In order for us to go against the Vojin, we’d need to side with them so we’d get the opportunity to learn their weaknesses. The Vojin are intelligent beings, never allowing us to travel to their home. They limit the information provided about their kind, only keeping us privy to the plan. Our training material has taught us to know our enemy, be an insurgent if needed. The Vojin never gave us that opportunity. And it’s sad we’re just now realizing they’ve been dragging us along with empty promises and misleading orders.
The excessive heat warnings continue for another week. We’re seeing temperatures as high as one hundred and twenty. Without the obstacle course, track, and target course, I’m running out of things to teach the Normals. They need to get dirty, lose their breath, fight in the field until someone draws blood. They’re getting bored too. Honestly, we should be gone by now, off to fight for the America. But the Zombies have changed everything.
Since they bombed the hole, there haven’t been any daytime Zombie attacks, and the constant day and night sweeps have been successful in keeping them away from the base.
It’s so safe, the Trade made an appearance. I am in awe that a Trade Officer stopped by. They never leave their sky towers in Highrum where their base-sized island hovers over the busiest city in the America where the wealthy and gifted reside.
Scientists, doctors, and educators roam their crowded streets, smiles washing their neighborhood as they carry out their daily tasks without a care in the world. Their children are raised without a concern of Separation or fear of death. They have children, the normal way. These Normals have the privilege of caring for their offspring from birth to adulthood, and those privileged ticks live a life that more than half of this world could never dream of. They hug their parents, relax their shoulders as they stroll the streets, laugh freely, don’t care about being watched or seen doing something restricted, they love…They love their person of interest freely and forever if they want.
A freedom such as that is too far out of my reach.
I sigh, looking over the crowd of privates staring up at me. “Review?” I ask them.
“No,” Christian says. “Can you tell us what you expected when you came to Separation?”
A lot of chatter erupts following his request, agreeing with his query. They’ve been training all day, hand to hand combat and target practice here in the training hall. Most of them are drenched in sweat, others are ready for another round, getting a little antsy as they encourage me to answer Christian’s question.
“Okay, calm down,” I say loudly. “I will discuss it.” Once they quiet, I offer, “It was expected that we would train and then fight in the wars. The wars are against the other countries so we can keep our land and our power. It never stops. As the sea water continues to rise, citizens of the country continue to destroy their towns, and population increase, land is becoming sparse. The other countries are greedy, and if the America lets up for a second, our country will be wiped right out from under us. We didn’t know about the Zombies until weeks after we arrived to Separation.”
“What was your first reaction to the Zombies?” asks a girl wearing a big puffy ponytail.
“Shock,” I say wide-eyed, rubbing the front of my neck. “They were like nothing I’ve ever seen before. They’re monsters I don’t understand,” I add, an edge of uneasiness creeping in my tone and raising my voice an octave.
“What do you think will come of us if we go against them?” Renae is her name, I think. She’s from Sean’s group. Sitting on her knees, she crosses her arms. “After what happened with the Zombies on base, we’ve all been wondering.”
I ask, “Us? You mean you? Non-Creations?”
“Yes,” Multiple people respond.
“The same as Creations. If you are scratched, bitten, spit on, or infected by them in any way, you turn into one of them.”
“And you kill us?”
A large black figure in my periphery catches my eye from the only window in the training hall. A bus is pulling in. Turning back to the impatient faces, I say, “Yes, we will kill. And you shouldn’t feel bad about that. Because if it were our own twin…we would kill them too.” Another bus pulls up behind the first.
My friends and the other Creations are back! It’s going to be so nice to get rid of this large team. There are too many people to keep up with.
Although Fein thinks I hate her for being a traitor, she’s missed too.
A slender boy with draping blond hair raises his hand, asking, “If you lose your twin, then you are like us, right?”
