Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) (19 page)

"No, Brianna." He whispered.

I was right. When I first saw him and thought maybe, just maybe he was like me. What were the chances? How was that even possible?

I had almost been executed by my own flesh and blood. My father was the leader of a rebellion. He died when I was seven, yet he was sitting three feet behind me in a vehicle.

"What is going on? What are you guys talking about?"

Adam's voice sounded far away. Unreal. Nothing felt real. I felt like I was floating. In a dream. A loud ring was in my ears and the drastic pain in my face was now a dull.

Seth said he just got me back. David knew. He knew who I was, yet he didn't say anything. Nothing.

We drove for miles and nobody talked. I didn't move. I was still in The Unit’s baggy uniform. I was dirty and hungry, but none of that mattered. Nothing mattered.

I felt like time had frozen. I was drifting. How did you cope with having a dead father for over a decade, then suddenly you got to see him again.

I was going crazy. I was crazy. Nothing was real. None of this could be real. Scientifically speaking, this was impossible.

I had lost my mind and it took me this long to realize it. How could I wake up in another place, another time frame, and expect this to be real?

It was ludicrous.

Something touched my arm. I looked. It was Seth's hand. I brought my eyes up to his. He appeared concerned. I wanted to explain to him that it was okay. None of this was real, but I couldn't get myself to speak.

I didn't realize it when the truck came to a stop. My ears were buzzing. I was still lost in my own world.

"What happened?" Adams' voice sounded loud. Too loud. I wanted to cover my ears.

Movement came from my side. "Nothing. She is just in shock."

There was a massive sign in front of us. It said welcome to Paradise. This wasn't paradise. I was trapped in hell.

"Keep your secrets then." Adam's voice was sharp. I felt him stare at me for a moment before he hopped out of the truck.

"I need you to stay calm. We are about to enter a riot zone." Seth told me.

He stood up and pulled my up by my arm. My legs were stiff and wanted to give out on me. Seth jumped out of the truck and easily helped me down.

When Arés and David got out of the truck they could sense something had happened. They shot Seth a questioning look.

I couldn't look at David the same anymore. The hazel eyes were the same. The soft brown hair was the same. The smile wrinkles around his eyes were the same. He was the same. He was everything I had remembered and forgotten.

I felt a tight construction on my chest. It was hard to breathe.

"We need to get moving." Ares turned and walked down the road. A small path led to really tall grass. I could see tall buildings in the distance.

David peered at me for a second then followed. Chantel stayed the furthest behind the group. She didn't say one word.

Adam walked in front of Seth and me. His posture was rigid. Seth stayed right by my side.

I was so lost in my own world that I constantly tripped over fallen branches and rocks. The dry grass crunched under my feet. The sun was beating onto our backs. Sweat trickled down my face, yet there was an icy breeze blowing through.

It was beginning to be summer. Puffy white clouds covered the sky. In the distance, I could see smoke. There was a fire.

Maybe the world would burn to the ground and this would all be over.

Ares raised his weapon and kept it aimed and ready. He walked in front of the group. David flocked him with his own weapon raised. It seemed everyone fell into combat mode because Chantel picked her pace up and had her handgun ready to fire. Seth pushed me behind him a little bit and raised his automatic gun. Adam backed me. I knew that he had a gun raised too.

I felt odd. Everyone was ready to fire. I couldn't bring myself to reach for the gun in my pants. I was tired of taking lives.

David glanced back at me. He was checking in on me. Did he still love me? The way he did when I was a little girl?

Ares came to a halt.

My mind didn't have time to process that people stood from the grass and jumped out of the trees. Guns were pointed at us and there was a lot of shouting. Seth completely stepped in front of me and Adam blocked the back of me.

I noticed the uniforms. We were surrounded by The Unit.

"Get down now!" One shouted, stepping in front of the other soldiers.

He was the one in charge.

"How about we all stay calm." David lowered his weapon and kept his voice smooth.

The soldier turned his face into a twisted smile. I could tell he was one sick man just by looking at him.

Unconsciously, I scooted closer to Seth.

The soldier shot at the ground. "How about you all drop to your knees and put your hands behind your head before I blow your brains out. You are surrounded."

David was the first to drop his weapon and get on his knees. As our leader, I didn't expect him to go down so easily. Ares and the rest of us followed his lead.

The soldier’s feet crunched on the ground as he walked directly to me.

"Evelyn, my dear. Fancy seeing you here."

I kept my gaze lowered. His voice made me feel like snakes were slithering up my body. I forced myself to stare at the dirt caked under my nails.

"How could someone so beautiful turn so hideous?" He grabbed my chin and tilted my head back roughly. "Look at that ruined face."

The soldier smiled showing off pure yellow teeth. He had a receding hairline and his hair looked like he rubbed grease through it. Acne scars covered his face.

"Should we take them to Stephan?" A man spoke from a few feet away.

"I saw we execute them all now. That way we don't have to deal with the bullshit of getting them there." Another voice said.

