Defect - By Ryann Kerekes Page 0,62

talking. You probably only have a few days left before they try something.” He turns and meets my eyes. “Rena and I have been trying to come up with a plan, but I’m afraid you might not like the best we’ve come up with.” He brings his hands to my face and cups my jaw, pulling me in toward him. He kisses my lips, softly, gently. When I’m calmed, I pull back.

“What do I need to do?”

“We’re going to take a walk,” he says. “Follow me.”

We walk in silence for several minutes before it comes into view. The fence, huge and solid, looms before us. So many questions run through my mind, I don’t even know where to begin. My feet keep walking, and I stay quiet. We walk parallel to the fence, not daring to get too close. We stay just at the edge of the tree cover. Will stops and looks at something in the distance. “You see that boulder that looks out of place up there?”

I follow his gaze. There’s a black onyx stone near the fence about one hundred yards from where we stand. I nod.

“That’s where you’ll cross.”

I turn to him. He can’t mean … “Will, Rena said those people were shot trying to go over.”

“You’re not going over. You’ll be going under.”

My heart thumps unevenly, like we’ll be shot just for having this conversation if anyone overhears us. I look around. The forest is completely silent, but the gravity of the situation is too much. My legs give out, and I sink to the ground.

Will kneels down beside me and presses his palm to my forehead and my cheek. “Eve, tell me; what is it?”

“I … I can’t. I can’t do that, Will. Maybe I can go back home. Go to my mother. We’ll run away. There’s got to be another way.”

He lets me ramble for a minute, before he shakes his head. “You can’t do that. You know when you go missing, that’s the first place they’ll look.”

I know he’s right, but this is crazy. I’ve done well with the challenges because I had to, but living on my own in the wilderness … that is not something I can do. His faith in me is too much. I wonder which is worse – being accidentally killed in the compound in the presence of my friends or dying alone in the wilderness.

“After you cross, it’ll be about a week-long walk before you reach an outpost. Rena says there’s a community of people. They’ll take you in.” He’s looking down. I wonder what he’s thinking, wondering if he doubts this plan as much as I do. But I don’t interrupt him.

I’ve been so focused on escaping this place; I hadn’t stopped to realize what it would mean. I would be alone. Completely alone. Once I crossed that fence, I could never come back. I wouldn’t see my mother again. I would never see him again.

“Rena is gathering supplies for you. And I’ve been studying the guard duties at this stretch of the fence. There aren’t as many guards patrolling over here, since they figure escaping from the locked-down compound would be impossible.”

I interpret his words a different way. No one would be stupid enough to try and escape from this place. I know I should appreciate Will and Rena for helping me, but I’m numb. And for the first time, I don’t know if I will follow through with their plan. For the first time since coming here, I am letting fear creep in and overtake me. I look to the fence again, and set against the brilliant blue sky, it seems to offer hope. Hope for a future, only I haven’t decided which future is more unbearable.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

“We should get back.”

He mistakes my response for bravery, but that is the last thing I feel right now. We head back to the Jeep and get inside. But before Will starts it, he turns to me. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

Instead of answering, I hold his eyes with mine. His look is all encompassing and heat radiates between us. I give myself over to the moment and crawl over onto his lap. He pulls me to his chest and folds me up in his arms. He doesn’t ask any questions, he just holds me. The beating of our hearts to the same rhythm is the only thing I focus on for a few minutes. When I’m ready, I pull back