Chapter 7
"Would you like to take a tour around The Clandestine?" Levi asked, in a rather melodic tune to his voice.
My eyebrows furrowed when he asked it. It was still shocking to me to know about the Strikers and yet, I was hearing more words I couldn't comprehend. "The Clandes-what?"
Oge snorted. "Levi likes to call this place that. I still think it's lame". I found myself smiling.
Levi cleared his throat. He ran his hands down his curly hair. "Well?"
"I'd be crazy not to. How many of us are here?"
Levi explained. "Probably over seventy. More or less. If we reach a hundred, we'd have to set up a new base. This place would be too small to hold more than a hundred radiants."
The door flew open and a young dark skinned man dressed in casual outfit walked in. His head hung low and he opened his mouth slightly to speak, but Oge cut in. "Thank goodness you're here. I'd like you to meet my healthcare assistant, Mubarak. Mubarak, meet Tamar. She's new here."
Mubarak nodded. "Welcome to our base. But I have important news to give. Dame Jodie is here. She wants to see us all."
They all exchanged worried looks and it made me wonder. "Who's Dame Jodie?"
Levi sighed. "You'll see for yourself"
......
I followed them through the dark walls, trying to stay at ease. I could feel my anxiety building up at the thought of meeting new people, especially Radiants. I was never good with my kind and it made me feel nervous. The nervousness must have shown on my face because Levi turned his head and looked at me. There was slight concern on his face. "Are you okay? You seem tense."
"Just anxious."
Levi shrugged. "You can relax. Everyone's generally nice."
Oge didn't look convinced. "Almost everyone."
Levi didn't respond back, and gently pushed open a large wooden door. I looked around in awe. A large number of people were sitting in rows of seats, arranged in a square shape where a tall woman stood at the centre. Her slightly dark skin glowed and her orange eyes held a serious expression. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."
Levi faced her squarely. It looked like everyone respected her, despite the fact that she only looked a couple years older than the rest of us. Probably in her mid twenties. "The new recruit just woke up. She passed out for hours."
The woman took her time to look at me. She stretched out her arm. "You're the new girl? Come forward and introduce yourself to me."
I turned my head to look at Levi for confirmation and he gave me a small nod. Taking in my breath slowly, I walked through the pathway and ignored the pairs of orange eyes staring at me, as I went to the centre stage.
The woman smiled. "I am Dame Jodie. The adult representative for this district from the Global Council of Radiants. It's a honor to have you here. What's your name, girl?"
"Tamar Adu."
The woman nodded. "What's your exception?"
The way she spoke in such a warm coaxing manner, put me at ease. "I have an eidetic memory. It's like a photographic memory."
Dame Jodie looked impressed. "You would be useful here. Welcome again. You may have your seat."
Nodding at her, I scanned my eyes to find whenever Oge sat. I noticed she had sat next to Mubarak and Levi and quickly took my seat there. Dame Jodie signalled towards Levi, who immediately went to meet her and exchanged hushed whispers in front.
I looked at Oge and whispered. "She seems nice. Maybe that's why everyone respects her."
Oge shrugged "She is nice, but she's mostly respected here because she's much more older than any of us. She's fifty two."
If I had a glass of water in my mouth, I would have spat everything out, because of what Oge just said. "You're kidding, right? She looks 25."
"It's her exception. Not all exception comes as a blessing like it did for you and I. Some aren't always lucky. Hers is that she ages slowly. She usually ages half her age. Like when she was 12, she looked like a six year old. She's looks 26 now, but she's really fifty two. She's one of the first recorded Radiants to exist. I've been studying the DNA samples and the cell regenerative processes in her body, with Mubarak and it's remarkable how it works. I'll show you some other time. It's really impressive, "
I was amazed and really wanted to ask Oge more questions, but then Dame Jodie's voice perched up. "Now that we're all here, I have news from the Council headquarters. The fight against our kind is getting worse." Levi's mouth twisted slowly and his eyebrows were drawn. He was standing next to Dame Jodie at the centre stage and her speech seemed to make him frown. "But now, they have gotten more security enforcers to avoid any mishaps. According to your district Leader. They met at least ten officers today and wasn't easy to defeat them at all. We need more volunteer fighters. We can't do what we do without the assistance from the rest of you. They want to get rid of us but we won't let them. So please, join in our fight so we can protect our kind from the worst. We need to fight for ourselves because no one would fight for us."
I couldn't explain the feeling I felt, but I found myself feeling drawn to the words she said. Something unusual niggled in me and I knew that I wanted to be a part of this. All my life, I had sat back and let my kind be treated badly. I had avoided and selfishly hid from who I was. But now, I could save them. Fight for them. I really wanted to be a part of that.
......
Now we've finally met Dame Jodie and known about her unusual "exception".
Naturally, the origin and significance of radiants is a very complicated story, so if anyone has any question about radiants or anything related to them, please feel free to ask. I'm always ready to help.
Xoxo
Jasmine