"You should probably eat something, you know."

I looked up from my spot at the dining table, where I'd been staring into space, to see Jace standing over me. He was carrying a tray, with two bowls balanced on top.

"I brought you some soup," he said, answering the question I hadn't asked. "In case you wanted it."

I didn't. In fact, after the events of that morning, I couldn't see my stomach ever settling long enough to hold anything down. But it would've been rude to point this out to Jace. He was only trying to be nice.

"Oh," I said. "Thank you."

He took this as an invitation to sit down beside me, placing a bowl in front of me. He'd even picked me up a spoon from the cutlery drawer. Such a tiny thing, and yet at the same time, so thoughtful. It only made me feel worse.

"I'm really not very hungry," I told him.

"I know," he said gently. "But you should really try to eat something. It's not good for anyone for you to starve. Especially me."

He smiled tentatively, like he wasn't quite sure what my reaction would be. He really was just trying to be nice. So I managed to force one back, even though it felt little more than muscle movement, which seemed to reassure him.

Today had been the worst day I'd had in a while, clouded by a shadow that now lingered over everything, pulling like a dead weight on my shoulders. I was still trying to wrap my head around what I'd seen. It didn't seem real somehow, even though the proof had been right in front of me, undisputable and equally horrifying.

For the most part, I felt guilty. Guilty that I'd barely spared a thought for Orla, Verity or Henry since leaving New London, even though they were supposed to be my closest friends. What kind of person did that make me? Even with the excuse of not having a viable way to contact them, that didn't get me out of not thinking about them. I'd spent so much time considering the realities of the situation for Jace and I, in this new location – but I'd forgotten those I left behind.

And now I'd been given the worst possible reminder.

"We have to do something," I said to Jace, the words bursting out of me on pure impulse. "Has Nova said anything today? About what she's planning?"

He looked up, meeting my eye over the untouched dinner. "Um... not really," he said. "I'm not sure she's planning anything."

"What?"

Jace swallowed. "Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I don't know for definite, but... it didn't seem like anything was in the works. At least not anything urgent."

"No." I dropped my spoon, and it clattered to the table with a noise that jolted us both. "There has to be. After what we saw... we can't just sit back and do nothing."

"I don't know for certain," he said quickly. "It's just... that's the way it seemed."

"I need to speak to her."

He appeared to sense I was moments away from getting to my feet, and reached across the table to take my hand. And it worked, because the movement stopped me in my tracks. "Astrid," he said gently. "It's okay. Today's been a shock, I know. But you need to look after yourself. You need to take time to breathe, to process it all. I don't want you to do something you'll regret."

"Something I'll regret?" I echoed. "Jace, I don't see what I could regret more than not helping my friends when I had the chance."

"I know," he said. "I know you want to do whatever you can to help them, and that's completely understandable. But I'm not sure what we can do. They're all the way down in New London, and now they've been taken, we don't have any way of getting to them – let alone breaking them out."

"Nova and Art broke out," I pointed out. "They escaped. That means it's possible, and they must know how it's done."

I knew why he was worried. Of course it would be difficult to get into New London, let alone break three people out of jail. By nature, it was risky as hell. But it had been done before – and us being here right now was proof of that. Maybe we hadn't been under arrest at the time, but Nova had managed to get in to reach us, and that was at least one hurdle. We couldn't give up before we'd even considered it.

"I'm going to talk to her," I announced, pushing the bowl away from me and standing up. "I have to. She's got to understand."

"Astrid..." he said uneasily. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," I told him, the conviction in my voice drawing a line that was not to be crossed. "I can't live with myself if I don't."

With that, I turned away. There were no more words from Jace; he was letting me go. And although I had no idea whether or not this was a sensible decision, my steps took me confidently out of the dining room, leaving him – and the dinner he'd so kindly brought me – behind.

***

Nova was in the first place I looked: her office. It wasn't just a lucky guess; she'd been spending increasing amounts of time cooped up in there lately, behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. But as usual, what she was working on, I didn't have a right to know.

Approaching the door, I barged right in without pausing to knock. A potentially serious mistake, but I wasn't thinking straight.

She was at her desk, flicking through an open file in front of her, but looked up when I entered. The surprise on her face was poorly masked – but then again, I'd surprised myself by being so forceful.

"Astrid," she said. "What are you—"

"I need to talk to you," I told her, because it seemed stupid to waste time. "Right now."

She closed the file, letting it fall shut with a swipe of her fingers. In any other situation, the attempt to conceal what was inside might've bothered me, but right now there were more important things on my mind. She rose from her chair. "Okay," she said slowly. "About what?"

