The Revealed

by Jessica Hickam

  “Practice, practice, practice,” Skylar waves his fork like it’s a magic wand.

  “Nerd,” Maya slinks into him with her arm, her curls bouncing with her effort.

  He shrugs and takes another bite. “I like hand to hand.”

  “I’m a lover, not a fighter,” Maya counters.

  “So am I,” Skylar says. “But if it’s kill or be killed, you better believe I’m not going to hold back.”

  That’s a mantra I can relate to.

  “Well, I hear Julia wants to put together a group to attempt a wasteland colonization effort. Apparently, we’re getting too many members. We’ll have to expand soon.”

  “It’s true,” Rory nods. “The problem is going to be security. This facility is practically a fortress. The only way in is via submarine and ours is the only surviving vehicle I know about. On land, it’s a whole other story.”

  “Either way, sign me up for that mission,” Maya says.

  “No way,” Romni shakes his meaty head. “I’m taking down the bad guys, starting with Westerfield. There is no chance I’m missing out on that action.”

  It isn’t until Rory grabs my wrist that I realize I’ve been swirling my food around my plate. It’s my “tell” when I’m anxious. One she knows well by now.

  I grimace.

  She shrugs, “It’s not like you’re ruining my plate decor anymore.” Her grin is reassuring, but it falls flat. My mood is hopelessly somber. She takes a breath and tries again to muster some energy. “You did really well today.”

  “Yeah, until that wind she created whipped her hair all over her face and blinded her,” Nero says, laughing with a big dollop of potato salad rolling around on his tongue.

  Nero and Romni decided to watch the spectacle of my training today as well. Even Maya and a few of her friends stopped by before lunch.

  Rory flicks her finger out and a quarter-size ball of ice hits Nero on the side of his head with a thud.

  “Hmm,” she says at the noise, “I guess that means there is something in there after all. Doesn’t sound very big though.”

  Nero rubs the side of his head, glaring at her with spritely emerald eyes.

  Rory raises an eyebrow, pointing her fork at him as both a dare and a warning. He wisely realizes Rory’s abilities greatly outweigh his and shuts his mouth, sulking and massaging his head.

  “It really is impressive,” Maya assured me. “You’ve only had a little over a week. I didn’t get sent on a mission for months after I arrived at The Revealed. You should be really proud.”

  I don’t feel proud. I feel pressure, overwhelming pressure to be better and stronger.

  Rory turns back to me. “We’ll practice again this afternoon and maybe spend time in the greenhouse?” her voice ticks up to ask the question.

  I run a finger across my tense brow. “Okay.” I shove another bite of sandwich in my mouth and push the plate away. “Ready. I’ll meet you in the greenhouse in a few minutes,” I tell Rory and rush out of the room before she can ask where I’m headed.

  A few people smile at me as I make my way down the hall. Faces are starting to look more familiar, and the black outfits no longer make me uncomfortable. I run my hand along the symbol embroidered over my heart. It’s becoming a habit. I used to hate and fear this symbol, now I have put my faith in it.

  Without looking at the pattern I can trace its curve. Whether I decide to stay with The Revealed permanently or not, they have left their mark on me—both beneath my hairline and in a deeper way. My soul is slowing becoming entwined with the mission here. I’m aware that if I allow it to continue, it will become too tangled to unravel without pulling myself apart in the process. The Revealed have changed me for the better.

  That doesn’t mean I’m ready to leave Capitol City behind.

  When I get to my dorm room, I quickly flip open my computer and log in to my email. No new messages.

  It’s been long enough that I can’t pretend like he just hasn’t checked his email. It sends my guts twisting. I’m not ready to leave my past behind, but what if Kai is? It’s a constant fear within me. The insecurity that suddenly, he’ll decide I’m disposable makes me feel weak and incapable. It makes me want to go hiding under the bleachers again and never come out to face the world.

  “What are you doing?”

  I whirl to face Rory. She’s peering over my shoulder looking at my email.

  “Just wanted to check the news,” I sputter quickly.

  She moves around me and clicks on the “SENT” folder before I can stop her. My message to Kai pops up at the top of the feed.

  “I knew it,” she shakes her head.

  “Rory, I had to talk with him,” I exclaim. “I couldn’t leave things … like that.”

  “You have no idea what you’ve done. This isn’t a game! The government can track this, Lily. This could lead the North American Sector right to our front door. You have to leave your other life behind. A message like this could compromise everything, including your parents’ lives. You know that. Your life. His life. The life of this country, they all depend on your ability to move on and accept this new path. Isn’t this what you want?’

  My mouth opens, then shuts, then opens again wordlessly. A life with purpose and making a difference for people is what I’ve always wanted. If The Revealed is everything they say they are, I will have more than ample opportunity to explore the world like I’ve always wanted and see new things. But how am I supposed to do all of that and forget about what could have been with Kai? I don’t want to wake up and realize that I let him get away. I don’t want to see him on the news, accomplishing things and building a life without me. Before The Revealed, there was Kai. Kai was the first person who didn’t want to hold me back. It’s because of him that I’m with The Revealed.

