Renegade (16 page)

He laughs and covers his eyes with his hand, making a show out of peering through the crack between his fingers. “It’s not like you haven’t already shown me almost everything in that cheap excuse for a dress already, you know.”

“Keyword is almost.” I wag my finger in a circle, and wait until he turns around with a sigh and a muttered “Harsh.”

I wiggle out of the dress, then ball it up and toss it in the bag. Never know when it might come in handy. Then I pull on the black skirt and shirt. They’re loose enough to be comfortable, yet tight enough not to be a hindrance if I need to fight. I pause in the middle of straightening my shirt.

Fight? And just what exactly do I think I could do in a fight? Garden them to death?

When I glance up to tell Gavin he can turn around, I see the mirror on the far wall. His eyes stare into mine perfectly. He has a grin on his face.

Who the hell puts a
mirror
in a supper club cellar?

“You could have told me there was a mirror there,” I say, fighting my blush.

“What’s the fun in that?” He turns to face me. “Besides, I didn’t see anything. I closed my eyes. For most of it.” He grins at me again.

I roll my eyes, but sit back on the floor, then pat the floor next to me. “We need to figure out our next move. We can’t just stay here. Someone will come down eventually and then we’re finished.” I pause, because it looks like something is bothering him.

“What’s up with the lighting here?” he asks.

“I’m sorry?”

“The lighting. Everywhere you’ve taken me is all dark and dingy. The only places with normal lights are the Palace Wing, the prison place, and the Square. It’s like I’m in a creepy horror movie.” He shudders.

I want to be angry he considers my home creepy, but I can’t, because I’m terrified of his world, too, even if I am sort of curious. It’s supposed to be hell on Earth, with demons running around killing one another. Huge animals that kill you in your sleep. Insects that burrow into your skin and use you as a host until they control your mind.

I push those thoughts aside. Gavin isn’t the animal skin–wearing savage I’d expected of a Surface Dweller, and when he talked about his home in the cell, he made it sound not so bad. And it seems Mother has lied about more important things. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d lied about the Surface as well. What better way to make sure people didn’t want to leave the relative safety of Elysium?

“Citizens tended to congregate where there’s more light, and after the Enforcers … became necessary, the shadows served another purpose. Now Mother keeps the places where she doesn’t really want people to gather the darkest, while the places where she wants people are the brightest.”

“That, sadly, makes a lot of sense,” he says, but then frowns. “Okay, so, Mother is the Governess? How’d that happen?”

“It’s kind of a long story, but Mother had this city built during the War. She wanted to have a safe place away from all the bombings and fighting that happened on the Surface. She hired a few top scientists, and then recruited other people to live down here. But they had to fit the image of the ideal person.”

“There is no such thing as the perfect person,” he interrupts, then gives me his lopsided grin. “But you’re pretty damned close.”

I place my hands on my hips and let a small smile form. “According to Mother’s scientific data, I
am
the perfect person.” I tug on my hair. “Blond hair, blue eyes. Pale skin. The people she recruited even had to pass an intelligence and psychological test. She started the city with only fifty people. And we grew from there.”

“You said
Mother
started this place?”

I nod.

“That’s not possible,” he says. “There is no way your mother started this facility.” He crunches his face up in concentration.

“Sure it is. Why not?”

“The War was over fifty years ago, Evie. Your Mother doesn’t look any older than thirty.”

“Fifty years ago? That’s not possible. I was one of the first children born here. The city is only
maybe
twenty years old. And Mother started this when she was in her early twenties. So, she’s in her forties, at least.”

“No, Evie, it can’t be. There’s no freakin’ way. If she started this during the War, then it’s over fifty years old. So, either she’s lying about
when
she started it, or she’s lying about
who
started it.”

The silence drags out while I consider this information. If he’s telling the truth, then Mother’s been lying to everyone for a long time. But how did she fool the people that have been here from the beginning?

Suddenly a speaker over our heads crackles to life and Mother’s voice flows into the room, causing us both to tense as if our muscles are made of violin strings and someone is turning the pegs.

