Recruits (New Haven Book 1), page 25
“What are we going to do when we get there?” Derek asked.
“Yeah, what’s even there?” Steven asked.
“I don’t know much,” Mack said. “Frank just told me it was a safe haven that was found. He said it would be a good starting place for a new city.”
“There are only ten of us,” Tina said as she warmed up her hands over the fire. “That isn’t much of a city.”
“It’s a start,” Alexander said. He hadn’t talked much during the trip, but when he did, it came out slow and shaky. “Even the city we just came from had to start from nothing. It’ll be a slow process, but it can be done.”
“I’m hoping once we get settled there and the springtime comes, we can send a few of us to River Springs and round up some more people,” Mack said. “I know there are others who would like to get away.”
“The more people we can get, the better.” Dad poked at the fire with a stick, causing the flames to flare. “I’m sure the president won’t give up looking until he finds us. And the ten of us won’t cause a threat and be able to fight back long.”
“What if we do get attacked?” Marie asked. “What are we going to do?”
Mack glanced at a bag near him. He’d kept it close to him the whole trip. “I have a few weapons, but not much. I would like to teach everyone how to use them. I would also like to start doing self-defense training. I want you all to be able to fight back if you get attacked.”
“I have some technical equipment I brought with me to get our new city started,” Derek said, pointing to the bag next to him. “With it, we should be able to know in advance if we’re about to be attacked. Of course, we would need power, so unless this place we’re going to has electricity, it will be of no use to us.”
I sighed. “This is going to be so much work. It seems so impossible.”
“It’s not impossible, Emmie,” Mack said. “It will be hard, yes, but we can do it. We just need to get there in one piece.” Mack stood and went over to the food supply. He pulled out some granola bars and tossed them to everyone. “Let’s eat and then get going.”
As we were eating our breakfast, there was a snap of a twig behind me. I turned around, the sight making my eyes go wide.
Someone stood there in the shadows with a bow and arrow pointed at us. There were a few more snaps and I looked all around us.
We were surrounded.
A ll of us stood, backing into a circle. The person pulled his bow back more, ready to release it at any moment.
“Don’t move!” another guy yelled. It came from behind me, so I couldn’t turn to see who had said it, but he sounded older.
Instinctively, we all put up our arms, showing we had no weapons of our own and we meant no harm.
“Who are you?” It was the same voice as before.
“We should be asking you the same question,” Mack said, his tone steady and confident.
The person in front of me stepped forward from the shadows, putting their bow and arrow away. I lowered my hands and smiled.
Running toward him, I threw my arms around his neck. “Dante. I'm so happy to see you.” I pulled back. “You had me worried. You disappeared after the tree fell.”
Dante smiled back at me. “It's good to see you, too.” He looked past me at the others with him. “Lower your weapons. I know Emmie.”
“Emmie?” Wallace stepped into view. “Sorry, I didn't see you earlier.” He looked at Dante. “You recognized her, yet still drew your weapon?”
Dante's smile twisted. “I wanted to scare her, that's all.”
I punched him playfully in the arm. “Thanks a lot. It worked, by the way. I thought I might pee my pants.” I folded my arms. “What happened?”
As everyone else sat down and started talking, Dante pulled me off to the side. “I ran after that person who was near the tree. Turns out it was a member of River Springs security. Someone else had been with him and together they rigged the tree to fall. When President Randall found out I knew, he ordered for me and my dad to be killed. Frank was able to help us escape.”
Wallace came up to us. “Where's Frank, anyway? He contacted me weeks ago, telling me that we needed to meet you here, but I haven't been able to get a hold of him. His phone's been disconnected.”
My face fell. “I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but Frank's dead.”
“What?” Wallace asked. “How?”
“Whit.” The word came out sharp and hateful.
Wallace shook his head. “That's too bad. Frank was a good man.” He looked at Mack and the others. “We should all talk.”
After Mack introduced all of us, Wallace introduced his group. There were eight others that I could see, two of them girls. Besides Dante, there was Terrance who looked to be in his early thirties and built like Mack. Vivica, who was Wallace’s daughter, looked to be in her early twenties and was absolutely stunning. Tall, slender, with skin darker than her dad's, her black hair had been pulled back in a ponytail. She also looked strong enough to kick the crap out of anyone who got in her way.
Then there was Naomi, who looked to be in her late teens. She was their technical and security pro. She had a very pretty face, but she seemed insecure about herself. Although, she was standing next to Vivica and anyone would be insecure standing next to her.
There was also Archibald, who preferred to go by Archie. He looked to be in his late teens and was very tall and very, very thin.
James looked like he was in his late thirties. He was their scholar and looked the part. His black hair was perfectly styled, he had glasses, and he was very proper.
Charles was in his late twenties. He had a handsome face, was very toned, and apparently had amazing accuracy with his bow and arrow.
Lastly, there was Lou, James’ son. He was only fourteen years old and had the cutest smile. He seemed very shy, especially around girls. He kept his hand in his pockets and his eyes on the ground.
