We spent the rest of the night planning. It became harder to ignore the throbbing flesh all over my body, even though West kept switching out cool washcloths over the worst of the swelling.
We decided to trigger the rebel evacuation plans. Without the knowledge or approval of the rebel leaders. There's simply no time left; Crane and his team have seen too many faces. Everyone's in danger now. Crane won't kill them, because he needs them to run the compound, but there's no way he'll let their treason go unpunished. It's unthinkable to even imagine what he has in store for us all.
It crossed my mind several times throughout the night that this coming day was also my deadline to give the name of my pairing partner to Crane. Knowing I'll have a shot at making my own choice in my own time fills me with hope, despite the current situation.
I insisted on getting Juniper out as part of our escape, and West and Celia didn't argue about it, although they argued about pretty much everything else. I can tell Celia is curious about meeting our grandmother, the only good family member we both have left alive. I think that's why she volunteered to be the one to break her out. I'd do it myself, but...I still have to figure out my part in the tech lab. I figure I can still set off an alarms test in various parts of the compound to create a distraction, but in the back of my mind I know Norman must have planned something else, something better than what I can come up with on my own. If only I knew what it was. If only I knew the password to that file.
Now, we're watching the clock, waiting for it to be thirty minutes before the morning bell. West is sitting on his bed against the wall, cradling me close between his knees. We haven't talked about anything with Celia in the room, but we seem to have reached an unspoken understanding. Every now and then he kisses my hair, my cheek, my neck. Celia's sitting awkwardly in West's desk chair, trying not to give us too many disgusted looks.
Finally, it's time. West opens his computer and starts up a different camera loop, this time one that will show him waking up and getting ready for the morning. Norman taught him a lot about tech growing up, apparently, but it was West's idea to record a bunch of security loops to play when he snuck out to meet with the rebels. The things he does never fail to impress.
Celia and I stand up. West pulls me in and hugs me tight, and I cling to him, terrified of what we're about to do. "I'll see you soon," he says fervently, kissing me long and deep.
After a few seconds, Celia clears her throat. "Hate to break up...this," she gestures at us. "But if our plan is going to work, we have to get going."
Breaking away from West, I sigh. "You're right," I reply, steeling myself for what's to come.
West leaves first to get the explosives ready. They're mostly in place already, but he needs to doctor them up to give him ten minutes to get out of the tunnels. That part makes me nervous. I still can't get the mishap that almost killed Milo and Jay out of my head. "Just don't blow yourself up," I whisper as he leaves. I'm only half joking.
Celia and I leave ten minutes later, her to go to the elderly ward to break Juniper out of isolation, me to go to the tech lab. West should had arrived at the cave-in by now, and should soon be getting the explosives ready. At least he knows what to do since that's the team he was assigned to in the first place.
A few hallways later, Celia and I reach one of the main stairwells and part ways. "Just tell her I sent you, that'll be enough," I whisper before opening the stairwell door.
"Just don't screw up your part," she sasses back. After a beat, she softly says, "okay." Then she continues as quickly as she can down the hall without rousing suspicion.
As soon as she's out of sight, I take the stairs two at a time until I get to the floor where the tech lab is. I don't anticipate running into anyone from the community, but I'm sure Crane's men are out looking for Celia and me. It's honestly surprising they didn't try searching West's room during the night. I can only assume they're more focused on Celia's possible whereabouts instead of mine.
When I walk down the hall, I'm hit with a sense of déjà vu. It was only six weeks ago that I walked this very hallway, certain I'd never be able to come here again, dreading my life as future chief of the community. Once again it feels like my final trip, but this time, it's because I'm facing imminent danger and an unknown future. So much has happened since then it's difficult to wrap my head around it. I've done more than I ever thought I could. More than that, I proved to myself just what I'm capable of. I may not be the official leader of the community, but my voice matters. What our people want and deserve matters. For the first time, we have a shot at finding a better life.
I reach the door and take a deep breath. Once I open the door, a signal will be sent to the security office in Crane's wing. I'll only have minutes to get in and set off a bunch of alarm systems. I hope I can make it.
Punching in the code, I rip the door open and fly across the floor to the back room. Unlocking that door too, I fling myself into the chair and boot up the system. The clock is ticking. As soon as the screen flickers to life, I freeze with sudden panic. How am I going to be able to get everything done before I'm caught? It would take me an hour to get into enough systems to trigger the alarms. I only have a few minutes left before I have to get out of here.
Unless...
I make a split second decision and leap into action, speeding through the steps to get to Norman's file. Less than a minute later, the "E" file is staring me in the face again. The cursor blinks on the password line. Now I have to think. Norman told me to think back to the last thing he said before I made my choice. What was it? What was it what was it?!
Maybe it's the adrenaline that's been pumping through my system for the last minute-and-a-half, maybe it's knowing that if I don't figure this out I'll surely die by my father's hand, but suddenly the memory comes to the surface with an icy clarity.
You do have a choice, Elia. What do you want?"
In that instant, as my final seconds tick down, as I hear footsteps thundering down the hall toward the lab, I know. I key in the password as the door to the tech lab is busted open, torn off its hinges and flung to the side. I press enter as they race to the door of the back room. By the time they get to me, they're too late.
There's a fizzing, crackling sound as the speaker system all over the compound boots up. Crane's six men that crowd the space all stop in their tracks and turn toward the sound. I can almost hear the hush fall over the entire compound.
The sound of a throat clearing comes through the speakers, deafeningly loud and accompanied by bursts of static. Then, exactly the voice I knew I'd hear, but still it fills me with surprise.
"IT'S TIME," Norman's voice comes thunderously out of the speaker. After a few more seconds of static, the sound cuts out.
There's a moment of silence. Crane's men look at each other nervously. Then, alarms. Everywhere. All of them.
All the men are screaming at each other, not that anyone can hear what anybody's saying. In the middle of the hubbub, I see my opportunity and seize it. Slithering out of my chair onto the floor, I start crawling on hands and knees toward the door. The door is still open. I'm halfway through the doorjamb, almost out—
My legs are suddenly jerked up, and, losing my balance, I fall forward, banging my chin on the floor. Turning around I see Lennox behind me, hanging on to my ankles. It looks like everyone's still shouting behind him, but everything's starting to sound like one continuous ringing sound. I wonder briefly if we'll all have permanent damage to our hearing.
I'm hauled up unceremoniously and, for the second time in the last twelve hours, my hands are bound behind my back. As they start marching me through the lab, all I can think is this: it was worth it. If my people can escape from my father's regime today, if they can claim a chance at a better life, then giving up my own in exchange is worth it. I can only hope that Celia and West are successful carrying out their parts of the plan, and that the rebels took action from Norman's announcement beyond the grave.
We're about halfway down the hallway when one of them wrenches my arm violently to the side. I'm sure my scream is loud, but the alarms are still drowning out all other sound. Then something falls against my legs and I pitch forward, smacking my shoulder hard against the concrete floor.
Smarting with pain, I look back to see what struck me, and instead see that all of Crane's men are now on the ground around me, sporting various injuries. In front of them, holding an automatic drill of all things, is Jay, with a few of our former classmates behind him.
He comes forward, eyes blazing, and holds out his hand. When I don't take it, he finally sees my bound hands and crouches down, pulling an army knife out of his pocket. He grabs the cuffs and, after a few seconds of fiddling, I feel them pop off my wrists. Jay helps me up, then we all run to the next stairwell, leaving Crane's men behind us, still on the floor.
It strikes me as we sprint away that even after all this time, Jay is still there for me, willing to do anything, no matter what.