by Ruth Silver
“Relax, I've got it covered.” I couldn't tell her about Jaxon. It was too risky. Across the lawn I could just make out a figure moving through the shadows. Lisa tensed beside me. “It's okay,” I assured her as he jogged up the front lawn. “He's with us.”
“What's going on?” Jaxon eyed the body and the woodpile below. “You need me to light it for you?”
Lisa gave him a curious look. “Are you sure we can trust him?”
Jaxon grinned. “Oh, I'm pretty sure.” He rubbed his hands together and rested them atop the wood. You could have done this, Olivia. With a little practice.
I'd never been able to master the element of fire. Although, my training hadn't focused on it. Within seconds the wood caught fire, lighting up as he moved his hands over the body, doing the same thing.
“How did you…” Lisa's eyes went wide and her words trailed off.
Jaxon turned, his eyes staring at her sharply. “You can't tell anyone. If you do, I'll see to it Craynor knows you put the body on the front lawn.”
“I promise, I won't say anything.” Lisa was adamant.
My eyes widened as I heard the door slam shut. “Jaxon, get out of here.” I hissed. He hadn't been seen and I could feel Governor Craynor coming.
“I can't leave you,” Jaxon answered. That's not part of the plan.
“Neither was this.” I shook my head. “You're no good to me locked up or dead. Get out of here. Come back and find us when it's time. Two weeks from Saturday,” I gave him a stern look before he vanished into thin air. When the hell had he learned that trick? I hated being the last to know everything!
“Jacqueline! Lisa!” Craynor's voice echoed as he walked up the front lawn. “What have we here?” The color from the fire danced across his angered face. “Both of you inside! You're lucky I don't have you and your families killed for this display.” He gripped my arm along with Lisa's, dragging us back inside the Governor's mansion. I refused to glance back towards the open expanse of land and trees that lined it a few hundred feet away. Jaxon was probably watching from there, waiting for his next move. I imagined what it would have been like to get away, to go home or even to the rebel alliance where he was sheltered during the night. I knew Craynor would stop at nothing to find us. He'd raid every home, trash every building until he got what he wanted: us. We were better off giving in, letting him think he won. It was about strategy and preparing for the winning move.
CHAPTER 23
Nearly two weeks had passed since arriving in Genesis. Once again I'd been under arrest, but this time it was house arrest. I hadn't seen Jaxon since the night of Anita's death. I hoped he'd gotten away and that Craynor hadn't known there was a third person. Lisa had been locked in another room. Neither of us had contact with one another, and I could only hope she kept this secret.
From my room, I glanced at the clock, doing my best to keep an eye on the time. I could hear the music down below and the constant chime of the door. Guests had been arriving for two hours straight for the Governor's Ball but there had been a lull during the past forty-five minutes. Everyone must have arrived.
I could hear a rumble of thunder in the distance. I didn't know if it was the rebel alliance or a storm coming, but was there a difference? My room had no windows: it was impossible to know the weather. I hadn't seen sunlight since I arrived in Genesis. I hoped after today I'd be free again. I heard a set of swift footsteps, and I stood up from the mattress, heading for the door. “Jaxon?” I hoped he was here.
“We need to get you out of here.” It was Jaxon's voice.
Relief flooded my face. “How?” I asked, watching from inside my room as the lock glowed an eerie shade of orange and red before it crumbled.
Jaxon pushed open the door. “Let's get out of here.”
“What about Lisa?” I asked as we headed down the corridor, careful not to be seen.
“She's not in her room,” Jaxon answered. “She was released earlier this week to tend to the mansion. She helped prepare for the ball. I have no idea where she is. We don't have time.” He gripped my arm and opened the front door. Rain was coming down in buckets.
“Great,” I muttered, knowing there was little choice but to get wet. “It's time?” I knew the answer without having to ask. The rumbling grew louder. It wasn't thunder but a loud plane, a drone flying overhead. It had to be Joshua.
