Page 87 of Conform
I was done doing nothing. I was going to the Underworld.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
THE STONE BUILDINGS WERE STILL QUIET. WITH CURFEWended I knew time was against me. Behind me the steel doors to the Sanctuary remained closed. My feet slammed onto the pavement as the ghost of those mothers’ screams ran with me. The Illum would know what I was doing before long—my MIND would give me away. Running wouldn’t change the consequences of going against the Illum. I could be eliminated for this. The sound of Pods rumbled in the distance.
I started to sprint. Sweat dripped down my neck.
Lungs screaming, I finally saw the bridge from Collin’s map. The sound of rushing water welcomed me as I peered over the edge toward the current below. Two meters down sat a narrow ledge. It would be challenging to balance on it.
You could go back,a small voice whispered. I had no idea what I was actually doing. This plan seemed stupid.
You can’t swim,that small voice warned me. This seemed like an inopportune moment for that knowledge to make itself known.
There was no one to witness me jump and no one to save me if I fell in.
Fear wrapped around my throat. I had too many reasons to push me off the edge of the walkway, and only fear to hold me back.
What scared me more? Drowning? Being a vessel? Being eliminated? Knowing I could have saved others from that fate and doing nothing?
I sucked in a deep breath. I knew my answer. I swung down. My body slammed into solid stone. The impact stole the air from my lungs. I felt skin break as my fingertips clung to the surface. I kicked wildly until I found purchase, my toes resting upon the narrow ledge. I gripped the edge above my head harder, the stone biting into my cut palms.
I had done it. I breathed in deeply. I had made it.
I looked toward the bridge and my seconds of relief from not plummeting to my death evaporated. I had thought I was close to the opening. From here it felt miles away. I couldn’t see the entrance I thought I saw on the plans.
What if there wasn’t an entrance? What if I was wrong and I was stuck down here?
I was on a ledge above rushing water. I couldn’t swim. I was attempting to find an entrance I didn’t know was there. Decisions that would ensure I was eliminated.
Fucking idiot. My hold became difficult as my pulse pounded in my ears.
“What are you doing?”
I squeezed the stone as my heart jumped out of my chest.
I turned toward the noise as much as I could. A woman stuck her head out of the wall. That must be the entrance.
“I’m trying”—I grunted, adjusting my grip—“to find someone in the Underworld.”
“You’re a Minor.”
“Astute observation. Please, let me in.” I moved at a painstaking pace, my racing heart leaving me unsteady.
“Fine,” the woman conceded.
I shuffled along and reached for more ledge, only to realize it ended as it met the bridge. I couldn’t balance without holding on. I rested my face against the cool, wet stone. I couldn’t go any farther.
“Here,” the woman said, thrusting out her hand.
“What if I slip?”
“You’ll have to trust me.” Her dry tone didn’t evoke much confidence. “None of you ever have any trust.” She rolled her deep brown eyes, one of her two braids falling through the opening. “What’s it going to be, Minor?”
“Don’t let me fall,” I pleaded as I stretched my hand out. Her grip was firm.
“Let go, Minor, I’ve got you.”
I let go, trusting—putting my life in the hands of—someone I didn’t know.
