Surrender (27 page)

“I’ve seen it,” I whispered. “I’ve seen what you’ve seen. Inside Jag’s mind.” I gripped her with a desperate look.

“Then you have what you need to decide for yourself.” She stood and left me on the couch in her office.

Thoughts of Zenn clouded my head. Had he helped Blaze or not? Had he really helped me? Not only on the beach, but in the Goodgrounds? Had he really abandoned Jag’s Resistance to save me? Or was he my dad’s personal assistant?

Zenn is very loyal.
Dad’s harsh voice sliced into my thoughts.
You can still have the future you’ve always wanted with him.

But—

Who do you think matched the two of you?
Dad continued.
Zenn really loves you. Would do anything for you.

I knew he would. Which meant Zenn
had
defected and joined my father. And for what?

For me.

But he knew I would suffocate under the blanket of a controlled life. He couldn’t live that way either. Could he?

I trailed my fingers around the scar.
Dad . . . how can I get my sticker off?

Only the person who put your sticker on can get it off. I invented that tricky bit of security tech myself.

So Zenn would have to remove mine.

Yes. And I would have to remove his.

Thoughts battled in my mind. The ring was gone. So Zenn had helped me. He was—

We all have methods of persuasion for our cause,
Dad taunted.
Zenn . . . Jag . . .

I squeezed my eyes shut.
Just stop. Please.

It’s all about what you choose to believe, V. So . . . who are you choosing to believe?

Good question, Dad.

I returned to my room to retrieve my backpack. As soon as I opened the door, someone said, “Hello, Vi.”

My emotions spiraled up and then down, as first I thought it must be Jag hiding out in my room. Then I saw the auburn-haired ranger, and my heart settled in my hollow stomach.

I folded my arms and cocked my head. “What are you doing here, Jake?”

His grin widened. “Oh, man. Jag was right.”

My frustration resurfaced, and I couldn’t contain it. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear another word about that Baddie. What do you want?”

“Relax,” he said. “I’m on your side here. It’s a good thing
too. You look like you could easily kill me right now.” He wasn’t far off, but my murderous thoughts centered on a spiky-haired guy who was
gone
.

“Look, Jake. Just tell me whatever you’re going to tell me.” I waited. Quite patiently, I thought.

“Okay, I’m an island ranger—”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I snapped.

He laughed again at my attitude, just like Jag would’ve done. I blinked back the annoying tears and looked away so Jake wouldn’t see.

“My job is to equip the Counselor with the best tech. I know you’ve got some killer stuff in your bag. I’m here to bargain.”

“What do you have that I could possibly want?”

With a knowing smile, he pulled an envelope from his back pocket. Even from across the room, Jag’s handwriting made my heart pound. I took several steps forward, never removing my eyes from the two letters of my name. Jake could have anything he wanted. Kidney, liver, whatever.

“Jag really didn’t want to leave you this way,” Jake said softly. “You’ve got great control over him. I’ve never heard anyone talk about someone the way he talks about you. Not even Gavin with Pace. Choker-speak.” His eyes met mine and he waited, as if I might deny it.

Man, I really wanted to. Let that get back to Jag. But I couldn’t.

“Ah, I see. You feel the same for him.” He smiled and extended the envelope toward me. “Jag wanted to say goodbye in person, but things . . . got complicated. He also said he’s really, really sorry for leaving, and he hopes to see you soon.”

We struck a deal. I kept the weapon phone and one food-generating cube; everything else went to Jake.

“Okay,” I said once I had the envelope in my hand. “I know you know pretty much everything. So tell me what you know about mind rangers.”

Jake glanced at his new tech haul as if he’d rather spend time with gadgets than with me. “They serve the Association as Directors. Gavin was the first ranger I met who doesn’t. Then Jag started coming to visit.”

“How long has Jag been coming here?”

Jake sighed and sat down on my bed. “Maybe three years? Something like that. He came with Pace shortly after he was made a tech ranger in the Badlands. Then every couple of months after that for lessons.” Jake rubbed his hands through his hair. “He spends most of his time with Gavin.”

“What do they do?” I asked.

“Gavin used to stay up nights training Jag to use his mind,
at least until they figured out that his weapon was his voice. Then they started studying how to develop it. I like the guy, but I hate talking to him.”

