Authors: Abigail Collins
It isn’t until I feel Flynn pull the gun from my raised hands that I realize where the shot that I heard really came from.
Chapter thirty-six
I don’t know what I expect to be waiting for us on the other side of the gate. To be honest, escaping is the last thing on my mind right now. All I can see is red, and no matter how hard Flynn pulls on my arms, I am too dizzy to stand upright. I crouch down and walk alongside her, but I pay no attention to where we are going. All I know is that one minute we’re outside in a street littered with corpses, and the next, we’re in an open field with a wall on one side of us and a blank expanse of land on the other.
The first thing I do is lean against the fence and heave until a thin stream of bile makes its way out of my throat. Flynn stands at my side and waits for my nausea to pass; she doesn’t say anything, but I’m pretty sure we’re both thinking about the same thing.
We both just killed our best friends – point-blank, in cold blood, without an ounce of hesitation. Sure, my brain was screaming at me the entire time to just walk away, but my finger was quicker than my legs. I shot Dori before I could even think about what I was doing. My body just acted on its own, doing what was easiest for
me
.
All I remember is visualizing Dori as my enemy, and after that, pulling the trigger became my body’s most natural response. I wonder if Flynn felt the same way when she shot Rin. Did she even try to remember the good parts of their relationship, or was she too focused on the things that would make it easier for her to pull the trigger?
The grass is sparse and half-dead on this side of the fence. There are a few trees in the distance, but mostly all I can see is flat land. I think I expected buildings and people – a small utopia in the middle of this awful war. I am disappointed, but a little relieved at the same time.
I hear a voice from somewhere beyond the trees, but it isn’t until it gets closer that I realize that it’s saying my name.
“Everly!” the voice calls out; it’s loud and shrill – a girl’s voice – and more than a little familiar. “
Everly
! Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re
alright
!”
I look up just in time to see a shock of bright orange hair before I am pulled into the tightest hug I think I’ve ever received. My muscles ache tremendously, and my arms are still shaking so badly I have trouble raising them to return the gesture, but it feels so good to see her again that I barely even notice the pain.
“Crissy!” My voice is muffled somewhere between her shoulder and her neck, but I manage to turn my head just enough for her to hear me. “What’s going on? How did you get here?”
She lets go of me and pulls away, grinning. Once her bushy hair is out of my line of sight, I can clearly make out a small group of people coming towards us, following the path behind her. They look tired and worn – but probably a lot better than
I
look – but alive and, for the most part, uninjured.
The exception is Crissy, who blinks at me with one bright green eye and one scarred, half-lidded opaque eye that she obviously can’t see out of. Though her injury has healed, I can still distinctly remember how it looked when it was fresh – her torn eyelid, blood running down her cheek – and even now I can see the ghost of that image on her face. It’s like my brain won’t let me forget how much I have hurt the people I love.
Following a few paces behind her are Roma, Andon, and Cyrus. Roma has a few scars on either side of her face, and Andon is sporting what looks like a half-healed bruise along his jaw, but otherwise they look far better than they did the last time I saw them. Cyrus is walking beside the couple, limping slightly and keeping a reasonable distance.
Roma pulls me into a hug as soon as she reaches me, softer and more gently than her daughter. Her body is warm and comforting, and I feel safe for the first time in months. I’ve been lost and scared for so long, it’s nice to finally have someone to lean on. If Roma can forgive me for the things I’ve done, then maybe I can try to forgive myself, too.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she says softly; “I’m so glad you’re safe. We’ve all been so worried about you.”
“I – ” I begin, but the words catch in my throat. After everything that’s happened to me since I last saw them, what can I say? They shouldn’t have been worried about me; I’m not the one who was in danger.
“It’s good to see you,” Andon interrupts, and I can see from the slight smile on his face that he is trying to fill the silence I left. He may not know exactly what I’ve experienced, but I think he understands more than the others do. He pats me on the back in what I think must be his version of a hug, and I feel so warm with relief and happiness that I forget for a moment where I am and why I’m here.
Why was I so distraught just a minute ago? Because I’ve lost my family? No, my family is right here – safe and alive and welcoming. I didn’t realize how important they are to me until I thought I’d lost them, but now that they’re here, I understand that they were there for me more than my real family ever was.
But, then, why does it feel like something is missing?
After Roma and Andon step back I look around, and I see it right away. Why didn’t I realize it sooner?
“Roma?” I ask without looking at her. “Where’s Fray?”
Suddenly, the entire atmosphere changes from bright to gloomy. Roma’s expression turns grim, and I can tell that Cyrus is purposely avoiding looking at me.
I can’t believe I didn’t notice my little brother’s absence earlier. My mind was too filled with elation at the reappearance of my friends that I think I tried to block out the negative aspects of the situation. I was too happy to see Crissy alive to worry too much about her sight, too thrilled to be in Roma’s arms again to pay much attention to the scars on her face. And I was so glad that finally,
finally
, something in my life was going right, that I didn’t see just how wrong it really was.
