Revolutionary Page 18

  Rhen pulls on her ponytail. “In his mind, this is not a game. It’s an opportunity to further test Thalli’s intellect while also forcing her to make a decision that will make her think like Loudin. And that, ultimately, is his goal—to turn her into his successor.”

  “That won’t happen.” I rub my eyes. “Neither of you will die. We’ll show him we can win. We can find a way out.”

  “Can’t we just go out the way we came in?” Dallas points outside. “If we’re all free, then let’s take that spaceship thing and just get out of here.”

  “We checked there first.” Alex frowns. “He has disabled it.”

  “So fix it,” Dallas says. “That’s our best bet.”

  “It would take too long.” Berk looks at Alex like he is an enemy, and I know I am the reason for that. But we don’t have time to fix that either.

  “And Loudin would just kill us with the nuclear bombs he is assembling.”

  I realize as Berk, Rhen, and Dallas look at me with wide eyes that they have not been informed of Loudin’s latest plan. I give them a brief version, wave away questions, and bring us back to the assigned task. “We can worry about that later. Right now we have to find a way to convince Loudin that we need both Alex and Berk alive.”

  “We cannot reason with him.” Rhen’s voice is firm. “We must act.”

  We spend the next four hours discussing and rejecting plans. Nothing we can think of is something Loudin wouldn’t anticipate. Or discover. With him alive, none of us is safe. But killing him remains something none of us can consider.

  I glance around the room. Everyone else looks as tired as I feel. “We need to sleep.”

  “We can’t sleep,” Dallas growls. “We have less than twenty hours. We need every minute of that time.”

  “We won’t be able to come up with anything if we don’t sleep though,” Alex agrees. “But just for a few hours.”

  “Three.” Dallas stands.

  “Four.” Rhen looks into Dallas’s face. “We need solid sleep in order for our brains to function at peak capacity.”

  “Fine.” Dallas walks toward his cube. “Four. But not a second more.”

  Rhen goes into our cube, but I stay behind. As do Alex and Berk. The boys stare at each other, their gazes reflecting what Loudin would surely term as primitive thoughts. Even their stances look animal-like. I do not want to be the object of division between these two.

  “Aren’t you going to sleep?” Berk keeps his gaze locked on Alex.

  “Aren’t you?”

  “I was hoping to speak to Thalli for a minute.” Berk’s jaw twitches. “Alone.”

  “She needs to sleep.”

  “Don’t tell me what she needs.” Berk bites the words out.

  “Enough.” I step between Alex and Berk, a hand on each boy’s chest, my eyes on Berk’s eyes. “I’m exhausted. We’ll talk later. All right?”

  The muscles in Berk’s chest flex. “Fine.”

  Neither boy moves, so I walk away, hoping they will follow my lead and not kill each other right here in the living area.

  Rhen is already asleep. She has always been able to go to sleep quickly. Even as a child, Rhen would close her eyes as soon as the Monitor turned off our lights. I would hear her soft snore before the Monitor moved to the next room. I, on the other hand, have never slept easily. My brain races with questions, images float in and out. And now, even as physically tired as I am, I am mentally wide-awake. I lie on the sleeping platform for what seems like hours. When I check the time on my communications pad, though, I see that only ten minutes have passed. I cannot stay here.

  I slip on my shoes and ease open the door, then walk through the living area into the cooking chamber. I sit at the table. I do not want food or water. I want answers. There were no answers in the living area. I hope a change of scenery will bring new ideas to light.

  “Can’t sleep either?” Berk is leaning against the wall, his light-brown hair mussed, his feet bare.

  “No.” I put my hands on my face. “I’m sorry, Berk.”

  “For what?”

  “For all of this.” I cannot look at him. “For putting your life in danger. For Alex . . .”

  He is standing beside me, his hand on my shoulder. “Is Loudin right?”

  “About what?” I look up at Berk and, as always, my heart beats faster. Even in the shadows, he is handsome. Achingly handsome.

