Chapter 41

                                    

                                          
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Song: None 
                          
Maxon's POV 
                          
It was one month into her trip. It had taken Alex and I a while to adjust to life without America, but I thought we were managing it pretty well. I made up for lost time with Alex by making sure that we spent at least thirty minutes of quality time together every day. That did put some strain on my work, but it was well worth the effort. 
                          
The nightly calls from America definitely made things easier to handle. We would sometimes talk for hours, missing each other's company but thankful for this little bridge of connection. 
                          
I still couldn't wait for her return in August, though. I knew she felt bad about missing both Alex's and my birthday, since his was in mid-July, but she promised to bring back gifts. Having her back was the only present I needed. 
                          
Alex missed her too. He had told me so a few times, but I could see it in the way he behaved as well. During meals was when it was the worst. He would be talking about something to me and then look over to her empty seat and just slowly go silent. I knew he was upset so I eventually came up with an idea to cheer him up. I told him that he could draw one picture a day of what he'd done that day and then we could make it into a book for America to see when she got back. Alex loved that idea. He would bring his crayons and paper into my room sometimes and draw on the bed while I did work at my desk.
                          
Earlier today, he'd done exactly that. He'd been in my room for over an hour, claiming to be making a "masterpiece". Eventually, he fell asleep and I had to carry him back to his room.
                          
A few hours later, I was sound asleep as well, dreaming about nothing in particular.
                          
Suddenly, I was woken up by shouts outside my room and someone barging loudly into my room. I sat up and saw Gabriel. 
                          
"Gabe, what's going on?" I asked, rubbing sleep from my eyes. He came over to the bed, grabbing my arm and pulling me off of my mattress.
                          
"I'll explain on the way. We need to get somewhere safe." He led me out the door and we hurried down the hallway. "A large group of rebels infiltrated the palace a few minutes ago, probably the Southerners, but I'm not sure. It wouldn't have been such a big deal if we were fully staffed and they weren't so heavily armed. This is different from all of the other attacks. I think they were hoarding supplies for one huge attack and they decided tonight was the big night. Nearly all of them have guns, at least half of them have Kevlar vests, and some have everything they need to start fires." 
                          
He was speaking so fast and about so much that I hardly had time to comprehend what he was saying. I eventually came to my senses and asked, "What is our course of action?"
                          
"Markson is trying to get them to split up and take out smaller groups instead of facing all of them at once. That is our only shot."
                          
I nodded as we finally made it to the safe room, completely unscathed. I looked around the room, feeling uneasy. Something wasn't right.
                          
Alex.
                          
He wasn't in there. 
                          
"Where's Alex? Did someone get him?"
                          
Gabe looked puzzled. "A few guards went into his room, minutes before I got you. He should be here by now."
                          
"I have to go find him," I said, leaving the safe room.