Rise (New Haven Book 3)

by Sara Jo Cluff

  “That’s a mighty big assumption,” President Coleman said. “But it’s worth a shot. We don’t mind helping out.”

  Brandon sat forward and looked at me. “But I get Dante.”

  “As long as I get Emmie,” I said, “I don’t care who kills the rest.”

  The door opened and Amber stormed in. “I want Emmie. I want to be the one who kills her.”

  I stood, letting my anger slip away from me. “Were you listening at the door?”

  Amber shrugged. “Of course. You wouldn’t let me in, so I had to take matters in my own hands.”

  “It’s my fault.” The young girl walked in, her face completely shameless. “It’s a habit of mine. She caught me listening, but when she realized how fun it was, she stayed.” She had changed out of her pajamas and into a green dress.

  President Coleman looked at the girl and then at me. “Is this the young lady you took from New Haven?”

  “Yes.” The girl held her broken arm close to her chest. She pointed at Amber with her good hand. “This brat kidnapped me in the middle of the night.” She pointed at Dean. “And that oaf let her.”

  Brandon laughed. “I like her.” He stared at her for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table as he did. “You remind me of someone. What’s your name?”

  She strolled over to an empty seat and sat down. “That’s none of your business.”

  Amber stormed over to me, her hands clenched into fists. “I want to kill Emmie.”

  I sighed. “Can’t you just kill Eric? Won’t that be enough?”

  “I don’t care about Eric.” She stomped her foot on the ground. “You promised me Emmie and I want her.”

  “And who is this delightful young lady?” President Coleman asked, eyeing Amber with obvious disdain.

  “She’s the oaf’s daughter,” the girl said. “They’re equally annoying.” She turned to me. “Speaking of which, you promised to keep them away from me.”

  “You what?” Amber eyes went wild.

  I put my hand on her arm, but she shook it off.

  President Coleman glanced at me like I was a child. “Quite the show you’re running here, Austin. It seems some of your subordinates need to learn a thing or two about respect.”

  He was right. I didn’t like how Amber and her dad were embarrassing me.

  I looked at President Coleman. “If you’d excuse me for a moment.” Taking Amber by her arm, I dragged her out of the room. As soon as we were out, I threw her away from me, causing her to fall to the ground. “How dare you talk to me like that in front of President Coleman!”

  She scrambled to her feet, brushing off her clothes. “I can talk to you however I want! You forget we’re together, Austin.”

  “Oh, trust me. I could never forget that. You remind me every single day!”

  She came up to me so our bodies were touching, her lip turning down into a pout. “What are you trying to say? You don’t want to be with me?”

  No, I didn’t. But I couldn’t afford to piss her off. It would just piss off her dad and then he’d run over to help Amy, which would help Janice.

  Sighing, I leaned down, putting my hand on the back of her head. “I’m sorry. This is too much stress for me right now. There's so much riding on this war.” I ran my finger down her cheek. “And I want to impress President Coleman. We need him to help us out.”

  She reached her arms up, putting them around my neck. “It’s okay. I understand. Just take it easy on me.”

  I suddenly realized that handing Emmie over to her wouldn’t be a bad idea. Emmie was stronger and smarter. She could kill Amber so I wouldn’t have to.

  I gently kissed her lips. “You can have Emmie. But let’s keep it between us for now.”

  She smiled at me. “Thanks, and I will.” She put her lips back on mine and I let her kiss me until she was finished.

  “Hey, babe, I’m kind of hungry.” I stroked her cheek. “Do you mind getting me some food? Maybe a sandwich?”

  “Of course.” She kissed me again. “I’ll be back soon.”

  I watched as she skipped down the hallway. Taking a deep breath, I walked back into the room. Dean glared at me, but I ignored him. “Sorry about that. I think we’re all just a little tired.”

  President Coleman nodded. “That’s understandable.” He looked at the girl with what he must have thought was a friendly smile, but it was forced. “So, young lady, are you really not going to let us know who you are?”

