Chapter 198
- Kaysi -
The rain soaked everything.
The mansion behind is in chaos, with smoke rolling out of the doors and through the broken windows, heightening the sense of danger and urgency of the escape.
Sirens screamed from somewhere deeper in the estate while guards shouted over one another, trying to regain control of the situation.
I don't care; all that mattered was that I was free. I thought as I changed in the car, the men stood with their backs turned, keeping guard.
The wedding dress was gone, the ridiculous jewelry off.
And most importantly, I wasn't married off to a random, arrogant stranger.
Josh walked up to me with a grin that told me he was about to say something stupid again.
"You know," he began, "most girls usually wait until they're engaged before trying on a wedding dress."
I punched his arm.
"Ow!" I forgot that it isn't your real arm.
"Eh, try harder next time; I might feel it."
Frank laughed.
Evan looked like he was trying not to smile.
Josh grabbed my armband.
"See, violence. That's exactly why I rescued you."
"You didn't rescue me? You practically hid behind the smoke."
Josh placed his hand over his heart for a second.
"Ah, I risked everything. Now, hold still."
A small flame came out of his fingertip. He melted the band. The metal glowed, then cracked, falling off my wrist. Pieces hit a puddle under us with a sizzling splash.
Josh kicked the fragments into a storm drain.
"There"
I stared.
"There what?"
The strange man, who resembled the governor, spoke.
The strange man who looked like the governor spoke, revealing, "It's a tracker, which means they can follow us anywhere, even now."
I looked sharply and grabbed my sword.
"Who, what?"
Evan placed his hand on mine and shook his head.
"Arthur helped us rescue you. He had blueprints to the city, and his grandfather claimed he built this place. But that is as far as the information I know about him."
As Evan spoke, I could tell he was still hesitating and was cautious about this man as well.
Arthur adjusted his coat as the rainwater dripped from the brim of his hood.
"The gold bands didn't just identify you; they also monitored you.
My stomach twisted at that.
So even after all of that, they would have followed us and probably dragged us back."
I shivered. "I am glad that's gone. Thank you, Josh."
"Oh, now you say thanks." He gave a cheeky smile. "You're welcome; now let's get back to Becky and the others."
Arthur nodded.
"Wise decision."
We barely made it back to the car when one of the masked raiders jogged up.
"Arthur, Sir, the perimeter is secure."
He nodded back.
"Any casualties?"
Minor injuries, the Hudsons are being detained for questioning."
"Good."
The raider moved off again.
Josh folded his arms.
"So are you going to tell us who you are officially now?"
Arthur looked towards the mansion as he eased into the car.
"Get in; my grandfather created this city, the framework – all the tunnels, aqueducts, sewers, canals, and even the hidden routes."
I stood outside the car, calculating.
"You don't have enough space for me?"
They looked around as if it just clicked.
Arthur spoke first.
"You'll probably have to sit on Evan's lap."
"Or", Frank intervened, "since you boys are brothers, I am sure it would be nothing to let the lady have a seat to herself."
Josh hopped on Evan's lap before anything else could be spoken.
"Bubby, can you tell me a bedtime story?"
"I swear if you breathe a word of this when we get back, I will erase you from this world; even Becky will forget you."
Josh gave him puppy-dog eyes.
"Then can you sing me a song?"
Evan punched his arm.
"Ouch, and that was my prosthetic!?"
"Just be quiet for the rest of the ride."
I scuttled into the cramped car.
Arthur drove.
Evan remained quiet.
I nudged him.
"What?"
"You okay?"
Arthur looked back in the mirror.
"We will be there in less than 10 minutes."
Evan looked out the rain-streaked window.
"Yeah."
"Liar."
"She got you there," Josh teased.
Evan gave Josh a death glare.
"You ran through the door, didn't you?" I said, removing a wood chip from the door out of his hair.
"Yes, he absolutely did. You should have seen him." Josh had no filter. "Arthur was trying to explain the plan, and Evan was already halfway across the lawn, so hazard mask or nothing."
"I was not." He looked back at Josh. "Say another word," he mumbled quietly, but the car was way too small for sound not to travel."
"You totally were."
Frank added and laughed.
Evan looked defeated and ready to throw both of them out of this vehicle, whether it was moving or not.
There was a genuine smile he was trying to hide all day; still, finally, there was a small, brief, but real relief for a moment.
The vehicle pulled into the alley where the others were hiding.
Before it even stopped moving.
The side door flew open.
"Kaysi"
Becky nearly tackled me back into the car.
I barely had time to brace myself before she wrapped both arms around me.
Micah arrived a second later.
"You idiot."
"Nice to see you, Micah."
"You got yourself kidnapped!"
"Technically, forcibly matched for marriage to improve genetics and support the survival of Bushel's wealthiest family!"
Arthur butted in.
"Good, so I don't have to explain that part."
"That doesn't make it better." Micah shook me and then hugged me.
Duke and Baby walked up.
"Good to see you're alive." Baby gave me a quick up-and-down glance.
Elisa looked equally relieved.
The tension that had been hanging over everyone's heads finally loosened.
The lights flickered once, then went out. For a second, the emergency lights flickered to life, then died as well.
"Damn," Arthur muttered under his breath.
His radio cracked.
His hand immediately moved to the talk button.
"Go ahead."
"We just lost Generator Station Seven."
Arthur's expression darkened.
"How widespread?"
"It is expanding. Backup systems are beginning to fail throughout the upper districts as well."
The entire group went silent.
Arthur lowered the radio.
Slowly. Like he already knew what was next.
Evan crossed his arms now.
"So, what does this mean?"
Arthur looked towards the towering skyline of City 5.
"The wealthy districts have spent days relying on the secondary generators."
Arthur exhaled.
"They were never designed to run at full power this long, and I am sure they did not conserve their resources."
Almost on cue, a building in the distance went dark.
This time, they were staying dark.
The streets erupted into shouting.
Becky sighed. "They had finally handled things, and it calmed down."
The illusion was beginning to crack, and people were waking up.
Josh whistled.
"Looks like the rich people get to finally experience what the rest of us have been dealing with."
No one said a word or smiled.
The radio buzzed to life again.
"Sir, the civilians are refusing to leave their homes; they believe repairs will restore power."
Arthur rubbed the bridge of his nose.
For the first time, landing in City 5, something worse than the corruption was soon to hit this place. Inevitability. Because these people with the most resources were making the same mistake we and everyone else have already made... Pretending the disaster wasn't coming for them.
Several homes went dark after the loss of people.
"We need to move," Arthur said.
"Why?" Becky asked.
Arthur looked towards the growing darkness spreading through the city.
"Because this is only downhill from here."
And judging by the look on his face—
He knew exactly how bad this all was about to get.