Revolutionary Love (The Revolution Series Book 1) (11 page)

My blue eyes blazed back at his. "I am as soft as a fuzzy bunny."

Jewel burst into laughter at my comment. She seemed carefree. Happy almost. How did Rugter get a girl like her? Rugter steeled his face and turned back around.

"How old am I?" A question I never thought to ask. Dr. Lynn said when he woke up here it was the future. Who even knew if he came from the same world as I?

"18." Jewel answered when Rugter didn't.

I looked at my hands. The scars on my palms were fading. My skin was getting a slight tan from being out in the sun a lot. I was twenty years old, not eighteen. I was in a body that was younger than mine. It grossed me out.

After a couple of hours, Rugter stopped in the middle of the road and hopped out of the truck. He grabbed a red container from the back. He was putting gas in. Jewel watched him through the review mirror. I noticed that she watched him closely when he isn't looking.

If we were back in 2015, their relationship status on Facebook would be it's complicated.

Rugter came back into the truck and started it. Except it didn't start. It just made a fast ticking noise.

"What the hell." He grumbled, attempting to start it again. Jewel watched him struggle.

"Your battery is dead." I informed him when I realized he didn't know why it wouldn't start.

Rugter whipped his head around and stared at me. "How would you know?"

"Because the noise it is making. It's either your battery or your alternator. I can check and see if the wire disconnected." I offered.

Now they were both staring at me.

"What?" I felt defensive now.

"Not many people know anything about the engine of a car." Rugter said slowly.

"Why?"

"Cars are expensive. You can't just easily buy a car. You have to work long and hard. You have to work for The Unit in order to be able to afford one. All those abandoned cars you see? They are long gone broken. There is no bringing them back. The Unit owns all mechanic shops. They don't teach people about mechanics. You and I were never taught anything mechanical. There wasn't a need. We had drivers who knew."

That didn't make sense. "Where did you get this truck? Where did Adam get his van? Where did Susan get her Honda?"

Rugter smiled a slow smile. "Sometimes we take things that aren't ours."

"Check the engine." Jewel waved for me to get out of the truck.

I didn't move. "I don't know how to fix it. I just recognize the noise and the problem."

Rugter got irritated. "You are useless."

I bit my tongue to keep myself from retorting.

Rugter opened the truck door and popped the hood of the truck. I followed behind him, even though I knew I wouldn't be any help. I had no clue what I was looking at. We were stuck in the middle of nowhere. I looked all around us. We were surrounded by open fields. We were on country roads. The mountains were far out into the distance. I had a feeling that's where we were going. Ever since I got in the car with Rugter, he seemed to be making a straight shot for the mountains.

Jewel hopped out of the truck and grabbed the bags from the back. "I guess we will go on foot."

My feet instantly started aching at that thought.

Rugter grabbed a few of the bags from her. They both started walking. I followed.

I kept tripping over gravel. The sun was setting fast. They used flashlights to help them, and I used eyesight to help me.

When the moon hung over the sky, I felt like my legs were going to give out. They felt like jello. I pressed my hand against my stomach each time it growled. I was starving.

Rugter seemed to not like me, but he didn't seem to hate me. He talked to me like a human being, but he said rude remakes to me a lot. He was set on not sharing his food with me. He did not mind my discomfort.

He would always see Evelyn every time he looked at me. I hated her. I wanted her to be living this life and suffering. For all I knew, she was living my life. She was probably failing at my job. I bet she hated my wardrobe. I didn't have any jewelry that wasn't plastic. I didn't own any rings that didn't turn your fingers green.

I barely owned street clothes. Most of the time I was working, so I was always in my uniform or pajamas.

Rugter and Jewel came to a stop. Jewel pulled her bow and arrow off of her back and aimed out into the darkness. Both flashlights got shut off. Rugter dropped to one knee and aimed his Glock.

They looked at each other. Without speaking, they communicated. Jewel motioned for me to follow her. We slid behind a broken down car.

I couldn't hear anything. My heart was beating too loud in my ears. A loud shot rang out into the air, then silence. Jewel didn't move from her spot. She was aiming her bow over the car. She let go. It glided through the air.

Another gun shot. It was deafening in the silence. With every shot, I cringed.

