Free SAFE by Dawn Husted Page B

anything from a Lower.
    Sidnee
walked off. I was happy I hadn’t mentioned anything about the vials, because
Sidnee and who-knows-else had indeed been listening.

Chapter Seven
     
    Hours passed and the rain hadn’t stopped. Sidnee led
us into another house where lunch was served.
    James
and I didn’t talk much about the perimeter, unsure what to discuss. We couldn’t
climb over, it was impossible, and James knew this too. The only thing James
could think of was the idea of making a ladder or rope out of tree vines and then
tossing it over. But then we’d be stuck with the likelihood of it catching fire
and alerting everyone to our whereabouts. Plus, we weren’t even sure how high
the perimeter was or what to expect once we made it across. Was there a huge
ditch with explosives? There would have to be something placed prior, detouring
any unwanted individuals attempting to come inside illegally.
    The
one thing we did know was no one would ever suspect us of attempting an insane
task such as this one. If anything, they probably thought we’d try slipping by the
guards (somehow) at the Academy and then escape into the port that way.
    Water.
What would we do about that?
    How
would we cross the ocean? It’s gigantic, with various mammals underneath
waiting to devour whatever comes in their path.
    This
was going to be much harder than either of us expected.
    After
lunch, James immediately took a walk, checking for any guards hiding nearby. It
was still raining, but he was adamant about double checking the Lowers’ perimeter
and I told him I’d meet him back at Sidnee’s. The real reason I didn’t insist
on joining him was I wanted a chance to inspect my body without any questions.
I hadn’t forgotten about earlier. I wondered how long it would be, if in fact I
were one of those individuals born without the genetic code, before my vines
disappeared.
    When
I reached her house, I walked quickly to my room. The furry snowball sat in the
corner while I tore off my shirt and tossed my pants behind me. Inch by inch,
my fingers and eyes traced every vine, starting from my arms, over my stomach, around
my waist, and down to my feet. Each black line looked smaller, thinner, or maybe
not. Maybe it was just that I was so scared, it was causing my mind to play
rude tricks on me. I calmly exhaled, focused on the picture of Jace, and wiped
the sweat from my palms.
    Vials.
My dad. He entrusted me with them. But I knew if those could have given me the
appearance of vines, he would’ve told me in the beginning during our brief exchange.
He said the words ‘vaccine’, specifically meaning precisely that. They weren’t
pills. They were vaccines and only that.
    That’s
when the thought occurred to me. If Jace had been administered pills, then
maybe I could find where Sidnee hid them. Just in case I needed them. Hopefully,
I was wrong.
    I
knew lunch was nearly finished, half the people left when James and I did, and
if Sidnee wasn’t back yet then she probably would be soon. I threw on my
clothes and looked into the kitchen. She wasn’t there.
    “Sidnee?”
I asked quietly, carefully. Not wanting to alert anyone walking around outside.
    There
was no response. No sign of Sidnee.
    I
needed to be fast and opened every cabinet door, looked under every jar and
vase I could find except the ones stacked in the corner. There wasn’t enough time
to look through all those before she returned. I looked over at the other
doorway; the one leading to her room.
    “Sidnee?”
I said again, making sure.
    Nothing.
    I
opened the curtain and walked into her room. A jumbled mess greeted me with
even more vases and blankets strewn about. I looked under all the blankets, under
her bed, before carefully putting the covers back in place and sitting on the
edge. I tried to remember anything she had said that could possibly give me a
clue to the pills’ location. Then I looked up, straight ahead, and spotted a
metallic box sitting on a small table in the