Chatty Town

Chapter 11 : The Sound of War

"Rowan. No!" Olsen wraps his grip around my wrist and yanks me backwards, stopping me in my tracks. The whiplash from the jerk brings me back to where I am. Funky Fashion. And who I'm with. Olsen. Leader of the Chatties.

I shake my head as the muffled gunshots pop in the air like fireworks. They're distant echoes and I can't help but think the worst. Dempsey, Zephyr and Merrick are under siege... on the other side of town and I'm here, with the psychopath in charge of it.

'You have to play dumb' repeats in my mind. This is what I'm here to prevent. The gun fights, the deaths, the war.
"What are those?!" I play dumb as Olsen hugs me from behind, keeping me where he wants me, away from the windows and door.

His nonchalant response sends shivers down my spine, "Gun fire."

"But why?"

"That's the sound of war, Rowan. We're at war."

I stop struggling under his custody and he loosens his hold on me.

"War? With who?" I pray my acting is believable as he turns me around to face him.

His voice is so calm, so ruthless as he holds nothing back. "With the inadequate."

"What do you mean by inadequate? Inadequate for what?"

The gunshots stop. Wren must've killed them all, again.

Olsen sighs, "For the future. Our future." He pauses for a second as he studies me over before he continues, "How far did you go yesterday, Rowan?"

He knows. He has to know. Don't be stupid. This is a test. Play dumb. I shake my head, "Just to Conrad and Sycamore."

Olsen looks down at his hand as he runs his thumb over the bandage, "And how much have the townspeople told you about Willow Brooke?"

I shrug and look away to the counter behind him, "Just that we're a progressive town... and I have to learn more about it on my own."

Olsen nods and walks over to the shop's window and sits down on a cushioned bench. "Well, we are a progressive town- but like any progress in the world, there are people who think they can stop it. Those people are the Inadequate. They stand in our way of making the world a better place for everyone."

I shake my head and walk over to him slowly, "The world? Or just the town?"

Olsen crosses his legs and smiles, "Be the change you want to see in the world, Rowan. Not just a small town."

God, it's worse than I thought! It's not just in Willow Brooke. It's a worldwide massacre.

Olsen sighs, "Besides, it's already begun taking effect all over the world."

Play dumb. Play dumb. That's the only way we can stop this. "When you say it's taken effect, what do you mean by it?"

Olsen shifts his body quickly to look outside the window and back to me as he sighs, "The world is changing, Rowan. You're either changing with it or you get left behind."
I shake my head and walk over to him, "And by left behind you mean killed?!" I bite my lip, That might've been too emotional.

Olsen's keeps an unflinching gaze on me that makes my skin crawl with each word he utters. "How else are we supposed to move forward? If even just one of the inadequates or imbeciles remain they'll repopulate– passing down what they believe to be true to their kids, and the world will never be free of the old ways."

He can't be serious. I wanna scream at him. I want to cry out that this isn't the way, but if I show any emotion against this, that's it. Game over. I'm here to gain his trust, to be brought into his schemes. It's the only way to stop this.