Page 43 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

T he ride was a bumpy one, with me being tossed about like the beans in a baby’s rattle. It took everything within me to keep from grunting and squealing as we moved along. I kept focusing on hanging on, not falling out, and not getting caught.

It was easier to find the truck than I thought.

I had few choices as far as clothing options.

I picked out the darkest colored pants and long-sleeved shirt I had, pulled my hair back in a tight ponytail to keep it out of my face, strapped the stunner to my hip, and was off, sneaking through the night.

The truck, a huge Humvee-style vehicle, was already running.

The truck bed had a canvas dome over it with flaps that covered the entrance, concealing what was inside.

And that was where I was now, alone, hiding amongst the gear and equipment they were taking on the mission, being tossed around, getting god only knows how many bumps and bruises.

I didn’t know how long we drove, but finally we came to a point where the truck slowed, inching forward, I assumed, to keep from making too much noise.

We must have been close. And as if to confirm my suspicion, the truck hovered to a stop, and the engine turned off.

I lied down as low as possible in the bed, sliding myself as much as I could into a corner.

I knew they had gear back here—I could see it.

But Chelsea never told me what to do when they came for it.

My questions were answered before my brain could fret about them for too long, however.

I heard them talking outside in hushed whispers, and then the flap covering the entrance flipped open, revealing Chelsea with her piercing green eyes and those ruby red curls slicked back in her bun.

I locked eyes with her, a thin line set in her jaw as she grabbed the two duffel bags in front of her.

She mouthed to me to stay down before she left my sight.

She didn’t have to tell me twice.

Flap in place, I was back to listening with every inch of my being, my heart pounding in my ears. I heard their hushed whispers once again before for the slight crunching of brush and gravel told me they were on the move. Then, a thought struck me—w hat the hell do I do now?

Chelsea told me to wait five minutes before getting out of the truck, but I realized now that she never told me what to do after that. Crap…

What if I couldn’t find them? What if I got lost? I didn’t even know where I was going or where the hell I was. God, this was a bad idea. Wait a second…did she plan this all along? Was she intentionally making me think she was helping me, only to leave me at the truck like an idiot?

Damn it!

I was so stupid for trusting her. I mean, she hated my guts!

Why would I think she would actually help me out?

I sat back on the tailgate of the truck and moaned, grumbling under my breath.

This really was one of the stupidest things I’d ever done, and I knew I’d done a lot of stupid things.

But nothing compared to me sitting in the effing dark, in the back of a truck, in the middle of goddamn nowhere, with no clue where I was supposed to go, with nothing to defend myself except my bare hands and a stunner, next to a damn Telvian camp!

If Chelsea was going to leave me like a sitting duck, then I’d have to figure out the next part on my own.

With that, I scrambled out of the truck and took a moment to look around.

I was definitely still in the woods, but I had zero visibility.

I mean, I had nothing . I was squinting and then opening my eyes wide and then squinting again, trying to get them to adjust. As I waited there impatiently like an idiot in the woods, I was hyperaware of the fact that time was ticking.

Every second I stood here, the rest of them were getting further and further from me. A tinge of defeat tickled in the recesses of my brain. Maybe I should just stay here , I thought to myself in defeat. Wait it out in the truck and give this up. She won. She got me good. End of story.

Slumping my shoulders, accepting the fact that Chelsea bested me this match, I felt tired.

I had spent the whole day battling some serious demons in my head with Matias when we got called to see Sasha.

And then I spent hours after that fussing over everything I learned at headquarters, dealing with my emotions over Matias, and then getting hyped up like an adrenaline junky on a failed attempt to join a mission I was never supposed to be on to begin with.

Standing here, staring into the dark, I noticed I was incredibly beat.

Resolving to just climb back into the truck, that little voice deep inside me spoke up.

No .

I faltered, waiting half a second, before shaking my head to clear it. I took a step to climb back into the truck when that little voice inside me spoke again.

Don’t do it, Mara. You have to go. You need to know.

As much as I didn’t want to agree with it, a deep sense of knowing washed over me.

I couldn’t give up. I had been at the Dissenter camp for well over a month now.

I knew I was making friends, getting to know people, and slowly figuring all this crap out.

I knew that when Matias looked at me, excitement and heady feelings simmered through me.

