Redeemer (17 page)

Keegan nods and takes a deep breath. He trusts her, so I will, too.

“Finally,” she grumbles as she slides her key into the almost invisible slot. A door hisses open and we freeze.

I close my eyes, anticipating the worst as Isabel darts inside.

“It's clear.” Isabel's voice washes over me and we quickly step inside.

Just as Libee predicted, the hallway is empty.

“This way.” Libee moves to the front of the group and leads the way to the rooms she hopes are full of supplies. None of us are sure what we'll find—we're going off Libee's memories from last year.

The building is lit with indoor lights, and the hallway curves along with the shape of the dome. Everything about this hallway says it is new, right down to the electricity. It takes me back to the training dome in Greater City.

After passing six doors, I'm beginning to wonder about the safety of this plan. It's taking too long, and we might get caught at every curve.

Fischer must be having the same thoughts. He pauses and tests a door knob. When it turns effortlessly, he peeks inside. “We're good,” he says, moving into the room.

Libee pauses and nods but then keeps moving.

I follow Fischer into the first room and begin loading supplies onto an empty push cart near the door. It's time to move fast.

Boxes stacked on shelves reach the ceilings, and I scan them for any indication of what's inside. Bold letters indicate noodles, rice, spices, and more. We can use all of these.

Fischer follows suit as I pile box after box onto the cart. After a few minutes, the cart is full, and it's time to go.

Stepping into the hallway, Fischer looks both ways before waving me forward. I push the cart behind him, and we make quick time back toward the staircase. Libee and Tye should be arriving soon with the transport truck, and getting these boxes down the stairs won't be easy.

Fischer glances at the push bar on the door. All it takes is a single push to open it.

“Is it too early?” I ask. Standing outside on a platform with a cart full of supplies is sure to draw attention.

Fischer shrugs. “Even if it is, what happens if we stick around this hallway and get caught?”

Our plan is faulty, but it's the best we can do under the circumstances. “Let's do it.”

He pushes outside and we pull the cart behind us, but before the door closes a thunderous sound pounds down the hallway.

Running.

Keegan appears out of breath. He yanks me back inside, and Fischer follows. I reach for the cart but he shoves me forward. “Run and hide! Now!” He bolts outside with the cart and the door slams behind him.

Even a pause is too long to disobey orders, so I turn with Fischer and we bolt in the opposite direction we came from. A moment later footsteps ring out behind us, but we've curved around and can't see who follows. The exit door we left moments before groans open, then slams shut again. I glance at Fischer, but he rushes on.

“Here.” Fischer sidesteps into an empty room and quietly closes the door. A few minutes pass and my breathing returns to normal, but tears burn my eyes. Keegan is out there! I heard someone go through that door. There is no way he had time to get free.

Who knows where they take people in this city to question them? Libee and Tye might know, but they might not. After all, I wouldn't know where they take people in Middle 3.

“We have to go after Keegan,” I say. “We can't leave him behind.”

Fischer takes my hand and squeezes it gently. “Don't worry about him. We will go after him, and we will find him.”

The intensity in his eyes convinces me. We stand together, catching our breath and waiting for a safe time to get out.

Minutes tick by, and after a moment I realize he still holds my hand. His skin is warm and soothing. Maybe too soothing.

I swallow hard and pull my hand away.

Fischer glances at me, his eyes questioning. Sad.

In that moment, I realize I have been wrong in my assumptions about Fischer. He would be upset after all, if I chose Keegan.

Warmth surges through me at the thought, but it's short lived because now I'm even more confused. I'm suddenly aware of how alone we are. We might never make it out of this dome, but we have this room, right now.

“Maybe we should move.” Fischer's scratchy voice catches on the last word. He feels the tension in the air.

I manage a nod and Fischer takes a step forward, but he pauses and angles himself in front of me.

“When we're done with this, I—” the pause is excruciating. Finally, he goes on. “When all this sneaking and fighting is done, I want you to know I'm interested. In you. In us.”

