“Dad will look after them all,” I whisper back with a smile.
I take my position opposite Seth and pass the rope through my hands to lower Wheeler into the ground.
As the coffin comes to a rest, Jude straightens his back and looks to us all. “I’d like to make a toast. Nigel Wheeler, a martyr for the rebellion.”
“Nigel Wheeler, a martyr for the rebellion,” we chorus back.
***
Saying a final goodbye to Wheeler was far from easy for anyone, but there is a sense of relief that the funeral is no longer hanging over us. We can move forward with getting him the justice he deserves.
The evening memorial is solemn, the air ripe with desperation. Rafe had foliage wreaths made up for every one we lost, and a large one to represent the nameless detainees from the centre. All eyes of the members are on those wreaths, thinking how long will it be before there is one with their name written on it? People are scared, and perhaps a memorial right now wasn’t the wisest move.
Rafe, Fernan, and Adam close the memorial by each lighting a candle for the members lost from their own squads, and then they all three light a large candle using the flames. Unity. Or so Rafe said when he thought up the candle idea with the help of Leoni. Unity hasn’t really been a strong point so far. My speech went a little way to paving some kind of truce and stopping the in-fighting, but it was the promise of food that got everyone working together to execute the raids. Now, tensions are fraying once again. It’s Adam who addresses that tension.
“You’re not stupid, so there’s no point in pretending. We have just enough food to last us approximately seven to ten days,” he states.
“So, that’s it?” someone calls back.
Adam shakes his head. “We have one more option.”
“If you think we’re raiding anymore government centres on the off chance of some food, then you’ve got another thing coming!” shouts a second voice.
“No one is raiding anymore centres,” I call, making my way to the front. I think it best that I explain Plan B, seeing as I’m the one who’s going in. “I’m handing myself in to Towley.”
The shouts of protest are deafening.
“You can’t seriously think he’ll negotiate?”
“Suicide!”
“Pointless!”
“It will only end the war in his favour!”
“Silence,” I speak softly into their minds. The noise ceases instantly. “You may have heard talk of a Plan B? I’m pretty sure that some of you have heard mention of a computer chip. Our options are limited to one: get that chip inside Towley’s tech epi-centre. I’m getting it inside.”
My explanation of the plan verges on simplistic at best, so I leave it to Adam, Rafe, and Fernan to fill in the details. No one protests this time. It makes sense. And the plus side is that they don’t have to do anything risky until the chip is inside, and hopefully, we’ll be in control of the system by that point.
“If I go in, you better bloody get me back out,” I joke.
Laughter ripples through the crowd.
Rio slaps Brick on the back. “We’ve done it before. No Cub left behind!” he shouts.
I know that they will do everything in their power to get me out, especially the big guy whose arm slips around my shoulders. Adam is fighting inner conflict at the moment, and it may sound selfish, but that might be the one thing that comforts me about this mission. He will not leave me behind, no matter what.
Shana gets up from her seat on the grass bank, wipes her eyes on her sweater, and heads back to The Hive.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Training continues as usual for the majority of those in the bases. A select few are training for my extraction. There’s a lot of ifs and maybes being tossed about, and it is doing nothing for my confidence. Lorrell’s faith in her chip is matched by Kesh, so at least there is that. It’s hard not to continuously test my filling and get freaked out that I have a piece of technology buried in my tooth. I keep telling Adam as much.
Adam.
After the funeral, and then the memorial, he has been back on top TORO form: planning, being chief, and focussing all his energy where it is needed. Neither he nor Emiko are processing their grief properly. Funnelling it into the mission is important for the moment.
Rafe has me sparring in The Dungeon with Coco and Kid. Coco takes advantage of my near fall and punches me right in the side of the face. It was a good shot. Bloody hurt, though.
“Careful you don’t knock that chip out of her sodding head,” Rafe scolds. “I hope that hurt, Kiddo. Sort it out. You’re looking sloppy.”
