Pretty Monster

by Somers, Jill

  “But Savannah doesn’t even know you’re in the resistance,” she said. “According to you.”

  “I wouldn’t put anything past her. It’s possible she knows everything. At the very least, she suspects. And she wouldn’t leave a risk factor like you to chance.”

  “Makes sense,” Quinn admitted. “But at the same time, she never tried to get me to join her, either. Not really. Not this ‘alliance.’ And Reese? He made up this twisted web of lies about how you and Savannah were in on something. Why would that be? What was their end game?”

  “My guess is they wanted to keep you from joining either side. Reese wanted you to distrust me so that you wouldn’t become his enemy, but he knew better than to expect you to willingly join a movement spearheaded by the man you hate the most—Crowley. As much of an asset as you could be to them, you’d always be more of a liability.”

  In a disturbing way, it made perfect sense.

  “It was the day after Drax’s party that we learned what Savannah was up to—at least, we got an idea of it,” he continued. “Ridley went on a scout to the mainland to pick up a load of goods, and included in the load was some mail for her. On the helicopter back, he opened one of the envelopes. It was a letter from Crowley. It was coded, but we gathered what we could. It was a plan of attack.”

  She nodded. It was as she and Rory had gathered.

  “Keep in mind, we didn’t know as much as you do now. This ‘alliance’ you say she has created—her plan of saving them and killing the rest—it’s news to me. We envisioned a battle, perhaps—her demanding surrender or death—but not such a cowardly plan. Not taking one group away and leaving the rest to die.

  “Regardless, once we knew an attack was looming, we went into overdrive. Recruiting more quickly. Drax was the next of my students. He had just recovered from the incident with Haley, and we had all seen how bravely he forgave you and pushed you to make amends with Haley. We saw him realize that he was stronger than he thought, and we saw the bravery that came with that realization. When Charlie and I came to him with the invitation, he was thrilled. Said he wanted to do whatever he could to help.

  “Haley and Trent, we approached next. Trent first, followed shortly by Haley. We had always seen them as a package. What happened with you and Trent that day concerned Charlie, Pence, and a few of the others. Myself, too, though for different reasons.” Quinn tried not to blush. “They were worried that Trent’s connection with you would threaten our secrecy, if you really were in cahoots with Reese. We almost didn’t recruit him over it. But Pence decided it was safe. She said that when she asked Haley about it, Haley told her it was a fluke—that he meant nothing to you.”

  Quinn grimaced. Thanks, Haley.

  “I can’t say I wasn’t relieved to hear it,” he admitted, instantly lifting her spirits back up. “Anyway, Haley and Trent were next in. We still debated you. Every day. I fought to include you, Quinn. Even after you started hating me. So did Haley, and so did Ridley. We all saw the good in you. We just feared what they might be polluting your mind with.”

  She understood where he was coming from. She did. From the moment she had met Reese, she had been taken with him; it had to have shown to those who were looking. And she knew she had never been the most trustworthy of people.

  But to him? To Dash, who she had more or less laid her heart out to?

  It still hurt.

  “Anyway,” Dash said, “none of it really matters any more. After all these years of secrecy, of planning…. You’ve put it all out in the open. Now everyone is forced to choose sides. And we hope that within our side, there are no moles.”

  She swallowed. Way to go, Quinn.

  “What can I do?” she finally asked.

  He blinked. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I am trustworthy, and I do want to help, and now that you have no other choice, I guess you’re going to have to deal with that.”

  He sighed. “I guess I thought you might still run.”

  Rory glared at him. “She was running because she didn’t think there was anyone left for her to trust. You’ve explained yourself and your reasons. She accepts them. Now, tell her how she can help.”

  He smiled slightly, which was good, since Quinn was busy fuming. Not only did the girl read her mind, but she spoke for her, too? She was spot-on, but still.

  “Charlie and Pence stayed behind to convince the rest of the class to stay put until we returned,” Dash explained. “If we’re lucky, no one’s left yet. The moment that classroom splits up, all hell will break loose—unless, by some miracle, none of them go to Savannah.”

