Chosen_Book One

by Rebecca Thomas

  She had blood smears on her dress, but no wounds. They must have been from holding him.

  “It’s Hallie.”

  “Eshe. This is Aaren.”

  “And I’m Priya,” the young woman added.

  Hallie wasted no time ripping open Aaren’s jacket and shirt, so she could get a better look at his wounds.

  How many people had he been fighting off? There was so much bruising, she was surprised he hadn’t died already.

  Laying her hands on the center of his massive chest, Hallie closed her eyes and gave it everything she had. Usually she felt an improvement instantaneously, but she had never dealt with injuries that were so extensive.

  “I’m not sure it’s working.”

  “Just stay focused,” Eshe told her. “If you give up now, he’ll certainly die.”

  Hallie squeezed her eyelids even more tightly shut, chanting over and over in her head so that she was sure that she was giving it all she had.

  Slowly, but surely, she started to feel the life breathe back into him. As he grew stronger, she started to feel Eshe’s power merge with hers. It was like they were touching each other without any physical contact.

  Hallie was so distracted by what was going on that she didn’t even realise that her own energy was draining.

  “Stop,” Eshe told her, but Hallie didn’t hear her properly.

  Instead, a pair of hands gently pulled her backwards, breaking her connection with Aaren. She had to stop losing control like this, otherwise she was going to be no good to anyone during the real battle.

  “You okay?” Caleb asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” she said. “How’s he?”

  Eshe opened her mouth to speak, but Aaren replied instead by simply going:

  “Ow.”

  “I’ll take it,” Hallie said, then let Caleb guide her over to the cot opposite so she could sit down.

  Priya rushed forward in her place, holding one of Aaren’s thumbs in her small hand.

  “I’m so glad you’re alive,” she said, sounding like she was going to cry.

  “Yeah, me too,” he said. “Or, I will be, when I don’t ache so much.”

  “That sounds fair to me,” Eshe patted him softly on the shoulder.

  “How did we get to the Citadel?” he asked, carefully tilting his head. “And where’s Diana? We didn’t leave her behind, did we?”

  “One question at a time,” Eshe told him.

  Caleb stepped forward again, catching Aaren’s attention.

  “Well, that answers one of my questions,” Aaren said.

  “My Mom’s around somewhere. She has a bump on the head, but she’s all right,” Caleb told him, covering the other too.

  Aaren looked relieved.

  “What happens now?” Lily asked.

  “The others gave chase but fell back when they realised they weren’t going to catch us,” Eshe said.

  “They’ll attack first thing. It’s the smart thing to do considering they’ve already lost five of their own, including their leader,” Caleb said.

  “Then it’s probably a good idea if we all get some sleep,” Lily suggested.

  “I’ll stay with Aaren, make sure he’s okay,” Eshe volunteered.

  “You can come with me, Priya. My girlfriend and I will take care of you,” Hallie said, thinking that was probably best considering what she had been through.

  “Girlfriend?”

  “Yeah, you’re going to love her.”

  ~

  Diana hadn’t known where to go after Caleb and the others ran Aaren up to the infirmary. She had injuries of her own, but she didn’t want to join everyone quite yet. The events of the last day had been quite shocking, from Will’s departure and Ezra’s visit, to her change of heart and the rescue. She should have found somewhere to wind down and clean herself up, but instead she found herself wandering towards the south wing.

  Everything looked much the same as the last time she was here, except for an update in the decor and an upgrade to the technology. People were shooting her looks as she walked down the hallway, but news had already begun to spread about what had happened. She could hear them whispering, wondering why she was truly there, but she didn’t have the energy or the inclination to explain. It would be time wasted when she knew that she could prove her change of heart by fighting alongside them when the time came.

  Diana looked up at the door in front of her and saw that Ezra’s room hadn’t moved. There was a fingerprint scanner outside the door which looked a lot fancier than the one from her memories. Surely, he had removed her from his permissions?

  Much to her surprise, he hadn’t. Was that out of forgetfulness or sentimentality?

  Diana shrugged to herself as she pushed the door open wider and stepped inside, leaving it open behind her in case anyone thought that she was trying to sabotage his room.

  Ezra’s had always kept his room tidy, even in his twenties. It was something that his parents drilled into him that he had never let go. He didn’t let go of a lot, it seemed, if he still refused to let go of her even after all these years. She supposed she had done the same through her anger and hatred.

  Approaching the small bookcase by the bed, Diana ran her finger over the lid of the dusty, wooden box where she knew Ezra kept his most prized possessions. It didn’t have any carvings on it, but she could feel that their initials were both still etched into the back. Sentimentality, then.

  "I heard you were here, but I didn’t quite believe it," Ezra said, making her jump.

  She hadn't realised that she wasn't alone.

  "I can't believe you still have this, I would have thought that Master Talbot would have found it and taken it away long ago."

  "He doesn't know everything about this place," Ezra said, staying by the door. "Besides, I'm a Master too. If he did, it would be tantamount to petty theft among Elders."

