Chapter Seven: Aspen

Chapter Seven
~ Aspen ~

That night, I got the worst sleep of my life. Shortly after E declared her brilliant plan, she went out to check that everything was okay around the site. That left me alone with Grey and, although I was exhausted, I didn’t feel comfortable letting my guard down around him. He was really intense and kind of scary, honestly. She got back soon enough, and I passed out on that dingy couch that had probably come from someone’s trash. Now, I was upright on that same couch, rubbing at the tight muscles in my neck. And, sadly, listening to a shack full of people bickering.
“That will never work.” Jax sighed frustratedly, saying the same thing he’d been repeating all morning.
“It’s our only option.” E argued, holding her ground. She looked every bit the leader it seemed she had become. She was calling the shots with this plan, and I didn’t doubt she’d done the same with many before it.
“I think it’s time for me to go.” I declared, wincing as I rose to my feet. My entire body was sore.
“No!” All three of them shouted in unison, making me jump.
“I know what I’m doing.” I waved them off and turned to collect my shoes. Somehow, they’d disappeared from my feet while I was sleeping. “Go in, say I was kidnapped, come back when I can with information. I got it.”
I slid my shoes on my feet and avoided making eye contact. At this point, I had more at stake than just helping them. They were all practically strangers to me. What was happening to the sick was wrong, yes, and I wanted to help them stop it. But I needed some closure of my own, and I would stop at nothing to get it.
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking this means we trust you.” Grey said bitterly as I started walking toward the door.
I turned back in surprise, ready to argue. I’d given them a key card with the highest level of clearance possible, let them make a copy of it, and promised to return with helpful information. If they didn’t trust me after all of that, they had some major problems. I decided against saying anything and popped the door to the shack open. I squinted against the morning sky and tried to prepare myself for what I was about to do.
By the time I made it back to the campus, it was practically noon. It hadn’t been quite as hard to find my way as the night before, but the journey still wore on me. All I wanted was a hot shower and a nap in my plush bed. A pang of guilt shot through me as I thought about all the people I’d just met who hadn’t seen that kind of luxury in years. As I stumbled out of the woods, the sight before me caused my breath to catch in my throat.
There were at least twenty armed men searching the area. I was surprised, honestly. I didn’t know what kind of reaction my absence would cause, but I hadn’t expected anything like this. I dodged back into the tree line and moved to the right. When I came out, there was no way they wouldn't see me, and I didn’t want them to be any closer to finding E’s hideout because of me.
Once I was a safe distance from the actual direction I’d come from, I made a show of emerging from the trees. I caught eyes with someone from the search party and fell to the ground dramatically. I was tired, yes, but I wanted them to think I’d been put through the ringer, so I needed to play it up. The guy rushed over to me, and I recognized him as one of the higher up cabinet members. Man, they really had everyone looking.
“Oh, thank God.” I sighed, sagging into his arms as he tried to help me up.
He looked over me wearily before calling out that he’d found me. Others rushed over until I had three people helping me walk toward dad’s office building. It was a little overkill, if you ask me. In no time, I was snuggled up on the couch of dad’s office, freshly showered and wrapped in my favorite blanket from home. I sighed into the warmth of the coffee in my hands, letting the steam wash over my face and hands.
“Tell me,” Dad said, and I let my eyes wander in his direction. “What happened again?”
“I…” I swallowed and my heart rate picked up as I prepared to lie to him. “I don’t really remember the details. I just know that Lexa, you remember her, right? She, like, kidnapped me I guess?”
It didn’t even sound true to my own ears. I had always been complete shit at lying, especially to dad. It didn’t help that he had a built-in lie detector and almost always caught people in the act. He hummed thoughtfully at my statement and turned to face me a little more. He was sitting opposite me on the couch, one of his arms slung over the back in a way that would’ve looked casual had it been anyone else doing it.
“Aspen, dear, did you know that each day the door sensors record which key cards have been used to open them?” My entire body stiffened. Shit. Shit. Shit.
He knew. He knew I went into the holding facility. There was no way he didn’t. I had his key card, and he knows it was used to open that building. I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but no sound came out. All I could do was stare into my father’s accusing eyes and wait for him to continue.
“Did you find those books you were looking for?” His voice was even, controlled, but there was a fire raging just beneath the surface.
“I…” I worked hard to keep my face as neutral as possible. “I found exactly what I was looking for.”
He studied me for a moment, and I took the opportunity to drink him in as well. It wasn’t often anymore that I got even a few moments alone with dad, and I’d forgotten how much of my looks I’d gotten from him. We shared the same dusty blond hair and light green eyes, the same small nose and full lips. Mom used to say that strangers couldn’t even distinguish whether a picture of me as a baby was actually me or dad.
“Good.” He gave my knee a squeeze before standing upright. “I trust that you’ll rest up today so you may return to classes tomorrow.”
I nodded in understanding and let my shoulders relax slightly. This was going to be even harder than I thought.

I woke with a start, bolting upright before I knew what was happening. I placed a hand on my chest to calm my racing heart as I regained consciousness. My eyes flickered around my bedroom, but the realization that I was safe at home did little to calm my nerves. I’d dreamt of people in cages, specifically this Will guy. Did leaving him in there make me a horrible person? I didn’t have any other choice, right? I raked my hands through my hair and climbed out of bed. I had to appease my guilt somehow.
Moving through the house silently, I collected the items I would need and made my way outside. I glanced at the clock, noting the time. 1:12 A.M. Good. There shouldn’t be any staff. The journey to the holding facility was quick, seeing as I practically ran the entire way. I pulled dad’s key card from my pocket and prayed that he hadn’t disabled it. When the light flashed green, a small triumphant smile pulled at my lips.
Once inside, I found Will’s cell quickly. I chewed on my bottom lip with anxiety at the sight of him. He was a wreck, even worse than yesterday. He was asleep, his head leaning back against the filthy brick wall lining his prison. I studied him for a moment, noticing that his neck was littered with bruises. Without another moment of hesitation, I slammed a hand against one of the bars between us.
He instantly lurched awake, going into fight or flight mode in a matter of milliseconds. He gasped and pulled against his restraints, trying to move as far away from me as possible. His eyes were wide with panic, and my heart clenched at his pain. It took him a moment to realize it was me, but that didn’t seem to calm him much at all.
“Please,” His voice broke on the word, a complete opposite of the strong sound I’d heard coming from him the day before. “No more tests.”
“Tests?” I nearly yelled due to complete shock, but quickly reined myself back in. “What are you talking about?”
“You’re back. Why?” He dodged my question, still leaning away from me.
I lowered myself onto the cold ground until I was sitting in front of him with my legs crossed. I let the backpack I’d brought fall from my shoulders and pulled it to my chest before hugging it tightly.
“I thought you might want some food.” I unzipped the bag and pulled out what I’d grabbed. It was a little bit of everything. Some fruit, veggies, junk food, you name it. I laid it all out at the base of his cell in a neat line. He eyed it hungrily, visibly relaxing.
“But first,” His eyes snapped back to mine in question. “I need something from you.”