Brave New Love (18 page)

•  •  •

“So Miss Goody-Goody wants to know the sweet spots,” Doreen said at breakfast the next morning.

Her mocking tone failed to provoke a reaction from me. If it had been a few days ago, I probably would have gone after her. And just knowing that I had the power to tear her to pieces gave me a
boost of confidence. “What’s it going to cost?”

“How do I know you won’t run to Mother Jean and squeal?”

“Cut the act, Doreen. You know I won’t tell.”

She studied me as she chewed on a fingernail. “True, you’re not a squealer, but then again you disappear as soon as there’s a hint of trouble. This is new. Why are you so
interested all of a sudden?”

I glanced at Jayden sitting across the dining room.

She followed my gaze and snorted. “Wow, Kate. When you decide to break the rules you go all out. You know you’ll eventually get caught. Right? Couples don’t last long in
here.”

“I’m aware of the risks. How much?”

“Depends. Do you want a few trysting spots or all the locations?”

“All of them.”

“It won’t help him escape. He’ll need more than that.” That was the reason Doreen won the bets about people—she was scarily perceptive. She leaned forward.
“What’s really going on?”

Jayden’s words,
you’re the only one who’s seen the truth of this place
, echoed in my mind. The seventeens didn’t trust him, but they trusted me. The bell rang and
I made a quick, and hopefully not fatal, decision.

Surrounded by the clatter and scraps of chairs, I told Doreen about Molly.

She grabbed my arm. “You serious?”

“Yeah.”

“Berserking nuts! I figured something wasn’t right. If you start thinking about it, there are all kinds of clues. Like how we never get letters or anything from our families. But to
murder us!”

“Easy, Doreen,” I said, hoping to calm her. “Just breathe.”

She drew in deep breaths as we walked together to our first class. Doreen didn’t say another word until we reached the classroom. “Never thought serking would be the preferred
choice.”

“I’m going to stop it.”

She laughed, but it had a shaky, almost hysterical edge. “How?”

“I’m working on it. How much for those locations?”

Doreen peered at me as if she’d never seen me before. “I’ll have a map for you by the end of sixth period.”

As promised, Doreen slipped me a paper with information and a diagram of the compound on it. The locations hidden from the cameras were marked in red. “Memorize it and flush it. You
don’t
want to be caught with this.”

“Thanks.”

She paused. “Just don’t leave without us. Okay?”

“That’s the plan.”

•  •  •

Half way through the eighth-period races, I managed to get close to Jayden. He’d been ignoring me all day.

“If you want my help, meet me during free time.” I explained where.

His stance didn’t change and his gaze remained fixed on the races. A nod was the only indication he’d heard me.

“Can you get there without alerting anyone?”

Annoyed, he looked at me. “Of course. Can you?”

“I think—”

“Don’t over think it, Kate. Just act like you belong there. No nervous glances or any hesitation. Understand?”

“Yeah.”

According to Doreen’s information, no seventeens occupied the top floor of our dorm so the cameras had been turned off to save power. Producing energy had been the biggest hurdle after the
Berserkers destroyed all the electrical power plants.

The dorm’s stairwells were watched, but during free time the activity inside them increased. Plus security concentrated on the common areas at that time. If Jayden and I could reach the
third floor without alerting security, we should be safe. Key word:
should
.

I followed Jayden’s advice and climbed the steps as if I did it every day. Sunlight filtered in through the windows located at the two ends of the hallway, but a murky semi-darkness filled
the middle. At least no red lights shone from the ceiling.

No sign of Jayden. Worry and impatience mounted as I waited. Finally the door on the far end opened. He met me in the middle. After scanning the ceiling, he pointed to dorm on the left. We
entered the room, disturbing a layer of musty-smelling dust. No red light greeted us, but Jayden led me into the washroom anyway.

He leaned on the sink and crossed his arms over his chest. “Does this mean you’ll help me?”

“Sort of.”

Jayden waited.

“I need some answers first,” I said.

He motioned for me to continue.

“Why didn’t they know you’ve serked when they captured you?”

