I pressed my cold fingers against the burning scratches on my cheek. That girls red eyes flashed across my mind. The slow way the blood trickled out of her mouth. Feeling uneasy, I reopened my eyes. If I slept, I would have a nightmare. If I stayed awake, I would be exhausted. Unable to fight back.
"How did you know where to find us?" I spoke again.
Rugter didn't have a problem answering this question. "Adam is predictable. I knew he would go running to his aunt when he hit trouble. I went to the barn house and saw three dead soldiers. There were two tire tracks heading in different directions. I followed one and it ended up being Susan and Mitchel. I asked them where Adam was and they led me right to him." Rugter turned, making a sharp right. "That's why one person can't have too much information. What if I was one of the bad guys? I could have killed all three of you and gotten answers about other rebel’s whereabouts."
I thought for a few seconds. "If everyone in the rebellion doesn't have all the answers about everyone else, how could there be any organization?"
"In each town, abandoned or not abandoned, we have a seeker. A seeker is one person that gives all of the rebel’s information on what they should be doing and the rebels come back with updates. Then the seeker updates the man at the top. Adam strayed from his mission. The moment he had you in his hands he should have gone to his seeker."
I was surprised he gave me that much information. I pressed my luck and asked another question. "What if the seeker gets caught? Then The Unit will have all the information of a town."
"They have a pill on them at all times. They are not allowed to try and fight back and escape. The second a soldier walks through their doors they are meant to swallow the pill and kill themselves."
The sun was starting to rise. The sky was a beautiful red rose color with streaks of black going through. The moon was still out, but the sun was peeking above the mountains in the distance.
For as long as I could, I tried to keep my eyes open. I fell into a cold nightmare.
Blood was everywhere. Sanchez was screaming at me to help him as he fell to the ground. Betrayal was written across his face. I stared at him. Immobile. I was holding a gun in my hand. It was pointed right at him.
The scene switched. We were at the farmhouse. Susan's family were on their knees in front of me. I held a Glock in my hand. Shots rang out as I shot every single one of them. I felt satisfied hearing the drop of their bodies hit the ground.
Stephan stood beside me. He looked at me with satisfaction, like what I did was a good job. He patted me on my shoulder.
Now I was at the military base. Gun shots surrounded me. I was staring into Seth's eyes. He was staring at me with love and adoration. Softly, he ran his fingers down my cheek.
I gave him a shy smile. When he leaned in for a kiss, a loud shot rang out into the air.
He fell to his knees and stared at me. Except I wasn't looking at Seth anymore. It was Adam on his knees in front of me.
"Adam!" I screamed, startling myself awake.
I sat up fast and bumped my head on the seat in front of me. I could feel the sweat pouring down my face.
I felt horrified with myself. What was wrong with me? Why was I dreaming that? I felt sick and like I was a twisted person.
"You still call out for Adam when you are afraid?" Rugter inquired after I got my breathing under control. We were parked outside of an old broken down house. I looked around. We were in a suburban neighborhood.
"I don't understand." I said, my voice scratchy from sleep.
Rugter made eye contact with me through the review mirror. "When we were kids you used to have horrible nightmares. Every night you would wake up screaming for Adam. You wouldn't calm down until he came."
I imagined Evelyn screaming for him. It made me feel terrible the way she changed and turned her back on him. At one point in her life, she obviously loved him.
I don't know why I screamed his name in my sleep. In my dream, I didn't mind shooting all those innocent people, but I freaked when Seth's face changed to Adams. One life wasn't more important than another.
I broke eye contact and looked at my bound wrists. The rope gave me a rash. I slid it off and watched as it fell to the car floor.
"What are we doing here?" I looked at the abandoned house again. The door was broken off of its hinges and the grass was yellow and overgrown. Garbage surrounded the street.
"I am not a robot. I do need sleep." Rugter opened the car door and stepped out. I followed. What else was I supposed to do? I knew if I ran, he'd shoot me without a doubt.
