Graduation Day (24 page)

I hate that he makes sense. If he were anyone else . . . “You're not a part of this,” I say.

“Of course I am. They took my brother. And even if they hadn't, I'd still be part of this.” His normally pale face is flushed with passion. “I know I gave you reason to doubt me. The Testing showed me things about myself. Things I'm capable of doing. But it's because of what I learned that I know I can handle this job.”

I wait for Tomas, Raffe, or Stacia to say something, but they don't. Stacia's flat stare says it all. I am the leader. I decide. I feel the weight of this decision as it settles on my shoulders. Unless I ask for their opinions, they will leave it up to me. Me. The youngest of all of us. Yet, one thing I have learned since coming to Tosu City is that age does not guarantee better decisions or stronger leadership. The ability to put aside personal agendas and decide what is best for the whole does. That is what I now have to do.

Do I trust Will?

No.

Do I believe he can accomplish what he has volunteered to handle?

Yes. As long as he chooses to carry through with the plan. However, if he decides to run to the nearest University official in order to better his position after he graduates from the University, we will all pay the price.

I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and open them. “Tomas and I built the timers this morning.” I get up and cross to where the timers and explosives sit. After picking up one of the timers and a canister, I walk over to Will. “You'll need to attach them when you get to the sites. One needs to be set to detonate at seven. The other should be placed a mile away and explode a half-hour later. That should convince the Safety officials to focus their search on that side of the city.” Handing him the timer, I add, “We also have a third explosive that doesn't have a timer—”

“You can't possibly want him to do this. Think of everything he's done to us.”

“I know what he's done, Tomas. But I also remember what I've done too,” I say. “What we've both done. Dr. Barnes and The Testing are the reasons Will was put in a position to commit those acts. Will's here. He's capable. He deserves a chance to prove that he isn't the person Dr. Barnes's tests turned him into.”

All of us deserve that chance.

“I'll show Will how to arm the timers.” Deliberately, I turn my back on Tomas, signaling the discussion is closed. I can feel his anger and hurt. But if I am to be our leader, I cannot allow my feelings for Tomas to get in the way. So I demonstrate the timer to Will and explain how it is to be used with the canister.

Will explains the process back to me, asks several questions, and then checks the watch he wears on his wrist. “It's getting late, and I have a lot of ground to travel. I need to get going. If these things are as loud as I think they'll be, you'll hear whether or not I'm successful.” As Will carefully packs the canisters in his bag, I walk to our stash of supplies and select a long, sharp knife and a loaded handgun.

“Here,” I say.

I can feel Tomas's eyes on me as I hand Will the weapons. Will's hand closes over the butt of the gun and he tucks it in his jacket pocket. The ammunition goes into the side pocket of his bag, along with the knife and its smooth, deadly blade. I take Stacia's radio from her and pass it to Will. His hand closes over mine and stays there.

“Thank you.” His expression is grim. Determined. “I won't fail you this time. I promise.”

“Be safe,” I say as he takes the pulse radio out of my hand. “We're counting on you.”

“I know.” Will turns away from me and walks to Raffe to ask his opinion about strategic locations to place the canisters.

Then, armed with Raffe's instructions and the weapons I have given him, he walks to the doorway, turns, and smiles. In that smile I see the boy who befriended me during the first test. That's the boy I am counting on.

“I'll let you know when I'm in position,” he says. With a wink, he turns and heads out the door.

“How's that feel?” Tomas asks behind me.

When I look over, I see Stacia flexing her arm and nodding. “Better. I would never have thought of putting some crushed Valerian directly on the wound.”

“That's why you doctor types need biological engineers to help you come up with the new drugs.” Tomas smiles.

She smiles back. “Well, I hope Enzo's getting some of this right now.” She looks at me. “I really did think I was doing the right thing by testing him. I never thought he'd break into your room and get hurt. Otherwise, I would have warned you first.”

