Rinley was fast. Really fast. Despite her short height and young age, she remained at my heels, her breath on my neck. I wasn't sure if I was listening to my heart pound or hers as our feet flew across the grass, sprinting toward the river. The trees flanking us added to the shadows of night, and the drop into the water would create extra cover as the police swarmed the building.
A girl screamed in the distance. My mind caught up to me. The police were entering a building full of troubled girls. They would fight back. Probably keep the police occupied for a while. Hopefully, no one would get killed.
The ground sloped as the grass became slippery with water and mud. My breath caught in my throat when my eyes adjusted and focused on the river—the same river I had almost drowned in, the one I was supposed to drown in.
I dug my heels in and stopped running.
Rinley crashed into me. We tumbled into the river, flailing our arms as we splashed into the creek bed. Cool water rushed over me. My head slammed into something hard. Noah's vision of drowning. It was happening. I hadn't defied fate. I was only warned of it.
Fingernails dug into my scalp before a hand yanked my head up and out of the water.
"What the hell was that?" Rinley shouted at me. Her pixie cut pasted to the sides of her face, mud smeared across her forehead. "We could've broken something."
I spit up river as I stood on shaking feet. The water wasn't even two feet deep. It was barely trickling, and I had nearly given up because of something Noah had apparently seen.
"No time for arguing," Lily yelled at both of us from the bank.
She didn't have to say why. We had to keep running.
Rinley and I splashed through the river until we reached the bank, and we climbed out on hands and knees. Rinley slipped, falling into the mud, and Lily pulled her up, kicking mud into my face. I wiped it away. Dogs barked in the distance, but I was the only one who turned around, listening. Dogs ran faster than we did. If they were close, I wanted to see them coming.
"How did they know?" Lily managed as our feet slammed onto the concrete pathway. She spun around a corner, and it was over. A man shoved her to the ground.
Rinley dodged him by ducking under his arm. He hit me instead, tackling me. We tumbled down the hill, twigs scraping, rocks stabbing, and then water. His hands wrapped around my throat.
"You little bitch," he breathed.
Anthony.
I shoved his chest, and he toppled over into the shallow water. I pulled my knife from my sweater, but his fingers latched onto my ankle. He used the same pressure point I had used on Rinley, and I collapsed. I reached out for my blade, but my fingernails found mud.
Anthony loomed over me, his eyes wild, his face bleeding. He dug his knees into my ribs. "I should drown you."
I gasped, unable to breathe, and his hands found my throat again.
"You really thought I wouldn't have Lily's name traced if she did anything?" he continued as I choked on muddy water. "I knew she was involved. I knew!" His grip tightened. I clawed at him. My windpipe was collapsing. "I should've killed Miles the second I had the chance."
I smacked his chest, his chin, his leg—any part of his body I could reach—but he never even flinched. "And Broden"—his wrists pressed against my collarbone—"wait until I get my hands on him."
He pushed my face under the water. I squirmed. The creek bed shifted against my back, and the water became foggy. He sat on my stomach. He held me down. He weighed too much to fight him off of me. Then, as suddenly as he had taken me down, his presence was gone.
I sat up, my head spinning. My legs twitched. My fingernails never left the muddy bottom. Next to me, Rinley hit Anthony across the face with a rock, again. He fell sideways, his moaning echoing. He wasn't unconscious, but he was down. I was up, but I hadn't moved a single limb.
Rinley scrambled to her feet before pulling on my shirt.
"Wait," I croaked out, my hands skimming the river. My knife was inches away. I picked it up and swung it into my wet pocket. My legs followed mechanically, and we were off, running, tripping, coughing up water. Wondering how I got here.
Lily's white hair swung in the distance, and I focused on it as I ran, my neck burning from Anthony's fingertips. It was as if he was still on top of me, drowning me, and the dogs weren't far behind. Their snarled barking were closing in as sirens suffocated any air we managed to breathe.
My eyes burned. Tears formed and spilled over the bottom of my eyelashes before I even realized I was crying. I tried to force them away by shutting my eyes. I didn't have the time to cry.
