Chapter Seventeen:

We Will Be Remembered

When Nicholas and I returned to the hospital lobby, we were surprised to see so many who came. I recognized Victoria Stafford—heels and all—among them, along with Trish, Vi, and a two other second-years.

"I'm joining too," Nicholas whispered to me.

Mina saw me and smiled. "Hey there! It's about time you've showed!"

"This is it?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yep. Luckily, the townspeople lent us some really cool weapons and armour we can use against Bishop. They're equipped with miniature generators that simulate the barriers around the towns, but they're compact for a person. Sounds cool, huh?"

I grinned. "Hells yes. Where can I get some o' that?"

"It's in the waiting room. Everyone's picked out their armour already." Mina smiled. "Based on what would fit them, of course. The townspeople also gave us some customizable items to use for our armour. I guess they wanted us to really make it count against Bishop."

"I'm sure they do, since they're well-being also depends on us." I looked over the faces in the room quickly and then made my way to the waiting room, Nicholas following closely behind me.

Trish MacGrath

Kayce took her time as she got ready. I sat on the floor with Vi beside me, her navy-blue armour shining and spotless. I chose armour that looked like it'd been used a little more, just-in-case, since I didn't want to find out that I had to break-in the new armour. And mine was red, so it was good.

"What's taking so long?" Vi asked, though it seemed to be mostly to herself. "Are they even trying to get dressed…?"

"All you can think about is sex, isn't it?" I retorted smartly.

Vi scoffed. "I think about how school's hell. Not only sex."

"You're thinking that they're not getting their armour on because they're too busy undressing each other," I pointed-out.

"Duh. I know they like each other. They have since the entrance ceremony." Vi grinned wickedly. "Plus, the sexual tension between them was killing me!"

I looked at her blankly. "Um… You must've been the only one who felt that."

Vi looked like she was about to reply, but that was when Nicholas and Kayce decided to come out. Nicholas, already dark, tall and imposing, looked even more like a man than a boy in his shining black armour, with a white stripe running down his arm. His shoulders were sporting large pauldrons that had been included with the armour, but no one had equipped them before him. His gun was resting on his shoulder as if it belonged there, and he looked more than comfortable with it.

Kayce, however, was a different story. I don't mean a "different story" as in she didn't look comfortable at all. What I mean by "different story" is that she looked more than comfortable, like she belonged in that armour. This was a totally different Kayce—not the one I'd travelled with on the train—but at the same time, she was exactly her. Kayce had a stern look on her face as she walked out of the waiting room in her steel-grey armour. Only her right shoulder was sporting a pauldron similar to Nicholas', and the body of the armour was different, but she looked just as battle-ready as the rest of us, considering her rifle was being held in front of her as if one false move would give us a bullet to the head.

Vi and I stood up, along with the rest of the volunteers. We knew exactly what we were doing by going for this suicide mission, and we knew the risks, but we weren't gonna let Bishop win. And I knew that I'd never be able to look my dad in the eye again if I didn't do what I thought was the right thing.

Kayce looked us over just as she had before entering the waiting room and sighed. It looked like she was putting in a lot of thought to what she wanted to say to everyone.

She cleared her throat and looked at each of us in the eye before she said anything. "First of all, thank-you all for volunteering. If you're still not sure if you want to do this, you can leave, and no one will hold it against you." Some people shifted slightly, but no one left. Kayce closed her eyes and almost sighed in relief. "Thank-you."

"So, what now, O fearless leader?" Mina asked, smirking.

Kayce blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

"You're the one with the plan; you've got reins on this operation," she clarified.

"B-But you and Ellie—!"

"Me and Ellie what?" Mina chuckled. "Y'know, the morning of the basketball try-outs, I knew exactly where I wanted to put that one person on the board. I figured I'd give you a little test, since you were there. And you put the person just where I wanted 'em." Mina stood up straighter and rested her gun lazily on her shoulder. "Every team leader has to pick a successor. It's my third year; I needed someone like you. And Ellie refused me every time. When this is over, I'm recommending you to be the new Paragon team leader."

If we get out of this, I thought automatically. Kayce looked up at me from across the room, and then her eyes became steel, and she nodded to me.

