by Amy Tintera
We were about two miles from Austin, in the trees Wren and I had used for cover on our way from Rosa. We walked in silence toward the city, Micah and Jules several paces ahead of us, and Riley lifting his gun every so often as he scanned the area. He had the same sort of alertness as Wren, half his brain always on something I couldn’t see or hear. It was strange that people who were so observant couldn’t pick up on the emotions of others or feel sympathy.
When the Austin skyline came into view, I turned my gaze to the ground. I’d been excited last time I saw it. Full of hope about seeing my parents again, wondering if they even knew I’d Rebooted. I’d worried about scaring them at first, but I’d imagined they would get over it and hug me and beg me to stay with them instead of going to the reservation.
Maybe if we succeeded in helping the humans fight off Micah and HARC, I’d pick a different city from Austin to live in. Maybe I’d go to New Dallas or take off to see the death state with Wren. Sticking around Austin no longer appealed to me.
As we got closer, I could hear the soft hum of the HARC electrical fence. I recognized the area immediately, and easily spotted the leaves covering the tunnel the rebels had built that allowed secret access to and from Austin.
“We wait here,” Riley said, pointing to the tunnel entrance. “They should be here soon.”
No one sat, or relaxed, or lowered their guns, and I shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable. The note sat heavy in my pocket, and I carefully slipped it out, keeping it folded inside my palm.
I jumped at a rustling sound behind me and whirled around, hand poised over my gun. The others did the same, Riley stepping up next to me as the sound of footsteps echoed through the quiet.
I sucked in a breath as a dark head appeared from behind tree branches, and a smile spread across Tony’s face when he spotted me. He was a big, solid guy, with streaks of gray through his dark hair. He was carrying large, plastic fuel containers in either hand and seemed genuinely happy to see us. Riley lowered his gun, followed by Jules, then Micah.
“Jesus, Tony,” Riley said, letting out a breath. “You scared the crap out of us.”
Tony grinned. “Apologies. We didn’t need to use the tunnel this time.”
Desmond walked up behind him, also carrying fuel. My memories from our time with the rebels were still fuzzy, but I remembered that he hadn’t looked at me in the same way Tony did. Tony regarded me like I was still a seventeen-year-old human, not a Reboot.
“Oh, good,” Desmond said dryly. “They brought the one who tried to eat us.”
I winced. “Sorry about that.”
Micah chuckled, holstering his gun. He shook Tony’s hand, and I tried not to cringe at the entirely fake smile he was giving the human.
“Why didn’t you have to use the tunnel?” Jules asked suspiciously.
Tony beamed again. He was exceedingly happy about something, and I felt bad about having to crush him. I clenched my fist tighter around my letter.
“The fence is only half-staffed most days now,” he said, nodding back to it. “HARC’s having a hell of a time controlling the population in Austin. They’ve got to keep a lot of officers inside.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my eyes flicking to the skyline.
“The facility is still a mess,” Tony said. “They don’t have it running yet, which means no Reboots. They want to ship in some from Rosa and New Dallas, but it’s too risky to leave those cities with so few Reboots. They don’t even have enough staff. A good amount of officers quit after that night. They all think One-seventy-eight will be back and they don’t want anything to do with it.”
My eyebrows shot up. I’d thought releasing all the Reboots in Austin was only a temporary setback for HARC. I’d assumed they’d have Reboots back in the facility in twenty-four hours, minimum.
“There are no Reboots in Austin?” Riley asked. “At all?”
Tony made a zero sign with his hand. “None. People in the slums are hopping the wall to the rico. No one cares about curfew. We managed to get so many weapons in our raid, we’ve armed half the city.” He turned to Micah. “I think now’s the time.”
Micah rubbed a hand over his chin. “You may be right.”
I swallowed, looking from Tony to Micah.
“HARC’s had to divert officers from other facilities to cover Austin,” Tony said excitedly. “They’re all weaker right now. Wren’s already done it once, with barely any support. With her, you should be able to attack all four with no problem.”
