“They probably found a way to bottle it up,” Thayen replied. “We could take some and use them against the clones…”
I shook my head, vehemently against it. “No. I wouldn’t wish those horrid sentiments and living nightmares upon anyone, not even these psycho copies of ours. This isn’t warfare. This is something infinitely worse, and I fear our souls would never recover if we stooped to their level.”
“Then we blow this place up. Make it harder for the clones, at least for a day or two. They’ll have to make do with what they’ve got on them, but the majority of their weaponry and ammunition is stored here. We could deliver quite the blow.”
That made sense. “Sure. Sounds like a good plan. But we’ll have to run really fast and as far away from here as possible. Once this place blows, the clones will head this way. Hordes and hordes… not to mention Haldor. He’s never too far behind.”
“We can use these,” Thayen said, holding up two packets filled with a shimmering white powder. Timers had been fitted on the side, with colorful wires connecting the device directly to the packet. “High-grade explosives, for when we don’t have dragons handy. We can detonate them remotely with this,” he added, showing me a small remote. “Jericho knows how to operate them.”
We met up with Dafne, Jericho, and Soph back in the main hallway of the armory. The front door waited ahead, slightly ajar. Behind us, a back door could be unlocked within seconds with one of the keycards we’d swiped off the vampire guards. Jericho and Thayen agreed to mount explosives in each of the rooms, connecting them to a single small remote, while Dafne and Soph gathered a few more supplies and extra uniforms for us to use.
“Blending in will be key,” I said once we were all together again. I’d had a couple of minutes to consider our strategy going forward. Sneaking around wouldn’t be an option for much longer. While I was clearly the clones’ target, Thayen and the others could still infiltrate this twisted society, since doppelgangers had been made after each of them. A good shelter was needed for me, and I’d finally figured out where I’d be safest, at least for one or two nights. “We’ve got uniforms and the lay of the land already. I’m going to stand out unless we find a way to make me over into something less… Daughter-ish.”
“That makes sense,” Thayen replied. “And we’re ready to blow this place to smithereens, but where to next? We can’t move freely for a while. The clones will investigate the armory. We’ll need a place to lie low. The cabin is no longer an option, for obvious reasons, and the cave is too far away, since we need to stay on this side of the island and search for their prisoner quarters.”
I nodded. “Right. Which got me thinking. If we try really hard to go underground and into the wild, of which there is plenty even in this fake Shade, Haldor will eventually find us. But if we hide in plain sight, we’ll stand a better chance of playing them all. The redwood treehouses would be perfect for that. Each high and far enough apart that they’re not easy to examine for… well, trespassers,” I added with a soft chuckle.
“But they’re likely to be inhabited,” Soph replied.
“True. Including mine. But I live with Mom and Dad in one of the highest residences. HQ, who I believe to be the clones’ maker, was unable to make copies of my mom and me. So, if the fake Shade is as faithfully reproduced as possible, it means the only doppelganger we’ll find in their version of my house is my cloned dad,” I said. “While it makes me sick to my stomach to even say it, we just have to kill my dad, and we’ll have a treehouse to ourselves for the foreseeable future.”
Dafne grinned. “Haldor will never think to look for us there, and the explosion here will keep everyone else busy and scrambling long enough for us to get in and take care of the clone.”
“And from that treehouse, we can plan our next few moves. We can use the canopy and upper branches to move around. Fewer chances for someone to spot us from the ground, given the titanic height, but we’ll still have to watch out for dragon and Hawk clones,” I said.
“Sounds like one hell of a plan,” Thayen replied, nodding appreciatively.
Once the explosive charges were set, we sneaked out the back door with our backpacks full and made a run for the redwood residences farther west. About a hundred yards later, we sought shelter behind the bushes, with Dafne and Soph watching our backs while Jericho armed the remote and established its wireless connection to the explosive charges. He pushed one button, and the explosion tore through the armory, making the entire forest tremble.
The soundwave rippled outward and brushed past us with a hint of heat. Soon this whole place would be crawling with clones—and probably Haldor and his shadow hounds, too—so we swallowed invisibility pills, put our garnet glasses on, and climbed up the nearest wild redwood, taking to the canopy for slightly safer travel.
My heart raced as I made my way up through the branches. The closer I got to the strange and empty sky, the heavier my soul felt. Once more, I was reminded that there was something about this place, something that ate away at us. Below, we watched throngs of clones running toward the orange flames that had swallowed the armory, plumes of black smoke reaching for the heavens. Someone barked orders. Someone else passed them along.
We’d made some trouble. I allowed myself a smile. We’d pulled one over on them.
Thayen
Reaching Astra’s treehouse by way of the redwood crowns was a lot easier when the entire island’s attention was focused on the armory explosion. I figured clones would be swarming around that area for at least ten to twelve hours, trying to pick up our tracks. Soph had used the Elmin Essence we’d found in the armory to force our scents away. It would keep Haldor and his shadow hounds at bay, too. It was a shame we hadn’t had those vials on us to begin with. Only a few drops were needed, and our enemy would not be able to follow us.
That must’ve been how some of the clones had gotten around the real island. How they’d moved and gone about their business without anyone even noticing that they weren’t the real Isabelle, or the real Caleb or Rose or one of the many others they’d mimicked.
The Novak residence that Phoenix and Astra had built for their yearly trips to The Shade had been faithfully reproduced here, as well. It was large and minimalistic in style, with sequoia paneling and a dark red, thatched roof. Despite its simple straight lines and pointed corners, the house did a fantastic job of blending into its environment—unlike most other homes, this one was higher and easier to miss from below, and better protected by the canopy above.
We settled on a neighboring branch, watching the ground for a while. The clones were black dots that poured out of the treehouses and down the thick redwood trunks. They scattered eastward where we’d left the armory in tatters. A horn sounded repeatedly and loud enough to make my brain hurt, likely an alarm. Above, the shadows of dragon clones flew in the same direction, huffing and roaring as they approached the scene of the crime about a mile away.
“That worked like a charm,” Jericho said, unable to wipe a grin off his face.
“Well, it’s a good thing you paid attention during explosives class,” I replied. “Personally, I was never interested. Naturally, I regret it now.”