  She yawned, more for show than anything. Her eyes said she wasn’t tired. “Of course not. I’m not stupid. I’m the smartest kid my age.”

  “And how old would that be?” Brandon asked.

  I almost told him that it wasn’t worth his energy to question her seeing as she would never answer him, but I loved hearing her talk.

  “Again,” she said, “that’s none of your business.” She eyed President Coleman. “You were the president of Kingsland?”

  President Coleman smiled. “You used the past tense like I’m no longer the president.”

  She nodded. “Yes, because you aren’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting in that chair. It seems all of you boys have yourself in quite the predicament.”

  Brandon leaned forward in his seat. She was sitting across the table from him. He tapped his fingers on the table again. “You have any brilliant ideas to get us out of it?”

  She raised her eyebrows and laughed. “Yes. Surrender.”

  “Surrender?” I couldn’t believe she’d suggest that. “Why would we do such a thing?”

  She looked over at me. “Because, Austin, you’re going to lose. It’s pretty obvious you’re outnumbered and outwitted, so you might as well save everyone the time and energy and just surrender.”

  “You’re quite sure of yourself for a nine-year-old,” President Coleman said.

  “Nice try, ex-president,” she said, with great emphasis. “I’m not going to let you know how old I am. And, of course, I’m sure of myself. I’m right.”

  “You’re not nine?” Brandon asked.

  She rolled her eyes. “I never said that.”

  “So you are.” President Coleman leaned toward her to get a better look at her face.

  She leaned toward him, rolling her eyes dramatically. “I never said that, either. Man, you really know how to waste time, don’t you?”

  “She’s right.” Everyone turned toward me, including the girl. “We’re wasting time. We need to attack the rebels.”

  “Others from our city should already be on their way,” Brandon said. “When they get here, you’ll have more people. They’re bringing weapons, too.”

  The girl laughed. “Yes, let’s kill everyone because that will solve everything.”

  “We need them to surrender,” I said. “It won’t take long. They don’t want to see innocent lives lost.”

  She raised her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side. “But you do?”

  I stood and casually walked over to her. “Of course not. But I need to do what’s necessary for the good of my people.”

  She stood, putting her good hand on her hip. “Then surrender. That’s what will help your people. Not having a war is a great way to protect them.”

  “What should we do instead?” President Coleman asked.

  She turned around so she faced him. “Talk it out. Like adults. Sit down with Janice and work out a way to make the leaders and the residents happy. It can’t be that difficult. I do it all the time with the kids in my class. If a bunch of …” She stopped herself when she saw President Coleman looking at her expectantly. “… children of various ages can work out a problem by talking it out, then certainly adults can.”

  Putting my hand on her shoulder, I turned her back toward me. I bent down so I was at eye level with her. “That’s what makes children so naïve. Sometimes you can’t talk things out, so you need to take action.”

  “Well, if the world wasn’t filled with a bunch of nincompoops like you, then maybe we could talk it ou
t.” She sat back down. “I’m starving.”

  Brandon smiled. “Me, too.”

  She looked up at me. “It looks like your guests need some food. Start with that and then you can move on to destroying your part of the city because you can’t be rational.” She turned to Brandon and pointed to a leather bracelet he had on. “Did you make that?”

  He nodded as he took it off. He slid it across the table to her. “Yes, I did. My sister had a matching one.”

  She picked it up and put it on her wrist, twirling it around. “Did she lose it?”

  “No.” His voice was quiet. “She died.”

  She stopped twirling the bracelet and looked up at him. “I’ve lost a couple of family members, too. It sucks, doesn’t it?”

  Brandon’s mouth turned up into a small smile. “Yes, it does. I miss her every day.”

  “Well, at least heaven has another angel up there.” Taking off the bracelet, she handed it back to Brandon. “You did a good job on this. I bet your sister loved hers.”

  “She did.” He wiped a few tears from his eyes.

