by Harper North
I sit up and shake away the thoughts. There’s not going to be sleep anytime soon, so I head out to find Lacy and Drape.
As soon as I slide out, I spot Elias sitting by a small fire. I make my way to him. I didn't really want target practice anyway.
“Mind if I warm up?” I ask, sitting beside him.
Elias smiles back at me. “Not at all. No sleep?”
I shake my head. “I can’t stop thinking about today.”
“Ah. It’s hard to be alone with your thoughts, isn’t it?”
I raise my hands to the fire. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get what’s happened over the last few days out of my head.”
Elias’ eyes are dark, a faint glow from the fire reflecting in them. “When I was young, my father died. I thought I’d never sleep again.”
I rub my hands together. The warmth sinks into my skin. “How did you deal with it?”
Elias leans back. “I don’t think I ever did. The only thing that makes it better is working to eliminate the EHC. And now that Mason’s gone—”
“Every day underground, I thought if only I could get back at them and get something for myself. Some dignity or respect.” Sharing a bit of our pain gives me some comfort, but Elias’ expression changes and some of that comfort dissipates.
“I’m worried about Lacy,” he says, breaking the silence.
I shake my head. “Why?”
“What she said earlier. She doesn’t have a lot of compassion for our team, does she?”
“She does,” I protest. “You just don’t understand her. Lacy is sometimes impulsive. She’s—”
“Hot-tempered,” Elias says.
I scan the dark sky, trying to think of a nicer way to put it, but he’s right. “She gets upset sometimes. You don’t really know what we went through underground.”
“But it’s been worse since the modification, hasn’t it?”
A twig snaps beside the fire. Emma’s silhouette eases from the darkness, coming toward us and crouching down.
I rub my arms again to push down the hairs standing on end on my skin. “Maybe I should go find more wood,” I volunteer, making to stand.
“No.” Emma holds up her hand. “We need to talk.”
I fall back into a crouch. “About what?”
Emma’s chest rises and falls. “Your friend… I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say, but you need to be careful with her.”
I scoff and get ready to stand up again. “What do you mean?”
“Just hear her out,” Elias says, steadying me.
I fold my arms across my chest. “Lacy is not the enemy, okay? I think she just had a little trouble adjusting to the mod. It’s better now.”
Emma lowers her voice. “There have been stories of complication with late-stage modifications.”
I shake my head. “You don’t understand. Lacy has always been like this. She was always an underdog. She’s fighting back now.”
“But she has been different since the modification, right?” Elias presses.
“Yes,” I say, admitting to the obvious. “But not in the way you’re saying. She’s not a danger to us.”
Elias turns his attention to Emma. “What kinds of complications?”
“At one time, the EHC thought about modifying a unit for working in the underground. The plan was to institute total control over the laborers. A resistance would never be possible with that level of patrol.”
“What happened?” I ask. “Why didn’t they send it?”
“Well,” Emma explains, “there were few who wanted to go underground, and there were also those who suffered from adverse effects of the modifications.”
“Adverse effects?” I turn my head to Elias, then back to Emma. I already have an idea, but I ask anyway. “What are you talking about?”
“Rage. Some people had changes in mood and behavior. They became uncontrollable, and a threat to the whole experiment.”
“And you think that’s what’s happening to Lacy?” I roll my eyes. “That won’t happen. You don’t know her—”
“Fin. Lacy killed that guard in the hovercraft,” Elias whispers.
My chest tightens.
That was an accident.
“Lacy will get worse if she’s having an adverse reaction,” Emma warns me, staring hard into my eyes. “It amplifies an existing tendency in some. It’s better that you know about this.” She turns and disappears back into the darkness.
“No way,” I say to Elias once she’s gone, clenching my fists. “Not Lacy.”
“Watch her,” Elias orders. “She could become a problem.”
I dig my heels into the dirt, trying to will away my concern. “She won’t be a problem. I’ll take care of her, okay?”
