Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
I want to let go. I just don’t know how.
“He wants us to put his ashes in the volcano,” Ellison says.
“That’s ... a choice.”
“You know him.” There’s a smile in her voice. “He said he wants to go out with a bang.”
“That’s what we’ll do, then.”
Within half an hour, almost a minute is passing between his rattling inhales. We wait for the next one to come, but it doesn’t.
Ellison goes to his other side to check for a pulse, then uses her stethoscope to check for a heartbeat. She shakes her head.
“Will you check?” she asks.
I put my fingers on his wrist to check for a radial pulse and get nothing. When I press my fingertips over his carotid artery, the result is the same.
“He’s gone,” I say.
I stand and push out a long exhale, turning away from him. Briar puts her arms around my back in a hug.
“I’m sorry,” she says, pressing her cheek to my shoulder.
“Yeah. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything.”
Ellison covers him with a sheet. She’s done this many times; I don’t know how she stays so optimistic and unflappable when she spends so much time around pain and death.
“I’ll go let everyone know,” I say.
Briar and I walk out of the room, planning to leave the Sub when Nova races past us.
“Something’s happening,” she calls, sounding worried.
I follow her, Briar right on my heels. Nova punches in a key code to get us into the most secure area of the Sub.
Stella’s standing in the hallway outside McClain’s office, her eyes wide. An alarm is beeping from inside the room, which hardly anyone ever goes in anymore. I send the perfunctory emails, posing as McClain, that keep our supplies coming, and that’s about it.
“I was cleaning guns in the gun room when I heard the beeping,” Stella says. “Do you think it’s a bomb?”
“It’s not a bomb,” I say, walking into the office.
I’m shocked to find part of the wall, about an eighteen-inch square, drawn up like a garage door to reveal a screen. It always looked like a regular part of the wall.
I don’t know what’s more concerning—the hidden screen, or the fact that it has my name on it.
The words “For Marcus Wells only” flash in red letters on the screen. Beside the screen, there’s a thumbprint pad with a red light below it.
I raise my thumb to it, wondering what fresh hell this is.
“Do you want us to leave?” Briar asks.
“Fuck no.”
When I press my thumb to the pad, it takes a few seconds for it to read. There’s a click when the light switches from red to green.
The alarm goes silent and the face of an AI-generated woman appears on the screen.
“Hello, I’m Aria, your automated response and instruction assistant. According to biometric sensors, the leader of this island is deceased. Condolences.”
This is fucked, but I don’t risk looking at Briar because I need to pay attention to every word this automated thing says.
“Your leader named you as their successor. Congratulations. Report to Island Three within twelve hours for a briefing. There is a vessel stored at the location on this map.” Aria’s computer-generated face disappears and a map pops up.
“I’m drawing the map,” Nova says from behind me.
“Only the designated leader may access the vessel, which will only accommodate the leader. It will take four hours and forty-two minutes to reach Island Three from this location. If you don’t arrive at Island Three within twelve hours, the mainland command will send forces to assess and seize control of your island. Peace, prosperity and order.”
The propaganda line makes my stomach turn. I haven’t heard it in a while. It’s a load of shit the regime uses to make themselves sound like the good guys.
My name returns to the screen, but it’s not flashing anymore.
When I turn to Briar, Nova, and Stella, they’re all looking back at me in disbelief.
“Island Three?” Briar looks ready to punch someone. “This isn’t the only fucking one?”
“I didn’t know there were more,” I say.
McClain kept everyone on a need-to-know basis, and I thought I knew a lot, but I had no idea there were multiple islands. It’s staggering. What is the regime doing at this other island, and how many other islands are there?
“You have to go,” Nova says. “Soon.”
“No.” Briar is adamant. “If they find out you’re not on their team anymore, they’ll kill you.”
“If I don’t go, we’re all cooked. We can’t have them sending soldiers here. I’ll pretend I’m still on board with the peace and prosperity bullshit.”
Briar closes her eyes, her expression anguished. The last thing I want to do is leave her when I just got her back, but I don’t have a choice.
“Listen,” I say. “You three are the ones I trust the most. I want you to lead together while I’m gone. We’re on dangerous ground, building the bridge and trying to replenish the garden and farm. Don’t let petty bullshit divide you. Rely on each other. Theron can walk back into this camp anytime he wants. Protect this camp.”