To Be A Rebel

Chapter 22: Bad Things

I sit in my dorm room, all alone. It's quiet, and I hate it. Two days. I've been here two days and I absolutely hate it here. A lot of people act like they like it here, like they're happy, but I'm not stupid. I recognize the fear in their eyes, but I can't say anything because I'm loyal to Sigrid. At least, I'm supposed to be. I've done well so far in convincing Sigrid I've joined her. I think I've cried more in the past two days than I did when I thought Sam was dead. Well, maybe not that much, but a lot.

And I've done well in convincing most townspeople that I'm loyal too. Only certain people know that I'm lying, like my kids. I had to tell them. As much of a risk as it is, they know Phineas is immune, and so do I. I don't want them to be afraid that I'd just turn them in, that'd I'd give them up. I wouldn't, ever, even if I was loyal to Sigrid.

The door opens, and in come the three. They visit me regularly, when Penelope and Phineas are done with their school and work in the greenhouses, and after Milo's finished helping Veronica. I've noticed she gives him more leniency that some of her other lab assistants. I think she may feel guilty about what's happened, especially since I was presumed dead for about a month.

I give them a small wave of greeting, and Penelope rushes over to hug me. She cried when she first saw me. Unlike Milo, she didn't see me when I broke into Abel the first time. She only heard about it from the children's dorms. Milo did tell her what happened, but it isn't the same.

I hug her back, so happy that she's here, that they're all here. Phineas smiles, but he seems rigid. He seems it because he is. Most people just think he's still wary of what's going on, so he's alright for now. He's smart. He's quiet, and he stays out of trouble. That's all he can do until I find a way to get him out of here. He's been able to hide his immunity for almost two and a half months, but people will find out eventually. Milo told me that Veronica was talking about testing people's blood for immunity, although he's not sure if they're going to go through with it. He said he'd use a vial of his own blood and switch it out for Phineas's if he had to, since Nadia taught him how to take it with a needle.

But even so, time is running out, and I don't know how long we can keep him safe, or how long I can wait about the labs since Sigrid is constantly pushing to get into them. But whenever I get out, I'm taking my kids with me.

Penelope pulls away, smiling widely. "Hey."

"Hey. How was school?"

"Good. I worked in the greenhouse again today, me and Phin."

I nod, her smile contagious. "Good. Good. You didn't... do anything to the greenhouse, did you?"

She shakes her head. "We've been laying low, like you said."

Phineas nods, signing as he speaks. "Yeah. Ian has been really snappy lately. And he's already threatened to dock rations, so we're going to wait a few days before we do anything else."

"'We'? You mean 'they'," I say, signing it as well. The blond rolls his eyes.

"I still help plan it."

"Well, just keep quiet about it for now. I don't want Ian hurting you like he has Kefilwe, or doing what he did to Nicole. You guys are the ones who've been stealing supplies, right?"

"Actually no," Milo espies, although the younger two stay silent. I notice, he doesn't. "The only thing I've done is help Nadia smuggle in food for Dr. Bots. You can hide so much stuff under her wheelchair if you put the blanket over her lap and use enough duct tape."

I snort. "Oh, really?"

He nods. "Yeah. Me and her are pretty cool. And Owen's cool too. He's really good at farming, and his new strand of barely is doing well. Too bad Penelope wants to burn one of the fields."