. More of his guards will be here soon. Invasion and all that.”

  Violence on top of violence could never create peace. I knew that. Genetics or no, there was something that belonged to only me, something nobody could take away, at gunpoint or otherwise.

  My choice.

  I didn’t want to be my great-great-grandfather. I would not be like him. I would defend my people without destroying myself, or I would die with them.

  Be better than I was.

  Slowly, carefully, I slid the stunner back to stun mode.

  Then I pulled the trigger.

  Our nightlong siege of the hospital ended abruptly. There was no ceremony, no fireworks. The only indication that anything had changed was an order being shouted across their ranks. One moment we were shooting, ducking between buildings, and pushing toward their blockade. The next their soldiers slunk away in confusion, tossing angry looks at us as they left.

  “What were your orders?” I asked one of them.

  He scowled. “We’re to let you inside. So I guess you won, you dirty Integrants.” He shoved me backward and kept walking.

  Strange. That order had to have come from either the Demander, who never stepped down from a battle, or the emperor himself. Bike Boy hated us as much as the Demander did, so that wasn’t likely either. Whatever was happening, we’d take advantage of it.

  Kind of them to leave their blockade up. Typical NORA. “Let’s move all this junk out of the way,” I called out to my troops. They obeyed immediately, each one bloody and exhausted beyond reason. Most of them hadn’t slept in two nights, and many had been affected in some way by the water compound.

  Coltrane repeated my commands to the men coming out of hiding behind us, looking weary but excited. He hadn’t stopped looking around in awe since our arrival. This was a completely different world for him.

  Within minutes we were moving the worst of the patients into the hospital using stolen stretchers. Bewildered physicians and assistants watched us warily, but they didn’t move to help.

  “We need somewhere to put these people,” I barked at them.

  “There is nowhere to put them, outlander,” a woman snapped. “The custodial closets and hallways are filled with the injured. The city’s gone crazy, what, with all these people from the outer cities and now you moving in.”

  “It’s too much for one hospital to take,” a woman in a pale-purple uniform said. “We could’ve told you that much before you attacked and added to the problem.”

  I swore. “Have you seen these symptoms before? Raspy cough deep down in the lungs, signs of dehydration, blood in the mouth. Unconsciousness. Does that sound familiar?”

  They looked at each other blankly.

  “Well, you’re squeezing them in somehow,” I said. “They all have the same symptoms, so once you figure out how to heal one, you’ll heal them all and we’ll be out of here. Follow me.”

  Much to the workers’ dismay, we spent the rest of the night clearing space for the patients in the physicians’ offices and hallways. As the sun rose above the sleeping city, a broadcast went out to the citizens’ techbands. I reached for mine before remembering it was gone. Old habits.

  The physician woman who had spoken earlier gave a little gasp. “It’s that girl. The one on the council.”

  I peered over her shoulder. Treena. She held her head high, but a series of tiny red cuts scattered across her face told a different story. A familiar exhaustion haunted her expression, although she faced the camera with her usual determination. In an instant, I understood. Bike Boy hadn’t given the order. Treena was back.

  A strange stirring kept me riveted to the screen. It was hard to believe this was the same girl I’d argued with at the gala just a few days before. The person I saw before me was a woman, a leader.

  “Citizens of NORA,” she began. “I know rumors have flooded your homes and your workplaces. I’m here to set the record straight, but first I need to tell you a story.”

  She talked about how Dresden had come to power, what had really happened when the palace was destroyed, where my settlers had come from. She explained Dresden’s part in the settlers’ sickness and asked for volunteers to come to the hospital. At that, a shout of relief sounded from the lower floors of the hospital. These physicians hadn’t slept much either, it seemed.

  “Your first reaction to my next words will be fear,” Treena said, her expression more somber now. “There’s something primal within us that makes us willing to resort to anything to protect ourselves. I’m asking you to be better than that. Whatever you do next, please don’t give in to panic. We have a plan to help each family get through this safely.” She hesitated. “I have confirmed that the rumors regarding the Eastern Continental Alliance attack are true.”

  The convention had voted against her, then. At least she’d made it back safely. I felt lighter as I watched her on the small screen.

