Chapter XXIII

JOEY PANICKED AS SHE felt the ice prick her skin, and she gulped, wondering if this man was capable of killing. If she summoned her daggers, she could stab his thigh and get free, or ... he could plunge the shard deeper into her neck before she could attempt an escape.

Her eyes ventured towards Michelle, ignoring the look on the others faces. She knew that if anyone was going to save her, it would be Michelle, and by the look in her eyes, she knew that the leader was already working on a plan.

"I'm not supposed to be here!" the young man shouted, his hand quaking and the shard digging a little deeper. She yelped and squeezed her eyes shut. "Didn't she have any idea how much I sacrificed to keep her safe? Just for her to throw it all away!"

Michelle took another slow step. "We don't know who you're talking about," she said calmly. "But if you let Joey go, we'll help you find her."

The young man seemed hesitant, and Joey could hear his heart as it pounded close to her ear. There was something about the fast rhythm, something that made Joey believe his intentions were never to kill her.

"You expect me to trust you?" He snarled. "We're in a Dome were people kill to survive!"

"No, you're wrong," Michelle tried to reason. "What they told you out there is wrong." Her brow dipped in anger. "We don't kill our own!" She spread out her arms to gesture towards the others around her. "We are not each other's enemy! Agcorp is!"

"Liar!" He regained his posture as he stood straight, dragging Joey upright with him to her tip toes. "Why would I believe you? Just to have me turn my back so you can stab it? I know that you can't trust anyone in the Dome." Joey gritted her teeth as the cold pierce dug in even further. "You're running out of time! I know when they dropped me off they must have dropped her off too. Now, tell me where you've hidden her, or this one dies."

"You're not going to believe me no matter what I say so go ahead!" Michelle shouted, clearly getting aggravated, and Joey's eyes darted her way.

"What?" she whimpered, in disbelief. She cried out as the shard went deeper and she felt a steady warm liquid drip down her chest. "No, no, wait! Wait! This girl, she ..." She searched for words. "She's your girlfriend?" He huffed, and she hastily corrected herself, "No, you're sister?"

He wavered ever so slightly, and she knew she had hit home. "And how would you know that unless you've seen her?"

She reached up and gripped his arm trying to pull it away as it tightened around her throat. "Because of your speech. You're willing to do anything to get her back and protect her. Clearly, she means a great deal to you." He remained silent and his grip eased just enough to keep her from choking. "What's her name?" she asked softly.

"Ivory," he replied in a sorrowful tone and his arm began to drop.

She swallowed and gave a soft nod. "Listen to me, uh ..."

"Thomas," he answered just as softly.

"Okay, Thomas, if you kill me, my friends kill you. Then who will be left to protect Ivory?"

She flinched as he reared back his elbow, but to he seemed just as surprised as she did. "Hey! Let go!"

Her eyes widened as Chase appeared, holding back Thomas's arm. "Run, Joey!" he screamed, and she didn't hesitate.

She shoved his arm around her waist aside and took off in a sprint until she reached the others who had been watching from afar. Her boot snagged an unearthed rock and she tripped, but thankfully Alex was there to catch her with his good arm. "You okay?" he asked, helping her sit.

Joey's heart raced and she felt like she couldn't breathe from the adrenaline spike. She placed a hand over her wound and could feel a small hole in her flesh.

Seconds later, Brianna plopped down on her knees beside her and quickly started going through her backpack. She yanked out another nonstick pad along with the metal canteen full of clean water, and she soaked the pad. "Look this way."

Joey did as she said, turning her head to the side to expose the wound to Brianna, and she hissed as the wet pad met her neck with a sting. "It's not too deep," Brianna reassured. She opened another package and grabbed out the roll of tape. After applying a little pressure to her wound, Brianna taped the smaller pad to Joey's neck. "That sound help with the bleeding."

Joey sighed in relief as Brianna pulled away, and she reached up feeling the soft material along her skin. She twisted around to find Nathan had wrestled Thomas to the ground and was wrapping a thick vine around his wrists to keep him bound, all the while Thomas was screaming, "I know you have her! I know you have her!"

"You alright?"

Joey's head snapped towards Chase. "I was nearly killed!" She crossed her arms and looked away. "What do you think?"

"Yeah, guess no matter how long you live here you just don't become numb to those kinda things," he replied blankly.

Eyeing him from the corner of her eye, she scolded more softly, "You could've done that sooner, you know?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want to escalade anything. I was waiting for Michelle's signal."

Joey rolled her eyes and searched through the group until her eyes landed on Michelle. She made her way past a few of the others until she stood beside the leader. She crossed her arms and scolded, "That's twice you've let someone get close to killing me."

