I plant my feet firmly as my older brother, Raze, tries to push past me.
“Come on, Wistie,” Raze groans as he tries to step around me to the counter. “I need to get your vaccine so you can come to the Factory today. You know that you have to get the shot.”
I frown at his nickname for me and then wince as Raze brings up my vaccine. “I don’t want any more shots, Raze. I’m tired of them. I’m fine without them.”
“No, you’re not, Wisteria. Everyone knows when the White-Coats prescribe you shots once a week, you aren’t okay- especially without them,” he snaps, not allowing a debate.
I fume silently, trying to imagine what life would be like without the shots, but as I fume, Raze slips past me and grabs the vaccine off the counter. I am about to run to my Pod when the familiar stab of the needle catches me off guard. Raze presses down on the syringe and releases the nasty gold fluid into my arm.
I have been getting shots long enough that I don’t scream anymore, but they still hurt. I loath shots, but I am never able to escape them.
Raze never has to get vaccinations because he is apparently normal.
This infuriates as well as confuses me, and I am sure that the government isn’t telling me everything that I need to know, but what am I supposed to do?
“Come on; we’re going to be late,” Raze calls out, pulling me out of my daze. He is already walking out the front door of our Compartment.

The Factory is a large, industrial building where people of all ages go to work. People that are Raze’s age--seventeen--usually work in the Engineering Sector of the building while people my age--fifteen--usually work in the Office Sector of the building.
The Office Sector is a large Pod-filled Compartment for teenagers to learn and work in. Every day teens go to Training where we learn everything from reading to working the DigiPad- a high-tech portable, touchscreen computer that is literally light as a feather and can be folded into a wrist cuff. The DigiPad stores everything and is quite handy for the modern-day civilian.
I have been working in the Office Sector for a long time --three years now--and nothing has changed.
Or so I thought.
I slip through the lines of people to my Pod where an all-too-familiar figure stands over my desk. “What are you doing here, Cyno?” I inquire sharply.
Cyno Swartz is a sixteen-year-old boy with an over-inquiring mind, a nosy behavior, and a serious attitude issue. “Wisteria,” he responds casually turning to face me.
“Answer me, Cyno--what did you come looking for?” I hiss. I look him up and down; checking his lithe build for bulges that could be stolen objects.
“You,” Cyno replies daringly. He steps around me and puts his hands on the back of my shoulders. “There was an Order about Raze, you know.” Cyno smirks at me through my mirrored wall.
“An Order?” I stammer in shock. An Order is a highly-confidential, secretive file placed on some people. I am confused at why they would put an Order on Raze, but my instincts are telling me something isn’t right and the only person who will know anything about it is…
Sneaking out of my room?!
“Hey! Wait! Cyno!” I exclaim as I take off after him. “Cyno, what do you know? Please; he’s my brother and all I have left.” I am almost in hysterics as I try to turn him around by his robe sleeve.
“I can’t tell. My lips are sealed,” Cyno answers. His words imply a joke but his tone reveals graveness.
“What do you know?” I ask, all the patience in my tone gone.
People are staring. Work isn’t being done, and Cyno knows the consequences of halting production all too well. He touches the scar on his cheek subconsciously “Fine; I will tell you what I know, but then you need to go back to your Pod. People are starting to stare,” he whispers distastefully. Cyno pretends to smile and walks away, his agreement implying, you want the answer? Follow me.
I sniff and try to blot my ice blue eyes on my matching sleeve. I pull out my DigiPad and pretend to be checking my Task Order for the day while following Cyno at enough distance to not appear to be.
Cyno walks into an abandoned corridor between the Office Sector and the Nursery Sector. He turns to me. “Your brother is going to be sent to a place beyond the Boundary. He is supposed to be a test subject for the Council. They are trying to determine something, but I only know bits and pieces. My sister, Solaria, can only get so much information.” Solaria is a secretary for the Council- a group of people who makes decisions that are “in favour of the human race as a whole”. She is three years older than Cyno, and she often keeps to herself.
“I’m not going to let them just take him!” I announce in fury. I stomp my foot irritably.
“Well he’s already gone,” Cyno informs me shortly. “There’s nothing you can do to change that. He’s as good as…”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” I shriek; everyone knows once an Order is given out the person is as good as dead. Not a single human has come back from an Order. “I’m going after him. I won’t let Raze die. I can’t.”
“Wisteria, you can’t.” Cyno steps closer to me and puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Who’s going to stop me?” I challenge, cocking an eyebrow.
“Don’t… don’t do this, Wisteria,” he whispers.
“Who are you to me, Cyno? You’re just the annoying boy who is way too nosy for his own good,” I snap. I know I hurt him with my words, but they aren’t exactly a lie. “Oh, and when I leave, stay out of my Pod.” I push past him and walk out of the hallway in a rage.
I can feel Cyno staring after me, but I know he won’t follow. I push through everyone to my Pod, where I grab a satchel I have and I slip it under my robe and walk out of the Factory as fast as I can, while trying to remain inconspicuous.
I get back to my Compartment to look for the fancy scrolled paper with the Order on it. Raze hid it well, but I am not fazed by that. I am sure that the Order is around the Compartment somewhere. I push my hair out of my face in frustration and glance at the tiled floor beneath me.
Suddenly, I understand.
I pull up the tile in front of me. It is loose and always is making the two of us trip in the morning. I pull out the paper, which is hand-written in loopy cursive, and read it:
Raze Luce:
You have been called to duty by your society, Osson, in order to assist in a new experiment conducted beyond the Boundary. Please report to the Council Sector immediately upon entrance to the Factory in the morning.





Kind Regards,
















Solaria Swartz
“Solaria did this to my brother?!” I shriek in horror. I know Solaria is only the person who wrote the letter, not the decision-maker, but I still am furious. I start out of the Compartment to the Boundary.
Everyone is at work, so no one sees me leave. I find myself standing face to face with the twenty-foot-tall electric fence that reveals desert on the other side. If I am going to get out of Osson I am going to have to run far enough that they couldn’t see me. I don’t even know the right direction to go. I throw my satchel over, and it lands with a THUMP on the other side.
Halfway there, Wisteria.
I know the only part that is electrified is the top wire part, so I climb up the fence and just as I reach the top I make a quick jump for it preventing myself from getting shocked. I drop to the ground in a ball, rolling and hoping I don’t break any bones. I bruise my back and posterior but bite my lip and start walking.
Two hours later, I am exhausted. I finally reach a wood and make my way up a tree where I fall asleep instantly after wrapping my arms and legs around a branch.
It is dark outside, and I have no idea of where I am.

I lay down in my bed and look up at the ceiling.
Raze walks into my Pod and looks at me.
Something about the look puts me on edge- he is looking at me so fondly I am concerned.
Raze walks over to me and he slips into my bed. His arms wrap around me and he watches me intently and smiles at me.
"What is it?" I ask him as I look him in the face.
"I love you," Raze whispers as he kisses my forehead.
"I love you too," I murmur back before I close my eyes.
I lay down in my bed and look up at the ceiling.
Raze walks into my Pod and looks at me.
Something about the look puts me on edge- he is looking at me so fondly I am concerned.
Raze walks over to me and he slips into my bed. His arms wrap around me and he watches me intently and smiles at me.
"What is it?" I ask him as I look him in the face.
"I love you," Raze whispers as he kisses my forehead.
"I love you too," I murmur back before I close my eyes.

Unfamiliar sounds wake me. Instantly, I am scampering over to the main body of the tree and scanning the forest floor rapidly but after awhile of nothing showing my hunger gets the best of me.
I look in my satchel for packaged food from the laboratories back in Osson. I dig out a genetically formulated apple, a very red, sweet thing, full of vitamins and minerals, and a matching sandwich, which I munch on casually, swinging my legs from the tree.
I hop down from the tree after I have finished eating and wander over to the nearby stream to wash my face. Just as I’m about to head out for the morning a voice calls out behind me.
“Who are you? Why are you here?” the voice inquires.
I turn around and see a boy wearing a hunter green Osson Order uniform with a name-tag that reads: R. Fiardy. He has a wooden spear. It isn’t pointed at me though.
I look him in the eyes levelly. “I’m Wisteria. I came to find my brother, Raze Luce. He was given an Order a few days ago. Do you know him?”
“No… I don’t know him. Do you have an Order too? It’s odd that they would send siblings out, especially so close in time,” the boy responds, now standing. His entire body is covered in dirt and mud, and his blonde hair is messy.
“No… I don’t have an Order. I came to find my brother, and that’s all. How long have you been out here?” I admit.
“Three years, I think… it’s hard to keep track of time when they don’t let you keep your DigiPad,” the boy answers slowly. “You should go back… I can tell you take injections.”
“No! I’m not going back without Raze,” I exclaim, backing away from him.
“Please… don’t stay here. It’s too dangerous. You will be killed by the wild animals or the people who never lived in Osson.”
“There are people who live out here by choice?” I gawk, ignoring his warning.
“There are people out here who somehow managed to not be exterminated by the Council, yes. But you have to go back. Go back now, and you will be able to get back into Osson. You can’t wait any longer. They won’t take you back after today. They will swipe your memory, and you won’t remember any of this--the forest, the tree, me…” he informs me sadly.
“What’s your name?” I ask quietly, stepping forward to where he stood.
“Reglin,” the boy reveals softly.
“What was the date that you left Osson? I inquire putting my hand on his shoulder.
“May twenty-third, three-thousand twenty-two hundred and three.”
“That was two years ago,” I tell him bluntly.
“I’m seventeen now, in that case,” Reglin notes. “I can’t believe that much time has passed. It feels like I just left a week ago.”
“Time flies when you’re… out here,” I half-joke. “Can you help me find my brother? You know the woods better than I do.”
“Wisteria, there’s so much more out here than this minuscule forest. Your brother is could be anywhere, and there is a very slim chance that he is in these woods,” he explains, genuinely sad. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think you will find him.”
“But… I have to try, Reglin. I have to!” I cry, fighting the tears that threaten to pour out anyways in desperation.
Reglin puts his hand on my shoulder and sighs. “I’ll help you, okay? I promise I’ll help.”
I sniff and smile a little bit. “How do you know I take injections?” I ask suddenly.
“You smell like antiseptic. The injections make you appear like the others--blonde haired, blue eyed--but underneath this mask the scientists made for you, you’re different. The vaccine’s concealing job will wear off in a little more than a week, and you won’t look like the Ossonians anymore. You won’t be accepted back. In fact, if they saw you as you truly are they would have to kill you so people don’t get any ideas. It’s cruel I know; but it’s the truth,” he informs me.
I for once am silenced by the horror of the truth. I simply nod and take a swig of my vitamin-enriched water.
“I know where we can start, but first you need to ditch the Factory robe. “Reglin mentions after a moment, “The Clan won’t like it if they know you work for the Factory.”
“Who are they?” I ask as I pull off my robe to reveal the white, sun-frock underneath.
“They are the people who somehow managed to stay hidden for hundreds of years away from the Ossonians who were trying to change everyone to look the same. You still have blonde hair and blue eyes, but they won’t mind that. They’ll think you’re an Ordered One. Mostly they don’t mind us,” Reglin explains.
We start off, toward the Clan’s village with one thought on our mind--Find Raze.