A flash of irritation crossed Micah’s features and I pressed my lips together to hide a smirk. I loved how annoyed he was that Wren was the better Reboot. Better in so many ways, actually.
Micah twisted his face into a smile again and it struck me that Wren could have turned out like him. He was the second-highest number I’d ever heard of. He had similar skills and abilities and that same calm, cool demeanor. I wished she were with me, because I would have squeezed her hand and told her how much better she was than him.
“I think we’re probably looking at days,” Micah said. “Everyone is trained and ready and, thanks to you guys, we have enough fuel to get everyone there.”
I winced, which Desmond noticed, and a slight frown crossed his face. I was sort of glad I didn’t have to tell them the bad news in person. He might shoot me.
“I’ll radio tomorrow and let you know when we’re thinking,” Micah said. “Most likely day after tomorrow. We want to hit Rosa first, then the other three directly after. Keep the momentum going.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tony said, vigorously shaking his hand.
Riley and Jules grabbed the fuel and started to walk back the way we came. I quickly stepped forward as Tony began to turn away.
“Um, I wanted to say thank you.” I extended my hand, the letter pressed into my palm. “For helping Wren get me the antidote.”
“You’re welcome, son,” Tony said, taking my hand. His gaze darted down when he felt the paper and when he looked at me again some of the excitement had drained from his eyes.
I slowly dropped my hand and he quickly put his own in his pocket, the letter safely in his palm. “I hope I can return the favor someday,” I said quietly.
He nodded, and I turned around to see Micah watching me, his face expressionless. His eyes followed me and a flash of nervousness raced over me.
“Here,” Riley said, shoving a fuel container at me. I took it and picked up my pace to match his.
Micah took one of the containers from Jules, a smile creeping over his face. “It’s finally time.”
FOURTEEN
WREN
I TURNED AT THE SOUND OF A SHUTTLE, RELIEF FLOODING MY chest. It must have been almost dawn, and I hadn’t been able to sleep after my fight with Callum. Part of me knew he was well trained and fully capable of taking care of himself, but the other part of me was upset I hadn’t gone with him so I could make sure.
He pulled back the tent flap a couple minutes later and looked at me in surprise. “Hey,” he said softly as he crawled inside. “You’re awake.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Did it go okay?”
He nodded as he took his place next to me. “Fine. I gave Tony the note.” He studied me for a moment, his face serious, and I swallowed as I prepared for the worst.
He ran his hand beneath my hair and tilted my head up, planting a soft kiss on my lips, and I took in a surprised breath.
“I was thinking tonight that maybe it’s unfair for me to tell you how to feel,” he said quietly.
I pressed my hand to his chest, playing with the fabric of his shirt. I didn’t know what to say to that, so I kept quiet. Maybe it was unfair.
“And I like you because you’re funny and strong and different and—”
“Stop,” I said, ducking my head closer to his chest as my cheeks started burning.
“You’re the one who accused me of not liking who you are,” he said with a laugh. “I’m listing what I like.”
“I know. I
regret it now.”
He chuckled as he put a hand under my chin and tilted my face to his. “Fine.” He kissed my cheek, then pulled away to look into my eyes.
“I don’t care about you killing people because you did it because you had to,” he said. “The first time you were presented with the opportunity to kill innocent people, you were horrified. You don’t give yourself enough credit. I was looking at Micah tonight, thinking you could have turned out like him. But you didn’t.” He smoothed my hair back. “Not at all.”
I swallowed and opened my mouth to ask if he was sure, but his lips were on mine and I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body into his.
“I’m sorry,” I said, barely breaking away from the kiss. “You know I’ll stay and help you, right? I know it’s important to you.” It wasn’t important to me, and I could feel the weight of that still hanging between us. But if what he said was true, that he didn’t want to tell me how to feel, maybe that was okay.
