-Worlds Apart- Ruination (29 page)

I hold my breath waiting for the next move. I’m not sure if I’m waiting for him to walk into the facility or be gunned down in front of me. The seconds tick by in what seems like an eternity. I hear a buzz echo from the gates as he disappears inside.

Now it’s my turn. I put on my white uniform with my black belt that transects my body. I lace my heavy explosive laden boots and pull my hair onto my head as I struggle with my contacts. After my fifth attempt they’re in and my eyes water in protest. I take down my hair and walk toward the gate.

My anxiety grows stronger and stronger with each step. A part of me wants to turn and go back into the woods and abandon the mission but I can’t. I can’t leave Ty and I can’t abandon the one mission that could liberate my people.

The vines reach their threading spines towards the tops of the expansive wall and I follow their serpentine path much like I did on my first visit to the facility a year ago. Finally I reach the gate. I see the tower with the regulators cradling their guns. I stand and wait until at last the reader materializes in front of me.

“State your name and purpose of visit.” A voice booms from the box.

“Lindsay Barnal reporting for duty. First day on the job, sir.”

“Scan your card.” I reach into my pocket and slide the invisible bar code under the red laser. The beam hovers for a moment and I wait for the beep. I try to distract him.

“Tactical engineer sir. You should be expecting me.”

“Your card isn’t working, stay right there.” My heart drops straight into the depths of my stomach. I consciously try maintaining my composure while sweat starts collecting in my palms and across my forehead.

The doors open, there are two regulators standing at the ready. One with his gun nestled to his shoulder, pointing it straight at me while the other strides toward me.

“Scan card,” he demands.

I hand over my badge. He immediately wipes it across his pressed white shirt and then positions it back under the reader. I force myself to breathe slow and controlled. The card hovers under the red beam. At last I hear the beep.

“All clear,” he reports back to the machine. The gates swing open. “Sorry about that. It happens sometimes.”

“Not a problem at all, I understand.” I smile and make my way into the facility. I take the narrow sloping tunnel; it’s so strange being back here and realizing how different my life is today compared to a year ago. I approach the fork veering to the left.

I work my way towards my target counting as I go. Finally I’m at the door labeled OS1-2. I swipe my badge across the reader and the door clicks open. I slide inside and see several machines spread out across the room. I recognize them from our training session. I find my target and begin assembly.

I kick off my boots and pull them apart, taking pieces of metal and wire from all the hidden spaces. Sweat covers my palms as I slide the pieces together like Hank instructed. I’ve only got two pieces left when I hear steps pounding down the hall toward me. The steps get closer as I frantically gather the pieces.

I can hear a man fumble in his pocket before finally pulling out his ID card. “This is OS1-2.” Just as the door unlatches I grab the last component and scramble behind the giant black machine positioned in the corner. “We don’t keep any surveillance equipment per-sea in here. But as you can probably tell from your training at MIFF, this room is one of the two tactical stations in the building.

Ty enters panicked. I’m sure he’s half expecting to find me in the middle of the room with a bomb in hand. He scours the room until his eyes find me crouched in the corner.      

“Your job will be to set-up thermal surveillance alarms and cameras targeting this room. Central’s decided to increase security to our most vital areas.”

“I see, absolutely.”

Just then Ty’s boss, a short heavyset man turns towards my corner. I squeeze myself against the wall but it’s not enough. Ty sees his move and reacts.

“Wow! Would you look at this!”

“What?” His boss turns to the machine at the opposite end of the room. I exhale.

“Oh never mind. For a second I thought it was the MT-19. Just something we learned about at MIFF but I was wrong.”

His boss looks slightly confused but not wanting to sound ignorant he agrees that it looks similar to the MT-19. I laugh internally; Ty doesn’t know the first thing about these machines let alone what their names are. 

“Anyway, let me show you to your office and then it’s time for orientation.”      

Ty leaves the room first. As soon as the door clicks I’m back to work. My boss will be expecting me in ten minutes. I feverishly assemble the last components and secure the bomb to the back of the towering machine. My watch beeps confirming a 2000 detonation. I slide out of the room with my heart drumming.