The two of us don’t make it to the village before nightfall, but we prepare a camp to sleep in for the night.
“Do you miss Osson?” I ask as we start the fire.
“I miss my twin sister, yes,” Reglin answers. “Her name is Petronica. She was quite the kindred spirit last time I was with her.” His eyes grow glassy at his memory of her.
“I’m so sorry. Someday I will help reunite you two, just like you are doing for me,” I tell Reglin softly. “I promise I will reunite you two.” Even though I have never heard of this “Petronica,” I will help him as he is helping me.
“Wisteria, I can never go back, you can’t reunite us,” Reglin replies sadly. “I wish it was possible, but my Order is permanent.” He lies down on his back and looks up at the twilight sky, ending the discussion.
I move over to lie by him. I put my hand in his and squeeze it tightly before loosening my iron grip. This is our unspoken comfort to each other: We aren’t alone.
The morning brings sore backs, mine worse from jumping off the fence, and bad moods from the both of us.
Reglin purses his lips at my petty behaviour, as the facilities are obviously the outdoors, which aren’t in my mind, is a bit vile.
“The Clan… do they always help the Ordered?” I ask curiously as we make our way to their village.
“For the most part, but they haven’t helped everyone. They usually do a trade of some kind--we give them knowledge about the Council, technology, and Osson, and in turn, they give us their knowledge of survival and the outdoors. We benefit each other,” he answers as we walk through a clearing.
“Oh,” I say quietly. “Well, that works out well.” I kick a stray pebble and steal a glance at Reglin. I want to figure him out.
“What? Something wrong?” he inquires, now nervously patting his hair down and attempting to wipe his face of dirt, which only smears the grime around more.
“Just thinking,” I answer honestly.
“About what?” Reglin queries as we pause to drink water, mine fancy bottled water and his from a canteen he filled with water from the river we are walking next to, half an hour ago that he purified with a few drops of gold liquid he calls iodine.
“How much you need a bath,” I lie easily, throwing some of the river water at him. I think he knows I’m kidding as I let out a giggle.
“Hey!” Reglin exclaims as the water soaks him. “If it’s that bad, I can wash…” he steps down into the river and sits, washing the layer of grime off himself. Reglin dunks his head under the water and suddenly surfaces. He does this so loudly and obnoxiously that I cannot help but laugh. I am soaked to the bone at this point, and Reglin puts his shirt out to dry. He pulls something out of his pack; I realize it’s a jacket, and he puts it on my shoulders. “You likin’ the outdoors, girl?” he asks in a strange voice.
“Why do you talk like that?” I inquire. Actually I’ve never heard any weird tongue like that before, Ossonians all speak slowly, thick and sure of ourselves. I never thought of how self-centered we must be compared to the people who talk like Reglin--fast, hushed, and humble.
“The Clan--they talk like that--quick and hushed,” Reglin explains, confirming my thoughts. He tucks a strand of my hair back behind my ear. “You never answered my question-- do you like the outdoors?”
Of course, I think this is irrelevant, but I answer him anyways. “Yes… I mean… no…. I’m not sure. I have only been in bits and pieces of it. We only walk outside in the morning to go to the Factory and then again in the evening on the way to our Compartments. I know very little about the outdoors, especially the woods. Remember, Osson’s a desert?” I admit. “I mean, I’m sure my DigiPad has some information on the outdoors…” I pause to open it, but Reglin stops me.
“You’ll have to destroy it, Wisteria. If you don’t, the Clan won’t help you, and you’ll have put them all in danger by revealing their whereabouts. You know that the DigiPad is tracked by the Council constantly. You must destroy it. If you don’t, it will kill everyone. I will even destroy it for you,” Reglin tells me gravely. “You will never find Raze if you have it.”
This sets me off. “How else am I supposed to find him then?!” I hiss, hugging the DigiPad to my chest.
“I have these papers that the humans long ago called ‘maps.’ They will show us where we are and what to look for when we are out searching.”
I watch him pull out an old, yellowed piece of paper with intricate designs and words underneath.
“The Clan will help us find Raze. They will give us a guide, and that’s better than any DigiPad. The DigiPad probably won’t know a thing about the outdoors anyway,” he explains. He has already won the fight, and he knows it, but isn’t smug about it.
Defeated, I hand over my DigiPad and tell him to go far away to destroy the metal device. I hope he knows what he is doing.

When Reglin finally returns--sans DigiPad--I can tell something is wrong by his wary eyes.
“What happened?” I ask nervously, teetering my weight on one foot.
“The Council was in fact tracking you. I mean, why wouldn’t they? I found a message on your DigiPad: They are coming after you. They are going to obliterate you, and everyone you are close to,” Reglin answers quietly. “They want to destroy you by hurting everyone you care about and making your death the last one so you are in pain for a long time. No one will be able to track us now, and if Raze found another Ordered One, the two of them might be able to destroy his DigiPad, which means he will be safe. You can never go back to Osson again. You will be killed on the spot. As for your friends, you can only hope the Council makes it quick. “
My mind is reeling, and I’m afraid.
The only person I care about it Raze, but I would feel terrible if Cyno died even though he is nosy and smug. I don’t voice that for some reason, but I tell Reglin this instead: “I only care about Raze, so let’s hope another Ordered One found him and helped him destroy his DigiPad.” Although my voice is steady as I say this, I cannot help but feel afraid of what will become of Osson. “Let’s just get out of here, okay?” I snap. Now my voice is sharp, and my chest is tight.

Reglin treads beside me silently as we make our way up a giant hill and into a small tunnel.
I am about to turn to say something to him when he beats me to it.
“You want to stop for a break?” he asks softly. “It’s still early on… we will make it to the village before nightfall, and I need to rest my feet.” Of course, Reglin is lying about resting his feet, which are encased in some fancy-looking brown boots, but he is kind enough to know mine are killing me. He takes a seat on a rock before pulling out a coloured stick that he snaps easily. It glows and illuminates the tunnel.
“What is that?” I ask him as I gesture to the glowing stick.
“It’s called a glow stick- exactly what it is, isn’t it?” Quite redundant really,” Reglin answers.
“Yes,” I say casually. I grab it, taking the glow stick and turning it over in my hands. “They give you all of these old things when you go out of the Boundary on an Order?”
“Yes, they give us glow sticks, but the other things I acquired from the Clan. I gave them things from the Ossonians, weapons mostly. The weapons that the Council gave me were not nearly decent. The guns can kill anyone in just a moment. I don’t want that though. I don’t want to kill anyone. That is one thing I will never do,” he tells me quietly. “We should get going. The Clan is another fifteen miles away and we need to get there before nightfall.”
“Okay,” I agree. I stand, and my still aching feet are once again begging me to sit. I ignore them and tread out of the tunnel. His words echo through my thoughts: “I don’t want to kill anyone.”

