'I do,' Evie said, unable to help but think that they were exchanging a unique form of wedding vows.
'Do you promise to uphold the values of the Stacks and protect the people who live here by fighting against anything that comes up against us?' Kit asked. Evie thought for a moment what that could mean, could she go up against some of the people she lived amongst, people she worked with? Remembering Cara was enough to give her an answer.
'I do,' she said.
Kit extended a hand to her and when Evie took it she felt a surge of warm energy flow through to her and saw strands of purple energy flowing from Kit's arm into hers. 'Then you are one of us,' she said and the crowd cheered.
Kit drew Evie close to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, Evie was unsure what she was doing but was sure it was part of the process. Kit whispered in her ear. 'Welcome to the family,' she said and smiled to her. 'Dinner's on me tonight.'
Evie felt herself blush but nodded. 'Thank you,' she said and as Kit let go of her hand she felt herself turn cold again.
'Jack,' Kit said and he stepped forward, he had a look of foreboding on his face which made Evie uneasy.
'Are you ready to join your sister? To join us?' Kit asked.
Jack was hesitant for a moment and looked at Evie and she knew his response before he said anything. 'No,' he said. 'I can't join you.'
Chapter Fourteen
THE CROWD HAD ERUPTED at Jack's refusal to join Kit's army and they had to be held back by the Cerkis' men.
'Traitor!' Some shouted at him.
'He's one of them,'
‘He wants to kill us!'
At that declaration the crowd were almost uncontrollable. Kit climbed up onto a podium that was on the stage. 'Enough!' She said and Evie felt a wave of energy emit from her that caused the uproar to quieten. Evie was amazed she was able to command such a large audience with just a single word. Kit looked down at Jack from where she was stood. 'Explain,' she said.
'Kingsley died because of me,' Jack told her, knowing he needed to keep his voice low. 'He was a Death Mark, one of the most powerful mutants there are, but he was created that way. I want to know how, if it was us or if it was Alto. If it was Alto, then it means that they are secretly working against Galen to create a counter army. If they are, then we want to be part of that and it will be the other answer we need.'
Kit studied Jack and could see why he wanted to leave. Kingsley had never told her how he gained powers that were stronger than any she had seen before, and she had been resistant in asking. Jack couldn't let Evie be the sacrifice to end this war and she found she couldn't argue with him.
She could see the concerned looks of her squad. 'We need to go back to the barracks,' she said. 'This ceremony is over.'
Leaving the center of the Stacks had been nearly impossible. The crowd were demanding answers and on the verge of being violent. Canaan and Lil were able to be hold them off until Adam was able to get a truck come pick them up.
'We need to say goodbye to Cara,' Evie said softly in the quiet truck.
'We'll find a way,' Jack said and saw Evie looked concerned. She couldn't leave her friend without a proper burial and Jack hated himself for taking that from her.
Evie looked over to Kit, she was quiet during the journey back to the barracks and Evie sensed anger radiating from her. She turned to Jack with a mixture of concern and frustration. He always had a way of trying to do everything his own way, that's what Galen had liked about him, how he'd managed to rank so highly in the guards. He innovated their operations and was persistent about getting his own way when he knew he had a chance of being right. Evie felt protective of Kit, as though they should be helping her in any way they could, the fact that Jack had refused to join them felt like a betrayal.
Kit pulled the truck up into the bunker as Canaan and the others joined them with the other car. Jack was quiet as they walked into the building, not knowing what to expect when suddenly Kit's arm was against his chest and she had pinned him up against the wall.
'You think you're funny?' She asked. 'You think you can come in here and undermine everything we do just because you're a soldier of the Empire?' Lil tried to pull her away but Kit was stronger, she had always been stronger. 'No one publicly embarrasses me or this army in front of the people who live here and expect to get a second chance,' she said.
'Back off,' Jack said, unsure if this was just an act for the others or genuine. Evie saw anger pulsating through him as he pushed Kit away and could feel the air around them quivering. She had felt Jack's powers only a few times growing up and each time it scared her.
