Uprising (19 page)

“I’m sorry it couldn’t be more,” she said when we lowered them into the ground.

It was hard to see her so distraught. To me she’d always been unbreakable.

None of us spoke as we let her take that final moment with them.

“
Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine
,” William said, breaking the silence. I looked at him, surprised. His head was bowed in prayer, and his eyes were closed. “
Et lux perpétua lúceat eis. Requiéscite in pace
.”

We buried them in silence. Only after I poured the last shovelful over Kara’s sister did I say anything.

“We have to find out how he’s getting to us.” I was beaten and tired, my clothes filthy with ash, but my mind wouldn’t quit. “If we don’t, we might as well start digging our own graves.”

“You need to sleep first, Ellie,” William answered, still holding Kara close. “You can’t save the world in a night.”

“Sleep?” I said, staring at the three mounds of dirt that rose out of the ground. As if that was even possible. Kara’s face was red and her eyes swollen. “I’ll sleep when he’s dead.”

***

When we got back, the bodies of our people had been buried as well, but a nervous tension kept everyone quiet and unsure. They were waiting for me to give them a reason for this, for answers. I didn’t have them. Those who weren’t injured gathered and whispered in groups under the tents, their expectant eyes following me as I walked among them.

I squeezed William’s hand before I stepped forward to face the crowd.

“Remember what you’re fighting for,” he said with a nod. I started to pick at my fingers, but stopped immediately. I needed to be strong.

I cleared my throat. “We lost some great people today. Friends and family. War has consequences, but we can’t let the deaths of those we love be in vain.” I glanced at William. I believed in what his father said about Luke. We had to stand up for the virtue of those who’d died for this cause. “The best way to keep them alive is to fight for what they stood for. What we all stand for. Freedom. The future isn’t going to be easy, but it will be worth the fight.”

“What now?” a man yelled from the crowd. He held his motherless daughter in his arms, and I scanned the numbers of devastated faces around him. Some sat on the ground still injured. Some looked off with empty expressions. The rest were desperate, and unsettled voices began to chatter.

“Are we safe?” someone shouted, quieting the rest.

Their questions threw me off, but I needed to be the leader they expected me to be. “We can’t stay here,” I answered. “They know where we are. It’s only a matter of time before they come back.” I turned to Mac, communicating my plan, and he nodded in agreement. “We don’t know how they’re finding us.” Nervous voices started back up again, but I spoke over them with confidence and they silenced. “Alex will be moving us ten at a time to a new location. We’ll do the best we can to set up security. If there is a next time, we’ll be prepared for it.”

***

“How do you think they found us?” I asked Mac as he collected maps that were saved from the flames.

Kara and William stood next to me, hoping he knew more than we did.

“No idea,” he answered, “but it was Christoph’s attack. He stripped my ability, took away the safe haven. Not sure it’ll do much good this time, but . . .”

He was distracted, paying attention to more than just us. Always alert and ready for more.

“Let me heal that,” I said, noticing the sleeve around his forearm was wet with blood.

He opened his shotgun, checking the rounds, and began rolling up the cuff of his flannel.

“Your ability is back, though?” I asked.

“Yeah. I suppose he doesn’t see it as much of a threat. Not if he knows where we are.”

“How could he know?” William asked as I treated the gash on Mac’s arm.

None of us had an answer.

“I’ll be checking the minds of those who come with us,” Kara added. “I think I would know if there was a mole, but it’s worth a try to dig a little deeper.”

“As soon as we get there we’ll go over an evacuation plan,” Mac said, flexing his fingers as the wound healed. “And we’ll need to have lookouts during the night. We’ll get volunteers, but you three and Alex should start us out.”

“I’ll go first,” Kara said. “I won’t be able to sleep anyway.” That night we slept on the floor of the Lenaia caves. It was too obvious a place to hide, so our theory was they would never look there. At least we hoped. Kara hadn’t found a spy, but it was still hard to sleep. None of us truly felt safe. Instead, I lay awake and worried. On top of everything, nobody had been able to verify that our friends had left on their recon mission. I hoped that was where they were and that they were okay.