  Diana laughed, something that she thought she would never do in response to any of his jokes ever again.

  How things had changed.

  When he didn't move to stop her, Diana carefully opened the box and surveyed what was inside. His parents' wedding rings, his grandmother's copy of the Torah, a couple of old pictures and coins, then, at the bottom...

  "This..."

  Diana pulled out an old comic book and held it up, so he could see.

  "This was Caleb's."

  "I know."

  Looking between him and the colourful cover, she wasn't sure what to say, what to feel. How did he have this?

  "He gave it to me when I saw him and his aunt onto the plane back to America, said something about how I should track down the hero from the story and ask him to become a Guardian. He thought he would be a perfect fit." Ezra smiled and shook his head. "I was surprised when he didn't recognise me when he came back here as an adult, he didn't remember much of anything. Too much time had passed, I suppose. Or it was a side effect of the head injury."

  Diana was clutching the comic now, staring at it rather than him.

  "I meant what I said when I've tried to do my best by him, as much as the others would allow. If they had suspected that I was showing too much favouritism, they would have kicked both of us out, and I knew how much all of this meant to him."

  When she continued to refuse to look him, Ezra took a step closer, touching the comic with a finger.

  "Caleb was the only way I could make amends for what I did. I didn't understand just how painful it was for you to be separated from your child, it was only when I sent my own family away that I came to regret blindly following orders."

  Diana didn't shift away from him, but her stance didn't change either. There was far too much to forgive for it to be solved in one conversation. However, she could see how Ezra's influence had affected her son. That level headedness that lay under his words and actions could never have come from her sister-in-law.

  Before either of them could speak again, the sound of footsteps trampling quickly through the hallway outside reminded t
hem that there were more important things to be tending to right now.

  "If we survive this, you owe me a proper apology," she said, pushing the comic against his chest.

  Ezra nodded in agreement as he wrapped his arms around it protectively.

  Diana stepped to leave but stopped herself, looking up at him again. "If I die, you make sure my boy wants for nothing, Elders be damned."

  "I swear."

  "Cross your heart," she said.

  "And hope to die," he finished.

  That was how she knew he meant it. Even after all these years, that simple promise was everything to them.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Caleb had been right. The sun had barely begun to rose when he woke to the sound of Ezra banging on his door. Scouts at the highway had seen a convoy of cars heading north. They were less than an hour away. Caleb needed to be ready.

  All the Guardians who were fighting on the front line had congregated in the lobby to wait for their orders. Caleb searched for Kiara in the crowd and found her talking to his Mom and Ezra.

  “Here he is,” Kiara said, giving Caleb a quick hug when he appeared.

  “Hey,” Caleb said. “Are you all ready?”

  “As we’ll ever be,” Diana replied.

  Her attention suddenly shifted away from him and she called out, “Will!” as she raised her hand in the air to catch his attention.

  The three of them watched as she made her way to him, the two of them sharing a look before they embraced.

  Caleb hadn’t thought about it before now, but Will must have been the closest thing that she had to family these last few years. It would be difficult for them not to fight side by side, but he had decided that he was going to help protect Hallie, Lily, Eshe and the others in the infirmary with Aaren and Priya. It made sense, so no one argued.

  “May we see each other again,” Caleb saw her say as she touched Will’s cheek.

  “In this life or the next,” Will replied.

  Caleb hoped it was this one.

  “I’m not sure I can take the suspense,” Kiara said when Diana joined them again, bobbing up and down on her heels.

  “You won’t be saying that in a minute,” Ezra told her. “All of you, follow me.”

  The three of them kept close behind Ezra as he forced his way to the front of the crowd, stopping just in front of the double doors.

  “Everyone, quiet!”

  Silence fell within an instant.

  “You all have your orders, but I wanted to take a moment to tell you myself how honoured I am to be fighting alongside you all today. Whatever happens, be strong and remember that you are only to harm another if it is absolutely necessary. We want to resolve this as bloodlessly as possible, so we stand a chance of negotiating our way to a better future for all Guardians. Understood?”

  There was a great cry of ‘yes!’ from everyone there.

  “On me,” he told them, gesturing for the doors to be opened.

  They all took a few steps back, the doors swinging wide to bathe them in the morning sun. Caleb remained close to Ezra as they made their way out into the courtyard, forming a defensive line between the main gate and the building which was three layers of people deep. He had Kiara to his left and his Mom to his right, who was standing between him and Ezra.

  The people from the camp were already amassing on the other side of the gate, surrounding a truck with a metal battering ram on the front of it. They were going to break through within minutes.

  “Caleb?”

  He turned his head to look at his Mom, who had her fists up already, prepared to strike the moment they made it into the courtyard.

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you.”

  There a loud crash, but the gates held. Caleb almost got so distracted by it that he forgot to reply.

  “I love you too,” he said.

  There was a lot that they had to talk about if they made it through this, but deep down, he knew that he would always love her, no matter what she had done.

  The truck’s engines revved again and this time they were successful in sending both iron gates flying.

