Colin clenched his jaw. It appeared Aakil was in a similar space as he was. Despite their victory, they couldn’t help but to mourn everything they lost.
“Yeah, we’ve already experienced how different life is here. Especially right now. We have run out of what the State supplied and have to figure out how to make it on our own.”
“It won’t be easy. A lot of people will get sick and probably die.”
Colin looked off to the side, knowing where Aakil was taking this. “I did what I had to do.”
“No, Colin, you did exactly what works out in your favor. But what about her? How is she going to feel when she wakes up? Do you even know if she would have agreed to come here? Twenty-two years is a long time. People change. And what about the lost time? Half a lifetime asleep. I know I was sure pissed off, as was everyone else here.”
“Aakil, it’s not that I haven’t thought of all this”
“Really? Cuz it looks like the only thing you’re thinking about is yourself.”
Colin shook his head back and forth. “Aakil, I need you on my side on this.”
“I am on your side, and I’m going to be on your side when you tell everyone what you’ve done. I just think you need to really think about this before you put yourself on the line for what might be a stupid, emotional whim.”
Colin exhaled to the point of his center folding in. “Aakil, it’s all I’ve been thinking about since I came back. I didn’t tell you because I knew you’d act like this, but this wasn’t even my idea. You should know I’m not this clever. The only person under the dome Freya was close to came up with this plan.”
“And you took her at her word? How long did you two talk?”
Colin grunted. “Okay, fine, we didn’t talk for as long as I would have liked, but she was like a sister to my mom. Overtaking the colony world, that was my mom’s idea. She made this happen and Chastity was in on it. So, as she was also tight with Freya, I took her word for it. She wanted me to bring Freya here and get her away from the High Council because they were going to kill her. And she asked if the hibernation chambers would still work so we could be together again. I agreed to her plan before she even brought up the bit about us being together again.”
Aakil pursed his lips, keeping his gaze forward. “And who is this Chastity? I mean, you are really going to have to defend your position here, Colin. The colonists will rip you apart if they want their leader back, which I think they will.”
“She was the administrator to the Head of State, both Freya and the one we remember from before. Freya has known her since she was 16, and they both lived in the State House together. I don’t even think I know Freya as well as Chasity does.”
“Well, shit. Okay.” Aakil nodded. “That’s pretty credible. Especially with a civil duty like that.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
Aakil cocked his head to the side and looked at Colin for the first time since this conversation started. “If your mom started this entire thing, then how could she be tight with someone like that?”
Colin’s eyes bugged. “That is a good question—one I asked myself. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to get into it.”
Aakil grimaced. “Then how do you know it’s for real? What if she made up the story about knowing your mom?”
Colin shook his head as a slight laugh escaped his throat. “Because my mom used to tell me this bedtime story about a princess who lived on the surface and had a daughter with blue eyes, named Chastity. I think my mom thought the surface was survivable and was trying to reprogram my brain, even though I was just a kid.”
“That’s pretty badass of your mom.”
Colin’s chest burned thinking of her, of her passing, how they had parted ways, how he had never been the son she deserved. “Yeah, she really was.”
“So, you think just because her name was the same as the story, your mom must have known her?”
“It’s not just that.” Colin smiled sadly. “For the first time in my life I understood the color of her eyes, crystal blue. Chastity from the story had blue eyes. I had never seen it before. The moment she put her hand on my arm and told me she was a friend of my mothers, I didn’t need her name. It was like a message from the grave. I knew she was Chastity, and that she was there to help me, that I could trust her.”
Aakil stared at the river for a time in silence before he responded. “Okay then. I think we should go get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow, we have to explain to people what’s going on. And hopefully, they’ll let us stay in charge for a while longer.”
His insides clenched at the thought of explaining this to people who weren’t like Aakil, his best friend. “Yeah, hopefully.”
Chapter 29
Lewis
He squinted, trying to make his way through the dark. He didn’t know how long he could survive after being exposed to the toxic atmosphere, but he knew that time wasn’t on his side. If he got lost in the dark, he may not survive until the morning.
There were hazmat suits available, but it would have been too cumbersome and slowed him down further. He needed to dash outside of the dome and stash her body, and he had to do it quick.
He ran hard and fast away from the dome with Dr. Rhetta’s limbs jostling around. It was difficult to tell in the dark if any spot had cover or if he would stash her body in the wide open, possibly even visible from the dome.
A dark mound came into view. He ran toward it until he could feel what he thought was some type of greenery. He heaved her body with as much force as he could; the greenery rattled and snapped from impact then grew still once again. There was no way to know if it was enough to conceal her corpse from any by-passers, but it was the best he could do. It was still better than abandoning her body in his apartment or in a meeting room in the military underground.
