Unplugged: The Beautiful World (#3, Unplugged Trilogy)

Chapter Fifty Three

Enna

Matthew died last night at 7:47.
    Everything about it was more of a nightmare than reality: the sitting and waiting, the door opening, then the constant rush of tears and the constant fight for breath and the searing pain. And the screaming.
    It was hell.
    Dr. Patel assured me that he experienced no pain and that it happened just after the chip was successfully removed. She said that he might have been his regular self before the damage to his brain became too much. But who knows, really? None of that matters anymore.
    He didn't miraculously come back to consciousness. He didn't regain his breath. So Father was wrong.
    I've lost him.
    But, this time, I will never find him again.

* * *

    The hallways are cold and lonely today. All of the soldiers are hurriedly preparing for the war to resume tonight while the rest of the rebels are about to attend Matthew's funeral. It's not so much a funeral service than a commemorative gathering.
    I'm not going.
    Elegant flowers and sympathetic smiles and forced tradition and regretful words; I can stomach that just as much as I can stomach the fact that Matthew's gone. Possibly even less.
Hope, the nurse, had almost thrown out her back trying to prepare the ceremony, and I'm thankful. But people who know -- no, knew -- the dead should never attend their funeral. I already know all there is to know about Matthew. And more.
    So I walk round and round the empty hallways. Occasionally someone will pass me, looking flustered. I don't pay them any heed, and they do the same for me.
    We can't go on fighting tonight -- I know that for sure. It would only end in tragedy. I'm done hiding behind others and relying on brute strength to win. The secret I know about Fake Enna and her regime just might be enough to end everything once and for all; I only need to carefully plan out how I'll bring it to light.
    My fingers brush against the gun handle concealed in my pocket and I force myself to turn back in my tracks. The Entry Hall: that's my destination.
    More and more people start to fill the hallway the closer I get to the Warehouse, the location of the funeral. A few of them pat me on the back or squeeze my hand; some even mutter a few consoling words. I just smile sadly in reply, like I should.
    When I descend the upper catwalks into the Warehouse, I'm momentarily stripped of breath by the sheer mass of people who gather together. Elegant sashes made of twisted bed sheets and bouquets of flowers from the Atrium are artfully placed all around the enormous space. A white, wood-rimmed casket lies on a makeshift dais in the middle of the room. I avert my eyes, lower my head, and push through the crowd towards the Entry Hall. No one stops me as I start down the exit tunnel.
    I run through the locations of the Security Cameras in my mind. They pick up picture. And sound. That's important, because --
    "Enna!" I groan inwardly and slowly turn around. Leah walks towards me carefully. She looks absolutely exhausted.
    "What?"
    "Where are you going? The funeral's about to start." I sigh and start walking back towards the Entry Hall.
    "I'm not going."
    "What?" I stop in my tracks again and turn to face Leah. She stands a yard or so away from me, looking deflated, carrying a wooden box full of candles. I shake my head.
    "I'm tired of people dying. I'm going to end this. I know what will end Fake Enna's regime once and for all."
    "Then I'm going with you," she says determinedly, setting down the box of candles against a wall. A lump grows in my throat as I regard my friend.
    "No. You can't."
    "Why not?" She storms towards me, hands shaking in anger. And fear.
    "Because you have Oscar. You have someone." My voice breaks and a tear trails down my cheek. I shake my head. I don't have anyone, Leah.
    "You have me!" She insists, taking my arm. Her wide, brown eyes fill with tears and she bows her head.
    "I know," I whisper. "I know. I need you to do something for me, alright?" She tearfully nods and backs away, eyes wide and desperate.
    "Of course."
    "I want you to go the Security Quarter. Watch for me on the screens. If anything happens ... " Pause, take a deep breath, continue. "If anything happens, I want you to know. Okay?"
    She's crying now, and enclosing me in a hug. I try to detach myself from the gesture. If I didn't, I would never have the strength to do what I must do.
With an enormous summoning of strength, I break away from Leah and start towards the Entry Hall.
    "I'll see you later," she splutters after me.

