Rite of Revelation (Acceptance Book 2) Read online

  “Last night I illegally hacked into the network and, knowing how important the Acceptance ceremony is, I ruined the day for hundreds—”

  More banging, and this time from more than just bare hands. It sounds like wooden bats against a wall. Angry shouts join the noise.

  “Just keep going.”

  “Hundreds of society’s newest members and their families. I—”

  The Noteboard in my hand rings out like an alarm with three sharp buzzes. The Noteboards of the other guards sound as well.

  “Now what?” The director steps back from the camera, his hands thrown into the air.

  “This recording session is over.” The guard next to the director grabs him and his camera and shoves both of them toward the door we all came out of. “Dawson, get this man and his crew back into the guard room.”

  Eric grabs his Noteboard with one hand and my arm with the other. “I’ll get the filth back to their cells.”

  The guard, whose face I now want very badly to punch, sneers at Eric. “Fine. That should make you feel right at home. Henderson, you’re with me.”

  He doesn’t wait for anyone to move before barreling through the door, his hand already reaching for the deadly stick strapped to his belt. With him gone, I lurch toward Daniel, but Eric’s grip on my arm is unrelenting. He leans over and whispers in my ear, “Wait till we’re alone.”

  The guard named Henderson dashes through the door, trying like mad to keep up with the guard issuing orders. Dawson herds the protesting camera crew back into the building, leaving the majority of their equipment behind.

  The door clicks shut and I’m kneeling at Daniel’s side in two seconds flat. I reach to him, but hold back, unsure if my touch will cause him more pain. “Daniel, where does it hurt most?” I choke back a sob. “Are any bones broken?”

  “I’m fine, I promise,” Daniel croons into the top of my head.

  “We have to move.” Eric unties Daniel’s arms.

  He wraps his arms around me, his breath hissing out between clenched teeth. We sit for a minute that doesn’t last long enough. Daniel braces his hands against the ground to stand up, but Eric and I have to step in to keep him from falling back down. I rub my hand against his shoulder, afraid anything else will hurt him more.

  “Yeah,” Daniel says, stretching a bit to the side. “Definitely a cracked rib or two.”

  The noise from somewhere in the PIT reaches a new level, and shouts from guards mix in with the chaotic screams and sounds of destruction. The loud speaker crackles to life. “All prisoners will report to their bunkhouses immediately.”

  “Are you okay to walk?” Eric cracks the door open and pokes his head through before pulling it open wide. “They’ll have this riot calmed down before we know it. We’ve got to get moving.”

  “Is this it?” I grip Daniel’s arm like a lifeline. “Are we getting out?”

  “Or die trying.” There’s not a hint of humor to Eric’s words. He means it.

  Once again, I find myself putting my life into Eric’s hands. But what choice do we have? So be it. The Cardinal is probably planning to kill us anyway. I glance up at Daniel, and his dark brown eyes bore into mine.

  “I love you,” Daniel whispers in my ear.

  I nod back at him and swallow down the knot in my throat. “More and more every day.”

  “We have to move quickly and stay out of sight. Stay right behind me and try not to talk unless you have to.” Eric takes off down the hallway. Daniel wraps his arm around my shoulder for balance and we follow behind him.

  The three of us move in silence through a labyrinth of hallways. I keep waiting for Eric to stop for Elizabeth and the others, but he barely even slows down.

  “Eric, where is everyone else? We’re getting them, too.” It’s not a question. I won’t leave them here.

  “They aren’t in here, not that the whole guard unit hasn’t been looking for them. We’re heading to them now.” Eric pushes open a door and we’re outside. The sun fell even lower while we were inside, and its last rays are barely visible off to our left. The dusk-fallen air is filled with a panicked frenzy of shouting, banging, and chaos. We can’t see anything from this side of the building, but it’s clear there’s something awful happening over at the dining hall.

  We don’t waste time trying to figure it out. Eric runs east, toward the ocean where we tried to escape almost a year ago, weaving between gray, concrete buildings. Every time we run across an intersection, glimpses of the new fence take over the landscape. It’s massive. Probably as tall as the exterior fences, but it looks so much bigger up close.

