The Haze [Watty's Shortlist 2021]

The Haze (Chapter 24)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Olivia had quickly replaced her bag and reached for the ladder.

"Hey, hold on. Let's make a game plan. We can't go in blind. We don't have Dawson to help us and now we have Aiden to think about too."

He looked a little offended and piped up.

"I can help. I'm not a baby. I want to get my sister out."

"Shit kid, that's not what I meant. I just mean that we've got to take you into consideration. She and I had planned this rescue mission without you being in the picture and now it changes things."

This explanation seemed to help his ego a bit and actually, now that I think about it, he was essentially another Dawson. He was average, not in the system. This could be a big advantage. The only problem was not knowing if the nest and the bubble were connected. If they were, Vincent could recognize Aiden if he got his eyes on him, but using Aiden was an option we had to consider. Olivia and I went over logistics and filled Aiden in on what we could verbally. It was hard to go over these things without the maps we had been using at the zone. I was beginning to feel a little light headed from the lack of food and water. I cursed the haze and wished we had a way to make a pit stop for me to eat, but we didn't have time. From the call, Olivia gathered that Tink was physically hiding somewhere in the Bubble while they searched for him. He had tanks in his lab under the pretense of experimenting and making them more efficient, when in reality he had just intended to use them if he ever needed to escape, but they were confiscated when they went through his things. I thought to my stash in my room. It was an option for sure, but getting him to them or getting us to them was the problem. I filled Olivia and Aiden in on where my supplies were while we walked. We had a bit of a hike before we would make it to the Bubble. I felt Olivia's eyes on me as I explained, sensing that she appreciated that I had thought ahead, further proving he point that I had had my doubts about the bubble for a while.

Daylight was fading as we got closer to the bubble. We had kept our original plan, using the blind spot in the surveillance to our advantage. Aiden was antsy to see his sister again, but I think the fear of being close to these strangers was getting to him. I noticed him wipe the sweat from his hands onto his jeans several times. I could tell Olivia was deep in thought too. I'm sure she was feeling guilty for getting Tink involved, but he knew the risks. He knew there was a chance of something like this. We stopped close to a tree, out of site from anyone. I could see a few of the guard members out front, but they seemed like they weren't super alert. The need to find Tink must not be on everyone's agenda. I guess Vincent only told a few trusted members of the guard instead of the whole crew. Probably trying to keep fuss down to a minimum. He did run the risk of Tink exposing him to the entirety of the bubble if he handled this the wrong way. Ollie pulled out her walkie and began a series of clicks I was unfamiliar with. I was pretty impressed she knew morse code. She listened intently when Tink responded with his own clicks, closing her eyes and focusing on the sound. I couldn't help but notice the little line that formed between her eyes when she did this. I wonder if I would have these feelings for her if we had met under normal circumstances, in a normal town. She chewed her lip as she listened and I didn't take this as a good sign.

"Fuck." She breathed out as she put the walkie away, frustrated.

"Okay, so he's inside the damn walls somewhere. Apparently, he's been working on an escape route since this whole thing started, but had never had a chance to finish. He thinks he's near the cafeteria, but he's not positive."

I looked at my watch. Addie should actually be in the cafeteria right now, or heading towards it. This might actually work. The guards on duty out front would switch in the next ten minutes and it was getting later in the day, which meant they were alone. Checkouts for caps ended earlier than this. I think I had a plan, it was sloppy, but we were running out of time. We couldn't get just Tink either, we had to get them both. We'd never have a shot like this again. I turned to the two of them and began explaining what I had been thinking. Olivia offered suggestions and we made sure we were all on the same page. We agreed to meet at a building in town everyone knew if things went really south and we all got separated. Aiden positioned his mask into place to make sure he looked the part of a normal person out in the Haze before he ran off to get the attention of the guards. Olivia and I laid in wait for them. Aiden was running way ahead of them screaming about a horde coming. His performance sounded genuine from my hiding spot. I would've followed the kid too. When the guard reached the blind spot of the cameras we jumped out. I hit them both in the knee with quick swipes of my baton and when they went down Oliva wacked them in the head with a large tree branch. Ouch. They were definitely going to feel that tomorrow, but we didn't have time to waste. We each began stripping them of their uniforms. I took my baton off my belt and showed Aiden how to deploy it before clipping it to his belt. I handed him one of the guard's walkie's and we decided on a code of three clicks in quick succession to be our warning signal.