"It's going to be okay." Adam whispered from behind me.

The soldier kicked him right in the face. "You don't have permission to speak, maggot."

Seth stiffened in front of me. Without thinking twice, I got out of the position they wanted us in and scooted to Adam.

He was sitting up. He looked at me with worried eyes. We were in trouble and he knew it.

A hand fisted in my hair and yanked me up. Tears filled my eyes at the pulling sensation.

"I'm going to have fun with you," his foul breath filled my nose. My stomach turned with disgust. I scrunched my nose and choked back a gag.

"Put her down!" Adam jumped to his feet, ready to protect me. I knew his emerald green eyes would be blazing. The image easily filled my mind.

I heard a shuffle, a grunt, and a sound of pain. I didn't have to turn around to know soldiers swarmed on Adam. Guilt ate at my stomach. I wanted to tell him to sit down and not to fight, but I knew my words would be trivial.

I stared at Seth's tan hands on the back of his head. They shook a little. That was the only way I knew that he was feeling anything.

I wished I could have the numb feeling from earlier. The floating. It would have been better than this fear.

"Tie them up and put them in the back of the semi." The solider let go of my hair and I collapsed to my knees.

I pulled in a deep breath. I had not even realized I was holding my breath.

"Stay calm," Seth whispered as I was yanked to my feet again.

My arms got twisted behind my back and rope slid through my wrists. The soldier tightened it to the point of pain. The rope was cutting off the circulation to my hands. He took the gun out of the back of my pants and shoved me forward. I had a soldier on the left and the right of me.

We all did. Nobody spoke again. I looked behind me to see that Adam had a busted lip and a bloody nose.

All because he wanted to defend me. David was walking with ease. He didn't seem to have a care in the world. We approached a half sized semi-truck and one of the soldiers opened it.

"Hurry and get them in there." The foul breathed man ordered.

I was roughly shoved inside. Falling onto my knees, I scooted away from the opening as fast as I could. After they got us all in there, the door closed with a bang. It was pitch black in there. I listened to everyone breathe.

"Now what?" It was Chantel's voice. She sounded highly irritated.

"Now we wait." David responded with ease.

I felt the panic rise in me. It was too small in here. I couldn't breathe. There wasn't enough oxygen. We were running out of air. All four walls were slowly, but surely pressing in on me. I tried to pull in a big breath, but no air filtered into my lungs. A cold sweat broke out across my skin. My hands trembled behind me.

"Breathe." Adam whispered. After a second, I could feel his presence right next to me.

The semi started. The movement made me lurch forward. I still couldn't pull in any air.

"It's going to be okay." A warm leg touched mine. "Breathe in. Breathe out."

Listening to Adam's calm voice tamed my panic. After a few minutes, I was back to breathing normally.

I had another panic attack.

"What are we waiting for?" Seth inquired after my little episode was over.

I now felt embarrassed. Everyone was so calm and at ease and I was over here panicking. I dropped my head in shame. As if he knew, Adam nudged me with his shoulder.

The semi bounced a few times and I slid further into Adam. I went to scoot away, but he grabbed onto my bound wrist with his hand. I accepted his comfort in a friendly way and only hoped he was giving comfort out of friendship.

"I have a hand grenade in my lower leg pocket. They didn't check that." David said.

"A hand grenade against a ton of guns? That won't get us very far." Adam pointed out.

"I have a knife in my boot." Chantel added.

"I have my hands." Ares said.

"I have panic attacks." I wanted to join in and have something useful, but I didn't. I turned my fear into a joke and attempted to lighten the mood.

Adam chuckled next to me, obviously liking my sense of humor. Nobody else commented.

"Now isn't the time for jokes." David scolded.

His voice sounded just like my father’s years ago when he had to be stern with me. I couldn't get in the habit of viewing him as my dad. He was so different, yet the same. A stranger, but so familiar.

My little joking mood passed and instead, sadness took over.

"Where do you think they are taking us?" Chantel asked.

"To Stephan. We have Seth and we have Evelyn. They wouldn't dare go anywhere else." Ares’s voice was rough. Cold. Factual.

"What do you think Stephan will do to me?" My voice was small.

I remembered Stephan too well. He was a dark man. No emotion and no heart. I couldn't let him figure out I wasn't actually his daughter. Maybe he would have mercy on me.

"Torture you." Ares said it in a flat voice like it was inevitable.

My heart skipped a beat.

"He won't get that far." Seth's voice was ominous. Dark.

Ares chuckled. A deep, unhappy chuckle. "I feel worse for you than I do for Evelyn. We all know you were his second man."

Worry blossomed in my stomach. Seth had said Stephan knew Seth was working for the rebellion. What if he had been wrong? What would happen when Stephan saw David? David said at one point him and Stephan were close.

Everything was spiraling down into a dark circle. Anxiety overtook me. When the semi came to a halt, I bit my tongue. A copper taste filled my mouth. This was it. It was over. The running. The hiding.

