The Genesis Project Prophecy of the Seven (12 page)

CHAPTER
28

I loved the atmosphere of my little cove. How I ever lived in a house was beyond me at this point.

I’d taken my bath and redressed, getting ready to go meet my mom and dad back in the commons room. I felt like I hadn’t eaten in days and my body was beginning to ache from the lessons I’d had with my dad today.

My Dad, I smiled to myself. I never imagined that I would or could say that, and for him to actually be here…

So much had happened, so much bad yet so much good. I’d met so many people who were like me, gifted.

I didn’t have to hide who I was at all. Even though I knew we were going to go to war eventually probably sooner than later I found I was still happy and content with my life.

Maybe it was because I was doing what I was meant to do, finding my way. I thought about Jasper, I cared about him, but I cared, maybe even loved Garrett.

I walked into the commons area and instantly noticed everyone looking at me, I wondered why. Jasper stood across the room, he was leaning against the far wall watching me.

Smiling that cocky crooked grin of his, I couldn’t help that as I smiled back my entire body trembled in such a way at the sight of him.

He started walking toward me, turning and motioning for me to follow him down one of the side chambers. Excitement flashed through me like a heat wave, and I followed.

He stopped just past where the light, there was nothing but darkness here, I turned reaching out my hands trying to figure out where he had went when he pressed my body into the wall, sandwiching me with his body.

He gently trailed his lips down my neck and across my cheek only to stop before touching his lips to mine.

My breath was haggard, coming in and out painfully fast, as my heart pounded. “Why are you doing this to me?” I asked him.

“Because I know how much you like it, even though you won’t admit it to yourself
,” he said.

“I have more than admitted that to myself
,” I said pushing Jasper at arm’s length, even though I truly wanted to pull him closer, crush my body up against his...

“I haven’t denied that I like you… But I like Garrett too. There’s something about him…something I can’t explain. I feel drawn to him. If I chose him could you accept that, could you respect that I would want to be with him? Would you still stand by my side as my friend and my second?” I looked up at him, hoping he would understand, hoping that he could understand how I felt.

“Reighlyn, I will respect any decision that you make. I will always stand by your side I will never leave you or forsake you because you have chosen another man. Please just know that I care deeply for you and I will always have your back. No matter what,” Jasper kissed my cheek, a chaste kiss that lingered as he walked away leaving me stunned.

I walked back down the corridor toward the kitchen weaker now than I had been before my trip into the dark corridor.

Shock set in as I took a seat after getting my food, I had just made a decision to pursue Garrett and Garrett alone. I hadn’t meant to, but I was slightly relieved that I had, slightly.

CHAPTER 29

Ben sat at a table in the corner with Lilly and Ulric. “My wife is distraught, my daughter is apparently a monster, and my son is attempting to woo the leader of the Seven. All while we’re at war
,” Ben shook his head.

“Ben dear, your wife has every reason to be distraught, she feels as if she has lost her only daughter, her baby. As for your son, he’s a man who believes himself in love. War brings out the best and the worst in people you know. Do not think for one moment that anyone has forgotten what is at stake here
,” Lilly said pointedly.

“We do have other news
,” Ulric added.

“About Avril?” Ben asked concern clearly showed on his face.

“No, there’s a girl who’s close to Cora. We’ve seen her through Avril’s eyes. Avril hates this girl but tolerates her because of her love for Cora, we believe the girl is related to this General.” Ulric said.

“AND?” Ben slapped the table impatiently interrupting Ulric.

“And…she has defied Cora, and Avril, who is now second in command. She is at this very moment taking down guards one by one to release prisoners Cora has in her encampment,” Ulric said.

“Ben, there is one other thing
,” Lilly said. “We always wondered how they kept the gifted locked up…you know some of them could have had the power to release themselves and others from their confines.”

“You found out? You know how they’re doing it?” Ben interrupted again.

“No, we don’t know how they’ve done it…but we’ve seen what the device looks like,” Lilly finished slightly irritated.

“It is a collar of sorts, made out of some type of medal set with a circle locking mechanism at the back of it. Other than that all we know is some type of Jade colored stone is what activates it and deactivates it
,” Ulric said.

“Ben…we have to help this girl. We have to help her help these people that have been beyond mistreated. They’ve been tortured Ben, and some may not be in shape to run, they may not make it at all
,” Lilly said getting emotional.

“How many are there?” Ben asked.

“I couldn’t get a count but if I had to guess there were over 50 for sure,” Ulric said.

Ben rubbed his hand over his face and stood. “Tell the kids to stick around after dinner; we’ll figure out the best way to go about this
,” Ben said as he stood to leave.