"Then I'll do my best to make sure we all get out of this," she said firmly. Kayce seemed to relax slightly. "I know the risks to this; you all know the risks. But this has gone on far enough. Bishop has to be stopped, and we're the only ones who can do it. We can't rely on anyone from the outside until we get that barrier down. That's our target; the barrier. Once that comes down, it's a straight shot out of this campus, so we need to make sure it won't be repaired any time soon. It needs to be destroyed." Kayce started to pace. Walking always helped her to think. "We're only students—kids, for heaven's sake—but we need to stand and defend everyone like adults. The life of a teenager is the hardest; adults expect us to act like adults, but they insist on treating us like children. I guess now, we act like really brave adults or stupid kids." She stopped pacing. "Any of us could die here. Lots of us have. But I'll be damned if we don't try to survive this rather than crawl into a corner, trying to pretend we don't exist. We won't surrender. We won't back down. And there's no way in hell that we'll lose if we stand together, work together, and trust in each other." She hefted her rifle onto her shoulder. "No matter how this goes, we will be remembered. All of us, from the living to the dead. We. Will. Be. Remembered. Now, let's move-out!"

I could see smiles on a few of the faces around me. Vi was smiling too. "Who woulda known?" she wondered aloud. "Kayce's finally growing up."

Kayce, Mina and Ellie led us outside the hospital to the edge of town, where a few townspeople and students were gathered. A truck was waiting there too, and it looked like they'd done their best to plate it with any leftover metal they could find. Kayce, Violet, Victoria, Julian, Greg and Nicholas jumped into the back of the truck while Mina, Ellie, Nathan and I squished into the front.

"Okay kiddies," Mina said, putting the truck into gear, "I'm drivin'!"

I didn't argue. She was probably the only one with a license anyway.

"Deactivate the barrier!" I heard Kayce yell.

Mina hit the gas and the truck lurched forward. The barrier was removed just in time as we went through. We were finally on our way. We were gonna attack Bishop.

Kayce Grey

The ride was way past insanely bumpy, but we managed not to fall out by holding onto each other's arms. By the time we passed through the forest, the ride was much smoother.

"Are your asses numb?" Mina yelled from the window.

"Definitely!" I yelled back, but Mina knew I was joking.

We hit another bump, and we almost fell out the back. Nicholas pulled me back from the edge quickly.

"Thanks!" I yelled to him over the sound of the engine.

He nodded. He probably didn't want to waste his voice by yelling, anyway.

Mina poked her head out of the window. "Guys! We've got tails!"

I looked back and saw a few kids flying at us, while some others were beast Conduits like Nicholas, coming at us fast.

"Open fire!" I ordered. "If you can, wound them!"

"Got it!"

We opened fire. The bullets were wild at first, but as we got used to the guns the shots became more precise. The kids who had wings we made sure to graze 'em. Any beast Conduits got too close and we'd hit them with our guns as they'd jump at us.

A few times we'd been wounded, but we were still staying strong as we got closer to the main hall. None of us wanted to start complaining while we were so close.

Finally, Mina stopped the truck. We all hopped out, half expecting another wave of students to come at us, but there was no one.

"Creepy…" Mina grumbled. "Well, what's our next move?"

"We need to find any faculty that still may be alive," I suggested. "Our main goal is the barrier, but we need to find survivors as well. That's why I'm dividing us into two teams. Julian, Ellie, Nicholas and I will be looking for Bishop. Everyone else will look for any faculty survivors." I heard no objections. "I know I said this was a suicide mission, but…" Remembering at least twenty corny movies I'd seen, I put my hand in front of me. "Everyone, come back! Don't ever give up!"

Vi snickered, but put her hand on top of mine. "Got it, Kay."

Trish was next. "I promise."

Nicholas. "I'll never give up."

Mina. "Not a problem, kiddo."

Ellie. "They'll only ever get me kickin' and screamin'."

Victoria. "I'll give 'em a taste of six-inch heels."

Julian. "I'm not about to let anyone down."

Nathan. "Let's give 'em hell!"

Greg. "For everyone."

I looked at everyone's faces. We knew we were kids. We knew we were doing something crazy and reckless, but we were the only ones who could. The determination on their faces was enough to make me smile.

"I don't wanna leave any roses on any graves," I said honestly. "Keep your promises."

They nodded sharply, and then we parted ways. It was time.

The fight was about to end.