Inner Circle

by Y A Marks

  A flash of heat shot up my back and turned to ice. How could I have been so—was I that arrogant to believe that I was important, more important than Jonas? The more I gripped the hard bricks beneath my fingers, the more I recognized how I had been used. There had always been bigger fish than me. My image was too easily manipulated by people like Clarisse. However, Jonas’s mind and skills were far too dangerous for Dalton, Norwood, and the other cronies.

  Even Governor Read and Captain Davis had let me know that they understood that I was not the leader of Escerica. They simply used my image because it was the only one they had. That’s why it was so important to make me look like a killer, to change the way the world saw me. I had to be seen as a killer, not as a hero or symbol for the lower class. With me behind bars and a real leader like Jonas dead, that could cripple Escerica. Even Trivet was able to affect the outside world, even though he was in prison.

  Frustration cut through me and anger surged behind my glossed eyes.

  “I’m sorry. Crix, I should have seen this. I should’ve seen the bigger picture.”

  “Paeton… pay attention,” Jonas whispered.

  I couldn’t look at him. I stared into the core of his right arm. “I…I…”

  “Get the gun. Paeton… get… the… gun.”

  My mind snapped to attention as a surge of energy blasted through my veins. I checked his eyes and then glanced at his waist. The gun was pressed against his stomach with his left hand.

  His jaw clenched as he mumbled the words. “I can’t hold on forever. Grab… the damn gun.”

  Vogel continued to ramble on. “But Jonas, Jonas my friend, you’re worth a whole life sentence. Yes, Norwood’s taking a whole one away. And since I’ve killed over a hundred people during the course of my tenure here, I’m down to a few, good years. Maybe by next year, I’ll be free and clear. Isn’t life ironic?”

  I reached over and pulled the gun to me. The sides and grip were covered in blood.

  “Finish,” Jonas said.

  “How?” Jonas was like the super-ninja-teacher guy, and I was the grasshopper-student. I needed more than a one-word command.

  “If I don’t make it, tell Rylan I’m sorry.”

  “What? What-do-you-mean?” Something inside of me cracked. My already chipped heart received another fracture. The thought of Rylan and Jonas reuniting warmed me. I stared into Jonas’s eyes. The dream faded as I studied his brown irises. He was willing to sacrifice himself for the prospect of getting as many people out of the prison as possible.

  Before I could protest, Jonas pushed off the wall and fell down toward Vogel.

  Another piece of my heart snapped and ping-ponged around in my chest. I wanted to say something to scream at him, but my voice was frozen along with the rest of me. I could hear the whips of his clothes as his body rotated through the air, and see each one of the black hairs on his head.

  By the time my voice caught up with my worry, I cut the emotion away. I had to find a solution.

  Jonas landed on top of a surprised Vogel. Both of them fell to the ground, rolling in the dirt. Jonas began beating Vogel across the face with his fists despite the fact that Jonas was hurt. Vogel yanked the arrow out of Jonas’s right side, and Jonas screamed in agony.

  “Kill him! Shoot him!” Vogel yelled.

  The archers behind Vogel raised their bows as Jonas continued to strike Vogel. My mind buzzed weighing my options. I had the gun. I could end at least three of the Rattlers. I was good at this range. I could kill at least three, maybe four, but there were fifteen of them—fifteen. I glanced into the distance, weighing if I could outrun them.

  If I knocked Shannon off the tower, then Vogel and the others might go after her, and I could escape. Maybe, Trivet could find a way out without the computer. I glanced at Shannon. Her face was pale as she watched the fight below. It would be so easy. Her leg was bleeding. She was dead weight.

  A soft word slid from her lips. “Jonas…” She pleaded with God or someone to help him. Sadness filled her eyes and spilled out over her face. I could see her arms trembling and jerking as though she was being struck herself.

  I exhaled and fought against the thoughts. I could barely tell whose thoughts they were anymore. What was this inside of me: fear, panic, confused logic?