"I can't see," Lily screamed from behind me. Apparently, I had passed her.
I forced my eyes open and stared at a thick gas as it floated off of the city streets and into the ravine. That explained the crying, the burning.
"Climb," I screamed as my feet stabilized on the shaky ground.
I stumbled upward, my vision continuing to fog over in a delirious haze. Solid objects became shadows. Soon, the blackness became the only thing I could see. Reaching around for anything to put my hands on, my fingers grasped cloth. I tried to move away. But hands gripped my arms and yanked me toward them. A person.
I shouted, ready to fight again, as they let go, only for a black blob to wave in front of me. Five shapes extended from it, small but familiar. A hand. The face of a watch flashed through the haziness of my vision. Broden? I pictured my best friend, only to have my vision slowly clear and reveal a totally different face. Noah. His lips moved as he spoke, but I couldn't hear him. He was already so far away. He was gone.
"Sophie." He shook me so softly that I barely felt it. "It's me. Noah." His fingers moved to my neck, and I winced. The sinking pressure had crushed my collarbone. "What happened to you?"
I blinked, and my vision cleared, but he was no longer looking at me. He had focused behind me, and I turned my head around, still in his grasp.
Rinley had caught up, but only her blue eyes had color. Everything else was covered in mud. She froze a yard away, unable to move, and Noah dropped his hands from my arms.
He left me and rushed over.
Rinley's arms were up before he ever reached her. She clutched onto him when he finally did. Her fingers dug into his sage-colored coat, and she buried her face into his chest. Even with the sirens, her sobs were heard.
He laid a hand on her short black hair as if he couldn't believe her long blonde strands were gone. "You're okay, Rinley. I got you."
"Noah," his sister cried as I pressed my hand against my lips, trying not to cry myself.
"Hold it together," Noah ordered softly, pulling her back to look at her. "We aren't safe yet."
She sniffled and rubbed her nose on her black jacket. The mud rubbed off. "I thought—I thought you might be dead."
"I'm right here." He shook her hand as if to prove his presence. "We're getting out of here."
She embraced Noah once more, then stepped away, squared her shoulders, and focused behind us. "Who's that?"
"We have to keep moving," Miles shouted, waving his arms frantically. Lily ran beside him, and they gestured for us to follow.
Rinley followed the twins, running behind until she passed them. "Stay with Miles," Noah shouted, sprinting after her as if she would get left behind again. I ran with Noah, closing in on all of them, and then, we flew over the ground together, synchronized to the same plan. Get Noah and Rinley out. That was the only thing that mattered. How had it come to this?
"Dogs," Lily shouted.
I looked back to see two giant dogs closing in.
"Got it." Miles dropped his backpack, and his belongings splattered the ground. Bottles of pills rolled out. Tomo. Miles had been carrying the drugs all along, and the dogs tore the backpack apart as we continued to run.
We neared the tracks, curving into oblivion, and hopped over them to run on the outside of the metal rods. Lily tripped. Noah picked her up without hesitation. They stumbled together as flashlights scattered the area, shouts coming from every direction. The ground shook from an explosion or gunshots, or people running, or something else entirely, but it wasn't good. We knew that much.
"What was that?" Miles shouted. Lily grabbed onto him as another explosion erupted.
Dirt filled my mouth, and I rolled around on the ground, unsure of how I ended up there. I tasted blood. The tracks shook beneath me. Lights shone through the clouds of dirt, and my throat constricted. I half-expected a train to run me over as Rinley crawled to my side.
"You okay?" she asked, ignoring the lights.
The lights were officers, not a train.
I nodded numbly, and we started to stand up. Gunshots blasted the dirt, and I pulled Rinley to the ground. Gunshots, actual gunshots.
We crawled, scraping against the stones. My ankle tensed, begging to rest, but I bit my lip and tore through the injury. My knees carried me as Rinley scooted herself in front. Her small feet disappeared as I coughed, unable to catch my breath in the chaos.
