The Rebel Teen's Guide to Her Dystopia

Chapter 41

Morning sneaks up on us through the clouds, and before I know it, there's a warm, golden glow outside from the sunrise. It heats all the plants and rocks, and they steam, almost like the earth is stepping out of a shower.

I'm no good as a lookout. I fell asleep twice, according to Cade, but I don't remember it. Klaue was even asleep come the morning, and I was the one who had to wake him up. I felt bad about having to rouse him, since it was the first time I'd ever seen him look relaxed.

Cade adds water to some more of the food, and we eat in silence. It's strange, but eating here so casually and seeing Blanche sitting across from me, I feel almost like I'm at home. Everything has that universal early-morning quiet. It's nice, so nice I almost forget the task at hand.

"So what's the plan, boss?" Cade smiles at me between bites of dried fruit.

"I don't know yet," I say. "I think we're just going to have to work with whatever comes our way. I have no idea what Commonwealth looks like, or how the people are going to treat us. We're just going to have to head over the mountain and hope for the best."

I don't think it's fully registered with everyone what we're about to do. Even I'm having trouble believing it, but this is the first contact we're making with another city in hundreds of years. I feel a little excited, and a little sick. They're just people, right? They can't be too different from us. They have to understand.

We pack up our things and leave the cave, and I feel a rush of fresh air in my lungs that soothes me, letting me know everything's going to be okay. Now, I just want to see them. I want to see their farms and their houses and their city.

We hike up the part of the mountain we were unable to finish last night, climbing carefully over rocks and fallen tree trunks, all the obstacles we hadn't noticed in the dark. The slope isn't kind, but it isn't impossible.

"Do I look okay?" Blanche asks, smoothing her tunic. I laugh, but maybe she's right. We've been hiking in the wilderness for almost a day, and the Commonwealth people might judge us by appearance. I pull a few twigs and pine needles out of my hair and try to brush the dirt off my arms. I'm no pretty sight right now, but they're going to have to look past that and listen. They're our last hope, and I'm going to them looking like a garbage can.

And then we're here. Just over the peak is Commonwealth, and we're in the very spot Killian showed me from the balcony. I look back at the others and nod, as if to say this is it. A hundred or so more feet, and our travels are over. What will they say? What will I say? I reach back to grab Blanche's hand, and I point to the boulder on the peak ahead of us. Once one of us climbs it, we'll be able to see the valleys in both directions.

"Someone should head up there and look around," I suggest. "Just to make sure we're safe."

Cade takes a step back, evidently not wanting to do the honors, and Klaue raises an eyebrow at me impatiently. I turn to Blanche.

"I'll go," she says when she sees my terrified look. "I want to see it first."

She leaves her bag in my arms and puts her hands on the rock face, pushing herself upwards until she reaches the top. She turns back to me once more, giving me a thumbs-up, and then turns to the valley opposite us.

She's still and silent, and I see her shoulders relax as she stares down. The wind tosses her hair and ripples her tunic, and everything goes still. I could swear the birds stop singing.

"What do you see?" Cade cups his hands around his mouth to be heard over the wind. "What does it look like?"

Blanche doesn't reply. Instead, she lowers herself to her knees and slides back down the boulder, landing in the soft grass. She walks back to us, her eyes meet mine, and suddenly I have a very strange feeling in my throat.