Gabe flashed in and out of consciousness as Jace drove him through the metros. They were all out of commission due to the celebration, so it was an excellent chance to move through the underground unnoticed. Gabe was unsure of what type of vehicle he was confined to, but the ride was smoother than it ought to be. Jace remained silent and refused to look at Gabe, even when he tried to make conversation through the fog in his head. Selima seemed nice enough, but Jace was in another league entirely.

Gabe finally managed to get a grip on reality by the time the vehicle stopped. He was cuffed to the door and couldn’t move well enough to get a look around. In front of them was nothing but a large, rocky expanse, something Gabe had never seen anywhere near D.C. The face of the expanse that the vehicle was pressed up against was suspiciously flat. Jace muttered something into his dashboard and the rocks morphed to form a large, iron door that was bolted from the ground up.

The various locks on the door began to twist as Gabe started at each moving part.

“Where are we?” Gabe asked, hoping Jace would descend to talk to him this time.

Jace typed something into his watch instead of responding. He flipped a few switches next to his steering wheel and put the vehicle in drive, even though the door was not close to being open. Gabe stared at Jace in disbelief. He started pleading with Jace, in his signature unintelligible fashion, but Jace locked his hands on the steering wheel and started pressing the gas. Gabe closed his eyes and waited for the impact.

No impact came. The vehicle sailed through the iron door with no resistance.

Gabe remained tightly wound, despite his survival at the hands of Jace. It was a few minutes before he could open his eyes, let alone speak. The vehicle came to a complete stop before Gabe completely recovered.

Jace had parked in a huge, open space that resembled the aircraft carriers that Gabe had only seen in movies. Gabe could not tell if they were under the city or very far from it. Either way, there was little chance he could leave without getting himself killed. Gabe thought about the coffee he dropped on the floor and felt a sharp pain in his head. Maybe it was from the lack of caffeine or, more likely, Jace’s left hook. Either way, he wished he had finished his coffee. He doubted they kept an office pot in this cave.

Gabe had never heard of any “resistance” before. Since the media was controlled by the state, it would make sense that they would neglect to report on anyone unhappy with the current administration. It had been this way before Gabe was old enough to vote, not that Gabe bothered with politics. As long as he had a job and could take the occasional day to see his mother, there was no reason for him to express dissatisfaction.

At that moment, however, Gabe was extremely dissatisfied since it was likely he would never see his office or his mother again. Jace had left the vehicle and was making conversation outside with someone out of Gabe’s visual field. He sounded angry, as if Gabe had somehow made his life miserable.

That makes two of us, Gabe thought.

Jace finally opened the door, forgetting Gabe was still attached to it, and Gabe was flung out into the fluorescent light of the hangar. There wasn’t much more to the place than he had already seen. Jace’s vehicle was the only one in sight. Instead of tires, it ran on top of huge belts that were normally reserved for construction. Otherwise, it looked like a larger version of a Prius. The image of Jace driving a Prius made Gabe laugh and the sound echoed through the mostly empty hangar.

Jace stood over Gabe as he waited for him to stop. Gabe, still laughing, looked up and was halted by the fierce glare in Jace’s dark eyes. There was only a small difference in color between his pupils and irises, the result being that he always looked ready to pounce. Jace leaned over to unlock Gabe from his restraints and waited for Gabe to get up, without offering him a hand.

“Look, I don’t know what I did, but maybe we should start over,” Gabe said, hoping to figure out the source of Jace’s disdain for him. Gabe reached his hand towards Jace in a polite gesture.

“No thanks. You won’t be seeing much of me, regardless.”

Jace turned around and motioned for Gabe to follow him. Gabe’s pride would have been wounded on an average day, but today was so wrong he could no longer feel embarrassment. Gabe trailed behind Jace, looking around for the mysterious voice Jace had been talking to earlier. Anything, he thought, would be better than this silence, but there was no one in sight.

On the far side of the hangar there were double doors that Gabe assumed opened to the rebels’ hiding place. Gabe wasn’t even sure what type of organization picked him up. All he knew is he wasn’t killed on the spot, meaning someone was restraining Jace’s actions. As the pair approached the doors, Gabe noticed a small touchscreen to the side. Jace placed his hand on it and shouted “bridge.” Something large and metallic made a banging noise and the doors opened just enough to let Jace through. Gabe was thankful for his small frame for the first time in his life as he slipped through behind Jace.

The sun on the other side of the door was bright and revealed a harsh, desert-like landscape. A few short shrubs lined the edge of the cliff-like object they had just passed through and Gabe could hear the garble of a river somewhere nearby. Gabe, still in his office clothes from the day before, began sweating noticeably, which prompted him to stop and begin rolling his sleeves. Jace made it a few feet before turning around.

“Hey! We’re not going to make it to town by sundown if you keep stalling,” Jace shouted.

Gabe looked at him and curled his lip in disgust. They had just left their transportation behind them.

“Why didn’t we just take the car?”

“We have to leave it there for inspection. Town’s a few miles away and most of the garrison is out today. We’re going to have to get there by foot.”

Jace began walking away and Gabe was compelled to follow. Of all the things he heard today, walking somewhere miles away was the most ridiculous of all. Part of his will to live that he had discovered earlier today fled him. At least, if officers had found him, there was a chance he could have returned to work in a few years.

Gabe jogged to catch up to Jace as he continued rolling up his sleeves. He wondered how long it would take before someone realized he was gone.