The Gray Institute_Rebels' Hell

by Leanne Pearson

  'He told me what they think of him and I don't care about the politics. Why do we have to release the Confined? Why not wait until Malachy rules and then decide who – '

  'I've heard this a hundred times over from Katherine and Patrick himself,' Vlad huffs. 'We need the numbers! And besides, releasing the Confined will get a lot of Immortals on our side. Most of the population who despise Sirus despise him for that very reason; because he took someone from them for no reason at all and buried them in the Confine. It's the only way to guarantee that we can end Sirus' reign, and get the rest of the Immortals on our side.'

  'Really? I distinctly remember a certain Theory lesson on the subject of the French Rebellion – '

  'Do you?'

  'My tutor said that most of the Immortal world disagreed with what Kristoff was doing. They respected the Institutes, they valued them. What makes you think they don't value the Confine, too? That they don't realise its use?'

  'I'm sorry, are you the one organising this Rebellion?' Vlad frowns, taking a step closer. I refuse to back away, no matter how inclined I feel. 'Are you the one who's spent years bringing these people together? Orchestrating a break out of the Thailand Confine, something that's never been attempted before? Are you the one with the Law Officer training? With insight to the Auctoritas and the Confine itself?'

  'I know that Kristoff agrees with Patrick deep down. He's just so desperate to break the Confined out because of Laura. Because he didn't do it last time – '

  'Once again, Eve, you are meddling in matters that don't concern you. Thinking you know more than people ten times your age. If it weren't for us, you'd have been Confined yourself for breaking Lorna out! In fact,' He hesitates, just a fraction of a second. 'If you don't drop this nonsense, you can leave the Rebellion. Go out into the world by yourself and see how long you last before a Law Officer finds you. Then when you're lying in the Confine, you can think about how much you don't want us to come and break you out.'

  'You'd kick me out, Vlad?' I cock an eyebrow. 'Really?'

  'You've served your purpose, Eve,' He shrugs, not quite meeting my gaze. 'We don't need you any more.'

  *

  Two days later, once life at the Institute has again settled into a monotonous pattern, Vlad calls us all into Training Room One to discuss the finer details of The Plan. It's cramped inside the rectangular room, which is half the size of the largest living area, and I squash myself between Stacey and Jasmina as Vlad and Vanessa set up at the front.

  Patrick positions himself on the opposite side of the room to me, next to Katherine, as always. He hasn't said a word to me since our first training session, and we haven't been partnered up again. I can't help but think it isn't a coincidence as I've been partnered with almost everyone else, but if Vlad has taken anything Patrick or I said seriously, he doesn't show it. In fact, he seems even more determined that we follow his plan.

  'There are three weeks left until April 4th,' Vlad silences our conversations with his loud voice, even though some of us can barely see him over the heads of others. 'Your training is, for now, the most vital part of our plan. You've all worked hard so far to achieve your potentials, and Vanessa and I would like to thank you for your efforts, and urge you to continue to give it your all. We feel that now is the time to divulge the rest of our plan to you, the finer details, so to speak,' A collective whisper of surprise makes its way around the room, and Vlad nods to acknowledge it. 'We understand how trying it must have been to simply follow orders over the past few weeks, without knowing where it was headed or why. We'd like to thank you for your patience, and extend a trust to you now that we couldn't afford before.'

  During Vlad's speech, my gaze continually drifts over to where Patrick stands, arms folded with hostility. A few times he leans over and mutters in Katherine's ear, turning away when she nods agreeably, but at Vlad's statement about trust, he lets out a loud snort of contempt. There's not a soul in the room who doesn't hear it, and though Vlad doesn't acknowledge it, doesn't even grace Patrick with a glance, I feel a stab of embarrassment for him as he continues.

  'You may also raise any concerns you have about the plan, and ask any questions. You are all a part of this and we couldn't dream of achieving our collective goal without you. Vanessa?' He turns to his blonde companion who steps forward importantly, licking her lips.