Rugter led the way into the house. Although the sun was beating on my back, I felt chilled.
The furniture inside was over turned and ripped apart. A foul smell filled the air. I came to a halt. What if there was a diseased person inside? I didn't want to get attacked by one of them again. I shivered from fear and cold.
Rugter walked up the stairs. I stayed on his heels. He had weapons. I only had my hands- which weren’t really that useful.
Rugter walked into a bedroom. The bedroom was nice compared to the rest of the house. It had a twin sized bed. The headboard was old and worn looking. The blanket was a pale gray color. It was a fleece blanket. Looking at it made my skin itch. Other than the bed, the bedroom was empty.
Rugter pulled something off of his cargo pants. Hand cuffs. My eyes widened. Before words were able to escape my lips, he handcuffed my hand to the headboard.
"Don't go anywhere." He joked, before walking out of the bedroom.
I pulled at the cold metal. My wrists were already sore from the ropes. I was just adding more pain to my body. I was furious. I was so angry I wanted to cry. Who was he to handcuff me to a headboard? What gave him that right?
I kicked the foot of the bed as hard as I could. It didn't make me feel better. It made me feel worse.
Ten minutes later Rugter came back. He had two bowls in his hand. The smell of oatmeal drifted through the air. My stomach let out a loud growl. When was the last time I ate a full meal?
"Hungry?" Rugter asked, walking over and sitting on the bed.
I stood there, my hand awkwardly in the hair. He handcuffed it all the way at the top of the headboard, so I had no choice but to stand beside the bed. I nodded my head vigorously. My mouth watered.
"That sucks." Rugter began to dig in.
I watched as he scarfed down both bowls quickly. My stomach protested as he ate the last bite. He was doing this on purpose. He was making me suffer.
My anger faded away. After everything that I had done, I deserved this. If I didn't shoot Seth, I wouldn't be in this predicament. I stared at the dirty hardwood floor. There were blood stains beneath my feet. Anything could have happened here.
Rugter disappeared again. He came back and flopped onto the bed. "Wake me up in six hours." His head hit the pillow and it got quiet. Birds were chirping outside. The wind was blowing through the open window. I knew Rugter was sleeping when his breathing turned deep and even.
My legs were tired by then. My arm hurt. I just stood there silently and watched him sleep. He turned over and threw his arm across the bed as if he was trying to hold someone.
Rugter mumbled something. It sounded like a name. Jewel. Who was Jewel?
Time moved slowly. It felt like centuries before the sun began to slowly set. I was shifting from leg to leg. My arm had fallen asleep. I laid my head against the headboard. I was getting exhausted now. I blinked a few times. Was it possible to fall asleep with this much discomfort?
I was so hungry my stomach hurt. I felt shaky like I had low blood sugar. My mouth was like a desert.
My eyes popped open when I heard a creaking outside the bedroom door. Someone was walking up the stairs. I held my breath. Lightly I shook Rugter's shoulder. He groaned but didn't wake up.
The footsteps stopped. The person had heard him. My clock was running out of time. We were both going to die here.
A woman stopped at the doorway. She had an arrow in her ha
nd and pointed it right at my chest. Her eyes were a pale green color. She wore black cargo pants like Rugter's and a black tank top. Tattoos covered her arms. Her hair was a sandy brown color.
She took in the sight. Me handcuffed to the headboard and Rugter passed out on the bed. I closed my eyes waiting for her to let go of the arrow.
Nothing happened. Opening my eyes, I saw that she had drifted to the foot of the bed. She watched Rugter's sleeping form.
She grabbed his ankles shook him furiously. "Wake up you idiot."
Rugter sat up and looked around fast. By habit, he pulled out his sidearm and aimed it at the girl. Rugter lowered his weapon when he saw who it was. His shoulders relaxed.
"Jewel." He breathed her name.
Jewel? That was the name he said in his sleep. I looked between them both.
"What if I was from The Unit, huh? You would have been dead." Jewel looked at me and folded her arms over her chest. "Why is your sister handcuffed to your bed?"
