Graduation Day (19 page)

“What about yours?” I ask.

“Two of us will have a harder time leaving campus without being seen. You'll have a better chance avoiding notice if you're by yourself.”

“What will you tell Professor Holt? She knows you were with me.”

“I'll come up with something. Don't worry. I'll meet up with you tomorrow. I promise.”

I unfasten my bag and pull a hand-held pulse radio from inside. “Make sure this stays dry. You should be able to contact me with it.”

Then I put the strap of my bag over my head and climb onto my bike as the rain pounds down.

“Wait.” Raffe puts a hand on my arm. “You should take off your bracelet. Otherwise they'll be able to track you. I can plant it in one of the University buildings so they'll think you're hiding here on campus.”

That's a good idea. But as I look down at the bracelet on my wrist and the symbol that was meant to signify who I am now and the future I was to have, I shake my head. “I can't get rid of it yet. There's something I have to do first. Remember the building we talked about. If I can get off campus, that's where you'll find me. It's time to act.”

My feet bear down on the pedals. Rain pelts my face and soaks my clothes as my bike picks up speed. Over the bridge. Onto the walkway. Away from the sirens that still cut into the night. Through the rain, I think I see running lights of skimmers approaching in the distance, so I steer my bike onto the grass, away from the street lamps and into the shadows. Although I am not sure I can truly be safe ever again.

The wet ground slows my progress, but soon I spot the fence that marks the right side of campus. There I get off my bike and wheel it toward the arching entrance to see if Safety officials are still keeping watch there. I shield my eyes from the rain and peer into the darkness. When I see no one, I pick up a rock and throw it as hard as I can onto the roadway. It cracks against the pavement and then skitters across the ground until it comes to a stop. If anyone had been standing guard, they would have come to investigate. Enzo has inadvertently caused the diversion Raffe and I had discussed.

I start to get back on my bike but remember something I need to do. I pull out my pocketknife, a flashlight, and my pulse radio. I use the radio first. Making sure the dial is set to Tomas's frequency, I turn on the recorder. Quickly, I tell him what happened and that I am now outside the University's boundaries.

“Once they realize I'm gone they'll come looking for you. Leave your bracelet in your room. I'll be waiting three blocks directly east of the entrance gates. Please be careful. I'll see you soon.”

I press Send, shove the radio back into my bag, and turn my attention to the identification bracelet. Remarkably, my fingers are steady as I detach the slick metal from my wrist and flip it over to expose the back. I hold the flashlight in my mouth so I can see what I have to do next.

Using the smallest knife tool, I wedge it into the seam of the center disc of the bracelet. It takes several tries and I cut my finger before the back pops off and I am able to remove the tracking device.

After putting the knife and the flashlight back in my bag, I refasten the bracelet to my wrist and throw the tracking device into the middle of a small group of bushes situated near the fence to my left. Then I ride three blocks and look for the group of trees and bushes that I spotted on the way to my internship. Part of me wants to ride as fast from my tracking device as I can. I don't want to get caught. But I can't leave without Tomas. I'm hopeful he will have already seen the indicator light shining. If so, he'll be here soon. If not, I intend to wait as long as I can.

The clump of bushes I'm looking for is at the end of the third block, a hundred feet from the road. I get off my bike and drag it with me into the middle of a thicket of evergreen boughs. I sit on the ground with my knees pulled tight against my chest. Thunder echoes above. Between the lack of moonlight and the misty rain, visibility is poor. Now that I have nothing to do but sit and think, tears begin to fall. And I let them, because this might be the only time I have a chance to release the feelings inside me. Bitter tears for Enzo. For Kerrick and Marin. For Damone. For Michal. And even more for me. For the girl who was raised to love and respect life and has since been forced to kill.

