Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) (22 page)

Chantel moved the wooden boards and motioned for me to go down. I went down the latter. It felt like it would never end. I heard her move the wood back over the top and start climbing down after me. Finally when my feet touched the ground, I breathed a sigh of relief.

We made it and we were safe.

"Get down now! Get down!" Someone slammed into me making me fall to my knees.

I heard more shouting and Chantel snap something back. Lights lit up. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, so I squeezed my eyes shut when the lights turned on. I was on my hands and knees. I could feel the barrel of a gun pressed into my back.

"Get off of me so I can show you my ranking." Chantel snapped.

The gun stayed on me. "Show me your ranking." The man demanded.

I kept quiet.

"Let her up. She is my prisoner." Chantel ordered.

I blinked my eyes against the light. I was on a dirty cement floor. Feet covered in steel toe boots surrounded me. There were so many people. So many voices.

Someone pulled me to my feet with ease. I stumbled before finding my balance. I was looking into pale green eyes. The coloring reminded me of a lizard. Dark eyebrows stood over the odd colored eyes. This man's face looked as mean and tough as Ares. He had to be an enforcer. He looked at me for minutes before spinning me around and tying my hands together behind me.

"Why have you brought her here?" The man directed his question at Chantel.

Chantel seemed to be at ease and unworried. She fixed her hair and brushed her clothes off. She was pondering her next words.

"Did you guys hear the speech over the radio?" She asked, looking at the men surrounding us.

Many still had their weapons up and aimed.

"Oh, she named herself something different and talked about freedom, so you bring her here? You are obviously a brilliant one." A woman's steel voice said.

I glanced towards the voice. This woman had long raven black hair that sat at her waist. Her skin color was the color of sand. Freckles were scattered across her nose giving her an innocent feel, but her blazing blue eyes took that affect away.

She scared me. I scooted closer to the scary guy with the gun pointed at me. The woman watched my movements. Distaste was written across her perfectly sculpted face.

"I had direct orders from the man at the top to get her here safely. If you have any questions, bring it up with him when he gets here. Otherwise, let go of my prisoner. We have business to attend to." Chantel smacked one of the rebellion guy’s gun away from her face and grabbed onto my arm.

We looked to be in some kind of underground cave. Tunnels led into all sorts of directions. We were in the heart of it. A huge round circle. There were many different tunnels in here. How people didn't get lost, I did not know.

The woman lifted a perfectly plucked eyebrow when Chantel led me away. Hearing her mention 'the man at the top' the people backed down fast. They all watched me. Some with curiosity, some with hate, and others just looked blank.

Voices echoed around everywhere in here. People were arguing, whispering, and some were even laughing still.

"I didn't expect a welcome like that." I mumbled to Chantel, not wanting my voice to carry.

Chantel cast me a look. "I'm surprised we didn't get sniped on the way here. They knew you were coming."

We turned down many twists and turns. In no time, I was lost. If she left me down here, I would probably be lost forever. Every time we walked by someone, they gave me long hard looks. They all recognized my face. Nobody stopped us again or questioned us again. It must have been because of Chantel's confidence of where she was going and what she was doing.

"Here we are."  Chantel pushed me through a hole in the tunnel.

I looked around when we got inside. There was a huge wooden table in the room full of maps. Maps also covered the stone walls. Camping lights covered the entire room casting a yellow glow on everything.

I moved closer into the room. "What is this?"

"We call it the war room." Chantel peered at a map on the wall with a bunch of red circles. "The red means hot spots. Hot spots are places that are covered with The Unit. The yellow are warm spots. Warm spots have some military officials, but not too many. Then the blue are cold spots." She walked over to a map full of blue. "Blue spots mean there are no military officials there."

I walked over and looked at the map. It was not the same map I grew up looking at. Although it was in the shape of America, all the towns, states, and cities had new names.

"If the cold spots mean there is no military why don't the people just migrate there?" It seemed simple. Get away from the military.

Chantel sighed. "How? With vehicles they do not have? No money for food, water, or shelter. They would have to travel by feet. Cold spots also mean they are full of the diseased. Now not only do they not have any transportation, they also have nothing to defend themselves with. Stephan made sure that the people would have to rely on him and The Unit in order to survive."

I compared all three maps to each other. There was mostly blue over any other color. "They could be like you and hot wire a car."

"You are being unrealistic." Chantel moved onto another map. "Stephan bombed all the cold spots. There are no crops there, no housing, and no nothing. There is nothing at all."

"Rebuild." I stated like it was simple and easy. I could sense I was annoying her. Mathematically speaking there were four times as many civilians then there were military officials. The people could easily win the war, they were just too afraid to try. They were like Chantel. Always coming up with excuses on why they couldn't.

"Not that simple." She basically growled.

"Yeah, it is. Find someone with a vehicle, drive away, and build a community. Isn't that how Stephan started all this? He built a community, provided protection, food, shelter, and soon enough all of America wanted to join in."

Chantel pushed her curls out of her eyes and gave me a look. She opened her mouth to respond but snapped it shut when she looked towards the entry way.

