Arise (Cruel and Beautiful World Book 3)

by L. Stoddard Hancock

  “Yes, I know,” said Xander.

  “So you’ve been faking it this entire time,” said Soren. “I owe your father ten coin.”

  Luka looked at him and sneered. “That’s one bet you’ll never collect on, Sorey.” He removed his Element from its holster and pointed it at Soren.

  “Whoa, whoa, hold on there!” said Finley, putting her hand on Luka’s and lowering the gun. “Why is he even here?”

  “Why are you even here?” asked Xander. “You were supposed to get Deryn out.”

  “Yes, that’s what we were doing,” said Finley. “Trying to, anyway. But Quigley was lingering outside their door.”

  “Had his fucking sister with him,” said Luka. “She kept crying, begging him to get her beloved master away from the whore.” He rolled his eyes. “Fucking cunt.”

  Finley gasped.

  “Luka!” said Deryn aghast. “You should never use such language toward a woman!”

  “She’s not a woman,” he spat. “She’s a selfish cunt.”

  Xander smirked as the women gasped again.

  Finley pinched Luka until he squealed. “Anyways, Quigley bailed when the Gordon robot appeared and we hid in the stairwell. By the time he was gone, Soren and Deryn’s room was dead silent, so we came here.”

  “It won’t be long until they figure out you’re gone,” said Luka, changing the setting on his Element, which was still aimed prominently at Soren’s head.

  Soren raised his eyebrows. “And how exactly will killing me help with that situation?”

  “Finley and I noticed the guard was missing,” said Luka, nodding toward the unconscious man in the corner. “So we came in to check. While we struggled with you, Xander and Deryn escaped.”

  “And why were you on this floor to begin with?” asked Soren.

  “We checked security footage to make sure everything was going smoothly and noticed the scuffle.”

  “That’s funny, considering I put the cameras outside of this room on a loop. For all anyone knows, the guard is just standing there. Same with the stairwells and the entire third floor.” He looked at Deryn. “I locked it on our way out, so unless someone intentionally breaks in, no one knows we’ve left.”

  Luka lowered his Element and knitted his brow. “How’d you manage that?”

  Soren pressed a button on his citizen wristband and clicked around until security cameras throughout Saevus’s tower appeared. “I hacked the security system years ago when the president used to put me on duty there as punishment.”

  “Huh. Whenever I was being punished I got a good whipping and a boot to the skull,” said Xander.

  “Favoritism,” sang Finley.

  “Says the girl with a huge diamond on her finger,” said Soren.

  Finley glared and said, “It’s not my fault I was just too good at being inconspicuous.”

  Soren scoffed. “Is that what you were doing? You were inconspicuous before Xander left. Ever since then you’ve been dead center.”

  “Why are we arguing over this? Time is limited, so everyone just shut up and tell me the damn plan?” snapped Deryn.

  Xander and Finley exchanged a look.

  Deryn did not miss it. “What was that?”

  Xander bit his cheek. He let out a little sigh and said, “Finley, check in with Trigger.”

  “Dax?”

  Finley lifted her hand and pressed the stone on the non-diamond ring she wore. A moment later, Dakota’s face appeared.

  “Do you have Deryn?” he asked immediately.

  “Yes, she’s right here.” Finley turned her hand to face Deryn before bringing it back to her. “How’s it going up there?”

  Deryn’s eyes bulged. “Up? Up?” She turned her accusatory eyes on Xander. “What the hell did you do?”

  Xander groaned. “You knew him going up was always part of the plan.”

  “To get Ronan.”

  “Well, yes, that was part of it.”

  Her cheeks flushed with anger.

  “It seems you two enjoy keeping secrets from each other,” said Soren with a satisfied smile.

  Dakota turned his hologram head. “Is that -”

  “Don’t worry about it. We need an update,” said Finley.

  “Izzy got access to the gates but the shield is taking longer than expected.”

