The Radical Chronicles

Chapter 5

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“These days infiltrating Central Government facilities and posing as one of them comes second hand; in the beginning it wasn’t as easy. Some found themselves left behind while others stayed to continue the fight. It’s these brave souls that paved the way for the executive operatives program – the special ops branch of the Radical Government devoted solely to undermining Central Government anti-Radical initiatives.”

Radical Archive – excerpt from the Executive Operative Origins

“So, tell me about the Texas territories,” Veronica said after they’d exhausted all other conversation.

“Wide, desolate, and hot,” Benjamin said. “My family has a ranch out there…well, it’s more of a compound these days.”

Veronica turned her head slightly, unsure of what he meant.

“We used to raise animals, grow vegetables…for the most part, my family is…was self sufficient. We traded with markets in the rural areas outside cities.”

“So how did they get to you then?” Veronica asked. “If you and your family were so far off the government’s radar…”

Benjamin interrupted, “No one is off their radar Veronica. You have to remember that. As long as you’re inside their border wall, they’ll find you.”

Veronica shivered involuntarily. “So is that it then? We can’t win?”

Benjamin put his arm around Veronica’s pale frame. His arm swallowed her since he towered over her at nearly twice her size. “Now I didn’t say that. I just said they can find us. That doesn’t mean we can’t stay one step ahead of them.”

Veronica shook Benjamin’s arm off her shoulder. “How long has it been? Can we go yet?”

“Sure. Are you sure you’re up for this?” he asked. “It’s not going to be as simple as sneaking down a hallway.”

Veronica slid down off the bed, nodded in affirmation, and walked toward the door. “Coming?”

They peered out the door briefly, cautious about jumping into the plan right away. As planned, they each took a side of the hallway and went room to room releasing the prisoners from their restraints. Veronica began seeing familiar faces – faces she’d seen when she first arrived in phase two, both from the beginning all the way through the previous evening. The facility had so many residents she often found it hard keeping track of who was there and who went missing. That’s why finding Molly and Chad felt so important; she wanted to hold on tight to the things in her life she did consider familiar.

Though each room looked hauntingly similar, Veronica concentrated on the mission at hand to maintain speed and focus. The previous room she’d been in had a girl no older than herself. She had brown curly hair, dimples, and delicate fingers with haggard, chipped nails from trying to claw at the restraints constantly. Her eyes had the look of constant crying – red, puffy, and swollen. Her white tunic had more wrinkles than smooth spots – a sign that she’d probably been lying down with the shirt scrunched up for far too long. When Veronica spoke to her, trying to explain what was going on, the girl merely asked if she was finally going to heaven like the woman promised her would happen when all was said and done. Veronica couldn’t answer; she merely pointed to the hallway, head bowed, and waited for the girl to stand up to see if she could walk. When the girl fell into Veronica’s arms and embraced her tightly (as if her life depended on it), Veronica felt something unfamiliar inside. It’d be much later – after more violence, more conflict, and more danger – before she’d pinpoint what she felt at that particular moment.

After she left the room and handed off the weak girl to one of the others waiting in the hallway, she moved on to the next room to the left. As she unclasped the boy’s wrist restraints, she found she was speaking from memory and not from conscious action. She answered his questions on autopilot while she thought of the girl and all the girls like her that would have to go through the same torturous life just because they were different. Before, when she and Molly made their pact, she thought the impetus to get back at the government originated in revenge and fear. Now though, she saw something more. She saw actual lives rather than faceless, meaningless enemies to strike back at with all her will. Later on in life, Veronica would pinpoint that exact moment in her life as the turning point – the watershed moment that would shape events to come.

Through all the rooms Veronica ventured into, she hadn’t accomplished the original goal she set out on – the reason for venturing to the cellar to begin with. Each time she assisted someone into the hallway, she paused a moment before going to the next room while she scanned the growing crowd of children for her two friends. Where were they? They had to be down here.