  My gaze spun around and landed on the bomb held in place high on the tower. My arm lifted almost without my control. I didn’t know if I was fully in control, but three gunshots fired toward the bomb. A gigantic fireball shot out over the open area heaving heat into every direction. The tower quaked, and I almost slipped off, dust enveloping everything in sight.

  I glanced to my right, but Shannon was gone. Frantically, I searched for her.

  “Go!” she yelled.

  I looked below me, and she was moving down the tower as fast as she could. Her head popped back toward me at odd intervals as she yelled and glanced at the opening beneath Norwood’s office.

  “Go Paeton. Go!”

  I couldn’t believe it. Here I was fighting with myself, but like Jonas, she already knew what to do.

  “Finish,” Jonas had said. I could do that. I could finish. I had the Master Key. Shannon and Ares would aid Jonas and Pyra. I needed to get to the computer.

  “Help Jonas,” I said almost by reflex.

  “I will,” Shannon said.

  I crawled over to the damaged area of the tower. Large stones jutted out of it with a white powdery dust that floated everywhere. A red, metal beam bent slightly to the left and pieces of what looked like aluminum foil covering yellow cotton was littered around the gigantic gash. My gaze slid around, searching for an opening. Some of the dust settled. Beams of orange burst the dust. Wooden planks sat fractured and smoking.

  I raced into small space. Broken bits of rock fumbled under my hands and feet. I wanted to go faster, but I had to force myself to take my time. It wouldn’t do any good for me to fall. After finding a few good hand and footholds, I cracked through two more floorboards and squeezed my tiny frame into the room.

  My lungs forced out the dust in quick coughs and my eyes stung. A thick burning smell wrapped around my head. It was stronger than anything I had known, deeper and more concentrated than a typical, house fire. It was filled with all sorts of smells from melted metal to smoking wood.

  Before I could stand, I heard a rumble of feet and an alarm going off in the distance. I grabbed hold to Norwood’s desk and pulled myself up. I was exhausted. My muscles burned, but I had to find the computer and finish.

  Once my feet were stable, I started fumbling over the wooden desk, looking for the computer. It wasn’t uncommon for a computer to be the desk itself or a simple monitor or even just a tablet. Anything with a large piece of glass could be a computer.

  I stopped and stared. A teenage girl’s eyes focused on me. The edges of her face tightened before loosening into a smile. My heart thumped in my chest but calmed when I recognized the face. I pulled back and stared into the holographic vidpic on Norwood’s desk. His daughter wasn’t looking at me. She was staring at whoever was taking the vidpic. After a few more seconds and a few different versions of smiles, she disappeared. The vidpic of Norwood’s whole family appeared as I had seen it a day ago.

  I couldn’t help but stare at the images. Even with my adrenaline surging from the blaring alarms, I glanced at Norwood’s face, and then looked at his wife, his daughter, and the son who was the youngest. They were a normal family. Here in front of me was what I had always wanted. Why couldn’t I have been this girl? Why did she get her life, and I got mine?

  Someone yelled behind the door to the office. I almost jumped out of my skin.

  I searched around and decided to run toward the door. Before the door opened, I slid to the far left side, placing my back against the wall. I remembered what Jonas had said, that if you can’t hide then be still. Many times people will just walk right past you.

  Norwood stormed in, coffee in hand. Like clockwork, he zipped past me, almost throwin
g the coffee cup onto his desk and examined the hole in the floor. The whole time he never turned around or acknowledged that I was in the room. He waved through the dust and then began slapping something like a paperweight.

  In a blink of blue and yellow light, a hole opened in the desk and a monitor rose until it was slightly above the desk. I felt a twinge of worry. I had only knowingly used the Master Key on small things like ATMs. How would I interface with this thing? Would it even detect the Master Key?

  I forced down my doubts. I slid over and clicked a red lever under the control panel of the door. I hoped that would lock the door until someone with an override reset it. Maybe, I could get a few minutes of uninterrupted time with Norwood.

  He spun around with the noise, and his eyes locked onto mine. “You.”

