Sunset Rising (33 page)

“I’m very flattered, Terra.
She’s beautiful.” I wanted to tell her that there were prettier names out there than Sunny, but she seemed quite taken with her choice. And I really was flattered. “You better get some rest. You look exhausted.”

I gave her a kiss on the cheek and gave the baby one last look.
Terra’s eyes were already fluttering shut, so I quietly left the room and joined the others.

“There were at least a hundred casualties today, maybe more,” Bron was saying when I came into the room.

“That many?” I asked in shock.

“
There were just as many on their side. Only ten Domers made it out alive. A few guards were killed too, although none were from the Alliance. The fight was as good as over once the army showed up,” Bron said.

“That was the first time I ever saw soldiers come into the Pit,” I said.

“It is the first time soldiers have ever been sent down here,” Jack said. “And the message was loud and clear. This isn’t a rebellion anymore. Holt’s declared war.” He was thoughtful for a moment before he continued. “There was something… orchestrated about it all, though. I understand why he sent Domers down here before the execution, but he had the army ready to go. It doesn’t make sense. If Holt publicly executed her as a fear tactic, then obviously the outcome he expected was obedience from the Pit. But he had the army ready to go, which tells me he anticipated a confrontation. Was he deliberately trying to provoke a fight?”

Bron shook her head.
“That wouldn’t make sense, sir. The Pit is too valuable. A war would destroy it.”

“I know.
That’s why something doesn’t feel right,” said Jack thoughtfully.

“Crystal’s song
,” I said. “‘The Pit they want to blow.’”

David looked stunned.
“She did say that in her song. What are they up to?”

“I don’t know,” Jack said,
dragging a hand through his hair. “And I don’t know if we have enough time left to find out.” He gave me an apologetic look.

I went to him and put my arms around his waist.
He pulled me close against him and held me there tightly. We were running out of places to hide and by now Leisel knew Jack had rescued me. She was probably convincing her father to start a door-to-door search for us in the Pit. But I doubted we would be any safer in the Dome. Our chips wouldn’t work anymore, and there was no place to hide there anyway. The Dome was only so big.

And then it came to me.

“I know where we can go,” I said to Jack. “Outside.”

“What?” he asked in disbelief.

“Just hear me out
. No one’s been out there in almost three hundred years—maybe it’s safe. You and I could find out. And if it is safe, then we come back and let everyone out. It solves everything.”

“But I know Holt’s been sending out drones for years and everything has come back radioactive.
It’s not safe out there,” Jack said.

“Well, I think we know Holt isn’t the most trustworthy person in the Dome.
What if he’s been lying?”

“Why would he lie about that?”

“I don’t know. Why does he want to blow up the Pit?”

“It would solve everything
,” David said. “It’s what our people have been praying for since we were first cast down here.”

“He’s right. We’ve always known it’s our only salvation,” I
said.

Jack shook his head.
“I know I can get us out, Sunny, but I don’t think I can get us back in.”

“We’ll find a way.
We always have. Sometimes you just need a starting point.”

Jack pulled me back toward him and rested his forehead against mine.
I could tell he was struggling with my proposal.

“I don’t know if I can watch you die of radiation poisoning any more than I want to see you in front of a firing squad,” he whispered to me.

“If it’s just me you’re worried about, then you should know I’d rather die trying to save my people than waiting here to get a bullet in the head,” I whispered back.

I pushed his head back to look in his eyes.
They were wet with tears, and I dried them with my fingertips. For once I didn’t feel like crying. I knew my decision was right.

“Then we’ll go,” Jack said.

“Sir, it
’s suicide,” Bron said.

“Staying inside the Dome is suicide,” I
said. “Maybe outside we have a chance.”

“How will you get back in?”

“I don’t know, Bron,” Jack said. Then he smiled at me. “But what I do know is that every plan Sunny has ever come up with has worked. I don’t know how. She never thinks things through. But they work out. If there’s a way to get back in, she’ll find it. This is just one more adventure she’s going to take me on.”

“And we should get started on our adventure before we’re caught
,” I said. “Leisel probably has a search party out for us by now.”

“I have my computer
, and if there’s any way I can find a signal out there to let you know what we’ve found, I’ll send you a message,” Jack told Bron. Then he looked at David. “In the meantime, you two take control of the Alliance, and keep everyone down here as calm as you can. Continue the training, but no more riots. I don’t trust Holt, and he can annihilate everyone in the Pit just by turning off the ventilation system, so don’t give him a reason. There are some powerful families in the Dome that will stand up for the Pit, but if everyone is down here cruising for a fight and causing trouble, you’ll lose their support. Just keep training and be ready to go in case the news from outside is good.”