  “Our emperor failed to protect us. His solution was to watch and wait, hoping the enemy would take the city peaceably despite evidence to the contrary. He now awa
its trial in a prison cell. Our honored council had a different solution. I’m very sorry to announce this, but I just discovered that the other council members have fled into the desert. They left two days ago with some stolen supplies. I sent aircraft out an hour ago to search for them, but so far we haven’t had any news. In their absence, I’ve taken on the role of empress for your welfare and safety.

  “I won’t lie to you. The threat we now face is the greatest since my ancestor Richard Peak founded our great country. Since it’s clear that our military will be insufficient, we’re putting an evacuation plan into effect immediately. Please pack one bag per person with clothing, water, and as many nutrition pills as you can find. Then stand by for instructions on your techband. Any citizen found stealing or injuring another will be immediately arrested and left behind. Thank you for your attention.”

  The hospital had gone completely silent. Even patients stared at their screens in shock, horrified by Treena’s words. The full extent of what she was saying seemed to settle on everyone’s shoulders now. Their council had fled. Their emperor was a traitor. Only a descendant of their founder remained—and she had made it clear they had little choice but to unite under her rule.

  “Brilliant,” Coltrane muttered. “She’s amazing.”

  I couldn’t agree more.

  “Tell me again,” Maizel said as I paced my bedroom. “So he was still inside the ship when you ran away, but you didn’t see him come out? How could you just leave him there?”

  I whirled and began marching back the other way, her words stabbing an already painful wound inside. “I honestly thought he was following me. I wouldn’t have run out otherwise. Maizel, I’m so sorry. Truly.” I couldn’t imagine how it would be if Vance were missing, captured by a powerful enemy or perhaps even dead.

  Vance. Several had reported seeing him at the hospital, so I knew he was here and well. It was little consolation. He hadn’t sent any messages or tried to visit. Maybe my behavior in Liverpool had really messed things up between us, to the point where we couldn’t salvage our relationship.

  “You okay?” Maizel asked, sitting forward on my bed. “You look like you’re choking.”

  I cleared the tightness from my throat. “I’m fine. I was just thinking—maybe Chiu will bring him along. Assuming they can hold on to him. He’s slippery, that one.”

  Maizel’s puzzled frown deepened. “True.”

  Thanks to Maizel’s guards and Jasper’s quick arrival with his 130 followers, the transition had gone smoothly. I also considered this morning’s national transmission a success. At least the rioting and fighting in the streets had ceased for a while. People were busy packing their things. I’d ordered the border gate to be opened in case people felt like leaving, but few had taken me up on that. It seemed they had confidence in my plan. Or maybe they just didn’t want to be alone out there.

  Reports from the hospital said the physicians were grudgingly warming to the settler patients. Medically trained volunteers had flooded in from various parts of the city. My mother was there now, and possibly Jasper.

  Preparations to evacuate the city would continue throughout the day and into the night. Crews gathered our city nutrition-pill stores and water packets, filling transports and military trucks and anything they could find that could go any distance. We’d repurposed the Raters, asking them to rank the citizens according to need instead of number. Families with young children and the elderly would leave first. And I had sent scouts out in what few aircraft we could spare to start searching for potential settlement areas, but I knew anything they found would be temporary. We needed to get far away from here. If Chiu won and took over this city, he needed to forget we were a threat.

  Reports said that the underground tunnel outside the wall was coming along remarkably well for what little time they’d been given. Supposedly the tunnel led to a hidden ravine two kilometers away, a natural hiding place not visible from the air. Unfortunately, it wasn’t done yet. It could fit about half the city’s residents at any given time, and its ventilation system was rudimentary at best. It was definitely a temporary solution.

  So much to do.

  Someone tapped lightly on the door. Maizel jumped to her feet and ran over to answer it despite her civilian clothes. She whipped out her stunner and stood by the door, hand hovering over the knob. “Who is it?”

  “The Integrant, Your Highness,” a guard said.

  There was only one person that could be. I jumped to my feet and ran over to the door, smoothing my hair.

  Maizel smirked and opened the door. Vance stood in the shadows, leaning against the doorway with his arms folded. He watched me with a guarded expression. A mixture of emotions washed over me at the sight of him—relief that he was all right, embarrassment at the way I’d acted in Liverpool, warmth at how tall and strong he looked. How real he was.

  He pushed away from the doorway and walked over. He wore his black shirt again, the one he’d worn when we escaped NORA’s clutches and leaped from a chopper. It was pulled tight around his muscled shoulders and made him look like a panther when he moved. He didn’t blink when he reached me.

