“Why would I lie? What benefit would this story have for me? You were meant to be a super-soldier. But your emotions were heightened along with your strength. You felt too much. You were too aggressive. We couldn’t control you,” he admits.
Am I crazy like he says? I felt stronger emotions once I got off the Pump for a while, but I wasn’t crazed. Do I have the potential to kill millions of people? No. Never. Have we changed? Did this forced lifestyle work?
“Why train us? What are your plans for us?” Ryker asks as he digs his knife into Dr. Fredericks back. The man whimpers.
He sputters, “You are very expensive and very effective weapons. We still intend to use you as such. We lost so much during the war. We had to leave North America and move to South America for fear of more bombings. We set the Republics up in North America to condition the Exalted and to see if it would be safe to move back with you as our protection.”
“You want guard dogs. We’re not dogs! You can’t have us! In fact, we’re going to stop this right now.” I turn to Ethan and Val. “Can you secure all the doors from the outside except the main entrance? I’m going to have Dr. Fredericks make an announcement.”
They both nod and hurry away.
“We need to leave before it’s too late, Mena. What are you doing?” Ryker questions me.
“You’ll see,” I answer.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
“Come on,” I command Dr. Fredericks. He obeys, his body furiously shaking the entire time. His hands are now tied neatly behind his back, and he’s sweating more than I thought a man could sweat. Ryker accompanies us as we make our way into the announcer’s box. Dr. Fredericks puts up a fuss when we get to the stairs. He’s probably never climbed a staircase in his entire precious life. Ryker gets him moving by once again pressing his knife into his back.
Once inside the small room, I hastily venture forward to look out of the glass windows. They look out over the entire stadium. Thankfully, none of the Exalted are awake yet—but it won’t be long.
“Mena? What are we doing up here?” Ryker asks, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I hustle over to the table that is covered in electronics. The microphone and switchboard are easy to find. I switch them on and then turn to Dr. Fredericks. I hold my knife to his throat. “You are going to call ALL Exalted to the stadium. That’s it. If you say anything more or try anything, I will hurt you. Bad. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” he answers quickly. He’s knows I’m not bluffing.
While still holding the blade to his neck, I press the intercom button next to the microphone. It screeches. Ryker nudges the man from behind. In response, Dr. Fredericks leans forward and says, “Attention! This is Dr. Fredericks. I need ALL Exalted to report to the stadium now. Leave your post and report here immediately.” I pull my finger off the button, ending the announcement over the loud speakers.
“Can you stay here with him while I go down and talk to Ethan and Val?” I ask Ryker. I can tell he’s frustrated. His neck is tensed and his brows are furrowed.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“I’m just going to get them all in here and tell them what he told me. I know they can’t feel anything, but they aren’t dumb. Then we’re going to get out of here. Okay?”
“Okay. I’ll keep watch over him.”
“Thank you.”
Back downstairs, I find Val and Ethan standing near the main entrance. It’s located right next to the door that leads up to the announcer’s box. “We have everything locked up good,” Ethan says.
“Thanks. They’re going to start pouring in here soon. I’d like you two to hurry down to meet my parents and Jenna. Tell them what’s happening. Wait 30 minutes. If we aren’t down there by then, go without us. Can you do this for me, please?” I look between my two best friends, Val and Ethan. Right now I choose to put aside Ethan’s betrayal. We need to trust each other fully. I have to trust them to do this for me if they agree.
“Yes, Mena,” Val says. Ethan nods while looking into my eyes. He wants to say something—I can tell. The moment quickly passes.
I give them a tight smile and hug them both. After they are gone, I run back upstairs to the announcer’s box.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Down in the stadium, Exalted are entering and finding their semi-unconscious brethren. Every second that passes, another drugged Exalted wakes up. Some are looking for a fight. Some are waiting for Dr. Fredericks.
Finally, the doors to the main entrance are still. It’s time.
