Immune

Phoenixes

Finally, the door swings open. Mandy and Ollie come in first, smiling from ear to ear, followed by my father, who has a worried look on his face. His eyebrows knit together, giving him canyons on his forehead.

"How are you?" Mandy asks me, kneeling down on the carpet in front of me. She touches my chin, and I pull away.

"Don't ask," is all I can think to say.

A look of anger crosses her face.

"Are you angry?" she spits out as she sits back on her feet. I bit my lip, considering how to answer it.

"Yes," I finally say, leaning up to inch closer to her face, "I am."

"For what? We just saved you," she says, throwing her hands up on either side of her. Ollie laughs in one quick breath, pushing herself to sit up on the desk.

"Maybe, but you only saved me because you felt responsible for sending me here in the first place."

Mandy looks confused, hurt, but I don't care. She needs to feel pain. She needs to know what I went through. I lean forward more and continue.

"Plus, you're too late, Mom," I say, the last word coming out like venom, "If you would have just come with me, maybe Isaac wouldn't be dead."

Mandy stares at me, tears welling up in her eyes.

Dad clears his throat, and I look at him, half-expecting him to tell me to watch my attitude.

"Please, do not scold me right now," I tell him, shaking my head. My face burns red.

"I wasn't going to," he says, making Mandy look over at him, "You're completely justified in being mad at all of us. You went through Hell in there. I could see that when I was finally allowed to visit. They didn't come save you, and they are responsible to sending you."

He pauses, moving to walk around Ollie. She sighs, scooting to the side so that I can see him when he sits down behind the desk. Now, I notice that his name is engraved on the name plate.

"Yet, you don't know our side of the story," he continues, folding his arms over his chest, "We have some explaining to do, Jaelyn. Let the women speak."

I glare at him and, then, look back at Mandy. She's still mad, fuming almost.

"Fine," I mutter, sitting back, "Speak."

"I'm not a dog, you ungrateful-"

"Mandy, get yourself together," Dad snaps at her, his voice louder than I've heard in a while, "I've really not missed your temper."

I watch her clench her fists, not turning around. She takes a long, deep breath, holding eye contact with me.

"We didn't know," she says, through gritted teeth, "How were we supposed to? Clare and Stephen were trapped inside the walls after you ran off and left them. Jacob had to get them out, and by then, you were already locked up in solitary. We came as soon as we could."

I shake my head at her.

"We shouldn't have been sent alone in the first place."

"That wasn't the plan," she says, glancing towards Ollie, "After the fire, we were confused and scared. Ollie made a split second decision on her own, without consulting anyone else."

"You coming without one of us is my fault," Ollie says, nodding her head, "I will take that responsibility."

They look at one another, then back at me. I'm still mad, but what they are saying makes sense. How could they have known?

I sink into my seat, giving in. The energy is gone. I'm tired of fighting back.

"We really are sorry, Jay," Ollie says, jumping off the desk, "We never meant for any of this to happen." She reaches for my shoulder, and I jerk away, shaking my head. The last thing I want is her comfort.

Dad clears his throat again, making us jump at the sound.

"Jacob, if you have something to say, just say it," Mandy snaps, looking irritated. Dad gives her an empty look, pursing his lips together.

"We have been meeting outside the wall for about a week now," he tells me, "It took some serious planning once we knew what your sentencing was. They weren't the only reason I was sneaking out of the compound, though."

I sit up in my seat, raising my eyebrows. Mandy and Ollie are both looking at him, too, like this is news to them.

"When I came to see you, Jaelyn, you asked me something. Do you remember?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding, "I asked you about Isaac. What they had done with him."

"And I said they burned him, right?"

The room is so quiet I can hear the building creaking, the light wheezing in my father's breathing.

"Yes, but I don't understand where this is going."

Dad takes a deep breath.

"I lied."

My breath catches in my throat.

"Dad, what did they do with Isaac?" I ask, again, squeezing the arm of the chair.

"They brought him to me," he says, "That part was the truth. But I didn't send him off for disposal."

"Dad, what did you do with Isaac?" I repeat, the volume of my voice rising. I'm breathing now in quick succession, panting almost, like I've ran up a few flights of stairs.

"I took him outside the walls," Dad says, quietly, never dropping eye contact with me, "I knew that I owed you for that trap I helped Hartley lay for you. I thought I might be able to save him, and that you wouldn't hate me for what I had to do."

I feel the tears running down my cheeks, cold against my hot face.

"Dad, I'll ask you one more time. What did you do with Isaac?"

My dad sits up, leaning on his elbows on his desk.

"I saved his life," he whispers, smiling at me.

In fear of passing out, I push myself back into the chair cushion, squeezing the wooden arms until my fingers start to ache.

He's alive. He's alive.

I'm repeating the two words out loud, unknowingly, rocking back and forth as I start to sob.