Take Me Tomorrow

by Shannon A. Thompson

  Lily must have sensed my anxiety because she leaned on me, grabbed my hand, and squeezed it. I winced, wondering if she was comforting herself or me. Either way, I was about to vomit, and I closed my eyes as we drove the last mile to the Traveler’s Bureau. We had already discussed the risks − the cameras, the daylight, the exposure, the timing. The boys had to get in and out quickly or we would all get caught. There would be nothing we could do about it. We would be dead. Why Lyn insisted on bringing Lily and I at all was beyond me.

  We drove over a hill and rested at a stoplight. “Where should I park?” Lyn asked.

  The Traveler’s Bureau was located right in front of us. Hovering over the street, the tall, cylindrical office seemed impossible to break into. With thick steel doors and darkly tinted windows, I didn’t know the first thing about getting inside the office full of records, even though my father had worked there for a number of years.

  I gulped.

  “Park at the gas station,” Miles answered mechanically.

  Lyn eyed him in disbelief.

  “Trust me,” he promised. “The more people around, the less suspicious we’ll look. If we’re at the rest stop, it’ll look like we’re stretching our legs.”

  The rest stop was one of two in Topeka. Traveling wasn’t illegal, but it was rare. Even then, the rest stop was full of people – the perfect illusion for everyone else. It seemed that traveling was an average-day thing, something that anyone could do, but it was costly. If someone thought about it, the large crowd at the rest stop was very small compared to the general population. It only seemed big. It was built to look big.

  Lyn sighed, but ultimately nodded. In moments, she parked at the rest top, and her government vehicle matched the other ones around us. When she unlocked the doors, she turned the knob on the dash so that the tint darkened more. Miles was right. We appeared to be resting for a moment before traveling again − probably to the other side of town. We were in a government vehicle, after all. No one dared to question a government vehicle. Except us.

  Almost every vehicle around us was government issued, and the ones that weren’t seemed to be parked close to one – as if they were traveling together. Where they had come from was a mystery. We had six regions – Albany, Phoenix, Boise, Topeka, Raleigh, and Madison – all of which were connected with the State in the Topeka Region. They could’ve come from anywhere, but it was safe to guess they hadn’t come from Madison. According to rumor, it was an abandoned wasteland.

  “You boys have thirty minutes,” Lyn said.

  My heart lodged itself in my throat.

  Noah peeked up from the trunk, glanced at his watch, and nodded. “We will be done before then.”

  Broden patted me on the shoulder. “See you soon, kid,” he said nonchalantly.

  With that, they opened the doors, and Miles and Broden were out. Noah climbed over the chair, fell against my side, and left without looking back. The boys didn’t look around. They reached their arms over their heads, pretending to stretch their legs, and began to walk. They even laughed as they chatted. In their plain, tan uniforms they seemed like average interns, leaving the vehicle as if to take a small hike. We were the only ones who saw them enter the Traveler’s Bureau, but – even if there had been a witness − it would’ve looked like three interns reporting in for duty.

  The plan had started.

  Lily’s hand was sweating against mine, and her grip tightened. Lyn tapped the front of her steering wheel. Falo, for once in his life, had a babysitter – Miles’ mother – and we hoped she would lie for us to protect her kids if we had to tell her. We hoped it wouldn’t come down to that.

  “You think they’ll be okay?” I asked.

  Lyn applied Chapstick to her bitten lips. When she finished, her coated lips were purple. “Not without help,” she answered.

  Lily sat up. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean,” Lyn paused, running her fingers over her tattooed arms. “Go help them.”

  “But,” I gaped at Lily as if Lyn had completely lost her mind. “You said we couldn’t be a part of it—”

  “Only so the boys would believe me,” she laughed lowly. “They don’t want you girls hurt any more than I do, but those guys can’t do this on their own. It’s too much space to search in such a little amount of time.”

  Lily gripped the door handle, ready to run. “What do we do, Lyn?” she asked, panicking.

  “You girls know the plan,” Lyn said, turning her torso to direct us. “Get in there and help them.”

