Ash (34 page)

Link was using both hands to press against what appeared to be a wall of air. “It’s a holograph trap,” he said, answering my question over his shoulder. “It makes walls appear like open space and vice versa.” I wondered how he knew about them as he continued palming over the surface. All of a sudden a surge of electricity crackled around us. Link fell to the ground, followed by Oena, Thom, and Raze, all dropping like ragdolls. I bit the inside of my cheeks, stifling a scream.

“Electric field, “ Zane said, already pulling Oena away from it. “Get them away from the walls. Hurry,” he commanded.

Dax and I ran to Link, dragging him several feet away. Next to me Sol helped Zane pull the others from the current. Holograph traps, electric fields? My father never mentioned any of this. I never even considered that the UV would need something like this—not since right after the Event.

Dax looked near hysterical. “Wake up,” she said, shaking Link. “Come on, Link. Please.”

I could feel my own panic rising and I reached over her, pressing two fingers onto his neck. “He’s got a pulse,” I said, relieved.

“Just a bad zap,” Zane said. “I’ve seen worse.” He stood over Thom and nudged him with a boot. The big man groaned without opening his eyes.

“They’ll wake up soon?” I faltered. I stood up from Link, facing Zane. Dax was still crouched over her brother. If they didn’t get out of here, they’d both be sent to the cells, maybe even removed.

“Soon enough,” he replied. With a flourish, he pulled off one shoe, then the next. “Hopefully before the guards come round. Rather not have to take them all out on my own.” He looked around us, eyes gleaming. “Not that I couldn’t.” He slashed his shoe through the air at a pretend adversary. “Quite the misadventure, isn’t it?”

“Is this some kind of joke to you?” I asked, angrily.

Zane just waved me off. “When you’ve got nothing to lose, you find comedy in the strangest of places. A philosophy your kind will never understand.”

I glared back. “How about you worry less about my kind, and focus on getting us out of here,” I said.

“Fair point,” Zane responded, snapping his head toward Sol, who was frantically working with his tracker. “Siren boy,” Zane called. “How goes the computing?”

“Working on it,” Sol said between gritted teeth. “I’m trying to bypass some pretty intense security right now.”

Zane seemed unperturbed. “In that case, I should get back to what I was doing.” He shoved his hands into his shoes and began to thump them against the walls, humming along to the crackles of electricity each smack of his shoes made.

“Back to your foolishness,” I said half to him, half to myself.

“Just because you don’t understand something, doesn’t mean it’s foolishness. Not that I expect you to comprehend a Revenant’s ways.”

The Revenants?
I tried to hide my surprise but it didn’t work.

“She left out a few details, did she?” He looked over at Dax, his approval obvious. “What exactly did she say to get you to come along?”

“I knew what I was getting into,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell this madman that I had no idea the Revenants were anything more than scary stories, that Dax made it sound like her friends were harmless nobodies, and that everything I thought was true and real was getting turned on its head. “Don’t let me distract you from your
important
work,” I told him instead.

“You’re not.” He jumped up, then down, counting under his breath as he circled the space. “About fifteen-by-fifteen feet I’d say, with two false walls.” He pointed to the hallway that appeared to stretch out in front of us. “
That
is actually a wall, which is why Oena and Thom took a tumble.” He pointed in the other direction, toward the wall. “And
this
is actually a hallway. Tricky things, holographs. At least it’s roomier than my last box.” He looked over at Dax, practically leering at her. “And the company is infinitely better.”

He was so crude. At least Dax didn’t notice him eyeing her.

“Guards are coming down corridor C,” Sol interrupted. “I’m setting off alarms throughout the building to buy us more time. There’s not much more I can do though. If I could just access that box I could get into the mainframe.” Sol pointed to a small outlet on the other side of the current.

“Rubber can hold the current off, right?” Dax asked. “We can use shoes to make you an opening. It’ll be small, but it should let you reach the box.”

“Smart,” Zane said, and then turned to Sol. “How much time do you need?”

“A minute, maybe,” Sol replied.

“I’ll give you thirty seconds.” Zane turned to me. “Hand over your shoes. Yours look to be the best made in the rabble.”

I didn’t bother to argue. I gave him my shoes. He stuffed them inside his own shoes, and once again shoved his hands inside. “Ready?” he asked Sol.

“As ready as I’m going to be,” Sol answered, moving to stand beside Zane. I wasn’t quite sure what they were up to, but they seemed to understand one another.

“These won’t last long. You’re going to have to hurry.” With that Zane shoved his covered hands toward the current, pushing through it, to create a small open tunnel. The shoes that were protecting his hands immediately began to blacken.

Sol reached through the opening and tapped his tracker to the outlet.

Smoke billowed up around Zane and Sol’s faces. “Gonna hit flesh soon,” Zane warned.

Beside me I heard Thom cough. He sat up blearily. “Something on fire?” he asked me.

“Ahh, Thomas,” Zane called cheerfully. “I’ll be the one on fire in a moment if the boy doesn’t hurry it up.”

“One more second,” Sol said. I could see him tinkering with something, and then he shouted. “Got it!” He and Zane both tumbled back from the wall, Zane cradling an arm, Sol still tapping into his tracker. Then just like that, I heard the crackle silence. Zane threw a shoe—
my
shoe—toward a wall. It sailed right through.