A little over halfway through the process, Veronica finally stopped to catch her breath and looked at a clock inside one of the rooms. They’d been freeing prisoners for close to an hour and still had a good number of rooms to go before they released everyone. Benjamin assured Veronica earlier that they all but ignored the lower level normally – only performing bed checks twice a day unless they initiated another round of experiments. But wasn’t that on the agenda though? Wasn’t that what the doctor had mentioned? Everything seemed to be blurring in Veronica’s head with all the excitement and action.

One of the first boys Veronica approached her as she leaned against the empty bed. Veronica barely registered his presence she felt so exhausted – physically and emotionally. It wasn’t until he spoke that she realized he’d perched next to her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Veronica shook her head. “I don’t know. This is so much,” she said. “And my friends…”

“I can take over for you if you want. I’ve had time to stretch out enough to help now,” he said. “I’m Brady.”

Veronica looked up at his blue eyes and auburn hair, shaved down to short stubble. A smile crept across her face. “Veronica, and thank you.”

“No, thank you. If it wasn’t for you…”

Veronica held up a hand motioning him to stop. “Please don’t. I just came down to help my friends.”

Brady smiled. “Yeah, but you’re talking about two different things. What you planned and what you actually did. I think action is a lot more important than intention.”

Veronica pushed her body off the bed and stood to face Brady. “Thank you. And thank you for the offer to help, but this is my job. You need to go help the others in the hallway get ready to escape once we’ve freed everyone.”

Brady nodded. “Will do ma’am.” The words seemed strange to Veronica, almost foreign.

Veronica followed Brady into the hallway and turned left to head to the next room. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a flash of messy brown hair – hair that belonged to the person she’d come here for. She turned to see the full profile and realized the hair connected to a boy, but not her boy…not Chad. Let down, she turned and walked into the next room. Strapped to the bed Veronica saw the same shell of a friend she’d witnessed the prior evening. Molly - fast asleep on the tiny single bed in the center of the room - seemed drained of all the life Veronica knew she contained.

“Molly?” Veronica said softly. “Are you there Molly?”

Slowly, Molly woke from the tranquilizer-induced sleep she’d been trapped in for hours. “Veronica?” she asked weakly. “What’s going on?”

“I’m here to rescue you,” Veronica said. She walked over and began unclasping the restraints as quickly as she could.

“I don’t remember anything,” Molly said. “I remember the director walking into his office, and the argument…” Molly trailed-off, staring at the wall trying to pull memories out of the fog that currently occupied much of her short-term memory.

“They drugged you and took you back to the suite,” Veronica said as she continued freeing her friend. “I stayed with you overnight until I fell asleep. They took you sometime after that.”

“Took me?” Molly asked.

“You’re in another part of the facility,” Veronica said.

“Regression back to phase one?” Molly asked.

“No, you’re in the same place they put Chad,” Veronica said. “This is where they put everyone who fails the program,” Veronica said softly. She wanted to say Corey was right, but she kept it to herself.

Molly’s eyes filled with tears. She knew what this meant, and that despite Veronica’s rescue attempt things would still never be the same. She knew implicitly that they’d never get to hang out again. Veronica’s rescue would be the last time they’d see one another.

“Are you okay to walk?” Veronica asked.

Molly nodded, still overcome with emotion. As she sat up, Molly nearly fell over, falling onto Veronica’s shoulder instead. “Help me up,” she said.

Veronica assisted Molly out of the bed and into the hallway. They ran into Benjamin as they walked out the door. He had a slender boy in his care, arm slung around his shoulder, walking out the door on the opposite side of the hallway.

“We’re taking longer than expected,” he said. “How are you holding up?”

Veronica smiled. “Benjamin, I’d like you to meet Molly Rhetts. Molly, this is Benjamin Krane. He’s helping me get everyone out.”

Benjamin felt a small weight lift with Veronica’s words. “So you’re the infamous Molly,” he said. “This girl is risking everything for you.” He eased the boy down from his shoulder, helping him lean against the wall. “I guess that means we have one more friend to find then,” he said.

Molly looked at Veronica. “Chad?”

“He’s down here somewhere,” Veronica said.

“Don’t let me hold you back then,” she said. “You two get back to work!” A shade of Molly’s spirit returned in an instant with the news of Veronica and her plan’s re-ignition.