  “Do you care for him?” Berk speaks softly, but hurt laces every word.

  There is no way to answer that question without hurting Berk. And I don’t want to hurt Berk. I want to see him smile, to laugh with me like he did when we were younger. I want the easy friendship we always had, the closeness that resulted from that friendship.

  His face relaxes. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  “A walk?” I look into Berk’s eyes to make sure he isn’t losing touch with reality.

  “A walk outside the pod at night.” Berk grabs my hand and pulls me to the door. “We’ve never been allowed to do that before.”

  “But you don’t even have shoes on.”

  “So?” His white smile seems to glow in the darkness. The earlier tension is gone. He caresses my knuckles with his thumb, and I decide I’ll go anywhere with him, anytime.

  I slip out of my shoes, leaving them at the door as we walk out. There are soft lights beneath the sidewalk that provide just enough light for us to see. Everything looks different in this light though. I used to look out the window at night, at the State under cover of darkness, and wonder what it would be like to see it all, without a Monitor telling me where to go, without a predetermined location where I was expected to arrive. In the quiet of this moment, the State seems beautiful. And, in spite of everything, it is home. My home.

  I lean my head on Berk’s shoulder and we walk until we are below the viewing panel. I tilt my head and see the moon—full and glorious and so far away. I am a prisoner here, trapped underground.

  I close my eyes and remember seeing the moon from the hill in New Hope. It seemed close enough to touch. The air smelled of dirt and flowers, of animals and life. A tear escapes my eyes as I pray that God helps us discover a way to save that village and all the other villages, to save Berk and Alex. I pray that the Designer is real, that what I believe isn’t, as Loudin argues, just a primitive idea invented to make me feel more important than I really am.

  “We’ll see them again.” Berk points to the moon.

  “Are you listening to my thoughts?”

  Berk pulls away so we are standing facing each other. His hands frame my face, and he leans his forehead onto mine. “I know you, Thalli. I watched you in New Hope. I stayed behind when you went to Athens—against my advice—so you could save the people. You love them.”

  I cannot speak. I can see the faces of those in New Hope and in Athens, people who deserve a future, freedom. “But this is so much more complicated than just stopping an arrogant king.”

  Berk steps back, his hands sliding to my shoulders. “We know complicated, don’t we?”

  I don’t want to laugh. It seems out of place here, now, with all that is happening. But I can’t help myself. And it feels good. Our relationship has been nothing but complicated since we were children. “Remember when we used to race at recreation and the Monitors would get so angry?”

  “I remember you would get pretty angry too.” Berk smiles. “Because I always beat you.”

  I take a step back. “You did not always beat me. When you did, it was because you cheated.”

  “Cheated? Me—a Scientist-in-Training? I would never break any rules.”

  Berk looks so handsome, smiling, remembering happier times, reliving our shared memories. I should continue to keep this moment lighthearted. But I can’t. Because those moments are behind us, and I don’t know what lies ahead. I only know I need to enjoy this moment. So I choose to enjoy it.

  I step forward, lift myself up on my toes, and touch my lips to Berk’s. His lips melt into mine, and his a
rms wrap around my waist, lifting me off the ground. I reach around him, my hands in his hair. I forget everything—there’s no trouble, no fear, no doubt, no chaos in the world in this moment. There is only Berk and me and so much love that my chest feels too small to hold my heart inside.

  We finally pull apart, both breathless. Berk pulls me to the ground until we are both lying side by side, looking up at the moon, fingers intertwined, our breaths matching. I feel weightless, like I could float right up to the top of the State, through that panel, and out into the world. I close my eyes again and fall into a contented, dreamless sleep.

  CHAPTER 45

  What did you do to her?” Alex is standing above us, his face red.

  I sit up, straightening my hair, rubbing my eyes. Berk and I fell asleep under the moon. But now the moon is almost translucent, the black night sky is a purplish-pink. And Alex is here, wondering what we were doing.

  “What do you think he did?” I stare into Alex’s eyes.

