Raw emotions fly over Miranda’s features: disbelief, shock, anger, sadness, and then understanding. She stands from her desk and glares at Charlotte, “I’m leaving for ten minutes. When I come back, you better not be here.”
I watch in shock as Miranda stalks out of the room, leaving Piper and I alone with a crying Charlotte.
Piper stares in shock, not saying a word. Betrayal is clear across her face. I’m not sure what being a spy exactly encompasses, so I don’t know how to react.
Charlotte looks at Piper through teary eyes, “I’m so, so sorry.”
Piper whispers, pain etched into each word, “It was you?”
Two tears slip out of Charlotte’s eyes in response.
Piper’s eyes widen with desperation, “Dana was captured because of you? You were to one who gave us away? You were the one who ruined our escape?”
Charlotte desperately tries to wipe the tears sliding down her face.
Piper’s mouth slips open, “You didn’t…not Sienna?”
Charlotte slowly nods, pressing her lips together in attempt to keep the tears away.
Piper’s hand lands on her mouth, tears springing up in her own eyes. I have no idea who they are talking about, but I can tell they were close. Who was Sienna and what happened to her?
Charlotte chokes out, “Will you listen?”
Piper takes a seat behind the desk, where Miranda was sitting earlier. She wipes away her tears and sighs, “Fine.”
Charlotte takes a slow, shaking breath, “I didn’t choose to be a spy. When I was sent to the Unknown, an Official informed me that I was now their spy. I didn’t have a choice. Either I was a spy or they killed me. At the time, I didn’t know anyone here. I didn’t know how close I would get to Miranda or you or everyone else. I simply agreed because my life depended on it.”
Something in Piper’s eyes soften, but she doesn’t say anything.
“The first thing they did was inject a small…machine into my arm. If I’m ever caught lying or stop answering their questions, that machine will inject poison into my blood stream, killing me immediately. If I try to take out the machine or do anything to tamper with it, it will once again release the poison.”
Piper’s lips open in shock. I can’t help but feel bad for Charlotte. She didn’t have a choice in the matter and her life is at risk. She was simply staying alive.
At the cost of other people’s lives. Should she have scarified herself? But, even if she had, someone else might have given away the secret to the Heads? Are there any other spies here?
“I know what you’re thinking, why don’t I just lie? How would the Heads know? I tried lying before. When you left, they asked me what happened to you. I said I didn’t know. I got a message saying, ‘Liar, liar,’ before I passed out. I was unconscious for five days. The Heads told me that the only reason they kept me alive is because I’m such good friends with Miranda. By killing me they’d lose an important information source. The only problem, Miranda’s going to be a twenty year in a couple of days and die. I’ll lose the little protection I had on my life.”
Charlotte looks to Piper, waiting for some kind of answer. Piper’s face is entirely emotionless. This seems to break Charlotte. She loses the little composure she had, dissolving into tears.
Piper wordlessly stands. I expect her to leave the room, just like Miranda. Abandon her friend in tears, after Charlotte betrayed her multiple times. Instead Piper walks to Charlotte and hugs her.
Charlotte’s eyes widen. She begins to push Piper away, “Don’t do that to me.”
“What?”
“Just yell and scream at me so I can hate you. I betrayed you. I ruined your escape. I’ve killed people, only to save myself.”
Piper bites her lip, “I’ve made choices that ended up in people’s deaths too. After I came to the Unknown, dead Eekes began showing up. That was my fault.”
“But you didn’t mean for that to happen. You didn’t know that by doing that people would die.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I knew they were most likely after us. Maybe if I turned myself in, I could have stopped their death. Did you ever wonder about that?”
Just like I could have stopped Tooth’s death. If I could have pushed myself through my pain, instead of pitying myself, I might have been able to save him.
Charlotte’s voice is desperate, “But aren’t you angry at me? I killed your friend. I betrayed you. Why aren’t you mad?”
“Because if I was in your same position, I don’t know if I would have the strength to sacrifice myself either.”
“Yes you would. You’re risking your life right now to save kids.”
“You’re right, I might die. But in your situation, you would die. There’s no chance of survival for you. I don’t know if I’d be able to face that.”
Charlotte’s face crumples.
Piper asks, “Why do you want me to hate you so much? Why can’t you accept my forgiveness? Charlotte, I’m telling you that I understand. You are in horribly unfair situation and I’ll help you through it. That’s what friends do. So why do you want me to be mad at you?”
Charlotte raises her glassy eyes to look at Piper, her voice wavering, “Don’t you understand? I thought I killed you two years ago by giving you away. In order to stay alive, I’m going to have to do the same exact thing. It would be easier to betray you if you would hate and abandon me. It would be easier to betray you if I was mad at you for not understanding, for being unforgiving.”