“Attention, Citizens of Elysium,” she says. “We have an emergency.”

Gavin and I exchange a look as a chill fills my body. She knows we’re gone. I’d been hoping to have a course of action before this happened.

“The Surface Dweller has escaped our Detainment Center, and it appears that he has kidnapped the Daughter of the People. For your safety, and that of my daughter, please report any sightings to the nearest Guard or Enforcer, but do not approach them. I repeat, do not approach them. The Surface Dweller is possibly armed and definitely dangerous. Your cooperation is appreciated and will be rewarded.”

She follows the announcement with a description of Gavin—paying special attention to mention his gray eyes and darker skin—and then repeats the announcement.

The blood freezes in my veins. There’s no way we’re going to be able to get around now without being seen. I’m too noticeable and so is Gavin. We won’t last a minute out there.

C
HAPTER
T
WELVE

Mother’s word is law. Everyone must follow the law. If you do not, then you are a traitor and will be treated as such.

—
C
ITIZEN’S
S
OCIAL
C
ODE,
V
OLUME
III

“What do we do now?” Gavin asks. He’s already standing. He’s tensed as if to run, but I can only tell because the ropes of muscle stand out against his shirt. His eyes are calm and direct as they watch me.

I don’t know
,
I want to scream, but only say, “We’re going to have to find another escape tunnel. And we’re going to need to get away from the Enforcers and the Guards.”

“How long do we have here? It doesn’t look like anyone’s been down here in ages.” He runs his finger along the box and holds it up to me, showing me the dust on the tip. “I doubt they’ll come anytime soon.”

“Mother gave me that map. She’s going to know I used it. This is the first place they’ll look. Maybe not here specifically, but one of the ‘safe zones’ marked on the map. We need to find somewhere safe where there aren’t people and not on the escape map. The Residential Sector is probably our best bet. There are vacant quarters. We can find one and that’ll give us at least a little while to plan.”

He thinks for a minute, his eyes staring at the ceiling. He huffs out a breath and crosses his arms over his chest. “It’ll have to do.”

I kneel to draw in the dust along the floor. “Here, pay attention. In case we get separated, you need to know how to get there. I don’t know how much of what Mother said she thinks is true, but on the off chance she honestly believes you kidnapped me … if we’re caught, you’ll be safer if I go back to them willingly.” He watches my hand as it draws on the ground, but now his eyes jerk up to mine. He opens his mouth to object, but I keep going, pretending I don’t see it. “You need to make sure to run as fast as you can into the shadows and to here.” I mark an X where the entrance to the Sector is. “I’ll meet you there when I can.”

It’s quiet while I draw the rest of the map of the Square. I can’t trust the accuracy of the map Mother gave me, so I have to take the time to draw this one.

“It’s important to stick to the shadows. Your eyes and skin will give you away. No matter what happens, you have to make sure to get to
here
. Do you understand?”

He doesn’t say anything, and from the fact that his jaw is clenched and he won’t look at me, I know he’s angry with me. Hesitantly, and fighting the urge that wants me to not do it, I cup his cheek in my palm to try to get him to look at me. “Please. Promise me.” I let my hand drop to my side. “Please. No matter what. If you get caught, we’ll never get another chance to do this.”

He sighs and then nods. “Fine,” he says shortly. “But how long do I wait if you don’t come?”

“Twenty-four hours. If I don’t come for you, that means I’m physically unable to. Whether I’ve been confined, or Conditioned, or—”

“Killed.”

My heart jumps into my throat, but my voice is devoid of emotion when I say, “Or she kills me for defying her. Yes. That’s why it’s important to memorize this map of the city. If for some reason we get separated and I don’t meet you at the rendezvous point in twenty-four hours, you’ll need to find another escape tunnel by yourself.”

It’s quiet again while he takes a few more minutes to memorize the layout of the city.

“I don’t think that’ll happen,” I say when I’m sure he has the route locked in his memory, “but
an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure
.” I swipe a hand through the dust, erasing the map.

