Too young for war

chapter 2

(So in this chapter I used a lot of what was written in the books, so all right go to the author<33 I did shorten a lot of the original sentences though, and I took some away, so I hope that's okay!)

Ella.

Her name is Ella, not Juliette, and I do remember small details from the time I knew her.

I was little of course, so I can't remember much, but some things I do remember.

So I now know who took her. I can at least imagine who did it. I don't know  if the others here have figured it out yet, but I'm still not looking up.

If I do, everyone will see my red eyes, I will start skating again, and if someone looks at me, I'm going to break down.

"But she wasn't made to be this way, not like you. Not like Warner. There's no way she's the daughter of a supreme commander—she's not a born murderer. Besides," Adam says, taking a sharp breath,

"if she were from Oceania she would have an accent."

"The girl you knew had undergone severe physical and emotional trauma," Nazeera says.

"She'd had her native memories forcibly removed. She was shipped across the globe as a specimen and convinced to live with abusive adoptive parents who beat the life out of her."

"The Reestablishment—and Anderson, in particular—made sure that Ella could never remember why she was suffering, but just because she couldn't remember what happened to her didn't change the fact that it happened. Her body was repeatedly used and abused by a rotating cast of monsters. And that shit leaves its mark."

As she says this, I feel someone take a seat beside me, and suddenly I'm being hugged.

I look up to see James, he gives me a sympathetic smile, as my eyes builds up only more tears. It just run down my cheeks, and it's impossible to make it stop.

I see Kenji stare at me and James, Adam does too.

"we will find him Elena, I promise." James tells me quietly so no one else hears.

"you can't promise that James.." I tell him quietly too.

"Yes I can."

"Maybe you don't understand," Nazeera says.

"I read all the reports. I hacked into all my father's files. I found everything. What they did to Ella over the course of twelve years is unspeakable. So yes, I'm sure you remember a very different person. But I don't think she became someone she wasn't. My guess is she finally gathered the strength to remember who she'd always been. And if you don't get that, I'm glad things didn't work out between the two of you."

In an instant, the tension in the room is nearly suffocating.
Adam looks mad.

Kenji clears his throat.

"So you guys, uh, you all knew about Adam and Juliette, too, huh? I didn't realize you knew about that. Huh. Interesting."

Nazeera takes her time turning in her seat to look Kenji in the eye.

"Are you kidding?" she says, staring at him like he's worse than an idiot.

"Where did you get these photos?" Alia asks, changing the subject. "How can we trust that they're real?"

At first, Nazeera only looks at her. And she seems resigned when she says, "I don't know how to convince you that the photos are real. I can only tell you that they are."

The room goes silent.

"Why do you even care?" Lily says. "Why are we supposed to believe you care about this? About Juliette—about Ella? What do you have to gain from helping us? Why would you betray your parents?"