The tears keep coming as the sky clears. At some point, Dr. Barnes and Professor Holt will find the tracking device near the campus entrance. They will know I am no longer on campus. Will they believe I have done what Tomas has suggested and gone home? Will they send someone to Five Lakes? Will they believe my family when they say they have not seen me? If not, what will become of them and everyone else in my colony? Because the people I know there will not stand by and allow my family to suffer at the hands of whichever officials arrive. They believe in peace, but I have no doubt they will fight if necessary. They will fight and keep fighting.

I can do no less.

I take a deep breath, wipe the tears off my face, and try to think. Part of me wants to head for the rebel camp and find my brother. He was the one I always turned to when I needed help solving a problem. Even if he didn't have the answer, he always made me feel more confident and in control by discussing the dilemma with me. But I can't go to him now. If the students who attacked in the stadium are any indication of the lengths to which the rebels will go to ensure nothing threatens their cause, going to the air force base will only lead to trouble for Zeen. Even if I could find him, my brother would insist on my leaving Tosu City, which is something I can't do. Besides, he is in the perfect place to remove Symon when we are ready. Until then, I will have to rely on myself to think things through.

I doubt Dr. Barnes and Symon will allow me to roam free for long. Once they begin to search in earnest, President Collindar will be unable to intervene on my behalf. Not without making them aware of her interests. Starting tomorrow morning, word will reach the president and her team, and I will be cut off from any assistance on that front. This means if I need anything from the fifth-floor room, I have to get it before sunrise. And now I know what I will need.

If only Tomas would arrive.

According to the watch on my bag, it has been two hours since Tomas, Raffe, and I parted ways. So much change in so little time. The minutes crawl by as I peer through the branches toward the roadway that leads to the University gate. If I'm to reach the president's office before a search for me is launched, I have to go now or risk being spotted and captured.

Still, I wait. I need to know that Tomas is safe.

Ten more minutes pass. I picture Tomas being caught. Questioned. Injured. Worse. Part of me wants to ride back onto campus to find him. But I stay put and squint into the shadows.

There.

I see the outline of a figure riding a bicycle. I know it's him. Turning the frequency knob on my pulse radio to the one that Raffe uses, I shove the radio into my bag and then crawl through the mud out from my hiding place. I pull my bike free from the branches and wheel it toward the roadway. Tomas looks over his shoulder, toward the University entrance. Looking for someone chasing him or for me?

The second he spots me he stops his bicycle, climbs off, and whispers my name in the dark. When I reach him I throw my arms around his waist and squeeze tight, so grateful that he is safe and here with me now.

“I was worried you'd leave when it took me so long to get here.” Tomas presses his lips against my forehead. “There are lots of skimmers and Safety officials on campus, especially near the residences. I had to double back a lot in order to avoid them. Are you okay?”

“We have to get out of here.” Reluctantly, I step out of his arms.

“If you've changed your mind, we could still leave. Five Lakes—”

“I'm not going back to Five Lakes.”

Tomas takes a deep breath and nods. “I didn't think you would, but I'd hoped . . .” He looks past me, down the roadway. Despite his desire to see The Testing ended, he wants more than anything to go home. To forget. I understand that longing, but there is no forgetting what we have seen and done. The only way to live with our actions is to end the very thing that caused them. Or die trying.

He sets his shoulders and asks, “Where do we go from here?”

I climb onto my bike and say, “First to the president's office. There are weapons there that we'll need. Then we're going to hide in a place where no one will find us and plan our attack. If the others get off campus, they'll meet us there.”

I can tell Tomas wants to question me further, but there isn't time. I push off and begin to pedal down the darkened roadway, scanning the area for any movement near the buildings that we pass. The structures in the area immediately outside the University are used by professors and their families, although a few are designated for use by colony officials and scientists who have come to Tosu City. Since it is approaching nine o'clock, past the time the law allows the use of electricity in nongovernment and University buildings, the houses are dark. Here and there I see a flicker of light coming from a window, telling me some families are using candlelight.

The clouds dissipate and the moon appears. It is only a sliver, but even that meager, hazy light helps us move faster than we otherwise could. It is hard to spot the places where the road has fallen into disrepair. But we continue to head southbound, toward the heart of the city.

