A Rebellion Of Flames

Chapter Thirteen

"Wake up!" A voice hissed.

I rolled over in my bed, burying my face into my pillow. "Hmph." was all I made out. I was incredibly tired from the last few days of training. Not only had I been practicing combat and weaponry all day -which I had to admit I was actually pretty good at- but I had to attend meetings with Rye and other rebel members.

That was part of the conditions for me to join. I had to attend these long, drawn-out meetings while Ember and Hallie got to go around the rebel base, which actually had some activities to do. I knew I had to do these meetings because of my parentage. The people in this meeting all had parents who were a part of the original rebel group. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any more bearable.

The person who was trying to wake me up shook me. "I said wake up, Blaire." I recognized the voice. It was Rye.

"Fine," I said, annoyed. I sat up. "Do you mind at least leaving so I can change?"

He nodded and left the room. I slipped on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Quickly, I brushed my hair and washed my face in the shared bathroom I had with Ember and Hallie, being as quiet as I could to not wake them up.

I walked towards the window and pulled it open. It was really early. The watch on my wrist drew my eyes to it, and I saw the time. I groaned. It was 2 in the morning. As quietly as I could, I opened my bedroom door and walked out to see Rye leaning against a wall. "Follow me." he said in a friendly tone.

I shrugged and did so. We'd been in the camp for about 2 weeks now, and this wasn't the first time he'd woken me up this early. We walked out of the sleeping chamber building, and the cold air bit at my skin. I shivered but didn't say anything. We were likely going to be indoors soon.

He smiled at me, and I smiled back. He was nice, but I didn't understand why Hallie and Ember liked him that way. I had felt some sort of connection to him since I met him, and we had instantly become close, but it just wasn't the same as what they described. Maybe I'd met him when I was really young. I wasn't quite sure.

We trudged down the streets of the camp until we reached a large brick building. I hadn't been in here before. It was about 3 stories tall and had windows about every 5 feet, with the curtains drawn on every single one. "What are we doing here?" I asked.

Rye walked up the stairs to the building. "How about instead of just telling you, you come and see for yourself." he said, with a grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Okay, okay."

We entered the building, and I took immediate notice of the cozy look it gave off. Wooden floors, and couches in the entryway. I followed him through a few hallways, and we made conversation about the training as we did so. He was nice. I enjoyed being around him.

Eventually, we reached a room of comparable size to the training rooms we used. There were targets placed along the back wall. "What's this?"

Rye grabbed a bow and arrow and handed it to me. "This," he said in an approving tone "is where you're going to learn to shoot.".

I laughed. "No, what are we really doing?" I wasn't qualified yet to learn this.

His face became serious. "I'm not kidding."

I turned to look at him. "You woke me up this early to practice archery?"

He shrugged. "If you hurry, you can get to bed at 4, and have another hour and a half of sleep.".

"...okay," I said, taking the bow in my hands. "I'll try it." With a deep breath, I pulled the bow into the stance we'd learned. We'd learned how to hold one, but hadn't used it yet. Rye directed me, telling me how to put the arrow on, and how to aim. When he was convinced I was ready, he gave me the okay. I sighed, drew the arrow back, and shot it.