|Crash|
It's only a sleeping pill, right? Kyler accepted my offer when I handed him a cold drink. It was my form of truce. He didn't know I dissolved one of my mother's sleeping pills inside the dark, sweet liquid. I feel bad in a way, knowing this will get him in huge trouble by falling asleep. But this is my life PURE is tampering with, it should be my choice to use my body or not. And right now, I've chosen not to.
Soon as I knew Kyler drifted off to sleep, I peek inside my bedroom where he lays uncovered on my bed. His face appears relaxed, his lips slightly parted, taking tiny breaths, and exhaling soft snores. The sudden temptation to touch his face scorches through my body. How is it he's managed to have this affect on me? I stare a moment longer, hesitant to leave, but incapable of trying to wake him, to tell him what I've done. So I leave, gently closing the door.
Walking a few blocks, I start to head in no particular direction, because any which way will take me back into the desert. I can't believe I'm going to run away. Maybe I should seek help from exiles who live someplace between Arid and the United Colony? Who knows if this plan will even work? I'm going to try, though. I've got to.
A painted white brick building to the left catches my attention. It's massive, with soaring white pillars in the front just atop a never-ending stairway. The sign out front is surrounded by dead brush and tangled tumbleweed.
"Department of Draftees," I read the sign out loud. Top of the stairs, someone rushes down each step, looking back over his shoulder from time to time. "I guess I'm not the only runaway," I say, turning to walk away.
"Irissa!" a voice yells from behind.
Looking over my shoulder, my eyes widen by the sight of Finn. He rushes towards me, grabbing my arms, and pulls me into a hug. Even though the warmth of the sun beats down us, I can still feel the heat from his body crawling over my skin. I fit perfectly against him, leaning my cheek against his chest. His heart thuds loudly, and I'm enjoying every beat.
Finn backs up, still holding onto me. "It's really you? I can't believe it..."
"It's me," I say, my cheeks hurting from my permanent smile.
"Yeah, it is," he laughs.
Something isn't right though, he looks worse than usual. I'm not even sure if a person is capable of looking this pale without being confined to a hospital bed or worse...dying.
I squeeze my eyes against the sunlight, looking up at him. "What's wrong?"
He looks down at the ground, scuffing his shoes. "I'm going to be honest with you..." His blue eyes burn into mine, full of emotion, I almost have to look away. "After the incident outside of the church, they have refused to give me treatment."
"Because of me..." I try to break eye contact.
Finn tugs at my shoulders, shaking me from my trance. "Don't be like this! I won't let you take blame for my illness. I've been sick long before I met you."
"If I hadn't acted out, then you would be okay..."
He turns from me, releasing a loud sigh. When he faces me, again, frustration forms across his furrowed brows. I step forward, this time gripping onto his shoulders. His height overpowers me, making me crane my neck to adjust my gaze to his hardened face. Before, all I could see was his chest rising and falling. Now, he looks off into the distance, making it hard for me to understand what emotion his eyes imprison.
"Irissa," he says, finally looking down at me. "Tell me right now that you won't blame yourself for anything that concerns me."
Anger is in his eyes. But why?
"I – I – won't blame myself," I stumble over my words, trying to make myself believe what I'm saying out loud. "I promise."
Finn's face relaxes, his eyebrows rise as his lips curl upward into a smile. "Good. Let's get out of here." He grabs my hand and starts pulling me along behind him, unaware that I'm trying to move in the opposite direction.
"Finn, what are you doing?" I shout at the top of my lungs.
"What's it look like? Running!" he says.
A vehicle turns sharply at the intersection up ahead, skidding tires as it pulls up next to us. Finn lowers the duffel bag to the ground, rubbing at his shoulder. I examine the bag, wondering what could be so heavy, and then look toward the car at multiple faces staring our way.
"Get in, quick! Borrowers are coming," says one of the guys in the back seat. He swings open the door, holding his hands out as Finn tosses him the bag. "Good work, bro."
"Thanks," breathes Finn, looking directly at me now, holding out his hand. "Come with me, Iris." His widening eyes flicker at something behind me, and this time he shakes his hand through the air. "Take my hand! Hurry!"
I look over my shoulder, knowing it was inevitable that Kyler and the other Borrowers would track me down.
Oh no...Kyler.
"Finn..." I start to say as I notice Kyler pushing past a couple Borrowers moving our way. "I don't know. This is too fast!" I shake my head, looking over my shoulder at Finn.