  …

  I fell four feet into a storm drain and slammed my hands on the wall. The fall was exactly like the night I had followed Broden into the lumberyard to meet Noah. My feet tensed on the wet gravel below my feet, and I was relieved that I had worn my tennis shoes. We had to run. Once we got in, we would only have a little while before Noah’s chemist set off a homemade bomb.

  “Come on,” Lily hissed, waving me toward her.

  We ducked into the shrubbery and crawled against the ground until we reached the end. In front of us was an open doorway for delivery trucks. Before I could fathom how well it was hidden, Lily leapt out and sprinted. I ran after her.

  As soon as we reached the first closed door, Lily had it open. We burst inside, and Lily had us through another doorway, a hallway, and a room. “There are cameras in the meeting rooms, but Miles should have had them all shut off by now,” she stated over her shoulder. “They were going to go in through the break room.”

  “How many ways can you get into this place?” I asked.

  Lily smirked. “Too many if you know the right people.”

  The twins never ceased shocking me with their secret antics. They were beyond intelligent, but I had never seen them use their skills for anything illegal. Two months ago, I felt as if they would’ve died from shame before breaking and entering, but Lily was the one leading me now, whispering orders like a seasoned criminal. Then again, knowing her past with Noah, she could actually be a criminal, and I would’ve never known.

  I shuddered.

  “I don’t like this,” Lily said, laying her back against the wall. When she caught her breath, her chest moved up. “There should’ve been a worker around here.”

  She voiced my thoughts. It was too easy. No one was here except us. We were probably already caught, but I had accepted it days ago. When Noah was on tomo, he was screaming, he was in pain, he was hurt. This wasn’t going to be as successful as we needed it to be. We only needed to survive it.

  “Let’s keep going,” I said, pulling Lily off of the wall. If we could succeed at anything, we could get Rinley’s records.

  “We should have twenty minutes left − easily,” she said. “We need to get to the third floor. The workers will know something’s up soon.” If they didn’t already – which they probably did.

  I stared at the walls as we passed them, knowing how destroyed the building would be in an hour. Miles would return to the Jeep after he disabled security, but the small explosion was supposed to cause a rapid electronic fire, burning most of the building down. Not as violent as Noah wanted it to be, but equally as destructive.

  Lily opened a door and peeked out. “Follow me,” she said, leaping into the long hallway. She walked quickly with her head held high, but I lunged to stay next to her.

  I didn’t have a knife on me. I didn’t feel right. This whole thing didn’t feel right.

  Lily’s nimble hands opened the silver door at the end of the hallway, and we bounded up a stairway. “The south stairwell doesn’t go to the third floor,” Lily explained. “We have to take this one.”

  I didn’t even know what direction we were facing.

  In fact, I kept my eyes locked on Lily’s white ponytail as we ran up, our feet slamming against the stairs and echoing floors down. The banging got louder and louder, and hundreds of them seemed to be circling around us − coming from more than the two of us.

  I came to a halt, but I tried to grab Lily. I was too
late. As she bounded up the last step, she slammed into a broad man.

  His hands grasped her, and she screeched, rearing back to kick him. “Let me go,” she shouted, smacking him with her tiny fists as I ran up behind her, prepared to fight whatever guard had her.

  “Quit it,” Broden growled as he blocked himself from her punches. “It’s me. It’s me!”

  “Broden?” Lily froze, but her dark eyes blinked rapidly. “I—I didn’t know.”

  He glared at her. “Me neither,” he said, only to look at me and curse. “What are you two thinking?”

  “We’re helping,” I spoke up, walking past them. I grabbed the door and tugged, but it didn’t budge. It was locked.

  Broden grasped his watch, “I’m here, Noah,” he spoke into the glass as if it were a walkie-talkie. “And so are the girls.”

  The door clicked before it swung open. Noah stood in front of us, but his slanted eyes were focused on me. “What are you doing here, Sophie?”

  I pushed past him. “Helping,” I repeated, entering the record’s room.

  Ten humungous racks stretched from one room to the other, and they were full of files. Desks were littered everywhere. Organization was nonexistent, and I sucked in breath.

