Chapter 40

Whatever Miles had said to Bressler worked a little too well. A coup? Martial law? The Second Mass had waltzed into Charleston and turned everything upside down.

But at least now they could make the rendezvous with Red Eye, and they could see Ben again. Maybe that was worth overthrowing a government for?

Except, not to Tom, who suddenly refused to leave.

"I'm sorry, General, but my vision of the new United States doesn't begin with a military coup.

I'll agree that Arthur lost sight of some of the original goals, but to put him in jail, to declare martial law? Your actions are misguided, sir."

Grace felt their window closing in on them, the clock ticking away. "Dad, we have a chance. Maybe this wasn't how we wanted it, but he's letting us go. We can see Red Eye…we can get Ben right now."

"I'm sorry, Grace." Her father sighed. "Not like this."

"I would have assumed, given its reputation, the Second Mass would be chomping at the bit for the chance to take it to the enemy." The disappointment was dripping in Bressler's voice, his frown deepening. "I guess I assumed wrong."

He turned to leave, but not before giving the order for his men to lock them back up.

She looked back at Miles, who gave her an apologetic half-smile. His efforts had been wasted. They weren't even going to try to make it?

"Wait," she said as Miles began to guide her back to the cage. "There must be something we can do…please, Miles."

"I'm sorry," he said with a frown before placing his hand on her back and guiding her into the cage with the others.

Her mind was spinning, but before she could think of a way out, Charleston did the work for her. The soldiers halted as a loud alarm wailed and red lights flashed all around them.

"That's an outer security perimeter breach."

"Let's move! Let's move!"

Miles glanced back at Grace and the rest of the prisoners, a worried look in his eyes.

"You can't lock us up now," Grace told him. "We can help!"

He sighed in a quick defeat. "Fine. Come on."

They hurriedly followed him up the steps, all the way back to the main concourse where a large crowd were running around, screaming. Grace soon saw why, as she glanced up at the tall, white walls and saw several skitters crawling along them.

No. They'd found them and now they were here to destroy whatever civilisation earth had left.

Her heart was in her mouth. Miles and the other soldiers pointed their weapons at a group of skitters in the centre of the hall, waiting for Bressler's command to shoot. But the skitters weren't moving. They appeared to be protecting something.

It was then Tom pushed to the front of the crowd, protecting his daughter from whatever the aliens were about to unleash, when a familiar face popped out from inside the skitter circle.

"Stop!"

Grace couldn't believe it. Her little brother had found them. The rebel skitters had brought him back, safe and sound. A smile slowly spread across her face as Tom ran to hug Ben, quickly followed by an excited Matt.

Then she heard the guns cock beside her. She turned to see Miles, next to his fellow soldiers, with their guns raised. Still waiting for the order.

"Miles," she breathed, narrowing her eyes at him, furious to see he wasn't backing down. She stood in front of his line of fire, shielding her family and the rebel skitters. "You wanna hurt them, you go through me."

She stepped back to join her family, still facing Miles, whose expression and grip seemed to have softened, his blue eyes widening as she glared defiantly at him.

Tom, who had pulled Matt and Ben behind him, stood next to her. "And me."

"And us." Hal and Maggie joined, linking arms with Grace and Tom. Then Anne linked up, then Lourdes, Weaver, Dai, Anthony, until the Second Mass had formed a pretty sizable human barrier around Ben and the skitters.

"General, tell your men to lower their weapons," Tom demanded, scowling at Bressler who was standing beside his soldiers, frown lines intensifying. "Or do you want to start off your reign as leader with a massacre?"

Over the blaring alarms, Grace could hear the skitters' clicks and growls as she stared down Miles' rifle, waiting to see if he would shoot her.

"Sir?"

"Hold your fire," the general announced, to everyone's relief. "Stand down!"

Grace barely had time to squeeze Ben in the biggest hug she'd ever given him when he and Red Eye were marched into the war room at gunpoint, followed by Bressler, Weaver, Tom, and Porter.

The rest of them were still held outside, the soldiers keeping a close eye on the rebel skitters. Suddenly they weren't so interested in the Second Mass.

"So that's your brother," a voice sounded next to her. She looked over to see Miles standing there, the rifle that was pointed at her chest now slung over his shoulder. "Impressive kid."

"Yeah, and now you know how many of us are prepared to give our lives to protect him and what he's fighting for," she barked at him, clearly annoyed.

"I'm…sorry about that," he said quietly. "It was the general's orders…"

She could feel his gaze on her, warming her. But she refused to look at him until she couldn't bear it any longer.

