Chosen

Chapter 39

When I walk down the hall, I'm hit with a sense of déjà vu. It was only six weeks ago that I walked this very hallway, certain I'd never be able to come here again, dreading my life as future chief of the community. Once again it feels like my final trip, but this time, it's because I'm facing imminent danger and an unknown future. So much has happened since then it's difficult to wrap my head around it. I've done more than I ever thought I could. More than that, I proved to myself just what I'm capable of. I may not be the official leader of the community, but my voice matters. What our people want and deserve matters. For the first time, we have a shot at finding a better life.

I reach the door and take a deep breath. Once I open the door, a signal will be sent to the security office in Crane's wing. I'll only have minutes to get in and set off a bunch of alarm systems. I hope I can make it.

Punching in the code, I rip the door open and fly across the floor to the back room. Unlocking that door too, I fling myself into the chair and boot up the system. The clock is ticking. As soon as the screen flickers to life, I freeze with sudden panic. How am I going to be able to get everything done before I'm caught? It would take me an hour to get into enough systems to trigger the alarms. I only have a few minutes left before I have to get out of here.

Unless...

I make a split second decision and leap into action, speeding through the steps to get to Norman's file. Less than a minute later, the "E" file is staring me in the face again. The cursor blinks on the password line. Now I have to think. Norman told me to think back to the last thing he said before I made my choice. What was it? What was it what was it?!

Maybe it's the adrenaline that's been pumping through my system for the last minute-and-a-half, maybe it's knowing that if I don't figure this out I'll surely die by my father's hand, but suddenly the memory comes to the surface with an icy clarity.

You do have a choice, Elia. What do you want?"

In that instant, as my final seconds tick down, as I hear footsteps thundering down the hall toward the lab, I know. I key in the password as the door to the tech lab is busted open, torn off its hinges and flung to the side. I press enter as they race to the door of the back room. By the time they get to me, they're too late.

There's a fizzing, crackling sound as the speaker system all over the compound boots up. Crane's six men that crowd the space all stop in their tracks and turn toward the sound. I can almost hear the hush fall over the entire compound.

The sound of a throat clearing comes through the speakers, deafeningly loud and accompanied by bursts of static. Then, exactly the voice I knew I'd hear, but still it fills me with surprise.

"IT'S TIME," Norman's voice comes thunderously out of the speaker. After a few more seconds of static, the sound cuts out.

There's a moment of silence. Crane's men look at each other nervously. Then, alarms. Everywhere. All of them.

All the men are screaming at each other, not that anyone can hear what anybody's saying. In the middle of the hubbub, I see my opportunity and seize it. Slithering out of my chair onto the floor, I start crawling on hands and knees toward the door. The door is still open. I'm halfway through the doorjamb, almost out—

My legs are suddenly jerked up, and, losing my balance, I fall forward, banging my chin on the floor. Turning around I see Lennox behind me, hanging on to my ankles. It looks like everyone's still shouting behind him, but everything's starting to sound like one continuous ringing sound. I wonder briefly if we'll all have permanent damage to our hearing.

I'm hauled up unceremoniously and, for the second time in the last twelve hours, my hands are bound behind my back. As they start marching me through the lab, all I can think is this: it was worth it. If my people can escape from my father's regime today, if they can claim a chance at a better life, then giving up my own in exchange is worth it. I can only hope that Celia and West are successful carrying out their parts of the plan, and that the rebels took action from Norman's announcement beyond the grave.

We're about halfway down the hallway when one of them wrenches my arm violently to the side. I'm sure my scream is loud, but the alarms are still drowning out all other sound. Then something falls against my legs and I pitch forward, smacking my shoulder hard against the concrete floor.

Smarting with pain, I look back to see what struck me, and instead see that all of Crane's men are now on the ground around me, sporting various injuries. In front of them, holding an automatic drill of all things, is Jay, with a few of our former classmates behind him.

He comes forward, eyes blazing, and holds out his hand. When I don't take it, he finally sees my bound hands and crouches down, pulling an army knife out of his pocket. He grabs the cuffs and, after a few seconds of fiddling, I feel them pop off my wrists. Jay helps me up, then we all run to the next stairwell, leaving Crane's men behind us, still on the floor.

It strikes me as we sprint away that even after all this time, Jay is still there for me, willing to do anything, no matter what.