“I’m not sure who I should say this to but we’ve been excused. My dad is on the council,” I said. “And this is my wife.”
“May I please see your official paperwork excusing you from your duties?” the man with sunglasses asked.
My lips pressed together as if they’d been glued shut. Leah elbowed me but I couldn’t make the words come out.
“It’s odd but we didn’t receive them,” Leah said. “I’m sure it’s a mistake we can clear up relatively quickly if we can just go talk to Adam’s dad Martin.”
“There isn’t time to talk to him now,” the guy said. “We were assured that all notifications had been handed out. I was told that the two of you might be difficult. Are you going to be difficult?”
“We’re not going,” Leah said.
I nodded.
“You’re refusing to fight? You’ve been given a great life here, it’s time for you to step up and show your support,” the guy in sunglasses said.
I couldn’t think of a single reason I would want to fight for the resort. We had a nice cabin and all the supplies we could ask for but we lived in fear. Our life at the resort had been difficult, albeit different from how it was outside of the resort.
“If you refuse, you’ll be considered traitors,” he said with a disappointed frown.
We’d been harassed nearly since the minute we arrived. I didn’t want to risk my life. Especially when it didn’t seem like there was any reason to be starting a war.
I looked into Leah’s eyes. I had no idea what she was thinking.
“I’m not going to fight,” I said staring into her eyes. “I don’t want you to go with them but I can’t tell you what to do.”
I knew I wasn’t giving the guy the answer he wanted. All I could think about was how we were going to get our bag and get out of here. There was also a good chance I wasn’t going to see my dad again.
“You know I’m not leaving you,” Leah said squeezing my hand. She turned to the guard. “We’re not going to fight. And, by the way, you look ridiculous.”
He whistled sharply and before we could move, several other guards stormed inside the cabin. My hands were pulled roughly behind my back.
“Leah!” I called trying to look over my shoulders to see her. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you!”
“I’m okay, Adam,” Leah said. “What are you going to do to us?”
“You are both under arrest,” the guy in glasses said.
Leah snorted. “Under arrest? Just let us go! We’ll leave!”
“We don’t want any trouble,” I added.
“Leave so you can warn the enemy? Not going to happen,” the guy with sunglasses said. “We have strict orders to arrest traitors.”
“Can I ask who gave those orders?” I asked. Something told me it wasn’t Mr. Donovan Tate.
They roughly pushed me through the door. “That’s none of your business.” I wasn’t entirely which guy behind me had answered but if I had to guess, it was the guy with the sunglasses.
Rain poured down, soaking me as they pushed and pulled me. I didn’t have control over my body. I had to go wherever they forced me.
As we got closer to the main building, I started shouting. “Dad! Dad! We need you!”
I knew it was a long shot but I had to try. The only chance we had at surviving this was if my dad found out we’d been arrested.
“Dad!” I shouted again. There was a thud-like sound before everything turned black.
It hurt when I tried to open my eyes. My hand pressed against the side of my head. I winced as I pulled it back.
The room was dark except for the pale, flickering light but the blood on my hand was noticeable. My skin felt rough under the dried blood.
I wasn’t sure where I was.
The room was empty. Everything had been ripped out, including the carpeting. There wasn’t anything on the walls.
“Leah,” I said softly at first. She wasn’t with me. Where was she? My voice was loud and filled with terror. “Leah! Leah! Where are you?”
“Adam!” her reply was faint.
I stood too quickly and the room started to spin. I crouched down, lowering my head.
“Are you okay?” I shouted.
“I’m fine,” she said. “Are you okay? You were hit pretty hard.”
I blinked several times but I remembered. We’d been dragged away. What had I done? What had I said? I couldn’t remember but I remembered the thud of a fist hitting my face.
“Yeah,” I said rubbing my cheek. “I’m okay.”
“We’re in trouble, Adam. We’re in real trouble,” Leah said her voice shaky. I thought I could hear her suck in a breath. “Are your hands tied?”
“No,” I replied after looking at my wrists. My brain was working slow. It felt awkward, as though the world was set to slow motion. “Are yours?”
There was a brief pause. “No, but there’s no way out. The door is locked.”
“We’re trapped,” she said.
“I’ll figure something out,” I said getting to my feet. I took two steps before the room spun. I put out my hand but there wasn’t anything I could do. Everything went black.
When I opened my eyes again, things were a bit clearer. The world was back on play.
The pain from where I’d been hit pulsed behind my eye. Moving my eyes or my mouth increased the pain.
I was about to call out for Leah when I heard someone at the door. I scooted backward up until my back was pressed against the wall.
My eyes scanned the ground as if trying to spot a