Just as unceremoniously as he had thrown her body into the bush, he turned and ran back toward the dome. The moonlight reflected off the glass, guiding him back to the darkened entry point. He didn’t know which access point the military used to drive to Cheyenne Mountain, but he knew his survival depended on it not being this one.
Once the outside door was sealed shut, he spun the wheel of the next door to seal himself safely inside the dome. He bypassed the decontamination showers, wishing he had time for such a simple procedure. Whatever toxins clung to his skin and clothing would have to stay with him until he reached the State House, if he didn’t collapse from the effects of exposure before then.
Sweat poured down his face and stung his eyes, yet he pushed onward. The military underground was oddly silent, especially after a major event. Did many military personnel get killed in the uprising? Or was he running into danger while others ran away from it?
He ran and ran until his lungs burned, until he felt his legs would collapse beneath him. After what felt like an eternity, he reached the bunkroom near the firing range. Breathlessly, he retrieved a fresh pair of fatigues, peeled off his clothes and stepped into the shower.
A whimper escaped his lips as the razor-sharp water pierced his skin. It was imperative he immediately lower his body temperature. His skin flushed red in irritation at the shock of the freezing downpour on his hot, sweaty skin.
The only way to compensate for the time lag of his trip outside was to appear as though he had strolled casually to the State House. His perspiration would reveal the lie he so desperately needed to conceal; he hadn’t proceeded directly to the State House when summoned by a member of the High Council.
Most military personnel never reached the heights to know the true identities of any High Council member, let alone to be summoned by one. Now he had met two and murdered one while she tried to promote him to become the Head of State. Nothing in his life added up.
His skin adapted to the crisp shards beating down on him as the heat radiating through his body subsided. The shower couldn’t have been long, but the water had done the trick. If only it could sooth his mind, his soul.
The
woman he loved was alive, but now 22 light-years away. Suddenly, his sympathies for Freya and Colin grew exponentially. If he were to get on a spacecraft and travel to see her, she might be dead before he arrived. They were no longer in their youth.
Even though Colin and Freya could be united in location, their ages would surely keep them apart. Part of him wished they could be together, that Freya could have some happiness in her life. He couldn’t be with her again. Maybe she could find someone better than him or Colin, someone honest with her, who deserved her. He could wish all he wanted, but his mind kept circling back to the gruesome truth: The State would kill the colonists.
Then, realization jolted through him like a bolt of lightning. The nerve endings in his entire body radiated with a tingling sensation. I am the State. I’m the Head of State. I may not be on the High Council, but surely this position holds some power.
Filled with a fresh sense of purpose, Lewis toweled off and stepped into his military fatigues. There had to be something he could do to help Freya. He would save her, to give her time to enjoy the life she deserved.
Lewis snatched up his dirty clothes and searched the pockets until his fingers fumbled over the small plastic item he so desperately sought after. For a moment he worried he had abandoned it in his former apartment, yet he shouldn’t have feared. The button was with him, always. Just keeping it next to him served as a reminder that everything he had experienced with Freya had been real.
He secured it back in his pocket and jaunted to the stairwell, assuming he should enter the Head of States office directly—his new office.
Devina sat behind his new desk and looked up from her tablet as he threw back the hatch and stood before her. “Did you just shower? Where did you get those clothes?”
He was prepared for this. “Yes, I helped myself to a shower and a fresh set of fatigues upon arrival. I was exercising when you contacted me, and I thought you would prefer I was fresh if we were to have a meeting in the same room.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes, you were on the floor when I called.” She scooted the tablet away and stood before she gestured for him to take a seat behind his new desk. “My grandmother had some of Victor’s old suits reserved for you. I hope they fit as we won’t have the luxury of a personal tailor any longer.”
Lewis took a seat; his mind hardly able to comprehend the absurdity of him becoming the Head of State. “I’m sure I will manage.”
“Did you run into my grandmother after you left? I still haven’t seen her.”
He clenched his jaw. “No. Do you know if she took the military underground the entire way? Or if she submerged sooner?”
Devina huffed. “No idea. For all I know she got caught up in the atrium and got pushed through to the colony. She’s such a control freak, you know?”
He folded his hands on the desk in front of him and tried his damnedest to appear calmer than he felt. Devina was young, probably not yet 20. So much of him hoped a grown up would take over soon, but he also thought his chances of deceit were much higher with a child like Devina than an old hand like Dr. Rhetta handling this meeting.
“Are we to wait for her? Or for anyone else?”
