The Defiant (11 page)

“It's an old-fashioned method, but it works,” he says. “We'll never get stopped by the police, even though technically, we're an illegal vehicle.”

“I don't understand.”

“The UNA elite like to get unprocessed foods from farms in the country. Not for the citizens, just for themselves. That's where my truck comes in. It's meant to take fresh goods from the country to the lavish homes and apartments in the city where the local leaders of the UNA live. Fresh fruit, fresh vegetables. Everything they deprive the regular citizens of. So I bring them their fresh produce, but I've also used this truck to transport about fifty rebels, right under their noses.” He smiles, like he's laughing at a joke. “Not all at once, I mean. But one by one.”

I nod. I can tell he has no idea that I'm going to be captured today. He just seems happy to meet me and help me reach the rebels. I wonder what he would think of David's plan.
What will happen to the other rebels at the meeting once I get captured? Will they be exposed? Will they be killed?

“Let me help you on board,” Tomas says. “We don't have much time.”

As Kelley and Shawn watch, I clamber into the hiding space and lie flat. The man puts some boxes back, so that I'm completely hidden from view.

“You good?” he calls out.

“Yep,” I call back.

“It'll take about half an hour to get there. Hang tight, Alenna.”
He starts walking around to the driver's side of the truck. I hear him open the door.

Then pale fingers suddenly poke through the slats on the side of the truck. It's Kelley.

“Good luck, Alenna,” she says. Surprising me, her voice is warm with emotion. “I want you to know that I'm rooting for you. I know you can do this—whatever it is that the scientists or David have told you to do.”

I grab on to her fingers and squeeze. “Thank you for everything,” I tell her, glad for a moment of human warmth.

Then the noise of the engine starts up with a clatter. Kelley pulls her hand back. I feel the truck slowly start to move. I just lie there, as though I'm in a coffin. The vehicle backs out of the driveway and onto the road. Soon we are picking up speed.

I remain flat in the back of the pickup truck, covered with a layer of boxes. The smell of wood and hay is strong in my nose. I fight the urge to sneeze. It's hot and uncomfortable. The air is stale, and exhaust fumes from the truck keep seeping into my space. Even though the driver said that we wouldn't be stopped, I know that anything is possible. Memories of the roadblock from last night are fresh in my mind.

After thirty minutes of winding through streets, we reach our destination. My body is sore from being jounced around. The truck slows and comes to a complete stop. I have no idea where we are.

I try to see outside, but I only get little snatches of light through the metal slats in the side of the truck. I can't really see anything.

I hear voices above me and I look up. The boxes shake, and I realize that the truck is being unloaded. For an instant, I'm afraid that maybe I've ended up in the wrong place.

Then I hear the driver's voice. “We're here, Alenna,” he says.

I start pushing boxes aside, as more get unloaded from the truck. I burst into the daylight. It's bright, and it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.

“Where are we?” I ask, looking around.

Tomas doesn't answer.

We're near a handful of abandoned brick buildings, some bearing battle scars from old gunfire. Scars that were probably made in those years before my parents got taken, when I was a little girl. The scars remain on the rocks, impervious to the passage of time.

I grab the edge of the truck and then climb down onto the dirt.

“Is it just us?” I ask.

Tomas shakes his head. “The others are nearby. They're prob­ably watching us right now. We're at the outskirts of the city.”

“Why are they watching us instead of helping us?”

He shrugs. “Maybe they don't trust you yet.”

“They don't trust me? We're taking the bigger risk by coming here.”

“It's going to be okay,” Tomas says quietly. “You understand why they're suspicious. If they're discovered, then they'll be arrested and killed, and their families will be in danger as well.”

“I understand,” I tell him, thinking that I'm glad they don't know that I'm setting them up.
I hope David knows what he's doing.
I don't want to get innocent people hurt. “Let's go inside. I'm ready.”

“Follow me.”

I walk after him toward the building closest to us. A flash catches my eye and I look up at a smashed-out window. I see the
metallic glint of a gun muzzle. I glance around at some of the other windows. These buildings are not as abandoned as I thought. Guns are trained on us from five separate windows. The rebels are not taking any chances.

We step inside the brick building and pause at the doorway. It takes my eyes a second to adjust to the dim light.

I'm startled to see a group of about eighty people gathered there in a large room with a low ceiling, watching me walk in. None of them says anything or makes any sound.

I walk a little farther into the building, with Tomas at my side. I see rebels with guns pointed in my direction, at the edges of the crowd.

I scan the assembled throng. These people range in age from about twelve to seventy—an equal mix of men and women, and all different races. They are also dressed differently from one another. Some of them look like businessmen. Others look like farmers. But all of them have the same serious look in their eyes. Many of them openly display guns or knives.

The last time I was in front of a crowd watching me so intensely, I was playing guitar and giving a performance at Destiny Station. But there will be no guitars or music today. That is in the past.

The people keep staring back at me. They don't look friendly, but at least they look prepared to listen.

“My name is Alenna Shawcross,” I begin. “I've come here from Island Alpha, to help your rebel cell, and—”

“We know who you are,” a woman calls out loudly.

I falter, falling silent for a second.

“You escaped from the wheel. My son is there. Eric Vendoza. Do you know him?”

I shake my head. “No, I—”

“What about my brother?” a teenage girl cries out. “Jason Goldsmith. Do you know him? Did you see him on the wheel?”

“No—” I begin again, trying to explain to them how huge Island Alpha is. The chance of me knowing any of their relatives is slim.

Voices overwhelm me, calling out more names.

I look at Tomas, confused. I had no idea this was what today would be like. I realize now that most of these people probably became rebels because their loved ones got banished to the wheel.