"What we saw earlier," I said. "I want to know what our plan is."

It was a carefully baited question, seeking to confirm or dismiss what Jace had told me moments ago. More than anything, I wanted to hear that he'd got it wrong – I wanted Nova to nod understandingly, open the file, and launch into a detailed explanation of our plan so far. I wanted it so much I could barely breathe.

But I was set to be disappointed.

"I'm not sure what you mean," she said evasively.

"Yes, you do," I insisted. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Orla, Verity and Henry are my closest friends. I know they're innocent – or at least they're only guilty of the same crimes as any of us. They don't deserve to be locked away like criminals. We've got to get them out of there."

Nova was watching me carefully, and there came a pause before she spoke. "There are a lot of people in trouble in the capital that don't deserve it," she said evenly. "We can't break them all out."

"Well, we should at least be trying," I said. "You of all people know what it's like to be locked up underground. All those people, arrested just for existing... how many even are there? Do you have any idea?"

She shook her head. "We're not sure. It's impossible to keep track."

"But it's possible to get them out," I pressed. "You broke into the city to get me and Jace. Why can't we do the same again? Bring as many people as we can here, build up our numbers, make ourselves stronger...?"

"Astrid." She cut me off. "It's not that simple."

"Why not? I thought the whole point of us being out here was so we could do something to help. It sounded like we were going to take BioNeutral down from the outside. But if that doesn't extend to helping innocent people escape torture... what exactly are we trying to do here?"

"It's too risky," she said. "Do you know what it took to get you here? Do you know how many months of careful planning and preparation it took? Do you understand the risks we took? Sure, it got you here, but that's only because we got lucky – there were a million things that could've gone wrong and wiped the whole effort out."

"You clearly thought the risk was worth taking," I pointed out. "Why not now?"

"Don't you dare turn that on me," she snapped. "It was a collective decision made for everybody's benefit. We can't just go running into New London every time we feel like it. There has to be a reason to shoulder that risk."

"And what was the reason I had that all those other innocent people don't?"

"It's more complicated than you understand."

"Then let me understand. You still don't tell me anything. You stay cooped up in here, working away on your own, like you're scared if somebody else comes to help they'll steal the glory. What happened to working together?"

"How dare you?" she spat. "You know that's not what's happening."

"Do I?" I asked. "Do I really know? Because most days I'm confused as hell, Nova. We're all kept busy here, like if you give enough jobs to do we won't ask any difficult questions. You've got me scrubbing bathrooms and slaving away in the kitchen while you're in here doing the important stuff. Well, clearly you haven't kept me busy enough, because I've noticed."

"We're doing all we can," she said. "These things take time. Maybe you expected it to be twenty-four-seven action out here – that we'd be breaking into buildings and throwing grenades over our shoulders and have the whole issue sorted within a week. But that's not reality, Astrid. The situation is incredibly complex, and if you think we're not doing enough, then it's only because you don't get it."

"What about Orla, Verity, Henry? We're not doing all we can for them."

"We are – just not directly."

"Oh, great!" I folded my arms over my chest, spacing my feet in a defensive stance. "I'm sure that'll be of huge comfort to them, when they're spending all that time trapped underground with no hope of seeing the light of day. Or, you know, if they actually survive long enough to see us do something."

"What do you want me to do, Astrid?" she demanded. "What are you trying to achieve here? If you've got some perfectly crafted, well-thought-out plan that'll get us out of this mess, then believe me, I'm all ears. But if the only thing you've got to suggest is running blindly into the capital, risking all our lives on some reckless impulse because you feel guilty, then I'm sorry, but there's no way."

"It's not a reckless impulse," I said. "He's targeting me. I know he is."

"What?"

"Max Snowdon. He's in charge of all this, isn't he? He determines who gets arrested, and who stays living their cushy little life above ground. If Jace hadn't ended up here, he'd still be one of them. He knows about me, and he must know that Jace is with me... so this sudden targeting of my friends can't be a coincidence. He's doing it to punish me."

She was already shaking her head, but there was something else in her eyes: whether willing to admit it or not, the possibility crossed her mind. "We don't know that," she said. "The man's dangerous, unpredictable – and, let's face it, batshit crazy. We don't know what's going on in his head."

"It can't be a coincidence," I continued. "Maybe Orla's high profile enough to attract suspicion and be wanted for testing, but what about the other two? Their names don't need to be mentioned in the news. Nobody outside Kristopher Holland Academy would even know of them. They're just names on a growing list of people being taken away and locked up. The fact that this all happened together has to mean something."

