Delivered: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 7)

by M. J. Kaestli

  “So, that’s what took you so long,” Aakil slurred, and gestured between Freya and Colin. “These two were in a right state over you. They thought you were dead.”

  Gwen motioned for Aakil to pass the bottle to her once again. Its contents were getting low, and she cautiously poured to conserve the rest.

  “Finish it,” Colin said. “You just came back from a hard trip, and Aakil’s had more than enough.”

  Without argument, Gwen drained the rest of the bottle into her glass. “We had just set up camp for the night when it happened. The explosion spooked our horses. We had to make a hard choice to either go back to search for survivors or leave without them. In the morning, we packed up and headed to the first outpost as we were close already. We waited there for two days, then took our journey at a slow pace in case someone might catch up to us.”

  “Do you think anyone survived?” Aakil asked.

  Gwen took a slow sip before answering. “If they did, it was because they weren’t in their homes. The chances of someone out hunting or swimming at night were too farfetched to turn back—especially without horses—but enough for us to travel slower than need be. We figured everyone knew about the outposts and would head there if they could.”

  “I saw one of your horses this morning,” Freya said, “but I didn’t know how to coax it into the pens.”

  Gwen nodded slowly. “That’s good. We need every horse we’ve got.”

  Freya shot Colin a knowing look before he turned his attention to Gwen. “We couldn’t agree with you more.”

  Gwen drained the rest of her glass, slamming it on the table harder than intended. Her cheeks flushed crimson before she pushed her cup off to the side. “We heard a lot more buzzing on our trip. I think they were following us. Once we cleared the mountains, we only traveled at night, trying to shake them off our trail. I don’t know if it worked, or if we led them straight here.”

  Colin plopped down heavily in his seat. “Even if we stay in lockdown, it might not be enough.”

  Gwen pursed her lips. “If we stay in lock down, we’ll starve this winter. We need to hunt and gather our crops. We can’t do that if we’re dodging drones.”

  “Now just wait a moment here, guys.” Aakil swayed as he lifted his hands in protest. “Maybe we all just need to take a moment to—”

  “Aakil.” Freya cut him off. “Anything you say is self-serving and we all know it. You like it here and want to stay, but that’s not an option anymore.”

  “I came to find you guys and sent Laura to get on the radio. We need to talk to the folks at Hope, cuz we need to pack up and head down there. Immediately.”

  Aakil rubbed his hands over his face. “Guys, that’s suicide. The army from here didn’t make it. Why would we? Especially not with drones tailing us.”

  “Aakil, first thing tomorrow,” Colin began while disregarding Aakil’s statement, “you need to adapt a solar panel for our radio so we can take it with us. We need the ability to communicate with Hope while we travel, especially when we get close to the dome.”

  Aakil shot upright, knocking over his chair. “And what good is any of that going to do? You think we can just take a casual stroll down to Hope. And once we’ve had a good sleep and a hot meal, we march over to the dome and waltz right in? Or do we go pound on their door at Cheyenne? This is all nuts! You’re just going to get everyone killed.”

  “Well, Aakil,” Colin began, “if you have a better idea, we’re all ears.”

  Aakil grimaced.

  “And by better idea,” Colin added. “I mean a plan for evacuating here, because we start packing tomorrow.”

  Aakil moaned theatrically, grabbed his toppled over chair, and slammed it upright. “Well, if you guys are in the mood for a suicide mission, I’ve got one for you.” He flopped down in his seat. Arms crossed.

  Freya felt a tingling in her core. She didn’t know if she was excited or intoxicated, but she knew somehow, Aakil might actually have something. “We’d prefer to live, but I’d love to hear what our Chief Scientific Advisor has to say.”

  Aakil scowled at her briefly before he proceeded. “If you’ve got the guts to walk inside the dome, why don’t we just skip the long and dangerous trip there?”

  Colin’s eyebrows stitched together. “Can you fly us there or something?”

  Aakil looked down at his nails. “Not fly. Better.” He looked up at Colin. “Let’s send the Head of Communications back to the atrium for another chat.”

  Colin looked at him sideways, still lost, but it clicked in Freya’s mind. She gasped as she suddenly remembered the oddly public conversation she’d had with Aakil when he asked about the weight of his sled. “You brought it with you?”

  Aakil’s face flushed, yet he looked rather smug at the same time. “I couldn’t leave such a fine piece of machinery behind. I hoped to study it someday.”

  Colin gasped as the comprehension set in. Freya turned to Gwen, noting just how confused she looked. “Gwen, Aakil brought the machine that transported us to the colony. As long as they didn’t dismantle their component on their end, we might be able to instantly travel to inside of the dome.”

  The color drained from Gwen’s cheeks. “Might? How do we know if it’ll work?”