"Tell me something." She turned so they were facing each other. Her tone and expression were angry until she saw the guilt in his attractive features. But all she had to do was remember the way he had his gun pointed at her and her family and her fury quickly returned. "If the general had given the order to shoot, would you have shot me?"

He looked down for a second, hiding those pretty eyes from view. "I've done some…really messed up things fighting for my country, Grace. But I'd sooner shoot myself then shoot you…" He caught her gaze again, making her hold her breath. "Or any of you. You aren't the enemy."

The intensity in his face told her he was being genuine. She couldn't look away. He was drawing her in, convincing her.

"You know, you'd be a pretty good soldier if you didn't follow orders so much." She smirked at him before turning her back on him and bumping into someone else.

"Grace!"

Zoe was in front of her, smiling widely. She nodded her head towards the war room, the windows of which were blocked out by newspapers so there was no chance of catching a glimpse of the conversation happening inside.

"Every time I see your little brother, he gets more badass," admitted Zoe, raising her thin brows.

Grace hit her on the arm. "Don't even think about it!"

"Relax, I'm no cougar!" laughed Zoe. "He's way too young for me! I have much hotter people to fantasise about."

Grace rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help chuckling at Zoe's irreverence.

"Sorry we couldn't distract Bressler's men any longer," said Zoe, a little more seriously. "My flirt game's a bit rusty."

"I don't believe that for a second, Zo."

Zoe glanced back at Jeanne, who seemed a little lost standing by herself. "I just didn't want her to get in any more trouble," she admitted. "Didn't mean to let you down."

"Hey." Grace squeezed the side of her shoulder. "That's okay. You did what you could." She smiled appreciatively at her before nodding back over at Jeanne. "I think Jeanne could use a friend right now."

Zoe squeezed Grace's hand back before dropping it to return to Jeanne's side. She couldn't help feeling a little jealous of Jeanne. Throughout Grace's friendship with Zoe, all Zoe did was get Grace in trouble, but with Jeanne, it seemed like she'd do anything to protect her. Zoe definitely thought a lot of Weaver's daughter.

When Ben finally emerged from the war room, she didn't even ask what was discussed. She gave him a big squeeze of a hug and whispered low in his ear.

"I know no matter how much I beg you to stay, you won't. I get that you have a mission. With them." She looked over at Red Eye and the other rebels waiting behind him. "Be safe. I need to know someone's looking out for you."

Ben tightened his hold on her. "I'm safe with them. I promise." Then he softened in her grip and lightly kissed her forehead. "Thank you for trusting me, big sis."

He stepped back to join his new allies, giving a quick wave to the other Masons. "I won't be far," he reminded them.

He was gone again. Tom debriefed them on what happened in the war room. The rebel skitters had discovered that the fish-heads – or 'espheni' as they were apparently called (it took Grace a few tries to pronounce it correctly) – were building a weapon not five-hundred miles from here. They couldn't say what it was for, but their old overlord friend would be inspecting the weapon very soon.

"They want us to help kill him and destroy the weapon," Grace surmised. "Sounds like a plan. We have a whole army now. Piece of cake."

"Actually…Bressler would only allow the Second Mass to go," admitted Tom. "Even that took some persuading. "

"The guy mutinies so we can fight back and now he buries his head in the sand?" scoffed Hal.

Grace clicked her tongue at Bressler's hypocrisy. So it was all down to them. No different from last time; the Second Mass didn't need anyone else. "So when do we leave?"

"To be decided. I think it's best you all go back to your rooms for now. We're lucky we aren't being sent back to the brig. Keep your heads down until I send for you."

Grace was itching to get out there and destroy this apparent weapon, but she obeyed her father and returned to her room with Matt. Funnily enough, Lourdes had been permitted to remain in the infirmary under watchful supervision. Even Charleston couldn't afford to turn away medical experts.

Jess and Miriam were already in the room, recovering after the manic evening. They looked awkward as Grace and Matt entered the room. Here it was again. The suspicion. The judgement.

She ignored them, dragging Matt inside with her. He wanted to stay with their dad, but he had other things to do. Prepping for the mission, sorting out the logistics, presumably. Red Eye dropped this into their laps and scuttled off to the outskirts of the city. They needed a proper plan before they went in guns blazing – that is if Bressler even let them have all their weapons back. This wasn't going to be as straightforward as it was in the past. Now they had all these barriers and other people to consider. Meanwhile, the aliens were getting ready to blow everyone up, or whatever this weapon was supposed to do.

"General Bressler didn't lock you back up then," Jess said, surprise in her voice as she finished folding some clothes inside her dresser.

"We didn't do anything wrong," Grace snapped, setting Matt down on the edge of his bed and handing him Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets as if he could read away the rest of the night like nothing had happened.