Kit glared at him and Evie saw the electric lights swirl round her hands and Evie sensed fear in everyone else in the room, even Canaan looked on edge. 'You're the reason two of the best men I've ever met are dead,' she said. 'You're the reason we had to have today, you should be falling in line to right that wrong, but instead you want to go off on your own godly mission, so you can what? Repent for any guilt you feel?' She asked.
'I want to go to Alto because I want to find a way to end the Empire,' Jack said. If Kit was acting, she was good at it.
'And why can't you do that with us?' Evie asked him. 'You're a goddamn fool if you think you can do it on your own.'
They turned to her, Kit was surprised that she was speaking out against her brother but also relieved that at least one of the Fox siblings was with her. The electric energy fizzled away from her.
'Because intelligence we received in Volt, told us that the FSA were an emerging threat and was diverting their efforts to control their attacks,' Jack told them.
'I thought they always saw Kit as the threat,' Evie said.
Jack looked at Kit and could see where she had gotten her reputation from. 'They did, until you left the State to start your own army. They fear that if the two of you join together then you'll be unstoppable, but on your own they see you as weak and an easy target.'
'They're wrong on both counts. The FSA won't join with us,' Kit said. 'They despise mutants because we can fight in ways that they can't, they'll never accept you if you try and join them.' Her words were softer now and Evie hoped that Jack was listening to her.
'You've been in Volt for too long,' Evie said. 'We both have, we don't know how the world works outside the wire, you need to trust Kit,' she said.
Jack felt like he was being backed into a corner and like he was abandoning Evie. 'I want to do this,' he said. 'Not just for Kingsley, but for Cara, our parents, and to undo as much of what the Empire have done as I can.'
'If you want to leave, there's the door,' Kit said. 'If you think you can get the State to accept you and join forces with us then I can only hope the next funeral we have to go to isn't yours.'
'I'll join you,' Canaan said and Kit spun round to him.
'Has the notion of loyalty just been forgotten today?' Kit asked.
'Jack's right,' Canaan told her. 'Kingsley was on the verge of creating a new alliance until he was caught,' he said. 'He would send me updates and when I spoke with him he introduced me to one of their leaders. They'll be hostile, but they need to be told about Kingsley and if I accompany Jack then he won't get killed the moment he turns up.'
Jack gave him a small nod of appreciation, he was surprised but grateful none the less. 'If there are no more objections then we should head out,' Jack said to Canaan.
'You're leaving now?' Evie asked.
Jack took her to one side. 'You'll be fine here,' he said. 'Kit likes you and she'll be able to train you and keep you safe. If Galen tracks me down, it's best that we're not together, that way she'll only get one of us rather than both.'
Evie looked over to Kit, she had been with her brother her whole life, he had taught her everything she knew, and how could she be apart from him all of a sudden? But when she saw the others she couldn't help but think that she had been given a chance to finally be free.
'You'll keep in touch?' She asked.
'As much as I can,' Jack said
and pulled her into a tight hug that only Jack could give her.
Evie was quiet as Jack loaded up the truck and Canaan climbed behind the wheel. Kit was watching from a distance as Lil and Rook said their goodbyes. Rook was upset but doing what she could to hide it and Evie was trying to do the same. Jack climbed into the van and looked back at Evie. He touched his chest twice with a fist and threw up a peace sign. Evie returned the gesture. No matter where he was, they were family and she would find him again someday.
Kit eventually went to Evie. She could see the pain she was trying to hide, the look of sorrow that etched in her expression and Kit felt her heart pull towards her. Kit wanted to fight it, everything was telling her that she should but the feeling was too great and the illogical side of her decided it was time to indulge and allow a moment to come between them, just to see if there was anything there. Kit thought of the one place that made her feel at peace and went and took Evie's hand.
'Come with me,' she said.
Evie looked down at Kit's hand and blushed. 'Where to?' She asked.
'Some place that will help,' Kit told her.
