Borderlines

Chapter Fourteen

Fawn pulled off her helmet. There were cameras everywhere, but Travis said they wouldn't show up on them. She eyed the room and let out a disappointed sigh.
"This is not going to be easy." The room had books everywhere. Ten times more then the library, and to make matters were they weren't organized alphabetically. There were different sections: politics, climate, and a section for each state. She heard Travis let out a groan.
"Alright, I'll start in the Politics you start in Council." Travis walked toward the Politics section. Fawn took off toward the Council section. They were pressed for time and would need every minute. Fawn searched through the Council section quickly, but critically. As Fawn was coming to the end of the Council section she heard Travis let out an angry hiss.
"What?" Fawn asked.
"I can't find anything and we're down to five minutes!" The overseer answered her. Fawn ran a hand through her hair in frustration. She took a step back from the shelf, thinking.
Maybe we have it all wrong... Fawn glanced at the Alaska section. Just maybe. Fawn ran over to it, eye immediately scanning the book titles. A book caught her eye titled Rebellion. Tucking the book under her arm, she did a second scan of the Alaska shelf. She grabbed a book titled Important People, opening it. Fawn had to keep herself from crying out in delight as she spotted Clay's name in the table of contents.
"I found it!" She called to Travis, who came rushing over. She pointed out the name to him.
"Good." Travis said, Fawn caught a hint of relief in his voice. He pulled out a small bag that he had kept hidden.
"Put it in." He told her. Fawn set the book in, tucking the Rebellion book underneath it. Travis didn't notice, as he watched the door.
"We have a minute and thirty-" He was cut-off as his walkie-talkie began buzzing. Travis turned it on.
"Travis, you've got company." A voice said from the other end. Travis's features hardened and Fawn felt her stomach drop.
"What are you talking about?" He growled into the walkie-talkie.
"Someone broke into the palace-" Fawn jumped as there was a crashing noise on the other end then two distinct pops, loud and clear. Gunshots. Travis lowered his walkie-talkie and for the first time Fawn saw fear in his eyes. She grabbed his arm.
"Travis, what are we going to do?" She asked, trying to keep her voice from trembling. Travis looked at her silently before grabbing her arm. He ran towards the far end of the room.
"There's a hidden compartment in the wall, it should be big enough to fit us both." Fawn stood behind him while he messed with something at the bottom of the bookcase. There was a loud pop outside the door, but still far-off.
"Travis..." Fawn said nervously. Travis didn't answer as a panel slid open at the bottom of the bookcase. There was room for a human to crawl through it.
"Follow the tunnel, it will lead you to a small room, and by small I mean really small, so watch your head." Fawn nodded and crouched against the floor. It wasn't an easy feat to crawl through the tunnel, her shoulders brushed the sides of the tunnel and her back dragged along the top. It wasn't long before she came to the room Travis had told her about. It was small like her told her and she leaned back against the carpeted wall. The room was pitch black and there wasn't even two inches between her head and ceiling. How on Earth would Travis fit in here? She heard more gunshots through the tunnel as the outlaws neared the room, they must have shot the guards at the doors, who would have been awake by now. Fawn felt some relief when she saw Travis's feet appear in the darkness. He had gone through the tunnel backwards so he could shut the secret door. Soon his midsection and then his head appeared. He backed up against the wall opposite of Fawn's, but there wasn't much room. Fawn was practically in his lap as her face hovered inches from his. She could feel his steady breathing, in then out. He pushed something on the wall and a light came on, but it was only a small amber glow. Fawn jumped when a loud crash echoed through the tunnel, they had made it to the archives.
"Search every part of the archives. We have to get to that book before she does." A deep voice said, echoing through the wall. Travis locked eyes with Fawn, by she, they meant Fawn.
"Boss said she was getting too curious, saw her in the library with the Section 5 overseer." Grunts of understanding came through in the tunnel. There was at least four of them. Fawn waited as she heard scuffling, the men searched the room for the book.
"Won't they be disappointed." Travis said lowly, his voice close to Fawn's face. Fawn looked at him.
"What do you think they want it for?" Travis looked down the tunnel.
"Seems Clay is a little annoyed with your snooping." Travis managed a small smile. Someone let out a frustrated growl.
"The book is gone." He said to whoever the boss was.
"What?! She couldn't have it...unless..Search the room quickly! Tear apart everything!" The man shouted.
"If the girl got it, she couldn't have gone far and she will have someone with her. No one could pull this off by themselves." He hissed. Loud crashing began in the archives while the men began searching for Travis and Fawn. Fawn felt her breath hitch. They would find them! Travis grabbed her arm, which wasn't hard since all their limbs brushed up against each other.
"They won't find us." He whispered. Fawn didn't believe him and she shook her head. She felt his hands move to her face and resisted the urge to pull back.
"Fawn, they won't find us, I promise." His green eyes stared into hers, unblinking. Fawn let out a ragged breath looking back into his eyes. She saw his mouth curl into a small smirk.
"What?" Fawn asked, despite the feeling of dread in her stomach.
