I hurry back to Erik and Vienna and stop a few feet from the table.
Erik's head rests in his hand. "I didn't realize it could take someone so long to go to the bathroom."
"We need to go. Now."
The skin between his eyes draws together. "I'm by no means an expert on restaurants, but shouldn't we eat before we leave?"
I can't deal with his sass right now. "Erik, trust me." I don't want Vienna to know I'm even acquainted with rebels, and I don't want Erik getting ideas.
"We need to pay first," Vienna points out.
I'm about ready to grab them and drag them out of their chairs. "The waiter did say our meal is on the house. Let's go."
"Why?" Erik asks.
Here's to going against my better judgement: raise the metaphorical glass and say cheers. "Rebels."
They both stand immediately, and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
"Iris?" I don't recognize the voice coming from behind me.
My heart still sinks though.
I turn and find Y with Eun-seob in front of him. That was Eun-seob's voice I heard? It's changed. He's . . . grown now. He was one of the few orphans who wanted me to stay—something I can never forget.
"Y, Eun-seob . . ."
Their eyes shift from me to Vienna and Erik.
Y pushes Eun-seob behind him. "You're with—"
Erik's punch lands somewhere on Y's face, and he and Vienna take off running. Seventeen years of my life tells me to stay and make sure Y's okay. Those same seventeen years also taught me to know when it was time to run.
"I'm sorry," I say, before taking off after the Society.
Erik has the car started by the time I slide into the front passenger seat.
"Get to the back," he orders as he swerves the car out of the space.
Out of his window I see Eun-seob and Y hopping into a car of their own. I don't argue with Erik and clamber into the back with Vienna.
In her hand is a gun. "Don't worry, Iris. Just stay down." Her words say one thing. Her tone says she's about to have a panic attack. She also has no idea that I'm probably just as skilled as her with a gun.
Erik makes a sharp left turn out of the parking lot. The road is only two lanes wide. Dark. And empty. Headlights appear behind us, growing larger by the second. I want to be able to pinch myself and wake up. Those two guys, despite everything, are my family. I can't let them get hurt.
"Iris," Erik says, "there's a gun underneath the seat in front of you."
I reach under the seat, and my hand closes around a pouch. I undo the latch on it and pull out a gun. He wants me to shoot at them—my family.
I take a deep breath.
"Erik!" Vienna's legs are pulled up on the seat as she crouches on it. "You can't expect her—"
"She's a lot better than you."
"I know what you want me to do, just not how. Do you expect me to roll down the window and lean out?"
"Yes."
And what? I get thrown out when he swerves?
Vienna starts to roll down her window. How can I shoot at them? They were my friends—my family.
A loud crack is followed almost instantaneously by another. The headlights of their car light up the bullet hole in both the back and front windshields as well the glass spiderwebs around each hole.
I send a silent prayer upward. I'm not sure what I'm asking for.
Vienna pulls off her jacket and wraps it around her hand.
I know what she's planning. "Don't—"
She holds up her other arm so I can see her Expiration Date. "We'll all live."
She smashes the windshield, and I raise my arm to shield my eyes from flying glass. I hear the shot of their gun and duck farther down.
Vienna returns fire. Y can't die and neither can Eun-seob, but I can. If I don't pull myself together, I'll wind up killed from a bullet or when Erik's forced off the road.
My sleeves help to shield my arms from the shards of glass, but the shards still dig into my skin. I set my sights on one of their front tires. I'm going to guess Y's driving and Eun-seob is shooting: Eun-seob's never been the best shot, but I doubt he had much time to learn how to handle a vehicle in car chases. I never did.
Before I pull the trigger, buildings blur by as we enter Westerton, and I feel the car slow underneath me. Erik makes a sharp turn, and I slam against the window. My fingers tighten in an attempt not to let go of the gun. There are people on the sidewalks.
"I haven't heard much shooting," Erik snaps.
Using my foot to push off the door, I right myself. Eun-seob and Y want what's best for the public. They wouldn't risk shooting a civilian.
"Iris!"
As I feel Erik beginning to swerve, I grab onto the headrest. "I don't want to hit someone."
"That's kind of the point."
"Let her be." Vienna wipes a trembling hand across her forehead. "Colton's behind them. If we can stop them, Colton will be able to handle them."
"Why is he behind us?" Erik accelerates when we pass the town's sign.
"Why do you think?"
Was Colton worried about Vienna or was he spying?
If the rebels are caught, they'll be tortured. They won't die though. My finger hovers over the trigger. That only means the torture can go on for a very long time.
A bullet flies over my head, tearing into the passenger headrest of the front seat. The headrest I would have been using if Erik hadn't told me to get in the back. Sweat breaks out on my hands. While the bullet doesn't seem to have gone all the way through, it could have easily, and I could have still been sitting there. This is why we could never have nice things growing up. Everything was always used for target practice. Any dolls I had would go missing, and I'd find them the next day when I'd throw out my food in the trashcan, their head and body separated. Their heads would have holes from pellets. To put it nicely they looked terrifying. My head could have been like those dolls.
