“Okay, do it,” I said into the radio.
A few moments later, Wade’s voice came back through, but not just from the radio. Instead, it spilled out over the PA systems of Larkwood, echoing through the buildings and over the yards of all four levels. “You’re up, Kit. Good luck.”
I held the radio out as I hit the button, waiting for Kit to speak.
Whether we survived or not rested on Kit’s ability to convince a bunch of selfish, frightened shades to risk their lives for a chance at something better.
Kit
I didn’t understand.
Then again, how often had I done things when I didn’t fully understand? I did what I thought was right even if I couldn’t connect with or feel the underlying emotions that led to it. This was one of those times.
Deacon and Wade seemed sure I could help, that there was some magical set of words I could string together that would cause the shades of Larkwood to come to their senses and fight. That meant I’d give it a try, even if I doubted it was true.
Out of everyone here, I was the least trusted, the least connected to the others, yet somehow this task ended up in my lap.
The world seemed to drift away as I stared at the radio Deacon held out. The fighting silenced, as if we stood in our own little bubble, untouched by the rest of it.
What should I say? How should I explain to shades that what happened heremattered.
It wasn’t the shades here that I thought about, though. Even if I needed to talk to them, another person came to mind, one who I couldn’t even picture as I’d never seen her face.
Lilianna.My daughter. She was there, in the North Tower, and this fight was as much for her as any other. According to what I’d heard from Hera, the Warden had twisted Lilianna, had raised her to do Larkwood’s bidding. Lilianna hadn’t known anything else, hadn’t gotten to find out a world existed outside of what the Warden had told her.
I took a deep breath, then spoke, trying to offer words that were true, no matter how they hurt me. “I am Kit Porter and I have been at Larkwood longer than anyone else, back since it first opened. Most of you know me, have interacted with me, and written me off as your enemy. I can’t blame you for that—my behavior hasn’t always been easy to understand, and I certainly have never explained myself before.”
Someone rushed us, but Bowen placed a barrier that the guard reflected off. It let me focus on what I would say rather than the people around.
“I’ve watched so many shades come here, watched as they withered and eventually died in these walls. I’ve seen the strong and the weak and the brave and the cowardly and they all end up the same way.”
As I spoke, the memories of so many faces filtered through, all those who had lived and died here, the ones so few would ever remember. “Those people, they’re just names in a file now. No matter who they were, that’s all that’s left because Larkwood took everything else away. I know you’re afraid. I know you’re weighing the risks. I know that Larkwood seems overwhelming, that it feels like this dragon that can’t possibly be brought down. That’s not true, though. It’s strong—there’s no way to deny that—but it is only as strong as it is because it keeps us fighting amongst ourselves. Do you know how much time the Warden dedicates to sowing division? Setting us up to hate one another so we don’t pay attention to what she does? Larkwood is a pit we are all in, but instead of working together to escape it, we just keep thinking we need to destroy one another to become boss of the pit. I’ve watched this cycle for as long as Larkwood has stood, and I’ve realized that that cycle isexactlywhy it still stands.”
I thought about Hera, about Lilianna, about Jasmine who had been murdered just to tear apart any connection shades within Larkwood had.
“We are stronger together. If we want to make changes—real ones, not the empty promises that Larkwood force feeds us to keep us distracted—we need to work together and stop allowing fear to rule us. All of us—Hera, Brax, Knox, Wade, Deacon and myself—we were given the chance to leave. The Warden offered us our freedom if we simply went and stopped causing problems. We came back anyway. We decided that we couldn’t leave you all still locked here, not even if it costs us our own lives. So we’re here, fighting for you whether you want us to or not, whether you thank us or not, whether you helped us or attacked us. The only question is…what will you do? What future do you want? Who do you think the real enemy is?”
A nod from me had Deacon releasing his finger from the radio, the announcement system going silent.
It felt like a final push, like an impossible hope that we had to rely on because we had nothing else. If we failed, if they didn’t accept what I had to say, if they stayed quiet and out of this fight, we would fail.
Eventually, we would tire and the guards would win.
I turned to look out at the fight, at the way even Brax had lost his energy, to the blood on him from his own body as well. Knox still moved quickly, his speed astounding, but while he didn’t have many wounds on him, his movements had slowed. Deacon breathed hard, blood dripping down his arm and from a wound on his side.
We were losing. Eventually, we would be overwhelmed.
All was lost.
If I was destined to fall here, if this was the end, I had a few more things to say. I reached out and took the radio, managing to press the button despite the elongated fingers and claws.
“Lilianna,” I said, my voice soft, drawing the gazes of everyone else outside. The fight seemed to slow as if they hadn’t expected me to say anything else. Or perhaps it was the tone when I spoke that caused them to stop. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know about you, but if I had, I would not have allowed you to suffer alone for so long. You must be brave and do not give up. No matter how dark things seem, you have to keep going. Your mother would be proud of you, and I am sorry that neither of us got the chance to see who you will become.”
I took a deep breath, then spoke once more. I could feel Hera, knew she lived, though in a place like Larkwood, that didn’t mean much. “Thank you, Hera. No matter how this ends, no matter what happens, you changed everything for me, and I will never regret our time together for a single moment.”
I released the button and tossed the radio back to Deacon. If this was our last stand, if we were going to go down here, we would go down fighting.
Larkwood might get the last word, but we would make them bleed for it.