Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1)

by Jessica Miller

  After the incident with Lindsey, I vowed to myself to never let my guard down. I never wanted a friend again. They would listen to you confide in them. You would tell them your deepest darkest fears. Then one day when it was convenient for them, they would use it against you. It would be their weapon.

  I got numb to the pain. I didn't feel the emotions that the world threw at me. That's how I felt right now. Numb. Everything was a blur. One moment I was on my knees, staring at Kyle. The next thing I know I'm back in that van driving away from the country house. Everybody spoke. Everybody argued about what we were going to do. Where we were going to go. Adam carried me to the passenger seat in the van and he drove.

  He wouldn't stop glancing at me. Nobody cares that three people died today. Adam didn't seem bothered about murdering two people. They were going to murder his family. Susan and Mare were terrified.

  Their screams wouldn't stop. Bret and Mr. Walker calmed them down. Got them into a hidden vehicle in the woods. We were all to meet at a safe house outside of Louisville. Louisville was a few days away. The number of rebels was high there. They would be protected.

  That's where Evelyn got hit by the bomb. We drove until the sunset. We were on country side roads. Adam avoided the freeway. Apparently not that many people could afford cars nowadays, so getting pulled over by The Unit would be inevitable. When we got close to Louisville, we would have to make it there by foot. Nobody batted an eyelash at a group of stragglers tracking the road by foot.

  I didn't say one word, not even when Bret or Adam directly said something to me. Mares screaming kept echoing in my head. The face that greeted me with a smile in the morning transitioned into a face full of fear and pain. She was too young to witness death. Her soul would be tarnished now.

  I hadn't even noticed when Adam stopped the car, nor did I realize that we were parked for so long everyone fell asleep.

  I listened to everyone's heavy breathing. I began to feel claustrophobic. The van felt like it was getting smaller and smaller. Everyone was too close to me.

  Silently, I slid out of the vehicle. The moon didn't provide much light. We were pulled over off of a shoulder of the road. I walked away from the van.

  I'm not sure where I was going, but I kept walking. The smell of earth surrounded me. I breathed in heavily. Every few seconds, I heard night critters scurrying through the dry grass.

  There was a small red house out in the distance. It looked shabby and abandoned. I felt compelled to go to it. I walked up the rocky driveway and stopped. It was dark inside and the door was hanging ajar.

  A dog was perched at the opening of the door. It began to snarl. Before I would have been afraid, but now I felt careless. What would the dog do? Bite me? The fur on the back of its neck stood up. Saliva dropped from its mouth.

  I reached my hand out hesitantly. The snarling got worse. The black fur on it was matted and bloody. I could easily see its ribs poking out from its body. It favored its left paw. The dog was injured. Blood dripped off of its side. I peered closer at the wound. It was recent.

  Walking up the steps, I stopped when I heard rustling inside. The dog whined and ran down the steps past me. It didn't stop. It just kept going and going. I glanced back into the house when I heard more rustling. A shadow flew past the open door.

  I still wasn't afraid. Before, fear would have seized my heart and I would have panicked. Now, I just felt a little curious. The shadow zoomed by again, but this time closer. Someone or something was in there. I took another step closer to the door. Rot drifted through my nose. My eyes watered and I began to gag. The stench was the worst thing I had ever smelt.

  Something slammed into my body, sending us flying backwards. My back hit the ground with a hard thump. A bloody person was on top of me. It was a female. Probably in her late twenties. She was bony. The only thing protecting her body from the cold were rags. She smiled at me. A crazed, sick smile. Blood covered her teeth. Most of them were either chipped or missing. She had nail scratches all down here face.

  My head began to pound where I hit it on the ground. "Are you okay?" I asked, breathless from the impact.

  The girl dropped her head into her hands and started ripping her hair out and screaming. The loud shrill of it hurt my ears. She smelt like the disgusting rot in the house.

