The Girl Who Dared to Think 7: The Girl Who Dared to Fight

“Don’t do that,” Quess said, making a slashing noise as if to cut my statements in half. “I know I’m not much of a fighter, but I know the Core, and I’m great at computer stuff! You need me!”

“No, I don’t,” I said with more calm than I felt. He was already beginning to override my arguments with logic, but this wasn’t a logical thing. I couldn’t go in there knowing that at any moment, one of them could die. I’d lost five friends already, and I couldn’t lose any more. “I have a way of contacting Dinah, and I know she can get me inside. From there, I’ll make my way to the integration chamber using Lionel’s code. I’m fairly sure I can give the Eyes a run for their money, especially if I’m alone.” I stopped packing, picked up the bag, and turned to my friends. “I’m going to be fine. And I promise that if I can, I will fix this. But there’s no guarantee at this point, and you all need to get moving.”

“Dinah is an old woman,” Maddox replied, folding her arms across her chest. “She might be able to get you in, but if the transmission between the two of you is intercepted, they’ll know you’re coming and set up a trap. You’ll need our help then. I don’t understand why you’re pushing so hard against it!”

I immediately grew defensive at her reasoning and went on the attack. I didn’t care if they wound up hating me for what I said. At least they’d be alive. “I’m pushing for what you and Quess and everyone else wanted! A life outside these Tower walls, free from this insanity! That’s what Cali and Roark were fighting for, remember? And I’m giving it to you—a real way out! You have to take it. Not for me, and not for you, but for Tian. And Liam. And Quess. And Eric! They need to get out of here; they aren’t warriors like we are. They’ll die, and we’ll have to watch. Do you want that?”

Maddox’s glittering green eyes narrowed, but to my credit, my words had given her pause, and she looked away, thinking. Even Quess was momentarily stunned into silence, my words making him reconsider his position, and I felt hope begin to bloom in my heart.

Until I heard, “Hell with that. It’s bull,” from a voice too high-pitched to be from an adult. I immediately zeroed in on the source of the sound to find Tian standing just outside the living area, one fist scrubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “We’re a team, remember?” she asked, looking at me.

Dammit, I was not about to have my orders argued with, not even by Tian. “That’s right,” I said amicably. “You’re the team. I’m the leader. You put me in charge, which means following my orders, even when you don’t agree with them. So grab some stuff, wake Liam up, and get ready to go. We’ve wasted too much time as it is.”

Tian scowled at me, her fists dropping to her hips, but I ignored it, took a few steps toward Maddox, and shoved the bag into her arms. She grabbed it reflexively, her brows furrowing, her face pensive, but didn’t argue as I moved past her into the kitchen, intent on throwing open cabinet doors to pull out any other food that might be inside. Who knew how long they were going to be on the roof before the Patrians arrived.

Tian, however, wasn’t letting this go without a fight. The young teen marched into the kitchen at my heels, fists still planted over her wispy skirt. “Then I vote we remove you as leader,” she declared imperiously. “For danger of being a big stupid-head. You can’t go alone! We won’t let you! We’re family, and we do things together. That’s what Cali wanted for us, and that’s what we’re going to do. So if you’re going to the Core, we’re going to the Core.”

“Whoa, now,” Quess said, stepping behind Tian and resting his hands on her shoulders. “Tian, I agree with everything you’re saying, but if we go, you know it’s just going to be the four of us. You can’t come with us this time.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but I interrupted her before she could start a new tirade. “He’s right in that you’re not coming with me,” I agreed with mock cheerfulness. “Because none of you are. Think about it: are we really going to risk leaving Tian and Liam by themselves? No, because we’re responsible. Quess, you and Maddox are responsible for Tian, and you have to do what’s best for her. That means—”

“Stop it, Liana,” Eric announced in a gravelly voice, breaking his silence for the first time since telling us all Zoe was gone. I stopped mid-word, turning around to see him standing on the other side of the counter that sat between the dining area and the kitchen, a haunted look on his face.

“Eric?” I asked, taking a step toward him, concerned about his wellbeing after losing the woman he loved. “What’s—”

“Zoe told me not to let you do anything she called heroically stupid, and that’s what you’re gearing up to do.”

I silently cursed Zoe, and then felt a stab of guilt at doing so. Even dead, she was trying to take care of me, and while I loved her for it, she didn’t understand what it meant for me. How defeated I would be if I lost everyone I loved trying to save the Tower. I wouldn’t be a person anymore, just a shell, without any light and love to fill me up.

“Eric, Zoe’s gone, and we have to think about what comes next. I have Tony in my head, which means I’m more equipped to—”

“The Tony you want to trade?” Quess cut in angrily. “What, you want to copy him so that we give one version to the Patrians while you carry the other version into the Core? That’s so… How did Zoe phrase it?” He looked over at Eric, who mouthed the words “heroically stupid,” and then continued. “That’s right, heroically stupid! Can’t we just be heroically smart instead? Let’s do that option. I like it way better than the other one.”

Frustration had me gritting my teeth, not just from the overuse of Zoe’s phrase, but because they were making it really difficult to argue with them. I could already tell that the harder I pushed for this, the more they were going to resist. “You don’t get a choice,” I said. “None of you do. You elected me leader. This is the plan, and we—”

“Fine, who agrees that Liana is no longer the leader?” Maddox said, placing the bag on the counter and coming around to stand next to Eric, a scowl on her face.

“Hey,” I said indignantly. “I am doing what a good leader would do and trying to save your lives. I’m responsible for them, and I know this is a suicide mission. I already lost Dylan and Rose getting here, and now I’ve lost Grey, Leo, and Zoe. Grey and Leo might still be alive, but not for long, and there’s a chance I might not even make it to them before Sage gets what he needs and kills them! This is too dangerous. I’m not accepting the risk. Stop arguing with me and get to the damn roof.”

“I refuse,” Tian said, defiantly crossing her arms over her chest, and I was torn between screaming, bashing my head against the wall, and pulling out my hair. They were being so monumentally stubborn, and I wasn’t worth this show of loyalty! I didn’t want their loyalty; I wanted them safe.

“I also refuse,” Quess said a moment later from behind her. “Granted, we’ll have to override Tian’s objections to keep her safe, but I’m okay with that as long as we’re going into the Core together.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from growling at him and looked over at Maddox and Eric. “And you two?”

“I’ve made myself perfectly clear,” Eric said, tiredly resting his hands on the counter. “I’m going where you go. End of discussion.”

“Same here,” Maddox replied. “We’ve been with you since the beginning of all this, Liana. And you may be responsible for our lives, but it’s our choice what we do with them, not yours. We’re not going to leave you now. You need us, and we need you. Now, you can be in charge, giving us the best chance of success, or you can follow my lead. Either way, you need to accept that we’re coming with you.”

A wall of pain and foreboding slammed into me, and I almost cried. I wasn’t sure what I was feeling—pain, sorrow, grief, fear, loss… All I knew was that nothing I could say would change their minds.