Forgotten

Chapter 34

I roll my eyes at him and look away. Honesty must not be a virtue anymore. Although I can’t really blame him for not being honest. The government did screw all of us over. The plane shudders slightly as it lifts off the ground. I watch as we soar out over Lake Michigan and bank left to head west towards the Badlands. Early morning light shimmers across the rippling waves of Lake Michigan. The city comes into view. Thousands of people bustle through the city on their way to work, oblivious to the danger and lies that have penetrated the very core of the American Government. Clouds of steam puff up from the many cars and busses that clog the streets.

I lean my head against the window and let out a small sigh,

“Breathtaking, isn’t it?” Evan asks.

I glance up at him, started. He studies me with his mesmerizing brown eyes while Jesse remains turned away from me, fixing something on one of his many guns,

“What, the city?”

Evan nods, “I know it doesn’t seem like it right now Neona, but you will be able to find beauty in the world again. Our lives are far to dangerous to not appreciate things.”

I almost laugh at the difference in logic between Evan and Sawyer. Sawyer thinks that our lives a too dangerous to stop and smell the roses, how on earth did he and Evan end up on the same side?

The edges of Evan’s lips curl up in amusement, “I see that Sawyer’s dark cloud of pessimism has gotten to you.” Let me give you some advice, don’t listen to him. He has his reasons, much like any of us when we believe something, but his demons don’t concern you. Don’t let them drag you down.”

I cross my arms and look away from him, “Are you sure you can’t read minds?”

“Of course I can, I’m a Lawyer. One twitch of the eyebrow and I know where your mind is at. Body language speaks louder than words most of the time.”

“Good to know.” I mutter.

“Take some lessons from Jesse, he’s very good at hiding how he feels. I’m almost certain that he contemplates killing me 50% of the time.”

I raise my eyebrows, this can’t be Evan, he just cracked a joke. Jesse glances at Evan with an unamused expression, “Way more than 50% chief.” I can’t help the giggle that escapes my lips. And once I start laughing, I can’t stop. Two weeks worth of laughter tumbles out of me at once. And to my surprise Evan and Jesse start laughing too. I double over as I gulp air back into my lungs. As my laughter dies I sit up and wipe a few stray tears from the corner of my eyes,

“I haven’t laughed like that in weeks.” I say breathlessly,

“Wait, you mean this isn’t the first time?”

Evan asks, mock surprise on his face. I glare at him briefly before my expression softens again. Jesse has his back to me again; hiding whatever emotion he has left in his eyes while he puts his emotionless facade back on. Evan turns away from me too, obviously pleased with the results of his jokes. Maybe he isn’t such a bad guy after all; maybe he treats all the new recruits like he treated me at first. Or maybe I’ve just been a downer. If that’s the case then I deserved to get yelled at by Evan. I was just too blind to see what a dark cloud I was casting until now,

“I’m sorry.” I blurt, surprising everyone, including myself,

“What for?” Evan asks,

“I don’t know, for being such a mess since I got to The Underground. I guess I was still trying to sort through everything that had happened in the past few weeks. So much has been taken away from me, it clouded my vision. Made me forget that everyone around me is in the same boat, that we have to fight this thing together. And the only way to win this battle is by believing that we can do it, that we will do it. I mean for heavens sake we all have so much to fight for. And if nothing else, we are fighting for each other. We are the ones who won’t forget. We’re the ones who are going to take down Sector 17 and make sure it never happens again. Even if we have to fight for the rest of our lives.”

I stop talking and take a deep breath, that apology had been a lot longer than I had intended it to be. For a moment Evan and Jesse simply stared at me, stunned over what I said. Then a look of delight lights up Evan’s face, and I even earn a tiny look of approval from Jesse,

“I knew that fire was inside you Neona. We just had to get it to burn.”