by Anthony Wade
Traffic was the worse I’d ever seen it. Everybody was going in the same direction, trying to get to the arena.
The driver kept looking at us through his mirror. “How bad is it back there?”
None of us said anything at first. Then, Edgar answered. “Hope you never have to see something as harsh as that.”
The driver didn’t ask any more questions. I was glad because I didn’t want to talk about the things I saw. It was enough that I couldn’t get the images out of my head. Something told me I would never get them out of my head. I’d probably think about it every day for the rest of my life. I’d have nightmares of the girl I saw. I should’ve saved her.
The driver didn’t even seem to recognize me. When I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, I knew why. I was completely covered in dust.
It was thirty minutes later before we could even see the arena. Ten minutes after that, we reached the entrance. I have to say that I had never seen so many people in one place. There had to be thousands of people gathered around the arena. I noticed others also covered in dust. Large screens outside of the arena displayed a blank white screen. I assumed Cornelius planned for there to be so many people that everybody wouldn’t fit inside.
“You won’t be getting inside,” the driver told us. “Sorry.”
Edgar opened the door. “That’s fine,” he said. He dug into his pocket.
“No,” the man said. “You guys deserve a free ride today.” Edgar nodded but still swiped his bitcoin card across the back of the seat.
“Take an extra twenty for yourself,” Edgar said.
The man gave him a nod of appreciation.
Edgar and I helped Ashton out. The cab left and we turned to face the arena. We weren’t getting far. We walked to the back of the crowd, hundreds and hundreds of yards away from the arena. It looked as if the whole city was attending. I couldn’t count the number of times I heard the words Grandfather, explosion, and Cornelius mentioned around me.
The crowd was growing larger by the second. Soon, people were smothering us, so Edgar led us to a tree that was out of the way but still close enough to where we could see Cornelius on the big screen. I was kind of glad that we only had to see Cornelius on screen and not inside the arena. He could have seen me in the arena. I knew it was very unlikely because there were probably thousands of people inside.
Edgar had Ashton sit against the tree. He and Belladonna were whispering about Robert and weapons arriving soon. Did they plan to just bombard Cornelius and shoot him down? Would that work? Before, I couldn’t imagine myself killing anybody. But at that moment, I honestly thought I could’ve taken Cornelius down. I think he would’ve been the only exception because getting rid of him would mean saving others. But killing is something you don’t know about until it actually happens.
I watched the crowd, hoping Cornelius would start soon. A particular woman caught my attention. She snaked her way through the crowd, headed in my direction. As she got closer, I could tell that she was staring at me. My first reaction was to turn around in order to hide my face, but she had obviously seen me. I squinted to get a better look. Yeah, I was safe. I knew exactly who it was. What were the chances?
“Oh dear,” she said.
Belladonna and Edgar looked scared. They were probably afraid she was going to announce my existence. But I knew she wouldn’t.
“Miss Fabray,” Ashton said, trying to get up but was unable to on his own.
“Olivia,” she corrected him softly as she examined the dust covering our bodies, shaking her head. She eyed Ashton’s ankle. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that. Such a terrible thing. You guys have seen things I couldn’t dream of . . . things that I don’t want to dream about seeing.” She grabbed my shoulders, pulled me toward her, and hugged me. It was really weird because I had only spoken to her for a few minutes back at Mr. Harrison’s place.
“And who are you?” Belladonna asked.
I introduced Olivia to Belladonna and Edgar.
“Your story just keeps writing itself,” Olivia said. “I only hope that one day you’ll allow me to write it.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I wanted to say yeah back there, but –”
“But Cornelius was watching you,” she said. “Yes, Mrs. Harrison filled me in after Grandfather hit the news.”
“Yeah,” Ashton said. “He still will, if you want.”
Ashton was right. I would do it in a heartbeat. But I was still pretty sure that Mrs. Fabray wouldn’t have been safe.
