The Girl Who Dared to Think (The Girl Who Dared #1)

“Yes, I told you that, but what does that have to do with—”

A loud screeching noise erupted from the box as Quess waved it over my leg, where Devon had used his lash against me. Cali cursed and let go of me, stalking away to run a hand through her hair. I watched her, straightening up, alarmed by the nervous energy radiating off of her. After a moment, she turned.

“We have to go. Quess, get Tian and the bug-out bags. I want us packed to go in ten. Liana, leave your uniform behind.”

“Wait!” I cried, and she turned. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling like I was drowning in the panic that was beginning to grip me. “Why do we have to leave?”

Cali licked her lips and sighed, waving Quess through. “Devon has special lash ends, which he can open to release a radioactive isotope. It leaves a distinct trail. He didn’t follow you because he didn’t have to.”

I leaned heavily against the table, my knees suddenly weak. Damn it. I had done this. I had led him here.

“My trail...” I started weakly. “I went all over the place—that has to buy us some time.”

“The equipment he has is specialized,” she said bitterly. “And he’ll start around these levels. He’s come close to catching several cells near this greenery, so he knows we’re somewhere close. The man is relentless.”

“This is all my fault,” I whispered, defeat starting to creep into my heart. “Your home...”

Hands grabbed my shoulders, pulling me upright, and I looked up to see Maddox standing over me, her green eyes hard. “Get it together,” she said evenly. “This is just a place; the home is the people in it. We don’t have any time to waste, and if you want your trip to the Medica to mean anything, you’ll change your clothes, grab your gear, and get ready to go.”

She let go of me abruptly, then reached over to grab a metal box on the table. It rattled as she picked it up, and I watched as she marched right out with it. In the hall, Zoe raced by, carrying a box, followed by Eric, who carried a heavy sack on his shoulder.

Maddox was right. I straightened and met Cali’s gaze. “Ten minutes,” I said.

“Eight, now. Hurry up.”

I ran to the bathroom and changed quickly. Grey was in our room when I returned there, already throwing all of his gear, and mine, into some bags. I threw the crimson uniform to the side and took over my bag, placing my meager possessions inside. A blanket, cup, toothbrush, and soap, plus the clothes I was wearing, my lashes, and my baton were all I had left. But I didn’t dwell on it, just closed the bag up and raced over to help Roark pack his gear and the medication, Grey by my side. We collected everything—we couldn’t leave any of it behind. Paragon was the best and only defense we had at the moment. If the Medics got their hands on it, if they knew what it could do, then we would be lost.

With it, they could figure out where the flaw in the nets was, and make the medicine useless. That was why giving it to Jasper had been such a risk.

Grey and I worked quickly and quietly. I sensed we were both feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing, although I didn’t know why he was feeling that way—it wasn’t his fault. I was the one who had led them here.

As soon as the bags were filled, I hefted one up, and then stopped, looking at Grey. “This is awful.”

He nodded, his eyes dark and heavy. “I know. But it’ll be okay, Liana. They figured out he has a way of tracking you, and they figured it out quickly. We’ll be out before he gets here—okay?”

I nodded, grateful to him for giving me the words I needed to hear. Only time would tell if they held true, but for now, it was enough to keep me going, heading up the stairs and toward the main living area.

Cali was already there, on one knee, speaking very softly to Tian, one hand on the girl’s shoulder. Tian’s white bob dipped up and down as she listened carefully to whatever Cali was saying, fighting back tears. She clutched her bag between her hands, shifting nervously from side to side.

A stab of guilt seared through me as I entered the room, knowing that I had put that fear in her, and I resolved to do something about it—as soon as we were all out of here and safe. It didn’t matter that she had told me to go; she never could’ve imagined this. I dropped my bag on the floor and looked up, raking my hair out of my eyes.

Roark pushed past me, dropping the bags and moving over to grab a few notebooks on the table. I slid my bag off, turning to drop it into the pile that was collecting by the hall entrance, before turning toward Cali, intent on asking her where we were going.

A crimson-clad figure dropped from the hole in the ceiling the ladder ran through, and immediately slammed his baton into Roark’s back as he moved away from the ladder. Roark screamed as his body went ramrod stiff, the notebooks in his hands clattering to the floor. Devon held the baton there for a second, then two, not breaking the connection, and Tian began screaming, a high, shrill note that resonated in my ears.

I gaped, shock rippling through me. I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he had found us so fast.

Devon continued to hold the baton to Roark’s chest, and I felt bile start to rise as I realized he was trying to kill the old man with the baton. I surged forward, my hand already snatching my own baton out of my belt, but Cali was there first, her arm sweeping up and hooking his arm, breaking the connection with Roark.

Roark toppled over, limp, but Cali ignored it as she slammed an open palm into Devon’s chest, shoving him back a few feet, and then caught him in the jaw with a spinning back kick. Devon rocked back, stunned, and Cali took the opportunity to grab Roark by the collar of his faded jacket, pulling him several feet away from Devon before dropping him, to meet Devon’s renewed attack.

Grey immediately raced up to grab Roark, hauling him back the rest of the way, while Tian cowered behind Maddox’s leg. Maddox stared, her eyes wide as she watched her mother and Devon spar, and the stare made me realize we were all just standing around like idiots, instead of making our escape.

“Is there another way out?” I hissed, grabbing Maddox’s sleeve and yanking her attention toward me. She met my gaze and then nodded, once. “Grab the gear closest and get to it,” I ordered. “Don’t wait for me or your mom—just go. Get everyone out of here.”

Grey looked up from Roark’s still form, his eyes wide and horrified. “He’s gone,” he whispered, and I looked down to see that the old man’s eyes were wide and... empty. His expression slack. I felt a wall of pain unexpectedly slam into me, and looked away.

“Get out of here,” I managed to grind out to the group of horrified people in front of me. “Mourn Roark later—but run for him now. Go!”

Eric grabbed Zoe, and they all flew apart at my command, snatching up bags—except Grey, who remained.