The Clan is in a valley beside the mountains, which, on a normal night, I can barely make out from my bedroom window in Osson.
Reglin leads me down the hill we are on toward the village. “Stay behind me, don’t say anything, and don’t pull out any weapons you may have. Understand?” he whispers as we reach level ground, now just a few hundred yards from the village, which is made up of strange, stone huts. There are many small fires and people around them as well. Everyone is different--all different hair colours and skin colours and people who are older than I have ever seen in my life. They stand and walk toward their shelters in one--seemingly rehearsed--movement.
I am about to ask Reglin if we frightened them when a man and woman approach us. The man bows at Reglin with one fist covering his stomach and the other his lower back, and Reglin returns the strange bow. The woman does the same bow toward me, and I find myself mimicking it.
The woman smiles at me. “Welcome to our village. I’m Alice,” she informs me. Alice has salt and pepper coloured hair and soft blue eyes. She is middle-aged and thin but wise looking. Her skin is wrinkled and tan from the sun exposure.
“It’s nice to have you back, Reglin,” the man greets him. He shakes hands with Reglin, and Alice steps around Reglin and the man to take my hands.
“What is your name, sweetheart?” she inquires softly.
I look to Reglin to make sure I am allowed to speak, and he nods. “Wisteria,” I whisper.
Alice releases my hands, and Reglin turns his palms up toward the sky and uses his eyes to tell me to follow his gesture. I match his hands and smile gently.
“Come, children, Let us walk to the Clan Hut,” Alice says. She starts off toward the center of the community.
Reglin leans into my ear. “Let me do the talking, okay? Alice may seem friendly but don’t underestimate her. She is the War Chief. Confucius, on the other hand, is the Peace Chief, and he is much more reserved,” he explains and gestures to the man who came with Alice.
Confucius holds the door open for us to enter, and I step in tentatively. He closes the door behind us but instead of being drowned in darkness--like I assumed we would be--I see that the hut has a fireplace and lots of candles around the room. “What brings you back to the Clan, Reglin?” Confucius asks as he heats a pot of water over the fire.
“We need to find someone,” Reglin answers vaguely.
“Do you know who this person is?” Confucius inquires patiently. He sits down on a grass mat of some kind, and I realize then that that is what I am sitting on as well.
“Raze Luce--an Ordered One. He was sent on an Order just yesterday morning. We need to find him,” Reglin explains. “He will be blonde, blue-eyed in a green uniform and well… inexperienced unless he found another Ordered One. Wisteria found out that he is in danger of being obliterated, and we need to save him.”
“So you have come for a guide, hmm?” Alice queries, now entering the conversation. “Well… we have a girl, Lune… She is an extremely good tracker.”
Confucius nods. “I will summon her,” he decides. Confucius stands and walks out of the Clan Hut.
Alice pours us tea and makes small talk with Reglin about things that have changed since his last visit, when Confucius comes back in with a girl who looks to be about fifteen and has tousled brown hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. She looks irritated and crosses her arms impatiently.
“Lune, good to see you,” Alice greets; handing her a cup of tea. “Lune, this is Reglin and Wisteria. They will require your tracking services to find a boy named Raze Luce who was given an Order yesterday morning.”
Lune is frowning, and she walks over to me. I can tell she smells my vaccines because she wrinkles her nose in disgust. “She’s fake,” Lune tells Alice.
“Lune! Please be respectful of our guests,” Alice snaps at her in fury. Her eyes are cold, and now I understand what Reglin was saying about her being the war chief and not to be underestimated.
“Fine,” she snaps. Lune straightens her button down shirt and looks at her dirty, brown sneakers. “What’s in this for me?”
Before Alice smacks Lune, I find myself speaking up. “Whatever you desire,” I tell her. I know she likes that idea instantly because she makes eye contact with me.
“Fine. I’ll collect later. It’s late, so we might as well sleep here for the night before we head off in the morning,” Lune agrees. “I need to leave. Your vaccine-stench is giving me a migraine.” She turns around and walks out of the Clan Hut with her chin up and her nose plugged.
“I’m sorry about her,” Alice apologizes. “She is so full of herself sometimes. Lune’s right though. You two should get some sleep before heading off. Why don’t I fix you both dinner, and then you can sleep here in the Clan Hut for the night?”
“Thank you, Alice,” Reglin obliges. He stands up and shakes hands with Confucius again before taking my hand and leading me out of the Clan Hut.

Reglin shows me the village--the square, which is filled with vendors and their carts, as well as customers--and we walk between the huts toward a stream that flows from the mountains down to the Clan. “Wisteria, maybe it’d be a good idea if you bled out before tomorrow,” he suggests as he stares intently at the stream.
“Bleed out?” I ask in confusion. “Like cut my arm open and bleed until I die?”
“No… just to get the ‘vaccine-stench’ out of you. Lune won’t stop complaining until it’s out of your system, and that could make for a very long trip,” Reglin responds, now looking at me.
I frown but sigh. “You’re right,” I agree. “Where’s the nearest White-coat?”
“They have apothecaries here, no White-coats. I know of one who might be willing to bleed you,” he answers. “Come on--she lives just inside of the village.”

The woman Reglin speaks of is in her thirties, and her name is Silvia. She has light brown hair and hazel eyes, which she trains on a vein in my arm. “Now--don’t move and it won’t hurt as much,” Silvia instructs primly. I want to run out of the room like I did with Raze and the morning vaccines but I somehow contain myself. She sticks a needle into my arm and watches the blood flow through a filter and before she sticks another needle into my other arm and puts the blood back in, now cleansed of the gold fluid which changed me.
I am squeezing Reglin’s hand tightly as my arms are throbbing, but soon I am seeing spots. I must be changing.

When I blink awake, Reglin gasps at me. “Your eyes are green,” he says softly. “Your hair is red, like fire.” Reglin helps me to sit up and hands me a mirror where I can see my hair and eyes have changed colour. I am the same otherwise, perhaps a bit pale from the changing of blood, but I manage a weak smile. “Did I miss Alice’s dinner?”
“Yes, but it’s all right,” Reglin replies; grinning at my question. “It’s late now. We both need to sleep. Alice offered us the Clan Hut, but considering your condition, I think it’d be better if you stayed here.” He is about to leave when I call out to him.
“Don’t leave. I don’t want to be alone.” I move to pull him back, but Reglin walks to me without my help.
“Okay,” he says, taking a seat in a rocking chair next to my bed.
I let my hand droop down off the bed, and Reglin takes it.

I wake up to Lune’s whiny voice shouting to get up so we can get going, and I turn to see Reglin chuckling at her from his spot in the rocker. “Slow up, Lune. We’re coming,” he laughs as he stands up. Reglin scoops me up from my spot on the bed and carries me into Silvia’s kitchen where an elaborate spread of breakfast foods I’ve never seen before are laid out in front of me.
“What are all of these things?” I question. Reglin sets me down in a chair and takes his own seat across from me.
“Muffins, scones, biscuits, pancakes, waffles, bagels, etc…” Lune tells me exasperatedly. “I hope one of you has Raze’s jacket or a belonging of his. I can’t track him without a scent.”
I am already filling my mouth with a blueberry muffin when I process Lune’s statement. “What?! I don’t have anything of his,” I shriek, my food spraying out of my mouth.
“Gross! Well, I can’t help you unless you get me something of his,” Lune informs me shortly.
Suddenly, I am frightened. There’s only one way I can get something with Raze’s scent on it.
“We have to go back to Osson.”

“Oh no… No we can’t,” Reglin tells me immediately.
“Yes… we have to find my brother!” I shout. “That is the only place that will have something that has his scent. We have to go back.”
Reglin doesn’t argue further with this statement and instead sighs.
I am tired of giving in to him and I hold my ground. “You guys can stay in the woods- but I’m going back in.”
“No- I’m going with you,” Reglin snaps instantly.
“I’ve never seen the place… consider me a tourist,” Lune adds darkly.
“If we are going then we’d better get to it,” I hiss- my arms both have dark purple bruises on them which are throbbing because I’m clenching my fists so tightly in irritation.

“We are going to need clothes to wear that don’t make us look different than everyone else,” Reglin says quietly as we walk out of the apothecary’s house.
“Well… I’m already wearing a Compartment dress so I am fine that way. Lune, do you have any white dresses?” I inquire.
“I’m not wearing a dress,” Lune scowls.
“Translation- she has a dress but she doesn’t want to wear it,” Reglin chuckles.
“Don’t speak for me!” she shrieks at him.
Everyone that is out and about in the village stops and stares at the two of them. Lune is scowling and pouting and Reglin is laughing.
I feel a pang of irritation hit me and I step between them. “Do you two mind? We need to get a move on,” I snap impatiently. “Go get your dress, Lune. You don’t have to wear it except for the short time we are in Osson, okay?”
Lune mumbles something about pansies and stomps off toward her hut.
“What was that all about?” Reglin asks crossly.
“We need to get going,” I retort, my face turning red.
“You’re a terrible liar, Wisteria.”
“Don’t talk to me, Reglin.”
“Fine.”
“Fine.”

By the time Lune gets back Reglin and I are facing opposite directions and are both fuming. “Well, you two just look like bowls of sunshine,” she says bluntly.
We do but I won’t be the first one to admit it. I am still angry at Reglin for being friendly with Lune. I don’t know why it irritates me so badly but I force my feelings to settle in my stomach for now and I turn to Lune. “Do you have your dress?” I ask her.
Lune holds it up unhappily before stuffing the thing in her backpack. “Let’s go.”
Reglin doesn’t say anything but starts out of the village with Lune following behind him. I bring up the rear but I don’t drag my feet like I want to because I know that will just lead to another fight that I don’t want to get into.

When we stop for a break in the tunnel Lune admits she has never been in the woods before. “I’ve been up into the mountains in the other direction but not in the forest. We always searched the mountains for lost Clan members.”
“The woods are closer though; it doesn’t make sense,” I announce, drinking the last of my genetically-altered water.
“We were told to never go into the forest- there are too many dangers in here- apparently your government keeps a keen eye on this place since it’s close to your base.”
“Hmm… well… let’s hope we don’t run across my DigiPad- I bet it’s destroyed by now- or any bombing machines,” I say grimly.
Reglin- who has been silent since our fight in the village- is drinking his water with the same muteness he had before.
I find this annoying so I make sure I ask him a question that he won’t be able to avoid answering. “Where did you destroy my DigiPad? How far away from the area do you think we are?” A smug smile forms on my face when I fall silent.
Reglin frowns and huffs- I have forced him to speak and he knows it. “About two miles from here or so,” he estimates. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much.”
Almost immediately after he finishes talking, a loud, thundering noise comes from overhead. The ground starts to tremble and quake and just as I am about to scream for us to run when I see it- giant firebombs are dropping everywhere and the trees are catching fire.
Lune is screaming something unintelligible and Reglin is ducking down, covering his head and moving into the center of the tunnel. I grab Lune’s wrist and pull her with me, toward the center of the tunnel before the flames lick her ankles.
We are all taking cover from the fire and just when we think the worst of the attack is over; thick smoke seeps into the hollowed out rock. “Don’t get up yet!” Reglin shouts before coughing from the thick smoke. I glance to my right to see Lune covering her mouth with her shirt- she has gotten it wet with water from her canteen. I mimic her and use my dress to cover my mouth and nose before I take a few experimental breaths. The shield works for the most part but my eyes are still burning from the smoke.
I hear Reglin stand up and say something about it being “all clear” and I stand up slowly, feeling my way to the edge of the cave. Lune has already gone outside and the sounds of someone retching in the bushes helps me to pinpoint her position. I open my stinging eyes and look around- the woods is completely scorched and some parts of it are still burning. Reglin says something about the government but I don’t need to hear it- I already know.
The Council has attempted to obliterate me.

