That day the reports of our plan quickly came back to us.
We were all delighted to hear that the government was in havocs, and they even went as far as to interview its people about potential moles.
Though our spy in the city did not give us the details, it was certainly interesting to see.
I was stood in my acquired room when I heard a knock, I looked to see it was Raven. She smiled as she entered, “The plan went well. Is our spy, okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s gone through his rundown, and they’ve found nothing amiss. We’re all good,” I answered, checking the radio.
Not too long ago, while I was close to the border of the city, I met an interesting character who did not agree with the treatments of the Inferiors. I debated killing him for being an elite, but he proposed a deal, he would act as a spy, give us reports in exchange for protection from me. It was a good enough deal for me, and his particular skill set meant he was very valuable. Plus, in the event of anything going wrong, he would make a great hostage.
She smiled. “That’s great. You know Eris and Kaleb are downstairs, right?”
I raised my eyebrows, a smirk beginning to form. “Are you asking me if I know they’ve got a party going? I can feel the vibrations even in this room, and its fine. We all need a break sometimes.”
Raven crossed her arms and it was like there was a shift as I saw her lips settle into what looked like anger. I wondered why. “Yeah. And somehow, they’ve acquired alcohol, so they’re all getting drunk.”
“Right. And?” I asked, moving towards the door. “How is that my problem?”
Now I could visibly see the anger flickering in her eyes. I watched her closely, seeing a muscle in her jaw twitch. “Because… What happens if someone attacks? We’ll be unprepared.”
I swear I almost smiled.
Liar. Beautiful, wicked liar.
I declined to make a comment on it as I merely responded, “They won’t know we’re here. Anyway, they’re likely still occupied with what happened. Come on, have some fun. Get drunk.”
Raven sighed, shaking her head. But like a switch, she quickly seemed to recover and smiled. “You’re right. I’m being ridiculous, let’s get drunk.”
She left before me and I watched her leave, something was going on. I just needed to find out what. I followed her though, and downstairs the party was in full swing. Multiple people were clearly drunk, dancing with each other. Eris and Kaleb were at the centre of it all, even Eris seemed more laid back once he was drunk. Raven was talking to one of the girls but I still needed to take notice of her in the future.
See if there was something more going on, and if so, what exactly.
In the kitchen, there was a bottle of beer left and I grabbed it, taking a drink. The alcohol burned my throat, almost nearly making me choke. God, even after a couple of interactions I was still not used to the taste. Though I could see why people liked to drink it.
As much as I didn’t mind the beer, the music was beginning to get on my nerves. So, I left the house, and there I would appreciate the warm air. I had closed the door, studying the surroundings when I noticed Lukas sat against the wall. His face was tilted up the sky, eyes closed and the setting sun illuminating his skin.
He looked like a god fallen to earth.
I debated whether to leave but his eyes opened and then he saw me. Well, now I couldn’t go. Lukas smiled, turning back to look up.
“Are you going to join me or just stand there all night?”
I found a chuckle escaping me as I silently joined his side, my own face tilting upwards. Neither of us speak as we simply studied the clouds and the stars starting to come alight. I imagined back before the world went to hell that it must have been nice, to be happy, to be able to appreciate the world without fear of death or consequence.
All my memories were clouded by fear, anger, pain. There were only two memories that reminded of a time before, my mother smiling down at me and a sister.
The sister I had lost.
Whose death would be repaid when the day came that I could slaughter all elites. Only then would her death be avenged and would I be satisfied.
“It’s truly beautiful, isn’t it?”
Lukas’ voice dragged me from my thoughts as I turned to look at him. Still, he had yet to look at me, like something had captivated him.
“What?”
He now smiled softly, “The sky. The sun. Nature. Still, it thrives despite the devastation that was bestowed upon it, a one constant in this truly awful life. I could spend the rest of my days here, to just forget about the rest of the world.”
He wasn’t wrong. “It’s only because we have not been able to touch it. Many years ago, we almost killed it. Let’s hope that doesn’t change.”
Finally, Lukas looked at me, eyes swimming with emotion. “You are not as bad as you seem.”
I snorted at that comment, shaking my head. “I am a monster. I know I am, and I will continue to be so until this is over. I have done- unimaginable things. None of which I regret, not for what they have done.”