“I’ll try my best,” David said.
“But everyone here is just so angry. It’s going to be hard to keep them under control.”

“We’ll train harder with them. Let them work out their frustrations that way
,” Bron said. “How much time should we give you?” she asked Jack.

“I honestly don’t know.
It could take a day or a week to figure out if we have radiation poisoning or not, then find a way back into the Dome… I guess if you haven’t heard from us in a month or two, odds are you won’t.”

“A month is a long time,” David said, looking disheartened.

“Just don’t give up hope. Even if you never hear
from us again, don’t give up,” I said.

“We better go,” Jack said, nudging me toward the door.

“Take care of yourselves,” Bron said, looking a little misty eyed.
“Your mom would be proud of you, Sunny.”

I gave them both a hug before we slipped out of the apartment and back into the hall.
The same guards were on duty, and they nodded in our direction as we passed. Then we began the climb up the stairs that would lead us to the Dome. I tried not to think about the fact that I might never come back there again. It was the only home I had ever known.

“Hey, are you two on your way to the Dome?” a Domer called out to us as we passed the third level.

A pile of six or seven dead bodies was on the landing beside the stairs. I averted my eyes, sickened b
y the consequences of this battle.

“Yes
, we are,” Jack said.

“Can you ask them to send down more help?
These guys have been dragging bodies for about two hours now. If there wasn’t a lockdown, I’d make the urchins clean up their own damn mess!”

“I’m on it,” Jack
said, and we continued on our way.

We reached the main level without any further incident.
I wasn’t sure where we were going, so I blindly followed Jack. A guard waved us toward the scanner as we approached the doors into the Dome. Jack waved his hand across the scanner, and it beeped green. Without much choice, I followed his lead, and my scan worked, too. Leisel must not have flagged my Autumn Jones chip. We went through the doors and back into the Dome.

He went up to the second level, back to the storage room where we
had changed our chips before. He gave a sharp knock at the door. No one answered. We went in.

“Maybe this will give us a little more time again,” he said, taking the box of chips off the shelf.

“We should have done this before we went down into the Pit. I thought we were going to get caught when we had to scan in
.”

“I didn’t think Leisel would cancel our chips because she’s trying to catch us.
She’ll be waiting for us to scan in somewhere. Now she’ll know the last place we scanned in was coming into the Dome. She won’t have to do a search in the Pit.”

“I
hadn’t thought of that.”

Jack extracted the chip
from my hand. I took the Spritze device from him and took his chip out. He picked up a new chip, popped it into his computer, and started tapping away.

“What wo
uld you like your name to be?” he asked.

“Crystal
.” I wanted to be named after a hero.

He took the chip out of his computer and
implanted it in my hand. Then he put another chip in. “Who should I be? How about Ted, after my brother.” He typed on his computer again, and then it was his turn to get a new chip.

“Crystal Malloy and Ted Anderson.
I gave myself a pretty high-ranking last name in case I need to use the power.”

“We’re not married t
his time?” I asked, disappointed.

“No, we’re Domers this time.
Now I just need to get the message out to the Alliance that we’re headed outside and Bron and David are in charge.”

I waited for Jack to finish sending the message.
I was trying not to think about the fact that we were going outside. My stomach was starting to tie itself into little knots.

“Done,” Jack said. “Before we go
, there’s someplace I’d like to take you. I have it all set up if you say yes.” He held up his computer.

“But shouldn’t we go before we
’re caught?”

“It’s important to me
.”

I smiled.
“Then how can I say no?”

He opened
the door and we strode out of the storage room, easily blending in to the light traffic in the hallway. I wasn’t sure what time it was, but it was getting late. It would soon be lights out in the Pit.

Jack led me through a maze of hallways until w
e came to another set of doors with two Domers guarding the entrance. He gave them a nod, and we strolled through. This section was different. Most of the doors we passed had windows in them, and I could see what looked like laboratories. A few of the rooms even had caged animals.

“What is this?” I whispered.

“It’s the ‘bio’ part of the Dome.”

I only saw a few
people in the labs, and they were too engrossed in their work to notice a couple of Domers walking by. At the end of the hall was another set of doors that were also under guard. Jack walked toward the two Domers and waved his hand over the scanner. I did the same.

“Enjoy your evening,” one of the Domers said.

Jack pushed open the doors, and we entered a small chamber. We had to scan in one more time, and then the main doors opened.

My breath cau
ght in my throat as we entered. I had never seen anything like it. Hundreds of huge trees loomed up before us, and the ground was covered in thick foliage. I could hear animals and birds everywhere. I took off my helmet to get a better view. The light was a lot brighter than I was used to and I almost put my visor back on, but I wanted to feel the warm, moist air against my skin. My nose was assaulted by scents I had never smelled before. Sweet scents mixed with earthier notes.

