Take Me Tomorrow

Chapter 23: I'll Kill You

We drove over a hill and rested at a stoplight. "Where should I park?" Lyn asked.

The Traveler's Bureau was located right in front of us. Hovering over the street, the tall, cylindrical office seemed impossible to break into. With thick steel doors and darkly tinted windows, I didn't know the first thing about getting inside the office full of records, even though my father had worked there for a number of years.

I gulped.

"Park at the gas station," Miles answered mechanically.

Lyn eyed him in disbelief.

"Trust me," he promised. "The more people around, the less suspicious we'll look. If we're at the rest stop, it'll look like we're stretching our legs."

The rest stop was one of two in Topeka. Traveling wasn't illegal, but it was rare. Even then, the rest stop was full of people—the perfect illusion for everyone else. It seemed that traveling was an average-day thing, something that anyone could do, but it was costly. If someone thought about it, the large crowd at the rest stop was very small compared to the general population. It only seemed big; it was built to look big.

Lyn sighed, but ultimately nodded. In moments, she parked at the rest top, and her government vehicle matched the other ones around us. When she unlocked the doors, she turned the knob on the dash so that the tint darkened more. Miles was right. We appeared to be resting for a moment before traveling again—probably to the outskirts of town, perhaps an official sent to check on the country's crop supply. We were in a government vehicle, after all. No one dared to question a government vehicle. Except us.

Almost every vehicle around us was government issued, and the ones that weren't were parked close to one—as if they were traveling together. Where they had come from was a mystery. We had six regions—Albany, Phoenix, Boise, Topeka, Raleigh, and Madison—all of which were connected with the train system centered in the Topeka Region. They could've come from anywhere, but it was safe to guess they hadn't come from Madison. According to rumor, it was an abandoned wasteland, rendered useless after too much lumber was taken too quickly.

"You boys have thirty minutes," Lyn said.

My heart lodged itself in my throat.

Noah peeked up from the trunk, glanced at his watch, and nodded. "We'll be done before then."

Broden patted me on the shoulder. "See you soon, kid."

With that, they opened the doors, and Miles and Broden were out. Noah climbed over the chair, fell against my side, and left without looking back. The boys didn't linger. They reached their arms over their heads, pretending to stretch their legs, and began to walk. They even laughed as they chatted. In their plain tan uniforms they seemed like average interns, leaving the vehicle as if to take a small hike. We were the only ones who saw them enter the Traveler's Bureau, but—even if there had been a witness—it would've looked like three interns reporting for duty.

The plan had begun.

Lily's hand was sweating against mine, and her grip tightened. Lyn tapped the front of her steering wheel. Falo, for once in his life, had a babysitter—Miles' mother—and we hoped she would lie for us to protect her kids if we had to tell her. We hoped it wouldn't come down to that.

"You think they'll be okay?" I asked.

Lyn applied Chapstick to her bitten lips. When she finished, her coated lips were purple. "Not without help."

Lily sat up. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Lyn paused, running her fingers over her tattooed arms. "Go help them."