  CHAPTER 22

  It didn’t take Norwood a heartbeat before his hand rummaged through one of the drawers in the desk. Before he could reach what he was looking for, I zipped over to a few feet from the desk. Both of my hands wrapped around the gun’s grip, holding it steady. From this distance, I could shoot any part of his body I chose without fail.

  “Stop!” I yelled. “Pull your hand out slow—real slow.”

  His body froze. A moment later, he brought his right hand back and lifted it. His face contorted into a mix of anger and disappointment. “Well, I guess I’ve underestimated you, Miss Washington.” Sharpness laced his words. He held a tidal wave of rage.

  I overestimated my own importance to Escerica. Like Devin said I wasn’t important at all.

  His eyes studied me as I circled the desk, moving toward the computer.

  “So, have you come to kill me? Is that it? You want to make good on your promise, right?” he asked.

  “Get up,” I said. “Move over to the gray circle, and don’t be stupid.”

  His expression lightened and he shook his head. He walked around the desk toward the circle on the ground. Even though he didn’t have any magnets on his arms, it was fitting to put him there.

  I kept the gun on him and a good five feet between us. When I fought with Governor Read the week before, I was surprised at how strong he was. Norwood appeared to be five to seven years younger and was fit. I didn’t think I could take him directly.

  I rounded the desk and stood over what appeared to be a keyboard. It was unique because it was just an impression on a soft, blue cloth-like surface. I waved my hand over the keys. The words “Administrator Security” appeared and faded away in less than three seconds. I searched the desktop for something labeled electric field or prison security. Worry gripped my neck.

  “Where is the switch to turn off the outside electric field?” I barked.

  “Are you insane?” Norwood asked, anger and shock sharpening every wrinkle on his face.

  His hands dropped for a moment. I aimed the gun directly at his face. He took notice and lifted his hands again.

  “I know that you believe you are innocent. I know you do. But those people in those gates are not. They have done things to little girls your age that will give you nightmares. You cannot let them out on the street!”

  “I don’t have time to care right now. Either you tell me what I want to know, or I start making your life real miserable.”

  This was taking forever. I needed to get this done and get back. Sooner or later, someone would either burst through that door or everyone below me would be dead.

  “You are a teenager—a child. You don’t know what you are doing. Your mind has been corrupted by who-knows-who. But—”

  “I don’t have time for your lectures or monologs or whatever. Please, just tell me!”

  “No.”

  I didn’t think. The trigger slid back and a deafening recoil echoed off the walls. I stood gazing over the gun, wispy smoke sliding up from the barrel. I took a step forward as my chest tightened, and my throat dried. I didn’t want to shoot him. I didn’t want to hurt anyone else. Why did he make me do it?

  Norwood grabbed his left knee, a grimace on his face. Dark blood gushed out onto his dark blue pants. He fumbled around, trying to rebalance himself.

  I refused to allow guilt to fill me. “I don’t want to kill you. You have a daughter. She deserves to have her father. She needs her father. But I will shoot you dead, right here, right now, if you don’t tell me how to turn off the damn electric field!”

  I wiped my hand across my eyes. Tears slid down my cheeks. I didn’t know why. My chest hurt, and my heart pounded. I didn’t know who Norwood was but for whatever reason, I didn’t want to hurt him. It didn’t matter what anyone, including me, had said.

  The hologram of Norwood’s daughter popped back onto his desk. She watched me, smiling as I held the gun toward her father. I couldn’t help but stare at her. For whatever reason, I wanted her forgiveness. I didn’t want this girl angry with me.

  “Please…” My word came out soft. “Please help me.” A million ideas shot through my head. The ideas tugged on my focus. I stood staring at the desk, not even looking at the computer. After a second, I turned my gaze back to Norwood. His face was wide, but his expression had changed. The anger was gone, replaced with sympathy.

  “Go to the security settings icon. It’s the top one colored blue and black,” he said.

  I turned back to the computer. I tapped the icon with my finger hoping the computer was a touch based system. The icon opened.

  “Now what?” I asked.

  “Look for Perimeter Field A and B, turn them down to zero.”