“What is it?” I asked in wonder.

“A rainforest,” Jack said. He took off his helmet, his eyes never leaving my face.

“Thank you
.” I never thought I would get to see anything like this in my lifetime.

He smiled.
“I thought you might like it. I remember the stack of my nature magazines you went through.”

“I knew you were mad about that
.” I shouldn’t have touched them.

“Well, not mad.
Annoyed maybe…” He smirked. “Come on. I’ll show you around.”

“Are
all the bourge allowed to come here whenever they want?” He seemed to know his way around, and yet I had never even heard of the place.

“No!”
He laughed. “No one other than the scientists and guards are permitted in here. It’s too important to the ecosystem of the Dome to allow it to be damaged in any way.”

“Why?
What is it for?”

“A lot of thought went into building this Dome
long before the bombs were ever launched. Because the inside of the Dome is sealed off from the outside world, it needs to make its own atmosphere, which isn’t easy. So the scientists who designed it had to think about the earth’s own processes and try to duplicate them, right down to the water and carbon cycles in order to create an atmosphere in here. The only way they could do that was to grow nature inside. So they built a rainforest, an ocean, and a boreal forest. There’s also a prairie with a freshwater lake that’s used to farm meat and grow vegetables. The rainforest produces fruits and vegetables, and the ocean provides fish. There are a lot of animals in here too as a way to restock the earth once we can leave the Dome.”

I was amazed.
“An ocean, too?” He nodded. “If only Domers and scientists are allowed in here, how did you come to know it so well?”

He patted the computer in his pocket.
“Because I know how to get in and out without being caught. Ted and I used to come here all the time and hide in the foliage whenever the guards walked by. We loved this place. I used to fantasize about bringing the girl of my dreams here.” He blushed.

“So I take it you never brought Leisel here
.”

“No!
That would have ruined this place for me.”

We were strolling along a footpath, but h
e stopped for a moment and pointed to something in a tree. I looked and saw some type of monkey. It was small and reddish in color.

“I think
it’s called a tamarind,” Jack said. “There are a few monkeys in here that like to throw their poop at you, so stay away from them.”

I looked around
nervously. “How will I know which ones they are?”

He gave me a confused look.
“They’ll be the ones throwing poop at you!” I laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you if we come across any.”

“My hero
.” I tucked my hand into the crook of his arm. He seemed pleased. “I have noticed that we’re the only two guards in here. Where is everyone?”

“
After I made our new identities, I scheduled us to guard the rainforest for the night shift. I cancelled the two that were supposed to be here. I assume they’ll just get sent home when they show up for work. It’s late, so there’s no scheduler on duty to check with.”

“You always think of eve
rything, don’t you?”

“I told you before, that’s how every Kenner is raised
.” He gave me an admonishing expression as if my forgetting that detail was unforgivable. Then he smiled. “Come on. I want to show you the ocean before the lights go off.”

We followed along a well-worn footpath through the forest, taking care not to trample any foliage.
There was an occasional rustle in the bushes, which startled me, but I quickly got used to it. I felt like all my senses were coming alive there. I wanted to see, smell, and touch everything.

“Is it just me
, or is it getting darker in here?” I asked. My eyes were no longer feeling so light sensitive. Everything seemed dimmer.

“They simulate the sun going down
and the moon coming up.”

The foliage became less dense as we travelled the path
, and I noticed the soil was fading away and being replaced by white sand. The trees weren’t as tall, and fruit grew on some of them. We broke out of the forest into a clearing, and there it was. The ocean.

“It’s beautiful!” I said breathlessly.
I felt strands of my hair lifting away from my face. “Is that wind?”

“The air current is generated when the warm air of the rainforest mixes with the cool water of the ocean,”
Jack said.

“What
kind of fish is in the water?”

“Tons of differen
t fish and coral reefs, which provide the Dome with food. But it’s the algae that are the most important feature of the ocean, since it contributes to our oxygen supply. The enclosure itself is made of thick Plexiglas. It’s really ingenious when you think about it.”

I had never seen an ocean for real
—only in books and movies. And this one looked real enough to me. It was massive. Waves lapped against a sandy beach, and crabs popped up out of the sand. Birds flew above, diving occasionally to come up with fish in their beaks. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.

As we stood drinking in the beauty of the ocean,
a dimmer, bluish light was quickly replacing the bright light of the sun.

“Is that the moon?”

“A fake moon, but beautiful anyway.”

“A beautiful ending to a horrible day.
Thank you for bringing me here.” I gave him a sincere look. “I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance to share it with the girl of your dreams.”