“When a better time comes, yes,” she said. “You know, sometimes writing stuff down can keep you sane. Especially when things get rough and confusing. Trust me, Carsyn. I’m a writer. I do it every day, and I’m doing fabulous.”
“I believe you,” I said. I had never thought about that, actually.
“Good. Perhaps you’ll take that advice and write down everything you’ve been through. Then, perhaps, it’ll be easier when we’re both ready to get your story out there. Agreed?”
I agreed with a nod, not sure if I would actually ever want my life story told to others. It was kind of nobody’s business.
“What are you doing here?” Ashton asked. He immediately realized how dumb the question was.
“I think the question is what are you doing here?” Olivia asked. “It’s not exactly safe for you out here. And the girl . . . where’s Marley.”
“With her mom,” Ashton told her.
“She’s safe,” I answered.
“Good,” Olivia said. “She seemed lovely. As to your question, I’m here for the same reason everybody else is. The truth.”
“The truth about Grandfather?” I asked.
“The truth about Cornelius,” Olivia said. “I think after the recording and letter, it’s quite obvious Grandfather exists. And the explosion . . . my, my.”
“The truth is that Cornelius is the mastermind of Grandfather,” Ashton said.
Olivia nodded. She looked at Edgar and Belladonna, and then back at Ashton. “I think you might be right. You know, I always felt like there was something wrong with our President, especially after speaking to you at the fundraiser. You guys were obviously faking everything. You, Carsyn, have the worse fake smile I’ve ever seen.”
I figured. “It’s kind of hard to pretend when you’re being held captive,” I told her.
“True,” she said. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I’d love to hear your escape story. Do tell.”
Edgar grunted, and I knew why. He didn’t trust Olivia yet, but I did. Still, I had to make Edgar feel more at ease.
“We just snuck out,” I told her.
“Alone?” she said, snickering. “Trust is hard to come by during these times, and I understand. Perhaps one day you can trust me enough to tell me everything. You would, of course, receive a percentage when your story becomes popular. Realize that I didn’t say if.”
“Perhaps,” I said.
“And you trust us?” Ashton asked.
“Maybe,” Olivia said. “I’m good at reading people, just like I can read my characters. And the one thing that I could tell about you two and Marley was that you’re not afraid of the truth as everybody else.”
“And what makes you say that?” I asked.
She took her time before answering. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Ashton asked.
“You see, Ashton,” she started. “Being able to read people is a gift. I can’t explain it. I just . . . know. Now you tell me if I’m wrong.”
Nobody answered.
“Exactly,” she said. “You guys aren’t afraid to go against Grandfather, are you?”
“Of course not,” Ashton said.
“You have help here, I see.” Olivia tilted her head toward Edgar and Belladonna.
“We’re not afraid of the truth,” Edgar said. “We know the truth.”
“Then good . . . what were your names again?”
> Belladonna and Edgar hesitated before giving their names. I assured them that she meant us no harm.
“Beautiful name,” Olivia told Belladonna. “Perhaps I could use the name for a character I’m working on.”
Belladonna didn’t say anything.
“As I was saying, everybody else here is afraid of the truth. And for once, they can’t just choose not to see it. I told you two at the fundraiser that the separation between us and those outside the wall is holding us back. Well . . . it seems as if perhaps the time has come for everybody else to learn that too.”
“Hopefully,” I said.
“Now . . . being who I am and knowing the people I know, I have special credentials that will allow me inside this arena. I could easily get you guys in as well.”
Ashton was excited and said yes at once. I knew Belladonna wanted to get closer, but she didn’t fully trust Olivia, which was understandable.
“Would be nice,” Edgar said, slowly.
“You said before that trust is hard to come by these days,” Belladonna said. “How can we trust you? How do we know that you wouldn’t just take us to Cornelius now?”
“I suppose there is no way you can know,” Olivia said. “You just have to take that chance. I know people don’t say it very often these days, but sometimes you just have to have faith.”
