Where We Go | Book Three

52. Patience Is Everything

At the train station, I took a seat in the waiting room. The rest of the group filled the remaining chairs, but nobody spoke a word after we'd explained what happened. My heart still hammered from the words Melanie had spoken and I felt nauseous at the idea of what she had planned next.

"Fuck," I said as the group sat in silence. "Sorry," I added. "I thought I should just be the one to say what everyone is thinking."

"It's not that bad," Julia tried to reason. "I mean, they let you both go."

"Yeah," Ben agreed. "They're probably watching this place though. Who knows when they're coming back for us."

"We'll be back in Land's End tomorrow," Will said. "You'll both be protected there."

"It's not enough," I muttered. "We're supposed to sit back and let them get away with it?"

Will shook his head. "There's a difference between letting them get away with something and planning your response. We have to be calculated."

"Would be quicker if we did something about it now."

"Em," Pilot warned.

Julia placed a gentle hand against my back as I leaned forward, both my elbows on my knees. I lifted my head to Ben. "They're taking too long with the cure."

"We can't make them go any faster," he replied.

"They're going to go to Land's End," I said, my eyes widening. "When they do, we'll all be dead."

Sophia began to stir on Chris's lap, and I stopped.

"What happened today has bought us time," Pilot said in a low voice. "But Em is right, you need to find out if there's a way that we can get this cure any quicker."

Ben nodded slowly. "When we're back in Land's End, we'll make a plan for this to work." His eyes raised to me and even in the dimming light, there was a warmth within them. "You're safe with us, Em. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Same with all of us," Donut said. "Those bastards don't get to win."

Julia rubbed at my back again. "See," she said. "It's going to be fine... By tomorrow, this won't even matter."

Tom yawned, settling down. "And on that note, I'm taking dibs on first sleep. Someone wake me for the next watch."

"Goodnight," Ben said as he crawled into one of the sleeping bags on the floor.

"We should probably all get some sleep," Will suggested. "I expect it'll be a busy day tomorrow."

*

I rolled over and squeezed my eyes, trying to focus. It must've been early morning by the dim, blue glow that filled the waiting room. The sun had not yet risen and there was still a cold chill in the air. The shapes of the room started to clear and beside me, where Julia should've been, was an empty sleeping bag. 

I shot up, bringing my hand down on the fabric just in case I was imagining it. I wasn't. Julia was gone. The only thing on the dark fabric was a handwritten note.

I'm sorry. You're both right. GUN won't stop coming after you, but this will buy you some more time.

"Julia's gone," I said, waking the room.

"What?" Ben said, sitting up. "What do you mean she's gone?"

I turned. "I mean she's gone. She's not here. There's just this note," I handed him the crumpled piece of paper I'd found on the sleeping bag. 

Tom and the others began to wake at the noise, all of them beginning to sit up from their sleeping bags.

"What's going on?" Donut asked, wiping at his eyes.