Chastity shot an accusatory glare at Victor. “Colin’s on the spacecraft.” She spat the words venomously, refusing to believe his ignorance.
“I’ll call for a medic.” Victor turned and ran out of the room.
Victor returned just as Freya came to. Seeing Freya’s limp body on the floor, Chastity struggled to keep her emotions in check. She had lost everything, and now, Freya had too.
Chapter 6
Ursa
As she sat at the common room table, she pushed her thick wavy hair away from her face. A light dew of perspiration glistened on her broad cheekbones after a brisk walk. The walk to this particular common room had been lengthy, and she didn’t want to be late. Tardiness led to mistakes.
The travelers had already been prepared for departure, yet one man in particular, Wallace, requested a meeting with someone in charge. He claimed to have information. It was a substantial risk to expose herself like this, but he had persisted.
The smuggling operation she started with Hope had been successfully removing groups out of the dome for years now without incident. Naturally, there was no way to be certain if those who fled the dome were successful in reaching their intended destination, or if they experienced a short-lived taste of freedom before they perished. All that she knew was the State had yet to stop them.
Maybe after years of success she had grown overconfident. But maybe, since losing Colin to the colony world, she cared little for the longevity of her own life.
Their operation had become nearly seamless. They informed each rebellion member of both the colonization project and the village just beyond the dome. They were given a choice—a luxury the State had never bestowed on them—if they wanted to join the village or stay and fight for the colony world. Those who decided to stay were running the operation to build an army outside of the dome.
Both aspects of the rebellion’s plans appeared flawless, all except the fact the State took her son from her. Ursa knew she had only herself to blame. She had been too abrasive with him, too ambitious. She thought they needed Freya to take the colony world. The concept blinded her into desperation. All that obsession did was help to push her son away.
And now he is lost to me. Forever.
It made sense that Freya was offered a seat on the colony ship. With how Ursa’s last conversation with Colin ended, she had removed any motivation he may have to stay earthbound. Now that Colin was gone, she cared not for the longevity of her life.
She saw a man staring at her, who smiled and nodded as she looked up at him. He was tall and muscular, with broad shoulders and rugged features. His file said he worked in maintenance; a civil duty which would explain his larger stature.
He approached her table and reached an eager hand toward her. “Ursa, it’s an honor to meet you.”
She nodded graciously and accepted his hand before he sat next to her.
“I really appreciate you meeting with me. I have some questions about the strategy at play here.”
Ursa controlled the urge to huff yet couldn’t resist raising an eyebrow. “You feel you have a better strategy to flee the dome? Does your civil duty grant you access to information we are not yet privy to?”
He looked around the room nervously before he leaned closer and whispered. “No, it’s nothing like that. I just don’t understand why we are simply fleeing the dome. I mean, it would be great to be free of the State, but what about everyone else? What about everyone we leave behind? How is it enough just to escape? Why aren’t we doing more to fight the State?”
Ursa sat back in her seat, assessing him carefully. One piece of information her organization never shared with these travelers was that the dome was indestructible. Letting the State know that the rebellion knew that the surface was survivable was one thing, but they couldn’t afford to let them know that their organization knew of the dome strengthening project; they could no longer hide under the ruse of claiming they wanted to destroy the dome.
Most of the people who wished to live on the surface were ready to give their blind devotion to her team. They accepted instructions blindly, but there was occasionally an exception. From requesting this meeting, she should have known that Wallace would be one of the few difficult ones.
“Wallace, I’m aware how frustrating it must be to make such a leap of faith based on so little information.”
He raised his eyebrows and took in a sharp breath. “No, no. I mean no disrespect. I’m grateful to have this opportunity. I’m not complaining about you or your organization.”
Ursa held up a hand to silence him. “I took no offense. But you have to understand, we follow certain protocols for good reason. We cannot share every detail of our operation. All we can tell you is a time, date, and location for your departure, and a few landmarks to follow to find a safe place once you leave.”
He nodded agreeably yet wouldn’t back down. “Look, I get it. I just don’t understand why we don’t do more. Why are we only leaving instead of fighting? Why just run?” He cast his eyes around the room and leaned in closer again. “I stole something from my civil duty. Do you know what a crowbar is?”
Ursa furrowed her brow. “Of course. My partner also works in maintenance. I don’t see how that could help us.”
He raised his eyebrows. “We could use it to break the dome. I mean, just imagine the possibilities of the damage we could cause outside without Security watching. We could break the dome enough to expose the State for the frauds they are.”
