The Limit [Book 1]

Chapter 4

We made it to the safehouse by nightfall, the sky nearly a deep onyx when the two of us finally settled on the hard floors of the empty building.

I slipped off my sopping shoes and socks as Jace came back from an open doorway, having gone in search of resources for the both of us. He tossed me a roll of fresh clothes and a blanket before turning his back to me and slipping off the heavy vest he wore.

"Go change in the other room, there's a bathroom next to it so shower and sleep early. First thing in the morning, we'll figure out what to do next." I nodded silently and trudged through the doorway.

I pushed open the bathroom door and turned on the shower, wiggling out of the drenched dull clothes before stepping into the bathtub. Not wanting to take too long, I quickly scrubbed till my skin turned pink and ran the water through my dark hair to clean out the patches of mud and dirt. I dried myself with the relatively clean gray shirt before donning the pair of clothes.

The black shirt was large on my frame, hanging to mid-thigh, and the leggings were slightly too long for me. I folded the ends of the pant leg to allow for better movement and tied back my hair with a hairband. I hastily brushed my teeth with the extra toothbrush Jace had found and made my way back to the main room.

I took my blanket and made a spot on the floor near the front door just in case, glancing over at Jace's still form leaning on the wall opposite of me. His eyes were closed and he had changed out of the military uniform and into a simple black t-shirt and cargo pants. I quietly observed his features, taking in the soft cheekbones, long lashes, and lack of facial hair.

"Are you done watching me yet?" Jace asked without opening his eyes, one arm propped on top of a knee in a deceivingly casual form.

"No, stay still for another minute." He sighed and glanced up at me through his eyelashes, his messy bangs bouncing into his eyes with every movement he makes. I tilted my head at him, running my eyes over the every feature of his face, taking in every detail and guessing his age in my head. "You know, without that uniform on, you look like any other high school boy. Young, charming, you could pass off as 17 if you wanted to."

Jace let out another breath, "Maybe that's because I'm only older than you by two years." I narrowed my eyes, taking in the fact that he knew my age and that his statement only makes him nineteen.

"That's young for a soldier." The only reply I got was an unidentifiable grunt. Sighing, I wrapped myself in the blanket and rested my head on the wall next to the front door, closing my eyes in a state of half-consciousness.

Not sleeping, not really. Sleeping in this situation was too dangerous. This mental state was more like meditating, allowing your mind and body to rest while your senses of the surroundings sharpen. I could hear every small breeze through the crack in the door, every rustle of the leaves outside, and the faint hooting of a barn owl in the distance. I could picture the sleeping form of Jace directly in front of me and practically see the moonlight shining onto the floorboards near my feet through the window.

It was like that for the rest of the night.

-

I knew the exact moment when sunlight finally filtered into the room, coming in small rays to warm up the air. I cracked my eyes open and stretched my stiff limbs from its still position. I didn't expect for Jace to be in the same spot as last night, having sensed him get up an hour ago. He now resided on a chair near a small table, a slice of bread hanging from his lips as he stared at a computer screen on his lap.

I pushed my body off the floor and grabbed a chair, placing it on the opposite side of Jace and settled into it. Without glancing in my direction, Jace pushed a mug of water across the table to me. I nodded a thank you, before sipping tentatively at the liquid.

"What's the plan?" He twisted his computer around to face me, a full map of the country stared up at me, dozens of color-coded dots, signifying places and people, could be seen all over the map. Jace pointed at a purple dot near a thin silhouette of a river.

"This is us and this," He drew a line to a blue dot south of the river, "is our destination. There's a friend there that can help us get away." Nodding, I observed and estimated the distance and time before leaning back in my chair.

"I think it's time you finally tell me about yourself, Jace. Who are you if you're not the military? Don't you dare lie, I know you didn't just save me on a whim. You've been doing this for a long time now, smuggling out passing students from the schools all over the country." He mimicked my form, arms crossed.

"Oh? And what makes you think that?" I gestured to the red dot that marked my school, just a few miles from where we came from. There were identical red dots littered over and around Lionel, thousands and hundreds of blinking lights.

"Those red dots represent practically every school in the country, from elementary to high school." Jace's eyes narrowed slightly at my remark. "I've studied my fair share of geography to know well enough that those schools are the ones holding the annual execution every year. I'd bet that the red dots are the targets and because there are too many for a single man, there must be an organization of some sort behind every missing student every year."

Kaden, my dear friend, had made it a habit of reporting to me every classified information he found out by hacking the security system after the tests. He always told me the number of students that were missing, all of different ethnicities, and all I had memorized. We've always wondered why the government never revealed the missing student cases on the news. Not even one was brought to the attention of the public. I figured that if that was the case, the information could potentially be something I could use, as leverage perhaps.

Jace gaze pierced into my own, neither of us backing off from the mental fight.

"You're too curious for your own good. That mind of yours will get you killed someday."

"I disagree, my mind will be the key to my survival." He continued to stare for a few deafening moments before sighing.

"You are correct, I work with a secret undercover facility that had made it our goal to rescue every wrongly accused student from all across the country. We have people planted among the security at every school, hidden from the surveillance expertly in order to ensure that no one is taken when they're not supposed to be.

"We have a bigger goal, however, and that is to end this whole system. That is all I can say, any more and I'll have to kill you for knowing too much when you shouldn't."

"... alright, understood."

"Good, because after I deliver you successfully to our destination, we will have nothing to do with each other again. End of discussion."