Resistance (The Institute Series Book 2) (8 page)

“I’m just showing them around today,” Mum says. “But we’re about to go, and I think Cyrus was going to come with us.”

“I better go relieve him of child duty then, I suppose,” Nina says sighing and walking out. The tree reappears after she’s gone.

“She’s Cyrus’s—”

“Wife,” Mum cuts me off. I was going to say daughter, but okay.

“Wife? Really?” Drew asks.

“She looks a little young.” Shilah adds.

“We better get going,” Mum says, ignoring our comments and questions.

She leads us back through the corridor, out into the main living room and kitchen area of the cave where Cyrus is handing the baby over to Nina.

“Will you be back tonight?” Nina asks Cyrus.

“Maybe. I’ll see how it goes. It might be easier for me to stay at the Fields tonight,” he replies before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead, gently. He kisses the baby on the forehead too and starts to walk out when one of the children from earlier runs up to him, grasping Cyrus’s leg, tight.

“Don’t leave, Daddy,” the child pleads.

“Aww, sweetheart. I will be back. I promise,” Cyrus says, leaning down and hugging the young girl, who looks to be about four years old.

“Okay,” the girl replies with clear disappointment in her voice. She walks away with her head down and dragging her feet. I can’t help feeling sorry for the girl.

“We ready to move on then?” Cyrus asks. We nod in unison. “Then let’s go!”

Chapter Six

After another gruelling long car trip, this time wedged between Shilah and Drew, we arrive at the Fields. We drive down a grassed path, one that you’d only know is here by the faint wheel imprints you really have to look to see.  After a few rocky and bumpy minutes, making our way down a bit of a slope, we come to a clearing. We’re in the middle of nowhere, yet here we are, driving through what reminds me of the main street of Eminent Falls, where I used to live with Dad and Shilah. Houses line one side of the makeshift street which is made of dirt and loose gravel. Colorbond steel sheds line the other side. At the end of the road, a cattle gate blocks off the street.

This is more what I was expecting when Chad told me about the compound. Maybe not the town-like feel, but definitely the close proximity to everything. We drive about half way down the street and stop outside one of the larger sheds.

“This is what we use as a town hall,” Mum says. “All of our meetings are held here.”

“It’s really the only place big enough to fit us all,” Cyrus adds. “But that’s no fun – let’s go meet everyone in the dining hall.”

We get out of the car and walk to a different shed down the road. Cafeteria style tables line the entire shed, mismatched chairs of all different types and heights align with the tables.

Feeling a little overwhelmed by everyone lifting their heads to look at the new kids standing in the doorway, I sink back a little, shielding myself behind Shilah and Drew.

I spot Chad, Ebbodine, and Dad sitting at the end of the middle table. They’re accompanied by a group of people still staring at us, while most sets of eyes have gone back to their plates.

Chad gets up and walks over to me, taking me off guard as he wraps his arm around me and kisses me, hard and passionately. Right here, in front of everyone. I’m taken aback and a little bit shocked, and even though I want more, I gently press against his shoulder to push him away. I wasn’t expecting a big public ‘we’re together’ gesture. Chad doesn’t seem like that kind of person either, so his actions are confusing.

When he pulls away, we’re met by an array of different expressions and feelings coming from those around us. Chad remains close and runs his hand down my arm and clasps my hand in his. I shiver at his touch – in a good way – and his lips curl up at the ends, enjoying my reaction to him.

Drew’s strong feelings of hurt come from behind me. Ebbodine and Shilah’s typical mocking attitude oozes from their expressions. I don’t even need to use Drew’s ability to know what they’re thinking about. Mum has made her way over to Dad at the lunch table and they are both surprised by our kiss, but there’s a feeling of disgust – no,
disappointment
coming from that same general area. I can’t tell who it’s coming from until a woman stands from the table and approaches us. She has sandy blonde hair, just like Chad’s and similar hazel eyes. She doesn’t need to introduce herself for me to know she’s his mother. Chad, still holding my hand, squeezes it a little tighter.

“You’ll have to excuse my son,” the woman says. “He’s always had a bit of flare for the dramatic.”

I look at Chad.

“This is my mother, Belle. Mum, this is Allira,” Chad says.

“I figured that, dear,” she replies condescendingly. “Come, have some lunch with us,” she says, addressing me. Fiddling nervously with the sleeve of my top, I make my way over to where they’re sitting.