We decide it’s too dangerous to go closer to Osson today and allow ourselves to take turns leaving the tunnel to wash ourselves and fill up our canteens.

I am the last to venture out of the cave, which means I spend a good deal of time suffocating in the smoke. “This is why Ossonians never have fires,” I say to no one in particular, as I am coughing once again on the smoke.

Lune hears me, and she comes over to make a snarky remark. “Well, I’m used to them,” she answers coolly. “In every single one of my fourteen years of existence, I have been around a fire of some kind.” Lune brushes her hair into a ponytail.

“You’re only fourteen? Ha--you’ll get used to the lack of fires,” I chuckle, now glancing outside of the nook to see if Reglin is back yet.

“Would you stop being so desperate? You are ridiculous,” Lune snaps harshly. Her hand grips my shoulder, and she turns me around to face her.

“What are you talking about?” I retort as I push her hand off me.

“You have got to be kidding me. You are trying so hard to get Reglin’s attention when he obviously isn’t interested in you,” Lune says almost sweetly. “Let him do what he wants.” She drops her gaze, now calm and innocent, and walks back to where she has made herself a camp.

“Hey, you can go clean up. The water’s warm,” Reglin’s voice calls out behind me. My eyes are stinging from Lune’s harsh--but probably true--words and the thick smog, and Reglin’s standing beside me clueless to the recent exchange between Lune and me. “You okay?”

“I’m fine--just brilliant,” I growl. In a flash, I’m standing and shoving him out of the way. I stomp to the stupid stream to wash all of the filthy ash and stench off my body and dress. I am frustratred... and even a little hurt at Lune’s words. She’s a spiteful being, and Reglin’s no better. I put my face under the water and don’t bother coming up for air until my lungs are screaming in pain and I crack. I gasp for the dry air, and it burns down my lungs like fire. I push myself back onto the bank and look at the sky. My whole body hurts, my arms from the blood separating, my back from sleeping on rough ground, my legs and feet from walking, over all, I’m in a lot of pain.

The sun is almost gone when I trudge back up to the tunnel to go to sleep.

Just as I am about to enter, I see Lune and Reglin sitting together with two glow sticks. The two of them are sitting close together, and Lune has his jacket on. I bristle at this and clasp my hands, wringing them to distract myself. My hair is in a mess in front of my face, and I lie down where I’m at so quietly that my annoying travel companions don’t hear me. I settle in and wrap myself in my robe because I never thought to pack a blanket, and I feel sleep overcome me.

Hungry. Food, I find myself thinking and I blink awake to start unpacking the last of my provisions, another fancy red apple and a sandwich. I munch on them quietly as I pack up my belongings and walk down to the stream to fill my bottle with water. I am debating leaving without them and not having to deal with the lovebirds when a quiet voice comes from behind me.

“You weren’t thinking of abandoning us were you?” Reglin asks as he hands me the gold bottle of iodine drops.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dream of it,” I reply sarcastically as I put a few drops of iodine in my bottle. “You guys ready to get out of here?”

Reglin’s face reveals a flash of hurt, but he covers it again in a moment with a stony expression. “Yeah, we’ve got a few hours of walking to do before we get close to Osson. At our next rest break, we need to plan what we are going to do when we break into Osson.”

“Okay,” I manage quietly.

Lune comes bounding down the hill toward us, and she shoots me a look when she sees me talking to Reglin. Her face instantly changes expression to a sickening smile when Reglin glances at her. “Lead the way, Reglin,” she tells him sweetly. Reglin nods, and we start to walk beside the river in the direction we just came from the day before yesterday.

The walk is uncomfortably silent until finally Lune calls for a break several hours later. “How far are we from Osson, Reglin?” she inquires sweetly. Lune takes a swig from her canteen and sits down next to him.

“About two hours away or so. You’ll have to change soon into your dress because the last two miles before the Boundary are open desert,” he tells her.

This allows me a small chuckle because Lune detests dresses, and she is already wrinkling her nose in disgust. She nods though and agrees to put it on at the next break. “What is the plan for breaking in?”

Reglin turns to me, and his face gets dark. “We will have to go in at night to hide the color of your hair—both of you. There are sure to be people guarding your Compartment, Wisteria. They will have guns and shoot us on the spot if they see us.”

The rest of the walk is silent, and finally we reach the tree I slept in my first night away from Osson. The area is beautiful still and seems to have managed to not be destroyed by the bombing or the fires afterwards. I walk down to the river and refill my bone-dry bottle.

“Maybe we should wait until tomorrow night to go to Osson. That will give everyone a good rest and the security probably won’t be as high,” Reglin decides. He digs out his canteen and the iodine drops while saying this.

“I agree,” Lune responds, now joining us at the stream. “Suppose we go on hunting shifts? Wisteria, you could go on the first one and try to get us some squirrel or something. When you come back, you can sleep, and I will go. That way we all get some sleep and some dinner.”

Normally, I would protest against Lune, but she’s right about this. I go for a simple nod and take a few of the knives Reglin hands me. After he shows me how to throw them, I set off for the thicker wood, leaving Reglin and Lune with a spear, one simple crossbow, and a knife for safety.

Not that I wouldn’t mind Lune getting picked off.

I sigh now because I know that if she gets picked off then I will probably never find Raze.

I follow the stream away from camp and to the thicker and less familiar parts of the forest.

Hunting is a pain and I’m certainly no good at it. I know I am supposed to throw the knives at the animals but I can’t seem to get a good shot. Finally, I get angry enough with everyone and everything that I manage to throw one right at the leg of an animal. I manage to get a squirrel but that is over the course of two or so hours. I make my way back to camp, and I’m about to ask Reglin to skin them when I see how close Lune is standing to him.

They are snogging.

I don’t think they realize I’m back, but I don’t bother to hide what I saw. My face is beet red, and I’m seething. “Do you two mind?! I go hunting and get us food, thinking that Lune’s plan isn’t half-bad. But when I get back, I realize the only reason you had me go was so you two…” I point to both of them, “could snog!” This is all I can get out before a sob cuts me off. I manage to drop my things and turn away before any tears fall. I stomp off to the stupid stream back the way I had come.

I know I shouldn’t have even thought of Reglin in an unfamiliar way such as this one, where my palms get sweaty and my heart beats fast, but I cannot help myself. It’s a strange sensation. I should be thinking of Raze and how to find him but I’m distracted with Reglin and now... Lune. All this sensation has done is condemn me though. I choke on another sob and fall down onto my knees.

After about twenty minutes or so, I coax myself into the water. I push back my hair and look at my reflection. “Yuck,” I say to myself.

“You look beautiful,” Reglin tells me. He appears behind me in the water.

I refuse to look at him. “You are only saying that to make up for kissing Lune. Don’t flatter me with false compliments, Reglin. You do know she’s only fourteen, right?” I snap, slapping the water with my hand. This makes his reflection shatter, and I turn around to go back up the bank. Of course, Reglin is standing just inches from me in my way.

“I’m not saying that to make up with you. If I was trying to apologize, I wouldn’t bother saying that--or anything for that matter. You won’t forgive me if I verbally apologize. You won’t forgive me at all right now. The only way you’d forgive me is if I kiss you instead,” he informs me. Reglin says this in a matter-of-fact way that isn’t condescending and isn’t provocative either; it’s simply a statement. I don’t say anything because I know he’s right, and I didn’t realize it until now. So instead of standing here dumbfounded, I stomp up the bank and back into camp to sleep in my stupid willow tree alone, which I don’t actually sleep in at all.

The sun is high in the sky by the time I wake up. I can tell by the smell of the fire that my two partners have been up for awhile.

“Afternoon, sunshine,” Reglin greets me. He has been cooking for some time now and proudly holds up some squirrel meat on a stick to me.

“Don’t bribe me,” I snap. My hunger gnaws at me and I find myself snatching the stick of meat from him anyways.

Reglin chuckles and turns to Lune who is now in her white dress. “You want a fresh squirrel?” he asks her.

Lune smiles and takes a stick from him. “Thanks,” she manages stiffly. The words must be foreign to her because she shutters when Reglin isn’t watching.

“So when are we getting on our way?” I ask them.

“Not for another hour,” Reglin says.

“We don’t want to reach the edge of the wood too early,” Lune adds, smirking at me.

“Right, well... I guess I’m going to go wash up,” I tell them awkwardly. In truth the stream is a sort of oasis for me now and I just want to relax there for as long as I can before I have to go back to my companions.

“Wisteria, wait,” Reglin calls after me.

“What?” I ask him as my I toss my picked clean twig into the fire. My face burns as I remember Reglin’s statement from last night about how I want him to kiss me.

“Let me come with you... I just want to get something off my chest,” he pleads.

“Fine, but you’ll have to leave when I clean up,” I oblige grudgingly. I really don’t need to wash again since I just did last night but I’ll let him think I need to.

Reglin picks up his things, Lune gives me dagger eyes and I turn toward the river, padding upstream. “I’m sorry i led you on, Wisteria. I shouldn’t have held your hand or told you that you were beautiful. Although the latter is true I shouldn’t have mentioned it if I wasn’t inclined toward you,” he says quietly.

I can tell he means every word he is saying now and I allow myself to smile a bit. I still don’t turn to look at him. “You’re owning up to your ignorance.”

“Yes; so all is forgiven, right?” he queries lightly.

“In time,” I answer, honestly I am still angry with him but he cannot do more than apologize to me unless I am selfish and make him snog me.

