Page 46 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

T his was not how I envisioned this whole thing when I decided to go on this mission.

I had every intention of going in and seeing this facility for myself.

Instead, I was stuck hiding in the tree line.

I would be lying if I didn’t admit that there was a teeny tiny part of me that was relieved I wasn’t running through that place, stunning guards, and jumping in through windows. Even so, not what I was planning on.

Despite the stupidity of this plan, everything went smoothly. They snuck up to the building, using the various bunkhouses for cover. Wes stunned the guard when Chelsea made a noise, causing him to face away from Wes’s direction. Then, they were all in the building through the damn window.

Before they left, Matias had insisted I put a timer on my tab.

And now I was watching it tick down the seconds.

Fifteen minutes. That was all the time he would allow them to have before I was to run.

And every time the clock ticked down a minute, I felt myself become that much more anxious.

Little by little, my stomach churned and nausea threatened.

My hands were getting sweaty, so I kept wiping them on my shirt.

This was stupid. This was ridiculous. This was a terrible idea.

I looked up from my spot amongst the trees and kept scanning from side to side. But everything looked clear.

9…8…

Damn it! What was taking them so long? My heart rate sped up, causing my ears to ring and the silence to sound like static. Come on…come on, come on!

7…6…

What should I do? I knew what Matias said, but there was no way I was actually going to leave them behind. I just had no idea what to do when that stupid clock reached zero.

5…4…

Shit, shit, shit! I started looking around desperately.

Still no sign of trouble, but the sinking feeling in my gut told me that something was wrong.

It had to be. Why else would they take this long?

Matias knew he told me fifteen minutes. Why wouldn’t he at least message me to say everything was fine?

And then it occurred to me…the tab. I quickly lifted my wrist and sent him a message.

Mara: Where are you?!? Are you ok?

3…2…

Nothing. I could feel my skin crawling as the desperation climbed. What was I going to do? The question cycled through my head endlessly, but no answer came to mind. I scanned the surroundings again. Still nothing.

1…

I growled low in my throat from the frustration, gritting my teeth. This was crap! Breathe, Mara. Just breathe. Trying to take my own advice, I took deep breaths to calm myself. Everything’s fine. I’m fine. They’re fine. We’re all fine.

I knew it was a childish attempt to calm my nerves, to convince myself that everything was okay. But I knew better. If Matias hadn’t texted me back, then…then… I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts from the fear and negativity. Stay with it!

0 …

Shit! Okay, what now? And, as if the universe was providing me with the answer I needed, my tab vibrated. Relief washed over me when I saw the notification was from Matias.

Oh thank god!

Blowing out a long, steady breath, I opened the message to read it, and then felt everything inside me ice over.

Matias: Run!

Then all hell broke loose.

BOOM!

The sound of an explosion, followed by a shockwave that hit my chest like a kick to the sternum, caused me to inhale sharply in awe.

Orange and red overwhelmed my eyes as the far right of the building erupted in flames and plumes of smoke.

Debris flew out, scattering in different directions—chunks of concrete flung out into the night.

I hit the ground instinctively, feeling my ears ringing from the sound of the blast. Fear gripped my soul.

I didn’t know what was happening, and the scariest thought I could have in that moment gripped the edges of my sanity.

Matias was dead. They were all dead.

And then movement exploded from everywhere. Soldiers were spewing out of the bunkhouses, some half-dressed, some in nothing but their underwear. They were clearly not expecting such a rude wake-up call.

Damn it! What do I do? I tried to assess the situation.

I knew I should turn around now and run, but I couldn’t.

I felt paralyzed, and the thought that Matias was dead just kept cycling through my mind.

He was dead…just like Chase, and I never got the chance to tell him how I really felt.

I was in shock, and I could hardly hear a thing from all the ringing in my ears.

But I didn’t care. None of it mattered anymore.

Suddenly, bursting through the single door of the building, came Wes, followed by Chelsea, and then Matias.

And they made a beeline for me. Crap! I jumped to my feet, feeling adrenaline pumping through me.

But before they could even make it a few steps, all the soldiers that had been standing around, gawking at the flames, jumped into action.

Wes pulled out his stunner and started firing while Matias did the same, shooting the soldiers coming from the opposite direction.

Chelsea went to fire her own stunner, but before she could pull the trigger, a guard was on her, tackling her to the ground.

Matias turned to assist, yanking on the man’s shirt and hoisting him off her before landing a solid punch with his right hook into the guy’s jaw, causing him to whip around and stagger forward.

Chelsea was on her feet, appearing a little dazed from her attack, but then she was at it again, aiming her stunner and firing away.

Fear anchored my feet in place while a voice inside me kept screaming, run!

I wanted to. I wanted to so badly. At any other point in my life, I would have taken off in the other direction, doing anything and everything to preserve myself—to survive.

But I couldn’t. I’d like to think it was because I didn’t want to abandon my friends, and there was truth in that.

But deep down inside, the instinct to survive was more overpowering.

But I couldn’t move. I was frozen, watching them pushing, kicking, firing, punching their way through the onslaught of soldiers funneling out of the bunkhouses.

And then I saw them…coming from around either side of the processing facility. I saw the soldiers—the ones that had been armed on the other side of the building guarding the workers. And the knowledge hit me all at once—they had guns. Not stunners, but guns .

I went to warn them, but I was too late. I heard it before I knew what was happening; the blast coming from gunpowder igniting, forcing a projectile through the barrel of an assault weapon, flying through the air, and into human flesh. Then I screamed.

Wes cried out as his body whipped around from the force of the bullet burying itself into his shoulder.

Before I could comprehend what was happening, I found my legs moving, rushing across the compacted dirt into the fray.

I yanked at the stunner in the holster on my hip and started firing away as I raced past, closing the distance.

My scream must have drawn attention, because I was suddenly aware that the soldiers had shifted their focus to me.

I slid to a stop, and time stood still. Everyone stared at me for the tick of a few seconds—one, two, three—and then I heard his voice.

Matias cried out, “Mara, run! ”

Recognition registered on the face of every soldier. The daughter of the presidential family—the one soon to be buried—was alive. And then everything came rushing at me. Every single soldier made a beeline straight for me.

Oh god! I fired my stunner at the man closest to me and turned to run.

There was no way I was going to outrun all of them.

But if I could make it back to the tree line, I might lose them.

My heart pounded, a drum of war sending a thrill of fear and barbaric excitement zipping throughout my system.

More gunfire—loud and piercing. I whipped my head over my shoulder to see, but the gesture pulled my attention away from my destination.

I tripped, losing my footing, and then fruitlessly tried to regain my balance.

My weakened ankle rolled, and before I knew it, I was tumbling, rolling on the ground, and landing on my back.

I didn’t waste time. I scrambled to get back on my feet, but before I did, someone slammed into me, sending us both flying and falling back to the ground, hard .

I screamed as I did, and then found the man on top of me, grabbing at me as I pushed back, kicked, scratched.

I did anything I could, clawing at his hands as he grabbed me by the hair.

But then the man grunted as he fell over limp.

I didn’t waste time, doing my best to shove him off me.

And then Matias was there, helping me, offering me a hand as he pulled me to my feet.

He didn’t say a word. He didn’t have to because I already knew exactly what he would say—we were totally screwed.