Here Skies Surround Us Page 19

  “He’s my son. And I will be giving it to you as well.”

  “Nat and I already have it,” Evan says.

  “Trust me,” Caroline says. “You want this one. It’s stronger.”

  I look back and forth between the mother and son showdown. Evan’s jaw is tight and I can see he’s clenching it. Caroline is standing firm in place, not wavering one bit, steadfast in her expectations. We can’t leave Quinn behind.

  “Come with me back to my office,” Caroline says. “Cabri and Mason, stay down here and make sure everyone gets immunized. Even yourselves.” They look at one another skeptically as Caroline walks away.

  The ride back up to her office is uncomfortable. Each breath feels restricted, and I have that feeling of pins and needles across my skin as I stand next to Quinn, holding his one hand while Evan holds his other.

  Caroline walks over to her desk. I follow behind and watch as she pulls out the tiny golden key from around her neck. She pushes a button, prompting the door to slide shut behind us. She flips a cover over it, locks it with her key, and then hangs the key back around her neck.

  “I see how you got in now,” Caroline says, looking over at her office door hanging from its hinges. She presses a button on her intercom.

  “Yes, Mrs. Carmichael,” a voice buzzes from the other end.

  “Please send up maintenance,” she says. “My office door seems to have fallen off. Send security as well.”

  “You’re going to have us removed?” Evan asks. I grip my hand tighter around Quinn’s.

  “Quinn is staying here.” Caroline crosses her arms.

  “I’m not leaving him with you.” Evan shakes his head. “He barely knows you.”

  “He knows the other children,” Caroline says, “and I told you why he needs to stay. It’s not safe out there right now. You can come get him after the sentencing.”

  “You’re going to send your own son to the Court!” Evan exclaims.

  “Of course not,” Caroline says furiously. “I’ve had just about enough of this insubordination, Evan. I went and took Quinn away before they raided the hostel so I could keep him out of this mess. My sole purpose is to protect him from harm.”

  “You’ve never cared about his well-being before,” Evan says.

  “I see more than you realize,” she says, narrowing her eyes. “You are the one who should be questioned. Your loyalty to your family has shifted since meeting this girl. What does she know of family? She didn’t grow up with one.”

  I stand frozen in place. I want to yell and scream at Caroline, but maybe she’s right. What do I know about family? Even Alec and I don’t share much more than a few memories.

  “This has nothing to do with Nat,” Evan says.

  “This has everything to do with her,” Caroline hisses. Her eyes are wild as she stares me down. She never trusted me. Everything she did was intentional. The job at the Axis wasn’t so I could help—she wanted to keep me away from her family.

  A knock comes from the doorway. “Ma’am?” It’s security. “Is there a problem here?”

  “Please escort these two from the building,” Caroline says. She looks back to Evan. “I will bring your brother home in two nights. Until then you are not welcome back inside here.”

  Evan looks at security, then back to his mother. He nods and kneels next to Quinn. “Want to stay and play here at the Axis for two more sleeps?”

  “Yeah!” Quinn lets go of my hand.

  “Okay,” Evan says, looking at Caroline. “You call me on this if you need anything, deal?” Evan hands Quinn the walkie-talkie.

  “Deal,” Quinn says.

  Security takes us out into the hall. “We’ll escort you out with the others,” the man says.

  “Others?” I ask. No one replies.

  We exit into the lobby where Remy, Jess, and Nico are being detained. I can hear Nico arguing with one of the guards. “You’re going to be sorry for this. Don’t you know who I am?”

  “Let them go,” our security person says. “But take these two with you.” He pushes us toward the group. No one speaks until we’re out of the dome.

  “What happened?” Remy asks.

  “We found them,” I say.

  “Are they okay?” Jess asks.

  “For now,” Evan says. “Tomorrow they’re bringing them before the Court, so we need to figure out something. I’m not sure what my mom has planned. She has them all on B3 and they were getting the immune serum.”