  Rory grabs my shoulders, “Get with the program!” She shakes me slightly.

  “I’m trying.”

  “We’re running out of time for trying. You have to make decisions and make them quickly. If you keep stewing over this instead of acting, you’re mind will be all over the place and you won’t be ready for this mission.”

  “I’m trying,” I repeat, throwing her arms off me. I don’t need another mother. I need a best friend. I need her to understand what I’m dealing with. “I just need some time.” I push around her, heading out of the room, the pressure threatening to crush me under its weight. It’s hard to breathe past the anxiety.

  I go to the citrus grove greenhouse, which is dedicated to oranges, limes, and lemons, spaced in neat rows. The fresh, floral smells roll over me the instant I walk in the room: a relaxing aromatherapy. The warmth clouds around me like fog. I roll up the ends of my black pants and take off my shoes, feeling the dirt between my toes.

  I run my fingers over the leaf of a lemon tree, and rub the wax between my fingers as though it were perfume.

  My pulse finally feels like it’s returning to normal, and the relief that washes over me is enough to make the tears form at the corner of my eyes. Now is not the time for tears. Rory is right. Now is the time to make decisions.

  I sit at the base of a tree and stretch my back against it. The greenhouse lights almost make me feel like I’m sitting in the shade on a sunny summer day.

  When I close my eyes, I am there: it’s before the war, and I’m six years old. I’m rushing through the desert outside our adobe house. There’s the soft scurry of a rabbit running with me. My house is an oasis amongst the cacti and gravel.

  My father used to love citrus. He planted fruit trees in our backyard—one orange, one lemon, and one grapefruit. When they bloomed, the smell from those trees wafted through the whole cul-de-sac.

  I would turn the hose on and spray the grass and dirt of my backyard to watch the butterflies collect at the puddles. My father would sit outside with me, and we would bask in the sun in afternoons with nothing to do but be together.

  Absentmindedly, I reach my hand up and twirl the end of a lemon branch around my f
ingers. The smooth bark glides beneath my touch.

  What I wouldn’t give for those days again. Things were simple. I didn’t know anything about good or evil, other than what I saw in Disney films where the bad guy always lost.

  Now everything seems to be shaded in the gray of uncertainty. My choices, my responses, mean life or death. When did that happen? Rory is right. That email was a mistake.

  I’m a part of a team now, and my actions don’t just affect me. The Revealed are affecting change that I could be a part of if I let myself, instead of sabotaging everything because of my petty feelings. There’s a big world out there, one I’ve just started to see the edges of.

  I would rather live in the gray of uncertainty if it meant I got to experience life, wouldn’t I?

  That six-year-old I was hadn’t really understood or appreciated the beauty. She hadn’t been able to see a bigger picture, because all she’d had was sunshine.

  Maybe that’s okay for a while. It’s good for a kid.

  But I’m not a kid anymore. It isn’t enough.

  And I know in myself that even if Westerfield wasn’t coming after my parents or The Revealed hadn’t taken me, I still would have sought out more in life. I want a life beyond the small one I’ve been living, a bigger adventure to explore. I’ll take the messy, uncertain gray that comes with taking such a risk, if it also means I get to experience life and can make a difference.

  Something shifts in front of me.

  I jerk at the sound.

  Rory. “How long have you been there?”

  She’s leaning against the trunk of an orange tree. Her blonde hair falls loosely over one shoulder. Her arms are crossed over her chest.

  “Long enough to see you’ve been holding out.” She tips her chin at the lemon I’ve just created on the tree. It’s plump and ripe, perfect for picking.

  “I’m not holding out,” I say in a clipped tone.

  “You need to let yourself go. Let yourself experience whatever it is you’re bottling up inside of you.”

  “I’m not—” But I can hear it, even in my voice. It sounds harsher, stressed. And I think back to the dream and rub my forehead.

  “Let it out.” Rory, my eternal counselor, grips my shoulders.

  I try to shake her off.

  She holds fast.

  And when she won’t let go, I shove my hands against her shoulders.

  She continues holding so I push again. And the wind that bursts from me is so strong that she falls back.

  “I don’t think I can save them,” I say, tears springing to my eyes.

  But she’s smiling. “You will if you use your abilities like that.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  I find Julia in her office.

  It’s stainless steel just like the rest of the facility, with a white couch to the left of the room. It looks unnaturally clean and sleek, almost like Julia herself. Everything is modern and sharp. A white orchid sits on top of the black desk Julia is behind. She must keep the delicate flower alive herself, since the lights are all artificial here.

  Julia is working at a computer. When she sees me, she takes off her square-rimmed glasses and closes the laptop.

  “Have a seat,” she gestures to one of the plush, black chairs in front of her desk.

  I settle in.

  “What can I do for you, Lily?”

  I realize I’m biting my bottom lip and stop, before looking at her squarely. “I just wanted to let you know I’m ready.” It’s been two weeks since I’ve been with The Revealed and the election is only a week away.

  She smiles and clasps her hands on the desk.

  “You have to let me do this mission.”

  “The only one that will stop you is yourself.”

  “Then I choose to go,” I tell her.