“Will you be alright out here?” Benjamin asked, smiling awkwardly.

“I’ll be fine. Now go! Find him!” Molly said.

Veronica and Benjamin continued working at releasing the prisoners one by one, taking care to be sure each one could walk independently before moving on to the next room. Each time she emerged from a room with someone, she looked at Benjamin to see if he had Chad – and each time she shook her head. As the number of rooms began dwindling, Veronica grew worried. What if they’d already determined Chad couldn’t be changed? What if they’d already taken him out of his room and disposed of him?

By the penultimate room, Veronica’s mind had long ago checked out as she worked on autopilot once more. She spoke from memory to each prisoner, helped each out of his bed, and reached the hallway expecting to see anyone but Chad in Benjamin’s care. Exiting the room though, Veronica finally noticed something new… something different than the previous rooms she’d been inside.

It took her a moment to bring her mind back from the thoughts she’d dove into three or four rooms prior, but Veronica definitely knew something had changed. Everyone in the hallway acted different. Voices began rising above a whisper, the crowd began getting restless, and Benjamin seemed to have disappeared.

Veronica propped the girl from the penultimate room against the wall and noted how she didn’t seem to be very conscious outside of her physical response to standing and walking. A moment later, after searching through the sea of people, Veronica saw Benjamin approaching.

“What’s happening?” she asked.

“A nurse came downstairs a few moments ago. She saw the crowd and apparently froze, not knowing what to do. When the crowd saw her, they tried to stop her, but she’d already begun running back up the stairwell. Time’s up Veronica, we need to move.” Benjamin’s eyes were wide and wild.

Veronica shook her head. “We can’t, we still have two rooms left!”

“I’ll start getting everyone out, you can handle those two rooms,” he said. “Are you up to it?”

Veronica nodded. “Hurry, we don’t want this all to be for nothing.”

She watched as Benjamin turned and began speaking to the crowd, collecting them in preparation to leave. Somewhere in the middle of the crowd, Veronica watched as blonde hair bobbed up and down, steadily approaching her. She waited as Molly made it to her before she continued with the final two rooms.

“You didn’t think I’d just leave you here to do this alone would you?” Molly asked. “Which room is first?”

Veronica motioned toward the room to the left. “Come on, let’s find Chad.”

They entered the room and stopped simultaneously. In front of them, struggling with his restraints and waiting on assistance, the boy with the messy brown hair and piercing green eyes stared at the door. “Veronica?” Chad asked.

“This is Chad?” Molly asked inquisitively. “He’s adorable!”

Veronica blushed. “Go to the other room and help whoever’s there.”

“But…” Molly said.

“Please?” Veronica said.

Molly nodded. “It’s nice to finally meet you Chad. This chick has talked about you since the day we met. I can see why now,” Molly said. She turned before he could respond, walked out of the room, and made her way across the hall.

“Wow, that was awkward,” Veronica said.

“You’ve mentioned me?” Chad said. The smile already plastered across his face broadened.

“Yeah, I guess. I just didn’t want to leave you behind is all,” she said. Veronica walked over and began unclasping the restraints.

“How’ve you been?” he asked.

“Learning to be a proper lady,” Veronica said. She rolled her eyes so far back Chad saw only the whites of her eyes for a moment.

“I think you’re fine how you are,” he said. He held her eyes in a glance, unwilling to make a joke out of the moment.

Veronica blushed again. “Stop that. You’re way too old for me, and I’m way too young for you.”

“I’m fourteen Veronica,” Chad said calmly.

“Exactly!” Veronica said. She finished with his last restraint, stood back, and waited for him to sit up in bed before stepping back further.

“Give it time and you’ll change your mind,” he said.

“We don’t have time, I need to get you out of here,” she responded.

“You’re coming with me though,” Chad said. He pushed himself off the bed and braced the side of the mattress a moment until he could stand on his own.

“No, you’re getting out and I’m staying here,” she said. “There will be more people here to rescue.”

“You can’t stay, they’ll do this to you when they find out you’ve helped us,” he said.

“Not if I get back to my room before they find out it was me,” Veronica said. “I’ve already made up my mind Chad.”

