There’s an audible gasp from the soldiers standing just below.
They definitely remember me.
Warner pulls a square piece of mesh out of his pocket and presses it to his lips, just once, before holding it in his fist. His voice is amplified across the crowd when he speaks.
“Sector 45,” he says.
They shift. Their right fists rise up to fall on their chests, their left fists released, dropping to their sides.
“You were told,” he says, “a little over a month ago, that we’d won the battle against a resistance group by the name of Omega Point. You were told we decimated their home base and slaughtered their remaining men and women on the battlefield. You were told,” he says, “never to doubt the power of The Reestablishment. We are unbeatable. Unsurpassed in military power and land control. You were told that we are the future. The only hope.”
His voice rings out over the crowd, his eyes scanning the faces of his men.
“And I hope,” he says, “that you did not believe it.”
The soldiers are staring, stunned, as Warner speaks. They seem afraid to step out of line in case this turns out to be some kind of elaborate joke, or perhaps a test from The Reestablishment. They do nothing but stare, no longer taking care to make their faces appear as stoic as possible.
“Juliette Ferrars,” he says, “is not dead. She is here, standing beside me, despite the claims made by our supreme commander. He did, in fact, shoot her in the chest. And he did leave her to die. But she was able to survive his attack on her life, and she has arrived here today to make you an offer.”
I take the mesh from Warner’s hand, touch it to my lips just as he did.
Drop it into my fist.
I take a deep breath. And say six words.
“I want to destroy The Reestablishment.”
My voice is so loud, so powerfully projected over the crowd, that for a moment it surprises me. The soldiers are staring at me in horror. Shock. Disbelief. Astonishment. They’re starting to whisper.
“I want to lead you into battle,” I say to them. “I want to fight back—” No one is listening to me anymore.
Their perfectly organized lines have been abandoned. They’re now converging together in one mass, speaking and shouting and trying to deliberate among themselves. Trying to understand what’s happening.
I can’t believe I lost their attention so quickly.
“Don’t hesitate,” Warner says to me. “You must react. Now.” I was hoping to save this for later.
Right now, we’re only about fifteen feet off the ground, but Warner told me there are four more levels, if I want to go all the way up. The highest level houses the speakers designated for this particular area. It has a small maintenance platform that is only ever accessed by technicians.
I’m already climbing my way up.
The soldiers are distracted again, pointing at me as I scale the stairs; still talking loudly with one another. I have no idea if it’s possible for news of this situation to have already reached the civilians or the spies who report back to the supreme. I have no time to care right now because I haven’t even finished giving my speech, and I’ve already lost them.
This isn’t good.
When I finally reach the top level, I’m about a hundred feet off the ground. I’m careful as I step onto the platform, but I’m more careful not to look down for too long. And when I’ve finally planted my feet, I look up and around the crowd.
I have their attention again.
I close my fist over the microphonic mesh.
“I only have one question,” I say, my words powerful and clear, projecting into the distance. “What has The Reestablishment ever done for you?”
They’re actually looking at me now. Listening.
“They have given you nothing but meager wages and promises for a future that will never come. They have divided your families and forced them across what’s left of this earth. They have starved your children and destroyed your homes. They lie to you, over and over again, forcing you to
take jobs in their army so they might control you. And you have no other choice,” I say. “No other options. So you fight in their wars, and you kill your own friends, just so you might feed your families.”
Yes, I have their attention now.
“The person you allow to lead this nation is a coward,” I say to them. “He is a weak man who’s too afraid to show his face to the public. He lives in secrecy, hides from the people who rely on him, and yet he’s taught you to fear him,” I say. “He’s taught you to cower when his name is spoken.
“Maybe you haven’t met him yet,” I say. “But I have. And I was not impressed.”
I can’t believe no one has shot me yet. I don’t care if they’re supposed to be unarmed. Someone probably has a gun. And no one has shot me yet.
