I felt my strength leave me. He was right. The door was locked and I couldn’t get at her.
“How did she get in here? I mean you said there are cameras everywhere. But she got in here and said all those things. She wasn’t worried about being caught,” I pointed out.
Jack gave me a thoughtful look then grabbed his computer. He did a few things and smiled brightly.
“You’re a genius. She has the cameras jammed on this entire floor so I just locked it in. She won’t be able to unjam it for quite a while,” he said triumphantly.
“Then I’m not going to waste it. I’m going home,” I decided.
The determination I felt inside me was stronger than anything I had ever felt before. I knew I wouldn’t get far. The Dome was only so big. But if I could just get enough time to go home! I didn’t want to die wondering if Reyes thought I betrayed him. I needed to let my father know I wasn’t long for this world and he needed to get out of bed and look after himself. I needed to make sure Summer was okay and that she knew it was Leisel who betrayed us.
I marched into the bedroom intent on looking for something less conspicuous to wear than this wedding dress. I opened Jack’s closet doors. The green dress I wore here was still in the closet. It was the only thing that would fit me.
“Can you help me get out of this dress? Just rip the buttons off,” I instructed him. I remembered how long it took Leisel to do them up this morning. It would take forever to undo them.
“Um…what are you doing?” Jack asked, standing in the doorway watching me.
“You have your computer to say your farewells, but I have nothing. I need to go home and see everyone before I’m executed. Will you help me?” I appealed to him. He considered me for a moment.
“Only if you take me with you,” he finally said.
“Then help me get out of this wedding dress. I might get noticed in it,” I said. I took the green dress out of the closet and put it on the bed.
“Trust me – you’re going to get noticed in that green dress too,” he said suggestively.
“There’s nothing else for me to wear,” I pointed out.
Finally Jack moved into action. He went over to his bureau and took out pants and t-shirts.
“Have you thought about where we’re going to go once we leave the apartment?” he asked as he came up behind me and ripped the back of my dress apart.
“Home,” I said. I let the dress fall to the floor in a heap and stepped out of it. I was still wearing the bulletproof vest. Jack was taking off his military uniform now. I could tell he was thinking about my plan.
“Keep the vest on,” he told me as he threw a shirt and pair of pants at me. “The Pit’s on lockdown. There’s no way for us to get down there.” He stripped down to his underwear. I was surprised by how muscular he was. He wasn’t as muscle bound as Reyes was, but he was in good shape. And he needed to be physically fit to get down into the Pit the way I was going to take him.
“I can get us down there. Can you get us out of here?” I asked.
Before I pulled his t-shirt over my head I took all the stuffing Leisel had shoved down the vest to make me look bigger. Jack gave me a curious look, but didn’t say anything. Next I put his pants on and they were way too big. Jack got a belt out of his dresser and then picked up a knife from the drawer of the bedside table. He handed me the belt and I pulled it through the loops on the pants. Then he pulled the belt together until it was the right size and drilled a new hole in it. Next he cut off the end of the belt shortening it and cinched it around my waist.
“I don’t think my chip will unlock the apartment door anymore. In fact, we’re going to have to dump our chips and get new ones. We’ll have to make a quick stop along the way,” he said. He walked to the closet and took out two hats, handing one to me. “You better cover up that hair.”
He put his hat on and pulled the visor down to cover his face. I did the same, glad my hair was still in a tight bun.
“Ready,” I announced. He was too, so we walked out into the living room. We stared at the door.
“This is crazy, Sunny. We’re never getting out of here and if we do, they’ll catch us and kill us right away,” Jack said in a defeated tone.
“So you’d rather sit here waiting to die? Sounds like something a Kenner would do,” I said sarcastically.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said angrily.
“Your secret little organization, Liberty, has had 283 years to take down the Holts and you’re still in the planning stage,” I reminded him. I saw the hurt look on his face and regretted my words. “Look if you want to stay, then stay. But I’m getting out of here. If I actually make it to the Pit, then I’ll at least I have the chance to say goodbye to my father and friends before I die.”
“Okay. We need a plan to get out of here. I’m sure there are guards on the other side of the door. If we can create some kind of diversion to bring them in here, we can-”
I screamed at the top of my lungs. Click. The door opened and in rushed two Domers. Jack flew into action. He grabbed the gun away from one guard while his leg came up to snap the other guard in the face. Neither one was expecting the assault, so Jack had the advantage of surprise. He almost had the gun when the guard jerked back to wrestle him for it. The other guard was shaking off the pain Jack inflicted and was now reaching for his weapon. I ran forward to grab the guard’s gun to prevent him from using it, but he easily overpowered me. I heard Jack swear under his breath. I watched him bring his knee up and ram it in between the legs of the guard he was engaged with, grabbed his gun and snapped him under the chin sending the guard’s head backward. Now Jack had the gun. He turned on the guard who had me locked in a choke hold and whacked him over the head with it. The guard dropped to the floor. The door stood wide open.
“You want to give me a little warning next time?” Jack reprimanded me.
“Where’d you learn to fight like that?” I asked, truly impressed with his skills. I now thought we actually stood a chance of reaching the Pit.