“I’ll try to get a better lock on her position
,” Ulric said standing to take his untouched plate back to the kitchen.

Lilly remained seated. “I’ll tell them
,” she whispered hating that she would be the one to call in the Seven for their first mission of war.

CHAPTER 30

I ran to the end of the hall starting at last cells moving forward to the ones closest to the exit.

It was difficult to get them to trust me, they thought it was another trick of Cora’s or that disgusting Avril creatures.

Eventually a man spoke up calming the others telling the people that once the anti-gift devices were removed if I did anything suspicious they would have their gifts available to use against me. Shivers ran down my spine thinking that I would die for doing this good deed, that I may not even complete this task, they could just take me down and finish releasing the rest of the people themselves if they wanted to.

My heart broke all over again.

All I ever wanted out of life was to do well, to be a part of a family that didn’t require heinous acts of torture from me.

I hardly slept at night as it was due to the night terrors.

When I refused Cora would beat me and make me watch her torture people, this is what she wanted from me, she wanted me to be her to be an empty shell of a human and I couldn’t and ever since Avril came along she expected more from me because I was her blood.

“Are you okay girl?” a man’s voice asked in the semi darkness of the prison ward, breaking me from my internal dialogue.

I looked in the direction the voice came from seeing a blonde man sitting with a girl around my age and a woman I assume is his wife.

I turned to him kneeling down motioning for him to lean his head down so I could unlock the device from around his neck. “Are you okay?” the blonde man asked again.

Stunned I shook my head yes, no one had ever asked me if I was okay before. No one ever cared.

“Thank you for doing this. We know it comes at great risk to you. Come with us to a safe place, you’ll be punished if not killed for this if you stay,” the blonde man said.

I hesitated taking the device off his daughter, not because I didn’t want to do it, not because I had a change of heart…because I realized by doing this I would be completely lost to the only family I had.

I loved my sister, even if she was a horrible person. “Let me finish so we can all be on our way,” I said wiping the tears from my face.

I stood and went to the next cell and realized that I had finished. I couldn’t believe it I walked back down the hall and into each cell; it was as if I had went on auto pilot while in thought.

I walked back to the guard room the blonde man, and some others waited for me taking in the mess I’d left behind after taking out the five guards.

“What happened to the other three?” The blonde man asked.

“They’re gone,” was all I offered, I looked back to his face from the destruction on the ground.

“You’re the little sister
,” he said. I took a step back thinking they were going to tear me a part for no good reason other than I was the sister of their tormentor.

“Come on girl, no harm’s going to come to you. Many of us have witnessed her trying to make you into her, but it’s obvious that you have refused. You’ve denied evil at all cost. Will you come with us?” He asked.

I looked from him to the other faces around me not one held any animosity for me whatsoever.

They all looked at me only with compassion knowing I had experienced what they had on some level, but my abuse came from the only someone I had.

My someone who was supposed to protect me, love me and teach me about life, but her version of all these things had been perverted.

“I’ll go, there’s nothing for me here.” I said looking from the blonde man to the others behind them.

A few people offered me a smile, some a nod. It was more than I could have imagined or hoped for. I was leaving.

I wondered where they were going and thought to ask but decided I didn’t care, as long as it was away from here, away from Cora and Avril, away from their debauchery and away from their hideous life.

  I packed the jade stone and one of the collars into a pouch I carried on my belt, and followed the blonde man and his family.

Hope blossomed like spring with in my heart. I was leaving…making my exodus.

CHAPTER 31

I couldn’t believe she let him touch her, even if it was a simple kiss on the cheek. Why would she do that, did she want him more than she wanted me? I thought I had made my feelings, for her clear. Maybe that wasn’t enough…maybe I wasn’t enough.

So I followed her. I watched them invisibly as they emerged and parted ways, I seen Jasper smirk and I knew that he thought he was going to be the one in the end…

I followed her…she went to the kitchen collecting her food, going to sit by her parents. She played with her food absently.

I looked for a good place to sit where no one would bump into me, or try to sit. Finding a place, I settled in, waited and listened.

CHAPTER
32

“Reigh? What’s wrong? You haven’t touched you food one bit since you sat down?” Rowan asked she knew something was bothering her, and thought she knew who those something’s might be.

Reighlyn looked around to see who was close to them, who might possibly hear her secrets; she looked back to her parents. Hoping they would have some answers or advice for her.