"Sophie," Noah's whisper echoed over me as his hand wrapped around my wrist. His green eyes appeared out of the darkness, and he pulled. I kicked, trying to help him help me, and soon, we were crawling, keeping as low as possible. Even when he stopped, he yanked me up so that I was next to him. "Trust me, okay?" he asked, his expression wild.
"I think we're past that."
Somehow, he found the energy to smile. When he jumped to his feet, he took me with him. We ran, and his grip never loosened on my wrist. My pain didn't have a chance to register.
"Keep going, Sophie," Noah shouted, never looking back.
I wobbled, beginning to fall when the dust began to clear. I breathed, my lungs relaxing as my eyes landed on the small platform the others stood on. They were yards above us, but the thick door was sprung open, waiting. Rinley was already on top, gaping back at us. The others were pale, covered in soot, but Rinley stared at her brother as if she was sure he would die.
He had come back for me.
Noah knelt down and put his hand out for me to step on. "Jump," he instructed, "Now."
I stepped on his hand, leapt into the air, and reached for the edge. Knowing I couldn't reach it, my heart stopped, and I waved my arms, only to have Miles catch me. "I got you," he grumbled as Lily leaned over the edge. The twins pulled me to safety. I collapsed on the landing, and Rinley dragged me through the open door. Noah followed unscathed.
Once we were all inside, Miles leaned on the door and pushed it with all of his might. It barely budged. Bullets cracked against the bottom of the tall platform. Noah and Lily rushed up to the gate, pushing it closed together, and Rinley locked it.
I didn't move a muscle. My ankle was broken. Somewhere in the explosion, I had hit something, and it had enough. I could see bone.
Noah skidded on his knees when he landed next to me. His green eyes assessed the damage. He didn't have to tell me what I already knew. "Don't look at it," he said, reaching out for me.
When I didn't grab his hand, he forced me to. "We aren't leaving you here," he said, never breaking eye contact. He didn't give me a chance to fight him. He yanked me to my feet, and my scream tore against my grinding teeth. "You got this, Sophie," he spoke directly into my ear. "Come on. Keep moving."
His hand was under my arm, and I hobbled against his side. I thought of Broden to distract myself. And Argos. And my dad. And my mother's face popped up. She was sleeping on the kitchen floor, something blue in her hand.
When Miles rushed past, he tore my memory apart.
We weren't standing in the kitchen in Albany. We were in the main station of the Topeka Region—the one that the State prided itself on for delivering resources to the rest of the regions. A series of small gates separated each platform, but Miles leapt over the first one and ran to the podium that controlled the floor. He yanked a key from his neck and, within seconds, every gate leapt open.
Rinley ran to the front of the train station. Lily jogged ahead of us, and light reflected off a piece of metal that had lodged in her forearm. The blood trailed after her. My gag reflex pushed against my throat.
"Seriously?" Noah laughed through his gasps of breath. "A little blood scares you?"
"No," I groaned, "but my friend's blood does."
Noah's grip tightened as he walked both of us across the platform. Lily helped lift me over the final gate just as the entrance door banged.
All five of us fell to the floor, preparing for a shower of gunshots to blanket us, but nothing came. The door continued to hold them back, and Miles watched it before pointing in the distance. "That's a carrier train," he yelled over the noise. "We'll have to jump on."
"We?" Lily gaped at Miles, unaware of the plan. "What do you mean we?"
"Get on or feel free to stay here," her brother retorted.
I leaned against Noah for support. Rinley, unlike the rest of us, prepared herself. She stood on the edge of the platform with her blue eyes locked on the train, her knees bending. Noah's hand tightened around my shoulder.
I glanced from his pale expression to the train to Rinley to him. His eyes were glazed over. He wasn't here any more than I had been five minutes ago. He was lost in his mind, in what had happened to his brother, in this same place only a few years ago.
I squeezed his arm. "Noah," I asked for his attention amongst chaos. "You're getting out," I promised. "You can do this. All you have to do is jump."
"I—I don't know if I can."
The train's horn blasted over us.