  “I don’t think that will happen,” she told him, thinking back to her last conversation with Shade about his ‘other friends’ at Siloh. “Shade’s in that class.”

  “I would like to think she hasn’t gotten to him,” he said sadly. “But I admit I was never able to.”

  “I think you never could because she already had. He strikes me as someone who’s been lost for a very long time. It’s almost impossible for him to connect, but any time I come close, I can sense that a part of him desperately wants to. Savannah probably saw that in him long before any of us. It’s the kind of manipulation she probably used to form the entire alliance—whoever that might consist of.”

  “I think you’re right,” he agreed. “We can only hope he hasn’t gone back to her yet.”

  She nodded silently.

  “So, we go back,” he said. “We put all our cards on the table. We give everyone the choice. Once the doors open, we choose a base—a building for all the members of the resistance to stay. We take shelter there—formulate a plan to fight back.”

  Quinn frowned. “And in the meantime, what? We await our fate from the outside world—this attack Crowley’s been planning with her? Are we sure that’s wisest? What if we just got everyone out who needs to get out? And if someone chooses to stay behind, so be it?”

  “It’s an option. I’m sure we’ll consider every option. But here, we have the ability to protect ourselves and our homeland. Stand our ground. Fight back. Out there? Our enemies would be multiplied a million times over. Every country, every leader, every person would be afraid of us. We would be invading their lands.”

  She understood. Here, they were a contained threat—one only a tiny percentage of the real world knew about. Out there, it would be utter mayhem.

  She nodded. “Let’s get to work.”

  • • •

  When they returned to the classroom, the first thing Quinn noticed was that it was quiet—too quiet. All eyes went straight to the three of them as they entered, no one uttering a sound. Charlie and Pence stood at the front of the room, the rest of the students in their seats.

  The rest of the students except one, she realized: Shade was slumped on the floor, unconscious.

  “We had to take him out before he put us all under illusions and fought his way right to Savannah,” Charlie explained to Dash. “Trent took the liberty.”

  Trent smirked, sending Quinn a wink. Great, she thought sarcastically; now he decides he can trust me again.

  She supposed they were all beyond secrets now.

  Her heart went out to Shade. It had been easy for her to put the pieces together that he was in the alliance once she knew who was in the resistance, but it was hard for her to blame him. She wished there was something she could say or do to make him change his mind, but she had a feeling he was too far gone.

  “And the rest of them?” Dash asked Charlie.

  “No one fought us or tried to leave,” Pence told him. “But no one’s happy.”

  Scanning the faces of the students watching them, Quinn could see that Pence was right. “Well, no shit, they’re not happy. I told them they were all going to die. And then we forced them all to sit here and do nothing for half an hour.”

  She could see a few grins from the classroom, but mostly it was glares.

  “What now?” Angel demanded, finally piping up. “Is someone fin
ally going to explain to us what the hell’s going on? Or will I have to be the next to get knocked out because I have to go pee?”

  “Shade didn’t have to pee, Angel,” Charlie said. “He was trying to report back to Savannah. To tell her what we know.”

  “And what do we know, exactly?” asked Tommy. “Can anyone explain to me why all this time we’ve been told to obey Savannah’s rules at all costs, and now we’re being told that if we try to go see her, we’ll be murdered?”

  “Not murdered,” said Trent. “No one here is threatening to kill you. We just might incapacitate you. Briefly.”

  Dash cleared his throat in an attempt to take back the room. “Look, all of you will be given a choice. Everyone is going to leave this room alive. What Pence and Charlie were ensuring for us was that we all make our choices before leaving this room—having a full understanding of what it is we’re making choices about. That way, we all have time to get where we need to be, safely.”

  Everyone fell silent. It was only stares.

