Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1)

by Jessica Miller

  David was my father. He had to believe me. Seth watched the wheels turning in my head.

  "Follow me, Brianna," He demanded.

  "Yeah, right." I snapped. I went to march down the tunnel in the direction that Chantel walked in, but Seth grabbed onto the rope tying my hands together and pulled in the direction that he wanted me to go in. He made the ropes tighten on my wrists to the point of pain.

  Giving up, I followed him away from the group of men. When we got far enough away, Seth spoke.

  "They won't believe you."

  He didn't say sorry for betraying your trust, what I did was wrong, or make up any excuses for what he did. He basically was just telling me nobody would believe me. I bit the side of my cheek to control my anger.

  "My father will," I said with no doubt in my mind.

  Seth shook his head and gave me a sad look. "Brianna he may be your father, but you have to remember. He has been here for over a decade. He has been in this was for over a decade. He has known me for over a decade. He knows me more then he knows you. He knows my mind. He and I have fought side by side. He will not believe you."

  I shrugged, ignoring his hurtful words. "It's always worth a try."

  "All you’re going to do is make what few friends you do have lose trust in you," Seth warned me, voice darkening.

  Rage ignited in me by that point. I came to a complete stop and faced him. When Seth looked down at me, I jumped up and head butted him in his nose as hard as I could. I felt satisfied when I heard it crunch and break.

  "What the?" He exclaimed, backing up and lifting his hand to his nose. Blood gushed out.

  "That's for betraying your brother." My hands balled into fists behind my back. I would have punched him if I was not tied up.

  Seth pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back. "You don't understand, Brianna. Just stay out of my business."

  Now I was ready to kick him in his shin as hard as I could. "Stay out of your business? Your business affects the entire rebellion. How could you do that to all those innocent people?" To me. "They trusted you!" I trusted you.

  Seth cracked his noise back into place like he had a lot of experience doing it. "Don't worry about it. Just leave the topic alone."

  "I'll worry about what I want to worry about." I stomped my foot. "How are you going to explain being let out of the semi? How are you going to explain watching the execution? Rebels were in the crowd. They saw you."

  Seth wiped the blood off of his upper lip with his hand. I could sense that I was testing his patience. "The same way that you’re going to explain it. Stephan made me watch. If I fought back, he was going to kill you."

  I made a disgusted sound in my throat. "Don't use me to protect yourself."

  Seth walked around me and began to untie my hands. "It's not like I could ever work for him again. I went against him to protect you." His tone was accusing.

  "Maybe you should have let him kill me." I snapped.

  Seth's hands froze on the rope. "I couldn't do that," He admitted.

  "Why?" He had no problem watching those other people die. He was heartless.

  Seth ignored my question. When my hands were free, I rubbed my wrists. The rope had cut into my skin.

  "Let's find your father." Seth went back towards the way Chantel went. I knew if I wanted to survive these tunnels, I had to stay by his side.

  People with murderous eyes watched me. When we walked by a crowd, one person stepped out from the group. "Fancy speech you gave. Who wrote it?" It was a jab at me. He didn't believe that was how I felt. He looked at me like I was trash on the bottom of his shoe.

  "Thomas Jefferson." I lied and continued walking.

  Seth wouldn't even look at me as we walked back. It was like I wasn't even there. I was invisible. I was nobody to him, yet he appeared intent on protecting me from Stephan. He was the biggest contradiction I had ever faced. Walking side by side with him made my blood boil.

  We found David in no time. A crowd of people surrounded him. They were all talking at once. Some were bloodied and battered while others looked perfectly fine. Ares stood by his side, arms crossed. I didn't see Chantel anywhere.

  "Where did Dr. Lynn come from?" I questioned Seth. I thought Dr. Lynn worked for The Unit? Or was he lying just like you." I jabbed at him.

  Seth watched David attempt to contain the crowd. "He's a doctor. He works for both sides."

  It was getting louder and louder in here. I covered my ears against the loud voices. People were yelling over each other. More and more people filed into the circular room.

  "Silence!" A booming voice bellowed.

  It was David. He looked angry. Everyone shut up at once. David looked around at everyone. "How do you expect to win a war if everyone is fighting?" He demanded.

  Nobody answered.

  "Right now wars are breaking out over the country. After Brianna's speech people listened. Even some soldiers listened. She offered a life that people want. Crave. Need. Then you have Stephan's loyal followers or the rich. They don't want that. This is a repeat of before. The fall of America. Our country is being torn apart again." David stopped talking and let the words sink in. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

  Their leader was angry. "We need peace. In order to get Stephan's followers on our side, we need to offer safety, food, and shelter."

  "How can we do that if Stephan's military is blowing everyone up?" Seth spoke up and asked.

