They were constantly in Luke’s face, and my cheeks burned with extreme embarrassment. When I wouldn’t change from the color of Jord’s date’s hair, people finally thought it would be a good idea to relax. Carden constantly rubbed my arm or my back as Arletta instructed him to do so, and he wasn’t opposed to it.
It was when everyone started drinking that things went haywire. I don’t know what was in the punch, but it had them acting like wild animals. They were dancing on the tables, stripping, singing off-key to wordless music, gyrating on their dance partners. I’ve never seen adults act this way. I’m blaming it on the alcohol.
After the heated discussion with Carden, I thought the evening would be awkward with him, but it was kind of fun. We laughed together, making fun of the crazies and sharing snacks. He talked more about some of the pictures on the walls and discussed his upcoming role as Citizen Guidance Leader, where he will be required to maintain and keep track of the citizens of the America. He would have power over how they’re managed and protected.
Carden was good company; he just has an unusual way of thinking. He is passionate about his idea of minimal destruction to have people establish their own reconstruction, where the America will bring itself together as he’d seen it done in the past. If it does work, the past has also shown those moments are only temporary. So what will he do, destroy something else?
It’s late now, a couple hours after the ending of the Premiers party.
Highrum’s helper Creations finish loading the last few crates packed with the new guns and bullets that we’ll need to kill the Vojin. We’ll soon be preparing for takeoff and will land back in Desert Hills at the butt crack of dawn. Jord will call a meeting tomorrow to discuss our mission, and my adrenaline is pumping with anticipation to take out the Vojin.
“Did you all enjoy yourselves?” Jord asks as the jet starts to move.
“I did,” Luke says calmly. “I may have…” his words slur into jumbles that I can’t make out.
“Um-humph,” Jord says. “Me too.” We sit in sets of two, Jord and Seits sitting across from Luke and me.
Luke’s head hits the window. I lift and gently adjust him to lean against my shoulder.
I can’t wait to get back and see Marc’s face when he sees my dress and the outfit I got him. I have this crazy idea that maybe we can sneak out to one of the smaller rec halls and have dinner, then we’ll go to the hall for a movie, then climb to the roof of one of the buildings to lie back and look at the stars. All with Seits’s help, which she agreed to.
She’s siding with me so that I’ll side with her on the Vojin thing, or maybe she’s just this nice. The dinner and movie were her suggestions, and she made sure to warn me to be careful of the Zombies and the cameras. I appreciate her help because I want the night to be perfect for him.
I lug Luke into the house, trying to keep it quiet because it’s so late. We enter noiselessly. The horn may blow in the next five hours, and I am aching to get some sleep. My feet hurt from the heeled shoes I was obligated to wear. I was more than happy to trade them for my boots after the party, but hauling Luke’s two hundred and ten pounds brings back the sore memory.
Dragging Luke to his room, I take off his vest and boots after I’ve laid him on his bed. He turns over on his stomach and breathes deeply, out like a light. I shed my vest, outer shirt, and boots before lying next to him and placing my head against his shoulder.
The instant I close my eyes and drift, the horns blare.
Luke groans loudly in my ear. I match his irritation. “Come on, Luke.” I pry his arm from my head. “Let’s go.”
He grumbles indistinct words.
“I don’t understand, Luke. Get up.” I pull his leg after I’ve moved from the bed.
He sits up, holding his head with one hand and rubbing his eye with the other. “What’s today?”
“Monday.”
“Not Wednesday?”
I shake my head. “And not Thursday. Get up. We have work to do.”
After I shower and dress, I head back to Luke’s room to make sure he’s up. He’s sitting on his bed and has changed at least.
“Are you ready?” I ask. We have training today.
“No,” Luke says, standing.
“This is what you get for drinking and making me help the four of us off the jet, into the truck, drive us to the base, and carry your heavy ass up those stairs.” I shove him from his room and down the stairs to the front door.
“Thanks for all that, Ky.” He’s sluggish, and I want to slap him across the face to wake him up.
