“That’s my problem. I don’t think he sees you as just a friend.”
“How would you even know? You don’t know him like I do. I like him. He’s important to me. We went through some crazy stuff together. But we’re just friends, and that’s the last time I’m going to say it. Believe me or not, I don’t care.” Her poker face is firmly in place. I do have a bad attitude about Ethan. His daddy wants him to Cleave my girlfriend. And, the thing I keep coming back to, he’s nice and devoted and ready to settle down. More so than me. What bugs me about Ethan is that he has that same look as his father and the other SCI higher-ups. He’s pretty on the outside and talks a good game. But what if he is masking a whole lot of ugly under that beautiful façade?
“I’m sorry I mentioned it. I don’t want to fight with you.” I know she’s hiding something from me, and it involves Ethan. But the conversation’s going nowhere, and who am I to talk? I haven’t exactly been forthright about my own plans and activities. Though none of my activities involve a “friend” that’s a girl (only a hot girl enemy who’s no longer in the picture).
“I don’t want to fight either. I wish we could just be on the same page about things. I feel like we’re heading down divergent paths, and that really scares me,” she says, finally showing some emotion. I can see the fear in her eyes.
“How can you be so complacent after everything the SCI has done to you? It seems like you’ve just given up and decided to live with it. I can’t do that. I’ll fight to the end to get my freedom and the freedom of the Second Chancers and Exilers even if I decide to go about it differently than my dad. Why can’t you do the same?”
“Because I decided I can live with the status quo, for now, if it means that we can be together and live in safety, or at least try to affect the status quo from the inside,” she tells me. “I have nothing to go back to on Earth. Everything I care about is here. I’m not willing to risk a life with the people I love over an effort that I think is hopeless. ”
“So let me get this straight,” I say. “You want to Cleave me, have two kids, and live unhappily ever after in this hellhole?” She stares directly into my eyes and pauses only momentarily before responding.
“That’s better than the alternative,” she responds. “Think it over. Since we’re so important to the future of Thera, perhaps we can have a positive effect on the way things are run. Regardless, though, what’s more important to you? A futile cause or the potential of a life together?”
“Is that an ultimatum?”
“No, of course not. I just have spent a lot of time thinking about it myself, and well, it’s obvious what conclusion I came to. It’d just be nice if you did the same—I mean the thinking, not to necessarily come to the same conclusion.” She shrugs her shoulders.
“That’s not fair. It’s not black and white. One or the other.” I cross my arms.
“Life’s not freaking fair,” she says. “I think we both know that.” Ted Rosenberg once said something similar to me—that “life wasn’t fair but that it’s my life, so I need to get over it and make the most of what I have.”
We walk the rest of the way in silence.
Seven years prior
My father dumped me on Ted Rosenberg for a week when I went through a period of rebellion at the age of ten. The first thing Ted did was to take me to the graveyard where his daughters were buried to give me a little object lesson.
“Well, life isn’t fair,” I told him.
“What’s not fair exactly?” he said.
“My mom died. I had to grow up on that dark craphole Thera, and, now, my dad makes me learn all this stuff I don’t care about just so he can send me back there.”
“Let me tell you something, Blake.” He took a picture out of his wallet and handed it to me. It was of two darling girls that reminded me a bit of Leila when she was little. “My beautiful, beautiful daughters were born here on Earth. But they died way before they should have—when they were just little girls. They got a second chance to live—on that ‘craphole Thera’ as you call it. They love it there. They’re happy. Really, really, happy. So, I hold a really special place in my heart for Thera. It’s a place of miracles for my daughters and for me.”
“Well, it wasn’t for me.” I kicked a clump of grass out of the turf and sent it flying.
“Did you know that if it wasn’t for your family—and it goes way, way back—that my daughters would have never gotten a second chance and people like you and me couldn’t travel back and forth between Earth and Thera?”
“Nope.” Nor do I care.
“You are going to have the opportunity one day to help make sure the people on Thera—like my daughters and the rest of the people living there—get treated right, including the Exilers. It’s your birthright,” he explained.
“What’s a birthright?” I asked.
“It’s something that gets passed down from father to son to father to son and so on. If Thera had Kings, you’d be one. You’ve got royal blood in you, Blake. You and your brother will one day get to rule Thera as goodly Kings.”
“You mean sister, right? I don’t have a brother. Only Leila.”
“Yeah, sorry. When you get old you say stupid things.” He laughed. “Leila can be like a Queen. And you both can have children that will get your birthright too. That way, more people can travel back and forth and help the people on both Thera and Earth.”
“I don’t see how going there helps anyone.”
“You’ll understand someday,” he responded.
“Why do you care so much what I do?”
“I would do absolutely anything to protect my daughters and the people I love. Your dad feels the same way about the Exilers. One day, all the people that your dad and I care about will depend on you to make good choices and do the right thing,” he said. “Can you promise to do that?”
“I guess. I have no clue what you’re talking about, but I’ll try to be good.” I promised.
“I’m counting on that.”