  I cleared my throat. “I’ll get some food sent up and then we can strategize. Every second that passes is valuable.”

  We needed to attack Janice’s rebels and the sooner we did, the better.

  We arrived at the outskirts of River Springs later that evening. A sense of dread washed over me as we got closer. I wasn’t sure how I felt about seeing my mom. Our relationship growing up had been so strained but talking with her seemed like the start of a bridge for the gap between us. I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case she let me down again. But the thought of getting my mom back warmed my heart.

  I was sitting next to Eric at the front of the bus. I held his hand in mine, our fingers intertwined. Samantha sat across from us so she could keep checking on me every so often. It felt like every ten minutes, but it probably wasn’t that much.

  Gideon drove our bus since he knew how to operate the thing. They weren’t as simple to drive as one would think. He pulled to a stop on the edge of the Lake Precinct. A guard opened the gate and let us in.

  As we drove through town, my grip on Eric’s hand tightened. It felt like ages ago when we had been living River Springs, our lives completely free of any problems. Or so it had seemed.

  When we pulled up in front of the medical trade school building, my mom was standing outside with two men. Her fifties-style red dress made me realize how much I enjoyed the shirts and pants we wore in New Haven. Although, she did look beautiful in it. At the sight of her, my heart fluttered. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath until Eric nudged me.

  “You see that guy to the right of your mom?” he asked.

  I stared out the window and noticed a tall, broad man in his late forties. His brown hair was perfectly combed, and he stood straight with his hands clasped together. His suit and tie were sharp on him. He had a kind face, even when he wasn’t smiling.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s Nick.” Eric couldn’t hold back his smile. “He took me in after everything that happened with my dad.”

  “Oh.” I turned to Eric, but he was looking out the window at Nick. He rarely talked about his other family, but when he did, it was always positive things. They had loved and cared for him like he was their own son.

  Eric waved at Nick who returned the wave with a smile. When the door to the bus opened, Eric helped me stand and walk down the steps.

  As soon as my feet hit the ground, my mom was right in front of me. We both stared at each other, uncertain of what to do. There were so many barriers between us that had multiplied as the years went on. Somehow, in just a matter of seconds, those barriers crumbled to the ground.

  She took me into her arms, squeezing me so tight it hurt my wound, but I didn’t care. We stood there hugging, both crying, relieved to be with each other again. All those years of resentment vanished; they didn’t seem to matter anymore. I felt like her little girl again.

  Mom pulled back and put her hands on my cheeks. “Oh, my Emmie. I’m so glad to have you here.”

  “I’m actually glad to be here.” I couldn’t help but smile.

  She laughed a little and then turned to Eric. “I know we haven’t been properly introduced, but would a hug be out of order?”

  He smiled and took her into his arms. “Of course not. We'll be family soon, after all.”

  When he pulled back, Mom looked over at me. “Quite the catch you have. Nick here has had nothing but great things to say about Eric and his family.”

  Nick stepped forward and held out his hand to me. “I’m Nick. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Emmie.”

  I ignored his hand and threw my arms around him. He was the man who had taken care of my Eric when his family had been taken away from him. If it weren’t for Nick, I think Eric would have gone off the deep end. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

  He held me for a moment and then released me. Within seconds, he and Eric were embracing. As they were hugging, another man came forward. He was tall and strong like Nick, but his face wore a sadness that pulled at the heartstrings. He had thick, light brown hair that had a natural rumple to it. He pulled it off well.

  “Oh, Emmie,” Mom said. “This is Sean. Sean, this is my daughter Emmie.”

  He held out his hand and I shook it. “It’s nice to meet you, Sean.”

  He smiled at me, but it didn’t touch his eyes. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Your mom talks about you all the time.”

  My eyes widened. “Good things, I hope.”

  He smiled again, only that time it did touch his eyes. “Yes, of course. She’s so excited to have you here.”

