Page 143 of Blue Arrow Island
His hands are folded on top of his head and he’s pacing like a caged lion.
“The shield’s still up,” he says.
I stop short. “Are you sure?”
He nods. I keep walking, wanting to see for myself. I make it about ten feet before sharp pains in my head and my stomach send me to my knees. It’s white hot, like my insides are on fire. I grit my teeth to keep from screaming, managing to crawl back to Marcus.
“What now?” I ask him, breathing hard.
He takes out his radio and pushes the button. “This is Ares. Someone get to the switch point.”
“Wait.” I get to my knees, still unable to stand. “The Tiders aren’t in there?”
He shakes his head, moving his hands to his hips. “They can’t be with the shield up. There’s some other emergency.”
“What if we’re the only ones who can help and you just outed us?”
“I know, but I can’t stay here and wait.” He scrubs his hands down his face. “You should hide.”
The effects of the aromium shield are still there. I can’t stand, and I just want to throw up and lie down. Testing the shield was a dumb move on my part.
I crawl to a bunch of bushes, waiting for the sickness to pass. A few minutes later, I hear someone running, their boots pounding on the ground.
“There’s a revolt.” It’s Adele, her voice frenzied. “He opened all the cells and let all the prisoners out.”
“Who?”
“Ray. It was Ray.”
I cover my mouth with my hand. That means not only is McClain free, but so are all the people we got from the most recent boat of prisoners. Marcus makes them stay in cells while they’re questioned so they can try to root out who might cause problems.
I get to my feet, stumbling as I make my way over to them.
Adele’s eyes widen as she looks me over from head to toe. I know I resemble a rodent that just crawled out from beneath a pile of hot garbage.
“I tested the shield,” I say. “I’m fine. Did he kill anyone?”
“Stark, from Security Team Two. And ... I don’t know, maybe more. I was with Chance when things went bad. I hid. Ray freed the prisoners and convinced a bunch of them to join his rebellion. He told everyone they could either help build the boat or be executed.”
Marcus’s expression darkens. “He’s fucking dead. Where’s Nova?”
Adele furiously swipes tears from her eyes. “Tied up. He tied up all the command team members they were able to find. Even Chance, and he lost part of his left arm yesterday.”
Marcus balks. “What?”
“Jaguar. Wyatt thinks he killed it, but he’s not sure. He was just trying to get him back here before he bled to death.”
“Oh God.” I look away, feeling sick again.
“He’s alive. Ellison had to take part of his arm, but one of the prisoners dragged him out of bed and he’s tied up by the tower with the others.”
Marcus puts a hand on her shoulder. “You did great, Adele. Do you know who else from Command besides you is in hiding?”
“Um...” She tucks her hair behind her ear, her hand shaking. “Niran’s not there. I don’t know where he is. I didn’t see Wyatt with the others, or Stella.”
“Good. Did they get to the weapons?”
She shakes her head. “We told them only you can access them. That’s why they shot Stark, because they didn’t believe him.”