  My body felt pulled to his, as if a huge magnet lay between us. He smelled so familiar—warm spice mixed with pine. Like home. But there was a strain between us that had never been there before.

  “Thanks for opening up the hospital,” he said, stopping short of me. “Do you intend to invite the settlers to evacuate with you as well?”

  “I could never leave without you.” My voice was hard. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I mean your people. They’re all welcome to join us, of course.”

  “We have a unique skill set your citizens can use out in the desert. We can help each other. Problem is, most of my people are sick in the hospital right now. Their physicians are preparing to abandon them in the morning, and we still haven’t found a cure.”

  I hadn’t thought about that. After all he’d been through to get his people medical care, I was taking it all away. “We’ll leave a few medics here, then.”

  “No citizen is going to risk their life for an outlander, Treena. They’ll want to leave with their families, and that’s their right.”

  I sighed. “Then we need to get them better.”

  “We thought exposing them to NORA’s treated water would help, but so far it’s done nothing. We lose at least four patients every hour.”

  “Then I’ll send the order to throw all available staff into finding the cure.”

  “I appreciate that.”

  He stood there, watching me with that same closed expression. An ocean no longer separated us, but the distance felt much the same.

  “You were right,” I said, the words escaping before I could call them back. I took a deep breath and plunged on. “Prince Augustus tried to kill me.”

  “When?”

  “The night you left.”

  He cursed. “I should have waited to talk to you.”

  “Yes, you should have.” I lifted my face to meet his gaze. “I would have understood your reasons for leaving if you’d just told me. I wish you could have trusted me.”

  “Trusted you? You’re kidding me.”

  “Vance—”

  “No. Let me say something. I went because I cared about you, Treena. I defended you, admired your courage. Abandoned my own people.” Pain lanced his expression, and his gaze fell to the floor. “And I got nothing but lies from you in return.”

  His name hovered on my tongue, unsaid. I couldn’t form the words to describe what I felt—terror at facing all this without his strength and unfailing faith; and the emptiness of facing him without his steady embrace. The pain of knowing I had brought this upon myself. The devastation of knowing I had hurt him just like everyone else he’d ever known.

  Vance tore his gaze away uncertainly. “You seemed so comfortable with those famous leaders and their fancy parties. You were meant for that world of castles and meetings and politics. But I never was.”


  I stepped closer, feeling my heartbeat pick up just being so close to him. “So that world doesn’t want us together. Why should that matter? Dresden has tried to split us up. Prince Augustus tried too. Frankly, I doubt even your settlers and my citizens would like this much. But I’ve decided something.”

  I tentatively touched his arm. It was like electricity through metal, the effect it had on my body. My heart galloped wildly in my chest as I slid my hand down his arm and grasped his fingers in mine. His hand twitched.

  “The harder they try to tear us apart,” I whispered, “the harder I’m going to fight to keep us together.”

  “Aw, just kiss already,” Maizel said from the doorway. I’d forgotten she was there.

  Apparently Vance had too, because he stiffened and took a step backward. Our hands broke apart and he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

  “I forgot,” he said. “There’s something I need to tell you, and it can’t wait. I just came from the hospital.”

  “Okay,” I said, disappointed at Maizel’s interruption. “So what else is wrong?”

  “I’m sorry, Treena. Ruby is dying.”

  I stumbled down the hallway of the hospital, absently scanning the faces of each patient at my feet. There was barely room to walk. Vance carefully picked his way through them, gripping my hand and pulling me along. He hadn’t released it since my quarters.

  Not Ruby, I pleaded with the fates. I need her too much. Please, not now.

  “This way,” Vance said, turning right. He went through a doorway and into what looked like a laundry room. The heavy cloth-sanitizing equipment sat useless against the far wall. Several settlers lay on the floor, barely a foot’s worth of space between each. Blankets had been folded beneath them to soften the hard tile floor. A harsh overhead light sent brightness down upon Ruby’s still form. Her beautiful silver hair streamed behind her.

  I tiptoed through the group amid soft moans and heavy breathing until I reached Ruby’s side. Carefully crouching over her, I swept her hair back and felt a sharp pang. Her face was pale as death already, her cheeks sunken. At my touch, her eyes fluttered and opened.