“Mrs. Barnal?”

“Yes?” I turn caught off guard.

“Hello, I’m Donna Estee, your supervisor. We’ve been looking all over for you.”

“My apologies, I got turned around on my way to the restroom.”

“No problem.” She looks perturbed. I follow behind Donna’s short blonde hair as she leads me through the winding and intricate maze that makes up the testing facility. “Today’s orientation day, real simple. You’ll be in the oval room reviewing protocol training with the other new recruits.”

I make my way into the expansive oval room. Donna ushers me to a seat and turns to leave. I search dozens of faces looking for Ty. I find him sitting three aisles down.

Hours stretch on and on with orientation training dragging in the background of my mind. My head can’t focus on anything but the mission. I keep replaying the operation over and over trying to calculate all the possible dangers. Finally the videos power down and the lights turn on in the expansive oval room.

The curtain framing the screen sways as a middle-aged man makes his way across the stage. His voice becomes amplified with the press of a button. “Ladies and gentleman that concludes your orientation to our facility. You have an hour to explore and further familiarize yourself before the craft arrives to take you back to Central.”

I look down at the watch I concealed in my jacket, it’s 1800. Right now all the leap participants are making their way to the banquet halls. Riding the shuttles in their uncomfortable clothes, getting ready to be tortured as they wait for the revealing of their results and what life they’ll be forced to lead. Two hours until the video plays and our bombs detonate. Just two hours until freedom and I get to see Emma and Papa.

Ty finds his way to me, “How was your first day?”

“It was good. Nearly a disaster but nothing my husband couldn’t take care of.”

“Oh is that what it takes to finally have you call me your husband? I had to save your ass for the tenth time before gainin’ that status.” He smiles as I reach for his hand.

“Let’s get out of here.” 

We walk through the winding tunnels that spread beneath the facility and exit from the side door Natalie came from yesterday. We break into the cold and make our way across the field toward shelter.

“Did you have any problems?” I ask.

“Nope, in and out without a problem.” He smirks.

“So now I guess we wait?”

He stops and pulls me toward him as we step through the cover of the tree line. “I can think of somethin’ we could do.”

He sweeps my legs out from under me laying me against the icy ground. His hands lace through my hair and make their way toward my face. He wraps around my hips pulling me on top of him. My legs straddle his. My hair falls around my face and before I can tie it up he’s sweeping it away.

The intensity of his kiss and hands ignites something inside me that’s wild and raw. I feel the pressure of his palm on my low back guiding my hips to his. He keeps his composure like always. His breathing is calm and steady while mine races. I think about his control next to my wild desires and I blush.       

We roll together in the snow; my back touches the icy ground as he pulls my shirt up and over my head. I arch my back from the cold. His mouth dances along my stomach and immediately warms me like fire. I take off his shirt and pull his muscled chest against mine. He works his way down making his way to my favorite place. I twist and turn under his touch. The intensity builds as my breath quickens. At last I get my release as I moan in bliss.

Our watches chime just as I hit my peak. “Shit, it’s time already.” He groans as he silences his watch and helps me from the ground, “Thirty minutes till detonation,” he looks at me.

“It’s scary isn’t it? I mean it’s exciting but scary.” I can’t find the right words to describe how it feels.

We pack our shelter and make our way to the hill with binoculars in hand. If everything goes as planned the bombs will detonate in fifteen minutes. Ty’s watch begins beeping, counting down the fifteen minute mark. I pull mine out but nothing happens.

“You set it to 2000 right?”

“Yes of course!”

“Well it’s supposed to beep. Shit.” I ask my next question even though I already know.

“What’s this mean?”

“Something went wrong durin’ the sync. It’s got to be done manually.” He jumps to his feet tearing his bag open.

“What are you doing?” I ask frantically.

“Jon gave me a gun in case we got in a bind.” His breath quickens. “I’ll have to go sync it manually.”

“No, you can’t. It’s too dangerous!” I cling to him.

“Nessa let me go. I gotta leave
now
.”

