by Harper North
“How?” Emma asks.
I pull back my shoulders and center myself. My suddenly cleared mind winds through the options, but there’s really only one sure way, and it’s going to require every ounce of strength we have left to do it.
“We take out the EHC leadership.”
Talen raises a brow. “How do we do that?”
“We take the fight to the Ethos headquarters,” I say. “This time, we’ll put them on trial.”
CHAPTER 7
“IF WE”RE GOING to do this, we need to rest up.” Emma’s eyes flash to me. Hope shines there, and I know she’s ready for payback. “I don’t think any of us slept last night.”
“Not a wink,” Elias agrees. “But let’s make sure we’re not ambushed while we rest.” He waves Talen and Drape to follow, and the three of them head back toward where we entered, picking up a few planks and other materials as they go.
“And try to put together some kind of meal,” Emma says, reaching for Elias’ bag for the food her cousin provided us with.
Emma steps closer to the fire, holding a sleeve of crackers and two apples. She continues to dig around in the bag and then hands me the orange I took from Karim’s fruit bowl.
She begins to make a pile of what little food we have.
“Not much of a meal, huh?” I say to her.
“Why don’t you prepare the sleeping area?” Emma suggests.
I back away from her and the fire, knowing she needs her space. Emma’s a tough woman, but even she needs some time to grieve the loss of her cousin and process every horrible thing we’ve brought on her.
Sky gestures with his head toward the far corner of the tunnel. I follow him. The light from the fire isn’t as strong here, but it’s enough to see several beams leaning up against what looks like drop cloths.
“We can use these,” I say, bundling the fabric up. I find three long pieces and a few smaller ones. “Back to scavenging, huh?”
“Old habits die hard.” He takes one of the cloths from me.
“We made use of everything underground.” I laugh. “It seems so sad now, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all,” Sky says. “How else would we have prepared for one day surviving in yet another underground tunnel, hiding from the EHC, all the while preparing to raid their headquarters?”
I shake my head. “I would never have thought we’d get this far. Did you?” I turn to look at Sky. His skin is flushed, and after a moment he reaches out to smooth my hair.
“I thought I lost you.”
My stomach flutters and all the old feelings for Sky rush back. My chest tightens as I remember how the ops took him, how I thought he was dead, and the agonizing time that passed when I couldn’t get answers.
He drops the cloth and pulls me closer. I press my hand to his chest and my pulse quickens.
“I don’t know how this happened,” he says. “We haven’t known each other for long, but I can’t imagine my life without you.”
I wrinkle my brow. A part of me wants to hear these words from him, but another part is afraid.
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
Lowering my gaze, I sigh. “I brought so much danger and pain to you. Before we met, you had a life. Your sister and you were safe, alone in the Slack.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I would never have found my mother. And alone isn’t always as great as is sounds.” He reaches down and tilts my head up, pulling me close.
His body is warm as he wraps his arms around me and leans in. His lips brush mine, and in that moment my worries vanish. I melt into him and press my lips against his, feeling the energy pass between us. Time seems to disappear. Only the crackling sound of the fire remains. In that moment, it’s as if we both understand how close we came to losing each other.
Far too soon, Sky pulls back, and my mind suddenly shifts. I take a deep breath and look at him. “Love in a world like this is probably impossible.”
He reaches for my hand, entwining his fingers with mine. “But if love is possible, there’s no stopping it.”
I try to let his hope sink in, but before I can even process what he said, the sound of boots thumping over the ground and voices brings me back to reality.
I step away and spin around to catch Elias’ eyes from across the tunnel. He stops in his tracks. His shoulders drop and his gaze lowers.
I’m distracted as someone walks toward us. “I’ll take first watch,” Talen says.
I bundle up the cloth and head back over to Emma, handing one to her and another to Drape. Then I take the orange and small stack of crackers she offers me and hunker down beside the fire. Elias turns a dark glare toward Sky. Before either one can move to my side for the night, Drape sits beside me.