Elias dusts his hands off on his pants and stands. “We should get some sleep.”
Panic courses through my veins at the thought of being alone. “Wait.” I reach out and grab hold of his wrist. “Can’t you stay for a few more minutes?”
He pauses and stares down at me, then loosens my hold and eases back down beside me. “What was it like living underground?”
My mind bounces back to the endless rules and work. “There was never a minute to relax.”
“Everything with the EHC is work,” Elias agrees. “Pushing the world forward in science and order, that’s the EHC’s mission. The ‘enhanced alignment’ is what they call it.”
“And when we defeat them? What then?”
Elias leans back. Flickering shadows bounce off his face. The angles in his cheeks stand out. His brown eyes are calm and contemplative, and he laughs. “Then we’ll dance.”
“Dance?” I smile, moving closer to him and almost forgetting the fear I had before. “What else?”
“Everything. Art, entertainment—a world where people get to relax and enjoy their lives. It won’t be all about work and building an empire anymore.”
There’s a good chance there’ll be another fight tomorrow, maybe more death and pain, but I force myself not to think about that.
“One day we’ll be free.” I stare deeply into his eyes. “I can’t imagine a world where people let their guard down, but I’m willing to fight for that.”
Elias grins. “I’m willing to fight for that, too.”
CHAPTER 14
Coolness hangs in the desert air. Or at least it’s cooler than when the sun is high. I don’t think it ever really gets cool on the surface.
I roll over and sit up. Elias is gone, along with everyone else.
Where is everyone?
I strain to listen. There’s some soft chatter just outside the canopy; quiet, until a high-pitched laugh pierces through it all. Ah, Lacy’s awake. Stretching my arms over my head, I twist back and forth, trying to work the kinks out of my back.
A rumbling just beyond the fabric flaps makes my stomach leap, and Lacy appears, lifting the flap and looking in. Her eyes are wide, and a smile stretches over her lips. “Good morning.”
Drape follows her inside. “Sleep well?”
“Not really,” I say, twisting again and rubbing at an aching spot where a rock must’ve poked me in the back last night. “But sleep is sleep, and at least I’ll have some energy today, if there’s…” I lift my chin. Something drifted in with Lacy and Drape. A savory scent fills my nose. “Is that food?”
Lacy smiles. “Yup. Jase and Knuckles managed to find some rodents that come out from under the ground when it’s dark.” She leans back and pats her belly. “Now we’re going to have the best meal of our lives.”
I chuckle. “Rodents are the best meal of your life?”
She smiles. “I’m not thinking about the fact that they’re rodents.”
“Jase is cooking them now,” Drape says. “He only slept a few hours. Should be ready soon.”
I raise an eyebrow. I’m not sure I want to think about eating rodents either, but they do smell good, and my empty stomach would probably be grateful.
“We almost shot a few l
ittle birds.” Lacy says.
“Almost?” I ask.
“We weren’t aiming for them,” Drape says. “We were trying to hit rocks, but then Lacy spotted a few and we went for them.”
“Knuckles said they’re called grouse,” Lacy adds. “Kind of slow moving, but easy to target.”
“Nothing like ops,” I remind her. “And you didn’t even get the grouse.”
Lacy rolls her eyes. “Yeah, I know. Don’t worry, I won’t have a problem targeting them when the time comes.”
Drape crosses his arms. “I got really close,” he says. “At least, I think I did.”
“Hmm.” I start to collect the cushions. Just as I reach for the last one, Lacy snatches it from me and whacks Drape upside the head.
“What are you doing?” Drape cries out, trying to wrestle it from her, but Lacy’s faster, taking the cushion and hitting him with it again.
“Lacy!” I call out.
She ignores me. Drape rolls on the ground, but then jumps to his feet, laughing, and grabs a cushion from my hand. He smacks it into Lacy. She lunges at Drape and throws him to the ground. He lets out a grunt.
