by Lu, Marie
“We’ll have an extra bed brought in for you,” she says, motioning toward the room’s empty space. “We’ll come check on you again in the morning.”
I go back to my vigil over June. When the guard doesn’t leave, I look up at her and raise my eyebrows. She turns red. “Anything else I can do for you?”
She shrugs it off and tries to look nonchalant. “No. I just . . . so, you’re Daniel Altan Wing, eh?” She says my name like she’s trying it on for size. “Evergreen Ent keeps printing stories about you in their tabs. The Republic Rebel, the Phantom, the Wild Card—they probably come up with a new name and photo for you every day. Say you escaped a Los Angeles prison all by yourself. Hey, did you really date that singer Lincoln?”
The idea is so ludicrous that I have to laugh. I didn’t know Colonians kept up with the Republic’s government-appointed propaganda singers. “Lincoln’s a little old for me, don’t you think?”
My laugh breaks the tension, and the soldier laughs along with me. “Well, this week you are. Last week Evergreen Ent reported that you’d dodged all the bullets from a Republic firing squad and escaped your execution.” The soldier goes back to laughing again, but I fall silent.
No, I didn’t dodge any bullets. I let my older brother take them for me.
The soldier’s laugh trickles away awkwardly when she sees my expression. She clears her throat. “As for that tunnel you two came through, we’ve sealed it up. Third one we’ve sealed in a month. Every now and then Republic refugees come in just like you did, you know, and the people living in Tribune have gotten really tired of dealing with them. No one likes civilians from an enemy territory suddenly taking up residence in one’s hometown. We usually end up kicking them back over the warfront. You’re a lucky one.” The soldier sighs. “Back in the day, this all used to be the United States of America. You know that, yes?”
My quarter pendant suddenly feels heavy around my neck. “I know.”
“Well, do you know about the floods? Came fast, in less than two years, and wiped out half of the low-lying south. Places Reps like you have probably never even heard of. Louisiana, gone. Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Carolinas, gone. So fast you’d swear they never existed in the first place, at least if you couldn’t still see some of their buildings peeking out far off in the ocean.”
“And that’s why you guys came here?”
“More land in the west. You have any idea how many refugees there were? Then the west built a wall to keep the easterners from overcrowding their states, from the top of the Dakotas down through Texas.” The soldier slams one fist into the palm of her other hand. “So we had to build tunnels to get in. There used to be thousands of them back when the migration was at its peak. Then the war started. When the Republic started using the tunnels to launch surprise assaults on us, we sealed them all off. The war’s been going on for so long that most people don’t even remember that the fight’s about land. But when the floodwaters finally settled, things over here stabilized. And we became the Colonies of America.” She says this with her chest puffed out. “This war won’t go on for much longer—we’ve been winning for a while now.”
I remember Kaede telling me that the Colonies were winning the war when we first touched down in Lamar. I hadn’t thought too much of it then—after all, what’s one person’s assumption? Rumor? But now this soldier’s saying it like it’s the truth.
Both of us pause as the commotion outside the building gets louder. I tilt my head. There have been crowds of people coming and going from the hospital ever since we got here, but I hadn’t thought about it. Now I think I hear my name. “Do you know what’s going on out there?” I ask. “Can we move my friend to a quieter room?”
The soldier crosses her arms. “Want to see all the commotion for yourself?” She gestures for me to get up and follow her.
The shouting outside has reached a thunderous pitch. When the soldier swings the balcony’s doors open and leads us out into the night air, I’m greeted by a gust of icy wind and a huge chorus of cheers. Flashing lights blind me—for a second all I can do is stand there against the metal railings and take in the scene. It’s some insanely late hour of the night, but there must be hundreds of people below our window, oblivious to the snow-packed ground. All of their eyes are turned up to me. Many of them hold up homemade signs. Welcome to our side! one says.
The Phantom Lives, says another.
Take Down the Republic, says a third. There are dozens of them. Day: Our Honorary Colonian! Welcome to Tribune, Day! Our home is your home!