“I know,” he said. “Thank you for that.” He kissed me again, more urgently this time, and I ran my hands into his hair as his body slipped over mine. This was a nightly routine, but it felt different this time, my heart beating fast with relief and some leftover sadness.
His fingers traced down my cheek and to my neck, and I didn’t bother to tense like I usually did when he came near the collar of my shirt. But he didn’t touch my shirt or my chest—he never did, because I knew he was waiting for the okay from me—and instead wrapped his arm around my back and pulled me close.
I buried my face in his neck, letting out a long breath as I closed my eyes and melted against him.
I woke to Callum still sleeping, which was so rare I didn’t dare move for fear of waking him. The sunlight coming through the cracks in the tent was bright, and I suspected we’d slept until almost noon.
Callum stirred about half an hour later, his arms finding me, like they did every morning.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said sleepily in my ear.
“Where else would I be?” I asked with a laugh.
He placed his palm flat against my back, sending shivers down my spine. “Nowhere. I just thought you should know. I’m always happy you’re here.”
A smile slowly spread across my face, and I leaned forward to kiss him.
Yelling and running footsteps suddenly exploded all around us and I jerked into a sitting position. Those were bad yells. Panicked yells.
I scrambled out of the tent and pulled on my shoes, Callum right behind me. Reboots were all running in the direction of the fire pit, and Beth sprinted by me, her face furious.
“What’s going on?” I yelled, breaking into a run.
“It’s Addie!” she called over her shoulder.
My insides twisted around, the day Ever died flashing through my vision. It had been like this, with people running and panicking, and by the time I’d gotten there it was too late.
I broke into a sprint, passing other Reboots as I rounded a corner of tents.
I stopped.
It was Addie. Strung up in the middle of the compound. Her wrists were tied to a wooden beam by rope, her feet dangling above the ground. Her shirt was covered in blood, her head slumped down toward her chest. A crowd of mostly reservation Reboots had gathered around her, their faces grim. But no one made a move to help her.
Micah stood right in front of her, Jules at his side with a long stick in her hand.
My heart was pounding in my ears. Was she dead?
Her head moved and the relief was so sudden and powerful it almost knocked me over.
“What the—” I turned to see Beth running toward Micah, fists clenched.
“Back!” Micah stepped in front of Addie, his face hard and furious. Beth quickly stopped and he stared her down as he pointed to the crowd. “I said, back.”
She glared at him for a couple seconds before retreating, muttering something to the Reboots next to her. They were spreading a message between them rapidly, bodies poised like they were ready for a fight. Even some of the reservation Reboots were inching forward, their faces hard and angry.
“Keep those wounds open!” Micah yelled, whirling around to face Addie. Jules nodded and lifted a giant stick. She struck Addie so hard I heard a crack.
Anger exploded inside my chest and I shoved the Reboots in front of me out of the way. I’d spent five years taking orders and watching people I liked get hurt or killed. I wasn’t doing it anymore.
Micah saw me coming and his eyes narrowed. His shoulders straightened. He was ready for a fight.
I stopped directly in front of him, drawing in a breath before I spoke. “Why is she up there?” I kept my gaze on Micah, afraid I would lose it and rip off his head if I looked at Addie again.
“I don’t tolerate talk of rebelling and saving humans,” he said evenly. “Recruiting Reboots to save humans is unacceptable.”
I scanned the crowd. Someone she’d trusted had ratted her out. My eyes found Isaac, but he looked horrified, the group around him furious. They hadn’t been lying about being with us.
I turned back to Micah and cocked my head. “You don’t tolerate talk? Really?”
His jaw twitched. “Yes. Betraying fellow Reboots is the worst thing I’ve seen at this reservation. I’m not even sure this punishment is sufficient.” He waved a hand in Addie’s direction.