“Lacy!” I shout. I step back, and my chest tightens, unsure of what’s going on. “Cut that out.”
“What?” she shoots back.
I bite my lip. I need to tell her, I just don’t know how to say it without totally destroying her. Instead, I say, “You’ve got to control yourself, okay?”
“What’s up with you?” She tosses the pillow to me. “I’m just having a little fun.”
Drape jumps to his feet, rubbing his neck. “You were a little rough.”
Lacy snickers. “Don’t take everything so seriously.”
“This is serious,” I say. “No more messing around.” She may well have just been playing, but in light of my conversation with Emma last night, I don’t want to take any chances.
Lacy turns toward me and frowns. “No one takes this more seriously than me.”
“I know.” I move out of the sleeping area look toward the smoking fire pit a few yards away. When I turn to the transporter, Lacy is right behind me.
“Then what are you saying?” she demands. Her eyes are wide, her jaw tense.
I swallow down my worry. “Just focus on what’s important today, okay?”
She examines me more closely, then scoffs and begins to walk away, but not before shaking her head and laughing.
I return everything to the transporter, then follow Drape to the campfire, where Jase sits preparing his catch on a homemade spit. The meat pops and crackles above the flames. The scent of roasting meat hovers around me, making me mostly forget what just happened with Lacy. The fact that it’s rodent barely bothers me anymore.
Knuckles stands next to Jase with a fork in one hand. “They’re ready,” she insists, trying to get around him. “It’s cooked enough.”
“Patience,” Jase says. “It needs a few more minutes.”
She turns and kicks at a small rock, sending it skittering across the dirt. “You’ve been saying that forever.”
I laugh at the two of them, imagining Knuckles struggling for the last half hour to get to the meat. Once Jase turns his back, she tries again. Her fork skims its surface before Jase pulls her back.
“Enough,” Elias says, packing up the last of the gear. “We’ll eat now. It’s almost daylight and need to get moving soon.”
Jase narrows his eyes. “Fine,” he says, taking a step back from the spit.
Two of Emma’s guards move closer, lift the roasted rodents, and carry them to a makeshift table set up near the transporter. It’s not long before the perfectly cooked food is served to everyone.
I grab my handout and quickly retreat to a rock. I take a bite and close my eyes. Smokey and savory. Delicious. I look around at the others. Everyone’s quiet. It’s strange. Normally everyone is talking, but for the first time in a while, they’re speechless, savoring every bite and going back for more until every bit is gone.
I take a long drink of water from my pouch, watching as the sun finally rises on the horizon.
“We’ve got to go,” Elias orders.
Emma nods. “It’ll be hot soon. Too hot to stay out here.”
Lacy leans back. “Now?” she whines. “It won’t be hot for hours.”
Elias’ eyes flick to me.
“Now, Lacy,” I say, jumping to my feet to help her up.
She groans, but reluctantly follows me.
Once everyone is onboard, the transporter vibrates as the solar panels pull back into their housing. We pull away from our little oasis in the desert and back onto the road. Emma was right about things heating up fast. Waves of heat already rise from the surrounding land, and the sky overhead turns a bright blue.
“Thirty miles?” I overhear Elias confirm with Jase.
“Around that,” Jase says.
The transporter purrs softly, and everyone is silent except for Lacy, who taps nervously on the chair in front of her.
I grab her hand. “What’s up with you?” I whisper.
“Nothing,” she says, turning to me. “I’m just thinking about that other modification. They had so much power—”
“A dangerous power,” I remind her.
She nods. “Yeah. But no one can control them.”
“And that’s the problem.” I run my hands through my hair, wanting to tell her that something might be wrong with her. That the mod we got was dangerous, too.
I open my mouth, but quickly snap it shut. If Lacy hears something’s wrong with her, she’ll go ballistic. That’s all we need right now.
“Listen, we were all modified to the right place for now, okay?”
