Everyone looks around for a moment, not saying a word.
“Go ahead,” Jake finally breaks the silence.
“Anyway,” Baxley continues. “They took me on the craft to The Elected headquarters and put me through a program they call The Division Training Protocol.”
“What’s that?” Shawn asks.
“It was what they called the first test stage for the beginning of an army made solely of children. They start young so when The Division happens, which is the war they are planning on waging against The Force Field, Wonder Shield, non-compliant voyagers, and any non-conforming members of the corridors, the children will be older teens or young adults, and under their command. And expendable.”
“Not such an easy task, is it?” Jake scoffs.
“You wouldn’t think so, would you?” Baxley counters.
“How do you mean?” Eli asks.
“Well, the first stages I took part in, things didn’t go as planned. You try to force hundreds of little kids to follow some leader that does nothing but abuse them, yell and scream at them, beat them, you don’t tend to get so many followers. However, intelligence at The Elected got smart and decided that they didn’t need first stage members anymore, because we were non-compliant. They made us slaves, yard workers, whatever, you name it.”
“How did they fix the problem?” I ask, not sure I want to know the answer. I can’t get it out of the back of my mind that my father was a member of the board of intelligence at The Elected.
“Methrodine,” Baxley answers. “They kidnap kids that have been drugged with the stuff, and introduce a second drug after abduction called, Zolpidem-Modafinil-Amphetamine Number Twelve, or ZMA12, which is a hypnotic drug, mixed with a few other components. Lastly, they put a serotonin inhibiting tracker at the base of their necks that acts as both a tracking device, and a close-range brainwave control activate. The members of The Elected have tiny remotes that can control mass groups of the kids who have been drugged and bugged, as they call it.”
I gasp, thinking about Syl and Shae. If we even find them, is it possible to get them back?
“So, that doesn’t explain how you are on the outside now,” Samantha brings up the obvious.
“Wonder Shield has been running regular ops into The Elected headquarters, rescuing as many of us first group testers as possible. It hasn’t been possible to reach the current group yet. We have tried. Wonder Shield brought me into their city, fed me, nursed me back to health, a little over a year ago, and now we are just waiting for the war to start. We are in alliance with The Force Field and several groups of voyagers and individual corridor dwellers that have agreed to fight. And you guys now ,I suppose.”
“Yes, we plan to fight,” Jake answers.
“We want to see the peace,” Mar adds.
“When are they planning on starting the war?” Cara asks her brother.
“According to our intel, while there is no exact date known, we have learned they are planning to begin things in a month or so.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
All of us stand in stunned silence. Is it possible all of this is going to be happening in the next couple months? I can’t help but wonder if we have lost all hope in finding Syl and Shae, and if we do find them, can they be restored back to normal?
After talking to Baxley about our plan of getting our sisters back, and fighting this war, possibly with Wonder Shield, he agrees to lead us there, except for Leah and Dia, who we are leaving in the cabin until we check things out first. Dia did not like the idea at all, but making her feel like she is staying with Leah instead of the other way around, caused her to agree with the crazy plan. Baxley assures us that the cabin is the safest possible place for them to stay, other than inside Wonder Shield city limits, that is.
Now, we are walking the remaining short distance to Wonder Shield to see what we will find. Each step we take, leads us closer to the unknown, but also closer to our family that has been separated for so long. We don’t much like leaving two of us behind, but Baxley continues to reassure us that they are safe.
“Who oversees this place?” Zac asks Baxley.
“We call her Rae.”
“It’s a girl?” Mar asks.
“Yes,” Baxley answers. “She runs the place by herself. However, she is an excellent leader, and everyone loves and respects her.”
“Great,” I say. “I can’t wait to meet her.”
Less than a mile, and we are at the gates of Wonder Shield.
“Don’t say anything until I can request a meeting with Rae. They don’t take newcomers often, but I don’t think she will have an issue.”
Upon entering the city, it is clear to see the members are readying for a war. All around us, men, women, children, all shapes, sizes, and colors are in the streets eating, cleaning guns, hammering out swords and knives. Occasionally, one of them will incline their head at us as to say hello, but you can tell, they know we don’t belong here yet.
Inside the twenty-foot walls made of wood, stone, and broken pieces of pavement, are small dwellings constructed of the same. There are people as far as the eye can see. There are no vehicles, so they go by on foot, doing the things that need to be done for the day.
Kids talk and play with other kids, while their parents or responsible adults watch while working on war preparations.
“Everyone gets along here?” I whisper.
“Shh,” Baxley shushes me, “but yes, they do not fight, thieve, covet, anything… It is against Rae’s rules,” he whispers.
“I like this Rae already.”
“Shh,” the entire group shushes