Once all the introductions were made, we all sat down. Charles stayed standing near a tree and kept glancing behind him.
Wallace must have noticed Charles. “Charles, I think it’s safe to bring her out here.” Charles nodded hesitantly and walked into the trees.
He came back a minute later with a young woman in his arms. Marie immediately jumped up and went over to her.
“What’s wrong with her?” Marie asked him.
Charles looked at Marie, unsure whether he should talk to her or not.
“Tell her, Charles,” Wallace said.
“She tripped a couple of days ago on a rock,” Charles said. “She has a huge gash in her leg. It doesn’t look good.”
“Set her down over here,” Marie said, pointing to an open area. She went over to her bag and got her medical kit out. When she got back to the woman, she felt her forehead. “She has a fever. What’s her name?”
“Denise,” Charles said. “She’s my wife.”
Marie ripped open Denise’s pant leg to reveal the gash. Marie let out a little gasp. “It’s badly infected.” She pulled out her supplies and cleaned the wound. I couldn’t watch what she was doing; my stomach couldn’t handle it. Charles looked sick watching it, but he held tightly to Denise's hand and wouldn't leave her side.
“While they work on that, we should talk,” Wallace said. “I'd been expecting all of you a few days ago.”
“We’ve had some setbacks,” Mack said, shooting a quick look at Alexander.
Eric’s dad was doing much better but still hadn’t gained back his full strength. I began to wonder if he ever would. Who knows all the things Whit did to him while he was held captive?
“Emmie,” Dante said, “have you realized you're the revolutionary for your city?”
I shrugged. “Everyone seems to think so. It's hard to wrap my head around it.”
Dante sat next to me. He put his hand on my arm. “You'll get used to it. It took me a while to accept it.”
Eric looked at Dante. “Did you have a prophecy, too?”
“Yes, and so did the other two cities out there,” Wallace said. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on his knees. When Wallace saw the look on our all faces, he smiled. “I was hoping Frank would be here to help explain it all, but it looks like I’m on my own.”
Marie had just finished bandaging up Denise, so Charles brought her over to sit with the rest of us. Once everyone was situated, Wallace continued.
“I’m sure River Springs has its own version of what happened years ago just like our city does. Now I will tell you the full story. Well, at least the full story I know. I’m sure information has been lost or twisted over the years.
“As I’m sure you know, years ago the world became corrupt. The entire world was destroyed except a small region of what was once known as the United States. Four men were trying to figure out how to run things. That many heads working together, as you can imagine, didn’t go very well. They ended up deciding that it was in the best interest of those left to divide into separate autonomous cities. Not long after the divide, a person from each city had the same prophecy.”
“What else did the prophecy say?” I asked Wallace, scooting closer to Eric. It was freezing. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. Dante raised his eyebrows at us.
“Well,” Wallace said, “it said that there would be one from each city that would try to lead others astray. In the end, all four of them would come together to start something bigger. To make a drastic change.”
“To start a war,” Alexander said quietly.
“Yes.” Wallace nodded gravely. “To start a war.”
“War?” I shook my head in disbelief. “We’re supposed to start a war? There are only twenty of us.”
“For now,” Wallace said. “We should be joined up by the other cities soon. And we hope to enlist more from each of our cities. It’ll be a slow process. I’m not saying that we’re going to war tomorrow. But over the next few years, we’ll continue to grow, and continue to build. The wheels are already set in motion. We can only pray that we can get situated before any of the presidents find us and attack.”
“So, these other cities, are they meeting us here?” Tina asked. She and Dee were huddled together near me and Eric.
“Not yet,” Wallace said. “Frank and I arranged for our two cities to rendezvous here and then continue through the mountain.”
“Through the mountain?” Derek asked. He had been staring at Naomi the whole time. Either she didn’t notice, or she was doing a good job of ignoring him.
Wallace pointed behind him. “Only a few miles from here, we'll come up to the edge of the mountain. There’s a canyon that we’ll take leading us through it.”
“How long will it take to get through?” Dad asked. He had noticed Derek staring at Naomi and rolled his eyes.
“As long as the weather doesn’t get too bad, should be a little over a week,” said Wallace. “The other two cities will be coming from the other side. We should still get there first, though. One of the other cities had a … problem arise.”
“A problem like ours?” I asked grimly.
“Worse,” Wallace said. He shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold.
The thought of something worse than what Whit did made me sick. What kind of people were out there in the world? How could a person get filled with so much hate that they could be capable of such horrendous things?
I had a feeling the number of people I’d meet that would be capable of such things was only going to increase as my life went on.
T he first few days through the canyon went without much incident. On the fourth day, we were hit by a nasty storm. I’d never been in a blizzard like that. I could barely see what was in front of me. We all held onto the person in front of us with Terrance leading the way. The guy was a natural at directions and navigation.
The storm slowed us down a bit. It was awful, the wind fast and harsh. My skin burned from being so dry. I thought we wouldn’t make it, but on the seventh day it eased up.
