The Listener

Chapter 5

“I don’t know, but no one mentioned anything about recruitment.” I mumbled and she rolled her currently blue eyes.

I don’t know if I’d be able to tell if she was rolling her eyes when they were entirely white.

“No one ever does.” Amelia said coldly then shot me a glare before she shoved away from the table and stomped back up the stairs, but not before snatching up Will’s coffee with greedy fingers, spilling only a few hot drops on the table in her haste.

I watched her go, frowning. She wasn’t mad at me, she was mad at the world, angry about everything she couldn’t control.

I knew how she felt.

“Awesome. Great going. You pissed Amelia off already.” Will spat at me before he went off to follow her.

I furrowed my eyebrows at Will’s retreating figure. At least he seems to like someone.

“Damn, I hope Will can get Amelia calmed down.” Quin murmured and then shuddered. “She’s scary when she’s angry. Even more than usual.” Lynne frowned at her brother, but didn’t contradict him either.

Nate stood up. “Come on, Lis, I’ll take you to Deacon.”

Joy, another person who wants something from me. I had to hope he was better than The United Empire, but I wasn’t feeling too positive right now. I followed Nate like it was a funeral procession and I was in the coffin.

“Jeez, try not to look like I’m leading you to the guillotine.” Nate commented with a teasing grin.

“Sorry, I just, just… don’t know what to expect from him, I guess, what he wants.” My nerves made my voice tremble.

Nate stopped walking down the small back hallway, right in front of the back door, and turned to me. He grabbed my upper arms, squeezing them comfortingly in his strong hands. “Hey, relax. Deacon is a good guy and you’re one of us now. He just wants to meet you and give you a quick rundown of our operation here. So don’t panic just yet.”

I nodded and he continued out the door to an industrial looking steel and concrete building a few blocks over. We didn’t pass anyone on our way there and I was somewhat disappointed. I missed the sounds already.

At the door, Nate punched a code into a keypad at the door while I stared, bewildered.

There was no voice box at the entry.

Nate grinned at my confusion, but didn’t bother to explain. It was glaringly obvious. No Empire, no voice boxes, and we were definitely outside the Empire right now.

He placed his hand on the small of my back and gently urged me forward, where my eyes landed on a swirling mass of hustling bodies. No one paid us any mind, as they all seemed to be focused on something of tremendous importance, but the noise comforted me nonetheless.

Nate led us inside an elevator then pushed the button for the top floor. It rattled dangerously and I eyed it with suspicion. It sounded nothing like the smooth glide of the Empire elevators that always rose without a hitch.

I held my breath hoping I wasn’t about to meet my demise in the bottom of an elevator shaft. It would be embarrassingly anti-climatic after all the big, scary men with guns that I had faced down these last few days.

The doors opened safely revealing the stark, modern concrete walls of the building and Nate nudged me along to double steel doors at the end of the surprisingly empty corridor.

He punched in another code on a keypad mounted on the wall. The imposing doors split apart revealing a large, open office, as modern as the rest of the building. It contained black, leather furniture and a steel desk with a robust, middle aged man hunched over the desk. He had dark hair, caramel colored skin, and ruddy cheeks. He looked up at the sound of the doors and his warm chocolate-colored eyes met mine, smiling. “The Listener, I presume.”

“She goes by Lissa now.” Nate piped in.

Deacon stood and strode towards us. “Ah, very good. I think that will suit you nicely.” The man grasped my hand in a gentle handshake and then tugged me toward the couch. “I’m Deacon. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lissa.”

He dropped into the seat and I balanced precariously next to him, unsure what to make of the overtly friendly man. “You too.” I offered a small smile while Nate made himself at home on the couch across from us, sprawling out so as to take up as much room as possible.

“So what I like to do with all our newcomers is to give them an overview of what happens here,” he looked at me carefully, before he smiled. “So to speak. I want to make sure you know what you’re signing up for. The Empire made an attempt on your life, but that doesn’t mean you have to join forces with us. I would never force you. If you decide to join us, it should be entirely your choice.” Deacon patted my knee before he drew his hand back.

“The Renegades are made up of a group of people that were specifically targeted by the United Empire when they came into power, those with abilities like you. Now we fight with the rest of the Westerners to try and overthrow them. If you joined us we would train you to understand and use your power, to fight, and hopefully you would be able to help us take down the Empire.” Deacon appraised me as though searching to see if I could be their salvation. “From what I’ve heard you have a unique gift. I don’t know if you can turn the tide in a war, but in order to find out I have to know if you’re willing to fight with us. Do you wish to take down the Empire?”

I opened my mouth then bit my lip and looked away.

The bank filled with people, desperate for loans jumped into my head. The streets of the Isle, crowded with starving homeless people, listlessly milling about, searching for a dry place to rest their heads on another empty stomach night. Innocent Knox Tanner who was executed for a crime he didn’t commit. A man in black who stood in my apartment, waiting to kill me on Empire orders.  

Images flashed through my brain faster than I could control, but then I couldn’t stop myself from fixating on the mysterious assassin. He was just another pawn of the Empire, I was sure. He probably had no idea what I had even done to deserve being gunned down like a rabid animal.

I suddenly understood what Lynne meant about the Military South being safer than the Information North. Information in The United Empire could get you killed faster than any gun.

The man on the other end of the handgun was just a flash in my mind, a black mask drawn over his face, and a black military uniform obscuring the rest of him. He was a soldier for the United Empire, but I couldn’t imagine what could drive a person to be willing to sign up for that. It guaranteed you food and roof over your head, but the atrocities the army committed were beyond unspeakable. Murdering innocents was just the tip of the iceberg.

The soldier had been sent to kill me, but he had failed. The possibility that he was still alive was slim, and for some reason that thought tormented me. He had been a killer, but it would still be my fault if he were dead. The only thing I knew of that could drive someone to join the army was complete and total desperation, something the United Empire was very good at creating.

Pity leaked into me through every single pore in my skin. To feel something so similar to sympathy for the man that tried to murder you is a strange sensation, but there it is.

The Empire had one good quality. It unites everyone because we all have a common enemy. The United Empire.

I looked back up at Deacon with determination clearly written across my face. He was waiting, his smile expectant, but never losing his patience.

“I’m in.”

Wow, so she's joining the Renegades... Are you happy about that or do you not trust them? Or maybe undecided as of yet? What did you guys think of Amelia and Deacon? Is it weird that I always tend to like the characters that are the meanest or angriest the most? Cause right now I'm kind of loving Amelia and Will, but I do like Nate too... Maybe there's hope for me;) haha

Predictions, suggestions, opinions?

Vote, comment, follow! 

~lydielou