Kyler's hand waves viciously through the air. His mouth forms an "O". He's shouting, but still too far for me to make any sense of what he's trying to communicate.
"You don't want to go back there! Do you?" Finn says, urgency in his voice coaxing me to move toward him, to grab onto his hand and leave. "Take a chance. Please get into the car."
My trembling hand inches closer to his, but I stop, pulling back. "But my friend at PURE...I can't leave her, Finn." The stomping boots of the Borrowers continue to grow louder...closer.
Finn lunges forward, grabbing onto my hand. "Trust me when I say this, we will get your friend. We have to go, Iris. Now!" He pulls me toward the car. I hold my ground, pressing against the door-frame. Finn continues to hold onto my hand as I stand outside the open door.
"Irissa, don't get into that car!"
My heart thuds against my rib cage. It has never felt so under pressure. I've never felt so alive.
Kyler stands in the distance, holding out his arms to keep the other Borrowers back. His hair is drenched in sweat from running. Finn's hand loosens from mine. I look down at him, wondering why he has suddenly giving up, but then I see it in his eyes.
He wants me to make a choice.
"Irissa..." Kyler says my name again. I look over at him and shake my head. Confusion spreads over his face as he looks between me and the car.
I'm sorry, I mouth silently to him, and duck to slide into the seat next to Finn.
The car pulls away from the curb, leaving behind shouting Borrowers in the cloud of smoke from the tires. I sneak one last glance out the back window. Kyler stands just outside the crowd of his comrades. His arms relaxed loosely at his sides, no emotion whatsoever. He isn't shouting like the rest, or even attempting to run toward the car in pursuit.
My heart continues to thud wildly. Maybe this means he understands the choice I've made, he must. Finn's hand glides over top of mine. I look at him, wondering if I've made the right decision.
"Why did you decide to get in the car with me?" He stares straight ahead. His nearly invisible brows scrunched together. His confusion and wonder matches my own. Then suddenly a feeling resonates through me. No, a thought, one that needed to be said out loud because I've never knew I would ever be able to.
"For me."
A crammed car with mostly strangers on the run isn't on my bucket list. On top of that, I feel bad sitting on Finn's lap because it looks like he is going to pass out from heat exhaustion at any second. But we had to save the pride of the two other boys in the back seat from sitting on the other's lap. I roll the window down, letting turbulent wind whip through the car. Immediately, the wind dries the dampness on my skin, as I lean my head against the partially opened glass. Finn moans. Looking back at him, his face still remains worn and wet.
I press the back of my palm to his forehead. "Are you going to be okay?"
He nods and forces a slight smile. "Sooner we get there the better."
The girl up front driving says over her shoulder, "Hey, Finnian! I'm driving a 100 miles per hour for you buddy." She is stocky, with long, black hair pulled into a high pony tail.
A guy next to me taps on my arm.
"Hi, I'm Nicolas, but these jarheads call me Nico." He extends his hand, waiting for me to respond. I grab it, and immediately regret joining our sweaty palms.
"Hi," I say. "I'm Irissa...or Iris, if you prefer."
"Iris?" Nico nods his head, smiling. "That's hot!"
The girl driving looks in the rearview mirror back at me. "Ignore him, he's a pervert." She laughs, and Nico joins in with her. I can't help but smile. These people seem pretty cool and down-to-earth.
Who are they? Why are they running from the city?
There are three more people stuffed inside the car, and two of them have nodded off. Their heads bob carelessly when we hit grooves in the road. There are two girls up front, the driver and another in the passenger seat. She's been quiet the whole ride, staring out the window.
Finn wraps his arms around my waist, startling me. I jerk upward, hitting the top of my head on the ceiling. He laughs a little, which is nice to hear, but it makes me think of Bianca's laughter. She always knew when to laugh and when to cry. Thinking about the last moment I had with her causes an unsettled feeling in my stomach.
Don't worry, Bianca. I will be back for you...
"Hey, you okay?" Finn squeezes his hands gently against my sides.
I lean back on his chest, his chin settles on my right shoulder. "I'm just thinking about my friend back at PURE. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her bravery."
"We'll get her back."
"I believe you," I say.
I have to.
Finn leans me forward, shifting me on his lap, so that we're almost face to face. "I'm sorry you had to choose like that back there," he says. "But this was the right choice. I promise."
I simply smile, hoping I can refrain from speaking, because I just might say something about the irritating Borrower who plagues my mind.
