To Be A Rebel

Chapter 30: Sweet Dreams

"Five, can you pass me that bottle?" Kefilwe asks, and I immediately do as told, guilt and worry clawing at my insides. "We need to wash your eye out, Steven. Ian got very close to taking it out completely."

Steve nods, bleeding and slightly swaying where he sits. "Yes, fine. That's good, thanks."

Guilt strikes through me when I hear how his voice is slurring. Ian truly is a monster.

"Hold this to your eye," Kefilwe says, giving him a cold pack. I'm assuming it's to help with the pain. "I'll get my bag. You're going to need stitches."

She gets up and leaves the hospital room, the door softly closing behind her, and Steve turns to me. I send him an apologetic look.

"Builder, I am so sorry-"

"Did you get the key?" He asks, and I blink in surprise, taking a moment to register the question before nodding. "Show me."

I pull it out of my pocket, and he grins, his teeth bloody from when Ian hit him in the mouth while I was in his office.

"Yeah, that's the one," He slurs, laughing. "Excellent. We have to move now. Ian said something to me while he was... punishing me. Said it away from the megaphone, making sure the speakers wouldn't pick it up. Only a few people know this. We don't have a few days until Sigrid opens those inner doors. She estimates she'll be in there by tomorrow. You need to be in there ahead of her, or she'll take everything down for herself and her people.

"That key will get you past the security gate. The outer doors are already open, so you can get to the anteroom with the plate for your palm print, but there are still two guards at the door. You need to find a way to take them out."

The door opens again, and I shove my key back into my pocket as Kefilwe enters the room. She shuts the door and sets down her bag before beginning to look through it.

"Okay, Steven, let's give you something for a pain."

Suddenly the door bursts open, slamming against the wall. I jump, tensing and readying to run, afraid we'd been made and Ian's sent soldiers to come find us, but it's not Sigrid's soldiers. It's a way too energetic Kytan, and a slightly annoyed Cameo.

"Kapow!" He yells. "Yo. Hey, Doc. Runner Five! How's it going?" Kytan's smile drops when he sees the Builder. "Steve."

"Five, we need your help," Cameo says, and I straighten, and Kefilwe sighs.

"Cameo, Kytan, sorry, but I am working in here."

Steve waves a hand dismissively. "Please, I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," Kytan says, scrunching up his nose. "You look like, totes gross. Anyway, Five, yeah, we need you. Runners work as one! Yeah! Combi-powers!"

"Uh, why do you need me?" I ask, and Cameo sighs again, her eyes downcast.

"Ian said we should throw Owen's body into the incinerator, but if we go now, we can take him from the transport to the Forest of Fallen Runners. It's level two security, but with your clearance, Five, we could just make it there and back before roll call. And I had something I wanted to talk through with you."

I look at Kefilwe for permission, and she nods. "Go, Five. I can handle Steven."

"Yes, go!" Steve says, and we head out.

Cameo and Kytan take me to the morgue, where the incinerator is, since apparently Sigrid's version of Abel doesn't do graves anymore. They almost covered up the graveyard, so they could build some other building for something that I didn't care to hear about. I think I would have raised hell if they'd covered Willis's grave, or Sarah Smith's. Archie is buried here too, because even though she was a New Canton runner, Jaime lived in Abel, or he sort of did. We did it so he could visit her if he wanted to.