Page 138 of Resist

“Stop it, Mara! Get your head in the game,” Jacob snapped back at me.

I felt the knot forming in my throat, the fear climbing up my spine. “They were kids! They just killed all those kids!”

“And there’ll bemorekids, Mara! And more kids after them. And women, and babies, and families. This is just going to keep going, and it’s just going to get worse. And that’s why we have to stop it. That’s why we have to keep it together, get to that building, and destroy all of it. It’s got tostop,” he said, stroking my hair and then cupping my cheek. “It’s got to end, Mara. And we’re going to finish it. Okay?”

I blinked back the tears, trying to get the image of their young faces out of my mind as I nodded my consent.

“Good girl,” he whispered, stroking my hair again. “You can do this,” he reassured me as he pulled me into a hug. “You got this.”

I panted, trying to calm my rattled nerves as he kissed the top of my head.

Slowly, he pulled me back, holding my face in his hands. “Just keep your eyes on me, okay? Don’t look at anything else. Just eyes on me.” I nodded, taking a shuddering breath. “Okay,” he whispered. “Let’s do this.”

I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want to do this anymore, but I knew there was no going back. I had seen a lot of death over the past several months, but never had I witnessed masses of children gunned down in the streets. The horror of that one moment rocked me to my core. But all I could do was swallow the grief, the fear, the pain, and put one foot in front of the other. I followed Jacob back out into the chaos, across the bloody streets of the city center.

I was shaking. The adrenaline pumping through my system was something fierce, and the pounding of my heart caused my whole body to feel like it was pulsing with the tempo of its rapid beat. Northern and Telvian aircraft kept flying above, with Northern jets frequently outnumbered by their enemies. Jacob and I dodged gunfire, or took cover inside a building, but it all came as a blur to me, one scene slipping into another with no clarity. All I saw were their faces.

“Mara,” Jacob called, looking over his shoulder as we jogged forward. Somewhere close, we heard an explosion. “When we get to the REG, avoid Enfor—”

“Halt, citizen!” I heard behind us, but I pretended I didn’t hear them, continuing my steady pace forward toward the building.

“I saidhalt!” the voice called again.

Jacob stopped in his tracks, never looking behind him, as I came to a stop at his side. I eyed him and watched as Jacob dragged the stunner out from his waistband under his sweater. I did the same, pulling mine from under my coat.

I cleared my throat but didn’t dare turn around. “What is it, officer?”

“You’re going the wrong way, citizen. Turn around and report to your assigned evacuation site.”

“Yes, of course,” Jacob said calmly. I gave him another glance and suddenly, my heart stopped. He’d lost his sunglasses, and I realized at that moment that I had lost my glasses and hat too. Anyone who had half a brain was going to recognize us if they took the time to look. I lifted my hand, pretending to cough, but pointed at my eyes. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard, rubbing his lips together. He knew it too. We were sitting ducks.

“Citizens,” the officer spoke more forcibly. “Turn around and move to the evacuation sitenow.” And then I heard it, the clickand snap of a weapon being loaded. “Or be arrested and suffer consequences determined by the REG.”

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and sending a quick prayer up to the universe as Jacob cleared his throat. “Yes, sir,” he replied. Then we both turned around.

It took all of half a second before the officer said, “Wait a minute, you’re—”

ZAP!

Jacob fired his stunner, and the guard collapsed to the ground.

No sooner than the officer was down, someone else screamed, “Rebels! Rebels in the Capital!”

Every Enforcement officer within a thirty-foot radius heard the scream. And they all turned and set their sights on us.

“Well shit,” Jacob said. “This is gonna be bad.”

78: A Memory

The world slowed to a crawl. The steady thump of my heart drummed in my ears as fire pumped in my veins. They outnumbered us eight to two. The Telvian Enforcement officers turned their heads to see our faces, and I watched as recognition clicked into place, one right after the other.

It was go time.

I aimed and fired my stunner, taking out the officer closest to us, while Jacob whirled around at my side and fired twice, taking out at least two more behind me. That was all the advantage we had…the precious seconds they wasted trying to add up the pieces were all the time we needed to take three of them out. But then that advantage was gone, and suddenly, everything happened fast.

A guard to my left fired off several rounds at me as I leaped forward, somersaulting across the ground, popping back up on my feet, and leaping behind a parked car as more gunshots wentoff. I whipped around to see Jacob, who jumped in through a broken window of a nearby store.

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