  “You guys have fifteen minutes left,” Miles spoke through both of the boys’ watches. Their watches weren’t simple pieces of jewelry.

  “Thanks, Miles,” Noah grumbled, “We have your sister.”

  “I know,” he responded, his voice cracking. “I’m back with Lyn, and the bomb is set.”

  “Good,” Noah tried to dismiss him, but his watched beeped in response.

  “Just a warning,” Miles spoke quickly. “There’s a patrol truck here. A State truck. No one has gotten out yet.”

  Noah flinched, his green eyes locking on me. “Thanks,” he said, but this time, it sounded like he was talking to me instead of his watch.

  “Let’s find it, then,” I said.

  Lily and Broden sprung forward, and they ran down separate aisles. Crinkling echoed around us as Lily pulled open a box and dug through files. Noah didn’t budge. “I have no idea where Rinley’s file could be.”

  “That’s why Lily and I came to help,” I said, beginning to turn, but he grabbed my hand.

  His fingers curled against my palm. “I didn’t want you here,” he said, but his tone wasn’t rushed. His expression hadn’t budged. His eyes were heavy.

  His stillness told me what I already suspected from the beginning. He had already seen me here. His tomo overdose had shown him my face. Even before we met, I appeared in his visions.

  I tugged on his hand in response and guided him to the next hallway of folders. “Start here,” I ordered, my hand tingling as I let him go. I forced myself to focus. “I’m going over here.” I pointed and ran off to the end of the rack before he could argue. I felt his green eyes follow me for a moment before he began digging. Then, I got to work myself.

  Reading, reading, reading. Robert. Reagan. Roger. Even a Rico. But not a Rinley. I couldn’t find a single Rinley. None of the names were organized, files were purposely moved around, and others seemed to be missing entirely. I didn’t have time to stop and wonder about them, though − who the missing people were or might have been. I had to find Noah’s sister.

  “We’re running out of time,” Lily squealed from the back row.

  Broden swung around the corner. His copper eyes asked if I had any luck, and I shook my head regrettably. Noah, busily flipping through files, moved so quickly that Broden had to grab him to prevent them from colliding with the rack.

  “Find it?” Broden asked.

  Noah shook his head violently, continuing to read. “Everyone but Rinley,” he breathed. Even his breath sounded panicked. “Everyone, but—” He stopped, but his shoulders moved up.

  I glanced at the name on the folder he was staring at. Liam Tomery. Noah’s older brother that died saving him. Noah’s face paled. “It should’ve been right here.”

  A siren screamed through the intercom.

  Lily sprinted up to us, grabbing onto Broden’s arm. “We have to get out,” she exasperated. “Now!”

  Broden grabbed Noah’s arm, but Noah pulled away. “I can’t,” he shouted. “Rinley—”

  “We’ll find another way,” Broden yelled, pushing Noah in front of him.

  The folders fell, scattering pictures of Liam with a bullet hole through his chest across the carpeted floor.

  My stomach twisted.

  “Let’s go,” Broden shouted. “Both of you.”

  The thunder of footsteps echoed over the sirens, and the far door burst open. Three guys ran in, but they froze as they saw us. “Stop right there!”

  We didn’t stop.

  We hit the exit door with a thud, and Lily pulled it open. The police pulled out handguns, their holsters empty before I could register what they were planning to do with their weapons.

  Noah yanked me into the racks as Broden pulled a gun from the back of his jeans and shot into the air. The guards ducked, even though Broden didn’t aim at them. The ceiling crackled, and Broden jumped through the exit, slamming the security door shut behind him. He disappeared.

  Gunshots exploded, and two men ran by us before crashing into the door. It was broken, and it wasn’t opening ever again.

  Noah pressed his fingers to his lips to signal our silence, and then, he guided me backward. We tiptoed down the hallway as the men tried to break the door down. Noah gestured his head toward the door the men came through. I nodded, and we sprinted for it.

  Our footsteps gave us away.

  They shouted, but I didn’t hear their words. I only saw Noah, and he had already grabbed the door’s handle. When he opened it, he left, but I was pulled back.

