Outliers

by Kate L. Mary

  “You mean you could do what they did? Kill everyone in the city with one shock?” I asked.

  Egon frowned. “Maybe. More likely, though, I’d be able to blow a hole in the wall.”

  Silence fell over the room.

  “You could really do that?” Tris finally asked, awed.

  Egon’s head bobbed energetically. “Of course.”

  25

  Indra

  I stared at the device in Egon’s hand, unable to utter a word. He could blow a hole in the wall…

  “That small device can do that?” I finally asked.

  “Yes.” Egon shook his head. “I mean, no. Not exactly.” He raised a hand—the one covered in rough patches—and lifted one finger, pointing up. “This can. The tower we’re in.” Finger still extended, Egon waved the electroprod with his other hand. “This will just give me a better idea of how the technology works. It will help me know how to use the power this tower holds.”

  “How do you know it can do this?” Tris asked.

  She was back in the caves when the Sovereign shocked the valley, so she did not witness the moment the bubble disappeared or how the bolt of electricity shot through the air, coming from the tallest building in the city.

  “We saw it,” I tell her.

  “Yes,” Egon said solemnly. “The tower we’re in now has an almost identical design to the government building inside the city, which means we should be able to divert the power from the energy shield in the exact same way the Sovereign did.”

  “Then you could shock and kill them all,” Asa said.

  Egon hesitated. “Yes, I could, but I won’t do it.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, outrage ringing in my voice. “You must. This is how we will defeat them.”

  “I won’t be like them.” Egon’s gaze moved from Asa to Elora, then back to my husband. “You should understand how I feel. Out of everyone, you should be able to get where I’m coming from.”

  Asa blew out a long breath, nodding in a slightly hesitant way. “I do. I understand, trust me. But this isn’t the same thing. The Fortis were cruel for no reason. They killed and raped for fun. This is war, Egon. We have to be willing to shed blood if we’re going to win.”

  “You may be willing, my friend, but I am not.”

  Silence fell over the room as everyone let that sink in. Like Asa, I understood what Egon was saying, and why he felt that way, but I also knew the situation we were in. It was kill or be killed now. We did this, or we all died.

  “You must—” I began, but was cut off when Egon raised his hand.

  “No,” he said. “I will not do it. But it doesn’t matter, anyway. There are other ways. We can still defeat them.”

  “Tell me,” I said impatiently.

  “The power for the whole city comes from this building,” Egon began, once again lifting his hand so he could point to the ceiling. “It runs through here first, being collected and distributed to the areas that need it.” He turned to face the wall of glass squares, studying the characters flashing across them. “These monitors tell me exactly where the power goes and how it’s used, and over the years we’ve kept track of that, hoping one day we’d be able to use it against the Sovereign. Which is why I know this tower receives less than a quarter of the total power it collects. I also know how to divert that power so we get it all.”

  “The Sovereign will have none?” I asked.

  “That’s right,” Egon replied, once again nodding energetically.

  “Then what?” Asa said. “What will you do then?”

  I could tell he was anxious not only to learn the plan, but also to smooth over the tension Egon’s refusal had created.

  “Then I redirect the energy so it gathers in this tower and use it to blow a hole in the wall. In theory, that is.” Egon swiped up the electroprod. “That’s where this device comes in. First, I need to pull it apart and rewire it so it emits a burst of energy that can blow something up, not just shock it. Once I’ve done that, I can use the same process—only on a much bigger scale—to do the same to the tower.”

  “You are confident you can make this happen?” I asked him.

  “I am,” he replied.

  “Egon is very smart,” Elora assured me, and like her brother I could tell she was trying to smooth things over. “He can do this.”

  I pressed my lips together and studied the man for a moment. We were running out of time, and I knew it. The Sovereign would come up with another plan soon, and when they did, it would be twice as deadly as the last one.

  “How long?” I asked him.

  “I can slowly start diverting the power while I work on the adjustments. That will make it more difficult for them to detect.” He set the electroprod back on the table. “Once I have everything set up, it will take a couple minutes to suck the rest of the energy from the city. Before we do that, you and your army should get into place. When we knock the wall down, it will happen fast.”

  “It will work, Indra,” Asa’s sister assured me. “Egon knows what he’s doing.”

  I did not know Elora, but I knew her brother and the goodness living in him. If she was half as trustworthy as Asa, we would be okay.

  “I cannot pretend to understand any of this,” I said, “but I am putting my trust in you. If Elora says you are trustworthy, then I will take her at her word. But you must be fast. We do not have a lot of time.”

  “I will,” Egon said, already turning toward the desk. “Elora, I’m going to need your help.”

  We did not move for a minute, instead watching as the two untouchables began to disassemble the electroprod. Inside were wires and other things I could not identify. Not that anything in this room made sense to me. For the first time since starting this war, I felt as if I were in over my head.

  I turned toward the wall of glass squares—monitors, Egon had called them—and studied the characters. “These are words?” I asked Asa, not looking back at him.