Chad walked over and hugged Veronica, nuzzling her red waves like they were an oxygen mask in a burning house. “What about your friend?” he asked in a whisper.

“You need to take care of her for me,” she whispered back. “I can’t be there for her anymore, and she and I have friends here that I have to help.”

Chad pulled back from the hug and looked Veronica in the eyes. “I can’t just say goodbye to you again though.”

“Chad, please,” Veronica said.

“Where are we all supposed to go?” Chad asked.

“Find Benjamin Krane, he knows the plan. I gave him the location of three safe houses that should still be operating. They’re cleverly hidden in commercial areas, so the Central Government may not have found them yet.”

“When should I expect you to follow?” he asked.

Veronica shook her head. “Don’t expect me. I’m riding this out as long as possible to help as many people as I can.”

“That isn’t your responsibility Veronica, you’re just a kid,” Chad said coldly. “I need you to help us there. We all do.”

Veronica smiled. “You don’t need me, you just want me with you. You need to help Molly though… she’s still very sedated.”

Chad leaned in to kiss Veronica, unsure of himself. Veronica stood staring into Chad’s green eyes, trying to imprint the memory into her brain. She wanted to remember this moment – especially since she knew the chances of seeing him after this were slim. His lips grazed hers for seconds, eyes closed, when a noise interrupted the moment. Veronica opened her eyes when the voice boomed through the room like a bullhorn.

“We have to go, now!” Benjamin said loudly. “Veronica?”

Veronica turned. “Benjamin, this is Chad. Get him to Molly, and all of you get out.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“She’s staying,” Chad said.

Benjamin looked at Veronica briefly, unsure he heard Chad correctly. “What?’

“Go! Find Molly!” Veronica said. She grabbed Benjamin and pulled him by his torso into a hug.

“You’re not…” Benjamin said.

Veronica pushed him away. “Go!” She rushed out of the room, looked back at the two bewildered boys briefly, and turned her head back toward the hallway. Molly stood just paces away waiting on her.

“You’re staying, aren’t you,” Molly said. “You’re too good for your own good.”

“Someone has to look out for your misfit friends,” Veronica said. “And besides, just because we’re getting all of you out doesn’t mean they won’t fill these cells up again right away.”

“Do me a favor and don’t land yourself in one of them.” Molly hugged Veronica.

Veronica stood while her friends gathered the group of escapees and made their way toward the emergency exit door at the end of the hallway by Chad’s room. Their plan seemed simple – they’d get outside the facility, break into small groups, and the strongest and oldest among those groups would lead their group away from the facility through the ancient sewer tunnels spread through out the city. Veronica and Benjamin concluded the sewer paths would be the best route since they branched off so many different directions. They just had to make it to an entrance – a task that would be up to each group leader once they made it out of the facility.

Given the proximity to the ocean and border wall, Benjamin guessed they were near one of the major hubs where the system used to feed out into the ocean (when the system was still in use). Finding a hub entrance would be simple if they had a large enough head start – a scenario that seemed increasingly less likely as time passed.

Veronica watched as kids poured out the emergency exit door. From the door, they’d have to rush down a hallway, up a flight up stairs, and out one of the rear facility doors usually unmanned since the cellar didn’t pose a high security breach risk. From that door, they’d have to run across a small wetland behind the facility through mud and weeds to the border wall. Following the border wall south, they’d eventually find the hub or one of the many entrances to the sewer hub. After that, they’d have to navigate their way to the center of Seattle via the underground tunnels. From there, they’d have to get to the safe houses any way possible.

All of the safe houses that far north had commercial addresses – business fronts such as coffee shops and restaurants with false rear walls. The walls had panels with entrances into hidden basement areas where those who needed to escape the Central Government could hide until they found other accommodations. Veronica could help them that far, and they’d be on their own after that. The gatekeepers at the safe houses would have to help them restart their lives.

Veronica walked back toward the stairwell, fighting against a constant stream of frightened kids trying to get out of the facility. She knew the riskiest part of the escape would be the trek through the wetland area behind the facility. Exposed for the world to see, they’d only have the time between them and the facility guards on their side. The staff wouldn’t risk shooting them – their main use was experimentation, and dead kids didn’t help in that task. Veronica had to hope they’d make it far enough fast enough to get to the wall. Enough vegetation and trees existed there to block their passage long enough to get them through to the sewers… and once they arrived there, the underground maze of tunnels would guarantee their safety.

