Chapter Twenty-Five Faith

Her hand was shaking and she willed herself to stay strong. Danforth was less than a metre away and, this time, she didn't look like she was going to stop.

Faith's hands were sweating. She could feel the pill slipping between her fingers. If she dropped it, she'd lose her advantage. There were more in her other hand, but she wasn't sure she could get them to her mouth in time.

Knowing that Robyn was close to the stage, she was hoping that her interruption gave the Resistance a chance to put their rescue into practice.

But now that her back was to Flynn, Faith had no idea what was going on behind her.

She was thrilled with the impact her words had had on the crowd. Even now, the square was filled with an angry muttering, and Faith had felt the women pressing forward. The movement had made Danforth nervous, too. It was the very reason the chancellor was currently advancing towards her.

Focus, she told herself. She moved the pill closer to her mouth, noticing that Danforth's eyes no longer flashed with panic. Fear prickled down her spine: something had changed.

A thwacking sound from behind startled her. Spinning around, Faith stared at the remains of an apple which had been thrown at the stage with some force. She glanced at the crowd. Was this the start of the Resistance rescue? Robyn was right at the front, but she seemed as bewildered as everyone else.

"What the–?"

And then she spotted the guard. Less than a pace away from her and advancing fast. Without thinking, Faith pushed the pill into her mouth and swallowed. But she had to do more. One pill wouldn't be enough.

A trickle of sweat made its way down her back. The remainder of the pills would make sure Danforth never used her again. But taking them…

Faith closed her eyes. Her breath came faster, panic threatening to overwhelm her. She didn't want to do this. But there was no other way.

Making up her mind, she raised her right hand to her mouth.

"Oh no, you don't." A firm hand closed around her wrist.

The voice was vaguely familiar. She searched her mind, trying to remember.

And then she knew. It was Danforth's right-hand woman. A vision of the woman taking charge of the attack on the Eremus citizens in the forest clearing came to her mind. Lieutenant Hammond, the lead guard who had masterminded the mission which had ended in Sophia's kidnapping. To her ending up back in Bellator, dosed with the drugs which had killed her.

A burning hatred surged through Faith.

"Let go." The grip on her wrist tightened, Faith cried out in pain. "Now."

Another hand grasped Faith's, prying open her fingers. Faith tried to resist, but Hammond was much stronger than her. Frightened her fingers would break, Faith relaxed her hand. The remaining pills tumbled to the ground. The guard who'd approached from behind smiled as she crushed them beneath her boot.

"That's right,"she crowed. "It's all over."

Faith closed her eyes. She had nothing left to bargain with.

But it wasn't over. Faith glanced over the woman's shoulder. To tackle her, the woman had moved away from Flynn.

Which meant that, right now, he only had a single guard watching him.

It was the best chance they were likely to get.

As though she'd read Faith's mind, Robyn leapt onto the stage.

Faith's heart was pounding. If she could keep all eyes on her, prolong the distraction, cause as much trouble as possible, then maybe, just maybe, Robyn stood a chance.

For a moment, Faith relaxed, letting Hammond think she'd won. And then, as the lieutenant's hold relaxed, she fought. Kicking out at the guard in front, wrestling to free her hands, twisting her body around to scratch at Hammond's face, she made it as difficult as possible for the guards to keep hold of her.

She was vaguely aware of Robyn knocking the gun out of the hands of Flynn's only guard. Of Flynn, sensing the chaos, jumping down from the raised platform.

On the podium, Danforth was attempting to speak.

"Citizens of Bellator," she began, "please, remain calm. Let me reassure you–"

But the crowd was growing restless. There was the sound of stomping feet, a menacing rumble which grew in volume. Some brave citizens demanded answers from their leader, their voices strident and overlapping.

"Tell us the truth!" "Did this girl die?" "Let her speak."

Were the citizens actually rebelling?

Gratified by their support, Faith renewed her efforts, thrusting her limbs out in all directions. As she tried to scream, Hammond's hand clamped down over her mouth so tightly she could barely breathe. But she couldn't afford to stop. Not while Flynn was still a prisoner.

As Danforth screamed for reinforcements, a second apple hit the stage, smashing into pieces just to Faith's right. Had the crowd started to hurl things at their chancellor? She remembered the earlier missile and changed her mind. Whoever had thrown it seemed to have the same idea as Faith: distract the guards. Divert their attention.

This time, though, it didn't have much of an impact.

There were three guards holding Faith now, and she was tiring fast. As her struggle weakened, she caught sight of what was happening on the opposing side of the stage.

Robyn had succeeded in knocking out the first guard. Flynn had moved away from the platform and found his way to Robyn. The pair stood back-to-back, edging towards the side of the stage. But before they could get there, more guards appeared.

Faith glanced back at the crowd, her eyes searching for Robyn's backup. There was no way she could do this alone! But a wall of Danforth's reinforcements had surged forward, forming a barricade in front of the stage. Trapped, the other Resistance women were helpless to intervene.

The murmurs in the audience had gathered momentum, and now people were shouting.

"Rise up, citizens!" "Storm the stage!" "Fight!"

Faith was fairly certain the Resistance were the ones urging rebellion, but some citizens responded to the call. As more of Danforth's guard raced in from both sides of the square, the crowd pushed back against them. Faith could see fights breaking out, the noise of violence growing in volume.

Faith glanced back at the stage. Wasting no time, the new arrivals had sprung into action. One of the guards smashed the butt of her gun across Flynn's head, sending him reeling. The other guard leapt forward to tackle Robyn.

The Resistance fighter was ready, sending a kick directly at the guard's gun. Faith understood: having entered the square unarmed, Robyn's only chance of success was to disarm her opponent. As the weapon went flying, Robyn flung herself at the woman, pushing her to the ground. The pair grappled together on the floor, limbs flailing, evenly matched.

They rolled back and forth exchanging blows. Both women were bleeding, but Robyn appeared to be gaining the upper hand. Delivering a punch that sent the guard reeling, she began crawling towards the abandoned gun.

A few feet away, Flynn was being dragged back to the platform by the other guard. Blood was running down his face from a wound on his forehead. His blindfold had come loose in the struggle, and he swayed on his feet, blinking as he tried to orient himself. Spotting Robyn's predicament, he blanched. He made one final attempt to free himself, but was easily overcome.

Faith looked back at Robyn. If she could reach the gun, fire at the guards who surrounded them, the pair might stand a chance of getting off the stage. Robyn was bleeding from a nasty gash on her cheek, but her eyes blazed with determination. Inching forward, she took a moment to glance around her.

For a second, their eyes met. Faith expected to see fear in them, or anger. Instead, they were filled with sadness and a kind of acceptance. The situation was hopeless. Robyn could not win, no matter what she did.

With a bleak nod at Faith, she focused on the gun.

But before she could reach it, several of the guards on the ground leapt on to the stage, heading her off.

As Robyn's hands closed on the gun, they swarmed forward. Faith lost sight of the Resistance fighter as the guards surrounded her, outnumbering her. With every scrap of her remaining strength, Faith struggled against the hands which held her prisoner.

"No!" She bit down on the hand which covered her mouth. "Let me go! You can't–"

But she fell silent as a shot echoed out across the square.