Belladonna didn’t look happy with this answer, so I assured her that Olivia was trustworthy. She was still weary, but Edgar was the one to convince her we’d be okay. “If Carsyn and Ashton trust her, then I do too.”
When Belladonna agreed, Olivia took out her phone and tapped a few buttons. “Thirty minutes,” she said. I could kind of tell it was getting close to time because the sun was starting to go down.
Ashton held out both of his arms and Edgar and I helped him up. As before, he wrapped an arm around each of us.
“Let’s go,” Olivia said, leading us into the dense crowd of people. “Excuse me,” she told the people, holding up some sort of badge. “We need to get through.” People cursed us as we squeezed by. It was more difficult to snake through with me and Edgar having to practically carry Ashton, and I was starting to think that it would’ve been a lot easier to stay by the tree and watch Cornelius on the screen. But when we reached a guarded door, I nearly dropped Ashton. I hadn’t thought about that. What if they recognized me? My heart raced.
Olivia flashed them her badge. One of the soldiers examined it closely. He handed it back to her and looked behind her toward us. His eyes met mine. I held my breath. Please don’t recognize me. Please, please, please.
“Who are they?” he asked.
“Friends of Mr. Harrison’s,” Olivia said. “As you can see, they’ve just been through a lot. Nearly died in the explosion.”
“Mr. Harrison,” the soldier said in a questioning tone. “I’ve not seen him here. Where is he?”
“Well, I certainly don’t know,” Olivia said. “I write books and articles for a living. I don’t keep up with Mr. Harrison’s whereabouts.”
The soldier seemed offended but eventually moved out of the way, allowing us to pass through. Wow, Olivia really had guts to talk back to the soldiers, especially if they were with Grandfather. We followed Olivia. The soldier watched me closely as I passed by. Once inside, the door slammed behind us. I let out a breath of relief. We had made it.
“Come,” Olivia said, motioning us to follow up a flight of stairs. We did so, and the further we got up them, the more I could hear the large crowd waiting for Cornelius. “I have the perfect spot,” Olivia said.
“You mentioned Mr. Harrison,” Ashton grunted as we struggled to basically drag him up. “Will he be here?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia said. “But using his name has gotten me through a predicament or two.”
We went up a few more flights of stairs until we reached another hall with doors spread out across the wall to our right. Olivia led us to the third one. She touched a square pad above the doorknob. It lit up, revealing a keypad. She tapped a series of numbers too quickly for any of us to remember. The screen lit up green and the door slid open. We followed her into a small room with a couple of sofas, chairs, and coffee tables. The wall straight across from us was glass, revealing the large arena filled with thousands of people.
“Whoa,” I said as the door closed behind us.
There was an empty stage in the center of the arena floor. I assumed that was where Cornelius was to give his address. A chain of soldiers encircled the stage. Many also kept watch from within the audience. I assumed they were there to make sure nobody in the audience tried to run onto the stage. I don’t know why they would, but the people inside the wall could be unpredictable.
“This is Mr. and Mrs. Harrison’s private box. Mrs. Harrison gave me the code a while back. And the glass is tinted. You can see out, but they can’t see in.”
“So we’re safe,” I said.
“Exactly,” Olivia said.
Me and Edgar took Ashton to one of the chairs closest to the glass wall. After Ashton was comfortable, we each claimed a seat.
“Yes,” Olivia said. “Let’s make ourselves comfortable. This address should be rather interesting.”
“Yes,” Belladonna agreed. “It will be interesting to hear what he has to say.”
While we waited, I couldn’t help but think about everything that had just happened. I still couldn’t get it out of my head. And the same question kept coming up. How many lives were lost? It would probably be a while before that number was discovered. And even then, it would be impossible to get an exact one. I picked at some of the dust on my arm and dug behind my nails.