“Gather the fallen and let’s move,” Zane said. He picked Oena up. I heard her groan. I ran over to Link, who had woken up, and seemed to be getting his strength back. Dax and I helped him to his feet. Next to us, Sol pulled Raze up. Thom, thankfully, was already walking on his own.

“Come on,” Zane said, plunging through the holograph wall.

“We’ve got you,” I told Link.

“I’m okay,” he said. I helped him to his feet and, after a wobbly start, he stood on his own. Everyone seemed to be getting their strength back.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, locking eyes. “Thanks.”

I nodded. This was probably the last time I’d ever see Link. Once we got to the door, he’d run with the others into hiding. I had so much I wanted to say, but none of it really mattered anymore. He was about to be out of my life for good. I could feel the tears starting to form, so I just gave him a small smile and ran ahead to catch up with Sol and the others, making sure not to look back.

Just as the exit came into view, several guards stepped around the corner in front of us. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Zane slid to a stop ahead, pulling out both of his guns. He shot one guard, then the next. They jerked backward from the impact, blood splattering over one cream wall as they fell. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. I stood there frozen. I wanted to help, but I didn’t know what to do. Zane dropped, rolling behind a corner, as a third guard pulled his gun. With Zane out of the way, he aimed at Sol.

My reflexes kicked back in. “No,” I screamed, diving at Sol and pushing him to the floor. I heard a boom in response, and then a searing ache stabbed my side. I fell to the ground. Pain like nothing I had ever experienced ripped through my stomach. I struggled to get to my feet, but my legs no longer seemed to function. A rush of activity surrounded me, but it was all a haze, like watching an outdoor film under a cover of mist. There was Sol and Link running to me. Another loud boom. Raze holding a smoking gun. A third officer falling.

Blood was pooling around me. Someone held a cloth over my stomach. It dripped a brilliant crimson red.

I reached down and touched my side. It was wet and slick, but it didn’t hurt anymore. It didn’t feel like anything.

“Madden, Madden, stay with us.” It was Sol. “Open your eyes. You’ll be okay.”

“Hang on, Maddy.” This time it was Link’s voice.

I opened my eyes to see them both crouched on either side of me. They were both so handsome, one light head, one dark. I wanted to keep looking at them, but my eyelids felt heavy.

“We need to get her to a hospital,” Link continued.

“We don’t have time for a hospital,” Zane said, his voice growing further away. “They’ll be more guards here any minute. We’ll all be dead—not just her, if we stay.”

Dead? Was I dying? My head felt cloudy, it was hard to stay awake. Maybe this was my punishment for defying the system. For hiding my destiny.

“I’m not leaving her,” Sol said.

“Me either,” Link said.

“Suit yourself,” Zane said. “I’m not sticking around to be caught again.”

“Dax, go with them,” Link instructed his sister.

“Not without you,” she replied, kneeling down next to him. She was so close I could touch her. “Madden, I’m so sorry,” she whispered.

I didn’t want them to risk their lives for me. I needed them to be safe. I struggled to keep my eyes open. I knew my voice was weak, but I had to find it. With all my strength I reached out for Dax, grasping her hand in my own. I couldn’t die. Not without telling her the truth. It would save her. Hopefully it would save them all.

Z
ane and the others rushed out. Part of me wanted to follow, but I couldn’t, and not just because Link was staying. It was my fault Madden had been shot. I was the one who talked her into this, who said it would be safe, that no one would get hurt. Now here she was dying in front of me.

“Hold on,” I whispered as she grasped my hand harder. It was covered in blood. Everything around her was.
Stay strong,
I instructed myself. I didn’t know what to do. Sol was cradling Madden, telling her it would be okay, but I wasn’t so sure. The color was draining from her face as he pressed his jacket against her side. It was covered with blood. Link ripped off his shirt, balled it up, and swapped it out to cover the wound. Dark red saturated the gray material. “This isn’t helping,” Link muttered. “She needs surgery.”

“Let’s try to get her out of here,” I suggested.

Link shook his head. “We can’t move her. Dax, go. Make a run for it. I’ll stay with Madden.”

“I’m serious, Link. I won’t leave if you’re not with me.”

“Stop,” Sol said not taking his eyes off of Madden. “Both of you go. We need to stick to the plan. This was a botched kidnapping. I’ll make sure she’s taken to the hospital and that the right story gets out.”

Link looked from me to Sol. I knew he didn’t want to leave Madden, but I also knew he wouldn’t risk me staying by his side. “Fine, but I’m not waiting for them to just stumble upon you.” He raced over to where one of the officers had fallen. I closed my eyes as he punched something into the man’s tracker. I had only seen one dead body before. Aldan’s. Now I was in a room with three dead guards and a dying future minister. Oena had been right. There was nothing glamorous about the Revenants’ life. It was dangerous. Link and I would be lucky if we were able to get out before the guards arrived. I checked my tracker. We had three, four minutes tops before the other officers arrived.

“We need medical attention, now,” Link was saying. “Get ready to airlift to UV General. It’s a gunshot victim.”