by Karin Dahan
“No, don’t talk like that. You are not going to die, Adira. I won’t let you. Someone will come soon. Ryker must be on his way …”
She manages a small smile. “I don’t fear death … and it’s time I get to see my son again … God knows how much I have missed him.”
“I can’t do this on my own Adira. How will I survive without you?” I put my forehead against hers, trying to use my willpower to heal her. My tears are streaming now, tiny drops falling off my chin and onto Adira. She struggles to lift her hand, putting it gently on my check.
“You can survive, and you will. You are so much stronger than you realize.” A cough rocks her body, and I can tell she’s struggling to talk. “Just make sure you live; surviving is not worth it if there’s no one to live for. Don’t shut out the people who love you …”
Her face has gone so pale and her hand drops to her side. She has no more energy left in her body. I can see her slipping away from
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me, “Adira … no, don’t go.”
“Live … for … me.” She takes a raspy breath and then her whole body relaxes in my arms.
“No … no ….no!”
Tears are streaming down my cheek and I hold her close, rocking her in my arms. “I love you Adira,” I whisper as I close my eyes. “Come back to me, please.”
Edward’s neutral voice makes me realize I have forgotten that he was still in the room. “She’s dead, Eddie. It’s time you come with me.”
“Why did you do this?” I sob, still holding onto my dead friend.
“You truly are an ignorant child, aren’t you? Do you not know what world we live in? It’s not a fairy tale. We can’t simply change our reality. We need to adapt to survive, like all living things on this planet. You either adapt to stay alive, or you die.” Edward pushes off from his desk and takes a step toward me. “It took me a long time to figure that out. In the beginning I was like Clare, working for a better world. Then I saw that the Rebellion is as selfish as Tenebris. They let Clare die.” He raises his voice when he says her name. “And they didn’t care. I was left to my own devices, surviving at Tenebris’ mercy. And I did not
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have it easy, let me tell you!” He points a finger at me.
My grief is giving way to anger the more Edward talks. “So what? You decided to just become like Tenebris, heartless and selfish?! A murderer!!?” I spit out at him.
His mouth twitches to a smile. “You are too young to understand. If I don’t want to end up like your dead parents, I have to take care of myself first and foremost. Then, I can help others. When you came to my door that day with the ingredients, I knew I had hit the jackpot. My miserable life would finally turn for the better. That paper is priceless. I was going to auction it off to the highest bidder. We were going to be set for life … if you just would have stayed put.”
“If this was your plan all along then why did you send me away? Why burn the paper?” I’m trying to reign in my emotions, focus on not letting it get the best of me, like Adira taught me. I know I should stand up, run for help. But I can’t make myself let go of her body. I know when I do the reality of her death will be undeniable.
Edward plays with his moustache, twinning the corners. “Think, Eddie … That paper is worth too much to have in my apartment. So were you. I knew Tenebris would pay me a visit when he heard you were alive. Sending you to Adira while I safely auctioned off the
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document was the smartest option. Once I knew who had bought it, I was going to come for you and the recipe.”
“You sound like Morrick, and he’s a sociopath.” My voice is growing stronger and I’m focusing on my breathing to stop my tears from falling. “How did you change so much?”
“Oh, your little friend. You know I don’t believe he’s an actual sociopath. He had a soft spot for you. I know he would object if he knew I was giving you to Tenebris after this.”
“You what?”
“Tenebris was the highest bidder of course. And once I told him about you, he was willing to pay even more. You are valuable for reasons you don’t even know. And once you showed that you could not be trusted I knew there was no other way.” He turns around and grabs his suitcase from the table. “You did this to yourself. It’s time we get going now.”
I look down at Adira and gently kiss her forehead. I will make her proud of me. I will finish what I started. I take a deep breath and close my eyes, calming my raising heart and my wondering mind, like she taught me. My whole being is telling me to fall to the ground, to grieve over how life has treated me, to grieve the friend I have just lost.
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But I can’t. I will not be weak in the time when I need to be strong. And I cannot go with Edward. That much is clear. I will not be taken to Tenebris. He will kill or torture me for sure.
I’ve to get the recipe out, finish what my parents started. Edward still has his copy somewhere. I look around the room to see if I can see the paper. He turns around and looks at me. “You will not find the recipe just laying around like trash,” he says as he shakes his hand and brings out a small leather book from his inside pocket. “It’s safe and sound. Don’t worry.” He puts the book back in his pocket and pats the suit jacket. He walks to stand next to me, bending down to grab my arm. “Stand up and start walking. The army is most likely in the building already.”
His fingers remind me of the claws of a hawk, and I take a deep breath as I prepare myself for what’s to come. I clear my mind as I put my fingers around the Bo stick that is next to her body. I have never held the Bo before, but it feels familiar.