He pushes my arms off and turns toward the facility. I crumble to the ground and watch his silhouette disappear into the darkness. Ty’s watch continues to beep counting down the minutes, twelve more until detonation. I watch the seconds fly by as I mentally retrace my steps in OS1-2. I know I synched it, everything should be fine but my watch sits silent next to his beeping reminder that in eleven minutes the mission could have failed and he could be dead.

I feel nauseous thinking I could have jeopardized the operation and worse that Ty could die trying to fix my mistake. Ten minutes ticks on his watch and I hear gunshots ring out from the facility. My heart drops as I hear the popping of weapons firing. No way he’ll make it, he’s either captured or already dead. 

Tears roll down my face and my throat heaves. I prop myself on my knees. I imagine him fighting his way through a group of regulators. I can see him gunned down, bleeding and dying alone.

The gunshots stop but his watch continues, a brutal reminder that time’s running out. Six minutes left until I’ve failed the mission. Right now banquet halls across our nation are just about to award the leap winners. The video of Ty and I will be flashing across their screens. This is the moment Central will be revealed for the lying manipulative people they really are. In six minutes Jake will be waiting for our bombs to explode and clear the airfield so he can swoop in to rescue us.       

He and the other resistance pilots are sitting at our shelter beside the remains of the charred hill waiting to attack the walls that hold my people captive. So much depends on this mission. We’re so close but I failed. I failed Jon and the others, I failed my people and family but what kills most is that I failed Ty. Five minutes until detonation. I push myself up and start running.

I can’t let the mission fail, I can’t let this all be in vain. I run through the trees and snow. I’m closing in on the facility with three minutes left when I hear another round of popping. More gunshots ring out from inside the building and just like that my watch begins ticking in time with Ty’s. He did it. He synched the bomb and somehow he’s still alive.       

I wipe my card across my shirt and scan it under the reader. The doors open and I sprint through the tunnel into the facility. I hear screams and boots running as alarms begin sounding. I take the fork and nearly run into the first body, a regulator with blood staining his shirt crimson red. I leap across his lifeless body and keep moving. I hear more shots coming from the tunnel. I reach and grab a gun from the second regulators body.

I keep sprinting forward cradling the gun to my chest. The lights flicker off then back on and I see Ty kneeling. Blood pours from his thigh. His hands are steady as he holds them over his head in surrender.

“Who the hell are you?” The regulator shouts at him.

“Screw you Borg,” he spits.

I hear the clicking of the gun as the regulator wraps his finger around the trigger. Without thinking I react. I raise my gun and pull the hammer back placing my finger around the trigger. It’s Ty or him and I can’t lose Ty. I squeeze down on the trigger and feel the kick as the bullet drives its way from the chamber. The shot lands right between the regulator’s shoulders. He crumbles to the floor. Ty opens his eyes in disbelief as I sprint toward him.

“Nessa, what are you doin’?”

“We’re partners, remember? I’ll die for you.” I pull him to his feet. “Let’s not make me do it today though, okay?”

His left leg’s gushing blood but there’s no time to stop. We’ve only got one minute until detonation. I brace him across my shoulder pulling him down the hall.

“Forty seconds!” I scream over the alarms as we make our way to the fork. The gunshot’s disabling him, he screams whenever his left leg touches down. “Keep going, we’re almost there!” I yell. The watch beeps, “Thirty seconds!”      

The lights flicker and dance in and out. I hear the echoing steps of regulators from somewhere in the maze of underground tunnels. Their boots get louder and louder as they close-in on us.

“Shit! Come on Ty we need to get out of here.” He fights for air as he stumbles headfirst.

Twenty seconds left until the facility explodes collapsing in on us. As we reach the final door I hear a regulator behind us. A bullet flies past me and Ty jumps in pain before I hear his screams. I turn aiming my gun at the regulator, this time there’s no hesitation as I fire hitting him square in the chest.

“Ty!” I scream as I reach for his crumpled body. The bullet landed in his back.

Our watches frantically beep counting down the last ten seconds. I drop my gun and stoop over lifting Ty off the ground. My body shakes as I drag him across the threshold of the door. The watch screeches a continuous wail as we cross into the outside.