Dissidence (29 page)

It takes a bit longer to actually round them all up, but once I do, I direct them over to the guard’s quarters. The ‘hospital’ space has been reduced to the rear sleeping area, leaving the front room available for our use. Jacob settles onto the couch beside Julie, scowling at me the entire time
,
like he can’t believe I had the audacity to summon him here. Or, maybe it’s the fact that he actually went along with it th
at he can’t believe. It would’
ve been just fine with me if he hadn’t.

“What are we doing here?” Jacob demands the moment we’re all seated around the room. Guess there’s no need for pleasantries
,
then.

“I’ve asked you all here because each of you helped lead the rebellion for your camp. They see you as their leaders. “

“And?”
Seriously, this guy has less patience than I do, and that’s really saying something.

“
And
. . . we want all of you to help make decisions around here. There are a
lot
of people out there, and no one person can control all of them. We can discuss our options, and decide together what we think is best for everyone. Then each of you will be responsible for getting your individual groups informed and moving when the time comes. I know it’s a lot of pressure to put on you, so if anyone wants to back out, now would be the time to do it.” I kind of wish someone had given me that option, but none of them takes it. “All right, then
,
our first decision needs to be made now.”

I offer Connor the floor
,
and he does a pretty decent job presenting his plan to everyone. When he’s done, only two people are in disagreem
ent, Kyle and Jacob. Although
I’m pretty sure it’s not the plan Jacob has a problem with. Actually, I’m not sure
what
his problem is, but it seems to be centered on me for some reason. The thing is, this needs to be a unanimous decision. We can’t ask some groups to go and not others when we all stand to benefit from it.

That’s when everything spirals out of control. People are talking over one another, arguing, shouting . . . then the insults start flying. It’s like a freaking zoo.
Peter holds it together longer than most, but somewhere around the time the insults start coming my way, even he loses his temper.
The only one who seems immune to the insanity is Allan, who’s just sitting back and watching it all unfold with a very intense look on his face.

“All right, everyone shut up!” Allan’s deep voice booms so loudly above the others that it stuns us all into silence. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. We need to put someone in charge here
,
or we’re just going to keep talking in circles and never get anywhere.”

“It should be
Kaleigh
.” Julie doesn’t hesitate to throw me under the bus.

I’m so shocked to hear my name that I’m certain I must have heard her wrong. “What?”

“They already think you’re in charge of all of this
,
anyway
.
”

They do? Who does? What? I don’t have to actually ask any of these questions because I’m
sure they’re all clearly written on my face, and Connor’s amusement tells me none of this is news to him.

“Girlie, you seriously live in a state of denial. Of course they think you’re in charge.”

Yeah, sure.
Right.
Of course
.
If anything, I’d say Connor’s had more of a leadership role than I have. I’ve intentionally been trying to stay in the background of all of this.

“She’s just a kid, what the hell does she know about leading a rebellion?” Jacob sounds provoked by the very idea. 

“Enough to get one started. Enough to do more than anyone else ever has,” Lori argues.

Yeah, that didn’t require any actual knowledge, skills, or planning. It really just involved an unfortunately good reaction time, but I doubt any of them are interested in hearing the particulars.

“There are more qualified people here than a
. . .”

“Not if the qualifications include people actually listening to you.” As unwanted as Lori’s support is, I’m very glad Jacob didn’t finish tha
t sentence. I might’
ve had to hit him, or Peter might have from the look of him, or Connor . . . Wow, that guy really
is
an idiot. “All of those people out there, all of them, want to know what
she
thinks. They don’t give a damn about our ideas, and they’re not interested in forming their own opinions. They’ve already decided that they trust
her
to do what’s best for them.”
Lori finishes with a pointed look at Jacob.

What the hell
planet have
they been living on? I haven’t done a single thing right. How could they possibly trust
me
?
I
don’t trust me.

“That’s why it should be her,” Julie agrees, enthusiastically. That girl has way too much pep. “If we want everyone out there to go along with our decisions, they have to believe they’re
her
decisions, or at least that she supports them. Lori’s right, they trust her. They’ll listen to her.”

“Why don’t we vote on it,” Peter offers.

Without hesitation
,
Julie, Connor, Peter, Lori and
,
surprisingly
,
Allan’s hands go up in favor of my new position of power. Note
,
my hand stays firmly planted at my side. Slowly other hands rise until only Jacob and I are in opposition to the idea, but it’s not enough to stop this from happening.

“That’s the majority.” Connor sounds victorious, like he was the one just voted head honcho. I wish he were.

“All right, Leigh, lead us.” The smirk on Peter’s face is really making me want to smack him. If we were alone
,
I would. I’ll have to remember that for later.

“Fine.”
I make no attempt to disguise my annoyance. “Jacob and Kyle, you disagree with the plan. Why don’t you tell us your concerns one at a time, and we can address them as a group until we can all agree? How does that sound?”

“It sounds much better than a shouting match.” I get the impression that a compliment from Allan is something to be savored. He doesn’t seem the type to throw them around often.

