THE ELECTED (Fighting Freedom Book 2)

by Paige Clendenin

  “Hello?” I say into the abyss with no return. “Is anyone out there?” I scream. I begin to scream over and over, hoping to draw someone’s attention. “Where’s Jake? Where’s Eli?”

  I scream until my voice feels hoarse. Either they are ignoring me, or no one can hear a word I am saying. My guess is they hear me and are letting me suffer.

  I sit back down, hoping I don’t fall into the floor. Sure enough, I miss the cot entirely and fall right into the floor with a thud. Feeling for the edge of the cot, I finally find it, pulling myself into a sitting position on top of it.

  I have been sitting here for what feels like hours, but it could have only been minutes. Who knew that in the dark and all alone, that time really has no use? Time stands still, and with each passing moment, my heartbeat grows louder and louder. Time is unidentifiable without the watch, or even the sun. Even my beating heart can lie to me.

  “She’s in here,” I hear hushed voices coming from outside where I am being held.

  “Good,” another voice calls out from the same direction.

  “What do we do with her?” the first voice asks.

  “Take her to Jonathan, and he will take her to her father,” the second voice commands.

  My breath hitches. I would rather be dead than be taken to that man, at least without Eli and Jake.

  Keys jingle for a few seconds before a heavy door is pulled open. Light floods the area, blinding me instantly. I can hear footsteps come my direction, but I can’t see a thing. The darkness was my downfall, but now it’s the light.

  A hand grabs my arm, pulling me off the cot.

  “You’re coming with us, Miss Towers,” a voice calls out.

  “I’m not going anywhere without my people,” I say firmly.

  At that moment, I jerk my arm free of the man’s hand. My vision is coming back, but everything still has a heavy blurriness. I have no other choice than to stand my ground half blind.

  “Miss Towers,” the voice protests.

  “No! I am not Miss Towers or even Elizabeth; I am Liz Strong… You have the wrong person!!!”

  “Are you sure of that Miss Towers?” a third voice says with a thick accent.

  My heart picks up its pace in my chest. Is this man from The Elected? I do the only thing I know how to do, I spin around, bringing a flat palm to the first man’s nose. Through haze, I can tell there was contact.

  The second and third men try to get ahold of me, but I know I must try to find my family.

  “Where are they?” I scream at the top of my lungs. At this point I have lost all composure, but instead of tears, I have sheer rage coming from me. I feel anger in every vein in my body; it floods my blood stream and even the place where I had been shocked.

  The men get the upper hand and grab me from behind. They are pushing me toward the door against my will. I fight with all my might. I begin to stomp on the foot of the man closest to me when I hear more footsteps coming our direction. My vision is coming back just enough to see the man with the suit come into view in the opening of the door.

  “Gentlemen,” he says stoically, “please release Miss Towers at once.”

  Both men release their grip on my arms immediately and walk toward the man in the suit, taking positions on either side of him. They stand just slightly behind him, reminding me they are here still, but the man is in charge.

  I pull myself together enough to try to talk to this man with some amount of composure.

  “Who are you?” I ask.

  “I am R. J. Timothy the third,” the man answers. “President of The Facility.”

  “You couldn’t be,” I say breathlessly.

  “Oh, but I am,” he retorted, “but if you would follow me willingly, I would like to prove it to you.”

  “Blindfolded?” I ask with notes of accusation.

  “Of course not, you are already in The Facility, there is no need in blindfolding you at this time. For now, you are my guest.”

  I nod my head. “But I will not be seeing Robert Towers now or ever, also I have no plans to encounter Johnathon. Do you understand me? That man is not nor will ever be my father!”

  The man nods his head with a grand sweeping bow following.

  “Very well,” he says with a smile. Wrinkles line the crease of his eyes and mouth.

  “And you will take me to my people?”

  “In time,” he responds, with another noble smile on his face.

  “How much time?” I ask.

  “You are a demanding young lady, aren’t you?

  “Yes, I am,” I answer proudly as if that part of me is a good thing.

  “Follow me,” he says.

  The guards step aside so that I can get past them and walk next to their boss. As I pass by the guards, I make a face, letting them know they have made it on my bad side. I make a mental note to myself; should I ever get the chance to prove it to them I am strong, I will.

  The third guard has disappeared, taking care of his bloody nose would be my guess.

  Oddly enough, as I walk down the aisle of what has been called The Facility, I gain my eyesight. If we didn’t get relocated after I got knocked out, then we should still be at IOUSC. We still need to find out what that means exactly.

  “If you’re not going to take me to my family right away, could you at least tell me if they are okay or where they are at?” I ask.

  “Yes, they are okay, as you say.” The man smiles. “They have been integrated into our society with a guard on each of them. That is, of course, except for Miss Samantha King, she remains in solitary lock down.” He glances at me. “She is the feisty one, isn’t she?”

  “You have no idea,” I say with a small smile and eye roll. “What does integrate into society mean?” I ask, “And why is Samantha still in confinement, and I get to get out? I mean, we both got tasered. I know she is feisty as you say, but I still remain curious.”