My cheeks burn, but I can't help how much I enjoy his words. I barely manage a nod this time.

I'm so caught up in the moment, I barely register the faint pounding reverberating through the air. Slowly, the realization catches me. Someone is coming, fast. The sound of doors opening reaches our ears.

Fischer's eyes are wide and he jerks his gaze to the door. A moment passes, and the door swings open.

Isabel looks to us, her face panicked. “We have to go! Now!”

We need no further prodding. We're racing through the hall in a matter of moments, and the sound of the guards isn't far behind.

“Did they catch anyone?” My lungs ache but I press on.

“No.” Isabel darts down a different hallway, leading us deeper inside the dome. “We ran into some trouble getting into the garage with the trucks, but it worked out. Turns out there's some sort of gala here today. A fancy meal and performance for the Greaters in town.”

I almost laugh. The one day we choose to break in happens to be the day they're entertaining guests. Perfect.

“The easiest way out is through the big crowd down on the ground level.” Isabel pushes through a door like she knows exactly where she's going. It hits me that obviously she does.

“Isabel, have you been here before?”

She doesn't answer.

We hurry down an indoor flight of stairs and pause at a door. If we go into this arena, this huge gathering of people, we have a fifty-fifty shot of coming out alive. On one hand we might blend in, but on the other we will stick out like a Lesser in the Great Supreme's Mansion. Which is what we are.

Isabel takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. Her lips move, but no sound comes out.

I realize she's praying, and I wait.

A moment later, she opens her eyes and pushes through the door. Sunlight bathes us with warmth as we move through the crowd, and my gaze flies to the ceiling. The dome roof has been rolled back to let in the natural light. It's beautiful.

Green grass covers the middle of the arena, and a stage sits in the center. A few people mill around the stage, setting up equipment. The majority of people mingle around the edges of the arena, behind chain link fences. Greaters are everywhere. Why so many?

Frost Moon truly must be evacuating Greater City and bringing the Greaters here.

The mother country's retaliation must be coming soon.

A few Greaters stare at us as we pass. We're obviously not dressed in their same tattered, outrageously colored clothes. In fact, we barely pass for Middles.

But mostly, they just ignore us like we're the help.

A commotion clatters behind us as the door we just came from flies open. Three guards rush out and our eyes meet. They dart toward us and I push into Fischer.

“Run!”

Fischer, Isabel, and I push our way through the crowd. The Greaters grumble and yell at us, but none of them dare try to stop us. Who knows what they've been told about dirty Middles?

“We've got to split up,” I say. “It's the only way we're going to get away from them.”

Fischer frowns, weaving his way around an elderly couple, but he doesn't argue.

“We'll meet up at the far end.” I don't give them a chance to disagree as I bolt left and toward the outer walls. A moment later, I spot Isabel running directly across the grassy arena. Leave it to her to draw the most attention to herself.

I run for a few seconds when a tall fence rises up in front of me. Clamoring up it, I hope the guards aren't gaining on me. It'd be the perfect time for them to catch me.

I reach the top and hop onto a landing hanging over the Greaters' heads. The landing may be there to keep out the sun, or maybe to keep out the rain, but for today it's giving me a way to escape.

It doesn't take long for me to hear I'm not alone. I chance a look back just in time to see a guard running at me. Another fence rises on my left, but there's no way I'd have time to climb it before he caught me.

This isn't going well at all.

“Hana!” Fischer's voice pulls my gaze toward the ground. “Jump!”

He runs alongside me, only on the ground floor. Does he expect to catch me? Crazy. But one glance back shows me the guard is gaining on me. Jumping might be my only shot.

Taking a deep breath, and surprising the guard, I leap off the rise and straight toward Fischer. He does his best to steady me as I hit the ground, but it's not enough. We topple into the Greaters nearest him, causing a pile up.

They shout and push us off, but still they don't try to stop us.

No wonder Frost Moon needs Lessers to go to war. The Greaters wouldn't presume to get their hands dirty.