He smiled at me.
“I did. Why do you think it was so important for me to bring you here?”

My heart
caught in my throat when I realized he was talking about me. He raised a hand to brush the hair away from my eyes and then cupped my face in his hands. His kiss was slow and gentle, and I wrapped my arms around him, pressing myself against him. But the bulletproof vest prevented us from making any real contact. I cursed it silently.

“You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, Sunny O’Donnell,”
Jack whispered in my ear. I laughed and pushed away from him in order to see his face.

“You can say that after everything I’ve dragged you through?” I asked in disbelief.
“If it wasn’t for me, you would probably be married to Leisel right now and training to be the next president.”

“Married to Leisel?”
He grimaced. “Way to kill the mood, Sunny.” He pushed away from me playfully.

I caught his hand in mine.
“Seriously, Jack.” I gave him a sobering look. “When I allowed myself to go along with Leisel’s plan, I ruined your life. And I need you to know how sorry I am for doing that. You would’ve been a good president, and all this fighting could have been avoided.”

Jacked studied our entwined hands.
His brows drew together, and he frowned. “I wouldn’t have made a good president. My only agenda was the same as my family’s—restore democracy. I didn’t have any plans for the Pit.” He raised his eyes away from our hands and looked into my eyes. “My whole world was up here, in this Dome, sealed away from the Pit. The most consideration I ever showed the people down there was to advise the president to stop decreasing rations and concentrate more on decreasing the population through stricter controls. Do you believe that?” He shook his head and chuckled bitterly. “For most of us up here, the Pit is just a place where our coal comes from, where our sewage is treated, where our laundry is cleaned.”

My heart sank with every word he spoke.
Why was he saying those things? The Jack Kenner I had come to know wasn’t like that. I dropped his hand. He looked at me apologetically.

“My time down there with you was… a
revelation. My view of the Pit—god, my view of the Dome—has changed so much. I’m a better person for having you in my life. Don’t ever apologize for that.”

“So you never wanted to help us?”

“Not before I met you. You changed me. The Pit changed me. Listening to the children sing in the common room changed me. And Crystal’s sacrifice…” He shook his head sadly. “When I was growing up, my parents told me there were monsters down in the Pit. They always threatened to send my brother and me down there if we didn’t behave. Their threat always worked because we believed in the monsters. It wasn’t until I was living there with you that I found out the monsters were us.” He rubbed a hand across his eyes. “I just want to be honest with you, Sunny. You putting on that wedding dress was the best thing that ever happened to me. It was the best thing that ever happened to the Pit. Don’t be sorry.”

I remembered when
Jack had asked me if I believed in fate, and now I saw why. If we had never gotten married things would never have changed in the Pit. I didn’t like what he was saying, but I did appreciate his honesty.

He picked up my hand and stroked my palm with his thumb. “Don’t hate me
.”

I looked into his eyes.
“I don’t hate you. I’m glad you’re being honest with me.” I didn’t want to lose Jack. We needed each other now more than ever. “But if you felt that way about the Pit, why did you come with me? I mean, once we escaped from your apartment you could have found someone to hide you.”

“
One reason was that I didn’t think Holt would look for me there right away, and I was right. And another reason was… I wanted to see where you would take me.” He smiled shyly.

I looked at him in surprise.
Jack
wanted
to be with me?

“Don’t look so shocked
. Do you know how hot you looked in that green dress?!”

“That tacky green dress?
Ugh!” I closed my eyes at the memory. It was the most hideous thing I had ever worn.

He chuckled at my discomfort.
“I didn’t say it was a tasteful dress. It left little to the imagination, and I think every man in the room stopped to look at you when you walked in. I was glad to get you out of there. But I didn’t really notice you until the next day. You were wearing my bathrobe, all the makeup washed from your face, looking so young, innocent, and beautiful. And then you told me you were willing to risk your own life to save your people. Something inside me just clicked, and I knew I had met the girl of my dreams.”

I stroked his face.
“That’s the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me. I wish I could tell you I liked you then, but I didn’t. I really wanted to scratch your eyes out at one point.”

“I know
, and that was part of your allure. Every other woman in the Dome wanted to sleep with the next president, but not you. You wanted to kill me.”

I laughed.
He was right. “To be honest, I struggled to stay with Reyes when I went home even though I knew I couldn’t offer him a future. I just felt like I owed him. And then when we broke up I felt so…
relieved
. I felt free. And I let myself look at you in a different way.”

“So you
do
have feelings for me?” he asked cautiously.

I was happy that we were finally being honest with each other
, but I felt self-conscious talking about my feelings so freely. “Of course. I don’t go around kissing just anybody, you know.”