Evie didn't know what to do, she felt the urge to pull away and retreat from the cascade of emotions that were washing through her. She didn't want to fall in love again, not after the last time. She didn't want to feel that pain again but something in the pit of her stomach was telling her that she should trust Kit. Trust what she was feeling and that it would be okay. She smiled at Kit and followed her to one of the trucks.
Kit took them to a large park that seemed to sprawl for miles on the edge of the Stacks. It was just beyond the boundary but was unmarked by any official that was trying to keep them inside. Kit pulled the truck to a stop on the outskirts of an old fence and climbed up onto the top of the hood and helped Evie up. They nestled into the grove of the windscreen and Kit looked up at the blanket of stars above them.
'Have you ever wondered what's up there?' Evie asked.
'I've heard so many different stories over the years, it's hard to know what's true anymore,' Kit said. 'I've been told it's where mutant energy comes from but I'm not sure if that's just a fantasy,'
'I don't think mutant energy is a physical thing you can find,' Evie said. 'Rook's right, it's something that lives inside of us that was woken up when we were infected with the virus.'
'But the scientists are able to manipulate it, change it to something new,' Kit said. 'You've done those experiments, you have been able to hold what they call magic in the palm of your hands and decide what happens to it. What was that like?' Kit turned to her and was looking at Evie but Evie couldn't meet her eyes.
'It was something I despised every day,' Evie told her. 'For me, the people who we tested on were no different to me or my brother and we were forced to put so many people through so much pain.'
'Why didn't you try and stop it?' Kit asked.
'A few of us did, more than once, but they would make any of us who spoke out prisoners, we were led to believe that Galen knew everything we were doing and could even hear our thoughts. It was enough to scare us all of us to fall into line,' Evie said and climbed down from the hood of the car. Kit watched as she walked out a few paces and hugged herself as she looked out to the mountains in front of them. She went over to her.
'What happened?' Kit asked her. When Evie turned to her Kit saw a small number of tears on her cheek. She brushed them away with the back of her hand and took Evie's hand. 'There's a lake not far from here,' she said. 'Whenever I go I always feel better afterwards.'
Evie was grateful that Kit wasn't pressing her for more and she followed her to the lake. It was nestled just before the foot of the cliff edge and the light of the stars bounced off the surface of the water. Kit walked down to the edge and pulled off her shirt and pants and stepped in.
'Come in,' she said to Evie. 'The temperature's just right.'
As Kit swam over to the waterfall as Evie removed her own clothes and slipped into the water and gingerly made her way over to Kit.
'How do you find these places?' Evie asked her.
'There's times when I have to get out of the city, this place is still within our boundaries,' Kit said. 'I come here and am able to find myself again once I've given myself space to think.'
'It's peaceful,' Evie said. 'We never had anywhere like this in Volt. Or if we do, it's part of the out of bound areas.'
'So you're prisoners as well?' Kit asked.
'We live in a controlled environment that keeps us safe in case there's ever another invasion,' Evie told her and then realized what she had said. 'God, I've been so used to hearing the propaganda I've now grown to thinking of it as the truth.'
'You'll get used to being away from it,' Kit said. 'If you're ready to live a life beyond the wire that is.'
Evie nodded. 'I'm not going back,' she said.
A moment of quietness passed between them before Kit picked her moment. 'You were about to tell me something,' she said.
Evie took a deep breath, not sure she was quite ready to be open about something that caused her so much pain. Kit sensed her trepidation and gave her a smile before diving under the waterfall and sat up on a ledge. Evie followed her and rested against the ledge. 'I don't talk about it,' she said. 'Not because I don't want to remember her, but I don't want people to only know about her through what she went through.'
Kit slipped back into the water and Evie found she was grateful to have her so close.
'Lux was human, she was born in the facility and raised to be one of the elite soldiers. We grew up as best friends and then when we became teenagers it changed,' Evie said.
'To something more,' Kit said.
