Subterra Heart

Chapter 40: Connor Rocha

To Connor, it seemed as if his head had just barely hit the pillow when suddenly, Marina was shaking him awake. Again.

"What time is it?" he groaned, groggily.

"Early," whispered Marina. "Come, we should go before Auntie Lena wakes up. She's aware that I'm not being entirely truthful."

"Wha – wait, won't sneaking out just make her more suspicious?" Connor's brain was still trying to catch up with Marina. He glanced down at Tess's shae band. The time read 03:10. What the hell, Marina? He needed sleep.

"No...yes – I don't know. Just, Connor, please get up. You still need to talk with your cousin, don't you?"

Connor sighed and sat up, wincing. His shoulder was still sore – he'd need the sling for a while longer – and his back was stiff from sleeping on the floor. He hadn't changed his clothes, and he didn't have a spare shirt, so there was no need to get dressed. He didn't care if he looked a bit rumpled.

Marina, however, cast a critical eye over him and picked up a comb from the bedside table.

"Here," she said, "At least neaten yourself up a bit."

Connor shrugged and quickly ran the comb through his hair. It'd be more work than it was worth to tie his hair back with only one working arm, so he just let it hang in his face. Marina's little speech from last night still nagged at him. That had hurt, but then again, he'd never actually expected to get together with her – or anyone, for that matter.

When he was ready, he gave Marina a quick nod, and together, the pair snuck into the hall, careful to tiptoe around Auntie Lena's scattered trinkets and datacards.

Marina was the one to get the door. She winced when the latch clicked open, and when they were finally out in the main corridor, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Connor, you had planned to have your father start the lockdown for Flores Greens sometime today, correct?" she asked, looking pointedly at him.

"Yeah, I told him to wait until around 18:00."

"That will work. We should have just enough time to visit your cousin and then leave. We need to go home. What we are doing here is stupid. What you are doing here is illegal, and Auntie Lena is not one to simply let things rest."

"So, what about the library?"

"What about the library?" snapped Marina. "Nothing will come of it – not your grandfather's research nor my sister." Her voice wavered briefly, but she squared her shoulders and set off down the quiet corridor. "Heart will be fine, even if these Dwellers do decide to visit. We will lock down and wait it out, just as we always have. This trip was pointless..." Her voice trailed off, but she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. "Now, where is the nearest datalog? I suppose that we will need directions to find your cousin."

It didn't take long for them to find a datalog café. Connor stood at Marina's shoulder, sipping a coffee and watching as she hooked a wire from the datalog to her shae band. She seemed different today – less restless and more...defeated. She must have thought things through a bit more last night and finally given up on Tess. Connor didn't know if that was right or wrong of Marina. Realistically, it didn't seem possible that Tess would ever make it to Central, and Connor felt a pang of guilt in his gut for taking his eyes off her. That girl had been weirdly resilient up until now though. Maybe she'd still surprise them.

As for the University Library and Matteo Rocha's notebook, Marina was right. Nothing would come of that. Locking down the sub-cities was still their best bet.