A Beautiful Reflection From Firework Eyes

A Thousand Stars Burning In The Sky Up Overhead

We quickly settle into a routine. I keep my head down, following every instruction during Study. I've stopped meeting with Jack and Alex after lights out in fear we might get caught. We can't let them know what we're planning. Not when we are so close to our goal.

After dark, Jack sneaks me out, and the two of us go and meet with Gerard. Alex meets us to fly us in and out, but he stays inside, keeping watch in the office. Kellin wanted to come too, but it's too dangerous. A month of finalizing plans and running through actions pass. I can see the weather changing slowly around us. The heavy snows become lighter and more frequent. Small green shoots poke their way up from the damp ground, fresh and green. Everything seems so new to me, so fresh. It brings a smile to my face as I see the tiny buds on the trees around us. Even the dirt feels amazing, the sun's rays feel like a kiss against my skin. Spring is coming soon, the days becoming longer and the nights becoming shorter. The weather is warmer now—we don't have to shorten our meetings in fear of getting frostbite. We aren't going to rush this. We are getting out of here.

I'd usually be tired, considering how little sleep I've been getting, but I've never felt more awake, every nerve in my body excited. Energy pulses through my veins. All I can do is think of the escape.

"If something goes wrong," Gerard says. "We need to be prepared to run. Leave in any way you can, get away from the Facility and the guards. So we'll get you out through either the window if Alex is near, or the backdoor. Use your powers in any way you can to protect yourselves."

I nod. I know how dangerous this could potentially be. The guards will do anything they can to stop us.

"In case we get separated," Gerard continues. "You need to know how to find us. Get out of the Facility and get into the trees. The house is about a mile out. There's a path you can pick up a few hundred meters straight past the fence. Follow the left path across the stream and that's where the house is."

"What if they follow us?" Jack asks. "Shouldn't we meet up somewhere farther? Try to make them lose our trail?"

"This isn't our only safe house. There are others too," Gerard explains. "We'll regroup there, then head out to other ones."

"Should we split up?" I ask. "Might be safer. At least some of us will get away."

Gerard shakes his head. 'We're stronger together. All of us fighting together. That's how we will beat them." He must feel the doubt creeping in my mind because he nudges me. "Hey, that's only assuming it goes wrong. If not, we are walking out of the front door, heads held high, the Facility burning behind us."

I can't help but smile at him.

"But remember, our goal is for you to escape and us to destroy the control room and documents," Gerard says. "Try not to kill anyone. Sometimes, it's inevitable. But the less we kill, the less justified they are to pursue us. I know most of them have treated you like shit. Most of them have hurt you in some way. Most of them think of us as nothing. But they are people too. If we kill them, they have a reason to chase us to the ends of the world. So as hard as it may be, keep that in mind."

"I think Alex is gonna have the worst time with that rule," Jack mutters.

"It's important," Gerard holds my gaze. "If we blow it, our chance of being completely free and safe might be gone too."

I nod. "I know," I say. As tempting as it is to take it out on the guards, I have to remember. Matty and Rian flash through my mind. They were guards too. Just caught up on the wrong side of the fight and looking for a way out.

"We should tell Craig," I realize. "Just to let him know what's going to happen. If he's going to escape too, he needs to know."

Jack rolls his eyes at me. "Fine," he mutters.

"He deserves to be free as much as we do," I point out.

"I guarantee you he won't want to come," Jack says. "He's happy here. They love him."

"We should at least give him a chance."

"I know," Jack sighs. "He's still an asshole though. Mr. Styles adores him and it got to his head."

"Oh, that reminds me," I say, the strange conversation I had with Mr. Styles flashing through my mind. "Mr. Styles talked to me around a month ago. It completely slipped my mind. He never spoke about it again."

"What did he say?" Jack asks curiously.

"He said something about how he cared about us and how he was sorry for—for Matty," my voice wavers at the end. It still pangs me that another person died because of me. All my fault. I push the thoughts away, seeing Jack and Gerard frowning.

"I call bullshit," Jack says immediately. "You know the man. I don't think he has a heart."

"That's weird," Gerard mutters.

"I think he was trying to figure out if he—Matty was helping us develop an escape plan," I say. "I hope I didn't give anything away."

"Not like he actually cares about us," Jack snorts. "He was just saying it to get an answer out of you."

"I wouldn't be so certain about that," Gerard says. Both Jack and I stare at him, so he continues. "He had a son, you know."

Jack shudders. "I can't imagine that," he says.

"Had?" I ask. Matty and Rian mentioned he had a son, but I had assumed he was still alive.
Gerard nods. "I don't know the whole story," he says. "But his son died and somehow he ended up at the Facility. It's all connected somehow. I'm not quite sure how though."

"One mission at a time," Jack groans. "We'll deal with the weird family thing later. Let's get the hell out of here first."

I can't help but grin at him as he grabs my hand, pulling me toward the Facility.

"We have to talk to Craig," I remind him.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack says. "Let's just get it over with." He looks over at Gerard. "When you have the time, can you meet me here?"

Gerard nods, smiling at us. "You got it. Next time we meet. You'll be free."

I do hope it's true.