Connor and Vince fight their forbidden attraction as they attempt to rescue themselves and fellow residents of the underground Refuge facility from a toxic breach.
*****
Conn...
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"This is Dr. Samuel Smith..."
The sound of the old botanist continued to chime from the P.A. and throughout the facility, beginning again just as Em's shaky, "Thank you, Samuel," concluded the message. The recording became louder the more we descended the stairs and moved closer to level nine's landing.
Randolph continued to speak, although he struggled to get his words out above the noise in the room as the people continued voicing their concerns, expressing their opinions, and asking questions.
"Silence!" The anger exuding from Randolph quieted the room. "Now listen—"
I took my cue.
"Randolph," a part of my voice I'd never used before sent shock waves through my body as the bass rumbled from my gut and out my mouth, "tell your higher officers to back down. I have your son with me."
A cry howled from the gasps. "The toxins!"
"No need to worry." I didn't make a move. "There are no toxins."
"Who's in there?" Randolph called out. The sound of heavy boots gathered at the stairwell's exit. "Who's speaking?"
Ralph Thomson answered instead. "It's Connor Nichols. I ran into him while I was up there. He claimed to be with Vince. He claimed that there was no toxin up there. No breach—"
"Silence!" Randolph growled. "I'm well aware of your misgivings and your frailties, Cadet Thomson. No need to waste your breath or my time with anymore nonsense."
I cleared my throat to allow my voice to carry above his. "It's not nonsense. It's the truth. Something we haven't heard in a long time." We turned the corner into view. With my arm still around Vince, as if I were using his body as a shield, I reached behind me and removed the handgun from my waistband to hold it at my side.
Randolph glanced to Vince's wounded leg and his mouth gaped. "What have you done to my son?"
I saw past the pretend concern and glared. "You did this to him. You gave him a stimulant that caused him anxiety and short temperament and told him it was to manage his anger. You woke us up in a panic so we wouldn't question why you instructed us to kill innocent people. And because of all that, and the fact that he cares for you and will do anything to save your life, he went up to Ten and got injured. Along with Tamara and I. We could've died."
He pointed a finger toward us as if it was a handgun and he had us in the crosshairs. "I never told cadets to go up. You violated my orders. This is what happens when you disobey." He looked out to the crowd of cadets and higher officers as he pointed to us.
Was he attempting to make an example out of us?
"Tell everyone how you lied." I looked out over the crowd, who looked at us with doubtful eyes. "He trapped the upper hemi residents up top for years, since the first 'breach.'" I gestured toward the gaunt men who stood behind me in their worn clothing. "But there is no leak, no toxins. He was afraid of losing his leadership role. For years he's fooled everyone, making me believe my mother had died during the breach, but she's alive. I've seen her, talked to her, and she told me the truth."