We walk to the mess hall, and he goes straight for a table, laying his head down. I gather him some food and two bottled waters. “Here, Luke,” I say when I sit. “This should help with your hangover.” He takes the contents. Getting back up to get my own food, I run into Seits.
“Kylie,” she says cheerfully. “I wanted to let you know the Guidance will be away tonight.” She raises her eyebrows and tips her head down a bit. “You still wanted to go out?” she asks slowly before looking away. I follow her gaze, and it lands on Marc. He’s sitting, talking to Sean.
We turn back to each other. I get it. Tonight is the night to go on my ‘date.’ I nod, smiling. “Okay.”
“Do you know when?”
I pinch my nose. “I’m not sure. Haven’t talked to him yet.”
She nods quickly. “Tell him nine. Everyone will start winding down by then, and you can sneak out,” she whispers.
I fight my smile, but I can feel my cheeks blush. “Okay. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you later. Oh, I’ve added a little twist in the movie room. No roof.” She leaves the mess hall, humming to herself.
I have a well-thought-out plan for this evening, and with Seits’s help, I hope it will be perfect. I pile my breakfast on my plate and squeeze between Marc and Sean at their table.
Marc wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to him while turning me in to his hug. I hug him as he says in my ear, “Hey. I missed you.”
I kiss his neck and say, “I missed you too.” I lean away slightly so I can speak near his ear. “Don’t get weird about it, but I got you something.”
He leans back, holding my eye contact. “What?”
I can’t fight the smile, so I look away from him, whispering, “I’ll give it to you at a quarter to nine, then we are going to leave the house.” I look back at him. “Just say okay.”
He licks his lips, and after gazing at me for too long, he says, “Okay.”
I eat as the jitters in my stomach make me aware of their presence.
“You were gone, Ky,” Collins says, pointing her fork at me.
“I know,” I tell her, drinking my milk. Blinking, I hold back my smart remark.
“Well, where’d you go?”
“Don’t talk to me.” I don’t like her. She shot my brother, she’s disrespectful, and she purposely tries to push my buttons.
Collins smacks her lips. “Kylie, what happened was like three days ago. Stop holding grudges. I’m not holding a grudge against you after you tried to kill me. I didn’t even retaliate.”
“When did you try to kill her?” Sean asks excitedly, fork dropping to his plate.
“Before we left,” I tell him. “She shot Luke, so I shot her.”
“The bitch didn’t just shoot me. She shot me in my head and almost killed me!”
“And if you don’t watch your mouth,” I warn, “I just may do it again.” I leave the table as the horn calls the end of breakfast.
My group is already walking to the fields. Today I want them to work out and include jumping rope and mountain climbing in their cardio routines. I run to them. “Hey! Weight room,” I tell them. We jog the half mile to the weight room and enter, immediately relishing the blasting air conditioning.
“Who helped you all while I was gone?” I ask.
“Collins,” Jesail tells me.
“What’d she teach you?”
“Nothing. Fought against Sean’s team all day,” Jesail says, rolling her eyes. “Collins didn’t care about what we did. She was barely paying us any attention as her team fought Marc’s, and she flirted with him.”
“You should’ve kicked her teeth out. Bet that would’ve grabbed her attention,” I say under my breath.
Jesail chuckles. “I hate her too.” She preps a barbell, and I stand behind the bench to spot her.
Danny jogs over. “I think I’m ready to go out for the male leader position.” Danny has picked up a few pounds of muscle since he arrived; he sounds more confident and has won every battle I put him up against.
I survey him and really consider if he’s ready for this role. “You look physically ready, but what’s your mental state? How bad do you want it? What are your fears? What’s keeping you from accomplishing your goals, and who or what is your priority? The reason for the last question is because you don’t have a twin. So the answer should be yourself.” He nods, and I continue, “Creations are all about our twins, but we are also arrogant, not self-centered but twin-centered. My twin and I are the best at what we do. Nothing and no one is stronger than us, and nothing and no one can overcome us.”
