UPRISE

035

At the back of the Complex, the group prepares to go into town. Noah keeps disappearing to peek around at the front gates, which are barely visible in the snowstorm. He expects to see Edison, tapping his foot at the gates and waiting. Instead, he sees Reds running in the gates as it gets closer and closer to curfew. Their feet carry them just too quickly for Noah's comfort, but he is too distracted by Edison's absence to mention the Reds' distress.

"Should we get going?" Corbin asks, raising an eyebrow up at Harper, while nodding hi head towards Noah.

Harper grimaces while looking at Noah. He is just as nervous before, but thankfully his chattering teeth and rosy cheeks appear to be from the cold. "You good, Noah?"

When Noah nods, the group heads out.

At the very back of the pack, Wren and Reagan hold hands. It's getting easier to see the Shops from here, but not easy enough. The snow is letting up, but it still hangs in the air. It settles in Wren's curly hair, refusing to escape.

Reagan tries his best to look at Wren, rather than ahead. He would study his face, commit it to memory, if he felt it was necessary. He'd rather relearn it every day of his life, though it seems unlikely that he will have the opportunity.

It is only now that death is actually imminent that Reagan seems to find some calm.

"Have you ever noticed that I always try to breathe in sync with you?" Reagan asks.

Wren furrows his brow. His fingers are freezing, so cold that the numbing has settled in, and he can't really feel them at all. This is only the tip of the iceberg (very nearly literally). "Not really. Why?"

"It's a habit I picked up from my favourite book," Reagan points out. "It's complicated to explain. Have you ever read Recondite by Joy Coleman?"

Wren shakes his head. It was assigned reading in AP lit, but Wren only bothered with the Sparknotes. It was too long for him. "I was never that into books. Why does it matter to you so much?"

"The book is about a group of friends who... it's hard to explain," Reagan points out. "I just.... I've always wanted to love someone so much that I become part of them. With you though, I feel like my own person for once."

Wren's chest tightens. He had always thought that Reagan was the rope he was using to climb out of the darkest pit he has ever been in. Now, he is realizing that they are both the ball on the outside of Newton's cradle. They knock each other back and forth, over and over, out of the dark. "I think it's too early, but since we are going to die, I'm probably in love with you."

Reagan blinks. "Probably?"

"Probably," Wren echoes. "If we make it out of here alive, I'm going to take us to get burritos. I really miss burritos. Don't you?"

Reagan hasn't thought about it. "I'd love that."

In front of them, Jasmine tries to console Noah, who is doing his best to pretend that he doesn't need consoling.

"Edison was a bad dude," Jasmine says. With every step, she wiggles her toes to try and prevent them from turning black from the cold. She's heard of that happening anyway, though not to anyone she's known.

Noah disagrees with Jasmine. Not in that the weather isn't arduous, because it is violent and cruel. Rather, he can't seem to suspect that Edison is a bad man. "He lifted your band and he lifted Wren's. He didn't have to do that."