Though she’d worked diligently to ensure everyone had a solid plan to evade capture, Veronica hadn’t taken the time to work out a full proof way of making it back to her own room undetected. Inevitably, guards and nurses would fill the hallways above her – stifling any chance of retracing the path she took to get downstairs in the first place. She’d have to be more clever now… more inventive in finding a way back to her own residence wing.

She’d made it nearly all the way back to the other end of the lengthy cellar hallway when she heard it… sounds of the door shushing open, and then footsteps echoing down the spiral stairwell. Veronica stopped, stared at the bottom of the dank stairwell, and turned. She looked at the last of the escaping horde of kids making their way through the emergency exit and knew she had to make a decision. She could hide in one of the rooms and wait out the staff, or she could see if the hallway outside the door connected to the rest of the facility emergency room doors.

Adrenaline surged through Veronica’s small frame as she treasured the precious fleeting seconds of indecision. Her heart pounded through her chest, echoing in her ears. Despite the cool temperature, Veronica could feel every inch of her being dripping with nervous sweat. She yelled at herself inside her head, told herself to run, and pushed her reluctant body into motion. She began sprinting toward the exit door, pushing her body to flee as fast as her feet would allow.

Behind her, the increasingly noisy herd of footsteps grew louder as the facility staff descended the stairs. She knew they’d arrive at the bottom of the stairwell before she made it out the door, so something would have to be done. Corey was right – her hair set her apart from most everyone in the building. Veronica pulled her drenched tunic up over her hair, exposing her lower back and stomach to the damp air. She held her shirt-hood around her hair while maintaining a sprint, willing herself not to look back lest she trip and fall.

Voices began booming through the hallway ordering her to stop. Threats rang out, reverberating down the passage. Veronica filtered them out, focusing on the open door ahead. The empty hallway seemed dead now without the horde of escaping children – a shell without its crustacean. Veronica’s legs ached and begged her to slow down, but her head refused to listen. The voices and footsteps behind her didn’t seem close enough to catch her, so Veronica continued running, not giving up.

As she reached the rusted emergency exit door, she stopped to catch her breath, peered back out of the corner of her eyes at the advancing guard, and slammed the door shut. Veronica looked at the outer hallway, stretching in two directions. The rest of those she’d rescued went left, so she ran right, hoping it didn’t dead end in some sort of utility closet.

After the outer door slammed shut, Veronica only had light from emergency exit signs along the path to guide her way – simultaneously a gift and a burden. She felt her way along the moldy, damp wall, continuing to jog to keep a good distance between her and the facility staff. She knew they’d reach the door before she’d find a hiding spot at this rate. She couldn’t run fast enough in the pitch black, constantly wary of drop offs and obstacles.

When she’d nearly given up hope of finding a place to either hide or escape, Veronica found the break she needed – a corner. Her right hand grazed the corner lightly, noticing the lack of continual wall. She tested the passage to ensure it was indeed a hallway – running her hand around the corner and continuing a few paces into the hallway – before breathing a small sigh of relief; premature celebration wouldn’t do her any good.

Veronica continued quickly down the new hallway, feeling her way down the grimy path with her right hand. She paused for only a moment when she heard the creak of the rusty metal emergency door far back behind her – a sign that she had to step up her escape. Fear and doubt began creeping into Veronica’s mind, embedding multiple scenarios involving torture and captivity. When the lights above her blinked on though, all qualms and worries took a back seat to the immediate adrenaline rush Veronica felt surge through her muscles.

Ahead of her, Veronica saw exactly what she needed – a way out. Rather, she saw a sign indicating a way out. A small maroon placard sign with white letters on the wall indicated a secondary stairwell lay ahead. While she wanted to jump up and down cheering, she instead took off – this time sprinting again – toward the stairwell.

