Resistance (The Institute Series Book 2) (3 page)

“How’s Ebbodine?” I ask, not even trying to hide the passive aggressiveness of my tone.

“I wouldn’t know. Even if I was at the compound, I wouldn’t know,” he replies.

I just roll my eyes.

“It’s not my fault you thought we were together.”

Chad and Ebbodine were never together as he led me to believe. Chad merely recruited her and that’s the extent of their relationship. Or so he says.

“Letting someone believe something that’s untrue to cover other lies, is still lying,” I state.

“I couldn’t tell you how I knew her because I couldn’t tell you about the Resistance,” he says in frustration, picking strands of grass out of the ground repeatedly.

“So much for only talking business,” I mutter.

I wish there were magic words that could fix everything between Chad and me. Most of our meetings have been fine but we just seem to get on each other’s nerves when the whole ‘Resistance versus Institute’ thing comes up. I think he just assumed that I would leave and was shocked when I decided to stay.

For a moment – while they were all trying to convince me to leave and join the Resistance – I thought Chad was asking me to go to be
with him.
I sometimes think that when I chose Shilah, Chad thinks I actually chose Drew. Nothing has come of ‘us’ ever since.

Any romantic feelings I had for Chad were shelved when I found out about the Resistance. Shelved, but not thrown out. Butterflies still attack my stomach when he smirks at me, or when we’re training and our bodies are up against each other. I still blush when I think of our almost kiss at the Institute.

I wish I could just tell him how I feel, but no, my stupid mouth won’t say the words I want it to.  Too much time has gone by now to suddenly tell him I have feelings for him, that I’ve had feelings for him for months. So I remain silent, mentally kicking myself every time I walk away from him.

“So, do you have your question for today?” Chad asks, clearly trying to change the subject.

“I still have so many questions.”

Chad has allowed me one question per meet up. It saves him from being bombarded with a million questions in one night.

I’ve asked about the “leaders,” or “council” as Chad puts it. He told me they didn’t want a singular leader. They wanted different people from different backgrounds – rich, poor, Defective, and surprisingly non-Defective. Paxton is on the council, and he’s not Defective. I think it’s sad that my initial reaction to finding out Paxton is risking his life – his normal non-Defective life – for us, was shock. It shouldn’t be shocking that people want to fight for us, but growing up in the world we do, it has been drilled into us from the beginning that Defective people are dangerous and shouldn’t have any rights. The Resistance made sure the council was diverse enough so their actions are fair and not promoting an individual agenda.

Even though I’ve been filled in on a lot of Resistance information, I still have so many questions about my mother. It creeps me out that all those times sitting in Tate’s cell, talking to him about life, about family, and about my mother, he knew exactly who I was talking about and had actually spent time with her. I think this is why I’m still angry with him.

I also have questions about Dad. Where did he go? Why can’t they find him?

Chad doesn’t have the answer to any of these questions, even though I’ve repeatedly asked him such things. He always replies with, “You’ll have to ask them that.”

So tonight, I decide to ask him something he’ll know.

“Why were you reported missing? You say your dad knew about the Resistance because of your mum’s involvement and that he knew you were working for them. Then why did he report you missing when you turned yourself over to the Institute? And why were you still living with him and working for the Resistance? Isn’t that a rule? Leave everyone and everything behind?”

Chad sighs, “Mum wanted to take me with her when she joined the Resistance years ago. I was eleven and Dad said no. Dad made the argument that I would be safer with him. So they made a deal that I was allowed to finish school, and when I was eighteen, I could make up my own mind. Of course, I left as soon as I could. I would’ve left earlier if Dad had let me.

“Tate had already been with the Resistance for a few years, and when Aunt Jene died – Tate’s mum – I felt like I had to do something. I ended up joining the Resistance just before my eighteenth birthday, but I already had enough credits to graduate, so technically it didn’t break Mum and Dad’s original deal.

“Tate, even though he’d just been given a chair on the council, took me in and trained with me. That’s when we started working together. It was about a year later that we came back to Eminent Falls. We were there for recruitment, and that’s when we got Hall and Ebbodine. Seeing as Dad knew everything about us, I was allowed to go back and stay with him. I hadn’t been gone all that long, so we just told everyone I went to university in the city and was back to become a teacher, just like Dad.

“It would’ve been completely different with your mum. Your mum was a missing person, she was assumed dead by everyone, even the police. She couldn’t have just come back.”

I guess it wasn’t too hard for Chad to decipher why I really wanted to know the answer to that question. It makes sense. Mum was presumed dead.

“But that still doesn’t explain why you ended up being reported missing? I saw your missing persons report,” I say.