She sighs. “You’re right.”
I take a deep breath and hope that will be the end of it. I ease myself from my chair and make my way down the aisle. The transporter climbs a hill, and I hold onto the backs of the chairs as I work my way forward.
“Stop here,” Jase orders as we come to the top of the hill.
The transporter slows to a stop. Ahead, something new hovers in the distance. Buildings, a tower—it must be the settlement. I spot an empty seat and sit down.
“This is as far as we want to go with the transport,” Jase says, unbuckling his seatbelt “There will be ops here, so we need to scope out the area before going in.”
A moment later, the stairs descend. Jase is out the door first, followed by Elias. I wait a moment, nervousness rolling around in my belly at the thought of another encounter with the Leeches. Lacy rushes past, followed by Drape and Knuckles. Slowly, I stand and follow. The minute my foot hits the ground, I rush to the others, standing behind a rare thicket of trees.
Gazing down to the settlement, I’m surprised. I’d expected the EHC to build something magnificent, but Telhix is as plain as plain can be.
“This place is kind of a dump,” Drape says, obviously noticing the same things I have.
“It’s not meant to be beautiful,” Elias replies. “The EHC doesn’t care about any of that. It cares about function.”
My mind flashes back to our conversation last night. No music, art, or entertainment. Elias was right. It’s all about technology and power with the Leeches, nothing more.
“It looks like nothing’s alive down there,” I say, scanning the plain buildings. “Not a tree, or plant… nothing.”
Lacy points ahead. “There’s that.”
I follow her arm to two tall towers.
“A power station,” Emma says. “A fusion power station, to be exact. They feed the region with wireless electricity transmission relays.”
I take a step back. “It may not be pretty, but they’ve certainly figured out how to make things work.”
“And that’s what we need to do,” Jase says.
Knuckles cocks her gun. “How safe are we here?” she asks, nodding toward the operatives down below.
I take another look. Not far off, near the perimeter, stand at least five armed EHC operatives, patr
olling around the settlement’s edges.
“You won’t stand a chance,” Emma says. She pulls a pair of binoculars from her bag and holds them up to her eyes. “There’s the communications tower, but it’s well protected.”
“We need your help,” Elias tells her.
She lowers the binoculars, shaking her head. “You’re still on your own.”
My stomach sinks. Part of me hoped Emma might’ve change her mind once we got here.
Instead, she backs up. “It’s too dangerous. I won’t risk my guards on this mission.”
“We’re still going to try,” Jase says.
“I wish you luck.” Emma presses her lips together, turns to her guards, and waves them to follow her back to the transporter.
I rush to her side. “How can you not help us?” I ask. “Your settlement was destroyed. Your people will spend the rest of their lives hiding in caves. Is that what you want for them?”
“No,” Emma says bluntly. “What I want is for the EHC to fail, but I know they won’t. Their technology is superior, and you’ll never get past their operatives. You saw what they did.”
“Yes, I saw what they did,” I say. “And I’m not going to let them get away with it.”
Emma backs away. “I wish you the best of luck. We’ll wait for you for two hours.”
She slips into the transporter. Somewhat defeated, I turn and head back.
“We need to move,” Elias says.
My eyes dart to Lacy, who’s excitedly aiming her gun at something in the far-off distance. “All of us?” I ask hesitantly.
Jase sighs. “We’ll need all of the Century and Noble class to succeed, especially if Emma and her guards are opting out.”
“I can’t wait.” Lacy bounces from foot to foot. “All that target practice last night has made me a much better shot. I’m going to take out as many of those Leeches as I can.”
My eyes widen as I stare at her, trying to signal her to reel in her unfounded overconfidence. Lacy ignores me and continues to take aim at random things.
Jase turns and pulls Elias aside. They speak quietly to one another while the others get ready to head toward the settlement. I sneak in beside them, overhearing the words “too young” and “no training” and know they’re talking about me.