Exiting Westerton means we're back in the mountains. I really hope Erik remembers he has to slow down on curves. This time when I pray, I know exactly what I'm asking for. I'm already being shot at and don't feel like rolling down the side of a mountain.
I try hitting their front tire, but as my finger touches the trigger, Erik flies around a curve, and I'm slung into Vienna. The gun falls out of my hand. "A little warning next time."
Vienna pushes me off her, and I start feeling for the gun, glass leaving little nicks in my palms. I locate it underneath Erik's seat. I again take up my position and lean forward. This has to end now. I take a deep breath and squeeze the trigger. The gun's bang is followed by an ear-splitting pop that echoes throughout the mountains. Their tire. I hit it.
Their car swerves. I hold my breath, begging God they'll be okay. Their car veers away from the edge of the road and crosses both lanes. It slams into trees that run between the side of the road and mountain.
"Vienna," Erik says. "Call someone to get the gates open and let them know what happened."
I can't see their car anymore. I didn't see them get out of it before it was out of sight. It's not their Expiration Date, I have to tell myself. It's not their Expiration Date.
They're alive, and they need to get far away from here.
Vienna makes the call to the Estate, and we find the gates open wide for us. Erik parks where he did last night, except this time his car is in an entirely different state, bullet ridden, and windows cracked. Erik's at my side the moment I step out.
His hands run over every inch of my arms and hands, and his eyes scan me. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. Are you—"
The front doors open, and Society members rush out, Jonas at the lead. Vienna hurries to his side while Erik is swept away from me.
"I'm sure we'll hear from Colton any minute," Vienna tells Jonas who has his phone in his hand. "He probably has them both in handcuffs by now."
If Colton leads them back here in handcuffs, can I stay silent and let my family be tortured? I'd like to think I'd beg for them even if that means I'll be considered a rebel and tortured with them. But I can really only know what I'll do when that time would come.
A car speeds down the driveway, coming to an abrupt halt behind Erik's car. Colton practically jumps out of the driver's seat and runs to his brother and Vienna and pulls her into his arms. "Are you all right?"
She places her hands on his face and nods. "Yes, but why are you already here? Shouldn't you be with the rebels?"
"I was going to stop, but I heard the gunshots. I had to—I needed to make sure you weren't hit."
Jonas shoves his phone into his pocket. "You let them get away?"
Colton and Vienna untangle themselves. He places a hand on her back. "I already ordered the Veil go after them."
"You were there."
"And I needed to get back."
Jonas's hand opens and closes. "You always say the Society comes before all."
"You wouldn't understand." Colton pulls Vienna, who looks extremely uncomfortable, closer. The two brothers stare at each other, their expressions stern, unchanging.
Feeling as if I've been eavesdropping, I look away. Not wanting to lock myself away in my room where I'll receive no news, I decide to lean against the car and wait for Erik. Even if the Veil reach Y's and Eun-seob's car now, they'll have had time to escape. They only need time. I laugh but it comes out as a whimper, reflecting how I feel inside. They need time in a country where our time is set and locked. How long do I have until Vienna spills that the rebels knew me and that I have an above average shot?
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that." Jonas stands before me, hands behind his back. He looks worried. Troubled. Upset. How often does his brother stand up to him? How do you juggle being your brother's superior while still being his brother?
"It's not your fault."
He looks around and then back to me. His shoulders sag slightly, and he frowns. I wonder if he's noticing I'm the only one who didn't have people clustered around them. Not that I want the Society's pity, but does he know that?
"They're unfortunately a common occurrence here."
It's odd. My whole life I've grown up hearing how we need to attack the Society's Estate. That's easy to agree with when you see the Society as an unfeeling entity. But in one day I've gone through meals, awkward family conversations, and spoken with the Preeminence one-on-one. I can imagine how the Society might view the attacks as nuisances, not extreme threats. In this mindset, the whole idea of the rebellions seems pathetic.
"For what it's worth, I'm glad you're all right."
"You're sure you aren't disappointed the rebels didn't finish me off for you?"
He shakes his head, stepping closer. "Even though it's only been a day, I find I'd miss your mouth too much."
My throat grows thick. "That's a first," I manage to get out.
He holds out his hand. "Let me walk you to your room." A part of me wants to take it—the part of me that finds him an ease to be around because somehow he's more predictable than Erik. The rational part of me is against it.
"I actually think I should wait for Erik. He probably wants to talk to me."
His hand falls to his side. "Of course." He backs up a few steps before turning and heading into the house. I know—I know I didn't hurt his feelings. But why does it feel like I did?