  I attempted to shove her off of me. Her hands shot out and her nails dug down the side of my face. A scream escaped my lips. She tore my skin open where it was already swollen and bruised from the grenade. I thrashed back and forth trying to get her off of me, but she held onto me for dear life.

  "Their coming." Her voice was scratchy like she inhaled too much smoke.

  I panted and tried to shove her off of me again. "Who is coming?"

  She whipped her head and looked at me. The part of her eyes that was supposed to be white was blood shot red. Her pupils were so dilated, I couldn't see her natural eye color. Again, she smiled. Blood dribbled down her chin.

  "Evelyn." She croaked, leaning closer to my face and peering into my eyes.

  I cringed further into the dirt. "My name is Brianna."

  "Ah, no lying. No lying. That's not good Evelyn." She began to laugh again.

  Her hands wrapped around my throat. I yanked at her scrawny hands trying to get them off of me. I couldn't breathe. I thrashed my body as much as I could, but nothing would work. Her matted, dirty hair fell into my face blocking my view of my surroundings.

  Suddenly, I was breathing again. I rolled onto my side and started coughing. The girl let out a high shriek that got cut off. I rolled my head to the left and looked. Chantel was standing here with her back to me. The girl lay motionless on the ground. I searched Chantel's hands for a weapon, but didn't see one.

  Chantel walked over to me and pulled me off of the ground. "You're an idiot. You’re the biggest idiot I have ever met." She basically dragged me back to the van. "What did you think you were going to do? Escape in the middle of the night and run back to The Unit? What? You think they would take you back that easily?" She scoffed. "You couldn't even make it one mile without running into trouble."

  I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to talk. I would let her think whatever she wanted. Chantel opened the door on Adam's side. Adam quickly jumped up and reached for his side arm.

  "Relax. It's just us." She pushed me closer to the door opening. "She tried running away and ran into one of the diseased. Better hope she got her vaccinations or she will be a goner." Chantel spun on her heels and walked back to the little house.

  Adam stepped out of the van making me have to back up a few steps. He pulled a flashlight out from his pocket and shined it on my face. I squeezed my eyes shut against the startling light. "The diseased got you good."

  He didn't question me about where I was going and why I left. He just took care of me. Adam handed me a bottle of water and had me sit on the hood of the van. He put rubbing alcohol on the cuts on my face. My eyes watered at the pain, but I didn't complain.

  When Adam was finished cleaning the wound, he gave me a gentle smile. "Don’t worry. You're vaccinated."

  I was not worried.

  Adam sat on the hood of the van next to me and peered out into the darkness. The night sky was overcast, so we couldn't see the millions of twinkling stars. The road looked like it stretched on forever.

  "Does death frighten you?"

  His questioned surprised me. I looked at his face to see if he was kidding. Adam's facial expression was serious.

  I broke my silence. "The thought of dying doesn't scare me. Watching someone else die is horrifying. Especially when I'm the reason." I pressed my lips together, not continuing. I wanted to tell him Seth was dead because of me. I wanted to tell him how I had hoped that Kyle didn't die that night at the military base. Now I wished he had died.

  "It's just the way things are," Adam explained.

  For some reason, that pissed me off. I jumped off the hood of the van and glared at him. "That's just the way things are, huh? All this dea
th is just the way things are? Is that what you told yourself when your parents were executed?" I deepened my voice to mimic his. "Oh, it's alright. It's just the way things are." I leaned in so close to his face, I could smell his breath. It smelled like chocolate and something else. "I don't care if death is just the way things are. That's not the way things are meant to be! There shouldn't be so much death and sadness! Why have death be just the way things are when you can change it. Do something about it. Be the solution to the problem, not the problem itself. Make everything okay."

  I was so mad I was shaking. I expected Adam to be angry about how ruthless I was when I brought up the way his parents died. He confided in me and when it became convenient, I used it as a weapon against him. Adam was smiling, though. Full on smiling. His teeth were so white I easily saw them in the dark. He laughed, a short happy laugh.