“I’m not a child anymore.” My voice is strong now as I stand up tall, swiftly swinging the Bo close to the ground as I do. It hits Edward on the back of his knees, making him fall to the floor. I swing it a second time, hitting him in the chest so he’s knocked backwards.
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“You little brat.” Edward struggles to get his bearing, but I push the Bo into his chest, remembering how Adira held me down the first time we met.
“I’m your uncle. You put that down.” He grabs the Bo with his hands and I put my weight behind the stick making it dig into his chest. A small sound of surprise escapes him, and he turns red from anger. “You’re as ignorant as your stupid father. And you will pay for it. Your friends are all taken by now. I told Tenebris where your location was. I didn’t expect you to come running to my room. He was extremely appreciative for the layout and the codes to the front gate.”
“My friends …” I whisper as I think about them waiting for me upstairs now. In a split second my mind shifts to the thought of what might be happening to the crew. Edward bangs his arm against the Bo, making it fall to the floor besides him.
I pick it up in a flash, pushing all emotions away to focus on the present. Luckily for me Edward is still a bit on the heavy side so he’s not fast enough to stop me.
We both stand opposite each other, like boxers in a ring. “Stop this nonsense now and put it down,” Edward spits out. He’s so angry he doesn’t even bother to adjust his crooked glasses.
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“The time when I listen to you is over.” I swing the Bo at the same time as Edward brings his hand to his pocket, reaching for his gun. It hits him hard on the side and he stumbles as the gun falls to the floor. He curses as he takes a sidestep to the fallen weapon and I waste no time thinking about that Edward is my only living kin, that blood is thicker than water. I let the Bo smack him right in the side of the head by his ear. He falls groggy to the ground and I jump over him, grabbing the journal from the pocket as I do.
I pause for a second as he moans in pain, twisting on the floor. “Come back here …” he manages to mumble.
I turn and head towards the door.
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Chapter 24
The massive door swings open as I push it with all my strength. The corridor is empty. Where did everyone go? I can hear Edward calling my name behind me, so I pick up my
pace.
I have to get to the communications room and send out this recipe before it’s too late.
I try to remember the layout of the building from when Junior gave us the tour, but my mind is too stressed to focus. I need to make sure I get away from Edward first.
I sprint through the empty corridors, taking one turn after the other until I can hardly breath. That’s when I see a room I recognize. I quickly jump into the library, the same room we were in just yesterday. The room is empty and dark now. I push myself flat towards the wall, hiding as I try to catch my breath.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Where was the communication room? I try to go back in time to when we first got to the house and Junior gave us the tour. When was it he mentioned the room? Was it when we were on the second floor before we went to our
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rooms on the third? No, that was the conference rooms. I remember it was right after we had talked about the oil paintings. And we did that when we first got into the house. So, it must be on the first floor.
Just as I take a step towards the door another detonation rocks the whole building and books fall down the shelves across from me, landing heavy on the floor. That sounded too close. The army must be right by the front door now! I’m running out of time!
I peak my head out to the corridor. There’s no sign of Edward or anyone else.
I clench my fist around the Bo in my hand and run out in the corridor again. The only source of light is the blinking red alarms. I keep to the wall, staying in the shadow, just in case someone is out here.
Suddenly, I hear a noise ahead of me and my whole body tenses. A door is pushed open and I see a figure turning on the light in one of the rooms. “Where are you?!” Edward’s voice is full of rage and goosebumps line my arms in response. I slow my pace, walking as soundlessly as possible. I will have to cross paths with him to get to the spiral staircase. There’s no other way. Be brave Eddie, you can do this.
I try to push my fear away, but it’s harder now. There’s too much at stake, not just my own life.
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Edward bolts through the door and walks directly to the one opposite to look for me. He’s not even considering that I could be in the corridors. He clearly believes I’m sitting and hiding somewhere, too scared to move.
I take the opening right as he takes the first step over the threshold to the other room and bolt past him, not stopping to look back as I hear motion behind me. I have to make it downstairs; I have to!
The metal railing is cold to my touch as I grab hold of it and start down the stairs. I hesitate for a split second as I realize that all the gunshots and screams are now coming from below me. I’ll be walking into a battle scene. I hear someone running in the corridor behind me, heavy footsteps and panting are gaining on me. I have no choice but to go down.
What I see below startles me to the point I’m left motionless right on the last step. The front door is blown straight off and a large hole opens to the cold and snowy night outside. Soldiers are everywhere, taking shelter in rooms or behind furniture as they shoot towards the enemy that’s at the threshold of the house, eager to make it inside.
A bullet flies past me and I hear it hit the wooden wall behind
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me. I jump toward safety in the first room to my right. There are a handful of soldiers in there. Some are recharging the guns while others are returning fire. The loud gunshots ring in my ear as I press my body towards the far wall furthest away from the line of fire.
