“We must trust them,” Arthur pleaded to the council. “At least have faith in my son. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“If this fails, Arthur, you’ll have the end of the human race on your shoulders.”
“That won’t happen, trust me.”
Heads bobbed in agreement as one council member softly confirmed the decision. “You may proceed. Prepare our army and develop a contingency plan. If the gates open, we must give it our all. We may not get another chance with the Dogs being disabled.”
“You won’t regret it.” Arthur backed out of the room with us in tow. “You three, follow me right away.”
We walked through the cool, carpeted hallways of the movie theatre toward the exit. I secretly hoped that if everything went according to plan, I’d never have to lay eyes again on those ghastly numbered doors or that dreadful carpet.
“Jude, how will you get inside Elysium?”
“We have a plan,” Jude answered his father.
“Do we?” I asked with an eyebrow raised. “When the humans first stormed Elysium and kidnapped me, they didn’t have many guns…what’s your plan this time?”
Jude laughed. “You mean the pitchforks and axes? We wanted to give the illusion of an attack without sacrificing our plans and weapons. We were hoping to get an idea of what this secret army was, but only the normal military was deployed.” Turning his head, he looked into the wrinkled face of his dad. “Get us new guns and ammo, ones we can easily hide and meet me outside.”
Arthur stopped abruptly, locking onto Jude. It was as if he were peering into the depths of his mind, searching for a solution, the faintest frown etching itself onto his brow. He nodded and walked toward the military sector of Silvertown as we headed for the exit. Jude nodded curtly to the guards, whose machine guns were against their bodies, and they allowed us to pass.
“Vinny!” a voice shouted, followed by a traipse of dainty footsteps behind me.
Nessa was running toward us, her hair bouncing behind her, with Four trailing not far behind. A mischievous look crossed my face. “How wasyournight?”
Reaching me, her cheeks burned with a deep red, and her eyes were wide with exertion. “Oh, I havea lotto talk to you about.”
“Hopefully, you have alarge pieceof information to share.”
Our giggles, high-pitched and unrestrained like schoolgirls sharing a secret, grated on the two men waiting impatiently by the door. Reaching into her jacket pocket, Nessa pulled out a smooth, cool silver circle from her jacket pocket and balanced it on her index finger. “I know you have a long way, so I thought you might want this.”
She handed it to me, the rainbow streaks from the CD catching the light. I opened my arms and embraced her. “Thank you for being a friend.”
“Good luck,” she whispered and waved as Jude and Gabe opened the door.
Blinded by the intense glare of sunlight on the snow, I stood for a moment, letting my eyes adapt to the brightness before exiting the mall. Everything seemed quiet and still without the potential of getting your body chomped off by a Dog. A brilliant, cloudless blue sky stretched above us, and the bright sun illuminated the world. The boys walked a few feet in front of me, their footprints in simultaneous procession. Knowing their history, I was still surprised at how their unlikely friendship blossomed. They were both so strong-willed.
I guess that was what happened when you nearly died, and someone saved you, right?
I followed their footsteps to a small white car that sat low to the ground, and Jude unraveled a map on its hood. He traced the script on the parchment with his fingertips, then lifted his gaze, sunlight making him squint as he peered into the distance. Biting his bottom lip, he pointed to the east. “We need to go toward the vampire compound.”
I craned my neck, straining to see the map, before finally settling on the spot Jude’s fingertip precisely marked. It showed a city circled in black marker, and I caught my breath. I had an idea of Elysium’s size, but seeing it laid out on the map showedits incredible width. The building we lived in spanned an entire city, minus the small area where the Exiles resided.
I heard the distinct crunch of snow and turned to see Arthur trudging through the drifts, his arms laden with three small pistols and cardboard boxes packed with ammo. Arriving at Jude’s side, he halted, extending a smooth, cherry-red stick about the length of chopsticks. “When the power is shut off and the gates open, shoot this into the sky to alert us.” He thrust the rod into Jude’s hands and embraced him with a hug. “Good luck.”
“I won’t fail.” Jude’s hand rested gently on Arthur’s shoulder as they shared a silent, understanding moment before turning to me and Gabe. “Wewon’t fail.”
“Get going, and I’ll start rallying the troops.”
“We’ll see you soon.” I waved and climbed into the backseat of the car. Each of the cracked black leather seats was reclined so far back, it felt as if we were lying down. The ceiling was so low, I couldn’t sit upright. “What’s this? A toy car?”
Jude snorted as Gabe struggled to get his large body inside. “It’ll hide us from prying eyes.” He pressed the ignition, the dash lights flaring to life, and the engine’s purr vibrated through the car’s frame. The car began to move through the empty parking lot until we were on the open road.
“Where are we going? What’s the plan?” I asked, crouching forward between the two men. “Or are we going to pull up outside Elysium and ask politely to be let insidewith a human?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Gabe rolled his eyes, a smirk dancing on his lips.
“I actually got the idea from Pete,” Jude answered, never looking away from the road. “We’re going to sneak into the vampire compound through the transport pods.”