I followed her look and stopped breathing. Seth stood there with Adam slumped onto his side. Adam was holding his right shoulder with his left hand. Blood was seeping between his shoulders. He had been shot.

"Seth! You are okay!" Chantel exclaimed, putting her hand to her heart.

Well, that answered my question. They didn't know he worked for Stephan. Seth caught my eye and shook his head. He didn't want me to say anything. I looked at the agony on Adam's face and the relief in Chantel's eyes. They both loved him dearly and all, this time, he was betraying them. He did not deserve that kind of love and devotion.

I heard loud voices shouting behind Seth and Adam. Seth helped Adam into the room and shoved all the maps off of the table. He lifted Adam and put him onto the table.

"What happened?" Chantel looked closer at the blood seeping from Adam's hands.

"Stephan shot me." Adam bit out through clenched teeth. His forehead was covered with sweat. Tremors shook his body. "I saw him and Seth fighting. He was going to shoot Seth and I knocked Seth out of the way."

Guilt filled Seth's dark eyes, but he quickly contained it. I looked at Seth with hate. I hoped that the guilt would eat him alive. Keep him awake at night. He was a terrible person. He should have been the one to get shot, not Adam. What was he even doing here? Giving The Unit our location? People in here looked at me like I was the bad guy, but Seth was the traitor. He just showed that you could never truly trust anybody.

"Out of my way. Move." I recognized the voice.

My jaw dropped when Dr. Lynn walked into the room. He held a medical bag in one hand. His eyes met mine for a second before he looked at Adam. "That's a nasty bullet wound. Mind if I take a look?" At Adam's nod, Dr. Lynn looked at us. "Out. All of you. You can visit when he is recovering."

Chantel basically danced into Seth's arms. "I was so worried." I heard her say, as they slid through the hole in the cave wall. I stumbled out. My hands were still tied behind my back.

Seth murmured something to her. Chantel gave a fast nod of her head and took off down the tunnel leaving me with Seth and a group of men I did not know. They all looked bloody and battered. They must have been the rebellion out in the crowd.

They watched me like I was some kind of alien from a different planet. Nobody said anything. I stood there with my arms tied behind my back and didn't offer any words. I had nothing to say to any of them. I needed to get away from Seth and find David. I had to tell somebody. Chantel would not believe me and neither would Adam. Why would they? Seth was Adam's brother and Chantel was in love with Seth.

David was my father. He had to believe me. Seth watched the wheels turning in my head.

"Follow me, Brianna," He demanded.

"Yeah, right." I snapped. I went to march down the tunnel in the direction that Chantel walked in, but Seth grabbed onto the rope tying my hands together and pulled in the direction that he wanted me to go in. He made the ropes tighten on my wrists to the point of pain.

Giving up, I followed him away from the group of men. When we got far enough away, Seth spoke.

"They won't believe you."

He didn't say sorry for betraying your trust, what I did was wrong, or make up any excuses for what he did. He basically was just telling me nobody would believe me. I bit the side of my cheek to control my anger.

"My father will," I said with no doubt in my mind.

Seth shook his head and gave me a sad look. "Brianna he may be your father, but you have to remember. He has been here for over a decade. He has been in this was for over a decade. He has known me for over a decade. He knows me more then he knows you. He knows my mind. He and I have fought side by side. He will not believe you."

I shrugged, ignoring his hurtful words. "It's always worth a try."

"All you’re going to do is make what few friends you do have lose trust in you," Seth warned me, voice darkening.

Rage ignited in me by that point. I came to a complete stop and faced him. When Seth looked down at me, I jumped up and head butted him in his nose as hard as I could. I felt satisfied when I heard it crunch and break.

"What the?" He exclaimed, backing up and lifting his hand to his nose. Blood gushed out.

"That's for betraying your brother." My hands balled into fists behind my back. I would have punched him if I was not tied up.

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head back. "You don't understand, Brianna. Just stay out of my business."

Now I was ready to kick him in his shin as hard as I could. "Stay out of your business? Your business affects the entire rebellion. How could you do that to all those innocent people?" To me. "They trusted you!" I trusted you.

Seth cracked his noise back into place like he had a lot of experience doing it. "Don't worry about it. Just leave the topic alone."

"I'll worry about what I want to worry about." I stomped my foot. "How are you going to explain being let out of the semi? How are you going to explain watching the execution? Rebels were in the crowd. They saw you."

Seth wiped the blood off of his upper lip with his hand. I could sense that I was testing his patience. "The same way that you’re going to explain it. Stephan made me watch. If I fought back, he was going to kill you."

I made a disgusted sound in my throat. "Don't use me to protect yourself."

Seth walked around me and began to untie my hands. "It's not like I could ever work for him again. I went against him to protect you." His tone was accusing.

"Maybe you should have let him kill me." I snapped.

Seth's hands froze on the rope. "I couldn't do that," He admitted.

"Why?" He had no problem watching those other people die. He was heartless.

Seth ignored my question. When my hands were free, I rubbed my wrists. The rope had cut into my skin.

