Chapter 17
Wren
I sigh. “You’re right, I don’t like the sound of that at all.”
Sally is hugging herself, barely holding it together.
“We have to tell the anti-vaxxers everything that’s going on,” Grim says, rubbing his chin. The stubble catches against his hand. His eyes are focused on the opposite wall. He looks worried, and rightly so.
“Um…sorry…as in tell them how much exactly?” I can’t believe he’s suggesting this. It’s a little nuts.
“All of it. Starting with us having this cellphone.” His eyes are now steady on mine, completely serious.
My stomach drops. “I think you might have hit your head, Grim. Are you feeling okay? Because you’re talking utter crap,” I whisper. “They’ll take it away,” I hiss. “That will be the end of that. It’s our only lifeline. Our only way to—”
“I know,” he cuts me off, his voice calm. “But we need to tell them in good faith. We need them on our side.”
“Good faith? Can you hear yourself? The problem is that they’re not on our side.” I shake my head. “These assholes nearly beat you to death in the parking lot. They’ve taken us hostage.”
“Thanks for filling me in because I hadn’t noticed any of that.” One side of Grim’s mouth lifts in the start of a smile, and my stomach does this flip. It irritates me. “And for the record, if it was five against one, I would’ve had them.”
“Stop being a smartass. This is no time for dick-swinging bullshit. I can’t believe you want to trust them.”
“I don’t want to trust them, but I don’t think we have a choice at this point.” Grim shrugs. “We need to work with them if we have any hope of getting out of here alive.”
Sally makes a small noise beside me. “Wren is right. This doesn’t sound like a good plan,” she says in a small voice that is not like her at all.
“Think about it.” Grim shifts his position, making his muscles move and tighten beneath his skin, and I have to force my eyes back to his face.
“We need to tell them about your cellphone. We do it to show them we’re being honest. Then we urge them to check out the media coverage, just like we did.
They’ll see for themselves that what we’re saying is true.
That they’re burying this. That they’re being set up to die, just like we are.
We’re all in danger here. At this point, it’s us against them.
” He jerks his head toward the wall, toward where we know Draig Security is assembled outside.
My hands feel a little clammy at the prospect. “So we tell them about the cellphone. Then what? We wait for Draig Security to raid us like sitting ducks?”
His eyes are intense and focused on me.
“Grim might be right.” Sally’s voice is trembling.
She’s still pale, her hands shaking in her lap.
“We need the anti-vaxxers. We’re more vulnerable without them.
They need to be prepared for what’s about to hit.
” She looks up at me, and there are tears in her eyes.
“It won’t be long before the security forces storm this place, and then it’s too late for all of us. ”
I groan and scrub both hands over my face. The weight of it is crushing. How did we get here? How did a normal workday turn into this nightmare?
“I hate this,” I mutter through my fingers.
“I know,” Grim says, and there’s something almost gentle in his voice. “But it’s the only way forward.”
“We need to get word out to the public. Just in case we… Just…” I sigh.
“You’re absolutely right,” Grim says. “Telling the anti-vaxxers is Part One of my plan,” he’s speaking faster now.
He holds up my cellphone. “We’ll use your device to take a video of Kaine and the others.
They can tell their story. Explain their message.
Make it crystal clear who the hostage-takers are, who the hostages are, and why they’ve done what they’ve done.
” He pauses. “I’ll send the clip to Drake, and he can leak it to all the media outlets.
Then we all give ourselves up together, and they won’t be able to touch us.
Not with video evidence out there for the world to see. ”
My mind races through all the possibilities. Through all the ways this could go horribly wrong.
“It’s dangerous. What if the anti-vaxxers don’t believe us?
” I push out a breath. “I like the idea of a video, but why not do it with just the three of us? It would be far less risky. We could do one right now. We’ll record ourselves, telling them we’re being held hostage by deranged anti-vaxxers.
That we’re afraid. We should record heartfelt messages to our family and send them to your Councilor friend…
or directly to the biggest media outlets on the island. All of the above.”
“I love that idea.” Sally smiles.
Grim shakes his head. How did I know he would be against it?
“It would also be less believable with no actual evidence of the anti-vaxxers. Whoever wants this buried could spin it to say that the two of you were protecting me, or even worse, that you were forced to say what I wanted you to say in that video clip. That you had no choice because you were afraid for your lives.”
“All lies,” Sally pushes out, her voice filled with irritation. “Surely they would know that?” she whisper-shouts.
My stomach churns. I want to argue. Want to find some other way. But the truth is staring me in the face.
“Grim is right,” I whisper. I still don’t like it at all. “They could twist everything to suit their narrative. In fact, that’s exactly what they will do.”
“We could do both.” Grim looks up, his eyes bright. “That way, we cover all our bases. We’ll make a quick video of the three of us. We send it to Drake, telling him to hold on for further evidence. I’ll tell him to use it if…” He doesn’t finish the sentence.
If we all die here today.
The three of us look at each other for a few long seconds.
“It will work.” Sally’s smile is shaky. The color is returning to her cheeks. “It’s a good plan.”
“Okay then.” Grim hands me the phone. “You can start the video. Tell them what happened in that parking lot,” he tells me, scooting closer to Sally and me.
“Then you, Sally. Say exactly what you saw and what happened to you. Then I’ll give my version, and we can send messages to our loved ones.
Keep it brief. We might not have much time. ”
As he says it, the lights go out, and Sally squeals.
We’re plunged into darkness that is absolute. I blink a few times, breathing heavily. Trying hard to stay calm.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
“This can’t be good,” I say, my voice shaking.
I grip my cell phone tightly in my hand for a few moments before realizing that I can use it. I swipe at the screen, and there is light.
Yes!
Then I look down at the screen. “Noooooo,” I moan.
“What is it?” Grim’s jaw is clenched so tight he will break a tooth if he isn’t careful. “Please don’t tell me…”
My stomach drops. “There’s no signal.” My mouth goes dry.
“We’re too late,” Sally whimpers.