“Are you hungry?” Chad asks. “I’ll go get you a plate.”

“I’ll come with you,” I respond quickly. Chad’s mum’s eyes burn into me. I don’t really want to be left with her without Chad.

We join the line where the food is. I’m too distracted by Chad’s mum and the hostility she’s feeling to focus on what I actually want to eat, so I just pile anything on my plate. I try to block her out but I can’t help it. I think because I’ve been around Drew so much the last three months, my connection to his ability is the strongest. Hopefully with time, my subconscious will attach itself to a different ability, and soon. Knowing what people are feeling all the time can get exhausting and it’s not like Tate’s ability where white noise can block it out; words are easy to ignore, feelings are not.

We go back to the table and I take a seat next to Ebb, and Chad sits down on the other side of me. I avoid eye contact with Belle as I sit across from her.

“So, you’re working on a farm?” I turn to Ebb.

Ebb rolls her eyes. “Yeah, only when your aunt’s not here. She’s training me in medicine.”

“You’d be really good at that!” Ebb has the nurturing, outgoing personality that medics need.

“The farming isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” she says. “But I don’t think I’ve ever been this exhausted.”

“I’m kind of looking forward to it,” I say.

“Yeah, you would.” she laughs.

“Wanting to work on the farms are you, Allira?” Chad’s mum interrupts. I didn’t realise she was eavesdropping.

I clear my throat, “It’s probably what I would be best at. I’ve done it before.”

“Well the council will be the ones to decide what you would be best at.”

I nod instead of responding. With that much animosity in her tone, it looks like I’m already doing a great job at pissing off my boyfriend’s mother and I don’t even know what I’ve done. It’s not exactly how I imagined meeting her would go… not that I’ve actually given much thought to meeting her at all. I also didn’t imagine her to be so intimidating.

Over on the table next to ours, Cyrus sits with a woman. With his arm around her, and their flirty nature between each other, I can’t help but wonder who she is.

“Who’s that?” I ask Chad quietly so his mother can’t eavesdrop again.

“With Cyrus?” he asks, nodding in their direction. I nod back. “That’s his wife.”

I give Chad a confused look. “But, I just met Nina,” I say. Nina has dark hair, this woman is blonde. It’s not the same woman.

“Oh. Umm … yeah.” Chad looks over at his mother, who is still staring at us from across the table. “I’ll fill you in later,” he whispers.

I nod, even though I really want to know now. Looking down at my tray, I notice that I filled it completely with rice, only rice and nothing else. Damn my distracted self. If I wasn’t so focussed on Belle’s feelings, maybe I would’ve at least put some sort of protein on my plate. I eat as much of the bland, dry food as I can before I have to give in and leave it.

Everyone else has finished and they sit around chatting amongst themselves. I feel too self-conscious to talk above a whisper to anyone but Chad or Ebb.

Cyrus walks towards the table. “What have you got planned for the rest of the afternoon?” he asks Mum.

“I was thinking of taking them to the training arena next,” she replies.

“Oh, good,” Cyrus says. “I was hoping to get a few training sessions in for the four newbies before the council meeting next week.”

“Council meeting?” I ask.

“For your placements,” Mum replies. “The council takes your preferences into account when they make their decision. But we have other factors to consider as well.”

“I’ll see you all out there this afternoon,” Cyrus says before leaving.

I count Shilah, Drew and myself. Who’s the fourth newbie that Cyrus was talking about? It isn’t until we get up to leave that I realise just who that fourth person is. It was only twenty-four hours ago that I was trying to arrest her. Licia sees me too and gets up out of her seat and rushes over to hug me.

“Thank you,” she says. “Thank you so much, Allira.”

I give a half smile. “Don’t mention it,” I reply.

Drew comes in between us. “You?” he asks me. “You organised her escape?”

“Well, I had help,” I gesture to Chad.

“But how … when?” he asks, but I have a feeling it’s rhetorical. “I really don’t know you at all,” he says, shaking his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. I just didn’t realise what you were capable of. You’re not as innocent as you make out to be.”

“Well I guess I can’t really argue with that. You really don’t know me at all,” I say as I walk away.

Licia follows me outside. “So you guys aren’t really married then?” she asks.

“Not even close,” I say and give a little laugh. “So how are you settling in? How long have you been here?”

