When I woke up, I still felt tired.
I guess that's what I got for staying up late. I had fallen asleep after meeting Ian the night before, but it'd been a fitful night.
Now, Asten, Max, and I sat in a circle with granola bars whilst facing Ava and Evan. The granola bars were breakfast. Ava and Evan were there to break the news, whether good or bad.
I remembered what Ian had said the night before about the two of them. I just hoped Ian had been involved in the decision-making process.
"So...," Ava started. She had a blank expression as if she was trying hard not to give anything away. "We've talked about the possibilities of our...cooperation."
Asten folded his arms, and I could tell he was nervous. I felt like crossing my fingers or something, but I'd stopped believing in those kinds of superstitions many years ago.
"And we've decided we'll help. Conditionally." She paused letting that sink in.
Conditionally? What did they mean? I was willing to consider a lot but...
"We've got some tech stored. Tons of weapons. Armor. Anything we may need to get our people out. We've hashed out a bit of a plan. We'll go in a group to the Equator -- we've got transportation covered, don't worry -- and a portion of that group will infiltrate their ranks in disguise on one of their border patrols. We pretend to be them, get inside, and look for my brother and your friends. The rest of the group will be waiting just outside the border, and once they receive the signal, they'll throw everything we've got at the walls. And we've got a lot. Rockets, seismic blasters, explosives, and of course, guns. Hopefully, it'll be enough of a distraction to allow us to escape using the map you've provided."
Ava looked between us, waiting for any reaction.
Asten was the first to speak. "You said conditionally."
She nodded, then swallowed. She seemed suddenly uncomfortable. "That's the thing. Judging by your story, I'm guessing your friends won't be held in the same place my brother is. Therefore, we'll split up once inside, but... We can't risk everyone for too long. We'll each have timers. We've got ten minutes. If you guys aren't ready to leave by then, we're leaving you behind."
Asten blanched a bit. Ten minutes wasn't very much time, especially when we considered the entirety of the compound.
"Can't we push that to fifteen minutes? Twenty? We have no idea where they'd be held," I retorted.
Ava shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry. We can't risk our people for that long. Even an extra five minutes could mean lost lives. This is how we keep everyone safe. And those are our conditions. If you don't like them, then we can't have a deal." She looked like she regretted saying that. I could tell she wasn't very happy with this plan either. "You know what, we'll leave you three to talk. This is a hard decision."
Ava and Evan left. The three of us just sat there for a moment, contemplating it. Max had half eaten granola bar in his hand which he absentmindedly took a bite from. Asten just seemed a little disturbed and irritated.
"I think we should do it," I said, cutting through the tension.
I expected Asten to disagree. He hadn't been for coming back here in the first place. But to my surprise, he seemed complacent. "I know."
I raised my eyebrows. Even Max stopped mid-bite.
"So...you think we should go?"
Asten nodded. "I think it's our only choice."
"Question?" Max interjected, laying is granola bar on the ground. "Uh, what if we don't get them after ten minutes?"
I'd thought about that, too. I wasn't sure what we would do. "We worry about that when it happens, I guess."
"When? I'm hoping you mean 'if'. Because I'm really not about getting trapped in the Equator is all. Once was more than enough for me, just saying."
"We won't let it happen. We'll be fast," Asten said. "But I do think if they ditch us, we've got to leave, too. We can't stay there."
I wanted to disagree. I wanted to tell him that we wouldn't be leaving the Equator without the people we went there to save. But... I couldn't. I just couldn't do that.
At least, I couldn't allow Asten and Max to be stuck there.
"Okay, then we're settled, right?" Max said. "That was a lot faster than I expected. Usually, you two have one of those glare downs until you get irritated enough that you give up. Huh. Improvement." Max bit into his granola bar and smiled to himself. I wasn't sure how he could even smile in the face of what was coming.
And I wasn't sure anyone would be smiling when they realized I would rather be left behind than leave empty-handed.