Sunset Rising (30 page)

I tried to bring myself back
to the moment, but it was difficult. I suddenly didn’t want to leave our apartment. I wondered what it would cost us if we just didn’t show up for work today. If we just stayed there and explored each other instead.

“We still have to do our hair,” I said
, bringing myself back into reality. I went to the cupboard, took the piece of coal and ran it through my hair, then went to Jack to do his hair. “I was thinking about Crystal last night. I’ve been thinking about her song. I can’t get it out of my head.”

“You mean the part about blowing up the Pit?”

“Yes! I had nightmares about those lyrics. When I woke up I couldn’t tell if I had dreamed them or if she really said them.”

“She said them
. I just don’t know what it means. I don’t doubt the president would set off the warheads if he thought he was going to lose control of the Dome, but a few riots don’t add up to losing control.”

“She didn’t say blow up the Dome, she said
the Pit
. And it’s not just that line that bothers me. She sang ‘I overheard it said… the Pit they want to blow and soon we’ll all be dead.’ A few days ago she told me that she overhears things when Malcolm West has dinner with the president. She wouldn’t tell me what exactly. She said she would be killed if she ever told anyone.”

“And yet she s
ang it to the entire Pit? That would definitely get her killed. None of it makes sense.”

I finished Jack’s hair and put the coal away.
My stomach was growling now, and I realized we were really late for breakfast.

“Your vest,” Jack
said. It seemed he had to remind me every morning.

I used one of the towels to make sure all the gas was off of the shell before I put it back on.
I hated the heavy feel of it and wondered if there would ever come a day when I didn’t have to wear it.

“Ready,” I said putting my hat on and joining him at the door.

Jack started
to open the door and then closed it again. He looked at me thoughtfully for a moment.

“Sunny,
I know you think that with everything that’s going on our personal lives aren’t important… but I feel differently. The only thing keeping me together is being here with you at the end of every day.”

I was surprised to hear him say that.
But since he had said it, I knew exactly what he meant. He had become my source of strength. And living there in that apartment with him had become home.

“Me too
.”

He opened the door and held out
his hand for mine. I took it, lacing my fingers between his. As we walked down the hall together toward the common room, I felt stronger than I ever had in my life.

The mood in the common room was sombre.
It looked like most people had had a sleepless night. All conversation was about Crystal. Everyone was outraged that she had been dragged away simply for singing a song. I realized all along I had been hoping to see her there—silently praying that Malcolm West had just given her a slap on the hand and returned her to her parents.

“She’s not here,” Jack said
, as if reading my thoughts.

“No,
and I don’t see her parents either.”

David Chavez waved us to his table once
we had collected our rations. He was sitting with a large group of people, his wife beside him.

“I hope you avoided the tear gas last night,” I said to Terra.

“David took me home as soon as we realized Domers were coming down into the Pit. We were safe,” she said, hugging her round tummy.

“It was barbaric
,” said a man sitting at the table. “They sent a small army of guards to drag that little girl away, and for what? Just because she was singing a song!”

“And we’re not supposed to get upset about that?” someone els
e chimed in. “Of course we were mad. What did they expect?”

“They did expec
t it. That’s why they sent so many guards to get her,” Jack said.

All eyes at the table turned toward him, disgust written on many of their faces.
I knew without a doubt that in the aftermath of what happened to Crystal, they were seeing Jack as a bourge again.

“Hate him if you want, but he does have valuable insight into the way the bourge work
,” I said. “We would be smart to listen to him.”

“I agree with Sunny.
He’s done right by us so far,” David said. “If it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t be an Alliance.”

“Al
l right.” One man at the table turned to Jack. “What do you know about it?” Malice laced his voice.

“I know that they underestimated your reaction when they took Crystal into custody, otherwise they would have sent more
guards,” Jack said. “Next time they will.”

“Has anyone seen her today?” the woman on the other side of me asked.
We all shook our heads. “Then they still have her… or they’ve killed her.”

“They wouldn’t kill her just for singing a song, would they?” I asked Jack, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“That song had enough impact to spark a riot, and I think we all know she wasn’t just singing a song. She was urging all of you to go to war. That’s treason.”

Jack’s words didn’t surprise me, but I still didn’t want to hear them.
People were exchanging worried looks, and some were slamming their fists on the table in frustration.

Raine joined our table.
Mica was standing behind him. “We need to save her then,” Raine said. “She put herself on the line for all of us. We owe it to her.”

“I agree,” I s
aid.

A murmur of approval
went through the crowd. People who had been sitting elsewhere were now gravitating toward our table.

“We’ll need a plan,” Jack s
aid. “First of all, we have to find out where she is. Does anyone know for sure if she came home last night or not?”

A young girl about Crystal’s age spoke up.
“I checked in on her this morning. She wasn’t there. Her parents are devastated.”

Jack nodded, acknowledging the girl.
“Then we need to find out where they’re holding her. I’ll coordinate the Alliance guards to track down that information. Tonight we’ll come up with a plan and get her back.”

A man sitting at the table raised his hand.
“I’ll help!”

Soon there was a chorus of people wanting to help rescue Crystal.
Seeing everyone come together—standing up for each other—was every bit as powerful as Crystal’s song. I knew she would be happy to know the impact her music had had.

“Until then, let’s not give them a reason to send any more Domers down here
,” Jack said. “Anyone starts a riot again and we’ll be back on lockdown. We’ll meet back here right after work.”

“Everyone okay with a bourge calling the shots on this?” a woman from the crowd asked.

“I think it’s time we started trusting him,” someone else said.

I was relieved when I heard the crowd agree, even if most were reluctant.

“Thank you,” Jack said. He pushed his chair back and stood up. Everyone followed suit. We all needed to get to work on time. I joined the queue of people filing out of the room, and Jack fell into step beside me.