  “Steady!” Ezra yelled as the campers came piling through.

  They didn’t stop to form any sort of line, instead they came right for the Guardians and started to pull out their weapons. He was waiting for exactly the right moment to move, when their counterattack would be the most effective.

  “Now!”

  Their front line took off at a sprint, ducking the first wave of gunfire as the two groups collided, so they could come at them swinging.

  Caleb skidded on his knees, sending a person soaring right over the top of his head. Kiara cleaned up behind him as he struck forward, disarming a woman by grabbing both her hands and pointing her gun in the air, so the shot fired over their heads, then twisted the weapon from her grasp. His Mom jabbed her across the face, knocking her unconscious.

  No one tried to shoot him around his family and got away with it.

  “Keep pushing forward,” Ezra called out to them, hoping to keep the fight outside the Citadel if possible.

  “Roger that,” Kiara said from behind Caleb, slamming her knee into the private parts of a man who had tried to disable her.

  With any luck, this all would be over before it had really begun.

  ~

  Hallie slapped her brother upside the head.

  "Stop looking at her like that," she hissed, obviously meaning Lily, as Will had been staring at the woman's side profile for a solid minute now without blinking.

  "Why?" he asked quietly, rubbing the back of his head.

  "Because she's all but taken."

  "What's the guy waiting for?"

  "Things around here to change."

  Surely Will could have figured that one out. He had been instrumental in putting together the group of people gathering outside, the ones who wanted to tear down the Citadel and restart the Guardian order from the ashes.

  Hallie had already made it known to several people how dumb she thought this stupid rule was and they were inclined to agree now so many of their order had rebelled. Hopefully, once this was over and the Elders came to their senses, there would be nothing in the way of Caleb and Lily having a proper relationship.

  "I can hear both of you, remember?" Lily said, although when she looked over her shoulder at them, she was smiling.

  "I know, which is why I was stopping his mind from wandering in the first place," she said, narrowing her eyes at her brother as one final sign to back off.

  Will held up his hands. "Okay, okay, sheesh."

  “What are you lot going on about?” Aaren asked from the doorway, looking at the three of them with a raised eyebrow.

  “Nothing important,” Eshe assured him.

  “When do you think the assault will begin?” Priya asked them from where she was guarding the side door.

  “Any minute now,” Lily said. “I can hear a lot of angry voices coming from outside the walls.”

  “I still think it’s weird that you can read our thoughts,” Aaren said.

  “It’s helpful in this case,” Hallie told him. “She’s sort of our early warning system.”

  “Way to depersonalise me, Hallie,” Lily snorted.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Their humorous looks died when they heard the first crash from outside.

  “Here we go,” Aaren said quietly.

  “Be prepared, the first people needing our help will be making their way up to us shortly,” Eshe said, shooing Will towards the side door.

  There were several other healers waiting beside cots further inside the room. The plan was for Hallie and Eshe to check everyone who came in and send them further back if they needed more serious healing, so they could get people who weren’t too badly injured back out into the fight.

  They only had to wait a few minutes after the fighting started before they heard the elevator ping for the first time.

  “Two gunshot wou
nds incoming,” Aaren warned them as he walked to meet the couple part way.

  When he appeared, he was carrying a middle-aged woman his arms and had a young man holding onto his elbow for support.

  “Hop up on here,” Hallie told the man, grabbing a medical kit so that she could remove the bullet if she needed to before she healed up the worst of the wound.

  Aaren laid the woman down in front of Eshe, who immediately went to work as well, tending to his stomach wound.

  “If they brought guns, what else did they bring?” Lily asked.

  “Depends how much time they had to grab stuff before they left. We could be dealing with some pretty nasty stuff,” Will said.

  “Fannnntastic,” Hallie grumbled.

  “We can handle whatever they throw at us,” Eshe said. “We just have to remember to only heal what’s necessary.”

  “Right,” Hallie said, knowing that was going to be the hardest part for her.

  Hopefully the fight would be over before that became a problem.

  Chapter Thirty

  When the initial wave of campers ran in, it looked like the fight was going to go in their favour if they could keep them staggered. Unfortunately, as time pressed on, the campers started to gain a foothold throughout the courtyard by using grenades, with the Guardian’s numbers dwindling fast. It was proving difficult to fight against their weapons as it gave them a solid advantage.

  Kiara had got herself pinned back against the wall of the courtyard, blood dripping from a wound in her arm which had been slashed with a knife. She shifted to the side, making her assailant smash his fist into the wall rather than her face. He growled with pain and made a sloppy move towards her, which she was able to deflect. This unfortunately meant that she missed the woman to her left who seized her wounded arm and tightened her grip to the point where Kiara screamed.

  This cry didn’t go unnoticed as suddenly both Caleb and Ezra were there, dispatching the pair of campers before they had the chance to strike again.

  “Kiara, you need to go to the infirmary,” Caleb said.

  “No, not yet, it’s not that bad,” she told him. “I’ll only be distracting them from more important things.”