Rise Against the Faultless (20 page)

 I stood there watching her,
half expecting her not to be dead because I believed she was a demon. People
gathered around the pool, shouting. I turned to Dale, “Dale? Are you ok?” I was
afraid to approach him too quickly, I didn’t know what he’d been ordered to do
while on the drug. He was staring at me, then he started crying and embraced
me.

“Raily! Thank you!”

“Dale, have you not been on the
drug?”

“I figured it out that they
were drugging us last night. It’s in our water supply at the camp. I haven’t
had anything to drink since. It’s wearing off, I’m having to fight it, but it’s
almost out of my system. I couldn’t stop this, Raily. I’m sorry,” his body was
shaking from his hysterical crying, “I’ve just been pretending everything was
the same so that when I got here I could do something to try to stop it. By the
time enough of the drug had left my system for me to make my own decisions, we
were marching out. They slipped me in so I could be in Command with Ann.”

“Dale, I’m so sorry. I’m so
sorry.”

I sat on the floor hugging him.
It felt like a dream to be beside him. We were far from being out of the woods
yet, though. I had to find a way to get Dale to a safe place, but then I
realized something. There was no safe place. Sure, I had a map to a safe house
from Frank where I could hide Dale. But for how long? Would we live our lives
out in hiding? Would we be afraid every time we heard something? Running and
hiding was no longer an option for me. The Defectors weren’t our biggest
problem. I heard another explosion, this time it wasn’t from the same area that
Dione’s group was stationed, “Dale, can you still communicate with them?”

“Yes, we were given these
links,” he held up a small black device with only two buttons on it that he’d
had in his pocket. “Ann has one, too. It’s in her desk.” I opened up the desk,
and there it was. I held it in my hand. “What do you want me to tell them,
Raily?”

“Invite them in.”

I got Dale to call a cease fire
with the Defectors, as I did. My plan was to let them all come into the
compound for holding until they were drained of the compilation from the drug,
and since Dale was their commanding officer, they would have to do what he
said. I would offer protection for these stolen children, as much protection as
I could anyway. And for those who were old enough, and willing, we could stand
together and fight. I brought Ann’s link with me so that I could intercept any
communication that the Defectors tried to make with her. Most of the Defectors
who were not drugged, immediately turned tail and ran, this included Oren and
Lars. I suspected that they were going to another one of their camps.

I put Terra in charge of
informing all of those at the Compound who had no idea what was going on. She
had a great way of keeping people calm. We would continue to run as a Training
Compound, but not for what the government or the Defectors wanted. Shane helped
me to carry Ari’s body outside to be buried. It was the hardest thing I’d ever
had to do. In my quest to save one brother, I’d lost another. I was riddled
with guilt and questioned all the moves I’d made up to that point. If I’d just
made an effort to make amends with Ari, he could still be alive now. Instead,
I’d let my pride get in the way and he was gone forever now.

I found Adrian to make sure
that he had kept everything that had happened off the grid. When he saw me walk
in he ran to me and picked me up, “Raily, thank goodness you’re ok.” He kissed
me and squeezed me tightly. Then he saw the blood that was on my shirt, “What
happened?”

“It’s not mine, it’s Ann’s… and
Ari’s.”

“I’m so sorry.” He could see by
the look on my face that Ari’s outcome had not been good.

“I’ve kept everything under
wraps here. The government is being fed false information, but I don’t know how
long we can keep this up.”

“Thank you, Adrian. There’s
something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you before, but I
couldn’t.”

“About Shane? I already know.”

“What? How?”

“I see the way he looks at you.
He also despises me, so it wasn’t hard to figure out.”

“I’m sorry, Adrian.”
            “It’s not how he feels that I care about. I love you, Raily. I have
for a long time.”

That’s when Cyril rushed in,
“Raily, they want to see you.”

“Who?”

“Everyone. They’re waiting
outside.”

Cyril brought me outside, to
the platform where Oren had broken my leg not a week before. And she was right,
everyone was there, those who had fought and those who hadn’t. There were
people there, waiting for me. They needed to hear from me, our direction. They
needed to know what was going to happen. They needed me to be their leader.

Lo, Jubal, and Cyril were
there. Shane was standing there as well. I looked at him, but he looked away.
Perhaps too much had happened between us now. I believed that he was on my
side, and if I hadn’t killed Ann, she would have killed Shane. He knew this and
undoubtedly felt guilty over what transpired. I’d give him time. I took the
platform and the crowd hushed.

“It's for your own good they
say. You will all be better off, as they take one more choice, one more
freedom. They believe we should grovel at their feet and worship them for their
gifts, for our comforts, for our ability to exist and breathe their air. I'd
rather live in mud and filth than to live under this oppression for one more
moment. When I have my one son, or my ten sons, I want them to be proud of
where they came from. Don't just exist, living as how they would have you live,
being as how they would have you be, but be free! You could wait and see what
happens. Things could change. You could go on living the life they have planned
for you, making sure not to step out of their carefully drawn lines. Or you
could take back what is yours. I don't know your choice, but I know mine and I
choose freedom! We are no longer a part of them any more than we are Defectors.
We are free men and women. This is not the end, but the beginning. We’ll not
use the mind control of the Defectors but the strength and will of those that
are free to break from this faultless government. It is time to rise against
the faultless and bring them down!”

The crowd erupted with cheers,
so much so that I barely heard Ann’s link the first time. The second, I held it
up to my ear to hear a man’s voice, “I repeat, Commander Brutus, was the
takeover successful?” I had never met this man, but I knew his voice
immediately because I had heard it in his many addresses to the nation. It was
our President of the United States.

Thank you, God, for
your unending Grace, Jesus, and your continual forgiveness of my continual
failings.

Thank you to my
wonderful family and friends, who constantly put up with my pestering and
obsession over this book. Thank you to all those who read ugly, awkward first
drafts: Eric, Mom, Ryan, Whitney, Amanda, Wade, and Erin. Your supportive words
and encouragement only solidifies that love blinds us. Thank you, to my beautiful
best friends Amber, Ashley, Brittany and Lindsey, for being there for me (and
being down for a good time), always. Mom and Dad, thank you for the constant
love and support, nobody has better parents than I do. Thank you to my
siblings, Ryan and Amanda and their partners in crime, Whitney, Jace, and Wade.
Our parents saved up all the good genes for you two. Brothers Forever! Thank
you to Erin, I’ll be your sidekick, any day! Thank you, Braden, for being an
inspiration to me daily, you’re the coolest (and the fastest!) Thank you,
Brynlee, for having just the right balance of sweetness and sass, you’re
perfect in every way. Eric, you push me to be better. I wouldn’t have the guts
to do it without you. You’re basically the best family ever. I love you all
more than you’ll ever know!

“Sometimes your heart
tries to run away from you, but you have to make your brain grow legs and run
after it.” –B