“Good, thank you, Wisteria,” Reglin sighs, smiling.

He is truly happy now that conflict has been resolved. “Now I’m going to wash. But... before I do... you should change into my robe and hide your uniform in your pack. Here, it will probably be a little small but... it’s all I’ve got,” I inform him. I pull the robe out of my satchel and shake the dust and dirt out of it.

“Thanks,” he responds as he pulls off his shirt and slips the ill-fitting robe on. Reglin ties it and the robe hangs awkwardly from him, some parts are too tight on him too. “It’s all little tight but it will work.”

“Good now shoo! I need to clean up,” I giggle. Perhaps things won’t be so bad after all.

I walk back to the camp and see the fire has been extinguished, the food and sleeping things have been packed and Lune stands impatiently behind it all.

“Ready to go?” I inquire as I take my hair and pull it up into a bun on top of my head. “This should help prevent snagging on things more.”

“Yeah,” Reglin replies. “Lune you should put yours up too.”

Lune groans but follows suit. “Now can we go?” she asks.

“Yes,” I chuckle. “Now remember to stick to the shadows and try to make as little noise as possible, okay?”

“Wisteria’s Compartment will probably be guarded heavily by highly trained Sniper-bots. Robots that-- if given a reason to-- will attack anyone who tries to enter the Compartment. Most likely we will have to take all the robots out before we can get in. The robots will need to be disabled before we can enter,” Reglin explains. “Lune, if you know how to use a crossbow then you will use it, I’ll take the spear and some knives and Wisteria, you can take the rest of the knives.”

“What?! I want a larger weapon too!” I complain.

“You can barely handle a knife, besides we don’t have any other big weapons,” Lune scoffs.

“It’s true Wisteria, we can’t risk giving you our big weapons when someone with more training on the weapon is here. You know how to use knives anyways. You did get a squirrel with one,” Reglin informs me.

You and I both know that it took two hours, I think. I only got it out of anger and it took two knives. Of course I don’t say this at the moment and I point toward the way I walked to the willow tree some nights before. “That’s the way,” I tell them. “That’s how we get to Osson.”

“Yes, let’s go now while the sun is still up in the sky,” Reglin agrees.

The moment of tension has passed and we start to the edge of the wood.

We are out in the open now. The sun has set and we are using only the moon and stars as our guide. “The fence,” I whisper to Reglin. “That fence is electrically charged on the top. Don’t touch that part of you will die. We have to get over the fence in order to get into the Compartment Sector.”
“Okay,” Lune says. I have forgotten she is here and I jump.
“We need to climb over at least halfway around the fence from your Compartment. If we climb over too close then we will have to battle too many Sniper-bots. There won’t be any hope for us here. Let’s go down to the other Compartment Sector and climb over there,” Reglin decides.
We carefully skirt the edge of the fence to the other side of the Compartment Sector. I climb up first and drop down into the city. The fall this time is almost more painful than the first time because I am still injured from the first fall and sore from sleeping on the hard ground and trees. I land on my feet but not without paying the price. This time the fall surely has bruised me greater and sprained my ankles and feet more.
I stand from where I am crouched and pull out a knife from my satchel. A soft THUMP makes Lune’s entrance and she stares at the Compartment Sector in wonder. Lune doesn’t seem injured but Reglin’s poor landing reveals most certain back injury as he landed flat on his back. He must not be able to breathe but he has protected his head and stands up without crying out in the apparent pain he must be in.
“This way,” I tell them.
We walk silently along the edge of the fence, trying desperately not to get caught by Sniper-bots or Ossonians.
“Stop,” Lune hisses, she pulls us down to the ground and covers her head with her hands instantly. Reglin and I mimic her and I slow my breathing.
A light pool becomes visible just a yard from me and then I hear a familiar voice.
“She isn’t out here, Solaria,” Cyno reassures her.
“Cyno!” I exclaim before clapping my hand over my mouth.
Cyno is most certainly covering for us. He has to have heard his name considering he is just a yard away from me, standing at the edge of a light pool.
“Well let’s get back inside, Cyno. We need our sleep,” Solaria’s petty voice orders. I hear her dainty feet pad back into the metal sphere known to us as the Compartment.
Cyno doesn’t move and when the Compartment lights flick off Cyno’s footsteps get closer.
My heart is racing and now I shut my eyes tight, desperately hoping that Cyno doesn’t expose us.
“I don’t know what you’re doing back here, Wistie but you had better get what you need fast and get out because you’re a wanted girl now. I’m not really sure who you brought with you and what you need but you better have a good head on your shoulders,” he whispers. Cyno must be laying down next to me because his warm breath is on my ear.
“I have red hair now,” I manage. This is enough to tell him I heard what he has murmured but without saying anything too revealing.
“I bet you are,” Cyno answers as he chuckles. “There are three Sniper-bots at your Compartment and a boy from the Military Sector. He might not look like much but don’t underestimate him.
“Thanks, Cyno,” I say. My voice catches at his name and I feel tears spring in my eyes.
“Sure, Wistie,” he replies. Suddenly, Cyno has rolled me onto my side and he is looking right at me. “Beautiful,” Cyno murmurs. He kisses my forehead gently and then rolls me back so I’m staring at the ground. Cyno stands and walks back to his Compartment, his feet making a limping gait. He is favouring his left leg and I’m desperate to know who hurt him.

We tread carefully to the Compartment next to mine. “On the roof,” Reglin tells me, gesturing to the two Sniper-bots that I can barely make out in the darkness. “Lune.”
Instantly, Lune has fired her crossbow and taken the two Sniper-bots on the roof off. This isn’t a silent kill though and the Sniper-bots make quite a loud ruckus as they crash to the ground. The boy Cyno warned me about is coming and shouting orders into some communication device. Wailing sirens and flashing lights are suddenly are upon us and every Compartment Sector in Osson. Eight people in hunter green Military uniforms are marching toward us and they’re all armed.
“Freeze! You are under the captivity of Osson,” a man’s voice booms.
The firing squad points their guns at us and I find a red dot is shining right between my eyes and one over my heart.

The first thing I realize after feeling frozen is that about seven of the eight firing squad members are going down. The red dots on me have been removed and instinctively I am busting into the Compartment.
Find something of Raze’s, I think to myself. I run into Raze’s Pod and dig through his night-table for a rope bracelet he got when he advanced into “adulthood”. I grab it and stuff it into my satchel.
“Hurry up,” Lune’s ragged voice hisses behind me.
“Where’s Reglin?” I ask her, turning around now.
“He’s secured the doors. The boy, Cyno, he shot the firing squad members so we could get away. They’re all dead,” Lune explains. “Do you have Raze’s token?”
“Yeah, let’s get out of here,” I respond quickly.
“Reglin,” Lune calls out. “Now!”
I hear Reglin unlock the door and drop something on the ground, it clatters against the tile so I assume its metal. A thick fog covers the room and Lune’s hand grips my arm. “This way,” she says. Lune pulls me through the smoke and out the front door. She puts my hands on the fence. “Climb.”
I instantly am pulling myself up over the fence and jumping down. This time I have most certainly broken something in my leg because I land and there’s a sickening crunch. Before I can scream Lune is down beside me covering my mouth and then I see Reglin land next to her. He picks me up and carries me. We make a break for the woods.

I must have passed out due to the pain because when I wake we are in the forest by the stream again. “Reglin, your back,” I start, trying to wiggle out of his arms. “You fell onto it.”
“Shh… Wisteria, I’m fine,” he tells me as he tries to close my eyes.
“No… you’re hurt,” I say back, now more aware of our surroundings. “Put me down and take care of your back.”
“There’s nothing we can do about my back while we’re still miles from the Clan. We have to keep walking but you are injured too and you can’t walk so I’m carrying you until we reach the tunnel. It’s almost morning now and we aren’t being followed yet… I wouldn’t underestimate the Ossonians or the Council though. They will be coming and quite quickly as soon as they’ve regrouped. We need to heal up and then get out again, this time to find Raze though.”
Lune is already inhaling deeply over the bracelet. “This scent is somewhat faint but I should be able to track him. Let’s hope he stays in one place for a little while. If he keeps moving then we won’t be able to catch up.” Reglin and I frown at her simultaneously, she isn’t making us feel better, and she smiles sheepishly. “Don’t worry guys. Raze is probably stationed somewhere.”
“Wisteria, go back to sleep, okay? You need to rest,” Reglin tells me.
“I’m fine, Reglin,” I say but now my ankles and heels are sending an aching and searing pain up my legs. I’m overcome with pain and I gnaw on my lip, begging for the pain to stop.
“Go back to sleep,” Reglin murmurs more firmly.
“Okay,” I respond, which is all I can say before the pain overrides my body and my brain, forcing me under the blackness of sleep.