Rugter jogged over. His feet pounding on the ground. "There are a lot of diseased down this road. We have to go another way."

Jewel mumbled words under her breath. "I thought they cleared it over here?"

"Apparently not." Rugter grabbed my arm and fell into a jog. I had no choice but to keep pace with him.

We were jogging through tall, dead grass away from the road.

"What is the diseased?" I painted.

Jewel answered my question when Rugter kept quiet. "A man made diseased. It was made to try and win the war. Except the infection spread everywhere."

Zombies popped into my head. Except the girl who attacked me didn't try and eat me. She just seemed crazy and sick.

"What does it do?"

"It makes you have a fever. A really bad fever. For some people, it fries their brain cells and they die. Others aren't lucky. They live with it. Their brains are so fried and they are so sick they go crazy. They don't think rationally. There is no cure to fix it, but there is a vaccination. Only the people high in society get ahold of the vaccination." Jewel answered.

I looked at her. "Are you vaccinated?"

"No." She panted panicked, running faster when we heard footsteps following close behind.

Rugter let go of my arm so we could sprint. I was running the slowest out of them. Even with the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I wouldn't be able to go much longer. I was vaccinated, but from the noises coming from behind us, I knew they would tear into my skin and rip me to shreds. There was a group of them. I could hear all of their heavy footsteps. A shriek pierced the air.

"Faster." Rugter panted.

Jewel ran faster. She wasn't winded at all. My lungs were burning. I was too far out of breath and out of shape. What were these things? Their brains were fried, yet they could keep pace with perfectly healthy human beings? It didn't add up.

Rugter tripped over something and went sprawling to the ground. Without thinking twice, I threw my body over his. The diseased pounced on my back. I screamed when I felt its nails dig into my flesh.

"Mine." His scratchy voice breathed over me. Something wet globed onto the side of my face.

More nails clawed at my legs. I panicked, kicking. Rugter groaned from underneath me. I didn't know if he was vaccinated. I attempted to cover him as much as I could.

I heard three gun shots. I wiggled to get the bodies off of me. I was shaking so bad I could barely stand. Rugter stood with ease.

"Let's go! More are coming!" Jewel shouted from ten feet away.

Rugter looked at me for a beat and started running. Tears of pain streamed down my face. My back and legs were on fire.

I was surprised when Rugter took my hand and pulled me along with him. I was slowing down. I was out of breath and energy. I was the weak link in the group.

"They will stay on our trail. We need to terminate them." Jewel said, only a little out of breath.

"The second we stop and turn around they will pounce." Rugter responded. He gripped my hand tighter when it started to slip.

"Let's split up. Someone run forwards, someone run to the right, and someone run to the left." I barely got the words through my wheezing.

"Good idea." Jewel started to head off to the right.

"No!" Rugter shouted. "Evelyn doesn't have a weapon and if we supply her with one she will take off." Now Rugter's grip was loosening on my hand.

"Where will she go? She can't fend for herself." Jewel snapped.

The footsteps behind us were gaining on us.

"What if she turns on us?" Now Rugter was coming up with excuses.

"Then we shoot her." Jewel stated like it was simple.

Rugter nodded his head and let go of my hand. He pulled the handgun that was strapped to his thigh and placed it in my sweaty palms. "Good luck. Jewel you go right, Evelyn you go left, and I'll keep running forwards. We all will meet at the car on the highway."

I turned and headed left. Two pairs of footsteps kept pace with me. I was afraid. I didn't want to kill them. It wasn't their fault they were sick. The disease was man-made.

There was a shed out into the distance. Maybe I could make it inside and lock the door. I attempted to pick up my pace, but I ended up running slower. I could feel the blood dripping down my back and legs. Once I made it to the shed, I slammed the door shut. There was no light inside. I tried locking the door, but it had no lock. I used my body weight to keep it shut as the diseased slammed into it. They began to scratch at the door.

"Open, open!" It was a woman's voice. "I just want to play."

They were throwing their weight at the door. I wouldn't be able to keep it closed much longer. I was too weak.

"Please go away!" I cried.

"Play!" This time, it was a man's voice.