  “Well that’s a relief,” Jess says. “I mean, that shows us they won’t be sentenced too harshly, right? Why protect them if you’re keeping them alive?”

  “There are worse things than dying,” Evan says.

  “We need to get her key,” I interrupt. “The one she keeps around her neck. It unlocks the button to get down to B3.”

  “If we can get them out then we can run,” Evan says, looking over to Remy. Remy nods.

  “Run where?” Jess asks.

  “Away,” Remy says. “Away from this dome.”

  “What?” Jess gasps. Nico puts her hand on her shoulders.

  “Evan, Alec, and I have been scouting more than just other domes,” Nico says. “We’ve been looking for a new place where we can settle. Somewhere we can protect ourselves and live in peace.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jess asks.

  “Because I wanted to keep you safe,” Nico says, running a hand down Jess’s cheek. “If they knew they would hang us all. Now our hand is forced. We have no choice.”

  I look over at Evan. Was this his plan, too? Did he bring me here with the intention of never going back to my home? Why would he lie to me? Was he worried I wouldn’t have followed him here?

  Evan reaches out to put an arm around me, but I shrink back. Did he not think I’d want a voice in my own future? He looks at me with confusion in his eyes. “It’s not what you think, Nat.”

  “It’s my life,” I say. “I think I should have some say in where I live it. I want to go back home. It’s not as screwed up as this place.”

  “Testing a virus on innocent people isn’t screwed up?” he shoots back. “Plus, you don’t even know if they will take you back.”

  Panic sets in. I scan the faces of Evan’s friends. I’m not prepared to run away with these people—I barely know them. But Evan’s right—will Jak forgive me for taking off? Especially when he finds out that I handed Dome 569 the code for the virus?

  No. Even Evan is a stranger to me. Dome 1618 is my home. They will forgive me. Eventually.

  He reaches out to me again, and this time I take a step back. “Nat,” he says, “I’m sorry. Right now isn’t the time to get into this.”

  “I’m not going to run away with all of you,” I say, looking from Evan to his friends’ faces and back again. I feel like a caged rat, and I’m tired of being tested by everyone. “I want to go home. You promised me.”

  “Nat,” Evan says, taking a step toward me.

  “Don’t touch me,” I say, hitting his hand away. I don’t wait for what he says next. Instead, I turn and run. I run as fast as I can from the entrance to the dome.

  I tear through the streets, pushing past people all the way to Alec’s house. I need to find my uncle. I need to know if this was his plan all along too. I need to know if there is anyone left in this forsaken place who I can trust.

  When I get to his house, I pull at the handle. Locked. But Alec has to be here, I need him.

  “Alec.” I bang my fist on the door. “Let me in.”

  The door swings open and my uncle grabs my arm, pulling me inside. “Keep it down, Nat,” he hisses. “We don’t want to draw any attention.”

  “What are you talking about?” I shake off his grip, about to accuse him of lying to me about his intentions, when I catch movement from the corner of the living room. “Who’s here?”

  Two figures step out of the shadows.

  It’s Xara an
d Cardinal.

  I stand there in shock, unable to move or react. Adrenaline pumps through my veins; my heart feels like it’s going to explode from my chest. “Xara.” I barely manage a whisper. “Is it really you?”

  She runs forward and throws her arms around my neck. “Yes! I had to come see you.”

  We spin around, hugging, and I let go of my anger as I absorb the excitement of seeing my old friend. But how could she be here? And with Cardinal?

  “So that was you I saw on the outside? Why did you come?”

  “It’s not good, Natalia,” Cardinal says. Alec walks over and puts an arm around her waist. “Things fell apart back home after the explosions. They’re blaming Evan and you for everything. Jak even told everyone you brought a sample of the virus here for Evan’s dome to replicate.”

  “But that’s a lie.” I let go of Xara. “It was the immune serum. Everyone deserves to be safe.”

  “They’re coming,” Xara says. “It’s practically an army. Jak managed to scrape up enough of the old Order and the Avasas together to come after you. He’s going to demand that Dome 569 turns you and Evan over. Or else.”

