by Jackie D
The general walked backward off the stage, following MacLeod while keeping his guns pointed on Valor and Arrow. As soon as the emergency group left the stage, Arrow knew they only had about twenty seconds to get Kaelyn out of the vicinity. She was no fool. The only reason the general had told the soldiers to stand down was to protect MacLeod. He’d give them all the go-ahead as soon as the emergency transport was out of the blast zone.
Arrow hurried over to where the responders had rolled Kaelyn over. Arrow didn’t bother checking her vitals. She picked her up and put her over her shoulder. Valor tipped over the podium and trained the heavy artillery blast gun in the direction the soldiers were approaching.
He pushed the button on the side of the gun and it started to hum. “Get out of here. I’ll lay down cover. Go to the basement of the bakery on Second Street. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
Arrow didn’t like the idea of leaving Valor behind, but there was no other option now. She made it down the stairs of the stage and did her best to calculate the distance to Second Street, about a quarter of a mile. She should be able to make it there in three minutes with Kaelyn on her back.
The chaos in the streets added good cover for her movements. There were people running in all directions, unaware how to handle the gravity of what just unfolded. Most of these people had lived a very structured, scheduled, and methodical life. They ate, exercised, worked, and even had sex at prescribed times. Everything was dictated by MacLeod, and now they weren’t sure if he was dead or alive. This uncertainty would fuel an untapped source of independence and hope, both of which were essential to the success of the Resistance. There would be those who would cling more fiercely to the structure they knew, but Phoenix would’ve never changed those people’s minds anyway.
Arrow ran past several stores on Second Street, looking for a bakery. She finally saw a sign in the shape of a cupcake that read Old Time Bakery. She went behind the store and found the staircase. She pushed on the door and nothing happened. She carefully brought Kaelyn down off her shoulder and rested her against the wall. She was about to kick the door in when it opened.
A rather short, angry looking woman with red hair glared at her. “Were you seriously going to kick down my door? You could’ve just knocked.”
Arrow wasn’t sure what she had been expecting, but she wasn’t it. “Valor sent me.”
The woman looked down at Kaelyn and her eyes grew large. She waved them in. “Why is the Phoenix unconscious?”
Arrow picked Kaelyn up and cradled her in her arms as she carried her into the bakery’s basement. She didn’t want to answer questions; she just wanted to make sure Kaelyn was okay. Her mother was talking to someone on a transmitter when she saw Arrow. She ended the call, quickly cleared off the table in the center of the room, and grabbed a medical bag.
* * *
Kaelyn heard the voices before she could open her eyes. A sense of relief overcame her when she realized one of them belonged to Arrow. She wanted desperately to see her, to touch her, to know she was okay, but she couldn’t move. In her mind, she was screaming, telling everyone she was all right, that she had made it, but nothing came out. She focused on moving her fingers. She could feel them. She knew they were there, but they weren’t connecting to her brain.
She knew Arrow was leaning over her because she could smell her. Hints of vanilla with a bit of sweat. Arrow placed something small and round on the side of her head. She only had a second to wonder what it was before she was able to open her eyes and move her body. It felt like electricity, and a welcome jolt back into the world allowed her to open her eyes.
Arrow smiled down at her. “We had to temporarily paralyze your body while we did a scan to make sure you hadn’t suffered any major injuries.”
Kaelyn just stared at her. She wanted to thank her. She wanted to tell her how much she missed her, but all she could do was smile.
“You took a pretty mean hit on the head, but you’re okay overall. The regen machine has taken care of the damage MacLeod did to your throat.” Arrow handed her a cup of water.
Kaelyn sat up. “You saved me.” She managed after a sip of water.
Arrow’s face softened. “I’ll always save you.”
“Are you two always so obnoxious?” a voice Kaelyn didn’t recognize teased her from somewhere behind Arrow.
Arrow rolled her eyes and nodded toward the woman behind her. “That’s Sloan. She’s a loyalist to the Resistance who lives here in Eden. We’re in the basement of her family’s bakery. She seems to say whatever pops into her head.”
Sloan had short hair much like Arrow’s, but she seemed to only be about twenty years old. Her angular face was dotted with small freckles. She wore a black tank top, and her lanky arm stretched out in front of her to shake Kaelyn’s hand. She was rather adorable.
“Nice to meet you, Sloan.” Kaelyn shook her hand.
“Believe me, the pleasure is mine. I’ve been hearing about you and your family for like, my whole life.” She pointed to a picture on the wall. “You probably can’t tell from here, but it’s a picture of your family. My parents and grandparents thought you guys were the best. Seriously, the best.”
“That’s very kind. How old are you?” Kaelyn stood and got dizzy. Arrow steadied her right away.
“I’m twenty-one,” Sloan said proudly, the way all people do before the age of twenty-five.
Kaelyn moved closer to the photo and remembered the day the picture had been taken. It was a stock photo that hung in many locations, but she loved it all the same. Her family had been preparing for the Veteran’s Day celebration. It was taken two full years before things had taken a turn for the worst. A simpler and happier time.