Jag and Ty spent a lot of time together,
I thought, not sure how I felt about it.

“But he’s done with training now.” Jake stared out the window. “He finished last Christmas. He came for two weeks, and Gavin didn’t come out of his room once. Then she sent him back to the Goodgrounds to get something she’d had a vision about. Neither one of them knew what he was supposed to find, but he’s been in enemy territory without specific directions before. And Gavin’s never been wrong.” His eyes finally locked on mine. “He left at the beginning of April, and we haven’t heard from him since.”

I looked away. Outside, the wind lashed against the window. Thunder crashed, mimicking the unrest I felt inside.

April. Six weeks in prison.

I swallowed and found my throat too dry. “What did he find?” I asked, but I already knew the answer.

A fierceness entered Jake’s face. “He found you.”

I sank onto the couch, clutching Jag’s letter and trying to organize my thoughts. I knew one thing: I didn’t want to open the envelope, didn’t want to experience him leaving me all over again. I took a long, deep breath and blew it out.

“Well, I’ll be downstairs.” Jake stood in the doorway, holding his bag of tech. “Come see me after you’ve read that note.”

I nodded, but as soon as he’d gone, I shoved the paper in my back pocket. I stumbled into the bathroom, staring at my drawn face in the mirror.

Ty had said,
You have what you need to decide.

I could still hear Jake saying,
He found you.

And Jag said he’d never leave you,
Dad mocked, his voice inserted into my thoughts.

Shut up!
I screamed. I looked at myself with my newly colored skin and yellow short-sleeved shirt. Even the blue jeans I wore weren’t mine. I hardly recognized the girl staring back at me.

I wasn’t good.

But I wasn’t bad either.

Those labels meant nothing.

I am Violet Schoenfeld.
Armed with this knowledge, I grabbed my backpack and left my room. I found Jake sitting at the kitchen table. “Hey, where did Jag go?”

Jake glanced up. “I don’t know.”

“Big fat liar,” I accused, glaring at him. “I know you talked to him before he left. Where did he go?”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. “You’re gonna be so mad. You know that, right?”

“Tell me,” I said.

“He went through the tunnels.” The answer came too quick. Because I’d controlled him.

I toned my emotions down. “Tunnels?”

“And he made me program the simulator with the most advanced profile we’ve got.” He clenched his hands into fists.

“So . . . I don’t get it.”

Jake stood up, wiping one hand across his eyes. “Just come with me. You’ll see.” He started toward the stairs. But he didn’t go up. Instead, he stopped in front of a blank wall.

“Okay, so you’re gonna want to kill me. Before we go down, promise me you won’t try to kill me.”

I scoffed. “Come on. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“You might. I’ve heard stories about you. Promise me.”

“Stories about me? What kind of stories? Jake—”

“Just promise.”

“Fine. I promise I won’t hurt you.”

“No, promise me you won’t even
try
to hurt me.”

I wanted to hurt him already. “I promise I won’t even try to hurt you.”

Satisfied, he turned back to the wall. I thought it would be the perfect time to elbow him in the gut, but I’d already made the stupid promise.

Jake tapped his fingers on the bare wall as if on a keypad. I frowned—until the wall vanished.

A staircase spiraled down into darkness.

Jake stepped into the shadows without speaking, like it was no biggie that he was moving into the great black abyss.

It was a big deal to me. “Um, Jake?” The murkiness had already swallowed him.

“Come on.” His voice echoed off the stone stairway.

“I can’t see.”

“Feel,” he called. And with that comment, Jake shot to the top of my To-Die List, with Jag in slot number two.

But I tentatively reached toward the railing. The metal felt icy, slippery. I edged my feet along the two steps I could see and then threw caution to the wind.

I descended farther and farther into darkness. I couldn’t hear Jake in front of me. The steps simply went on and on, around and around. My breathing grew more rapid as the air turned colder.

Tech buzzed in my brain. I forced my foot down one more step. Then another. And another.

Now the tech burned. I leaned against the wall, relishing the bite of cool metal from the railing.

Step after agonizing step, I continued down the stairs. Until I couldn’t anymore.

