Claimed (17 page)

“And now we’re a mere five million surviving worldwide. The same count as it was in 8000
BC,” Jared whispered.

“That’s right,” Liam said. “And that’s how the corporations intend to keep it. Once bitten, twice shy as they say.
Thankfully, weapons of mass destructions were at its advanced levels and the impact was large and quick. So those who sought shelter did not have to suffer for long. The bottom line is though, these sacrifices needed to be made in order to replenish the resources on a dying planet.”

S
ilence swept the small kitchen as if they were quietly paying respect to the millions who perished so that they could live. But their rich presence told Jared their sudden quietness was more about them than anyone else. He rubbed his forehead with disbelief.

“I think I finally got that dose I needed,” he said.

“A little too much to take at once?” Liam chuckled.

Jared smirked. “
You can say that again.”

“We should all call it a night if we are to leave tomorrow,” Kayla suggested.

“This is pathetic,” Evelyn complained. “First, Ellie and then Liam. Why did you have to tell us that sob story?” she growled at him.

Liam laughed. “
Come on. Jared, here, needed it. Wouldn’t he feel stupid if he mentioned the crusades of Aleemadin while dining with the Governor?” he winked at her. “You can thank me later.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m
outta here,” she said as she strode out of the room.

Slowly they left until Jared and Tara
were the only ones left in that tiny dainty kitchen.

“Did you know about the protests?” he asked her when he was sure they had returned to their rooms.

“Yes,” she replied calmly.

He glared at her. “Why did you never tell me?”

“What would you have done? What could anyone have done?” she said and then let out a sigh. “You were bothered enough about Ellie. We didn’t want to distract you from the task at hand.”

“
To win Evelyn?” he said.

“Yes.”

“You said ‘we’. Did James know?”

“He’s the one who
learnt about it first.”

“Are the protestors
part of our revolutionaries?”

“No,” she shook her head. “James was just as surprised as anyone else. We don’t know how and where they sprang from.”

“Who could be leading them?”

“Do you remember Julian Henley, the school teacher?”

He nodded. “Were they hurt?”

“Some were. But they were let off with a warning, I believe. I don’t think it
will be as lenient after the Vice-President’s visit.”

He drummed his fingers against the table-top. “Did you know about the culling?”

“No.”

“I don’t believe you.”

She raised her eyes. “Why would I lie to you? You’re my brother.”

“You failed to tell me about the protests,” he snapped back.

“There were reasons,” she minced.

“Evelyn is not it.
And neither should Ellie be it,” he growled. “What goes on between Ellie and me is purely our private business. As for Evelyn, she is never going to be a part of my story. So whatever plans you and James have hatched to include her, you had better scrap them now!”

“Evelyn is the best chance you have…,” she argued.

“
I
am the best chance the revolution has!” he cut her short. He palmed his face and then added softly. “Let’s leave the sisters out of this, okay?”

She reached out for his hand and clasped it gently. “You did well to keep Ellie away from this mess. I know it must hurt and I am terribly sorry about it, Jared.”

“Me too, Tara,” he mumbled, his gaze lowered sadly as he patted her hand. “Me too.”

The vehicle came to a halt at the Saunders’ driveway. Jared hopped out.

“Thanks for the trip. I enjoyed it,” he said, poking his head through the window.

“Thanks for coming along, Jared,” Kayla smiled.

“
We’ll see you soon again, though, right?” Evelyn looked up at him anxiously.

He smiled.
“Of course. Liam?”

“Yeah, man,” Liam gave him a small wave. “Later.”

Jared straightened up, watching Tara get out of Edmund’s SUV. He saw Ellie through the windscreen of the vehicle. She had turned towards Tara, most likely to avoid catching his gaze, just as she had been doing all morning.

He knew he should walk away. It would be easier on them both. But his body refused to fall into obedience with his mind. He strode towards the vehicle. He had to see her at least
, even if she wouldn’t say a word. He couldn’t leave without taking one last glance at her. He knew he was being selfish- no cruel
and
selfish. But for now, he didn’t care. This may perhaps be the last time he’d ever come as close to her. His last opportunity to have her within his reach and he was darned if he’d leave without seeing her.

He ran a shaky hand over his hair and then dropped down at her window. Immediately, he captured a whiff of her scent.
A rush of blood surged to his head. His eyes dropped to her lips. Two nights ago he had possessed them- made them his own.  She was his drug, each time growing weaker as he came into contact with her. He steadied himself.

“Ell-” he started to say but she shifted at her seat, moving away from him. She lowered her gaze
, but all he could see was the beautiful profile of her face, his eyes busily burning her features into his memory.