Kyler Hart.
"I'm going to protect you," he says.
Kyler said he would protect me...
"I'm a big girl, Finn," I say. "I assure you that I can protect myself."
The girl driving says, "Hey! We've got company!"
"What?" I look at Finn.
The others sleeping, wake, pulling automatic weapons from the duffel bag Finn has brought. Black, sleek, military guns that are way too sophisticated for a seventeen year old to be using. I lean over and look out the front window. Three vehicles cruise straight for us, no sign of anyone slowing down.
"Are you all out of your minds?" I shout. "This is suicide! And how the heck do you have weapons like this?"
The girl in the passenger seat finally speaks. "They're stolen. We're draftees, so it wasn't hard to get a hold of them." I could hear a condescending tone strung within her words.
Nico checks the chamber of his gun, and looks over at me. "There just happen to be a nice stock room full at the D.O.D," he says with a smile. "Finn guarded that room."
"D.O.D...? I say, feeling more frantic as the vehicles ahead gain on us.
"Department of Draftees," Finn answers coolly. He checks the chamber of his own gun. I squeeze between the two seats, crouching close to the floor.
Trying to cover my head, I mumble, "We're seriously going to die."
Nico yells to the front, "Ivy, are we ready?"
Our driver nods. "Yes! Get in position!"
The girl up front, Nico, and Finn lean out the windows, aiming toward the oncoming vehicles. Not knowing what is happening is driving me crazy, so I crawl forward, peeking over the center console. We're about to play chicken with the Borrowers, and I don't think Ivy plans to swerve out of the way first. I close my eyes, waiting for some sort of impact. Everyone starts cheering and hollering with excitement. The Borrowers swerved first. I turn, looking out the back window.
"They turned around!" I say.
Ivy says over the roaring wind from the open windows, "That's it! I think we stopped them." A wicked grin creeps across her face.
"Hold on tight, Iris," Finn says. He props up on the backseat, steadying himself on one knee. The machine gun lies across his left shoulder, while he grips the handle with his right hand. I nod, and he leans back out the window. "Alright, do it!"
Ivy slams on the breaks, sending me forward into the dashboard. I guess I should have listened to Finn when he told me to hang on tight. The girl in the passenger seat looks at me with annoyance, then props herself up in the frame of the window. Her upper body disappears as she sits halfway outside the car. I push myself to the back and look over at Nico. I can't see his upper body as he prepares to fire at the Borrowers.
If I'm going to die, they could have at least given me a gun!
Bullets hit the car, shattering the back window. Another guy huddles down next to me, gripping a hand gun. He looks equally as scared. A guy with long, straggly hair ducks near Nico's legs, and hangs onto his ankles to support him.
I say over the blasting of the guns and wind, "Why didn't you guys get a bigger vehicle!" The nervous guy next to me shrugs, and continues to stare down at his gun.
"I'm hit!" Nico says, falling back into the car. The guy with long hair takes Nico's gun and props himself out the window, continuing to fire.
Finn leans back inside. "I took out a car!"
"Make that two!" the girl up front adds.
There's a loud popping noise. The vehicle jerks roughly. Finn and the rest fall back inside. I jump back up onto Finn's lap to give everyone room. He pulls me close to his chest. The barrel of his gun burns the skin on my arm.
"I'm sorry!" he says, putting the gun back down on the floor. "Are you okay, Iris?"
I nod. "I'm fine."
It actually hurts like hell, but that is the least of my concerns right now. Ivy continues to work the steering wheel, trying to get the vehicle under control. I lean into Finn's chest, pressing my face against it. His heart beats rapidly, equally matching my own. Nico moans, lying across the other boy's lap, blood covering his hand as he presses against the bullet wound in his abdomen.
Another loud pop, the car swerves. Everything seems to switch into slow motion. The car skids sideways on the road, smoke from the burning rubber of the tires leak inside. The car roars a horrible sound of metal pounding against pavement as it flips. Pressing firmly against the ceiling, my neck strains at an unbearable angle. There are no screams, at least none that I can hear over the sound of crumbling metal and shattering glass. Every flip sends our bodies crashing into one another. I'm not sure where Finn is now, I can't feel him anymore.
No more flipping, no more crumbling sounds, everything has gone still.
