Escaping Elysia

Chapter 26 - Lies

Evita

My arm itches.

I resist the urge to try and reach into my cast to scratch it. The plaster is too thick and the itch too deep to reach. Dale and I leave my room, walking close together, electricity crackling between us.

Finally, finally he's ready to escape. The thought dances on my tongue and down my spine, sending shivers through my body. I can almost forgive the fact that it took so long for him to make the right decision. With his support, we may actually make it out of here.

We head for the Solarium, looking for Nadya. He's kept her by his side at all times since Sheer took her in for the exam. It surprised me when he showed up in our room without her.

We reach the Solarium door and squeeze through. My hand brushes his and I quell the swirling that starts in my stomach. I'm just excited to be finally making a plan, that's all. Before I can dwell on the feeling, the tension in the Solarium hits me, a slap to the face. People perch around the room, like always, but their backs are straight and their eyes are trained on the guards.

The guards, twice as many as normal, stare right back at them. Their brows are furrowed, and their hands hover around their belts. Dale holds out an arm, stopping me from walking any further into the room.

An older girl slides from her chair and begins to cross the space between the guards and the test subjects. Though no one else moves, all attention focuses on her.

"Morgan," Dale says under his breath.

She walks toward a guard who eyes her warily. It looks like she's just going to pass by him. Any other day and no one would even notice her. Not today.

I hold my breath. I'm sure the others in the room do too. In fact, I see the guard let his out as she passes him.

Then she turns and spits in his face.

Chaos erupts. The guard tases her before I can blink, and as she goes down several other people rush to help her. The other guards, already on edge, jump at the sudden movement and pull their own tasers from their belts. One, two, three more go down.

Screaming echoes and half the people rush the guards, while the other half flee. Dale looks like he wants to join the former, his jaw tight, muscles ready to attack, but then he looks at me.

"Go," he says, pushing me through the door out of the Solarium, careful not to jostle my injured arm. But there's nowhere to go. We're met by more guards, wearing masks. One throws something into the hallway before us and it spits out smoke. Blind and choking on the fumes I reach out for something, anything, solid to grab ahold of, and find Dale.

*

After the fighting in the Solarium the guards dragged everyone to their rooms and locked the doors. Nadya and I were stuck for hours with no water, my throat on fire from the smoke.

Now, they prod us down the hallway like cattle. Each time a taser finds me and pushes me forward I flinch. I don't dare ask where we're going or what's happening. I promised Dale I would take care of Nadya, and I need to be alert to do that, not tased and passed out on the floor. Finally we reach the cafeteria and they direct us to a table. I take Nadya's hand so we won't be separated.

We sit. They've got the boys on one side, girls on the other, and I spot Dale right away. I send him a questioning look and he shrugs. The gesture is relaxed, but his eyes betray his worry. He relaxes a little when he sees Nadya beside me. I remember the feeling of his arms around me during the chaos in the Solarium and feel a little lightheaded. I tell myself to snap out of it. This isn't the time.

Why are we here? To watch the guards punish the test subjects who started the fighting? I scan the room for Morgan, but don't spot her. I'm sure she's just sitting somewhere up front, where I can't see.

Sheer walks to the front of the room, her heels clicking on the tile floor, and the little amount of noise in the room silences. I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen Sheer in Elysia since I've been here. She's never addressed us all at once.

In the front row on the boys' side I spot Weston, leaning forward, an eager look on his face. Why isn't he next to Dale? Their rooms are in the same block, so it would have been easy to maneuver themselves together.

Sheer clears her throat and I snap my attention back to her. "I know you've all heard the rumors," she begins. "That your friends are dead, and we're responsible for killing them. But the rumors are just that. Rumors." My injured arm feels heavy. I'm still not used to the extra weight from the cast.

Sheer steps forward, holding her arms out in front of her. "We've always been kind to you here. Kept you fed and warm. Given you a safe home, within the walls of the city. We've never done more than absolutely necessary."

She pauses, making eye contact with several people in the front rows. They watch, rapt. "Killing test subjects is just not necessary." She laughs. "What good would that do for us? Unfortunately, we don't have the funding to house you all here any more. So as each study ends, we're sending you back to your communities."

A sob escapes a girl from the front row, and Sheer alights on her. "Yes, you will all be seeing your families again soon."

A cold hand grips my chest and squeezes. In the front, Weston smiles and nods his head along with Sheer's words. Test subjects around me are crying, even hugging each other. How can they believe her? I want to scream. She would never let anyone leave. That would risk the chance of her secret leaving with them.

What if Dale believes her?

I find his face in the crowd, and it's blessedly absent of the relief on those around him. He frowns, his eyes angry slits. I exhale and continue looking around. More people are frowning than I would have guessed. For every pair of eyes that stare up at Sheer in hope, a scowl or furrowed brow lurks nearby.

Sheer is still talking, going on about how important the experiments are and how unfortunate it is that they're ending. I tune her out.

I'm staring at a crack in the cafeteria wall, when the smell of burning hair hits my nose. Next to me, Nadya has lifted a match up to her wrist. I fight the urge to yell out. Where did she get it? She holds the flame to her metal bracelet, so close to her skin that the hair on her wrist singes. The girl on her other side notices the fire and scoots away, bumping into the girl beside her, who lets out a curse.

"Nadya!" I whisper, extinguishing the match between my thumb and finger. To the right a guard glances down our aisle, looking for the source of the commotion. I hide the match in my hand and pretend to listen to Sheer until he looks away.

Then I take Nadya's wrist and turn it to look at the burn. It's red, but hasn't blistered. "What were you thinking?"

"I want it off."

"You burned yourself."

She stares at the burn, her eyes unfocused. "Sheer's lying. They're all dead."

I grit my teeth. "Yeah."

"Everyone in the yellow group, except me." She tugs at the bracelet again. "Why?"

I want to tell her I don't know, but that would be a lie. I know why they spared her. Instead I say, "We're not going to let them hurt you Nadya." That, at least, is the truth. "Dale and I will find a way out of here."

The flame I extinguished flickers back to life, this time in her eyes. "I want to help."

I hesitate, remembering the girl with the IV stand who could barely keep herself upright. "Are you sure?"

She doesn't say anything, but I see her answer in the tilt of her chin, held high and strong. 

***

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