I block a blow from Kid and use his burst of momentum to take out his supporting leg with my own, flattening him to the ground with a satisfying thud and knocking the air out of his lungs. As I bring my hand down to his throat, Rafe calls my win.
Kid accepts my hand to help him to his feet. It’s rare that I win in my duels. That being said, Rafe does tend to pair me up with the stronger of the team. Kid is skilled, but I’m better. I’ve bested Cooper a couple of times, but never Crow. He is too skilled and fast. He always seems to pre-empt… I forgot myself for a moment. I’m sure Crow will get back to that again, even with the one leg.
“Are we done?” I ask Rafe. “I want to check in on Crow and Yana.”
He waves me away with an order to be at the office in an hour.
***
The door to med lab is ajar. Soft voices come from within, and Yana giggles quietly. I knock and enter, physically stopping in my tracks when I see Crow propped up on pillows, eyes open, smile on his face.
“There she is, my heroine. Yana said I was out of it when you first came by.”
I perch on the edge of the bed. “I’m no heroine. It’s Jonah and the med team who worked wonders on you. You’re looking amazingly well.”
“I’m alive, and I woke up to that beautiful face,” he says, brushing Yana’s chin with his finger.
“How’s Emiko and Adam?” he asks.
“Dealing with it by dealing with something else,” I admit.
Yana squeezes my shoulder. “They want to make sure that Plan B goes smoothly. We all do.”
Crow takes her hand as she fusses around us. “Can you give us a minute, Sweetheart.”
She excuses herself to catch up with Adam, and Crow doesn’t look to speak until we’re totally alone. He struggles to sit himself up further on the pillows, so I levitate him a little higher up the bed.
“Rafe has already filled me in. I’m surprised you managed to sway him and Adam to go for Plan B.”
“I didn’t. Wheeler did. We can’t give up, we’ve lost too much to walk away.”
Crow sighs in agreement. “We named you poorly. You’re no cub.” I nudge him with my elbow. “I wish I could be a part of it. This is no longer the beginning of the end, Cub. This is the final chapter. I can sense it.”
“I feel it too.”
“It feels good, right? Making the hard choices.”
This is why I was drawn to Crow from the beginning- his drive to prevail. There is a fire in his belly for justice. He is a younger Rafe, but in some ways, sees more clearly than Rafe ever could. When we rescued those EVO kids and the TORO protecting them, we were of the same mind, the same determination. That’s still there.
“Yeah, it does. I’m getting the chip into that facility, Crow.”
He smiles, though his eyelid hangs heavily over his eye. “Hell yeah, you are. Say hi to Towley for me.”
***
Shana sits in mine and Adam’s tent, drumming her fingers on her lap. I can tell from her fidgeting that something is not right with her. The first thing I do is get close enough to smell her breath; an old trick from before. She’s not drunk. I’d be surprised if she was considering the lack of everything at the moment. Alcohol is the last thing we’d have lying about.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, grabbing the bottle of water that I had come back for.
She picks up my gun from t
he bed, and for a moment, my heart sinks like a stone. Darcy growls at her, daring her to make a move, but it simply hangs from her hand and she shakes her head.
“This is not what Dad wanted,” she says, waving the gun like it’s a toy water pistol. “He died trying to keep you away from all of this and out of the governments hands, and now, you’re just going to hand yourself over?”
“You make it sound like I haven’t had sleepless nights over this decision. People died because I didn’t do this sooner.”
“What is this, then? You’re redemption? A way to appease guilt?”
“This is our last shot at ending this war in our favour. I survived Towley before, I will again.”
“How many more scars will they add to the ever-growing collection? If Dad saw you now he wouldn’t recognise you. I don’t recognise you. You have grown so much like your grandfather it scares me.”
“I see that as an honour. My grandfather is a great man.”
“Your Dad was a great man!” she snaps. “Do not do this, Teddie. He would not allow this.”
