Final Truth

Chapter 24: Hallucinations

Cade's point of view:

My legs shake with undeniable nervousness as I walk to the headquarters building for my daily meeting with Will.

Today's the day I will have to get Evelyn and her family to Adam, and should I fail at this..... well, I had better not fail at this.

I left it up to them to decide when they want Jacqueline to mess with the guards, so I'll just be waiting around in my anxious state until I hear the guards in distress.

"Ah Cade, come in," Will says when he sees me in the doorway of Adam's former office. I take slow but defiant steps toward him, making my back as straight as a rod so I don't arouse suspicion.

"Any luck finding anything to point you in Adam's location?" Will asks as I sit down in a chair that faces his desk.

"No sir," I say, void of emotion.

A small flare up of fury peaks through Will's calm façade, and a slight piercing sound comes from a nearby window that has cracked from his anger.

I swallow nervously.

But as quick as the anger came, it suddenly goes away as Will composes himself again. "Maybe he and his friends have been dead this whole time. Perhaps the box is just missing and we're all worried for nothing," Will says to himself, although I detect doubt in his voice.

Any day now, Jacqueline.

He changes the subject quickly and we begin going over stocks and shortages in the Dome, making a list of which supplies to bring more of and which are still in a good enough numbers to last another week.

"I don't suppose the citizens have been any less cooperative since Julia's broadcast," Will grumbles as he scribbles down various quantities of certain food items on a piece of paper that we give to the city deliverer once a week.

"It's calmed down a bit, but not much," I mention as he hands me the paper.

We both rise from our chairs and begin to head downstairs to go outside where we will pass the paper off to the deliverer.

"Ungrateful imbeciles," I hear him hiss under his breath.

We make it down the stairs and through the front doors without another word, but I don't become any less anxious.

I hand the paper to the deliverer that comes every Monday morning for us after he drops off the ordered supplies from last week at the Dome.

Will starts making conversation with him as I lean against the doors, involuntarily eyeing the stone that lies at the base of the steps.

With everything that could go wrong today, I try to focus on something happy to distract myself.

I'll get to see Cassia again today at least. It's been a while since the last time I saw her, and I find myself wondering if anything has changed. Will her blonde hair still be a little messy? Will she be wearing the clothes I managed to snatch from Julia's house again or that white doctor's coat she refuses to discard? Will she talk about how she wouldn't stop holding onto me the last time I visited, or will she view me as 'nothing but an ally' like normal?