wishing to know their birth parents the opportunity to see their families again.”
I shook my head in dismay. “They're still stolen children,” I remarked. “This is a disaster.” My mind raced. “What are we going to do?”
“We?” Joshua asked. He hadn't moved. “The way I see it, you get to ask the tough questions when you handle the debate. The candidates will have to figure out what laws to propose.”
“You heard about the debate?” I asked, surprised.
“I may have snuck out of the house,” Joshua smiled. “I promise though, no one saw me. At least not for who I am.”
“You didn't?” My mouth dropped. “Glamour?”
“You're not the only special one,” he smiled, leaning in and stealing a brief kiss from my lips. “I figured it out too.”
I laughed gently resting my hand against his chest. “In all seriousness.” I stared at him. “You and me. What are we going to do?”
His thumb stroked my cheek. “We go home, we don't worry about it. It's not our job to change the world, well, any more than we already have,” he laughed.
CHAPTER 26
As we packed the car, I knew there was one person I needed to say goodbye to before we left. I never had the chance the last time.
Joshua accompanied me as we walked up the front lawn towards the door. I gave a brief knock, knowing she was home but wondering if she'd answer. After everything that happened, I hadn't seen her much during the uprising in Genesis.
She pulled open the door and embraced me in a tight hug. “I wish I could convince you to stay.”
I sighed, feeling the heat of her stare. “I don't belong here.”
“I wish I could tell you that weren't true. That you do belong here.” My mother paused, considering her words. She looked distraught. Heavy bags lined her eyes and her skin was glistening and pale.
“What's wrong?” I swallowed the nerves, pressing forward.
She gestured us inside, shutting the door behind us. “There are rumors about the two of you, they don't make sense, witchcraft, magic.” She laughed at how absurd it sounded. “Some people think you helped Joshua rise from the dead.”
“That's insane,” Joshua answered, keeping a straight face. “I hit my head in the vehicle, Olivia pulled me out, and the rest, they imagined.”
Samantha nodded. “Maybe they did, maybe they didn't. It's not for me to decide. Like I said, it sounds preposterous, but I also saw the fire, felt the quake when you screamed.”
My face turned ghastly.
“Yes.” My mother stared at me. “I know you've got a secret, one I can't quite explain and I'm not sure I'd want you to. Just do yourself a favor and don't come back here. It's not safe for you both. People are growing afraid of you and it scares me what they might do.”
The butterflies that had been anxiously fluttering in my stomach were now violent as I wiped my hands on my dirty clothes. “Goodbye, Mom.” I gave her one last hug and a kiss to her cheek before opening the door and heading down to the street.
I climbed into the backseat of a military vehicle while Jordan sat up front with Joshua. Josh drove us outside of Genesis, past the walls and out of view of the towers. It wasn't a far drive, twenty or thirty minutes on dirt and grass. We approached the drones and Joshua stopped the vehicle, turned it off, and got out. I did the same, staring up at the huge drones as I came face to face with them. They were massive, and I was frightened to know this is what had destroyed Haven.
“You came in this?” I asked Joshua, already knowing the answer as I stared up at the gray planes. They were twice my size and height. The wingspan was unbelievable. I walked up, my fingers unable to stop themselves from touching the metal. I was transfixed.
“Do you need me for anything else?” I heard Jordan's voice and spun around on my heels. He was waiting to take the car back to Genesis.
“We'll see you around.” I shook Jordan's hand, as did Joshua, saying goodbye.
“Maybe I'll see you both in Torv in two weeks.” He was hopeful he'd get elected from Genesis. “Stay safe,” Jordan called out before he climbed into the driver's seat and took off back in the direction we had come from, Genesis.
“How does this work?” I asked as I stared up at one of five drones in a field of grass. My stomach somersaulted.
“You can cram in and fly with me or have your own drone to fly back in,” Joshua offered.
“I don't know how to fly a drone!” Was he kidding?
“I'll be manning all the controls. You just have to sit back and relax.” He opened the hatch for me to get in. “So what'll it be?”
I didn't have to think about it. “You're flying with me.” There was no way I was getting in a drone on my own. If something went wrong, Joshua knew how to interact with the machine and could keep us both out of trouble.
“Climb in,” he offered, and I did, squeezing in before Joshua joined me on the seat. He closed the lid to the drone as he sat down. We were nestled tight in one seat. “This is cozy,” he teased, pressing the buttons as he turned on the plane. I tensed behind him. “Hold on and relax, I've got it covered.” There wasn't much else I could do but hold on. My arms wrapped around his waist as my legs were positioned at either side of him. “You're squeezing me to death.” He nudged my arm from his stomach, for me to loosen my hold.
“Sorry, just nervous,” I confessed.
“Don't be, I've done this before.” Joshua sounded like a pro, confident in what he was doing. I closed my eyes the moment I felt the drone lurch forward and begin to move along the grass as he turned us around.
“How are we going to get the other drones home?” My eyes opened just enough to peek out the window. When I did, I found myself unable to stop looking. The world was passing by, quicker than from a car, and I felt my stomach sink as the nose of the plane tilted up and we were lifted off the ground.
“Take a look to your left and right,” Josh answered.
I did just that, my eyes glanced out the window, and a few feet behind us I could see the drones catching up. We were staggered in a pattern with Joshua leading the fleet and there were two to our left and two to our right. “You're doing that?” I gasped.
“Impressed?” He teased.
“You have no idea,” I whispered in awe.
CHAPTER 27
Arriving back to Shadow the same day we left Genesis was incredible! The drone had gotten us home in just a few short hours. Everyone who had traveled with us to Genesis had left days ago and was now arriving. Joshua landed the drone smoothly, the other planes coming in to land behind him one after another. He parked the plane in the hanger, returning it where it had been hidden for months.
Joshua opened the lid and climbed out, offering me his hand. I took it, groaning as I stepped from the plane. The movement from air back to land made me momentarily unsteady on my feet. He gripped my waist as I staggered forward. “Careful,” he whispered. “It takes some getting used to.”
“How many times have you done this?” It was impressive.
“I've lost count,” Joshua confessed. “Come on, let's go home. I could use a shower and lunch.”
I wasn't in the house but five minutes when I heard the door. “Who do you think that is?” I glanced back at