My lids lifted in frustration as my mind ignored their attempt to shut out the world. Above me, lights that looked like twinkling stars cast a gentle blue glow throughout the dark cave. I wasn’t sure whose ability it was, but it was beautiful. I sat up from under the covers and looked out over the sleeping bodies huddled together for safety’s sake. The only person awake was Kara sitting against the stone wall.

I slipped out from under William’s arm, and made my way over to her. She didn’t look up.

How are you?

We sat for a while in silence before she decided to answer.

If I had just brought them to the camp, maybe I could have protected them.

It’s not your fault, Kara.

I thought they’d be safer on their own. You’re the target. I thought if they were far enough away . . .

I knew she didn’t want my sympathy, but it was in my nature to at least try and comfort someone when they needed it.
Maybe they would have been safe with us
. I remembered the fire, the bodies lying out along the ground.
Maybe not, though
.

Maybe not
.

Can I tell you something?
I hadn’t told anyone about the dream I had before the fire, not even Anna.
I saw it before it happened
.

What do you mean?

The fire. I had a dream about Christoph, about him burning everything around me.

She looked at me, her eyebrows creasing with confusion.
I can’t see it
, she said.

Just like you couldn’t see it when I saw Christoph at training
. I looked down at my belly, still flat and unchanged. Do you think? I didn’t feel pregnant. Wouldn’t I know if I was?

I guess it’s possible
. Her eyes drifted toward William, and I wished for a moment that I could hear what she was thinking for a change.

She smiled.
I’m thinking you’re lucky
. Her gaze lingered on him as she pushed black flyaway curls behind her ears. I pretended not to notice.
You should tell him
.

The air seemed harder to breathe at the thought.

It’ll worry him. You know how he gets. He’s protective. Besides, I’m not even sure it’s true.

Maybe you should be protected.

I shook my head.
I can’t just disappear. If I tell William, things will be different. There’s no guarantee I’m pregnant anyway.

I think you’ll find out eventually. I mean, if you are, your belly’s not going to be getting any smaller.

I glared at her.
Thanks.

My reaction made her laugh. She tried to hold in the sound, but that only made me start laughing. Both of us gripped our mouths as we suffered through a silent laugh attack. By the time it was over, we were sucking in deep breaths and smiling. The mind has strange ways of dealing with grief. I sat with her in silence for a while longer, both of us holding on to the moment, before I returned to William for a few brief hours of sleep.

The next morning sadness hung in the air. We’d lost so many in the fight. But despite the battle, no one had left. Instead the group was focused, finally realizing none of this was for fun. This was war.

We spent the next few weeks building up camp. The caves were cold and unwelcoming at first, but with so many helping hands, it began to feel like home. Alex took small groups out to gather supplies. The guys hung lanterns on poles in a circle around new tents at night. During the day, Mr. Williamson mimicked sunlight, so that the entire cave was alight. The women built fires and set up tables for cooking. A girl named Christine grew trees from the bare ground to give the place the feel of Lenaia. Her mother had been responsible for last year’s forest, but had died in the attack. Sofia’s friend was able to draw water from the ground, and built a streaming waterfall a ways away from the camp for bathing, and a smaller pool closer to the tents for drinking.

My focus was on the enemy. We sent recon scouts to Beverly Hills to verify Christoph’s location, but the house was abandoned. Others sought out places his workers were known to meet, hoping to discover how they’d found us. So far no one had returned. Those of us who stayed were developing security protocols and escape plans in case of another attack. I couldn’t fail these people a second time. I carried the guilt for every person killed, as if their lives were mine to redeem.

“You need a break,” William said from behind me as I poured over lists of bloodlines and locations with a flashlight.

“No, I’m fine,” I answered without looking up.

His shoes crunched the dirt as he moved closer. He set his lantern on the table and put his warm hands on my shoulders.