“Dad did that after he found out I turned myself into the Institute. Mum suggested he do it so not to bring suspicion on himself about knowing what I was capable of,” he replies.

“Sounds like your dad and my dad would get along.” That’s the kind of thing Dad would always think and talk about when the hypothetical scenarios about getting caught were discussed. “So your mum and dad still talk?”

“Sometimes,” he says but doesn’t elaborate.

“How come—”

“Don’t ask me how it is that they can still keep contact but your parents couldn’t. You’ll have to ask them that,” he cuts me off.

I look down at my hands. The worst thing about having so many questions with no sufficient answer is I feel like I don’t have any control over the situation. I’m at a loss for how I’m meant to feel. If I just stop thinking for a moment and look at the positives, that Mum’s alive, I’m alive, Shilah’s safe, I’m working at making the world a better place, I can accept that. It’s when my brain wants to analyse every little detail that things get fuzzy and frustrating.

“I guess that’s it for tonight then,” I state coolly. “It’s getting a bit late.”

We’ve been trying to keep our meetings down to a minimum. Even though I barricaded the door when I snuck out the window earlier tonight, if Drew tries to get in there and succeeds and I’m not there? I don’t even want to think of the consequences.

Chad stands and reaches out a hand to help me up off of the ground. I know it’s just a simple gesture, but just like when Drew helped me earlier by getting me out of my shift at the restaurant, it annoys me. I just want to say ‘I can do it myself,’ but I don’t. Deep down I know I’m being petty and immature. Accepting his hand, he pulls me up. He leaves his hand lingering on mine a little longer than one would expect. I don’t retract mine either and for a split second I start to wonder what he is doing, what
we’re
doing.

I don’t want to keep arguing but I don’t know how to fix it. The frustration is building inside of me. It’s sitting in my chest, urging me to yell or scream or just do something.

Without thinking, I take a step closer to him. He looks down at me, but doesn’t move away. Our hands are still together, and I’m surprised when he intertwines his fingers with mine. My eyes are locked on his, but neither one of us makes another move.

A voice startles me from the left, “Well I can see not much has changed with you two.”

“Shilah?” I ask in disbelief, dropping Chad’s hand. “What are you doing here?”

“Gee, missed you too, sis. What kind of greeting is that?”

Chapter Three

My arms wrap around Shilah and I vow to never let go.

“Is this real?” I ask.

He slaps me on the back of my head as he pulls away from my embrace. “Well you aren’t dreaming.”

Paxton appears from a car parked on the street. It takes me a moment to recognise him in his civilian clothes. I’m used to seeing him in a suit. He actually looks younger than I remember. “It’s a good thing we caught you two,” he says, interrupting our little reunion.

“Paxton? What’s going on?” I ask.

“Well Shilah here, graduated,” he replies, patting Shilah on the back. “We were able to get him out. So now, you can get out too. That was the deal, right?”

“Seriously? This is really happening?”

“You want me to slap you again to be sure?” Shilah asks. I shake my head. I don’t, I really don’t. He managed to hit my head right where I smacked it earlier when Chad attacked me. I rub the back of my head where an egg is forming.

“Nah, I’m all good. Thanks.”

“So let’s go,” Paxton interjects.

“I have to go back to the house first,” I say.

“We need to get out west before anyone discovers you’re gone,” Paxton says.

“If they search my room, they’ll find the key.” They will also find other incriminating things that I should have gotten rid of a long time ago.

Paxton sighs. “Okay, you go back and get the key, and we’ll wait for you in the car.  We’ll park a few houses up. You’ve got three minutes, okay?”

“That’s plenty of time,” I say as I start running towards the direction of the house.

I run faster and harder than I ever have before. It’s happening. It’s finally happening. I’m free, Shilah is free. My heart is beating fast, but I don’t know if it’s because of the exertion from the running, or because of how liberated I feel.

Arriving at the house, all the lights are out so I’m assuming Drew has gone to bed already. Silently approaching my bedroom window, I slip back into the house. I rush over to the bed, pulling out the key to my tracking bracelet and the note from Tate which I kept in the same spot. It really should’ve been destroyed right after I read it, but it has brought me so much comfort over the last three months, I just couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. I would find myself reading over it, time and time again. It reminded me of what I’m fighting for, what I’m trying to save. And besides, I figured if they found the key, I was going to be screwed anyway, so I kept the note and the key together knowing I would do anything to keep them hidden.

I place them in my jeans pocket and quickly glance around the room for anything else to grab on my way out.