  “I’ll start with what I know,” Dash said, “then I’ll let Quinn speak. What I know is that I, along with Charlie, Pence, Trent, Haley, and Drax, and others not in this room, am a member of the new resistance. It is a secret group that has existed for many years here on the island, created in the wake of the resistance that was destroyed on the mainland. We have always known of Savannah’s corruption, and we met in secret, doing what we could to keep tabs on what she was up to and whether we here on the island were still truly safe.”

  “What do you mean, Savannah’s corruption?” Izzo asked him. Her question was clear, but her voice was nervous. She was clearly afraid. “What did she do?”

  “She is involved with a very dangerous man—the very man who was responsible for the destruction of the first resistance. His name is Cole Crowley, and he is the leader of the DCA. He has made it his mission to not only send all deviants from the real world to Siloh, but also to punish us in other ways… ways I think we are just beginning to understand.”

  “Basically,” Trent said, helping him out, “he wants to kill us all.”

  “Why would Savannah agree to that?” Tommy asked. “She’s got two sons who are deviants. You’re trying to tell me she doesn’t care about you?”

  “My brother has been on her side all along. I know she’ll protect him at all costs. I’m sure it’s part of the deal with Crowley. As for me, I’m not sure what she would do. Savannah and I haven’t truly trusted each other in a long time.”

  Quinn raised a hand awkwardly. Dash glanced over at her. “Yes?”

  “Well,” she said, “this might not be the best time to tell you this, but I can pretty much confirm for you that if she’s planning on saving Reese, she’s not planning on saving you.”

  He hesitated, confused. “How could you know that?”

  “Well, when Rory and I heard her on the phone… it was ‘son’ that she was ensuring protection for. Singular. Not ‘sons.’”

  Dash held her gaze for a second, letting that settle in. Then he looked down. It seemed to hurt him more than she had expected. She supposed some small part of him must have been clinging to the idea that his mother still loved him.

  Probably should have waited to tell him that, Quinn thought grimly.

  “There you have it,” Charlie said, swinging in like a true politician and using Quinn’s mistake to his advantage. “More proof that Dash is on our side—not hers.”

  Angel rolled her eyes. “Let’s be clear: none of this is proof. But please, continue. I’m fascinated.”

  And Dash did continue, changing the subject. “What Trent said—it’s more complicated than Crowley wanting to kill all of us. Sure, he wants us dead, but he also sees us as valuable weapons. If Quinn, Rory, and I have put the pieces together correctly, we think he’s having Savannah create an army for him. Those who she says are trustworthy become part of the alliance—a group that she and Crowley will protect, in exchange for their servitude and loyalty—or, as far as I’m concerned, slavery.”

  “So, we join the resistance, and probably die, or we join the alliance, and become slaves,” Angel said, nodding. “I’m liking my options here.”

  “Let’s get back to the attack,” said Tommy. This was the most vocal Quinn had ever seen him. Then again, it was his life on the line.

  “All the resistance was able to ascertain for sure was that Crowley has been in communications with Savannah regarding a plan of attack,” Dash said. “We don’t know when. We don’t know where, though we assume it will be here on Siloh. Aside from the resistance, Quinn and Rory here did a little recon of their own.”

  He glanced over at Quinn, inviting her to speak. She bit her lip, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. “Right.… Basically, we know that she’s got plane tickets and passports, and that she’s trying to get herself, the alliance, and her son—that is, Reese—out of here before the attack. So, putting two and two together, when we see Savannah and everyone who isn’t in the resistance leave the island, we know we’re all doomed.”

  Angel watched Quinn carefully. “Why didn’t you run?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “It was clearly what you were planning on doing when you left class earlier, and your boyfriend chased after you,” Angel pointed out. Dash made a face like he considered objecting, but decided against it. “So, why didn’t you? What could Dash possibly say to someone as selfish as you to convince you to stay here and protect your own kind?”

  Quinn stared at her, utterly speechless. Because, of course, Angel was right.

  It was Rory, to her surprise, who spoke up for her.

