The Descendants Series Vol. 2

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I was pretty sure I’d been walking for more than two hours before I stopped to take a break.  I was pretty wiped out since I’d been climbing up and down what seemed like mountains.  I’d never been farther than a mile on foot from Division Sixteen, so I really didn’t know the terrain.

But once I stopped, I sat down beside a tree, leaned back against it and closed my eyes.  I wasn’t really tired like I wanted to go to sleep.  My muscles were sore from all the walking.  I hadn’t had to walk that far in a long time, so my body wasn’t used to it. 

When I opened my eyes a few minutes later, I saw something in the distance that I didn’t expect to see.  It looked like a little house.  It looked like it had survived all the bombings.  Well, it would have since it was basically in the middle of nowhere.  It was made out of logs and wasn’t bigger than our house that we had near Chicago. 

I got up and started toward it, adjusting the backpack on my shoulder.  Once beside it, I noticed that it looked like someone had been there recently because the door leading inside was cracked open.  I pushed it all the way open, my hand on the knife at my waist, just in case it was a trap. 

But when I walked inside, there was no one there.  And what I wasn’t expecting to see was that the house wasn’t a house at all, but what looked like a larger version of Division Sixteen’s control room.

It had the same wall screen and computer monitors on tables, only there were a lot more.  Some screens had images of the forest surrounding the house.  I guess the Directrix – since this was obviously one of their separate control centers – had eyes where we didn’t even think they did.

I walked up to the screen and looked at everything that was on it.  But when I looked toward the right side, I noticed something that I’d seen before.  It looked like the message that Luke had opened up on the screen back when Nash and I were listening in to what they were talking about, including my grandma.

I reached for it hesitantly.  I didn’t know if I really wanted to open it and read what it said.  Whatever it did say, it seemed to cause concern from everyone that had seen it.  Not wanted to wait any longer, I reached and pressed on the screen.

We are sending the two out with a group of fifteen Guards to capture Rayney Cooper.  But if anyone finds her before they do, capture her.  The order form Slayter is to kill her.

“Kill,” I said out loud, even though there was no one around to hear me.  “So that’s why Grandma didn’t want me to go on the raid, because I’m next on the Directrix’s hit list.”

I heard my messenger beep then.  I reached for it and looked at the screen.  Rowan.

Are you okay? it read.

Yes.  I’m in some Directrix control room.  It’s weird that it’s out in the middle of nowhere, but they’ve apparently got cameras all around the forest.

What does it have in there? 

Everything that Division Sixteen’s does, just a lot bigger.

Everyone’s freaking out here because you left.  And they’re all mad that I let you go.

You practically pushed me out the door. 

Yeah, I know.  They were going to send Nash, Xander and Slade out to find you, but I told them that you would have been too far gone to ever find you.

When was this?

Just a few minutes ago, when they realized that you weren’t here anymore.  Nash is pretty pissed at you.