“Join a new resistance,” I say to them, calling out to the crowd. “We are the majority, and we can stand united. Will you continue to live like this?” I ask them, pointing to the compounds in the distance. “Will you continue to starve? Because they will continue to lie to you!” I say. “Our world is not beyond repair. It’s not beyond saving. We can be our own army,” I say to them. “We can stand together. Join me,” I say, “and I promise things will change.”
“How?” I hear someone shout. “How can you promise something like that?”
“I am not intimidated by The Reestablishment,” I tell them. “And I have more strength than you might realize. I have the kind of power that the supreme commander cannot stand against.”
“We already know what you can do!” someone else yells. “That didn’t save you before!”
“No,” I say to them, “you don’t know what I can do. You have no idea what I can do.”
I reach my arms out in front of me, both hands pointed in the direction of the crowd. I try to find a good middle. And then I focus.
Feel your power, Kenji said to me once. It’s a part of you—a part of your body and mind. It will listen to you if you can learn how to control it.
I plant my feet. Steel myself. And then I pry the crowd apart. Slowly.
I focus my energy on recognizing the individual bodies and allow my power to move fluidly, working around the soldiers in a gentle fashion, as
opposed to rushing through them and accidentally ripping them apart. My power clings to their forms as my fingers would, finally finding a perfect center that divides the group into two halves. They’re already looking at each other from across the courtyard, trying to understand why they can’t move against the invisible walls pushing them apart.
But once the energy is set in place, I open my arms, wide. Pull.
The soldiers are knocked back. Half to the left. Half to the right. Not enough to be injured, but just enough to be startled. I want them to feel the power I’m containing. I want them to know that I’m holding back.
“I can protect you,” I say to them, my voice still ringing loud over them. “And I have friends who could do more. Who will stand beside you and fight.”
And then, as if on cue, the group of them appear out of thin air, in the very center of the courtyard, in the space I’ve just cleared.
The soldiers jerk back, stunned, shifting farther into their corners.
Castle reaches up one arm, coaxing a small tree in the distance to uproot itself. He uses both hands to pull it out of the ground, and once he does, the tree careens out of control, flying through the air, branches rattling in the wind. Castle pulls it back, yanking on it with nothing more than his mind.
He tosses it higher in the air, just over their heads, and Brendan raises his arms.
Claps his hands, hard.
A bolt of electricity hits the tree at the base and travels up the trunk so quickly, and with such extreme power, it practically disintegrates; the only remaining pieces rain to the ground.
I was not expecting that; they weren’t even supposed to be helping me today. But they’ve just created the perfect introduction for me.
Now. Right now.
All the soldiers are watching. The courtyard has been cleared. I find Kenji’s eyes down below and check for confirmation.
He nods. I jump.
A hundred feet in the air, eyes closed, legs straight, arms out. And I feel more power rushing through my being than ever before. I harness it. Project it.
And land so hard on the ground that it shatters beneath me.
I’m crouched, knees bent, one hand outstretched in front of me. The courtyard is shaking so badly that for a second I’m not sure I haven’t caused another earthquake.
When I finally stand up and look around, I can see the soldiers much more clearly. Their faces, their worries. They’re looking at me in awe, eyes wide with wonder and a touch of fear.
“You will not be alone,” I say to them, spinning to see their faces. “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. We want to take back our world. We want to save the lives of our family members, our friends. We want your children to have a chance at a better future. And we want to fight. We want to win.” I lock eyes with them. “And we are asking for your help.”
There’s absolute silence. And then, absolute chaos.
Cheers. Screams and shouts. Stomping feet.
I feel the mesh square tugged out of my hand. It flies up into the air and into Warner’s hand.
He addresses his men.
“Congratulations, gentlemen,” he says. “Send word to your families. Your friends. Tomorrow, everything will change. The supreme will be here in a matter of days,” he says. “Prepare for war.”
And then, all at once. Kenji makes us disappear.
