“This is the wreckage of the military helicopter that crashed after trying to interfere in a riot that broke out at the Rhodes of America Annual Parade. The helicopter was called in after a winged man that has come to symbolize the terrorist movement against the Commission of the People was seen flying over the parade. The winged man pulled the two pilots and gunner out of the helicopter and then crashed the aircraft, jumping free of the wreckage and evading capture. There is no information yet about the well-being of the personnel who had been manning the helicopter.”
Every eye in the restaurant was glued to the screens as everyone held their breaths, watching the replays of the carnage, eyes darting between the people running away from the scene and those who ran into the fray.
I could do nothing but stare in horror.
This is what we had done.
We had created this chaos.
I knew at least one person had died because of it, recalling the brief glimpse of the woman dead on the asphalt.
That realization sat heavily on my chest. The people had finally snapped, and they had sided with us against the Commission, against the military, against the Central Administration because of what we had told them. We had changed the opinions of the nation and, after today, it was going to be a domino effect. Just as had happened with the Liberation Day Parade, people across the country were going to watch what happened that day and they were going to show their anger alongside their countrymen.
While there was a part of me that understood that meant more vandalism and more death, there was a strange sensation deep within me, licking at the walls of my stomach and causing my skin to prickle.
I felt powerful again. We could win this fight against the Commission of the People. The rebellion had turned into civil war.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Getting in touch with everyone after that fateful Sunday was extremely difficult. The school had been closed for the week because the capital had declared a state of emergency due to the riot. I watched the news religiously, even though that meant I had to sit with my infuriated parents, who were scolding me over and over again for going out when something so horrific had occurred.
So far, they had failed to see me on the news, which was a very good sign for my safety.
But I was full of anxiety. Because school had been cancelled and my parents were keeping such a close eye on me, I was unable to see Clark, Mykail, Mark, or anyone else in our group. On Tuesday, after I had spent all day watching the news and hearing the increasing number of dead and injured in the riot, I was frantic to know if we had lost anyone in our group in the chaos. I texted Clark and asked him if he saw the numbers on the news of the people who had died. When he responded that he had, I asked him if he knew who any of them were.
He did not reply.
Around eleven at night, I got a text message. Tense from the entire day, I scrambled to my phone, tripping as my feet were caught in the sheets of my bed and causing Dexter to meow in frustration. I was surprised that my cat even bothered to sleep on the bed with me anymore. I had been having such horrible nightmares that he would always move to his own bed at some point.
I glanced at the text message from Clark.
“Sorry about not getting back to you sooner. My mom had me running errands with her.”
I stared at the text message for a long moment, wanting to call Clark and scream at him for no particular reason. It seemed like too simple of an excuse to not text.
I stopped and turned to the window. Quickly making my way to the cold glass, I glanced out and saw Clark standing in my driveway. He waved at me.
When I got out to Clark, he was shivering violently, his lips blue.
“How long have you been out here?”
“Too long…” he admitted with a chuckle. “I got here about an hour and a half ago, but your parents were still awake. I was creeping from over the neighbor’s fence until I saw the lights go out.” He shivered, his teeth chattering.
“Come into the garage,” I said quickly, pulling him through the side gate and into the back door of the garage. I would have brought him into the house and up to my room, but I was already in enough trouble with my mother. I didn’t need to have a boy she believed to be my boyfriend in my bedroom so late at night.
“Are you okay? Where’s Mark?”
“I don’t know,” Clark shrugged. “Sean called him yesterday and he disappeared. I saw the car outside for about an hour this morning but it was gone around ten.”
“Is everything okay?”
“My mom says it is,” Clark nodded. “She said that Mark was working with the other security personnel and the Eight Group on some clean up stuff from the parade.”
“Do you know if we lost anyone?” I whispered, my voice tight.
Clark cleared his throat.
“We did lose Jackie,” he admitted slowly. “She was killed when she tried to escape. From what Mark said, her body was taken to the Commission after her identity was confirmed.” Clark shivered, forcing his teeth to stop chattering. “Mark also said that Josh made sure to contaminate the evidence they found from the autopsy that could lead to them finding out where she was living for the past two months.”
I let out a long sigh and shook my head.
“We are seriously lucky to have Mark and Josh…” I hissed. “Poor Jackie…” I pinched the bridge of my nose and shook my head, closing my eyes as I thought about the beautiful brown-haired, green-eyed girl who had been brought into the Commission because she had been found transporting drugs across region lines.
“Yeah…but at least she didn’t get taken back to the Commission alive,” Clark said quietly. “I’m sure Dana would have done much worse to her then…”
“That’s true,” I agreed, trying to take comfort in the fact, though it did not ease the pain. “So out of the nine that have been declared dead, only one was ours,” I murmured. Clark said nothing, looking at the ground awkwardly, his shivering slowly coming to a halt.
“It’s something we knew would happen…” he whispered.