“Military training. Next time, stay out of the way,” he warned. He went back to the table and retrieved his computer. “Come on.”
We looked up and down the hall before we exited the apartment. The carpet in the hallway muffled the sound of our footsteps, so we were able to make fast progress. Jack led us to a door with an Exit sign above it. He paused for a moment to look at his computer then tapped on the screen.
“Go,” he said, opening the door.
We entered the stairwell and looked up and down - no one but us. We headed down to the second floor and stopped in front of another door while he tapped away on his computer. I could hear movement and voices on the other side of the door. This was a busy part of the Dome.
“Through the door and right. Follow me. Keep your head down. Don’t make eye contact with anyone,” he instructed.
Jack opened the door and we joined the flow of traffic as if we had every right to be there. For the second time today, I found myself parading in front of people trying to be someone I was not. The first time didn’t end so well. I’m hoping this time I’ll be luckier.
As we walked along the hall, I overheard different conversations. It seemed everyone was talking about the wedding and how Jack ditched Leisel for an urchin girl. And everyone was wondering who that urchin girl was. I pulled my visor down just a little lower.
Jack found the room he was looking for and knocked on the door before he walked right in. I was shocked by his boldness, but I followed him trying to act as confidently as he was. We entered a large storage room with shelving units lining the walls. There were a few sealed bins off to one side.
“What are we looking for?” I whispered.
“We’re looking to replace our chips. According to the map, the surplus chips are stored somewhere in here. I don’t know exactly where though,” he said looking around the room.
I studied the shelves and picked up a pattern as to how they were organized. The b
ins were grouped small, medium and large and each group was in alphabetical order. I began going through the small bins first, looking for the words chip or scanning. Jack was looking in the sealed bins off to the side.
“I found a bin labelled microchips,” I told him.
I pulled the bin out and looked inside. There were thousands of small chips in plastic bags and two large devices stored with them.
“Perfect!” Jack exclaimed as he looked in the bin.
He took out two chips and plugged one into his computer. “Who do you want to be? Name?”
“What? You can’t just change the chip?” I asked.
“No, I have to make us new ones. And we can’t be Jack and Sunny anymore – that will get us killed. So what do you want your new name to be?”
“Well if we need new names we might as well have new identities too. You know, just in case we go unnoticed down there for a while. We’ll need jobs,” I suggested.
An idea was beginning to form in my mind. If I could get a new identity and a job, then I would still be able to make enough credits to keep my father’s apartment. It didn’t matter if Sunny O’Donnell or someone else was with him, as long as he had a partner to support him. I could tell by Jack’s wry expression that he was doubtful we would be down there long enough to need new identities.
“You’re making it more complicated,” he said in an irritated tone. He tapped away on his computer. “Laundry?” He asked.
“Fine.”
“And for me…” He continued to tap on his computer. “Definitely not sewage…” he kept looking, “Mines. I can work in the mines. So we need names. I’ll be Benjamin. According to the records every other guy down there is Benjamin. I’ll blend right in. And for your name… lots of girls named after the seasons… Summer, Winter, Autumn… weird, there’s no Spring.”
“The Cull happens every Spring. Who’s going to name their daughter after that?! Pick Autumn,” I said.
“Okay… so Autumn and Benjamin Jones are now employed and they need a place to live,” he mumbled out loud.
“What? We’re going to pretend we’re married!” I asked in shock.
It was bad enough Reyes saw me marry Jack on television without actually dragging a husband down there with me. How was I going to explain it was all a mistake while he was right there with me?
“Well technically we’re not pretending, we actually are married,” Jack said absentmindedly as he continued to tap away on his tablet. “And you’re not leaving me on my own down there.”
“Your presence will… complicate my life,” I said hoping to change his mind. I was sure I could find someone to take him in so we didn’t have to live together.
“Boyfriend?” he asked. I nodded. “Don’t worry I’ll stay out of your way,” he reassured me. Somehow I wasn’t reassured though. And who would look after my father?
Jack took out one of the large devices and felt the back of my right hand until he found my chip. He placed the device over it and extracted it. It was painless. He fitted the new chip into the device and put it in the back of my hand.
“My turn,” he said, giving me the device. “Just press this button for extraction and this one to insert.”
I repeated to his right hand what he did to mine. Jack took our old chips and crushed them on the floor with the heel of his boot then kicked them under the shelves. “There goes Jack Kenner and Sunny… I don’t even know your last name. Although now that we’re married, I guess its Kenner,” he laughed. “Anyway, say goodbye to them.”
“O’Donnell. My name is Sunset O’Donnell,” I said seriously, ignoring his joke. I looked down where he kicked our chips under the shelf and I was struck by sadness. Why did it feel like a little death to see my chip destroyed?
“Sunset?” Jack gave me a strange look.
“My mother named me Sunset because of the color of my hair. I always hated it… until now. Now my name seems like a gift she gave me… something that was special to her… and it’s all I had left.”
I needed to shake off the melancholy that was suddenly gripping me. I was still Sunset O’Donnell. I didn’t need a chip to tell me that.