  His face turns an even deeper shade of red.

  Berk sits up, his shoulder brushing mine. “Neither of us could sleep, so we took a walk and ended up out here, talking, and then we fell asleep. That’s all.”

  “We are in the middle of a crisis, with a countdown going on for one of our lives.” Alex’s blue eyes have deep circles beneath them. “We need to be focused now.”

  “And we agreed that we’d all be more focused if we slept.” Berk pushes himself into a standing position. “So we slept. Did you?”

  “No.” Veins protrude on Alex’s neck.

  How can I be so selfish? My actions are causing more problems when I need to be helping with a solution.

  Rhen and Dallas come up behind Alex. Rhen looks perfectly awake, her hair pulled back, blue eyes shining. Dallas is holding Rhen’s hand and wears a determined look.

  “All right, you three.” Dallas sits on the grass and motions for us to do the same. “Enough of the fighting. We have to be united here.”

  Alex says nothing, but his lips are pressed together as he sits in the grass next to me.

  “Let’s start again,” Rhen says. “Think of anything you know that could help. If we compile all the facts, we can determine a clear direction.”

  “We have to think like Loudin, though.” I lay my palm flat in the grass, spreading my fingers and allowing the blades to fill the spaces between them. “Because we know he is going to try to think like us.”

  “Thalli’s right.” Dallas chews on his bottom lip. “So what is he thinking? What’s he planning right now?”

  “He’s working on rebuilding nuclear warheads to attack the remaining survivors.” I close my eyes against the images that thought brings to mind.

  Rhen folds her legs beneath her. “He’s also working to develop a new generation here.”

  “But he doesn’t know that James has destroyed that possibility.” Alex leans into me as he speaks.

  “Are you sure he hasn’t found that out yet?” Berk leans closer, too, and I feel suffocated.

  “I doubt he knows.” Rhen glances toward the Scientists’ quarters. “If he did, he would be focused on replacing the ingredients for life.”

  “How would he do that?” I ask.

  “He would harvest them from the remaining members of the State.” Rhen states this so calmly, but the idea makes me ill.

  “That’s exactly right.” Berk nods. “So he thinks James is still working on a new generation.”

  I clap my hands together. “Pod A!”

  The others look at me as if I spoke in another language.

  “Loudin told me he is thinking of destroying Pod A. He says they lack the intelligence that Pods B and C had.”

  “But Pod C is empty.” Dallas’s eyebrows come together.

  “He annihilated Pod C,” Rhen says softly. “To conserve oxygen.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Cruel is a better word.” I will never forget discovering my entire pod—everyone I grew up with—was wiped out simply because they were breathing air that Loudin needed. “And he is prepared to annihilate Pod A.”

  “But that would only leave one generation.” Even Rhen is confused by Loudin’s logic, confirming my suspicion that he is functioning more on a desire to make his legacy greater than to protect the State.

  “He wants only ‘superior’ beings here.” I think of the people I know in Athens and New Hope, people Loudin would see as inferior but who are far better than he ever was. “He’d rather have a smaller population, filled with geniuses who function at their peak, than have individuals who are less than perfect.”

  “People like me, you mean?” Dallas raises his eyebrows.

  “And me.” Alex shrugs.

  “But Loudin is one of us.” Dallas’s face is turning red. “He was born like we were. He wasn’t made in some lab—no offense. Isn’t he less than perfect?”

  “Loudin is deluded.” Rhen puts a hand on Dallas’s knee. “He believes he was born as an anomaly—but a positive one. He thinks he is an advanced human and that, as such, he can determine the best future for the rest of mankind.”

  “Seriously?” Dallas looks like he wants to stomp off and hit Loudin. Part of me wishes he would.

  “But we can use that to our advantage.” I lean in. “He wants to leave behind a ‘perfect world,’ right?”

  The group nods, and I continue. “And with the medical advancements in place, he has the potential to live another fifty years.”

  “What?” Dallas interrupts. “He’s already, what, seventy something?”