After I shake off my nerves, I clear my throat. Ryker places his strong hand on my shoulder, giving me a little extra confidence. I lean forward and press the intercom button once again—only this time, it’s me that is speaking. “Welcome, Exalted. As you can see, the United Ceremony has been interrupted. My name is Mena and I was the first place trainee this year. During this last year, I have come to learn a great many things about the Republic that I want to share with all of you.”
The more I speak, the most self-assured I become in my decision not to just run away. I continue, “Dr. Fredericks has shared secrets with me that you should know. We are not who we think we are, and we are being controlled.” I go on to tell them about what really happened with the war and our race. I tell them about the Pump and the Republic’s future plans for us.
There are rumbles in the crowd. “Traitor!” someone shouts. Then more join in, “Traitor! Get her!” A swarm of Exalted head toward the stairwell to the room we are in.
“Wait!” I hear a shout.
The mob pauses and looks back into the crowd. I can see a dark figure moving through the stands. Finally, he emerges and jumps over the short wall that surrounds the arena floor. The massive Basav marches toward the podium. My stomach drops at the sight of him. He is by far the most intimidating Exalted I have ever met. He could break my body by flicking me with his finger.
I hold my breath, waiting for what he will say.
“What Mena says about the Pump is true.” I expel a lungful of air. I can’t believe what I’m hearing! He continues on, shocking me with his words, “They are using it to control us. I have been off the Pump for twelve years. I am stronger without it,” the man says to the crowd. Then he turns and smiles up at me. I can see his white teeth shining between his parted lips. A gasped laughed escaped my mouth. This I never expected. Never.
Two more people move through the crowd and jump over the arena wall. Garret and Millie move toward Basav and the podium. Garret shouts, “Their words are true! We, too, are off the Pump. It’s been three years for us.” I am glad to hear that he was still on the Pump when he tortured Ethan and me as children.
“Where is Dr. Fredericks?” a male Exalted shouts. A woman yells, “This is our city not his!” There is more shouting and talking.
My heart swells with hope and pride for the people here and for the people beyond the walls. I turn toward Ryker, Dr. Fredericks completely forgotten. “Let’s go down there.”
He nods. He reaches over and pulls Dr. Fredericks along as we go to the stairs. My heart pounds in my chest with excitement the closer we get to the bottom. Once we clear the last step, my positive thoughts quickly change.
“Traitors!” several Exalted shout.
When we round the corner, we see that there is a battle being fought—freedom fighters against loyalist. At the center of it all Basav is still standing at the podium shouting, “Stop this! There is a solution! Stop!” The loyalists aren’t paying him any attention. They fight to preserve the Republic.
Beside me, Dr. Fredericks is laughing with a chilling hysteria. “Shut up!” Ryker threatens. But the doctor can’t control himself. “I’ll be right back.” Ryker shoves the doctor back up the stairs and locks him in the tiny room. Then he rejoins me.
We take in the chaos before us. Weapons clash against each other as brothers and sisters fight. I have never seen such a horrifying spectacle before. The true measure of our race can be seen right here, rig
ht now. We are strong and gifted. And we are most certainly skilled at killing. There are already several Exalted lying on the ground, not moving.
I get lost as I watch Garret battle with an ax wielder. Until now, I have yet to see Garret’s talents. He is amazing—amazingly deadly. I cringe as he strikes his opponent between the ribs, his knife thrusting up into the man’s lung. He falls to the ground. Garret wastes no time on him and moves onto his next opponent.
I can’t help but feel that it’s wrong of us to fight each other. I didn’t mean for this to be the result of my announcement, but I suppose it was always going to come to this if things are to change. Surprisingly, it appears that there are more in agreement with the wise Basav than I first thought.
But there are still those that disagree. One of them rises in the tiered seating, pulling an arrow from the quiver on his back. Armed only with a single knife, Ryker charges the man who aims his bow and arrow at the mighty Basav. He leaps over the short retaining wall that surrounds the arena floor and flies into the stands. The two men wrestle on the ground. My heart pounds faster with each punch that Ryker takes.
