A/N: So here we go! First day on a schedule! Sorry for the long wait, guys. Hopefully things will work out better now! Again, all of your reads and votes are a HUGE blessing and I'm so grateful for it! Enjoy!
Day 21 of the epidemic: June 28, 2138
The Burned, as victims of the Sear are now being called, have appeared in America. Isolated, random, and rare, only three or four cases have occurred so far. Of course, with my luck, one of such victims attacked our school today with an assault rifle. Thirteen students were killed, and the man was stopped by Evan. No one questioned where he pulled a gun from; we were all too grateful to be alive.
CDC has announced the disease spawned from the vaccine, but how people are being affected now has not yet been isolated. They speculate it has something to do with dehydration, but nothing is really certain.
Emma showed up at my house after school with tear stained eyes and asked me to stay here for a little bit. Apparently, her father left the house again, and her mother went after him. Evan's supposed to show later tonight.
Apparently, school's out for now. Took them long enough.
Thursday comes before I can fully realize what's going on. The journal chronicles the days of calm before the storm, the last days of peace before the Sear takes over the earth. I, on the other hand, waste my time avoiding Mikhail for a while, exploring the Refuge with Callie and Kara, and a few more somber conversations with Kyros and Titus. I almost forget about the lunch scheduled for Titus and I until an hour before noon on the day of.
Mr. Riddick walks in and glances at me with a confused expression, questioning me of Titus' presence. I hesitate as I wonder where my brother is, and then shrug.
"Don't really know. Why, what happened?"
"Your lunch? With McGregor?" the man asks, and I nearly fall out of my seat. Crap.
"That's today?!" I screech, sprinting upstairs and changing into some more suitable clothes as quick as I can. Moments later, Titus and I are crammed into the backseat of the car, driving silently towards the restaurant McGregor plans to meet us at.
I'm honestly a little bit afraid of what will happen at this lunch. McGregor doesn't seem unkind, but something about him makes me uneasy. He had some connection to Mom and her secrets, though of what nature they are I do not know. I quickly decide to keep myself mostly quiet, if only because I don't trust anyone that easily.
We park quickly, and Titus gives me a nervous glance as I step out of the car. Of the three of us, Mr. Riddick is the most excited about this. Meeting McGregor like this must be some huge honor, because everyone is watching his table as we enter the room.
"Garrett! I was beginning to wonder if you'd show up at all," McGregor grins, shaking Mr. Riddick's hand steadily as he motions for us to seat.
"If you don't mind, you could pick them up later? Say, in two hours or so?" the Councilman offers, and Kyros' father agrees with little question. Both Titus and I sit quietly as McGregor says something to the waitress,and my fidgeting hands suddenly become very interesting. This is weird.
"I'm sure both of you are wondering why I'd want to meet with you both," he starts, and Titus lets out a scoff.
"No disrespect, sir, but we're not kids. We know this has to do with our mother," my brother quickly butts in, and I kick his foot gently to get him to shut up. He doesn't even flinch, staring down the Councilman without any sign of fear.
"You cut straight to the point. Like your father," the man chuckles, and I see Titus clench his fists in either anger or fright. Probably both, because first of all, he shouldn't know our father, and second of all, the last thing both of us want is to be like him.
"I am nothing like him," Titus spits, eyes unwavering. He's frustrated now. I guess I am too, in a way. I'm mostly frustrated because every day we spend here pounds the idea that we're never going home further into my brain.
"What was your father's name?"
"Is his name? Matthias Simon," Titus answers, expression unmoving as McGregor's face shifts.
"And your mother?"
"Athena Simon," I answer quickly. He frowns a little bit.
"Did your mother ever mention anything about the Refuge while you were away?" he questions, glancing up at the window and then back to us.
"No, sir. Only before we left," Titus says, voice taught but not disrespectful.
"My sister's name was Athena McGregor. Before she was banished, she had a five-year-old boy named Titus and was pregnant with a girl she swore to name Ariadne," he says quietly, before looking up at us and waiting for a reaction. He doesn't get one apart from blank faces.
This doesn't make any sense. So Matthias wasn't our blood father? If he wasn't, where's our real father? Why didn't Mom say anything?! Why doesn't Titus know any of this stuff?
Wait... does Titus know this already?!
"Did you know?" I ask him in a hissed whisper, and he shoots me a worried glance.
"No. But then again, I really can't remember anything about my life until I was around six, so this might explain that issue," he replies, and we both glance back at McGregor.
"Explain," I say, voice now cold and hard. This needs to be sorted out. These are my dead mother's secrets we're unveiling now, and none should be taken lightly. Not if I want to be free of her ghost.
"Your father, or at least I think he was your father, broke a very important law of ours. He tried ally himself with the Burned, a crime here punishable by banishment; we've lost too many at the hands of those monsters. Either way, your father was determined to cure the creatures we all know as incurable. He went insane trying to save them. When he didn't stop after a few weeks of back and forth, his entire family was banished for his crimes. We must assume from what you say here that he perished in the desert, while your mother made it to the other dome. She must've remarried to the man you know as your father."