  All eyes turned and landed on us. I wanted all of their eyes off of me.

  "We take their bombs. Don't kill Stephan's people unless absolutely necessary. If citizens are shooting at you, disarm them but don't kill them."

  Ares scoffed. "If someone it attempting to murder us just let them go?"

  David nodded. "We don't need violence to win. We need peace. Using violence against violence will not get us anywhere."

  Seth nodded in agreement. He was good at pretending he believed David's words. He was good at pretending he was on this side.

  The woman with raven black hair raised her hand. David looked at her. "Yes, Eboni."

  Eboni settled her eyes on me. "What is Evelyn doing here and why is she still breathing?"

  Now all eyes were on me again. I saw that question on everyone's face. They didn't want me here. I was an outsider. I was their enemy.

  David cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. "She introduced herself as Brianna, so we will be calling her Brianna now. As you know, a group of rebellion blasted her with a bomb. She woke up with no memory. Now I know she is Stephan's daughter." David paused and looked at me. There was an emotion in his eyes I couldn't read. Was he remembering me from when he last saw me, or was he looking at Evelyn? "But clearly she chose a side, seeing as how she held a gun to Stephan's head and gave a speech about freedom. She is the reason why all those people who were going to be executed lived. She is a hero. While everyone stood down, she stood up."

  David got interrupted by Eboni. "Oh, she chose a side. Suddenly she is clear of all the actions she made? All the people she hurt? You’re letting her off that easy?" Eboni sounded furious.

  Everyone started talking at once again. They all agreed with her. They wanted someone to pay for everything that had happened to them or somebody they knew. Stephan wasn't here and they needed to blame someone.

  I could hear them blaming me for the things that Stephan had done. Things that Evelyn had done. This is how the rest of my life would be. People would look at me and see Evelyn. I would have to pay for the things that she had done forever.

  Seth put a hand on my shoulder. Although it made me feel less alone, I shrugged it off. I didn't need him. He was a treacherous monster.

  "Do you not remember who I am?" David shouted over the people. Everyone quieted down and looked at him again. "If you have forgotten, I used to lead with Stephan. I helped him start all this. People change. Some for the better and some for the worse. Every life counts. Brianna is one more on our side. We need to bring more of
his people on our side. Talking about executing them isn't going to do it. Are we The Unit or are we the rebellion?"

  David walked through the crowd of people. He stood directly next to me and stared out at all the people. "If anyone touches her, you will have to deal with me." The warning was clear in his voice. Stay away from me.

  I felt safer by his side. I scooted closer. I needed to tell him about Seth. Someone needed to know. Maybe he would believe me, maybe he wouldn't. It would be worth a try. For all I knew, Seth would lead The Unit here. I looked at Seth. He was watching me again. His eyes were as dark as the shadows in the forest. There was something about him. Something off, but something good.

  I've seen him save people. I've seen him feed hungry people. I've seen him care for people. After I scraped my feet up in the woods he took care of me. Whenever I find myself in trouble, he is always there to save me. Who was he really? Was he a good guy? Or was he a bad guy?

  "I saw we start with the communities." Seth said.

  "What do you mean?" A person out in the crowd asked.

  "Let's send the seekers into the communities. Seekers have a vibe about them. People naturally want to trust them. Confide in them. They are calm and the least violent out of us. Right now all the homes have snipers on top of them. The people are afraid. Families are separated. Let's send the seekers into the hot spots, take out the snipers, and bring families back together. Provide comfort and safety."

  It made me mad that Seth came up with a good idea. Was he doing this for the benefit of the people or was he plotting against the rebellion?

  David agreed with him. "That's a good first step. Second we need to take out the military bases. Shut down their power. They can't do much without electricity. We have people on our side in The Unit. Have them take away their bombs, weapons, and transportation. You can't fight a war without weapons."

  More nods. "Final step. We need to find Stephan."

  To win the war, all we needed was the civilians on our side. That would make up most of the population. With a tyrant leader, why would they even want to follow Stephan? Were they that afraid of him?

  "Seekers come forward."

  Men stepped forward.

  I understand what Seth meant. They all looked like nice, normal people. None of them looked battered. They were well dressed in civilian clothes. It was their eyes that got me to me though. Empty eyes. Emotionless. Eyes that have seen too much.

  There was about twenty of them. Twenty people about to risk their life's for people who may not want their help. Is that what a hero looked like? Someone willing to sacrifice themselves for the better of the people?

  "Follow Ares. He is going to divide you guys between towns and cities. When you get there, report to the seeker already in place. You will each have two enforcers with you. Be safe." David turned back to the crowd as Ares and the seekers left.