When we finally made it through the mountain, the canyon we’d been walking through opened, leaving us in a valley. When I looked around, I gasped.
“What is it?” Eric asked.
“This place. I’ve seen it before in a dream.” I looked up at the mountain and saw the area where I had been standing with everyone. It was a little alcove in the mountain. A ladder hung down from it.
In front of me lay a huge field of white snow with the mountains surrounding the area. The air felt cold, but crisp and clear. Above us, not a cloud was in sight in the light blue sky. That meant there wouldn’t be a storm any time soon, which made me happy.
I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of the pine trees that lined the mountains. At the opening of the canyon were some tall, white towers with huge arms on top. The arms were spinning slowly in a circle.
“I’ve seen it, too,” Dante said, stepping up next to me.
I turned to him. “Were there people in your dream with you?”
“Yes,” Dante said, looking up at the alcove. “Most of the people that came with me.”
“But not all of them?” I asked, quietly so only he could hear.
He looked at me, his eyebrows raised. “You have some extra people, too?”
I nodded in response.
“We’ll have to get together sometime and talk,” Dante said. “Without everyone else around.”
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“Over here,” Wallace said, walking to a cave in the mountainside. When we went inside, I noticed a door in the back wall. Wallace tried the knob, but it wouldn’t open.
Mack walked over to the door and held up a handgun. “Want me to try?”
Wallace shook his head. “There should be …” He looked around the cave, scanning it for something. He went to the wall and ran his hand along it. He finally stopped at a protruding rock and pushed in. The piece of rock moved to the side, revealing a small hollow. Wallace stuck his hand inside. “A key,” he said, pulling it out.
Wallace went back to the door and unlocked it. The hinges groaned in resistance as he slowly opened the door. “Naomi, can you hand me a flashlight?”
Naomi riffled through her bag that she carried and pulled one out. “Here.”
Wallace took it and flicked it on. “There should be a power switch in here somewhere.” He and Naomi went inside, leaving us all in the cave.
“Power?” Derek asked. “How could there be power out here?” Right as he said it, lights turned on inside the room.
Wallace stepped out of the room. “Windmills. There are a bunch of them outside. I wasn’t sure if it would start up, but luck is on our side today.”
“Windmills?” Dee asked.
“They’re those huge white towers out,” Archie said. “The wind spins them around, creating electricity.”
I looked over at him. I think that was the first time I’d heard him speak since we had met. His voice was surprisingly deep.
“What’s in the room?” Steven asked.
“Why don’t you all come in and find out?” Wallace said with a smile.
I was surprised when we walked into the room. It turned out to be an entire building, with multiple rooms. It was set up as a headquarters with different areas for electrical equipment, weapons storage, and conference rooms. There was an area in the back for an infirmary. The possibilities with the area were endless.
“Where do we start?” Vivica asked, leaning against a wall.
“From the beginning,” Wallace said. “We’ll have to set it up piece by piece. I think we should divide all the tasks up and go from there.”
“Are you going to be our leader then?” I asked Wallace.
“If that’s what everyone wants, I can for now,” Wallace said. “We’ll put it to a real vote once all the cities get here.”
“Well, let’s vote for a temporary leader, then,” I said. “All in favor of having Wallace Brown be our president for now?”
Everyone raised their hands. I smiled and reached my hand out to Wallace. “Well, it’s unanimous. Let me be the first to congratulate you, President Brown.”
President Brown took my hand and shook it firmly. “Thank you.”
After everyone congratulated him, President Brown gave out assignments to everyone. Once he was done, he had me and Dante follow him outside. We went up the ladder and stood in the alcove, looking over the field.
I stood on the same rock that was in my dream and looked at the field of white below. It was wild to think that one day the area would be filled with buildings and people. I just hoped it would be better than River Springs and that we’d be able to work together in unison.
Dante touched me on the arm and held something out to me. It was a small, blue flower. I took it from him and smiled.
“I heard you both mention something about a dream,” President Brown said, looking at us. When we both nodded, he looked out over the valley. “What happened in the dream?”
Dante and I both took turns, telling him about our dreams. They were almost identical, just with different people standing near us. One major difference was that President Brown stood next to Dante just like Vice President Oliver stood next to me, but President Brown didn’t fade away like Vice President Oliver did in my dream. It was like his fate was already sealed before he died.
President Brown put his hand on his chin, rubbing his thumb underneath it as he spoke. “I think those dreams confirm the two of you being the chosen revolutionary from your cities.”
“Do you think the other two had the same dreams?” I asked. President Brown looked over at me. “The chosen revolutionaries from the remaining two cities?”
“Probably,” President Brown said.
Dante shrugged as he put his hands in his pockets. “Guess we’ll find out when they get here.”
President Brown clasped his hands behind his back, his expression thoughtful. “This is it. A new beginning and a new chapter in our lives. One day, this will be a city, full of people willing and wanting to help and serve. We need to make sure we get people who are reliable, hardworking, and willing to fight.”