"And my memory gap?"
"Your government must not have liked the unknown. It's not all that hard to wipe specific parts of memory these days," he says, waving the thought off as the waitress serves him a heap of pancakes and finally hands us menus.
"I simply love breakfast for lunch. Especially maple syrup. It's incredibly expensive because of the work it takes to fabricate it, but I could drink that stuff straight out of the bottle," he smiles, trying to appear friendly.
"Liquid diabetes," Titus whispers, and I stifle a snicker at his comment. McGregor doesn't seem to notice, merely digging into his food as he waits for us to react.
"So my mother was your sister?" Titus asks, and McGregor nods.
"Indeed. We were quite close before she married your father; I never really approved of him," he states, as if the thought is little more than a sticky note on his computer to throw away..
"Who was my father, anyway? What was his name?"
"Ezekiel Thorne. He was a researcher who was obsessed with curing the Burned. We banished him with your mother," McGregor tells me, and I clench my fists to keep from hitting something. Or someone.
"She was my mother, your sister, and you kicked her out?" I say, my voice dangerously calm and quiet. Titus shoots me a worried glare, and then turns away to avoid further angering me. I can barely see straight as McGregor nods cautiously and slowly.
"Believe me when I say I would've stopped it if I could. But it was the law, and as a head member of the Council, it's my job to uphold the law." he states, and for a few seconds the mask comes off and I can see the hurt behind his eyes. It flits away moments later, making me wonder if it was there at all.
"But she's dead now," I say, and McGregor looks shocked.
"What, you thought I'd leave her behind for some wackjob adventure in the desert?" I spit, and Titus kicks at my foot under the table. He knows I have temper issues sometimes, but I think this time I've actually lost control.
"She was my mother! And she's dead because of stupid Lockman, who she only met because of you!"I say, eliciting a few uncomfortable stares from around the diner.
"And who was Matthias, then?" I ask, glaring over at Titus, who looks increasingly uncomfortable.
"Ari, keep it down," he tries, but it's too late. I'm on my feet now.
"I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by this mess, but if you expect us to run back into your arms because we've got the same blood, you're wrong," I spit at him, whirling and leaving with my fists clenched tightly. I hear Titus apologize before I make it out of the restaurant, all eyes on my brother and I who dared to challenge a member of the Council, who made military leaders bow.
I don't stop walking, despite Titus' calls for me to stop. I can't; of the three ghosts that follow me around now, my mother's is the strongest by far, and any disrespect gives her more and more power over me. I whip out my phone and call Kara quickly, merely telling her to come get us before hanging up. With a heavy sigh of frustration, I bury my hands into my hair and lean up against the wall, trying to slow my breathing to a normal level. That's something new I've been dealing with; when I'm really scared or stressed lately, I'm not really able to regulate my breathing.
Titus catches up and wordlessly leans up next to me, watching the cars whiz by on the street.
"That was quite the show," he says with a chuckle, and I give him a slight smirk.
"I try," I tell him, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You believe him?" he asks next, mood somber now as we wait for Kara's car to pull up. Some dude with a tattoo up his arm bikes by, trying a smile but receiving none in return from either of us.
"I don't know," I finally reply, and he nods slowly.
"It does explain a lot," he says with a shrug, and I agree with him cautiously. It's still weird, though.
"I'm an idiot. I shouldn't have challenged him like that," I tell him, and Titus gives me an offended glance.
"Are you kidding me? It takes guts to do that. If I was half as brave as you, I'd have done it too," he chuckles, and I raise a skeptical eyebrow.
"Yeah, right."
"I'm serious. Your soul was forged by firelight; you could burn down kingdoms with your spark." he says, and pulls me into his arms. Titus has always been my strong tower to lean on when things go wrong, so I'm glad I finally have my brother back to turn to. I decide to take my problems to him like I've done so many times.
"So what do I do about Mikhail now?" I ask, pulling away and looking up at him curiously. He bites his lip, and looks very much perplexed.
"I mean... I want to say run, but at the same time, my logic side tells me there must be a reason he didn't tell us," he admits, scratching at the back of his head.
"Kara says I should hear him out whenever he wants to talk about it,"
He lets out a scoff, but a smirk spreads across his face anyway.
"I mean, if he'll talk to anyone, it's you. So if we wanna find stuff out, then go for it," he tells me, a little grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. I smile back over at him, just as Kara's car honks at us loudly.
"You two coming or not?" she asks, and I yell "shotgun!" and leap into the front. Titus grudgingly takes the back, and Kara quickly pulls away and takes off towards home.
"What happened?!" she finally asks, sounding more confused than worried.
"Ari yelled at McGregor. Isn't that right, Spunk?" he asks, and I fight a smile.