“Dad is dead! What he’d allow or not allow is irrelevant,” I shout back at her. She recoils from me, the gun slipping from her grip on to the bed. So much has changed since I lost my Dad, and as a result, I have had to change. Dad is from a different life.
“Come closer.” Shana steps a little closer, taking my hand in hers. “I’m letting you in,” I say, pressing my forehead to hers and closing my eyes.
Recalling memories used to be involuntary and painful. They’re still painful, but I can control my telepathy now. Shana needs to see what I’ve seen, feel what I’ve felt, and witness what I have had to do.
She cries out, desperately trying to pull away from me, but I grip the back of her neck, holding her against me. The torture, the loss, the despair. I no longer mind the pain, it reminds me that I’m still here and there’s still work to be done.
Darcy barks loudly, pulling at my trousers with his teeth.
“Do you see?” I scream through tears. “Do you see me? Do you see who I have to be?”
Releasing Shana, she staggers away from me in floods of tears. Expecting her to flee, I step aside to give her access to the door. Instead, she rushes me, taking my face in her hands.
“I see you,” she sobs. “I see you. You are not our Theyda, you are theirs- the EVO. I understand that now. I see you, child.” She runs her fingers over the scar through my eye and cheek, cringing at the memory as she does so. “Do what you have to do. Be theirs, they need you.”
Adam and Rafe race into the tent, panting like they have just ran a marathon.
“Are you alright?” Adam asks, checking me over. “I felt something.”
“She was just showing me a few truths,” Shana says, patting his arm. Turning to me, she smiles sadly. “They made their own worst enemy in you. I take back what I said. I reckon Dad would be in awe of the woman you’ve become. I do not deserve the title of mother to that woman, and I will deal with that guilt for the rest of my life. Go, do what you’ve got to do.”
“You’ve come a long way, Shana,” Rafe tells her, running a hand over her wiry hair. “Join us for the meeting. After all, this is regarding your child.”
Shana returns his smile. “I’m of no use in the meetings. I want to do more than that. I want to help her in some way. Tell me how I can help her.”
***
Getting in a car with me behind the wheel was probably the last thing Shana meant when she said she wanted to help. I had a few lessons with my Dad in the field and lane behind our house when I turned seventeen, but he quickly put an end to it when my episodes grew in intensity. He started worrying that I would have an episode whilst driving, or as a result of road rage. Half of me thought it was to keep me close, clipping my wings, but I could see how genuinely concerned he was about it, so I didn’t press for more lessons. I was a fast learner, though. Still am.
The reason for my driving lesson isn’t quite as fun as the lesson itself. Obviously, we can’t take a whole convoy to the military outpost. I’m supposed to be there of my own accord. I have to drive the last leg of the trip by myself. It’s only four miles or so over B roads and dirt tracks, but I still need a relatively good grasp on driving the truck.
Shana’s knuckles are white as she grips the edge of the seat for dear life. The field is churned up by the wheels of the truck as I shoot around, getting a feel for the wheel and the gears. This is the most fun I have had in ages.
“Slow down,” Shana calls. “We’re not rally driving.”
“I need to practise,” I reply.
“If your Dad was here now, he’d be having a heart attack.” She squeals as the truck nearly rises onto two wheels.
I just laugh. “Nah, he’d just be glad it was you in the passenger seat and not him.”
Shana laughs. “True.” She shrieks again as I turn the wheel at the last minute to avoid the hedge and glide around in a spray of mud. “OH, MY GOD!”
“I think you’re ready,” Adam’s voice speaks into my mind. He appears at the gate to the field, resting his arms on it to watch me.
“But I’m having fun, Party Pooper” I whine.
“I can see that. I can also see that Shana is about to blow chunks.”
Now that he mentions it, Shana is a funny shade of green. I slow the van to a stop beside the gate, and she audibly sighs with relief.
Shana jumps out, half falling, half stumbling away, and pretends to kiss the floor. “I’m walking back,” she says, gripping her chest in fright. There’s a playful glint in her eye as she taps Adam’s back. “Good luck.”
