Kit smiled and wordlessly they took each other's hand as they headed back to the apartment.
Chapter Thirteen
KIT WAS RESTLESS AS she slept that night. Jack was on the couch and Evie was sleeping on a camp bed next to hers. She was dreaming of her father again, he was alone in a room and he needed her. He was chained up, on the verge of madness and as his screams grew louder, Kit heard her name being called until it jolted her awake. She lay in her bed for a moment dripping with sweat as she caught her breath. She looked over at Evie who lay next to her peacefully. Even when she was asleep she managed to look beautiful. Her brown hair lay over the side of her face, on her bare arm Kit saw Evie had small welts on her skin. Kit looked at them curiously and saw that they were infusion marks. She wondered about what Evie had been subjected to in Volt, how much of it she knew and what the experiments had been. She squirmed at the idea of Evie being hurt by people who she thought were there to help her. She felt a sudden urge to protect her and she couldn't rightly explain why. She saw the EKG tattoo line and thought of the battle Evie must have had to get it, to mark herself as safe in this world. Kit wanted her to be safe, wanted to be the one who could protect her, make the world one where she didn’t have to be scared or in pain.
Kit cursed at herself again, losing track of how often she had done so over thoughts of Evie that came to her sudden and uninvited. She climbed gently out of bed so she didn't disturb her and changed into a lose t-shirt and faded jeans, she pulled on her boots and twisted her long brown hair into a ponytail as she padded out of the apartment. She lived in one of the tallest blocks in the Stacks that was at least twenty crates high, she was sure one day it would fall but they had no regulations to make it safer and they needed all the space they could get. Kit walked along the metal corridor and over to the makeshift window. She climbed out of it backwards and reached up to the cargo crate above her and began to climb. There was a perfectly good staircase but there was something about pulling herself to the top that always made her feel better after a restless night. It didn't take her long to get to the top and as she took her favorite spot on the edge. From here she could see the whole of the Stacks laid out in front of her, the small suburb of streets that had been created by those who had escaped, the suburb where the desire for freedom united them. Kit could see the Spire in the distance, she thought about what it was like before the invasion, when life was considered normal. She wondered who she would have been if she lived like those people, and hadn't been born different. Kit knew there was no point in wondering about 'what ifs', they didn't help anyone, especially those in the Stacks who needed guidance and belief that fleeing for their freedom was the right thing to do.
Kit heard a rustle behind her and turned round to see Evie coming up through the stairs. 'Sorry,' she said. 'I woke up and saw you weren't in bed. I wanted to see if you were okay,' she said.
'I'm fine,' Kit said with a smile as Evie joined her. 'Just a nightmare.'
Evie sat next to her and looked out to the Stacks and let a moment of quiet pass between them. 'It's really incredible,' she said. 'A complete makeshift city, unofficial yet running completely as a democracy.'
Kit stifled a laugh. 'I wouldn't exactly say that,' she said.
'Don't they look to you as their leader?' Evie asked. 'As someone who was the first to escape the Shard and lead a legitimate campaign against the President and Hawk?'
'I think you're putting too much stock into propaganda,' she said.
'You talk about the importance of recognizing the strength you have, but I think you're underestimating the power that you have because of that strength,' Evie said.
'Power isn't all it's cracked up to be,' Kit told her and then let a pause pass between them. 'The rebels are going to keep attacking,' she said. 'They've not attacked the Spire in years and they knew that Hawk was in the prefecture and stuck the first moment they could.'
'We were always told that the rebels fought alongside you, that you incited them against Galen,' Evie said.
'I wish I had that level of influence,' Kit said. 'Sadly not though,' she told Evie. 'We work separate to the rebels, they believe in taking America back to what it used to be before the attacks,' she said. 'Before there were mutants.'
'That doesn't sound like a bad thing,' Evie noted.
'It is when their vision doesn't include both Hawk or Galen or mutants,' Kit said. 'They're attacking us as well as Volt.'
'That's illogical,' Evie said.
'We never claimed them to be smart,' Kit said. 'Kingsley went to the Alto prefecture to try and work with them and got some of them on his side, which is impressive given how Alto used to be when it was still Los Angeles.'
'The people who came to Volt with him?' Evie asked. 'Were they mutants, or rebel soldiers?'
'Potentially both,' Kit said. 'Kingsley reported that mutants have been working with them for some time which indicates that they may be ready for talks to join forces rather than fight separately.'
Evie was quiet for a moment. 'It's amazing how much of the outside world we're unaware of,' she said. 'We were confined to a lab for so long that we just believed any information that we were given. I wanted to believe I was making a difference but really I was nothing more than a court jester.'
'Brainwashing can be effective,' Kit said. 'But now you're free and can live the life you want,' she told her.
'I'm not quite used to that idea,' Evie said. 'Cara and I thought about it of course and Lux, well she did nothing but think about it,' she said and went quiet.
'Lux?' Kit asked. 'Your friend?'
She noted Evie hide a wince. 'Not quite,' she said and as Kit saw her blush she felt something flutter inside her with excitement. Shep had been right after all.
'I didn't realize that Volt was so open minded,' Kit said.