  I remember the armory that fills up B3. “There’s no way Evan’s mom will let him go. Me, maybe. But him? Never.”

  I jump at a knock on the front door, and I remember Evan’s look of terror as I turned to run. I’m not ready to face him; he’ll just talk me into whatever it is he wants me to do. But it’s not his voice I hear through the banging on the door—it’s Nico’s.

  “Nat!” she yells. “Open up or I’ll kick this door in.”

  “Even more reason to not let you in here!” I yell back.

  “I’m not really going to do it,” she says. “Come on, people are staring. Let me in. I just want to talk.”

  Alec shoots me a dirty look. “Take it outside. We don’t need anyone else coming around here knocking.”

  I glance once more at Xara, still barely able to believe that she’s really here. Then I turn and open the door, pushing past Nico and slamming the door behind me.

  “Man, you are stubborn! Evan told me you wouldn’t listen but I had to come.”

  “Where is Evan?” I ask, a little peeved he sent his friend to talk to me.

  “He went home,” she says. “He thinks you need your space to think things out. But he’s a man. I get women better than he does.”

  I raise my eyebrows at her, remembering all the time they’ve spent together. All the time they’ve known each other. I bet Evan tells her everything.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” Nico says with a laugh. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’d be more my type, if you weren’t so damn stubborn. Evan is more of a dreamer than he likes to admit, and when things he hopes for are threatened, he gets angry. He doesn’t know how to handle loss very well. I think if he lost you he’d just shut down.”

  “Lose me?” I ask. “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t you see how mad he gets when you put yourself purposefully in harm’s way?” she asks. “Or when you take off without an explanation? He’s not used to someone so strong-willed, who also cares back. You probably remind him of what his mother used to be like, before she turned into such an aggressive control freak.”

  “I’m not like Caroline.” I shake my head.

  “Exactly,” Nico says. “I’m sure that’s why he likes you so much. You’re nothing like his mother. You’re challenging, but still compassionate. I see how he looks at you. When we’re out on expeditions, you’re all I hear about. Frankly, I can’t wait for you guys to go back to your dome just so I can get a break from hearing about you.”

  “But we’re not going back to my dome.”

  “So, you’ve heard then.” She motions to the house, where Xara and Alec are hiding inside. “Evan would have told you, but you found Quinn, and then got into that fight right after.”

  “I’m sure I can fix things back home. I just need to talk to Jak.”

  “He’s bringing an army,” she snorts. “I think he’s beyond talking.”

  “You don’t get it.” I cross my arms.

  “I get it,” Nico says. “You’re scared. Jess is too. The most important thing to me is keeping my friends, and those they care about, safe. That means we need to get those kids out. Then Remy, Jess, Shell, and I will take them to another place. You, Alec, and Evan will go back to your home.”

  “Why should I believe that now? Plus, I’m not even sure if we’ll be welcomed back. We just took off in the middle of chaos, when they could have used our help.”

  “You were always meant to go back because you need to let them know what has happened here,” Nico says. “They need to be warned. Caroline has a target placed on them. She doesn’t trust them and never will. She feels anyone who plays with the virus, or takes advantage of the innocent, deserves to die. That’s how she runs things here.”

  “Why is she so angry?”

  “When our dome was attacked, Evan and I were just kids,” she says. “But terrible things happened in that attack. Later we were strong enough to go take our revenge. Our attack was worse. We destroyed their entire dome, and all the people in it—even the innocents.”

  “That’s terrible,” I say. “Remy took me there and showed me their dome. I saw the destruction but had no idea the aftermath was so final.”

  “It was bad,” she says. “That’s where we’d like to go. It’s secure, hidden right in the mountains. Their only downfall was that they thought they were indestructible. We’ve scouted that area many times. We know how to protect it with minimal manpower. It’s the ideal place. We could rebuild.”

  “Why didn’t Evan tell me sooner?”

  “He knew you guys weren’t coming right away,” Nico explains. “I think he thought he’d bring the idea up to you when you got back to your home.”

