find him.
I’d left Saffediene in an electro-net, and all my friends to fend for themselves during the last battle.
I would not be remembered for those acts. I would not be the person who simply left when things got really hard.
“It’s not who I am,” I said.
Saffediene hovered next to me, silently crying.
“I will fight,” I said. “Because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s what I believe in. Because I want to.”
“I love you,” she whispered. “Because you fight for what you believe in. I just thought you believed in us.”
“I do.” I didn’t tell her I loved her, because I wasn’t sure if I did. I knew I wanted to spend more time with her. I knew she could be as important to me as Vi once was.
“But some things are bigger than two people,” I said. “We leave now, and we’ll always regret it.” I reached for her hand, and she let me hold it. “Trust me, I know. I’ve turned my back on my friends many times. I’ve always regretted it.”
“Zenn, I just want you to be safe.”
“You don’t need to worry about me,” I said.
“I’m scared.” She drifted closer to me, and I threaded my fingers into hers.
“Me too, Saffediene.” I leaned in and kissed her. “Me too.”
I pulled away and took a deep breath. “But today, Saffediene, we have to face the future. Today, we fight.”
“Okay,” she said. “Okay.”
We flew toward the Rises, our tasers drawn and activated, as a scream pierced the sky.
A figure dropped in front of us, a streak of pale skin and dark hair.
“Vi!” I cried, even as the darkness swallowed her.
Jag
55.
I watched Laurel fall through the sky in slow motion, her scream stretching into thin ribbons. The sound of it would never leave me.
Someone screamed Vi’s name, and the timbre of it startled me from the shock of witnessing a Resistance member’s death.
“Zenn,” I said. Saffediene stood next to him on her own hoverboard. They both watched the disappearing form of Laurel Woods.
“Thane, it’s Zenn,” I said, mostly because he was the closest person to me. Vi hovered several feet away, her mouth open as she stared into the sky that had swallowed her mother.
I circled down and stalled in front of Zenn. “Zenn, look at me.”
He raised his shell-shocked eyes to mine, and a shudder rippled through his body.
“She knew the risks,” I said as the others joined me. “We all know the risks, right?”
A sob escaped from Saffediene. Vi nodded, along with Raine. Thane stood there, looking at me without moving. I’d never seen someone hold so still, especially while riding a hoverboard.
“We’re all needed,” I said, looking at my friends. Their talents were catalogued. Practiced. Coveted by the Association. “We all have something valuable to contribute.” I looked at the people flying around me. I thought of those who had volunteered to fight for freedom only a few hours after listening to Zenn’s messages.
“This is what we’ve been working for,” I said. “This is the night we win. The night we take back the control from those who have kept it from us for lifetimes.” My voice sounded with pure authority. “Tonight, this night, we instate a free government.”
I looked at each of them as I spoke. Vi nodded; Thane too. Raine looked worried, but pressed her mouth into a thin line of determination.
Saffediene was still crying, but Zenn said, “Tonight, we fight.”
“Two groups,” I commanded. “Thane, you’re with me. Raine, take Saffediene to Rise Twelve. Report to Irvine about Laurel”—my voice caught, but I quickly cleared it away—“Laurel’s fall. Zenn, Vi, I want you together.” The words meant so much. I knew Zenn understood what I really meant. He nodded. “Vi, tell Zenn about his dad.” I ignored the hope and worry coming from Zenn when I said that.
“We’ll go get Darke,” I said, “and meet up with everyone at Twelve when this is over.”
No one questioned my directions. Raine flew away with Saffediene, and I turned my attention to the guards nearest me. “Stop this,” I said, employing my most powerful voice. “Go home.” They flew away without a second thought. Thane smiled grimly at me, but I felt no satisfaction.
“Vi,” I said. “Do what you need to do.” I didn’t look at her. “Zenn, keep her safe.”
I watched Vi and Zenn zoom away, desperately hoping that wasn’t my final good-bye with the girl I loved.
Thane and I flew into the fray, and I used my voice at every opportunity. Thane did too. We’d managed to ground a dozen enemies in just a few minutes. Someone above me dropped his taser, and it discharged against my board. Waves of techtricity streamed through me and my board, causing my back to arch and my board to stall.
Again I saw Laurel falling through empty space, but this time my face replaced hers.
I clenched my teeth against the pain but could do nothing as my board fell. I landed on something hard. Someone kicked away my useless board. When I opened my eyes, I was looking straight at Thane Myers.
He’d saved me. Again.
“Thank you,” I breathed out, my heart still pounding hard with the fear of free-falling. “Can we fly double on this thing?” I eyed his standard-issue board.
“We have no choice,” he replied. “I’ll navigate. You order people around.”
Thane was a good flier. He maneuvered us through streams of guards, and I commanded hoverboards to quit, leaving Darke’s clones stranded in the air.
The Citizens of Freedom then tased, bound, and took the prisoners to the camps Irvine had set up near the orchards.
I told people to go to sleep. I told them to go home. I told them to join our side. I said whatever felt right at the moment.
It seemed like Thane flew forever, from one end of the city to the other, again and again. And still there were guards and clones to command.
On the third trip north, Thane brought his board to a full stop. Darke stood in front of us, his hoverboard humming with energy. He folded his arms and regarded the two of us.
I stood in front of Thane, anger burning through my body. Thane put his hand on my shoulder and whispered, “Patience.”
I didn’t have much of that. Thane had been fighting from the inside for twenty years. He had untold stores of patience.
“Leave,” I said. “Leave now, and we won’t kill you.”
Darke threw his head back and laughed. I fingered the tech along my belt, wondering if any of it would kill him. I fought against the urge to throw everything I had at him.
With the last of his laughter hanging in the air, I plucked a tech grenade from my belt and launched it toward him. He raised both hands and shoved them toward me.
The tech grenade reversed direction and landed between me and Thane on our hoverboard. Thane kicked it away, and it exploded in the air. The surge of energy forced us upward, and I dropped to a crouched position so I wouldn’t fall again.
“That was not patience,” Thane said. “Let him make the first move.”
We hovered above Darke in the sky now. “Nice try,” he said, ascending to our level. “Did you really think I’d
