“Hold on to me tighter.”
She complied, facing me and wrapping both arms aroundmy waist, then burying her face in my chest. I lifted her onto the air cushion and whispered, “Up, please.”
The wind obeyed, taking us straight up until we’d escaped the mayhem below.
“Wait,” I said, and we paused to watch the scene below. It mirrored the vids I’d seen in the past. People were running here, there, everywhere. Hovercopters crowded the rooflines; officers shouted instructions through the amplifiers. The spark of tasers looked like lightning in the morning sunlight.
I couldn’t believe it. This was what I’d been in favor of? Citizens killing other Citizens? Violence as a means to achieve a desired outcome?
No . I did not advocate those things.
My peripheral vision caught a movement in the sky. Director Benes floated on a hoverboard a hundred feet away, also surveying the chaos below. He met my gaze with raised eyebrows. His message was clear: Tell Jag.
Half of me wanted to stay and see if or when he might intervene. The other half couldn’t wait to get away from the upheaval. Far away.
That half won.
* * *
Saffediene and I didn’t speak about what we’d witnessed on the way back to the cavern. I expanded the cushion of aironce we left Harvest so we could both sit comfortably. She could’ve chosen a spot far from me and passed the ride with only her own thoughts.
She didn’t.
She sat right next to me, both her hands holding one of mine, talking about her life before the Insiders, her mom, her two younger brothers, her assigned educational track. She asked me about school, and how I met Vi, and if I had any siblings.
I told her everything. Everything about my older brother, and meeting Vi, and joining Jag, and when I defected, and how sometimes I ached to see my parents again.
She felt safe to me. Saffediene had become someone I could tell anything to, and she wouldn’t judge or question me. She accepted who I was at that moment, and empathized with who I’d been in the past.
I’d never met anyone like her. When the night swallowed the last of the day, I realized why I felt so secure with Saffediene.
She had no agenda. She simply was .
I envied her. I lived my entire life according to an agenda, mine or someone else’s. I couldn’t tell them apart anymore.
And maybe that was my real problem.
Jag
15 . Vi and I stayed in her room for a few heartbeats, both of us staring at one another.
Thane, awake.
The rocks seemed to shout the question running through my head: What will happen now?
“Only one way to find out,” Vi said. She laced her fingers through mine, pressing our palms together. Every muscle in my body protested as she helped me stand.
“I need meds,” I complained, limping into the hall. Gunn had gone ahead, too agitated to wait. I should’ve asked him if Raine had woken up yet.
“She’s with Gunner,” Vi said. “And we can stop by the hospital alcove for meds on the way to Thane’s room.”
“Perfect,” I said.
* * *
“Pace,” Vi said, leaning into the hospital alcove. “Jag needs meds.” She turned away as Pace fed the drugs into my system. Immediately, the ache in my head receded; the throbbing in my leg slowed.
“Thanks,” I said. “How often can I have that?” The cuts along my back still pulled, radiating pain through my body.
“Come back before bed,” Pace said, smiling. It was his big-brother smile. The one that told me he was in control, that I could confide in him.
“Where’s Raine?” I asked, noting two empty beds in the hospital alcove. I’d need to get a report from her too.
“Everyone is in Thane’s room,” Pace answered. “Same hall as my room. Better hurry, or you won’t get front-row seats.” His words were filled with bitterness. I understood how he felt. All this time, Thane had been working against us.
For us too, but definitely against us. He’d killed Ty. He’d taken Vi and brainwashed her. Forced
She complied, facing me and wrapping both arms aroundmy waist, then burying her face in my chest. I lifted her onto the air cushion and whispered, “Up, please.”
The wind obeyed, taking us straight up until we’d escaped the mayhem below.
“Wait,” I said, and we paused to watch the scene below. It mirrored the vids I’d seen in the past. People were running here, there, everywhere. Hovercopters crowded the rooflines; officers shouted instructions through the amplifiers. The spark of tasers looked like lightning in the morning sunlight.
I couldn’t believe it. This was what I’d been in favor of? Citizens killing other Citizens? Violence as a means to achieve a desired outcome?
No . I did not advocate those things.
My peripheral vision caught a movement in the sky. Director Benes floated on a hoverboard a hundred feet away, also surveying the chaos below. He met my gaze with raised eyebrows. His message was clear: Tell Jag.
Half of me wanted to stay and see if or when he might intervene. The other half couldn’t wait to get away from the upheaval. Far away.
That half won.
* * *
Saffediene and I didn’t speak about what we’d witnessed on the way back to the cavern. I expanded the cushion of aironce we left Harvest so we could both sit comfortably. She could’ve chosen a spot far from me and passed the ride with only her own thoughts.
She didn’t.
She sat right next to me, both her hands holding one of mine, talking about her life before the Insiders, her mom, her two younger brothers, her assigned educational track. She asked me about school, and how I met Vi, and if I had any siblings.
I told her everything. Everything about my older brother, and meeting Vi, and joining Jag, and when I defected, and how sometimes I ached to see my parents again.
She felt safe to me. Saffediene had become someone I could tell anything to, and she wouldn’t judge or question me. She accepted who I was at that moment, and empathized with who I’d been in the past.
I’d never met anyone like her. When the night swallowed the last of the day, I realized why I felt so secure with Saffediene.
She had no agenda. She simply was .
I envied her. I lived my entire life according to an agenda, mine or someone else’s. I couldn’t tell them apart anymore.
And maybe that was my real problem.
Jag
15 . Vi and I stayed in her room for a few heartbeats, both of us staring at one another.
Thane, awake.
The rocks seemed to shout the question running through my head: What will happen now?
“Only one way to find out,” Vi said. She laced her fingers through mine, pressing our palms together. Every muscle in my body protested as she helped me stand.
“I need meds,” I complained, limping into the hall. Gunn had gone ahead, too agitated to wait. I should’ve asked him if Raine had woken up yet.
“She’s with Gunner,” Vi said. “And we can stop by the hospital alcove for meds on the way to Thane’s room.”
“Perfect,” I said.
* * *
“Pace,” Vi said, leaning into the hospital alcove. “Jag needs meds.” She turned away as Pace fed the drugs into my system. Immediately, the ache in my head receded; the throbbing in my leg slowed.
“Thanks,” I said. “How often can I have that?” The cuts along my back still pulled, radiating pain through my body.
“Come back before bed,” Pace said, smiling. It was his big-brother smile. The one that told me he was in control, that I could confide in him.
“Where’s Raine?” I asked, noting two empty beds in the hospital alcove. I’d need to get a report from her too.
“Everyone is in Thane’s room,” Pace answered. “Same hall as my room. Better hurry, or you won’t get front-row seats.” His words were filled with bitterness. I understood how he felt. All this time, Thane had been working against us.
For us too, but definitely against us. He’d killed Ty. He’d taken Vi and brainwashed her. Forced
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