Her regret is for causing me trouble. Not for the injury to Enzo but for choosing a path without checking with me first. She believed I was taking too long to make a decision and did what she thought was necessary for us to succeed. I will have to remember that as we move forward. To keep Stacia from making decisions on her own, especially ones I do not agree with, I will have to make choices with more speed. If we come through this, I doubt I will ever be able to call Stacia my friend again. But just because I personally cannot feel comfortable with her doesn't mean she is incapable of doing what I need her to accomplish. If I have to be a stronger leader to make her do it, then that's what I will do.

Straightening my shoulders, I say, “We have two hours until Will sets off the first explosion. We need to be ready. We need to decide which team—”

“No, we don't,” Raffe interrupts. “My house will be harder to find for someone who doesn't know the area. Besides, I need to be the one to deal with my father. Tomas and Stacia will take the other two targets. There are several landmarks that will help you know you're on the right track.”

For the next ten minutes, Raffe gives Tomas and Stacia directions to their two targets. Professor Chen's house is near a small pond. Professor Holt lives only three blocks away in a large house surrounded by a tall wooden fence.

“Professor Holt never travels anywhere on foot. If her skimmer is parked in front of her house, you'll know she's home. If you can find the key to the skimmer, use it. Safety officials won't stop a University vehicle.”

Tomas and Stacia ask many questions. I try to hand the Transit Communicator over to Tomas, but he shakes his head and says I need it to connect with my brother. Tomas says that if he and Stacia need help, they will send a message for Raffe. His knowledge of the city is more useful than the Communicator, which can't tell them what landmarks to look for.

It is six-forty by the time our bags are packed, plans have been coordinated, and Stacia and Tomas feel confident they can navigate the city streets quickly. I hold the Transit Communicator, hoping to hear from my brother. Instead, the message light on the pulse radio blinks to life. Will. The first charge is in place and ready to fire. Time for us to go.

Raffe and Stacia walk to the kitchen to get their bikes as I stare at the letters for my family that sit on the floor. When I look up, Tomas hasn't moved. He just looks at me. The silence stretches between us. In a few minutes we will separate. Once that happens, there's a chance we might not be together again.

“I love you.” I cross over to him and look up into the face that is so dear to me, memorizing the curve of his jaw and the shape of his eyes. Standing beside him, I am struck all over again by how tall he is. How safe he makes me feel. I cling to that feeling as I reach out and take his hand. He stiffens but does not pull away. And when his fingers tighten around mine, I feel complete.

“I love you too,” he says. The anger is gone. Only concern remains. “Stay safe.”

“We'll see each other soon,” I promise as we walk outside.

The sun is fading as we wheel our bikes out of the back door and around to the street. A child playing in a yard down the block sees us and runs up the stairs and inside. I look at the Communicator in my hand. Zeen still hasn't contacted me. Is he alive? Has he killed Symon? Have the rebels started a search for him or are they even now spreading out among the Tosu City streets, waiting for a sign to begin their attack? Worry gnaws my heart, but there is nothing I can do but hope he is safe and focus on what must be done.

I climb onto my bike. My gun is in my jacket pocket. Tomas takes my hand as the four of us stand on the road, waiting. I glance at the house next to us and in the fading light see the symbol etched on the stoop. Two lightning bolts. Two teams. The end of ignorance. The beginning of hope.

I glance at the watch on Raffe's wrist. Five minutes until seven.

I see a door to one of the houses open a crack. Part of me considers waving so they'll know we aren't threatening, but I understand that showing they have been spotted will only cause more anxiety. So I keep my eyes focused on the time.

Four minutes.

Three.

Two.

Somewhere to the west there is a rumble. The signal that the rebellion—the one Dr. Barnes never intended to truly exist—has begun.

I
LOOK DOWN
at our joined hands and then up at Tomas as I try to memorize everything about this moment. We got through The Testing together. To succeed now we have to part.

“Are you ready?” Raffe whispers.

I swallow hard and after one more moment force myself to let go of Tomas's hand. “Keep your radio close. Leave a message if you're in trouble or if you've finished one of the tasks.”

