Chapter 16:

What Happened? I Fucked up: Part 2

Under The Dome is Woe


“I couldn’t help but overhear,” he said, his tone polite but firm. “It’s so good to see you, Rose. What a lovely seahorse necklace.”

Rose’s eyebrow twitched. “I’m sorry, I think you have me confused with someone else.”

Noa forced a smile. “No, you remember. From the other night? We loved that song. What was it? The Song of Liberation?”

The color drained from Rose’s face.

Ava laughed. “Song of Liberation? What’s that?”

“I’m sure Rose can fill you in,” Noa said.

Rose barely hesitated. “Can you excuse us?”

Before anyone could object, she grabbed Noa’s arm and pulled him away from the group. Behind them, the women giggled to themselves, casting lingering glances at Noa.

Once they were out of earshot, Rose turned on him. “Who are you?”

Noa’s eyes burned with anger. “I should ask you the same fucking question! What do you want with my sister?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Noa reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive. “Don’t bullshit me! My sister was supposed to deliver this to you, and now she’s gone!”

Rose’s breath hitched. “The frequency!”

She reached for it, but Noa yanked it back.

“Because of whatever the hell you got my sister into, she’s missing, our apartment was burned to the ground, and people are dead!”

Rose’s expression darkened. “You’re her brother.” Her eyes flicked to the flash drive. “How did you get this… It was you! You fucking stole it!”

Before Noa could respond, the lights dimmed. The murmur of the crowd shifted as people turned their attention toward the stage.

Rose and Noa instinctively moved with them, blending in as they continued their conversation under the cover of the gathering crowd.

Noa scanned the room. Keepers were moving through the guests, their eyes scanning faces. His stomach dropped. He grabbed Rose’s arm and pulled her behind a group of people.

“What?” she hissed. “What is it?”

“They’re looking for me.”

Her entire body tensed. “I can’t be seen with you! If they find out I’m part of this, everything will fall apart! Just give me the fucking flash drive!”

Noa’s grip tightened. “You’re a fucking terrorist, aren’t you?”

Rose glared at him.

Onstage, Donna stepped into the spotlight. The room erupted in applause. She gave her perfect, princess wave. Roy carefully studied how everyone reacted.

Rose turned back to Noa. “I’m not a terrorist. I’m a rebel. And because you stole the flash drive and let the frequency loose too early, she was taken!”

Noa’s blood ran cold. “Taken? By who?

Rose gave a pointed look toward the stage.

“Who do you think?”

Donna’s voice rang through the hall. “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. It’s so wonderful to address you at such a lovely event. Art is truly important to the human soul.”

Noa felt sweat roll down his back. His fists clenched.

“Is she alive?” he asked.

Rose hesitated. “I… I don’t know. She was supposed to get the file to me. I was going to sneak it into Donna’s mansion so they’d all turn on each other.”

Noa’s jaw tightened. “You wanted that? Aren’t you saved?”

Rose scoffed. “You ever actually seen the server? Even a picture? That giant farm that supposedly ‘preserves’ people’s minds? A fucking piece of metal in their necks is all they need to treat everyone else like shit—make them their servants! The only difference between me and a terrorist is that I fight for freedom!” Her eyes burned with conviction. “Now give me the flash drive.

Noa didn’t move.

When we get my sister.

Rose’s face twisted in confusion. “We?

“Yes, we.” Noa’s voice was steel. “If I give you the drive now, you’ll just disappear. But she’s my sister. And they tried to kill my nephew. This is all my fault. I have to make it right.”

“Hey! You!

A voice cut through the crowd.

Noa turned.

Keepers were coming toward him.

Rose immediately stepped back. “If you get out, meet me at my place! Don’t do anything stupid!

She was gone before he could respond. The Keepers didn’t even glance at her as they made a beeline for him.

Noa turned and pushed into the crowd.

“Here at ViGen,” Donna’s voice rang through the speakers, smooth and practiced, “we strive to preserve that part of us. That part that makes us… human.

Noa glanced over his shoulder. The Keepers were closing in.

His heart pounded.

No way out.

He pressed forward, shoving past bodies until he reached the front.

Donna smiled.

“That’s why we ensure that the digitization process of the mind is flawless,” she continued. “Much like the beautiful work you see around you.”

The Keepers were coming from all directions.

Noa’s breath caught in his throat.

Trapped.

He looked for an opening. Nothing.

His gaze snapped back to the stage. Donna’s bullshit smile beamed down at the crowd, perfect and untouchable.

His fists clenched.

Here’s your passage rewritten into prose for a book, with the name changes applied and the flow smoothed out:

Donna’s voice rang through the speakers, smooth and poised.

“So please, enjoy the exhibit and remember—”

Before she could finish, Noa leaped onto the stage and grabbed her by the arm.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

For a split second, her security hesitated, caught off guard. But before they could react, Noa yanked out Jack’s gun and pressed it into her back.

Donna stiffened.

“What the—?”

Everyone just back up!” Noa barked. “Back the fuck up! Get away from me!

He pulled Donna with him, jerking her wildly as he moved. The crowd erupted into screams.

Keepers rushed toward the stage.

Noa didn’t hesitate. He shoved the barrel of the gun against Donna’s temple.

“I said get back! I’m serious! I’ll do it!”

His breathing was ragged. His heart slammed against his ribs.

Donna’s voice remained eerily calm. “Congratulations,” she murmured. “You just became the most famous person under the dome.”

“Shut up!”

Above them, drones hovered closer, their lenses zooming in. Red recording lights blinked.

Noa’s face was everywhere.

***

The nursing staff huddled around a television in stunned silence.

Noa and Donna filled the screen.

***

Jack sat on the couch, eyes glued to the broadcast. Tochi sat beside him, watching in quiet fascination.

Jack muttered under his breath.

“No fucking way…”

***

Noa’s pounded. His mind was spinning too fast, his grip on the gun shaking.

Donna didn’t flinch.

“Do you even understand what you’ve done?” she said, her voice low and cutting. “No one points a gun at me, Noa.”

At the sound of his name, his stomach dropped.

His face twisted in confusion.

How does she—?

His eyes darted across the crowd.

Drones. Keepers. A sea of horrified faces.

Sweat poured down his face.

“Fuck…” he whispered.

His grip tightened on the gun.

I’m always the bad guy.

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