The Wastelands (Part II of the Runner Series)

Chapter 42

It is well-past curfew and I am lurking on the grid below the airship hangar.

Will and I are once again dressed in our trusty Enforcer uniforms. We sit with our backs to the wall of the dome, waiting for Gus. The shadows and our dark clothes do a handy job of concealing us from anyone who would happen to pass by, but at this hour most of the traffic is kept to ground-level.

I scan the distant gridwork, catching sight of the odd Enforcer making his way between the buildings. Remaining hidden from view isn't so difficult when only Will and I have to make our way up to the hangar, but this chore will be decidedly more difficult tomorrow evening.

Beside me, Will's body is rigid from tension.

"Stop it." I murmur under my breath.

He flinches slightly as I jolt him from his thoughts. "What?"

"Worrying." I roll my shoulders back against the wall behind me. "It's going to be fine."

"I wasn't worrying." He lies smoothly.

I scoff, still scanning our perimeter. I catch a glimpse of a figure circling up the network of stairs and squint into the gloom. After a moment I recognize the long, lanky proportions of Gus and relax again.

"And even if I were..." Will continues and I quirk an eyebrow at him, listening. "Would that be so unreasonable? Our plan, if you can call it that, depends entirely on us trusting one near-stranger and one known traitor."

"Details." I wave my hand dismissively, coaxing a half-grin from him.

We fall into silence, listening to the distant sound of Gus' footsteps.

"Do you?" I ask. "Trust him, I mean?"

"I trust him because I trust you." He doesn't miss a beat. "You were right about Meg and you were right about the Wasters."

"I've been wrong before, too."

"I don't think you were wrong to trust Lara." He muses. "By all accounts she was a good friend for years before she decided to betray you. You couldn't have known what would eventually happen."

My heart thuds once, heavily.

"You don't give yourself enough credit, Kay but you're an amazing judge of character. You see past these roles we put ourselves in and recognize the real person inside. It's an absolutely incredible thing to witness." Will shakes his head. "There is a true moral compass inside of you, giving you this insane drive to always fight for what's right."

I am staring at him, at a complete loss.

He continues, "I would follow you anywhere, you know that?"

I blink, finally managing to find my words. "Did you just call me insane?"

That half-grin. "I misspoke. What I mean was 'maddeningly insane'."

"You're the one willing to follow a madwoman." I nudge him with my elbow. "Which of us is crazier?"

"Fair point." He nudges me back and I topple to the side. We lapse once again into silence, listening to Gus' footsteps growing increasingly louder as he circles the remaining staircase.

"Aren't you worried?" Will's low voice breaks through my thoughts.

"No." I say. "Even if this scheme fails spectacularly, at least we tried. When I die, it will be because I was running towards a fight and not away from one."

A strange expression crosses his face.

I realize my slip and scramble to backtrack. "Shit, Will. That's not what I meant."