pulled me from my thoughts. “Help me move the mattress.”
“What are we looking for?” I asked as I helped her push the mattress off and away from the bed. I spotted a loose floorboard: it looked slightly discolored. She left the room for only a minute, returning with a butter knife. She tipped the end into the board, lifting it up and out. “Here.” She handed me a dagger and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Where'd you get this?” I couldn’t imagine my mother ever using a dagger, let alone knowing how to use one.
“It was your father's,” she replied solemnly.
“You know he's still alive, right?” I caught the curious spark in her eye. “I saw him, in a city a few hours from here, Torv.”
My mother didn’t answer. I didn’t blame her. I didn't believe it myself, and I had seen him with my own eyes. I wasn't happy about it either, I was just glad she didn’t take out her anger on me. “I wish I could teach you how to use this,” she whispered, glancing at my palm as I held the dagger in my hands.
“Don't worry, I've had all the training I need,” I assured her.
My eyes widened in horror as I heard an insistent knock at the door. Soldiers. It had to be them: no one else would be outside as sirens and bombs dropped from the sky. “You need to hide, Olive. If they find you—” My mother's breath caught in her throat, distraught. “I can't lose you again.” I moved to stand and the ground quaked from another bomb exploding outside. This one wasn't dropped by drone, it wasn't part of our plan.
Regaining my balance, I rested a hand on her shoulder. “You won't.” I moved to her cheek and dropped a faint kiss before taking the dagger with me to the door. I kept it in my right hand, behind my back as I opened the door with my left hand. “Can I help you?” I asked with the fakest smile I could muster. I was surprised any soldiers remained, considering their leaders were dead. Had a new one tried to rise to power?
“Yes, step aside, ma'am.” I moved aside only long enough to allow two soldiers inside our home, then shut the door to keep our neighbors from witnessing what I was about to do. My right arm came up and swiped the man across the neck with the dagger. He dropped like a bag of potatoes, falling in a heap all over the floor.
“Olive!” My mother shrieked and I didn’t know if she was trying to scold me for my actions or let me know another soldier had now positioned his gun at me. I wasn’t afraid, even though I knew I should have been.
I didn’t have time to think, only react. My hands moved for the barrel of the gun, letting the dagger hit the floor. Maybe it was a bad idea: I was best on defense and the dagger was my only tool of offense I'd managed to learn. It didn’t matter. The soldier staggered backwards as I shoved the gun with full force backwards into the man and he shuddered back, surprised. No one ever put up a fight. He probably wasn’t even trained in actual combat. “Now's your chance: you can run, go to the Gravelands, and never come back.” I smiled, taunting him. I knew I was just pissing him off and likely would get my ass kicked for it.
“Fat chance in hell.” He beckoned, one hand coming at me to jab me across the face. I jumped back, avoiding the hit with a maneuver that startled him, reaching for the lamp.
“Touche!” I ripped the cord of the lamp from the wall as I smacked the soldier over the head with it, watching him buckle down onto the ground. He was out cold.
“Olivia!” My mother's voice echoed with a gasp of horror and shock at what I'd just done.
“Don't look at me like that.” I felt her cold stare, frightened as she saw what I had to do to protect us. Except I'm not sure she saw it the same way I did. “If we don't kill him, he's just going to bring reinforcements.” I bent down and handed her the dagger.
“No.” My mother shook her head. “It's not right.”
“What they're doing to us, that's right?” I asked, shocked. “If you want to tie him up, put him in your bedroom. Just make sure he can't get loose.”
“Where are you going?” I heard her rummage around the drawers, searching for rope or anything that would restrain the soldier.
“Finding my backup.” I called over my shoulder.
It wasn't hard to find the rebel alliance. A roar of vehicles sounded in the distance as gunfire erupted towards the edge of town. I stepped outside my childhood home, the air smelling of smoke and the haze lingering over the ground. I took the dagger with me, making my way along the road. Two men came upon a soldier, tackled him to the ground, grabbed his gun, and shot him. I wasn't in it for killing people; it was different when you were being attacked—or even provoked. You stepped foot in my house, and yes, I'd slit your throat. Out here on the street, it felt different, grittier.
“Hold up right there.” I heard an unfamiliar voice, one of the men who had just killed the soldier. “It's late for a kid to be out at this hour.”
“I'm no kid. Name's Olivia Parker,” I answered as I lifted my hand to show my dagger. “Part of the rebel alliance,” I announced. “And you are?”
“At your service.” The first one bowed and then laughed. My stomach twisted with dread. “I'm Jordan and this is Joel. Jaxon told us you'd be coming. We're working on gathering more troops to strengthen the rebel alliance. What do you need from us, Olivia?”
If they knew Jaxon, then I could trust them. “You read my mind.” I offered a weak smile. “What do you intend on doing with the soldiers who won't back down?” I already knew the answer, without having to ask.
Joel's face hardened. “We kill them.”
Jordan shot Joel a quick look, I wasn't quite sure why. “Listen.” Jordan rested a hand on my shoulder as he walked me further into the shadow beneath the trees. “I know you're a part of this, whether you want to be or not.” His eyes locked on mine. “But these men are ferocious: they'll stop at nothing. They'll shoot you before they even know which side you're on.”
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. “What if you're wrong? What if there are soldiers who don't want to fight for Cabal?”
Jordan frowned. “I don't believe that to be the case.”
“I have information.” I turned and shifted on the balls of my feet. I lifted myself as best I could on my tiptoes to meet his stare, come face-to-face with him at eye-level. “The soldiers are coming from a town outside of here, Torv. Those men, they just want to go home. Give them the option first. If they don't take it…” I paused. “Do what you must.”
Jordan shot Joel a quick look and then nodded towards me. “Looks like someone grew an inch or two,” Jordan smirked. “I'll see what I can do. What are you going to do?”
“I need to see if Dylan Warren is still alive.” I didn't wait for an answer.
I jogged to the Warrens’ house, knocking repeatedly on the door. “Go away!” I heard a shout from the inside.
“Mr. Warren, it's Olivia.” I wasn't sure that would be enough to let me in. Maybe I should have pretended to be his daughter again.
Slowly the door unlatched and he opened it, only to pull me inside and slam the door behind him. Already we'd broken the rules. I wasn't allowed to step foot in another's home. It was improper and illegal. Not that the rules had stopped Dylan a few weeks ago. “Where's my son?”
“Honestly, I don't know.” It was the truth. “Last I saw, he was okay though.” I did my best to assure him. “We need your help, Mr. Warren.” I offered him the best smile I could muster, as I reached out to rest a hand on his arm. “You owe me.”
“What?” He scoffed at the idea. “I don't owe you anything, Olivia.”
I rolled my eyes in frustration and glamoured just long enough that he could see me shift into Jacqueline. His eyes widened. “It was you, all along!”
“I guess you could say that,” I smirked. “You owe me. I didn't rat you out to Craynor.”
