The Deathless Trilogy

2.12. For Now I am Deathless

"Please," I beg Gunther, "let me talk to him."

Nina holds me in her long arms. The green sequins on her sleeves catch the overhead fluorescent lighting, making her wide, frantic brown eyes seem hazel. "Isla, we can't be down here," she says, but Gunther stops her.

He examines me, biting the inside of his cheek. "You can't get something for nothing, Ms. Blume."

"I know."

Gunther removes a set of keys from his pocket and unlocks the door. "Remember this, Ms. Blume."

I nod, and he lets me pass. Captain Jones has a gun pointed at Sato's head, and the drone buzzes over his shoulder, recording every moment.

"Stop!" I yell.

"Captain, turn the drone off, and give them some privacy."

"I have orders," the captain retorts.

"And I am overriding them," Gunther shouts, typing a code into the machine. A red light on the drone turns off, and it buzzes out of the room, nearly hitting Nina, who waits in the hall; but Captain Jones refuses to lower his weapon.

"Stop right there, Isla," Captain Jones says, pointing the barrel at me.

"Put the damn gun down, Keith. Let the poor fools speak."

Captain Jones huffs, but latches the safety back in place. "You better have a good reason for this, Gunther."

"Come off it, Keith. You're still going to kill him, I'm only asking that you postpone it," Gunther says.

The captain looks at both of us, and sighs. "Fine, but Cooper will know about this."

"The drone was filming. Cooper already knows."

Captain Jones passes me, and as soon as I'm clear, I run to Sato. Gunther follows the Captain out of the room, saying only, "Five minutes, Ms. Blume." Nina stands in the hallway, presumably waiting for me, and I nod to them both.

Once the door is closed, I look at General Sato, his eyes surprisingly dry given the situation. He's scratched, bruised, emaciated. Wasn't Ian supposed to protect him?

There's a line of duct tape across his mouth, so I peel it away as gently as I can and drop it on the ground. He moves his lips as if to regain feeling in them, but before he can speak, I say, "This is all my fault. I'm the reason you're here."

"You're right," he says, and my body tenses with guilt until he continues, "I would have been a pile of ash in the bunker if it weren't for you." He smiles. "You gave me the chance to see hope for my people. You are that hope."

"But if I had just kept my mouth shut last night, you wouldn't be in this room," I say, beginning to cry, and as I look around, I notice the cement floor is stained with blood, especially where I'm kneeling. How many people have been killed here?

General Sato shakes his head. "Don't ever apologize for the things you do while standing up for others. I didn't hear you yelling at Cooper last night, because all I could hear was the silence of everyone else in the room." He frowns. "Don't feel guilty if others perceive your bravery as hubris. That's a reflection of their fears more than it is of your character."

By now I'm crying, so I barely make out the words, "But they're going to kill you. Because of me."

"No," he replies sternly, "they're going to kill me because they are afraid of the Deathless. Not because of you. They are making an example of me." Then he whispers, "You have to keep fighting for the Deathless. Give them a reason to really fear us. I will be gone, Phoebe may as well be gone, Winston is in shackles, and Alexander is a traitor. You are the Deathless leader now."