Savage Run (40 page)

I remember the completely embarrassing
moment and the sides of my lips involuntarily curl upward. “That
early, huh?”

His eyelids lower, and there’s a
determination behind them I haven’t seen before. “Since then, I
haven’t been able to get my mind off you.” He squeezes my chin
between his thumb and index finger, lifting my lips to brush
against his. His nose traces from my cheek to my jaw, and he kisses
the side of my neck. “Heidi.” His voice is husky and his breath is
warm against my skin. My breath trembles. He reaches behind my back
and pulls my chest to his as he joins his lips with mine. I rise
onto my toes and knit my fingers through his short, course hair
while I drag him backward with me. I moan into his mouth and his
kiss deepens. He lifts me up onto the table and I wrap my legs
around his. I should stop before I can’t, but the way he tastes
like mint and smells like the outdoors…

I pull him in close and his hands rest on my
waist, my hips. Kissing him now is different. Before, I needed
strength and release from the fear and tension—to feel safe. Now, I
kiss him because I see a future together as partners, not only in
crime, but maybe…just maybe in love.

* * *

Nicholas, Johnny, and I drive together over
to the Asolo Center. Johnny doesn’t say a word the entire way,
which I find ten times more disturbing than when he’s constantly
hurling insults at me. He smirks like he knows something I don’t,
like he’s thinking, “Just you wait, Heidi, because I have two huge
cannons up my sleeves.”

We approach the Asolo Center. Huh, funny.
The oval building looks like a gigantic version of Master Douglas’s
home with pillars and tons of glass—except for this one is light
gray with golden accents around the doors and windows. Outside on
the roundabout driveway stands a bald man with a dozen Unifers. At
first I think President Volkov is waiting for me and my heart
immediately starts pounding. But the closer we get, the more I
think he’s waiting for Johnny. The chauffeur stops the transporter
and when Johnny steps out, President Volkov greets him with a warm
embrace.

“
Welcome home, my son,” he
says.

Nicholas glances at me, but quickly averts
his eyes. Just as I step out, President Volkov and Johnny enter the
building. Not a word to me. Not a word to Nicholas. There’s no
doubt what President Volkov will be announcing tonight. I decide
right here and now I am not going to let it bother me, but when I
look at Nicholas, his shoulders slumped, his expression empty, my
hands winding to fists.

“
Are you all right?” I ask,
touching his elbow.

The muscles in his jaw tighten.

“
I’m sorry.”

“
It’s not your fault. I
just think…this is where my actions have led me.”

“
Oh.” I hear the
disappointment in my own voice.

Then his eyes flick to mine—angry. “I would
have done it again, Heidi. That’s not even a question. I just
hadn’t expected it to happen so abruptly.”

We walk in together, hand in hand, and
Nicholas escorts me to the seats up on the stage reserved for the
top three contenders. I hug Cory and congratulate him on the
victory. I wonder if he still plans to work against President
Volkov, or if winning the entire thing will make him complacent,
content to just live out his life in peace. Since I was third and
Johnny second, I end up having to sit next to him.

“
You going to be okay?”
Nicholas asks.

“
Nothing you do will spare
her from what’s to come,” Johnny says without looking at either of
us.

Back to normal? “Just…just go. I’ll be
fine.” I don’t see any weapons and I certainly don’t think Johnny
or President Volkov will kill me in front of everyone here. This is
probably the safest I’ve been around either of them.

Nicholas nods and makes his way down to the
audience. I recognize some of the faces from the benefits, and then
I see Nicholas sit down next to Dr. and Mrs. Konders. I smile when
they wave.

“
Finally believed me, did
you?” I ask Johnny.

“
Little miss know it all.”
He scoffs.

Well, that’s an improvement from imp. “I’m
glad you learned the truth.”

“
Sure you are.”

After the blaring Savage Run march, O. J.
takes the stage and reads the list of every young man who died in
the Savage Run—a staggering nine hundred and seventy-two. When
Arthor’s name comes up, I let the tears roll down my face without
shame. The bodies of the dead were cremated and their ashes
scattered at sea. O. J. then reads off the names of those who quit
and were sent home, a tone of dishonor in his voice. Seven hundred
and seventy-one. When he announces that two hundred and ninety-six
participants gained their freedom, the auditorium erupts into
applause.

Next, President Volkov takes the stand. “It
is my honor to announce the three fastest contenders. But first, I
feel I should address the issue of our only female contestant.”

It only makes sense that he would bring that
up, but it doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable for me.

“
It was disturbing to not
only me, but to many benefactors, to learn that a girl had
registered illegally. I am not one to sweep anything under the rug,
so if I offend, I am sorry…”

He does plenty of sweeping on other
things.

“
This course was not
intended for females for one reason only. Not because they are
weak, or should be submissive, or because they lack anything at
all. Women are far more superior to men in many, many regards.
Simply because of this.” He grips the podium. “Six months from now,
another program starts where lower class females between the ages
of thirteen through seventeen will brave through obstacle courses
for a chance at freedom.”

I find Nicholas in the crowd, and his eyes
are just as wide as mine. Why haven’t I heard about this before
now? I feel like a complete idiot and it’s becoming difficult to
maintain a neutral expression when the muscles in my face want to
bend. However, had I known about this and waited six months, Gemma
would have been dead by then.

“
I promised the world that
I was working toward changing the ways of Newland, and I hope you
will take this new information as proof that I am a man of my
word.”

Why can’t he just free everyone? Not have
the ranked systems? It’s still all about power.

“
Cory, Johnny, and Joseph,
I mean Heidi,” President Volkov says. “Please come
here.”

Cory stands up first and walks to the
podium, followed by Johnny and me, even though in all truthfulness,
I’d much rather not be here right now. President Volkov tells us
that with our new citizenships come all the rights and privileges
to Master status. We can own businesses, go to school, travel
wherever we want, vote, run for office, and on and on.

“
Heidi, before we hand out
the IDs and certificates—”

My stomach sinks.

“
I wanted to mention that
due to the dishonest nature of your registration, we, the Savage
Run board, voted on whether or not you were to receive your
freedom.”

My stomach drops like a brick, and it’s as
if the world is shifting beneath my feet. I look at Nicholas, and
he’s staring at his father like he wants to kill the man.

His pale blue eyes peruse the audience.
“Fortunately for Heidi, it has been unanimously decided that you
will receive your Master status and certificate of freedom.”

I didn’t realize how tightly I had wound my
shoulders until I release them.

Cory receives his ID and certificate first,
followed by Johnny and lastly me. I sit back down when Johnny and
Cory do.

“
The funds of the top three
participants will be distributed after the Closing Ceremonies in
the green room. Now, before I let O. J. take over and distribute
the rest of the IDs and certificates, I would like to personally
congratulate all of you, and I am especially pleased to welcome you
into the Master class.” He claps, and the audience
applauds.

After O. J. reads off and distributes the
rest of the IDs and certificates, Nicholas rushes up to me on
stage. He scoops me into his arms and swings me around. My laugh
gets caught somewhere on its way up because I’m a little shocked
that he’s being so playful in front of everyone, in front of his
father. Then he plants a kiss right on my lips. Pulling back, and
looking into my eyes, he says, “Let’s go get your money and save
Gemma.”

We walk down the aisle arm in arm, and I can
feel President Volkov’s eyes burning in the back of my neck.
Johnny’s threat to Nicholas lingers in my mind: “Nothing you do
will spare her from what’s to come.”

But clutching my certificate and Master ID
in my hands, there’s no one who can stop me now.

END OF BOOK 1