  Aakil shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  Chapter 19

  Freya

  The sun had hardly climbed into the sky as their community assembled in the dining area, shielded in the grove of trees. As she looked at the gathered group, all their scared, eager, apprehensive, and terrified expressions, she marveled at the combination of familiar faces, and how she now defined familiar. These people in Idaho were more familiar to Freya than some colonists. The new arrivals from the colony were practically strangers.

  The colonists were a combination of some who slept in gestation on the ship, those who migrated to the colony through official channels, and those who took the transport device by force. They were all represented, and all intermixed with these people who had never suffered life inside the dome. Regardless of how everyone got here, they were all in this together, all united for one cause: freedom.

  “Can I have everyone’s attention please,” Colin yelled as the people filtered into their seats around the tables. “If everyone could settle in, we’d like to get started.”

  Once Colin had everyone’s attention, Freya began. “Thank you everyone for coming here so early, especially to those of you who just arrived here late last night. I’m sure you have heard rumors. We gathered you this morning to inform you of our plan to fight the State. We will all take part in some capacity.”

  Many terrified looks passed around the assembled group.

  Freya licked her dry lips. “Aakil is currently working on reassembling the transport device. Some of you already know, the community of Hope informed us that most of the dome’s population was moved to the mountain shortly after we fought for the colony. We believe the State may have abandoned their transport device in the atrium. We’ll activate the transport device and run through, using the element of surprise to our advantage to overtake those left inside the dome.”

  “How many guards do they keep in the atrium?” an older man called from the audience.

  “We have no way to know if it’s guarded. However, I have knowledge of the military underground access points. If we arrive to find the atrium unguarded, then I’ll know what direction we should expect an attack.”

  The man’s jaw hung slack. “You’re going with them?”

  Freya’s brows knitted together at the absurdity of the question.

  Didn’t he listen to anything I just said?

  Colin sprung in with a reply. “Together, Freya and I are leading this team. I have extensive knowledge of the State’s Security system. I should be able to gain intel on their numbers and location so we can use their own monitoring protocols against them. I’ll be the eyes and ears to instruct everyone where to go and where to avoid. There is only one blind spot to the
State’s Security system: the military underground. This is where Freya comes in. She has firsthand military experience.”

  The man’s face reddened. “I just thought maybe the women should stay behind to care for the children.”

  Freya’s eyes narrowed. “I’m the only person here with military experience. I know where they store their weapons, and how to use them. If properly armed, we’ll stand a chance at a fair fight against them. Without me, we are limited to our bows and swords.”

  The man fell silent; his shoulders slumped forward.

  Colin broke the awkward silence. “We’re here to assemble teams. Some teams will stay here to guard the transport device, with another team to watch the children. But the choice for those who stay behind or travel to the dome rests on a combination of each individual’s desires and skill sets.”

  Freya nodded to Colin. “Yes, skill sets. First and foremost, archers. We need a team of our most skilled archers to go through with Colin and I to ensure—”

  “I’ll go!” Gwen jumped out of her seat.

  A few of the more mature women from Idaho joined in volunteering, including Gwen’s partner Laura.

  Colin pursed his lips. “We thank you for your enthusiasm, but we must first disclose, this is the most dangerous leg of this operation. We’re walking in blind, in hopes the State has left the atrium unguarded. If they’re ready for us, we’ll be the first to get injured or killed.”

  Gwen shrugged dramatically. “You don’t think I know how dangerous this is? Colin, did you watch the State destroy the colony? Oh, wait, that was me.”

  Colin held up his hands defensively. “I meant no offense. I just want everyone to be aware of the risks and choose their position accordingly.”

  “Well, if you want to talk about the risks,” Gwen gestured around the group. “How about this for a risk: if we don’t win, we’ll all die. So, if anyone thinks they can be a sissy or sit back on their duffs and let everyone else do the fighting for them, know that you’re just decreasing our chances of winning. Our best chance of survival is to run headfirst into the fight and take those bastards out.”

  Freya cast her gaze to the ground. Gwen was right; this was it. Us or them. This wasn’t a battle, but the war to end all wars. Either humanity would once again be free, or the State would rule forever.

  The rest of the community seemed to accept Gwen’s statement as truth. A somber mood settled in over the group as they all faced not only their own mortality, but the potential end of their way of life.

  “Gwen, thank you for volunteering,” Freya finally replied. “Can I leave it up to you to access the skill levels of the volunteers and place them accordingly? We want teams of six, as many as we’ve got.”

  “I’d love to.”

  Colin nodded approvingly. “Thank you, Gwen. We also need teams of strong sword fighters. We need multiple teams to travel through to the dome with us, and one to stand guard on this side of the transport device.”