He forcibly looked past her and onto Edmund. “See you later then, Edmund,”
he managed to utter.

“No problem, Jared,” he replied and put out his hand to shake his.

Jared glanced at Ellie. He was tempted to brush her face and catch an imprint of the feel of her skin in his mind.  The thought of never having the opportunity to hold her again like he did at the house, scared him to his core.

He put out his hand to shake Edmund’s hand and gave him a small smile. He straightened up and turned away from the vehicle. With a steady, heavy pace, he marched into the house. He had grasped Edmund’s palm wit
hout touching her. His one chance and he had let it go. He threw his bags onto the floor.

“Wolf!” he shouted.

The husky delightfully ran up to him but he was in no mood for cuddles. He raced out the backdoor and towards the woods with his dog obediently chasing after him.

Ellie dropped down onto her bed. She was back in her room- her normality. She should be glad she could now leave Jared in her past and continue as if he had never been in it.

But her body told her differently each time he
had come close to her. She remembered how her heart had drummed rapidly as he had started walking up to Edmund’s car. Her hands were clasped tightly together when he had stood by her window. And when he shook hands with Edmund, she had held her breath in the fear he would touch her. She was in no strength to touch him and she knew she would have fallen apart in plain view of Edmund if he had.

Instead, she had closed her eyes
in an utter state of trepidation when they joined hands together- the man she was bound to marry and the man she loved.

She pulled in a deep breath. She was a drastic mess. It wasn’t how she intended to live her life. She was not the
sort of woman to cry over a man who played with her heart and tossed it aside for the next thrill.

She pulled herself out of bed and gathered her hair into a knot as she rifled through some papers on her desk.
If she had to be Mrs Edmund Farriss, a future First Lady of Sector 8, she was going to make damned certain she was going to be a fine one. There would be no time for silly sobs over a man who made her weak at the knees and stopped her heart every time he met her glance. If that was how it was going to be, then she intended to do her best to never set eyes on him again at all.

*****

They sat in the library in brief silence.

“I’m not going to use Evelyn to get what we want in this revolution,” Jared said, his
arms folded across his chest as he leant onto the study desk. He glanced up at James who sat in his favorite couch, relaxed and leant back with his legs crossed over, one on top another.

“So
how do you propose we get to the country’s parliament?” he asked.

“I’ll find a way,” Jared replied awkwardly.
He fiddled with a glass paperweight on the table. “You should have told me about the protests in Central.”

“It could have waited,” James replied.

“I didn’t appreciate it,” Jared looked up at him. “As your son, I felt like a fool before Liam and Edmund that I hadn’t the slightest clue what they were talking about.”

James nodded in understanding. “Is there anything else?”

“I’d like to meet the rest of the revolutionaries.”

James raised
an eyebrow.

Jared sighed
, “The Vice-President’s going to make a visit to Sector 8 in two weeks. The Governor will be throwing a sector dinner. I will need some help from your revolutionary friends.”

“What are you intending to do?” James straightened out of his chair.

Jared smiled. He had finally won James’ attention. Perhaps
now
, he would have some faith in him.

*****

They journeyed through the forest quietly, barely uttering a word. It was surprising to see the usually polished gentleman make his way swiftly through the dense trees without as much as a scratch or a stumble. Wolf joyfully pranced alongside them silently with his tongue wagging out of his mouth.

“You sure have trained your dog well enough,” James muttered, breaking their long silence.

“It wasn’t hard to do, come to think of it now that he was indeed part wolf,” Jared grinned.

“
I can see you’re settling well with your chimera traits, too.”

“I suppose I’m emerging out of my denial.”

James smiled and nodded. Thankfully, he didn’t snub an “I told you so” in his face. He hated it when people did that.

They arrived at a small clearing revealing a moss ridden
railway track. They skidded down the sides. Jared thought he saw a rabbit skip into the bushes to escape from them. It probably hadn’t seen a soul in ages by the likes of the abandoned railway. The well-lit clearing exposed its debilitated state. Metal fragments lay about them covered in weed tangles. A faded sign on the side stating “Beware of Trains” was barely readable. The weather had not been its only adversary. Wild vines wielded its way about it and overhanging branches roughened it from decades of chafing by the wind.

“
Don’t worry. The railway’s long and forgotten,” James said as he led Jared through the tunnel. “It’s disconnected and does not go anywhere. This is the only remains of the line. It was most probably destroyed in the Great War and the forest has made a good effort in keeping it well hidden from the rest of the world.”

“How did you come to know about it?”