She shrugged. “No. Tonight is not important. We have already given orders to those Council members left. They are handling the evacuation of the dome.”
Lewis furrowed his brow. “Are we to leave here then?”
“I am. Not you. You are the Head of State and this is your office.”
He closed his eyes, trying to process the situation. “Everyone is being evacuated from the dome except for me?”
She pursed her lips. “Not everyone. Just most everyone. We will have a work crew here to fix up the dome for the next 20 or 30 years.”
He flinched. “You think it will take that long for the repairs?”
She huffed out a dry laugh. “No. But it’s the best way to reset to the beginning.”
His mind spun. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She leaned forward. “When everyone was in the mountain, everyone was so afraid of dying they wouldn’t rebel. Once we moved into the dome, that’s when our problems truly began. We will fix up the dome, but we still aren’t certain we should return. Maybe we need to do more to cleanse the bloodlines first. If we could isolate the genetics that make people selfish, then maybe we could return here again.”
Lewis slumped back in his seat. A dull pain throbbed behind his eyes. “Then why have me or work crews here at all?”
Devina cocked her head to the side. “I thought that would be obvious. We need the people to unite, to work toward the common goal of getting back to the dome. We will tell them the rebellion damaged the glass, and it is because of them we had to retreat to the mountain.”
Bile rose in his throat. Dr. Rhetta had turned Freya against the State just so she could return the people to the mountain. To tighten control over their people.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, an electronic sound whirred around him.
“Ahh, all Security has been disabled. That’s good because I couldn’t figure out how to get you into that tablet, let alone one of the State House apartments.”
“Security is disabled around the entire dome?”
She stood. “Yes. So, pick one of the apartments. Find Victor’s old suits so you will be ready when we tell you it’s time to give your first address. I planted a garden with Freya in the State House grounds before the tree line, which should probably give you enough to eat. If not, figure out how to grow more. We had about a 10-year supply of rice and breakfast bars delivered to top it off.”
She turned for the door, and Lewis leapt out of his seat. “Wait! But what about my safety? How will you keep the workers from attacking me?”
She shrugged. “We plan to mostly keep them away from this area. It shouldn’t be a problem… well, maybe put something over both of the stairwells to the military underground to block them off. Not a bad idea to stay armed at all times either. None of the workers will be military, so I doubt they will figure out how to get into the military underground or arm themselves.”
“But what happens if one of them comes in here to kill me. Will you even know?”
She furrowed her brow. “That’s a good question. Try to avoid letting that happen. We can replace you, but it would be an inconvenience.”
With that, she spun on her heel and walked away. He nearly fell back into his seat but caught himself. He knew once he went down, he was unlikely to get back up again, if ever. He went to the closest apartment, the one he frequented with Freya, and fell into the bed.
After the day’s events, the only thing he knew for certain was he needed to return to his previous apartment the following day. With leaving in haste, he had forgotten his second most valuable possession, his bottle of poison.
Chapter 30
Lewis
He lay casually in the small sofa-bed, gazing at the furniture piled over top the trap door. Securing the State House had been his biggest priority, right after he stocked up on firearms and ammunition. He had brought up an extensive selection of military fatigues in a variety of sizes to have a selection as his body potentially changed with age. If it wasn’t his time to perform his token duties on camera, he wanted to be comfortable, especially since he was expected to grow his own food and cook his own meals.
Once he removed all the supplies he needed from the immediate area, he worked on sealing the entrances to the State House. For a moment, he had hesitated to do so, questioning how a doctor could get to him in case of an emergency, until he also questioned if there were any doctors left under the dome.
Probably not. I’m disposable. A convenience. The High Council needed someone to do the broadcasts, and they probably didn’t care much about whose face appears behind the oak desk.
A distant voice called out repeatedly. His instincts sprung into action as he immediately snatched his gun from the holster. A chill crawled down his spine: there wasn’t supposed to be anyone in t
his area except for him. As he opened his apartment door, he realized it was a female voice calling out his name.
Although he couldn’t yet place the source, he lowered his firearm slightly and poked his head into the hall, then into his office. As he stepped inside, he could see Devina speaking through the monitor on the wall.
“Really? You came armed,” she said as he stepped into the monitor’s camera. “Because a girl from inside the mountain is talking into your monitor.”
Lewis clenched his jaw as he silently tucked his gun back in its holster near his chest. Suddenly, he was having serious regrets about killing Dr. Rhetta. If Devina was to be his regular contact, then he would hope for an early retirement from this position.
“What can I do for you and the High Council?”
Conspired: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The State Series Book 6) Page 19
