D. MacHale - SYLO

Her words stunned me, but made total sense.

“Kent?” Olivia cried with confusion. “Are we going to be okay?”

Kent didn’t get the chance to answer as another strafing run hit the camp. The pounding sound of the helicopter flying low over the trees was broken up by the nasty chatter of its guns. I jumped under the table just as the surface was hit, sending splinters of plastic all over the tent.

Olivia screamed. Kent did too.

I grabbed Tori and held my breath, bracing against the pain I expected to jolt me at any second. But the strafing run ended and I was still in one piece.

“Anybody hit?” I asked.

I was answered with wild, frightened gazes.

“We gotta go,” I declared.

“No,” Olivia cried, shaking her head like a petulant two-year-old. “I’m not moving.”

I grabbed her and stuck my nose right in her face.

“That’s your call,” I said. “But if they keep pounding the camp, this might not be the safest place to be.”

She was on the verge of hysteria but she had enough sense to understand that staying could mean death.

“Okay,” she said, nodding quickly. “I’ll go.”

I pushed her toward Kent and said, “Watch out for her.”

“Seriously?” Kent snarled. “Who’s gonna watch out for me?”

I don’t think I could have hated Kent any more than I did in that moment.

“I gotta find Dad,” Tori said as she crawled out from under the table.

“No,” I said, grabbing her arm. “He’s okay. He told me to get you and head for the boats.”

A helicopter roared over. Olivia grabbed her head and screamed again as Tori and I dove beneath what was left of the table. This time the helicopter didn’t unload.

“They’re just messing with us now,” I said.

“They’re doing a good job,” Kent whined.

“I can’t believe this is a mass execution,” I said. “They’re going to land and try to round us up. Our best bet is to get lost in the trees and bushwack out.”

Nobody disagreed. They needed guidance and mine was as good as any.

“Then let’s go,” Tori shouted.

We headed out of the tent to witness total chaos. Many people had shotguns pointed to the sky at…what? Sunlight streamed through the bullet holes in the camouflage, making it look like a giant spaghetti colander. At that moment I was more worried about getting shot by a trigger-happy friend than by SYLO. There were a few people down and hurt, or worse. Others huddled together, staring up, waiting for the next attack.

“This way,” I said and started for the trees on the north end of the camp.

Tori didn’t follow. She stood still, staring at something.

“C’mon!” I yelled.

She took off in the other direction.

“Let her go,” Kent demanded.

There was no chance of that.

“Tori? What are you—”

I saw where she was headed. Lying in the dirt on his back, unmoving, was her father. She ran to him and fell to her knees. I hurried up behind her to see that he was alive, but barely. His eyes were vacant and dreamy. His mouth hung open and, worst of all, a thick pool of blood was growing under his back. Tori lifted his head and put it on her knees.

“Dad?” she said, holding back tears. “How bad is it?”

Her father focused on her. Surprisingly, he smiled.

“Not bad,” he said in a weak whisper. “But I won’t be paying Granger a visit tonight.”

“We’ll get help,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’ll stay with you until the soldiers get here and—”

“No,” he said and grabbed Tori’s hand. “Go. Now. While there’s still a chance.”

“I won’t leave you,” Tori argued. She was losing the battle to keep from crying.

“You have to,” Mr. Sleeper said and winced. The guy was in serious pain.

“Don’t move,” Tori pleaded.

“I lied, Tickle,” he said. “I’m hurt. Bad. You staying here won’t change that.”

“I’m not leaving,” Tori argued as she stroked his hair. “Not until we get help.”

“If you wait for me to get help, then they’ve got you,” her father said with as much urgency as he could offer. “We’d both be done and then this was all for nothing.”

A voice came booming at us from a loudspeaker that was somewhere outside of the campground.

“Attention in the camp,” the voice called. “Place your weapons together in plain sight. We will discontinue the attack so long as there is no resistance. At the first sign of aggression, we will resume the strafing. Do not make the mistake of underestimating our resolve.”

The voice belonged to Granger. There was one thing I could say for that guy: He did his own dirty work.

“There you go,” Mr. Sleeper said. “You’ve got a window. Please, please use it.”

Tori tried to say something but it caught in her throat.

“I couldn’t be any more proud of you, sweetheart,” Mr. Sleeper said. “I know it’s been rough for us but you’ve been strong and smart and I couldn’t have made it through without you. You’ve always taken care of me but now it’s time to take care of yourself.”

“I can’t,” Tori sobbed.

“Yes, you can. I know you can. Go. Get to the mainland and put a stop to this nonsense. I’m counting on you.”

Tori leaned over and hugged her father tight.

“I love you, Daddy,” she said softly.

“I love you, Tickle,” he said. “You’ve always made me proud. Don’t stop now.”

Tori nodded, gave him one last hug, then gently rested his head back down.

“Goodbye, Daddy,” she said and backed away.

Her father didn’t respond. I don’t think he could bring himself to say those same words.

As Tori retreated, I knelt down next to Mr. Sleeper and said, “I’ll watch out for her.”

He smiled and gave a little chuckle. “I think she’ll be the one looking out for you .”

His chuckle turned into a cough. Pain creased his face. His eyes went wide and then blank. In that brief instant I saw the spark of life leave Michael Sleeper.

I steeled myself, stood up, and went right to Tori, blocking her view.

“I think he’s going to be okay,” I lied. “They’ll take him to the hospital in the SYLO compound.”

Tori nodded. I wasn’t sure if she believed me or not.

Granger’s voice returned, sounding closer this time. “We will allow two minutes for you to surrender your weapons. Our forces have gathered and will enter the camp after that. They are armed and have been ordered to shoot at the first sign of aggression.”

Tori looked me right in the eye and declared, “We’re getting out.”

Glancing around the camp, I saw that most of the people were cooperating with Granger’s demands. Men and women gathered toward the center of the camp and dropped their various rifles and pistols in a pile. Most of those who were cooperating I recognized as longtime islanders. It seemed to be the off-islanders who were the most reluctant to give up.

“If we’re going, it better be now,” Kent said.

I scanned the camp, looking for what I thought would be the best route out. I chose a spot where the scrub was dense and would provide us with some cover.

“C’mon,” I said and ran for the trees.

Tori, Kent, and Olivia were right behind me. I dove into the thick brush, shoving aside the tangle of branches that blocked our way. Olivia was not dressed for this kind of adventure. The branches had to be tearing her legs up. But to her credit, she kept moving. Fear helps you do some crazy things.

“This is horrible,” she complained. “We should take one of the trails.”

“Sure,” I said. “And meet a team of soldiers coming in from the other direction.”

She stopped complaining.

We had only gotten a few yards into the brush when a gunshot sounded.