We spend the remainder of our time kissing and talking, trying to ignore the fact that over half of us are being put through who knows what.
After two hours have passed, we wake Magi and Samantha up to take our place, pushing their cots together and laying down side by side. Jake puts his strong arm around me and allows me to feel weak and safe for just a little while.
“Good night, Liz,” he whispers in my ear.
“Goodnight ,”I say.
As we lay here, allowing sleep to search us out, I know already in my heart what decision we have made. Only morning will tell for sure what we have chosen.
Chapter Forty
The sun wakes me at its first morning appearance in the sky. Eli and Mar are sitting at the table Jake and I had been sitting at the night before, finishing out their term as guards. It doesn’t take long before Magi, Samantha, and Jake are stirring also.
We are so used to waking up with the sun, sometimes, even before it.
“Good morning,” I say, holding a hand over my stinky breath.
“Morning,” Eli and Samantha say at the same time.
“Good morning, dear.” Jake hugs me from behind while I attempt to tie my boots.
“So, we know what we are going to do, right?” Magi asks the group.
We all give our consensus as to what we think is best for all of us involved.
“We need to find Levi, then,” Eli says.
“No need for that,” Levi says as he walks in the door.
“My, aren’t you the creepy one?” Samantha jokes.
“That’s me,” Levi snickers. “What have you decided?”
“We are going,” I say. “Samantha found a way around the traps, at least the ones that we know about.”
“I’m in, then,” he says nonchalantly.
“You don’t have to do that,” I say.
“Yes, I do,” he says. “I owe you at least that much.”
“You don’t owe us anything,” Mar says.
“Let’s just leave it at I’m going,” he says. “You guys get your things together, I will get some supplies, talk to Rae, and meet you on the front steps.”
“You sure?” Jake asks.
“Positive,” he concludes.
Without another word, Levi leaves the room, leaving us to pack our gear and get ready for the next part of our adventure. We all gather everything that we can fit on us in case we need it. Moments later, we are walking out of our room, down the steps, and out of the building. When we get outside, Rae is waiting for us.
“Levi will be along soon,” she says. “I understand why you are doing this.”
“You do?” Magi asks.
“Of course, family is more important than anything.” she frowns. “Take it from me, I don’t have any.”
“Won’t you come with us?” I ask.
“I can’t, Liz, you know that,”
“I know,” I say. “It was worth a shot.”
“We will all see each other again.” Her smile returns. “After all, Levi is on loan to you… I want him back.” She laughs for real this time.
“I’ll come back in one piece,” Levi says as he comes down the front stairs with his own pack on his back.
“Here,” Samantha says, handing copies of our notes to Rae. She and Magi must have worked on them while we were sleeping.
“What’s this?” Rae asks.
“Copies of war plans for The Division.”
“Thank you,” Rae says, hugging Samantha.
We all say our goodbyes to Rae as we walk away leaving her at the top of the stairs outside her building. I hope that we get to see her one day, and soon.
Together, the seven of us walk out of the fenced in town and into the wooded unknown towards The Elected headquarters. We don’t stop for an ATV; we believe the element of surprise would be much better.
On foot it will take us a few days to get to where we are going, but once we get there, we feel confident that we know what to do. There is an even bigger fuel to our desire to penetrate their forces. They don’t just have two of us anymore, counting Baxley and Cara, they have eight of our people. There is no way we will ever stand for one hair on their heads to be harmed.
I look around at the remaining seven of us. I look to Jake first. I still love him so much that my heart feels like it might burst out of my chest at any moment. He is my rock, and without him, I don’t know how long I could live life on this Earth without falling apart.
Then there is my brother, Eli, who is also a huge part of who I am. I am so happy that he and Mar have one another. He is so much stronger than I am, but in so many ways, we are the same. Being twins, we will always have that connection that will surpass anything I will ever have with Mar or even Jake.
I look to Levi, seeing Malachi and how much hell they put us through at The Force. I am learning to trust him, but it will be a while before that is fully possible. I think I know deep down that he has good intentions.
We will find out in time.
We are so close to The Elected I can feel it. I don’t know how easy it will be to get our family back once we get there, but I know we are stronger than any supposed government.
“Are we in this together?” I call out to the group.
“Together,” they say all at once.
Not knowing what the next second has for us, we march on