He stretches his arms, watching Jesail press one hundred-sixty pounds. “And I would say, I am the best at what I do, nothing and no one is stronger than me, and nothing can overcome me.”
“Exactly. How strong are you?” He shrugs. “Strong enough to conquer any and all things should be your answer.” I tap my head. “Remember, as you think, so you are.”
“Stronger than what I should be.” He tries his answer again.
“That works too.”
“Can you fight?”
“Anything.”
“Good response. How do you feel about implants?”
He stalls. “Kill them,” he says with uncertainty.
“They should be disposed of,” I correct. “You may be challenged to fight. They may want to make sure you aren’t afraid to shoot someone.”
“I can do that.”
“Good. Our general is not the easiest to persuade. I’ll put in a word for you the next time we have a meeting. There has been a lot going on with these Zombies and implants and the Guidance popping up, but once I’m able to talk to him, I’ll let you know. If there is someone else in line for the same position, you may have to fight for it.” Danny nods. “Okay, go convince one of the Creations to let you use them for target practice.”
I pat Jesail’s shoulder, letting her know that’s enough. “Go jump rope for thirty minutes.”
I spot Edward going a few rounds with a punching bag. Rounding the bag, I hold it for him. “You okay?”
“No. But I will be. I don’t want your pity.” He jabs and jabs, throwing bone-breaking blows against the bag.
“I’m not here to pity you. I’m being a friend. Here to let you let it out if you need someone to talk to.”
He grabs the bag by its sides and rests his sweaty forehead to its ripped leather. “I miss my brother is all. I feel half empty.”
“Sorry, Edward,” I say. I try to think of something else. Maybe I could tell him his brother was a hero, but that would be a lie. I could tell him he’s in a better place, like they do in movies, but I don’t know that for sure. Maybe I could tell him to focus on being alive, but that seems heartless as he mourns his brother’s death. Coming up with nothing, I rub his back. My touch doesn’t seem soothing. It’s rough at first, but I lighten it by letting my hand somewhat caress his back. “You’ll be fine. You’re strong and a fighter. He went in battle; he was strong and will not be forgotten.”
“Thank you,” he says, lifting his head, looking at me.
“No problem. You want me to help you lift some weights?”
“Sure,” he says. His tone is more cheerful, but it doesn’t reflect in his mourning eyes.
Chapter Thirty-Five
After dinner, I head home to shower. I’m happy. Really happy. Too happy. I feel like skipping to my room, but I repress that urge and casually walk there with a smile. Please let this be perfect, and please don’t let any Zombies be present or coyotes or anything to ruin our moods. And let him be willing to do what I ask him to blindly walk into.
It’s seven, not nine. The minutes are taking too long to pass. I sit on my bed after throwing on a plain white shirt and blue jeans.
“Ky?” Collins knocks on my door.
No, not tonight. “Not right now, Collins. I’m not in the mood for you right now.” My happiness slowly dwindles, being replaced with disgust.
“Come on, Ky.”
I open the door. “I’m serious Collins, not tonight. Talk to me tomorrow.”
“I just wanted to let you know that I talked to Luke, Jord, and Seits. I’m in.”
I purse my lips and question, “What are you talking about?” She shoves past me, entering my room. I roll my eyes, closing the door. She is out to ruin my life. Has to be.
“Invading the enemy’s realm,” she whispers and shrugs. “I’m in.”
Oh, yeah. I’m supposed to be convincing Marc of that too. I wanted to talk about everything but Vojin tonight. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m doing all of this to try to persuade him to fight with me. I do want him to, but that’s not why I’ve set up tonight.
“Okay, Collins. Thanks for telling me.” I grab the doorknob. “Now can you leave?”
“You know, Ky,” she starts with a mischievous smile. “If you aren’t able to convince Marc to come with us, I can.”
“Saying things like that, Collins, is what gets you shot in your face,” I say with a plastered smile. Pulling the door open, I add, “Now please get out.”