He was both defiant and brutish—he would make a great laborer in the village, possibly even an asset as a warrior. She wanted to ease his mind, but she knew she had to stay true to their code. They gave no more information than needed. It was the only way to protect both the travelers and the village. The State had taught them to operate on a strict need-to-know basis.
“Wallace, I’m sorry that I cannot give you a satisfactory answer. We could argue for days about tactics and strategy. Instead, I will simply remind you that the size of your party will be too small to be effective as a strike force. This organization is offering you a better life, one where you can live the life you choose. That’s it. Do you want to live a free life on the surface? Or fight for the colony world. You take a chance either way.”
“I know, and I’m grateful for that. It’s just that—”
Ursa leaned forward and cut him off. “Once outside the safety of the dome, we don’t know what threats await you. You will have to learn to live off of the land and live without the medications that often save our lives. We hope that you will find others who have fled before you and that they have built some sort of a homestead where they are living peacefully, but we have no proof of such a community existing. Those are the terms of our arrangement. Once you leave, there’s no turning back.”
“But why do we have to run? I’m strong and with my crowbar, I have broken glass before. Let’s puncture a hole so broad that even those loyal to the State can’t deny that—”
Ursa looked up to see a man as wide as a door frame walk into the common room: military. This conversation had to end, now.
“Wallace, I don’t think we are safe here any longer. I understand why you feel that way, but I assure you, we have good reason for acting as we do. I’m certain that if you enact the plan you are speaking of, it will end in nothing but chaos and destruction.” She stood and leaned down to him. “You have three choices: flee and follow instruction to the letter, stay and wait for that ship to touchdown, or live out the rest of your life enjoying the comforts and security of the State and continue to pay the hefty price with your freedom.”
She turned and exited the common room without another word. Her days were numbered. She couldn’t believe for a second that it was a coincidence that military personnel arrived. The State was watching her. Lately, the military was everywhere she went.
Only six months ago a couple who were clearly spies arrived in her apartment building—one a greenhouse worker and one in maintenance. The State suspe
cted her and Rowen, and it was only a matter of time before they were arrested. She just hoped she had done enough damage to the State before her life ended.
She had already done what she set out to do. She had set up an underground network that could rival the State, one which could end their reign, forever. Soon, at least one planet would be free of the State.
Chapter 7
Lewis
His eyes narrowed, assessing his opponent’s stance. Lewis feigned to the left, then switched to the right before twisting away. His opponent overcompensated with a lunge, making it easy for Lewis to catch him off balance.
With his powerful upper body and combat experience, Lewis deftly flipped his opponent over and slammed him hard to the ground. “Did everybody see how easily I overpowered him when he was off balance?”
In unison, a chorus of teenaged boys muttered, “Yes.”
It felt all too familiar while simultaneously feeling it was a lifetime ago that he sat on the other side of this training. A teenaged boy watching a disgruntled adult slam one of his peers onto the training mats. All the new recruits were to learn techniques from him, but he remembered thinking it would be impossible to engage in combat with someone older and twice his size.
Training always caused a dip in his emotions. Maybe it was too much time spent in the military underground. Maybe it was that, despite his ambitions, he was still waiting for an important mission which never seemed to come. Maybe it was because he thought military life would be more dangerous than it was. Looking at this group reminded him of his youth, but also reminded him of how little he had accomplished since stepping into his adult life.
Lewis helped his opponent back to his feet, then peered at the rest of the group. “You will pair up now and practice this maneuverer.”
They each took their stance on the mats, ready to spring into action. Just as Lewis was about to give the command, an alarm rang through the military underground.
Lewis froze in place as he awaited a communication. The emergency alarm had never sounded in the underground before on his watch. It could mean a variety of things—an evacuation, an attack, a fire. The necessary actions weren’t clearly laid out, and so he waited.
A voice patched through his tablet that sat casually on a desk nearby. “Lewis, assemble your team of trainees in full fatigue with masks, immediately. The dome is under attack!”
The young group looked to him, their instructor, and he pointed to the bunk area. “Move!”
The seven of them ran to the cupboards and quickly stripped and changed out of their exercise clothing.
While they were getting dressed, his tablet began barking orders once again. “You are to take the second stairwell. This will lead you into an apartment directly behind the Head of State’s office. Do not enter his office or linger in the State House. You are to immediately cut through to the forested area.”
His throat went hot and dry. “Are we to apprehend the attackers and protect the Head of State?”
“No, your target is the State House gardener, Freya. The attackers are trying to break through the dome where she is hiding in the grass. You are to retrieve her and ensure her safety. Do you copy?”
