𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠︱monty green

xxxiii. a victory

Riley suddenly felt sick as she watched as Jasper pressed an object to the door's window, the shadow an outline of a gun. Jasper wasn't supposed to be armed, so he must have stolen it off of Harper. "Jasper, if you hurt her.." Monty warned him, his voice low.

"I know you care about her," Jasper informed them, keeping the gun pressed against the door's window. "All you have to do is destroy the machine, and she'll be fine." Riley bit her lower lip, sending a quick glance to the small machine that the other two worked so hard on to save everyone with one of ALIE's chips controlling it. They couldn't. "She'll be fine, I promise," Jasper continued, vowing. "I don't want you to lose anyone else."

-x-

They couldn't lose anyone else. It wasn't easy, Riley knew, because they were in the middle of a war. But she couldn't bare the idea of losing anyone she's grown close to, such as Harper. However, if they destroyed the machine or opened the door, it'd be over for everyone. It left Riley torn.

Jasper was clearly growing frustrated with their lack of deciding, as his voice filled the speaker and rang into the room. "Guys, you're running out of time," he informed them. "What's it gonna be? Raven's machine or Harper?" Riley couldn't see them, only shadows, but she heard Harper gasp in pain before speaking.

"Don't give it to him!" Harper exclaimed, before there was a loud noise of skin hitting skin.

Having enough, Riley dashed forward and pressed the button she's seen Monty hit on the pad from their side of the room. "Jasper, stop!" She demanded. She knew Jasper didn't want to hurt her, and it was the chip making him do so. "You don't have to hurt her. There's no reason for it," she pleaded.

"You can stop it, Ri," Jasper offered calmly. "Just open the door."

Riley shook her head. She looked over her shoulder to Monty, who motioned with his hand to keep Jasper talking before he snuck out the other door in the room, handgun clutched in hand. She just needed to stall him, keep him from attacking Harper again. "If we do, then what? You chip us? Steal our memories?" Memories were all Riley had, no matter the situation she was in, whether they were good or bad. She needed them.

"The pain goes away," Jasper stated, referring to when Riley comforted him, promising that it would get better. "If you take the chip, you won't remember Mount Weather. You won't remember Emily. You won't remember Maya."

At the mention of her home, adopted sister, and best friend, Riley's hand clenched into a fist and she took her finger off the button to take a deep breath. She just needed to stay calm, until Monty stopped him. ALIE wanted her to break, to open the door so Jasper would finally have access. When understanding that Riley wasn't going to break, Jasper spoke again, but this time his voice was more robotic.

"Raven, you're chances of reaching the killswitch again are less than two percent." Raven looked shocked, but knew it was ALIE speaking this time, not Jasper. "I've added additional security. I know the digital signature of the chip that Hannah gave to Monty. The moment you use the portal to interact with anything within my code, I will know. I will find you," he threatened her. "Are you really willing to let your friend die for a two percent chance?"

Jasper's voice faded into nothing, and Riley nearly jumped out of her skin when hearing a gunshot ring in the air. She didn't have to hesitate. She quickly typed in the code she saw Monty use and the doors slid open, revealing Jasper on the ground out cold, and Harper and Monty working together to tie him up. Harper looked a bit hurt, but she was alright, and more important, alive.

Raven approached from behind Riley, staring down at Jasper. "Good thing there's no pain in the City of Light," she remarked. Riley couldn't help but snort in agreement, glad that at least he wouldn't feel this pain until later when they finally shut ALIE down.