Guilt pressed against my chest as I thought back to my conversation with Addie last night. I’d blown her off when she asked me about those schematics. I’d shown no interest in helping her and Callum approach people, even though I knew they were risking Micah’s wrath if they were discovered. Why hadn’t I helped them at all? How much trouble would it have been, really? The Austin Reboots had been looking to me for direction when we first got here. I may have had more sway with them.
A breeze blew through the silent reservation as I spoke quietly. “Let her down.”
“No.”
“You’ve made your point. Let her down.”
He took a step closer to me, so I had to lift my chin to meet his eyes. “I said no. Perhaps I should put you up there as well?”
“Please try. I’d love to see that.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the Reboots move forward slightly in a show of support. Of me. Micah saw it, too, and anger crept up his face.
He cast a glance over his shoulder. “Hit her again.”
My vision was red as I launched myself at him and slammed my palms into his chest. He hit the ground with a yell and I jumped as he tried to grab my legs. He was already trying to get to his feet so I slammed my knee into his chin and he stumbled, blood spewing from his mouth.
I leaped on top of him and wrapped my hand around his neck, pushing his head into the dirt. I leaned closer. “I’m taking her down,” I said loudly. “And you’re going to sit here and let me, or I will put you up there instead.”
I released his neck and he gasped as I got to my feet. I marched to Addie, the edge of my vision catching restless Reboots fingering their weapons. I barely shook my head, and they backed off.
Jules lifted her stick as I got closer but Micah waved her off.
“Let her take her down,” he said.
I let my fingers fall out of fists as relief washed over me. I took a quick glance back at Micah to see him sitting in the dirt, wiping blood from his mouth. His face was serious but not angry, and it made me nervous.
I swallowed as I turned back to Addie and pulled a knife from my pocket. None of her recent injuries had healed yet, and she could barely open her eyes as I came closer. One of her shoulders was obviously dislocated, and the back of her shirt was nothing but tattered threads, old blood crusting on it. She’d been like this for a while, perhaps beaten in private somewhere before being dragged out for display. Her wrists were red, the wounds from the ropes probably opening again as soon as they closed. They’d tied them too tight; her hands were purple from lack of circulation.
I pulled over the stool they mu
st have used to get her up there, circling one arm around her waist as I tugged the knife across the rope. She stirred, taking in a sharp breath as I freed one of her hands. She collapsed against me as I cut down the other rope and I quickly wrapped my other arm around her back to steady her.
“Thank you,” she whispered into my shoulder, sobs beginning to shake her body.
I turned at the sound of footsteps and found Callum standing beside me. His face was full of anger and concern, but something else I didn’t see very often. He was proud of me.
“I can take her,” he said, easing his hand around her waist. I stepped back and he whisked her into his arms.
I hopped off the stool and followed Callum toward the back of the reservation, where Addie’s tent was. I glanced behind me to see a trail of Reboots led by Beth following us. Micah was still on the ground, one arm slung across his knees as he watched me. His expression was hard, his chest heaving up and down as he fixed a hard glare on me.
FIFTEEN
CALLUM
I STOPPED IN FRONT OF THE TENT ADDIE SHARED WITH A FEW other people and slowly lowered her to the ground. I pulled back the flap and offered her my hand to help her inside, but she ignored me and gestured for Wren to put her arm back in the socket. I winced as she did it, but Addie barely made a peep.
She nodded in thanks to Wren and pulled her legs to her chest. The wounds on her wrists were closing up, but she started crying, dropping her forehead to her knees.
“Here,” Beth said, holding out a clean, wet towel to Wren. She took it, hesitating for a moment before kneeling down next to Addie and wiping at the blood on her arms.
Some of the other Reboots were lurking in the distance, talking quietly. Some were running in between tents, clothes and supplies in their arms. It looked like our time at the reservation was over.
Addie sniffled and, as the only Under-sixty in the general area, I started to say something comforting.
“I’m sorry,” Wren said quietly, clenching the bloody towel in her hand. “I should have . . .”