“I know,” I hissed. “What about you? How are you doing?”
“I’m alright,” Clark said. “My mother is furious at me, but I think it’s just that she was afraid I was going to get hurt when the riot started.”
“You didn’t tell her that we were there, did you?” I hissed, my eyes going wide.
“No, no,” he assured quickly. “I told her what we agreed on. That we had a date, but we were away from the area.”
I sighed, relieved, but also remembering the current drama within my family.
“My mom is pissed, too.” I rolled my eyes. “She’s forbidding me from leaving the house for anything other than school next week.”
“Yeah…Mark has been absent, obviously, but he did tell me that he didn’t want to take me to the fort for a while. He wants everything to calm down,” Clark told me. “He told me that everyone was alright apart from what happened to Jackie. A few were nicked by bullets, but Peter, the med-school guy, is treating them.”
“Good thing we have a medical room at the fort,” I sighed. “Well, when you see Mark and he has a moment, I really want to talk to him.”
“Okay, I’ll tell him.”
We were silent for several long moments. I finally shook my head.
“We did it…we actually started a revolution…” I hissed. He laughed brokenly, nodding, also looking at the cement at his feet.
“Yeah…we did…”
“Feels a little too simple, doesn’t it?”
“Just a little.”
“So…” I continued, clearing my throat. “Are you still sure? You know, about…the next step?”
Clark looked up and swallowed hard before nodding, looking frightened, but not hesitant.
“Are you?” he pressed.
“I’ve been ready for a while,” I chuckled. “I’m pretty sick of this act I have to put on.”
“But are you really ready to say goodbye to this par
t of your life?” he asked seriously.
“Of course,” I nodded. I was sure of my words.
* *** *
On Friday, the city had calmed down and cleaned up from the riot. The number of people dead was at a solid eleven, and the number injured was at seventy-two. Of course, the media would not let go of what had happened, and continued to replay terrifying footage of the chaos, showing the people being beaten down, people dancing around the fiery crash of the helicopter, and the sheet covered bodies of the dead being hauled into different ambulances.
It was called the “Rhodes Parade Massacre.” Our group had solidified our title as domestic terrorists.
The most violent reaction to what was going on was from the international community. As far as the other countries were concerned, the powerhouse of the world was now in civil war, and it was entirely possible that America would crumble. Therefore, countries were quickly scrambling to figure out political powers and financial standings. There were conferences and meetings across the globe as the world prepared for our war against the Commission of the People.
While the city was cleaned up by Friday, the chaos had moved into my house.
Late that night, my mother called me down from my room. I grudgingly obeyed. We had been at each other’s throats the entire week, and my father was disappearing, adding credence to the belief that he was having an affair and upsetting my mother further, which just made me more indignant toward her and her habit of venting her anger on me.
However, she was still my mother, so I went to her when called.
She was sitting at the kitchen table, her laptop in front of her and her eyes filled with tears. I hesitated before climbing the three steps into the kitchen.
“Mom? What’s wrong?” I asked, feeling myself become very frightened that something had happened to my father.
She took a deep breath and cleared her throat, clicking a button on her computer and turning the screen to me.
“This was taken on the day of the parade…” she hissed, her voice tight.
I turned my attention to the screen and sat in the chair next to her. I watched the unsteady camera move around the float in front of our group and a strong wave of nausea passed over me. I watched in horror as my face appeared on the screen, next to Clark, holding the long, white banner. My eyes were glued to the screen, watching the banners drop, the camera turning upward to Mykail, following him, and then turning back to us as the people began to attack the military personnel shooting at the experiment. The camera stopped on a blurry frame where my face could be seen in the bottom left corner of the screen.
There was nothing I could say. I turned slowly to my mother, who was letting her tears flow.
“How could you?”
I blinked, shocked.
“How could I? How could I? You’re really asking me that?” I snapped. “Mom, I have been telling you for months that I don’t agree with the Commission, that I hate what they’re doing, and that I support this revolution. You think my opinions have suddenly changed?”
“You’re involved in this group?” she choked, trying to sniff back tears.
“Yes.”
“For how long?” she whispered. “Since before Mykail escaped?”
“He didn’t escape,” I told her simply. She closed her eyes and let out a breath as though my words had physically struck her. She turned away, her jaw clenched tight as she tried to breathe evenly.
“I didn’t want to believe it…” she mumbled. “How could you do this? To the family? To me and your father?”
“Since when is this about you?” I snapped. “You know, Mom, this is a hell of a lot bigger than our appearances. Dana and the Commission are building weapons out of people and torturing and enslaving other people! There was a time when that really bothered you…when you wanted nothing more than to get out…then all of the sudden you get a taste of Dana’s cock and all you want is—”
My mother’s hand lashed out and slapped me, effectively shutting me up, though it did nothing to calm me down. It enraged me further. She stood, shaking her head.