When Roma doesn’t answer me, I ask again, “Where’s Fray? Why isn’t he with you guys?” My voice rises in volume with each unanswered question until I’m nearly shouting. “Where
is
he? What’s happened to him?”
Crissy flinches at my tone, but I don’t let up. All of a sudden, everyone is avoiding my eyes – everyone except for Flynn, who looks just as confused as I am.
“Sweetheart,” Roma begins gently, like I’m a loose cannon. I don’t blame her, though – the way I’m shouting, I probably sound like one. “We don’t know where – ”
“He’s gone,” Cyrus cuts her off shortly. Roma folds her hands at her waist and falls silent.
“What do you mean, ‘gone’?”
“Division 6 has him. I expect they will likely be using him as bait to lure you back to their training camp. Now that Tesla is aware of your situation and Division 4’s plans for you, I don’t think she will rest until she has you on her side.”
“But… I would
never
choose her side! She can’t honestly expect, after everything she’s put me through…”
Cyrus shrugs like he’s trying to look impartial, but I notice that he still won’t make eye contact with me.
“Not even if your little brother’s life is on the line?”
It feels like time stands still. My heart pounds, and the rushing of my blood through my veins is all I can hear. I am acutely aware of how sweaty my hands are, but how cold the rest of my body feels.
All I can think about is Fray – alone, frightened, and helpless. And, once again, it is entirely my fault.
“How?” I ask after I finally find my voice again. “
How
? He was with all of you, wasn’t he? And
you
,” I round on Cyrus, forcing his attention towards me; “You were supposed to protect him! Isn’t that what my mother wanted? I don’t care that you let Tesla take
me
, but Fray is
six years old
! He’s just a child, and you… you just…”
I run out of words and let my voice fade away. There are tears running down both of my cheeks, but I make no move to wipe them away. I know in my heart that I am to blame for whatever happens to Fray now, but that doesn’t stop me from projecting my anger on everyone else who was involved. Besides, while I was trapped in the compound, Crissy and her parents were supposed to be watching after Fray in my stead. They were supposed to be his new family, and they failed to protect him when he needed it the most.
And Cyrus… If he cares about humans so much, why does he let so many of them die? He could have done something to save the people of Division 4. He could have done something to save my brother.
“I’m so, so sorry, Everly,” Roma says. “They came to get him after school, while all of us were working. We tried everything to find him, but no one knew where to look. And then Cyrus found us, and he told us about you, and… I knew about your mother and her experiments, but if I had known what kind of danger they put you in, I would never have let you out of my sight. I didn’t realize… about your brain. I’m sorry.”
“And
I
,” Cyrus continues before I can respond to Roma’s apology, “was at the training camp making connections with Flynn about your rescue. Tesla was with me nearly the entire time, so I had no reason to believe that your brother was in any sort of danger. Had I known that she had other agents working for her inside of Division 6, I would never have left.”
Cyrus actually sounds remorseful. It’s strange to think that even Digits make mistakes sometimes. Maybe it’s because part of them is human, or maybe it’s because
all
of them
isn’t
.
“But you… you have a plan, right? You know that I can’t just hand myself over to Division 6 – not after Rin told me that the technology inside of my head can be used to drive the human race into extinction. You
know
I can’t let that happen. There has to be another way.”
“So, you are unwilling to let yourself be captured, even if it means your little brother will die?”
I don’t know what kind of game Cyrus is trying to play with me right now, but the way he’s talking about Fray is making me angry. He’s asking me to choose between Fray’s life and the lives of countless other people. He has no right to judge my decision or try to change it.
My head is pounding, and I can feel everyone’s eyes on me. I look away and focus on a tree in the distance, but I am still sweating like I’ve got five sets of magnifying glasses hovering over me on all sides. I feel like I can’t think straight when I’m being watched so closely.
“I… You can’t ask me to make that decision.”
“But I
am
,” Cyrus says sharply. He’s supposed to be on my side, but he’s still acting like he’s interrogating an enemy. “We are in the middle of a
war
. Do you understand what that means? People are
dying
. And the technology you possess could help any of the Divisions involved create immortal soldiers who will kill even
more
people. I know you didn’t choose to be a part of this – none of us did – but you are now.”
“But he’s my
brother
! He’s the only family I have left! I could never live with myself if I just
let
him
die
. I… I promised I would protect him. I was supposed to keep him
safe
from things like this.”
A sob catches in my throat and I disguise it as a cough, even though I know that everyone here can see that I am crying right now.
“Please, Cyrus, there has to be another way! Can’t we just help Fray escape, like you guys helped me?”
“It won’t be that easy,” Cyrus says, and my heart drops. “As far as I am aware, your brother is being held in a locked facility with guards on all sides. All of us here are for all intents and purposes fugitives, so we can’t just walk into Division 6 and expect not to be noticed. Our forces are small enough as it is; it’s too much of a risk.”
Somehow, I feel like Cyrus isn’t telling me everything he knows, but I have to try my best to believe him. I can’t spend the rest of my life being afraid that everyone around me is going to turn into an enemy. I have to at least attempt to start trusting people again.