Olivia noticed this. “What was it like?” she asked quietly. “Being near the explosion. If you don’t mind me asking.”
I shook my head. “Terrifying,” I said, the images flashing through my mind.
“It’ll make you want to kill Cornelius,” Ashton said.
Olivia had a look of grief. I saw a tear slowly roll down her cheek. “I’ve been trying to not think about it, but I can’t anymore. So many people have died today.”
“It was rough for all of us,” Edgar told her. “Lucky to be alive.”
She nodded. “So . . . Cornelius is definitely a part of Grandfather? Or is that just what you guys think?”
“He’s their Grand Imperial,” Ashton said.
“The leader,” Belladonna added.
I agreed.
“Then is any of it true?” Olivia asked me. “About your parents . . . about you being kidnapped?”
I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know about my parents,” I told her. “I’m still trying to figure that out. But I wasn’t kidnapped. That part isn’t true.” Great, now Olivia had me thinking about my parents again. I still didn’t know why I was doing that to myself. It would’ve been so much easier if I could just believe that Cornelius was lying.
“Where have you been then?” she asked. “You weren’t at the orphanage when he went looking for you.”
“I was safe,” was all I told her. She didn’t really need to know much more. The fewer people that knew about our secret hideout, the better.
Olivia looked at Belladonna and Edgar. “You were with them,” she said. “The big question is what did President Cornelius really want with you. Why did he go to the orphanage for you? Would make an excellent book, now wouldn’t it?”
We said nothing.
“If Cornelius is the leader of Grandfather, then I hope that – whoever you people are – you have a solid plan to fix things.”
“Well . . . that’s the plan,” Ashton said
It was people like Olivia Fabray and the Harrisons that gave me hope; hope that not everybody within the wall was the same. There were probably others who felt the same way but didn’t mention it because they would’ve been judged. For years, people were taught not to say anything about the separation. I guess it just kind of became a habit.
We sat in silence for the ne
xt ten minutes. Olivia had taken out some sort of device and was typing something on it. Knowing her, it was probably something about another book. But she quit when the lights in the arena grew dim. A man approached the stage. Little by little, people in the audience quit talking until soon, the whole arena was silent.
“Today . . . we have lost many,” the man said, his voice booming throughout the entire private box. It was as if he was sitting right there with us, which was a little bit creepy. I looked up to see speakers in the corners. I diverted my attention back to the man on stage. “We will never forget today. As I speak, people suffer. Heroes search for survivors and doctors are doing everything in their power to save as many as they can. Yes, we were warned that Grandfather has existed. The only question that remains is who is the leader? Who is a part of Grandfather. Well, we’ve all waited impatiently to see what President Cornelius has to say. And I’m happy to say that we have all the answers for you citizens. As one of President Cornelius’s councilmen, I want to welcome him to the stage.”
Very few people applauded. I wondered if it was because they didn’t trust him or if they felt times were too depressing to clap. Cornelius, who was dressed in a white suit similar to the one he had worn to the fundraiser, walked onto the stage. He didn’t smile or wave as usual. I guess he had to pretend to be sad and heartbroken like everybody else. He shook the councilman’s hand and whispered into his ear. The man nodded and left Cornelius alone on the stage.
The arena was silent. I imagined it was just as silent outside. It was probably silent throughout the entire city and even the entire nation as the poor listened to the announcement on their radios and the rich watched it on their televisions. I watched as a camera hovered in the air above Cornelius, capturing the large audience.
“These past twenty-four hours have been rough on all of us,” Cornelius began in his deep voice. “We’ve been told that Grandfather exists once again. There has been proof that our very own vice president is a part of it. For the first time since the war, many of us have felt unsafe. We all have found ourselves unable to trust anybody. We’ve found ourselves afraid that something terrible could happen at any minute.” Cornelius paused.
Olivia was taking notes on her device. The rest of us focused on Cornelius.