'They're not,' Evie said. 'Doesn't mean there's not means and ways round it though.'
'So you're a rule breaker from way back?' Kit teased.
Evie looked downcast. 'We paid the price,' she said. 'Lux tried to escape but was caught and you know how that ends.'
Kit felt a lump twist in her stomach. She knew all too well what happened to people who were caught trying to escape from Volt and she could only imagine what they did to Lux and she could see Evie still felt grief over the loss.
'So many lives have been destroyed since this government took over,' Kit said. 'After I escaped I longed to just disappear and be an unknown, but the only place that was safe was here,' she said. 'But it won't be long before we're attacked.'
'What will happen then?' Evie asked.
'We'll either be killed, rounded up and taken back to Volt or will have to try and find somewhere else to live in the Empire. It's fine if you look like humans and can control the mutant side, but if you've been changed beyond human form then you're a target for attacks.'
Evie felt a sense of guilt nestle in her stomach at the thought of what Volt had created and how people would now have to live forever changed by the decisions that they had made. What would happen if they knew who she was? If they knew the people she worked with were responsible for how they were now? She was certain it wouldn't end well and Kit could sense her sudden nervousness.
'At the funeral tomorrow I want you to officially join us here,' she said. 'I want it to be a public display that you're willing to fight for the state, only by denouncing any linkage to Volt will people here accept you. Otherwise you'll be on your own.'
Evie thought for a moment, about what it would mean to become an official enemy of the Empire and if she could truly turn her back on everything she knew. She then thought of Lux, the parents she never knew and Jack. He was already an outcast, if she went back to Volt, she would have to work with those who were trying to capture and kill him. 'I'll do it,' she said.
Kit nodded as she got to her feet and she extended a hand to Evie. When Evie took it, it was soft and gentle and she felt her heart sink into Kit just for a moment. 'And I'll promise to protect
you as long as I can,' Kit said and the two women felt something change, an unspoken union that had decided to link them together in a world where they shouldn't be.
The next day Kit didn't know what to expect as she dressed for the funeral and tried to mentally prepare for the day that was ahead of her. She was trying to compose herself as she thought of her friends and how they had lost their lives to something that never should have been. She was trying to feel comfortable in her black trousers and blazer that she had borrowed from Lil but it didn't sit right with her no matter how much she tried to tug it into place.
There was a soft knock at her bedroom door and she saw Lil stood at the threshold looking as grim as she felt.
'Can we get this day to go quickly please?' She asked.
'It will go as quickly as it needs to,' Kit told her and then groaned in frustration when she couldn't get her hair to go the way she wanted to.
'Here,' Lil offered and sat her down at her dressing table. She brushed out Kit's hair and began to braid it. 'So they're really joining us?' She asked. 'Evie and Jack?'
'If they want to,' Kit said. 'Evie seemed keen, Jack I'm not so sure about,' she said.
'Why?' Lil asked.
'Evie genuinely seems to want to fight against Hawk and Galen, but Jack...he seems to want to save himself,' she said. 'And he's the reason why Kingsley was killed.'
'The rebels killed Kingsley for deserting them,' Lil said.
'He didn't desert them, he was arrested and forced to work with the enemy,' Kit told her.
'Why would Kingsley work with Jack?' Lil asked. 'He would rather die first than do anything to help Hawk find you.'
Kit didn't have an answer, she didn't want to think of the possibility of her friend betraying her, but in this world allegiances were so frail among so many that it was hard to tell. Lil finished the braid and saw Kit's downcast expression.
'Would having Evie here make you happy?' She asked.
Kit looked at her curiously. 'How do you mean?' She asked.
'I've seen how you are around her, it’s like how you were with Gia, in the early days,' Lil said.
Kit got to her feet and Lil was surprised by the sudden display of frustration. 'We're going to be late,' she said as she managed to quickly compose herself and headed out the door.
'Don't talk about the love life,' Lil muttered. 'Righto.'
Kit walked out to the main street of the Stacks and stopped for a moment when she saw that it was filled with hundreds of mutants who had come out to attend the funerals.
Kingsley and Shep's caskets were on pyres and mounted in a large bonfire that was ready to be lit. The crowd fell silent as Kit walked forward with her squadron as they took their places.
They saw Princep Cerkis and her council members, and they began to sing a mournful melody that floated through the crowd. The wordless song made Kit's heart feel heavy, she wanted to run and hide away; to break down and cry through the pain that was tearing her apart inside, but her feet carried her forward. Cerkis stepped forward and the congregation bowed.
At the back of the crowd, Evie stood close to Jack, they purposefully were separate from Kit and the others, Kit had been concerned about riots starting if any of the residents knew that they were there. She wanted there to be time to properly introduce them and try and avoid any animosity. Evie hid as best she could inside her hooded coat but she knew it was no use, by the end of the day she was going to be seen by everyone here and denounce her allegiance to the Empire.
'Have you decided what you're going to do yet?' She asked Jack quietly. She had told him about the offer but he hadn't reacted as excited as she had by the thought of joining an army he had always fought against.
He didn't look at her and kept his gaze straight ahead. 'No,' he said.
'You have to join them,' Evie said. 'You'll be killed if you don't.