* * *

    The air outside is uncomfortably warm. And humid. Each of my footsteps send up tiny dust clouds, and crunch against the piles of stone. It's easy now to avoid the Security Cams since I've been this route before. I stare determinedly at the ground, jaw set, breathing controlled. My heart pounds, but I convince myself it's due to the exertion of walking over piles of debris, rather than fear. I'm tired of fear.
    Soon, I stop at the end of an alley. Just across the street is the Pillar's entrance. I know that just past this alley are three Security Cams, set up to hear me and see me. But I remain hidden in the cover of the alley for now.
Drawing in a shaky breath, I call out, "PRICE! IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, MEET ME AT THE PILLAR'S ENTRANCE!" I repeat the call and sag against the wall, waiting. That's all there is to do: just wait.
    In surprising quickness, the glass door opens and Fake Enna enters the street. I can determine the silhouettes of two guards behind the glass, training their weapons at my head. She sees me as soon as she exits the building, eyes wide and disbelieving. Without makeup, she looks eerily like me, drooping eye-bags and all. It's so, indescribably odd to see her in person. Not protected by a television screen. Somehow, it makes her seem that much more fragile.
There's a handgun gripped in her palm.
    "If it isn't the leader of the rebellion," she mutters, mouth twisting upwards in a victorious smile. "Come at last." I raise an eyebrow.
    "Leader of the rebellion? Why don't you call me by name?" She loses her cool demeanor for less than half a second by nervously glancing at the Security Camera to her left. My heart rate quickens.
I was right; she's worried about what the Hidden Allies will think.
    "The title means more than the name," she answers smoothly. "Are you ready to submit? Have you decided that enough of your allies have suffered due to your stubbornness?"
    "I came to talk," I reply, trying to postpone the most important part of my plan so I have more time to ... well, plan. "I've come to convince you out of your ways." Fake Enna tips back her head and laughs in a girlish gesture, but her eyes send fiery daggers into my own.
    "Oh, really? Well, I'm listening."
    "Are your allies listening to the security feed?" I ask innocently. Recognizing my ploy, she tightens her jaw into a forced smile-grimace and growls, "Yes."
    "I know your secret," I whisper. Her demeanor falters for an instant. "And things don't have to end this way."
    "I don't know what you're talking about," she spits. I decide to use a different tactic. I need to remember that we're one in the same.
    "Did you hear the news? Matthew died last night." Fake Enna's eyes widen in shock and genuine sorrow. It takes her a long time to pull herself together.
    "So?" She mutters, trying to sound venomous but coming across more hurt.
    "So, I know that you care about him. Maybe even love him. And that the people inside the Pillar are to blame."
    "Preposterous!" She almost screams. Her face is growing red with emotion, but I'm calm as the depths of the sea. I've already grieved for Matthew, and for everyone else. There's nothing left inside me. But there is something inside her, still.
I lower my voice and try to speak to the human part in Fake Enna. It's got to be somewhere...
    "I know that you're afraid and you feel so, so alone. But one day you'll realize that no matter where you are, there's happiness to be found."
    "What are you talking about?" She lowers her voice and pulls her eyebrows together. I've managed to remove her from her television persona. Now it's just human to human. Or... me to me?
    "You can turn your back on all of this," I say, gesturing to the Pillar and the Cams that I know are standing just past us. "Just come with me!"
    "I can't," she whispers. Now she looks fearfully at the cameras, as if they're about to roll forward and attack her. I suddenly start to pity her. "They'll kill me."
    "If you come with me now, we'll keep you safe." I stare at her, urging her with my mind to see reason and make her decision quickly. She stares at the crumbling asphalt, face settling into quiet certainty. For a split second I think she's about to revert back to her old self, then she lifts her head and says, eyes sparkling, "I'm sorry about Matthew."
   And then she plunges over to my alley, drags me into the middle of the street, and screams, "HIDDEN ALLIES! YOU'VE BEEN LIED TO! I AM NOT THE REAL ENNA PRICE! THE ELITE ARE LYING TO YOU!"
Then she stares through the Pillar's glass door -- assumedly at her guards -- raises the gun to her head, and shoots a bullet into her skull. I shriek as her body crumples to the pavement.
    Everything else happens in slow motion. I see my dirt-streaked face reflected in the nearest Security Camera and try to see Leah behind it, try to apologize for all of the pain I'm causing her. Behind me, screaming, black-clad guards pour out of the Pillar and fire at my chest. I gasp and the bullets come to within a centimeter of my ribcage.
Then, the world around me changes.