JAKESSTORYFINAL

by Paige Clendenin

  I knew that if my mother were still alive, she would wish that she weren’t because of what The Force had done to us. My mind flashed to the day my brother was taken. If he had only made it inside a few moments sooner, he would still be alive.

  My gut was telling me that something big was coming, but I was not sure what that could be. Unless the supposed war with The Elected was closer than I thought it was. That could have been the reason for all the prep work. No one knew exactly how close or how far away the war was, unless the higher-ups knew and just weren’t saying so.

  There could have been intel coming in that I hadn’t been privy to yet.

  I wondered if they would wait for The Elected to attack us first, or if they were planning to start it off. I needed to get back to The Forcefield and see if Gavin had heard anything else from his guy on the inside of The Elected. I knew that tit would be difficult for me to get out, now that the new recruits were at The Force and training was about to commence.

  I was so encompassed in my thoughts that I didn’t see Sam walk up and grab the bag, just as I gave it a swift kick with my foot. I heard a grunt and looked up to see her behind the bag.

  “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t see you standing there, or I wouldn’t have kicked it so hard. Did I hurt you?” I pulled her from behind the bag to check her out.

  “I’m fine, Jake,” she replied with a grin. “You just knocked the air out of me, is all. And haven’t I told you never to call me that?” She held up a folded fist, threatening to hit me, but I know she wouldn’t do it… too hard.

  “I am glad it was nothing more than that,” I answered her. “I thought I hurt you.”

  “You sure seem to be giving that bag a beating. What’s on your mind? I mean, other than an odd phantom girl from a dream you had?”

  I didn’t know how she always knew when something was bothering me, but she seemed to have a knack for getting me to talk about things that I normally wouldn’t share with people. I knew that we were friends and only friends, but deep down I wondered if she harbored something more than that for me. She knew me so well. I was never going to ask her about it, because then, the friendship would be ruined by awkwardness. That was the last thing I wanted.

  “I was just thinking about the upcoming phase training and remembering when I went through it,” I said as I pulled the gloves off and grabbed a towel to wipe my face. “There were times when I didn’t think I was going to make it. I can’t believe we only have a few hours before we have to be on stage… twelve to be exact.”

  “Yeah, but you made it through, and you got to choose whatever job you wanted,” she said as she patted me on the back. “You should be proud of yourself for the things you have accomplished here, Jake. You have done so many good things. The place wouldn’t be what it is without you and your father. I don’t have anyone here with me at all.”

  “I am glad you think so, Sam,” I replied. “I am just getting sick of having to support something that I don’t agree with the least little bit. No child should be ripped from his or her family. We read in the history books that before the last war, people who were eighteen and older could volunteer to be in the military. They should have kept it that way.”

  “I know you feel strongly about that,” she said as she sat on the bench beside me, “but they must have a reason for doing it the way they do, Jake. We shouldn’t question them when they are trying to fight back against The Elected.”

  I knew Sam meant well, but it wasn’t in my nature to just sit back and not question things. Especially something like that. I didn’t know how I could not question children being kidnapped as a suitable method for acquiring soldiers. I knew that I would never understand why they did things the way they did, and I shouldn’t even try to.

  I had to get out of the job (and maybe away from The Force completely), but I wasn’t sure how that was going to happen.

  “So, what do I need to expect as far as being your Phase Leader Assistant?” Sam asked, bringing me from my reverie.

  “Well, you’re a bitch most of the time, so you won’t have any problems keeping your students in line,” I said with a smile. “Other than that, there really isn’t anything to worry about,” I said with a smile.

  Sam pretended to be offended at what I said, but I knew that she wasn’t really mad. We both knew that what I said was the truth. She tended to be rough at times, but she had good reason to be that way.

  She had been taken, and her family was killed in front of her. I watched her struggle to make it through the phases, and she was lucky to have passed. I knew then that I needed to help her. When I approached her about helping her train, we became friends very quickly.

  “Yeah, yeah,” she said, but I heard worry in her tone. “You should know that better than anyone. Is there anything I should or shouldn’t say to them? I don’t want to do anything that will mess them up and stop their progress.”

  I closed the distance between us and placed my hand on her shoulder. “You are going to do fine with this. There really isn’t much to it, really. We just have to make sure they do the lessons we give them and do the training challenges like we had to.”

  “I just don’t want to mess things up and fail anyone. I especially don’t want to fail you.” softly as she looked up at me.

  I cupped my hands on the sides of her face and made her look up at me more than she already was. I felt something strange inside me. I didn’t know what it was. I had the sudden urge to kiss her, but I knew that I couldn’t do that.

  It would change our relationship forever.

  “You could never fail me, Sam,” I said. “You are my best friend, and nothing you could ever do will change that.” I paused before I continued.

