Rebellion (6 page)

“But then Evelyn changed things. Unlike the other Enforcers, Evelyn kept fighting her programming. She always broke through her mental constraints. When she completely shoved away her Enforcer protocols to save her stepfather, Eli changed. He had a renewed sense that he couldn't let Mother do what she was doing. That's when he came to us for help.”

“You said that you had forty people here, but not that all of those are willing to help. Why are you helping, if most of your people don't want to?” Gavin asks.

She purses her lips. “Most feel it's safe here. That Mother
doesn't
know we're here. And we should leave it be. Not poking at the proverbial hornets' nest.” She sighs. “However, there's enough of us that don't agree. And you're right to be worried about Mother finding us. It's only a matter of time before she does. Hopefully, Miss Evelyn will be what Father says she is.” Nadia meets my eyes. “Because I'm risking everything my husband gave his life for over it.”

She leaves without another word.

The room stays silent. The pressure on my chest is even stronger now than it was. I thought I was just going to remove Mother from power, and Father would fix my nanos and I'd move back up to the Surface with Gavin and live happily ever after. I didn't think about what other people expected of me. I didn't think about what other people were betting on me. What they'd lose, if I did.

“What do you think was on the cubes?” Gavin finally says.

“Proof,” I say without hesitation. I slowly lower myself into a chair, kick off my shoes, and focus on the distraction Gavin gave me. He places my feet in his lap and immediately starts pressing his thumbs into the balls of my feet. I want to sigh at the feeling, but only smile my thanks. “He was running. Whoever told us about the assassination, warned him, too. That's why he was late.” His frantic search runs through my mind again. “He didn't hide them,” I blurt out. “Why else would he be looking for them? Someone else had to have done it.”

“Or maybe he just wanted the box,” Asher says, his voice almost a shrug.

“He wouldn't have risked it. Not with his life on the line. He was looking for the cubes.”

“Where would he have been running to then? He wouldn't have been able to get to the Surface, right? Not without forgetting everything he was supposed to do or even why he was there in the first place.”

“Maybe he was looking for us,” Asher says. “Or at least you, Evie. It's not too much of a stretch to think that if you escaped, he could, too. And that, Gavin, you'd do whatever it took to get Evie's memories back. With the connection between Eli and my grandmother, he was probably hoping that somehow Evie would know to go to my grandmother.”

I shake my head. “There's too many ways that can go wrong. Too many long shots to rely on. I can't imagine he'd take that risk.”

“He obviously knew if he was going to stay, he'd die. Better to take a chance, than have no hope at all.”

“Even if he did find them and get out,” Gavin says, holding up a hand. “Nobody would have been able to read what's on the cubes. We don't have anything up there like the computers here.”

“Here then. Maybe,” Asher replies. He lays his head back against the wall behind his bed and rests his eyes. “If he was important enough to save, he was probably important enough to be trusted with this location.”

I raise an eyebrow. Now
that's
a possibility
.
“Nadia
did
say his work was important to them.”

“You think Dr. Moreau was telling the truth about Dr. Friar being the only one who could get around the device?”

“Probably. He's the only one Mother trusts. And there's no way Mother would permit a device that could kill her without there being a way around it.”

“Unless she doesn't have nanos,” Asher says.

There's that heavy silence again.

“So … we're screwed?” Gavin finally asks.

“No,” Asher replies. He glances at me and I shake my head quickly.

“Don't.” I know what he's going to say, and if he does, Gavin won't let it go. I won't be able to stop him from going to get help, because there's no way he'd just sit by and do nothing when I'm in danger.

“What?” Gavin demands.

“My grandmother would be willing
and
probably able to not only make that thing useless, but neutralize the nanos completely. What if instead of removing Mother, we could remove her
Citizens
? Leave
her
here. All by herself where she can't hurt anyone.”

“There are other options…” I say quickly, but I can already see Gavin thinking it over.

He squeezes my toes. “What are they?”

My mind's a blank slate. “We'll figure something out.”

“Evie…”

“I'm not losing you again, Gavin. Don't do this … please.”

“It's the only way. You've said you don't want to kill Mother, and she's not going to leave willingly. But your people might. If we can convince them. But none of that even matters if the nanites aren't taken care of.” He gently sets my feet to the floor and leans over to take my hands. “I can do this. There's not much I can do here. Hell, I can't even protect you with the Enforcers and that damned death machine—not that I had any hope before either—but I
can
get Lenore and bring her here to help you.” His hand cups my cheek and his fingers slide into my hair. “You know I don't want to leave you here. Especially now. But if I can get you out of here … safely … I will do whatever needs to be done.”

This was never going to be a fight I could win. Today was proof of that. I can't deny the Citizens a chance for peace and freedom. But damn it, why does it have to be Gavin who has to go? Selfish or not, I know if there was
any
one else who could go up, I would personally carry them to the submarines and toss them in.

But there isn't. It has to be Gavin.

My heart cracks a little just thinking about him leaving, but who knows, it might actually be safer for him up there without Mother constantly nipping at his heels. And without me slowing him down, the Outlands will probably be nothing but a mere inconvenience.

“I guess we don't have a choice.” I run a hand over my face and move onto the next step because I don't want to think about him leaving. That doesn't stop me from gripping his hand just a little bit tighter. “Any ideas on how to get the Citizens to trust me while you're away playing on the Surface? Right now, all they'll see when they look at me is a traitor and murderer, running around with two Surface Dwellers. There's still the mentality of the people here. The rules. The fear. There's nothing I can do to turn that around fast enough. They'll never agree with me that they should leave.”