'There are other options,' he said and looked at her. 'We could go to Alto sector, join the FSA and fight for them.'
'They don't accept mutant fighters, you know that,' Evie said.
'But we look human enough, they wouldn't know,' Jack told her.
'And we'd be living in hiding again,' Evie said. 'What if they find out, then what happens?' She asked.
Jack didn't answer her but Evie didn't like the look he had. 'I want to stay with them,' she said. 'For the first time I feel like the part of me that's supposed to be kept hidden is accepted and I can use it for good. I want you to stay to, I don't want to lose you as well.'
Jack couldn't look at her and Evie felt a sense of foreboding rise in her. They had grown up doing everything together, whatever decision needed to be made it was a joint one, whatever happened in Volt, they took it on together. Evie couldn't imagine doing anything without Jack being there and she wanted so desperately to convince him that joining Kit was the right thing to do, but there was no time. Their conversation was halted when the ceremony began.
Evie watched in curiosity at the customs that were used in carrying out the funerals. In Volt she had been used to everyone attending in a large hall, where attendees were dressed in their finest clothes, like they were going to a ball or state dinner. There would be sumptuous food served and tales of the person who had gone was shared, before proceeding to the church where the family would gather inside, with everyone else surrounding the building to pay their final respects. Evie then knew this was likely a custom for the rich people who lived in Volt, she had only seen funerals for those outside of the Elite from afar. When she remembered Lux being buried in an unmarked grave, she knew that not everyone was well remembered after they passed away.
In the Stacks, it appeared that Kingsley and Shep were well liked among everyone. The leader of the council told the story of both men with an eloquence that Evie hadn't encountered at a funeral before.
'Joseph Kingsley James, was a son of a plague family, thrown out onto the streets at a young age after his parents were killed by the virus, he learned to fight for himself, not once was he caught by an Armistice Guard and was spared the horror of being sent to Volt. Even in his last days when he could no longer evade capture, he used what he had learned on the street to try and attack and bring down the establishment from the inside.'
There was a raucous cheer at this and Evie stood closer to Jack as she watched people around her praise what Kingsley had done. He had tried to kill us, she thought. But they hate us too much to care who dies in the process, isn't that what Volt have always done to them? For the first time she was thinking about things from both sides of the war, now that she could see the victims of Volt in the flesh it made everything more real, their pain felt greater, their victory was more deserved. Just because the Empire's rules had always been, didn't mean it always had to be.
The leader from the council finished her eulogy and men walked forward to light the pyre, lighting the coffins on fire. There was a moments lull in the proceedings before Kit stepped forward. When the crowd quietened she spoke.
'Two men gave their lives for our cause,' she said. 'We've been fighting our enemy since we were first able to break free. We were created because of a plague, a virus that was sent to our shores by America's enemy, but the President and her government used it for their own advantage and were able to create such a change in our society that it is now unrecognizable from the land it once was. President Galen and her Commanders have created a world based on false ideologies that only support those who seek their protection and are willing to live under these ideologies because they've been made to fear what will happen if they don't. You have seen how my army of the years has helped defend the Stacks against those who attack us and helped create a peace treaty, but now the attacks are coming closer to home. To strengthen our small army, I have recruited two new soldiers who we believe will help us in advancing our goal to one day being free of a brutal regime. I would like to call forward Evelyn and Jack Fox.'
The crowd began to look round for them and Evie felt herself try and feel more confident than sh
e actually did. Eventually the crowd recognized strangers amongst them and parted so that they could walk to the front.
'Isn't she one of those scientists?' She heard someone ask.
'One that was reported in the news?'
More murmurs followed and Evie tried to ignore them, they echoed her own fears of being accepted by those who were more like her than they knew and she knew she couldn't let those fears control her. She had suffered at the hands of Volt and the Empire as well but as she looked at the mutants, and how inhuman they were, she knew she was lucky.
Kit gave her a small comforting smile when she joined them and she stood next to her, their shoulders briefly touched and Evie found herself desperately wanting Kit to squeeze her hand in reassurance, or show some form of moral support. But in this scenario she was in charge, the leader, not the same woman who Evie could see herself falling for if she allowed herself to. But they were part and the same and Evie found herself paying closer attention, wanting to learn every sinew of the woman who had entered her life and given her a chance to start anew. Evie was confused by her feelings for Kit, they were different to how Lux had made her feel and she hadn't imagined they would resurface for someone new and they made her wary.
'Evelyn and Jack have defected from Volt,' Kit announced, expecting a reaction from the crowd. When it died down she continued. 'They have suffered dearly at the cost to their government who is now looking to kill them for trying to be free. They are not one of them, but one of us, they are mutant born and are here to help us in our fight against Galen and Hawk. Cheers erupted this time and Evie noted the looks that the crowd were giving her. They were faces of people who were determined. Determined to live in a world that they could call their own, determined to be free of a government that wasn't there to champion them. They were looking to Kit to be not only the leader of their army, but the next leader of the Empire.
'Evelyn,' she said and Evie turned to her. 'Do you agree to join us, to uphold our values and fight against President Galen so that people like us can be free in this world?' Kit asked.
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