  'At midnight on April 3rd,' She begins, her voice a little louder than it really needs to be. 'You will, in carefully chosen groups, make your way to Putorana Plateau, where the Confine is situated. For those of you who don't know, the Plateau lies in northern Russia, at the north-western edge of the Central Siberian Plateau. It is a treacherous and largely unpopulated mountainous area, over three hundred kilometres from civilisation.

  For humans, the only way in or out of the Plateau is via Norilsk, the closest settlement, and, as Norilsk is a highly secure closed city, Immortals on approved business to the Plateau also travel that way. However, our business is not approved and to travel through Norilsk would be as obvious as if we warned the Auctoritas we were coming,' She smiles at her own joke, though no one else is laughing. 'You will leave the Institute via the cave entrance. Each group will be assigned a case of plastic pouches for the prisoners. You will swim across to the northernmost point of New Zealand's south island, a six hour journey. You are to be constantly vigilant and on the look out for any Law Officers scouring the area. Anyone who is captured is left behind,' She tells us sternly and without emotion. 'In Marlborough, there is a small, controlled airport known as Woodbourne. There you are to board private planes which will take you all the way to Putorana Plateau. The flight will take twelve hours. When you arrive at the Plateau, you will parachute into the mountains at the furthest point from the Confine. This is a necessary precaution so that the guards will not see or sense you before it is time. Vlad and I will guide you directly to the Confine. Any questions so far?'

  'How large will the groups be?'

  'How will we find our way to Marlborough?'

  'Who do the planes belong to?'

  'What does 'parachuting in' mean?'

  Vanessa glances up at the last question, and the embarrassment on her face when she realises she's addressing Immortals who've been locked away for centuries is priceless. She opens her mouth to say something, but is so flustered she can't get the words out.

  'Oh, I know,' Zoe smiles, saving Vanessa the trouble. 'It's one of those canvas things people use to jump from a height. I remember reading something years ago about a man using one for his dog.'

  'His dog?'

  'Oui,' Zoe beams proudly. 'As I recall he used it to disembark his dog from a hot air balloon. It was in France. Must have been – ' She thinks for a moment. 'Oh, I don't know... In the late seventeen hundreds.'

  'That's right, Zoe,' Vlad smiles kindly, and a little patronisingly. 'A parachute is a device commonly used to jump from aeroplanes. At the right distance, you release the parachute and you will float gently down to Earth. It's very simple, just one tug of a cord.

  You will travel in six separate groups, just over one hundred Rebels to a group. Each group will be designated a leader, that leader will be given information on how to locate Marlborough and the airport, as well as how to enter New Zealand safely. They may pass this information on to one person of their choosing incase of their capture.

  The planes belong to Sir Alec. He has purchased them on our behalf, with the approval of the Auctoritas who believe he is using them to transport high status Immortals to his jame.' Vlad pauses for more questions but there don't seem to be any, so Vanessa steps forward once more, still looking sheepish.

  'At some point on our foot journey to the Confine, the guards will sense us coming. Such a large group of Immortals will immediately raise alarm, however, the guards will have no one to call for back up with the AG being gone and the rest of the Army scouring the Earth for us.

  Once we're in radius of the Confine, the guards will be on high alert and ready for us. With your
chosen partners you will each select a guard based on their proximity to you and ease of access. You will take that guard down and hold them there until the others are secure. This may sound simple, but it will not be. You will need to exercise a great deal of strength and self-control to continuously pin another Immortal down for what could be a long stretch of time. If you somehow lose control of your guard, there will be others to step in and help you, but whilst we do outnumber the guards, our resources are not unlimited. We also need fighters free to tackle the guards stationed inside the Confine; whilst there are not so many as outside, it will be a difficult situation to control factoring in the prisoners and those reviving them. Those of you who are not chosen to fight will be aiding in resurrecting the prisoners, you will be just as needed and we can't afford to lose you because someone else has lost control of their guard.