  “The shield,” repeated Soren. He glanced at Xander. “You’re playing quite the risky game.”

  Xander ignored him and moved so he was beside Finley. “We need one more thing. On my way in, I noticed all citizens seemed to be locked in their homes. Have Izzy unlock their doors.”

  “Got it.”

  “We’re aiming to escape now. If you can’t get the shield down, contact Sam and tell him to hightail his ass through the city to get to us.”

  “Will do. Let me see Deryn again.”

  Xander moved aside and Deryn moved in, stretching her neck until she saw Dakota. He tried to smile but failed miserably.

  “I haven’t forgiven you for putting my life ahead of your own.”

  She also tried to smile, but it was hard to do when her heart felt so heavy. “They needed me, Dax. They didn’t need you. It was the right call.”

  “Even so ... Please, just promise me you’ll be careful. Get out of here alive. No matter what it takes.”

  She nodded. “I will, and the same goes for you.”

  “You know I will. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Dakota’s hologram vanished.

  Deryn looked up and, of course, found Xander fuming with jealousy. “You know that’s not how either of us meant it.”

  “Uh huh.”

  She rolled her eyes. “So what’s the rest of the plan?”

  “You and I get our asses out. These idiots set our prisoners free.” Xander motioned to Finley and Luka.

  “Fine,” she agreed, even though she desperately wanted to go with them to free their friends.

  “Only problem is, we don’t have weapons,” said Xander.

  “I have a weapon,” said Deryn, taking out her knife.

  Something beeped on Finley and Luka’s wristbands. Soren knitted his brow and checked his, but there was nothing.

  “Shit!” said Luka immediately after opening the message. “They know Sorey’s left the room with Deryn. His tracker isn’t working and they’ve ordered everyone to search the premises.”

  Soren sighed deeply. He was expecting that.

  He took his Element out of its holster and handed it to Xander. “It’s one of Sewick’s old Elements. Pretty basic. Just a blaster, a whip, wind and a stunner.”

  “You’re a wanted man too. Won’t you need it?” asked Xander, but he still took the weapon.

  “No. I have my own plan.” Soren took off his citizen wristband and handed that over too. “In case you need to jam more cameras. It’s pulled up on my main screen.”

  Xander slipped it on and immediately went to the security footage in the prison. The guards were just standing there, so he looped the current minute.

  “I’ll create a temporary distraction for you. Avoid the east stairwell,” said Soren.

  “Why are you doing this?” asked Xander. “You could have easily gotten her out already and left me behind.”

  Soren looked at Deryn. She fidgeted nervously before ultimately meeting his gaze. Her throat went dry as she noticed something behind his eyes that had always been so clouded before.

  “Probably. But I don’t think she would have liked that very much and I want her to be happy. You seem to be the only one capable of making that happen.”

  Soren faced the door.

  “But ...” Deryn stopped and took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt a softness for him. “You don’t have a weapon.”

  “I won’t need one for what I have planned.” Soren looked back at her and sighed. “This will be the last time we ever see each other.”

  He moved quickly and wrapped his arms around her. Deryn flinched but di
dn’t pull away. The others all stepped forward, but Deryn held out her hand to stop them.

  Soren let out a soft sigh and kissed her just above her left brow.

  The moment he let her go, he opened the door and rushed out. He didn’t look back.

  “Contact us as soon as Sam has you,” said Luka as he and Finley stepped into the hallway.

  Xander nodded. “Be careful, Luka. Don’t ...” He sighed. “Just don’t die on me, alright?”

  Luka smiled. “What’s with the sentimental crap? My disloyalty is still hidden. You don’t die on me.”

  Xander smiled back. “I’ll try not to.”

  The two of them shared a nod. That was it.

  Deryn rolled her eyes. She was more than happy to hug Luka. “Be safe.” She looked at Finley. “Both of you.”

  “If you see Lona, do me a favor and take her with you,” said Finley. “She should come easily.”

  Xander and Deryn nodded.