“How would you like your orange prepared this evening, Madam?” He grabs my orange and brings it close to the fire. “Medium?” He inches it closer. “Or medium well?”
Smiling, I swat him, grab back the orange, and peel it open.
“We should all get some sleep,” Emma says. “We’ll plan our next move in a few hours, when we have more energy and clearer minds.”
I bite into an orange segment, savoring its tart-sweet juice and nibble on a few crackers. I force myself to take my time and enjoy what might be the last of the food for a while. Now that we’re on our own, there’s no telling how we’ll survive. I’ll need my strength to get through whatever comes next.
Finishing the meager meal, I rest my head back on the bundled cloth, mind racing between Sky’s kiss and Elias’ stormy eyes. I take a deep breath and try to relax. There’s no point in worrying about it. Love will never work out—not in this world anyway. Instead, my sleepy thoughts drift to tomorrow. Images of ops, hovercrafts, and glass prisons flood my every thought.
I shake them off then turn my gaze toward the fire, listening to the soft, sleeping breaths of those around me. As I slowly close my eyes, I feel myself nodding off, dreaming of a world where there’s no EHC.
CHAPTER 8
GUNFIRE BLASTS ALL around me. I spin as a bullet whizzes past my ear and three EHC fighters race past. Their images are a blur in all the commotion, but I follow them toward what looks like Mason’s Resistance Camp.
I gasp and shake my head. In front of us, the buildings are on fire. The smell of soot and toxic black fumes fills the air. A boiling sun overhead pulses down on us. I wrap my hands tighter around the gun I carry.
“Let’s go!” a familiar voice calls out from nearby.
I turn. It can’t be. Beside me, Jase blasts off another round.
“Move forward!” he shouts.
Raising my shaky hands, I aim toward the ops in the distance who are beginning to fire back. My heart pounds as I fire off several rounds, taking out two, then three of them before they can advance.
“Go!” a woman’s voice shouts. From behind a cloud of smoke Knuckles emerges, waving us to advance. Sweat beads on her forehead. Her tattered shirt shows the signs of wear from fighting. A gentle breeze blows her hair back from her face, almost as if in slow motion.
I take another step toward her.
“Fight,” she orders and holds up her gun.
My jaw tightens. “I-I can’t,” I say. “We’re all going to get killed. I’m going to get you killed. I can’t do this!”
Knuckles narrows her eyes at me. “Suck it up. You don’t have a choice.”
I try to swallow and get a hold of myself, but the air is dry. The dusty taste of sand coats my tongue, making the moisture stick in my throat.
Behind me, someone says, “Before it’s too late, Fin.”
I spin around. Oliver stands eye-to-eye with me.
Before I can say anything else, Jase, Knuckles, and Oliver turn toward the camp. They take off, running full speed at the fight and blasting their guns.
A dozen ops rush through the camp gates. Knuckles takes aim and somehow blows half of them away. Bullets ricochet off the rocks behind me, pinging into oblivion. I shield myself from the potential fire and
call out for my friends to take cover, but there’s no stopping them. Jase fires and the rest of the ops fall like dominos.
“We’ve got this!” Oliver yells.
My shoulders drop with relief. They’ve survived. We’ve done it.
From a nearby transporter, four more resistance fighters emerge, rushing down the vehicle’s stairs and heading straight toward me. I shield my eyes from the glaring sun, trying to see who’s there when suddenly their forms take shape.
“Elias!” I call out, gasping for breath. “They’ve done it. They’ve taken the camp!”
Emma, Sky, and Drape rush forward. Each of them carries a gun. They’re focused on something behind me when Sky yells out, “Take cover!”
My spine stiffens as I slowly turn to see Lacy standing at the entrance of the camp. She proudly wears an Aura uniform. A devious grin consumes her face.
“No!” I scream just as my best friend raises her hands.