  As soon as all the guards are secure, those of you chosen will begin distributing the pouches to the prisoners. Once they are oriented and alert, you will send them out to aid us. There are thousands of prisoners within the Confine and their help will be vital when it comes to transporting the guards into the Confine. Most of them will remain behind, with some of us staying to help guard the guards.

  Once the Confine is repopulated and secure, we will journey east to Mount Kamen. The headquarters of the Auctoritas will not be empty; there will be some guards, secretaries and other official workers, but by this point there will be thousands of us and they will stand no chance. We will take over the mountain, securing the guards and workers as our prisoners, and wait for the Auctoritas to return. There will be no one to pass any message onto them, and so they will be completely unaware of these events until they step inside Mount Kamen.

  Details of how we plan to take down the AG and physically overthrow Sirus will be discussed once Mount Kamen is secure.'

  'I have a few questions,' I've been waiting for this moment, and, evidently, so have many others. Patrick steps forward, drawing himself up to his full height so that he may be seen by everyone. He's not smirking, his demeanour not remotely cocky. His gaze is cold and hard, and his jaw set in a firm line. His entire aura says, I mean business. 'What makes you think that the Auctoritas won't have hired more guards for the Confine? They're aware of a Rebellion, and despite what many of Our Kind may think, they're not that stupid.'

  Vlad and Vanessa exchange a quick glance. Clearly, Patrick's outburst is of no surprise to them, either. I know for a fact that this question, and whatever others Patrick may ask, have been posed to Vlad and Vanessa before. But from what Patrick told me, they've never quite given him a straight answer. It's no surprise, really, that he's chosen to voice them here in front of all of us, where they can't be dodged. 'Sir Alec has confirmed that the Auctoritas have no plans as of yet to station more guards at the Confine,' Vanessa tells him briskly, as Vlad smirks triumphantly behind her. Clearly, this is new information, and it couldn't have come sooner. 'He will keep us informed regarding the Auctoritas movements and strategies as best he can.'

  'I see,' Patrick nods thoughtfully, and I watch Vanessa take a breath, preparing herself for his next question. 'But if they do station more guards, just theoretically... What then?'

  'Even if they do station more guards at the Confine, we will outnumber them, even with the Rebels we're missing. Usually there are around four hundred and fifty guards stationed at the Confine, there are over six hundred of us. Now, in the next few – '

  'I'm sorry, I wasn't finished,' Patrick's smile is icy as he stares Vanessa down. She closes her mouth, purses her lips, and nods rigidly for him to continue. 'What happens if the prisoners refuse to aid us?' This is the question I've been waiting for, the one playing most on my mind. 'What if they run? Or, worse still, what if they turn against us? Some of them have been imprisoned for thousands of years, we can't even begin to guess at their mental state.'

  'It's true that the prisoners' co-operation is the only part of the plan we can't virtually guarantee. However, Vlad and I have had lengthy discussions on this subject, and we strongly believe the prisoners will be inclined to help us. They will despise the guards, and whether they agree with the overthrow or our general plan or not, they will relish the idea of imprisoning their jailers.'

  'That's not much to go on, is it?' Patrick cocks an eyebrow. 'A theory you have?'

  'It's more than just a theory,' Vlad's teeth are gritted as he takes over from Vanessa. 'It's a fact. If you could have imprisoned your jailers back in Thailand, wouldn't you? In fact, the very people who kept you locked up all those years travelled with us here. Did you forgive them? Did you make your peace with them before Sir Alec took them away?'

  'No,' Patrick admits. 'But you're not just asking them to help imprison their jailers; you're asking them to stay behind. You're asking them to remain in the very same place they've been imprisoned for centuries, instead of allowing them to go free. Do you think that's something they'll relish?'

  'They won't have to remain at the Confine for very long,' Vlad shrugs dismissively. 'Once Sirus has been overthrown, we will send forces to relieve them of their duties.'

  'I see,' Patrick repeats, the corner of his mouth twisting. 'It seems to me that this plan is based on nothing but guess-work and wishful thinking. There are so many holes, so many things that could go wrong. It's not exactly water-tight.'