“Why did your family stay in Eden? Why didn’t they go to the Resistance colonies?”
Sloan pointed to another wall where there were different pictures, family pictures. “My grandpa always said the Resistance would come to take the country back, and when they did, they would need help. He thought it best to be that help. There’s more than just my family. There are a bunch of us actually, at least fifty.”
Kaelyn knew in the scheme of things, fifty wasn’t a significant number, but it could make the difference when needing friendly aid within the city.
“Well, thank you for everything you and your family have done. Are your parents here? I’d love to meet them,” Kaelyn said.
Sloan picked at the bottom of her shirt. “They died about six years ago. See, this isn’t really our bakery. I mean, it used to be, when my grandparents were alive. But MacLeod confiscated all personal property and land. He owns everything. We just run it for him. We don’t make any real money; my family was allowed to live in the apartment above the bakery, and everyone in my class receives a food and clothing ration. Anyway, MacLeod took an interest in my mom after meeting her once and wanted her to go live with him. When she refused, he had her killed. When my dad tried to stop it from happening, they killed him too.”
Kaelyn felt her heart cry out in pain for this young woman and all the people who lived under MacLeod’s rule. She wanted to say something to make it better for Sloan, but words with that kind of power had yet to be conceived. She watched Sloan make an obviously practiced maneuver of taking a deep breath and wiping tears from her eyes before she revealed a smile.
“So, I’m at your service full-time.” She clapped her hands together.
Kaelyn knew what Sloan was doing, and she also understood that pushing those types of feelings down would only take you so far. Eventually, they’d explode in one form or another. She was about to voice her concern when Macy called her name.
“Kaelyn, Arrow, I need you to come over here and look at this.”
Valor used his hand to push an image up onto the wall. It was the outline of Eden.
“Right now, we have platoons moving in from all directions. One, as you know, is already within the city limits. The Hand of God showed a small amount of force during MacLeod’s rally but nothing sinc
e then.” Macy pointed to various points on the map as she spoke.
Arrow was laser focused on the map in front of her. “No, they haven’t, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s like they let us walk in here.”
Sloan, who was clearly anxious to contribute, spoke. “They’re hoping the Resistance becomes part of Eden. The government wants to make a secondary working class to keep everyone else in line. If there’s someone below you, they think it’ll keep people happy and dormant.”
Arrow rubbed the back of her neck. “They can’t really think that. They think the Resistance will just put down their weapons and agree to come under the command of MacLeod?”
Macy pushed another image up onto the wall. “It makes sense. He has kept people under his control for decades by keeping life bearable, and he’s had plenty of time to grow complacent. He probably expected some pushback, but I bet he didn’t expect and all-out assault. I’m never surprised what people will trade for easy comfort, but this might be what they needed to be forced out of their stupors.”
Sloan took a step toward the map. “If you already took out the water supply, it should only take twenty-four hours for people to start feeling the effects of the drugs leaving their systems. We’ll be able to get more people on our side, but the Resistance will have detractors.” She pointed to an elaborate mechanical system over in the corner. “We’ve been making our own water here my whole life. Those of us who were aware what MacLeod was doing to the water have all been doing it.”
Valor looked at the machine but was clearly thinking of something else. “I don’t know if we have twenty-four hours.”
Arrow put a hand on Kaelyn’s back, and she felt it tingle where they touched. “Tell us what you learned while they had you.”
Kaelyn thought back to the brief period of time she had spent in the custody of the MacLeods. “The daughter, Nora, she’s much smarter than her father, which could actually make her more dangerous. She doesn’t call the shots, but she has a much bigger view of what’s happening than he does. I think she’s the key.”
“They key to what?” Valor asked.
“Everything,” Kaelyn said. “MacLeod seems to only care about his image, sex, and power. But if he has one weakness, I think it’s her.”
“So, we what? Kill her?” Valor seemed irritated. “After today they’ll be more protected than ever.”
“We don’t need to find her. She’ll come to us. We just need to give her a reason.” Kaelyn paced back and forth in the small room.
The relief of being saved and back with Arrow was quickly being replaced by the need to take this family down. She wanted them to only exist in history books, a story told in civics classes about how bad things could get when you allow fear to take over your life. And she wanted to smack that smug smile right off Nora MacLeod’s face.
Chapter Thirty-six
Adon winced in pain as the nurse attached the reanimation machine to his leg. Partially because it hurt but also because the fury he felt needed to be directed somewhere, and this unsuspecting nurse would bear the brunt of his anger. “Watch what you’re doing, idiot.”
The nurse kept her head down. “I’m sorry, sir.”
He was ready to hit her when Nora walked through the door.
She hurried over to him. “Daddy, are you okay?”
“Just a little leg wound. Nothing to worry about,” he said.
She looked like she wanted to tell him something but changed her mind.
“What is it, sweetheart?” He rubbed her hand.
“Can you excuse us for a moment please, Nurse?” She politely smiled at the retreating woman. “I think Eden needs an idea that will bring it all together. Something for them to rally behind. I believe we’ve underestimated the Resistance, and now drastic measures will need to be taken.”