He slides into the passenger seat, but stops me from putting it in gear. “When this is over, I’ll give you proper lessons: highway code, mirrors, parallel parking, the works.”
“Is Adam Lovick finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel?” I ask, rubbing his thigh.
“Just something Mum said about positive thinking being good for your mindset… and mine.”
I’ll take positive thinking Adam over naysayer Adam. I know this is eating him up, and if he could switch places with me he’d do it in a heartbeat, but this is what I need to do. This is my story. This is where I get to be Theyda Leason and do more than haunting Towley through stickers and ghost stories.
“Drive us home, then,” he says, tapping the dashboard. “That pedal in the middle is the brake, just in case you were wondering.”
It’s nice to have Adam cracking jokes again. He’s still avoiding his grief, but his smile calms my worries a little.
“I feel the need, the need for speed!” I shout, ramming my foot on the accelerator.
“That’s Top Gun,” he laughs. “Fighter jets.”
“Same difference,” I say, whooping.
“I’ll teach you how to fly one of them and all, shall I?” he asks. My face lights up. “I’m joking, Teddie. Jeez, I’m joking.”
***
It’s gone midnight before Adam makes it back to the tent. I think he has conceded to the fact that if the plan isn’t ready now, it never will be. He doesn’t speak as he removes his shirt and trousers and slips beneath the blankets with me. His lips find mine in the dark, and I draw myself closer to him until our bodies are flush.
His hand splays over my heart. “I love you. I love you. I love you.”
I return the gesture. “I love you. I love you. I love you,” I say into his mind.
“Please, be careful tomorrow. You need to get in there in one—”
I cover his mouth with my hand. “Can we not talk about tomorrow?” I whisper.
He sits up on his elbow, looking down into my eyes. “I just need you to really hear this, Teds. I will get you back. There is no scenario where that doesn’t happen.”
“I know. It may sound bizarre, but I can’t look at you and not feel a strange comfort despite everything that’s happening around me. Our lives have been entwined since we were kids, and it feels as if we’re right where we’re supposed to be.
There something in that, Adam. It’s too significant – we’re too significant - to end tomorrow.”
His fingers trace down my spine and over the scars, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The warmth of his skin seeps into my bones, and his breath purrs over my lips.
“Significant,” he repeats.
“Exactly.” I push my body closer to his. “So, how about we be significant, right now?” I say, waggling my eyebrows.
Adam growls and pins me to the bed with his body. “Significance coming right up, Miss Leason.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
We’re using the chapel as base once more. It is the closest, most secure base to Towley’s Experimental Facility. The entire day was dedicated to the safe transport of all fighting members. I’ve not been clued in on the finer details of the mission to extract me because I’m expected to go into this with a clear head, focussed on only one thing: getting the chip in without dying. I trust Adam, Rafe, and Fernan. That’s enough.
There is silence during the last hour of my stay at the chapel. I’m conscious of eyes on me wherever I go. Most people probably think that this is the last time that they’re going to see me alive. The sombre atmosphere makes the thought of what I am doing all the more daunting. At least act like I’m not going to die. Seriously, it would make me feel much better.
A small convoy of only two trucks – one of which I shall be taking to the military outpost - are prepped and ready to take me to my drop off point. As I take a gun from Fernan, and the wig and synth mask from Rafe, someone starts clapping. More and more people join in until everyone is on their feet and clapping as I walk passed. It’s much like my first appearance in the canteen at The Hive. I didn’t like it, then, and I don’t like it now. I appreciate it, but yet again, why clap me unless I’m doing something utterly, absurdly dangerous. Please, stop reminding me.
Darcy sticks particularly close to my side. He’s been allowed to join us because The Hive and the bases have been deserted. Every member of the rebellion is right here, with the exception of Lizzie, Crow, and the injured. Darcy isn’t stupid, and the tension in the air sends his shackles up. Occasionally, he’ll whine and nuzzle against me.
EVO Nation Series Trilogy Box Set Page 82
