Species Traitor: A Science Fiction Dystopian Novel by Kate Mary (books to read to get smarter txt) 📕

and I’d just knelt beside the unmoving woman when he turned her over. Her arm flopped to the ground and lifeless blue eyes stared up at nothing, and I let out a strangled cry when relief and guilt rushed through me.

“It isn’t Ione. It isn’t Lena,” I gasped, my fear whooshing out with the words.

“They’re okay.” Finn stood, grabbing my arm and pulling me with him. “They’re probably at home waiting for us. Worried. We should go.”

“Yes,” I managed to get out.

Finn and I headed for the nearest staircase and climbed. I moved on autopilot, not registering where we were going, and in no time the house came into view. Once it did, I moved faster, pushing past Finn in my hurry to reach the two most important people in my life. I didn’t even bother knocking, but shoved the door open the second I reached the house and rushed inside.

Lena and Ione were sitting on the couch, and they both jumped to their feet when they saw me.

“You’re okay!” I cried, rushing to them.

I threw one arm around my sister and the other around my cousin, crying with relief.

“I was so worried about you,” Lena said as Ione sobbed. “Rye said you were with Finn, but I didn’t believe him. I thought you were hurt.”

“I’m okay,” I said, “we’re all okay.”

After a couple minutes, Finn cleared his throat. “Where’s Rye?”

Ione extracted herself from my embrace and turned to face him. “He went looking for you.”

Finn nodded as he took a step toward the door. “I should go find him.” His gaze moved to me for a moment, the hesitation in his eyes plain as day, but it was gone in a second and he’d turned. “I’ll be back.”

He ducked out the door without telling me goodbye.

I turned to Lena and looked her over. “You’re okay? Nothing happened?”

“I’m fine,” my sister insisted.

“We got lucky,” Ione said. “We were in the house using the bathroom when we heard the noise. I didn’t even have time to make it to the door before Rye had burst in. He locked the door and refused to let us leave.”

“What happened?” Lena asked.

“It was the mob from the street. They must have gotten past the guards and broken the gate down or something. They attacked the people in the streets, even killed a few.”

“Oh my God,” my cousin gasped, while at her side Lena’s eyes widened in fear.

All I could do was nod.

Chapter Thirteen

“I know this is something you don’t want to hear right now,” Rye started, speaking slowly as if trying to choose his words carefully. “But it needs to be said.”

I sat sandwiched between Ione and Lena, holding my sister’s hand while my cousin patted my leg almost absentmindedly. It felt like hours had passed since Finn and I returned to the house, but it probably hadn’t been that long. Maybe an hour at the most.

“What?” Ione was the first to respond.

Behind Rye, Finn stood leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his face a mask of contemplation. As usual, I couldn’t stop my gaze from straying to him even as I waited for Rye to go on.

The cousins exchanged a look before Rye cleared his throat. “I think it would be safer for Ava if she didn’t come into the District for a while.”

I sat up straighter just as Ione said, “What are you saying?”

“She’s risking her life every time she comes here,” Rye said. “What if someone in the mob is armed next time? What if they stabbed her? Is that what you want?”

“No!” Ione shook her head until her hair tumbled from its messy bun. “You think I want her to die for me?”

“I know you don’t,” her husband replied, softening his voice. “I know that’s not what you want, which is why I’m bringing it up. Think about what she’s risking, Ione.”

I swallowed, the full extent of what could happen hitting me.

Firearms were illegal in Polis unless you had an official government job as a guard or were part of the brute squad, and their existence had all but been eradicated decades ago, but Rye had a good point. Knives were everywhere. What was stopping someone from bringing one to the gate? What if someone grabbed me as I was trying to enter? No one would rush to the aid of a species traitor like me.

Ione gnawed on her bottom lip. Her hand was still on my leg, but she’d stopped patting it, and she looked almost lost as she thought the whole thing through. I understood. Other than Lena, Ione was the person I’d always been closest to, and I hated the idea of giving her up. But we all had to acknowledge the truth of the matter. Coming here was dangerous, and it was getting worse every day.

“We still have phones,” I said after a few minutes of tense silence.

Rye physically relaxed, and behind him Finn turned his gaze to the floor. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he seemed torn between relief and disappointment at the knowledge that I wouldn’t be coming into the District again.

Ione swallowed, and I could see the tears welling in her eyes even as she tried to blink them away. “I can’t believe it’s come to this.”

“I know,” I whispered. I let go of Lena’s hand for the first time since we sat down and shifted so I was facing my cousin, wrapping my arms around her. “It’s not forever. It isn’t. Things will calm down. Even if Waters wins, people will get tired of picketing outside the District and move on to something else.”

“You think?” Ione murmured against my shoulder.

“I do,” I said, trying to believe my own words. “They can’t hold on to their anger forever. Once she’s elected, they’ll let it drop and trust her to take the next steps. They have to.”

My cousin nodded.

Her face was turned away from her husband and Finn, but I was facing them, so