"Oh, relax," Michelle waved her comment off. "I had everything under control. Chase knew what to do."

Joey clenched her jaw, but let the matter go. She glanced down and eyed Thomas, who winced as Nathan dug a knee into his back. "You didn't tie up Heather," she stated plainly.

"You had her detained when I intervened," Michelle explained. "She calmed down, but this man ..." She placed her hands on her hips. "Well, let's just give him some time to cool off. Then maybe we can reason with him."

Joey glanced up at Michelle. "Reason with him?"

"I'm gonna offer him a deal." She stepped forward, and Nathan took it as his cue to drag the man, roughly his own age, to his feet. She addressed Thomas in a stern voice, "We could use someone like you in our group."

Thomas snickered as he pulled against his bonds. "And why would I ever join your little band?"

"Because you help us save our friend, and we'll help you find your sister," she offered.

Thomas's face softened. "Save your friend how?"

"He's dying," Joey chimed in. She stole a quick glance behind her towards the twins who were picking up David between them once again.

"Well, I'm no healer," he snorted, and she looked back at him.

"We need your weapons," Michelle continued before Joey had the chance to cut in again. "You were keen on killing a friend, how about killing an enemy? We may need to fight someone very powerful in order to save our friend."

Thomas's jaw clenched and he glanced between Joey and Michelle. "I help you save him, you help me save her?" Michelle nodded. "Well, what if I say no?"

Michelle shrugged and smirked. "Then I tie you to a tree and leave you for whatever monster finds you first."

"Michelle!" Brianna slapped her arm, but Michelle seemed unfazed.

Rolling her eyes, Michelle corrected, "Fine. I'll let you go. But surviving this Dome on your own is going to be tricky for a new comer. Especially now that we're closer to the center."

"What's in the center?" Thomas asked, his tone hinted at fear.

"The Domes most dangerous monsters." Michelle nodded at Nathan. "Let him go." Nathan withdrew a Swiss Army knife from his pocket. His arms moved faster than Joey could see, and the thick vines were cut in seconds before falling to the ground.

Thomas rubbed his wrists, and stared at Michelle for a good few seconds before releasing a soft sigh through his nose. He gave a subtle nod, and Michelle grinned.

"Let's move out!" she shouted, only loud enough for the small company to hear. The others maneuvered around Thomas to follow Michelle, but he didn't immediately move. Chase shoved him forward from behind, and Thomas shot him a glare.

As Joey neared the tall, dark headed boy, she narrowed her eyes as a sudden rage fueled her. Without even thinking, she balled a hand into a fist and sent it slamming into Thomas's cheek. He stumbled to the side and all she heard was a chuckle from Chase. A surge filled her palm and she quickly twisted around, hiding her hands in front of her chest as her dagger appeared in her right fist. She instantly regretted her outburst, knowing her losing her temper would put everyone around her at risk. Relaxing her grip, the dagger vanished and she averted her gaze with embarrassment, though, she couldn't help but steal a glance from the corner of her eye.

Thomas steadied himself and rotated his jaw before glaring at her. "I never intended to kill you!"

Joey crossed her arms, holding them tight against her body. The sun had fully risen and the snow melted as the heat of the day warmed the earth. A new day. Meaning the time they had to save David was coming to an end.

Sending a few glances back at Thomas and Chase as she traversed through the mud, she found Thomas's face stern and aimed at the ground, appearing lost in thought, and Chase occasionally pushed him from behind if he slowed.

She gulped and wrestled with her mind, but inevitably, she slowed until she was walking beside him. He may have just tried to kill her, but there was still answers she wanted to know. Clearing her throat, her eyes remained forward as she asked, "What happened to your sister? Why are you guys in here?"

He stayed silent, and she believed he wasn't going to talk, but eventually his choked words were forced out. "She made a mistake. I tried to save her, but couldn't. Mom made us swear to never use our abilities; not even in the apartment when we were alone. She said that one day one of us would slip up and be seen. She tried to get us to forget we even had an ability, hoping it would just go away." He let out a low chuckle and looked up at her. "But how can you forget a part of yourself? How could I just forget the cold I feel pulsing through my veins?"

Joey swallowed. She actually understood what he was feeling because like Thomas, her mom had also tried to make her forget about her abilities.

He looked up as he let out a long breath. "I was on my way to pick Ivory up from the tram station when my shift at the factory ended." Shaking his head, he continued, "It wasn't supposed to be this way. I should've been there for her. Protected her! Or at least shown her a better way of protecting herself."

