Chosen: Dystopian Fantasy (Absence of Song Book 3)

by C. B. Stone

  The taste of freedom I’d gotten thus far has been amazing, and I can’t imagine going back to the servitude of my former world. Though going back is not an option in any case. For me, it’s either onward to a better future, or onward to death. No matter which way I slice it, there are no other options for me, and I know it. Maybe my father will swoop in at the last minute and save me, but that’s incredibly doubtful. Certainly not anything I can hope for, let alone count on.

  But what if my father could somehow save me, would he also save Noah? With a heavy heart, I realize there wouldn’t be a chance in the world of it. And what kind of life would that be, knowing that Noah isn’t here to live it with me. That’s no life I want to live.

  The only option is for us to win this war. The alternative isn’t worth considering. Everyone has faith that we will be able to do it, to break the Ministry’s power and control over the people. I’m finding that their faith and belief is contagious. Still, I know that over-confidence can lead to cockiness, and cockiness can lead to disaster. Disaster is never a good thing. It is far better for us all to remain humble and trust in the Lord. But it is also worth remembering we are still human and prone to mistakes, so careful planning and meticulous execution of those plans are essential.

  Turning to Noah, I realize he still hasn’t answered my question.

  “Noah?” I ask.

  His gaze is fixed on the fire, and his brain is obviously elsewhere. He looks to be very deep in thought, but he isn’t sharing those thoughts. He hardly ever does.

  “Hmm?” he responds, appearing to awaken from a dream. “I’m sorry, Jaelynn. What did you say?”

  “I asked what you think about the next part of the journey,” I repeat. “Is that what you were thinking about just now?”

  “Kind of,” he shrugs, turning to look at me. “I’m trying to remember some of the things my father told me.”

  I perk up as he speaks. He hasn’t really talked about either of his parents as yet and I can’t help but wonder what his father has to do with this part of the journey.

  “What was that?” I ask. “What did he tell you?”

  “He told me stories about Dove’s Peak, long ago,” Noah responds. “I thought they were just fairytales honestly. But now – now I’m not so sure.”

  “What did he tell you?” I ask again, sitting up and adjusting my position so I can see him better.

  “He told me if there’s one place on earth where peace can be found, Dove’s Peak would be it. He spoke of it as if he’d been there before,” he says, his voice growing thick with emotion. “Of course I didn’t believe him. I’d never heard of the place before and it wasn’t to be found on any maps. What was I supposed to think? But maybe that’s where we were headed when –”

  “When what, Noah?” I’ve never seen such raw emotion come pouring off of him before.

  “He and my mom were both caught, but I managed to get away. How I managed to escape, I have no clue. I’ve thought about it a million different ways, but to this very day, I just don’t know. All I can come up with is that someone was watching over me back then,” he mutters. “I still don’t know what happened to my parents. I never found out. I can only imagine they’re both dead.”

  “Maybe they’re not?” I respond hopefully.

  Though given how long ago it was, it’s pretty doubtful they are still alive. The Ministry’s prisoners typically don’t possess a long shelf life. Yet, I’m not one to give up hope on my own parents, so why should Noah give up hope on his?

  “No, they have to be,” he says, staring down at the ground. “I worked for the Ministry for years. I tried to dig up any info I could find, searched out whatever I could about them. But I never found out any anything. Never saw them in any of the jail cells. Never even heard a whisper of their names. It’s like they just vanished into thin air.”

  So that explains why he joined the Ministry, at least. It finally makes some sense to me. While I can understand the reasoning behind it, it hurts to imagine what he must’ve gone through all those years, trying to uncover some tidbit about his parents, trying to find some small morsel of hope they are still alive, all the while knowing they are probably dead. I can only imagine the torment he must’ve gone through for so long, and the thought of it shoots an arrow of pain through my heart for him.

  “I’m sorry, Noah,” I say softly. “I truly am.”

  “I know that no matter what, they are in the hands of God,” he shrugs again. “And that one day, we will meet again. I have no doubt.”

  He speaks with a sense of conviction that I have never heard from him before. His hands are clenched in tight fists, and his body is shaking, but there is no sadness to be seen in his eyes. Only hope.

  I realize then that even though he’s rationally and logically accepted his parents are probably long dead, he still hangs fast to that small, thin thread of hope that they aren’t. And even if they are, he knows that in the next life, he will see them soon enough. But seeing that hope in his eyes makes my heart ache for him all the more. I reach up and touch his cheek softly, running my fingertips along the soft yet prickly skin, and his eyes lock with mine.

  “I know you will too, Noah. But, call me selfish... I pray with every ounce of my being the time for seeing them in the next life doesn’t come anytime soon.”

  His eyes soften and he lifts his hand up, covering mine.

  “Until I met you, I lived carelessly, ready to die if it was my time to do so, expecting to see my parents again when I did. But now? Things have changed,” he says. “I want to live again. As long as you are alive, I will fight to stay alive, too. I swear it.”

  My heart pounds so forcefully within my chest I fear it might explode with the surge of emotions coursing through it. Tears well up in my eyes, not of sadness, but of something far more pleasant.