Uncontrollably, my gaze flicks to Edward. Though his eyes are still blue, where they were once as vibrant as a bright blue sky, they’re now cloudy—in pain. I swallow hard and force myself to answer, “Yes.” Sweeping my hand from left to right, I instruct, “Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll be back.”
Creations are pouring out of three buses, filling the air with red dust and crowding the open roads. I scan the faces, spotting Fein as she spots me. I smile, waving to her. She runs over. “Hey,” she hugs me quickly.
“How was it?” I ask.
Nodding, an indifferent smile smooths her lips into a thin line. “It was bad. But we took care of it.”
“Where were you drafted?”
Fein’s orange eyes grow brighter as she smiles wider. “We went to Oregon. It was practically burned to the ground.”
“The entire state?”
“Yes. It wasn’t as bad as I may be making it seem, but the humans there were out of control.” Oregon is—was—an average state. Only five males resided there with the females. Like the Dakotas, the Carolinas, and Oklahoma, they bred for workers whose occupation would be to construct and build. “It’s nonexistent. There was nothing to save. The remaining citizens who showed no signs of the infection and who didn’t go against management were transferred to California. After that, we had an emergency evacuation of Nevada. The undead had taken over. We dropped in, saved the remaining citizens, and burned it down. They haven’t said if they will keep that state or not.”
I shrug. “They may not.”
“How’s it been here?”
“Things have been quite interesting around here. We can get into details later. Come get your group so they can get away from me.” I turn on my heels, heading back to the training room.
“You had everyone’s Normals while we were gone?”
“Yes, I did. Who else is back?”
“Um, I’m not sure. Look, Ky,” she pulls me to a stop. “Thank you for what you are doing. I mean it.”
I turn away from her, continuing onward. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Fein.” I keep my back to her as I mention, “If I were you, I would stay away from Cory.”
She clears her throat, letting me know I was heard, but she doesn’t question it.
We walk into the training hall, and her group jumps to their feet, cheering as they run to her. She joins in, pumping her fists in the air as they hoot her name. Without waiting for my dismissal, they leave, and I couldn’t care less.
Two more buses pull in as Luke enters the training hall. With five long strides to the center of the room, he steals everyone’s attention. He announces, “The last of today’s Leader and Creation arrivals are coming in. If you are a member of Floyd’s team, he will meet you in here. He should be here shortly. If you are on Marc or Sean’s team, they will meet you in your recreation hall. Head there now. Joyce and Jace will meet in the rec hall too. Those of their groups can stick around for thirty minutes and then head over.”
Those instructed slowly climb to their feet but rush from the room. I’m relieved the pressure is off my shoulders. The twenty-some-odd group members of my own are enough, and I’ve fallen behind on checking in on their emotional states and strengthening progress.
Floyd comes in, and his group cheers as they go to him. Seems they were happy to get away from me as well.
“My group,” I call over the chatter, “is done for the day.” Turning to Luke, I
ask, “What are you about to do?”
“I have to check in with the captains who are still gone to see when they will return. Then I’ll go out with Harold to check the new labs. Then I’ll follow up with the captains and privates. You’ll be in attendance for it. We have to discuss the game plan for the threat with Jord.”
“Cool. I’m going to lunch. Come find me later.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sitting on the floor with my knees propped up, I look up at Jord as he discusses the Vojin’s threat, and finally, what we plan to do about it. For years, living uneducated, I’ve taken everyone for their word. Now, I’ll study facial expressions. I’ll work harder to read between the lines. I’m tired of having this wool pulled over my eyes.
“We have confirmation the outsiders will attempt to go to war against us. No one is prepared for this yet.” Sir Jord takes a pause and looks over the unfazed faces of the captains and privates of our division. We sit among each other in the leader rec hall, each eagerly awaiting the ‘go,’ we’ve been itching to hear since we arrived. “Many other countries have agreed to fight with us against them. Over the next few weeks, we will strategize and come up with ways to defeat this enemy who was once our ally.”