Lukas now seemed to study me, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “If you say so.”
A silence settled among us again, this time neither of us wished to speak. We sat like that for who knows how long, I could still hear the faint singing inside. It was good to know they were having a good time.
“How did you end up here?”
I frowned, that was a very open question. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, how did you become the leader of the Rebels. That’s not something that happens easily,” He questioned.
It certainly hadn’t. For years it had been chaos, there was no order, only a desperate need to survive. And people went to far extremes to make that happen. Often than not, you were part of three groups. Those that got caught and sentenced to the work camps, those who did anything and everything to survive and those that would rather have died than live like this.
I was part of that second group, though there had been many times where I had debated just- ending it. There had been nothing for me, I had lost my family, there was no place to call home.
But it was surprising what anger can do to a person, and just that simple emotion could make you want to survive. And it gave me purpose.
In the panic, I used it. I sought those who were fearful and helped the revolution, previously started by Quinn. She had the idea, and the movement was gaining traction, but I took it to the next level. And now here we were, surviving and our day would come.
It was only in the last few months that I felt the quietest, the most at ‘peace’. I had the feeling that something was bound to go wrong, but I was unsure what.
I realised Lukas was expecting an answer, “Right. It’s a long story. For another day. Now, how about you? How did you escape the camp?”
His smile dropped, a shadow I knew all too well passing over his face. “A story for another time.”
I went to open my mouth when my radio crackled, I pulled it out of my pocket, speaking into it. ‘Hello?’
‘You need to run Kieran. They’ve sent out scout parties, further afield. They say that they know of your groups. I’ve only just managed to find out.’
Goddamn it.
‘When did they leave?’
‘Two hours ago.’
Right on time, I heard the low drown of vehicles and indeed upon the horizon, they began to appear.
My body acted before my mind did as I ran inside and shouted above the noise of the music. “Government soldiers! We need to go!”
We had prepared for this, many plans on what do in the event of this situation. Instantly, the music was turned off, and people began to sober as they grabbed their bags and bolted for the back door. I found the others, all of whom worse a mixture of anger and determination in their faces.
“You need to go. Now. Get to your groups. Eris take your vehicle and get the hell out of here.”
They didn’t need to be told twice as they ran, giving each other one last look of solidarity. Outside, I could tell they were here, as they began to shout into their speakerphones.
“Come out now with your hands up! Those who do not comply will be shot!”
Unfortunately, there were some still left. Some still black out drunk. I should have not agreed to let them.
I had to shout at them to run, guiding them to the door. But as I pushed them outside, I heard the shots and screaming.
They must have started following the group, we were in some deep trouble. I needed to create a distraction.
Running upstairs, I grabbed my bag where I had some home-made grenades stuffed inside. For this exact situation. Before I left, I grabbed the guns stashed in the mattress. Always a necessity. But as I ran downstairs, I had a realisation.
Where the hell was Lukas?
I peaked through the windows and my stomach dropped as I watched a guard dragged his beaten body out the front. He pushed him to his knees, pulling his head back for what was the commander of the party to see.
A sudden fury blinded me; I was going to kill them all.
For now, I needed that distraction. So, I went to the back door where the soldiers were making their way back, stepping over multiple dead bodies.
I took a deep breath, watching as the grouped together and then I launched the grenade.
As soon as it made its impact, there was a deafening bang, and the soldiers were blown to pieces, blood and guts flying in various directions. From the front of the house, I heard shouting and was relieved to see them all move towards the back of the house. Leaving only his captor alone.
Slowly opening the door, I crept along the ground, grabbing a knife from my boot. When I was directly behind him, I stood up and slit his throat before he could so much as hear him. I moved out of the way as he chocked on his own blood, body collapsing to the ground. Lukas whirled to his feet, fear in his eyes but they relaxed when he saw it was me.
His face was badly bruised, a black eye forming and various cuts above his mouth and across his face.
In that moment, I felt that monster take over as I asked in a low voice. “Who did this?”
I could see his hesitation as his eyes drifted to the dying soldier, his blood pooling beneath him. Just a few more seconds and he would be dead.
“Who did this to you?” I repeated, my voice an octave lower.
“I- It was the leader. Jameson, I think they said his name was.”
I nodded, “Stay here.”