  “You are going to have to be tough with them and stern when you want to be soft. Don’t let any of them give you shit, and if they do, you discipline them for it.” I spoke to her with sternness in my voice, solidifying how serious I was. “You have to give them hell before showing them weakness. If you show them your weakness, they will chew you up and spit you out. They would never respect you as their phase leader.”

  “Jake, I need to tell you something, but if I do, I don’t want things to be weird with us afterwards,” she said.

  “Sam, don’t,” I warned her, letting my hands fall from her cheeks. “I know where you are about to take this, and it doesn’t need to go that far.”

  “Jake, just hear me out. I promise that if you don’t agree, then I will deal with it and act like I never mentioned it. Things would remain the same as they have always been between us.”

  I knew that I was most likely making a big mistake by letting her continue, but I needed to be fair and hear what she needed to say.

  “Okay, go ahead and say what you need to, but I am not going to promise that I am going to agree with it,” I said as I sat on a bench and wiped sweat from my face.

  Sam sat down beside me and turned to face me. “We have been friends for a long time, and I never want that to change, no matter what happens. But, Jake, I have feelings for you. I have had them for a long time, and I want us to grow to be more than just best friends. I want us to build a life together. I have had dreams about being your wife and what our children would look like. I know you are scared about what might happen to our friendship if it went bad, but I will always want to be your friend, no matter what.”

  “Wow,” I replied. “I really don’t know what to say. I suspected that you might feel something other than friendship, but I never asked about it because I didn’t think you wanted to go there. You’ve dreamed about kids, huh? So that means you’ve dreamed about what it takes to get kids then? With me?”

  Sam’s face turned bright red, and I laughed at her expression. I knew that I felt something for her too, but I had tried to deny those feelings because I didn’t want to ruin the friendship. I knew that no matter what she said, things would be a bit different between us if we tried a relationship and it didn’t go well. I also knew that I needed to
at least think about giving her a chance.

  “I need to think about it before I give you an answer,” I said, standing up from the bench. “I am not promising you anything, but I will give it some thought.”

  Sam pulled me in for a hug and squeezed me tight as she left to run an errand for someone. I thought about how worried she was about screwing things up, and I remembered how worried I was my first year.

  I knew that she would do fine, and I would be there to back her up and help her when she needed it. I couldn’t believe how close it was getting for us to have to take the stage. It seemed like yesterday when we got the last group trained, and only a few had to go to The Forcefield.

  I finished my work out and headed to my apartment to shower. I only worked out on shower days, so I didn’t have to smell like sweat all the time. As I stood under the warm water, washing the grime of the day away, my mind drifted to my mother and brother and what our lives would have been like if they hadn’t been killed.

  A renewed anger towards The Elected raged within me, and I knew that one way or another, I was going to avenge my family.

  As I turned the water off, I stepped out to dry off, I wondered to myself if the girl from my dream had anything to do with me getting my revenge. I still didn’t know who she was, or if she even existed. All I knew was that I needed her help and I didn’t know why.

  Maybe one day, it would all make sense.

  Chapter Eight

  Hours had passed, and it was the time that I dreaded the most. I stood on the platform towards the back of the stage as the higher-ups gave their usual speech about fighting the good fight and beating The Elected. I stood there, thinking about laying on the roof while I heard the trucks roll in with a new crop of soldiers.

  I remembered watching the truck roll in just hours before, and I knew the day was going to be a bad one, especially for these kids. I remembered what it had been like to hear the first caravan of kids come in after my first full year here.

  I was young, and I had been asleep in my bed when the rumble of the trucks woke me. I laid still, barely breathing and listening to the engines as they roared past the window of the apartment I shared with my father. The blood-curdling screams of the children was something that I never forgot. This year, I could hear no screams, except for one.

  One girl that might have screamed for someone named Elious. I’d heard her calling loudly for her brother named Elious. At least, I think I heard it; I could have been dreaming, though.

  I was only able to see one section of the students from where I was standing, and they looked completely terrified. They were all spread out in different groups, sitting on the cold concrete floor and listening to a stranger speak about something that some of them probably didn’t understand. Some were sitting stone-faced, with tears streaming down their faces. Some were huddled together crying, and seeing their fear broke my heart. I knew what it was like to be where they were, and I hated that they had to go through that.

  I imagined what it must have been like for them to be ripped away from their families, and I had heard that several of them fought to stay free.

  That was different from years past. Most years, there were very few fighters… not this year. I almost hoped that I would get a few of them, but I knew they would be targeted.

  I could only imagine what they had been through, and I knew they must be terrified of what might happen next. They had been put in a separate group so that we would know who they were and what we had to look forward to.