  Gwen raised an eyebrow. “And what will they do here? We need all capable hands fighting inside the dome.”

  Freya cut in before Colin could answer. “We need to proceed with some caution. Our strategy requires the combination of both Colin’s and my skills. If we are killed, then it would be better for those left in this community to pack up and travel to Hope.”

  “But our men didn’t make it there when they tried that,” a woman called from the audience.

  “Yes, but we feel it’s safer than staying here,” Colin replied. “Leaving for Hope is a fallback plan. Our best chance of victory is higher if we fight them head-on. But if we fail, then it’s time to take your chances with that trip.”

  The audience seemed to grow melancholy with this information. Freya could hardly grasp herself that today, they could leave this place and never return. And she wasn’t even from here.

  This space felt more like home than either the colony or the apartment she shared with Lewis. It reminded her of the time when she and Colin were first coupled, optimistically settling into a life together.

  All too soon, they would march into battle. She hoped they made it. She hoped they lived. Not just for them, but for all of humanity.

  Chapter 20

  Freya

  His skin blanched. Or maybe he only appeared ghostly in the bright lights.

  Colin gripped her hand and looked her intensely in the eyes. “I’ll go first.”

  Her lips parted, but she couldn’t speak.

  “No matter what, I love you.” With his bow ready, Colin ran into the lights.

  It wasn’t until he disappeared that she realized she never responded. Panic instantly struck her.

  What if this is it for us and I never said goodbye? Again.

  She may not have found her voice, but panic helped her find her footing. The second Aakil yelled go, she took off running. Her time for hesitation was over.

  The lights were blinding. Disorienting. She couldn’t feel the ground. But before panic set in, her feet made solid contact. She ran past the lights. Past her disorientation. Past everyone. Suddenly, the blurred brightness shifted into blinding darkness.

  “Freya!”

  She blinked rapidly, trying to follow the direction of Colin’s voice. Slowly, her eyes adapted to the gloomy space, recognizing the atrium near the State House. Somehow, it was exactly the same yet completely different.

  The first time she stepped off the train, the brightness of standing directly under the dome blinded her. Now, it was dismal, dusty, and dim. Even the natural light shining through the dome seemed to lack its former luster. She looked up at the glass.

  It’s dirty. It used to sparkle.

  “Freya!” Colin yelled again.

  She spun around in his direction.

  “Where are the access points?”

  She tried to find her bearings. Something about this place felt oddly unfamiliar. The transport device was right where they had left it in the atrium. The train sat idly nearby. Dried dark patches of blood peppered the area.

  They didn’t even clean after the uprising.

  Colin caught up to her. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “There’s no one here but us. It’s eerie. This place feels… wrong.”

  “I know. But we’ve got to get to the arsenal before we get company.”

  Freya nodded her head to the side. “It’s on the other side of the train.”

  Colin yelled to Gwen. “Team one, we’re moving to the armory.”

  Gwen barked her orders. Some she instructed to stay back and protect those coming through the transport device, while the sharpest shooters were accompanying them into the military underground.

  Freya knew she needed to focus, but so many memories flooded her mind. Memories of a packed atrium. The people who came to see her live address. Armed guards. Ropes dividing the people from her. But as they reached the clinic, her memories jumped much further back in time—the first time she met with a psychologist: Dr. Rhetta.

  Things had come full circle. This spot was where Dr. Rhetta had stripped her freedom from her, and now in this same location, it was time to liberate not only her own life, but all of humanity.

  She wrenched open the secret trapdoor to the military underground on the office’s floor. Gwen and her team plunged down the stairs into the darkness. Freya held her breath, waiting. Waiting to hear gunfire. Voices. Explosions. But all she heard was Gwen’s team calling the word clear to each other until Gwen’s cool blue eyes shone up at her.

  “So far, all clear. Come on down.”

  The moment both Freya and Colin were down the stairs, Gwen’s team surrounded them, all with bows drawn. The dismal lights flickered on as they pressed forward at a cautious pace.

  Freya wanted to go faster. To run. But her archers needed to stay sharp. She just wanted to be armed. Everyone to be armed. Their peaceful arrival could have given them a false sense of security. Maybe silent alarms had sounded, but the military needed time to get on the scene.

>   It may appear that the section of the city was abandoned, but she couldn’t believe the entire dome was sitting empty. She reached the training room where she had once spent much of her time. This space made her think of Lewis, but she had to push those thoughts from her mind. He was gone, and she had to finish what she had come to do.

  Lewis had always retrieved everything from the tall cabinets. In rapid succession, she flipped open all the cabinet doors until she found one chock-full of firearms.

  She let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she grasped onto the familiar cool metallic shape. Without saying a word, she located the ammunition and loaded the bullets.