Piper hugs Charlotte again, even though she resists. Piper whispers fiercely, “I won’t abandon you. I’m going to help you.”
“You’re going to help me kill you? Or you are going to help me kill me?”
“Neither. We are both going to survive together.”
Charlotte slips away from the hug, “You still don’t understand, do you? After all these years…it was just like when Sienna was taken back to Ellen. You believe that if you want something enough, it will just magically happen. You don’t understand the Heads are not sympathetic, caring people who if you reason with them will listen to you. If they make a threat, they will do everything they can to keep it.”
“I’ve beat them before. I—”
Charlotte interrupts her, “I don’t want to hear anymore than I need to know.”
Piper bites her lip but doesn’t say anything more.
Charlotte glances at her Notice, “It’s been almost ten minutes. I don’t want to make Miranda any angrier than she already is.”
“I’ll tell her what you said. You said it yourself two years ago. Sometimes Miranda just needs time to think things over. She’ll come around eventually. I believe every word you said to me, Charlotte. I’ll talk to you later today, okay?”
Charlotte nods, unable to keep a teary grin off her face, “Thank you so much, Piper. Just for everything, okay?”
Piper hugs her one final time, “Anything for a Reb.”
“I’m so glad you’re alive.”
Piper lets out a short laugh and they exchange final goodbyes. How long have they known each other? If Charlotte trusts Piper, surely I can trust Piper, right?
My mantra from when I first arrived pops back into my head.
Trust no one.
I’m doing nothing to follow that. I’ve spent the whole morning laughing freely with Charlotte, believing every word everyone says, growing to trust Piper, an Official.
Charlotte pushes me out of the room, wiping the last of her tears from her red eyes. She asks, “If you don’t want to continue the tour, I understand. It’s probably hard hanging out with me when you know I’m a…”
I still want to see the Unknown. What’s the harm in hanging out with Charlotte? I barely know anything about the Unknown, how can I say anything that’s supposed to be a secret? I’ll just have to watch what I say carefully. It’s better than lying around in the Nurses’ Wing.
I say, “I don’t mind touring with you. I want to see the Unknown anyway.”
“Thank you. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. Another favor, could you please not tell anyone about, well, you know?”
I nod and Charlotte begins pushing me down the hall in relief. “Next we are going to visit the Odds. They basically help out in whichever Pros needs more workers that day. So, say that the Kitchens have a huge order from the Heads, the Odds will send people over to help. Being an Odds is one of the hardest Pros because you need to be experienced in almost everything.”
“Sounds complicated.”
“Very complicated, but a lot of fun. It keeps your day from becoming monotonous repetition. You have to be able to work with whatever the Heads give us, but you meet a lot of people and learn new things. Some days you may be very busy and others do barely anything.”
We reach a pair of foggy sliding doors labeled Odds. It’s a smaller version of the Techs lobby. Two girls sit behind a counter, chatting and typing into holograms. They both look up as we enter.
A girl with her honey blonde hair secured in a loose braid says, “Hi, Charlotte. Who’s the Rivie?”
“This is Claire. She’s an Eeke who just wanted a quick tour of the Unknown before she healed.”
“Oh, an eager learner. Sounds like a future Odds to me.”
I smile, but I don’t know what to feel. I don’t know whether I have a future here in the Unknown or not. Even though I know I shouldn’t, I can’t help but subconsciously make plans for my life here.
Why do I even need to escape? I’ve never had a problem with the Heads before. If I was careful and didn’t attract any attention, couldn’t I stay here?
Charlotte rolls me toward a door on the side with the receptionists’ permission. The door slides open, revealing a medium sized room with a couple of people inside. There are cushioned chairs scattered across the room, floating holograms, and a delicious scent I can’t name floats through the air.
Charlotte motions to the room, “This is where the Odds hang out when they aren’t working. They can mess around on holograms, talk, and better yet eat.”
Fresh bread is placed on a table shoved against the wall. A pitcher of water lies next to it. The room is full of bright colors. I can’t help but think this is where I want to spend more time.
As we make our back through the almost empty hallways, Charlotte whispers, “I just want to apologize for bringing you into the mess of this whole ‘spy’ thing. It might be easier if you hadn’t known. You should also know that it might not turn out perfect in the end. I know that Piper is making promises of a hopeful future, but she just doesn’t understand one thing.”
She takes a shaky breath, “In the end, one of us is going to die. I just have to decide whether it’s going to be me or her.”