  “I love you, Noah,” I whisper, no longer fearing that I won’t hear the words echoed back to me. I know that even if he doesn’t say it, that he loves me too. But I don’t have to wait to hear it spoken back to me and my stomach tightens almost painfully when he responds.

  “I love you too, Jaelynn. More than you’ll ever know. No matter what the next part of the journey brings, it will all be okay because we’re together.”

  This, I know too. Whatever the next few days or weeks or months bring, we will get through it. Together. Not only do we have each other, we have God watching over us, guiding us on our mission. And no matter what happens, no matter if there are careless mistakes that cost us this war, we are in His arms and together, and nothing can ever take that away from us. Nothing else matters.

  XIII

  MARCUS

  “Any news, Rose?”

  Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard and makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Over the last few hours of frantic thinking, I’ve realized what I have to do. I have to give her something to go on, some shred of information she can sink her fangs into. Otherwise countless people are going to die, including my daughter. At least this way, Jaelynn stands a chance of surviving.

  “Yes,” I confirm. “We located troops just outside Wellington. We believe they are meeting up there.”

  Leora Blackwood all but leaps to her feet in order to come over and stare at the screen with me.

  “Oh really?” she squints at the screen, towering over me with her hands on the desk on either side of me.

  She is a tall woman even when she isn’t wearing heels, but with them on, she is twice as imposing, and appears as formidable as a mountain.

  “That makes sense from a strategy point of view. Gather troops in Wellington before heading there. Do you think they have the girl with them?”

  I can’t be sure of that, and I can only pray they don’t. Not going to say that to Leora though.

  “I would assume they would,” I answer instead. “I don’t know what else they could do with her. If they don’t, we can extract the information of her whereabouts from one of them, I’m sure. But everyt
hing I see on the screen says she’s with them, I haven’t seen any signs of them splitting up.”

  “Send the troops over that way, Grayburn,” Ms. Blackwood demands.

  “Both land and air patrols?” he asks.

  “Yes. Land patrols may take a few days to get there from Bethel, but the troops in the air could be there in a matter of hours.”

  I glance back at the clock. It is the middle of the night. My shift is virtually unending, and in this room with no windows to see outside, it is sometimes hard to tell whether it’s daytime or nighttime. But the clock never lies. It is nearing dawn by now. If the troops are sleeping, they will be waking soon. With any luck, they’ll be out of the area long before the airships get there. And hopefully, if she is among them, they’ll have my daughter with them.

  Have faith, Marcus, I remind myself again and again.

  Everything will work out for the best. I never did get a promise from God that my daughter will make it out of all of this alive, but I always assumed it would be the case. Why? Naïveté perhaps. Or maybe I put too much trust in Him. But what else can I do?

  You can never put too much trust in me, Marcus.

  Yet You never answer my question – will my daughter survive this? Will I see her again?

  And without an answer seemingly forthcoming, I am beginning to have my doubts. Without her, what will my life be like? Everything I’ve done up until this point has been for her. Her and Sierra. Sierra. It seems like a lifetime since I’ve seen her.

  “How is my wife?” I whisper.

  “She’s alive,” Ms. Blackwood says coldly. “That’s all I can promise you, Rose. Find me your daughter, give her up to me, and your wife will be in your arms once more. Otherwise she will never see the light of day again.”

  I swallow, my throat tight, and nod. “I understand. And I’m doing everything in my power to give you what you want.”

  That last part is a lie. I understand, all right. It comes down to my wife or my daughter, neither of whom I can live without. But in the end, there is another option, an option Ms. Blackwood could never entertain because she has no idea it’s coming.

  I can only pray it comes sooner rather than later because while Sierra is tough as nails, she isn’t cut out for the abuse they are capable of. Then again, nobody really is. Her mind could break any moment, if it hasn’t already. I know that every second is crucial. Yet, at the same time, every second I can allow my daughter to escape is just as crucial. I’m walking a fine line, and one misstep could result in the death of one, or both, of the women I love most in the world. It’s a heavy burden to carry, that is for sure.

  But you don’t carry it alone, Marcus.

  Still, in that moment, it feels like I do. Like the weight of the world lies on my shoulders, and my shoulders alone.

  XIV

  JAELYNN

  “What’s that sound?” I awaken with a start.

  Noah rolls over in his sleeping bag, apparently oblivious to whatever’s going on outside.

  “Noah,” I hiss, nudging him awake, “there is something going on outside, and I don’t know what it is.”

  Noah sits up, suddenly alert. Neither of us dares to say a word. We listen to the bustling outside, and can hear voices talking outside our tent. Only when we recognize Fay’s voice do either one of us let out a sigh of relief. It’s just Fay and the others.

  “What time do you think it is?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.

  We have no clocks, and nothing else that allows us to tell time. Not with us in the tent, at least. The hour doesn’t really matter though. Fay always seems to have a good grasp of what time it is, but Noah and me, neither of us really bothers with it.

  “It’s not yet dawn, that’s for sure,” Noah observes, leaning forward to peer out the tent flap. “I wonder what’s going on?”

