Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(50)

“Don’t they get maintenance?”

“Yes. Once a month, and a thorough tune-up twice a year, but it doesn’t seem to matter. That’s why Mother had them removed from the Palace Wing. She didn’t want one going off accidentally and killing us.”

“That’s really kind of her.” His voice drips with sarcasm.

“I asked her about removing the turrets from the rest of the facility and she did remove some, but not all of them. They are there to protect the Citizens from Surface Dwellers.”

“Like me?” Gavin asks, moving his gaze back to me.

“Yes, but you’re in the system. Macie helped me get you in there. That’s why I used the coupling excuse. So I could get your DNA and have it entered into the system.”

He runs his fingers down my arm and then interlaces them with mine. “Why did it leave us alone when we dropped to the ground?”

I stare at our conjoined hands. I have to force myself not to pull away. His skin is golden next to the paleness of mine. I half expect him to start glowing. “It works by motion,” I say. “So it doesn’t waste bullets on a dead body. The minute the targets drop to the ground, it’s supposed to stop firing. Since most people panic and flee when they’re fired on, it works well.”

Gavin’s grip tightens around my hand, grinding the bones against one another. I hiss and he lets up. “Sorry,” he mumbles. “So, because you knew it would stop shooting at us when we dropped to the ground, we were able to beat it?”

“Exactly. And now all we have to do is wait out the Guards’ investigation, then the turret will be taken offline, and Citizens will start returning to this area. Then we can be on our way. Simple.”

He caresses the side of my hand with his thumb. It feels nice, but I have a feeling he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it; while it’s all I can focus on.

“How do we know that another turret won’t malfunction?”

And now we get to the crux of our situation.

“We don’t. We’ll just have to make sure we’re careful and aware of our surroundings at all times. We’ll watch for more malfunctions.”

“How do we do that?”

“The turrets in the common areas are in the ceilings. You can tell where they are by their sensors, which hang down slightly from the ceiling on black posts. We’ll just make sure to watch them carefully. Not to mention you should be able to hear a hissing sound.”

“And if we see or hear a turret, we drop to the ground.”

“Or we get out of sensor range, which will allow us to keep moving.”

Gavin’s silent, and I start to get drowsy as the minutes drag on.

He startles me when he finally speaks. “What’s up with that sign on the other side of this booth? Also? Why is there a booth? It’s not like you need tickets or something. Do you?”

I laugh. “No. It prevents unauthorized travel between Sectors Two and Three.” I pause, trying to remember what sign he’s talking about. “The ‘Caution: Stay clear of tracks. Strong magnetic fields in use, which may affect the operation of your nanobots’ sign?” When he nods, I say, “All Citizens have nanobots—little microscopic robots—in our bodies to prevent pressure sickness.” At least, that’s what I thought they were they for, but now the journal has me questioning even that.

“Pressure sickness?” he asks.

“There’s so much pressure at this depth, gases would eventually build up in our blood,” I explain. “The nanobots make sure to clean out the excess so we don’t get sick. They actually accelerate healing, too. They’re pretty amazing. You’d get them, too, if you stayed.”

“So how come I’m not getting sick down here?” he asks.

“It takes a long time, and you’re more at risk if you go back to lower pressures quickly.”

“The bends,” he says.

“Yes.”

The Guards’ voices grow closer, which means they’re nearly finished. The turret has been taken offline if they’re creeping into sensor range. They’ll just make sure there aren’t any more dead bodies over here, and will soon move on.

I place my finger over my lips and gesture to the windows. Gavin nods and we both make sure we’re in the shadows of the desk and not visible from the windows.

“All clear over here,” a Guard calls. It sounds like his voice is just on the other side of the glass.

A young female voice from slightly farther away calls, “No sign of the renegades?”

“No, sir,” the first Guard responds, confirming my thought that the girl is an Enforcer.

“Very well. Go back and attend to the wounded.”

The station is quiet. I wonder if it’s okay to take a peek and see if everyone is gone. However, before I can, I hear Mother’s voice. “Did you locate my daughter?”

At first I start, because I think she must have joined them, but the voice is tinny and I realize it’s just her holo. I let out the breath I was holding.

“No, milady,” the Enforcer states. “The turret malfunctioned.”

Mother makes a noise of disgust. “This wasn’t a malfunction, you idiot.”

Gavin and I exchange a wide-eyed look.

“Milady?”