how things are done, but the military likes to make it sound like we’re always flying off into danger, risking our lives to protect everyone else….”
Tessa glared at him.
“Let me get this straight,” she said. “Had you ever actually even flown a plane before last night? A plane you were sitting in for real?”
Gideon bit his lip and shook his head.
“No,” he admitted.
“Then the only brave thing you ever did in your entire life was the way you were trying to commit suicide?” Tessa asked.
Gideon gaped at her.
“Not
suicide,
” he protested. “Not that. I was trying to … make amends. Atone. There was no other way. I couldn’t undo what I did. I couldn’t bring anybody back to life. So I thought the closest thing I could do to making everything right was just to … apologize.”
“And then you expected the enemy to kill you,” Tessa said. “I heard what you said! You were asking to be punished!”
Her head spun. Her stomach churned. This was anightmare. She’d
believed
in him. In that moment that she’d dived for him and shut the door, she’d believed completely that he was still noble and true and heroic. That even if she took a bullet intended for him, it would be worth it. She wouldn’t have minded sacrificing her own life for his.
But now … she didn’t know what to make of the bombing raid that the computer insisted had just happened. She didn’t know what would happen next. But she had definitely put herself in danger for Gideon. She’d risked her life for him.
And he’d never been anything but a fake.
“Tessa,” Gideon said pleadingly, and it was like he was asking her to look at him the way she’d looked at him before, when she’d idolized him.
“I’m going to die because of you,” Tessa said. “For no reason. For
nothing
.”
Something rattled behind them, and Tessa realized how foolish they’d been, talking about bombs that hadn’t actually fallen, about a massacre that had happened ages ago—when both of them were in danger
now.
It probably hadn’t been more than ten or fifteen minutes since Gideon had stood in the door of the airplane asking someone to kill him. He’d just gotten a ten-minute reprieve, while the enemy gathered their forces, plotted their strategies …
Tessa whirled around, her eyes quickly scanning the door and both windows. Maybe there was still some hope. If the enemy was trying to get in through the window on the left, maybe she and Gideon could escape through the door to the right.
But as far as Tessa could tell, there wasn’t anyone tryingto get in through the door or either of the windows. Instead the handle of the closet door was jerking up and down, on its own, as if by magic.
That was the source of the rattling noise.
“Where does that lead to?” Tessa hissed at Gideon. “Outside?”
He didn’t answer. He was already jumping from his seat and scrambling toward the closet, his hand stretched out toward the handle. He clearly planned to hold it shut, his brute strength keeping out whoever was on the other side.
He was too late. The door sprang open, swinging outward.
And then someone rolled out from behind the door: a kid. A kid who was all big eyes in a too-thin face, mostly hidden behind spikily cut dark hair and ragged clothes. The kid blinked, the outsized eyes taking in the sight of Gideon standing over her and Tessa looming nearby.
“Oh, crud,” the kid said. “You were supposed to be gone by now.”
CHAPTER
16
“Who are you?” Tessa asked.
“Whose side are you on?” Gideon asked.
“Where did you come from?” Tessa asked.
“What were you doing in that closet?” Gideon asked.
“What do you mean we were supposed to be gone by now?” Tessa asked.
The kid didn’t answer either of them. Tessa saw the kid’s gaze flicker from Gideon to Tessa to the door to the windows … to the pilot’s seat.
Gideon must have noticed this too.
“Do you know how to reset the plane for flying, when it’s been
Tessa glared at him.
“Let me get this straight,” she said. “Had you ever actually even flown a plane before last night? A plane you were sitting in for real?”
Gideon bit his lip and shook his head.
“No,” he admitted.
“Then the only brave thing you ever did in your entire life was the way you were trying to commit suicide?” Tessa asked.
Gideon gaped at her.
“Not
suicide,
” he protested. “Not that. I was trying to … make amends. Atone. There was no other way. I couldn’t undo what I did. I couldn’t bring anybody back to life. So I thought the closest thing I could do to making everything right was just to … apologize.”
“And then you expected the enemy to kill you,” Tessa said. “I heard what you said! You were asking to be punished!”
Her head spun. Her stomach churned. This was anightmare. She’d
believed
in him. In that moment that she’d dived for him and shut the door, she’d believed completely that he was still noble and true and heroic. That even if she took a bullet intended for him, it would be worth it. She wouldn’t have minded sacrificing her own life for his.
But now … she didn’t know what to make of the bombing raid that the computer insisted had just happened. She didn’t know what would happen next. But she had definitely put herself in danger for Gideon. She’d risked her life for him.
And he’d never been anything but a fake.
“Tessa,” Gideon said pleadingly, and it was like he was asking her to look at him the way she’d looked at him before, when she’d idolized him.
“I’m going to die because of you,” Tessa said. “For no reason. For
nothing
.”
Something rattled behind them, and Tessa realized how foolish they’d been, talking about bombs that hadn’t actually fallen, about a massacre that had happened ages ago—when both of them were in danger
now.
It probably hadn’t been more than ten or fifteen minutes since Gideon had stood in the door of the airplane asking someone to kill him. He’d just gotten a ten-minute reprieve, while the enemy gathered their forces, plotted their strategies …
Tessa whirled around, her eyes quickly scanning the door and both windows. Maybe there was still some hope. If the enemy was trying to get in through the window on the left, maybe she and Gideon could escape through the door to the right.
But as far as Tessa could tell, there wasn’t anyone tryingto get in through the door or either of the windows. Instead the handle of the closet door was jerking up and down, on its own, as if by magic.
That was the source of the rattling noise.
“Where does that lead to?” Tessa hissed at Gideon. “Outside?”
He didn’t answer. He was already jumping from his seat and scrambling toward the closet, his hand stretched out toward the handle. He clearly planned to hold it shut, his brute strength keeping out whoever was on the other side.
He was too late. The door sprang open, swinging outward.
And then someone rolled out from behind the door: a kid. A kid who was all big eyes in a too-thin face, mostly hidden behind spikily cut dark hair and ragged clothes. The kid blinked, the outsized eyes taking in the sight of Gideon standing over her and Tessa looming nearby.
“Oh, crud,” the kid said. “You were supposed to be gone by now.”
CHAPTER
16
“Who are you?” Tessa asked.
“Whose side are you on?” Gideon asked.
“Where did you come from?” Tessa asked.
“What were you doing in that closet?” Gideon asked.
“What do you mean we were supposed to be gone by now?” Tessa asked.
The kid didn’t answer either of them. Tessa saw the kid’s gaze flicker from Gideon to Tessa to the door to the windows … to the pilot’s seat.
Gideon must have noticed this too.
“Do you know how to reset the plane for flying, when it’s been
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