“I remember the first night I met you, you were interested in a painting of a sunset. Why? Did the picture mean something?” he asked curiously.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I guess I was wondering how my mother knew what a sunset looked like,” I said. Why was I confiding in him? Why did I even bring up this conversation? We were in the middle of an escape. “Forget it. We’re running out of time.”
“You lead the way,” Jack said as he held the door open for me. The hallway was still busy and we joined the moving crowd.
I was halfway home.
Chapter Eleven
The big double steel doors were our only way out of the Dome and into the Pit, and to get to them we were going to have to walk through the main Reception area. Pandemonium was still in full swing after this morning’s wedding debacle. Jack was hoping we could slip into a service elevator unnoticed to get to the main floor, but there were line ups at every elevator with people taking linens and chairs and things back up to the various floors they were borrowed from. We were going to have to go down the grand staircase in full view of everyone.
At least there was a lot of traffic on the stairs. We wouldn’t be the only ones. I followed the same path I took just this morning as a bride and approached the top of the staircase. I hesitated a moment, the memory still fresh in my mind, but Jack didn’t miss a beat. He wrapped an arm around my waist and swept me along with him.
Once on the stairs, we had to go single file because of all the traffic. People were taking down decorations, carrying flowers back to where they were supposed to be, cleaning up after the crowds that had been there earlier. The Altar was still set up with the giant screen behind it. It was busy here. Someone was bound to notice us. How could they not?
We reached the last step and began our trek across the busy room. Both steel doors were open for the servants wheeling the carts back out to the kitchens. I noticed none of them were wearing kitchen uniforms and then remembered the Pit was on lockdown. The bourge had to do their own work during lockdowns. I decided that we could easily act like we were sent to help with the carts. I led Jack over to the line-up of carts waiting to go and motioned for him to take one. I grabbed one and started wheeling it toward the door. I looked back and saw that he was following me.
I kept an even pace as I walked, resisting the urge to run through the doors. There was a line-up to get through and I realized with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that they were going to make us scan to get out. Nervously I wondered if our new chips would work. I was so close to being home. Just through those doors, then I could get back to the Pit. I heard the beeps up ahead as people scanned as they filed out the door. I could see armed guards on the other side of the door now. The guards were always there to keep the urchins out of the bourge’s domain.
One more to go then it was my turn. The person ahead of me scanned and continued on his way. Now it was my turn. I felt myself beginning to sweat. I waved my hand in front of the scanner. Nothing. I tried again. Nothing. I could feel my heart starting to pound harder. I looked back at Jack. He looked nervous too.
“Wait a minute,” one of the guards said coming toward me. In my heart I knew that I had been caught, but I couldn’t run. My legs were too weak and my feet felt like two dead weights. “Scanner’s been acting up all morning,” he said, hitting the side of it a few times. “Try it again. I might have to find a new one.”
The guard remained there watching me as I raised my hand to try again. My hand was trembling ever so slightly and I focused on getting it under control. I reached out and waved my hand over the scanner. Beep. A green light flicked on. The guard waved me through and motioned for Jack to come forward. I heard the beep behind me.
It took all of my energy to walk on my weakened legs. I tightly hung onto my cart in case they decided to give out on me. Th
en I was through the steel doors and out into lobby where the entrance to the Pit was located. The other people with carts were well ahead of me, but I knew my way to the kitchen. This was familiar territory for me. I walked down the hall and joined the line-up for the kitchen. I looked behind me and Jack was there. I gave him a worried look. I worked in the kitchen and someone was bound to know me. In fact, I’m sure I heard Supervisor Bailey instructing people on where to put the carts. She’ll know me for sure.
A few more carts pulled up behind Jack. I shuffled ahead as the line-up moved. I was starting to panic.
“Hey buddy,” Jack said to the guy behind him in line. “Can you do us a favour and take these carts in? We were told to get back asap to start tearing down that Altar. I guess it’s offending the President,” Jack said confidentially.
“Can’t imagine why,” the guy rolled his eyes. “Although you can’t blame Kenner. Leisel’s not much of a looker even if she is the President’s daughter. That urchin he married isn’t hard on the eye though. What’s her name?”
“Sunny O’Donnell,” Jack told him proudly. “Hard to forget the pretty name that goes with that pretty face.”
I couldn’t believe how brazen Jack was being. He was going to get us both killed.
“Sunny O’Donnell,” the man repeated. “That is a pretty name. Yeah, sure I’ll take your carts for you. See you back in there.”
“Thanks,” Jack said and turned and walked away.
He didn’t wait for me so I walked quickly to catch up. We passed a few people waiting with their carts. The hall we needed to go down was coming up on my right and I pulled Jack into it when we came upon it. I walked a short distance and turned left toward the old mine shaft. No one was back here so I broke into a run. I could see the small door to the shaft from here. When I reached it, I took a deep breath and pulled it open. I was relieved. They usually forget to lock the shaft doors when they do a lock down and I’m glad this time was no different. We went in and I shut the door. It was dark.
Sunset Rising Page 11