Suddenly, a woman falls at my feet, blood oozing out of the side of her mouth. Her lifeless body draws my attention away from Ryker. I search for her opponent, and find her in no time at all. It’s Kinah. I’m not surprised to see that she is fighting with the loyalists.
“Oh no,” I mumble as she shoves her way toward me. The lack of emotion in her eyes and face frightens me. She means to kill me.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
“Kinah, I don’t want to fight you!” I shout over the noise of the battling Exalted. She doesn’t waver. She has her club clutched firmly in her grip and she’s seeking revenge for her displacement.
Kinah wastes no time. She swings her spiked club at my head, but I’m anticipating it. When I duck, I try to take her legs out from under her. She is anticipating me as well. Kinah jumps in the air while bringing her club back around and down toward my shoulder. I have to do a front roll across the ground to avoid the hit. But I don’t get away unscathed. One of her long spikes scratches my arm as I roll away.
This definitely isn’t like the last time we faced off, where she was prohibited from killing me. Today, she won’t stop until I am dead.
I can feel warm blood seeping from the cut on my arm. I can tell without looking that it isn’t too bad. My arm still works fine. I instinctively reach for my knives, but pull away. I don’t want to hurt her too badly. I don’t want to hurt any of them. Where is Ryker? Maybe he can get a rope to help me tie her up.
Kinah takes yet another swing at me. This time, I duck and run straight into her solid stomach. I naively try to push her down, but she’s too strong—too powerful. She barely moves from the impact. I can tell she’s going to try to wrap her muscled arms around me. Without thinking, I drop and crawl under her legs. After jumping up behind her, I thrust my elbow as hard as I can into her right kidney. Then I kick the backside of her knee. This gets her moving. She falls to one knee, gasping for air.
Unfortunately, she doesn’t stay down. She tries to fake me out by using her club to help her get back to her feet. As she begins to stand, she flicks the spiked weapon out toward me. I jump straight up—five feet off the ground. The club cuts through the air under my feet, missing me by at least a foot, if not more.
As I land, I plead with the girl that has always been my competition, “Kinah, stop this! You won’t win!”
“I will win! And you will die deservingly, mutt.” She charges me and slams her powerful shoulder into my mid-section. My feet come off the ground as she runs with me toward a nearby wall. I prepare myself for the imminent pain.
But I feel Kinah move her club behind my back. She means to impale me. I have to get out of this before she reaches that wall.
Her grip is so tight—I can’t wiggle out of her arms. I can’t play dead because she won’t care—she’ll keep running with me. What do I do?
With no time left, I bring my face toward hers. I silently grumble in my head, and then, I bite off her ear. It does the trick. She drops me on the ground as she clutches the bleeding mess on the side of her head.
Disgusting. I spit on the ground—several times. My eyes are frantically searching for Ryker’s whereabouts. He’s fighting with someone else now. He can’t help me.
I pull myself off the ground and toss Kinah’s ear into the battling crowd.
“I am going to kill you,” she seethes from the ground. She’s on her hands and knees looking up at me.
“Not yet, you aren’t.” I thrust my foot into the side of her head. This will only knock her out for a moment, so I dash off to find some rope. Inside the trainee holding room, under the stands, I find them. I snag two.
When I emerge, Ryker is waiting for me. He helps me bind Kinah’s hands together, and then her feet. As we look around, we see blood, fallen Exalted, bound Exalted, and Basav still at the podium talking into the microphone. He continues to speak, “Let’s make a plan. Please, stop fighting.” The most physically intimidating man seems to be surprisingly kindhearted. He’s a natural leader. I hope he really does have a plan for the mess I’ve caused.
After a long while of Exalted fighting Exalted, they become weary. Some just stopped fighting all together after hearing more of Basav’s words. Everyone has finally decided to listen to him. They stay in their fighting stances, but shift their attention toward the podium.
