I'm an Exempt.
The words swam in Kyra's head as she tried to take them in, unblinking, eyes frozen on James. His face was scrunched up as though he'd just received a punch to the gut. But no, it was her with the aching chest, with the pain in her body that she couldn't even begin to describe.
How long had he been lying to her? Why didn't she notice earlier? Her eyes closed as she dropped his wrist. Numb in body and mind, she spun on her heel and headed for the door, ignoring the prickling sensation at the back of her eyes. I will not cry, she thought, not here, not now. A firm hand on her arm made her whirl around, eyes narrowed.
"Stop Kyra, I can-"
Her hand connecting with his cheek cut off his words. The slap was like a clap of thunder and reverberated around the room. She could feel the eyes on her back, hear the whispers from all around, but she didn't care. Her hand stung, but the red print on his cheek filled her with satisfaction - enough to block out some of the hurt. "Don't you dare speak to me."
She shrugged out of his grip but in seconds James was back in front of her, his arms around her on either side. Once glance at Kyra's face made him retreat, but the space between them was still too little for Kyra: she doubted being on the other side of the city would be enough for her. She just had to get away.
James sighed and half closed his eyes. "Stay Kyra, at least so I can explain; five minutes is all I'm asking for." There was no snarky comment, no sarcasm in his tone or a spark of humour in his eyes. He was really James, the boy she'd known since she was a child, the boy with the shaking bottom lip and wide blue eyes she couldn't help but give into.
It wasn't his face that weakened her resolve though; it was the thought of understanding, learning what was so important James had lied to her for so long. Above all else, she knew that thought would plague her the longest. She glanced up, and as the many eyes watching her all flickered away, she nodded. James let out a shaky breath and led her back down the long corridor into the room at the end.
Though it was lacking the Commander's cold presence now, the room was as uninviting as ever. James sat at the other end of the table, while Kyra stopped just past the door, pacing back and forth in the small space between the table and the far wall. James watched her silently through his fingertips. "I didn't mean for you to find out, not like that."
Kyra's eyes flashed to his face. "Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you hoping we would end up on opposite sides of the city for the rest of our lives and you'd never have to speak to me again? Easier than facing the truth I suppose, and you do have a habit of taking the easy way out."
The hurt in his eyes filled her with a sick sort of happiness; she never wanted to hurt anyone else, never had the stomach for it, but all she wanted to do in that moment was see him as upset as she was.
James ran a hand through his hair. "You're right Kyra, I know you are. I wasn't going to tell you if I didn't have to because you don't deserve this knowledge, no one does. The only upside is that now I don't have to lie to you. So what do you want to know?"
She reached for the door. "Before I get started do you want me to go get the Commander? I mean, I'm sure you're going to report this whole conversation back to him, but he might as well hear it directly rather than through a spy."
"It's not like that."
"And you expect me to believe you?" Kyra shook her head. "At least all of your weird behaviour over the years makes sense now. No zaps, no commands, no discipline - and I always wondered why you never learned."
"Kyra, I-"
"No wonder you were always disappearing randomly, you had to go report back to your boss. All those secrets you know about the city, all those extra perks, all those times I got punished and I thought it was all okay because we were in it together. But you felt nothing. How could you do that to me?"
James' hand gripped the table so hard the edge of it turned red. "When I said it wasn't like that I meant it; you had nothing to do with my job. I was assigned to gather information on my parents." His eyes were intent on hers, but she looked away, ignoring his words.
"This isn't your job, James. It's your escape. You always wanted to be free and this lets you." Kyra smoothed hair back from her hot skin.
"You think I chose this? It was forced on me." The words were spat through gritted teeth. She looked at James' clenched knuckles on the table, at the tightness of his jaw, at the wide and open eyes. It made her heart ache, and not because of the betrayal. He'd never been angry like that before. "Maybe it is an escape, but it's also my family. These people are the only ones who understand me - they know how hard it is to lie to everyone you love."
Kyra dropped into a seat. "Speaking of family, how did you receive it? From what the Commander said it was a genetic thing, but I'm guessing your parents don't have it if you spy on them."
"No, they don't. No one in my family does aside from Ashley and I." James leaned back in his seat, faking nonchalance as he stared at the table. "My father isn't my father."
"What?" She leaned across the table, eyes wide. "Do you know who it is?"
"No, and I don't plan on finding out. It won't change anything."
Kyra watched his face for any flicker of emotion; a shift in his eyes, a tremble of his lip, anything - but it remained blank. "You can't be serious."
"I am."
Sighing, she moved onto her next question. "The Commander, he mentioned a mission. What is it?"
James raised his eyebrows in surprise, but in a blink he'd regained his composure. "To rebuild the world without walls, bracelets or drugs. For everyone to have free will."
Kyra scoffed. "Otherwise known as creating World War Four."
"Not really, not if you think about it. World War Three was four hundred years ago and we're still recovering from it. It nearly wiped out entire races and countries, and in the aftermath our world fell into ruins, with the only survivors banning together to bring down the government. In order to keep the human race alive and untainted, they created our society."
"So it's true then, we were the sole survivors of a disease we created," Kyra murmured, furrowing her brows.
"They couldn't see a way around it. After the other humans found out about our society, they planned to destroy it, but the government couldn't let that happen." James let out a sharp breath, and looked past her shoulder, at the one way glass, as though he could see something she couldn't. "That's why they created the disease - their goal was to kill everyone, and the only reason we're alive is because the city was protected by the antidote. It was sprayed around Arabel as a sort of barrier until they could purify the rest of the air. That's why we live above ground and can go out searching for survivors."
