The woman takes my hand. “I am not sure I believe in your God, but I feel I should place my faith in you. I am Venya.”
Her warmth spreads through me. “Saved,” I say. The others flock to me and introduce themselves. Unimaginable companionship swells my chest. I live for this ease of acceptance. I will give my last breath to see these people free.
Cecil parts the crowd. “You’re going to get us killed,” he says. Then he slides his hand in mine. “But I’ve been down here for twenty two years, and I very much want out. Whether I’m conscious or not, I want out.” I nod at him.
A fragrance of wild flowers assaults my senses. “I save your life and this is how you repay me, by riling up my helpers,” Asorra pouts.
Cecil stands by my side. “Princess, don’t blame Saved. He has only voiced what all of us have been wishing for a very long time.” Cecil falls to his knees in front of Asorra. “There is an island. I have seen it for ten years now; it is only a few miles from here. It’s beautifully plentiful and has a breathable atmosphere.”
My heart quickens. “There are others that speak of this island,” I say.
“I know the location; I’ve been there in my dreams several times.” Cecil claps his hands and grins wide. He turns to Asorra. “Please Princess, may we leave?”
Asorra shakes her head. She backs away. “No, we stay here and we’re safe,” she says. “No one harms us down here. Why change it?”
I reach Asorra and direct her out of the room. “People are dying. We can do something about it.”
Silence ensues while we walk back to the control room. Cecil and the others file in to man their stations. No one breathes while we await the princess’s conviction.
Asorra sighs heavily. “What do you have in mind?”
“Are there boats here?” I ask. Asorra eyes bore into mine while her fingers beat on the board with the letters. All the screens show a dock with two boats larger than the mountains of Garden Home. I crash into a chair. I can’t believe this is really happening. “That is way more than a boat,” I say. “Why are you guys still here?”
Asorra’s mouth curves into triumph. “The designers destroyed all instructions and then they died. No one knows how to work them.”
Okay! So I didn’t see that coming, but that is a momentary set back. We’ll figure it out by the time we get to the boat. I refuse to believe, I’m not meant to be here. “When I arrived, there were men in white suits holding guns in my face. Who are they?”
“Daddies personal army,” Asorra says, looking smug. What’s with her contempt? “They’re security that the High Councilor has posted on every level. Sometimes the chips inside of the people short out and the population gets unruly. They come in and rectify the situation.” Garden Home has security too, it’s not as serious as Serenity, but Papa says he has to keep the order. I just need to get to the boat, once they see that they work there is no way they’ll stop us for going to the island.
“How do we get to the boat?”
Asorra shoulders lower in defeat. “You’re not going to give up are you?”
“Never,” I say. “This feels right, I won’t stop.”
Asorra looks at Cecil. “Give us a ten minute head start, then follow us.” Asorra looks at the others. “Is everyone sure this is what they want?”
The room bellows in a resounding yes. Asorra’s mouth twists as she takes my hand and swings me out the door. I fumble out. The moment it closes behind us she says. “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Doubt doesn’t live here anymore.
Chapter 12
Asorra weaves around the multipath like she designed the infrastructure herself. She says little, but it is enough that she is guiding me. I don’t understand why she isn’t as joyous about this as I am. At least she’s complying. I guess. “If you’re so against this, why are you helping me?”
Asorra pauses then turns to me. “They asked me too,” she says. Her green and blue eyes sparkle with a hidden sadness. An urge to hold her washes over me. I am Purity’s. Even as I think it her momentary vulnerability pilots me closer. Physically I do not touch her, but there is an element inside that will never let her go. I am Purity’s, I tell myself, but no bells sound. “I want to leave as well.” Asorra’s eyes blink her out of a trance. She glowers at me like I tricked her and hurries away. “I want to go for a swim.”
I hurry behind her failing to hold in my laughter. “Go for a swim? What do you know about swimming?”
“Nothing, but I’ve read books, and I want to experience it,” she shoots daggers at me with her incredibly diverse eyes. “It’s not funny.”
Yes it is. Getting out of a prison like home just to go swimming is the one thing I didn’t expect anyone to say, let alone the toughest girl I’ve ever met. “It’s hilarious.”
“Pay attention Saved,” she snaps. I chuckle next to her but follow her to the end of the last hallway. We stop in front of a cross metal gate. “We have to crawl from here to the docks. It’s the only route without pressure sensors or guards. I built it myself.” Really? So why did she lie. Asorra bends down and uses a small tool to remove the screws on the sides. “The docks are heavily guarded with bodies, and guns.” She takes the gate off of the opening.
The sound of rushing feet turns our heads. Cecil is racing towards us waving something in his hands. He reaches us with a few gasps of air left in his lungs. He bends over, refuels, and then places the tiny object in my hand. “Don’t forget your handset, Saved,” he says, with a grin.
“Thank You.” Cecil gives me a quick hug. It’s still so new, but before I can make this awkward, I return the embrace. He bows to us then rushes off. I look at Asorra whose eyebrows are raised in question. “Nice guy,” I say, pointing at the departing Cecil. “What’s this?”
The strange device is the length of both of my hands put together and reaches from my palm to my fingertips. There are buttons on the side that I’m guessing turns it on. Asorra snatches the contraption out of my hand. “We’re all going to die,” she says hitting a few buttons until the screen comes on.
The camera shows the docks. “This place is so interesting,” I say and retrieve it. “We can roam around the complex and still know what everyone is doing.” I press a button and the screen turns to the image of the control room.
Asorra assesses me and I return the admiring gaze. She sticks her tongue out at me and ducks into the dark confinement. I attach the device to my waist and follow her in. I think she likes me. We crawl for about five minutes before I hear a click and Asorra slides down. I pray to God’s Universe and mimic her movements.
We land in a room with a single tree, and all along the walls are paintings. Strewn around the trunk of the tree are piles upon piles of books, some, more worn than others.
Asorra climbs the tree and I blunder up behind her. “What?” I ask as she takes a seat in one of the sturdy cot like openings that she must have carved herself. They appear to be tiny branches woven into some sort of network. I sit down in the other one and we look up at the white ceiling.
Without a word Asorra puts the device into a slot next to her. My seat vibrates. “Do you really believe in your God?”
“Yes,” I say. “Look where he has brought me.”
The corners of her mouth twitch as if she might smile. I imagine it will be indescribable. “You believe he will deliver us from this place.”
“With my hands, your hands, and the hands of all that comply, he will take us to a better place.” I scoot a little closer to her. “He guides my mind, he guides my body, and he guides my soul. I’m sure if you let him, he’ll do the same for you.”