Mimic

Chapter 17

Emily

"When were you going to tell me that we were giving up the fight?" I ask Liz as we get back to our room for the night.

"What?" she asks, closing the door.

"You told them we were leaving the school?" I jog her memory, sitting down in the chair in the blind spot.

"Because we need to. Think about it, Emily. Where is the threat coming from?" she asks me, sitting on the floor in front of me. "Here, right? And who all is in danger? Us and the people we've had contact with, right? We just talked to the people we've had contact with during the month we've been here, and they either said they'd help or that they were going to stay and risk it. So, it only makes sense that take the people who agreed and leave."

I take a few minutes to process what she said. She's right. I hate to admit it, but she's right. We're in danger here, and the only way to remove the threat from the people here is for us to leave and not confirm any connection between us and them, especially with what Dr. Young is capable of.

"Does it seem crazy to you that it's only been a month since we got here?" I ask, chuckling.

She laughs too. "Yeah. It seems like ages ago. We should restart the numbering system again. Instead of 21 Post Omega, it should be 1 Emily."

We laugh.

"Okay, you're right. We need to leave, but I'm not dropping the fact that we need to take down Doctor Young. We still need to make sure our friends are safe," I tell her. "I'm also making sure that Kara and Mr. Otis know."

"I expected nothing less. I'm going to message Sean and see where he wants to meet up tomorrow."

"Is there something going on between you two that I should know about?" I tease.

She blushes. "Nothing really."

"Oh... you like him!"

"Maybe..."

"You do!"

She smiles. We both burst into another round of laughter. It feels good to laugh. I haven't been able to in so long with everything that's been going on. We keep laughing, making jokes and carrying on for a long time. We're actually getting out of here. We're making plans tomorrow, and we're getting out of here.

*** *** ***

The next morning, I shoot Kara a message. 'Hey, let me know when you're free after lunch.'

After church, I head down to lunch and meet Myles and the group that has been my one beacon of sanity through all of this.

Myles waves me over, and I notice that Erin, Adrian, and Nala are at a different table. I try to make eye contact, but they avoid looking at me. Great, I broke the one thing that was normal in my life.

"They're mad at me, aren't they?" I ask Myles as I sit down.

"I wouldn't say 'mad,'" he sugarcoats it. "I'd say more..."

"Mad," Mike says.

"Mike!" Myles turns back to me. "They're not mad at you, they just think this plan is reckless and dangerous, so they don't want to be as... involved as they were before."

I nod. I understand their reasoning, but that doesn't mean I'm not hurt.

Liz walks into the cafeteria, and I flag her down.

"I got the cipher," she says as she sits down. She puts a piece of paper on the table and smooths it out.

Myles takes a picture of it and passes it down to the Mike, Samia, and Kat.