by Lisa Jade
“Atlas!”
It awakens instantly, a half-dozen lights flashing across its surface. Its camera lens narrows and opens as it takes me in, and a moment later, I hear those familiar beeps. It takes off and spins around me, and it takes all I have not to reach out and embrace it. I know I never really understood the point of Hoverbots, but I’ve missed its constant presence these past months.
I beam at Jensen.
“You kept it for me.”
“Of course I did. Put it back into stasis – right after I linked it to Atticus, that is. Now the two can work in sync. Never know when that might be useful.”
He seems so happy that for a brief moment, I almost forget all that’s still ahead of us.
We don’t wait around. I tell Jensen everything as we weave our way through the tunnels – and though he seems just as enthralled as the others were, I’m growing sick of the story. I’m ready to forget it ever happened. There’s something nice about being back here, striding down these corridors with him. It’s hard to believe he’d hated me so much on our first meeting.
I nudge the door to the Atrium, and we’re blinded by blue-silver light.
It’s just as beautiful as I remember. Soft daylight filters through the glass overhead, lighting up the various platforms and open spaces. People work and chatter and shift around us. When I close my eyes I can hear running water from the stream, and a deep breath fills my nose with the scent of freshly cut grass and evergreen trees.
Jensen chuckles.
“Did you miss it here?”
“You have no idea. Where are the others?”
We quickly find them – Pan’s just finishing up the tour for Sara, Kane and Darus. Nate stands by, too, his booming laugh echoing across the Atrium. They wave when they see us approaching, and it takes a moment for me to realise who I’m seeing.
Without crud layered on their faces, they look younger and brighter and larger than life. Sara’s dirty hair is actually soft and springy, and now I realise her eyes weren’t just sparkling in comparison to her dust-coated face. They really are that bright. Kane’s scar appears somewhat worse in the pale light, but he no longer seems to care. There’s a broad smile on his face that makes him almost unrecognisable. Darus looks much the same; if anything, his hair seems a little longer without salt air swilling around it.
“Wow. You guys look great!”
Sara beams.
“I know, right? And look at you! Much better without dirt smeared all over you.”
“So what do you think of the place?”
It’s strange how easily my voice comes now, how normal it feels to talk casually when it seemed so impossible before. They watch me curiously; they’re picking up on the change in my demeanour, the confidence in my stance.
“It really is amazing,” Darus says, “I can see why you love it so much.”
Kane’s eyes float across the room, eventually coming to settle uneasily on Jensen. His mouth twitches.
“Who’s this? Your boyfriend?”
“Nope,” I say simply, “and don’t forget what I told you when we first met. You’ve got more important things to focus on than girls and romance. We all do, so don’t even start with me.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but then bites back on the retort. I’m quietly pleased to discover that despite his hatred, he still respects me, even if only a little.
“This is Jensen,” I explain, “Jensen, this is Sara, Kane and Darus.”
He greets them in turn, asking where they’re from, what their roles were. Even though everyone knows that he’s already heard the entire story from me. They just answer as politely as they can, though Kane’s delight seems vaguely diminished by my outburst.
Nate catches my eye and smiles broadly. I’ve missed him, too. Jensen shoots the others a confident look.
“Are you guys ready for DNA testing?”
He’s met by nervous glances. Sara shuffles a little closer to me, as though I can somehow protect her from the inevitable. Pan sidles up on her other side, laying an arm across Sara’s shoulders. What’s intended to be a casual and comforting motion is somewhat awkward as she catches her watch on Sara’s ear tag – but the point gets across.
“You don’t have to do it now, if you don’t want to.”
“Actually, they do.”
Jay’s voice rings out across the Atrium, and with it comes a firm demand for our respect. I don’t question that feeling as he nears – both sibling and leader, friend and commander. A strange cocktail of respect, admiration and affection.
Pan sighs.
“Why do they need to do it now?”
“Because we’ve got six days until the Cull,” Jay says firmly, “and we need to know the truth. Our plans drastically change depending on the outcome of these tests, so we need to know and we need to know now.”
He glances at the others, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.
“I’m sorry to hurry you, but this is important. I really need you to do this for me now.”
Sara shoots me an alarmed look.
“W-what if it’s not what you’re looking for?”
“It’s alright,” I tell her, “there’s no right result.”
“You want us to be from Thorne, don’t you? Like you are.”
I consider this for a moment. It would make everything so much simpler if they’re like me – if I’m the rule rather than the exception. Everything points to that, so I’ve not been too worried until now. I’m sure we’ve cracked this.
“It doesn’t matter,” I insist, “it’s not the end of the world.”
I can tell she doesn’t believe me, but she nods nonetheless and steps forward to greet Jay. The two briefly shake hands and he moves on to the others, introducing himself just as Jensen did. Like he doesn’t already know everything about them.
“I’ve got the testing equipment with me,” Jensen says, “we can get set up wherever you want.”
Jay nods.
“My room. Come on.”
The others walk off, led by Pan – but as I step forward to follow them, a strong hand grasps my shoulder.
