We waited until the middle of the night and quietly left her room. Eleanor had put on the dress she’d worn for her birthday.
“It’s my most cherished item,” she’d explained sadly.
There was only one way out of the bunker, and they could be waiting for us in that room. Much to my relief, we were alone. I took a PARA suit, a gas mask, and a gun. Then, we went up.
"He said that?" she asked as we climbed the ladder. "That he was going to do that to me?"
"He did. They normally didn't invite DITs to join but considering his status and his relationship with you, they decided to include him."
"Status?"
"He's the warden's son," I explained. "That's the only reason this is such a big deal. If it had been me, they wouldn't have cared if I was dead."
She grew quiet. It was true. People went missing all the time. It was a part of the job. But never had there been such a long search for them after. Everyone knew that once you stayed long enough above, you either became a creepie or a crawlie. Or, if you were lucky, you'd just die.
"You saw him. That day at the tram. What did he say?" We reached the ground and began our trek to the vehicles. I didn't want to tell her the truth. Despite all that I had told her, Iknew she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to face the fact that the man she’d crushed on for years was a predator.
"He lured you out to finish the job. Milton was in the mid-stages of turning into a creepie. He took his mask off and told me to do the same, hoping I'd start the change too. And when I didn't, he turned on me. It was either him or I, and if I died, then when you got up to the platform, he would have killed you too."
Clouds thundered above us, and I looked up. The sky was dark, even more than usual for nighttime. A bright light flashed in the sky, and then slow, small drips of rain began to fall from the sky. Oh no, acid rain. I reached for her and looked for the nearest roof to shield us.
"Ouch!" Eleanor squeaked. I reached for the arm she was holding and examined it. Where the rain had touched her, a small red mark remained. Only a small red mark. She was immune.
"Ouch! The rain is pinching me!"
"It's acid rain. Don't let it get in your mouth or eyes."
I hurried her along and then stopped in my tracks when we reached the gates and found the lot empty. Completely empty.
"Nice try, Daddy."
We spun around to see the warden and all the other Daddies. They'd followed us out here. Or, maybe they'd been out here before us and had been waiting. I shoved Eleanor behind me.
"Just let us go," I said. "Just let us leave, and there’ll be no trouble."
"No trouble?" The warden stepped forward and laughed. I pulled my gun over my shoulder, and in sync, all the others did the same, aiming their weapons at me. "You see, soldier,” the warden said, "it's too late. We know how it went down. Milton had a camera on his person. You're already in trouble."
Rule Thirteen - Callahan
Trust is a powerful thing.
Ididn't believe him. We'd never had cameras on our missions, let alone a birthday party. Where would Milton have gotten one? The warden was bluffing. He wanted me to confess.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.
"You were the last one to see Milton alive, weren't you?" He stepped forward, his boots crunching on the damp soil. Our masks were sizzling from the acid rain. It was steadily picking up speed.
"I don't know. It was chaos."
He pointed his gun at me. "Was it? Because it appears that only two people left the bunker the night Milton was impaled on those spikes."
I pushed Eleanor back, all the while looking for an exit. There wasn't one. It was either the bunker or—I blinked. Behind the line of Daddies was a four-wheeler. That would get us far enough to find help, shelter, something.
"I didn't have anything to do with that," I lied.
"Your fellow DITs told us everything. They saw you attack Eleanor's Daddy and then turn on Milton, but we weren'tsure why. We came up with a plan, and you told on yourself every step of the way."
They'd assigned me to Eleanor on purpose. They wanted me to break my oaths. They wanted to catch me telling on myself, and they'd succeeded. I shook my head, but I knew it was pointless. "You don’t have proof."
