It took longer than expected for Zane to finish playing inside the electricity box on the far right of the basement and just as she was about to ask what was taking so long she heard a door creak. She moved faster than she thought possible, ducking under the stairs and pulling on her sunglasses, thankful that she had remembered them and waited. Had Zane heard the door? Did one of her friends know that they were down here? These questions were answered when she saw Ford move down the steps one by one, looking in every direction and finally settling his eyes to the right of the large room. He knew they were there, or suspected they were anyway.
Charlie felt the faint tingling that was constant when Zane was near start to ebb and she knew that he had heard Ford move onto the stairs and had started to retreat into the shadows. Making his way faster down the steps now Ford never once took his eyes off the electricity box, looking to confirm his suspicions, but once there it was plain to see that he had found nothing; he turned, dropped his head in disappointment and stalked back out of the basement.
Not feeling safe enough to stay concealed under the stairs, Charlie made her way back into the tunnel through the shelter and waited for Zane to join her. Neither of them dared to speak until they were a good distance down the tunnel and a safe distance from her old house.
“Do you think he knew we were there?”
“Of course he did. He knew the plan and he went straight to the electricity box. There was no doubt that he knew we had been but he probably thought we were long gone.”
Charlie didn’t reply, instead retreating into her own thoughts. She knew for certain that Ford would be watching and waiting now and there would be nothing she could do to stop him from joining in once the fighting started and nothing more she could do than try her hardest to protect him.
Charlie stuck to sitting under the stairs while Zane fiddled in the electricity boxes after that, thinking it safer to sit in the dark than in the light. There was no need for the worry that encompassed her upon entering every house that encircled the Town Hall, they hadn’t run into any other people since leaving the Oak Street house and yet still the sense of concern followed her in a relentless stream of fast paced heart beats and sweaty palms until they made their way back into their own basement. Charlie stayed with Zane just like she had with the other houses and waited until he had finished before they both walked back into their own eerily silent house.
It was just on dusk when they arrived back, they still had time before they needed to move and decided on having dinner and fuelling up before settling in for the wait that was too short. Although they didn’t need to eat as often or as much as humans did to sustain them, they still needed food to gain energy and tonight was no night to be skimping on the energy. They would need as much as possible in the coming days so they sat down to a full meal in silence before Charlie finally spoke.
“Zane. I’m sorry.”
“What for? If anyone should be sorry it’s me.”
“For dragging you into this. For imposing on your life. For hurting you.”
“Well first of all you didn’t drag me into anything, if you remember it was me that told you about who you were and set the whole thing in motion. And you definitely aren’t imposing. I’ve loved having the company.”
“But I have hurt you.”
He didn’t need to respond it hadn’t been a question and Charlie knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she had hurt him more than she had even hurt Ford.
“I think it’s time Charlie.”
She wanted nothing more than to tell him that she loved him and to make him feel better before heading out to fight but she couldn’t form the words that would surely only hurt him more. Whether it was because she didn’t want him hurting any more if she were to pass away or because of Ford, or because she didn’t really know how she felt yet, she wasn’t sure. The reason didn’t matter now, any excuse would do and she took hold of that thought and waited beside the front door for him to join her with the bag of weapons. Whatever she was in love, she wasn’t a coward in war, she would meet the Valguard head on.
They made their way silently through the deserted night street of Tole knowing that they would meet with the Valguard in Town Square, which lay directly opposite the Town Hall and wasn’t actually a square but more of an oval shape, littered here and there with trees for shade and bench seats, which during the day could be found occupied with numerous residents relaxing. The atmosphere at night was completely different, it was abandoned, quiet and dark and made all the more creepy by knowing that very shortly the Valguard would be filling up the square intent on killing Charlie all because she was the destinata, because she would be the one to stand up to them for the rights of the humans, to take the town back, to bring them to their knees.
El’ had asked her a few days prior to this moment why they even cared, why would they care that one girl knew their secret, it was no cause for war surely. Charlie had answered as best as she could at the time but now wished she could go back and answer differently. At the time she had said ‘because if one person knows, they will spread it to the rest and once we are told to our faces what they are and what they can do, they start to lose control of us. Their hazing isn’t as effective and they fear that once word gets out, we will take them out and they will lose what they have here. You have to remember that when they first settled in Tole they had no intention of keeping us around but they soon realized that with their hazing abilities they could keep us within their control and keep us doing whatever they wanted. They want and need for nothing because they have more than 1500 ‘zombies’ to do it for them. Imagine if they lost that. What would they do? Where would they go?’ Now she wished she had answered with ‘because they can.’ She knew that this day would have come no matter what had happened that day in the woods. Even if Zane had kept his mouth shut about her being the destinata and never uttered a word to her about the Valguard, Charlie had always noticed the subtle differences in her towns members and even more so after her eighteenth birthday. She would have pieced it together eventually, the only difference being that she wouldn’t have been prepared for the fight. After her mother’s death she had realized that it didn’t matter what she said to the Valguard and the humans. The Valguard would never relinquish power and would kill anyone who defied them and the humans would never give up their right to freedom. So now instead of trying to create peace, she would bring knowledge to the humans and sent the Valguard’s running.