The girl cackled with each thump on the door. It smelt terrible in here. Keeping my back pressed against the door, I felt around with my hands. A chair. I slid it closer with my feet and jammed it under the door knob.

I felt around on the walls. Finding a light switch, I turned it on. It stayed dark. I don't know why I thought there would be electricity all the way out here.

After ten minutes of them trying to come inside, it got quiet. I didn't dare move a muscle. I was just beginning to get my breathing under control. Maybe Jewel and Rugter would come looking for me. Maybe they would save me.

A while passed. There was no movement outside. I was sitting on the floor. I could barely keep my eyes open.

It startled me when I heard a voice. "Evelyn?"

It was Jewel. Relief made my shoulders sag. I moved the chair and stepped out into the dark. I looked around. There was a figure five feet away from me. Except it was too short to be Jewel. The figure lunged at me. Without hesitating, I raised the gun and shot her. She fell to the ground but rose again. I stepped backwards. Another figure came running. I shot at the figure. This time, it thumped to the ground and didn't rise.

I looked at the girl. She was on her knees. I kept the gun pointed at her head and stepped closer.

"How do you know my name?" I inquired, hands shaking.

"All over radio. All over posters around the cities. Ever sense you were a little girl. I watched you grow" The girl spluttered blood out of her mouth. "Stephan's daughter. I found her! I found her!" When she started screaming, I shot her again. This time in her head.

After she fell to the ground, I collapsed to my knees. I was tired. I was so tired. I didn't know how much more of this I could take.

The day I woke up, my life was changed for the worse. I remember always thinking I had it hard. I didn't know what hard was. This was hard. I was barely surviving and always staring death in its eyes. I was a murderer now. I've shot four people. Four human beings. Somewhere out there somebody loved them and I just ended their lives. I had no right.

I wanted to break down. I wanted to scream and cry about the unfairness of it all. Each day, my heart broke more and more. The pain in my chest was unbearable. Instead, I pushed myself up and got back onto my feet. I couldn’t give up and I wouldn’t give up.

The rebellion may have organization and it may have a group of people, but they weren't fixing anything. They were murdering. They were making things worse. It needed to change. I stared at this diseased girl. This needed to change. Human logic: Don't spread a disease that is man made without having a cure. Somebody out there had a cure. Stephan needed to be brought down. The Unit needed to be brought down and the rules needed to change.

"Evelyn." Hearing that name, I quickly turned around and shot. I dropped the gun when I saw it was Jewel.

She lifted her left hand and brought it up to her arm. Jewel pulled her hand away. There was blood, but only a little bit. "It grazed my skin." She stated like it was no big deal and like she got shot at all the time.

With tender legs, I lifted myself from the overgrown grass. "Sorry, they knew my name." I nodded towards the dead bodies.

Jewel nodded. "Everyone knows you."

Or they think they do. It was quiet now. No heavy breathing and no running footsteps. I could hear the wind brushing through the dead grass. The noise was comforting. I closed my eyes and breathed in the smell of nature. The dead grass stood to my waist. I softly touched it with my hands, noticing the prickling feeling.

I stayed like that for a few minutes. Calmly breathing and enjoying what Earth had to provide. I knew we needed to leave. All too soon, I opened my eyes. Jewel was watching me. Something changed in her face. I wasn't sure what to do, so I gave her a tentative smile. She didn't smile back.

Jewel nodded her head for me to follow. She didn't take the gun away from me. I think she had a feeling that I felt safe with it in my hands like nobody or nothing could hurt me. We were heading back to the country road. I listened hard. I paid attention. We were not being followed by a diseased person. Subconsciously, I noticed that when the diseased are around, things got abnormally quiet.

Rugter was leaning against that old, broken down car we had initially hidden behind earlier. His demeanor relaxed when he saw Jewel. A smile flitted across his face. I watched her shoulders tense, then relax. I wasn't expecting it, but she ran to him and threw herself into his arms.

Rugter held onto her tight like he never wanted to let go. He spun her in circles. Adam flew across my mind. The way he grabbed onto me and spun me in circles. How he talked to me all night that night and held my hand. The way he tried to protect me from Rugter.

Watching Rugter and Jewel made me feel lonely. I suddenly missed Adam's presence. His musky scent filled my mind. The way his face would glow every time Mare gave him one of her smiles. In a world so cruel, Adam was soft.