  “It was never a question of whether or not Quinn was willing to protect you. She loves you all, whether she’d admit it or not. It was a question of why no one in the resistance let her. They shut her out for so long, she gave up. When Dash finally came and told her everything, that was enough for her. She just wanted the truth.”

  “Right,” Tommy said, glaring at Dash. “So did we.”

  “I’m truly sorry,” Dash said, “for keeping so many of you in the dark for so long. It wasn’t my choice—I’m by no means the leader of this movement—but I’m still sorry. I just have to ask that you all understand our positions. If anyone in the resistance were to leak anything back to Savannah—if we were to make one single judgment error—it would all be over.”

  “And now?” Angel asked. “Now that we all know everything? You’re still going to let Shade go—let us go, if we decide to side with Savannah?”

  “Why would you?” Haley asked her. “Why would any of you even consider teaming up with the woman who is currently arranging a mass murder?”

  “Because they don’t think we’ll be able to stop her,” Drax answered her sadly. “And they hope that putting their trust in her will save them.”

  “It might save them for the time being,” Dash said, “but not in the long run. Anyone who sides with Savannah is siding with Crowley—and working for Crowley is worse than selling your soul. He will ask you to do vile things, to hunt and kill your own kind, and the moment you try to resist, he will kill you. You’ll wish you had stayed and fought—that’s a promise.”

  Everyone remained silent, letting that sink in.

  “And yes, Angel,” he continued, “in response to your question—I would let them go. Shade, and anyone else who makes that choice. The secret is out now. It will get back to Savannah, if it hasn’t already. If you still choose her—if you can live with the slavery and the half-life—then I invite you to do so. But those of you who want to stay, to defend our land, to defend our loved ones—you, I side with.”

  “And then just hope?” Angel asked. “Hope that you don’t have a mole in your group? Hope that Savannah hasn’t already gotten to one of us that you didn’t trust so easily for your own resistance?”

  “Yes,” Dash said, looking her straight in the eyes. “That’s exactly what I hope.”

  She fell silent.

  Charlie cleared his th
roat. “We’ve established a base camp for the resistance. There’s room for everyone to eat, sleep, practice, and plan as we form our alliances. When everyone here has made up their minds, we move out. Everyone who chooses to join the resistance will head for the tower—I believe everyone is familiar with it. Everyone who chooses to to join this ‘alliance’—I believe you’re all familiar with the town hall, as well. I’m sure that’s where she will be expecting you.”

  Pence took a deep breath. “Any further questions?”

  The class sat in silence, eyes wide. Afraid.

  Izzo raised her hand. Dash nodded to her. “It’s just,” she said timidly, “what if… What if we don’t want to choose?”

  “I’m afraid it’s not an option,” Dash told her. “You could try to hide. We wouldn’t chase you. But Savannah would find you. You could try to run—to jump the wall and go far away from here. But Reese would stop you. I have no doubt he’ll be patrolling the skies until this is all over.”

  “Besides,” Charlie said, “amidst all of this fear and confusion, I encourage you all to remember: this is our home. We fight to protect it. If any of us leave—particularly anyone who is known to have been brought here—it sends a message to the world that we aren’t ready to send. We have enough on our plates already. For the world to fear this island more than they already do…” He shuddered. “Crowley is enough of an enemy for now. Let’s not make it the entire world.”

  Izzo nodded sadly.

  “Hands in the air,” Dash announced, “if you have come to a decision.”

  One by one, every hand went into the air—that was, every hand but Shade’s. Quinn had to admit, she was impressed by the knockout power of Trent’s punch.

  “Hands down,” Dash said, and everyone lowered their hands. Quinn could see the fear in Dash’s eyes before he gave his next order. “Hands in the air if you wish to go back to Savannah.”

  Eyes darted around. Everyone remained jittery, on edge. No one seemed certain.

  But no one raised a hand.

  Dash smiled. She could see the relief in his eyes, and yet the fear was still there. She knew that, in a way, this scared him more than the alternative. This was what he had been avoiding all along.