They know who I am.
Now the soldier points at me and smiles for the crowd. “This is Day,” she shouts.
Another eruption of cheers. I stay frozen where I am. What’re you supposed to do when a bunch of people are yelling your name like they’re completely cracked? I have no goddy clue. So I raise my hand and wave, which brings their shrieks to a higher pitch.
“You’re a celebrity here,” the soldier says to me over the noise. She seems to be much more interested in this than I am. “The one rebel the Republic can’t seem to get their hands on. Trust me, you’ll be plastered all over the tabs by morning. Evergreen Ent is going to be dying to interview you.”
She keeps talking, but I’m not paying attention to her anymore. One of the people holding up signs has caught my attention. It’s a girl with a scarf wrapped around her mouth and a hoodie covering part of her face.
But I can tell it’s Kaede.
My head feels light. Instantly I think back on the blinking red alarm down in the bunker, warning June and me of someone approaching the hideout. I recall the person I thought had been following us down the Colonies’ streets. Was it Kaede? Does that mean that other Patriots are here too? She’s holding up a sign that’s almost lost in the sea of others.
The sign says: You have to go back. Now.
I’M DREAMING AGAIN. I’M SURE OF IT BECAUSE METIAS is here, and I know he’s supposed to be dead. This time I’m ready for it, and I keep a tight rein on my emotions.
Metias and I are walking in the streets of Pierra. All around us, Republic soldiers run around rubble and explosions, but to the two of us, everything seems quiet and slow, like we’re watching a movie in extreme slow motion. Showers of dirt and shrapnel from grenades bounce harmlessly off of us. I feel invincible, or invisible. One or the other, maybe both.
“Something’s just not right here,” I say to my brother. My eyes go up to the roofs, then back down to the chaotic streets. Where is Anden?
Metias gives me a thoughtful frown. He walks with his hands behind his back, graceful as any captain ought to be, and the gold tassels on his uniform clink softly together as he goes. “I can tell this scene is bothering you,” he replies, scratching at the faint scruff on his chin. Unlike Thomas, he’d always been a bit lax about the military’s grooming rules. “Talk to me.”
“This scene,” I say, pointing around us. “This whole plan. Something’s off.”
Metias steps over a pile of concrete rubble. “What’s off?”
“Him.” I point up to the roof. For some reason, Razor is standing there in plain sight, watching everything happen. His arms are crossed. “Something’s not right about him.”
“Well, Junebug, reason it out,” Metias says.
I count off on my fingers. “When I got into the jeep behind the Elector’s, the drivers’ instructions were clear. The Elector told them to take me to the hospital.”
“And then?”
“And then Razor ordered the drivers to take the assassination route anyway. He completely ignored the Elector’s command. He must’ve told Anden that I insisted on the assassination route. It’s the only way Anden would’ve gone with it.”
Metias shrugs. “What does it mean? That Razor simply wanted to force the assassination through?”
“No. If the assassination happened, everyo
ne would know who ignored the Elector’s order. Everyone would know that Razor was the one who ordered the jeeps forward.” I grab Metias’s arm. “The Republic would know that Razor tried to kill Anden.”
Metias tightens his lips. “Why would Razor put himself in such obvious danger? What else was strange?”
I turn back to the street’s slow-moving chaos. “Well, right from the beginning, he was able to bring Patriots into his Vegas officer quarters so easily. He got his Patriots on and off that airship as if it were nothing. It’s like he has superhuman abilities to hide out.”
“Maybe he does,” Metias says. “After all, he has the Colonies sponsoring him, doesn’t he?”
“That’s true.” I run a hand through my hair in frustration. In this dream state, my fingers are numb and I can’t feel the strands running against my skin. “It doesn’t make sense. They should have called off the assassination. Razor shouldn’t have gone through with it at all, not after I disrupted it. They would’ve gone back to their quarters, thought things through again, and then attempted another strike. Maybe in a month or two. Why would Razor put his position at risk if the assassination was in danger of failing?”