“Many people have lost their lives today,” Cornelius continued. “Our nation’s capital has been attacked. We have all possible officers, fire fighters, and doctors out there looking for survivors. As I look at you all, I see people covered in dust. I’ll never be able to imagine what you have just gone through. The images you have seen will never leave you, unfortunately.”
Wow, Cornelius actually said something that I agreed with. That would probably never happen again.
“Let us have a moment of silence for those lives lost today and for those struggling to keep their lives.”
There was a long pause of silence. Some people bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Edgar and Olivia did this. Belladonna focused on Cornelius, who turned to examine the entire audience encircling him. After thirty seconds had passed, he continued. “These next few days will be the roughest we have ever seen. I understand that Grandfather’s attack – which was predicted in the letter reported – will make it difficult for any of us to trust again. But . . . I want to remind the entire nation that things will get better, even if it doesn’t seem like it. Now, I understand that a lot of people doubt me right now. People think that perhaps I’m involved. And you know what, why wouldn’t you think that? I understand. I’d think the exact same thing. But today, I want everyone to put their distrust away. I’ve been able to use these past twenty-four hours to track down the masterminds of Grandfather. I’ve been able to get a hold of the members most responsible. I tried to stop these explosions, but I failed. And that, I’m not proud of.”
It was starting to sound as if I was right. Cornelius had a plan.
Cornelius turned around and waved somebody to him.
Fifteen people walked to the stage in a line, each wearing blindfolds, each led by two soldiers. They didn’t resist. Edgar, Belladonna, Ashton, and I leaned forward to get a better look. They were led onto the stage and lined up behind Cornelius. Cornelius nodded, and one by one, the blindfolds were taken off. Ten of them were men and the other five were women, all in their old age. I recognized one of them as Vice President McCall. Cornelius stopped in front of him and stared into his face. I couldn’t see Luther’s face, but I was sure he wasn’t too happy. What was Cornelius up to?
“Our government has been infiltrated. It’s true, Grandfather is back. And half of my councilmen, which you see here, are members of this infamous group. I thought I could trust them. But when they harm citizens in this nation, I cannot.”
“You think they’re actually members of Grandfather?” Ashton asked.
“No,” Edgar said with confidence.
“Only the vice president,” Belladonna said. “His name was mentioned. Cornelius has no choice but to eliminate him.”
“I don’t know how large the vile group is,” Cornelius continued. “But I can guarantee each and every one of you that these fifteen councilmen and councilwomen are the leading members. These fifteen are responsible for planning the explosion that has killed so many loved ones today. And something like that cannot go unnoticed. Something like that cannot go unpunished.” Cornelius paused for a second. “These fifteen members that I thought I could trust have committed treason. I think they shall receive an appropriate punishment.”
Each of the soldiers took out what seemed to be a syringe, which they held up close to the man or woman closest to them.
“What are they doing?” Olivia asked in shock.
“He’s getting rid of his councilmen and councilwomen that don’t follow him,” Ashton answered.
“So that he can replace them with his followers?” I asked.
“Right,” Edgar said nervously. “This is his next step. Grandfather’s power is growing.”
That’s exactly what I didn’t want to hear.
“I’m not a part of Grandfather!” one of the councilmen screamed. A soldier drew his fist back and swung it at the man, knocking him face down onto the ground. Each of the other members were forced onto their knees. The man who was punched rose up until he was on his knees.
“We didn’t do anything!” a councilwoman screamed. “Cornelius is –.”
The soldier punched her too. She fell onto the ground and didn’t budge.
“They’re taught to do everything in their power to protect Grandfather,” Cornelius announced. “They’re taught to do everything in their power to keep Grandfather’s plan intact. They want you to believe that they aren’t members . . . forcing you to question me. Confusion is what they like, having citizens unsure of who to trust. Why? When a society is unable to trust its own leader or its people, it becomes weak. And a weak society is vulnerable to attacks from Grandfather. We cannot let that happen.” Cornelius turned to the soldiers and nodded. “I won’t let that happen.”
