After walking for a while, they found Jess and two of the boys alive. They were walking in the same direction, back to Eden, but they looked utterly broken.
"The Spartan guy made a run for it. Thought the Spartans would recognize him as their own, but he forgot he wasn't wearing his uniform," one of the boys explained.
"Didn't even make it to the gate," Jess added.
"We ran after him," the other boy said. "We thought he would give you away, but he died and they started shooting at us."
Margo counted. Three of the group members, plus the Spartan, died.
That had not been the plan.
Freya and Holland told the story of their kidnapping, confirming that their captors had not, in fact, been Spartans. They'd been dropped off at the camp along with a stockpile of food as a payment.
Zack was silent the whole time. Margo knew he was scarred from hurting Garion, so she reminded him, "If you hadn't done it, I would be dead and you wouldn't be taking Freya and Holland home."
"I hurt him," he replied. "Davia and Elliot will never forgive me."
"They're going to be more hurt when they hear he betrayed us. You did what you had to."
"I know."
They arrived at Eden with fake smiles. People surrounded outside to greet them, to hug them, to congratulate them on the success.
Was it a success though?
Four people had died, and a friendship had been broken.
Margo's fake smile turned real when Kiori nearly barreled into her with a hug. "You're home!" she exclaimed.
The word "home" caught Margo off guard. She never thought of Eden as her home.
Margo didn't have time to think about it because Zack pulled her into a group hug with Kiori, crushing both of the girls until they giggled.
Orabelle, Bryn, and Casen congratulated them as well.
But the fanfare died later that night when Margo joined Zack to venture to Davia and Elliot's dorm.
Zack explained the whole story, that yes, Garion was alive. And no, he wasn't with them. He was changed.
So when they left, all they could hear was the damage that Garion had caused, his betrayal stinging worse than if he were dead.
YOU ARE READING
Bliss
Science FictionMargo Loveridge lives with the Unimplanted kids of a town called Crud. True to its name, Crud is the run-down place where people are kept until they reach the age of sixteen, when they will become Implanted and given the ability to feel happy emotio...
