A Crown Of Smoke And Ash - Sloane Murphy Page 0,51
but the building empty.
“We should wait,” I tell them. “Just a little longer, make sure no-one is coming back.”
“Why don’t you wait out here, and we’ll go in, you can call me if someone comes back, and do what you have to until we’re out,” Creek says, his eyes hopefully, but I roll mine.
“Yeah, right, how about you stay out here and stay watch?” He shakes his head and Fallon laughs.
“How about we all just go in now, the sooner we’re in, the sooner we’re out.”
“Fine,” I respond, and we head over to the tower. Fallon presses a hand on the door, and murmurs under her breath. A small flare of light, and she smiles, opening the door, ushering us inside. We follow the hall round, and take the door on the left to the lower levels as Maddie instructed.
The door opens, and stone steps lead down. Despite the heat outside, a cold blast of air hits us as we head down into the basement levels where the archives are kept. I lose track of how long we descend for, before we come to a long hall, walls of glass on each side. To the left, a library of sorts, so many old journals, and to the right, computer drives galore. The archives. The old, and the new.
Fallon places her hands on the glass, one on each side of us, and starts murmuring under her breath again, light flares, but she keeps going. Creek pulls me backwards as the light increases, she falls to her knees, but her words don’t stop. I try to rush forward, but Creek holds me in place.
“She’s got this,” he whispers in my ear, keeping as quiet as he can so as not to interrupt her. My anxiety spikes for my friend as the light continues to grow and her head falls backwards, showing the blood running from her nose. The light flares, and her arms drop. Her eyes open, and she gives me a tired smile.
“That was intense,” she says, her voice hoarse. “Quick, go, get what you need. I’ll wait here.” She wipes the blood from her face as I study her, worry flooding me.
“I’ll be fine Remy, go get what you need to get.” She waves me past her, shooing me into the old archives while Creek heads into the newer ones, to pull what he can onto the hard drives he’s got in his backpack.
I try to put them out of my mind as I head into the room, that smells of old books, musty pages, and worn leather. A scent that feels like home. I shake my hands, forcing myself to focus, and head to the back of the room to find the information I need.
I scan the shelves, each of them numbered with the year that the journals come from. I daren’t even breathe on some of them, so old, I fear they’ll turn to dust beneath the weight of it. I leave that section, heading towards the year Levi said I had my first actual life. I find the shelf, and it’s only got three journals in, I guess some people didn’t want things noted that year. I pull one from the shelf and scan through the pages until I find what I need.
Today was the start of the change. I am not sure that I agree with Theodore’s methods, but I also dare not speak out against him for fear of being the only one. I’ve heard of their plans for those who don’t fall in line with the new world as they’re calling it.
My heart breaks for that poor girl, how he could do that to his own blood bewilders me, but I have spoken to my own family, and sworn them to not speak of how we feel, not until I can find a way for us to be away from here. To be safe. We will head home soon, to spread the new message to our guild within the faction. I even fear to write this here, should we be suspected as traitors, but I will do what I must to ensure my family’s safety.
This is it. I take pictures of the rest of the entries, listing names, places, dates, those who were cast out for making the wrong decisions, as it’s described. I shudder as I pull the next journal down, and do the same, and then again for the final journal. Each with different names for their guild. I don’t know where