  Julia hands me one of the glass orbs, and I will it to hover above my open palm. As it floats above my hand, I stare back at her. She can’t fault me for my skill. I’ve been working night and day to find some semblance of control over my abilities. I’m no Rory or Skylar, but I’ve certainly got a rudimentary control of my new capabilities.

  “You have improved,” she concedes. “Maybe the fastest I’ve ever seen anyone advance. Then again, I don’t think anyone has had quite the motivation you have.”

  I continue to toy with the orb, letting it dance across my fingers.

  “The mission doesn’t just stop once we save your father. You realize that, don’t you?”

  “Of course.”

  “There are hundreds of Westerfields out there and millions of people who could benefit from our abilities. We have a responsibility not to turn our backs on them. But we also have a right to choose our own paths in life.” She snatches the orb from me with just a flick of her finger. She wants my undivided attention apparently. My eyes meet her crystal gaze. It’s like staring into a different sort of orb, equally as hypnotizing. “Whatever you choose, there is no going back.”

  “I don’t want to go back,” I say automatically, and then an image of Kai filters through my mind. I don’t want to go back to the way things were with my parents, inside that shell of a house, but I’m not ready to leave Kai behind. So maybe I don’t want to go back, but can I move forward? I’m not sure. It’s a white lie I allow to hang between Julia and me.

  She buys it. Sort of. “I don’t think you do. But I don’t think you’re ready to make the decision about where you belong yet, either. And because you aren’t invested in this organization, I’m not sure I can trust you in the field.”

  “I won’t stay here and watch my parents get murdered on national television,” I stand suddenly from my chair. “I won’t let you keep me here while—”

  Julia stands up too and puts a hand back up to silence me. “Sit back down, Lily,” she says steadily. “I would never propose to take you away from your family like that when they are in danger.”

  The relieved breath that escapes me is so sudden, I choke on it and find myself coughing slightly as I breathe.

  “But,” Julia holds up a finger. “You must swear to me you’ll listen to everything Rory and your team members tell you.”

  “I promise.”

  “And you will remember that there are thousands of lives at risk. Your parents are our priorities, but there is also the greater good to consider.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you will think long and hard about what you want after this mission. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. I would hate to see you leave. The potential for you here is extraordinary. Don’t waste the opportunity to do something important with your life.”

  “Okay.” I begin to imagine what it would be like to be one of them, but concern for my parents and those sneaky thoughts of Kai dominate my thoughts.

  Julia seems to be reading my mind.

  “Lastly,” she says, “you will follow protocol and stay away from Kai Westerfield. Eyes will be on him during Election Day, and I can’t risk exposure if you’re spotted.”

  My cheeks flush a little with her being so public about my relationship with Kai. She discusses it like a business deal.

  “No calling. No emails. No eye contact. I need your word on this one. No more sneaking correspondences. At least until the election is over, though I think we would all feel more at ease if you two decided to part ways. It isn’t just about you anymore. You hold the potential to destroy The Revealed.”

  Well, when she put it like that she made my email sound treasonous.

  I bite my lip, take a deep breath, and agree. “I promise.”

  “Good.” There’s something like pride in her eyes.

  From there, Julia spends an hour briefing me on the mission. She goes over everything including the satellite phone I’ll be provided for communication as well as the highway routes we’ll take to get to the capitol. She already knows the size of the stage that will be set up for the announcement and the number of people expected to attend. The polls will close at 5:00 p.m. with the announcement
scheduled at 8:00 p.m. to allow for proper vote tallying. Depending on traffic, we are scheduled to arrive at the Capitol Building between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. This will allow for a solid window of time during the afternoon to locate the sniper and subdue the threat before my father ever steps on stage.

  After the plan has been drilled into my mind, Julia finally dismisses me.

  “Oh Lily,” she calls me back with one final thought before I can open the door, “the submarine leaves at 7:00 a.m. sharp. It’s the only one we have, so don’t be late.”

  I nearly stumble from Julia’s office I’m so filled with relief at being allowed to help with the mission. And then I realize that just because I’ve gotten what I want doesn’t mean The Revealed is any closer to saving my parents’ lives.

  But I’m closer to figuring out mine, and that has to count for something, right?

  Until this point, my life has been about being contained and composed. Now, for the first time, I’m becoming something wild and unexpected. There’s no straight line toward anything for me. It’s both exhilarating and terrifying, but I know I’m alive.

  There’s nothing that can kill that electric shock of life faster than a research project, but that’s where Skylar, Rory, and Maya are spending their afternoon, and I promised earlier in the day I would help.

  They’re gathering information to take with us on our trip to land. Anything that could be useful to stop Westerfield is being compiled.

  We’ll take a handful of the most-incriminating evidence to turn over to the authorities once Westerfield is apprehended.

  With any luck, by the end of Election Day, Westerfield will be in jail and people will know the truth about The Revealed. Then we don’t have to hide anymore. We can integrate into society, and I’ll have the chance to make things work for real with Kai.

  There are quite a few people milling about the research room, toiling over folders of papers. Just like a library, the light shuffling of pages is the only noise aside from the backdrop hum of air ducts imbedded in the walls of the facility.