  'Perhaps you should ask Eve about plans with holes,' Vlad jerks his head in my direction and I feel my shoulders seize up. 'She has experience with them, and you seem to enjoy talking to her. What do you say, Eve? Did your wishful plan with Lorna work?' His voice is venomous and, although he's addressing me directly, he doesn't look at me. For a moment it seems that I can't speak, I open my mouth but no sound emerges. Stacey nudges me sharply with her elbow.

  'Well – ' I hesitate, glancing from Vlad to Patrick and back again. 'Yes, but – '

  'And did you have half of the knowledge and time to plan that Vanessa and I have had? Did you have a Law Officer working with you? Or Immortals centuries old?'

  'No, but – '

  'You were a first year travelling with a human. Yet you managed to escape The Gray Institute and make your way to the Rebels – '

  'But I had help! I had – '

  'If you do not wish to be a part of this Rebellion, Patrick, you are free to leave. Of course, Sir Alec will have to keep you quiet until our mission is complete. But there's the door.' Vlad jerks his head, silencing my next words because he knows what they are. Finding the Rebels and keeping ourselves safe wasn't all down to luck, or planning, or wishful thinking – it was down to Malachy.

  Patrick seems to have been silenced, for now, and Vlad can't help but allow himself a small, satisfied smile. But I know he hasn't heard the last of this.

  'Now,' Vanessa continues quietly. 'In the next week, we will decide which of you will be fighting and which of you will be reviving the prisoners... '

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Eve.

  As promised, at the end of the week, the divide is made between those who will be battling the guards, and those reviving the prisoners. Training has become even more intense, with Vlad pushing us almost to our limits. It's not without results, though. By the fifth day, Jasmina is as good as I was to begin with, and I can definitely see an improvement in not only my physical skills, but also my judgement and quick-thinking.

  On the sixth day, though, I happen to catch a glimpse of Kristoff's group during training, and any illusions of grandeur I've conjured about myself quickly disappear. Vanessa and Kristoff are superior to us all by far. I've never seen such skill or, in Kristoff's case, strength. Vanessa is like a ninja, and I watch her, mesmerised, witnessing the results of her Law Officer training. For one, brief, blissful moment, watching her casts doubt on everything Patrick said. How could someone so skilful, so trained, so obviously high-ranking within our world, possibly be misinformed or ill-judged about anything in her field? And with Sir Alec keeping an eye on the recent movements of the Auctoritas, there's
no reason we can't piece together all the information we need in order to make this plan work.

  But then I remind myself of the real issue; the idea that the prisoners won't help us. Sir Alec can't give us that information, and, despite her obvious seniority to us all, this is out of even Vanessa's jurisdiction.

  Vlad informs us of our group status in the largest living area, rattling off our names and what our orders will be when we get to the Confine. I'm placed in the 'Battle Group,' chosen to attack the guards. My partner will be Jasmina. Vlad also separates us into our travelling groups, anointing the leaders and inviting them to join him afterwards so that he can give them the necessary information on reaching Marlborough and the waiting jets. To no surprise, I'm placed in Vlad's group, with him as its leader.

  As the group leaders file out of the room behind Vlad, eager to receive their privileged information, Stacey flops down on the sofa between Zoe and I. Stacey appears to have taken a liking to Zoe, but today she turns her back on the pretty French girl to speak in hushed whispers to me. 'So,' She leans into me so that her blonde hair brushes against my shoulder. 'What do you think?'

  'About what?' I frown, something about Stacey's tone making my muscles tense.

  'About The Plan,' She rolls her eyes. 'About what Patrick said. I heard you were talking to him in one of your training sessions, what's up with that?' She eyes me with accusation and I bristle defensively. I never told Stacey what Patrick said to me during that first training session, and I've never really been sure why. I suppose it was because if I told Stacey about it, it meant that it really was something to be concerned about, and all I've done since that day is tried to convince myself that it's not, even as I was pulling Vlad up on it. 'So?' Stacey nudges me. 'What do you think?'