Before continuing, he makes direct eye contact with a few Creations. His eyes narrow slightly when he does this, but I cannot look to see who they are without giving myself away that I noticed this brief gesture.
“The Trade believes there may be implants from the outsiders among us.” His voice rises an octave, grudgingly stating, “Creations who stand with us but not for us. And these implants,” he spits the word, “who wear our numbers and spoke our vows, will fight against us at the time of war.” He bows his head, and his next words start as a murmur then rise with such triumph, it pumps adrenaline through my veins. “Here is a warning that will only be stated once. If there are any implants in this sector, and you are found out, the rules for a Creation’s protection won’t apply here. You will be executed publicly so everyone knows you will never come in our house, pretend to be one of us, all to turn against us! We do not tolerate traitors. Respond!”
“We understand!”
“As you were.” Jord leaves, and chatter erupts through the rec hall.
I move from the floor to the table as we all space out and return to our activities.
Collins is the first at our table to speak, as expected. “Implants with us?” she asks, staggered.
“Unbelievable,” Cecilia seconds her.
“Kylie,” Seits calls, standing behind me. “I’d like to speak with you after dinner.”
An uneasy feeling makes me queasy. “Okay,” I agree in a strong tone. Tonight, she might make me do a sweep with her, Cory, Hanley, and Jord. The four of them may hold me down while a Zombie comes to bite me, and they’ll leave me stranded in the desert as I turn into a monster until the Vojin come to save me. All so they can prove I’m an implant. “I will meet you in your office.”
She nods once and walks away. Luke, Sean, and Marc enter as she exits. They sit, lunch trays smacking the table. Marc sits next to me, and finally, the sun comes out and brightens the dreariness of my last few weeks. I suck in a lungful of this fresh air, and I hope. I don’t look at him or noticeably acknowledge his presence. I simply find his hand resting on the bench. He moves his fingers between mine and holds my hand tightly. I let out the breath I held and allow my shoulders to relax.
“How was Citizen Management?” Gia asks. I’ve missed most of the conversation, but Collins doesn’t appear too happy to have been cut off.
“Deadly,” Sean answers.
“Waulers had taken over our state,” Marc adds. “They had run many people from their homes and taken up the vacancies.”
“At first it was hard to tell everyone apart,” Sean cuts in. “And a lot of innocent people might have died.”
“Where were you?” Collins asks, stuffing her soup-soaked bread into her mouth.
Marc answers, “Maine. I don’t think it will be lasting much longer.”
Fein mentioned earlier how her state, Oregon, was diminished too. Acre by acre, they’re already taking our land from us. We’ve just been too blind to see it until now. “Why do you say that?” I ask Marc, finally looking at him.
He meets my eyes but says nothing. He only stares. Seconds pass before he lets go of my hand, gets up, and leaves.
As usual, I stare at him walking away, hearing Sean ask, “What did you do, Ky?”
I shrug, turning back around. What didn’t I do?
Cory sits next to me, and the air that was once fresh is now full of smut. “You should not sit here,” I tell him.
“Let me talk to you, Ky.” His face is healed, and this bothers me. I wish he could have worn those bruises longer. He’s done well staying out of my sight since our last altercation. Why he’s popping up now, I don’t care enough to ask.
“She’s not talking to you. Leave.” Luke stands up quickly, fuming.
Cory stands. “Just for a minute, Kylie.”
I rise to my feet. “Stay away from me, Cory. I mean it,” I threaten in a low voice. I don’t want to do this in front of everyone, but I will.
He grabs my arm, and I yank back from him before my free hand balls to a fist and jabs him in his nose. His head whips back once and then again from another quick blow I didn’t intend to execute. Sean grabs me. I’ve grown familiar with the feel of his arms because they’re like his brother’s. They’re both quite muscular and strong, a clear indication of their years in boxing rings and weight training.
Luke moves in front of me, punching Cory again. He hits the floor.