  “They are.” He moved to stand next to me and pointed to a line of printed white letters. “This says streetlights.” His finger moved to similar but not identical line of letters, and then another and another. “Cooling Unit. Energy Level. Main Building. Tower.”

  Underneath each word was a monitor where lines of characters blinked green, changing constantly. I could not understand how anyone made sense of it, but I trusted Egon was telling the truth.

  I turned away from the monitor to face my friends. “We should return to the wilds so we can let the others know the plan. Our army must prepare.”

  “How will we know when to come back?” Tris asked.

  “I’ll stay.” Hagan still held his son in his arms. “When Egon’s ready, I’ll get word to you.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  Hagan nodded in reply, but I had already turned to face my husband.

  “Will you go back to the wilds with us?”

  He took my hand, and warmth spread through me, starting where our skin touched. “It’s my home now.”

  We left the tower and headed back through the wastelands, our steps swift. Dust from the dry ground kicked up around us, and with each breeze more of the particles flew into the air. My mouth tasted like it was filled with dirt, and grit crunched between my teeth. I longed for a drink, but the sight of the dead fish collected on the lake’s shoreline stopped me. Death now lived within those waters. We would have to wait until we traveled further into the valley, past the point where life had been snuffed out by the Sovereign’s weapon.

  The wind picked up just as we reached the edge of the cliffs, and I lifted my face to the sky to find it clogged with clouds. They were a mixture of white and gray, and puffy. Filled with water that would soon fall on the wilds. It should have been a good thing—we needed the rain to sustain our way of life—but I worried it would drag out and make the upcoming fight difficult.

  We did not speak as we traveled through the valley, moving past the rotting corpses of our army. To our left, the Lygan Cliff
s loomed, their rocks dark and ominous compared to the green landscape of the valley. The click of claws against stone echoed through the silence, and I lifted my bow.

  I kept my pace steady as I scanned the mountains, and my weapon ready. “Be on the lookout.”

  Around me, the others nodded but did not respond.

  We kept moving, Asa and I walking side by side at the back while Tris and Atreyu led the way. We passed the bodies, leaving them to the animals, and before long the number of dead creatures lining the riverbank dwindled until there were none. Still, I walked a bit further before stopping, wanting to be certain we had moved out of the shock radius.

  When I was sure, I stopped, motioning toward the river. “I need a drink.”

  Atreyu and Tris stopped, but did not turn toward the water, instead focusing on the cliffs. Asa followed me.

  I knelt at the river’s edge and set my bow beside me before using my cupped hands to scoop up a handful of water. It was cool and fresh—much to my relief. At my side, Asa knelt as well and did the same.

  “We should stop at the Mountari village before returning to the caves,” I said, pausing before scooping up more water. “I need to talk this over with Roan and let him know the plans have changed. We can still win and keep the electricity intact.”

  Asa paused, his hands halfway to his mouth. Drops of water dripped between his fingers and fell to the river. “He likes you. Roan.”

  “He admires me,” I said, shrugging as if it did not matter. “He is married, as am I.”

  “I don’t like it.”

  My lips twitched with the urge to smile, a surprising but not unwelcome feeling. “You must know by now that I do not want anyone but you.”

  “True,” he said, a smile pulling up his lips as well, “but that doesn’t mean I have to like it when another man looks at you.”

  Despite the grin, the serious expression in his eyes gave away what he was really thinking about. Lysander. Even if we killed him, he would stay with us for the rest of our lives. His memory hanging over us like a fiend sent from the underworld to torment us. Perhaps that was what he really was. An evil spirit who escaped the fires of the afterlife and returned to earth.

  I put my hand on Asa’s arm, hoping to reassure him. “No one will ever again touch me but you.”

  Asa’s head dipped in response.

  We finished our drink and traded places with the others, allowing them a moment of refreshment while we kept our eyes on the cliffs. Once, I spotted a streak of color, red and purple against the black stone, but it was gone in a second. Otherwise, the cliffs and surrounding valley seemed unnaturally quiet.

  “It’s going to rain,” Atreyu said when he and Tris had rejoined us.

  All four of us lifted our faces toward the sky.

  Above us, there were twice as many clouds as there had been when we first reached the valley, and in the distance, just past the wilds, the sky was dark gray, making it seem as if night was moving in even though it was barely midday.

  “It will be a big storm,” I said in agreement.

  Technically, it was still spring, although summer was well on its way, and during this time of the year storms were not uncommon. They were usually quick and violent, over within an hour, but on occasion they stretched out longer. Once, many years ago, it had rained for three days straight. The river had swelled and taken over the valley, the pond had tripled in size, and the wilds had turned to mud. It was before I started my job in the city, and I remembered huddling in the hut with Anja as the storm beat down on us. By the second day the roof had begun to leak, and by the third the drips had turned to steady streams.

  Hopefully, this was not one of those storms.