“Going back out?” Drew asks casually as I practically jump out of my skin. I’ve been so distracted about getting the key and the letter, I didn’t even realise he was in the room.

The chair I pushed up against the door lies broken on the floor. I swear at myself for not being more careful. I freeze in panic. Even though it’s dark in here, I can feel Drew’s eyes burning into me as I frantically try and think of a way out of this.

“I just went for a run,” I say as innocently as possible.

Drew scoffs, “Yeah, like I’m going to believe that.” He gets up and starts walking towards me. I prepare myself for a fight but he stops a few feet away from me when he senses I’m ready to attack. “I’m not going to fight you. I just want to know where you were.”

“I just wanted to get out.”

“Don’t lie to me, Allira. Unless you want to go straight back to the Institute and the Crypt,” he threatens. “What’s in your pocket?”

“I don’t have to answer to you,” I say, still frozen next to my bed. “You’re not my boss, we’re partners.”

“It doesn’t seem that way. Partners trust each other.”

Now it’s my turn to scoff. “That’s rich, coming from you.”

“I’m not going to ask again. Where did you go?” Drew asks sternly.

Words escape me. I can’t tell him the truth, I can’t lie.

Chad appears at the window, “Allira, hurry up, we don’t have time…” he stops short when he sees Drew’s in the room.

“You’re alive?” Drew asks as Chad reluctantly climbs through the window.

“You thought he was dead?” I ask.

“You knew he wasn’t? Just how long have you been sneaking off with him. How have they not alerted me to your late night activities?” Drew reaches for my wrist. “Where is your… what happened to your bracelet?”

Shit!
“What do we do?” I whisper to Chad but it’s pointless. Of course Drew can hear me. Chad looks as lost as I feel. We’re screwed.

“Fuck! We’ll have to take him with us,” Chad says. I’m taken aback. Chad is rattled; he’s usually quite composed. I can feel the frustration coming from him.

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Drew responds before turning to me. “What does he mean? Where are you going? What’s going on, Allira?”

“I’m so sorry,” I say to Drew, before punching him out cold. I’m thankful for Chad teaching me how to knock someone out by hitting a certain pressure point in the side of their neck.

“Ugh, what did you do that for? Now we’re going to have to carry him to the car,” Chad complains. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy seeing that, but I’m sure we could’ve forced him to walk to the car.”

“Get Paxton to bring the car closer,” I say. Chad sticks his head out of the window and signals to Paxton, who’s idling the car two houses away. “I’ll grab his legs.”

“Oh, sure, now you get the lightest body part to carry?” Chad says sarcastically, but upbeat. I think he’s just as excited as I am, if not more. We’re getting out of here. He’s getting to go home. In a way, I feel like I’m going home too. I’ve never been to the compound before but I’ll be with Shilah and my mother. The only thing missing is Dad. It’s as close to a home as I will ever have.

I’m reminded that Drew still has his tracking bracelet on. Taking the key out of my pocket, I bend down and unlock it, tossing it behind me before grabbing Drew’s legs.

“Out the window?” I ask. “The street is closer to my bedroom window than the front door, so it’s less distance to carry the body. Wow, there’s something I never thought I’d have to consider.”

Chad laughs a little, “Yeah, we’ll have to hurry up though. He could wake up any minute now.”

We manage to get Drew out the window and over to the car before Paxton opens the driver’s side door and gets out, one foot still in the car.

“What happened?” he asks.

“Drew was in my room when I got back. He realised I’ve been sneaking out.”

Paxton runs his hand over the back of his neck, just like Chad does when he’s nervous. “And you thought the best thing to do would be to bring him along? We should just leave him here.”

“He also saw me,” Chad explains.

“And that I was no longer wearing my tracking bracelet,” I add.

“Yeah, okay. Put him in the back,” Paxton concedes. “And hurry up, before someone sees you.”

We half push, half throw Drew into the car and prop him up in the passenger seat, his head flopping against the window. We then climb in the back seat with him. It doesn’t feel overly awkward until I realise I’m sitting in between Drew and Chad.  The tiny hatchback car doesn’t have a lot of room and both of my legs are brushing up against theirs.
Nope, not awkward at all,
I keep telling myself.

As we drive off, Drew starts coming to.

“Ugh, what… What happened?” he asks hazily before opening his eyes. “Where are you taking me?” He frantically tries to open the car door but Paxton must’ve engaged the child lock. There’s no way he’s getting out.

“Consider yourself lucky, Agent Jacobs,” Paxton says while looking at Drew in his rear view mirror.

“Paxton?” Drew asks, surprised.

“You were never part of the plan, but I guess you’ve been thrown into it now,” Paxton replies.

“He’s going to kill us all, you know that don’t you?” Drew says, panicking.

“Brookfield?” Paxton asks. “He doesn’t have the capability. To come after you, he will have to tell numerous agents that you’ve escaped. He can’t let them know that it’s possible to do that. It will give them ideas. Why else do you think you were told Chad was dead? Killed in action, wasn’t it?”

“Hold up,” I say, looking to Drew. “You were told that Chad was dead and you didn’t think I would’ve wanted to know that?”

“Like it matters anyway! You’ve been sneaking out to see him. You knew he wasn’t dead.”

“That’s not the point!” I yell. “Weren’t you saying only ten minutes ago that we’re meant to be partners and meant to trust each other? One of my friends dies and you don’t tell me anything?”

Chad shifts in his seat.

“I didn’t want to be the one to tell you,” Drew says sheepishly.

I shake my head. “Typical Drew.”

“Can you two have this lover’s tiff sometime else, please?” Paxton says seriously. I should object to his insinuation but I don’t have the energy.

“How long will it take us to get there?” Shilah asks from the front seat.

“From here? About two hours, maybe three. It’s basically the same distance to the compound as it is to the Institute, just further north west. I’m only taking you half way. I need to get back as soon as possible.”

Suddenly I don’t care about Drew, or Chad, or the awkwardness that fills the cabin of the car. I lean forward. “I can’t believe you’re really here!” I say to Shilah, playfully punching him in the shoulder.

“I kind of can’t believe it myself,” he replies. “So, we’re going to see Mum?” he asks.

“You know about her?”

“Ever since I saw that police report you brought home about her probably being out there somewhere, I figured she was alive. It didn’t really occur to me that she would be part of all this though.”

“What
is
this?” Drew asks behind me. “Can someone please give me some answers?”

I can’t help but laugh a little, “Hmm, sucks to be on that end of it, doesn’t it?” I spent the first few weeks at the Institute trying to find out what exactly was happening to me, with no real response from anyone but Tate. Chad has been silent since we got in the car, but even he laughs at that a little.

“There’s no point in explaining it to you right now,” Paxton says with a tone of impatience and authority.

I sit back as the car fills with silence. It seems Paxton might appreciate the quiet. I’m used to seeing him so collected and politically correct.

Chad is the one to finally break the silence, “So how did Shilah get out so soon? We were given the impression that he wouldn’t be out for a long while. Allira was told that he’d be placed with her once he graduated.”

“To be fair, Allira was set up to go out on assignment with Shilah in a few days, but Licia’s unsuccessful arrest today caused Brookfield to bring forward his start date and gave him a new partner. And I may or may not have given Shilah the answers to the agent test,” Paxton says, smiling.

“But the obstacle course?” I ask. “That was really hard.”

“Maybe for you,” Shilah laughs.

I guess in my happy stupor, I’ve neglected to notice how fit Shilah is. He looks healthy. It brings a smile to my face to know that even though he was stuck in that place for months, he doesn’t seem too damaged by it.

“So you turn seventeen and suddenly become some buff, tough guy, hey?”

Shilah lifts his arm, flexing his toned bicep. “Yup.” His smile is infectious.

How can things change so drastically in only three months?
“I’m sorry I missed your birthday.”

He shrugs it off.

“How’s Tate going?” Chad asks. I look to Paxton for an answer, but it’s actually Shilah who responds.

“He’s the same. He’d want to know you’re not really dead though, he still thinks you are,” he says.

“Why didn’t you tell him, Paxton?” I ask.

“I can’t go down to the Crypt. It would bring too much suspicion on me and on Tate. He’s not Defective to them, remember? It was easy getting messages to him while Chad was there, but since you left, I haven’t been able to fill him in on anything,” Paxton replies.

“I always knew that guy was Defective,” Drew says arrogantly. I forgot he was even here for a moment.

“Don’t get too self-confident. You may have known he was Defective, but you’re an Empath who couldn’t even tell that Tate was gay,” I snigger at him. Chad and Shilah laugh. “Who told Tate that Chad was dead?” I ask.

“Sorry, that was my fault,” Shilah says. “They told everyone in training that he died on his assignment. It was only a few days after you left. I thought Tate deserved to know.”

“You weren’t to know it wasn’t true,” Chad reassures Shilah.

“Can’t you get the message to him somehow?” I ask Paxton. “You don’t even need to go see him to tell him. I’m sure if you walked by the entrance to the Crypt, he’d hear you think it from that distance.”

“So
that’s
why we couldn’t work out what his ability was,” Drew mumbles. I ignore him.