by Harper North
The lock on the outside jiggles again, and the door slowly squeaks open before someone pokes their head in.
Thick, dark hair. A tired face.
Emma.
My jaw drops and I can barely believe I’m facing her. She’s come back.
I wave her inside. Emma closes the unlocked door behind her as she scrambles into our group in a crouched position.
“Where did you go?” I ask. “How did you find us?”
Emma faces the door, making sure no one’s coming through, before she speaks. “I left because Cal wouldn’t allow me to figure out anything about the Exodus Facility. So I slipped away and remained behind. I got Betty to help me with the generator.” She’s speaking fast and animated, waving her arms. “Then the refugees you sent to the Exodus Facility told me what direction you went. Some of them overheard Reinhart’s team capturing you and managed to slip away. It took me a day to find you.”
Emma stops, looks around at everyone, and back at me. Her eyes shine.
“You can get us out of here?” I ask, glad I’m not the only one with the brains to figure it out now.
“The guards are distracted. If we move, we might be able to slip out. Then I need to tell you something I found. It could change everything. We might even have a—”
Our prison door bangs open and a guard pokes his head inside as he lowers his foot. Then he raises his weapon at the back of Emma’s head.
“Up!” he shouts. “You! Explain yourself!”
CHAPTER 12
EMMA WHIRLS ON the guard and rises. She’s shaking.
“What are you doing here?” the guard, a gruff EHC op, demands. His tone tells me he already knows who she is.
I open my mouth to speak, but Emma stares down the guard, much to my shock. “We can all get out of here.”
The guard motions for her to step out of the shed—for all of us to step out of the shed. Then he raises his automatic rifle with his free hand and backs out of the door, out of Lacy and Talen’s view.
“Emma?” I ask.
She looks back at me, eerily calm. Confident. What is going on? Without so much as a weapon, Emma can’t get us out of here.
“She’s got a plan,” Sky whispers, his breath on my ear.
We file out of the shed. Once again, the guards stand far apart, using their tactic of making sure Lacy and Talen can’t kill them all at once. Tension fills the room as Reinhart parades in front of his henchmen and folds his arms. Elias stalks behind him like a human shadow, cheeks flushed and fists balled. The two are drifting apart, which gives me a tingle of satisfaction. A smug grin grows on Reinhart’s face as he eyes Emma. Capturing her is just another power trip for him. I want to lash out and kick that smile off his face.
“So, we have another brilliant mind here,” Reinhart says, taking on that same smug tone he did with Elias. “Perhaps we can get this operation up and running after all, with you and Fin working together.”
“Reinhart,” Emma says, “we can’t stay down here. There’s a way out.”
His face hardens. “This is the last place of safety for me and my people. We’re away from the war. We have the means to stay alive in this facility. I don’t think there are any means to relocate. Where do you suggest we go?”
“My grandfather discovered a way for humanity to stay alive,” Emma says. “We’re willing to share it with you if you let us go. The quakes are worsening.”
“Silence!” Reinhart shouts with so much force that I flinch. He narrows his eyes at Emma and paces back and forth. He’s sizing her up like she’s a threat to his order.
“Maybe she has something important to say that can help us,” Elias says.
Reinhart turns his rage on Elias. “Return to the shed.”
Elias goes expressionless and he nods, backing away. He looks as dead as I’ve felt inside.
I want to kill Reinhart for him.
“Fin, Emma,” Reinhart continues, “now that we have two good, working minds, I am giving you a generous deal. Fix this protein bar machine within the hour, and we will not shoot any of your fellow prisoners. With each hour you do not fix the machinery behind you, we will kill two of your comrades. I’m sure that’s a fair deal.”
My knees quiver and I struggle not to show it. Reinhart will make good on his threat. And as if to make sure his soldiers will, too, he looks around at the EHC ops and the former EHC prisoners.
No one protests. Everyone fears the other.
“We will,” Emma tells him, turning to face the device. She’s shaking like she wants to burst with whatever she’s found out from the Exodus Facility, but we can’t talk here. Reinhart would take whatever she’s found for himself and leave us here to starve.