“We only got here in the very early hours yesterday morning. We’ve really only had time to move into our new residence and kind of find our bearings. My dad has already been assigned to the farms and Mum is going to be working here in the kitchen. I’m yet to get my work detail.”

“Yeah, I think all of us will be assessed next week. According to council members anyway. I wonder why your parents aren’t being assessed.”

Licia looks down at her feet. “Neither of them are Defective,” she says almost shamefully. “They asked them if they had any skillset but Mum has only ever worked in the food industry and Dad has just taken odd jobs here and there so has no real trade to work in.”

So they only assess Defective people?

The others all walked out while I stopped to talk to Licia, and Mum’s voice cuts through from outside. “Allira, we have to go now. Licia, you can come with us if you like?”

Licia nods to her parents to let them know she’s coming with us. We walk out to the car where Shilah has already taken Cyrus’s spot in the front seat. I sigh and get into the back with Drew again. Licia climbs in after me.

“Where did Dad and the others go?” I ask, not wanting to say Chad’s name after that very public kiss. I don’t want that to be brought up right now. In fact, I’ll be happy to avoid any conversation about that – now and in the future.

“They had to get back to work,” Mum replies.

It feels like I’ve spent most of the day in this crazy small hatchback, squished in between someone or another. As we drive down the street, Mum points out where some of the residences are, not mine though. She said it was in this area but hasn’t actually told me where yet. I wonder if someone is setting up where Mum, Dad, and Shilah will live. This morning they weren’t sure where there would be room.

We get to the end of the street, and two people open up the cattle gate for us as we drive through. We drive farther down into the valley, in between where two mountains meet. Moving away from the small township, I see now that it kind of rests on a plateau, halfway down the mountain. It’s well hidden from above and below. I’m relieved I’ll be staying there and not at the Welcoming House where it’s so open and exposed.

We drive past a group of farmers, making their way down the hill on foot. Scanning the crowd for Chad or Ebb, even Dad, we go past them too quickly for me to see anyone clearly.

“They walk up and down the hill every day?” I ask.

“Yes, Lia. They do,” Mum replies, sighing.

I know I haven’t seen Mum in years, and granted a lot of the childhood memories I have of her are the nice ones, but I can’t shake the feeling that she thinks I have an entitlement ego. Just her little comments like
‘Everyone works here, Lia’
, in the same condescending tone Chad’s mum used with him. Is it just every parent’s job to use that tone, or just council members?

I want to defend myself, I want to tell her that I have no problem with hard work, I’ve been doing it for years. She wouldn’t know that, she wasn’t there. But I bite my tongue, it’s a cheap shot.

At the bottom of the valley, we reach the Fields. Wheat, sugar, and corn grow on one side and fruit and vegetable beds are on the right. The two mountains have more distance between them than I first suspected. It’s quite an optical illusion; it confuses your depth perception and hides the farming crops well.

We drive beyond the Fields that seem to go on forever and arrive at what is clearly the training arena, as Mum called it earlier.

I’m getting a bit of déjà vu. For a moment, I feel like I’m back at the Institute. An obstacle course is to my right, very similar to the one I ran for my field test. I let out a little groan. I haven’t done weights or anything since being on the outside of the Institute, only running with Drew.

Mum parks the car and we all get out. We start walking towards the obstacle course and I look to my left at Shilah and see him smiling. Ugh, he’s excited about further fitness torture.

We walk past the obstacle course to a shooting range behind it. A row of targets shaped like people line bushland with markers placed around the range to shoot from. The markers are at random intervals allowing shooting from all angles.

“Want to have a go at shooting?” Mum asks us. Shilah’s face has turned from a smile to a child-like grin. “I’ll take that as a yes, Shilah?”

Shilah nods excitedly.

Mum walks us over to a large walk-in rectangular storage container. Inside there is a metal cabinet as wide as the container itself. She walks over and enters a combination in the safety lock and opens the cabinet with one slide of the panel door.

Guns, guns and more guns line the cabinet. Rifles down the bottom, pistols up the top on a shelf. Mum stands in front of the cabinet, looking at us with expectant eyes. “Well?” she says. “Come pick one.”

Shilah is first to get over to her, of course. He picks one of the rifles, the biggest gun they have. I give a little sigh and go up and collect one of the handguns from the top shelf.