None of the Rebels even notice me at first until a large figure appears from the adjourning room with a bazooka in his hands. “This should take care of the bastards. Move!” Junior pushes forward towards the hallway and fires his weapon. The loud explosion echoes through the whole building and the group in the room cheers at the small victory.
Junior’s laugh follows, and he stops and becomes deadly serious as he sees me. Concern flashes his eyes as he walks up to me. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to get to the communications room.” My voice shakes as I notice the motionless soldiers lying in the other corner of the room, their green jackets indicate that they belong to the Rebellion.
“You should be with your crew. They were looking for you upstairs.”
A bang of guilt hits me and I push it aside. “I have to send this recipe out. It has to be now.”
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Junior must read the urgency in my voice because he brings up two of his guns, handing me one of them. “You know how to use one of these?”
I shake my head as I look at the foreign object in my hands. It’s a lot lighter than I expected.
“Safety here, and then you just aim and shot … keep both eyes open.” He points at the gun as he gives me the instructions. “I will take you to the room.” He turns around and I follow him.
He leads us to the adjourning room where more men and women are taking shelter. A General is barking out orders and everyone is efficient in their tasks. Their lack of hesitation or fear in the situation gives me a sense of courage. Junior walks up to the General and they exchange a few words. They look at me for a split second before he nods his head.
“Listen up,” the General’s raspy voice loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “We need to escort these soldiers across the hall … Parker, Grant, Ema and José, you cover them.”
The four soldiers by the door just nod their heads and Junior moves me up to stand behind them. “Ready,” the soldier named Parker asks us, holding a weapon unlike one I have never seen before.
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“Ready,” Junior responds, as my voice gets stuck in my throat.
And then, everything happens at once. The soldiers jump into the corridor. Parker’s weapon shoots small cannonballs that explode as they hit their target, making it impossible to see what’s happening by the front door. The others shoot as well, hitting anyone brave or dumb enough to try to make it in. Junior pushes me ahead and we make it to the other side without any injuries.
“Come on,” he shouts over the gunfire, and leads me across another room and into a corridor on the other side. There’s no time to stop and be thankful for the small victory.
Everywhere, I see more soldiers on the move, either heading to the front line or being carried away bleeding. I stop myself from staring at the horrors we meet and instead focus my eyes on the path in front of us. My journey has always been about this recipe, getting it out to the people. I have to send it before it’s too late.
Junior pushes a double door open and leads me inside. Machines are everywhere but the room is empty of people. “Everyone has either evacuated or they’re fighting off the army,” Junior explains and points to the middle of a large desk. “The main communication channel is there.”
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I take a seat on the wooden chair while Junior stands guard by the door. We are further away from the fight now when we are in the back of the house. I can breathe normal again now that loud gunshots aren’t echoing in my ears.
The desk contains a microphone and headphone along with a row of different colored buttons and machines. How am I going to do this?
I try different ones before I get the machine working. A low humming sounds from the headphones indicates that the power is on. But how do I make sure the message is sent to everyone? I know the communication room is used to talk to different branches of the Rebellion around the world. They have also been able to hack Tenebris’ emergency line at times, the one that reaches out to every person with a radio. There must be different setting, different channels on this thing. I look around for any type of manual.
“You need to hurry,” Junior urges me from the door as he glances out. It’s like the gunshots and screams have gotten louder again.
I open a drawer and find what could be a manual … yes, bingo. I flip the pages as tiny sweat beads roll down my back. Suddenly, Junior fires his gun. The enemy must have made it into the house already.
&nbs
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I find the page I need and follow the instruction to set the parameters correctly and then I bring up the journal Edward kept the recipe in. It will go faster if I read it instead of having to recite it from memory. I hear a voice on the other side of the radio. “Hello, anyone there?”
““Uh, yeah...it’s a…yes, I’m here. I mean, this is headquarters,” I respond into the microphone with urgency as I flip open the leather journal. Suddenly, a flashback brings me back to my childhood, playing in my parents’ room with a similar book, my mom seeing it and quickly talking it from my hands. I never knew why she was so upset at me when I was just playing with the book. I thought I found a treasure since it was hiding in one of her drawers.
I can’t hear the gunshots anymore; all sounds are muffled as I run my finger over the cursive letters on the front page.
Clare
This is my mom’s. It’s the same journal I played with as a child.
Phoenix, Orland, Boston and Ryker’s faces suddenly float in front of me, and the reality of what I have chosen sinks in. I abandoned
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my friends again. I can’t do this; I have to save them. They’re my family now. Friends that have chased away my loneliness and given me a whole new purpose. They make life worth living. I’m not going to leave them.