"Forgive me." He said to her, Fawn was about to ask why, but Travis didn't let her speak. He pulled her mouth to his with his hands, lips pressing into hers. Fawn might have yanked back, but she would have smacked her head on the ceiling. What surprised her more was the electricity that seemed to spread through her limbs. Travis kissed her again, his lips not leaving hers. As if on instinct Fawn's hand shot up and her fingers curled around the back of his head and she kissed him back, much to her surprise. Her pulse quickened as her heart pounded against her chest. Travis was trying to distract her from what was going on in the room, it was a bit unorthodox, but it was working. Both of them jumped as something shattered just outside the tunnel door and their lips separated. Fawn and Travis both froze as they listened to the man outside the door. He was looking through the book shelf furiously. A disgusted sigh and then retreating steps, Fawn let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, they hadn't found them, yet. Turning her eyes toward Travis, Fawn could feel her fingers resting against the side his neck. If she hadn't been in his lap before, she might as well have been now as she leaned over him. His back was pressed firmly against the wall, her pulse thrummed strongly as he looked back at her. He seemed uncertain.
"Forgive me." Fawn whispered as she leaned forward, lips colliding with his. Travis's hand tightened around her face while the other one slowly wound its way around her back. His touch was warm and sent jolts of electricity up Fawn's spine.
"It's too late. The guards are on their way now, if we have any chance of escaping we need to go now!" Someone said. Travis adjusted his position, breaking off their kiss. Fawn heard the leader slam something down in anger.
"That cheeky devil...torch this place and let's get out." The leader said. Fawn heard something like a hissing sound and then retreating footsteps. She slid out of Travis's embrace and he pulled himself up straighter. They both weren't looking at each other. Travis pulled out a pocket knife and Fawn noticed smoke was slowly beginning to seep through the tunnel.
"There is a tunnel through this wall that leads to the second floor, close to my room. We can go there and figure out what to do." Fawn was pondering why he had brought the knife out, but then heard a ripping noise as he dragged it along the carpet of one wall. The carpet fall forward into the next hidden tunnel. Fawn covered her mouth as the smoke swamped the room. Travis coughed.
"Ladies first." He said to her. Fawn crawled into the tunnel, this one just as small as the first. She could hear Travis crawling in behind her. His walkie-talkie suddenly went off.
"Attention all guards, make sure all Overseers stay in their rooms until further notice. I repeat make sure all Overseers stay in their rooms until further notice. We have a breach in security, all units to the archives." Fawn glanced at Travis, but couldn't really see his reaction in the dark. It took about five minutes before the tunnel opened up slightly and Fawn squinted, seeing something up ahead.
"What is it?" Travis asked from behind her.
"I think it's a ladder." Fawn said as she stretched a hand forward, touching the cold metal.
"Then go up it." Travis answered her. Fawn twisted her body in a position to where she could climb the ladder. The tunnel with the ladder was as big as the one they had crawled through. Her back pressed against concrete while she pulled herself up. Travis let out a frustrated growl when his elbow hit the wall. Fawn let out a small laugh, thankful for her small size. It was another ten minutes before the ladder ended. Fawn sighed in relief, her arms ached from climbing.
"Umm Travis?" Fawn said, looking down at her companion.
"Push the wall in front of you." He told her. Fawn did what she was told and was greeted by the sliding of the wall. She climbed out quickly, looking around the hall. All the guards were gone, and no one was out in the halls. Climbing out of the tunnel, Fawn waited for Travis. He came out behind her, sliding the panel back in place. They both ran over to his room, which was only a couple doors away. Travis closed and locked the door firmly behind them. Fawn stood in the middle of his room, she let out a relieved breath. Travis looked at her and smile lit up his face, he rushed over to her, engulfing her in a giant hug. Fawn let out a laugh.
"We did it!" She said excitedly, feeling a rush of elation. Travis set her down, but his arms didn't retreat from behind her back. Fawn looked back up at him and she knew he was going to try and kiss her again. Fawn stopped him before he could start.
"Travis...earlier, I shouldn't have." Travis let go of her and she saw something spark in his eyes. He let out a long sigh.
"I should have known better anyway." His voice was filled with reproach and anger.
"Garth holds your heart." Fawn shook her head, feeling confused. There was no denying that there was something between her and Travis, something undiscovered, but it didn't matter. She was Garth's.
"I'm sorry." Fawn apologized, feeling guilty. Travis walked away from his door.
"Don't bother. I know what I'm getting into." Fawn looked at his back confused. Travis turned around.
"You should sleep, we won't be getting out of these room's anytime soon and we've both had quite the go around." Fawn frowned, he was closing her out. She had upset him, which shouldn't have bothered her, but it did. Instead of talking, Fawn thought it best just to lie down. She walked over to his couch.
"Not over there!" Travis hissed, making Fawn jump. He didn't seem to notice.
"You can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch." He said quietly. So he had noticed her in some way. Fawn nodded silently and walked over his bed. She pulled back the blankets and her fingertips tingled. This felt odd, sleeping in Travis's bed. She eased herself onto the mattress. It was surprisingly firm and comfortable. Pulling the blankets up to her chin, Fawn noticed how nice they were as well. When she rested her head on his pillow, Fawn was engulfed in the smell of Travis. It was warm and comforting, which made Fawn wonder if he let her sleep here to make her feel guilty.
Is this what he does to all the girls? She glanced over at him, he was setting down some blankets on his couch. He lowered himself onto the couch, in the sitting position. His eyes met her staring ones and Fawn immediately flipped over, her back facing him.
"Goodnight Travis." She said quietly.
"Goodnight Fawn." Travis answered. His voice sounded fake, automated. Fawn slammed her eyes shut. Why did she feel like crying? Whatever Travis had done to her emotions that day, Fawn decided that she didn't like it.