Dissonance - Book One

three

The alarm continues to blare as Aveline works quickly, swiping and hitting buttons on the desktop in front of her.

"Aveline, who are those people?" I ask, but she ignores me, focused on the task at hand. I'm not sure if the people behind the door want to help or hurt us, so I look around for something to use for protection, but there's nothing. They would never put any sort of weapon inside this room with their precious science project nearby.

Just then I hear the locking mechanisms disengage and the first steel door is raised. Aveline continues typing furiously on the screen. She must be unlocking the system from the inside, which I'm guessing is no small feat given what it took to get inside. I hear another lock disengage as the second door raises. I brace myself for who is about to come barreling through the doorway.

Several armed men run into the room. I throw my hands up into the air to indicate my surrender. I don't recognize any of them, but as usual, they clearly know who I am. Their eyes lock on me immediately, and they move swiftly in my direction. I brace myself for impact, expecting them to grab me and take me with them, but they stop once they're about two feet away and look to Aveline, who doesn't appear the slightest bit concerned.

"Where is he?" Aveline asks sternly. I follow the armed man's head as he nods towards the doorway. Two figures holding guns, step through the door. My fear instantly turns to joy as Kelly enters the room, with Lex not too far behind.

"Kelly!" I shout, nudging the men aside and running into his arms. The beacon. I had almost completely forgotten about it. The nurse must have activated it. Another nameless person who has risked her life for my own.

"Hey kid," he replies. "Did you miss me?"

I pull back and shake my head at his ridiculous playful banter at such an inopportune time. And while his pet names irritated me before, it actually brings a smile to my face, because I thought I'd never get to hear him tease me again. I give Kelly a smile and release my hold on him as I turn to Lex, squeezing her tightly.

"I don't understand? How are you here? How are you both alive?"

"Disappointed?" Kelly jokes, but before I have time to respond, Aveline chimes in.

"I hate to disrupt this little reunion, but explanations are an indulgence we can't afford right now. We're running out of time. That's what that loud piercing siren is all about," she says sarcastically. "So much for the plan." She looks sternly at Kelly.

The plan. So my sister and Kelly are working together. That means she knows that he is working with Ivanov, which means she is as well. A pang of guilt swells in my heart over how I've misjudged her. I should have trusted that she was one of the good guys. She's my sister after all.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but we hit some road bumps in the plan, so I had to improvise and I decided it was best to bring backup."

"Well your noisy arrival means we don't have much time."

We look at the screens. Several monitors display images of security cameras throughout the mine showing dozens of armed men and women entering the premises and by the looks of the Environettix troops gathering on the other side, their unannounced visit will be met with aggression.

"Unwanteds?" Aveline asks, turning to Kelly.

"Who else? The cavalry has arrived to buy us some time."

"Unlikely," she says as the entire control board lights up. A voice can be heard over the alarm.

Launch sequence initiated. Calmly make your way to the shuttle. Launch commencing in T-minus 30 minutes. The voice repeats itself as Aveline analyzes the control board.