“We need water,” I say.
“When the machine is fixed,” Reinhart says. “Perhaps that will motivate you.”
He’s losing it. Emma and I walk toward the machine and the mess on the floor, which no one has cleaned, while Reinhart backs off. Why won’t they just shoot us all and get it over with? Emma’s never going to get us out of this jam now.
“There’s no fixing this,” I whisper.
“They’re going to be too stressed to focus,” Elias’ voice rings out. “Everyone would work better if we were all on the same level and no one was worried about dying.”
“We are all worried about dying,” Reinhart says. “I told you to get back in the shed.”
“Could you leave him alone?” I ask, whirling. Everyone who’s walking behind me—Cal, Steven, Cia, and Sky—stops and flinches. Elias is halfway to the shed while Reinhart freezes in the middle of everyone.
A couple of ops ready their weapons.
And then Emma speaks.
“Reinhart, this machinery is not fixable. You should be able to tell that with that enhanced brain of yours,” Emma says, balling her fists. “I know the way to survival, and if you kill me, you’re never going to find it. You and your people will slowly die down here, one by one, or you’ll starve to death.”
She steps in front of me, almost like she’s willing to take a bullet.
She’s changed.
“Emma…” I say.
Sky moves to pull her out of the way, but it’s too late. Reinhart holds her in a stony glare and snaps his fingers. Two EHC ops step forward like machines, ready to follow his orders.
“No!” Elias says, running back to his side. “We should listen to what she has to say first.”
Another quake rumbles, loosening another giant mirror from the corner of the room. The mirror plunges, shattering on the side of a weed bed. The sound echoes through the room, but no one reacts.
“I’m through with this,” Reinhart says. “I thought you were with us. Don’t tell me you’re with those who have hurt you over and over again.”
“Reinhart!” Emma shouts. “We can all survive. There’s no need for us to fight.”
“Just let her say what she wants to say!” I yell.
“Guards,” the former commander orders, “execute them all. Detain Elias.”
I tense as shouts fill the room, echoing off the walls, and seemingly coming from everywhere at once. All that’s left to do is run. Sky seizes Cia’s arm and pulls her back as the soldiers lift their weapons. My mind works. Ducking behind the machinery will keep us alive for another few minutes, long enough to say our goodbyes. I seize Emma by the back of her shirt and pull her out of the range of a guard’s bullet as it zings against the concrete. Screams fill the air.
And then more people pour through the settlement turnstiles, raising weapons. White shirts. Green jackets tied around waists. Cho’s remaining people, about two dozen of them, stream into the facility as if confused.
“Over there!” I shout, pointing.
It works. Reinhart turns his head and gets out his pistol. “Open fire!”
Confusion breaks out. Sky gets in front of Cia, but instead of opening fire on us, the EHC ops turn toward the Naturals, who stumble in at first before they realize they’re facin
g an armed force. Guns are raised on both sides.
Elias runs toward us and away from the fresh round of gunshots that break out. The air turns to deafening pops as more shaking rocks hit the ground and chunks of cave ceiling rain down on one of the plant beds. The whole world’s falling apart, and we can’t even use the distraction to escape. Cho’s people block the only way out.
“Back!” I shout, forcing my legs to move.
Our group gets behind the machinery as the gunfire intensifies. The mud and chemical smells overtake me as our group squeezes against the wall. Beside me, Lacy closes her eyes and links her hand with Talen’s.
Screams ring out, filled with agony and terror.
I grip the machinery, struggling to stay upright. Sky nods at me, but my ears ring not just from the gunfire, but from weakness. Despite the screaming and the Auras’ dirty work, feet thud back toward us and Reinhart appears, pale, beside Elias. Sweat rolls down his temples.
“Help us fight and we will let you live,” he says, handing me a spare pistol.
He’s desperate, but I take it. EHC ops squeeze in behind us. Their numbers have dropped since Lacy closed her eyes. No one’s organized anymore.
