“It’s nothing. Just a few scratches.”
The slashes across her face were anything but scratches. I didn’t need to know much about medicine to know they would need stitches. “We need to get you someplace safe. Can you walk?”
“They know about the tunnel,” she said, and she bent down to pick up the guard’s rifle. “We were going to use it to escape, but Jonathan saw the smashed cabinet, and he thought there was an ambush waiting.”
“If you put on a jumpsuit, they won’t hurt you,” I said. “Come on, let’s get you downstairs.”
Using the back staircase, we slowly made our way down to the kitchen, where I fished my jumpsuit from the night before out of the trash. It was small on Hannah, but she managed to fit it over her clothes. “What about you?” she said.
“I’m not going with you.”
“Yes, you are.” Her fingers wrapped around my wrist, as if chaining herself to me. I shook my head.
“I have to take care of something. I’ll be along as soon as it’s over.”
“Kitty—”
“If you want to keep me safe, then you’ll take that rifle, and you’ll make sure the people in the tunnel get to safety,” I said. “There’s a boy, Benjy—the one in the cage with me. He’s bringing up the rear. Tell him Kitty said to trust you.”
Her blue eyes watered, and she stared at me. “I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to you.”
“And I won’t be able to live with myself if anything happens to you or Benjy. Now, please—before they figure out you’re gone.”
Hannah’s mouth formed a thin line, and she caught me in another hug. “Don’t you dare die before I get the chance to know you,” she said, her voice breaking.
“I’ll do my best,” I promised, but that was all I could manage right now.
At last she released me and headed toward the cellar without another word. Once I was sure she was gone, I crept into the foyer and pushed open the front door, my weapon drawn. I had no plan and no idea what was out there—but Benjy and I wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Scotia, and if there was anything I could do to help her, I owed her that much.
Even from the porch, I could see a crowd gathered on the street in front of Mercer Manor. Taking a breath, I sneaked down the steps and toward a nearby tree. Tracks zigzagged across the snow, and I was careful to step in them, not leaving any trace I was there.
“This is what rebellion looks like!” Mercer’s voice cut through the cold air, and I peered around the massive tree trunk. From my vantage point, I spotted Mercer standing on a makeshift platform in front of the gate, surrounded by a small army of guards. And in front of them—
My stomach dropped. A dozen men and women dressed in jumpsuits knelt in the slush, each blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs. I scanned them, looking for any familiar features. My gaze fell on the figure kneeling in front of Mercer. She raised her chin in defiance, and even from a distance, her sleek ponytail was unmistakable.
Scotia.
A strange buzzing rang in my ears, growing louder as the seconds ticked by, and my head pounded. This couldn’t be happening. I had to do something.
“Countless are dead because of you,” said Mercer, and while his voice carried through the street, he looked down at Scotia. I tried to map out a path closer to the gate, but it was all open space. “The snow is red with innocent blood, and now we have no choice but to punish the entire section, all because you decided to have a little fun. You were never going to win.” He gestured to the sky. “I have the might of the American government behind me, and all you have are a few criminals, bastards, and useless invalids.”
The buzzing grew louder, and I looked up through the branches. Helicopters. My heart sank. No matter how many weapons the Blackcoats had, there was no way they would be able to fight off the entire military. And there was no way I could sneak across the open lawn without someone seeing me before I had a chance to help. But there had to be a way—there had to be.
Despite everything, Scotia held her head high. She was blindfolded like the others, but she seemed to be staring straight at Mercer. “I would rather die beside my people than live with yours.”
He scoffed. “As you wish. I hope it was worth it.”
“It was,” she said. “And I’d do it all again for a chance to kill you.”
“Unfortunately you’ll never have that opportunity. Enjoy hell.”
“I’ll see you there,” said Scotia.
Before I could move, before I could think, Mercer pressed the barrel of a gun against her forehead, and he pulled the trigger.
A shot rang out, and she crumpled to the ground. I swallowed a scream. A chorus of gunshots followed, and the other prisoners joined her one by one, until none were left.
The buzzing of helicopters grew louder, the wind whipping up a frenzy by now, and my chest tightened. Mercer kicked Scotia’s body hard enough for the crack of bone to echo over the sound of my heart pounding in my ears, and bile rose in my throat.
“Round up the others,” he called. “Search the bunks, the buildings, the dining hall—everywhere they could possibly hide, and don’t come back until you’ve found—”
A shout of alarm cut off Mercer’s speech. The sound of unrelenting gunfire rang in my ears, close enough to turn the ache in my head into a roar, and suddenly a spray of bullets rained down upon the platform. The guards standing with Mercer collapsed in one fell swoop, and Mercer threw himself off the platform, into the small space beside the gate.
I gasped and crouched down beside the tree. The branches waved as if we were in the middle of a hurricane, and they parted enough for me to see more than a dozen black helicopters hovering above us in the cloudy sky. Like the first, each bore the Prime Minister’s seal, but they continued to shoot into the crowd of guards, mowing them down unmercifully. It wasn’t the military after all.
The Blackcoats had arrived.
I hid behind the tree, not daring to step out into the open. Several men shouted, and one by one, soldiers dressed in black dropped to the ground, carrying weapons that made the guards’ rifles look like toys. Some lingered, but most headed off down the streets and away from the manor, and I briefly considered darting back inside. Before I could move, however, I spotted a familiar figure in the middle of a group of soldiers, the silver lining in his uniform making him stand out.