Each of the soldiers brought a needle to the neck of a councilman or councilwoman. As they injected whatever was in the tube, the bodies began twitching. The audience was silent as they listened to those on the stage gasping for air. Soon, whispering rippled around the arena as each of the councilmen and councilwomen fell over, motionless. Luther held off the longest before giving up his life.
“The death penalty was necessary,” Cornelius told us all. “Death for them was inevitable. And if anybody else wants to harm people of this great nation, they will receive the same punishment. Because that’s what they deserve. And they . . .”
The whispering grew louder, forcing Cornelius to stop talking. He held up his hands, trying to silence the audience. It took a while, but eventually, everybody was silent. Cornelius put his hands back down and continued. “I tell you now that while we have omitted the largest masterminds of Grandfather, they still exist. And I shall do everything to catch them and punish them. I
’ll appoint new councilmen and councilwomen to take these traitors’ place. I’ll choose people I trust and people who can help me find these Grandfather members.” Cornelius paused again, giving everyone time to take everything in. Then, somebody in the audience shouted my name. I froze, at first thinking I had been spotted. But I knew the tinted glass made that impossible. All of us in the private box leaned forward in our seats, as if getting closer to the tinted window allowed us to hear better.
“I have learned that Carsyn, Ashton, and Marley were somehow captured by Grandfather at the fundraiser.” Cornelius pointed at the corpses lying on the stage. “They’re trying to brainwash Carsyn and his friends, and I’ll find them. I repeat, I will find them. Carsyn’s father requested this of me, and I will take care of Carsyn and his friends.”
About half of the audience clapped for Cornelius while others stayed silent.
“With all of this said, there will be new rules across our entire nation,” Cornelius said once everybody was silent again. “Grandfather wants all of you to be talking about them. They want attention, and they want disorder in our society. And so, I must abolish any headlines, articles, and protests speaking or even mentioning the existence of Grandfather. Nobody will discuss it in public. I’m afraid that if the media or citizens disobey this order, that person or persons will be arrested and punished in court for making our society more vulnerable.”
Everyone began whispering again.
Olivia gasped. “Can he do that?”
None of us answered. It didn’t really matter if he could or not, because he just did.
Cornelius continued overtop the crowd’s murmuring. “Second,” Cornelius said. “I said before that I will do everything in my power to find the other Grandfather members and to find Carsyn. This means that we all have to sacrifice some of our rights. Every home and every business will be searched thoroughly for any sign of Grandfather or the whereabouts of Carsyn. If anything is found, the owner will be arrested and questioned.”
The murmuring became even louder. “Thirdly, everyone will be required to be inside of their homes at 10:00 every night. While questioning our previous vice president, I learned that their meetings occurred during the late hours. Therefore, this curfew helps us keep order and makes it more difficult for Grandfather to communicate. Yes, these things are unfortunate, but they must happen. And in order to uphold these new rules, soldiers will be placed throughout the city. I must warn you. I repeat . . . if anybody protests, mentioning Grandfather, these soldiers will arrest you. You have to remember that this is what Grandfather wants. They love seeing their name on all news headlines. They want people protesting. They want you to believe that I’m involved Why? As I said before, they want disorder in our society, and those things create disorder. We must not give the terrorists what they want.”
Cornelius held out his hand to quiet down the audience, but half of them seemed to not care. They kept talking. I noticed several people trying to help him out, but it was no use. Cornelius gave up. “I promise that these new laws will help us find the rest of the Grandfather members, Carsyn, Ashton, and Marley. I promise that once everything is worked out, everyone will receive these freedoms again. We must do this in order to keep Grandfather from planning another attack on our nation. We must do this to protect our loved ones. And we will uphold them to accomplish these things. Thank you, nation. And let us use these next few days to mourn over the loved ones that have been lost during today’s attack. We won’t forget.”
