Page 19 of Dissent

Beep!

A clicking sound followed, and a segment of the wall jutted inward before sliding to the left, revealing a stone passageway with a spiral staircase. The servants’ passage. I knew the palace had tons of hidden corridors, but I had never actually seen one. Chelsea stepped through the doorway, motioning me to follow. There must have been some sort of sensor that registered there wasn’t anyone else needing to pass, because the panel beeped again and slid back into place with a finalclick.

Chelsea was light on her feet, moving fast down the spiral steps. I did my best to keep up without getting entangled in all the linen I was carrying. Winding downward, we finally came to the end of the stairs, landing in another corridor. Chelsea slowed her steps, taking a cautious look around before turning to face me.

“Okay, down the hall there’s another door. It’s a back entrance that leads out to the garages. Almost everyone comes in through the primary servants’ entrance, so I think we’ll be able to avoid most people if we go that way. Once we’re outside, follow me. Keep your eyes down and try to hide as much of your face as you can with the sheets. We want to avoid any of the facial recognition cameras.”

I opened my mouth to ask her a question but didn’t get a chance. Before I knew it, we were down the hall and out the door she had mentioned. I hid my face as best as I could without blocking my vision. Our shoes crunched the gravel path past the garages. I snuck a peek behind me and saw the mansion cast in moonlight. It was hauntingly beautiful, but it provided me with no peace, only fear. I swallowed hard as I turned my back on it. I was probably never going to see my home again. And the thought brought me some sadness, but I couldn’t help feeling excited. For once in my life, I might actually be free of my dad, free of the witch that had tormented me for years. But being free of them also meant losing Jacob, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to make that sacrifice.

We reached a collection of sheds. At the third one, Chelsea pulled on the handle and motioned me inside. With the door closed, she grabbed the lump of sheets in my arms and pulled out my bag. “Okay, we need to get to the extraction point.”

“Thewhat?”

She ignored me and kept talking. “This isn’t how we were going to do this,” she mumbled to herself, “but that’s how it goes. I don’t know how much time we have, but we’ve got to assume we’ve got none left. Here’s the plan—we aren’t too far from the edge of the property. There’s a side entrance that service personnel use. I’ve requested a temporary identity for you, so you’ll be able to make it past the retinal scans without an issue. The problem is if the guard recognizes you.”

“A temporary identity? What are you talking about?”

She glared at me as she bared her teeth, her voice layered with tension. “I saidnoquestions. Now just shut up and listen, okay? Freaking rich people can’t listen for crap. If the guard recognizes you, we’re screwed, so run. The good thing is, no one really pays attention to you, so we might be in luck. Whatever happens, just follow me.” She handed me my bag, and before I could ask questions, she opened the door to the shed. She took a step forward, but then backtracked, turning to face me once more. “One last thing—right now your name is Melody Pearson, got it?”

“Melody Pearson?”

“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “Okay?”

I nodded.

She shook her head, almost as though she were trying to shake off her annoyance, before stepping out of the shed and marching on.

This whole thing was so screwy. I had no idea what was happening or why Chelsea was helping me, but I was grateful. There was a small part of me, however, that wondered if this was all some sort of setup. I didn’t know what scared me more, my parents wanting me dead or trusting the maid who I suspected had a death wish for me. Either way, I was screwed.

It was a brisk walk to the edge of the property, and I kept my head down as much as possible to avoid the cameras. We came to the entrance Chelsea mentioned, and, sure enough, there was a guard standing at the gate with a scanner. Chelsea slowed down momentarily, almost as though she were hesitating, but then quickly picked up the pace. She stepped up to the guard and lifted her head, jutting out her chin. He scanned her, it blinked green, and then she was stepping forward. It was my turn.

Taking a deep breath, I watched my feet as I approached the guard, and then lifted my chin, avoiding eye contact. The guard lifted the scanner, but hesitated, tipping his head to the side with a pinched face. Seconds dragged, and I felt my heart jump into my throat, making it impossible to breathe. The guard cleared his throat before tipping the device, allowing it to scan my retinas. It flashed green. He looked down at the screen, then looked back up at me. I rubbed my lips together and turned my face, trying to appear bored. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him looking back down at the scanner and then back up at me.

“What’s your name?”

I glanced quickly his way, licking my lips. My throat felt so tight, so dry. “A…I’m Melody Fearson.”

“Fearson?” he questioned, emphasizing the first part of the name.

I instantly recognized my mistake. “No! No, I meant to sayPearson, MelodyPearson.” I snorted, “I’m so freaking tired, ya know? It’s been such a long day.” It wasn’t a lie. Iwastired, and this constant state of panic was tipping me over the edge.

His eyes narrowed as he glanced at his scanner once again. He made a clicking sound with his tongue, studying the machine, and then looking back up at me. With a sigh, he finally waved me on. I stepped forward, trying my best to control the urge to bolt. Chelsea ticked her head in afollow-mefashion, and my legs walked as fast as they could carry me without looking like I stole something from the damn house. Once we were a safe distance from the palace, I exhaled loudly. “Oh my god, I can’t believe that worked!”

“Yeah, well, you almost blew it, rich girl. And we’re not out of this yet. The second they realize you’re missing from the house, that guard is going to figure it out. We’ve got to get to the extraction point ASAP. Let’s move it.” This time, I didn’t even bother to ask questions. She kept talking about an extraction point, which was totally lost on me. I figured that whole fake identity thing just totally worked, so I was going to shut up and just do as I was told.

I knew time had passed as we navigated our way through the Noble Class District. Chelsea kept us moving the whole time, and my legs ached from the unrelenting activity. And I was thirsty. My mouth was like a desert, and I could barely summon up enough spit to keep my tongue from shriveling up. I needed a drink desperately. Between crying for the last twenty-four hours and trying to follow Chelsea, who was evidently a track star, I knew I was super dehydrated.

We had to stop. I needed a serious minute to catch my breath. Just as I was about to tell her I needed water, she halted sharply, and I slammed right into her. She stumbled forward a step before glaring over her shoulder at me. “Watch it.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just…” I never finished my sentence. A sedan with blacked-out windows rolled over toward us, turning to the left, and stopping just as the driver’s side window was parallel to us. The window slid down and the driver—a fuller white man, probably in his sixties—looked at us. I quickly averted my gaze, staring down at the ground. Last thing I needed was some random dude recognizing me. Then, a thought occurred to me…wasn’t it past curfew?

“Good evening, ladies,” he greeted us cheerily. “You both look like blue jays flying on a spring night.”

I raised a brow at that one, turning my head to face this guy. I couldn’t help it. Who the hell greeted anyone like that?

“Blue jays only fly by day on a summer’s eve,” Chelsea replied. The man nodded and then got out of the car. She spun on her heels to face me. “Get in.”

“What?Are you nuts?”

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