  “It will give the forest life,” I said, attempting to sound confident even though my stomach had twisted into knots.

  Pulling my gaze from the sky, I turned to Tris and Atreyu. “Asa and I are going to the Mountari village to let them know what is happening, but I need you to return to the caves and fill everyone in. Can you do that?”

  “We can,” Tris said.

  “Good.” I ventured one quick look up. “If the storm is too bad, we may stay there for the night.”

  Hopefully, it would be over fast so Asa and I could return to the caves, but if I had learned anything, it was that having a backup plan was necessary.

  26

  Indra

  Much to my relief, Asa and I were met with warmth when we reached the Mountari tribe. A group of children met us before we had even reached the outskirts and eagerly led us into the village. Once there, people stopped what they were doing to smile or call out greetings. The atmosphere was not as relaxed as it usually was, thanks to the uncertainty of what we were still facing, but they were still friendly, proving that our alliance with the Mountari was strong.

  We found Zuri near the center of the village. The hut she and Roan shared stood at her back, towering over her just like all the other huts, and in the distance the Lygan Cliffs loomed, black even against the dark sky.

  The Mountari built their homes on stilts so they were high off the ground and safe from the predators inhabiting those same cliffs, and all around the village evidence of the men’s hunting skills was on display. Skin over windows and on roofs, skulls lined up outside huts like trophies, and most of all, the rows and rows of teeth pierced through the chests of the men.

  Zuri looked up from the lygan skin in her hand when we approached, smiling as she got to her feet. By the time Asa and I stopped in front of her, whatever task she had been performing was forgotten and her full attention was on us.

  “Indra,” Zuri clasped my hands in hers, “I was relieved to hear of your escape.”

  “It was not easy,” I replied, returning the gentle squeeze she gave my hands, my gaze flitting to Asa, “but we are here, and we are whole.”

  “Although slightly banged up,” my husband added with a small grin.

  Roan emerged from the shadows of a hut and headed our way. As usual, he wore no shirt, and the rows of lygan teeth pierced through his skin seemed to shift with his flexing muscles. There were two rows moving up each of his arms, and so many decorating his chest that he almost looked like he wore a shirt made of fangs.

  Zuri released my hands when Roan stopped at her side, but her smile did not wane. Not like my husband’s, which disappeared while his body became stiff.

  “Indra.” Roan smiled down at me before almost reluctantly moving his gaze to my husband. “Asa. I am glad you made it out of the city.”

  In true Asa form, my husband simply dipped his head in response to the Head’s greeting.

  “We more than made it out,” I said. “We managed to kill the Sovereign woman I used to work for and get away with an electroprod.”

  Asa turned his gaze on me, pride swimming in his eyes. “Indra killed her.”

  Roan gave me a look of admiration that mirrored my husband’s, and Zuri’s smile grew until it seemed to stretch all the way across her face. A strong wind blew through the village, lifting her gray hair, and she pushed it back almost absentmindedly, still looking at me. Still smiling.

  I shifted uncomfortably under the attention. “I had help. Emori was there as well.”

  “Emori?” Zuri’s eyebrows lifted in surprise, and for the first time her smile faded, although it did not disappear completely.

  “Yes,” I assured her, “Emori and I worked together to kill the Fortis guards so we could get away. If not for her, I do not know if I would have made it out.”

  “She is with you, then?” Roan’s gaze moved past me like he was expecting her to materialize.

  Guilt swam through me like a fish moving through a stream as I thought about how I had tried, and failed, to get Emori to leave, and I had to look down, unable to meet the Head’s gaze. “She would not leave the city until she had exacted her revenge.”

  “She is a very bitter woman,” Zuri said, and I ventured a look up to find a rare frown on her face. “I can only imagine what she
has been through to cause so much hate to fester inside her. Hopefully, she is able to find peace after all this is done.”

  “Hopefully, we all can,” I said.

  “What of this electroprod?” Roan asked. “The way you mentioned it made it seem like it is important.”

  “It is.” When I turned my focus on Asa, it was my turn to smile up at him in pride. “So important that we have decided not to destroy the mirrors. Not yet, anyway.”

  “You have another plan?” Roan asked.

  “We do,” I replied. “There is a man living in the tower who believes he can learn from the electroprod. Perhaps even harness the city’s power and use it to our advantage.”

  “In what way?” Confusion clouded Zuri’s eyes, but there was hope there, too.

  I motioned to Asa, and he began to explain, telling the Head and his wife everything we had learned in the tower. How Egon hoped to drain the power from the city, how he was going to use it to blow a hole in the wall so we could move in.

  “This is unbelievable,” Roan said when Asa had finished. “You really believe he can do this?”

  “I do,” my husband replied. “He’s a smart man, smarter than any I’ve ever met. I think he can make this work.”

  “We must be ready,” I added. “Hagan, one of the former Fortis men, stayed behind. Once things are in place, he will return to the wilds and let us know.”