Still upside down, my body lies across the ceiling. I shift myself, and lay onto my stomach. Gazing around, I notice Finn knocked out, blood trickling down his temple. Ivy dangles from her seatbelt, struggling to unlatch it. The nervous boy is up front, cradled against the girl in the passenger seat. Both are unconscious. Nico, the guy with long hair, is nowhere in sight.
Ivy shrieks. "We have to get out of here! The gas is leaking. This thing could blow any minute..." Her voice trails off.
I painfully move towards Finn, shaking him. "Wake up! Please!" He moans. His eyes begin to open.
Those blue eyes...
"You're okay," I whisper.
He nods. "Ouch!" His hand reaches up toward his wound.
With a loud tear, Ivy slices her seatbelt apart with a pocket knife. She's mumbling obscenities as she crawls through the shattered front window. Finn exits the car, and pulls me by the arm. Rushing to the front passenger, I help them remove the other two. Everyone is accounted for, standing outside, gazing around at the desert. Finn begins to run back toward the way we came from, yelling.
"Nico...?"
"Nico!" Ivy joins in, cupping her mouth.
After searching the surrounding area, five minutes later, and a great distance from the crash, we find him. I run up to Finn. He kneels down next to Nico, pressing his fingers against his neck to check for a pulse.
He looks up at me as I shield my eyes from the sun. "He's gone..."
Ivy and the other two run over to us. "What are you doing? Check again, dammit!" she demands.
"He's gone, Ivy!" Finn says, still staring down at Nico's limp body. I haven't heard him this angry before.
I run my fingers through my hair, tugging at the roots. "What do we do now? This - this is insane!"
Finn stands, looking at all of us. "Start walking," he says, pointing in the westerly direction.
"What about Nico, though?" I don't understand why we would leave him behind even if he's dead.
The nervous boy steps forward. "He will get collected later. Finn's right, we better start walking so we make it back to camp before dark," he says. "I'm Jordan, by the way." He waves, but the death of his friend lingers on his face. "Shitty way of meeting for the first time, right?"
"Sorry about your friend," I say, unsure of what to do next.
"Not that it concerns you, but I'm Polly," the girl who sat in the passenger seat steps forward, extending her hand. We shake. She perks her lips, looking away from me quickly. "Nico knew the dangers of going on these missions."
Nice to meet you, too...
Finn looks to Ivy. "Maybe we can salvage some things from the car?"
She nods slowly and walks away. I follow Finn, watching him closely. He's hiding his illness well right now, to get us through this. We reach the vehicle and Ivy's body is halfway inside. She tosses a couple of bags out and one weapon.
"What happened to the third car?" I say to Finn.
He shrugs. "My guess is that one of their guy's was wounded and they had to back off."
I touch his arm. "I'm sorry about, Nico." Finn grabs my hand, pulling me into a hug. His chin rests on top of my head.
"It was a risk he was willing to take," he says. "A risk we're all willing to take."
Jordan says, "You guys hear that?" He leans down toward the ground, next to the vehicle.
"The car is leaking fuel," Ivy says, digging through a bag.
"Shit, shit...shit!" Jordan backs away from the car. I pull away from Finn, and watch Jordan start running. "Just saw a spark, I'd run if I were you guys!" he says.
Finn leans down, tossing a small bag to me. He grabs my arm and pulls me along, sprinting. My ankle almost gives out, but the adrenaline rushing through my body wills me to move onward. As soon as we are to a safe distance, everyone stops, staring back at the beaten car.
The explosion was expected, but even though I knew it was going to happen, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Massive flames climb into the air, wrapping around thick black smoke. Finn is hovered over me, while pieces of the car start to land around us. No one gets hit, luckily.
Ivy starts laughing. "That was awesome!" she says, jumping up into the air.
Polly rolls her eyes. "Define awesome? I'm pretty sure we were almost crispy toast."
Finn looks at me, smoothing the back of my hair with his hand. "You okay? Your shaking."
"Yeah, I will be okay," I say. "And you?"
He doesn't answer me, instead he says, "Alright, enough of this, let's go before it gets late." Finn stands and looks at everyone, walking ahead. He's trying to ignore the topic of his illness. I guess I didn't realize it bothers him that much to appear weak to others. I just want to know he's okay, if I can help...
I keep my distance, watching them talk among each other like friends do. Bianca keeps clouding my mind. She will be okay, I have to believe that. Then there's Kyler, and something tells me he will understand my decision. If he doesn't, then I know he has surrendered to Sylas for good. And when it comes time to free the Borrowed, he will either be fighting alongside me or against me.