Tomas and Stacia nod and point their bikes to the north. I watch them ride down the block as I press the Call button on the Communicator to tell Zeen we are starting our part. When the two of them ride to the left and disappear from view, I turn my bike and head in the opposite direction, trying not to think about what might happen to Tomas.

Raffe leads the way. As the shadows lengthen, we zigzag around potholes, turn west, and keep riding. I catch sight of the white markings on a skimmer door in the distance. The vehicle belongs to a Safety official. But it never slows or turns in our direction. Whatever distraction Will has provided is enough to keep the skimmer pointed toward the west.

Raffe continues the fast pace. We spot another Safety skimmer in the distance and slow down. It, too, passes without incident. I wonder if Zeen is still at the rebel base and whether Tomas and Stacia have avoided the patrols as Raffe turns down the next street. This one is filled with large houses painted pale shades of blue or gray with white trim that shines bright even in the dimming light. Each structure sits on a plot of grass that is a healthy shade of green. The trees here are young but grow straight and true. Down the block kids race around a lawn, playing tag. Someone yells for them to stay close to the house.

A door opens to one of the blue houses. Raffe waves at the elderly woman who steps out the front door onto the porch and then looks at me as the lady waves back. “That's Mrs. Haglund. She's not wearing her glasses, so most likely she hasn't the slightest idea who I am. Even if she does, she's hard of hearing. I doubt she has a clue what's going on in Tosu or that Safety officials are looking for us. My parents' house is this way.”

We turn down another block. The houses here are even larger than the ones we just passed and are more widely spaced, so that each one has an expanse of grass and trees on every side. Raffe stops as we reach the third house. He gets off his bike and starts wheeling it up a wide walkway that runs alongside the blue structure made distinctive by the large white pillars that frame the front door. He walks with his shoulders straight. His gait is unhurried. It's as if he belongs here. Which I suppose he does. I try to mimic his behavior as we lean our bikes up against the rear wall of the house.

“My father is typically in his office at this time of night.”

“What about your mother?” I ask.

“Once we all graduated, my father decided that they no longer needed to use power after the designated hours the rest of the city follows. So she goes to a friend's house after dinner and doesn't come home until well after nine. They're the only two who live here. We should have time to do what needs to be done.”

Raffe glances at his watch. Seven-twenty. Ten minutes until the next explosion is set to go off. I check the pulse radio. No messages. Are Tomas and Stacia standing at the back door of Professor Chen's house right now? Is Tomas turning the handle and stepping inside a kitchen as we do? Raffe closes the door behind me, reaches into his bag, and pulls out his gun. I engage the recorder and hand it to him. Nodding, he slides it into his pocket and then waits until I clutch my own gun before moving forward. I follow. Through the kitchen into a dark hallway that opens into a large living area.

Every step we take echoes in my head. I listen for sounds that Raffe's father is home, but aside from our breathing and my pounding heart, I hear nothing. Raffe leads me down another darkened hall. He doesn't turn on the flashlight as he moves confidently toward a closed door, beneath which a sliver of light glows. I hear papers rustling and ignore the way my muscles tense as I think through the strategy Raffe and I discussed. When we reach the door, Raffe touches my arm. I feel around the wall for the door he said was just outside his father's office.

There. I find the handle, turn it, and slip inside a small bathroom. I leave the door open so I am ready to act if necessary, and wait for Raffe to take the next step. My breathing comes fast as I hear a handle shift, a door creak open, and Raffe say, “Hi, Dad.”

“Raffe.” In the deep voice I hear surprise and relief. “Verna said . . . well, it doesn't matter now. I'll contact her and let her know that you're here and not off somewhere causing trouble with those colony students.”

“What kind of trouble?” Raffe asks.

“It's not important. What's important is that you're here and that Verna and Jedidiah will see for themselves that you aren't involved in this mess. Of course, you should have known better than to leave campus when you're forbidden to do so. Your lack of judgment has caused people to question your loyalty. Do you know how that reflects on me?”