“Now!” Jaxon's eyes widened and he pulled me with him. The glamour disappeared as fear overtook my mind and Jaxon's glamour wavered too as he dragged me out the door and into the rain. We ran as fast and as far as we could from the lawn of the mansion just as fury dropped from the sky. I felt my body thrown to the ground and Jaxon's on top of me, covering my body as best he could. I felt the intense wave of heat scorching my skin but not physically burning me. Flames billowed up into the sky and smoke rose faster as the rain slowed to a halt. I heard the siren then, the alarm system built in case of an attack or raid on Genesis. I never remembered it actually being used or even tested but clearly it worked. “Jaxon, we have to move.” I tried to push his body off mine, knowing that if we were outside and there were any survivors, they'd know we were involved. How else would we have been lucky enough to escape? “Jaxon?” I rolled him off me and moved to sit up.
“Go, Olive,” he groaned in agony, pain etched across his face as he gripped my hand. “Go find your mother.”
“I can't leave you.” I stared down, my hands trying to heal him. From a distance I heard the roar of another plane, or was it the same one? I couldn’t be certain.
“No.” he gripped my hand, his strength wavering. “They'll see; they'll know who we are. You can't do that.” We'd already risked so much in front of Lisa. I knew he was right but I didn’t agree with him. The engine of the drone grew louder as another bomb dropped, this one on the medical center. I felt the ground quake and I covered Jaxon's body with my own. Thankfully we lay far enough away from the second explosion that no debris hit us.
“I can't let you die!” The words left my lips before I meant them to. Maybe you were supposed to pretend to be strong, to not let someone dying know they weren't going to make it, but I'd be damned if I would let Jaxon die on my watch.
“You have to.” I could see onlookers in the distance through the smoke. Neighbors came outside, curious to the commotion and the evident bombing onf their town. The heavy sound of boots against pavement reminded me that I would be caught if I didn't move.
“I'm sorry, Jaxon. I'm so sorry.” I wanted to stay, I needed to help, but then we'd both be dead. I left him there, on the front lawn beneath the towering smoke and just a few feet from the rubble. The smoke sheltered me long enough so I could maneuver away from the Governor's mansion without being seen.
Knowing night would quickly fall, I edged my way through town, doing my best to remain unseen. The glamour had disappeared and I was too exhausted to raise it back up. I needed sleep and I only had one place I could go—Jaxon was right—home.
CHAPTER 24
I reached my mother's house and felt my hands tremble as I knocked on the door. There was a long moment, a heavy pause, before she opened it. “Olive!” she gasped, throwing her arms around my body. “You're alive!” I felt her tense at the sound outside as gunfire erupted. “Quick, get inside,” she ushered, shutting and locking the door behind me. “I've been so worried about you. You're okay though…?” Her thumb stroked the dirt from my cheek, only managing to smudge it further.
“I will be.” I nodded. “Things are different Mom, outside the walls.” I didn’t know how to explain it to her without giving too much information. Some secrets I wasn’t sure were ready to be told.
She closed and secured the blinds. “Have a seat,” she insisted, gesturing to the sofa. I waited until she returned to the living room before I sat down. “What are you doing back here, Olivia? You know you shouldn't be here.”
“I know.” I saw the look of concern, the worry in her eyes, the wrinkles on her forehead as her lip quivered. She pulled
me into her arms, embracing me. “Even so, I'm glad you're back.”
I didn’t tell her it wasn’t for good, though she must have known considering our current situation. “I need help: allies.” I stared at her, hoping she knew someone in Genesis who would be willing to stand alongside and fight with the rebel alliance.
She frowned. “I may know of a few, but Olive,” she paused, “don't get yourself into any trouble.” I tried not to laugh at her request. “Come with me.” My mother led me into her bedroom. I hesitated by the doorframe, the room so familiar, too familiar. Everything in Genesis looked the same, every home, every room—the furniture, the bedding. It made my stomach turn as I remembered being arrested in my own home. “Olive.” My mother quickly pulled me from my thoughts. “Help me move the mattress.”
