Page 67 of Dissent

“Hey!”

Matias jumped back as I leapt out of my skin. My heart thundered as I spun to see Chelsea, eyes ablaze with jealousy.

“Stop messing around and let’s get this shit on the road.” She was whispering, but her whispers came over me as though she were yelling at the top of her lungs.

I trilled my lips, glancing at Matias as he nodded. He started walking toward Chelsea before turning back to look at me one last time. “Fifteen minutes.”

I sighed, “Fifteen minutes.”

With one more weak smile, he turned and followed Chelsea around the brush, leaving me behind. I was alone, feeling the oddest mixture of excitement, anticipation, and dread. Because the boy I think I was falling for had just walked away from me, and I was pretty sure that, despite his promise, he wasn’t coming back.

33: Run

ThiswasnothowI envisioned this whole thing when I decided to go on this mission. I had every intention of going in and seeing this facility for myself. Instead, I was stuck hiding in the tree line. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that there was a teeny tiny part of me that was relieved I wasn’t running through that place, stunning guards, and jumping in through windows. Even so,notwhat I was planning on.

Despite the stupidity of this plan, everything went smoothly. They snuck up to the building, using the various bunkhouses for cover. Wes stunned the guard when Chelsea made a noise, causing him to face away from Wes’s direction. Then, they were all in the building through the damn window.

Before they left, Matias had insisted I put a timer on my tab. And now I was watching it tick down the seconds. Fifteen minutes. That was all the time he would allow them to have before I was to run. And every time the clock ticked down a minute, I felt myself become that much more anxious. Little by little, my stomach churned and nausea threatened. My hands were getting sweaty, so I kept wiping them on my shirt. This was stupid. This was ridiculous. This was a terrible idea.

12…11…10…

I looked up from my spot amongst the trees and kept scanning from side to side. But everything looked clear.

9…8…

Damn it! What was taking them so long? My heart rate sped up, causing my ears to ring and the silence to sound like static.Come on…come on, come on!

7…6…

What should I do? I knew what Matias said, but there wasno wayI was actually going to leave them behind. I just had no idea what to do when that stupid clock reached zero.

5…4…

Shit, shit, shit!I started looking around desperately. Still no sign of trouble, but the sinking feeling in my gut told me that something was wrong. It had to be. Why else would they take this long? Matias knew he told me fifteen minutes. Why wouldn’t he at least message me to say everything was fine? And then it occurred to me…the tab. I quickly lifted my wrist and sent him a message.

Mara:Where are you?!? Are you ok?

3…2…

Nothing. I could feel my skin crawling as the desperation climbed. What was I going to do?The question cycled through my head endlessly, but no answer came to mind. I scanned the surroundings again. Still nothing.

1…

I growled low in my throat from the frustration, gritting my teeth. This was crap!Breathe, Mara. Just breathe.Trying to take my own advice, I took deep breaths to calm myself.Everything’s fine. I’m fine. They’re fine. We’re all fine.

I knew it was a childish attempt to calm my nerves, to convince myself that everything was okay. But I knew better. If Matias hadn’t texted me back, then…then… I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts from the fear and negativity.Stay with it!

0…

Shit! Okay, what now?And, as if the universe was providing me with the answer I needed, my tab vibrated. Relief washed over me when I saw the notification was from Matias.

Oh thank god!

Blowing out a long, steady breath, I opened the message to read it, and then felt everything inside me ice over.

Matias:Run!

Then all hell broke loose.

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