Basav smiles. “Thank you for stopping. We are not here to fight one another! We are brothers and sisters, not animals. We need to take back our land and cities. I have had a plan in mind for many years, but I have been too cowardly to do what young Mena has done today,” he says as he makes eye contact with me through the crowd.
“Let’s hear your plan!” I shout in return.
“Very well. I did not know of the country’s survivors moving to South America or that there are two other cities like ours. I also didn’t know of our inception, but none of those things make a difference for our future. I know that our people are strong, and if given the chance we would be a good people—not like our crazed ancestors. My plan is to take back our city—new cities. North America should be ours, not theirs. They chose to give it up. Let’s send them back to South America. And we will protect all the refugees that came here in search of hope. We will let them live freely, as we will also live freely. And anyone that disagrees or wants to continue to be controlled can go with them.”
There are rumbles in the crowd.
I quickly jump in, “I want to live free!”
“I want to live free!” Ryker shouts beside me.
Garret calls from some unseen place, “I want to live free!”
More and more join in until a small group of loyalists has formed at the back of the crowd. They wear hard faces, but realize they are outnumbered. They wait.
“Let us form groups that will restructure our new society. We will destroy the Pump and choose our fates!”
“We need a leader! Let us vote!” Garret calls.
“I nominated Basav!” I shout.
When no one adds another name to the list Garret says, “All those in favor say ‘I’.”
It’s a glorious moment to bear witness to the birth of a new society—one that is ours—one that I fought for.
“I’m proud of you,” Ryker whispers in my ear. He takes my hand in his and gives it a little squeeze.
“Is this really it? Is it over?” I shake my head in disbelief.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
“My parents and our friends. We have to go tell them and stop them from leaving, Ryker,” I whisper in his ear as Basav continues to share the ideas he has for the future of our Republic. I got lost in the new leader’s words and momentarily forgot that they were waiting for us to leave.
Ryker threads his fingers through mine and smiles. We can be together now. We are free—together.
“Let’s go,” he whispers in return.
When we turn to sneak
out of the stadium, we discover that the group of loyalists is missing—Kinah included among them. “Ryker?” He looks over the heads of the other Exalted nearby while I search the tiered seating.
“I don’t see them,” he admits.
“Neither do I.”
I suddenly release my hold of his hand and run for the stairs to the announcer’s box. The door is open wide. I sprint up the steps only to find an empty room. Dr. Fredericks is gone as well. No!
I slam my hand down on the microphone, switching it on. “The loyalists have fled!” I announce to the large crowd below.
The remaining Exalted fall into action. They all know exactly what to do without being given orders. They file out of the stadium to search the grounds. We can’t let them leave the Republic. They could go to one of the other Republics and declare war on us. They could wipe out Toledo Lake before even bothering with this Republic. They could go into a rampage and murder citizens on their way out. The possibilities are endless.
I rush back down the stairs, adrenaline fueling me forward. It’s all I have left. My emotions are raw and abused. The few seconds of the tease of peace and freedom being ripped away from me in an instant is too much.
“Come on!” I shout to Ryker as I rush past him out of the stadium. I sprint toward the Capitol. The grounds are empty. There aren’t any Ambassadors or citizens out at this time. They are all tucked away in their beds and sleeping. They have no clue of the overturn of power that has just taken place. The Ambassadors will be shocked to find out the news in the morning.
I take the stairs three at a time, flying down them with reckless abandon. Finally, I emerge into the underground garage. It’s eerily quiet. I don’t stop running until I’m in front of the space where our getaway vehicle should be waiting. It’s gone . . . as are my parents, Val, Ethan, Jenna, and the vehicle that’s always in the next space over. They are all gone. The only thing left behind is a splattering of blood on the concrete.
Denounced (Exalted Trilogy: Book 2) Page 18
