Escaping Elysia

Chapter 21 - Like Nails (cont.)

Dale

With each second spent in the solar room, the twisting in my stomach intensifies. It's been hours already and I'm not sure how much longer I can stand it. I can't stop replaying Ellis's words from last night in my head: no change. No change. What do they want with Nadya?

She's in the Solarium now, right outside these doors. I asked her to read there today, so that I could check on her throughout the morning. The last time I popped my head out the door she'd fallen asleep. That was thirty minutes ago. A lot can happen in thirty minutes.

I can't stand it any longer. I drop my cleaning supplies into the bucket and step onto the lift. I clear my throat. "I'll be right back."

Evita frowns, but nods and continues wiping the mirrors. Somehow she's been able to keep up with my frantic cleaning, and today's section is almost finished.

I crack open the door and look at the chair where Nadya was napping. It's empty. My heart stops for a second, and I scan the room, searching for her shock of blond hair. I spot her by the fountain, sitting on its edge and dangling her feet in the water. A sigh bursts from my lips.

It's silly. People have disappeared from Elysia before, but only if they were sick for weeks beforehand. Which means Nadya should be safer now than she was a week ago. After everything that's happened though, I can't be sure we're still playing by the same rules. And after last night, I can't help but feel like Nadya is in danger. They won't take my sister. I won't let them.

I close the door and step onto the lift, returning to finish cleaning the panels.

Evita watches me pick up my supplies, the tilt of her head the only sign of her curiosity. "Are you going to tell me what this is about?" she asks.

I hesitate. She might try to convince me to leave again, but I have to tell her. I can't be with Nadya all the time, and Evita spends almost as much time with her as I do.

I keep working on the panels. Only four more to go. "I'm worried about Nadya."

Evita stiffens. "Why?"

"She went in for an exam last night."

"And that's something to worry about?" Her voice is careful.

"Test subjects get examined all the time, it's probably nothing," I lie. They don't do impromptu exams before bed. But if I tell her that, it'll just give her more ammunition.

"Yeah, nothing." She presses her lips together. I raise my eyebrows. Why isn't she claiming this as more proof that we need to escape? I'm not sure at this point that I could deny she's right.

I finish the last panel, just as she finishes the last mirror, then we pack the supplies and ride the lift back to the ground floor. She closes up the system while I stow the supplies, and I'm about to open the door when I stop and turn to her.

She cocks her head and waits for me to speak.

"Can you look out for her when I'm not around?" I ask, my voice catching in my throat.

A glimmer of emotion breaks through her mask, and she reaches for my hand. The brush of her skin against mine paralyzes me.

She squeezes, her fingers soft and gentle, and nods. "Of course." A spark ignites in the tips of my fingers and travels up my arm.

I want to pull her in, right there, and squeeze her until there's no room left for worry and anxiety. Only her and me and the sunlight streaming down on us. And I almost do.

Then the rain begins.

I've only seen rain a few times in my life, and never without lightning and thunder to accompany it. Once, when I was ten, Nadya and I felt the first drops and we ran out from the trees. I swung her around and around as the water soaked through our clothes. Less than a minute later my mother dragged us into the Thompsons' basement, the only one in our community, before the thunder could start. When we emerged we found that over half of the houses had to be repaired or rebuilt from the damage.

Now, Evita drops my hand at the first sound of raindrop against glass, and we turn our faces up to the skylight. It's coming down like nails, and I'm surprised the glass doesn't break. We've had storms a couple of times since I've been here, and Elysia has held steady so far. Voices erupt from the solarium, loud and frightened.

Nadya.

I bolt from the room and into chaos. Guards rush into the Solarium and push test subjects toward the doors. I look at the fountain and Nadya's still there, though to her credit she has noticed the rain. Her face is turned toward the ceiling, her eyes closed, and a smile graces her mouth as people run past her for the door. Is she remembering that day when we were kids too?

"Test subjects, return to your dorms immediately," a voice booms behind me. Thunder crashes, echoing his command.

I make my way to Nadya, but a fist closes around my t-shirt and yanks me back. Evita is too quick, and when the guard reaches for her she darts out of his grasp and runs to Nadya.

She rouses her, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the door. The guard tosses me in the same direction and moves deeper into the Solarium.

I take Nadya's other hand and together, Evita and I lead her out of the Solarium. Lighting flashes just as we exit.

We make our way down the long hallway, and thunder collapses around us again, followed by lightning. Then the lights go out.

Screams come from the Solarium and the people around me. I pull Nadya closer as we make our way through the dark tunnel, stepping on the heels of those in front of us.

We make it back to the main part of the facility and the emergency lights click on, dimly illuminating the room. Guards bark orders, herding test subjects toward the dorms, but I'm distracted by the doors leading out of Elysia.

None of the lights are glowing.

Evita tugs on my sleeve, her body inches from mine. She's looking at the doors too. The red and green lights are both off.

"The lightning," I whisper in her ear. "It must have blown a fuse."

We could leave right now. I could drag Nadya and Evita with me through the doors. How far would we get? Is this the best chance we have to survive? What would happen to the people we leave behind?

I feel Evita watching me. She wouldn't hesitate to follow.

I take a step forward.

The hallway lights come back on.

And the red light on the doors glows again.

My shoulders sink, as if someone's dropping stones on me from above, loading them up until the weight is too heavy and I break.

I look at Evita and her mask has shattered. Her cheeks are flushed and she's beaming. She looks as if she might throw her hands into the air and whoop for joy.

We just lost our one chance at escape, something she's been begging for for weeks, and she's happy? I don't have time to ask why, because at that moment a guard rips Nadya from my grasp and shoves me toward the boys' dorms. I twist in his grip to look back at them. Evita, still holding on to Nadya, mouths something.

Everything will be okay.

She couldn't be more wrong. 

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Author's note: Thank you so much for reading! Please don't forget to vote if you liked this chapter :).