Peter nudges my shoulder, and smiles his approval when I glance up at him. Look at me, apparently I
can
do something right.

Kyle and Jacob lay out several good points in favor of us not attacking the other camp, and one by one the others shoot them down. I don’t say anything, I just listen. It takes hours, but by the end
,
even those two are in agreement that this is our best course of action. That just leaves the details to work out.
Easier said than done.

A half dozen arguments later, one which almost led to Jacob punching Allan, we finally agree on when we should attack, and how many people we should send from each group. Evidently, running a rebellion is similar to running of a kindergarten classroom. I’m completely
exhausted from trying to keep people calm and controlled, especially when I was close to hitting a few people myself.

“You did great, Girlie.” Connor catches up with me as I drag myself back to the dorms. He looks as tired as I feel.

“I’m just glad no one left with any permanent injuries.” Connor chuckles, but honestly, I was only half joking.

I only hope that the workers don’t rebel against
us
once they hear this plan. Drew Reynolds, here we come.

Chapter 27

I stand on the metal grating between the engine and the first passenger car. It’s funny, I remember the day I left colony D for the first time, and those guards offered me a ride in that blue pickup truck. The idea of traveling at forty miles an hour had horrified me, and here I stand now, watching the scenery blur past me at nearly twice that speed, and it feels better than sitting inside one of those stuffy train cars. Out here it feels more . . . dangerous, a more appropriate way to travel to our particular destination. It makes me feel more alert. Inside, I was becoming so complacent that I was in danger of nodding off, and napping with a gun tucked into my waist band does not sound like a great idea.

The harsh wind whip
s my hair in front of my face.
I’ve long since given up trying to fight it. Fall will be here soon, and the air has a distinct chill to it. It’s slowly been sinking into my bones over the past hour out here. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to stand it, but it becomes a non-issue when I feel the train’s speed shift under my feet.
We’re beginning to slow.

There’s another shift in speed just as I stumb
le through the heavy metal door, nearly sending me to the floor for my grand entrance. Now there’s a way to inspire confidence.
Everyone must
have noticed our deceleration because t
hey’re all climbing to their feet and doing last minute checks of their weapons. Connor’s already positioned himself near one of the exits.
Peter must be in another car.

“Why don’t you wait here, Girlie? We’ll let you know when we have Reynolds.”

There’s about a snowball
’
s chance in hell of that happening, and I tell him so.

“Fine,” he sighs, but I can see the amused twinkle in his eye, “just be careful out there, all right?”

“You too.”
It’s not exactly like he’s some trained soldier
,
either.

Any second now, we’re going to pull up to the camp
,
and then all hell’s going to break loose. I wonder if they see us coming yet. Will we take them by surprise, or will we not even have that advantage? The train shif
ts again,
slower . . . rolling . . . stopped. It’s time.

Everyone piles off of the train at once. The gate is less than thirty yards from us. I guess we did manage to maintain at least some surprise. The first shots definitely
come from our side of the fence
,
and a few guards go down immediately. After that
,
it’s pure chaos. Shots are flying in every direction. Three towers are still manned by guards armed with rifles, and all of the soldiers on the ground seem to have hand guns as well. I wonder if they’ve always carried those
,
or if the increased security is a recent development. 

The sound of a bullet whizzing past sends me diving sideways. The rough ground scrapes my palms
,
and I brush loose gravel from them as I regain my feet.  There’s very limited coverage here, nowhere to hide. If we can’t end this fast, we’re going to be in trouble.
Think.
The workers
seem to have figured out what’s happening. I can see at least a dozen of them taking down a couple of guards. Inside the fence, the camp is in complete disarray.
Our
problem is the towers.

“Aim for the towers
!
” I shout as loudly as I can to anyone who may be listening. “Take out the towers.”

The odds of me hitting someone thirty feet up in the air with a handgun are zilch, but I try anyway. The best thing I can probably do is get other people aiming in the right direction, so I keep shouting as I shoot. A guard crumples in one of the towers.
Two left.
 

I take aim at the closest tower and start firing again. As I expected, I hit nothing, but someone else does
,
and the guard falls over the railing, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.
One left
. Only one more, but I’m too far away to have any effect on that one at all. I focus my attention back inside the fence.

The handguns have given the guards a definite advantage over the unarmed workers, but some of them have been taken out by sheer force. Bullets are still flying and bodies con
tinue to drop all over the camp:
mostly workers. We need to get inside before this turns into a total bloodbath. 

Others join me as I charge the gates. They’re locked, of course, but it’s nothing a well-placed bullet can’t handle. Even
I
can make that
shot. The gate
swing
s
open, and we start pouring inside. Suddenly faced with a fair fight, several guards surrender immediately. Apparently the cowards can only shoot unarmed opponents.

Another bullet flies past me, just missing my head, but the guy behind me isn’t as lucky. With a gut wrenching sound the bullet collides with his forehead almost directly between the eyes, and he drops to the ground in a heap. My heart is pounding wildly in my chest
,
and I can feel my blood beginning to boil. With both hands wrapped around the grip
,
I lift the gun away from me and steady it. The guard is just lining up his next shot.