  I hoped that they wouldn’t cause too much trouble for me, especially since I wanted this to be my last year as Phase Leader. However, I was thankful that they already had some fighting skills. I hated what The Force did to the children, but it was a tradition, something they had started shortly after the end of the war that made the world what it was.

  I knew that it needed to change, but I wasn’t sure what to do to bring about that change.

  I looked over at Sam as the speaker droned on about a new day dawning with The Elected coming to an end, but that had been said for years. It hadn’t happened yet. She looked nervous, and I could see a light film of sweat beading up on her forehead. I wondered if it was from her nerves or if it was the heat from the stage lights. I scooted a bit closer to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing gently.

  “Don’t be nervous,” I whispered in her ear. “You’re going to be amazing.”

  I watched as she smiled, and a strange look flashed across her face. I wondered what she was thinking. I wondered if she was thinking about the conversation that we’d had and the fact that I hadn’t given her an answer yet, even though it had only been half a day.

  I wasn’t going to string her along or keep her waiting, but I needed time to think about whether it would be good for us to be in a relationship. I was terrified of losing our friendship.

  I kept her hand in mine to offering her support, because I could tell that she was nervous. I hoped that holding her hand for so long wasn’t giving her any ideas. If my decision ended up being one she wouldn’t want, then the last thing I wanted to do was lead her on. I gave her hand another gentle squeeze before I dropped it and turned attention back to the speech.

  It was ending, and then the Phase Leaders would be announced. That part always excited my father. He enjoyed getting to show off the fact that his son was younger than most and already a valued Phase Leader. I loved my father, and I loved being able to train the kids to do what they were supposed to do, but until they changed their method of getting them, I wasn’t going to continue to be a Phase Leader after this last time. I knew that my father would be angry when I’d put my foot down about it, but he was just going to have to deal with it.

  The speech ended, and the room burst into applause (with the exception of the terrified children). I knew what was coming next. On one hand, I was proud to be a part of it, but on the other, it made my stomach roll to know what I was a part of.

  I glanced at Sam, who hated to be called that, and could tell that she was still nervous. I smiled to myself. I knew that she would be a good fit for the Phase Leader program, and she might even be able to take my place when it came time next year. I could tell by my father’s body language that he was about to call my name, so I grabbed Sam’s hand and squeezed it once again.

  “I’m almost up,” I said into her ear. You ready to start this season?”

  She gave me a nod, and I grinned as I turned my attention back to what my father was saying at the podium.

  My father started talking about the training that they were going to be involved in. I watched their faces and saw fear in some, while I saw eagerness in others.

  “I’m Cole,” he said. “You will be answering to me during your phases. I will be keeping a close eye on all of you, so you’d better believe that I don’t take any lip from anyone. Stand on your feet if your arm band reads a one or a two.”

  I watched as the majority of the kids stood up. As my father started talking again, they sat back down with his command.

  “Be seated. Okay, if you were lucky enough to receive a three, now would be the time for you to stand.”

  I couldn’t see some of those who stood, but I knew that more than just the two that I could see from my angle had stood. I had heard rumors that there would be several this year.

  My father laughed before speaking again.

  “See that?” he said. “These people know how to get started.” He smiled a devilish smile, and for a moment, that made me afraid.

  He motioned for those that stood to be seated and looked at me.

  I was anxious to see this group of fighters that I had heard about, but they were seated on the other side. They couldn’t be seen without stepping up onto the platform closer to the podium. I would have to wait until my name was called.

  I knew that I would be able to identify them… they would be the only ones accompanied closely by a guard… or two.

  I knew then that it was my turn to speak.

  “
I am going to have my son, Jake, tell you about the phases,” my father said.

  I stepped up to the front of the platform, and I could feel their eyes boring into me. I felt one pair a bit more than the others, but I could not figure out who it was. It was a large crowd after all, and they were all looking in my direction.

  I cleared my throat and began talking.

  “I’m Jake, and I’m a phase leader. This is my third year. I am nineteen and have lived in this complex almost all my life. I became a fully phased Force member at the age of fifteen, which… is not common, but possible. Welcome to The Force.” I scanned the crowd, looking them over.

  Then, my breath hitched… there she was, there sitting with the group that were designated “the fighters”. She was the girl from my dream.

  She looked up at me and caught me staring at her. She looked the same as she had in my dream, with the long hair and the thin, lanky build. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing right in front of me. I saw the fear and anger etched on her face, and I knew that she had been through a bad experience. I looked away for a split second, and when I looked back at her, she was still staring at me.

  Our eyes locked, and I knew that there was something different about this girl. I watched how she tenderly soothed someone in the group who seemed very frightened. Yet, she stared me down like she wanted to kill me.

  My heart flipped in my chest, and I knew that this was the beginning of something. What it would be, I had no idea.

  What I did know was… I had to get to know this girl from my dreams.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven