Resistance (The Institute Series Book 2) (17 page)

***

After driving home in silence, going to sleep next to each other but not facing one another, I wake up alone. It’s pretty clear that not all is as ‘perfect’ as Chad described to Drew last night.

There’s a knock at the door. The clock on the bedside table tells me it’s really early. I get up to answer it, and find Mum standing there looking tired … no, she looks wrecked. She actually appears older somehow.

“Cyrus has called a council meeting,” she mumbles. Her words shoot through me like a cold shiver.

“Already?”

“I’ve come to collect you to take you down there.”

“But he said we had a few days? You were going to talk to him? You were going to sort it!” I know I shouldn’t be blaming Mum for this, but it’s just all coming out.

Mum takes me in her arms. “We’ll work it out,” she says, trying to shush my fears away.

The short walk to the town hall feels longer than it did yesterday. I concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other in fear my legs will just give out on me. I have that feeling in the pit of my stomach where I don’t know if I’m hungry or just nervous. I should’ve grabbed something to eat.

We enter the hall, finding it completely empty, except for the six council members lined up behind their table at the front of the room, plus Mum and I. Even Paxton has come back for this.
I am so screwed.

Mum leads me to the podium where I stood to get my work assignment and joins the rest of the panel. Belle stands up. I tell my leg to stop shaking; it doesn’t listen. I focus on setting my jaw, I will not let them see me upset.

“Good morning, Allira,” Belle says with her usual icy tone. “I assume you know why we’ve asked you to come here today?” I glare in Cyrus’s direction. “I take that as a yes. So cutting to the chase, I will hand it over to Cyrus,” she says before sitting back down.

I look over at Paxton, his eyes are sympathetic and tired. He doesn’t hold my gaze for long before he looks away, avoiding eye contact.

“I know I told you I would give you some time, Allira. I’m sorry I had to call this meeting, but after thinking it over, I decided it needed to be done,” Cyrus says without bothering to stand up. I concentrate on trying not to get upset. “I have filled the other council members in on what I found out yesterday and we have a few questions for you, if you don’t mind.”

“Okay,” I manage to get out, wondering what they’d do if I said no.

“Why were we not informed of your double ability?” Belle asks formally.

“I was advised by Tate that I should never tell anyone the true extent of my abilities,” I state. I’m not lying.

“While you were at the Institute?” Belle asks, more of a statement than a question.

“That’s correct. I trusted him, I took his advice.” Trusting Tate has to equal trusting the council, right? He’s one of them.

“You didn’t think we should’ve been told?” Marlo asks.

“I did. I was going to. I—”

“I’m afraid she was given some poor advice,” Mum interrupts. “By her boyfriend, Chad.” Now it’s Mum’s turn to get the icy stare from Belle.

“Well, no matter how it happened, the fact of the matter is, you hid this from us and now the question of trust has arisen,” Cyrus says. “But the thing is, someone like you is so important to our cause. You could be vital to our success here.”

“Success?” I ask.

“Of our future plans,” Cyrus says. Out of the corner of my eye I see Paxton roll his.

“Which are?” I ask.

“Well our immediate plan is to build in numbers.
Strong
numbers,” Cyrus responds.

“And that makes me important how?” I ask, confused.

“Well to produce the best possible offspring, the best should procreate with the best. Don’t you agree?” Cyrus asks.

I furrow my brow. “Are you saying, what I think you’re saying?” Surely they aren’t expecting me to—

“A courtship, with Cyrus,” Marlo, Cyrus’s second wife, says.

Paxton finally talks for the first time. “Are you friggin’ kidding me? Really? I mean, are we meant to be activists or a matchmaking service?”

I somehow manage to stay upright, though my jaw is practically on the floor.

“You would do this, to your own son?” Mum asks Belle.

“He’d be better off this way,” Belle snaps back.

For a moment, I think I see Mum about to rise to her feet, like she is preparing to attack Belle. I almost want to shout, ‘Do it Mum! Slap the bitch!’ but I don’t, and she doesn’t move.

I just shake my head. “You can’t force me to ‘procreate’. It’s like you’re looking at me like a prized dog to breed.”

Millie, the non-Defective one, responds. “There are other ways to go about that these days. We’re not forcing you to
be
with Cyrus—”

“Just have his eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth child?” I yell in between trying not to dry retch. “He’s already got ten children, are any of them any stronger than anyone else here?”

“I’m just saying there are medical ways around it, if you weren’t interested in a courtship.”

“Interested in a relationship with a man who has three wives already? Gee, where do I sign up,” I can’t hold back the angry sarcasm any longer. “Are we really having this conversation? Is this actually happening, or should I start pinching myself and try to wake from this screwed up nightmare?”

“Watch your tone, young lady,” Connor says. “I can tell you now that I don’t agree with this plan either. This is not what we’re about, but we’re still your leaders, you will contain yourself and your manners.”

“Fuck manners!” I yell.

“I agree,” Paxton says. “This isn’t what we’re about. We can’t continue to grow in numbers without building more accommodations, planting more crops. It’s not viable. Not to mention we’d be forcing an eighteen-year-old-girl into becoming a mother. A mother responsible for another human being. And for what? In the hopes of producing another double ability? We’re not about gaining power, we’re not the Institute. We shouldn’t be about ‘who’s the most powerful’. All we should want is to be treated fairly.”

Paxton talks like he is one of us, but he isn’t. It makes me wonder why he’s here again. Who does he know that’s Defective, who is he doing this for?

“You’re not even Defective, Paxton,” Belle retorts.

“We need all the strength we can get. We need to be able to defend ourselves if they come,” Cyrus says.

“We need to put my plan of action in place,” Paxton says. “I keep bringing it up – we need to take over the Institute. We’ll have all the numbers we need, plus government funding, plus a chance to change the laws. I don’t see how building in numbers here will help any. It will also take years. Are you really willing to keep living like this for generations to come?”

“It already has worked for generations,” Belle replies.

I take a deep breath as I blurt out my crazy theory about Cyrus. “Cyrus is building an army.” I feel all seven pairs of eyes on at me at once.
Here goes.
“He has people training whose abilities are not suited to recruiting. He keeps having babies with different women, trying to produce another double ability – which I’m assuming hasn’t happened, considering you want me to be the next in line to try. It’s clear to me that he’s power greedy. He lets the trainees, drink, party, play games, all so they form some sort of bond with him. And when it comes time to choosing a side, who do you think they will pick? I have no doubt that he’s trying to take over the Resistance. Why else would he need an army?”

“Are you done?” Cyrus asks.

I can see that I’ve surprised some of the panel, but not everyone. Belle and Cyrus’s wife don’t look at all surprised. In fact, they look rather bemused.

“Well that was a delightful tale of fiction,” Belle says. “But we do have a vote to make.”

“A vote?” I ask with raised eyebrows.

“Yes. Spouting crap about an impending internal war is not going to get you out of this,” Belle replies. “The bottom line is that you lied to us. You hid how powerful you are, making us question your dedication and commitment to the cause. You will need to earn our trust again. You’ll need to make sacrifices, as we all have.”

“You can’t make me have a child I don’t want.”

“I vote yes,” Belle says ignoring me.

“We’re not voting on this!” Mum yells. “This is not going to happen. I won’t allow it.”

“I’ll take that as a no then, Seph?” Belle says, ignoring Mum’s actual words.

“I vote no too,” Paxton adds.

“Yes,” Cyrus says. I don’t know if that was meant to come out sleazy or not, but it did. I’m lucky I didn’t eat breakfast because I’m sure it would’ve come back up.

“Yes,” Marlo follows. Really? His own wife wants me to procreate with her husband? That is all kinds of messed up. Then again, she does share him with two other women, what’s one more? I shake my head. I keep telling myself this isn’t actually happening.

“No,” Connor says and I let out a sigh of relief.

All eyes are on Millie. “I think we need to try it. If not for ability reasons, then for science. Maybe a baby with two double ability parents will give us more insight into how Defective people are genetically made up.” I think I’m about to collapse. “I’m not saying it has to be right away, or it has to be done the old fashioned way. There are ways around it to make everyone happy.”

“I’m not bringing a child into this world with someone I despise,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Whoa. Hey now,” Cyrus says. “No need to get nasty.”

“I beg to differ,” Paxton says. “I think she has every right to get nasty. This isn’t right. And you know that if Tate was here, he would be voting no. I say this is a tied vote.”

“Well Tate isn’t here, is he?” Belle bites at Paxton. “And who do we have to thank for that?” She glares at me.

“I had nothing to do with Tate staying where he is.
Nothing!
”

“Well that doesn’t matter anyway. He’s not here, so his vote doesn’t count,” Belle says. “You will obey our ruling. Unless you want to join Tate back at the Institute? I’m sure they’d love to get their hands on a double ability again. I do believe it’s been a while.”

Did my boyfriend’s mother just threaten to have me killed?

Chapter Thirteen

I find myself outside the town hall. I don’t remember leaving, but I’m here, sitting on the ground using the wall for support. Groups of people walk by me on their way to the cafeteria for breakfast. My name is being casually called every now and then, people wave as they go by me. Am I waving back? I don’t know. I mean to, but I don’t think my body is capable of performing such a simple task right now.

Did I say yes to their insane plan? I can’t remember. Not that I had much of a choice.

“Allira,” Paxton says, suddenly standing at my side. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I am not going back in there,” I state with more confidence than I was expecting.

“You don’t have to,” Mum’s voice comes from behind me. “Go with Paxton. He’ll take you back to his place.” She turns to Paxton. “I’ll get the others and we’ll meet you there. I’m not going to let them go through with this,” she says quickly before she’s gone. Just like that, swift and silent.

“The others?” I ask.

“I’ll explain when we get there,” he says. “Come on, Allira. Let’s go.” He gently grabs my arm, lifting me off the ground and starts moving me towards his car. I didn’t realise I wasn’t moving. Before I know it, we’re speeding off down the street.

“So did that really just happen?” I ask after a while, after I’ve had a chance to reach some sort of calm and focus my thoughts.

“Yeah. That happened,” Paxton says flatly. “But I think you’re right. I’ve suspected for some time now that Cyrus has been working towards his own agenda.”

“And you haven’t done anything about it?”

“I haven’t been able to. With Tate gone, I only have your mother on the council who seems to listen me. The others all follow Cyrus. I’m actually shocked that Connor went up against Cyrus in this vote. That’s not like him.”

“I thought the idea of a council was so there was no clear leader. No personal agendas.”

“Yes, but when one person on that council seems to be more powerful and superior than the rest, some are bound to believe whatever he says. I always get the ‘you’re not even Defective’ line whenever I disagree with him.”

“What are we going to do?” I ask.

“I’ll explain everything when the others arrive. Things have gone bad at the Institute since you all left. I need everyone involved to come up with a plan.”

“A plan?”

“Let’s just go inside and wait for the others,” he says parking the car. I hadn’t even realised we’d arrived.

Paxton’s house is surrounded by trees, like it’s sitting under a blanket of forest. It’s well hidden on the side of the mountain. The design is identical to the house we stayed in the first night. Same weather-board double story house, just in a different location.

“This is your place?” I ask.

“Yeah. We’re half way back up the mountain that leads to the city. It makes sense to be closest to the way back. It cuts off about twenty minutes of travel time to the Institute. So I can get there in relatively good time if I have to.”

“Do you usually spend much time here?”

“No, not a lot. If I’m not at the Institute, I’m generally at my apartment in the city.” I nod my head. Aunt Kenna has an apartment, too. I guess they need to have a place of residence on file, working for the Institute. “Would you like a cup of tea while we wait?” he asks.

“I guess so.” Watching him in the kitchen, moving about like he’s somewhere new, it’s obvious he doesn’t quite know where everything is. “You really don’t spend much time here, do you?” I ask, walking over to the cabinet where the mugs are kept in the Welcoming House. I assume the kitchen is laid out the same, just like the rest of the place.

“It’s probably why I don’t have much influence here, I guess.”

“Why
are
you here?” The words come out before I have a chance to really think through what I just asked. “Don’t take me the wrong way – you’re an asset here. What you’ve done to bring me and my family back together is amazing. I’ll be forever grateful, but … why? You’re not even…” I stop myself when I realise I’m about to say the same thing he has been told by the council every time he doesn’t agree with them.

“I have a daughter,” he says but doesn’t elaborate.

“Have a daughter. Present tense?” I don’t know if I should pry, or even if I want to, but words keep falling out of my mouth. “Is she with her mother?”

Paxton scoffs. “Her mum didn’t want anything to do with Nuka once she found out she was Defective.”

“Nuka?!” I exclaim. “That little girl in the Institute is your daughter?”

I think back to when I met Nuka. The Institute had just discovered my ability but wanted me to prove it. Out walks this adorable, curly-haired girl around five years old with the ability to heat things. Through my amplification ability, we ended up blowing up a car battery. She beamed with happiness and I’d always wondered who would leave their child in such a horrible place. Now I know.

“I didn’t want to send her there,” Paxton remarks quickly, as if he could read my mind. “I went to work one day, came home and
she
had dropped Nuka off at the Institute. Just like that. She knew I was against it so she did it when I couldn’t be there. Nuka was only twelve months old. I was so mad. No, mad doesn’t even begin to describe how I was feeling. I left my wife that day.” Paxton pauses before letting out a sigh. “I tried to convince myself that she did it because she was young. She was only twenty when she had Nuka, I was twenty-two. I don’t think she was ready to be a parent. I guess in a way, neither of us were. But I never once considered giving Nuka up, turning her in. Young or not, I just don’t understand why she did it.”

“That’s when you started working for the Institute?” I ask awkwardly. I don’t know how to handle other people’s emotional baggage. I have a hard time just trying to handle my own.

“I kept applying for jobs with them through all the right channels, until one day about a year later, I finally got a call saying they had a spot available. They didn’t know she was my daughter at the time. And then after seeing what they do there, I found the Resistance. Through your aunt, actually.” He stops and shakes his head. “It’s not right – what goes on. I want Nuka out of there but they know now. Brookfield found out about her a few years back. He knows she’s my daughter. Which is why something needs to be done, and soon.”

“Done about what? Does he know about you, about us out here?”

“No. At least, I don’t think he does. Not yet. He knows that there’s some sort of rebellion happening. Protests throughout the city, agents disappearing. He’s on the lookout for moles within the Institute. We need to make our move, and we need to make it soon.”

“That’s why you need us to make a plan?” I ask. He nods in return. “But what can we do?”

“I’ll wait for the others to get here. I don’t want to repeat myself and there’s something you all need to know.”

Paxton hands me the cup of tea he promised, and I sip it slowly, trying to get my hands to stop trembling as they bring the cup to my mouth. Somehow, I think my day has only just begun to suck.

I’m shocked to see Chad, Shilah, and Drew walking in, tailed by Mum and Dad. When Mum and Paxton said ‘the others’, I assumed they meant people, Resistance people, not
my
people.
Whoa, did I just call Drew one of ‘my’ people?
Chad avoids eye contact with me as they pile into the kitchen with Paxton and me. I really hope the fate of the Resistance rebellion isn’t in our hands alone.

“I don’t exactly know where to start,” Paxton says. “Come. Let’s all go sit down.” We make our way into the living room which has a fireplace, just like the Welcoming House, only this house is carpeted, the Welcoming House had floorboards.
These aren’t important things to notice. Focus on what Paxton is saying.
I want to tell my inner voice to shut up but it has a point. Paxton sits in a single seated arm chair, my parents take the double. I go sit next to the fireplace, on the floor, even though it’s not lit. Shilah sits next to me, Drew next to him and Chad takes the second single arm chair. Time seems to be going ridiculously slow. The simple movement from the kitchen to living room is excruciatingly long. I’m on the verge of screaming, ‘Let’s just do this before I give birth to the baby they’re forcing me to have!’ That’s probably not the best way to start this conversation.

“I guess we should start with what’s happened this morning,” Mum says. “Chad, I don’t know if you’ve had a chance to talk to your mum this morning or not, but …” she doesn’t know where to start. I’m sure as hell not going to tell my boyfriend that I’ve been ordered to have another man’s baby. I shake my head, I can’t believe I just thought that sentence.

Chad shakes his head. “I haven’t seen her.”

Paxton speaks up, “The rest of the council aren’t happy with Allira. They’ve given her an ultimatum.”

The room is silent. Mum, Paxton and I don’t want to say the actual words.

“Just say it already,” Shilah exclaims.

“Basically,” I begin to explain, “They’ve ordered me to ‘procreate’,” I shudder, “with Cyrus as some kind of messed-up science experiment. They want to try and create another double ability. It’s what Cyrus has been doing with his other wives.”

No one reacts.

Seriously?
This is not worthy of swearing, jumping up and down and screaming obscenities? It’s just me who wants to do that?

“Are you serious?” Drew asks, finally. “You’re not just being dramatic?”
Since when did I get the reputation of being a drama queen?

“It’s true,” Paxton says.

“That’s messed up. Capital M, messed up,” Shilah says.

“I think that’s an understatement,” Dad adds.

“You said it was an ultimatum?” Chad asks, “What’s the other choice?”

“Being sent back to the Institute,” I say. I’m about to tell him just whose idea that was before I stop myself. Putting Chad in the middle of his mother and me is a not good idea right now. Partly because I think it’s unfair, and partly because I’m worried I’ll lose if it came down to him making a choice.

“About that,” Paxton says before anyone has the chance to react. “There’s something else you should all know.” I suck in a breath and it catches in my throat. I don’t think I can handle any more today. “Things at the Institute have hit a whole new level of intense. Chad disappearing was one thing, but since the three of you disappeared on the same night, things have gotten worse. A lot worse. Everyone with access to the outside world is being scrutinised. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it back for the meeting this morning. Not that my vote seemed to make a difference anyway.”

“You all voted on that?” Drew asks. “On whom Allira gets to have a family with?” You can hear the disgust in his voice.

“What were the numbers?” Chad asks. “How many for and how many against?” His leg starts bouncing nervously.

Mum, Paxton and I exchange looks. “Four to three,” I say, refusing to elaborate.

“You know what I’m asking, Allira,” Chad says. I hang my head, refusing to tell him what he wants to know. He stands up, making his way towards the door when Paxton speaks.

“I can’t locate Tate,” he says, his voice full of desperation.

Chad stops dead in his tracks. “Brookfield killed him?” he asks, his voice cracking.

“I don’t know for sure. All I’ve been told is he’s not in his cell. The rumours are that he has been executed, but I can’t confirm it. With all the finger pointing and paranoia about a mole, I haven’t been able to look into it further. Not without exposing myself and the Resistance.”

It’s one of those big news moments, the kind of news that washes over you at first. You nod like you accept it, but deep down you know it hasn’t sunk in. My initial reaction is to say ‘okay’, but that doesn’t make sense. What kind of reaction is that? Tate is the one person who always understood me, the one who got me through the worst time in my life, the one I always thought I’d see again someday. And now he’s dead. No,
possibly
dead.

What if he’s not dead? Until we know for sure, I don’t know how I’m meant to feel. I just feel numb. My hands start to shake, and I don’t know if the temperature in here has suddenly dropped a few degrees or if I’m in shock. I’d guess it’s the latter.

“Brookfield could be trying to flush us out,” Chad says, walking back to his chair and sitting.

“That’s a very good possibility,” Paxton replies. “He could also be testing us, the ones on the outside. If you suddenly go back now, it
proves
there’s a mole.”

“Or he could’ve killed Tate to punish you all for leaving,” Drew states. We all turn and glare at him. “I’m not saying that’s definitely what happened. I know you want to hope for the best, but the truth is Brookfield is a spiteful man. If he thought you were never going back, he …” Drew pauses, “He doesn’t like losing.”

I look at Chad, tears filling my eyes. He knows it too – Drew’s right. I don’t see why Brookfield would keep Tate alive. He wants to punish us, get revenge for crossing him. Not only is Tate gone, but it’s our fault.

I hear blubbering, sobbing cries, and take a deep breath to quieten myself, but then I realise the sound isn’t coming from me. I look up at Chad but it’s not coming from him either. It’s coming from Shilah. It’s evident by the way he has broken down that he visited Tate a lot more than he let on. A sudden realisation courses through me.