  “Where to begin,” the man says, “to integrate into society means that those who are approved by our Souls Council get to live amongst our people freely, however, your family are being guarded while being integrated, if that makes sense.”

  “It does,” I answer, “and what about Samantha?”

  “Oh yes, she was stopped by force, and you were apprehended falsely. Testimony was given by all involved and while you were intuitive, you did not cause any havoc.”

  “Yes, Samantha is the queen of havoc,” I begin, “but you really should re-think her being let out. She isn’t a bad person; she is just more self-centered than anything else.”

  “That was also the consensus of the group,” he smiles. “It is not often our council changes its opinions on a soul, however I am not opposed to bringing it before them this night.”

  “Thank you,” I respond.

  This man speaks like he is from a different world. It takes me a while to understand some of the things he is saying, because he is using some words that I am not familiar with. I open my mouth to ask another question when he puts a finger to his lip, telling me it’s time to be quiet. We walk over a glass walkway that is suspended over a large, white, open room. I freeze for a moment, because down in the room being followed by a group of guards are each member of my group, minus Samantha.

  They are walking into a room marked Bath House. Smith just so happens to be one of their guards, no Johnathan in sight.

  He must be more important than this Smith character.

  I bang on the glass, trying to get their attention, but the glass doesn’t budge at all. No sound escapes, not even the slightest rattle.

  “It is thick glass that doesn’t budge,” the man begins, “also, it is mirrored on the other side, so there would be no way they would have seen you if they were able to hear you.”

  I know I must look deflated.

  “You will be with them soon enough, my dear,” the man reassures me, most likely to stop the look of sadness from staying on my face.

  “So, what do I have to do to get down there?” I ask, a
s I watch Jake walk through the doorway. He is in the back of the group.

  “As I said, Miss Towers, all will be revealed momentarily.”

  I take a moment to sober myself. This man has been nice to me, and I don’t want to be hateful towards him until I have reason to be.

  “Would there be any way I could get you to call me by my real name?”

  “Elizabeth Towers is your real name, isn’t it my dear?”

  I stop in my tracks, turning towards the man in the suit. The guards jolt, pulling their white guns out of their holsters ever so slightly.

  “Now gentlemen, does this young lady look like a threat to me?” R. J. speaks to his guards as if he would rather not have them. “Go on, my dear.”

  “I haven’t been Elizabeth Towers for a long time now.” I look down, trying to remember the last time I felt like that girl. “My name is Liz Strong, and that is who I will always be.”

  “Very well, Liz,” the man says with a smile, trying the name out for the first time. “It suits you, my dear.”

  I nod, turning back toward the direction that we were walking and begin following the guards down the hall of The Facility. A small smile hits my face. Small victories are all I can think of, small victories!

  We walk for a while before we arrive at a wall with three doors in it. On each door, a placard hangs, most likely identifying what the room is or who it belongs to.

  The door on the left says, Intelligence of The Facility, Rebekka Jonni. The one in the middle says Vice President of The Facility, Johnathan Timothy. The last and final door to the right says, The Facility President, Rodney James Timothy III.

  “As you were gentlemen,” R. J. says with a sweeping motion towards the guards.

  The guards fall out, standing two to every door, standing on either side of each one. That leaves two guards, the so-called president, and me, standing in front of the door on the right.

  “Welcome to my office, Miss Strong,” he says with a twinkle in his eye. I willingly follow him into his office, the two guards following us closing the door behind us.

  Across the room, a woman in a white dress and messy hair stands looking out of a large window overlooking the stadium.

  “Penelope,” R. J. calls to the woman.

  She turns around after hearing him call out to her. All the blood drains from my face as I see Penelope Towers standing in front of me.

  My mom!

  Chapter Twelve

  Once again, I clutch the necklace the wisp of a woman had given to me what feels like a lifetime ago. It is so hard to think of all the things that have happened since the feather pendant was placed around my neck. We both stand looking at each other. This woman is barely a memory in my head. The Force and all it has to offer takes everything from you, filling you full of its own kind of brainwash.

  Neither one of us move. How did she get here?

  “Mom?” I ask, in a barely audible whisper.

  “Elizabeth?” she says.

  My face contorts in a twist of disgust and anger.

  “Liz,” I whisper.

  “Liz?” she questions.

  “Never mind. What are you doing here?” I demand.

  “Your father came and found us,” she begins, while walking toward me. “He’s alive!” she says painfully.

  I throw my hands up in front of me, letting her know I don’t want her coming any closer to me. What is this?

  “Wait a minute, what is going on here?” I ask. “I want Jake, and I want him now!”

  “What? Wait who is Jake sweetie?”

  “Please, don’t, Mom. Did Robert tell you who he is? That he is the reason Shae might be dead.”

  “Who is Shae? You’re not making any sense.”

  The woman once my mother now stands in front of me. I used to stand by her cooking and doing the dishes. I helped her with my sisters, and now she doesn’t know who I am.