I blinked against the sunlight when the door opened. I couldn't see for a good five seconds. When my eyes finale adjusted, I was surprised to see we were still on the dirt road.

Only one soldier stood at the opening. He had a mean look in his eyes. He pointed at me. "You. Come here."

I scooted more towards the back. I was not going over there.

"Leave her be." Adam spat.

The soldier looked at him and gave him a mocking look. "Have you not learned your lesson yet?"

I looked at the blood that was still coming from Adams busted lip. He was going to get himself hurt even more. I stood on shaky legs.

"Sit back down Evelyn." Adam demanded.

"Come here or I'll blow everyone's brains out." I could tell by the cold look in the soldier’s eyes that he meant it.

That settled it. I hopped out of the semi as fast as I could. I barely landed on my feet. With a loud bang, he closed the metal door.

Roughly, he grabbed me by my arm and dragged me towards a little house. We were on a farm. It reminded me off the little barn house that Adam took me too.

Mare's happy laugh popped into my head but got squashed by the memory of her fearful scream. What happened to that little girl? Was she safe? Was she fed? Was she somewhere warm and happy or was she lost in this cruel place we call our home?

"Where are we going?" I asked, diverting myself from my painful thoughts.

The solder didn't respond. We were much closer to the smoke now. It looked to only be a few miles away.

I looked behind me when I heard the semi start-up. It slowly rolled down the little hill. I was alone now. Separated from the group. Dread filled me. Maybe they would be safer in there than wherever I was going.

I expected the soldier to lead me inside the house, but instead he took me around back to a little shed.

"Inside." He shoved me through the wooden doors.

It smelt musty and foul in there. I took a step back and bumped into the soldier when I saw chains hanging from the roof. Dried up blood was splattered on the floor. One metal chair sat in the middle of the room. The soldier shoved me towards it, then handcuffed my wrists to the arms of the chair.

"Have fun." The soldier remarked, then left.

Stephan walked in right after him. I had not seen him in so long, I almost forgot what he looked like. Raven, black hair was pulled into a clean ponytail on the back of his neck. His eyes were black. He wore one of his fancy suits but kept the tie loosened at his neck.

Stephan watched me with a sharp gaze. He took in the bruising on my cheek, the scars, and my appearance.

"I never thought I would see you like this, Evelyn."

Stephan's voice made me cringe. It was so calm, so even, but it scared me. He scared me way more than the diseased. He was an intelligent man. He had to be smart in order to take over America. It was a big country.

Stephan crouched in front of me and made us at eye level. "What made you do it?" Hawk eyes watched every emotion flash across my face.

"Do what?" I croaked.

"Join the rebellion." Stephan tilted his head.

His presence was overbearing. I wanted to get as far away from him as I could. I needed to get away. I scooted the chair back a little, and he roughly drug it forward.

"You know I had your entire future set out for you. I had everything planned. You were going to sleep in a warm bed every night, have food in your stomach, and lead a country. This is how you thank me? By turning your back on me? Betraying me." Stephan stood and laughed a dark laugh. "No." He paced back and forth in front of me. "I know why you did all this." Stephan paused and watched my hands clench on the arm rest.

"Why?" I knew he wanted me to ask, so I gave him what he wanted.

"Your memory loss. Ever since that bombing it's like you are a completely different human being. You're not you anymore. I forgive you. I do not blame you, but you need to accept the consequences for your actions." Something gleamed in Stephan's eyes.

"What are the consequences?" I stumbled over my words. My tongue felt heavy in my mouth. I could barely hear him over the loud beat of my heart.

Stephan gave me a bone-chilling smile. "Tomorrow we will go to Louisville. We will have a town meeting. You get to watch everyone you have ever come into contact with since leaving The Unit get executed."

I dropped my head. "No." He could not be serious. He was bluffing. There was no way he would be able to kill all those people. That was mass murder. That was terrorism.

My father's beautiful hazel eyes flashed across my mind. Adam's hopeful smile. Seth's confidence. Chantel's stubbornness. The way Ares was willing to sacrifice his life for others. They were all good people who didn't deserve to die.

"They are parasites. They are no good for the country. They give people false hope. They don't understand. They can defeat me, assassinate me, but there will always be another me. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Ronald Trump. All men who took over an entire country and took away 'justice' and 'freedom'. Let the poor stay at the bottom and the rich at the top."

I scrunched my face in disgust. I couldn't help it and I couldn't hide it. I had always believed in freedom. The right to do what made you happy. Now I was living in a world where most people didn't know what freedom was and it was all because of this man.

His gaze was heavy and dark. Impossible to read.

The door swung open again. Stephan didn't turn around to look, but my jaw dropped at the sight. Seth stood there. He wasn't doing anything, but just standing there.

He had a gun on his hip.

"Shoot him!" I shouted at Seth.

Why wasn't he doing anything? Stephan's lips quirked at the sides. He watched me struggle with the restraints. He would hurt Seth. I had to save him. The cuffs bit into my skin.