REDEMPTION

CHAPTER 14

It’s been four days since I saw Liam and Andy. Ever since I came back to the house, I kept feeling I was missing something, something that was a part of me, mentally or physically, I couldn’t tell.

I had gotten more restless in the nights and the nightmares came more frequently. I hardly slept and most of the nights, I ended up reading the book Zoe had given me. That’s all I did nowadays, read books. I had finished five books from the mini library and I was almost done with Zoe's book as well. Emma came over sometimes and she and Zac would disappear in the living room, their eyes glued to the glass computer or their heads bowed over the maps and blueprints that spilled over the desk or was laid out on the floor. Sometimes I heard snippets of their conversations. They had gotten really close within a few days. Most of the time, Emma stayed over for dinner and we had become good friends as well. It wasn’t boring with Zac and Emma around. Zac always tried to make sure I was in a good mood, and he did his best to make me forget about my worries. But it wasn’t enough.

I dreamt of Derek’s blue eyes almost every night. I dreamt of kissing him and touching him. I craved him, and the craving went so deep that it was almost painful. I had read his letter so many times that I had memorized it perfectly by now. Every comma and every period. I missed him so much. I wondered if he was okay. Zac had gotten a call from Zoe yesterday. The assassination would take place tonight.

Zac was restless the whole day. He kept fidgeting and talking to himself. Sometimes, he would stare off into space, as still as a statue, not uttering a word. I had never seen him so quiet and humorless. I was very scared for tonight as well. There wasn’t much we could do except wait and hope. We would find out if their plan had been successful by tomorrow morning. Zac wouldn’t take part in the assassination, he would stay here with me. Zoe and the other Assassins, along with their parents, would enter Eletia tonight and directly invade the Protector's House.

We spent the whole day in worry. Neither of us tried to comfort one another. It would be futile. Finally, in the evening, I suggested that we make dinner together.

Usually, Zac made dinner and breakfast and I made lunch. But since I couldn’t sit idle for long, I suggested that we make it together today. We made fish and mashed potatoes and beans. As I fried the fish, I watched the sun set over the horizon. It was late evening and again, dark stormy clouds were visible. 

We ate in silence, both of us lost in our thoughts. The dinner was tasty, but I hardly felt the taste on my tongue. I shoveled the food into my mouth, chewing and swallowing mechanically. After finishing dinner, Zac sat down in front of the computer again, waiting for updates from Zoe. He kept the SmartDisk near him, since that was that was their main medium of communication.

I curled up on the sofa with Zoe’s book. I tried reading but my eyes just scanned the words, not absorbing their meaning. I kept thinking of Derek and Zoe and praying that everything went alright. I couldn’t imagine happening anything to any of them. Derek could have contacted me through the SmartDisks that Zac and Zoe used to communicate with, but he didn’t, and I didn’t try either.

My eyes fell on the wall clock that was ticking away. It was ten. Zac still didn’t receive any news from Zoe. It had started raining outside again and the lightning cackled across the sky, thunder roaring. Suddenly, Zac’s computer started beeping continuously, a frantic, insistent sound. A message popped up on the screen. Zac, who had been dozing in the chair, sat up with a jerk. I kept the book down  and rushed over to him, nearly toppling a chair over in the process. It was a message from Zoe. No, not a message, it was a distress call.

“We need your help. We have been caught. Come quickly.”

I read the message thrice. My mouth went dry and my heart hammered away in my rib cage. They had been caught. Then Zac got up, and without saying a word, he emptied his bag pack and started sorting through the articles, which mainly consisted of a variety of weapons.