Lewis quickly grabbed the tin of black paint being passed around and smudged under his eyes. “Copy that, we are armed and ready.”
He pulled a mask over his face, then strapped his gun holster on his thigh and led his team as they ran up the stairwell. Adrenaline coursed through his body with every step. He had never visited the State House before.
Now, he was to push his way unceremoniously through. Such was military life. They were each a nobody until the right mission fell into their laps.
Lewis and his team ran hard until they reached the edge of the tree cover. He slowed, then gave a hand signal to his team, and they all dropped to their knees. He could sparsely see the people through the glass on the other side of the dome, yet the sound of the alarm replayed in his mind.
How could this happen?
It didn’t matter how it happened; the rebellion was here. It was his duty to protect the dome, and everyone who dwelt inside.
He signaled to his team and lowered to crawl on his knees and elbows. An indentation in the grass came into view and he soon saw a woman laying rigid with her eyes closed. He reached out for her and covered her mouth to stifle any scream or noise she may utter before she could expose his presence.
She flinched and gasped but didn’t fight his grip. He gestured to her to remain silent as he tucked himself securely in the grass and waited for further orders.
His heart sunk as a distant thumping noise grew in volume. A helicopter arrived outside of the dome and broadcast a message to the perpetrators. Men in hazmat suits dropped from ropes and opened fire.
Blood splattered on the glass dome. His head slumped to the ground as his situation sunk in. He was here leading a team of newbies on a less important leg of the mission. He had been so caught up in the moment he temporarily forgot that he led a rescue team of green recruits to rescue a gardener.
Surely, someone higher ranking is guarding the Head of State in his office right now. But I was told to run right past him and rescue a gardener.
Comprehension sunk in. Others handled the actual threat while he was sent to make sure the gardener did nothing stupid. Once again, he was a babysitter.
Instructions crackled through his earpiece to escort Freya and his team back to the State House. That was it. The action was over as abruptly as it began.
He shifted to get up, but suddenly a memory flashed in his mind. Freya. Freya, a gardener at the State House. Is this that rebel scum’s girl? The one James lied about sending to the colony if Colin behaved on camera.
Suddenly, a deep sympathy welled in his chest for her. A State House worker gets coupled with rebel scum. Then, just after he left, she had to deal with a dome attack. Alone.
“Are you okay, miss? Have you been hurt?”
Lewis knew she was unharmed, but she was so shaken. He couldn’t help her with all she endured, but he could be kind to her in this moment.
He stood and signaled for his team to pull out. Once he helped Freya to her feet, he stayed by her side as they slowly closed the distance to the State House.
She tried to walk on her own, but her legs were shaky, her nerves shot, and her emotions raw. He signaled to one of his team to help support her. The pair of them flanking her on either side seemed to help for a short time, but her emotions continued to deteriorate.
Before they were halfway back to the State House, she burst into tears. His young team member looked at him horrified, but Lewis responded by sweeping her up into his arms. It would make them walk much faster, and he couldn’t imagine her emotions improving soon. Not that he could blame her. Without the proper training, that attack could traumatize a regular civilian.
As the State House came into view, the main administrator, Chastity, shot toward him.
“Is she hurt? What happened?”
“She’s not harmed, ma’am, just in shock.”
Chastity tried to hug Freya while he was still carrying her. He thought it was a little ridiculous, but he gave Chasity time to fuss over Freya before pushing toward the State House again.
Chastity led him into an apartment, and he gently placed Freya on the sofa. It seemed odd to him there would be a normal-looking apartment inside the State House, but he resisted the urge to look around. He had completed his duty. If he were to linger, he may be over-stepping.
“Is there anything further you require from me?”
Chastity shook her head. “No. Thank you.”
Lewis turned to leave and nearly bumped into the Head of State who was closing in on Freya and Chastity. Lewis quickly jumped back with swift agility.
“Sir.” He saluted. “Is there anything further you require of me?”
The Head of State hardly glanced at him. “No, dismissed.”
Lewis saluted again and quickly departed the crowded apartment.
It figures. I wind up inside the State House in a tiny room with the Head of State and his administrator, and I’m wearing a mask. He won’t recognize me if I ever get the chance to see him again.
Why didn’t I remove my mask when I put Freya down? Stupid.
Today could have been his one chance to at least gain favor with the State House staff, and he blew it.
He filtered through the access in the small apartment to find his recruits waiting for him idly in the hallway.
“What do we do now?” One of his trainees asked.
There was an excited energy flickering amongst the young group, their first taste of action firing their blood. They didn’t realize just how unimportant their end of the fray really was.
Conspired: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 6) Page 4