  A guard’s hand was around my wrist, and I spun around to kick him. Before my foot collided with him, a fist slammed into the man’s face, and he crumbled to the ground. Noah had punched him.

  “Come on,” Noah shouted, pulling me through the door and pushing me toward the stairs. “Run!” The scream was the same one he had when he was on tomo.

  We jumped down an entire flight before the guards burst through the doors, shooting and following. I screamed, flinching, but Noah kept shouting at me, pushing me down the stairs before leaping in front of me. He grabbed my hand and dragged me behind him. He was fast. Really fast.

  “Noah,” Broden’s voice came through Noah’s watch in a thick static. “Noah, where are you guys?”

  Bullets echoed through the stairwell, and Noah shoved me down the last flight of stairs. “Get out,” he shouted, and I collided with a door.

  It swung open, and the afternoon sun beamed down on my skin.

  We were out.

  I stumbled into a man, and I spun around so fast that I almost didn’t stop from punching Broden in the jaw. I was about to mutter an apology when Broden’s expression stopped me. His eyes were wide, and his reddened face paled. He was looking behind me. He was looking at Noah.

  “You’re shot,” he said.

  I turned around, barely registering myself as my eyes moved over Noah. Broden was right.

  Noah’s left shoulder was dark red, a hole torn right through the cloth, and he was grasping it. His fingers were covered in blood, and I felt my heart stop. This was why he had been screaming on tomo. But he wasn’t screaming now.

  “Noah—”

  “We need out,” Noah said, ignoring his injuries.

  Sirens were wailing, and we could hear officers nearing the Traveler’s Bureau. In a matter of time, the building would be in ashes, and we didn’t have a single file with us. Not even Liam’s.

  The door burst open, and two guards stumbled out. Lily spun out of the way, but Broden began fighting them.

  Noah pushed Lily with his bloody hand. “Run.”

  She did without hesitating, but I watched, frozen, as chaos erupted around me. Smoke appeared around us, signaling the beginning of the explosion, and Noah grabbed his injury. Blood tr
ailed down his arm. Broden was tossed to the ground. A burly man grabbed my arm before I could react.

  “Sophie,” Noah shouted as a hand collided with his face.

  Another man jumped on top of Broden, handcuffing him, and my feet left the ground. The man tossed me over his shoulder, and I hit his back.

  “Don’t fight me, or I’ll kill you,” the voice shouted to me, but I ignored it. I kicked and screamed and scratched and punched. Any body part I could see, I fought, and the guy barely flinched.

  “Noah! Broden!” I screeched as I was carried away from the building, my arms burning.

  The ground shook tremendously, and the man dropped me. My cheek hit the pavement, and I covered up my body as the explosion blew up the south side of the building. Fire engulfed the wall that was left, and debris fell around us as the ash flew through the air. I breathed in, and my lungs burned. The sky was black from debris and destruction.

  I could hear Broden − no − my father − no − Noah. Noah was shouting my name. “Sophie.” My mother’s face flashed in front of me. Her gray eyes were wild. Her hair was frizzy, and her hands reached out to me. Still, I crawled away.

  “Come here,” someone growled as they grabbed my leg. They pulled me across the gravel.

  I kicked the man in the face, and blood squirted from his nose. He yelled out in pain, but he continued to pull me toward him. “You little bitch,” he shouted, lifting his hand to smack me across the face, but another hand latched onto his wrist.

  “Don’t hurt this one,” the boy said, “She’s mine.”

  There he was – tall and blond – with his striking eyes reflecting the Traveler’s Bureau as it disappeared in terrifying flames. He stood above me, a familiar smirk on his face, and he reached down to help me up. Anthony.

  I flinched, scooting away on the pebbles, but Anthony stepped on my shoe, twisting my ankle. I screamed.

  Noah shouted from somewhere in the debris. “Where are you?”

  Anthony looked up, the dust seemingly harmless to his exterior. His eyes flashed with the use of tomo. He saw us, and he came for us. He was in the government truck earlier. He knew.