We must have reached the tunnel because when I wake up again I am lying on the ground and my companions are sleeping nearby. I smile and watch them sleep soundly.
“You awake?” Reglin whispers to me softly.
“Oh! Um… yeah… I’m awake,” I reply in surprise. Reglin’s eyes are still closed but he is close enough that I can now sense how awake he is. “You in pain?”
“No… well… yes,” he tells me. “I’m pretty sure my back is broken in a lot of different places. There’s nothing I can do about it until we get back to the Clan. You need medical attention too. I think Lune’s all right though. She’s good at being stealthy without injuring herself.”
I chuckle at this. “She’s like a cat almost,” I whisper back.
“I’m not just good at being stealthy. You guys thought I was sleeping, hmm?” Lune’s voice calls out from a few feet away. “I’m extremely talented at listening to other people’s conversations. You want to get going now since we’re all awake anyways?”
“Sure,” Reglin responds, pulling himself up. “Ah!” Pain must be searing through him because he is now clutching his chest.
“You okay?!” Lune and I exclaim. Lune stands and goes to him. I cannot stand because of my feet and ankles but I break a glow stick and shake it so we can see better.
“It’s just my back,” he admits. “It’s got to be broken in several places. The pain is really starting to get unmanageable.”
“I’ll run ahead. You two should stay put. I’ll get help, okay? Just stay here. I’ll bring help back here. I can run fast,” Lune explains.
“Yes, all right,” Reglin answers.
“I should be back before the sun is high overhead,” she tells us.
“Be careful,” he says quietly to her.
“You too, don’t leave the cave,” Lune orders us. “Don’t move around or the broken bones will damage your internal parts.”
Reglin and I nod and he sits back down.
I lay down again and Reglin wraps my robe up around me and says something about wanting a vaccine. “My ankles could use a vaccine,” I agree.
“So who was the boy who saved us back in Osson?” Reglin inquires, massaging his temples.
“Cyno Swartz, his sister, Solaria is the one who wrote the Order. Solaria is the Council’s secretary. Cyno told me what he knew about Raze’s Order. He begged me not to go though because he knew that everyone’s lives would be hell if I did. I couldn’t leave Raze alone out here so I didn’t listen. I guess he decided to help us out anyways. I have a theory though that he is going to get himself killed for betraying the Council,” I inform him.
“We’ll go back and revolt against the Council as soon as we are healed and we’ve found Raze. We’ll give them a taste of their own medicine,” Reglin explains, anger and rebellion leaking into his voice.
“Reglin! Calm down, okay?” I exclaim in shock at his ambitious and dangerous tone.
“They took my sister away and she’s probably dead! Your Compartment was my old Compartment! If she wasn’t there then they probably killed her!” he shouts. “My sister… Petronica is probably dead!” Reglin’s voice cracks and he chokes on a sob. “What have they done to her?!”

Help comes in the form of several Clan member that have lots of medical equipment and long boards that seem to be for lying on. “We will take the pain away. Just relax and let us take you back to the village,” a young man with bright red hair tells me.
“Who are you?” I inquire, putting my hand up to stop him from sticking me.

“My name is Julius,” he answers, smiling at me. “Lune brought us to you guys.”
“All right, you may stick me now because my ankles are screaming at me,” I respond, feeling the searing pain in my feet shooting up my legs.
Julius finds a vein, ties a tourniquet so my vein bulges and inserts a needle into my arms. My head instantly feels heavy and I start to go limp as the violet fluid goes into my bloodstream.

I am in a dimly-lit room and strapped down to a bed. Julius is sitting next to my bed and watches me wake up. I wonder now how long I have been asleep for and if my ankles have healed up. “How long...?” I begin; my head still feels foggy so I let him figure out what I’m asking.
“A week, Reglin’s still under. He broke a lot of bones in his back,” Julius informs me. “He’s going to be under another week for surgery.”
“Well that’s put a great detour on finding Raze,” I groan. “So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?”
“You’re on bed-rest for another three days but I can tell you about the Clan, things you don’t know about us that you might find... interesting,” he tells me, raising his eyebrows.
“Fine, Julius. What don’t I know about you guys?” I reply curiously.
“Well we get married—like a man and woman live in a hut together and make and raise a family together. We marry because we fall in love,” Julius begins.
“Whoa, brain overload. So like you don’t grow babies in test tubes? You know your biological parents?” I ask in wonder.
Julius laughs and shakes his head, causing his red curls to shake. “No... No... We don’t grow our babies in test tubes. Our babies are grown inside of the women. We know who our parents are because we live with them. We have special abilities too because we know how to use the full capacity of our brain. Lune can track really well because she has a great sense of smell, Confucius can mellow anyone out...”
“What about you? What can you do?” I inquire, now sitting up.
Julius flushes and his pale, freckled face lights up a little. “I’m extremely... persuasive. I can make almost anyone listen to me. It’s kinda weird but fun really,” he admits.
“Show me,” I say, daringly. “I want you to persuade me to do something.”
“All right,” Julius agrees a little too willingly. The scraggly, boy sits up straighter and concentrates. Abruptly, I find myself attracted to his glowing beauty. He seems to shine and his face is bright and handsome. “You should sleep, hmm? Just close your eyes and relax.”
His voice is sweet like honey and I find myself eating up every word. I lie back down and close my eyes. “Mmmhmm... sleep...” I mumble.
“Good, Wisteria,” Julius praises. “Sleep.”
Just like that I am out.

Julius is sitting next to me when I wake up again. “Three days have passed. You’re off of bed rest now. Reglin’s still under and he’s got another three days before he is ready to make the trek out of the Clan lands. Any other questions about the Clan?” he checks, not even looking at me but still looking ahead.
“Uh... why do you guys have special abilities?” I ask him, rubbing my temples. My head hurts still from Julius’ charm.
“We know how to use our full brain capacity and we do use it to our advantage. No two people have the same powers or abilities. This allows for us to have a greater advantage over the Ossonians and over and over the other villages out here,” he explains, standing and stretching.
“What are some of the others’ abilities?” I inquire, now noticing I’m not strapped down anymore.
“Well... my mother and father have cool abilities. My mother has very sharp hearing and my father has very good sight, the apothecary who took care of both you and Reglin can see bone-- like a walking x-ray machine. “
“So... Lune has a really good sense of smell?” I chuckle. “No wonder she’s so nasty to me. She must be so embarrassed about it.”
Julius nods. “You know what she’s going to ask you for once she helps you find your brother?”
I shake my head but before he can reply the sounds of someone running breathlessly through the hut.
“Julius! Why are you still here? You have to get ready!” Lune exclaims, running in.
“Get ready for what?!” I ask her, starting to get out of bed.
“You didn’t tell her?!” she shouts. “He’s getting married tomorrow! He’s got preparations to do.”
“Married? Like he will live with a woman who is not his sister and have ‘children’ that are his own flesh and blood?” I question in shock. I’m now standing on my feet and they don’t hurt in the slightest.
Julius shrugs and nods. “Yeah I’m marrying a girl named, Cornelia. I never brought it up because it didn’t seem relevant to our conversation.” He stands and cocks his head. “You want to come and see what a wedding is like? We’re setting up most of it today and it will be small but no one here will be uninvited. You may come to it.”
I ponder this for a few moments and nod. Surely, if Reglin’s still healing and won’t be up and running for a few days we might as well stay for a wedding. “I won’t have anything to wear. I’m assuming this is a fancy event.”
“That’s no problem, Lune can share her wardrobe with you,” Julius offers.
Lune turns violet in outrage and is about to stomp her foot when Julius raises his hand to stop her. “Come now, Lune. Wisteria will keep your clothes nice.” He is leaning toward her and smiling at her in the same way he smiled at me when I was persuaded by him.
“Right, well come along then, Wisteria,” Lune says, in a quite murmur. Her eyes are glazed over and she starts out of the room.
“You ‘persuaded’ her, didn’t you?” I accuse Julius. His abilities are concerning and although they were to my advantage this time, I can only fear what it would be like if they weren’t in my favour.
“I got you a dress for tomorrow, didn’t I?” he retorts flirtatiously. “Go on now, okay? I’ll find you later and show you the wedding preparations.”
I only nod and mutter a “thanks” before I turn and follow Lune out of the hut.

The hut that Lune lives in is quite small and in the outskirts of the village. She opens the door and the house is a mess, bottles, blankets and the stench of dirty pants become very present. A little girl who is sucking her thumb and dragging a ragged-looking stuffed animal comes toward us.
“Hey! Sissy’s home!” she announces to an unseen person. The girl wraps her arms around Lune’s legs.
“Now, Reesa, what did I say about sucking your thumb? You aren’t to be doing that or you’ll ruin your teeth.” Lune picks up the little girl and holds her on her hip.
A woman with greying, dark hair walks into the room with a man standing behind her; he appears to be quite a bit younger than she is. “Lune, I didn’t expect to see you home so early,” she says, coolly. Lune and the woman look almost identical. The woman turns around and walks back into another room where the sounds of a crying baby can be heard. She reappears a moment later with a fussy baby in her arms.
The man goes into another room and then silently comes back, now with a bag of things and slips on a ring on his left, ring finger. He leaves the hut and Lune turns back to the woman.
“I’ve been in recovery at Julius’ for my concussion. Reesa and Elsie look underfed, Mother, when did they last eat?” Lune checks coldly.
Mother, the woman is Lune’s mother but something seems very wrong here. Julius described parents and family as close and loving but Lune doesn’t seem to get along with her mother at all.
“This morning, Lune,” her mother replies.
“Reesa, when did you last eat?” Lune inquires gently.
“Two days ago. You have food, Sissy? I’m hungry,” she answers quietly.
“Mother, they haven’t eaten in two days?! Don’t tell me you have spent what you get from married men on medicine you don’t need!” Lune shouts. She is pushing past her mother and into another room out of sight.
“Who are you?” Lune’s mother asks me.
“I’m Wisteria, Lune is just letting me borrow a dress of hers for the wedding tomorrow,” I tell her honestly.
Lune comes back out of the room holding a vaccine in her hands that reminds me of the kind I used to get. The vaccine has a dark fluid in it though and Lune slaps her mother. “We’re going to the Caesars’ for a while.” She takes the baby from her mother and Reesa disappears into another room. Lune motions me down the hallway. “You can come get a dress now.”
I follow Lune into a room that I assume is hers. She sets the baby on the bed gently and starts putting things into bags, opening the armoire for me. There are several dresses in all different colours and I pull out an ivy green one. The neck of it scoops down but not too low and it’s a floor-length dress. “Thanks, Lune,” I say as I fold up the dress. “Can I help you pack or anything?”
“Take Reesa and Annie to Julius, okay?” Lune replies after zipping up her bags. She stands and leaves for another room to pack another bag.
I take the baby from the bed gently and call out to Reesa who appears at my side instantly. I lead them out of the house and into the town-square where the wedding preparations are being put up. Julius’ fiery, red hair and lanky build give me a hint to his location at a fountain with his back to me. “Julius!” I call out.
He turns and waves at me before striding over. “What’s up?”
“Lune told me to find you,” I say as Reesa moves away from me to hug Julius’ legs.
“My guess is that these guys need a place to stay,” he concurs.
“Oh uh right… she mentioned something about staying with the Caesars’,” I agree. Annie is getting heavy on my hip so I shift her to the other side.
“Yeah, my name is Julius Caesar. She was talking about my family. Lune’s my cousin,” he explains. “Give me the kids and I’ll go get them set up at my parents’ hut. My parents have been getting lonesome since I moved out, they’ll enjoy having the kids over.” Julius takes Annie from me and starts toward the huts in the other direction than the one I came from. I still have the dress under my arm so I debate on getting changed just to see it.