She laughs. “I’m just letting it be known. If you can’t handle Marc, I can definitely tame that beast.”
I kick my foot against her ass, shoving her the rest of the way out of my room. She twists around, and I slam the door in her face. I hear her giggle, trotting down the hall.
My door’s ripped open, and Luke barges in. “If you are going to say words that start with V, C, or S, I don’t want to hear it.”
He gives me a contemplative side-eye. “I think one of my words has an S.” He shrugs. “Maybe another has a C.”
I laugh. “What Luke? And close the door.”
He does and says, “I talked to Collins. That’s the one with the C. And she, that’s the one with the S, is in.”
“I know. She told me. And I don’t want to talk about that right now. You feel better?”
He rubs the back of his head and nods. “A little. That was a nice couple of days off.”
“It was. The beds were fantastic, and the hot water lasted longer than it does here.”
“Carden offered you placement there?”
“I think that’s what he was doing. But that’s not how he said it. He said it like I had a choice between being a Creation and something else. I told him that was impossible, and he responded there was going to be a change. Maybe something he’ll implement.”
“Yeah, when he gets his position, he’s going to make an offer to the leaders of Separation. Oh, sorry, that’s another S. But he wants them to have a choice after they reach the age of twenty-one or thirty to choose if they want to stay in Separation or not. Look, I’m sorry. I can’t, see, I can’t not say,” he shakes his head, rolling his eyes, “a word with a S, C and uh...”
“A V. It’s okay. I broke my own rule. What are you about to do? This conversation can be talked about later because who knows if we are even going to see nineteen.”
“Nothing. Go check on a couple of things. You?”
“Nothing. Go talk to Marc in a bit.”
“Don’t forget you need to get his answer as soon as possible. We have the weapons, ammunition, and we need those two to complete us. After we get their okay, we plan our mission.”
I hold in my grumble. “I got it, Luke.” I’ll ask him tomorrow, unless he brings it up. “Oh!” I get up and check the hall before I say, “Carde
n is creating new Creations.” I lift my palm before him. “Their circles were colored green.”
“Why?”
“He wants to bring them up differently than us. Make them more human than mindless killing machines. But I think he now knows that we aren’t mindless killing machines of our own accord.”
“Were their eyes black like ours before we got the vaccine?”
“Don’t know. They were sleeping.”
A strange look comes over Luke’s face. “Oh shit, Ky! I spaced, too much booze! Don’t leave. I’ll be right back.” Luke races from my room and quickly returns. “Look.” He closes the door behind him.
He holds a torn sheet of paper with the same scribbled handwriting as the letter I received months ago. I slap my hand against the side of his head. “How could you forget to tell me about this?”
“Ow!” He punches my arm. “Too much to drink, I said! Check it out.” He points as he reads. “They were inserted as result in further experimentation. Unexpectedly, they were accepted as part of the Vojin’s plan. Being brought back to earth as implants for Breeders in Separation. The experiment brought forth unknown information of the Vojin’s threat before the threat was initiated…”
“Hold on.” I lift my gaze to the empty wall of my bedroom, recalling, “That’s what that Trade member said.”
“Check this out.” He points further down where the words are clearer. “The more concrete question is who implanted them in the Trade…”
“What…?” I ask, jumping to my feet.
Tapping the paper, Luke nods. “This is bigger than we thought, Ky.”
“Who were our parents?”
“What were our parents?”
“What are we?” Not exactly Vojin? Not exactly human? Not exactly Creations?
Luke rubs the back of his neck. “Last time I checked, I was a Creation.”
“Me too.” I nod. “But by how much?”
“Every ounce of us is Creation. Don’t think anything different.”
“What if they know about us? What if that light thing mom mentioned once actually means something?”
Luke’s hand clamps down over my mouth. “Shut up. Don’t speak about that. Don’t think it. You know better,” he hushes me.
Salient Invaders: A Young Adult Post-Apocalyptic Dystopian Series (The Separation Trilogy Book 2) Page 27