In a flash, everyone else I care about falls to their knees. Their screams echo across the dusty land. Up ahead, Jase’s hands go to his throat. Sky’s eyes bulge. Drape writhes on the ground, clawing at his throat. Emma is on her knees, coughing up blood.
“Stop!” I shout, racing ahead, but my modified speed is gone and it’s like I’m running in place. I can’t get to them fast enough.
I finally pass Jase and Oliver, whose eyes are rolled back in their heads.
It’s too late. I’ve gotten them all killed.
Up ahead lies Knuckles. I make my way to her side. She reaches out to me. “Keep going,” she says in a scratchy voice.
I shake my head. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“If you don’t finish this fight,” she whispers, “nothing will ever change.”
I stomp the ground and yell, then spin to take aim at Lacy’s head. Just as I pull the trigger, my gun is ripped from my hands and flung to the ground. Lacy stands, looking much taller than I remember, and lets out a laugh. Every ounce of me wants to rip her to shreds, but as if they were frozen, my feet are planted firmly in the ground.
“How could you do this?” I scream.
She slowly works her way from the entrance to me. Each step is like she’s more machine now than human. When she finally gets to me, her lips quirk into a wry smile.
“It’s your fault, you know,” she says.
“No.” I try to catch my breath and cover my ears, but my arms are cemented to my side. I won’t believe her. My chest heaves as I take in all the destruction around me.
“It is,” she says. “None of this would have happened if you’d just given up. So much for Noble intelligence.”
“You know that wasn’t a choice,” I say between clenched teeth. “You were once one of us. You believed in our fight.”
“You don’t get it, do you?” She presses her lips together and backs up. “You’ve hurt so many people, and for what? Not a damn thing.”
Somehow my arms release and I stretch out my hand, touching her shoulder. “Please let me help you.”
Lacy staggers back, sudden confliction etched on her face. “I—I can’t do this alone,” she stutters. “Please help me, Fin.”
A warm flutter of hope fills my core and I step toward her, but as soon as I do Lacy’s body convulses. She drops to one knee and her eyes roll back.
“Lacy?” I want to go to her, but my legs won’t move.
Lacy’s skin vibrates, and small tears open, blood seeping out. Countless cuts appear all over her body and a swarm of tiny metallic insects pour out into the air. Lacy falls to the ground like a wood plank, the cuts merging together until she’s unrecognizable.
“Lacy, no!” I shout, swatting at the buzzing swarm that surrounds me now.
I manage to sift through the silver cloud of nanos and find Lacy’s body disintegrating before me. Dropping to my knees, I desperately try to pull her body to mine. The swarm grows and just as I take a deep breath, they stream inside my mouth. I cough and clutch at my throat. I can’t breathe. A fire rages through my chest.
“No!” I barely choke out as my vision fades.
***
I gasp for breath and shoot up, swatting around me. Something metal clatters to the ground next to me.
The bugs are gone. I flick my head to the other side, scanning the dark, quiet space. I’m not outside. Beside me is a piece of ripped apart metal. I look down at my bloodied hands.
“Fin!” Elias calls, rushing over to me. He gently takes me by the shoulders. “Are you all right?”
My head is foggy and sweat coats my skin. Is this real?
Elias is alive, but Jase, Knuckles, and Oliver are still dead.
I smack the ruined container away from me and turn to the tunnel walls. Burning embers blaze before me in the center of the corridor. This is what’s real. I take a deep breath and try to center myself.
“You just had a bad dream,” Elias says gently, pushing my hair back from my face.
I wrap my arms around his neck and stay there for a second, taking slow breaths.
“What happened?”
“We were back at Mason’s camp,” I say, pulling back. “Everyone was dead.”
“Everything is fine. We’re fine.”
I nod, letting reality take hold. “They died because of me,” I whisper.
“Who?” Elias asks, his eyes searching mine.
“Jase, Knuckles, Oliver. And what happened to Lacy— she should never have become an Aura op. I could have stopped her.”
“You didn’t make the decision for her. Lacy chose to go in that direction.”