"Maybe. He deserved it," I say, folding my arms across my chest as Kara stares at us in shock.
"That he did, little sister. That he did."
Kara merely stares ahead on the road, her entire face unmoving from its slack-jawed expression for who knows how long.
"Kara? You okay?" Titus asks, but to no avail. We pull into the sidewalk in front of the Riddick's area, entering the house still without a word. Kyros' sister slowly places her keys onto the counter, methodically turning to face us.
"Why?" is all she manages to squeak out. Titus stifles a fit of laughter, and I flash her a playful grin.
"He was saying some things about my family I didn't take too kindly to," I say with a shrug, heading upstairs to change into more comfortable things quickly. By the time I make it downstairs again, Titus is convincing Kara to order pizza.
"What is it Mikhail calls you? Jinx, right?" Kara asks with a grin, and I nod despite a raised eyebrow.
"Well. I'm adopting it. It sure isn't good luck that gets you into these messes," she says, and I shrug in acknowledgement. She has a point; Jinx is kinda fitting.
"To me she'll always be Spunk. Or Punk, if she's done something stupid," Titus laughs, and I shoot him a fake pouty face as he bursts into peals of laughter. Kara seems surprised by his actions; I mean, I am too, but she's only seen grumpy Titus. This is the brother I grew up with, the boy who loved his family and would protect it with his life. Also the boy who couldn't keep his mouth shut.
"Where's Kyros?" I ask Kara, suddenly noticing the empty house.
"He went out with Callie and Mikhail. Callie was planning something; I'm not sure why she needed Ash and Mikhail,"
I frown a little at that, because Callista isn't really one to keep secrets, but I brush it off as probably some plan for a surprise for one of us. She would do something like that.
Either way, the crazy day doesn't get much crazier. Callie and the boys arrive about an hour after we do, and we all kind of hang out and mess around until Mr. Riddick gets home. And that's when the bomb goes off.
"Mikhail, Callie, and Kara, can you three leave the room? Ash, you stay here, because you're gonna help me sort this mess out," he says as he enters, tossing his keys onto the counter and waiting until the other three leave the room.
"McGregor said you two bailed on him during lunch. Is that true?" he asks, voice taught and cold. I look to Titus, who nods in support, and then flash Mr. Riddick the biggest grin I can muster.
"Yep," I say, and he looks furious.
"Why?"
"He's not very nice to the memory I have of my mother," I say, glancing to Kyros for support. The boy stifles laughter, but doesn't say a word.
"Ariadne, you do know that you can't just ignore truth because you don't like it?" he asks, looking exasperated.
"Yeah, but you also don't accept everything people tell you without any proof."
"This whole dome is your proof! Everyone here knows about Athena and Ezekial Thorne, who were kicked out kids and all! The Council lost serious merit during those two years, and the story is told in history books now! You want proof? Go ask anyone in the streets!"
I bite my lip to keep from lashing out. So Kyros must've known. I glance up at him, hurt that he would keep secrets like this, too. He glances at his father, and then back at me.
I'll explain later, he mouths, and I raise an eyebrow as I turn back to Mr. Riddick.
"My mother was not the wife of some crazy man. I would know, because I grew up with her. So when I see living proof that my real father was a maniac, I'll believe you then," I say, ignoring his calls of my name as I sprint upstairs. Titus says something to support whatever I just said, and I hear his footsteps follow me up the stairs. Before I can enter the girls' room, Titus grabs my wrist and pulls me into the room, sitting me down on their unmade beds.
"Wait," he says, as I glare nervously at Mikhail. He makes a silly face to try and break the ice, but receives no laughter from me. Kyros enters a few moments later, his mind stretched into his thinking face.
"We're gonna break you into the library," he states, as if it's just a thought at the back of his head.
"You what?!" I practically spit, and the boy gives me a grin and a shrug.
"Sure. You're finally gonna be able to pin down what happened to your mother,"
"Okay. Fine. But you want to finally explain how you knew this whole story and never told me?"
Kyros takes a heavy sigh, meeting my eyes with is pleading ones, and then begins his story.
"So the story everyone knows is what was announced by the Council the day it happened; no one actually saw the ordeal go down. I've had my doubts about the whole story since I heard it, so I went snooping around in the library. I found some files that gave me some evidence contrary to what McGregor's story told, but before I could really look into it, I got caught and banished. I decided not to tell you in case I would be telling you a lie," he finishes, and I raise a skeptical eyebrow.
"Really, now?"
"Really." he assures me, and Titus shrugs.
"I would've done it, too, Ari. At least, if I was in his position, I wouldn't have told you what I thought to be a lie," Titus tells me, nodding assuringly. He obviously gets along pretty well with Kyros, which isa good thing. Apart from Felix, Titus always tried to murder any guy friends I had in the past.
"I'll let it slide for now, but this conversation isn't over," I finally say, and Kyros breathes a sigh of relief.
"Fair enough. So here's the plan..."