She finally turned to eye him, and he clenched his jaw, and balled his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Agcorp soldiers were right there, and they did nothing to stop these boys who were swooning over my little sister like dogs." Spit flew from his mouth at the disgust of his last few words. "I was afraid of what their intentions could be, and so was she. I tried to help her, but before I could reach her she ... found a way of protecting herself—a stupid way!" He eyed Joey and she arched a brow in curiosity. "Meaning, those boys got a taste of Ivory's ability to control electricity. Agcorp was on her in seconds. A lot faster then I could've gotten to her."

"Did she—" Joey cut herself off, attempting to rephrase her question. "What happened to the boys?"

"Oh, they're dead." Joey felt the color drain from her face, and Thomas snorted. "What? You think they should've deserved to live after an attempt like that?"

Joey quickly twisted her head back around without saying a word.

"You weren't there," Thomas stated, his voice cracking. "You didn't see the terror in her face. But you want to know what Agcorp did do? They jabbed something into her neck and took her to tram! I-I-I lost it! They weren't going to take my sister away from me." He paused. "I thought that if I could free her then we could run away again. Use the Underground like we had several times before. We wouldn't be safe in any of the cities now, but we could survive in the camps outside the walls." He swallowed. "So, I tried using my ability to free her, but I only got to two soldiers before I was shot with one of those stun guns they have. The next thing I know, I'm waking up with you leaning over me." He turned and looked at her. "Maybe now you can see why I was upset and confused?"

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, her heart ached for him. He had only been trying to save his sister, much like her dad had done for her, and now Thomas was trapped just like the rest of them. Just for trying to keep his sister safe. She stood up straight and said, "No, I don't see why you would think killing was the answer. Oh, wait! Guess like sister like brother."

"Hey, you have no right to judge me!" Thomas scolded. "You would've done the same thing if in our shoes!"

Lowering her head, her gaze met her hands and the repeated flashback of her hands coated in blood sprung to the forefront of her mind. She quickly chased the image away and shoved her hands into her pant pockets. "No," she lied. "I'm no killer."

Silence filled the comfortably cool morning air until Thomas broke it, "So, how'd you get tossed in here?" Even if she wasn't looking, Joey could tell his question was directed towards her and she shrugged. "Really? I tell you my life story, but you won't share yours? Seems a little unfair."

"You're the one who spilled your guts," she snapped, twisting her neck to shoot him a glare. "I didn't ask for your whole story."

Unexpectedly, Thomas said nothing. His face dipped into a frown, but he simply turned his gaze forward without pressing any further. She expected him to be the type of man that wouldn't take no for an answer.

Clearing her throat, she looked down at her shoes as they glided through the drying blades of grass. Guilt weighed on her chest, knowing that what Thomas did was wrong, but she felt terrible for snapping. Especially when all he asked was a single question that she could answer without spilling her life story.

She swallowed a lump at the back of her throat and began, "A man from Agcorp was waiting for me on the doorstep of my apartment building after school."

"Ah, so that's how you got here," Thomas assumed. "Well, they are skillfully trained—"

"I killed him," Joey interrupted sharply, and Thomas hushed along with the surrounding group. "They sent more." Briskly, she swiped at a tear that trickled down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," came Thomas's simple reply, and nothing else was said for hours.

The sun was now at its highest peak in the sky, and they had all taken off their jackets—most wrapped them around their waist while a few put them back inside Brianna's pack. They had stopped for a half hour about an hour ago to munch on a few squirrels and rabbits. Michelle had said it would be the last normal food they'd get in a while, which didn't settle well on Joey's stomach.

As they continued on their mission, the once tall oak trees that had shielded them in the night, mingled in with giant, thick trees that could've reached hundreds of feet in the air. From her place on the ground, Joey assumed they could've even touched the stars. Long, heavy, beautiful vines draped the branches of these luscious trees, and they had to cross under many giant archways caused by their uprooting.

The site of the forest was beautiful, but it had its way of giving her an alarming sense of danger, and Michelle confirmed her suspicions. "Welcome to the center," she proclaimed. "From here on out you'll need a set of eyes on the back of your head."

Joey gulped as she quickly made a three sixty, and yelped as she sank. Glancing down, her boot disappeared under a rather large ankle deep puddle of water. She rolled her eyes, annoyed with herself, and with a hard tug she wiggled her boot free of the mud that threatened to keep her shoe. She looked up to find everyone eyeing her. Her lips pulled into a thin line of embarrassment, but it quickly broke when her heart lurched as a gut-wrenching cry pierced the air.