“It’s Jasper
,” she whispered to her parents, receiving concerned looks in response. “He…he kissed me.” Rowan looked at her daughter knowing her dilemma, one she had faced herself when Dillon had courted her years ago. Dillon grabbed his wife’s hand thinking of that same moment in time.

He looked at his daughter eyebrows raised, concern clearly painted on his face.

“Has the boy stated his intentions?” He asked, and Reighlyn balked.

“Stated his intentions? Really Dad?”

“Really…” Dillion said seriously. Reighlyn sighed. “Dad…you don’t know the whole story--It has more to it than just Jasper or the kiss. I think you should know, now that you’re here.” Reighlyn recounted the story of her first meeting with Garrett and his sister at the gas station and how she and Garrett had an instant connection, and she told both her mother and father about the battle field and how he had pulled her into his invisibility bubble kissing her silly literally.

She continued to tell them how he had come to her after battle, how he had spoken to her about how he had the feeling of being drawn to her and how he felt as though he loved her.

She then told her parents about Jasper, how he had kissed her, and accidently seen her naked.

How she had chosen to pursue Garrett and Jasper had accepted that.

Face in hands she sighed, finishing her account. She looked up at her parents and found them smiling and hardly containing their mirth.

“Seriously? You’re going to laugh at me, these are serious issues. Maybe not as serious as the Militia but to me this is serious. I like him, both of them and I don’t want to hurt either of them.

I’ve never experienced any of this and to be honest I’m quite literally at my whit’s end.

In between the Militia, learning about my gifts, learning how to defend myself and those around me and the prophecy…I just don’t know how much more I can take mentally. I’m exhausted.”

This statement cleared her parents of all laughs. “Reighlyn war isn’t easy, it never gets easy, if and when it does it’s because you or whoever has been so desensitized that they no longer care for humanity, for life, or love. Reighlyn as far as everything else the training and all-- it gets easier, it’s only hard at first,” her dad said. 

Heat covered my face in embarrassment. How could someone embarrass, encourage, and offer advice in one swoop I wondered. It had to be a parent thing.

“Reigh, how do you know you he’s right for you? You don’t know much about him?” My mom asked.

“We didn’t know much about each other before we ran away together.” My dad said, turning to my mom looking at her, tossing her a wink and a smile.

“Do you remember how our relationship and love was a whirl wind romance?” He asked her teasingly. “Of course I do,” she laughed, batting her eyelashes at him.

“Reighlyn…life sometimes throws things in your path that you just can’t walk away from. I know that I’ve essentially been absent for the past 12 years, but you have to know that I have thought of you and your mother every day that I was gone. I know she did an amazing job raising you, and I trust in whatever decision you make. I know how it is to be struck by love and feel so drawn to one person that the idea of being without them is akin to feeling as if you’re slowly dying. I almost gave up hope in my struggle, to see you and your mom again. Please follow your heart, listen to what it’s telling you. I promise if you listen…you won’t be disappointed. I wasn’t.”

I watched my dad as he took my mom’s hand in his, leaning closer to her kissing her on her cheek. I wanted that. I wanted that with every fiber of my being. I wanted Garrett.

“Thank you, both
,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

“Sweetie, there’s always something going on or someone who doesn’t think it’s a good idea to start a relationship. Usually they’re jealous
,” my dad said.

“I’m going to tell him tonight
,” I smiled at my parents, going around to where they sat hugging them both, squeezing them as tightly as I could.

I felt over the moon at that moment. I’d finally allowed myself to admit what I felt. I stood up from hugging my mom and dad, beaming, almost glowing. I looked around the common area hoping I would find him sitting with his parents, but

he was nowhere in sight. I started walking toward my room thinking that maybe he had went there to wait for me when I heard my name being called from behind.

“Reighlyn! Wait please!” Lilly said as she hustled to catch up with me.

              “Lilly is everything okay?” I asked.

“So far
,” she said.

“Ben has asked that I ask you to stick around after dinner. He needs to talk to you and the others about some new developments
,” Lilly said.

“Developments? Are we going to be attacked again? Is there some new Intel?” I asked.

“There are some new developments, but Ben would prefer to be the one to tell you and the others the new information he has. You understand right?” She asked.

“Of course. Have you seen Garrett around I need to talk to him
,” I said.

              “No I haven’t but if you see him before I do could you please ask him to remain behind with the others? Ben would like to tell everyone at the same time,” she said.

“Sure, thanks Lilly
,” I said.

I turned and walked back to the common area, telling my parents what Lilly said so they would stay behind also.

I sat down, curling up my arms on the table resting my head upon my arms, hoping that everyone would leave quickly so we could get the POW wow over with.