"But there couldn't be any survivors," Kyra said, though as soon as the words had left her lips she realised how untrue they could be. She had already found out that her society killed millions of people; it was believable that at least a few of them could have survived. "There aren't people outside our fences. Everyone knows that."
"It isn't true. If the people were close enough to the city, they could have survived off the antidote."
"Do you have proof?" Kyra tried to keep her face impassive, emotionless, but it was hard. What James said next could prove that her father was alive, and unravel the world she'd come to know.
James nodded. "My sister has it."
"Ashley?" At this Kyra couldn't keep her face straight. "You know where she is?"
"She's in the Control Centre, along with two Outsiders." Kyra opened her mouth to speak, to breathe, to do something – but James cut her off with a shake of his head. "Before you jump down my throat, I only found out where and why she was there a few days ago. I'm about to tell you something I shouldn't, and you have to promise not to tell anyone, alright?"
Kyra nodded.
James took a deep breathe. "The night your father was announced missing was the first time we ever made contact with the Outsiders. They sent a letter to the city explaining a plan."
"My father? Is he-"
"Alive? The last confirmation we had of his status was that night."
"But there's a chance?" Kyra's leaned closer with each word.
"A slim one, at best."
Kyra smiled, saw James' expression, then shook her head. She'd gotten her hopes up too often, and each time she'd been let down. This was no different. "What's the plan the Outsiders gave you?" she asked.
"Pretty much, we were to send our best and most well known member over the fence exactly eight years later, who would meet up with some Outsiders - Ashley was chosen. While the Enforcers chased the escapee, the Exempt were supposed to fight off the remaining forces inside the city."
James rubbed his eyes. "Somehow, somewhere, something went wrong, and that's how Ashley ended up in the Control Centre. But no one will believe us about the past and want to change our future if we don't come in here with some serious firepower, or at least more Outside forces, and we'll never be able to do that if our only link to the Outside is trapped in here. That's why I need your help."
Kyra's forehead crinkled. "How could I help you with that?"
"We need your help to get her and the Outsiders out."
Kyra couldn't help but notice that he'd changed 'I need your help' to 'we need your help'.
"You realise I've only been working there for a few weeks, right? I don't have that kind of power, or the information to get her out. I can barely find my way there."
James ran a hand through his hair, keeping his eyes firmly planted on the table. "I don't need you to get her out, I need you to introduce me to someone who can, someone high up, someone who can get us access to the darkest parts of that place." At this he glanced up, those big blue eyes poring into hers in a way he knew she couldn't resist.
Kyra got to her feet with a frown, pacing back and forth. "But I don't know any-" It was then that the pieces clicked. In a voice barely louder than a whisper, she uttered, "Ethan."
James nodded. "He's the key to rescuing my sister and the Outsiders. But to get to him I need your help."
"Is that all I am to you now? Just a part of some plan?" Her voice broke despite how hard she tried to control it. "The Commander threatened my family James, he threatened everything I have all for some stupid plot. Is hurting me not enough for you people?"
James looked up. His eyes were unreadable as he crossed the room, jaw set, gaze unwavering from her face. He didn't stop until they were inches apart. "You think that's all you are to me?"
Kyra nodded, her eyes set on the little golden curls at the back of his neck, the dark freckle on the edge of his jaw, anything to avoid his gaze.
"No, of course not. When I came to your house injured it was because I argued with the commander about their decision to manipulate you. You've never been a part of this world before; I didn't even know they wanted to use you until that day, and by that point they'd already planned the whole thing out. I was only there because I knew you best. They think I can convince you to help us, to turn your back on the city. But I would never let them hurt your family Kyra; they're my family too."
"Why would I want to betray the city? They've looked after me my entire life." She backed away from him until his hands could no longer reach her. "You lied to me for at least ten years."
"Twelve," he corrected, but immediately regretted it. "It wasn't by choice. I could have asked for them to treat you like me, but you didn't deserve that. Your whole life, all you've wanted to be was perfect. Knowing what I know would have made that impossible. I knew you wouldn't want anything to do with this which is why I tried so hard for so long to keep it a secret."
James stepped forward, slow, and grabbed her wrist. "If I could make you forget about all of this I would, but this is about more than just us."
She avoided his gaze. "I think I believe you. But why is it so important to rescue them?
"Because those Outsiders are the only link we have to the world past the fence."
"Why do you need a link? We have everything we need right here."
"If we can get them out of here then the people past the fences won't have to live in hiding anymore. The bracelets will be destroyed, the drugs burned, the walls collapsed. We can rebuild the world Kyra, but not without your help. Let me prove it. And if I do you have to at least consider helping me."
Kyra closed her eyes. It was insane, so incredibly crazy that she couldn't even begin to understand his words. Was he telling the truth? Or a version of the truth he had been taught to believe? But as she opened her eyes and looked into his blue ones, she wanted to trust him. Desperately. Despite everything, he'd always been on her side. One lie - albeit a twelve year old one - wasn't going to change her mind about him completely.
"Okay."
— author's note —
Hey guys! How's it going? Currently recovering from a very big night out clubbing so please point out any errors my tired and somewhat foggy brain missed hahahaha. Also let me know if everything makes sense or if you have any comments about what was revealed in the chapter! I'd love to know your thoughts.
Again, thank you guys for everything! You're the reason I'm still posting and working hard to get this book done, you mean the world to me.