A part of me wants to believe that, but I knew what she was capable of. I should have taken care of it sooner.
Elias inches closer and carefully takes my hands. “You can’t beat yourself up for what happened. This is war. We’re going to have losses. People are going to get hurt. Some of us won’t make it out alive.”
I swallow and nod, trying to let go of the guilt. I lift my eyes to his. A part of me wants more from him. I lean in closer, but before anything can happen between us, I pull back and stand up.
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“I–I need to wash the blood off my hand. And I’m going to find Sky.”
Elias slowly stands. “He’s on watch. Been there for the last few hours.”
“He probably needs a break then.”
As I turn to leave, Elias reaches for me again. “I’m here for you,” he says. “No matter what.”
My head aches. I slip my hand from his and snatch my water bottle from the ground. I pour some water over my hand and realize the damage isn’t that bad. Only a small cut on my palm. It’s already healing over due to my modification. I rush past Emma and Drape, who are still fast asleep. Closer to the entrance, Talen sits against the side of the tunnel wall. His eyes are closed, and his head is tilted to the side. He draws in slow breaths. I try not to make too much noise as I sneak past him and continue to walk until I spot Sky at the end of the long, dark tunnel. The lights flicker and the cool dampness of the underground sinks into me.
He turns and smiles as I come closer.
“Can’t sleep,” I say, leaning against the wall. “Do you want to take a break?”
“Sure. Thanks.” His brow furrows as he looks me over. “You okay?”
I shrug. “Bad dream. I’ll be fine.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Talking about it would only make me relive it. “Not really.”
Sky reaches out a hand and strokes my arm. “Everything will be better once we get out of here. Being back underground isn’t good for any of us.”
I sigh. He’s right. I never thought I’d have to hide in the darkness again. Every step we make forward feels like it’s immediately followed by two steps back. “You’d better get some rest.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I nod, and Sky turns and heads back toward our group. Finding a flat surface, I set my water bottle to the side and hunker down beside planks of woo
d and other makeshift items Elias managed to collect and had used to build up this barrier. Down the tunnel, the lights continue to flicker, and the stale earthen smell of the underground fills my nose. A shiver works its way up my spine as I wrap my arms tightly around my waist, wishing I was back with the others beside the comforting fire.
After a while the nightmare fades and my eyes begin to feel heavy again. I turn away for a second to stretch my arms and legs. I have to stay awake. I take a drink from my bottle and pour a little water into my palm, splashing it on my face. Only a tiny bit longer and the others will be up. We’ll be out of here and back to the surface.
As I’m on my third stretch, the hairs on the back of my neck suddenly stand up. A strange feeling overwhelms me, like someone is standing behind me. My shoulders tighten, and all my senses perk up. I spin around, but not fast enough.
Something heavy smacks into my head and I stagger back. Instinctively, my hand drifts up to the throbbing point of pain. I fight to stay conscious, but the room turns into waves and the pain brings me to my knees. As I collapse, the last thing I see are two blurry black boots.
CHAPTER 9
I REGAIN AWARENESS, fighting to open my eyes.
The tunnel is dark, but I can make out a blurry human shape. My stomach tenses as pain pulses in the back of my head. I reach up to feel the wet, sticky blood matted in my hair.
“Once a filthy mole, always a filthy mole.”
My eyes widen at the familiar voice.
“Surprised to see me?” the raspy voice asks.
My shoulders drop. I twist from side to side and then try to crawl, but in a flash he’s beside me, growling into my ear, his putrid breath warm against my cheek.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
I glare directly into his beady, brown eyes. “How did you find us, Yasay?”
Yasay mutters as he drags me down a long, dark tunnel, farther away from the others. More than a few times, I slip in and out of consciousness. But I force myself semi-awake and kick and scratch at his hand. But with every attempt to free myself, he twists my arm more. Shooting pain sears through me until finally he stops and slams me against the wall. I fade out again.