Defiance c j redwine

crushed beneath the bloody boot of Baalboden. “It’s time for change, and we’re going to deliver it.”

She’s silent for a moment, her hands tearing at the blanket, and then says, “He’s to light a torch in the eastern oak at daybreak.”

The eastern oak is a mammoth tree marking the edge between Baalboden’s perimeter and the Wasteland, in direct line of sight of the far eastern turret, on the opposite side of the gate. I give the Commander credit for coming up with a signal I wouldn’t have guessed on my best day, and nod to Eloise.

“I’ll do my best to reach them in time, but either way, I’ll come back for you.”

Then I wait until snores tell me the other prisoners are all asleep before struggling to my feet for the first time in a week.

Tearing my shirt into a long strip of fabric, I wrap my chest tightly and drizzle a pinch of medicine on my tongue. I need to be able to run and fight without the interference of pain. I have the information I need, and if any guard happens to be watching, the Commander could right now be learning of my lengthy conversation with Eloise.

It’s time to escape.