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He opened his mouth several times before shutting it, unable to find words that might get him out of this disaster. He couldn’t think of a single reason his supervisor should keep him on the wall.
His mind raced to find a way to fix this, but came up blank. All their planning would be for nothing.
So Eli left headquarters and made an impulsive decision. He’d have to find Nik’s house first and let them know his assignment had been changed. The only problem was he’d never been to Nik’s house before. He knew the general direction from walking home with Ali on occasion. He knew the road she took when he headed the opposite way, toward the prison.
He did his best to look inconspicuous, pulling his shirt over the metal bands on his wrists. This was not the way to the arsenal. Hopefully no one would stop him. One perk of becoming a trusted guard was that he could move around without a chaperone, at least during his shifts.
Eli started down the road he’d seen Ali take several times. He didn’t know what he was expecting: that he’d get some sixth sense tingling in his fingers when he passed Nik’s house? That didn’t happen.
Each house appeared the same as the next. White siding covered single story homes with tin roofs. Plain wooden doors stood between square windows. There were no distinguishing marks.
He would have to ask someone.
A younger couple passed by, and he avoided eye contact. It was only a gut feeling, but something about them didn’t seem right. He walked a few more houses and an older woman came out of her front door, a scarf wrapped tightly around her head.
“Excuse me, ma’am.” Eli waved a hand in her direction. “Do you know which of these houses belongs to Nik?”
They’d never discussed surnames. He could only hope there weren’t many people by the name of Nik around here.
“Nik?”
“Yeah.” Eli fumbled over his words. “He’s young, about my age. A little shorter than me. Dark hair.” He looked expectantly at the woman. Apparently, this very generic description wasn’t working for her.
“I’m sorry, son. I’m not sure who you’re talking about.”
Eli’s shoulders slumped. “That’s okay. Thank you for your time.”
He looked around at the houses along the road. Light poured through a few of the windows and illuminated the interiors so he could see inside, but he didn’t catch a glimpse of Ali or Nik in any of them.
He was running out of time. He couldn’t take too long searching for them. The guards at the arsenal would expect him any minute now. Finally, he ran his hands through his hair and turned around, giving up on his search. Devastation washed over him as he headed back toward the arsenal.
Two other guards stood chatting when he made it to the arsenal. They took one look at Eli’s crestfallen expression and stayed clear of him. Good. He had no desire to make small talk this evening. He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he would not be escaping tonight.
What were Ali and Nik doing right now? The sky had darkened and the streets were clear of people. They were likely setting out to his post right now. What would they think when they didn’t find him there? Would they carry on anyway?
No. He didn’t think Ali would leave him behind. Nik, perhaps, but Ali would stick up for him.
Another horrifying thought crossed his mind. What if they got caught? What if they tried to approach the wall before realizing Eli wasn’t the guard on duty? Would they be able to talk their way out of it? It would look incredibly suspicious to be sulking around in the middle of the night, headed toward one of the most isolated posts.
Eli’s stomach turned and he willed time to move faster. The thought of spending the rest of the night working here was torture, not knowing what Ali and Nik were doing right now.
He picked at loose chips of wood on the table where he sat. The two other guards laughed and talked animatedly, paying him no attention. How unfair, to be so close to freedom only to have everything ruined. He should’ve known not to trust Nik. Of course, Nik’s plan had failed. Eli never should’ve allowed himself to hope.
It was nearly dawn when one of the other guards left early. “Yeah, I’ll cover for you,” his friend said as he walked out into the morning fog.
And then Eli was alone with one other guard with only an hour left in their shift. His eyes dropped heavily. He wasn’t used to working the night shift, and his body ached for his bed. He wanted to close his eyes and forget this tragic evening had ever occurred.
The other guard continued to ignore Eli, only looking up on occasion when his chair squeaked beneath his weight. After several minutes of silence, the man stood.
“I’m going to go smoke. I’ll be right back.”
The guard left through the front door, and Eli stared around the empty room.
Maybe this evening wouldn’t be a waste after all.
He had to act quickly. The guard wouldn’t take much time before he came back. He swiftly grabbed the keys hanging on the wall and walked toward the locked gate that kept their artillery.
There were only four keys on the ring, so he quickly rotated through them, finding the correct one with ease. The gate swung open, and he walked into a large room lined with shelves and more shelves of knives, swords, axes, and more.