“You insolent little girl,” she snarled. “We don’t live in an ideal world. We live in an ugly world with some ugly truths, and that is something you just have to accept and live with, not put yourself in danger to try and upset people with information that they just don’t need to know.”
“If I don’t, then who will?” I growled. “Would it be better to wait until the Machine of Neutralization is done? Should we wait until Dana mass-produces those things and they take over the world? This is so much bigger than anything else that has happened to this country. We are trying to stop a mad-man from playing God!”
“That mad-man is the most powerful man in the world, so as far as you are concerned, he is God!” my mother bellowed. I stood quickly to face off to her. “You are putting yourself in unnecessary danger!”
“Mom, do you have any idea that Dana was molesting me when I was at the Commission after school?” I spat. “Did you know that he was telling me he was going to take me into the back and test on me? That he assaulted both me and Clark? Are you telling me that it’s okay to take that kind of abuse because he’s Dana fucking Christenson?”
“Yes,” my mother said, fixing me with a hard glare.
I blinked, my jaw dropping.
“You mean as long as it doesn’t affect you…” I hissed. “As long as I’m the perfect daughter you always wanted me to be and you don’t have to hear the ugly truth.”
“Don’t you dare think that you know how I feel,” my mother growled, pointing her finger. “You are young and stupid and you know fuck-all about anything that is going on because you are selfish enough to think that just because you are uncomfortable, the country needs to rebel.”
“I can’t believe you!” I yelled. “Who the hell are you?!”
“Things change, Lily,” my mother told me sharply. “People change, but you can’t go fucking up the entire country because you are upset with Dana.”
“Oh my God, Mom, I keep telling you, Dana is only part of the problem!” I told her, exasperated. “You always taught me to stand up for what I believe in, to fight for what I thought was right, regardless of what everyone else says! You taught me to be strong, to watch out for others who could not take care of themselves, and then as soon as I start doing that, you turn around and stab me in the fucking back! You have no one to blame but yourself for this!”
She pushed me so hard I fell to the ground, my whole body jolting with pain as I caught myself on my elbows, avoiding a painful crack to the back of my head from the hardwood floor. But before I could regain my bearings, my mother was on top of me, slapping me violently across the face and causing my head to fall back to the floor. I tried to curl up and get away from her hands as they continued to beat over my body.
“How dare you blame me for what you’ve done?!” she screeched. “I would never have raised my daughter to do something so fucking stupid!”
I wanted to yell back at her, but I was too busy covering my face and trying to keep her nails and hands from hitting me. She grabbed my wrist and ripped my hands away from my face, her nails digging deep gashes in my arm. I let out a choked cry of pain and tried to pull my hand out of her grasp, but I was immediately blindsided by her other hand smacking me flat on the front of my face, pushing my head into the ground as she put all her weight onto my skull.
“Mom! Stop it!”
“What? Now I’m your mother? I thought it was entirely my fault that you were such a selfish bitch! I thought that you didn’t know who I was anymore!”
I was beginning to become afraid that my mother would break one of my bones, or even kill me.
Suddenly, a deep voice washed over me and brought me intense relief and a new sense of panic.
“Karen! What the fuck are you doing?!”
My father hauled my mother off of me, though she was kicking and fighting, her feet connecting with my ribs as her nails ripped away the skin o
n my wrist. Her other fist pulled at my hair and lifted me off the ground as I struggled to get free of her.
“Get the fuck off me!” my mother screamed, continuing to kick and curse.
“Karen! Stop it! That’s your daughter!”
“Shut the fuck up, you cheating son of a bitch!” she screeched, turning her anger to him, shoving him away. I dared to glance at my mother from the ground, seeing the red flushing her face, the way her entire body was tensed and agitated, ready to attack anyone nearby like an infuriated animal. “You don’t think I know that you’re going out and fucking some little bitch?!”
My father stared at her for a moment, surprised.
“So you attack Lily?”
“Your fucking daughter has gotten herself mixed up in the fucking terrorist group!” she bellowed, pointing a trembling finger at me. “But, I guess that if you’re willing to throw away our marriage for some bitch, then you’re throwing away our daughter as well, so it shouldn’t matter to you!”
“Of course it fucking matters! And you were the one who threw the family away when you went and fucked Dana!” my father retaliated. “So how dare you accuse me of infidelity?”
“Of course, everything comes back to me, it’s all my fault!” my mother cried. “It’s my fault that you’re cheating, it’s my fault that our daughter is part of a fucking domestic terrorist group, well you know what, fuck both of you! I have done everything I could for this family, and you’re going to just throw it back in my face like that?”
“You’re fucking insane!” I gasped from the ground. “What the fuck? Did Dana’s dick make you catch his crazy or something?”
“Don’t you dare,” she kicked me hard, once in the stomach and then in the back after I curled up, “talk down to me, you little whore!”
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