  About halfway between the Quarantine building and the eastern fence blocking us from the ocean, Eric takes a sharp left and heads straight for the new dividing fence. The roads are empty, but the loud speaker still blares out the order to report to the bunkhouses. The chaos continues to echo from the courtyard. Daniel huffs next to me, jogging slightly and grimacing against the pain that must be wracking his body. Eric turns again and we come out of a dark alley right next to the fence. A man stands there, quietly staring at the ground and leaning against the fence.

  “Nice work, Thomas.” Eric pats the man on his back, kneels down, and pulls something metal out of the inside of his jacket.

  “Thomas.” I drop Daniel’s hand and hug Constance’s husband, the droopy, pock-marked side of his face rubbing against mine. “You’re okay, thank goodness.” Thomas and I only spoke once, back when Constance found us stealing her rope. Eons ago. But he came and stood with all of us yesterday. When we hacked into the live feed of the Acceptance ceremony, he joined me in calling the Cardinal out on his lies. He put himself at risk, and that makes him family.

  “I could say the same to you.” He reaches around me and shakes Daniel’s hand. “Now we just need to get the others.”

  Eric stands up and drops the metal object back into his pocket. Reaching down, he grabs a piece of the brand new, chain-link fence and pulls it back. The metal splits apart and a gap opens up, barely big enough for a person to squeeze through. “Let’s catch up over coffee later. Ladies first.”

  I drop down on my hands and knees and shimmy through the fence, watching so the freshly cut metal doesn’t tear a hole in my arm. I’m not even back on my feet before Daniel is squeezing through, followed by Thomas and finally Eric.

  Daniel grabs my hand again and we are off, our ragtag foursome winding between the buildings and trying not to run into anything, or anyone, in the dark.

  Eric stops in front of a building, but only pauses long enough to push the door open. “In here.”

  A tiny part of me hesitates to walk inside the dark bunkhouse with Eric. All of the sudden this feels too much like last year. So close to getting out, only for him to take it all away. Daniel pushes a warm hand against the small of my back, and with three steps we’re inside and it’s too late to reconsider. The door slams shut behind us, and the overwhelming darkness is instantaneous.

  A light stick pops on in the middle of the room, and I get my first real look. It’s our old bunkhouse, with Daniel’s pieced together table and wobbly chairs. And so many people.

  “Nice to see you again, princess.”

  “Elizabeth!” I move to hug her, but Daniel beats me to it.

  Constance sobs silently into Thomas’s chest. Between fear of being found by the guards and worrying about her husband, the past twenty-four hours must have been torture for her.

  Eric grabs a blanket and tears it into strips, wrapping them around Daniel’s torso. “It’s a far cry from the medical attention you really need, but it should keep you stable for now.”

  “Patrice? Please, no.” Daniel steps away from Eric and wraps his arms around a tall, skinny girl I didn’t notice before. She must have been hidden just outside the soft glow of the light stick. Eyes dark as charcoal, the same mouth as Daniel’s, pulled into a frown, and the little lines between her brows, just like when he gets mad. Daniel could never deny that Patrice is his sister.
“I’m so sorry you’re here.”

  “You should be.” There isn’t an ounce of teasing or softness to her words. Her arms hang limp at her sides instead of wrapping around to return Daniel’s hug.

  I can’t blame her for being angry. We knew there was a risk she would be Rejected if we hacked into the feed. Of course, we hoped she wouldn’t be. Wished it would be too late to adjust her results. We should have known the Cardinal would make sure she paid for our defiance. Her anger is justified, but for Daniel’s sake I want her to wrap her arms around his back.

  “Who are all these people?” Eric holds a light stick above his head and a dim glow exposes the corners of the room.

  At least six women stand huddled at the far end. I recognize them immediately. All of them stood in front of the camera yesterday during the Acceptance ceremony and told everyone in the Territories the ridiculous reasons they were sent to the PIT. I don’t remember their names, but each of them holds a special place in my heart.