Cornelius left the stage, not waving at the people. I heard many people in the audience applauding him while the rest of them shouted out things that I couldn’t make out. Belladonna and Edgar stood up.
“Takin’ even more rights,” Edgar muttered.
“There goes my writing,” Olivia said. “Can’t even express my opinion in my writing.”
“More control for Cornelius,” Edgar said. “He’s smart. Acting like he’s not a part of Grandfather.”
“Soldiers throughout the whole city, watching us,” Olivia said, frowning “Now I’m not too happy about that. And searching my place?”
“Best get out of this damn city quickly,” Edgar said. “The quicker we leave, the easier it’ll be to get away.”
“Right,” Belladonna agreed, a smile on her face for some reason.
We all took a moment to look at the audience again. Things were getting pretty crazy out there. Most of the people were rushing out of the arena. There were several others arguing with one another. Some fights even broke out, causing soldiers to have to intervene.
“I’ll lead you all out,” Olivia said, opening the door. Edgar and I stood Ashton up and we all followed Olivia down the stairs and outside where the large crowd was trying to get as far away from the arena as possible. Several square aircrafts hovered above us, probably filming everything. In the distance, I noticed more aircrafts hovering over where the explosions had happened.
“Oh dear,” Olivia said, looking at Ashton’s leg. “You’ll never fight this crowd. You don’t stand a chance.”
We all knew she was right. Edgar cursed. “Could wait, I guess.”
Belladonna shook her head. “We have to go now.” She pointed toward the nearest street. The soldiers had already begun to take their stance on the corners. They obviously worked for Cornelius, following his orders, but were they actually a part of Grandfather? If so, there was a better chance they’d recognize me.
“I’ll just give you a lift,” Olivia taking out her phone. She dialed a number. “Bring my car,” she said, giving our location. She hung up. “It won’t be long. Give him about fifteen minutes."
Belladonna appeared very concerned. “I don’t know,” she slowly replied.
“I’m not going to give your location away,” Olivia said. “Do you honestly think I can be on Cornelius’s side after his new rules? No. I know you guys plan on doing something soon, and I’m not giving away our only hope.”
The crowd became more and more dense. People just kept filing out of the arena. They were still arguing with one another. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but I had a pretty good idea that it was whether or not they agreed with Cornelius’s new rules.
About fifteen minutes later, Olivia’s phone rang. She answered it. “Coming now,” she said, hanging up and then looking at us. “Come.”
We followed Olivia around the arena and to a road that seemed to be a lot less traveled, which made sense because it was only one lane. Soldiers hadn’t taken a stance there yet, either, which was comforting.
I noticed a really nice red car parked on the side of the road directly in front of a black van. A man got out of the car and greeted Olivia. He handed her the keys. “Thank you,” she told him. He got into the passenger seat of the van and they drove off.
“Hop in,” Olivia told us. Once again, we allowed Ashton to sit in the front to give him more legroom. I took the middle back seat again. “Where am I going?” Olivia asked.
“Outside the wall,” Edgar said.
“Outside?” she asked in exasperation.
“If that’s a problem, we can find another way,” Ashton said.
“Not a problem at all,” she said. “I just assumed you guys were hiding inside the city.”
“Yeah,” Belladonna said. “I think that’s Cornelius’s point in searching every home and business.”
Edgar agreed.
Olivia put the car into gear and sped off, heading for the wall.
The closer we got, the more soldiers I saw standing on different corners, keeping an eye on everybody. They were armed with large guns, looking as if they would shoot anybody at any given moment. The rich people kept their distance from them. For once, they were scared. And once again, I actually felt sorry for them, even though I didn’t like them.
We soon exited the city, but this time it was through a different entrance. Edgar seemed to know exactly where we were so I didn’t worry. He directed Olivia dow
n several streets and past many run-down buildings until we reached the road running in between the forest.