There’s an empty hut that I slip into and pull off my wrinkled, sweaty medical gown before I grab the soft, green dress and slip into it. The dress fits perfectly and is has beautiful, gold stitching in it. My hair is messy now but if I wash and brush it then pull it into what Lune calls a “chignon” the look will be complete.

“You look beautiful, dear,” Alice’s voice calls out from behind me.

“Thank you, Alice,” I reply, turning around and flushing. This must be her home that I have trespassed into.

“So I see you’ve made yourself at home here,” she laughs. “The Caesars’ hut will be full tonight with Lune and her sisters so there won’t be any room for you there like there has been the past week and a half. You may stay here with me until you head out again in a few days.”

“Thank you, Alice. So is Reglin still under?” I ask her.

“No… he’s awake now. You may see him if you like. He’s in the other room,” Alice informs me. “Reglin won’t be ready to leave for another two days so you might as well just stay for all of the festivities.”

“All right,” I reply before walking into the next room. I am shocked at how much I missed Reglin and I run to embrace him when I see him standing by the window. “Reglin!”

He hugs me back and smiles at me. “Hey, Wisteria, you been doing okay?” Reglin whispers into my ear. “I hear you’ve met the infamous Julius Caesar.”

“I’m fine, my ankles have healed up,” I tell him. “Julius is a decent guy. He actually never mentioned getting married until Lune came in this morning and yelled at him for not getting ready.”

Reglin nods and chuckles—probably imagining Lune yelling at Julius—before he says anything, “I haven’t seen Lune since she left to get us help the day we were in the cave.” Reglin’s face becomes sober as he remembers this but he forces out a smile. “I’m going to the wedding tomorrow though. I’ll probably see her there. By the looks of the dress you’re wearing, you’re attending as well.”

I nod and back up a little to inspect him. “Your back all better?” I ask him. “No more pain, right?”

Reglin shakes his head. “No more pain. The nurse told me I have to take care of myself and take it easy for the next two days just to allow the area to readjust. So we’re stuck here until the day after tomorrow unfortunately. Sorry to hold you up, Wisteria. I know how important it is that we find Raze.”

I force a smile, just as he has done a few moments ago. “No problem, Reglin. You’re not really holding me up. I want to see this ‘wedding’ anyways,” I respond, of course it is a problem and we really do need to get going, but we can’t go without Reglin and he can’t help that he broke his back. The longer we have to wait though the greater chance that Raze is dead.

I manage to get a wash in before dinner and I change into the tan coloured pants and blouse that Alice has left on my bed. I start toward the kitchen where Reglin, who seems to have cleaned up as well, is talking to Alice. I hold back instead of entering and listen to their whispers.

“...Yes, I understand, Alice. Don’t you want this too, though? They’re bombing us all anyways. Haven’t you seen the forest?! The forest has hardly any animal life left in it because of the bombings and the trees are burned down into ashes. The land isn’t the Ossonians to burn! They believe everyone outside of their little city is dead and gone! They’re sending out the Ordered Ones to do any last minute ‘clean ups’ before the Ossonians expand their territory,” Reglin hisses. He sounds desperate and irritated.

“Reglin, the numbers I will lose would be too great,” Alice says calmly. “I will not bring my people into a blood bath. There’s a very small chance we will actually survive.”

“Then attack solely the Council. What will it take for you to fight them?” Reglin replies quietly.

“They have not killed our people yet,” Alice tells him. “We cannot fight until we have been harmed.” She is stern now and seems a little upset.

Reglin nods. “Well let it be that they will hurt your people if you will not fight now. Fight or no fight your people will die, Alice. No Clan blood will go without being spilled.”

Toward the end of the ceremony Cornelia’s veil is removed. Her face is flawless and beautiful but when Julius leans in to kiss her he stares straight at me. I let out a gasp but I am so far forward in the rows of chairs that no on hears me. The crowd cheers happily for a moment and then the married couple is off and running down the aisle to the house they’ve been assigned in order to change dress for the celebrations.

Reglin appears out of nowhere and kisses Lune’s head gently. “Let’s not wait around here-- the celebrations are going to begin soon.”

“Reglin! Are you all right? Why did you stay with Julius last night? What has happened?” she asks him.

Reglin frowns. “I am fine, Lune. I just wanted to wish him well,” he tells her. “Is it too much to say that to a man who was hours away from his wedding?”

Lune huffs but doesn’t press the questions. “Fine but Reesa and Annie need to be put down for a nap.”

Reglin takes them and carries them to Alice’s house, as she didn’t attend the wedding, so they can nap. The rest of us go to the celebrations.

The night is almost over when I take notice that Julius has been watching me. He seems to not really care for Cornelia. Julius has called an end to the celebrations after the song and he makes his way over to me.

“You don’t have any feelings toward her, do you?” I murmur.

He shakes his head a little but brings his mouth to my ear.
She’s Confucius’ one daughter. The power I have now is great. I will be the next Peace Chief. I will be able to lead the Clan in whatever I wish to do. She will have my children and I will keep her around until she becomes... unnecessary. You will not tell anyone of this will you?”

I find myself nodding. “Wait! Julius that’s not right! You can’t do that! Julius!” I exclaim. He’s really starting to make me worry. “You can’t just control people!”

Julius is already walking away to Cornelia, who he smiles at lightly. She takes his hand and leads him up to the stage. “Now before everyone leaves we have practiced the ‘Wedding Song’ and we would like to perform it for all of you.”

The crowd claps and smiles up at the couple. Lune mentions something about the song being a tradition.

Bow down,

The rings are in place,

Now you know they

Are forever,

You can see their face!

The crowd they move through,

Oh so quickly,

Because they

They can’t wait!

To spend forever…!

In each other’s arms!

The roads may be rough,

The path less traveled,

The moonbeams shine,

Upon your face,

The choice is clear,

No simple answer.

But the memories,

They hold… their place!

Running, jumping, going through the trees,

The meadow,

The fruits of Midsummer’s Eve,

The golden sun,

Their love is free,

Forever… they will love thee!

I watch in amazement as Julius transforms into a boy who is in love with Cornelia and who will take care of her. Reglin and Lune move away to stand by the punch bowl and he puts his arm around her. The two of them seem very into each other. When the song ends everyone heads home.

There is a blinding light streaming into my bedroom and I look up to see the two familiar faces of my travel companions staring down at me. “What in the world...?” I start, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

“We’re leaving tomorrow for wherever they’ve got Raze! It’s time to plan for the trip,” Lune exclaims. She dances around the room.

“Get up, come on. We’ve all got cabin fever,” Reglin tells me. Even he cannot stop smiling and he gives me his hand to help me up.

I take it and smile back. Their energy is so upbeat I cannot help but dance around the room with them. “So where exactly are we going?” I ask them when we collapse on the ground laughing.

“I’m going to go out today and get a trail so that we have a direction to go. We won’t leave until tomorrow but at least we’ll have an idea. I’m only going out for a few hours so I’ll be back in time for dinner. Reglin, you should stop by the apothecary and get your back checked again before we leave,” Lune explains.

“I don’t need to be here today-- can I come with you, Lune?” I inquire.

“Yeah but then you’re going to have yo be quiet because I won’t be able to concentrate on finding a trail,” she tells me. “Get dressed and then let’s get going.”

I nod and shoo them from the room so I can pull on a fresh pair of khakis and a polo. I follow Lune into the kitchen and grab an apple out of the fruit bowl. There’s a plate of cinnamon-sugar toast and I easy scarf it all down. Lune is inhaling the scent of Raze from the bracelet tentatively and nodding to herself. “Okay I know which way to go.”

She steps outside and I follow her until we reach the edge of the city and step into the meadow. Lune stops and inhales again and crouches down. I cannot believe we already are starting to pick up a scent and I smile hopefully. In just one day I will see my brother again... or so I hope. Lune is now crawling on the ground and trying to keep with the scent.

Abruptly, Lune stands up and turns to me. “His scent goes below the ground. Raze is about five miles out and I know where he’s being kept.”

My heart is pounding now. “We could get him today, Lune! We could bring him back here today!” I exclaim.

Lune shakes her head grimly. “No... we can’t... he’s in the Clan underground prison.”

I gape. “Wait... what?! Why is he in your prison?! He’s not a bad person!” I shriek. “Why? Why is he there, Lune?” I’m shaking her shoulders now and begging for an answer.

Lune backs up and shakes her head. “I don’t know, Wisteria... I’m sorry.”

“Will I be able to go see him?” I ask her. The tears are welling up in my eyes now-- we’ve come all this way and so far and now he is in a prison and unreachable.

“We can try. We will break in and get him out of there tomorrow,” she answers defiantly. “Then we will have to prove he’s a good guy.”

I nod. “Whatever it takes, Lune.”

Lune smiles grimly. “We should talk to Julius. He will help us,” she tells me. “He has power now that he’s the Peace chief’s son and he’s got his charm ability too. Reglin will come too and to break into the prison we will need all the help we can get. We should go back now and gather supplies. Then notify Reglin and Julius who are going to be a part of our rescue team.