  “I found them yesterday, hiding out in a bunk close to the east edge.” Elizabeth walks over and loops her arm around one of the women, a very un-Elizabeth action. “If the guards find them, they’ll be in just as much trouble as us. We have to get them out.”

  “What were you thinking?” Eric grabs Elizabeth’s arm and pulls her back over to the door. “I can’t get all these people out. It’ll be difficult enough to get us out. Plus, I only have supplies ready for the seven of us. They can’t come.”

  “They come.”

  All eyes in the room flash to me. Daniel squeezes my shoulder and Elizabeth nods her head repeatedly.

  “They risked their lives just like the rest of us and we can’t leave them here. We all know what happens if they are caught.” Eric opens his mouth to protest, but I hold my hand up to stop him. “It’s not up for debate. Either we all go or no one goes.”

  “Fine, but don’t blame me when you all end up caught.” He runs a shaky hand through his hair. “Try to stay together. If you see a guard, scatter and hide until it’s safe to move. If we get separated, go to the fence directly north of here. Okay?”

  Daniel grabs my hand and I reach out to grab Patrice standing next to me. All around the room, heads nod in unison. I take another look at their faces, my family. Molly should be here. A sharp knife of pain and loss hits me, and I push it down. No time to deal with that now. There are more of us standing together, and that would make her happy. In the flames of discontent and rebellion, our family grew stronger. And now, we’ll get to be the wildflowers we were always meant to be. Eric snaps off the light stick and we plunge into darkness.

  I squeeze Daniel’s hand and follow the group back into the night. Even this far out, the noise of destruction carries on the salty breeze. I’ve no idea what’s going on, but I don’t care so long as it keeps the guards distracted for a little while longer.

  My shoes beat out a rhythm on the hard ground just a tad slower than the fast pounding of my heart. We’ve been here before, so close to freedom I could taste the ocean saltwater on my lips. But that night led to death and disaster. I squeeze Daniel’s hand tighter. I can’t do that again. Adrenaline speeds through my veins, pumping my legs even faster. I can’t decide if it’s from excitement or terror.

  Eric freezes in front of us and turns, panic radiating from wide eyes. “Run.”

  Shouting much closer than the courtyard sounds to our left. The guards are here. Daniel pulls me to our right and I chase behind him, my other hand gripping Patrice and hauling her with us. My heart kicks into another level of panic I didn’t even know existed. There isn’t time to see where everyone else is going.

  Daniel runs into a bunkhouse with the door missing. The second I’m inside he pushes me to the floor with Patrice flattening out next to me. Daniel lies on my other side and we wait silently in the dark.

  More shouts sound like they could be right outside our hiding spot. “All Rejects must stay inside their bunkhouses. Anyone caught outside will be sent to Quarantine immediately.”

  I let out a silent breath. These are just guards enforcing the curfew. They aren’t looking for us…yet.

  Without being able to see, we have no idea if the guards have moved on or not. We wait an eternity with no other sounds from outside. Careful to stay silent, I move to my knees and crawl toward the window. Daniel reaches up to pull me back down, but his battered ribs have him at a disadvantage and I shake off his attempt to stop me. Outside, the night is pitch black with only rough outlines of the buildings visible. Not a soul moves anywhere close to us.

  I ease back down to where Daniel and Patrice still lie on the floor and whisper my finding. “It looks clear. We need to keep moving and find the others.”

  Daniel nods and I help him up from the dirt floor. He lets out a small hiss of pain. I can’t imagine how much all this running is hurting him.

  The three of us inch back outside, my hands still firmly gripping both Daniel and Patrice. We have to correct course back west a bit, but we manage to make it out to the fence without any more issues. Eric waits there, his head moving from side to side, scanning the PIT non-stop.

  “You made it.” Eric reaches down and pulls the fence up at another cut. “Everyone else is already through. We need to get going before the guards come back this way.”

  “Rebecca, let’s go.” Daniel motions me toward the hole with his free hand. “I’m right behind you.”

  He always has been. I drop down on all fours again and crawl my way to freedom. In less than a minute, Daniel and Patrice are through and the fence is pushed back down to almost the way it was. I grab Daniel’s arm and help him stand. He’s got to be ready to drop with all this running.