  I was confused. I didn't know what was going on. Was he losing it? Was he going crazy? Did my blood contaminate him? Adam jumped off of the hood of the car, wrapped his arms around me, and twirled me around in the air.

  I held on, afraid of falling. Once Adam stopped, and set me back on my feet, I went to slap him. His hand shot out and easily caught mine. He was still smiling- unbothered that I was going to hit him across his face.

  I was extremely angry and confused. I was already missing the numb feeling from earlier. My emotions were overwhelming.

  I heard a chuckle come from behind me. Bret was standing there with his arms crossed, smiling. They were both smiling.

  I stomped my feet, furious. "Why are you two smiling? This is not a smiling moment! I was attacked by a woman with God knows what kind of disease, three people died today, and who knows how many died yesterday. Your guy's brother just died. You're not taking any of this seriously!"

  Bret walked right up to me. "Yes, Evelyn, people are dying. People have always been dying. People will always be dying. It's something we have come to terms with, with our lifestyle. Our blood brother died, but we knew the risks when we joined the organization to bring down The Unit. We mourn his death in our private moments. We knew eventually one of us or all of us would die. We take lives. We save lives. It's what we do. We do all this for freedom. We steal. Stealing is wrong, right? But we steal to give citizens food. We provide food on the table for families that cannot afford it, we provide protection for innocent people in danger, and we supply vaccinations for people who can't get ahold of it. Sometimes we have to kill in order to save. It's one side or the other. We tried to earn our human rights without violence, but our voice went unheard. So we had to step up and take action, not words. "Bret's tone was dull. He didn't appear to me happy with what he has done, but he had come to terms with it.

  I looked between the brothers. One older and wise and one younger and ambitious.

  Adam gave me a fleeting smile. "I was happy for a moment because you talked like how you used to. The old you would have said that."

  Except he didn't know the old me. This was me and has always been me. Through their eyes, I will always be Evelyn. Stephan's daughter. I wanted to be Brianna. David's daughter. I wanted a clean slate. I wanted to be unknown.

  Car headlights started to head down the road. Bret and Adam looked at each other and quickly ran to the back of the van. Opening the trunk, they pulled out an automatic gun and a shotgun.

  "Evelyn, come here." Adam's voice held authority and power.

  Automatically, I listened and jogged over to them.

  Adam shoved me behind the van and out of sight. I watched Bret drop to the floor and aim his gun at the oncoming car. I couldn't tell what kind of car it was. The headlights were blinding me. The car idled to a stop, but kept the headlights on. Adam stayed hidden next to me.

  The car door opened and a dark shadow walked out. Nobody moved a muscle.

  "That's a great van you got there."

  The voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. Adam let out a breath and Bret chuckled. I looked between them. They must have known the stranger. The guy leaned back into his car and turned off the head lights.

  "Rugter, long time no see. How was prison treating you?" Bret inquired, doing some kind of macho man handshake.

  Rugter? As in, Evelyn's brother Rugter? I walked out from behind the van and stared. I was so angry with him for throwing the grenade. I knew it was hypocritical of me. I didn't expect him to kill anyone. It has only been two days, but it felt like a lifetime ago since that happened. Adam walked over and greeted him too.

  I awkwardly stood there, unsure of what to do with myself. Rugter and his sister didn't leave off on good terms. Although I did break him out, to him I was the reason why he got put there in the first place. Rugter looked up at me and paused in the middle of his sentence.

  "Why is she not tied up?" Anger filled his voice.

  Adam looked at me and blanked his face. Bret crossed his arms over his chest and watched as his brother walked to the van and pulled out the ropes. My stomach sank. They were going to pull me around like a farm animal again. Rugter looked satisfied as Adam walked towards me.

  “She was untied because she didn’t seem like much of a threat. She hasn’t pulled anything on us.” Adam responded, tying the rough ropes around my wrist. I stared at him, betrayal in my eyes, but he refused to look at me.

  Rugter walked closer to us and stared at me. “That’s what she does, you know. She will get you to trust her and the moment you let your guard down she will flip on you.”