Metias watches as a Republic soldier runs past us. The soldier tilts his head up at Razor standing on the roof and salutes.
“If the Colonies are behind the Patriots,” my brother says, “and they know who Day is, shouldn’t you both have been taken straight to talk with whomever is in charge?”
I shrug. I think back on the time I spent with Anden. His radical new laws, his new way of thinking. Then I remember his tension with Congress and the Senators.
And that’s when the dream breaks apart. My eyes snap open. I’ve figured out why Razor bothers me so much.
The Colonies aren’t sponsoring Razor—in fact, the Colonies have no idea what the Patriots are up to. That’s why Razor went ahead with the plan—of course he had no fear of the Republic finding out that he worked for the Patriots.
The Republic had hired Razor to assassinate Anden.
AFTER THE SOLDIER AND I LEFT THE BALCONY AND the throng of people outside our hospital room, I made sure guards stood outside our door (“In case any fans come barging in,” the soldier said before she left), then requested extra blankets and medicine for June. I didn’t want to get up and see Kaede still standing below the balcony. Gradually, the shouts outside started to die down. Eventually, everything sank into silence. Now we’re completely alone, except for the guards standing outside our door.
Everything’s ready to go, but I stand unmoving at June’s bedside. There’s nothing in here I can make into a weapon, so if we really do need to make a run for it tonight, all we can hope for is that we won’t have to fight anyone. That no one will notice we’re gone until morning.
I get up and walk to the balcony. The snow on the ground below is completely trampled and dark with the dirt of boots. Kaede isn’t there anymore, of course. I soak in the Colonies landscape for a while, puzzling once again over Kaede’s sign.
Why would Kaede tell me to return to the Republic? Is she trying to trap me or warn me? Then again—if she wanted to hurt us, why did she hit Baxter and let us go in Pierra? She’d even urged us to escape before the other Patriots could get to us. I turn to June, who’s still sleeping. Her breathing is more even now, and the flush on her cheeks is less pronounced than it was several hours ago. Still, I don’t dare disturb her.
More minutes drag by. I wait to see if Kaede will try again. After the dizzying speed of everything that’s happened to us, I’m not used to being stuck here like this. Suddenly there’s too much time.
A thud sounds out against the balcony doors. I jump to my feet. Maybe a branch broke off a tree, or a shingle fell from the roof. I wait now, alert. Nothing happens for a while. Then there’s another thud against the glass.
I get up from June’s bed, walk over to the balcony doors, and carefully peek out through the glass. No one’s there. My eyes skip to the balcony floor. There, in plain sight, are two small rocks—one with a note tied to it.
I unlock the balcony door, slide it open a little, and grab the note from the rock. Then I lock the door again and open the note up. The words are hastily scrawled.
Come outside. I’m alone. Emergency. Here to help. We have to talk.—K
Emergency. I crumple the note in my hand. What does she think is an emergency? Isn’t everything an emergency right now? She had helped us escape—but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to trust her.
Not a minute has passed before a third rock hits the door. This time, its message reads:
If you don’t talk to me now, you’re gonna regret it.—K
My temper rises at the threat. Kaede does have the power to turn us in for messing up the Patriots’ plans. I stay where I am, rereading the note in my hands. Maybe just for a few minutes, I tell myself. That’s it. Just long enough to see what Kaede wants. Then I’m coming back inside.
I grab my coat, take a deep breath, and step back over to the balcony doors. My fingers quietly undo the latch. A cold wind hits my face as I sneak out onto the balcony, crouch low, lock the balcony doors, and push them closed. If anyone’s going to break in to hurt June, they’re going to have to make enough noise to alert the guards outside. I leap down the side of the balcony, twist around, and grab on to the ledge with my hands. I lower myself down until I’m dangling halfway between the first and second floors. Then I let go.
My boots land in powdered snow with a soft crunch. I take a last look at the second floor ledge, memorize where this hospital building is on the street, then tuck my hair into my coat and flatten myself against the wall.