“You guys go on ahead,” says Jay, “I need to talk to Noah.”
There’s a ball of unease in my stomach as I turn to face him. This is it. The scolding I’ve been half-expecting since I arrived home. I gaze into his eyes, certain I’ll see anger and disdain staring back at me. But he’s just smiling.
“They’re just like you said. I don’t know why I’m surprised.”
I swallow hard.
“I’m just sorry I couldn’t do more. What happened back at the Mill… it was awful.”
“It sounds it. You took a beating or two, didn’t you?”
“It isn’t that. I mean, it was. But I… I slipped right back into things. I’d started to forget who I was.”
His mouth twitches.
“That’s understandable.”
“But not forgivable,” I snap, “I feel terrible about it. I should have done everything in my power to get back to you. I really wanted to. But I just felt…”
I trail off now, and his hand tightens on my shoulder.
“What is it?”
“I felt… lonely. Which is weird. I’ve never felt lonely before.”
His face creases with unspoken sympathy. I push on.
“I shouldn’t have said I would go. I had no idea what I was doing. No wonder I failed.”
Shame compounds in my chest, the result of three months of constant failure. I’d been happy with what I’d done, how I’d found my way home when things had seemed so bleak. But now, standing in front of him, I feel like I let him down.
“Don’t be stupid.”
Jay’s brows sink, settling into a hard expression on his face.
“I thought you were smarter than that, Noah. I thought you knew me. I’d never think you failed.”
“But I did!”
“You did not.”
His voice lowers, morphing into a half-growl.
; “Noah, I’ve been a wreck for the past three months. I didn’t know where you were. No signals, no news. Nothing. The others thought you might have been killed. They said that I should accept it. But I had faith in you.”
“I should have come back sooner. I should have found a way to let you know I was okay.”
“By the sounds of it, you did all you could just to stay alive. What’s more, you kept your wits about you in that chaos. You think I don’t know how afraid of the dark you are?”
I wince.
“W-what do you…”
“The Mines. I know how much they frighten you – but you still survived. You broke out, you found your way home. You even managed to bring three people back with you. You might very well have saved their lives.”
He pushes my shoulder a little, in a motion that’s half-playful, half-comforting.
“You didn’t fail. Far from it. I’m proud of you. Mom and Dad would have been, too.”
I stare up at my brother’s face, blinking a little in the bright sunlight. There’s a smile on his face again. I close my eyes and inhale deeply, enjoying the scent of the stream water and the garden in the distance, the scents that remind me of home. When I open my eyes again, there’s a smile on my face, too.
CHAPTER THIRTY
We’re about half-way to Jay’s room when a deafening crack breaks the silence.
“What’s that?”
I look up, towards the source of the sound – and freeze. The delicate glass ceiling has shattered. We duck just as it falls around us, forming tiny shards of razor-sharp rain.
When the tinkling of glass finally stops, I stand up and brush the tiny pieces from my hair. My scalp stings and there’s blood on my fingertips. Beside me, Jay’s looking at the floor.
“T-this is bad. This is our cover. They could find us!”
Fear courses through me.
“It’s too late for that.”
He follows my gaze and gasps. Countless black-clothed figures are sliding down ladders and ropes, through the now-empty ceiling and into the heart of the Atrium. I don’t need to look too closely to recognise the city Guard. They’re armed to the teeth as they land around the Atrium, ferocity in their eyes. I can hear the familiar buzz of three dozen shock batons bursting into life.
“Oh, no.”
I stare wildly at Jay, who seems just as stunned as I am.
“How did they find us?”
He grits his teeth then grabs my arm.
“It doesn’t matter. We need to get out of here.”
He doesn’t wait for my response before taking off running towards his room. Initially, I question why – the glass walls and non-existent security won’t help at all – but I quickly figure it out. Even in this, the worst of circumstances, his first thought is warning the others.
As we run, I try not to wince. His grip on my hand is almost painful, and with each step he nearly pulls my arm out of its socket. The severity of the situation starts to set in as we approach the room.
If they’ve found us, we’re done for. They’ll have figured out it’s the old transport system – there’ll be Guards at every entrance, blocking our escape. They’ll trawl every tunnel in this place if they have to. They’ll arrest us – and I don’t want to think about what will follow. The flicker of fear in my chest threatens to grow to full-blown terror. I bite back on it.
We fly through the door of the office and slam it behind us; I press my back against it, eager to hold back anyone who might try to force their way in. I wasn’t aware of anyone behind us on our way here, but there are plenty of Guards. I can’t rule out the possibility that one or two are pursuing us.
The others are crowded around a computer, Jensen at the helm – but they pause as we enter.
“What’s wrong?” asks Pan, “we heard a big crash.”
“The Guards found us. They came in from the roof. The whole place is crawling with them.”
Panic flits across each of their faces.
“W-what do we do?” Jensen yelps. His gaze is fixed on Jay – a reminder, if it were needed, that he’s their leader. Just like he told me. He’s to blame for whatever happens next. For a moment, he seems clueless. Perhaps he’s realising what I did on the way here, that there’s no way out. Nowhere to go, even if we could escape.