It turned out that Zane was pretty good with computers as well and while Matt had shown him what he needed to do, he remembered every step with precision and had executed their plan perfectly because instead of waiting in absolute darkness for the Valguard to arrive, the town was lit up like a Christmas tree. While Charlie had been waiting under the steps of the Tole residents basements, Zane had been reconfiguring their electric systems so that at approximately 8pm every single light in those houses would turn on and would not be able to be switched off. They had covered every house that surrounded Town Hall and then using the internet to hack into the Town’s main power grid also turned the lights on in every government build including the flood lights and street lights that surrounded the area. Of course they were now just one big target but the Valguard were coming anyway so why not give themselves the advantage of light. They knew that almost every person in town would fill the square soon enough because within fifteen minutes the towns evacuation alarm would go off, sending them all to Town Square where they would finally meet the beings who had been controlling them for nearly two decades.
The first Valguard appeared in the square about ten minutes after the lights switched on all around Tole. He was quickly followed by another twenty Valguard at least, five human police officers and right alongside them, Mikal.
“Charlie. How nice to see you again.”
Charlie wondered whether Mikal had told the other Valguard – who had obviously rejoined him – that she was his daughter or not. She guessed not, he had already been ove
rthrown once, finding out that he had helped to conceive a part human child probably wouldn’t sit too well with them right now. The thought gave her an idea. One that was sure to cause hesitation within their ranks.
“It’s great to see you again too dad.”
Her response had caused murmured cries of ‘What?’, ‘She’s his daughter?’, ‘Disgusting.’ And with the whispers that filled the small crowd she knew her words had had the desired effect but not on all of them. About a third of the Valguard that had accompanied Mikal into the square started to move away, disgust and outrage apparent on their faces. It was quite obvious that the other two thirds either didn’t care or had already known.
“Nicely done child. Though my men aren’t going to desert me and let you leave no matter what you say. They can’t you see. Where would they be if they did?”
“They may not let me leave Mikal but you may not be as protected as you think. Take a look around. Already they’re disgusted with you, they can’t even bear standing near you let alone save you if you were in harm’s way.”
She saw the alarm flicker in his eyes before he turned on his own men, silently commanding them to rejoin him and most did, leaving only a few stragglers behind.
“You see, they can’t disobey me now. I’m the new Mayor and they will do as I say until I am either dead or resign from my duties.”
A small smile played across Charlie’s lips. Although it was a shock to hear that the newly appointment Mayor was her father and head Valguard, she also knew that he was worried about another upheaval from his men and women.
“What could you possibly have to smile about? Here you stand before twenty-five of my strongest men and there are only two of you. One a runaway traitor, the other nothing but a half-blood child and you are smiling? You can’t possibly win, you have nowhere to run. You led us here and in doing so cornered yourself, so why are you feeling so smug?”
Mikal was definitely worried now and though he put on a brave face his eyes gave away his growing concern. Charlie had him right where she wanted him. And just as her grin broadened to a smile that reached her eyes and her and Zane reached up to fill their ears with bright yellow plugs, the evacuation alarm sounded. The Valguard that had gathered with Mikal cowered to the ground under the loud ringing, their heightened senses making them scream in agony at the pounding their ears were taking. The alarm was set to go off once every five minutes for the next quarter of an hour but Charlie knew within minutes the square would be filled with not only the human residents of Tole but also the Valguard who were no doubt hiding all over town waiting for the fighting to begin.
“What have you done?”
There was genuine concern and fear in Mikal’s voice now.
“You asked me before why I was looking so smug and my answer is simple. There are 1263 men and women that reside in this town, right now about half of them can’t for the life of them figure out why their lights won’t turn off and combined with the rest of them, are getting ready to assemble right here in the square as per town evacuation rules. We may be outnumbered for now but how long is it going to take the rest of your men to assemble here from their hiding places in town? Five… ten minutes maybe? It won’t matter because by the time they are here every single human in this town will know who and what you are and be ready to fight for the right to live their own lives without you controlling them.”
Already Charlie could see the people that lived closest to town exiting their houses and getting ready to meet at the square, completely oblivious to what was going on. She felt a pang of guilt at what she was about to put them through and for the lives that would surely be lost but they have a right to know that they aren’t as free as they think, that the Valguard have been controlling their thoughts and feelings for the last couple of decades and she knew that they would willingly fight.
“Ahhh but you have forgotten something of great importance dear girl. The whole town may assemble here but what are they going to fight with? Their fists? The evacuation plan says nothing about bringing along weapons. They will be unarmed and unprepared; you are sending them all to their death.”
