36. echoes

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Raven and I spent the night alone in the church. As of yet, none of the so-called "defectors" had joined us.

We had pulled our cots closer to one another, each of us needing comfort due to the watchful eyes of Diyoza's men.

A few of them had been stationed in the church to watch us overnight, and I could help but feel vulnerable under their gaze.

So, the sunlight that leaked through the windows the next morning was a welcomed sight. It was during the early hours of the morning that more and more people gradually began to be moved into the church.

All of them wore the shock collars like Raven and I, but I didn't recognize many of them. Most were likely Grounders that I had never seen before. It was unlikely I would see anyone I knew, assuming that they were all still loyal to Octavia, but I couldn't be sure.

I was itching to find out more of what happened in the bunker. Not that Diyoza deserved to be believed, but by the sounds of her words, something had gone awry down there over the last five years.

I tried to keep myself busy. Raven and I helped the new arrivals set up their cots and made ourselves acquainted with them. If we were ever going to break out of here it would be important to have people on our side.

It was close to midday by the time a familiar face finally walked in...but I have to admit I was completely shocked to see her.

Raven and I had just gotten our lunch plates, and were readying to sit down when my eyes landed on her.

It was Echo.

Raven let out a surprised laugh next to me as Echo's eyes landed on us. Upon seeing our shocked expressions, she gave a small shake of her head and nodded toward the cots. We needed to be discrete.

I let Raven walk over first, and after a few moments I joined. I sat next to Raven, my back to the door as Echo sat across from us.

"Tell me this is a rescue op." Raven pleaded, leaning forward slightly.

Echo's eyes flickered toward the guards for a moment before looking back to us. "It won't be anything if we can't get out of this church."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek as I handed Echo a piece of bread off of my plate, trying to make out interaction as nonchalant as possible.

She took it wordlessly and took a small bite. "I'm betting, by now, my girl has figured out how to slip the collars."

Raven's eyes dimmed slightly as she shook her head. Raven and I had figured out no solutions for freeing ourselves of these mobile cages.

Echo's face fell as she looked passed Raven and I. "They're watching us. But there's something I need you guys to see. Let's go get some water."

One after another, we all rose and made out way toward the table that held bottles of water.

Echo set a glass down on the surface, quickly throwing a flash drive down as well. "Monty says I need to insert it into the transport ship's primary server."

As she spun around and looked into the church, Raven and I looked down at the stick. "It's essentially a keylogger." Raven explained. She then looked to me with expectation.

"It auto installs a backdoor to their surveillance system that only Monty can see." I finished, earning an approving nod from Raven. She took any opportunity for a teaching moment.

"It's brilliant." she whispered, the smile soon fading from her face. "Too bad we can't get to the bridge without our heads exploding."

"What about Kane?" Echo wondered. "Maybe we--"

𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍─𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞²Where stories live. Discover now