“Little did they know, I was scoping out anyone and everyone that could help our cause,” Levi speaks for the first time, directly to us.
“So, what?” I yell “You were going to just let Malachi kill me?”
“That was never my plan,” he says, looking at the floor. “I had a gun on me the whole time, and was going to kill Malachi, but you beat me to it.” He smiles viciously.
“What about Sampson?” Jake asks.
“I made him disappear during the bombing,” he answers with a look of sadness.
“So, he is dead?” Zac asks.
Levi nods at Zac and then looks back up at us.
“I came back here as quick as I could and reported my findings to Rae.”
“Which were?” Samantha asks.
“That you guys were the only hope we had for winning this thing. Your group is perhaps the only one at The Force that genuinely wants to see the peace and see these corridors restored back into one nation.”
I relax enough to show Rae that I don’t plan on inflicting any more pain on Levi. At least not yet, anyway.
“Dismissed.” Rae waves the guards off. as they release their grip on my arm all together, closing the door behind them.
Levi walks further in the room and closer to the group of us, taking his chances that I will follow Rae’s rules and not punch him again.
“I don’t have record of you, though,” Levi says to Cara.
“I’m new.” Cara blushes.
“She’s my sister.” Baxley beams.
Levi walks around Cara, looking back and forth from Baxley to Cara.
“So, she is. Same nose and mouth.”
Cara covers her mouth to stifle a giggle and grin.
“What do you need from us?” Jake brings things back to the present point. “We plan on rescuing two young girls from The Elected before the war begins.”
“Not possible,” Levi says, letting his smile quickly fade into a frown.
“Why do you say that?” Samantha asks.
“They have the place locked tight,” Rae answers. “We had been able to penetrate headquarters to help hostages escape, but as of the past few months, there seems to be no way in…”
“Or out,” Levi finishes.
“What do we do?” Mar asks.
“I say you wait until things begin and get them out then.” Levi says the words I have been dreading to hear. “Until then, you can be training alongside us.”
“And we can be working on trying to find a way in, in the meantime,” Rae finishes.
“Are you sure there is no way in?” Eli asks.
“Positive,” Rae says. “It is nearly impossible to get within a mile of the place, but if you feel the need to check things out for yourselves, we would understand.”
“We would be willing to send a team out with you,” Levi offers.
“What about Dia and Leah?” Zac asks.
“You could send a few members of your group back with Baxley to retrieve them,” Rae answers. “The rest of you could take a couple of our all-terrain vehicles and go to The Elected headquarters to check things out.”
“I will insert myself into the group that goes with you to The Elected, if that’s okay?” Levi asks.
“When can we leave?” Jake asks.
“Right away,” Levi answers. “Let’s get you out of those ridiculous clothes though and get you into something more… you…”
We are dismissed from Rae’s office and put into the hands of Levi and Baxley, both of which I am not sure can be trusted yet. Baxley a bit more than Levi, though. He and Cara stick close to one another, excited that after almost half of his life, he is getting to be with his sister again.
Levi leads us into a large shower room and hands us all towels, a set of clothing like what Rae and the rest of the community are wearing, including precious combat boots.
I have missed combat boots.
We are all given a bag with a bar of soap, shampoo, and a rag, and let loose in the shower room. The stalls are divided by a short wall in the middle of the room, much like the baths in The Force were cut down the middle by a curtain.
I let the water pour down over me for the longest time, lathering my hair and body three times for good measure. Afterwards, I hop out, dry off, and begin to get dressed.
Mar, Magi, Samantha, and Cara are already dressed when I sit down on the bench next to them.
“I missed these things,” Mar says as she picks up one of her boots, hugging it to her chest.
I do the same thing, letting myself be silly for a moment.
“I never thought I would love these clunky things.” I smile.
“When I first started wearing them,” Samantha says, “I was six. I thought I would never get use to them, but now, anything else feels weird.”
“Come on girls,” Jake yells in with a small laugh to his voice. “Stop cuddling your boots, and let’s go.”
The five of us roll our eyes and finish lacing up our boots, then we leave the bathroom. When we are outside the room, Levi hands me a brush, and each one of us girls an elastic to tie our hair back if we want to.
“How thoughtful,” Cara says to Levi.
“It’s my pleasure,” Levi responds.
“What is up with Cara and Levi?” I whisper to Mar.
“I don’t know,” Mar whispers back. “Weird…”
After we are all back together, cleaned up, and feel somewhat back to normal, we must decide who will go with Levi and his group to The Elected, and who will go back with Baxley to get Leah and Dia.
After great deliberation, we have decided that Zac, Shawn, and Cara will