Olivia was very confused when Edgar had her stop in the middle of nowhere. She looked around the area, but didn’t ask us any questions. “Your secret is safe with me,” she said, handing me some sort of pink card. “Here. That’s my address if you’re ever in the city and in trouble again.”
“Thank you,” I told her, getting out quickly so that I could help Edgar get Ashton.
“Thanks,” Edgar told Olivia. “We appreciate it.”
“It’s not a problem,” she said.
“Be safe,” Ashton told her. “Things are going to be rough in the city.”
“Olivia nodded. “I’m prepared for them. You better believe that I’ll be writing all about this. As I said, it’ll keep me sane. Perhaps you’ll do the same, Carsyn.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Writing seemed to be the only thing Olivia could think of. I really hoped she would be safe in the city because I actually liked her.
“I don’t know what you guys are planning, but I wish you luck.” With that said, Olivia turned her car around and drove off.
We entered the forest. Because Ashton was injured, we couldn’t go down the ladder. Finally, I was going to get my first look at this other entrance.
We passed the entrance I knew and continued walking until we came across a small cave on a hillside. At least it looked like a cave. It was just a manmade entrance made to look like a cave. Nobody knew who built the underground place, but they sure were smart.
The entrance led us into a small closet, which had a door that led us into the dining area. When we entered the dining room, we found ourselves in front of a large group of people, all listening to the radio which talked about Cornelius’s announcement. Mae, Marley, and Dr. Mac stood around the radio.
What first caught my attention was the number of people. There were a lot more than normal. There weren’t even enough seats for everybody. And on most of the tables were guns of all different shapes and sizes. Robert stood in the doorway at the other end of the hall. The room fell completely silent when they noticed us disheveled, exhausted, and still covered in dust. Marley gasped at the site of Ashton’s injury. She ran and embraced him, afterward hugging me as well. Mae joined us and hugged Edgar. After all I’d been through and witnessed that day, I was very happy to be back.
“You made it,” Belladonna said as she rushed to give Robert a hug.
“What happened?” Mae asked, patting some of the dust off Edgar.
We sat down at a table and told them everything. Of course, everybody in the room wanted to hear, so Edgar spoke loudly enough for everyone. Mae and Marley cried as we told them about the explosion. Marley couldn’t stop hugging me and Ashton. Mae kept patting us on the back, trying to comfort us. A hug or back rub sure wasn’t going to make us feel better about what we saw, but hey, at least they tried. Mae wiped her eyes and told us how Robert had arrived just before the announcement with nearly a hundred people and even more weapons, which they had stored in an empty room.
“We’ve waited too long,” Mae said. “It’s going to be more difficult to attack Grandfather with these new rules.”
Edgar agreed. “More difficult. But I say we do it this week.”
Ashton looked disappointed. “Not this week,” he said. “I won’t be able to help.”
Edgar looked around. “Dr. Mac,” he called out. The doctor walked up to Edgar. He noticed Ashton’s ankle. “You got medicine for him?”
Ashton told Dr. Mac about the gel on the bandage and the tablet the nurse had given him. Dr. Mac seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. “I got some crutches too,” he said. “They’re old, but they’ll work.”
He and Edgar helped Ashton up and led him away. Marley hugged me once again. “If it wasn’t for Miss Fabray, it would’ve taken you guys forever to get here.”
I agreed with her. We were definitely lucky that we ran into Olivia. I wondered if they had gone through her home yet. They probably hadn’t started yet.
“Go clean up,” Mae told me, patting me on the shoulder again. “Get that dirt off. I’ll do my best to get the suit looking good again.”
I could care less about the suit. Why? Because the only reason I’d need it was if I had to go back into the city. And I’ll tell you what, I was never going back after what happened. At least I wasn’t going back unless it would be the last time Cornelius had power. I did care about getting clean. It would be nice to get all that dirt off of me.
Chapter Seventeen
