Anya let go of his hand and studied the map more closely. Carissa’s recollection of the layout had filled in most of the city’s streets and buildings, but not the interiors. A few places had been included, places where Carissa had been more than once. Those included the Great Hall in the Learning Centre, where the Collective apparently resided.
Frowning, Anya traced one route with her finger. Dom saw she was on the second floor of the medical facility, where she, June and Sheila had been kept prisoner. And the Breeder called Alex.
‘I hope Alex is okay,’ she said softly. ‘And Jerome.’
June’s shoulders rounded. She kept her eyes fixed on the map. ‘When do we go, Dom?’
‘As soon as we can clear the boulders from the front of the camp. Jacob’s out there with Vanessa and Charlie. He’s commanding the pair of wolves to move them.’
The boulders were too heavy to move manually.
He sensed everyone was anxious about leaving. Neither Vanessa nor Charlie had offered their thoughts about returning to the city. Go too early and they’d be ambushed. But leave it too late and they could be sitting ducks.
Without Max to guide him, he had no idea how to attack Praesidium when they returned there. But Jacob’s reprogrammed orb had shown them images of the city and its force field down. Now was the right time to strike.
The door opened and in walked Vanessa, Jacob and Charlie. Thomas followed closely; the young man in his early twenties was the closest thing to an inventor the rebel camp had. Carissa trailed after Jacob. Her blonde hair was messy and her sweatshirt was dirty, as were her hands. She must have been helping the wolves move the rocks.
‘What’s the word?’ he asked Charlie.
The old man puffed out some air. ‘The rocks are large, but Rover and the wolf from the city are making small progress. We need a break before we start in again.’
Dom hated this, sitting around doing nothing. ‘We should get moving as soon as the rocks are out of the way.’
Charlie wiped his hands on his overalls. ‘Vanessa and I have been talking. We have a lot of injured soldiers. We should make sure they’ve fully recovered before we go.’
‘We don’t have time. June needs medical attention. And we need to get Alex and Jerome back.’
‘By all means take a small group, but the rest of us should stay here until the injured are strong enough.’
Dom understood Charlie’s concerns. He’d watched his son die on the battlefield outside this very camp. If they went to the city with injured soldiers and the Collective attacked again, it would leave them at a serious disadvantage.
But something told him it would be worse if they split up.
‘Alex and Jerome have been taken and we don’t know what’s happening to them. We need to get them back now. ’
Charlie nodded. ‘Take a smaller team, like I said.’
Dom looked at Jacob. ‘Didn’t you tell me the orb showed the city’s defences were down?’ The Inventor nodded. ‘If we wait too long, the force field could have time to recover. By the time this camp is strong enough to fight, the city could be impenetrable again. I don’t want to split us up. We travel together or not at all. We need the trucks ready to go as soon as possible.’
Charlie looked away, his jaw tight.
Jacob gripped the old man’s shoulder. ‘I agree with Dom. It’s dangerous to stay here. We have to move out. The city has equipment that can heal the soldiers faster. The longer we stay, the more time the Collective has to regroup. We don’t know what information Julius might have passed to Quintus.’
But Charlie still wasn’t happy. And neither was Vanessa.
‘Can we use the mountain pass to get out of here?’ she asked. ‘Charlie’s concerned we’ll be exposed if we leave through the front. So am I.’
Their truck had used the mountain pass above the camp to get in and Dom had considered using it to get out. But he couldn’t be sure the Collective didn’t already know about that one way in and one way out route. At least in the open they could see their enemy coming.
Jacob echoed his thoughts. ‘We can’t be sure the Collective hasn’t sent Copies, wolves or digging machines to block the road at the base. It’s safest to leave through the front.’
‘But we’ll be vulnerable!’ said Charlie. He was breathing hard.
‘It won’t be like the last time, I promise.’ Dom said.
He would make certain of that. Nobody else had to die.
Anya squeezed his hand briefly; the tension in his shoulders lessened a little. She didn’t add anything to the discussion, but he knew she would follow his decision. They all would. Even Charlie.
He stepped closer to the man who had become his family. The old man’s eyes widened a little at his approach. ‘I miss him, too, Charlie.’
‘Me too,’ said Sheila.
Tears glistened in the corners of Charlie’s eyes. Seeing them brought a lump to Dom’s throat. ‘We have to get our friends back. We also have to find the Beyond. It’s what Max was searching for. It’s what we need to do now.’
Charlie’s lower lip quivered and he looked away. Sheila flung her arms around him.
He made a half-hearted effort to push her away. ‘You’re making a fuss over nothing. Stop that.’
But despite his scolding, he held on tight.
Dom swallowed back his own tears. Max had been more of a father to him than the asshole who’d beaten him and his mother, and made a pass at a younger Sheila.
June grunted. He turned to see her wince. Anya grabbed her arm to steady her.
