Only Human (Themis Files #3)(72)

[AAAAAGH! Stop it! Fuck! AAAAAARGH! … Alex? … You broke his arm, Eva, now stop this!]

Tough luck. He shouldn’t have come with you if he didn’t want to get hurt. UGH! UGH!

…

Oh shit!

—Whoa! They’re gone! Where’d they go?

—They beamed away, Barbara. That’s where they went!

—From their back?

—GET US AWAY FROM HERE, NOW!





FILE NO. EE684—PERSONAL FILE FROM ESAT EKT


Personal Log—Eva Reyes


Location: Somewhere in the Etyakt region


AAAAHHHH! They shot me! Those red assholes shot me!

[Ayt erktsot!]

Of course I’m hurt. I just said they shot me! My arm’s all numb. Some sort of stun gun. I can’t feel anything. At least we know they’re not trying to kill us. Keep going, Ityets! Here! Down that alley!

Go! Go! I’m right behind you. Damn, these guys are fast. Why can’t you run that fast?

[Eyipots oyyetsek Vincent.]

Yeah. I saw him too. Turn here. Hey! Where are you going?

[Ast eyyekt ops ant—]

I don’t care where we go! Just shut up and run! They’re catching up fast!

They’re firing again! Get down! Here! Here! Try that door. Yesss! Close it! Close it! Can you disable it?

[At. At.]

Go! Go!

Wait! Stop!

[Eps eyakak.]

I have made up my mind! There’s no other door, Ityets. There’s no way out! How long do you think that door will hold them?

[Ast …]

That’s what I thought … I think … I think this is it, my friend!

Really? You’re just going to sit on the floor?

[At.]

All right. I’ll finish this log entry and I’ll hide the recorder. They’ll be so happy to get the both of us, I don’t think they’ll waste much time searching this place.

My name is Eva Reyes. I’m nineteen years old, and I’m the most wanted person on this planet.

I’m here with Etat Ityets, one of the so-called leaders of the Hand of Yetskots. Who comes up with these names anyway? He runs a soup kitchen! He’s meditating now. I should try, but I’m too busy being scared we’re gonna get caught. I can see the headline already. The Dagger arrested. Yep, that’s me: Esant, “The Dagger” … Dun-Dun-Duuun. I’m a symbol, apparently. The face of the insurrection. I’m Katniss yokits Everdeen. I’m the Mockingjay. Hey, maybe I can change my name. I hate that stupid knife thing.

Hey, Ityets! Ast eyet ets Mockingjay akt.

[Akt eyet mockingjay?]

It’s a … How do I explain bird? Never mind. I guess I’ll be The Dagger. Revolution’s gotta have a face after all. Only problem is there isn’t any. There’s no Hand of Yetskots. There’s no insurgence. None we’ve heard of, anyway. We have meetings. We hand out leaflets. We have no weapons unless you count kitchen knives, and we sure as hell don’t blow up buildings. They vaporized a school in Eskyaks last week. A school! There were no kids inside, but people died. We went there to see if we could help. It’s a fairly poor region. Waste of time. There was nothing to help with. Nothing left. Now, they’re blaming us for it. Well, not us, me, and this organization that doesn’t exist.

The soup kitchen is closed, crawling with security. My guess is they’re searching the place for proof. I’m sure they’ll find some. If they’re willing to destroy a school just so they can frame us for it, I don’t see why they wouldn’t go the extra mile and plant some evidence.

Now the Imperial Guard is pounding at the door. My father is with them. He has been chasing me, hunting me down, for about a week. We used to be so close. It wasn’t that long ago, he’d have faced an entire army just to protect me. That’s what fathers do, right? Now … Well, now he’s brought the army with him.

I wonder why the Imperial Guard is here instead of local security. The empress has no power in the regions. At least, she’s not supposed to. It doesn’t really matter, I guess. We’re still screwed. Ityets has disabled the door. It’s basically a solid metal wall now, but they’ll break through it soon enough.

Why would anyone want to pin this on me? I’m probably the least important person here. I don’t know anyone. I have like five friends. I can’t even vote. Why would my father help them? This doesn’t make any sense. None of it does.

What do you think they’ll do to us? Do you think they’ll kill us?

[Ops! Vincent, eyet ops ekuktyek atast!]

I don’t know anymore, Ityets. I didn’t think he’d be the one hunting us either. What are you doing?

[Ast eyoptet.]

You can hear them? What are they saying?

[Eps eyonats itont ikt.]

Step away from the door? Yokits, Ityets! Get back! Get back!





FILE NO. 2195 (CONTINUED)


MISSION LOG—VINCENT COUTURE AND SERGEANT ALEXANDER VASILIEV


Location: Aboard Themis. Sinuiju, North Korea


—What the hell just happened?

—They shot us in the back, or kicked us. I don’t know.

—Can you see them?

—No. Push up, Alex, we need to get up!

—I am! What the hell are they doing?