If he were anyone else in the rebel group, I would have died that night in the tunnel. It was because of his softness that I was still here. Breathing. Alive. No wonder Rugter outranked him.

Rugter put Jewel down, and she avoided eye contact with me. She was embarrassed. She didn't capture me as the affectionate type.

"Let me see those battle wounds, Evelyn." Rugter ordered, motioning for me to turn around.

Following his command, I turned around and lifted my shirt over my head. Goosebumps broke out across my skin. My teeth began to chatter. Rugter clicked the flashlight on and inspected the damage.

"Your back is destroyed." He mumbled to himself.

He was talking about the burn marks from the bombing. I gave a half shrug. I couldn't see it, so it didn't bother me. I hissed when Rugter put rubbing alcohol on the scratch marks. It felt like my skin was on fire.

"They got you good..." Rugter trailed off. His voice sounded sad.

I shrugged. "Nothing I'm not used to. Have you seen my face?" I made a bad joke, I knew it the moment the words left my lips.

"You can put your shirt back on." Rugter muttered when he was finished bandaging my back. "Lift up your pants."

I lifted my dirty cotton pants and he began to work on my legs. I was surprised he was taking care of my wounds. I figured he would let me suffer with them. He didn't seem to care about my well-being.

"Jewel can we have a moment." Rugter asked.

Jewel didn't say anything, but I heard her leave. I was nervous now. Why would he send her away? Was he going to hurt me? That didn't make sense. Why would he hurt me if he was fixing me?

"Why did you do it?"

I crinkled my nose at the burning sensation. "Do what?"

"Throw your body over mine when I fell. Why would you do something like that? You could have died." Rugter’s tone was curious, but I could hear the sorrow beneath his words.

I thought for a few seconds. "It was reflex. You fell, I didn't know if you were vaccinated, and I was."

I dropped my pants when I felt him stand up. Rugter turned me to face him. He had the flashlight on my face. He wanted to watch my facial expression. I couldn't see his.

"So you would risk your life for me just like that? Ignoring the fact that I have not fed you, gave you water, or a comfortable place to sleep."

I chewed my lower lip. "Two wrongs don't make a right."

I could see Rugter's shadow. He was slowly shaking his head back and forth.

"The night that you broke me out, I was already supposed to get broken out by Adam and his group. I had a mission to complete. A mission they didn't know about." Rugter recalled.

"What was your mission?" I knew he wanted me to ask.

"The man at the top is a very intelligent man. He is good at planning. He can predict people's moves. Adam, Mitchel, Chantel, and Bret had their own mission. Scope out Stephan's property. Check the security there. They came back to him with information about you. You were different. Something was off. He dug a little only to find out you had no memory." Rugter took the flashlight off of my face. I think he didn't want to see my facial expression anymore. "They were all sent back to bomb the property to make Stephan go somewhere else. The man at the top knew where Stephan would go after a bombing like that. The Unit's military base. That's exactly what Stephan did."

Rugter stopped talking.

"Then what?" I encouraged.

Rugter began to pace in front of me. "Then that night when Adam was supposed to break me out, in the chaos, I was supposed to find you, kill you, and report back to my seeker."

I was unfazed by what he was saying. I could tell he expected his words to upset me, but it didn't. Most people nowadays wanted me dead. What he was saying was nothing old, nothing new.

"That troubles you?" I inquired, softly.

Rugter spun and looked at me. "Yes, that troubles me. When you came into the jail cell and you looked at me, I knew. I just knew. Your innocence was basically pouring out of you. You are not you anymore. You’re not the Evelyn I knew all of my life. Even when you were a child, I always knew something was different about you. I had a strong feeling you would follow in our father's footsteps. He was your hero. You looked up to him. But that night at the jail cell, you told me it was going to be okay. It felt like an apology. Then, you broke me out." Rugter seethed, he was angry now. "After I threw the grenade down the stairs, I had time to kill you. I had the gun pointed right at you head, but I couldn't do it. I hesitated. Next thing I know, Seth is opening the door, telling me to run, and taking off with you in his arms." Rugter dropped his head in his hands.