The Radiants Chronicons : Vol. I & II Of The Radiants Duology Series

Radiant (Vol I) - Chapter eight

Chapter 8

After giving Dame Jodie rounds of applause for her speech, the whole meeting ended that moment and everyone began to disperse the room; including Dame Jodie herself. I excused myself from Oge and walked towards where Levi stood. "I want to be a part of the fighters"

Levi raised his eyebrow. His voice turned cold. "How about you take it slow? I know it all seems fascinating to you, but it really isn't. Don't waste your skills on fighting. Believe me, it's hellish. But if that's what you're sincerely interested in, then let's have this talk tomorrow with the other district council members. We'll see how that goes. In the meantime, Oge would give you a tour of the Clandestine. Goodbye."

He patted my back and I frowned slightly, watching him walk out of the room.

......

While Oge took me on a tour round the place, I couldn't help, but ask. "Is Levi feeling okay? He just acted so weird some minutes ago. One minute, he was all friendly and all of a sudden he became cold when I mentioned that I wanted to be a fighter."

"You want to be a part of the fight club? Of all domains in the Clandestine, you chose to be in the fight club?" My nose crinkled. Fight club? Domains? She explained, when she caught my confused look. "It's what they call themselves. It's kind of like an inside joke, that no one, but themselves get. Domain is just another fancy word for a department here. We like fancy words apparently." She paused again, and her face looked ashen immediately "Well, Levi's in a pretty dire situation right now so you'd have to forgive him. He isn't thrilled more radiants are being made to fight. Some enforcement agent killed his trainee few months back on our usual missions and it's been devastating for him. He'd rather fight alone than have any more fighters die in the process. A lot of pressure's on him lately. Being this district's leader, turning his vulnerable people to fighters and his father's over expectation of him seems to just make him recluse. You'd have to understand how much he cares about our kind."

"His trainee died? How did it happen?"

"It happened right in front of him. He actually never talks about it. No one knows the details and it's been traumatic for him. Since the incident, Levi has refused to have any trainee. Despite the fact that we're temporarily free from the government's form of imprisonment, we still have to fight for our survival."

I instantly felt stupid for assuming something else. "I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Oge smiled slightly. "It's okay. Besides, we can't change who we are, but we can make a difference with it. That's one thing Levi says all the time and it became our mantra too."

"It's a beautiful mantra."

"Words we live by."

I looked around the cafeteria she took me to and blinked in surprise when I saw an identical pair of pre-teenage girls serving the meals. "Are those the cooks? They look only 13 or so. Or are they much older, like Dame Jodie?"

Oge chuckled. "Not in the slightest. They're really 13. Taye and Kenny Wright. Come and meet them. They're the nicest pair of twins."

I followed Oge to where the twins were dishing out meals and gave a small smile to them. Despite the fact that they were twins, I could easily tell them apart. One looked really frail and tired. Her orange eyes had a much more lighter shade than any one I've ever seen and her dark dreadlocks were much shorter than the other one. Meanwhile, the other twin looked very lively. Semi-dark orange eyes and pink lips that accentuated her medium tone black skin.

The twins stopped what they were doing and smiled broadly when they saw Oge, speaking simultaneously. "Hi, Miss. doctor"

"Hi cookies. Sorry I'm interrupting your busy d-"

The lively looking twin smirked slightly. "We actually need the distraction."

The other twin with the frail body nodded. "Yeah. We've been doing this for close to an hour and my arms hurt."

The lively one looked concerned. "If you're in pain, then rest. I'll do it on my own just fine."

The frail one only shrugged, then smiled at my direction. "You're the new recruit. Saw you at today's meeting. I'm Taye Wright. I'm the older twin."

The other twin rolled her eyes. "Only by a minute and a half. Anyway, I'm Kenny Wright. The better cook. Obviously."

Taye broke into laughter "She's delusional". Kenny laughed along with her and I could see why Oge liked them.

"I'm Tamar. The new girl, as you already know."

Taye looked at me intensely. "What's your exception?"

Kenny stiffened next to her twin. Oge seemed to notice it too and gave a swift grin. "Ever heard of an eidetic memory? She has that."

Taye repeated it slowly. "Eidetic memory."

I couldn't understand why everyone acted uncomfortable when Taye asked about it, but it didn't stop me from answering. "I understand anything I read and remember everything I can."

Taye nodded slowly. "The Clandestine would find you useful. Not like my exception."

Kenny groaned. "Taye, don't-"

"Don't what? Talk about it? It's something everyone can see. Why shouldn't I talk about it?"

It was hard to understand what they were arguing about and I felt like I was interrupting a private moment. "I think I should get going."

Taye closed her eyes for a split second. "I'm sorry. I feel like I'm dragging you into something intense and that's kind of unfair. The thing is, I'm dying."

Kenny glared at her twin. "She's not dying. She only has slow cellular regeneration."

"Same thing."

Oge shook her head. "Not really. She actually has slow tissue regeneration. Her body takes a long time to heal regenerative tissues in her body. Even injuries too."

Taye snickered. "Nerd."

Rolling her eyes, Oge answered. "This 'nerd' is researching day in day out to help you find a cure."

Taye tensed. "Sorry. You know I'm kidding, right?"

Waving her hand dismissively, Oge responded. "I never disputed that. I know. It's okay. Anyway, Tamar. I think we're done with our tour. I've got some work to do."

Taye gave an appreciative smile to Oge, and glanced my way. "Don't worry. You'd finally get used to living here and it'll feel just like home." I returned the smile and said nothing, but deep down I knew nothing could ever feel like home.

.......
Do you think it's sensible for Tamar to want to be a part of the fighters? Or the "fight club", as they call it.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Xoxo
Jasmine