  I could tell he was speaking from a memory.

  “I should have shoved you downstairs with the grenade. I've heard about you. All your changes after your memory loss. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know who you are anymore, Evelyn. I know who you are. You are alone now. You don’t have anybody on your side. Not The Unit and not the Rebels. It’s you against the world now.” Rugter shook his head back and forth.

  I looked down at the ropes. The scratches on my face was burning. I forced myself to focus on my physical pains and not my emotional ones. I just wanted this war to be over with.

  Bret spoke up. “She murdered someone from The Unit.”

  Rugter whipped his head and stared at Bret. “She will shoot anyone if it conveniences her.”

  I closed my eyes. He brought back the image of Kyle’s and Sanchez’s dead body. My finger twitched, remembering Seth’s warm hands push my finger down on the trigger. What had the world become?

  I opened my eyes to see that Rugter had stepped closer. He was watching my face closely. His blue eyes were a reflection of my own. “What game are you playing?” He asked, softly.

  I maintained eye contact but didn’t answer his question.

  He grabbed onto the edge of the rope and pulled me to the truck he was driving.

  “Where are you taking her?” Adam asked, sounding a little defensive.

  Rugter kept walking. “I have some business to take care of and I am bringing her with me. I don’t think it is a good idea to leave her with you. Your judgment is off.”

  Adam grabbed onto my arm, making me come to a halt. In response, Rugter yanked hard on the rope. I cried out in pain.

  “She stays with me. Seth left her in my care. After you bombed the jail cell, he carried Evelyn out. He left a note on the back of her dress. I had direct orders to follow.” Adam pushed me behind him a little bit. “Where you are going, they will kill her the second he sees her.”

  Rugter tensed. “Why is that a bad thing? What do you plan on doing with her? Lug her around all day and have her join your daily activities?”

  Bret intervened. “Why don’t we all start thinking with level heads. Seth did leave a direct order for her to be in our care and to make sure nobody harms her.”

  Rugter dropped the rope and slammed his hands down on the hood over the van. “Seth is dead. Do you not get that? I am his replacement. I will be taking care of his duties. I am higher up than both of you and I am telling you to stand down.”

  Now Adam seemed furious. He got in Rugter’s
face. “Yeah? Who said you are taking Seth’s place? You?”

  Rugter relaxed his posture and smiled. A wicked smile. “The man at the top contacted me directly that night that I escaped. I will be taking care of all of Seth’s duties. Evelyn happens to be one of them. She will be coming with me. Unless you want to go against his words?”

  Adam hid the shock on his face. His green eyes connected with mine before he quickly looked away. “Prove it. Show me the mark.”

  Rugter turned around and lifted up the back of his shirt. Down his spine, he had tattoos. It was five symbols in black ink. Each one was different. Before I could get a better look he dropped his shirt and turned back around.

  Defeat crossed Adams' face. I looked at him shocked. He was going to let Rugter take me. I knew that Adam and I weren't friends, but I had thought we had made some kind of bond. I thought we had met on some kind of middle ground.

  Five minutes ago he was twirling me around and now he was letting Rugter lead me to my death.

  Adam avoided my eyes as Rugter shoved me into the back seat of his truck. My life was a ticking clock and I was running out of time.

  Chapter Ten

  Five minutes after driving I spoke. "Where are we going?"

  Rugter didn't answer for a couple of minutes. "I can't answer that."

  I laughed, but it didn't sound happy to my ears. "I am going to die anyways."

  The car smelt of cigarette smoke and garbage. It was making me sick.

  "If we get caught by The Unit I can't have you telling them all the answers."

  I played with the rope tied around my wrists. Adam tied it really lose. I could easily get it off.

  "What do the markings mean on your back?"

  Rugter gave out and irritated sigh. "Don't you know when to shut up?"

  "Yes. When I'm dead." I dropped my head back against the seat and closed my eyes. I was afraid. Every day I was afraid, lonely, and sad. That was not how I wanted to spend my last days on earth.