Liberation

Chapter 15

Julia's point of view:

"What did you do?" Evelyn asks again, the look on her face making me want to crawl away and hide.

"I...we....went to Will's headquarters last night. I wanted to find Henley so I'd know where she was. One thing led to another, and I ended up hurting Will. A piece of fabric from my clothes got snagged on the fence as we were escaping, and Henley must have figured out who it belonged to. It's...it's my fault, all of it. It was my idea," I explain, trying my best to hold back my tears.

"How did you know what to do? Where to go, what to expect?" Evelyn asks, putting a hand on her forehead.

I sneak a glance out of the corner of my eye at Victoria, a look on her face begging me not to say anything.

"What does it matter now? She's going to destroy everything!" I yell, my pulse quickening as I get a sick feeling in my stomach.

I look over at Peter, Cassia, and Adam, the only ones who know what war looks like and the horrors it brings.

"What did you see when you looked at Henley?" Adam asks, surprising me that he's still talking to me after I threatened him.

"Everything," I answer. "My parents, my sister, dead at my feet. Fire burning the entire forest. Every citizen in this city lined up against a wall and shot in the head. Bombs going off back home. Broken glass littering the streets, the screams of people as they run to nowhere. Crying out for help that wouldn't come," I answer, the horrors laid out in front of me.

"How does she plan on doing this?" Adam asks.

"I don't know! But nothing will be left! She doesn't care if she dies anymore, all she cares about is leaving everything in her wake in ruin. Nothing will be left, no one will survive!" I yell, my hands shaking violently.

"We'll never be liberated?" Evelyn asks in a quiet voice.

"This isn't right, there has to be something that can be done," Genevieve speaks out, surprising me that she could be serious.

However, there is nothing but silence. No one offers any kind of solution or a plan.

That is, of course, until Adam speaks up.

"There's always something that can be done. We're not going down yet," Adam says firmly.

"What do you propose we can do? We've fought a war once, but no one's ready to do it again," Cassia says. "She's not waiting this time. She will kill quickly," I bring up.

"Listen to me!" Adam yells. "I'm going to have to contact my sisters back home and tell them to prepare for a fight. Julia, you need to talk to Susan and Kyle, tell them to warn the citizens and get them to safety," he says.

"If what you say is true, then killing you will be the first step on Henley's list. Once she's got you out of the way, she'll make her way back home and take it back. So we'll have to beat her to it," Adam adds. "And how are we supposed to do that?" Peter asks.

But before he can answer, a piece of paper is shot through the mail slot on the door, landing neatly on the table next to the plate of uneaten muffins.

For a moment, no one makes a move. But then, Peter gets up and walks over to the table, gingerly picking up the paper and reading it aloud:

"Mr. Caleb and Mrs. Evelyn, you and your three daughters Jacqueline, Genevieve, and Victoria, as well as the four other residents living in your home have been selected for population control along with the rest of the society. Gather in the circle at 10:00 tonight for a final farewell. Until then, do not leave your home. Failure to abide by these rules will result in terrible punishment for you and your family."

Evelyn makes a sound of helplessness, as Caleb wraps his arms around her. "What are we going to do now?" He asks.

"We're going to go," Adam says simply.

"What?!" I demand.

"Trust me on this, I know what I'm doing," he says.