I remember that I asked my dad about the whole birthright thing, and he told me that Ted must’ve been making up a story to get me motivated. But now, I know it wasn’t a story at all. Which means that Ted knew who I was all along and about my importance to Thera and the SCI—and he didn’t tell my father. Well, Teddy boy, time for you to step up and show where your allegiance lies. If you’re really on the side of “good for all Therans,” then you can play a bigger role in helping my dad’s coup. Why should I risk my life to sneak into Headquarters again—during regular business hours this time—when Ted Rosenberg works there?
And if Ted’s loyalty has drifted over the years…well then, he has got a date with the Reaper, a.k.a. my father.
“I’m going boarding,” I tell Ted and Kira. Ted’s here first thing in the evening for our nightly Handler meeting since it’s a Sunnight, and we don’t have school.
“You’re not supposed to exercise for another week.” Kira green eyes stab me with accusation of poor judgment.
“I feel fine, and I need some air. Thinking time. No tricks, I promise.” It’s ironic. I’m using Kira’s “suggestion” that I spend some time thinking to do the things she prefer me to avoid like the plague.
The truth is that I’m not really ready to ride, but I need to get a message about the meeting of the City Heads to my father. So I grab my board, walk out the front door, and roll down the ramp before Kira can stop me. The temperature is brutal. I note the sun is setting to the East, so it shouldn’t be long before the heat backs off. It’s a long ride to the beach, but I’ve left my watch at home, so unless I encounter someone who has the audacity to ask me what I’m doing, I should be fine.
Despite continual adjustments to my stance while boarding, I feel like someone’s trying to rip the grafts off my back with a giant claw. The new skin doesn’t stretch well. I start to worry that my back will look like it has been through a shredder by the time I get back. The paths get bumpier the closer I get to the beach, having b
een ravaged by the storm. Apparently the Garden City maintenance crew hasn’t bothered to fix this stretch. The pain from being jostled on my board slows me down. It takes a half hour to get to the mouth of the canyon, and by the time I get there, the sun has fully disappeared.
Without the lift of the flash flood water it takes a couple minutes to find some footholds in the canyon wall to help me climb to the shelf. I manage to get up, though. I can feel blood seeping through the back of my shirt. Not good. My doctor will be most displeased with me. I turn my focus to maneuvering up the shelf. The slickness of rain slowed my forward progress before. Tonight, vertigo attacks me as a full moon and stars illuminate the increasing distance between the beach and me.
When I finally hit the end of the shelf, I give the signal. Short long short long. I repeat it several times and get a response within minutes. My dad comes personally, lantern in hand which sheds light on his mood. Angry.
“Why are you here?” he yells up at me.
“Nice to see you, too,” I quip. “I just missed you so much that I thought I’d come for a visit.”
“I don’t have time for your sarcasm, Blake. We’re busy preparing for our mission.”
“Well, I have some intel that could and should influence your plans,” I say. “After what I tell you, perhaps you’ll listen to Doc Daryn. You’ve way underestimated the SCI.” I detail my visit to Headquarters and the information I obtained, including a warning about the ten minute time limit to cross the Eco barrier, the ever-changing barrier configurations, list of meeting attendees, and Brad Darcton’s speech about the Exilers.
“Are you sure about the timing of the meeting?”
“That’s what it said on their master schedule. So unless Ted set me up, it should be accurate. He gave me the passkey and code to get on the computer.”
“Ted can be trusted,” he says.
“Really? I’m not so sure.” I recount the memory of my trip to the graveyard with Ted and how it proves that he knew about me being an Original long before I arrived in Garden City.
“Just because he knew doesn’t say anything about his loyalties.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“If Ted has turned and you can prove it, I’ll personally put a bullet through his oversized head. But until then, we’re going to act on this intel. The opportunity to remove all the City Heads at once may not come again.”
“The SCI is expecting you. They’ve warned the entire city. There’s no way you can come waltzing in and expect no resistance.”
“We haven’t seen a single ship come through—so where is the Ten’s supposed security force? Every security detail we’ve encountered from Garden City has been a dozen or less people. We can easily overpower whatever they have.”
I shake my head, incredulous at how overconfident he is. “So, you’re still coming? Same timing, just different night?”
“Yes, we’ll be there on meeting night at 1930 hours—just prior to the start of the work night. Dressed in city attire. The Interceptors got lucky on their last run a couple months back. The clothes will help us blend,” he says. Indeed, that will help. Once within city limits, officials won’t know who to be on the lookout for. “You should get back. It was a huge risk to come.”
“Infinitely less risky than what you’re about to do.”
“Just give us three hours to get in and out and have that barrier down at 2230 hours sharp,” he demands.
“Okay. But I just want it to be on the record that I think this is a bad idea. I’ll do what I can to preserve lives, but I think you’re making a huge mistake.” I still plan to ask Ted to disarm the barrier. But I’m not sure I want to be anywhere near Headquarters when this all goes down.
“Get off your high horse, Blake. We see the atrocities being committed by the SCI, and we’re doing something about it. Unlike Doc’s bunch, we refuse to be a bunch of pansies who are fine to let those evil men continue to torment us—and the Second Chancers. Have a little faith. We know what we’re doing.”
