Ablaze »»DARKEST MINDS««

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TEN:
DIFFERENT
Ψ

Dane and I figured it was about time for the two of us to head back to the third floor to be with Marcy, Bo, and Falcon. After the little light show Dane put on with his Yellow abilities, we talked and explored the downstairs of the mall for a couple minutes, relishing in the peace and the soothing sound of rain hitting the roof.

The rain continued to pour, but thunder and flashes of lightning were added to the mix as we started to climb up the immobile escalators to the second floor.

"So, what's the plan when we leave?" I can't help but ask. Dane glances at me out of the corner of his eye.

"You still want to find your friend from Satan's motel, don't you?" he asks.

"Jeremy," I reply with a nod.

"Yeah, Jeremy. If the PSFs got him, they probably brought him to the nearest rehabilitation camp, which would be Zanesville. I think that's right across the Muskingum River, east of here." Dane points in a direction, and then drops his hand back down to his side where his fingers tap against his pant leg.

"How far away is that?" I question. I'm not familiar with Zanesville, or the Muskingum River, or anything really around this area.

"Not too far." Dane shrugs. He narrows his eyes at nothing in particular like the gears are turning in his head. "It should only take a couple days, a week at most, if we go by foot. But I don't know how we'd break Jeremy out. Can Jeremy sit tight at that camp for a couple extra days while we think of a plan?"

"I guess so." I cast my eyes down to my boots, which clack noisily against the escalator steps. "Dane, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Would it be impossible to help all the other kids at the Zone escape?"

"How many are there?"

"Eleven or so."

"Not impossible. Are you proposing we embark on a rescue mission, Freckles?" He tilts his head at me, a hopeful glint in his eyes and a playful tilt to his grin. I stuff my hands in my pockets and shrug.

"We're the only ones who know about them, so we're the only ones who can rescue them."

We simultaneously stop walking and stand a foot apart in the middle of the escalator.

Dane nods, taking all this in with a calculating look in his eyes. He crosses his arms absentmindedly and drums his fingers against his arm. "Breaking those kids out of the Zone is the easier task out of the two, and it's closer than Zanesville. Plus, there's got to be some Greens at the motel who could help us come up with a plan to get Jeremy, and possibly the other kids, from that camp." 

"There are some Greens," I inform him, thinking of Rachel and Dominik, who were the only two Greens I ever exchanged words with during my time at the Zone.

Dane claps his hands together. "Great, so it's settled. As soon as this storm is over, we'll go free those kids from the Zone, then we'll figure out what to do about Jeremy from there."

"Sounds good," I agree.

He smiles at me, and I smile back. I don't know why exactly, but I feel like I need to be the one to help get those kids out of the Zone, and even Zanesville, and every other camp in the country. What's happening isn't right and nobody else is willing to do anything about it. So hearing Dane say that he was more than willing to help me lifted a big weight off my shoulders. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel alone.