Pain flashed across his face but he closed his eyes for a moment, wiping away all expression. “Our unit had been betrayed and the DS sent a force that surprised and overpowered us. My
mother ordered me to act normal so they wouldn’t . . .” Every muscle in his body strained against the fabric of his jumpsuit. He swallowed. “. . . slaughter me with the
others.”

I pressed my hands tight together. “Everyone?”

“Except those carrying the berserker gene. They were sent to breeding compounds.”

It took a moment for the words,
breeding compound to
sink in. “You mean—”

“Yep. Without the gene slicers, Domestic Security is forced to create more serkers the old-fashioned way.”

Horror threatened to overwhelm me. I focused on the one positive. “At least your mother wasn’t killed.”

Digging his fingers into his forearms, Jayden said, “She was past her childbearing years. My father lacked the gene and my two older brothers were killed trying to protect us. I’m
the only one left. I would have taken out as many of those bastards as I could have, except my mother made me promise to find a way to escape.”

This wasn’t going the way I had imagined at all. I scrambled to find a safer, or rather, kinder topic. “So the doctors didn’t test you?”

“They scanned me for the gene, but since I wasn’t serking all over them, they figured I’d either serk in the compound or be cleared and go to the breeders.”

Molly’s shocked face filled my vision. “Then why did they kill Molly?”

“Is that what triggered you?”

I nodded.

He considered. “Either she was unable to have children, or they planned for you to witness the murder. Or both.”

“But—”

“They need serkers more than breeders right now. Obviously you were a prime candidate for serking.” He leaned forward. “What woke you from the blood lust?”

I explained about Molly’s wire vase.

“That’s amazing.”

“Why? You made it through, too.”

He huffed. “Because my brothers sat on me for five days.” His rueful smile faded. “Are you going to help me?”

My mind swirled with everything he had told me. Could I even believe him? “One more question.”

“Make it quick, free time is almost over.”

“Why haven’t any of your people tried to rescue us? Wouldn’t they want to shut down these serker factories?”

“How do you know we haven’t?” He shot back.

I waited.

He sighed. “They’re too well defended. And large explosions tend to be indiscriminate. We didn’t want to harm the kids.”

A lame excuse. I might not know all about what’s going on beyond the fence, but if I were rebelling against DS, neutralizing the serker armies would be my priority, not freeing a bunch of
kids. I let it go for now. “Okay, I’ll help.”

Jayden peered at me with suspicion. “Just like that?”

“I won’t guarantee success. What’s your plan?”

He quickly detailed his idea for us to get inside the administration building and fight our way out. “They don’t have cameras in there and with two of us, combined with the element
of surprise, we’d be out of there before they could form ranks.”

Voices kept me from telling him that his plan sucked. Jayden held a finger to his lips as he eased the washroom’s door open a crack.

“. . . nowhere else.”

“. . . his last confirmed location was in dorm seventeen, stairwell two.”

“. . . check the right, we’ll take left.”

Oh no. The guards were searching for us.

Jayden pulled me away from the door. “They’re looking for me. Stay here until it’s quiet.”

I grabbed his arm before he could leave. “What are you doing? You’ll be caught and thrown into detention.”

“Better me than you.”

“But—”

“You need to maintain your . . .” A genuine smile sparked. “. . . innocence. Just don’t do anything rash while I’m gone. Okay?”

I must have nodded because he headed out. After a couple seconds, the sounds of a scuffle and harsh shouts vibrated through me. Curling into a ball to keep from rushing to help him, I waited. In
those awful minutes, I understood just a fraction of how it must have felt for Jayden to not fight while his family died around him. A deep respect for him nestled inside me.

•  •  •

While Jayden was in detention, I had entirely too much time to fret and watch the compound to
not
come up with a fantastic escape plan. Unfortunately, I had plenty of
ones that sucked.

I also considered my other problem—the rest of the kids. Would the seventeens be willing to stage a revolt? Some might serk from the stress alone. Then what would we do? Was
there a way to determine who would serk and keep them out of the plans? Approximately fifty of my classmates had serked. I spent my free time writing down all the triggers I could remember. The
list was impressive—basically anything at any time could trigger someone. No help at all.