"Those creatures were here for you…" Miriam stated, standing frozen by her bedside, staring at Grace. "You protected them."

Grace collapsed onto the edge of her bed. "It's a long story. They're friendly."

"And the boy they came with?"

"That's our brother!" Matt said excitedly, accidentally dropping his book to the floor. "He's here to help us."

Jess raised an eyebrow. "Help do what?"

"No offence, but it's not your business," Grace snapped. "The Second Mass have it handled."

"I thought you were with us now," Jess said quietly, slowly shutting her drawer and rising to her feet.

"I didn't really feel like I was with you when we were locked in your brig," retorted Grace.

"Is it true? What they were saying?" Miriam asked, keeping her distance. "About the bugs they put inside you."

"No! Well, yes." Grace sighed. "At least…they never found anything in me."

"But you were on their ship?" queried Miriam. "They could have done anything to you."

Grace took in a deep breath, trying to avoid snapping. She had been through this a dozen times by now, but the doubt always lingered. Sometimes when she closed her eyes, like now, she could sense Karen leaning over her, feel her poking around in her brain, feel those worms squirming around inside of her and pushing against the inside of her eyeballs.

Everything that had happened since boarding the overlord's ship played in her mind: Jimmy and Jamil's deaths. Her outbursts. The tricks her mind played on her. And of course, Fitchburg. Karen had said she'd told the skitters exactly where to find them. Had she and she just couldn't remember? There were many occasions she remembered sneaking away from the Second Mass to look for her father. In Fitchburg, she even thought she saw him. Could the bugs make you do things without you even realising? Maybe she had met up with the aliens and she just couldn't remember? The thought was horrifying.

But it didn't make sense. If she had been bugged, surely they would have invaded Charleston by now? Why would the overlord send Karen to manipulate and kidnap Ben if they could control Grace and have her do it?

Or maybe they were playing a long con. Have her think she was clear of the bugs when in actuality they've been using her as a spy from the start. Just being careful so as not to reveal the source.

Man, she was spiralling. It was making her dizzy. She choked back a frustrated sob and when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that Jess was gently approaching her.

"It's okay. We don't think you're bad people. Bressler was wrong to lock you up."

"First decision I've ever seen him make himself and it was a foolish one," Miriam sniped, shaking her head. "Your father's speech was quite something. I admire everything you've been through. And I still believe in what Manchester's built here and the responsibility we have to protect our kids and their future, but I've always wondered what the point of this First Continental Army is if they don't goddamn use them!"

Jess clapped a hand over her mouth, shocked at her mother's passionate words. But Miriam kept nodding.

"You Second Mass are on to something. Something we're missing here."

Grace felt the edges of her lips twist upwards in an amused smirk. She hadn't expected this from the Charleston disciples. But it was a welcome change from the usual distrust and accusations.

A soft knock at the door stole their attention.

"I'll get it," Grace offered, still smiling. "Matty - read your book."

The boy groaned but didn't take much convincing as he scooped the book off the floor and started leafing through pages to find where he last left off.

She was surprised to see Hal as she joined him outside and softly shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?" She kept her voice low. "We're supposed to stay in our rooms."

He gave her a serious look. "I'm going to find Ben."

"What? Why? He's safe with his rebel skitters."

Hal side-eyed her. "You don't believe that."

"He can handle himself, Hal. We're supposed to be staying out of trouble until the mission."

"What, so suddenly Big Sister mode is switched off?" Hal spat, annoyed. "You're not worried about him anymore?"

"Of course I'm worried." She lightly hit him in the shoulder. "I'm worried about all of you all the time. But he trusts them and he's been with them all this time, and he won't appreciate me dragging him home in the middle of the night in front of his new skitter buddies." She paused, watching his disappointed expression and the way he avoided her gaze. "What is this about?"

"I need to speak to him, okay? I need to make sure he's not staying away because of me…because of what happened with…"

"Karen," Grace muttered, folding her arms. Everything came back to that bitch.

Hal scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "I accused him of some messed up stuff. I made it clear I didn't trust him and he almost got hurt because of me."

"Hal, you two have been fighting since you were in diapers. You always forgive each other."

"This is different."

"Yeah. You're right. It's very different. But he'll understand."

Hal shook his head. "I need to speak to him."

She paused, staring at him for a moment. Stubborn Hal. She knew he was going to do this no matter what. She rolled her eyes back. "Fine. We'll go find him. But we need to be quick. It's going to be next to impossible getting out of here with Bressler on high alert."

"What do you suggest?"

She smiled. She had an idea.