Everything about this journey, us riding bicycles, Tomas's breathing, and the nervous clench of my muscles, reminds me of the fourth phase of The Testing, when Tomas and I had only our wits and each other to help us survive. Perhaps it is because I remember how we beat the odds that I do not feel the same fear now that I did then. And strange as it seems, for the first time since I was selected for The Testing, my actions are my own. Yes, Dr. Barnes and his officials will be searching for me. Yes, President Collindar expects me to do a job that almost everyone in my colony would find unthinkable. But my flight from the University means I no longer am accountable to either of them. For the first time in a long time, my life is in my own hands. Though I can't know if that life will last much longer than the next couple of days, I at least know that this time belongs to me.

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and the lights from the windows of the government buildings in the center of the city guide our travel. The residential neighborhoods we ride through are quiet. We hear nothing to give any indication of pursuit. Still, I find myself casting glances over my shoulder and pushing my legs. We need to get to the president's office and leave again before the search for us extends past the University grounds.

Because government officials are known to toil late into the night, I have little doubt there will be people working on the president's projects when I arrive. If I am lucky, they will not question my presence. They will, however, wonder about Tomas, which is why I lead him to the building where Michal once felt it was safe to talk.

“You won't be allowed to come into the building with me. You can stay here,” I say, testing the door. When it opens, I heave a sigh of relief.

While individual offices and rooms are often locked, the doors to most buildings are kept unfastened because of what happened during the Fifth through Seventh Stages of War, when chemical-laden rain fell from the sky. People caught in those downpours sought shelter, but those who were not near their homes or vehicles succumbed to the toxins in the deadly rains because they had nowhere to take cover.

I wait for Tomas to protest. He only warns me to be careful and hurry back.

Using one of the windowless rooms inside the building, I change into fresh clothes from my bag and untangle my hair with my fingers. I walk back toward the front door and into Tomas's arms. I hug him tight before striding out. While the streets we rode coming here were empty, here in the heart of the city I spot several skimmers as they travel to or from government buildings, as well as two people in the distance traveling on foot. I store my bicycle in the holding rack and walk into the building with my shoulders straight and my head high. As if I belong here.

One of the two Safety officials inside the foyer looks up from his log and gets to his feet to verify my clearance. His movements are annoyingly unhurried as I pull up the sleeve of my jacket and display the bracelet on my wrist.

He checks his clipboard and nods. I force myself to keep a moderate pace as I head for the stairs and start climbing. Still, I am out of breath when I reach the fifth floor and punch the code into the keypad next to the door. Once again I find myself in the storage room, taking stock of the inventory. But this time, instead of avoiding the weapons, I reach for them.

I open a box of bullets and reload the gun Raffe gave me. I then slide several boxes of ammunition, three additional handguns, and several long, deadly-looking knives into my bag. This isn't The Testing, when I could only choose three items to keep me alive. Now I can take whatever I can fit in my bag. I turn and walk toward bins containing canisters of explosive powders and chemicals. Seeing the explosives makes me think of Enzo. I can't help wondering if he is still alive and whether the medical team will be able to keep him that way and repair the damage he has suffered. I hope Raffe will have the answers to those questions when next we speak. Until then, I cannot let the memory of Enzo or the guilt I feel stop me from doing what must be done.

Stepping closer, I inspect the explosives and other containers on the shelves.

My insides curl as I carefully add three canisters to my cache. Finally I turn and look at the technological devices. My fingers itch to take them all, since these are the tools I understand best. But my bag is almost full. So I take three tracking devices that are tuned to the same frequency as the monitor in my bag. I am not sure if Raffe will be able to meet Tomas and me or if I will come into contact with Zeen. But if I see them and we are all forced to separate during the hours and days ahead, these devices will give me a way to find them. After one last look around, I lift the strap of my bag onto my shoulder and walk out of the room, hoping I have not left behind anything I need.