  “Wait! Where is Lydia?” I ask.

  I look at R. J. rather than my mom. Right now, I trust him more than her. I don’t know who to trust.

  “She has been integrated,” he answers with a smile.

  “She’s here?”

  “Yes, Liz, she and your mother have been here for two months and five days. We rescued them after your father, well Robert,” he corrects himself, “came into the R9 with some story about The Elected. She didn’t trust him but came with him, nonetheless. He told her that he would help her find you and your brother and sister.”

  “So, why are they here?” I demand.

  “We raided a small pocket of Voyagers the month before last. Robert was being held their hostage for being a member of The Elected. He had tried to trade Lydia and your mother to them in exchange for their silence. He now is a traitor of The Elected, making him an enemy of ours. We have nothing against your mother and sister.”

  “Is this true?” I ask, looking at her a bit softer this time.

  “It is,” she responds with tears in her eyes.

  “How am I going to believe any of this! All I wanted to do was save my sisters and stop this stupid war and get on with our lives,” I begin to rant. “Now, I am back somewhere that supports the people we hate the most.”

  I tell her everything from how our names are not the same, about us taking Syl in. I tell her about the Methrodine and all the people with us, including Jake and our love for each other. Finally, I tell her that Shae and Syl have been taken by The Elected, and our plans to save them, which makes it clear to her our hatred of The Elected and anything associated with them.

  She sits in stunned silence, listening while I tell the accounts of the past months.

  “Oh, Liz,” she says, as she puts a hand to my cheek. Hearing her say my new name makes me feel like there is some chance that things will be okay. “You have grown into such a strong young woman,” she smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

  I can’t help but think she looks several years older than when I last saw her. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “I didn’t think I would ever see you again,” she says. “I want to see Elious… Eli and Mar and Zac too. I want to meet this Jake.” She smiles. “Magi, Shawn, Leah, and Samantha too, once she gets out.”

  “Mom,” I say, blushing. “Jake means the world to me. After all of this is over, he and I are going to be together forever.”

  She looks at me with a mix of happy and sad. I know I must sound like some love-sick kid, but I know that deep down, Jake and I will always need each other to survive.

  “Let us go, then,” R. J. joins in.

  He motions to one of the guards to open the door. When we walk out of the room, the remaining guards outside join us. As a last thought, I turn towards the president.

  “Now that I have seen what you want me to see, and you know our distaste for The Elected, when can we leave?”

  “What do you mean, my dear?” he says, calmly. “I don’t think you will be leaving The Facility anytime soon. Those who enter in, very seldom leave, unless it has been bargained with me ahead of time. Nonetheless, you are too precious a prize to let go of.”

  I choose to stay quiet. If this man thinks that we will be sticking around very long, he has got to be kidding. Jake wouldn’t allow it. Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t allow it either.

  We are walked to a staircase leading us down into the giant white room.

  “This is where we part for now,” R. J. says. “I have a meeting with the board of souls in a moment to discuss your friend.”

  “Please try,” I say. “Don’t let my feelings of The Elected play on your decision.”

  “I promise.” He nods his head as my mother, and I begin our decent down the stairs and into the huge white room below.

  “Elizabeth!” a voice calls out from my right the very second, I hit the main floor.

  I look over my shoulder to see my five-year old sister running in my direction. Lydia may never understand why I will no longer go by that name, so for now, I will let her call me whatever she wants to call me. />
  I let her crash into me as I hoist her into the air, swinging her in circles like I would have back at home.

  When I sit her down, she looks at me with sad eyes. Her little face turns back and forth patrolling for her other siblings.

  “Where are they?” she asks with a whimper.

  “Elious is here,” I say, “and Maria and Isaac.” I try to smile, but I know the pain shows on my face.

  “Shaywee?” she asks.

  I shake my head as I let a tear trail down my cheek.

  Her head drops.

  “Is she…dead?”

  I kneel in front of her, trying to steady my nerves. I must tell this sweet, young girl her sister has been taken by yet another group of bad guys. Little does she know the place that she has been staying for months now is a part of them.

  “No, sweetie, she isn’t dead, but some bad men took her, and some friends of mine and I are going to save her.”

  “Otay,” she says matter-of-factly. “I trust you, Elizabeth.”

  “Liz, baby girl, can you call me Liz?”

  “I like it,” she smiles. “Liz,” she whispers, trying it out for the first time.

  We both stand up, happy that we have got to see each other again.

  “Take me to Jake,” I say to the guards firmly.

  The guard that appears to be the one in charge nods in the direction of a room marked Mess Hall. I begin the walk towards the cafeteria, knowing my mom and little sister will follow.

  I see my group right away. Eli sees me first because he jumps up and begins running towards me, but as he comes my way, his pace turns into a sluggish walk, to a complete stop. He stares in awe of our mother and little sister standing behind me.

  After a moment of being stunned, he continues his run in our direction. He collides with me, hugging me with a tightness.

  “Is this a good thing?” he whispers in my ear.