"If you don't, I'm not making it on that train either," I reminded him of my broken ankle, and the pain singed up my leg to my hip.
When he looked down at my foot, his haunted expression dissipated into thin air. "You're getting on that train, Sophie."
"Then you are too."
His solemn expression locked on the train's lights as they sliced through the darkness. The foggy night separated the headlight into rays. It looked like a midnight sun.
"It should slow down enough for us to get on," Miles shouted as he ran from the podium to the platform.
"Should?" Rinley repeated.
Miles didn't respond. He didn't have time to. The station shook, and the door blew inward. Noah pushed me to the ground and bullets ricocheted around the room, splattering the gates that we had passed to get in. Ironically, the security glass protected us from the security.
As they tried to get the door open, Miles screamed, "Jump."
I spun away from the guns to see Lily leap onto the blue-colored train as slick as a cat. Rinley followed as more glass exploded, and Miles hopped on too. The cars were covered in graffiti, graffiti of a swirling sun.
"Let's go, Noah," I shouted, pulling him toward the end, and he moved quicker than I expected.
He took two steps and flew, taking off with me.
We collapsed on the floor of the train as it moved past the security gates. "Stop that train," an officer yelled from the station. "Shoot them."
Pings scattered over the walls as Noah and I crawled behind the packed crates. In front of us, Rinley curled into a corner, her blue eyes squeezed shut, and Lily hid by the doors. Miles, on the other hand, held a small handgun out of the opening. He shot back.
This was exactly what Noah had talked about. Topeka was in war.
But it ended as soon as it came.
The cart lurched, and everyone tumbled, hitting their heads on the walls of the small room. A box toppled over Lily, and Noah tightened his hold on me. I clutched onto his jacket, his ocean scent surrounding me, when everything fell into complete darkness.
The train took off and rushed out of the station toward the miles of forest that separated the regions. Moments passed as I dug through the dust, pushing and pulling hay and crates in order to look around.
"Lily?" Miles spoke up first. "Where are you?"
"Here," she shouted, spitting up something—probably blood. "You okay?"
"Fine." Miles walked around the cabin. "What about you guys?"
"We're good," Noah answered for the both of us, pushing past the fallen crates with me. "Where's Rinley?"
"Let me go!" the thirteen-year-old screamed, and all of us jumped to our feet, including me.
Anthony—with blood running down the side of his face—tossed Rinley against a wall. "That's for the rock," he growled, stepping over her. Lily rushed to her, but another man—an officer I had never seen before—pushed Lily to the side.
"And you," Anthony continued, pointing directly at me. "Who would've known our blind date would turn into this—"
Noah lunged at Anthony so quickly that their blond hair blurred together. One boy threw punches, only for the other to dodge and throw one back. Noah slammed Anthony's back into the wall, and then Anthony dragged Noah to the ground, plummeting him into the wood floor.
Instead of helping her brother, Rinley struggled up from the ground and attacked the officer with Lily. When the man punched Lily, Miles did the last thing I thought I would ever see him do.
He raised his gun and cracked it on the officer's skull. As the man fell to the ground, Miles picked him up, and Lily helped her brother push the guy out of the moving train. He rolled off the edge and disappeared into the trees, leaving only a blood trail behind. The twins—the two people I had known the longest—had killed an officer.
"Miles," Rinley caught my attention. "Go to the panel. Do something!"
He listened to her and disappeared through a door. Rinley tried to get to Noah, but Lily grabbed the girl. She was too small to fight them.
Noah was pinned to a crate. Blood trailed down his face. It soaked his green jacket at the shoulder. Anthony laughed, spraying blood from his own mouth onto Noah's face.
"This is for my father," Anthony said, punching Noah in the gut. Noah fell forward, and Anthony cracked his knuckles across Noah's jaw. "And that was for my mother."
Anthony dropped Noah to the ground and spit on him, satisfied.
I forgot my broken ankle.