“What are we looking for?” I asked as I helped her push the mattress off and away from the bed. I spotted a loose floorboard: it looked slightly discolored. She left the room for only a minute, returning with a butter knife. She tipped the end into the board, lifting it up and out. “Here.” She handed me a dagger and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Where'd you get this?” I couldn’t imagine my mother ever using a dagger, let alone knowing how to use one.
“It was your father's,” she replied solemnly.
“You know he's still alive, right?” I caught the curious spark in her eye. “I saw him, in a city a few hours from here, Torv.”
My mother didn’t answer. I didn’t blame her. I didn't believe it myself, and I had seen him with my own eyes. I wasn't happy about it either, I was just glad she didn’t take out her anger on me. “I wish I could teach you how to use this,” she whispered, glancing at my palm as I held the dagger in my hands.
“Don't worry, I've had all the training I need,” I assured her.
Hang in there! Joshua's words made my heart soar. Rebel soldiers are almost in town.
Where are you? I asked. Bullets pelted the buildings. I ducked, afraid one might pierce the window of my mother's home. My mother dropped onto the ground beside me.
If we came any sooner, the attack wouldn't have been a surprise. Flat land sucks and Cabal soldiers have quite the lookout tower. I wanted to smile, to scream out that reinforcements are coming and Genesis will be taken down for good, but my mother was speaking and two voices at once was too much to distinguish.
My eyes widened in horror as I heard an insistent knock at the door. Soldiers. It had to be them: no one else would be outside as sirens and bombs dropped from the sky. “You need to hide, Olive. If they find you—” My mother's breath caught in her throat, distraught. “I can't lose you again.” I moved to stand and the ground quaked from another bomb exploding outside. This one wasn't dropped by drone, it wasn't part of our plan.
Regaining my balance, I rested a hand on her shoulder. “You won't.” I moved to her cheek and dropped a faint kiss before taking the dagger with me to the door. I kept it in my right hand, behind my back as I opened the door with my left hand. “Can I help you?” I asked with the fakest smile I could muster. I was surprised any soldiers remained, considering their leaders were dead. Had a new one tried to rise to power?
“Yes, step aside, ma'am.” I moved aside only long enough to allow two soldiers inside our home, then shut the door to keep our neighbors from witnessing what I was about to do. My right arm came up and swiped the man across the neck with the dagger. He dropped like a bag of potatoes, falling in a heap all over the floor.
“Olive!” My mother shrieked and I didn’t know if she was trying to scold me for my actions or let me know another soldier had now positioned his gun at me. I wasn’t afraid, even though I knew I should have been.
I didn’t have time to think, only react. My hands moved for the barrel of the gun, letting the dagger hit the floor. Maybe it was a bad idea: I was best on defense and the dagger was my only tool of offense I'd managed to learn. It didn’t matter. The soldier staggered backwards as I shoved the gun with full force backwards into the man and he shuddered back, surprised. No one ever put up a fight. He probably wasn’t even trained in actual combat. “Now's your chance: you can run, go to the Gravelands, and never come back.” I smiled, taunting him. I knew I was just pissing him off and likely would get my ass kicked for it.
“Fat chance in hell.” He beckoned, one hand coming at me to jab me across the face. I jumped back, avoiding the hit with a maneuver that startled him, reaching for the lamp.
“Touché!” I ripped the cord of the lamp from the wall as I smacked the soldier over the head with it, watching him buckle down onto the ground. He was out cold.
“Olivia!” My mother's voice echoed with a gasp of horror and shock at what I'd just done.
“Don't look at me like that.” I felt her cold stare, frightened as she saw what I had to do to protect us. Except I'm not sure she saw it the same way I did. “If we don't kill him, he's just going to bring reinforcements.” I bent down and handed her the dagger.
“No.” My mother shook her head. “It's not right.”
“What they're doing to us, that's right?” I asked, shocked. “If you want to tie him up, put him in your bedroom. Just make sure he can't get loose.”
“Where are you going?” I heard her rummage around the drawers, searching for rope or anything that would restrain the soldier.
“Finding my backup.” I called over my shoulder.