"Let's find your father." Seth went back towards the way Chantel went. I knew if I wanted to survive these tunnels, I had to stay by his side.

People with murderous eyes watched me. When we walked by a crowd, one person stepped out from the group. "Fancy speech you gave. Who wrote it?" It was a jab at me. He didn't believe that was how I felt. He looked at me like I was trash on the bottom of his shoe.

"Thomas Jefferson." I lied and continued walking.

Seth wouldn't even look at me as we walked back. It was like I wasn't even there. I was invisible. I was nobody to him, yet he appeared intent on protecting me from Stephan. He was the biggest contradiction I had ever faced. Walking side by side with him made my blood boil.

We found David in no time. A crowd of people surrounded him. They were all talking at once. Some were bloodied and battered while others looked perfectly fine. Ares stood by his side, arms crossed. I didn't see Chantel anywhere.

"Where did Dr. Lynn come from?" I questioned Seth. I thought Dr. Lynn worked for The Unit? Or was he lying just like you." I jabbed at him.

Seth watched David attempt to contain the crowd. "He's a doctor. He works for both sides."

It was getting louder and louder in here. I covered my ears against the loud voices. People were yelling over each other. More and more people filed into the circular room.

"Silence!" A booming voice bellowed.

It was David. He looked angry. Everyone shut up at once. David looked around at everyone. "How do you expect to win a war if everyone is fighting?" He demanded.

Nobody answered.

"Right now wars are breaking out over the country. After Brianna's speech people listened. Even some soldiers listened. She offered a life that people want. Crave. Need. Then you have Stephan's loyal followers or the rich. They don't want that. This is a repeat of before. The fall of America. Our country is being torn apart again." David stopped talking and let the words sink in. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved.

Their leader was angry. "We need peace. In order to get Stephan's followers on our side, we need to offer safety, food, and shelter."

"How can we do that if Stephan's military is blowing everyone up?" Seth spoke up and asked.

All eyes turned and landed on us. I wanted all of their eyes off of me.

"We take their bombs. Don't kill Stephan's people unless absolutely necessary. If citizens are shooting at you, disarm them but don't kill them."

Ares scoffed. "If someone it attempting to murder us just let them go?"

David nodded. "We don't need violence to win. We need peace. Using violence against violence will not get us anywhere."

Seth nodded in agreement. He was good at pretending he believed David's words. He was good at pretending he was on this side.

The woman with raven black hair raised her hand. David looked at her. "Yes, Eboni."

Eboni settled her eyes on me. "What is Evelyn doing here and why is she still breathing?"

Now all eyes were on me again. I saw that question on everyone's face. They didn't want me here. I was an outsider. I was their enemy.

David cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. "She introduced herself as Brianna, so we will be calling her Brianna now. As you know, a group of rebellion blasted her with a bomb. She woke up with no memory. Now I know she is Stephan's daughter." David paused and looked at me. There was an emotion in his eyes I couldn't read. Was he remembering me from when he last saw me, or was he looking at Evelyn? "But clearly she chose a side, seeing as how she held a gun to Stephan's head and gave a speech about freedom. She is the reason why all those people who were going to be executed lived. She is a hero. While everyone stood down, she stood up."

David got interrupted by Eboni. "Oh, she chose a side. Suddenly she is clear of all the actions she made? All the people she hurt? You’re letting her off that easy?" Eboni sounded furious.

Everyone started talking at once again. They all agreed with her. They wanted someone to pay for everything that had happened to them or somebody they knew. Stephan wasn't here and they needed to blame someone.

I could hear them blaming me for the things that Stephan had done. Things that Evelyn had done. This is how the rest of my life would be. People would look at me and see Evelyn. I would have to pay for the things that she had done forever.

Seth put a hand on my shoulder. Although it made me feel less alone, I shrugged it off. I didn't need him. He was a treacherous monster.

"Do you not remember who I am?" David shouted over the people. Everyone quieted down and looked at him again. "If you have forgotten, I used to lead with Stephan. I helped him start all this. People change. Some for the better and some for the worse. Every life counts. Brianna is one more on our side. We need to bring more of his people on our side. Talking about executing them isn't going to do it. Are we The Unit or are we the rebellion?"

David walked through the crowd of people. He stood directly next to me and stared out at all the people. "If anyone touches her, you will have to deal with me." The warning was clear in his voice. Stay away from me.

I felt safer by his side. I scooted closer. I needed to tell him about Seth. Someone needed to know. Maybe he would believe me, maybe he wouldn't. It would be worth a try. For all I knew, Seth would lead The Unit here. I looked at Seth. He was watching me again. His eyes were as dark as the shadows in the forest. There was something about him. Something off, but something good.

I've seen him save people. I've seen him feed hungry people. I've seen him care for people. After I scraped my feet up in the woods he took care of me. Whenever I find myself in trouble, he is always there to save me. Who was he really? Was he a good guy? Or was he a bad guy?

"I saw we start with the communities." Seth said.

"What do you mean?" A person out in the crowd asked.