A sharp pain in my leg drove up my spine, but I still leapt forward. I wrapped my torso around Anthony's body and tightened my grip around his neck. His sweat smeared across my arms, and he bucked, trying to throw me off of him. His fingers uncurled from fists before he clawed at my arms and drew my blood out.
Still, I didn't let go. My legs thrashed around as Anthony slammed his back into the wall, trying to crush me.
"Noah," I gasped as Anthony's body weight smothered me. "Get up," I shouted, but he didn't move.
I did the only thing I could do. I made a mistake.
I reached for my knife, and Anthony took advantage of it. He swung off of me, and the knife spiraled through the air, landing only a few feet away. I hit the ground, and my ankle cracked against the wood.
I shrieked.
Noah's eyes shot open, but they were misty. He blinked. His head bobbed like he couldn't lift it. Anthony was walking over, but Noah looked at me like he had woken up from the couch in his living room—dazed from a dream.
I shouted Noah's name as Anthony closed in. His feet were inches from my face. His hand was on the nape of my neck, and then, he picked up my knife and held it to my throat. My favorite knife would be the end of me. Noah simply watched.
"Your own weapon," he gloated.
The train creaked as it turned. The cart rocked. Anthony let me go, and I fell backward as Noah stood up. He punched Anthony across the face, and Anthony crumbled to the floor. When he dropped the knife, I scurried to the blade.
The metal flipped into my hand, and I shot forward, stabbing Anthony's thigh. He screamed, the sound breaking over the thunder of the train.
When Noah pulled me up, I took the knife with me. He stabilized me, and I leaned against his chest as blood dripped off of the metal.
"I'm not done yet." Anthony managed to stand on his bleeding thigh.
"Yes," a girl answered, "you are."
Rinley stood on the far side of the train, Lily next to her. Both girls glared at Anthony, and both girls held pistols. Neither girl had a weapon on them moments before.
Anthony froze. His blond hair spiked up with sweat, and his teeth were covered in his own blood when he smiled. "You'd kill your own cousin?" he asked, focusing on Rinley.
"You'd kill me," she said it like it was a fact that held no emotional weight.
Lily stepped in front of Rinley and blocked her from Anthony. With a simple gesture to the train door, Lily made the orders, "Just get out."
Anthony raised his hands, glancing out the train doors with a horrified look crossing his face. "I'll die if I jump."
"Go," Lily barked as she pulled the top back and placed her nimble fingers on the trigger. She may have resembled a cat, but she was an elkhound in the moment.
Anthony's eyes waved over the girls before he looked around the train. He knew what I knew. The girls didn't have weapons before. They got them from the train, and he wanted one. But the nearest crate was next to Lily, and it was open, revealing a pile of small weapons that had fallen out.
"Jump or I'll shoot you now," Lily snarled, not taking a chance at Anthony tricking us again, but he didn't even seem to care anymore. He was looking at Noah.
"That's why you needed this train," he said. "You knew it had weapons on it."
Noah didn't move. His face didn't budge. Only his blood continued to run.
Of course he knew. Noah knew everything. His calm exterior said it all. His plan had never been only about Rinley. It was about the war, and a war needed weapons. Weapons that oddly looked like something my father made.
"Get out, Tony," Noah said, reaching out to clutch my hand. His fingers were hot and sweaty, but they had never felt so comforting before.
Anthony took a step back and neared the edge. His hair flew in the extreme wind, and he turned as if he were going to jump.
He didn't.
He dove for the weapon pile, his long fingers extended, and Lily leapt in front of him. She pushed him. A gunshot went off. His feet slipped beneath him, and Lily stumbled forward. When she shoved him toward the exit, he grabbed her jacket, and he fell out.
His blond mane and her white hair disappeared, but Rinley was holding onto the train's door. "I got her," Rinley's voice strained against her throat as she fell backward, and Lily tumbled in, her jacket sleeve missing.
"Good thing you wear cheap clothes." Rinley laughed.
"I resent that," Lily said right before their giggles erupted through the cabin.
Anthony had fallen, and the train rocked back and forth as if to wave him away. He was gone, and we were all alive.
We had escaped.