“That’s where you’re wrong again father because not only did we sound the alarm that will bring about your demise but we were well prepared. You see, I have a friend that is very good with computers, it turns out that the Mayor’s personal email account isn’t all that hard to hack into and once you’re in it’s even easier to send an email to every account in town stating that new evacuation rules have been put in place due to recent disputes between countries. Those new rules include coming along to every evacuation assembly armed and ready to fight. Of course not everyone will come armed, there will be those who didn’t receive the email and those who simply don’t agree with such measures but most will and those who don’t will be protected.”
Charlie could see Mikal looking for a hole in her plan, looking for a way out, looking for somewhere to run but there was none and there was nowhere to run because by the time Charlie had finished talking, already half the town had arrived and were forming a tight circle around those who stood in the middle of the square. There was pushing and shoving among them, all of them trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on. The next alarm sounded then, ensuring that everyone in town knew that this wasn’t a drill and bringing them to the center of town. Mikal stood shocked at his daughter, unable to move or speak and by the time the alarm stopped ringing and his men once again stood upright, they were greeted by over a thousand sets of eyes staring at them hard, finally knowing that something wasn’t quite right with some of the town’s population and wanting to know what.
Charlie took a deep breath readying herself to raise her voice amongst the town’s people and confirm their suspicions and lead them into battle.
“You’re all probably wondering why you’re here when there doesn’t seem to be any immediate threat to the town. But there is a threat and it is immediate, in fact it’s been going on for almost twenty years now. Take a look at the men that stand before me, how they cower at the sound of the alarms how they all wear sunglasses all the time, even right now when there is no need to shield their eyes from the artificial light.” Mikal hadn’t noticed before but as soon as she had spoken the words she saw his face turn to hers searching for the glow that would surely place her among those she was talking about but he found nothing but the deep blue of her normal eyes – having placed contact lenses in before arriving in town - and knowing that she had outsmarted him once again. “These people call themselves the Valguard. They have been controlling your thoughts and feelings for all this time and hardly anyone noticed and those who did were sent to their death in the cell that resides under Town Hall anyway. We have stood idle for long enough, it’s time to take back our town. They may be able to take our lives but they cannot have our freedom!”
Charlie’s speech had started uproar among the humans, most of which were armed and angry now. Some simply stood around asking questions but never once doubting what she had said because as she knew it would happen, as soon as she had spoken the words aloud, the fog that shrouded their thoughts on any other day started to lift, they started to see the Valguard for what they really were, they started remembering what life was like before the Valguard moved into the town and remembering what they had made them do since moving to town. They would fight, there was no doubt about it but how many would survive? She could see random Valguard moving in now from all around town, they were pushing through the humans like they were nothing but garbage and she knew from the looks on their faces that they had heard every word of her speech. This was it, the moment she had seen in her visions, the moment that would start the war.
Chapter Fourteen
She found Ford’s face in the crowd, desperate for the fighting to start so that he could get his hands on a Valguard, any Valguard would do. He was still angry she could see it in the set of his face, in the fists that were clenched by his side and by the numerous weapons he had strapped to hi
s body. She had been confused when she first had the vision of Ford running towards the closest Valguard and lodging his knife straight through the heart of his enemy, taking him down with one fatal blow; but even now that she knew the reasons behind why Ford was the first to start the fighting, it didn’t make it any less painful to watch him put himself in the way of danger. All she could do was stare until she felt an arm around her waist, dragging her backwards and away from the fighting that had ensued from the first killing. She was lifted off the ground, her legs and arms kicking and punching at whatever she could make contact with and wondering where in the hell Zane had disappeared to, he was supposed to be there with her, fighting alongside her. Had he decided to join his own race? No, he would never do that, he must be fighting somewhere. The instant that she thought of Zane in amongst the battle her body went limp, she needed to find him, to make sure that he was ok. Her eyes scanned the square but jam-packed with bodies fighting and screaming and running it was no use, she would never find him amongst the bedlam, she would need to get free first.
She started kicking and punching again, but this time with a purpose. In amongst the chaos of her flailing arms and legs her attacker didn’t notice when she reached down to her firm fitting cargo’s and pull a knife that was strapped to her thigh. Bringing it up as hard as she could she heard the screams before she felt the trickle of blood run over her shoulder, the warmth spreading down her shoulder blade before she was dropped to the ground in a heap, her legs not quite ready to support her own weight and collapsing underneath her. She looked up to see how bad the injury was when she felt a sharp blow to the top of her head. Seeing stars she lashed out with her knife again and once again making contact, this time though with what felt like bone. She turned as quickly as possible without making herself pass out and saw that her first blow had punctured the Valguard’s right eye, where there used to be an eyeball was now just a bloodied and black oozing mess. Her second blow had left a sizeable puncture wound to his shin, which he was now fussing over instead of guarding himself. Charlie took the opportunity to force her knife inwards and upwards to pierce the man’s heart. He took one last breath before falling dead to the ground at her feet where the blood pooled around her shoes. She had no time to stop and take note of who she had killed or to find out whether she had known them well, she needed to get back to the fighting and help the town people fight for their freedom.
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