Nora was so intelligent, so driven. It was a shame that she hadn’t been born a male and thus able to contribute to society in a more meaningful way. No matter, her insight had always been beneficial and influential in his decisions.
“What were you thinking, honey?”
She walked to the window. “The reason Grandfather was so successful was because he had a martyr, well, several actually. We need to give the people the same. Fear and rage are the best motivating factors. They also foster the most blind loyalty.” She walked back over to him and kissed his forehead. “You know I love you, right, Daddy?”
He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm. “Yes, sweetheart. Of course.”
But something changed in that instant. Nora’s beautiful blue eyes went cold. A flash of something he had never seen within her appeared, and he felt a sense of primal fear rush through his body. He went to grab her hand, but it was too late. She attached a vial to his IV and pushed the stopper. He wanted to grab the IV lines from his arm, but he couldn’t move. His limbs all felt heavy, like they were stuck in cement. He wanted to yell, to say something, but he couldn’t move his mouth. Adon wanted to panic, he wanted to feel anything, but there was nothing left. He looked at her calm and thoughtful face in his last moments, hoping to see a bit of love or admiration.
But there was nothing in the familiar smile except triumph. But in his own way he knew he’d succeeded far more than he could’ve ever anticipated. Nora had his desire for power and control. It was just cleverly disguised in artificial empathy, and he’d never had a clue. He had raised someone far worse than he had ever been, and that thought brought him his only solace as his breathing slowed from quick gasps to nothing and the world faded away.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Arrow stared at the other three Phoenixes on the videoconference. She knew them by name only up until this point. But listening to them talk, she fully understood why they’d been chosen. They were smart, articulate, and eager. They listened to each other speak and offered thoughtful feedback. They’d been yanked out of history and dropped into a new world, and yet it was apparent that they truly cared about the outcome. They were as devoted to the cause as anyone else in the room. It was inspiring.
They were exchanging ideas with her mother and the other Platoon leaders about the best way to isolate and apprehend MacLeod. She was in awe of the magnitude of what it all meant. She watched as Kaelyn jotted down several notes and interjected her opinions where necessary. Arrow knew in that moment that she loved her. The empathy for people she’d never meet threaded its way through her. The way Kaelyn was concerned about the fallout for the people of Eden as well as her own was the emblem of true leadership. The way she chewed on the top of her pen when she was in deep thought and the way she tucked her hair behind her ear before she was going to make a point. Each of these unconscious movements were little glimpses into Kaelyn’s psyche, and Arrow wanted to memorize every detail. She needed to save them, keep them for the time when they were no longer together.
The door to the basement flew off the hinges with a loud bang, and smoke filled the small room. Arrow slipped her breathing apparatus on and pushed through the pain she felt in her eyes. She grabbed both weapons from her back and turned to face the intruders. She heard a door from behind her open and then close, and she knew Sloan had taken Kaelyn and her mother out, just as they had discussed if something like this came to pass. Unable to see, she relied on her senses to guide her. She knew Valor was nearby, and she heard him switch his weapon’s electrical baton on.
She swung her baton out in front of her, knowing someone was approaching, but it hit nothing. The smoke was becoming denser and burning more profusely. This wasn’t like the smoke the Resistance used. This was heavy, disorienting, and unbearable. She was becoming more disoriented by the second. Whatever this was seeping into her eyes and entering her bloodstream, the breathing apparatus wasn’t helping. She tried to force her body to engage, but she couldn’t send accurate signals to her brain. She felt the hands grab her and pull her to her feet and then toss her back to the ground. She saw the boot connect to her ribs and knew someone was taking advantage of her inability to
fight back, but she didn’t feel it. They were either going to kill her or take her. Since she served no purpose to them alive, she knew it would be the former. She resigned herself to never seeing Kaelyn again. Death didn’t scare her, it never had. What scared her was what would happen to Kaelyn.
The types of loss a person had to experience throughout their lives were countless. People lost their transmitters, their boots, even their place in line. But the loss of a person wasn’t like the others, and it needed a different name altogether for the devastation it brought with it. It didn’t seem fair to lump it into the same category as those other mundane objects. There needed to be a word to encompass that type of grief. The kind of grief that became so consuming, it crept into every corner of your life, forever casting a shadow you never seemed to escape. Arrow’s last lucid thought was that she hoped her feelings for Kaelyn weren’t reciprocated so she wouldn’t have to feel this kind of pain, but even as her mind slipped away, she knew it wasn’t true.
* * *
Kaelyn tried to push past Sloan. “The soldiers are taking them! We have to stop them!” This small room she had them hidden in was becoming smaller by the second, her fear taking up more space than what was available.
Macy, who seemed to slip easily in and out of being Arrow’s mother and president, pushed her back. “Valor and Arrow will be fine. No matter what happens, they’ll figure it out. You getting captured again isn’t helpful.”
Kaelyn wanted to argue, but soldiers had come through the door just on the other side of the wall. She sat still, watching the screens from inside the room Sloan had ushered them into. She watched the soldiers walk directly past the bookcase that hid the room they were in.