Disgust fills me as Fischer and I scramble away, leaving my guard staring after us from the top of the rise.

“How'd you get rid of your guard?” The words come out in puffs and my legs begin to wobble.

“He took off after Isabel when she hopped the fence into the grassy area.” His words are just as labored.

“Do you know where we're going?”

“I've got a good idea.” Of course he does. Fischer always has a plan.

We spot the large double doors ahead at exactly the same time. “They'll be waiting with the truck out front,” he says. “We have to make it through those doors. Can you sprint?”

I have no idea, but I nod.

“OK, on three. One, two, three.” He dashes ahead and I will my legs to keep up with him. A few more steps. A few more steps.

We reach the doors just as someone opens them from the other side. I barrel into a body, both of us crashing to the ground. Fischer lies on the ground next to us, also on top of someone.

We don't have time for apologies. I jump up at the same time as Fischer, and we race away before the people we crashed into can react. But as Fischer opens the outside door to let us escape, I can't help glancing back.

Frost Moon stares back at me. I can't tell if he's surprised, upset, or in awe, but I can definitely tell he hates me.

24

 

Fischer shoves me out the door and into the waiting transport truck before I have time to react. He didn't see Frost Moon—he was too busy getting us out of there.

But I saw him, and Supreme Moon definitely saw me. I'm not sure what that means for any of us, but it almost guarantees we have no chance at getting out of this city.

I turn to relay my concerns when I catch sight of Keegan. “You made it!” I launch myself at him and he catches me, laughing, as the truck careens around a corner. Tires squeal as we speed away. It won't take long for the city guards to be on top of us.

“Of course I made it,” Keegan says. “Did you doubt me?”

I laugh and shake my head, fighting the tears. “No, of course not. I was just so afraid. What about Isabel?”

Isabel grins at me from behind a stack of boxes. “I've been out for five minutes. Don't know what took you so long.”

It's too good to be true. We got out with the supplies, and each other.

My eyes fall to our loot and I gasp. “Keegan! Where did you get all these guns?”

Piles of black weapons line the middle of the truck bed. We barely had a chance to get the food, let alone carry all this weaponry out unnoticed.

“We got lucky there,” Keegan says. “Libee and Tye picked the right truck.”

I guess they did.

Fingering the cold, black metal sends chills up my arms. Using these isn't the right thing. Can't be the right thing.

I have no idea if it's the right thing.

The transport truck careens around another corner and Tye shouts something back at us.

“What did he say?” I ask.

“We're going to have to unload fast.” Keegan glances around the truck. “Everyone grab what you can, and let's move.”

The truck stops and a moment later Libee swings the backdoor open. She grabs the first thing she sees and jogs toward the hole in the fence. Everyone follows. We make numerous trips within a minute, but it won't be long enough to get everything, not with the guards onto us. They'll find us any minute now.

“Get the guns,” Keegan barks. No one questions him, not even me, but I don't obey. Instead I grab another box of noodles.

No one questions me, either.

Guard Rok, Les, and his men stand on the other side of the fence. They grab everything they can and stash it behind a line of trees.

“Time to go,” Fischer says. “They'll be here any minute, and Tye and Libee need time to get away.”

I grab one last box and bolt for the fence. As I slip under, my hair catches. It's too long. I haven't had it cut since before Jamie was taken all those months ago.

Fischer drops his load and works to untangle the hair. I glance at him and smile my thanks. Memories of his words from earlier in the dome fill my mind, and heat floods my cheeks. Thankfully everyone is in too big a hurry to notice.

Now free, I hurry through the hole and make it to the trees. Fischer hides beside me while we wait for Tye and Libee to drive away. They have to lead the guards away from us before we can take everything back to the skyscraper.

Fischer's hand brushes mine and I close my eyes. I try ignoring the way my stomach flip flops at his touch, but it's impossible. I'm glad I don't have much time right now to focus on our relationship.