'What happened to Galen, and Jack?' Evie asked.
'We don't know,' Rook said. 'They weren't in the rubble so they must have escaped.'
Evie was grateful, if Jack was still alive, there was still a chance to save him. 'My powers,' she said. 'I don't feel them anymore,' she told her.
'Lil thinks it could be temporary,' Rook said. 'We stopped the machine before it could do all its damage,' she said.
'Just when I was starting to learn how to use them,' Evie said. 'Where's Kit? Is she here?' She then asked quickly.
Rook looked at her, her face sorrowful. 'I don't know how it happened,' she said. 'Or why it happened.'
'What?' Panic flooded through Evie, threatening to drown her.
Rook walked over to the TV monitor and when she pushed the commands a screen faded into view. 'This aired across the Empire last night,' she said as she brought up a media file. She hit play and sat next to Evie as she saw Hawk appear on the screen. She was wearing military fatigues and looked like she was in an army camp. She was sat behind a wooden desk and looked at the screen and Evie felt as though she was looking directly into her soul.
'For years I have worked closely alongside President Galen, she is a good leader but it is time for our Empire to take a new turn. We are currently under invasion and President Galen does not wish to end this attack, rather use it to regain further control of the Empire. If you've ever felt repressed or under control by this ruling then you will want to join me as we take back control of the country that has been taken away from the free people of the nation.'
Evie scoffed. 'She expects us to believe this?' She asked.
'Shh,' Rook said and nodded for her to look back at the TV.
'My army has grown significantly in recent years and they follow me over our President, and I am pleased to say that I have managed to recruit a significant new member to our unit to help guide us against the invasion and to revolution.'
The camera panned and showed Kit dressed in full fatigues, in a military stance looking blank as she stared ahead. Evie got to her feet and slowly walked over to the screen. 'No,' she said quietly.
'Katarina Valletta, once a rogue mutant facing trial against the Empire has joined my quest in becoming its new ruler, she will help us bring order and freedom back to this land,' Hawk said. 'She will help us create a United America once more.'
The screen went blank and Evie turned to Rook in shock. 'Tell me that was a lie,' she said quietly.
'I wish I could,' Rook said.
'Where is she?'
'We don't know, we've been trying to track her,'
'Then you need to try harder!'
Rook went over to Evie. 'We are,' she said. 'We'll bring them back,' she told Evie. 'Both Jack and Kit, we'll find them and bring them back.'
'Why is Hawk going against Galen? And why is she talking about a free country when she's done nothing but try and control it for years?' Evie asked.
'It's all a game,' Rook told her. 'The invasion is scaring people, making people question Galen's power and ability to keep them safe so Hawk is using it to her advantage, she's gotten to Kit somehow because the Kit I know, would never follow her.'
Evie's head was swarming, the woman she had seen at Hawk's side wasn't Kit, it couldn't be. Galen had told her that Kit had been lying to her, what if she had been right all along? There had to be a reason why Kit would desert them, why she'd side with the enemy. 'What's happening with the invasion?' Evie asked. 'Have we been attacked?'
Rook gave her a grave look. 'The ships are still in the air,' she said. 'The army has been trying to attack but none can get close.'
'They're Russian ships aren't they?' Evie asked.
'It's not the Russians,' Rook told her. 'It's never been them.'
Evie looked at her confused and Rook pointed the remote control at the TV screen and changed it to its window form. As Fort Isa came into view, Evie saw a destroyed city. She saw the aircraft hovering over the crumbled buildings, hovering in silent formation. This was the craft that had dropped the bombs during the first invasion. They had attacked the cities, dropped the virus on the citizens who were struggling to survive. It was the aircraft that had destroyed America and brought the country to the ground. It was the aircraft that her father had told her about growing up. She could remember seeing his drawings in his study, overhearing conversations he had in whispers with colleagues when they had visited the house. Her father had been celebrated for what he had done, but it was a celebration that always seemed to snake away like a deadly mist whenever Evie was close. She remembered seeing him with Jack, how they spoke in whispers, the only words Evie could remember were 'Strategy.' 'For the people.' They would never answer her questions about what they were doing, and when they spoke of the invasions they never did so with fear. They had known, they had been part of it. Now as Evie looked at the crafts a new type of fear settled in her.
'They're us,' she said quietly. 'A secret army built within America designed to attack and kill so that a new President could come to power and take over in way the western world had never seen before,'
'The American military created alien-human hybrids,' Rook said. 'And now they want to destroy us,'
Evie looked out over the terrain that lay before them, her country that had fallen to its own demise. She thought of Jack and wondered where he was, if she would ever save him and she thought of Kit. She knew, no matter what they had done or what threat they were under, she could find her way back to the woman she loved and the brother who was the only family she had.
Her thoughts nestled on Kit, she knew she could find her way home to the one person who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. She knew she could be reunited with the one person who made her feel human and together they would face the enemy that was ready to launch the sixth extinction.
Acknowledgements
No book comes into the world by one person alone, and this little book is no different. In particular I would like to thank Clare Davidson for being a formatting queen and Andrei Bat for designing an awesome cover and Meg McKenzie for being my first reader and editor.
I would like to thank family, friends and colleagues who've listened and watched this journey unfold - thank you for indulging me and your support.
To my mum and brother, and extended family, I love and miss you dearly (and will come home for a visit soon, I promise!)
To Sam and Zureena for being my New Zealand family, you're forever friends of my heart.
To Veronique Briatore, the best mentor and friend a gal could ask for. You've been my rock and light when it felt like the light was going out. Thank you for believing in me, encouraging me, and being there through everything.
To Shelly Davies, because of you I came back to writing, I found my voice again and for that I'm forever grateful.
Finally, to Chris Rampling and Meg McKenzie for being my biggest cheerleaders with this project.
He aha te mea nui o te ao
What's the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It's the people, it's the people, it's the people.
Did you enjoy this book?
A writer can produce a book, however, it's readers who determine whether it's successful. If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. If you'd like to get in touch and become a RogueOfficial, connect with online:
Website: http://www.sastephenson.com
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: S_A_Stephenson
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About the Author
Sally Annabelle Stephenson was born in Yorkshire, England on a cold December morning. She quickly became a lover of books and was reading and writing at a young age. When she's not writing in third person, she can be found in Auckland attending writing events, buried in a book or listening to podcasts
. Rogue is her debut novel.
Rogue (Convergence Series Book 1) Page 25
