Tessa hugged her mother, “I’m so sorry. If I could change it all, I would.”
“I don’t want you to change a thing. I’m proud of you. I always knew you were stronger than all of us. You have always been special, Tessa.” Her mother started to whimper making her want to cry, but she held strong.
“I have to do what’s right.” Tessa wanted to justify her reasons to her mother. “If I don’t stand up to them, no one will.”
Her mother wiped her eyes, “I know. Evie would have wanted you to fight.”
“People should have hope. Something to believe in. I will see they get it.”
“Come on back to the house. Your father and brother are eager to see you.” Her mother tried to put on a happy face, but Tessa knew she still grieved over the loss of her child. She didn’t think it was something a mother would get over quickly. Tessa imagined her mother’s grief was a sentiment that always lingered in the back of her mind. Outliving a child couldn’t be an easy burden to bear, and Tessa didn’t want to pretend she understood. Her pain was different.
Tessa and her mother returned to the farmhouse, greeted by her father and brother. Everyone was excited to see her. They all assumed they lost both daughters the day H.I.V.E came for Tessa. No one seemed scared of her Evo abilities, although they discussed the awe of seeing her attempt to take on the entire H.I.V.E team sent to collect her. Her power didn’t frighten her family. They explained that in their eyes she was Tessa and would never hurt her family. They were right.
Her brother Andy seemed curious about her abilities, and she tried her best to explain them to him. He wasn’t surprised when she revealed they classified her powers as Alpha level. Norine also told her story. The twin sisters hadn’t seen each other in decades. There were a lot of stories to fill in the missing portions of time. Norine also explained her abilities and the role she played in Tessa’s imprisonment. She wasn’t proud of being deceived by the Director but glad she aligned herself with Tessa rather than H.I.V.E.
Her family remained curious about the reason for her return. Tessa proposed the plan to her family first. She hoped to gauge their reaction and analyze how the other citizens of Stillwater might perceive the same pitch. Tessa wanted her family to supply her base with food. At first, the family voiced concern that H.I.V.E would retaliate against them, but she didn’t want all the harvest. Tessa planned to siphon off some of the food without H.I.V.E knowing. She wanted her family to short H.I.V.E and supply the rebel base on the side and in the shadows.
Tessa was careful not to ask too much. The people of Stillwater were simple folk. They worked the land, and all they wanted in life was to raise their families in peace. Tessa wasn’t asking them to wage war on H.I.V.E. She only asked them to contribute what they could spare to the resistance. In return, each family would get to enter their names into a drawing for a seat on her arc. She offered them all the chance to survive — an opportunity for their families to live on and avoid certain death.
Tessa’s mother and Norine prepared dinner while the family discussed the logistics of the plan. There were details to determine before Tessa could propose the opportunity to the town. Tessa’s father and brother spread maps out on the kitchen table. They attempted to determine the best option for storing supplies away from H.I.V.E’s prying eyes. There were several abandoned farms surrounding Stillwater that they might use. They needed to pick the most secluded option with a working silo in the best condition.
Once they selected a base of operations, transportation was the next question. Tessa would send trucks to pick up the supplies for transport, but choosing a route was tricky. H.I.V.E watched main roads, so they would have to map a rural route. The best route would be county highways and farm access roads. The downside being the condition of the roads. H.I.V.E did little to maintain any roads, including the major ones meaning the rural roads were in far worse shape. Tessa would need to send a team along a few different routes to see which path was in the best condition.
They ate dinner as a family for the first time in a long while. It wasn’t the same. Sure, she returned her aunt to them, and that was a blessing, but there was an empty place at the table and in their hearts. Evie’s death was painful for everyone, but it was the reason they all moved on toward making a better tomorrow.
Norine met Sam back at the chopper and returned to base in the evening. Tessa slept in her old bedroom for the night, and so many memories came pouring back. She loathed her meager existence here, but now that she was out in the thick of the world, she missed the safety of home. The things she worried about here seemed so small in comparison with the issues she faced now. Her world was different now, and it would never be as it once was.
Tessa felt like she was a ghost hovering over all her old thing. Radios she used to tinker with sat untouched on her desk and books on mathematics and engineering laid on the floor opened to the last pages Tessa read. It was like she never left. Everything