“You’d rather stare at that paper than sleep with your fiancé? I think you’re starting to lose it,” he teased.

Maybe I
was
starting to lose it.

He brushed my hair aside and pressed his soft lips against the delicate skin on my neck. “Come on.”

I followed him to the tent, though my mind was still dwelling on our next move. Like most nights it was hard to sleep, but at some point I must have dozed off. I woke abruptly, disoriented. Something was wrong. My vision wasn’t clear, but I heard voices behind me. William. Kara. I opened my tent, needing to get to them. I needed help.

“Ellie?” William said, but his voice was muffled by something.

I couldn’t respond. Everything was starting to pull away from me, stretching, disappearing, and the world around me changed. What I saw in front of me wasn’t camp. At first I thought I was in a military facility. I cowered in the back behind lines of soldiers, my heart racing. Rows of people stood at attention, but they were not in military clothes, and some were too young or too old to be soldiers.

The warehouse was lined with people from wall to wall. I heard something, maybe footsteps coming from ahead, but those around me were still as statues. I chose to get closer. I wanted to see their faces and figure out why they were so still. As I walked past the first row, trying to understand, I made eye contact with a short blonde woman. The intensity in her gaze made me jump, but she didn’t flinch. Instead she acted as if she didn’t see me and continued to look around desperately. They all did, thousands of worried eyes silently pleading for help. Something was keeping them from moving. I recognized that look, and suddenly I felt my stomach rise up into my throat. I had only known one person to restrain people like that—Ryder.

I shook my head in disbelief. He couldn’t be alive. William had killed him. As I turned to walk down another row, my question was answered. There, in front of a child’s frightened stare. It wasn’t Ryder. It had to be his son. He was younger, but with the same block jaw and body frame. His hair was a lighter brown that wasn’t streaked with shades of gray, but he wore the same hard expression. At first I stood still, expecting him to come at me seeking revenge, but he didn’t so much as turn his head. He couldn’t see me. None of them could.

Though my body still fought the idea, I inched closer. I had to make out what he was doing. A young girl was with him, and tears slid down her dark cheeks as she wheeled a machine behind her. Tubes of red blood connected her to it, but as I stepped forward, things seemed to dissipate.

Everything evaporated around me, and I found myself on my knees with William at my side.

“Are you all right?” he asked, helping me to my feet.

I looked up, brushing the dirt off of my hands. “I’m fine.”

“You fell pretty hard,” he said, looking at Kara.

“Just tired,” I answered, not knowing how to explain. “Do you need some water?” Kara asked. I could see from the look she gave me. She knew what I was thinking. Another vision? Her voice sounded unspoken in my head.

“Sure,” I said, and I nodded answering her other question.
I think so
.

She handed me a water bottle.
What did you see?

I pressed it to my lips and drank long and slow as I summed up what I saw in quick silent sentences.

“Any word from Sam and the others?” I asked, trying to sway the focus of William’s worry. We hadn’t heard anything from them. Not in weeks.

“Not back yet,” William answered, but he was too concerned to be distracted. “Maybe you should sit down.”

He took my hand and led me to a chair next to Mac. “Look who decided to show up,” Mac said.

In front of us was a brown foldout table with maps spread across the top of it. Red circles signified groups of Descendants who had broken away from the communities, and asterisks pinpointed those with beneficial abilities.

I looked over the maps, considering our next move. Before I could get a word out, Alex was in front of me.

“Rachel’s hurt. I need you,” he said as he disappeared. “What?” I asked aloud. I looked at William for answers, but he shrugged.

“Clear the table,” Kara yelled. “She’s been shot.” She swept the maps to the ground, and within seconds Alex was there with all of them. Sam and Nics stood behind Paul who carried Rachel in his arms. She hung limp, covered in blood and unconscious.

I’d never seen Nics cry, but tears were running down her cheeks. “Can you help her?” she pleaded.

Paul set Rachel on the table, his face white with shock. He didn’t speak. He couldn’t seem to look away from her face.