I stalked around the side of the house, producing my gun. There were just ten of them now. Easy enough. As soon as I rounded the corner, I opened fire. In seconds I had killed three, shots straight through the head. The others began to take notice and started to fire. I quickly ducked behind some jagged piece of rock and took my shots.
Counting the bodies.
One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.
Now it only left him, the leader. He fired his gun but then he realised he was out of bullets. The fear that fell across his face was something I was unlikely to forget.
Then he started to run.
I laughed as I aimed my gun and shot at his knee, the gun went straight through his leg, and he crashed to the ground. When I reached him, he was groaning as he tried to sit upright. Smiling, I pulled him onto his back, crushing my boot into his chest.
“Oh, I am going to enjoy this.”
I ripped open his shirt, pulling out my knife. And then I began to cut. Deep line across his chest, his arms, his face. His body struggled beneath mine as he screamed in agony, splitting through the air. After a while, I began to block it out, though that metallic smell of blood assaulted my nose once again. Twice as in many days. His skin became ashen, his breathing becoming shallower by the second.
“Let this serve as a reminder. That if you hurt any one of my groups, I will pay so in kind. Now, I know you can hear this, whoever is at the end side of the radio…” I had seen the radio in his pocket, the light shining read. Someone was hearing all of this, which made it all worth it. The soldier was trembling. “And I’m sure you’d like to collect their bodies, though there won’t be much of it left. Take this warning or the next time, I won’t just blow up a train. It will be the city itself.”
Then I turned off his radio and left him to suffer. I straightened and turned to find Lukas stood there, shock and fear etched in his face. A deep part of me was hurt by the look upon his face but it didn’t matter. Not when I looked at his own battered face.
“I told you what I am. Let’s go.”
Then I walked, I heard Lukas behind me as we left the house and the soldiers behind. We walked in pretty much silence, the night taking over. The rest of the group would have made it to the next safehouse, Kaleb told me as such.
“Are you okay?” I finally asked.
Silence. I turned to look at Lukas and found him watching me, eyebrows furrowed in what looked like confusion. “Why?”
That was not what I was expecting. “Why what?”
“Why did you go to such extreme lengths, torturing that soldier?”
That was a good question.
I didn’t know, just that there was this deep primal urge to protect him. Hell, maybe I was in love with him. Which was ridiculous considering I had only met him a day earlier, but it had felt glaringly obvious that I would do anything for him, and today proved that. Maybe I had underestimated the urge to want to feel loved by someone, to meet anyone that made me feel something more. Because that first meeting and the conversation before it went all wrong told me I could have spent my days with him and forgotten about the whole revolution.
But that could never happen, not with what they were doing to us.
I couldn’t tell him this, not when he looked at me with that apprehension that everyone else looked at me with. “I don’t know.”
Lukas looked unconvinced but we arrived at the new safe house before he could try and ask. Once inside I found our numbers had fallen enough and the rest of them looked nervous, the fear clear upon their faces.
“Listen up,” They all fell silent, turning to me. “I know today has been hard, I know it has been that way for a long time now. But I promise you, we are not going to hide forever. One day we will reclaim our place in society, and then no longer will we fear for our life. Until then, stick with me and right now, get some rest."
That seemed to ease some of the tension in the room as they explored the house, settling into their rooms for the night. I turned to Lukas and asked, “Want to share a room?”
He hesitated but nodded, so we made our way to the larger room in the house where there was unbelievably a bed. Most houses had been deserted, blown to bits but this just seemed like the family had left it as they found it. It felt like to me like an Elite house, maybe that was why. Now in the room, the exhaustion and the events of the day laid heavy on me. I needed sleep.
I climbed into one side of the bed, facing away from Lukas as he climbed into his side.
“Are you okay?”
I was surprised to hear the question come from Lukas and I had to turn to look at his face. “Why do you ask?”
He shrugged, “You seem like you’ve got a lot on your plate.”
I laughed softly. “You’re right about that. I’m fine.”
Lukas nodded, smiling. “Well goodnight.”
Then he turned over, now away from me. I stared at his back for a moment before whispering, “Goodnight.”
Sleep quickly claimed me as thoughts drifted to what could go wrong the next day, and surprisingly for the first time in years, I did not have a single nightmare.
ns 15.158.61.20da2