"Which is even more reason not to go storming in there and risk everything we have," Nova said. "If you're right, and he is doing this to target you, then going back to the city would be playing into his hands. If he's setting a trap, the last thing we want to do is take the bait."

"But if we don't take the bait, what's he doing to do to them?" I said. "He's not exactly known for his fairness or kind heart. He'll do whatever he can to hurt them."

"I'm not about to do something that hurts us."

I looked at her, deep into her eyes, hoping if I stared hard enough it start to break through her impenetrable layers. "What does that say about you? Do you get to decide the value of people's lives now? Years ago, people used to fight against modification because they said it was playing God... now you're doing exactly the same thing."

Silence lapsed between us, and Nova stayed frozen on the spot, staring at me. I couldn't read her expression for the life of me. Weak light from the single bulb overhead flickered on her features, emphasising the pale skin and smattering of freckles. She looked different here. I'd realised already that this wasn't the same sister I'd known back home – but here, it seemed even more pronounced. Her hair didn't appear so fiery, nor did her eyes burn so strong. Something in her had been lost, and I couldn't help wondering if this was part of the reason she hid herself away: because she was scared someone would notice.

"We have to do something," I said, my voice quieter now, but still shaking the space between us. "We can't sit back and let it happen. I can't live with myself if we do. And I know you feel the same way."

She stayed quiet, but her expression softened – barely noticeable, but enough to make all the difference. I was getting through. And perhaps, if I continued, we might be able to give three people a chance.

"We're strong enough. You know we are. We've got the resources, we've got the skills, and if we plan this out carefully enough... we could stand a real chance."

When Nova spoke, it seemed like a breakthrough in itself, although her quiet voice sounded more like a sigh. "It's possible," she said, "but it's also incredibly risky."

"Everything around here is risky," I pointed out. "Look at what happened to Jace – we don't know what's around the corner. Literally. Just being here is a risk in itself. That shouldn't stop us from doing what's right."

I hadn't yet convinced her, but I could tell I was getting somewhere, and that alone kept me going. The initial burst of anger had faded away, and I felt none of the same resentment for my sister – because, I realised now, she was fighting her own battles, too. She was trying to keep a hold on this place, and despite my questioning of her choices, I didn't have that kind of pressure on my shoulders. I couldn't understand.

So instead of fighting with her, our best option was to join forces and work together.

"Look," Nova said, reaching up to run a hand through the front of her hair, pushing back what had fallen free of her braid, "I can't commit right now. But I'll get on the line to BioPlus again – see what they think, or if they can help us. Let's just hope they're a little more responsive this time."

It wasn't the definitive action I'd been hoping for, but it was something. And in light of the current situation, I'd learnt to be grateful for the small things.

"Okay," I said. "I appreciate it. Thank you."

The corner of her lip curled, into something that had the potential to be a smile. "It's okay," she said, which seemed like the end of it, until her lips parted again. "I'm trying my best. I really do want to help your friends, it's just... everything around here is complicated. I'm not trying to be some ruthless, heartless leader. I swear."

It caused me to stop and look at her – much closer than before. I hadn't expected the words to come from her, let alone be intended for me. Maybe it was something she would've uttered to Art while shrouded by the protection of nightfall, but not here. It really meant something.

"Nova," I said gently. "You know I don't think that, right?"

She nodded. "I know. I'm just making sure."

In that moment, I knew it. Something had shifted between us – something that had the potential to change everything. Of course, outside of this room, this conversation, there was always the risk that things could slip back to how they were before – but for once, I couldn't see it happening.

We'd made a breakthrough.

At the very least, I felt like I'd achieved something, that it had been worth barging in here and letting our tempers flare. By speaking out, I may have changed the outcome for the better – and perhaps Orla, Verity and Henry now stood a chance.

Or maybe they didn't. Maybe they never had.

But there was only one way we were going to know.

----------------

Hi, everyone! Finally getting back into the swing of things and working on these rough chapters from what feels like a lifetime ago (but was actually only April 2018). So much has happened since then, and the first book has undergone so much editing that I actually feel like I'm jumping between two separate universes, ahaha.

Now I've got experience with editing, it's making me very aware that this draft of book 2 is very, very rough. But I'm also becoming more aware that's okay. This version doesn't have to be polished and perfect, because this is where I get all the words out on the page -- and if I've learned anything over the last 7-8 years, it's that I can trust my Wattpad readers with those messy first words.

As always, let me know what you thought. All feedback is helpful, and I appreciate it so much.

Hopefully there won't be too long to wait until the next chapter.

- Leigh