Chapter Forty Noah

As they crept along the hallway, his hands were shaking. Ella was a few steps ahead, following Kemp's directions as fast as she could. They passed numerous doors, one after another. Small rooms. Professor's offices, judging by the name plates on the doors. He hoped they were all in bed. He was suddenly grateful for the plush carpeting which deadened their footsteps.

They didn't have long. Kemp would want them in the control room by the time Anderson returned. She had to be due back soon, and they couldn't risk her going up to bed where the other professors were sleeping.

He said a silent prayer that Blake could get the girls out of the academy fast, and without Anderson's knowledge. They were heading back out of the side exit, to avoid attracting attention. But the sooner they got clear of the school grounds, the better.

When the marchers arrived, it would be far better that the girls were long gone. Then Anderson would be their sole focus.

At the end of the hall, Ella came to an abrupt stop. She gestured to a door on the left.

Noah glanced up at the door with no identifying signage. Had this been Faith's cell, originally? He shuddered as Ella turned the handle.

The door didn't budge.

"Dammit!" Noah could feel Ella starting to panic. "What now?"

Noah glanced around. A few steps further along the hallway was an alcove with a display cabinet. Thankful it didn't have a glass front covering it, he hurried over. The shelves were packed with trophies and awards of varying sizes and shapes. After weighing a substantial-looking statue in his hands, he made his way back to Ella.

"Stand back."

Ella moved out of the way. Taking a deep breath, Noah swung the statue at the door handle. A resounding crash echoed through the hall. Noah winced, but it had done the trick. The door had popped open, and its handle hung off at an obscure angle.

Ella seemed to have frozen. Grabbing hold of her arm, Noah pushed her inside.

Once the door was closed, he looked around. The room was small, and sparsely furnished. After the opulence of the rest of the school, it was surprising. A shaft of moonlight slanted through the window, outlining a figure sitting in the room's only bed.

"Hel-en?" Ella's voice cracked. "Is that you?"

The figure moved, swinging her legs around so she could stand up. She took a few faltering steps towards them.

"Ella?" She stopped. "What are you doing here?"

Ella closed the gap, and they flung their arms around each other. The pair held on to one another for several moments, their grip fierce and their breathing ragged. When their hold loosened, they moved back, staring at one another.

"You're okay?" Ella asked.

"I'm okay." Helen gulped in an audible breath. "A lot better for seeing you."

"Thank goodness." Leaning forward, Ella pressed her lips to Helen's. The touch was brief, but intense enough that Noah looked away.

"Sorry." Slipping out of Ella's hold, Helen turned to face him. "Hey, Noah."

Noah took a tentative step forward, remembering Helen's intense fear of men during her time in the tunnels. Thanks to the actions of Jacob and Paulo, she had been more skittish around males than any of the Danforth girls. Surprising him, she closed the gap between them and gave him a brief, but genuine, hug.

When she pulled away, her eyes were filled with tears. "I'm so glad you're here."

"How long have you been–?" Ella gestured to the bleak space.

"…their prisoner?" Helen's voice was brittle. "Since the day I arrived. It was clear Danforth didn't trust me not to run. They locked me up as soon as the cameras stopped rolling."

"That witch!" Ella hissed.

"They haven't drugged me. At least, not yet. I'm supposed to be their poster girl. That's what's kept me safe." Helen sighed. "It's horrible. The academy's so quiet. I've caught odd glimpses of the junior girls, but they seem…" she suppressed a shudder, "scared of their own shadows. And I'm so afraid for the other seniors. I haven't seen any of them. It's been," she glanced at Ella, "lonely."

"We're getting you out." Ella grasped her hand.

"But…" Helen faltered, gesturing to the rest of the building, "we can't leave the others."

"We won't be." Noah spoke quickly, anxious to get moving. "We're not alone. There are other Resistance members with us. They're getting the seniors out right now. But there's not much time. And we need your help with something before we go."

"My help?" Helen blinked. "But–"

"Kemp asked if you could take us to the control room." Noah gestured to the door. "You know where that is, right?"

"I do." Rallying quickly, Helen grabbed a sweater from the bottom of the bed. When she had pulled it on, she turned back to them. "Are we meeting the professor there?" She glanced at their empty wrists. "We won't get in without her."

Noah and Ella exchanged glances.

"She didn't tell you?" Helen paled. "We'll need her access code."

"She was… preoccupied with the seniors." Noah shrugged. "Let's hope she's got them all out already and is heading back here. Anderson's expected any minute."

Helen froze. "What's this got to do with Anderson?"

"It"s part of the mission," Ella explained. "Kemp's going to get her to confess… say something damning about Danforth… so we can broadcast it."

"You mean…" Understanding dawned on Helen's face. "Proof of Danforth's crimes? So the women of the city will… will finally know?"

"Exactly." Noah took a step towards the door. "So shall we…?"

"Yes. It's not far. Just at the end of this hallway." Helen steeled herself. "Maybe she's there already."

Together, they crept towards the door. Easing it open, Noah peered outside. The hallway was silent and dark. Opening it wide, he gestured to Helen. She slipped out in front of him, a ghost in the shadowy hallway. Ella followed close behind. Easing the door closed, he set off after them.

But when they reached the control room, there was no sign of Kemp. Ella knocked softly on the door, but there was no response.

"What now?" she hissed. "I mean we can't just stay here. We'd be sitting ducks."

"I guess…" Noah glanced both ways down the hall. "Is there somewhere else we can hide until-?"

But before he could finish the sentence, they jumped at the sound of pounding footsteps. Noah tensed, but they had no time to react as a figure raced around the corner.

It was Kemp.

"There you are ," she hissed as she reached them. "Anderson's back."

"Where?" Helen's eyes were wide.

"Right behind me." Kemp shoved her pupil unceremoniously out of the way. "We need to get inside. Now."

She tapped her wristclip against the keypad. At the tiny clicking sound, she thrust the door open and hustled them inside.

For several seconds, they stood on the other side of the door, shaking. As Noah's eyes adjusted, he could see it was a tech-base of some sort. It was a lot like Blake's room back at headquarters. The large desk was filled with various pieces of technical equipment, and there were shelves either side stacked high with expensive-looking gadgets. There were numerous datadevs lying around, and cables snaking everywhere.

Kemp placed her ear to the door. After several seconds had passed, she let out a long, hard breath. "She's gone."

"Where to?" Ella enquired.

"Hopefully, her office." Kemp said. "Right where we want her."

Noah turned to face the professor. "Did Blake-?"

"Left a few minutes ago. Managed to take all the seniors with her." Kemp frowned.

"Does Anderson know they're gone?" Helen asked.

"Not yet." Kemp kept her voice low. "Once she does, she'll be straight on to Danforth. Our chance will be gone. We need to act fast."

"Better get started then." Noah ran his eyes over the equipment. "What do you need us to do?"