  Somewhere to my right, ocean waves pound against the shore, their soft swooshing matching the swish of the tall grass in the wind. I close my eyes and try to imprint this moment in my memory. No matter what happens next, right now, for this brief moment in time, I’m free.

  I open my eyes to find Daniel in front of me, only his concerned eyes visible in the dark. I find his hand and lace my fingers through his. “I love you.”

  His fingers tighten around mine. “More and more every day.”

  Four

  Eric guides our way with a single light stick. The three of us follow him, our shuffling feet the only sound in the cool spring night air. Whatever noise still coming from the riot in the PIT is lost this far out, eaten up by the sharp wind coming in off the ocean. Without the buildings to slow it down, it pounds into us, nearly pushing me sideways. Daniel trudges beside me, his footsteps occasionally faltering, but never stopping.

  Less than fifty yards into freedom, the ground dips into a gully. We ease our way to the bottom, and Eric comes to a sudden stop next to a long vehicle that was hidden in the little valley. It has an arch of fabric across the back like the covered wagons from my old history classes. Thomas, Constance, and Elizabeth stand waiting.

  I scan the area, but I don’t see anyone else. “Where are the other women? The ones from the bunkhouse?”

  “They got separated.” Eric moves around to the front of the vehicle and opens a door. “We have to keep moving before the other guards realize you aren’t in Quarantine anymore.”

  Daniel stiffens next to me. “Eric—”

  “No, I’m sorry, but we can’t wait.” Eric kicks at a tire, avoiding looking any of us in the eye. “We have a lot of ground to cover tonight and the longer we stay here the more likely we all end up dead.”

  I run a hand over the building pain in my chest. Eric’s right, but everything about leaving them here feels wrong. I pull Daniel to me until I’m sure he can see the certainty I’m trying to show. “Once everyone else is safe, we come back for them. Promise me.”

  Daniel stares at a spot over my head. “I promise we’ll try.”

  That has to be good enough for now.

  “We can give them another few minutes.” Eric reaches into the cab and pulls out a dark red bag, the Cardinal’s laurel wreath s
eal stitched on the front. He turns to face our group, but won’t look any of us in the eye. “Before we go, we need to do one more thing.”

  “Why does that sound like one more thing I’m going to hate?” My shoulders tense, and Daniel tightens his grip around my hand.

  Eric takes off his jacket and rolls up his sleeve. “Because it is.” He holds the light stick up to his arm just under his shoulder. “When each of us arrived at the PIT, they gave us an inoculation. Said it was to protect us from disease and keep it from spreading. They lied.” Eric shifts the light and it highlights a short, silvery line of skin. “They injected each of us with a magnetized capsule filled with a lethal dose of Phenol. Activation magnets are buried in a loop, one hundred yards outside the fence. If you cross it with the capsule still inside, it opens and releases the poison. You’ll be unconscious in seconds and dead in under five minutes.”

  “So last year…” Last year we made big plans to escape on a thrown together raft, on the ocean, the ocean that was much farther than one hundred yards from the fence.

  Eric rolls his sleeve back down. “If we had made it past the fence, we would all be dead.”

  “Did you know?” Daniel asks.

  “No, I didn’t find out until later when they took my capsule out.” Eric opens up the back of the truck and hangs the light stick from a hook in the fabric dome. “And now we need to get rid of yours so we can get out of here.”

  Thomas and Constance move to the back of the truck without another word. I watch Eric use a small knife to cut a tiny slit in Thomas’s arm. Eric grabs a black, round device from the red bag, about the size of a large walnut, and holds it up to the cut. A few seconds later, Thomas flinches and a tiny clink rings out from the device. Eric holds it out so we can all see. In the light from the truck, a bloody, metal splinter sticks to the black ball.

  I run my hand over the slight bump on my own arm, there since the night the Machine sent me to the PIT. No wonder no one ever escapes. The Cardinal puts on this big show with the giant fence, disconnected cameras, and guards everywhere, but none of them matter. If anyone gets past all of that, they’re as good as dead. One hundred yards of freedom is all they get.