  Someone cleared their throat at the steps of the bus. I turned around and saw Derek standing there, looking hopefully at our mother. We hadn’t planned on him coming, but he insisted that we needed a technical guru who knew the ins and outs of River Springs. I knew he secretly wanted to see our mom as well, but he’d never admit it.

  Mom threw her hands over her mouth and laughed. “Have you gotten taller?” She walked up to him, putting her hands on his arms. “And stronger? My goodness, look at you!”

  Derek beamed and jumped off the bus. Mom pulled him into a hug and started crying again. He looked at me as they hugged, his eyes excited.

  Naomi came down the steps and stopped beside Derek. When she found out he was coming, she insisted on going as well.

  Derek pulled back and pointed at Naomi. “Mom, this is my girlfriend, Naomi.” His eyes were still lit up. It was the same giddy look he used to get when we were kids and we would sneak candy from Vice President Oliver’s office.

  Mom’s eyebrows shot up. “How on earth did you get a gorgeous girl like this?”

  Naomi blushed as Derek shook his head. “I have no idea. I keep thinking it’s a dream, but she keeps showing up every day, still looking happy to see me.”

  “I’m always happy to see you,” Naomi said, giving him a shove. She held out her hand to Mom. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

  Mom shook her hand. “And you as well.” She looked over at Eric who was standing with his arm around me. “I must insist you both call me Janice. It’s easier that way.”

  “Yes, it is!” Dee squeezed through Derek and Naomi and smiled at Mom. “Hello, Janice.” She looked at me. “I’m sensing everything’s okay now between you two so I’m good to hug her?”

  I laughed. “Yes, Dee, hug away.”

  She squealed and threw her arms around Mom. After that, the introductions seemed to go on for hours. When I finally felt sure we’d introduced my mom, Nick, and Sean to all the right people, we went inside the building.

  Mom led us to her office on the third floor. Nick and Sean went to get more chairs to accommodate everyone. Samantha had me sit in a chair near Mom’s desk. She lifted the bottom of my shirt and peeled back a bandage covering my wound. The skin surrounding the cut was irritated.

  “Is it supposed to be red and puffy like that?” Mom kneeled b
eside Samantha so she could get a good look herself.

  Samantha gave her a small smile. “It’s just from the bandage rubbing up against her skin during the trip.” Her eyes found their way to Gideon.

  Gideon held up his hands. “I can’t control the road conditions. They haven’t been kept up in years.”

  “It’s okay, Gideon,” I said. “I’m fine. Oh!” A cold liquid touched my skin making me bite down on my tongue.

  “Sorry.” Samantha looked at me sheepishly. “I probably should’ve warned you about that. Just cleaning it up.”

  Nick and Sean came back into the room with folding chairs. Eric and Dante helped set them around the room, forming a circle in the middle. I only counted eight chairs, but there were a lot more people than that in the room.

  Mom must have seen my expression. She put her hand on my knee. “I would like to have a private meeting. Just your leaders and ours.”

  Dante nodded at me, so I nodded at Mom. “Sure.”

  Samantha put the bandage back over my stitches and then handed me some pills for the pain. “I’ll need to check on it in an hour.” She looked over at Mom. “I hope that won’t be a problem.”

  “Not at all,” Mom said. “Just knock at the door and we’ll let you in.” She handed me a bottle of water so I could take my pills.

  After I swallowed them, I stood and walked over to Dante, Maya, and Santiago.

  I glanced at everyone else in the room. “If you don’t mind, the four of us, plus my mom, Sean, and Nick are going to have a meeting.”

  “And us.” The voice at the door caught my attention. My eyes widened when I saw it was Amy Randall. Her daughter, Tami, stood next to her. They both wore fifties style dresses, but neither looked as good in them as Mom. Tami's wasn't flattering at all. She looked sloppy.

  Joshua stood in the corner near Dee and Will. He tensed when he saw his mom and sister come in. He gave me a panicked look, which I returned. There were so many ways it could go and there was a good chance it wouldn’t go well.