I gather my pack and sling it over my shoulder, then head to the side door. I hold my breath when I open the door and don’t release it until I see there’s no one around to hear the door’s squeal. I gesture for Gavin to follow, then make a dash for the deep shadows along the wall.

If we can stay there, and as long as we can move silently, we should be able to avoid detection. Unless we run into an Enforcer, which I pray we don’t. When I feel a hand on my shoulder, I glance behind me and smile—Gavin hadn’t made a noise.

Must be his hunter training. I have to admit I’m impressed.

We creep along the edge of the building slowly. Each step seems to take forever, but rushing headlong into anything without looking could be disastrous.

If I could have had time to plan this all out appropriately, I’m sure Gavin would be on his way home by now. But because I’ve had to wing it, we’re stuck slinking in shadows and hoping for a miracle.

I’m so lost in my thoughts, I almost scream when Gavin squeezes hard on my shoulder. I turn to scowl at him, but he places a finger over my lips and tilts his head to our left. That’s when I hear it: running footsteps. I halt, pushing myself as far against the wall as I can. He does the same and we both hold our breath as a group of Guards rush past. I hope the shadows are dark enough that we won’t be seen. Or that the Guards will avoid looking too deeply into the shadows, which they should. No one wants to run into an Enforcer.

“A woman says she spotted them over by the fountain,” one Guard is saying. “It’s probably not them. If he managed to kidnap the Daughter right under Mother’s nose, I don’t think he’s dumb enough to be out in the open after that announcement.”

Gavin raises his eyebrows at me, while I stifle a laugh with my hand. When they pass, we move even quicker toward the Residential Sector.

Several times along the way we have to pause and wait for more Guards to pass by, but I don’t notice a single Enforcer. Where are they? Mother wouldn’t entrust something this important to the Guards alone.

Then, without warning, we lose the ability to use the shadows. We have to cross an alleyway that is brightly lit and there are dozens of Citizens around. If we take the chance and run for it, we’ll be spotted. But the longer we wait, the more likely someone—probably an Enforcer—will find us. The thought causes a shiver to sputter up my spine.

I glance back at Gavin, who is studying the street as closely as I am. He looks down and a slow smile crosses his face. He quickly squats down and wiggles a loose brick from the wall. Then he wings it behind us and across the street into a store front, completely shattering the glass.

He pushes me forward, but my feet are already moving in a mad dash across the street and back into the shadows. Even though I hear shouting voices and running feet, I don’t bother turning to look. I just keep going until we get to the corner we need to be at, an even darker alcove.

More Guards pass by our little street.

“Good thinking,” I whisper to him, then I turn back to face the dead end.

I recognize it from where I stopped earlier on my way to see Macie. That feeling of déjà vu hits me again, as does the elusive memory of an area that looks like an exact duplicate of Sector Two. Except the windows to the shops and restaurants are boarded up and the entire area has an abandoned feeling.

As the memory takes shape, I begin to understand.
“Oh,”
I say.

“What?” Gavin asks.

“I think … I think I might have a plan after all. There’s something here. Behind this wall.”

He looks at the wall with a skeptical expression. “You sure?”

“No, but I think so.”

“We don’t exactly have time to try this out just because you have a vague idea.”

“We don’t have time to
not
check this out. It’s worth the risk. Trust me. Please.” I look over my shoulder at him.

After a second, he nods. “I trust you.”

Grateful for it, I furrow my brow as I try to remember and my thoughts get muddier and muddier. It’s a place I knew of before going to the Palace, I’m sure of it. Somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be. But I only get a headache for my trouble, a sharp, stabbing pain in my temple that causes me to gasp and clasp a hand to it.

“You okay?” Gavin touches a hand to my temple.

“Yeah. Fine.” I run my fingers over every brick and groove while Gavin keeps watch. I don’t know how he plans to protect me from the Guards or Enforcers without any weapons, but considering his strength, it wouldn’t surprise me if he took them on barehanded … and won.