  “We’ll see you on the outside,” said Xander, taking Deryn’s hand.

  The four of them left the room, separating with heavy hearts.

  That might have been it. The last moment they ever saw each other. But they were going to try.

  At that very moment, all gates throughout Utopia burst open and the Resistance marched inside.

  The battle had begun.

  • • •

  Everything was a blur as Soren moved through the hallways on the sixth floor. He vaguely recalled checking to make sure each hall was clear before turning the corner. The entire tower was trapped in a thick fog, both pushing him back and urging him forward as he pictured her face. His precious Outsider. Deryn. The only woman he’d ever loved. Someone he was supposed to hate. But he’d never hated her, not even a little bit.

  Soren had been raised to believe that Outsiders were inferior, but Deryn ...

  She was superior in every way.

  He remembered how happy he was when he’d heard that she was bound for a job in the Government Lab. He had a plan to win her over once she was there. They would fall in love properly and Talon would give his blessing. The three of them would escape Utopia together and never look back.

  As Soren reached the east stairwell, he stopped and listened. There were voices. He looked through the window. His slave’s brother was there, down half a flight of stairs and arguing with Elvira about something. Probably the release of his friend now that Xander had arrived.

  While that had been promised to him, Soren knew his wife had a certain itch every time she looked at the handsome Outsider and she really wanted him to scratch it. To be her pet, especially now that she was out a husband. She wouldn’t be giving him his freedom so easily.

  Soren closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would need to be seen but also move quickly. Elvira couldn’t catch him. His betrayal would mean mind-control and he refused to live that way.

  Preparing his feet to run, Soren opened the door and charged through it.

  “Mast -”

  He nearly tripped over his slave, who was sitting on the steps leading up. Luckily, he caught himself and leapt over her, glancing back and locking eyes with Elvira.

  “Master, wait!”

  It was only a matter of seconds before Elvira was screaming at him. “Soren, get back here!”

  Footsteps echoed from the lower floors. As guards arrived, Elvira barked orders.

  “Master, where are you going?”

  Someone grabbed Soren’s arm and he was forced to turn, staring into the very wrong eyes of his slave. “Get out of here, Fiona.”

  “W-what? Master, I -”

  “Get out of here,” he repeated, “and never look back.”

  “Fiona!”

  Soren turned away as her brother barreled up the stairs. More footsteps were clanking behind him.

  Elvira caught sight of his back. She tried to shoot a stunner at him but missed.

  “Soren, stop!” she ordered.

  But Soren didn’t listen. His ears were clouded as he tried hard to focus on a face. Deryn’s face. He envisioned her as he always had. Lovely and smiling, looking at him affectionately as she lay beneath him in his bed. The look of a woman in love.

  A blast shot at him and burned a hole in the wall just beside his left ear.

  “Don’t kill him!” screamed Elvira.

  But then Deryn’s face began to change. She was still lying there and looking at him, but her eyes were now fearful. Wet and pained as horrible bruises marked her once flawless skin.

  “No,” she cried as he envisioned himself moving on top of her.

  And then Soren remembered something else. He was standing in a corner, watching as her current owner Barath took what he wanted from her, promising Soren a turn as soon as he was finished.

  “Please, no! Stop! STOP!”

  “Shut it, toxic slut!”

  Barath smacked her hard, her wrists bound so tightly they bled.

  “Don’t! Please! No more! I beg you!”

  “I said shut it!”

  A knife was raised and Barath cut a slash across her bare stomach, making her scream louder as he brutally took what he wanted.

  Soren focused closer, staring at her beaten face. Her cheeks were wet, her nose bloody and her eyes black.

  Soren couldn’t breathe.

  This was the reality. The image of her he’d never let himself see. Because the lie was so much easier than the truth. He had let them hurt her. He had hurt her. For years, she’d gone through hell and he’d done nothing to stop it. Just stood by watching, a salve in his pocket to help heal her wounds. Like that was enough.

  But it wasn’t enough.