Out in the main facility, Cho’s people yell to each other.
“They’re too far away for me to get,” Lacy says.
I duck, peeking through a hole between the pipes. Cho’s people fan out through the facility, and by attacking, Lacy’s thinned out the EHC ops’ numbers and let them in.
Mistake.
Now there are more than two dozen of Cho’s people remaining, maybe forty, and Cho himself stands near the back of everyone, surveying the scene. Several EHC ops already lie dead, but from Lacy or Cho’s people, I can’t tell.
I aim my pistol and fire at the nearest Natural, taking her down with a headshot. Shouts ring out again as the tired Naturals raise their weapons and aim at our location.
Bullets ping off our metal shield. Though thirsty and exhausted, I calculate our chances of survival are good.
“We have cover,” I shout. “Shoot through the holes. Anything. We have the advantage.”
Reinhart kneels, firing through his opening, and someone passes a pistol to Cia so she can do the same. I take down one more Natural... two... three... and as bullets rain on our enemy, Cho shouts something I can’t make out and his troops retreat, falling over the turnstiles and leaving a dozen of their people behind.
After what feels like an eternity, the shooting stops.
A lone slab of stone falls from the ceiling and breaks into pieces on the floor, right where Reinhart stood a few minutes ago.
I take a breath and lower my weapon.
Silence drags out.
I tighten my grasp on the pistol. The weight tells me I’ve emptied all the bullets, but Reinhart doesn’t know that.
I turn toward him and raise the weapon at his face.
“Reinhart.”
“Fin,” Sky says lowly.
But I’ve gone numb. And right now, that’s a strength. If we end Reinhart, we free ourselves and maybe even some of the ops from his rule.
He peels himself from his spot and faces me, raising his head. Reinhart’s eyes are steely. “You turn on everyone, don’t you?”
Though his words get under my skin, I don’t dare flinch. I don’t dare show him any weakness. “You get used to it,” I say as everyone tenses around me.
Sky puts his hand on my shoulder. People draw close behind me. Our tight group faces down Reinhart, Elias, and the remaining ops.
“Shoot him,” Cal says.
I can’t say a word to that. Stalling is the only thing that will work here. Only Cia and I have weapons. Our lives or deaths ride on my shoulders.
“We. Are not. Leaving,” Reinhart says, eyeing my weapon. A sparkle fills his eyes, almost like he’s amused. Does he know I’m out of ammo? He must have counted the shots I fired. Maybe he heard the chamber running out.
“Are you kidding?” Elias says. “Cho knows we’re here, the place is caving in, and there’s no hope of fixing this food factory. Face reality, Reinhart. The rest of us are ready to leave, your ops included. If you want to stay, go ahead.”
Reinhart curls his finger around the trigger.
The sight yanks terror up into my chest, making my heart race. I’m about to die and spill my blood all over Sky and everyone left that I care about. I lose it, pulling the trigger only to get a click in return and a widening smile from Reinhart.
And then Reinhart jolts as he takes a gunshot from behind.
The bullet arcs above my head, striking the top of the machinery. Blood spouts from his solar plexus, staining the front of his suit. Reinhart loses control, shooting at the floor and drawing screams and gasps from everyone standing nearby, ops included.
Behind him, Elias wields a pistol. He grimaces, tensing every muscle as he shoots Reinhart in the back again. The second bullet rips upward, missing the rest of us and pinging off the machinery.
Elias closes his eyes as if in agony and steps back to let Reinhart take his final fall.
And not a single op steps around Elias to help him.
CHAPTER 13
SILENCE FALLS AS Reinhart’s gaze goes unfocused and his pupils dilate. He remains on his back, twitching at first as blood continues to pump from his chest. But his heartbeat grows weaker and weaker until the flow turns into a dribble, and then into a listless spreading of red across the front of his suit. After an eternity, even the twitching stops.
He’s gone.
I let out the breath I’ve been holding as Sky grabs my hand.
Reinhart’s reign of terror is over.
