Chapter 32
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Storming Elysium wouldn’t be an ideal strategy.
” Gabe crossed his arms, his stance defiant as he stood before the murmuring council.
“There’s not only a vampire army, but there’s also a secret military always at the ready, but they won’t deploy it unless there’s a threat of a large-scale war.
On top of that, the gates and walls are infused with more electricity than a strike of lightning, which would likely kill any human on the spot. ”
“Why are we taking advice from a vampire?” One of the council leaders sneered, a cruel twist of the lip that spoke volumes. “How do we know he isn’t leading our troops into a trap?”
With a sharp glint, Arthur’s eyes turned to me before he began to speak to the council. “You may have forgotten, but this young man helped to disable one of the biggest hindrances to our army—the Dogs. He’s proven to be trustworthy, so we have no reason not to trust him.”
“I trust him,” Jude stepped forward.
“And I take full responsibility for him.” The three of us stood together as a unified front, like an impenetrable force. Finally, we were all on the same page.
“Oh, great,” the short council member huffed. “We have Arthur’s posse giving their input, that’s rich.”
“Have I steered you wrong before?” Arthur’s face was stern, his jaw tight. It was clear the council wasn’t taking him seriously as their whispers and dismissive glances betrayed their lack of respect.
“What do you propose, considering we are the last known human compound in the world?” The council began to chatter. “We’ll need more than our military to start and end this war.”
“Time is of the essence.” Gabe hooked his thumb under his chin, his forehead etched in thought. “Allow Vincent and I to return to Elysium, under the guise that I saved him. Together, we’ll disable all power and open the gates for your army.”
“We can have the first wave of military travel under white camouflage, making it difficult to see us against the snow. Then, when the gates open, the battle will begin, and we can signal to bring the second wave as backup to help.” Jude turned his head away from the council, turning to me and Gabe. “But I’m coming with the two of you.”
“We must trust them,” Arthur pleaded to the council. “At least have faith in my son. This is what we’ve been waiting for.”
“If this fails, Arthur, you’ll have the end of the human race on your shoulders.”
“That won’t happen, trust me.”
Heads bobbed in agreement as one council member softly confirmed the decision. “You may proceed. Prepare our army and develop a contingency plan. If the gates open, we must give it our all. We may not get another chance with the Dogs being disabled.”
“You won’t regret it.” Arthur backed out of the room with us in tow. “You three, follow me right away.”
We walked through the cool, carpeted hallways of the movie theatre toward the exit. I secretly hoped that if everything went according to plan, I’d never have to lay eyes again on those ghastly numbered doors or that dreadful carpet.
“Jude, how will you get inside Elysium?”
“We have a plan,” Jude answered his father.
“Do we?” I asked with an eyebrow raised. “When the humans first stormed Elysium and kidnapped me, they didn’t have many guns…what’s your plan this time?”
Jude laughed. “You mean the pitchforks and axes? We wanted to give the illusion of an attack without sacrificing our plans and weapons. We were hoping to get an idea of what this secret army was, but only the normal military was deployed.” Turning his head, he looked into the wrinkled face of his dad.
“Get us new guns and ammo, ones we can easily hide and meet me outside.”
Arthur stopped abruptly, locking onto Jude.
It was as if he were peering into the depths of his mind, searching for a solution, the faintest frown etching itself onto his brow.
He nodded and walked toward the military sector of Silvertown as we headed for the exit.
Jude nodded curtly to the guards, whose machine guns were against their bodies, and they allowed us to pass.
“Vinny!” a voice shouted, followed by a traipse of dainty footsteps behind me.
Nessa was running toward us, her hair bouncing behind her, with Four trailing not far behind. A mischievous look crossed my face. “How was your night?”
Reaching me, her cheeks burned with a deep red, and her eyes were wide with exertion. “Oh, I have a lot to talk to you about.”
“Hopefully, you have a large piece of information to share.”
Our giggles, high-pitched and unrestrained like schoolgirls sharing a secret, grated on the two men waiting impatiently by the door.
Reaching into her jacket pocket, Nessa pulled out a smooth, cool silver circle from her jacket pocket and balanced it on her index finger.
“I know you have a long way, so I thought you might want this.”