Rugter looked at me. He had forgotten I was there. Pulling a key from is pocket, he unlocked the handcuff.
My arm dropped instantly and I rubbed it to get the circulation flowing. It hurt.
"I had to make sure she didn't go anywhere."
Jewel stared at me, face blank. "Go where? There isn't civilization for over two hundred miles. She wouldn't get far on foot. She looks dehydrated, hungry, and injured."
Rugter shrugged his shoulders and climbed out of bed. "Stay here." He commanded to me and pushed Jewel out of the bedroom.
I fell back onto the bed. It was heaven to get off of my feet. Curling into a ball, I closed my eyes. Maybe they would be gone for a while and I could get some sleep on a bed. The bed wasn't comfortable. It felt like cardboard, but it was better than sleeping in a car.
Jewel came up the stairs. I knew it was her by her footsteps. She stopped at the door. "We need to leave now."
I got out of the bed. My legs were stiff and wanted to give out on me. I didn't want her to think I was weak, so I kept pace with her while we walked down the stairs.
We went out to the front yard. Rugter was loading weapons into the back seat. I looked at the house from across the one we stayed in. It looked the same. Except it had a different color paint chipping off of it.
The curtains moved to the side and closed. Someone or something was in there. I was afraid it was one of the diseased. I opened my mouth to tell them but snapped it shut. If this person has a disease, it meant they couldn't get vaccinated. That wasn't their fault. I forced myself to stay quiet and I watched the house for more movements. There were none.
After we all filed into the truck, I started asking questions again.
"Where do you two know each other?"
Jewel laughed under her breath. "You were serious when you said she doesn't have any memory."
Rugter took one hand off of the steering wheel and placed it on her thigh. "Or so she says."
I felt snappy and cranky. My body hurt, I was tired, and hungry. "I'm actually from an alternate universe. They call me Brianna over there."
Jewel removed Rugter's hand from her leg and turned around to look at me. "I'd believe it. Everyone is talking about you, you know. This entire country."
She picked my curiosity. "What are they saying?"
"That you aren't meant to be a leader. You used to lead side by side with Stephan. You get blasted by a bomb one time. Just one time. Suddenly you wake up without memory and you're as soft as a fuzzy bunny."
I was not as soft as a fuzzy bunny. I'll admit I was a lot more soft then Evelyn, but there was nothing wrong with that. "I don't see how me not wanting to kill people makes me soft."
"In a world like this, it's killed or be killed."
"So change it." I retorted.
"That's what we are trying to do!" Rugter exclaimed, driving faster down the streets.
"By killing people? You are leading me to my death right now. How will that fix things?"
Rugter slammed on the breaks. He was angry. He turned and looked at me. Fury blazed in his blue eyes. "Because one more evil person will be out of this world."
My blue eyes blazed back at his. "I am as soft as a fuzzy bunny."
Jewel burst into laughter at my comment. She seemed carefree. Happy almost. How did Rugter get a girl like her? Rugter steeled his face and turned back around.
"How old am I?" A question I never thought to ask. Dr. Lynn said when he woke up here it was the future. Who even knew if he came from the same world as I?
"18." Jewel answered when Rugter didn't.
I looked at my hands. The scars on my palms were fading. My skin was getting a slight tan from being out in the sun a lot. I was twenty years old, not eighteen. I was in a body that was younger than mine. It grossed me out.
After a couple of hours, Rugter stopped in the middle of the road and hopped out of the truck. He grabbed a red container from the back. He was putting gas in. Jewel watched him through the review mirror. I noticed that she watched him closely when he isn't looking.
If we were back in 2015, their relationship status on Facebook would be it's complicated.
Rugter came back into the truck and started it. Except it didn't start. It just made a fast ticking noise.
"What the hell." He grumbled, attempting to start it again. Jewel watched him struggle.
"Your battery is dead." I informed him when I realized he didn't know why it wouldn't start.
Rugter whipped his head around and stared at me. "How would you know?"