But then his expression sets.
“We need to get to Jensen’s room. Barricade ourselves in.”
“Why there?”
“His computers have all our records, all our camera links. We can monitor things from there.”
“What about the others?” I cry, “there are dozens of people here! We need to protect them!”
Pain crosses his face.
“They all agreed to this when they came here. We can’t save everyone.”
I open my mouth to object, to tell him that we need to save as many as we can, but Pan nods.
“You’re right. The four Mill workers might be the key to saving everyone. We need to protect them.”
“Are you crazy?” I snap, “we’re getting everyone out of here. We can’t just leave them!”
Jay locks eyes with me and for a moment, I can see all my own terror and unbridled fear mirrored back at me. He doesn’t want to do this. It’s killing him. It’s taking all he has just to hold it together. Knowing he has to sacrifice so many. I can’t imagine that pain. Nate sidles over and rests a huge, comforting hand on Jay’s shoulder.
“We have no choice, Noah. The Clover… the Clover comes first.”
Slowly, I nod.
“Okay. Okay! I understand.”
Jensen stands up, tapping a few keys on the computer.
“There. I’ve wiped all the computers in the place except for in my room. They won’t be able to find anything out from here.”
“Good,” says Jay, “we’re going to need to make a run for it. You all know the way?”
Kane shakes his head.
“Not really, no.”
“Okay. You three, stick to Pan like glue. If something happens, she’ll show you the way.”
They nod, though I can feel trepidation in their every movement. My heart sinks, a sick realisation squirming in my gut.
“Wait.”
I step up to Sara, regarding her closely. She seems unnerved by my closeness – but in an instant I’ve snatched up her ear tag, twisting and breaking it in between my hands. The thing shatters surprisingly easily, revealing a mess of wires and flashing lights.
“What are you doing?” she shouts, clutching at her bloody lobe.
“I thought so. Look.”
I push the shattered remains into Jay’s hands. He stares at them for a moment before his face creases. Rage and understanding war in his eyes.
“What is this?”
“The trackers used in the Mines,” I say, my voice hard, “they put them on all the mine workers so they can find them in the tunnels. They must have tracked us down. Followed the signal here and found out what this place is.”
“You knew about these?”
“I did. But I had no idea they could work out here. We had to cross a freaking ocean. I didn’t even think.”
He grits his teeth tightly.
“Never underestimate the Guard, Noah. You should have known that.”
“I’m sorry.”
And I am. Guilt is swirling in me, tightening in my gut. A mere minute after being so proud of me, now he’s angry – and rightfully so. How could I have missed something so important?
His hand tightens on the remains of the tracker, curling until the pieces crack under his grip.
“There’s no use pinning blame. Not at this point. Kane, get that tracker off. Now.”
He does so immediately, not even blinking as he rips it from his flesh and stamps hard on the device.
“Sorted.”
“Good. Look, it doesn’t matter how they found us. They did. That’s what we have to deal with. We need to move before they find this place.”
I swallow hard. He’s ri
ght. We may have let something obvious slip past us, but no good will come from moping about it. I can hear chaos building outside. I near the door, daring to slip my hand through the crack, and glance through.
The Atrium is a disaster. The moment the door seal parts, the sound is almost deafening. Figures race around, in the tunnels, over the broken glass on the floor. Shouted commands echo through the empty spaces – followed quickly by a number of muffled explosions. Pained screams ring out across the Atrium. When I breathe in, I can smell gunpowder and blood.
I look back at the others; their faces are full of fear, and they can’t even see what I can.
My fingers tighten against the doorframe.
“Okay. Let’s go. Atlas, go ahead. Light the way.”
We take off running through the Atrium, trying to remain calm despite the chaos around us. I shoulder barge a Guard aside to clear a path, throwing him into the wall in hopes we can be gone before he recovers. It works this time, but it won’t always be so easy. We’re a big group. A big target.
A Guard throws his weight towards me, briefly sending me sprawling. I recover quickly and in a split second Nate is next to me. He reaches out a hand to help me up – I take it gratefully and fall into line beside him.
As we follow the others, I briefly imagine targets on everyone’s backs. The largest on Jay’s.
He’s the leader of the group. The spokesperson, the one who steps up more than any of the others. Say they catch everyone else – will they leave without him? Is there anything I can do to make sure they don’t come after us?
“This way!” Pan cries, waving towards the nearest door into the tunnels. I map out the path in my head. We’re not far from Jensen’s room. It’ll be easy enough to barricade ourselves in; but how long will we have to wait before we can come out? How many people will they kill to get to us?
As I reach the doorway, there’s a blinding flash. The explosion in front of me is so strong that I’m thrown backwards, rolling into a heap on the floor.
I sit up, gasping from the dust in the air. Something’s detonated nearby; the doorway has collapsed. Rubble fills the available space, and terror flickers in my chest. Everyone else was already inside – save for Nate, who’s already standing, his frightened eyes fixed on the blocked doorway.
