The Immune

21. Breaking In

When the sun sets, oranges and pinks stretch across the sky like lazy cats, white pencil clouds blending in. The alarm sounds for shift change at exactly six p.m. It's a hum from this distance, but it still sends chills up my spine. Isaac looks up from his sketchbook, shuddering.

"Let's go," I whisper, standing up.

Stephen hands me one of two twin guns he always carries. Who knows if I'll actually need it, but it makes me feel safer having it. At least I know now that I can use it if the moment comes.

The walk up the hill takes longer than it should because we're stalling for time. It needs to be completely dark before we can sneak up on Howard. Plus, we came up on the south side of The Wall; we need to enter by the North Gate. So, we walk around the bottom of the hill first, running from tree to tree to keep hidden.

Eventually, a thick darkness falls, lit only by the dim yellow lights on top of The Wall. The North gate stands closed ahead of us.

"How exactly do you plan on getting his attention?" Stephen asks as we huddle together and watch the man pace overhead. Thankfully, they didn't reassign him like they did me. I'm drawn to the fact that he's pacing, though. My Howie would have never put forth that much effort. They must've really knuckled down.

He's also alone, and that surprises me. Night guards aren't supposed to patrol alone. Where's his partner?

"I don't know," I whisper, squinting. "If he's really alone, I can just yell at him. He's not alone, though. He can't be"

Isaac shakes his head and scoffs. "You can't just start yelling. He'll fire instantly." He puts his backpack down and starts digging around in it. "I've got an idea." In one swift movement, he pulls a piece of paper out and wads it up.

"You're not about to throw that, are you?" I hiss. He pulls back an arm. "Isaac, don't!"

Before I even finished his name, the paper wad soars through the air towards Howard. I know he's strong, but throwing a piece of paper twenty feet into the air strong? It'll never make it.

My eyes go wide when the ball nails Howard in the back, bounces off, and falls to the ground. Howard looks around in shock and horror. He runs to the edge of The Wall and swings his gun around.

I step out of the shadows and wave with both my arms high in the air. Howard's mouth drops open, and he shakes his head discreetly. I point to the ladder a little further down his path and make a climbing motion with my hands. Howard scowls at me, his forehead wrinkling. After a murderous pause, he holds up a finger and disappears out of sight.

"Captain, I'm going to walk a little further down. I'll be right back." I smirk. He's talking loud enough that I can hear him. I give everyone a silent thumbs-up, and we creep out of the shadows towards The Wall. After a few seconds, Howard reappears, dropping the ladder over the side.

"Good job, sis," Stephen whispers, clapping me on the back. I smile nervously. It isn't over yet. This isn't even the hardest part.

"I'll go first." Everyone nods in agreement, and I grip the ladder with both hands. Muscle memory takes over, and I scale The Wall quickly. Howard helps me over the edge, pushing me into a squat.

"Jaelyn? What are you doing here?" he hisses, glancing over his shoulder. "Hartley made an announcement just this morning that you were dead. Said the transfer crew found you mauled by wild animals. Both of you, actually." He reaches out to help Isaac across the wall, motioning for him to get low as well. "We have to be quiet. What happened?"

"It's a lot to explain." I grimace as Stephen thuds over the edge. "Thank you for not shooting me, Howie."

He looks back over my shoulder as Clare appears. He looks confused for a moment but gathers himself. Maybe it's her scar? Or our dirty, ash-streaked clothes? Or our guns? "Who are they?"

"It doesn't matter. They're with me." I start to usher them to the ladder on the other side. "We need to go. We don't have time."

Isaac starts to unhook the ladder, but Howard grabs my arm.

"You can't go in there." I've never heard him sound so serious. I turn back to face him, holding Isaac's hand to make him stop.

"Why not?"

"If they see you— if anyone recognizes you— you're dead. The entire compound was on alert for days. You were advertised as a threat to compound security."

"I'll be careful." I move away from him. "We have to go. It's important."

Howard nods. As I tell Isaac to unroll the ladder, he tugs my hood up. "Put your hoods up, and don't flash those guns around. Without uniforms on, you all stick out like sore thumbs. Watch your backs."

Stephen starts down the ladder first. Every noise he makes leads to me cringing.

"I owe you one." I squeeze Howard's hand as Isaac descends. "No one will ever know you did this."

It's a bold-faced lie. Hartley already knows. The night around the fire with Jane proved that he's listening. If this is the moment he decided to eavesdrop on, then Howard's already an accomplice. Guilt fills my throat once again, but I remember Stephen's words. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices. When the time comes, I won't be able to protect Howard. I just hope he understands.

Clare follows me down the ladder, and we stand side by side in the grass, checking each other over.

"Where to now, Jay?" Stphen asks.

"My house. Dad has a key to the Research Facility. That's where they'll be keeping the virus." I push past everyone and take the lead.

Right then, a gunshot splits the air around us. Clare screams, doubling over as she clutches her calf in pain. I spin around to see Farrah standing on the edge of The Wall. His face twists into a nasty grin. Even from here, the swelling is obvious. The yellow and green bruises mix to create a ghastly sight.

Isaac tugs at my arms, but his hands shake too badly. He can't get a good grip. He says something to me, but my ears are still ringing. Stephen kneels to pick up Clare, who has clapped a hand over her mouth to dampen the sobbing.

"Run!" I hiss, taking off at a sprint. Behind us, Farrah yells at Howard to come after us, but Howard's yelling obscenities right back at him. I don't dare look back or slow down. The sidewalk leads me to the yellow bar that marks the entrance to our neighborhood. I slide under it and hurry to my porch.

"Careful on the bottom step," I mumble, fiddling with the doorknob. Stephen pushes past me as I throw the door open. He puts her down on the couch, and she moans in pain. Her face has already gone white; sweat pours down her face. She dangles the bleeding leg over the couch and throws her head back against the armrest.

"Take care of her," Stephen barks at me. "I'll guard the door."

I nod and jog towards the kitchen. Dad keeps a first aid kit in the cabinet beneath the sink, because I used to be messy and clumsy. As I jerk it out and head back to Clare, I push back thoughts of Dad picking me up, sitting me on the island, and putting band-aids on mediocre cuts. Now's not the time to think about the man who created the virus.

"Hold her down," I tell Isaac, kneeling down beside Clare. By now, the blood has formed a puddle in our living room. It seeps through my jeans when I lower myself down. I cut her pants off at the knee and assess the wound. There's an entry but no exit. If there's a bullet in her leg, I'm definitely not qualified to get it out.

"It's still in there," Isaac whispers. I nod feebly. Clare squirms but stays quiet as best she can. Her whimpers are held back by the pillow she hugs.

"I'll have to make a tourniquet and get her some help. I don't know how to remove a bullet." I pull out a long piece of rubber and stretch it to full length. After tying it around her mid-thigh, I dig around for some painkillers.

"What are you doing?"

Isaac jumps so high that he falls off the couch. We both swing around to see my father holding the bannister, wearing nothing but pajama pants.