  “Yes.” Berk runs a hand through his hair. “But he is healthy and well monitored. As we saw with Dr. Spires and now Magnes, the possibility of sudden death still exists. But barring an unexpected event, the life expectancy down here is estimated to be one hundred and twenty years.”

  “So Loudin, potentially, can oversee three or more generations before he dies.” Rhen pulls on her ponytail.

  “Exactly.” My pulse is pounding. “Pod A isn’t perfect, so they can be replaced with generations who will be more advanced, according to Loudin’s model of perfection.”

  “How does this help Berk and Alex?” Dallas shakes his head.

  “Because.” I look at each person in the circle. “It will take every one of us to take charge of their annihilation.”

  “What?” Everyone stares at me with wide eyes. Berk and Alex lean away from me, horrified expressions on their faces.

  “How much more time do we have?” I stand, wiping debris from my pants.

  “Sixteen hours.” Rhen’s answer comes quickly, as if she has been keeping a countdown in her head—which she probably has.

  “Excellent.” I pull Rhen up and the others follow. “That should be enough time to get rid of all of Pod A.”

  The group does not move, so I walk ahead without them. “Are you coming?”

  I walk quickly, feeling hopeful, excited, and determined. I have a plan, and that plan will save both Berk and Alex. I just hope the others won’t try to stop me.

  CHAPTER 46

  I peek in Dr. Loudin’s laboratory before heading to find James. Just as he promised, Loudin is sedated, wires protruding from his brain while several Assistants hover around him, checking his vitals. Dr. Williams is seated at Loudin’s desk, tapping on her communications pad and occasionally looking up at the wall screen.

  No one notices me, and no one has stopped me as I entered the building or wandered around in it. Berk checked the cameras before we left yesterday, but I needed to see for myself that we truly are not being monitored.

  “All right,” I say to the others. “Let’s go.”

  Rhen, Dallas, Berk, and Alex haven’t spoken since we left our spot in the grass. I would like to believe that though they don’t fully understand my plan, they are willing to trust me. We take the elevator to James’s laboratory, and I rush in there, finding him in conversation with another Scientist.

  “I understand Dr. Loudin’s desire to see t
he new generation begun.” James is speaking, his back to us. “But there is much to be done before the fertilization process can commence.”

  “May I help you?” James’s eyebrows are raised. We, of course, are not supposed to be on familiar terms. Nor should we even be here without permission or a guard.

  Berk steps forward. “Dr. Turner, we were sent by Dr. Loudin to observe your work today.”

  The other Scientist, Dr. Llanes, turns around and looks at each of us.

  “Ah yes.” Thankfully, James pretends well. He smiles at Dr. Llanes. “Excuse me. This has to do with another project Dr. Loudin has assigned. I assure you I am doing the best I can with what I have, and the problem of the next generation will be solved very soon.”

  “All right.” Dr. Llanes taps on her communications pad and walks to the door. “I just want to make sure you know how urgent this is.”

  “I do.” James ushers her out the door and waits to speak until we hear the tone that indicates the elevator doors have closed.

  “Thank you.” I follow James back to his office where the six of us sit—Alex, Berk, and me on the couch, Rhen and Dallas on chairs, and James behind his desk.

  “One moment.” James taps on his communications pad. “Interesting . . . the cameras are all disabled. Did you do that?”

  I quickly explain to him Loudin’s “game” and our time frame. I also explain my idea.

  “It is risky.” James speaks after a long pause. My friends are silent too, having heard the plan for the first time themselves. “But I think it is possible. What of the logistics?”

  I bite my lip. “I was hoping you could help with that.”

  James taps on his communications pad again, tossing the images onto the wall screen so we all can see them. I discover that while ideas come easily to me, turning those ideas into reality is much more difficult. For Rhen and James, however, details come naturally, and I join Dallas in being an admiring onlooker as they take charge and make the plans that will, hopefully, save the lives of Berk and Alex. Among others.