“I used to play in the forest as a kid and I happened to stumble upon it. I don’t understand why I had always kept it a secret but I was thankful that I had. It’s become our headquarters so to speak,” he explained.

He
pushed open a door in the wall and Jared realized that it was once an exit door. The first thing though that hit him other than the pitch darkness, was its musty smell. But it seemed that James was hardly affected by it as he turned on his flashlight and kept on moving, guiding Jared through the dark passageway.

“You will have to get used to working your way through the dark,” said
James. “But once you learn it, it’s not that hard. Some members are able to find their way into the Grand Room with even dimmer light than these torches. There is a connecting passage from the tunnel to the house but I thought I’d show you this one myself.” He turned to him and almost stumbled back from Jared’s luminescent green eyes. He chuckled. “But that doesn’t apply to you, obviously. Damn, your eyes are creeping me out in the dark.”

As they continued to worm their way through the passages, Jared heard the echoes of chattering voices pass through them.

“Don’t let the echoes fool you,” James warned. “One wrong move and you’d be lost in these passages in an instant.”

He took another turn and Jared noticed that there were lights shining
in the distance, brightening the end of the passageway. They had arrived at what was once a platform. The tracks running the side of it were still in bearable condition albeit a little rusty. The electric lights were back on and in use again.

Jared scoured the room quietly with his eyes. There were all in all about twelve men seated
randomly in it. They dropped their voices to a low whisper as he and James approached them.

James greeted a few of them before turning to one particular young man seated at the long table in the centre of the room.
“Get me a glass of brandy, Mattie,” he directed. “I’m a little parched.”

The young man immediately strode off to the cu
pboard in the corner. James fidgeted with his coat, taking it off and hanging it neatly from a rusted bolt jutting out of the wall. The man brought him his drink and James eagerly clasped it.

Jared realized that it was his introduction and not the walk that seemed to have
unnerved James.

The men quieted, waiting for James to speak. They were
clearly as much curious about Jared as he was of them.

“We try not to assemble as often as possible,” James started. “But
today, I’ve requested your presence to introduce to you a new member to our cause- our fight for our civil liberties.” He put an arm around Jared, silently urging him to walk forward. “My son, Jared Ryder,” he said, catching Jared completely by surprise.

One of the men laughed, infecting a slow roll of laughter. “
Well, they sure do grow fast. Not five months ago, you were childless.”

“Where’d you grow him?” chided another.
“In a test-tube?”

“Dr.
Langford,” joked yet another man.

“Well, yes,” James said slowly. “Almost thirty years ago.”

The laughter died, turning into a rumble of whisperings.

“Oh come on, Chief,” argued a tall, sturdy fellow. “That’s Jared Ryder.
Stella and Michael Ryder’s son. We all know him- him and that dog he calls Wolf,” he nodded at it.

James nodded and sipped at his brandy. “Stella and I are married now, so it
’s officially Stella Saunders,” he corrected.

The surprising news seeped slowly into their understanding, resulting gradually into another load of laughter and taunts.

“Congratulations then!” shouted the heavy set man called Frank.

“Cheers!” they all roared back and took a gulp of their drinks.

“Jared, you up-scaled yourself!” teased one, leading an on-set of cheeky taunts.

“No more roadside kills!”

“Jared, you’re an inspiration to rest of us!”

Jared threw off his coat and then bulked his form. His wings extended out of him, his eyes turned
luminescent green. By the time he withdrew his arrow out of his quiver and nocked it to his bow, he had already garnered the sole attention of every man in the room. He aimed at the dart board on the dark end of the wall. His fingers gave way and the arrow was released into the air, zipping past them, piercing into the dart board’s inner bullseye.

“What- are- you?” gulped one man in terror.

“My son first,” James replied sternly. “And don’t any of you forget that. Secondly, a chimera.”

Eric Stark stepped forward. “Is he the infiltrator you promised us?”

“Yes, we’ll talk about that later. First there is a dinner we have to catch.”

*****

She turned right into a broken cobbled driveway. Looming ahead of her was the school Ellie had been looking for. It was a miserable sight assembled together with broken bricks, timber and corrugated iron. Where possible, its roof had been mended with thatched reeds

She stopped by its door. A lanky
clean-shaven man emerged from it and leant against its door frame as he watched her.

“Hello,” she said as she stepped out of her car.

“Have you lost your way?” the man asked curiously.

“Who… who is in charge of the school?” she stammered.

“I am,” the man answered, folding his arms across his chest. “What is this about?”

She smiled and walked towards
him, keenly stretching out her hand for a friendly shake. “Hi, I’m Ellie Callum.”