To Be A Rebel

Chapter 28: Gone, I'm Gone

"We have days, Steve. Days!" I grit out, wanting to slam my head into the table in frustration. "Veronica told me that they were days away from getting into those labs, and that was two days ago, and We. Have. Nothing!"

"Believe me, I know this does sound bad-"

"Sounds bad? Sounds bad?! This is terrible. If we count the days I was stuck in that cell, I have been in Abel over three weeks. Twenty-three days to be exact. Twenty-three days, eighteen of which I have been free, and we are no closer to getting into those labs undetected than we were eighteen days ago!"

"Keep your voice down," He growls, but I scoff and roll my eyes.

"Oh, please. We're in the freaking library. No one is going to come in here, and those who do turn around as soon as they see us. Only certain people like me, and even fewer like you. And stop trying to change the subject. We are in very hot water right now."

"I've been talking to the Colonel. We're trying to think of something. Now that the safe-crackers are all gone, we should be able to get you there unseen."

"When? How? I need a plan, Steve. I have been away from Noah Base for twenty-three days. I have not seen my boyfriend or my baby in twenty-three days. My deaf, immune son is in here and every day I worry somehow, it might be made known that he's immune. My daughter is at risk for smuggling out supplies to the Girl Guides, and for causing mishaps around town with her brother, my oldest son, who is working with Veronica. And surprisingly, he's the one who's in the least amount of danger, event though he's the one who tries to be reckless and wants so desperately to be a runner.

"So give me a damn plan, Steve, before I decide to go down there and bust into those labs right now. If you think I won't tell my kids to get ready to escape, you are very, very-"

"Hey, hey, just calm down," He says, and that just makes me angrier. Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe I'm being a bitch, but right now I'm stressed and angry and all I can think about is the fact that we're running out of time.

Steve places a hand on my shoulder, and it's only then I realize that I'm shaking. When did I start shaking?

"Five, love, I know you're stressed, but we have to think. We have to get past the guards, because there will still be guards down there even with the safe-crackers gone, and Ian has set up some sort of gate for security. He put it up after the Minister left. I suppose he wants her to be proud of him or something. To get past that gate, we'd need his key, which he keeps in an office in the wooden part of Abel. It's actually only a few miles away from the place you call The Forest of Fallen Runners. There are guards there, in the woods. We have to find a way to get you past them-"

"Okay, fine! We'll do that. Just-just tell me what to do and I'll do it. We just-we have to find a way in. I don't know how much longer we have, and I don't know how much longer I can keep on being a kiss-ass to Ian."

He blinks, tilting his head to the side. "Why are you-"

"I can't have him throwing me in a cell when I might have to be out here breaking into the armory. He wants to put me in a cell so badly, but since the Minister likes me, he has to have a valid reason to put me in there. He can't just throw me in there if I look at him funny. He wants to, though."

During our few interactions, Ian has jumped back and forth from being a semi-decent person to baiting me to do something that would get myself thrown into a cell. It's obvious this man has some serious mental issues, but I don't think bipolar disorder is one of them. I think he just wants to me to suffer, but he also is kind of okay with me now since the Minister trusts me. Maybe that's it. But from what I know, Ian's mind is a dark, twisted place, and I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole because I won't end up getting out.