The darkness swirled. Tears stung my eyes. The air felt like cement.

“Jake?” I called. “I can’t . . .”

Footsteps approached. A light bounced on the walls before blinding me further. “You coming? Don’t tell me you’re afraid. Jag said you don’t get scared. He called you tough.”

I couldn’t recall a single time I’d been tough in front of Jag. But it didn’t matter. Only breathing mattered.

“What’s the deal?” he asked.

“Can’t—breathe—tech,” I stammered.

“Oh! Right.” Jake dug in his pocket. “Sorry. Here.” He held three purple pills in his hand. I blinked, and the three pills blended into one.

“What’s that?”

“For the tech buzz. I guess you have some kind of heightened sense.”

You could call it that. I reached for the pill and missed it completely.

“Here, sit.” Jake helped me to the ground and placed the pill in my hand. “Swallow.”

I didn’t. I couldn’t put my thoughts together. Taking a pill to control the techtricity seemed weird, though.

“Come on, Vi. It’ll take the buzz away. I invented them for Ty.”

“But I need the buzz,” I slurred. “That’s how I know if it’s safe or not.”

He scoffed and moved within inches of my face. His eyes shone with light, deep and golden like fresh honey. “You don’t need to feel the stupid buzz. You have a brain. Use it.”

Against my better judgment, I popped the purple pill in
my mouth and swallowed hard against the taste of ash and plastic. Almost instantly, the tech buzz faded.

Unfortunately, so did the light. Jake had turned and was already rounding the bend.

I resumed my downward spiral. Eventually the darkness lightened to gray.

Finally my foot landed on something besides stone. Jake sat at a counter in the back of a warehouse. A light shone over him in a pale yellow halo. I moved through the tech-stocked shelves to where he worked.

He didn’t look up. “Take what you want,” he said, gesturing to the aisles of tech.

“For what?” I didn’t want any of it.

“You never know what you’ll find in the simulator,” Jake said. He wouldn’t look directly at me. “Go on, take whatever you want.”

A tiny alarm was ringing in my head. I wondered why I’d need any of this stuff for a simulation.

But I sighed and wished the room was brighter. Instantly the light increased. Jake snorted behind me. I ignored him as I turned my attention to the tech. It didn’t look like anything I’d ever seen. Thankfully, each had a label with a name and a description.

Locator: helps find a person who’s been lost.

That would’ve been nice three years ago when Ty went missing. Or when my dad disappeared. Maybe if I couldn’t find Jag, this locator would help.

Not much bigger than the palm of my hand, the square of metal had a narrow screen along the top. A blinking red light told me the locator came equipped with an iris recognizer.

Further down the row, next to a spiky piece of tech that could drill a hole fifteen feet down, lay a bracelet.

Diminisher: reduces visibility so enemies can’t see you. Warning: takes several hours to come back to full sight.

Nice. The diminishing bracelet joined the locator in my pocket.

I passed by the tech that turned skin green. I also left the spinning whirlwind and the shock spit on the shelf.

“Subtle weaponry,” Jake murmured from the back. I almost told him I didn’t need any weaponry, but I kept my mouth shut.

I wandered up one row and down another. Nothing else seemed important enough to take, because I didn’t know what to prepare for. “I’m ready,” I announced.

Jake stood and moved toward a corridor in the corner. “All right,” he said, like I was anything but ready. “You need to get to the center of the city, where I’ve installed some wicked tech that scrambles directional devices.”

He paused, like I should congratulate him on his achievements. I didn’t.

“Okay, now here’s the part where you’re gonna be mad. Are you ready?”

“To be mad?” I tightened the straps on my backpack. “Totally ready.”

Jake smiled. Then he did a most surprising thing. He pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. “Be careful, Vi,” he whispered. “You’re our only hope.”

I wanted to ask him what he meant, but I couldn’t.

Because in the next moment, he disappeared.

My arms hovered in the air where Jake had stood. I surveyed the tech warehouse. Empty.

When I turned back to the hallway in front of me, Jake stood there. Well, a projection of him.

“Vi, you must decide how you will use your power,” the projection said. “This is the crucial decision all mind rangers face. If you don’t decide, you can be easily swayed by others, especially others like you.”