I knew that Wes, despite his stupid machismo attitude and insufferable arrogance, had his moments that reminded me so much of the guy I was once destined to marry.

And even though I totally didn’t want to marry Wes—because that would just be weird—I definitely found myself drawn to him, craving him like an addict.

Apparently, I was a glutton for punishment.

Despite knowing all of that, I still couldn’t abandon everything I thought to be true and everything I’d known until I knew with one-hundred-percent confidence that Raúl was the monster they said he was.

I needed to see it…I needed to see it and confirm what everyone was trying to tell me instead of just blindly believing.

Because until now, I believed water was non-existent, that the rebels were just crazy, greedy freaking people who wanted everything for themselves.

I took it all in blind faith.

But I was done with just taking people’s word for it. If they wanted my help, if they wanted me to comply, if they wanted me to join them, then I had to know . And tonight, I was going to figure this shit out. Even if I had to do it by myself.

I turned on my heels and got moving. I didn’t really know where they went. But when I was in the truck hearing them walk off, it kind of sounded like the noise was going west, so I just went for it. I lifted my wrist to check my tab and made a note of the time.

Midnight.

I figured, worst-case scenario, if I didn’t bump into something within the next ten minutes…well, I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

Bzzzz!

I jumped out of my skin with the vibration of my tab. I had a message.

Chelsea: Head west 15 minutes.

It was all she wrote, but I felt an immense amount of gratitude right before it plummeted with guilt.

I had doubted her. She agreed to help me, and at the first questionable moment, I doubted.

Pressing my lips into a thin line, I sighed heavily.

Next time, I had to give her a legit chance. I owed it to her.

Not wanting to waste any more time, I hurried in the direction I prayed was west. Despite trying to keep a brisk pace, I also attempted to be mindful of my surroundings.

I ducked down low as I skipped over twigs, stepping on my tiptoes to make as little noise as possible while going as fast as I could.

I didn’t know how far this facility was or if there were any Telvian scouts nearby.

After a few minutes, I moved pretty fast, gaining more confidence with every step I took. My eyes had adjusted well to the dark, enough that I could actually make out the terrain decently.

Skip. Leap. Step over. Skip. Skip. Leap.

It was almost like dancing, really. I was moving so easily and gracefully through the woods, skipping over twigs, leaping over branches, and stepping over rocks.

A part of me was actually having fun, enjoying it.

But I guess we all have to get back with the program, eventually.

Because as I was skipping and leaping about, I forgot all about the time.

I forgot I was only supposed to go west for fifteen minutes.

A quick look at my tab showed me it was ten minutes past midnight, which meant I hadn’t over shot them yet.

But the look at my watch sacrificed two things for me.

First, my vision, because when I looked up, I realized the light from the screen was enough to screw up my night vision.

Suddenly, everything looked dark again. Second, looking at my tab meant I wasn’t looking where I was going.

And that was the bigger problem, because my foot landed on a large rock that was slick with something, because when my boot hit it, I had absolutely no grip and I went sliding.

My feet were over my head, and I came crashing down, my back slamming against the rock I slipped on, sending a searing pain through my body.

I didn’t get the wind knocked out of me, but I was definitely a little dazed.

Motionless for a moment, I felt the throb in my back and a slight twinge in my ankle.

Damn it. I must have rolled it when I slipped.

I mentally scanned the rest of my body—everything else seemed all right.

My back was definitely hurt, causing me to hiss as I sat up.

Thank goodness I could move it, though it hurt enough to steal my breath if I moved too fast. Switching my attention to my ankle, I lifted my leg and turned my foot a little.

A few twinges of pain fired through it, but I could move it too.

“You can do this, Mara. Up, up, up,” I chanted to myself as I shifted my weight to stand, trying hard not to put too much weight on my foot.

Snap!

My senses picked up on movement—noises.

Aw hell…

Mind racing, I searched the dark, listening intently. I was in no position to battle anything, and if it was another mountain lion, I’d—

I shoved the thought back, refusing to finish it.

Stunner. You have a stunner! The thought smacked into me, and from one heartbeat to the next, I reached for my hip. But before I could pull out the weapon, I found myself staring at the last three people I wanted to see—Matias, Wes, and Chelsea.