Asher struggles to get more comfortable and I'm surprised when Gavin's the first to help him. Asher nods his thanks. “You're going to have to do it slowly. Methodically. Make them trust you. Show them you're
not
a murderer or a traitor. Show them what Mother's done. She depends on the power of fear to rule her people. All you need to do is show
them
the truth.”

I narrow my eyes. “We don't have time for slow. People are
dying.
She's already tried killing us. And Dr. Moreau. She won't hesitate to try again.”

“We've already seen what happens when you go straight up to her, without the support of the
people,
” Asher says softly. “You're just reenforcing everything she's saying: that Surface Dwellers are evil, manipulative, and turn everyone who has dealings with them into traitorous killers.”

I'm about to remind him that I'm not planning on killing her, but Gavin clears his throat and both Asher and I turn to him when he says, “Asher's right. We're going to have to be smart about it. We can't take her head-on. But we can take away her support.”

“How?”

“The people don't like Mother. They obey her because they're afraid. But they
could
like you. They
could
follow you. They've been so afraid to do anything because every time someone stands up to Mother, they're killed. But not you. You stood up to her by escaping. And now you're back to help
them
.”

“That doesn't even make sense,” I mutter. “Why on earth would they trust me?”

“We just need to give them something—someone—to root for. Someone that's a part
of
them. You could run raids on Mother and Dr. Friar. Pull out all their dirty secrets and air them to everyone. There's only so much people can deny before they have to face the truth. Get enough people to follow you and they'll do the rest.”

“How?” I demand. “Even if by some miracle I do get the people to trust me over Mother, they're still terrified of her. How do I convince them to help, if they can't do anything without Mother knowing exactly who they are and
them
becoming the next target?”

“You'd be surprised by what people are willing to do for even the
possibility
of freedom. Even if that means dying for it.”

I purse my lips and consider it. “What of their families? The innocent children. Mother
will
retaliate against them.”

Asher is frowning, but nodding as well. “Mother doesn't know where you are right now. That's a
huge
advantage in our favor. We can't lose that.” He turns to Gavin. “But you're right. People will give their lives for the chance to be free. So how do we keep Mother from finding Evie and allow the Citizens who want to fight the chance to do so without being recognized and targeted?”

“The Enforcer saw me. She went straight back to Mother and told her everything the first chance she got.”

“Are you sure about that? How close of a look did she get of you?”

“Pretty damned close.”

“But it was dark, right? It's hard enough to tell people apart here. And with you all covered in dirt and blood from earlier, with the lights off, you could have been anyone.”

“Who else would have done it?” Frustration leaks into my voice and coats my words.

“Anyone in the Underground.”

“Okay, but if I'm hiding, how will the people trust me? If I'm not even brave enough to show myself to Mother, why should they?” I press my fingertips against my temples. This whole conversation is going around in circles and is making my head spin. “Mother is far from stupid. No one but another Enforcer can take an Enforcer down.”

The room goes quiet again, before Gavin blurts out, “A mask!”

“That doesn't make any sense. I'll stick out like a sore thumb if I wear a mask. And so will anyone who wears it. That completely defeats the point.”

“No. It
is
the point,” Gavin says, a huge grin lighting his entire face. He turns to Asher. “When we were kids, you were the best at hiding the button in Find the Button. Why?”

“Because I never hid it,” he says slowly. His face looks as confused as I feel.

“Exactly! Because the best place to hide something is right in plain sight. We can't hide Evie unless we keep her hidden away here. She's too prominent. And no one will trust her if she won't get her hands dirty. Mother doesn't want Evie dead. At least not yet. So we use that. Instead of hiding her away, what if we turned everyone into her?” He turns to me, a flush of excitement burning his cheeks. “With a mask, the people will be able to hide who they really are and Mother will never know for sure which one is you, or even if one is you at all.”

 

C
HAPTER
F
IVE

Mother always said, “Sacrifices must be made for the greater good.” But I've learned that the reward for those sacrifices is minuscule compared to the price we pay.

—
E
VIE'S JOURNAL

Evie

The room Nadia had taken us to before to tell me about Dr. Moreau is as quiet as a tomb and feels just as somber. Despite that, I like the room. In a way, it's a time capsule from an ancient civilization.

The papers scattered across the sagging table are aged, dusty, and yellowed. The ink is fading and anything handwritten is pretty much illegible. Yet it's obvious this was the room the builders had used as a sort of on-site headquarters.

Drawings of what the facility would look like once finished are the centerpiece, held down by chunks of limestone. A coffee ring stains the left corner of the top page. The only color in a sea of white and black.

I rifle through the pages. I'm not sure what I'm seeing—engineering was never my forte—but I understand enough to recognize this area was going to be the crown jewel of the resort.

The rooms are bigger. More opulent. Less of them in general. More suites as opposed to rooms. There are separate pages for places called Spa, Casino, and Kid Zone. And plans for different restaurants and theaters. There's even something called a marine habitat. I'm not sure what it is, but it's extremely large and juts off into the ocean with a bunch of different things called moon pools. Each of them are labeled with a different species of marine life. Orca. Dolphin. Stingray.

Fascinated, I move along the table, glancing through folders marked Timetables, Budget, Maps, and Geological Studies. Electronic devices that appear to be an ancestor, or at least kin, to our Slates sit on the table in front of each chair. I wonder, if we were able to make them work again, what they'd tell us.

Oddly, mixed in with the papers and electronic devices are different artifacts. Photographs of people or places. Drawings. Magazines. Paper books. Thin plastic discs with words like
HUNGER
GAMES
,
CALL
OF
DUTY
,
and
LINKIN
PARK
printed across one side
.
I find shattered sunglasses and ancient earbuds like what Gavin's brother, Tristan, used to have. A small black box labeled
CARDS
AGAINST
HUMANITY
.