Chapter 49: Chapter 49

Julia and I spend the entire night talking. After she wraps up dinner, a young man walks in, a two-year-old boy clutching his hand.

The man is tall, clearly not from around here, and he tells us he’s been in Albion for a decade since his plane was shot down. He’s from Brazil. His name is Carlos.

The little boy is João, and he’s adorable. Julia holds him close all night. I can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy.

But Julia’s story isn’t a happy one. After the Testing, she was dumped with the other girls at the factory.

They were crammed into a tiny house and forced to work twelve-hour shifts under the watchful eyes of soldiers. The very men they once dreamed of having children with were now their tormentors, hurling insults and beating them if they didn’t work hard enough.

Food was scarce, and when foreign raids hit, no one came to their rescue. The soldiers only cared about protecting the factory; the workers were expendable.

She eventually met Carlos when he was transferred to the factory three years ago. They fell in love, hard and fast.

Julia starts to talk about the struggle of loving just one man, but she doesn’t need to. I know exactly how she feels.

I share my own story. I tell her about the establishment, Beth and the nursery, and the raid when I first met Sanoske outside the nursery walls. I tell her about the secret I kept, knowing that the outside air wasn’t toxic.

She holds my hand as I speak.

I tell her about Eric and my little Beth. I tell her about Sanoske, about the Kagegun, the Resistance, the Chinese. It all just spills out of me.

Haruhiko stands guard by the door, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, listening to our stories.

By the time Julia and I finish, we’re both crying and we hold each other for a long time.

We step outside her house for a moment and look up at the stars lighting up the night sky, just like we used to do from our dorm room windows when we were kids.

We hold hands, listening to the soft voices of Carlos and Haruhiko inside the house as they clean up after dinner.

“I used to think about you and Beth a lot,” Julia whispers to me. “I used to think that all my suffering was worth it if you two could be having babies for Albion.

“When I heard Beth had become a Defective, it made me really sad for a long time.”

“Have you ever tried to leave here?” I ask her.

She slowly shakes her head. “Where would I go? Carlos talks about Brazil. He tells everyone about Brazil. But it’s so far away, and he doesn’t have a plane anymore. Now we have João, and he’s my reason to live.”

“I get it. Beth is my reason to keep fighting.”

I play with the ends of my hair and look up at the stars. “She’s my world. I need to go and get her, Julia.”

Julia turns to me, her eyebrows furrowed. “Go and get her? From the school?”

I slowly nod. “I won’t let her be raised like we were. To fear the outside world. Locked up, waiting to eventually have babies of her own, if she isn’t deemed unfit by a bunch of disgusting men first.”

I don’t try to hide the anger in my voice. Julia bites her lower lip. I know she does that when she’s worried. I take her hands.

“Julia, I lived with Masters for a year. I was imprisoned with one for weeks. I haven’t met a single good one. They’re all selfish and dangerous. They take, and they don’t care who they hurt.

“They make us believe that the rest of the world is dead and trying to invade Albion for our riches. We both know that’s not true.

“They make us fear the outside air, the very air we’re breathing. And I’ve seen them breathe it too. They know it’s not toxic. They say it is just to control us.

“And they sacrifice us without a second thought. We’re less than human to them.”

I can hear my voice rising with anger. I take a deep breath and squeeze Julia’s hands.

“I’ve been used by them. Hurt by them. I almost died escaping them. But I’d do it again. Every time. Because I won’t be a pawn anymore. And neither will my daughter.

“Julia, come with us when we go back to the ship in the south. Bring Carlos and João. Leave Albion.”

Her lower lip trembles. “I can’t imagine another life,” she says through her tears.

I wipe them away from her cheeks. “You have to, Julia. For your son. And I will for my daughter. I won’t let another girl be discarded like Beth was. If I could, I’d save them all.”

Julia collapses to her knees, crying. I crouch down next to her and put my hand on her back.

“I should have fought for Lola when they took her away. She was still breathing,” she sobs. “And they threw her into a pile of burning bodies.”

She cries out loud, and I hold her close, trying not to picture the image she saw of our childhood friend burning alive. I squeeze my eyes shut to hold back the tears. A strong resolve forms in me.

Beth is innocent. But so is the rest of Albion. And they deserve to live freely just as much.

I hold Julia close, unable to stop my own tears now. I know Sanoske will regret this day forever, but I have no choice.

It’s been a long time coming.

***

The next morning, I quickly dress in one of Julia’s long gray skirts and a gray blouse. I pull my hair back in a long braid and tie it with a gray ribbon.

When I’m ready, I look in the only mirror they have in their house. The reflection staring back at me is of a young Perfect woman.

But I’m not plump and round and soft anymore. I can see my muscles under my pale skin, my nails are chipped and dirty, and my eyes are haunted and determined.

I’m not a Perfect anymore. I’m a Traitor. And today, I wear my new name with pride.

In the main room of the house, I find Julia and João cooking in the kitchen while Haruhiko gets my pack ready. Carlos had left early for his first shift at the factory.

Haruhiko’s eyes widen when he sees me. I meet his gaze as I pick up the pistol he’s left on the table. I check that it’s loaded and tuck it into the waistband of my skirt.

He hands me the backpack, a small smile playing on his lips.

“Julia was nice enough to pack you some of her cookies,” he says. “You’ve got water, too. Not much, so refill it at the school if you can. There’s also ammo, and two knives.”

He lays them out on the table before me. I slide one into my boot, the other I fasten to my belt. He nods, a silent approval.

“There’s a blanket, too,” he continues. “It’s starting to get chilly. You might need it. Use it to hide, too. Ten kilometers out, you’ll find the compound. We think it’s the same one you used to live in.

“Another ten kilometers from there is the school. Keep the sun at your back on the way there, and in your face on the way back. You’ve got twenty-four hours.”

I nod slowly, slinging the bag over my shoulder. Haruhiko grins at me.

“Bring her home, Alex,” he says.

I nod, more forcefully this time, and pull him into a hug. He’s a bit surprised, but he returns the embrace just as tightly.

“Can you get a message to Sanoske?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. We rendezvous back at the ship.”

I nod, my brow furrowing slightly. “What about the soldiers tailing us?”

He gives me a small, knowing smile. “I’m going to backtrack and see if I can pick up their trail. I’m guessing they lost us after we ditched the truck. But they’ll be searching the area, so stay low.”

He nods, a determined look in his eyes. “I’ll create some diversions for them.”

I take a final look at the young soldier, his spiky black hair, his deep-set eyes. He’s younger than me, but he’s seen more than his fair share of nightmares.

Sanoske trusts him with my life, but I’m not sure I could save him if it came down to it. He’s just as valuable.

“Be careful,” I tell him.

Then I hug Julia and little João, who insists on planting a kiss on my cheek before I go.

Julia points me in the right direction, and in the faint morning light, I start my journey across the desolate wasteland that was once my home.