The Sky is Everywhere

Chapter Forty-Two

I expect the corridor to lead us to yet another room much like the first few, but instead we emerge at the top of a shallow ramp that leads down into some kind of huge indoor maze. The space is all carved up with dark panels, forming narrow pathways that turn this way and that, and the lighting in here is noticeably dimmer.

It makes my senses prickle. This space feels all wrong somehow, though maybe that's just because of everything we've already seen.

Somewhere, in the maze, someone is crying. As we stand there, a scream rings out, but sound seems to be distorted in here; I can't tell if the scream is coming from the maze or somewhere else in the Grid.

"What do we do?" Priya asks, pressing herself against Sonny's side.

We really only have one choice.

"We go forward," I say.

I really don't want to, but something tells me that keeping moving is the best chance we've got, although I don't know how long we can keep this up. Sooner or later we're going to come to the end of the Grid, and what happens then?

Clutching my knife, I venture into the maze, Sonny and Priya close behind.

As soon as we're inside, sound becomes even more distorted. Another scream cuts the air, and it seems to come from all sides, then there's shouting, the pound of running feet, another scream.

My heart sits in my throat.

After the first few metres, the dark panelling on our left side abruptly gives way to a sheet of glass. A bloody handprint is smeared on the glass, and the sight of it makes me grip my knife tighter.

At least in the other rooms we could see if anyone was in there with us. In here, we don't know where we're going, or who we'll suddenly run into, and the tension stretches out my nerves. My whole body is taut as a wire.

A few moments later we encounter another pane of glass, and at first glance there's no one there, but then Priya lets out a little shriek, and I turn to see someone standing on the other side of the glass, staring back at us.

Gavin.

My heart plunges into the ground. My nerves fray like old rope.

I should have killed him.

I should have killed him.

Somehow, he's got hold of another knife; this one is splattered with blood. His eyes lock on mine, and there is a lethal promise there. He let us walk away once before. He won't do it again.

He taps his knife against the glass, a slow smile spreading across his face, and I stare back, refusing to let him know that he scares me.

But he does.

And then suddenly he's gone, running down the maze, searching for a way to reach us.

I dither, trying to decide what to do.

Going back isn't going to get us anywhere, and I'm afraid that Fletcher will have killed Cole already, and will even now be coming after us. If we go back, we might run right into him.

If we go forward, we might run into Gavin.

Equally, Gavin might find himself taking a wrong turn in the maze, ending up at a dead end.

We have more chance of escaping without running into Gavin, and if it comes down to a fight between them, I would rather face Gavin than Fletcher.

"Come on," I say.

But Priya doesn't move.

Her eyes are wide and unfocused, and her breath comes in panicky little gasps. "We're going to die here," she whispers.

I want to insist that we're not, to comfort her like I always do, but the words stick in my throat, because I can't give her any guarantees. I will fight with everything I have to protect my friends, but in the end it probably won't be enough.

"Hey," says Sonny softly, touching her arm. "Look at me."

She continues to stare at the floor, her chest heaving.

"Jackie's dead," she says, her voice cracking.

I've been so focused on keeping my friends safe, that I forgot they have friends other than me. Priya has been Jackie's roommate for years, and even though Jackie was never part of our group, she was important to Priya. And now she's dead, killed by someone else she called a friend.

"Taffy's probably dead too," Priya continues.

"She's not," I say, even though I don't know that, because I can't bear to think that she really might be.

Priya sucks in a shuddering breath and tears spill down her cheeks. "We might as well just give up."

"We are not giving up," Sonny says, and cups her face. His hands are so large, dwarfing her cheeks. "Listen to me, Priya. We are going to get out of here. I don't know how, but we are."

She gazes up at him, and I realise he's going to kiss her a second before he does. And then I feel like an idiot because how can I not have seen the way they feel about each other until right now? At the same time I know exactly how I haven't seen it. Seconds can't get married. We can't have proper romantic relationships, so whatever Sonny and Priya feel for each other, however long they've felt it, they've never acted on it because what's the point. They're not allowed to be together.

Priya kisses him back, clinging to him like this is the first and last time they will ever be able to do this.

I wish this filled me with fresh determination to somehow survive, but instead it just makes me very tired. All I want is a world in which Seconds are treated fairly, a world in which people like Priya and Sonny are free to love each other, where they don't have to hide how they feel.

I thought that I would be able to help bring down the CC and give my friends that world.

But I failed.

"I'm going to keep you safe," Sonny murmurs. "But we have to keep moving, okay?"

Priya sniffles and nods. "Okay."

We move quickly through the maze, constantly pausing to listen for approaching footsteps, but there's so much noise around us and it's impossible to pinpoint where it's coming from.

When we turn a bend, we come upon a body lying on the floor. I can tell from the dark hair that it's not Taffy, but I don't stop to see who it is. It's still someone I know, and I can't afford the luxury of grief. I can't afford the luxury of fear.

The path ahead abruptly splits in two, and I come to a halt, sagging under the weight of so many decisions. Do we go left, or do we go right?

Somewhere in this maze, Gavin is still looking for us, and if I make the wrong choice, we might walk right into his arms.

Or onto the end of his blade.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I think of Roan.

There is nothing I wouldn't give to turn a corner and see him here, his eyes full of the sky, full of stars.

But he's not here.

He's not coming.

He can't save me.

I pick a direction at random.

"Let's go left," I say.

It's the wrong decision.