sweat and blood and canned food filled the air. Garbage littered the floor. Standing in the middle of it all, and moving from group to group, was a tall brunette.
A long ponytail hung down her back, and she kept slicking her bangs off her sweaty forehead. She wore jeans and a tank top, despite the fact that the March weather called for long sleeves.
She turned when the winter air filtered into the room, but she didn’t stop talking until she saw Thane. Then she walked away from her conversation and wove her way to us.
“Violet Schoenfeld,” she said, her voice full of emotion. I felt it infect me with love, with sadness, with fury.
The woman drew Vi into a tight hug. “You’re alive,” she kept saying. “My baby girl is alive.”
Vi cried—that’s right, she cried. I knew from experience that it took a helluva lot to make Vi cry. She was either really, really angry or really, really scared, or—I didn’t know what else.
“Ty,” she choked out, and then it became the Schoenfeld family reunion. Thane hugged both Vi and her mom, and they were all crying, while Indy and I stood there gaping at each other like we weren’t sure if this was real or not.
Vi gathered herself together first and shook off Thane. Then she stepped away from her mom and cleared her throat. “Mom, uh, this is my boyfriend—this is Jag Barque.” She sidled next to me and gripped my hand. “Jag. My mother, Laurel.”
“Hello,” I said, extending my free hand and wondering if I should be afraid to meet Vi’s mother. “Thanks for taking in my people. I hear you’ve got a system to get messages out to cities across the Union.”
“Jag Barque.” Laurel shook my hand and stepped back to appraise me. “I knew you were young, but I had no idea you were this young.”
I bristled, but held my tongue.
“He’s the leader of the Resistance,” Indy said. “Has been for years. He knows more—”
“I know what he knows,” Laurel interrupted. “I know all about him. Jag Barque is a legend.”
I was very aware of Vi’s pythonic grip on my fingers. I wished her mom hadn’t used the word “legend.” That wouldn’t help Vi’s insecurity issues about which of us was more important. I glanced at the dozens of people who were staring at us. They elbowed each other and whispered my name.
“If we all already know each other, let’s move right on to business, shall we? We need to gather our Insiders here as soon as possible,” I said. “Word is you’re the leader of an underground communication loop. True?”
“True,” Laurel said. “Thorne, Ace, activate the moles.” She gestured to me as two men approached us. “Message, Mr. Barque?”
“All Insiders need to relocate to the Southern Region, city of Grande. We launch an attack on Freedom in fourteen days.”
“Seven days,” a voice corrected.
Saffediene stood in the doorway, her hair wild, her face lined with exhaustion.
“Seven days? Where’s Zenn?”
“It’s a long story.” She strode toward me. “But yes, seven days. If we wait much longer, we won’t succeed.”
“Why not? What do you know?”
“Zenn left me a message at Arrow Falls. He met with Trek, then left for Castledale. The General is leaving Freedom tomorrow morning, which makes Freedom an easier target. Hightower is canceling school and has moved all upper-level students into the professional Rises. Trek and Starr are worried that if we don’t strike in the next week, we’ll be too late.”
I felt like I was preparing for a war I couldn’t win—especially not in seven cracking days. I needed a dark room to lie down in and think. Maybe reason it all out with someone who could shed more light on the subject.
Everyone stared at me, waiting for my next direction. I felt like the weight of the world rested on me.
Her eyes softened. She nodded.
“Is that even enough time for our people to get here?” I asked.
“Our people can get here in a week if you tell them to get here in a week,” Laurel said.
And she was right.
“We can use the teleporter rings to bring them in,” I said. “We can evacuate a city in hours, and move to the next.”
I looked at Thorne and Ace. “Message: All Insiders must relocate to the Southern Region, city of Grande, by March twenty-seventh. Six days. We enter Freedom on the twenty-eighth.” I turned to Laurel. “Is my brother here? He’ll have the teleporter rings for your runners.”
“He’s in the weapons room,” she said, motioning for Thorne and Ace to get a move on already. They disappeared down a hallway. I watched them go, numb. Laurel said something about breakfast, and Vi led me through the still-staring crowd. We made it into the safety of the dark hallway before I drew her into a desperate embrace.
“Tell me I’m doing the right thing,” I whispered into her neck. “Please, tell me we can win this.”
She just held me, her silence saying more than her words ever could.
Zenn
30.
Fret handed me a microchip. “Help us out with a few things, okay?”
“Sure,” I said, trying to mask the worry in my voice. If the tech barrier was up, how were we going to get out? I managed to keep my feelings submerged, and Fret went back to his communication port. He issued directions from Director Pederson.
I put the chip in my wrist-port and brought up the info. I scanned the evacuation to-do list and knew I needed to clear the tunnels and activate the emergency teleporters.
I suppressed a shudder. I couldn’t think of anything I hated more than being trapped underground. I could practically smell the confining stench of the cavern I’d been hiding in for the past few weeks. Surely the tunnels here in Castledale would be just as stale. Just as airless.
Especially if they haven’t been cleared in a while. Or ever.
I contacted Brynn Fowler—the girl listed at the top of the Evacuation Emergency Plan. We cached back and forth a few times, and she sent me the coordinates to the underground entrance. I left without saying good-bye to Fret, because he was crazy-busy. I did catch Director Pederson’s eye, and he waved at me as he continued to speak to someone over a handheld communicator.
Outside, the cold air sliced like techtricity through my lungs. It should be warming up, but in the dead of night the chill overrode any thought of spring. As I flew, I thought of Saffediene. Surely she’d check the message center in Arrow Falls. Hopefully Jag would be able to mobilize the Insiders.
When I arrived on the outskirts of the city, about ten yards from the barrier, a group of people had already gathered.
“You must be Zenn,” a girl said as she approached. “I’m Brynn.”
“Where do we need to clear?” I asked.
“I tried caching you,” she said as we joined the group. “These guys just arrived from Grande. Jag Barque has authorized the evacuation Union-wide. He sent teleporter rings, so we don’t need to use the tunnels.”
Relief flooded my body. Saffediene had gotten the message—and she’d made it back to the safe house. And surprise, surprise, Jag had listened.
I was supremely glad Vi wasn’t here. I could already hear her voice in my head, chastising me.
I needed to listen to the real conversation in front of me, not the one in my head with a girl who could hardly stand to look at me.