She handed it to me, the rainbow streaks from the CD catching the light. I opened my arms and embraced her. “Thank you for being a friend.”
“Good luck,” she whispered and waved as Jude and Gabe opened the door.
Blinded by the intense glare of sunlight on the snow, I stood for a moment, letting my eyes adapt to the brightness before exiting the mall.
Everything seemed quiet and still without the potential of getting your body chomped off by a Dog.
A brilliant, cloudless blue sky stretched above us, and the bright sun illuminated the world.
The boys walked a few feet in front of me, their footprints in simultaneous procession.
Knowing their history, I was still surprised at how their unlikely friendship blossomed. They were both so strong-willed.
I guess that was what happened when you nearly died, and someone saved you, right?
I followed their footsteps to a small white car that sat low to the ground, and Jude unraveled a map on its hood.
He traced the script on the parchment with his fingertips, then lifted his gaze, sunlight making him squint as he peered into the distance.
Biting his bottom lip, he pointed to the east. “We need to go toward the vampire compound.”
I craned my neck, straining to see the map, before finally settling on the spot Jude’s fingertip precisely marked.
It showed a city circled in black marker, and I caught my breath.
I had an idea of Elysium’s size, but seeing it laid out on the map showed its incredible width.
The building we lived in spanned an entire city, minus the small area where the Exiles resided.
I heard the distinct crunch of snow and turned to see Arthur trudging through the drifts, his arms laden with three small pistols and cardboard boxes packed with ammo.
Arriving at Jude’s side, he halted, extending a smooth, cherry-red stick about the length of chopsticks.
“When the power is shut off and the gates open, shoot this into the sky to alert us.” He thrust the rod into Jude’s hands and embraced him with a hug. “Good luck.”
“I won’t fail.” Jude’s hand rested gently on Arthur’s shoulder as they shared a silent, understanding moment before turning to me and Gabe. “We won’t fail.”
“Get going, and I’ll start rallying the troops.”
“We’ll see you soon.” I waved and climbed into the backseat of the car. Each of the cracked black leather seats was reclined so far back, it felt as if we were lying down. The ceiling was so low, I couldn’t sit upright. “What’s this? A toy car?”
Jude snorted as Gabe struggled to get his large body inside. “It’ll hide us from prying eyes.” He pressed the ignition, the dash lights flaring to life, and the engine’s purr vibrated through the car’s frame. The car began to move through the empty parking lot until we were on the open road.
“Where are we going? What’s the plan?” I asked, crouching forward between the two men. “Or are we going to pull up outside Elysium and ask politely to be let inside with a human?”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what we’re going to do.” Gabe rolled his eyes, a smirk dancing on his lips.
“I actually got the idea from Pete,” Jude answered, never looking away from the road. “We’re going to sneak into the vampire compound through the transport pods.”
“But aren’t those just for food and goods?”
Gabe nodded. “It’s a risk because the speed is so fast, our bodies may not withstand the stop, but it’s truly the only way I can think of getting the three of us inside.”
I raised my eyebrows. “There’s not another way besides potentially crushing ourselves?”
“Yeah,” Jude sarcastically answered. “I like your idea of knocking on the door. Let’s try that and hope I’m not instantly shot dead.”
He wasn’t wrong. Any human—actually anyone—who gets close to Elysium is likely to be a target since the Dogs have been disabled. I’m sure my father has been notified of the shutdown and, by now, is assembling a team to reactivate both locations.
I took the disc Nessa gifted to me and slid it into the port within the car’s dashboard. The car groaned, and a whizzing sound quietly hummed through the silent car. Within a few moments, a sultry woman’s voice sang through the speakers with an upbeat back track.
The song ended, and an infectious wave of laughter erupted from Gabe, shaking his shoulders. “This is the worst song I’ve ever heard.”
“We don’t have music like this in Silvertown, but the people who bang on plastic buckets sound better than this.”
We laughed together, the joyful sound echoing with the music’s rhythm, until the song repeated.
Interestingly enough, neither of them turned the song off.
I suppose we figured even bad music was better than silence during our drive, a welcome distraction from the fear of a Dog ambush.
Approximately ten songs filled the car as we drove along, the catchy tune a soundtrack to Jude’s fingers drumming on the steering wheel.