  "Right now we still have our people out there fighting. I need reinforcements. Pick the most injured, bring them back here, and then take their place out there. I need volunteers to lead other cities. Tell them the same thing I told everyone over here. The city will be yours. You will arrive by helicopter. I will be leaving it up to you to lead the people to peace and victory."

  Nobody was volunteering. Everyone looked around at each other.

  David sighed. "I will decide then." David listed off names and places. Each time he picked a person, they looked full of pride. Proud to be chosen by their leader to help the people.

  I watched the crowd dwindle into almost nothing. People left to help out the rebellion in the war. People left to head to other cities. Soon it was just Seth, David, a few other people, and me.

  "Seth I need you to be the leader here." David turned to him. "You are my most trusted man and right now the war here is the worst. We need someone strong with a firm hand to bring us to justice."

  Seth nodded. He wasn't surprised. I choked on my spit. He couldn't be our leader. He would lead us to failure. Betray us. Get us all murdered. I snapped my mouth shut, fighting back my words.

  Nobody would believe me.

  "Where will you be going?" Seth asked.

  David looked away. "I will be everywhere. Watching everything. Right now I am most needed in safe heaven. I was told it got taken over by The Unit. I need to take it back. There are woman and kids getting locked up there."

  I gave Seth a nasty look. That was his fault. All of this was his fault. That's where Mare was. That poor little girl. I wondered if she was cold and scared. Was she separated from her mother?

  Seth lifted his eye brows. "You plan on doing it alone?"

  David gave him a small smile. "One person can't have too much information. I'm leaving this up to you. When I get back, the war should be over here. Good luck." David pulled Seth into a hug.

  David turned and looked at me. "Walk me out, Brianna."

  As we headed down the tunnels, I couldn't find the words to say to him. Seth seemed almost like a son to him. He obviously loved him.

  "You will be staying here with Seth."

  I stopped in my tracks. "You are leaving me?"

  "Where I am going will be unsafe for you."

  I looked at David like he was slow. "Everywhere I go is unsafe. I know you know who I am. I just got you back. You are leaving me?" My voice broke and I hated myself for that. I was being weak. Needy. I needed to stay strong.

  "I trust Seth to keep you safe." David told me.

  I laughed. A bitter laugh. "You shouldn't trust him." I needed to let him know what Seth had done.

  David placed both hands on my shoulders and peered into my eyes. He looked tired. Sad. "Brianna you are a smart girl. You're surviving. Keep doing that. Just know everything isn't as they seem. Not all things are black and white. There are so many grey areas. There are so many things you don't know. That you don't understand. I already know about Seth. He did what he did with good reason. I would have done the same. Don't question it. Don't say anything. The less you know the better."

  David knew Seth was betraying everyone? This man, my father, knew that Seth was part of the reason for murder, starvation, and diseases being spread? I stepped out of reach from David. How could Seth work with the rebellion and for Stephan? Unless the rebellion wasn't real. It didn't make sense. None of this made sense. David knew and did nothing. David still trusted him.

  David reached his hand out when I backed away more. I couldn't trust anyone. Every time I found answers, it led me to more questions. I truly had nobody.

  "You're just as bad as Stephan." I spat and turned away.

  There really was no side was there? It was just a war. A war that I started with my stupid speech about freedom. Did any of these people even truly want freedom? Or were they fighting just to fight? Were they by passing time? Going through motions?

  I got lost with in the tunnels. I kept walking and walking. I was trying to silence the screaming in my mind. How could David trust Seth after Seth almost got a large amount of people executed? Seth gave away David's last location. Seth could not be trusted. Neither could David. He was not the man my seven-year-old mind remembered.

  I was not going to make the mistake of trusting anyone again.

  I stopped when I saw a hole in the tunnel. Adam was in there. I crawled through, not caring if Dr. Lynn was working on him.

  I needed to make sure he was okay. Adam was still laying on the table. His shoulder was bandaged and his face was contorted in pain. He was a soldier in the war room.

  Adam opened his green eyes when he saw me. He smiled. The first real smile I had seen in a while.

  I couldn't help myself. I was being selfish. I threw myself into his arms and started sobbing. I was so tired and so confused. I was so alone.

  Adam didn't say anything. He just slowly brushed his hands through my hair and murmured to me.

  He made room for me on the uncomfortable table even though he was in pain. I snuggled into his side and clenched my eyes shut.

  He was radiating heat.
Adam was warming my insides up. He was preventing me from going cold. Eventually my eyes drifted shut. My sleep was by no means peaceful, but sleep did come and I knew I was safe in his embrace.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  A hand was running up and down my arm. I stiffened, then relaxed when I smelt Adam's faint smell. It was only Adam.

  I propped my head up onto my arm.

  "Sorry, did I wake you?" Adam's eyes drifted all over my face.