We all take our seats in Julius’ hut, Cornelia has gone to the market to get groceries, and we wait for someone to begin the speech.

“Raze is in the underground prison and we need to get all of our supplies out here as soon as possible. We will not be able to return to the Clan until after we come up with a form of immunity,” Lune informs us.

“That will be easy,” Reglin tells us. “Julius... you know what we must do.”

Julius nods and stands. “I’ll see you all tomorrow morning but as for tonight I have business to take care of. Leave the immunity problem to me,” he says darkly. Julius leaves the hut and Reglin smirks.

“Lune, you ought to teach Wisteria how to use a crossbow if she’s going to be more than a dead weight to us,” Reglin notes.

“Fine,” Lune agrees. “Come on, Wisteria. We’ve got a lot of work to do before nightfall if you’re going to be able to handle the crossbow.”

I groan but pad after her as we leave the hut to Julius’ parents’ hut where Lune keeps her two crossbows. She hands one to me and I carry the heavy weapon to the meadow to practice.

“Again,” Lune orders.

I huff and pull the crossbow back up to shoot at the barely visible target. It’s been hours since we paused for dinner and it’s dark outside now. I hit the bulls-eye and smile lightly. “Can I be done now? I’m tired and my arms are cramping.”

Lune nods. “I hope that’s enough,” she sighs. “All right, give me the crossbow for now and go get some sleep, Wisteria. We have a big day tomorrow.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I joke and give her a half-hearted salute as we part our ways until the morning.

The morning is here and I feel like I just shut my eyes. My whole body aches from crossbow training and Alice comes into my room with a nasty smelling ointment that she rubs all over my arms and torso. The cream numbs me and I manage to get up, wash my hair and dress for the day all pain-free. She gives me the ointment to keep since we’re leaving today-- although she doesn’t know where to-- and hands me an apple and some toast. I fill up quickly and pack some extra food so I will not go hungry today.

Reglin comes in and wraps his arms around me in a huge hug. “We’re leaving in a few minutes, get any of your belongings that haven’t been packed yet in your satchel.”

“All right,” I murmur back. I break our hug and feel my heart pounding hard in some nervous but excited way. the same feeling I had before when Reglin and I held hands is back.

Julius joins us late and he smiles sheepishly. “Sorry I had to make sure that everything was set up perfectly. So... are we going now?” he asks, eyeing me.

“Yeah,” I say. “Let’s go.”

Lune and Reglin take the lead, holding hands, and Julius and I pad softly behind them.

“What did you do to get us immunity?” I inquire.

“I did what anyone would do... I started a war,” Julius whispers. “The Clan needs to fight the Ossonians anyways and they have been trying to kill us with the bombings and such. I did what I needed to do to get us to fight. I put Confucius in the Ossonians hands.”

“You did what?!” I shriek as soon as we are out a few miles from the village.

“I attached him to the Ossonians’ tracking devices and left him unconscious in the woods. I drew a little of his blood to make the scene look realistic and I ripped up the robe you brought from Osson and made the whole scene look like the Council picked him up and took him to their prison. The Clan members will raise an attack on the Ossonians and it was all quite easy, Reglin actually gave me the idea,” Julius explains.

“Wait… you planned this?! This was all before Raze was discovered in the prison. You wanted a war either way?” I accuse. Julius is not who I thought he was and his power frightens me.

“Yes, because it’s time for us to live in peace with each other and come together,” he says. “You’ll see it’s all for the better.” Julius takes my hand and holds it tightly. “I will be the new leader of this new society. We will fight the Council.”

The strange feeling of charm comes over me and I find myself nodding. “Right… right… hey! Wait a minute!” I begin. “Stop charming me! I’m not a pawn in your game, Julius!”

At this point Reglin and Lune turns around and stare at us. Lune has an annoyed look on her face. “You shouldn’t fight with him, Wisteria. He’s on your side after all,” she reminds me.

I sigh, for now I need Julius’ help regardless of the fact that he’s a sick man. As soon as I get Raze though, we will run as far as we have to in order to escape Julius.

Julius must realize this because he whispers: “you wouldn’t leave Cyno in the wrong hands, would you? After all, he did save your life.”

I don’t know how Julius knows of Cyno but he is right about needing to save him too. “No…” I sigh. Okay, Raze, Cyno run, I decide.

We reach the grate that covers the ladder down into the prison and Reglin pulls it off. “The place will be in chaos since Julius helped with the immunity…” Reglin warns us. Clearly Lune doesn’t know what Julius did because Reglin avoids the direct truth. “Make sure you’re silent here, even the slightest noise will bring too much attention to us.”

We all nod and follow Reglin down the ladder. The ladder leads down into a janitorial closet which we slip out of unnoticed over the wailing sirens. “The people must have sirens going because of the recent bombings. Everything is on lock down,” Reglin explains loudly. “It doesn’t matter if we talk, no one will be able to hear us.”

“So which way to Raze, Lune?” I inquire.

“This way,” she shouts. “He’s close.”

We follow her down a hallway, cells line the walls and there are many people chained up and sitting in their cells, some scream and call out to us while others do not say anything. We watch the cell numbers drop down until we reach zero.

“You sure he’s this way?” I ask, looking at the last of the cells.

“Positive,” Lune replies, “he’s right…”

“Wisteria?!” a croaky voice calls out.

“Raze?!” I manage before my throat closes up and I start toward his voice.

Raze is shackled to the wall in the room next to all the cells. “What are you doing here?” he asks. Raze can’t move and he’s hanging a good six feet up the wall. “Why’s your hair red?”

“We came to rescue you. The vaccines I was taking wore off after I escaped and now I have red hair and green eyes,” I tell him.

“How do we get you down from there?” Lune queries. She, Julius and Reglin are all scanning the room for keys or a passcode.

“Beats me, I was unconscious when they hung me up here,” Raze answers.

“What if we shoot the restraints? They’re leather so they should break after a little while,” I suggest. “We’ll each take a strap and shoot until they break.”

“Uh… guys? Can we at least make sure there’s something for me to fall onto? I’d like to not hit the floor,” Raze asks. He gives me a nervous smile.

I push over a table so it’s right below him. The table is a few feet below him but it will break his fall.

We make a ring around him and pull out our crossbows—Julius has been carrying mine—and we start firing carefully at the bands. Suddenly, Lune’s left arm bond breaks and Raze’s arm falls limply to his side. Reglin’s leg bond breaks and then Julius’ leg bond. Reglin hops up onto the table and puts his hands on Raze’s torso so he can help catch him. I fire a few more arrows at the last arm bond and Raze falls into Reglin. They drop down and I run to Raze, hugging him tightly. “I love you, Raze,” I whisper.

“I love you too, Wisteria,” he murmurs back.

We manage to get out unnoticed and it isn’t until we’re skirting the Clan village that Raze mentions he was stabbed. Raze was wounded a few days ago when he was taken hostage for being too close to the Clan village. He says he didn’t “hurt anyone but a squirrel and just made a meagre camp too close to the village” and I believe him but I’m shocked to see the infected stab wound on his side.

“The Clan wouldn’t be so violent. Why would we stab you?” Lune asks in shock. “Are you sure it was one of us?”

Raze nods and clutches his side. “It hurts a lot and if I don’t get a remedy… well I’m pretty sure I’ve got blood poisoning. We can worry about it later though, first I want to know who everyone is and what we’re doing,” he explains.

Reglin takes over, summarizes the events and gives Raze the knives he packed. We’re in the wood now and almost to the edge of it with everyone’s quick pace. Fire is burning in Osson and the sounds of screams and gunshots can be heard even from our considerable distance away. Raze takes my hand and gives it a quick, reassuring squeeze. I take a step out of the brush toward the city and I wonder what horrors will await us there.

The fence has been destroyed and many Compartments look broken into. There are at least six Compartments on fire in this section and the Factory appears to be the only place completely intact. “The Council will be there,” Julius tells us. “That’s where we need to go.” He uses his charm on us and we all are nodding now.

I can feel the charm when he uses it now because he’s like a magnet—attracting everyone to work with him—when he uses it. We all go to the Factory—dodging the occasional bomb or bullet in the process. We break into the building at last by shooting the glass doors until they shatter onto the dry, packed ground. Raze and I lead the others to the Council Sector and shoot down the next set of doors. Solaria’s dead body is on the ground and I have to look away because bile is rising in my throat. Alice enters my peripheral vision with two Clan men who are armed.

“Let’s all help each other, hmm? We’ve got a government to take down and we both need the numbers,” Alice suggests. “We’re all on the same side anyways.” She pushes past us and into the lobby where she orders her men to shoot down the door to the Control Room. They obey and instantly go down with the door. The seven members of the Council—who I’ve never seen in the flesh before—are armed and firing. Alice kills two of them before they even know what’s coming and then an arrow flies through her back.

Julius is lowering his crossbow and he has killed Alice.

I am now in the Control Room with Raze who is killing the man who shot the Clan men and the others are filing in behind us. Reglin doesn’t want to kill so instead he motions me to the wall and out of the way. Lune, Julius and Raze take are finishing the other Council members off and I glance outside to see the fires burning. I am knocked onto a platform by one of the Council members who just avoided an arrow—but falls a moment later. I am seeing stars but just as I shake them from my vision, Julius comes into my sight.

The others are well distracted with the fighting and he throws his head back in a laugh. Julius leans down like he’s going to say something to me but instead presses a red button on the front of the platform.

Suddenly, I am gone.

“The numbers are still unclear as to how many we lost due to the war that brought us together,” I read aloud from the teleprompter. “This is a new time for change and for the duration of my reign as Supreme Chief my committee and I will be enforcing and changing the rules. We will be the most successful country that walked on Earth. Thank you; I’m Julius Caesar, signing off.”

End of Book One