  I stand still, mulling over Nico’s words. When would Evan have told me about his plan? All I’ve felt since getting here are our differences, which only seem to divide us further. He should have shared this with me. Maybe he wasn’t sure he really wanted me to go with him. Is that why he wanted to wait until we got back to my home? So he could leave me there if he decided he didn’t want to be together?

  “Stop overthinking it,” Nico says. “I don’t know if you’re aware, but you do this thing with your eyebrows when you worry. What’s important now is we come up with a plan to get those kids out. When we do we can all get out of this godforsaken place.”

  “All right.” I nod. “We save the kids and then I’ll deal with my people.”

  “Whatever,” Nico says gruffly. I notice there’s another smile playing at the edges of her lips. “Damn, you are stubborn.”

  As she walks away, I go back inside. I want to go and see Evan but I’m still mad that he didn’t share his plans with me. Moreover, I need to know what Alec’s plans are for Xara and Cardinal. If an army is coming from the outside and a rebellion is about to break out on the inside, are they safe anywhere?

  “Is everything okay?” Xara stands when I walk in.

  “It’s fine,” I say. “Evan’s friend was just checking in on me because I left upset. Apparently, they’ve been planning to run away to another dome.” I glare at Alec.

  “Nat, it’s just an idea,” Alec says. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

  “Why didn’t someone mention it to me sooner?” I throw my arms up in frustration. “Maybe I would have stayed behind. But no, everyone just decides what they think is best for me.”

  “Then what? You would have been alone when Jak had his tantrum over Evan leaving.”

  Xara reaches out and puts a hand on my shoulder. “He’s right. It’s all gone to chaos back home. Everyone’s paranoid. They think you guys set off those bombs—”

  “We never did! It was Mr. and Mrs. Richards.”

  Cardinal and Xara share a look. “Nat,” Cardinal explains, “the Richards are dead.”

&nbs
p; “Jak says Evan killed them when he tried to escape.”

  “Do you really believe that?” I ask, looking back and forth between their faces. Cardinal frowns and Xara shrugs. “Unbelievable.” I drop onto the couch and cover my face with my hands.

  “If it was in self-defense—” Xara begins.

  “It wasn’t us!” Everyone looks shocked at my outburst. Get it together, Nat. I take a deep breath and continue. “Listen. The bomb was the Richards. They made a deal with Jak to get rid of Evan by getting to me. I was supposed to get hurt, not Tassie. My guess is that Jak turned on them after they let me get away.”

  “Why would the Richards set off a bomb?” Xara asked.

  “Because Jak promised them access to Microbiology. They were obsessed with destroying the virus.” Xara gives me a strange look. “I’m not making this up. They confessed everything before we got away.”

  “They must have been the ones responsible for the uprising.” Cardinal paces the room. “Right after you left the Outer Colony attacked the dome.”

  “What?”

  “Yeah,” Cardinal continues. “You left. Jak pulled all resources to the Outer Colony. And then they attacked.”

  “We told you,” Xara pipes in, “it’s a mess back home. We barely got away.”

  “So, what now?” I turn to Alec. “Where do we go from here?”

  He shrugs. “We’ll figure something out. I’m going to take Xara and Cardinal to a safe place just outside of town. They can hole up there until we get our affairs in order, and if they see Dome 1618 coming they can come back and let us know.”

  I nod. Everything is so mixed-up now. Dammit Jak, why do you always have to complicate things?

  “Just so I know you’ll be safe, I need you to stay with Evan tonight,” Alec adds.

  What are my affairs—Evan? My thoughts skid to a stop and I think about the look on Evan’s face when I left. Fear mixed with disappointment. I disappointed Jak in the end, and now that’s driven him to start a war that he will never win. How bad will I end up disappointing Evan?

  Xara and I hug before Alec sneaks them out of the house. I watch them disappear down the alleys and pray they get to safety. Then I head out to see Evan. We have some things we need to discuss before I spend the night with him.