We're going to leave tonight. Lights had barely been turned out when Max was hit with the shakes again. They were terrible tonight. She was trembling so badly she fell off of her bed onto the floor with a great thud. Of course, a crowd gathered around her, me in the center, trying to hold her down. She shook and shivered for several minutes before finally calming. All I could think about was watching Jack fall out of line that day and being taken away. That on top of the scene Maxie had described to me several weeks ago, I was thoroughly afraid for her. Krit and Syl and Jondy as well. I looked up at Tinga and motioned for her to follow me. I placed Max back on her bed, tucking her in tightly. I needed to discuss this with my S-I-C first.
"I'm taking them away from here." I just blurted it out like that. No warning, no introduction, just a simple statement. Tinga jumped a little in surprise. She hadn't been expecting that.
"You mean, like escaping Manticore?"
"Yes."
"That's deserting!"
"I know."
"You could get court-martialed, or shot!"
"I know."
"Why?"
"They've got the shakes, Tinga. I can't let them take my unit away one by one. They've already taken Jack and Eva. No more."
"How do you plan to get out of here, Zack? There are guards. And fences. And alarms."
"I've actually come up with a plan. We're faster than any of the guards, the fences are easy to jump, and we'll just have to beat the alarms."
"How?"
"I know a way out to the yards that isn't mainstream. We'll have to pass through the Nomlies section, but we'll get out after that."
"I don't know about this."
"You don't have to come, Little Sister. I'd like for you to, but I'm not going to force anyone to come with me. You'll probably be interrogated by Lydecker, then reindoctrinated, but you don't have to be free with me."
Tinga sighed loudly. "We should get going before they check back in here again." I smiled at my little sister, glad she was on board. With the two of us in charge, the others would follow with no problem.
"Everyone, fall in!" The kids scrambled all around me, backs rigid, eyes straight ahead.
"We're leaving this prison to find out what it is like to live out there. It'll be almost as good as the Good Place. No worries, no punishment, nothing. We've got to get going. I want you all to listen to my plan."
They all leaned forward except Jace. Her eyes were so wide and terrified, I felt sorry for her. "I will not order you to come with me. It is your choice to stay here or leave. I want you all to know that I won't let anything bad happen to you if you wish to try to escape with me. I can't guarantee anything, especially for those who decide to stay here at Manticore. I will do my best, though."
I waited for a few more minutes. I let the words sink into their minds, waited for them to collect their thoughts and to make their decisions. I smiled as I saw each and every one of my unit get into two lines. "We're going to have to be quiet. There will be guards and sirens and alarms that can be tripped. We're going to have to be careful." We walked out side of our bunk and travelled down the hall quietly, trying to stop ourselves from marching like we usually did. We managed to evade any guards on our hall and to walk down the stairs three flights. We were on the fourth floor now. Some of the Nomlies lived here. I noticed Ben tense up and I saw Jondy and Max grab each others hands. We stayed in the shadows, just as we were made. We were children of the shadows, to be exact. We were never meant to be in the light. Going out into the world was going to be hard and confusing, but I knew each and every one of them would be strong enough to survive. We continued our march down close to the walls. The Nomlies were reaching through the bars on their doors, grabbing at us. I saw Syl flinch and Krit duck as another almost grabbed his neck. The Nomlies were screaming on the top of their lungs, as if trying to alert the proper authorities of our unauthorized presence. Unfortunately, the two guards on that hall came to see what the commotion was about. They grabbed their walkie talkies and started to report.
"A group of unauthorized X5's are on the fourth floor. We repeat, unauthori-"
Tinga and I had snapped their necks before they could continue. A slight bit of guilt ran through me before I immediately pushed it away. It was too late for us, though. The sirens had been sounded and the lights were searching the ground. We could hear guards marching up the stairs hurriedly. This was not part of the plan. I glanced around and noticed one window at the end of the corridor. I moved my hands in a wide circle and then motioned for them to go down to the window. We all stopped in front of the wide glass and stared down at the snowy ground. We were going to have to jump.
"Jump!" We all broke through the glass and sailed through the air. I looked up and noticed Jace staring at us. She looked terrified. "Jace! Come on!"
She wouldn't move. She was frozen in place. I would have to leave her behind. The others had run across the grounds and into the forest. I followed the tracks they'd left and found them behind a fallen log. I moved my hands in a series of motions that told them that we'd have to split up and to head for the gates. They nodded, accepting the order, and stood. Max watched me carefully and I let myself drink in the image of my baby girl. Her eyes were excited and scared, her face flushed from the running and cold. I couldn't hesitate for long; I knew it was time for me to distract the guards. They couldn't get to the others. It is my job to protect them. Max ran off with Jondy, the last two to leave the site. I ran out from the bushes and blurred past a series of cars. I saw Gage and two others being rounded up. Before I knew what happened a sharp pain hit me in the back. Then another. And another. I had been shot with a taser. I fell to the snowy ground shaking. They may have caught me for the moment, but I would get away tonight. I wouldn't stay at Manticore a minute longer. I sent a silent prayer to the Blue Lady, "Please keep Maxie and the others safe! Just until I can get to them." The guards were trying to tie me up. Lucky for me, they were X4's. I fought them off and ran. Ran to the gate while I heard Lydecker shouting for me to come. He tried X5-599 and Zack. I ignored him and jumped the fence and ran.
The moon shone beautifully overhead and the stars twinkled. The roads were completely deserted. Everything outside the gates seemed peaceful, despite the sound of helicopters flying overhead. I was almost to Delalo according to the signs. I was at least 60 Klicks away from Manticore I could only hope that the others were that far away. Maybe they'd stayed in pairs. Maybe not. Maybe they were all alone just like I was, with no mission in mind, no orders to follow. It was nice. What I was doing now was my choice. Walking down a road, with nothing more pressing to do then staying away from Manticore. Not that I'm minimizing that. It was just so free. I saw the city limits, lights shining from every building. The city seemed quiet. Even more quiet that the isolated building of Manticore. I was almost free.