So back to Jayden. While there were places hidden from the cameras, there were still guards and teachers all around the compound. Jayden was right. In order to escape, we needed to get into the
admin building, but security was always tight. My ability to get in unnoticed before seemed unlikely the more I studied the shift changes. Which made his comment about the guards wanting me to see
her murder sounded less ridiculous each day.

And the thought that they’d killed her just to make me serk sent dangerous spikes of rage through me.

Focus. Breathe. Don’t kill anyone.

I needed to confirm if Molly could have children or not. The information would be in the doctor’s office. Time to use my good girl charm, but first I needed to talk to Doreen.

•  •  •

“Breeders?” Doreen wrapped her muscular arms around her waist. “I think that’s worse than dying.”

“Maybe you’ll serk instead,” I said. It was sixth period and we were taking a break between games of dodgeball.

“Not funny.” She studied me. “How’s the plan coming?”

“Terrible.”

“No surprise. This place is sealed tight.”

“And I need more information. You up for a little deception?”

“Always. What do you want?”

I outlined my plan.

“You’re going to have to be quick. There won’t be a lot of time.”

“I know.”

“When?”

“Eighth period.”

“Ah, the obstacle course. Good choice.”

Nervous energy wasn’t good for a serker. I fidgeted through seventh as my emotions rolled from calm to panicked and back again. Finally eighth period started. Keeping close to Doreen, I
ran a few courses to burn off my anxiety.

Once my nerves settled, I started the ropes course. Half way through, I tripped and fell hard. I clutched my right ankle, yelling as if in pain and caused a scene until Mr. Telerico arrived.

“Twisted or broken?” he asked.

“Don’t know,” I panted.

“Can you put weight on it?”

I tried to stand, yowled, and flopped back on the ground.

Mr. Telerico spotted Doreen hovering nearby. “Doreen, help her to the infirmary.”

“Yes, sir,” she said. She hauled me to my good foot, wrapped my arm around her shoulders, and escorted me to the doctor’s office.

As expected a couple guards trailed after us.

“Do you think they’ll follow us inside?” Doreen whispered.

I let my “injured” foot touch the ground and shrieked, insuring they would. Pain was one of the serker triggers.

“Next time warn me about the noise, will ya?” Doreen grumbled.

We entered the infirmary. A nurse led us to an examination room. As she brought up my records on the computer, Doreen dumped me on the table and retreated to the hallway. One of the guards
hovered in the doorway until the seventeens’ doctor entered and shooed him back, shutting the door. No cameras were allowed in the exam rooms.

He smiled at me. “What happened?”

I recited my tale and he Med over my ankle.

“It doesn’t look—”

“. . . watching us all the time!” Doreen’s aggravated tone grew louder. “She’s injured not serking you idiot!” Ominous thumps sounded. “Stop it. Stop
watching us!”

The doctor and nurse exchanged a worried glance. He pulled a syringe from his pocket and dashed for the door with the nurse on his heels.

As soon as they left, I slid off the table and raced to the computer. My fingers raced over the keyboard. Finally a good use of my serker skills. Pulling up Molly’s chart, I scanned it,
and then switched back to read through mine. I hopped back on to the table just as the doctor returned.

“Is she all right?” I asked.

“Yes. Just a bit of heat exertion. She’s resting. Now let’s see about that ankle.”

I played injured. The doctor concluded it was a bad sprain. He wrapped my ankle and gave me a couple pain pills. I limped to my dorm, hoping Doreen wouldn’t get into too much trouble.

Only when I reached my washroom did I allow the information I’d found to sink in. Staring at my reflection, I focused on the blue in my eyes. Little flecks of gray dotted the irises. Funny
how I hadn’t noticed them before.

My chart claimed I was too even-tempered to serk. Molly’s reported she was in the peak of health. Mine said drastic measures would have to be used in order to trigger me. Molly’s
said she would become troublesome once she learned the truth.

In other words, they murdered her to trigger me. I closed my eyes as fury rushed. When I could think again, I had a plan—the only one with a slight chance of working and which depended on
whether they’d try to make me serk again. I hoped Jayden was right about the DS needing serkers more than breeders. He didn’t know it yet, but he was about to risk his life on it.