“They still don’t trust
me.”

“You have to see yourself through their eyes.
It wasn’t long ago we watched interviews with you and Leisel talking about the future of the Dome. One minute you’re the presidential heir, the next you’re promising to help them revolt against the current president. People are bound to question your loyalties.”

“If they don’t trust me, this rescue
operation could go bad quickly.”

“Not if it’s just you and me
doing the rescuing.” Jack raised his eyebrow at me in question. “The fewer people involved, the better off we’ll be.”

“You’re probably right,” he said thoughtfully.
When we came to the stairs he pulled me closer to him. I expected the mandatory kiss on my head, but it never came. I tilted my head back to look at him. “You trust me, don’t you?” he asked.

“Yes,
I trust you. And they’re starting to trust you too. Don’t give up.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll never give up.
I owe everyone down here at least that much.” Before I could ask him what he meant, he pulled me against him and gave me a long kiss. He released me reluctantly. I watched him descend the stairs until he was out of sight, and then made my way up to the laundry room.

A guard was standing outside the door when I arrived.
He gave me a nod that was almost imperceptible, and I knew he was an Alliance guard. The laundry room lights were on and the door was unlocked, so I went in. I was surprised to see a woman sitting behind the desk. She didn’t look very old—maybe early twenties, which was young for a supervisor. I looked over at Crystal’s station, hopeful that she might have made it to work, but there was no one at the sink. I was the first worker there.

The woman behind the desk pointed to the scanner.
“Scan in.”

I wasn’t sure if I should give her a respectful greeting or not.
Madi had never been partial to us talking to her unless we had been spoken to first. I had no idea what this woman was going to be like. I decided to err on the side of caution and stayed silent. I waved my hand across the scanner, and it beeped. I felt the familiar moment of relief when I saw the green light.

“Autumn Jones,” the woman said thoughtfully. “I’m Supervisor Gina.
I’ll be working here now.”

“Good morning
, ma’am.”

“What is it
you do here?”

“I operate the washers and dryers and sort the clothes
, ma’am.” I respectfully turned my eyes to the floor. I didn’t want to provoke another supervisor.

“We’re going to be short-handed today.
Do you think you can help out with hand washing?”

“Yes
, ma’am.”

I tried to hide the alarm I felt when she mentioned hand washing.
She obviously knew Crystal wouldn’t be in that day. I wondered what else she knew.

“Well, just go about your normal duties
, and we’ll see how the day progresses.” She dismissed me.

I took
a cart of dirty laundry on the way to my station and began sorting. A few minutes later, Di arrived. She scanned in and talked to Supervisor Gina. Once our new supervisor dismissed her, Di took a cart of dirty laundry and stopped to greet me on the way to her station.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully, motioning with her eyes at Gina.
“So if this one turns out like the last one, we going to kill her too?” Di gave me a wink.

“Keep it down,” I whispered.
“Hopefully this one isn’t like the last one.” But if she were, I wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of her. Life was so much better without the Madis of the world.

Di looked over at the two guards lounging against a wall talking.
“There seem to be a few extra guards on today.”

“I think they’re with the Alliance. They might be trying to find out information on Crystal
.”

I saw Gina looking over at us, raising her eyebrows at our whispered chatter.
I dropped my eyes to the laundry I was sorting and Di went to her station. More workers began to arrive and scan in. Everyone seemed uneasy with a new supervisor. Little wonder, considering how bad the last one had been.

I put my sorted loads in the washing machines and gathered up the hand washing to take to the sink.
I wasn’t sure what to do with them, so I decided to play dumb and just set them on the counter like I normally would if Crystal was there. I was walking away when Supervisor Gina stopped me.

“The girl who usually works t
here won’t be in today,” she said. “Do you know how to do the hand washing?”

“I’ve been
shown once. I can try.”

I returned to the sink and started filling it up with cold water.
I remembered how achy my hands and arms had become when Crystal had showed me how to hand wash. I wasn’t looking forward to having my hands in cold water all day, but on the bright side, I wouldn’t suffer heat exhaustion. Supervisor Gina didn’t leave. She stood there watching me. I felt uncomfortable in her presence. She seemed to be studying me.

“You’re tall for a girl,” she
said matter-of-factly and then returned to her desk.

I wondered what she meant by her comment.
Was it just an observation? Or did she suspect who I was? I hadn’t forgotten about the bounty on my head. I knew supervisors didn’t make much, so four hundred credits would be appealing.

M
y arms and hands were aching by the time I finished washing the few clothes I had. Di came over with a bundle, but offered to do her own when she saw how much pain I was in. I thanked her and let her. I didn’t know how Crystal managed to do that all day.

As my first washer stopped, I sorted the clothes
between hang-to-dry and spin dry. I was conscious of Gina frequently glancing up from her computer to look at me. I wondered why. I cast a sly look over at the two Alliance guards in the room. I knew a third one was right outside the door. If Domers did come down here to arrest me, how far would the Alliance guards go to help me? If they challenged the Domers outright, they would expose themselves as traitors and face execution as well. I wasn’t sure I wanted that on my conscience.

I kept my head down and did my work, not wanting to draw any attention to myself.
I knew there would be no escape from here if they came for me. I was relieved when the end of the workday finally arrived. My work was finished, and I could leave this room, which I now thought of as a trap.

“Be here bright and early again tomorrow,
Autumn,
” Gina said as I scanned out.

I know I didn’t imagine the emphasis on my name.
Now I was positive she suspected that I wasn’t Autumn Jones. But if she knew for sure I was Sunny O’Donnell, she would have reported me by now.

“Yes
, ma’am,” I said.

I opened the door and left the laundry room.
I knew I couldn’t come back.