As she rounded the last corner before the stairwell, Veronica held her breath. She knew she looked atrocious with her dirty, damp tunic wrapped around her head like a turban. Her bare upper regions felt the damp, chill from the lower hallway. And possibly most telling – Veronica looked like she’d just finished running a marathon. That couldn’t dissuade her from running up the small stairwell though.

Veronica ascended the stairs – these more well kept than the previous circular stairwell she’d come down through – and arrived at a door with a similar lever as the doors along the cellar hallway. She stopped a moment before opening the door, pulled her tunic back down over her body, caught her breath, and wiped the sweat from her face. She placed a nervous, shivery hand on the lever and pushed the door open slowly, hoping no one awaited her on the other side.

She looked out around the hallway, saw no one in either direction, and bolted toward the center of the building. Having no clue where she was, Veronica had to find her bearings – a common point she could navigate from in order to find her way back to her wing safely. Along the way, she knew she had to find a supply room with spare tunics; keeping the one she had on would indicate her regardless of her location in the building.

Keeping an eye on each hallway camera, Veronica moved stealthily along her unknown route toward the nearest monitoring hub. From there she’d have to see if she recognized something – anything for that matter.

After two hallways and three infinitely-long stops waiting for cameras to pan the opposite direction, Veronica arrived at a monitoring station and recognized the familiar discord from earlier. She’d worked her way back to the second station she passed earlier on the way downstairs. Moving with less grace than she preferred, Veronica slithered along the floor in front of the desk, retracing her path.

A few minutes later, just before her own monitoring station, Veronica slipped into a supply room and began tearing her clothes off as fast as her nervous hands would allow. She still smelled the cellar on her skin even after the rags lay discarded in the wash bin. She thought to herself that perhaps her senses just wouldn’t forget the scent – it felt like a mix of moldy walls and terror.

After donning a new outfit and pulling her hair back one final time, Veronica slipped out of the closet, past the monitoring station, and back into her own hallway with no trouble. The continued absence of authority worried her now – they should’ve been combing the hallways by now, especially with the jailbreak downstairs.

And that’s when it hit her – the terrible realization that would stay with her. The staff had all left their stations, their offices, and their comfy lives when news of the escaping children reached them. They all had to be outside chasing after the escaping prisoners. They didn’t care about the kids left in the facility; they weren’t smart enough to escape with their friends when the getting was good.

Veronica shook her head. They probably hadn’t been after her from the time they entered the emergency door – thinking she turned the other direction to head outside. She could’ve strolled down the hallway at a leisurely pace and still made it. She doomed herself by staying – even if it meant trying to save more lives. How on earth would she save everyone else now?

Veronica felt exhausted. She collapsed on her bed, clothes still on, and passed out on her bed. It wouldn’t be until much later – when Madam Crellar woke her – that she realized the staff had returned.

“Are you alright dear?” Madam Crellar asked.

Veronica practiced for this exact moment in the endless waiting downstairs before she and Benjamin helped everyone escape. She swiped her eyes clumsily wiping sleep and tears away before answering. “Not really Madam. The lady at the guard station said Molly was taken to some kind of medical ward last night. She seemed fine when I went to bed.”

Madam Crellar shook her head softly. “Oh dear, I’m so sorry. It looks as if she took a turn for the worse overnight. She’s going to have to stay in the phase one ward for a while longer it seems. I’m sorry you had to find out that way.”

Veronica leaned in to seal the deal and hugged Madam Crellar. “I really liked Molly Madam. Is it okay if I stay in my room today instead of going to therapy? I’m not feeling very up to it.”

It seemed almost as if Madam Crellar’s face lit up. “My dear girl, that’s a normal response for a young lady when she loses a friend. Of course you can stay in your room to think about her. If you’d like, I can bring you a journal to write your feelings in too! You’re doing so well for having been here for such a short amount of time!” Her face simply glowed.

Veronica choked back a laugh, nodding in affirmation rather than speaking. She buried her face in the bed’s cardboard pillow, waited for Madam Crellar to leave the room, and proceeded to cry. Rather than cry for her loss though, Veronica cried for her gain. She rescued her friends, her new acquaintances, and even herself in the process. She just needed to figure out what to do next.

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