Elias lowers the gun and gasps for air. Slowly, he looks up from Reinhart, and then to me. He won’t dare look at Sky. His eyes shine as he moves his lips to speak, but nothing comes out. My chest constricts. Killing Reinhart must have felt like—
“He wasn’t your uncle,” I say, hoarse.
“I know he wasn’t.” Elias tenses as he lifts the pistol again, whirling on the silent, stunned EHC ops who remain.
“They’re still with Reinhart.” Sky releases my hand. “And Elias tried to kill me. Remember?”
He snatches my pistol before I can react, raising it. He’s breaking his promise, but how can I expect him to keep it after he nearly died from what Elias did?
A flash of pain makes Elias wince. I open my mouth to say he didn’t want to, but the op in front raises his weapon at Sky’s chest.
“Sky!” I shout, pulling him to me.
“Whoa!” Elias puts himself between Sky and the op. “If you’re going to shoot him, you’ll have to shoot me first. And Sky, I understand.”
Elias waits. Sky keeps his grasp on the gun, shaking, but he doesn’t shoot. And neither does the op. Elias is giving him the opportunity to take revenge. He’s got two guns pointed at his heart.
“Sky, remember your promise,” I say.
And slowly, Sky lowers his weapon. “You’re willing to let me kill you?”
Elias lowers his head. “Yes.”
Sky works his jaw. “Then I suppose this is fair. I won’t.”
Elias lets out a breath and resumes facing down the op who still has his gun pointed at him. “Does anyone else want to go against me? Anyone?”
“Whoa,” Cia breathes.
“I’d tell you to calm down, but I have no room to talk,” Cal adds.
Elias ignores him. He locks eyes with the closet op, a large man in a black face mask.
“If you attack Elias,” Lacy warns, “all of you will be sorry. I have you in my sights.” She’s a few feet behind me.
But none of the ops raise their weapons. “None of us are against you,” the man in the facemask says. “We’ve wanted to leave, too. Looks like we were all in agreement and didn’t know.”
If the ops wanted to shoot Elias, they would have done so. The big man looks at two of his comrades, who nod to him.
“Then we’re all in agreement,” Emma says, stepping
around me. Whatever she found back at the Exodus Facility has filled her with life again. “We vacate this facility before it completely caves in. The tunnels are a bit more stable than this. We’ll last longer in there. I’ll explain once we get out.”
“How?” Sky says. “Cho’s still out there and desperate.”
I calculate. “They wouldn’t have tried attacking us if they weren’t. I bet his settlement is already destroyed.”
“The Exodus Facility is holding for now,” Emma says.
I peek out between the pieces of machinery to the front entrance. It’s empty, but just as I heave out a sigh of relief, the ground shakes and throws me into the machinery.
“Out!” Elias shouts.
He’s back in charge. All of us scramble from behind the machinery and toward the exit on the far side of the chamber. Cracking sounds join with the rumbling.
Hand in hand with Sky, we pick up our pace, Cia leading us. Emma huffs as she falls behind. The cracking intensifies and the quake sends me down to my face. I drag Sky with me, and we scramble back to our feet to the tune of ops shouting and Originals cursing.
I leap over a dead body, a Natural, and then over a dead EHC op. Behind me, rock crashes to the floor, quashing a few screams. I search for Emma as a cave-in buries a weed bed to my left, but dust rises and blocks our view. We need her. She’s our last hope.
“Run!” I shout at Sky.
But he’s already vanished into the thick air. “Cia!”
“I’m over here!” she yells.
“Get out!” Talen shouts to Lacy, shoving her over the turnstiles.
“Fin!” Emma shouts. I see her staggering away from the cave-in as a couple of Cal’s people run around her in panic. Everyone stampedes to the exit. She’s got a gash on her forehead and looks around, stunned.
“Come on!” Using my last remaining strength, I crash into her, picking her up under her shoulders and knees. Though she’s heavy, I’m able to carry her, though not as fast as I should be able to, toward the door.