The streets are empty and silent at this hour. I wait against the side of the building for a minute before I step out. Come on, Kaede. My breath comes out in short bursts of steam. My eyes scour the nooks and crannies around me, checking for danger. But I’m all alone. You wanted me to meet you out here? Well, I’m here.
“Talk to me,” I whisper under my breath as I walk alongside the building. My eyes search for street patrols, but no one’s out here.
Suddenly I pause. There’s a subtle shadow crouched in one of the nearby alleys. I tense up. “Come out,” I whisper loud enough for the person to hear me. “I know you’re there.”
Kaede materializes out of the shadows, then waves me over. “Walk with me,” she whispers back. “Hurry.” She scurries off into a narrow alley hidden behind a row of snow-laden bushes. We go down the alleyway until it crosses a wider street, which Kaede turns onto sharply. I hurry after her. My eyes search every corner. I gauge all the spots where I can shimmy up to a higher floor in case anyone tries to take me by surprise. Every hair on my neck stands on end, rigid with tension.
Kaede gradually slows her walk until we’re side by side. She’s wearing the same pants and boots that she had on during the attempt earlier in the day, but has switched out her military jacket for a wool cloak and scarf. Her face is scrubbed clean of the black stripe.
“All right, be fast about this,” I say to her. “I don’t want to leave June for too long. What are you doing here?” I make sure to keep a good distance between us, just in case she decides to get happy with a knife or something. We do seem to be alone, I’ll give her that much, but I still make sure we stay on a main street where I can get away if I need to. A few Colonies workers hurry past us, aglow from the lights of building ads. Kaede’s eyes glitter with near-frantic anxiety, a look that’s completely foreign on her face.
“I couldn’t climb up to your room,” she says. The scarf around her mouth muffles her words, and she pushes it down impatiently. “Damn guards would hear me. That’s why you’re the Runner, not me. I swear that I’m not here to harm your precious June. If she’s just by herself up there, she’s gonna be fine. We’ll be quick.”
“Did you follow us down through the tunnel?”
Kaede nods. “Ma
naged to clear enough rubble away to squeeze through.”
“Where are the others?”
She pulls her gloves on tighter, blows warm air on her hands, and mutters in disgust about the weather. “They’re not here. Just me. I needed to warn you.”
A sick feeling rises in my stomach. “About what? Is it Tess?”
Kaede stops what she’s doing to poke me hard in the ribs. “Assassination was botched.” She holds up two hands before I can interrupt. “Yeah, yeah, I know you’re already aware of this. A lot of Patriots have been arrested. Some of them got away too—our Tess did, at least. She ran with a few of our Pilots and Runners. Pascao and Baxter too.” I spit out a curse. Tess. I feel a sudden compulsion to chase her, to make sure she’s safe—and then I remember the last thing she said to me. Kaede plunges on as we continue to walk. “I don’t know where they are now. But here’s what you don’t know. I didn’t even know, until you and June stopped the assassination. Jordan—the Runner girl, you remember, right?—uncovered all this info from a comp drive and handed it off to one of our Hackers.” She takes a deep breath, stops, and turns her head down to the ground. Her voice’s usual strength fades. “Day, Razor played all of us. He lied to the Patriots, then handed them over to the Republic.”
I halt in my walk. “What?”
“Razor told us that the Colonies hired us to kill the Elector and start a revolution,” Kaede says. “But that’s not true. Found out on the day of the assassination that the Republic’s Senate is sponsoring the Patriots.” She shakes her head. “Do you believe that? The Republic hired the Patriots to assassinate Anden.”
I’m silent. Stunned. June’s words echo in my mind, how she’d told me that Congress dislikes their new Elector, how she thought Razor was lying. The things he’s told us don’t add up, she’d said.
“Blindsided all of us—except for Razor,” Kaede says when I don’t respond. We start walking again. “The Senators want Anden dead. They figured they could use us and pin the blame on us too.”
