Page 57 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

I was shocked by how fast Matias had us down the mountain.

He wasted no time in gathering things up and rushing down the trail.

And, as much as I hated to admit it, the whole thing was leaving the bitter taste of jealousy in my mouth.

It made total sense why he raced to her.

She was his friend, missing for days and presumed dead, only to find out that she was alive and back at camp.

I got it, I really did. But it didn’t make the fact that he was running to fall into the arms of another girl any better for me.

I tried my best to stamp out the jealousy, to remember that it was me he was wrapped up in just moments ago.

But I guess that was the shitty part about having feelings for someone and being insecure—logic didn’t always register and jealousy was a bitch.

For the second time today, I was standing in front of headquarters. I was tiring of this freaking place. Edith was there, already waiting outside of the tent, pacing back and forth as her long black locks trailed behind her.

“Where is she?” Matias almost jogged the last steps to Edith.

“She’s in confinement in the medical bay. They’re not letting anyone near her. She needs to be evaluated.”

“What does that mean?” I finally caught up to them.

Matias didn’t give Edith the time to reply, answering the question first with a stony expression. “It means they’re going to interrogate her, search her for a tracking chip and all that crap.” His attention returned to Edith. “Did you see her? Was she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s okay. Pretty effing beat up, but okay.”

I sensed an old flicker of guilt in my gut, but I did my best to shove it down. “What happened? How did she get here?”

Edith threw up her hands. “I don’t know. I was getting our tent cleaned up and heard someone come in. I thought it was you. I turned around and just about had a heart attack. She looked like a zombie or something. I hardly recognized her.”

I stole a glance at Matias, but he looked lost in thought, his expression blank, and his lips set in a thin line. I turned my attention back to Edith. “Does Sasha know?”

She nodded. “Yeah, she knows. Chelsea’s been back for an hour now.”

Matias turned on her like an angry cobra. “An hour! Why didn’t you message me the second you found her?”

Edith put her hands up in surrender, but I caught the flicker of annoyance in her eyes. “ Who a, down boy. I messaged you as soon as I had a chance. When she showed up, she almost passed out on me. I thought it was more important to get her medical attention, so chill out.”

Matias averted his gaze again, and I sensed the tension had eased, but he was shutting down, walling himself up. I put a hand on his arm to reassure him, but he didn’t even seem to notice me anymore, and that left a sour taste in my mouth.

“Where’s Sasha?”

“I’m right here.” The President’s collected voice greeted us. “How can I assist you all?” She had come up behind us, most likely returning from the medical bay.

Matias whirled on her, standing up taller, straighter. “Where is she?”

“Recovering, as she should be.”

“I want to see her.”

She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. When she opened them again, I could see irritation hinging on her patience. “Mr. Alvarez, it has been a hard day for our dear Chelsea, and a visit from you is not what she needs. She needs to rest and recover.”

I watched as Matias postured for one second, then two, before he remembered his place in the ranks. His shoulders slumped, and his whole body appeared to cave in. He took a deep breath before asking Sasha another question, this time with a pleading tone. “Is she going to be okay?”

Sasha’s gaze softened, searching him, weighing her response.

Then she glanced at the rest of us. With a drawn out sigh, she spoke.

“Come inside…all of you.” She walked past us all and into headquarters.

The three of us exchanged quick glances, and a feeling of foreboding settled into my core.

Without another word, we all followed Sasha inside.

***

“They just let her go? That makes no sense.” Matias’s tone was sharp, impatience hanging on them. Since coming into the tent, he had refused to sit down, his arms crossed, and a vexed look on his face.

“Something the rest of us think as well,” Sasha responded.

She looked tired, worn, and gaunt. The stress of the last several days was getting to her.

She sat down at the round table, her hands folded together and resting on the table in front of her.

Whatever annoyance she had earlier was gone.

“As I’ve already mentioned, we suspect the REG is up to something. Of what, we do not know.”

Edith had also sat. “And you found nothing? There’s nothing on her?”

Sasha shook her head. “We have searched her over various times. Dr. Jones has performed several exams, but there’s no sign of any injection or surgical sites.

She is rather bruised and her various injuries are making it difficult to say definitively that nothing has been implanted, but to the best of our knowledge, there is nothing.

We have scanned her numerous times, but they’re not detecting a tracking chip anywhere in her body. ”

My fingers rubbed my inner forearm along the scar where my own Telvian tracking chip had been cut out. It had been almost two months, and yet, it felt like an entire lifetime ago. So much had changed since then.

I had changed.

“Something’s not right.” Simple words, but Matias’s tone stayed even and his expression unaltered.

“Agreed,” Sasha replied. “She was able to share some intel she gathered while captive, however.” We all perked up.

Even Matias shifted his weight and lifted his head slightly.

“The processing facility is creating nanochips, just as you had seen. But we still don’t know why or what they do.

” She closed her eyes for a moment, rubbing her forehead as though to prepare for what she was to share next.

“Raúl is planning something. Reports are coming in that the people from the Subclass are disappearing in the night. We didn’t initially think the disappearances were tied to a REG operation, but according to Chelsea, they are.

She wasn’t able to gather much, but she found out that these nanochips and the disappearances are linked.

She believes that the REG is plotting something, something big. ”

“Like what? Big like what?” Edith was on the edge of her seat, eyes wide.

“She doesn’t know, but she almost broke down in hysterics. She kept saying ‘it’s coming,’ but every time we tried to have her explain further, all she could respond was that she didn’t remember.”

“Shit.” Edith slumped back in her chair. “We’ve got to figure out what she’s talking about. We need more info.”

“On this, I agree.” Sasha stood then, keeping both her hands on the table, fingers spread out for balance.

“We need more information. But first, I need to ensure that Miss McKenna’s presence in this camp doesn’t endanger the lives of us all.

And of that , I’m uncertain. It makes no sense that the REG would simply let her go. Something is coming.”

I knew I was going to feel stupid asking the obvious question, but I did anyway. “Was she followed?”

“Not that we can tell. Ever since she came into camp, I’ve increased scouting patrols and widened the perimeter. Nothing has been detected so far.”

Silence settled with us, time ticking away.

I couldn’t tell what I felt. I was a bag of mixed emotions, everything from trepidation to numbness.

How I could feel numb and freaked out at the same time was beyond me, but each emotion washed over me in waves—one followed by the other, and then back again.

Matias finally broke the silence. “I want to see her.” I turned to look at him, but he didn’t glance my way. His gaze stayed fixed on Sasha, his arms still crossed. A new emotion fluttered in my belly, and it was green and sticky and nauseating.

“Me too,” Edith piped up. “We’re her friends.”

Sasha seemed to weigh their requests. And just as I became convinced that she was going to shut them down, she replied, “Very well.”

I turned my head to face her. “Really?” But no one appeared to even hear me.

“The poor girl has been through enough. And I’m sure a visit from you all would help bring her comfort.” She sighed. “You may see her. But keep it short. She needs to rest.”

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye as Matias finally dropped his arms, relief crossing his features. “When?”

“I’ll inform Dr. Jones now that you are on your way.” With that, she waved us off, and we left.