Hanley races over and helps her brother up. “What is your problem, Luke?”
“Don’t question him,” I tell her. “Question your brother.”
Cory shakes himself out and jabs a point at me. “You are tripping, Ky! What you think is wrong. It wasn’t like that at all.”
Sean’s still holding me back, keeping my arms pinned behind me. “I don’t care, Cory. I’m only going to warn you once. The next time you speak to me, upon your approach, I will draw blood. Give me fifty feet at all times!”
“I saved you, Kylie,” he loudly defends as I’m turning around.
Twisting back around, I shout, “Saved me? If it wasn’t for you,” I express with the harsh point of my finger, “I wouldn’t have needed saving.”
“What did he save you from?” Sean asks near my ear.
“I can’t say.” I grab Luke’s arm. “Let’s go before the snake strikes us.” This isn’t the time or the place, and while I hate Cory, his circumstances aren’t the onlookers’ business. Plus, if they knew what I know, I’d be just as guilty.
We leave the rec hall, and I remember Seits requested I stop by. “I’ll catch up to you two later. Going to check in with Seits.”
“I’m coming with you,” Luke informs, giving a nod to Sean as he jogs toward our home.
Sean calls, “Include me in later tonight.” Likely wanting to know the details about the fuss with Cory.
Luke and I head for Jord’s office. Shaking his head, Luke states, “You’re not meeting with Seits alone anymore. Not after she turned you into one of those walking dead. I still think they are in this together.”
“I know.”
“Madam?” I call when we walk into the general’s office.
“I called for Kylie, Luke,” Seits says, looking at Luke with annoyance.
Luke crosses his arms and stands with his chest pushed out. “I’m standing in to ensure my twin doesn’t get turned into the walking dead.” He’s slowly losing his respect, and that’s a bad sign.
“It wasn’t my order, Luke. The Trade required Kylie be tested to confirm she was not an implant. My assurance was not enough. The turning was the last of her tests to see if the outsiders would try to save her. She was out there for hours before she was found.”
“You wanted to speak with me?” I change the subject. Luke will go on and on, expr
essing his disapproval about the way I was treated, and I appreciate he has my back.
“To thank you and apologize.” Seits wants to apologize…? Weeks have passed, and now she wants to apologize. She has spoken with me several times since then. She’s sitting forward on the chair, hands clasped, resting on the desk. The corners of her mouth are slightly turned upward in a smug smile, giving off the slightest hint of security. But I don’t believe it. To hell with her apology!
“I’m fine. Is there anything else?”
“The labs are about finished. A group of you will check on them after they have built the bridges for crossing over the hole.”
“I understand. If there isn’t anything else, we’ll dismiss ourselves,” I say.
“You two can leave.”
We leave the office for our house. Luke whispers, “Later tonight, I’ll tell you how we’re going to go to war against the outsiders.”
“Cool,” I sing with a nod. “I want to hear all about it.”
When we make it to our home, I rush through a shower and get dressed. On my way back to my room, Marc’s door calls to me. I put my clothes away and go to it, opening the door without knocking.
He’s not here.
I pace the floor until my legs get tired, then sit on his bed and wait for him. Soon, I’m lying down, thinking about what I’m going to say. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and it seems silly to apologize for past events. But maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do. Maybe I should even say I miss him or show I miss him. Unless he doesn’t miss me…
This is a weird feeling.
Anticipation. This is what I must be feeling; an emotional state of anxiety awaiting a private reunion with Marc.
I stuff his pillow beneath my head and pull the blanket up to my shoulders, getting comfortable as I wait on his return. With my back to the door, I hear it open.
“No, Collins, not tonight,” Marc says, following her request to be welcomed in his room. I remain quiet, likely unnoticed.
“Why not?” she flirts. There’s a bit of shuffling.
“I’m not with that.”
Salient Invaders: A Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Series (The Separation Trilogy Book 2) Page 15