  We don’t have to wait long to find out. Fay’s head is in our tent, helmet on as if she’s prepared for battle. Her face is tight with tension, and her body is poised like she is ready to fight.

  “Change of plans,” she says, her voice low but vibrating with urgency. “You and the others must leave now.”

  “What’s going on?” I ask, climbing out of my sleeping bag.

  I can tell from the tone of Fay’s voice that whatever’s going on, it’s serious. Still, I want to know what’s happening that’s making us change our plans so suddenly.

  “The Ministry’s air patrol is nearby,” she answers. “Within an hour, maybe two, of here. They’ve located us.”

  My heart stops. They’ve found us. They know where we are. But wait, I and Noah were supposed to be whisked to safety long before this happened, so what’s changed?

  Noah and I are both already dressed, and we hurriedly pack up our sleeping bags and gear.

  “No time,” Fay barks. “Officer Atar already has tents and sleeping bags packed and ready to go. Grab your things and head out. Now.”

  We both do as we’re told and hustle outside.

  “But what about the rest of you?” I ask, as we are ushered away from the tents. “What are you going to do?”

  Fay looks over at me with a grim look plastered on her face. “We’re going to fight,” she states matter-of-factly.

  “But what then?” I insist. “This changes everything, all the plans about meeting up in Wellington are shot. And what are you going to do for food without us?”

  “We’ll figure something out,” Fay says, her mouth tight. “We always do. That’s what we are trained to do. Now you need to move.”

  “No, correction,” Calden interjects as he walks toward the three of us, glowering. “You’re trained to die.”

  ******

  Fayne

  “Officer Atar,” I interrupt him, “we don’t have time for this.”

  “No, we don’t,” he agrees. “But at least be honest with me, Commander. You’re going into this knowing full well you may not survive to see the end of this war. That’s why you’re going in and not sending me.”

  I cringe inside. I can’t believe he’s bringing this up, right now, with everything going on. And in front of Jaelynn and Noah too. Why would he potentially sacrifice the entire mission for this? Put Jaelynn and Noah in unnecessary danger when the Ministry is so close? I look into his eyes, and in that moment, it hits me like brick in the head. I know exactly what he’s trying to say to me.

  “I’m not going to die, Cal,” I respond softly. “Not if I have my way.”

  He scoffs. It is the first time in all our years of working together he has dared to scoff at me. If it had been anyone else in the army, I would punish them on the spot. But besides that, we don’t have time. And if I do die, I don’t want my last words with Cal to be filled with petty drama. The dice has been cast and we all just need to let it play out, as intended.

  “Then why not let me fight at your side? Or in your place, rather?” he argues, his jaw set stubbornly. He can be so stubborn sometimes.

  Both Noah and Jaelynn look shocked, and I know it’s not wise for them to hear any of this. But he isn’t budging and seems intent on having this conversation right here and now whether I like it or not. Feeling torn, I want to reassure him, to ease his mind, but I also don’t want Jaelynn and Noah doubting Cal’s leadership. If I didn’t know him better, given his outburst, I might doubt him myself. But there is absolutely no doubting Cal’s abilities when it comes to protecting and serving. Even if he does tend to get overly emotional at times.

  “Officer Atar, we’ve been through this already, and now is not the time to go through it again. You must leave,” I grit out, with all the command and authority that befits my rank I can muster. “The entire world depends on you right now, and there’s no one alive I have more faith in than you. Without you, we are all doomed. Don’t you see that? If you don’t get these two to safety, soon, we are all doomed. You, me, the entire city of Bethel. All because you let your pride get in the way of following orders.”

  Cal gives a hard shake of his head, silentl
y negating my words. “It’s not my pride,” he says hoarsely, almost whispering.

  “What’s that?” I lean in closer to hear him better.

  Clearing his throat, he tries again, “I said, it isn’t my pride that is getting in the way of things.”

  “It’s not?” This time it’s my turn to scoff. “Then what is it then?” I put my hands on my hips and glare at him, feeling suddenly annoyed.

  “It’s love,” he says simply.

  My heart flip-flops and drops in my stomach. I try to swallow, but it’s like my tongue has become sandpaper or something. I sway slightly. Everything dims and then comes back into focus. This is a feeling I’m not used to and I’m not sure I care for it one lick. Never before has someone told me they love me. Maybe my father did, at one point, but he was all about tough love which meant he didn’t say it often. Again, maybe if I’d had a mother I might remember what it – no. Just no. I have no idea how to handle these feelings rushing through my body right now, and even worse, I don’t have time to learn.

  “What – what did you say?” I ask weakly.

  “Nevermind,” Cal grimaces, shaking his head. He turns his attention to Noah and Jaelynn. “We’re almost ready to head out. Do you have your things packed?”

  Even though he doesn’t want to, Cal is going to obey my command. I know it goes against every fiber of his being to abandon me before a fight, but there he goes, following orders like the excellent soldier he is. Sure, he might fight with me over things he doesn’t agree with, but in the end, he does what needs to be done. And ultimately, that is why I trust him more than I trust anyone else in the entire world.