  Deryn.

  His beautiful Deryn.

  Beaten

  Bruised

  Bloody

  Sobbing

  Aching

  Pained

  Shattered

  Broken

  Bloody

  Terrified

  Scarred

  Begging

  Pleading

  Screaming

  BLOODY!

  What had he done? What had he done? What had he done? WHAT HAD HE DONE?

  It was these images that flooded Soren’s mind as he reached the twentieth floor. It was the fear he’d missed in Deryn’s sea-green eyes that haunted him as he opened the door to the balcony and ran to the end. It was the love she radiated when she looked at Xander that pushed him to step onto the ledge and let himself plummet toward the ground.

  Soren closed his eyes as the cool morning air rushed against his cheeks.

  And it was there that he saw her smiling again. Happy and beautiful in a world where she was considered an equal, no longer haunted by the horrors she’d suffered by his hand. That was the image he held on to. The last thing he saw before there was nothing.

  A horrible scream shot through the air as Soren hit the ground.

  “NO! MASTER!”

  “Fiona, stop!” Quigley held Fiona back as she tried desperately to look over the edge.

  Elvira stood frozen a few feet to their left. There were several guards standing behind her, and no one looked like they knew what they were supposed to do.

  “That bitch ...” Elvira said quietly. “That bitch must have had a mind-control chip hidden! She made him do this!” She turned around and faced the guards. “Find the slave! And someone get down to the prison and kill the prisoners! Everyone she has ever cared about will suffer for this!”

  “What? No!” shouted Quigley.

  His arms loosened around Fiona for only a moment, but it was enough for the hysterical girl to break free. She ran forward, looking over the edge until she found Soren’s broken body, a pool of blood staining the sidewalk around him as he lay so very still.

  For the second time in her life, Fiona’s heart shattered.

  “Fiona!”

  Fiona crawled onto the ledge, her eyes still focused on Soren as she let herself fall.

  Quigley tried to grab his sister, but she’d mov
ed too fast. His fingers barely grazed the cloth of her dress as she fell downward.

  “NO!”

  He nearly fell over the edge himself as he tried to reach her, his hands frantic as she fell further and further away from him.

  “FIONA!”

  It was only a second before she hit the ground but, for Quigley, it felt like she would never stop falling. Her blood spread on both sides of her, two red wings that would never carry her home. The image would haunt Quigley forever.

  “No, no, no!” he screamed, still hanging over the edge. His little sister ... his family. He’d given up everything - everything to save her. And now, in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

  Quigley stumbled back, his hands held over his mouth as he stared in disbelief.

  “And what of him, Madam?”

  He turned. Elvira and several of the guards were still standing there.

  Elvira gazed at him, her green eyes narrowed and cold as her mouth twisted in disgust. “Leave him be. Life will be a far worse punishment for him than death.”

  The guards nodded and ran down the stairs.

  Elvira stayed a moment longer, her face angry as she looked past Quigley to the edge of the balcony, knowing very well that her husband was just beyond it. Dead.

  Elvira turned away and returned to the stairwell. A single tear trickled down her cheek. She thought her feelings for Soren had been severed. She truly had. But, sometimes, you just don’t realize how much you care for someone until they jump off of a tower right in front of you.

  Elvira made a decision.

  It was something she’d contemplated for days but hadn’t had the courage to proceed with.

  With a turn of her heel, Elvira marched up the stairs to floor ninety-eight, where her little brother was waiting.

  CHAPTER 50

  Bronson was lying flat on his back in his prison cell, his eyes blank and thoughts swarming as he waited for death. Because what else could he do?

  The door opened.

  “What do you think?” he asked without looking. “Execution or rescue mission?”

  “I don’t care,” answered Neo, who was leaning against the wall in his cell. “Without Odette, an execution seems more liberating than being rescued.”

  “You better hope she’s not listening to you say that shit,” said Bronson. “I’m pretty sure she would beat the crap out of you.”