The names keep coming faster and faster.
This is why they're here.
They don't want to know what it's like to escape the wheel. They want to find out if I have any information about their kidnapped family members.

“Quiet!” a man calls out, cutting through the noise of the crowd. “Stop tossing names at her!” The man steps out from the mob of people, gesturing for their silence. He's heavyset, wearing overalls. His face is ruddy.

At first I think he has intervened to help me. But he's staring at me angrily. “You could be a spy from the UNA, sent here to deceive us—and expose this cell! You could be here to betray us to the government.” He looks out at the crowd. “By giving her the names of your relatives, you're giving her data. And she will use it against you and your families if she's a spy.”

The crowd falls silent, eyeing me suspiciously again. I know that I have to do something to turn things around. While it's true I'm here on false pretenses, I am not a spy.

“I don't work for the UNA,” I declare firmly, shooting the man a fierce gaze. “And I'm sure the government already knows about this cell.” I didn't expect this kind of response from the rebels. “You don't understand. The UNA knows almost everything. They
just don't always choose to act on it, because they don't have unlimited resources.”

The man looks at me.

“The government just thinks you don't pose any real threat to them,” I continue. “The government knows that some rebel cells exist. They know about the rebellion on Island Alpha. But they don't know that we're all working together to bring them down. They think we're just isolated rebels who will never have enough power to destroy them. They're spending their time and money fighting other countries like the Asian Alliance and European Coalition. They're not worried about us yet.”

“And what if they're right?” a woman calls out from the crowd. “We can't take to the streets and fight. We'll be killed. Some of us have young kids.”

“Most likely, you're going to be killed anyway,” I say. “You don't understand what I saw. On Island Alpha, life was cheaper than dirt. You mean nothing to the UNA.” I stare around at them. “To them, we're disposable. Lives don't matter. Only power and control does.”

Tomas steps up next to me. “You should listen to Alenna. Her experiences on the wheel will be extremely valuable to you. She and her friends managed to turn the UNA's technology against itself, and they destroyed the UNA's main prison colony. If that's possible, then anything is. You need to be quiet and let her speak.”

I look around. I'm waiting to get captured but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe David was wrong and it's not going to happen today. Or maybe it will happen after I leave the building. I might as well take this opportunity to try to help the rebels.

In the ensuing silence, I say, “You can't worry about your own lives. Or your families. I know that sounds cold, but our struggle
is bigger than that. It's a fight for the whole nation, and maybe the whole planet. The UNA needs to be taken down. Remember that whatever happens, you are the only ones who are going to do it. Most citizens are too afraid to fight back right now. But when they see us, and the rebel cells united as an army, more will join our ranks. We will start a civil war in this country and overturn the government.”

“That's what you hope for,” a man's voice calls out. “We do too. But is that reality?”

“It is if we want it to be. We can make it a reality.”

“What if—” a woman's voice begins, but it gets interrupted.

“Stop!” someone hisses. “Did you hear that?”

There's a moment of silence.

I hear the creaking of floorboards. Then, before I can say more, there's a loud disruption outside. I hear the sharp pops of gunfire and the noise of a helicopter in the sky.

Everyone starts rushing around and yelling at once. I hear people screaming for more guns. Everyone scatters.

So this is it. I'm going to get taken.

Government soldiers burst into the building and crash through the crowd. They beat people with their nightsticks and with the butts of their assault rifles. Gunshots go off. The soldiers and the rebels are exchanging gunfire as other rebels try to run. I hear more clashes from outside.

I'm not sure why my capture is so violent and sudden. The soldiers could have just driven up with guns and taken me before I even met with the rebels.

“I knew she was a spy!” a voice yells.

I hear the sharp retort of a gunshot. I duck, thinking that it's coming from a soldier firing at the crowd.

Then I realize it's coming from the heavyset man with the ruddy face. He's firing at me. “I could tell this was a setup!” He's clutching an illegal homemade pipe gun, and it's aimed at my face. He should be running for his life, but he's too furious at me to flee. “Traitor!” he yells, firing the weapon again. I manage to dive out of the way at the last second, dodging the projectile, which explodes against the brick wall.

Uniformed soldiers in riot gear keep flooding the building.

My instinct is to run, but I know that's not the plan. Not if I want to see Liam again. I just stand there in the middle of the room.

The soldiers find me and their hands grab me roughly. “Alenna Shawcross!” one of them yells. “You have been remanded into state custody for treason and murder. You are coming with us!”

Their hands start punching and clawing at me. I don't fight back. But they keep coming. I know that I'm supposed to let myself get taken, just like David said, but it's hard to breathe. There are so many of them that I feel like I'm being smothered. I struggle for air, but their numbers are endless and brutal.

A fist knocks me in the side of my head and my vision goes dark for a moment. I don't want to lose consciousness. I let my body go limp. The blows let up a bit. The soldiers force me outside and start dragging me along the street.

A rebel runs at a policeman nearby, gun raised. The policeman shoots him right in the chest without any hesitation. The rebel fires back and misses. The policeman shoots him again and again. I shut my eyes against the senseless violence.

David better be right,
I think. Or else I've just essentially committed suicide by getting captured—and endangered all these other lives as well. I can't believe that David would be so careless
with other people's lives. It didn't have to happen this way. But I have to keep my faith in him. I think about the sacrifices that he's made, from the very start of our journey together. Only someone truly driven to destroy the UNA would risk their mind and body in such a way.

I see a gray metal van with massive bulletproof tires ahead of me. The soldiers are going to put me inside it and take me away.
Just like they did to Liam.
I arch my body backward.

One of the soldiers jams a black hood over my head and pulls it tight. I can't see anything.

I cry out in surprise because I can't help it, and when I breathe back in, fabric gets sucked into my mouth, smothering me. I choke and gag. The soldiers continue to carry my body.