Evie nodded. 'At first we fought it, we knew it wasn't right and in Volt, you're only paired with people who are deemed suitable for you by the government and if you're going to make a good reproductive coupling.'
'That sounds romantic,' Kit said dryly.
'It serves a purpose,' Evie said. 'Since the early days of the plague, there's a higher risk of infection if you couple with someone outside of your faction.'
'Part of their control,' Kit told her.
'Lux knew that,' Evie agreed. 'Which is why she was adamant we shouldn't care about what others think, so we began to see each other in secret. After training, around our schedules and even though I knew we would become outcasts if anyone found out, part of me didn't care. She was one of the best things about being in that place,' she said and then took a pause as she tried to steady herself. Kit placed a comforting hand on the small of her back for reassurance. 'Lux hated the experiments, she had been badly injured in one of the missions and had been reassigned to the labs and hated seeing people in pain when they didn't need to be. When she learned that people were being infected to see what would happen to them it was too much.'
'She tried to rebel?' Kit asked.
'Quietly at first, but when it was getting worse she got more vocal and refused to be part of it, they locked her up, starved her and tried to break her but she fought back every time,' Evie said and Kit saw a look of pride come over Evie' face before it turned to sadness. 'They then made her a test case, they wanted to see if humans could be modified with the alien DNA and there were few people available to them. They tortured her and tried to rob her of her humanity but there was still something that she clung on to.' Evie allowed herself to cry, she had held back for so long with grieving for Lux that she felt like she couldn't hold onto it for much longer. 'When she heard you had successfully escaped, she knew she could use what the powers they had given her to her advantage. She tried to break out and made it as far as the wire, even made it into the free zone for at least a week before the guards found her. My brother tried to help her, save her from the guards but there was nothing either of us could do.' Evie was shaking now and Kit held her close. 'She was executed in the main square as a warning to others who thought of trying to escape. Laws then began to change and Galen's grasp on power became tighter.'
Kit
allowed a moment of quietness pass between them as Evie' grief shook through her. 'Lux was brave,' Kit said. 'Most people wouldn't try and do what she did and it sounds like she held onto her humanity all the way through.'
'You were her inspiration,' Evie said but with a soft voice. 'You inspired many of us to try and get out of Volt. After Lux was killed I was reassigned to a lab in the Spire, and for the first time had a taste of what life could be like outside Volts walls, that some sort of freedom may be possible. That was because of you, and because of Lux.'
Kit was the one who now avoided Evie' gaze. 'It makes me sad to think how many have been killed because of what I did.'
Evie lifted Kit's chin so that she looked at her. 'It's better to die trying to be free, than die a slave in a system that shows no mercy.'
They were both quiet for a moment as the thought of those who had died passed through their memory and they took a moment to remember the dead. 'You know bringing Galen's government down isn't going to be simple,' Kit said.
'Surviving the attacks wasn't exactly easy but we did it,' Evie said. 'If I've learnt anything it's that people are capable of extraordinary things when they need to be.'
Kit smiled. 'You're extraordinary,' she said.
Evie blushed. 'I'm not,' she said. 'I just want to try and undo some of the hurt I've caused people and be free of living in Volt for the rest of my life.'
'And you'll be able to do both,' Kit said. 'I promise. We'll find your brother and we'll rescue your friends from Volt and put an end to Galen's presidency.'
'That sounds like a lot to do,' Evie said.
'Are you doubting that we can do it?' Kit asked. 'Because if you do then this isn't for you.'
Evie looked at her square in the eye. 'I believe it's our time to change what's happening to us, Galen can't continue with what she's doing and there are people who are willing to try and stop her.'
'Are you one of them?' Kit asked.
Evie took a moment as she knew the risks involved. The likelihood of being killed in the process, of having to kill others if she needed to and the thought of losing her brother. Something stirred inside her, she couldn't risk losing another person who she loved. 'I am,' she said. 'I saw people try and bring down Volt from the inside and failed, now I'd like to see if it can be done from the outside.'
Rogue (Convergence Series Book 1) Page 15