"Because the noise it is making. It's either your battery or your alternator. I can check and see if the wire disconnected." I offered.
Now they were both staring at me.
"What?" I felt defensive now.
"Not many people know anything about the engine of a car." Rugter said slowly.
"Why?"
"Cars are expensive. You can't just easily buy a car. You have to work long and hard. You have to work for The Unit in order to be able to afford one. All those abandoned cars you see? They are long gone broken. There is no bringing them back. The Unit owns all mechanic shops. They don't teach people about mechanics. You and I were never taught anything mechanical. There wasn't a need. We had drivers who knew."
That didn't make sense. "Where did you get this truck? Where did Adam get his van? Where did Susan get her Honda?"
Rugter smiled a slow smile. "Sometimes we take things that aren't ours."
"Check the engine." Jewel waved for me to get out of the truck.
I didn't move. "I don't know how to fix it. I just recognize the noise and the problem."
Rugter got irritated. "You are useless."
I bit my tongue to keep myself from retorting.
Rugter opened the truck door and popped the hood of the truck. I followed behind him, even though I knew I wouldn't be any help. I had no clue what I was looking at. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere. I looked all around us. We were surrounded by open fields. We were on country roads. The mountains were far out into the distance. I had a feeling that's where we were going. Ever since I got in the car with Rugter, he seemed to be making a straight shot for the mountains.
Jewel hopped out of the truck and grabbed the bags from the back. "I guess we will go on foot."
My feet instantly started aching at that thought.
Rugter grabbed a few of the bags from her. They both started walking. I followed.
I kept tripping over gravel. The sun was setting fast. They used flashlights to help them, and I used eyesight to help me.
When the moon hung over the sky, I felt like my legs were going to give out. They felt like jello. I pressed my hand against my stomach each time it growled. I was starving.
Rugter seemed to not like me, but he didn't seem to hate me. He talked to me like a human being, but he said rude remakes to me a lot. He was set on not sharing his food with me. He did not mind my discomfort.
He would always see Evelyn every time he looked at me. I hated
her. I wanted her to be living this life and suffering. For all I knew, she was living my life. She was probably failing at my job. I bet she hated my wardrobe. I didn't have any jewelry that wasn't plastic. I didn't own any rings that didn't turn your fingers green.
I barely owned street clothes. Most of the time I was working, so I was always in my uniform or pajamas.
Rugter and Jewel came to a stop. Jewel pulled her bow and arrow off of her back and aimed out into the darkness. Both flashlights got shut off. Rugter dropped to one knee and aimed his Glock.
They looked at each other. Without speaking, they communicated. Jewel motioned for me to follow her. We slid behind a broken down car.
I couldn't hear anything. My heart was beating too loud in my ears. A loud shot rang out into the air, then silence. Jewel didn't move from her spot. She was aiming her bow over the car. She let go. It glided through the air.
Another gun shot. It was deafening in the silence. With every shot, I cringed.
Rugter jogged over. His feet pounding on the ground. "There are a lot of diseased down this road. We have to go another way."
Jewel mumbled words under her breath. "I thought they cleared it over here?"
"Apparently not." Rugter grabbed my arm and fell into a jog. I had no choice but to keep pace with him.
We were jogging through tall, dead grass away from the road.
"What is the diseased?" I painted.
Jewel answered my question when Rugter kept quiet. "A man made diseased. It was made to try and win the war. Except the infection spread everywhere."
Zombies popped into my head. Except the girl who attacked me didn't try and eat me. She just seemed crazy and sick.
"What does it do?"
"It makes you have a fever. A really bad fever. For some people, it fries their brain cells and they die. Others aren't lucky. They live with it. Their brains are so fried and they are so sick they go crazy. They don't think rationally. There is no cure to fix it, but there is a vaccination. Only the people high in society get ahold of the vaccination." Jewel answered.
I looked at her. "Are you vaccinated?"
"No." She panted panicked, running faster when we heard footsteps following close behind.
Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) Page 10