The Girl Who Dared to Think by Bella Forrest (e reader for manga TXT) 📕

seen us. It was only five thirty in the morning, but the aisles were already packed with people in an array of colors, using their ration cards to secure their breakfast for the day. Again, there was no reason for it, but it felt like I was being watched, and the longer I stood stock still, waiting for Grey, the worse it got.

When he finally arrived, I was a mess of nerves, and he noticed. He shifted the bag he was now carrying to his other hand, grabbed mine with his free one, and began guiding me down one of the aisles. I let him, thinking he would let go of my hand as soon as I started to follow. But to my surprise, he didn’t.

We quickly threaded our way out of the Lion’s Den and down one of the wide platforms that jutted out from the shell and over open space. As soon as we were free, he slowed. We looked at each other, smiled, and looked away, and I felt a blush forming on my cheeks.

I pushed it back, not letting the nervousness that seemed to form every time Grey was in proximity flood in, and focused on the matter at hand. “We really shouldn’t be seen together so soon,” I said. “We talked about this. We agreed. You were going to keep a low profile in Cogstown and play the good reformed boy.”

“Relax,” he replied, releasing my hand. “If anyone asks, they’ll probably attribute it to my life-altering near-death experience, and the need I might have to talk about it with someone who was there.”

“I’m pretty sure they won’t want to ask,” I said under my breath, but he smiled, and I realized he had heard me.

“Yeah, probably not. I’m surprised they even let me leave. Why aren’t they afraid I’ll say something?”

“They probably want you to,” I replied bitterly. “It’s Scipio’s will that you survived, and the Knights’ will that you go forth and spread your message of enlightenment, so that others may learn what it is to truly serve.”

Grey gave me a crooked smile and reached into his bag to pull out a white blob that I immediately recognized as bao: a steamed bun stuffed with a rich filling.

“It’s curry,” he warned as I took it from his hand, and I gave him a bored look before taking a big bite. Immediately the taste of spicy potatoes and peas caressed my taste buds in an exquisite combination of flavors.

I chewed and swallowed, barely registering the spice, and looked over at him. “So, you never answered my question. Why are you out of Cogstown?”

“Roark is crap about getting us food,” he replied. “He barely knows what time it is. Anyway, we ran out last night. I had half a head of lettuce left for dinner tonight, and it won’t last. Believe me, I’m not much of a morning person, but lately...”

He trailed off and looked away, and I recognized the look—it was one that had settled upon my own features lately—slightly glazed and weary. The look of a person not getting enough sleep.

“Same here,” I told him, picking at the edges of the bao. “Keep having nightmares... Waking up thinking the Champion is just outside my room, about to press the button and kill me.”

Grey’s lips quirked up, but his eyes were sad. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t—”

“Given me your pills?”

“I was going to say gotten caught. I have no regrets about giving you the pills.”

We turned down one of the halls, and he stopped, forcing me to as well. “Liana, are you sure about putting distance between you and your friends? I mean, they must be worried about you.”

I thought of Zoe and all the times she’d tried to reach out to me over the net, and shook my head. “Zoe helped me save you, and I know she wants to know what happened, but... if I tell her any more, I’m just dragging her further in. I can protect her better if I put some distance between us. In case I get caught, I can lie. Tell everyone I acted alone.”

Grey was silent for a long time. “That is... very noble.”

“No, it’s not,” I blurted out. I didn’t think of it that way, and I felt unworthy of the word. I was hurting my best friend in the wake of my decision, and I knew it. It was killing me inside, and every day I had to fight with the selfish part of me that just wanted to go to her and break down. But fear held me in place, the fear of losing her forever, and that was not nobility. “She’s my best friend,” I finally said, unable to come up with anything better to explain. “I love her.”

Grey nodded and looked ahead. “Okay,” he said after a few seconds had passed, with the tone of someone changing the subject. “So, in the event that we aren’t discovered or caught, your plan is what? Wait until we’re ready to go and then grab her and make her come along?”

I bristled at his tone. “Yeah, actually.” I gave him a challenging look, daring him to contradict me. “Is it that bad an idea?”

Of course, it wasn’t the best idea—it was barely a concept, but without further information on the how and the when of this mysterious exodus, I was working with what I had. But he didn’t have to point it out to me in such a condescending tone.

His eyes grew wide and he raised his hand, a sheepish smile on his face. “Not that I can think of; I was just curious. Would it just be her, or would there be anyone else?”

“Well, my brother, obviously. Although...” I sighed, my irritation at Grey fading as it was replaced with another, darker emotion, and I met his curious eyes. “He hasn’t netted me in the last few weeks, and I’m nervous for him.”

I had thought about him a lot the past few