He turns to leave without a goodbye. I surely hope he’s right. The largest security detail I’ve seen since I’ve been here came to cart off Tristan, Bri, and the other partiers. From our “aerial flight” and visit to the scale model of the city I didn’t see any obvious place to stash large numbers of security men or an arsenal, but they could have just left something off the model or failed to fly over a secure area.
I retrace my path down the ledge and then jump off once I get inland, twisting my bad ankle again when I land on a rock that I didn’t see in the poor lighting. Great. Now my return trip will take longer. I estimate about an hour and twenty minutes with a lot more uphill riding and energy spent. I have an uneasy feeling about my father’s plan. Everything rides on whether Ted is truly loyal and whether Brad Darcton and the Ten have more capability than my father thinks. I plan to distort the truth when I communicate my dad’s plans to Ted. I’ll tell him I need him to turn off the barrier to let my father and his team in and not tell him it’s their exit strategy. That way, my dad and his team will have a three-hour start and can hopefully avoid an ambush. Any advantage is better than no advantage.
The other thing that makes me feel uncomfortable about the plan is the invariable fallout if the Militants fail. Every Exiler knows about my involvement. So, if caught and questioned, there’s a high probability someone will give me up. How would the SCI handle my treason? Death? Exile? Or would they hurt Kira to get to me?
When I arrive back at my house, ready to collapse, I’m surprised to see Ted still there. I’ve been gone for at least two and a half hours, if not longer, and they look pissed.
“You aren’t supposed to exercise at all and you go ride for three and a half hours?” Kira says. Oops. My calculations on time were way off. “We were about to send out a search party.” I need to think up an excuse fast. A variation of the truth usually works best.
“I haven’t slept well lately…I’ve been reliving the explosion at the Eco barrier—having nightmares where all my skin melts off my body. I dunno…I just thought if I went back to the spot that I might be able to get some sort of closure or whatever. Sorry, I know that probably sounds really lame, but…it was the only thing I could think of to help me sleep better.”
“I could have arranged to have you taken by mule,” Ted says. “It was irresponsible for you to board all the way to the beach. The doctor should be here any minute to give you a once over and make sure you haven’t done irreparable damage to your grafts.”
“I’m fine,” I say, a small deviation from the truth. “My back’s a little sore, but I just need to rest. And drink some water. It’s hot out there.” It was pretty stupid to leave without bringing at least a bottle of water.
“A little sore? I see blood on your shirt. And, where’s your watch?” Ted asks, pointing to my wrist.
“Oh, shoot. I must’ve forgotten to put it on. Let me go grab it.” I slip away to my bedroom and put on the watch. Why would Ted say that out loud when he knows we’re being listened to? It wasn’t necessary and will just make the SCI wonder what I’m up to. My suspicion about Ted’s defection from the Exilers’ cause is at an all time high.
I let the doctor check me out. I’m so severely parched that he has his nurse insert an IV and tells her to run three bags of fluids through me so that the grafts can rehydrate. Kira bails at the mention of the IV, knowing that it will involve needles. It takes six tries in four different veins to get the needle in. After the juice is flowing, the doctor tends to the damage of my patches, stitching a few dissolvable sutures into a dislodged area. Then, he wraps my ankle to stabilize it.
Once all needles and sharp objects are put away, Kira brings me some bland toast. I try to make some light conversation, but I can see she’s clenching her teeth to keep from chewing me out in front of company. She knows better than to discuss our issues within the walls of our house. So, she stays silent.
Maybe it’s better she’s ticked. If the Ten thinks we’re on the outs
, there’s a chance she won’t be blamed or punished for my actions. It was far more irresponsible for me to start up a relationship with her than to board down to the beach. I knew better than to get involved but did it anyway. I let myself be tricked into thinking I had hope of a normal future. People like me don’t get normal futures.
“Whenever two good people argue over principles, they are both right.”
—Marie Von Ebner-Eschenbach
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kira
“So, you had plenty of time to think on your long ride,” I say to Blake. His story about not sleeping and wanting to face the source of his nightmares is not believable. He could sleep like a baby even if tornado sirens were blaring. We are sitting on the upper path of the canyon looking out at the lights. Blake still thinks it is safe to talk here. I know that nowhere is safe but can’t tell him. All I can do is persuade him to abandon everything he believes in—or he dies. “What’s your verdict? Adjust to life here or fight your father’s cause?”
“I want to support my father’s cause and be with you. If his mission fails, I’m all yours and we’ll do things your way. But I can’t abandon him or the other Exilers now. They’ve sacrificed too much for me.”
“Is it worth your life?” I ask.
“I’m not really involved at this point. I got my dad his intel, and, now, I just have to wait and see what happens, so don’t stress. I’ll be fine.”
“Since you met with them on the beach, you haven’t done anything to help him? No intelligence gathering? Nothing?” I whisper. Although I don’t want Brad Darcton to know the answer, I need to know whether Blake will lie to a direct question. I stare directly into his eyes so that he has to do it to my face. After finding out my entire relationship with Tristan was a sham, trust means everything to me. If I can’t trust Blake…if he can’t be completely honest with me, even when I completely disagree with his actions, then how can I possibly fathom spending my life with him?
What Tomorrow May Bring Page 111