  I followed his instructions. I lifted up on my heels to look outside the windows, not knowing what I was looking for. A gigantic spark crackled in the sky and faded away.

  “Is that it?” I asked.

  “That’s it. If there is a breach in the outer, physical wall, nothing will stop anyone from escaping.”

  I turned back around. Norwood sat on the floor tending to his knee. I walked over to him. My chest hurt seeing him like this.

  “I’m sorry that I shot you. I wished—”

  I wiped away the tears and mucus dripping out of me. I still had work to do. I could still get Jonas back to Rylan. In all this mess, I could still do something right.

  I eyed Norwood. “Your PCD. Throw it over.”

  Norwood slid it from his jacket pocket and lifted it, showing me that it was the PCD and not a weapon. He tossed it toward my feet. I reached down and grabbed it.

  “Love your daughter. Please love her, okay… please.”

  Norwood forced a smile. “You’d better go.”

  I spun around and dashed toward the opening in the floor. I put the gun in my holster and angled my body down so I could descend into the hole. Once my body was fully submerged, I took one last look at Norwood. He seemed content. Maybe, he thought that he had reached me—saved me in some way. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something was different.

  I half climbed, half fell through the rubble around the opening. It was still dusty, but the sun shone brightly in front of me, illuminating the prison. Once free of the rubble, I crawled backward to the outside tower and the three story drop.

  “Paeton!” My name startled me. The voice was familiar and after a second I knew it was Shannon.

  I jumbled forward, almost falling. Before I fell over the three-story drop, I grabbed a few rocks and hoisted myself up. As soon as I did, a deep voice growled, “Didn’t I say quiet?” A heavy shriek of pain in Shannon’s tonal range slammed into my eardrums.

  Turning around, my gaze fell on a man in blue standing over Shannon. She was bent over and grabbing her stomach. An arrow stuck out of her right leg. Next to Shannon, Pyra lay, barely moving. Ares was alive but bleeding from his face and chest. One guard stood over them, arrow pulled tight on his bow.

  I glanced across the field where Vogel hunched over on one knee, with another Rattler tending to him. One final Rattler was present. The last one held a long knife over Jonas’s body. Jonas didn’t look at me or anyone for that matter. He lay, slumped over on the groun
d with blood pouring onto the ground. Instinctively, I pulled out the gun and aimed it forward, wrapping both hands around the grip.

  Vogel smiled at me despite the pain he must have been in. I didn’t know what his end game was. I thought he just wanted Jonas dead, which for all I knew had already happened. I glanced out at the far wall. It was at least three miles away. If we didn’t move in the next few minutes, the last of us would be stuck in here, probably forever.

  CHAPTER 23

  “Finish,” Jonas had said. The words spun around in my head as I surveyed the situation below me. The smartest man in my little world and the leader of the Nobodys, and possibly Escerica, lay on the ground, a gash across his stomach. Shannon, my link to normality, was oozing blood, one leg in stitches and the other with an arrow through it. She would live if I got her help soon, but one of Vogel’s archers stood over her, his bow a few feet from her head. Pyra was breathing, but not much more. Ares seemed like he could move, but I couldn’t tell how much. Everybody else was dead, and no one on my side held any weapons—so much for Lucky Seven.

  The sun rose reluctantly into the sky. It was just a matter of time before Norwood would find a way to get someone to help him. No matter what I did, this was a moment of failure. I had a choice to make. I could try to get a few shots off and kill one or two of the Rattlers before they killed the only two people in this prison that half-way cared about me, or I could climb down and try to think of a plan on the way.

  My feet spread before me, and my back rested comfortably on some of the rubble that had fallen in the explosion. My vision was clear. I could kill any one of them I wanted and that was the problem. I’d just have enough time to kill one.

  For the first time in a long while, fear’s icy fingers grasped my throat. It wasn’t a fear that I could push away. I cared about Shannon and Jonas, and that was not normal for me. Even though part of me wanted to cut off those ties so I could go back to being alone and protected, the other part of me, the real me, wanted to be better. Despite myself, I wanted Shannon and Jonas safe.