It wasn't hard to find the rebel alliance. A roar of vehicles sounded in the distance as gunfire erupted towards the edge of town. I stepped outside my childhood home, the air smelling of smoke and the haze lingering over the ground. I took the dagger with me, making my way along the road. Two men came upon a soldier, tackled him to the ground, grabbed his gun, and shot him. I wasn't in it for killing people; it was different when you were being attacked—or even provoked. You stepped foot in my house, and yes, I'd slit your throat. Out here on the street, it felt different, grittier.
“Hold up right there.” I heard an unfamiliar voice, one of the men who had just killed the soldier. “It's late for a kid to be out at this hour.”
“I'm no kid. Name's Olivia Parker,” I answered as I lifted my hand to show my dagger. “Part of the rebel alliance,” I announced. “And you are?”
“At your service.” The first one bowed and then laughed. My stomach twisted with dread. “I'm Jordan and this is Joel. Jaxon told us you'd be coming. We're working on gathering more troops to strengthen the rebel alliance. What do you need from us, Olivia?”
If they knew Jaxon, then I could trust them. “You read my mind.” I offered a weak smile. “What do you intend on doing with the soldiers who won't back down?” I already knew the answer, without having to ask.
Joel's face hardened. “We kill them.”
Jordan shot Joel a quick look, I wasn't quite sure why. “Listen.” Jordan rested a hand on my shoulder as he walked me further into the shadow beneath the trees. “I know you're a part of this, whether you want to be or not.” His eyes locked on mine. “But these men are ferocious: they'll stop at nothing. They'll shoot you before they even know which side you're on.”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “What if you're wrong? What if there are soldiers who don't want to fight for Cabal?”
Jordan frowned. “I don't believe that to be the case.”
“I have information.” I turned and shifted on the balls of my feet. I lifted myself as best I could on my tiptoes to meet his stare, come face-to-face with him at eye-level. “The soldiers are coming from a town outside of here, Torv. Those men, they just want to go home. Give them the option first. If they don't take it…” I paused. “Do what you must.”
Jordan shot Joel a quick look and then nodded towards me. “Looks like someone grew an inch or two,” Jordan smirked. “I'll see what I can do. What are you going to do?”
“I need to see if Dylan Warren is still alive.” I didn't wait for an answer.
I jogged to the Warrens’ house, knocking repeatedly on the do
or. “Go away!” I heard a shout from the inside.
“Mr. Warren, it's Olivia.” I wasn't sure that would be enough to let me in. Maybe I should have pretended to be his daughter again.
Slowly the door unlatched and he opened it, only to pull me inside and slam the door behind him. Already we'd broken the rules. I wasn't allowed to step foot in another's home. It was improper and illegal. Not that the rules had stopped Dylan a few weeks ago. “Where's my son?”
“Honestly, I don't know.” It was the truth. “Last I saw, he was okay though.” I did my best to assure him. “We need your help, Mr. Warren.” I offered him the best smile I could muster, as I reached out to rest a hand on his arm. “You owe me.”
“What?” He scoffed at the idea. “I don't owe you anything, Olivia.”
I rolled my eyes in frustration and glamoured just long enough that he could see me shift into Jacqueline. His eyes widened. “It was you, all along!”
“I guess you could say that,” I smirked. “You owe me. I didn't rat you out to Craynor.”
“Anita's dead. You keeping your mouth shut doesn't change any of it.”
“I didn't kill her!” I gasped. “It was your fault. You couldn't hide your indiscretions better. Besides, I could have told Craynor in the hallway that you admitted to knowing who I was. That wouldn't have ended well for you.” I put him in his place.
Dylan huffed. “As if it matters anymore. Not a chance I'm doing anything for you. I lost my wife, my daughter, and my son. I can assure you, Olivia, you are not at the top of my list of people to help.”
“Don't blame me for the situation you put yourself in,” I retorted. “All this,” I gestured, “is because people are unhappy with the way things are. You can't make children in a lab and not expect consequences, especially when you send the second born away. Or worse,” I continued. “When you force people who don't love each other to marry.”
Dylan's eyes narrowed. “None of that was my fault or my doing.”