“Your plan sounds complicated,” Raine said. I hadn’t noticed him joining the table. My heart jumped a little when I saw Reyes beside him.
“We’re here to help,” Reyes said curtly, never taking his eyes off my face.
“I’m glad.” I didn’t want Reyes to be my enemy. I had enough of those.
“Good, because Raine and I plan on going with him to rescue Crystal. You stay here,” Reyes said to me. I couldn’t believe he was still barking orders at me after all I’d said to him. He would never change.
“Thank you for your concern, Reyes. Jack and I have it covered.”
Reyes opened his mouth to respond to me, but Jack cut him off. “We appreciate both of you volunteering to help, but the fewer people involved in this, the better chance we have of succeeding.”
He would have continued, but the national anthem began to play, heralding the president’s address. The picture of the presidential seal turned into an image of Holt himself. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the screen.
“I bid everyone good evening,” the president said in his usual manner. “Yesterday’s riot was a most unfortunate event. I am told that no one was hurt or killed, for which I can only thank God. I truly believe that if not for His divine intervention, evil may have triumphed over good. And I know what that evil is! I know Jack Kenner and Sunset O’Donnell are hiding in the Pit. And I know Jack Kenner is spreading his filthy treasonous words and convincing the good people of the Pit to rebel against me. What surprises me is that people are listening to him. We were all appalled to hear Crystal Adams singing words of treason. A sweet, innocent girl corrupted by the words of a traitor!”
An Alliance guard came running into the room and headed straight to Jack.
“Domers in the Pit. Lots of them,” he whispered urgently.
“How many?” Jack asked.
“At least twenty per level. They’re heavily armed.”
“To everyone living in the Pit, I ask you if you think you know Jack Kenner as I do—a conniving manipulator intent on destroying people’s lives. Look at how he betrayed my daughter. Now he’s using all of you to strike back at me. To cause dissention in our Dome!” Holt paused for a moment, his face reddening with anger. “I will not tolerate treason!” he yelled, coming to his feet behind the presidential desk. He pointed directly at the camera. “You brought this on yourselves for listening to that evil traitor!”
Jack moaned. “Oh dear God.” He grabbed my head and pressed it into his chest. “Don’t look,” he yelled to everyone in the room.
I pushed my head away from Jack in time to see an image of Crystal. She was blindfolded and standing against a white stone wall. The blindfold was wet with tears and in an almost inaudible whisper I heard her singing her song. Then the unseen guns fired. I watched Crystal’s body spasm as each bullet hit her and her body fell to the floor, almost in slow motion, out of sight of the camera.
Someone screamed, and then I realized it was me. Jack was holding either side of my face, looking at me with a wild expression.
“I won’t ever let that happen to you! Do you hear me? They will never do that to you!” He had to yell above the din of the chaos that had erupted all around us.
I became vaguely aware that everyone in the room was on their feet. Some people were throwing their tables over in a fit of rage. The president’s face came back on the screen, but few people were paying attention now. The crowd pulsed with fury.
The president continued his tirade, spittle running down one side of his chin. “Let this be a warning to anyone caught cooperating with Jack Kenner. I do not tolerate traitors, and I will kill every last one of you. I know where you are, Jack Kenner, and I’m coming for you.”
I wanted to reach through the screen and beat Holt to death with my bare hands. How could such an evil being exist? How could he take such a sweet girl with the voice of an angel and kill her? He was the epitome of evil, and he had to be stopped.
Domers were coming into the room threatening to use tear gas, but instead of compliance they were met with fists and chairs being broken over their heads. Jack released me and charged at one of the Domers. I stood up to join the fight, but stopped when I heard a moan somewhere beside me. I looked down to see Terra gripping her stomach. David’s chair was empty. She was alone.
“I have to get you out of here,” I said.
“When they shot her…” Terra began, but broke down in tears. “When they shot her, the shock was too great.”
“I know.” Tears streamed from my own eyes. I needed to get myself together.
I took Terra’s arm and wrapped it around my neck and helped her stand up. Her pants were soaked. Her water had broken, and she was in labour. The room was in total chaos, and it would be a challenge to get to the door. I stayed close to the wall, putting myself between her and the fighting. A crowd had forced two Domers to the ground and was pummelling them with their fists and feet.
I reached the door and went out into the hall. It was just as chaotic as the room we had left. Terra was gripped by a contraction, and we had to stop. I was getting worried about them using tear gas again and wondered if I should take off my shirt now and put it over Terra’s mouth, like Jack had done for me. But it looked like the Domers were losing. Holt had underestimated our reaction.
“Okay,” Terra said when the contraction had stopped.
We resumed our trek down the hall, dodging falling bodies and fists that seemed to be flying everywhere. Ahead of us, a chorus of screams went up, and I knew something was coming our way. I didn’t have to wonder for very long. Soldiers were beating their way into the hall, and we were in their path. I looked behind me to find an alternative escape route, but the crowd was beginning to scatter with the approaching army, clogging the hallway.
“Flatten yourself to the wall,” I said. We would have to make room for the soldiers and hope they passed us by without incident.
They marched past us followed by a group of Domers. We were almost in the clear when two of the Domers came walking back to us. My heart seemed to stop beating for a moment. Was it too much to wish that they just wanted to help a pregnant woman in distress?
“Give me your hand,” one of them demanded. When I failed to follow his order, he took my hand. He waved a scanner across it. “Autumn Jones… aka Sunset O’Donnell. We got you.”
My mouth dropped open in shock. How did they know? Then I remembered Gina. She must have reported me. They would have all the information about Autumn Jones, including the floor I lived on. They knew where to come looking for me.
The guards grabbed me by my arms, forcing me to let go of Terra. I gave her a terrified look.
“She needs help. She’s in labour,” I said.
“That doesn’t concern us,” one of them said, no trace of emotion in his voice.
I wrenched myself free of his grasp and threw a punch at the Domer in front of me, aiming for his exposed torso. Surprised by my assault, he bent forward as his breath left him with a groan. I was already bringing my knee up when the other guard grabbed me from behind and lifted me off the floor. I kicked my legs wildly in an attempt to get free, but the other guard took a baton from his belt and touched me with it. An electric jolt went through me, making me go limp. The guard holding my arms twisted them behind my back and secured my wrists with cuffs. They forced me down the hall and up the stairs.
There were still a lot of people on the stairs even though soldiers were using their fists and the butts of their rifles to beat them into submission. I heard someone scream my name, but I couldn’t identify the source. I didn’t think it was Jack. There was a commotion behind me, and a gunshot rang out. My entire body jerked in response to the reverberating sound. How many people would be shot today? How many would die?
They opened the door and marched me out of the Pit. As the door shut behind us, the sounds of gunfire and screaming were replaced with soft music piped in through the speaker system. The Dome was bright, and I had to shut my eyes against the glare. But the guards marched on, and I stumbled blindly with them. They stopped at the reception desk and scanned in.