Three (Article 5 #3)(44)

Chase had to be there. He couldn’t have left without telling me. Even considering it made me sick.

As the road declined I glanced back and saw Rocklin in the distance emerging from the cafeteria with his hands on his hips. I didn’t wait to see if he followed.

This time I stuck to the dirt road that cut through the trees, avoiding the cemetery and the shed where I’d seen Billy. All at once, the woods opened to reveal the camp I’d seen only from a distance the previous night. The rain pinged off the metal tops of the storage units. The fires were now extinguished, but now the fields that stretched between the road and the parking lot of stolen MM cars were alive with movement. The fighters—both men and women—were in a state of controlled chaos. Some were crowded at tables beneath the lean-tos, assembling weapons. Others were in lines for haircuts, given beneath a striped tent. Many of the women already wore Sisters of Salvation outfits, while the men were in various combinations of MM uniforms. Still others were dressed in street clothes. One guy jogged by in a navy flack jacket with his cropped Endurance pants beneath. He didn’t seem to notice me.

It hit me then, in a way DeWitt’s words couldn’t. This was really happening. Three was preparing for war, and Chase was preparing with them.

A cold panic dripped down my spine. I took a deep breath and scanned the crowd for Chase, Billy, Jesse, anyone I might recognize, suddenly aware that I was an outsider here. Everyone seemed to have a job, a purpose, but even in the north wing, I was held at an arm’s length and watched with suspicion. That wasn’t the case here. Everyone was in a constant state of movement but me, like I was standing in the eye of a hurricane.

Near the weapons tent I caught a flash of short black hair a head above the rest. Without another thought I ran after him, sloshing through the puddles and slipping through the bodies that grew denser as we neared the heart of the camp.

He ducked behind a group of fake Sisters, and I circled around them, finally catching the back of his sleeve.

“Chase!”

But it was Jesse that turned around. He looked different with short hair. Younger, more serious. Just as dangerous—that sharp look was still in his dark eyes—but not as shifty as before. My gaze flicked to the tattoo on his neck.

“Sorry to disappoint, neighbor,” he said with a fake smile.

“Where is he?” I asked.

Jesse scratched a hand through his short hair. “Last I saw he was getting a little taken off the top.”

So he was still here. At least for now.

“I need to talk to him.”

He held his arms out. “As you can see, we’re all a little busy at the moment.”

“Since when did you care so much about all this?” I nearly spit the words.

“All this…” He smiled like he didn’t understand what I meant.

“The cause.”

“Ah,” he said. “I’m a fast learner.”

A whistle cut through the rain, and the closest fighters immediately began heading to where the cars were parked, leaving Jesse and I standing alone.

“Dr. DeWitt told us what’s happening.” He blocked my view when I leaned around him. “Are they really sending Chase out?”

Jesse gave me a confused look. “They’re sending everyone who isn’t injured or essential to running this place. Or short.” He measured my height with one hand. “The kids, for example. They’ll stay behind.”

I narrowed my gaze, swiping away the water that had gathered in my hair.

“Why?” I whispered, more to myself than to him. Rebecca had reminded me that those who went would receive more specific orders in the field, but the numbers I’d seen in the north wing were still embedded in my mind. Too many soldiers, not enough resistance.

“Because,” said Jesse. “When a government becomes destructive, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.”

I peeked out at him through the fingers that had covered my face. “Did you just make that up?” It didn’t sound like anything he’d normally say. Not that I knew him well enough to know.

He laughed, and it struck me as odd that he spoke of such patriotism while in no apparent rush to join the others.

“Believe it or not, someone even older than me did. But that doesn’t make it less true.” He took a step back, turned away. “If I see my nephew, I’ll tell him you came by,” he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

I stared at his back, aware of the encroaching footsteps that came up behind me. I knew who it would be, and wasn’t in the mood to be babysat.

“The doc is looking for you,” Rocklin said bluntly. “We got a message from your friend.”

*

THE radio room in the north wing was still bustling with people when Rocklin and I arrived. This time the guards didn’t block my way; they stood aside as if expecting me, and allowed me to enter the tight, dimly lit quarters. A wall of heat drew the sweat to my skin as I stepped over the threshold, and I found myself wishing for an open window.

“Hope your break was worth it.” I spun around to face DeWitt, standing before the wall that had held the picture of Chase and I in the hospital. “You missed a call from your friend.”

It took a beat to register what he meant. Tucker.

“He’s still alive?”