Twell and the Rebellion (12 page)

“
That was so brave of you,
Twell!” Lavi breathed in awe.

“
Are you crazy? Do you
want to be kicked out of the Army?” Kina demanded shrilly. “And
since when did you side with Shanna?”

“
Yeah.” Shanna appeared at
my side grinning as Kina jumped guiltily. “Who knew you weren’t a
brainwash victim after all?”

All at once, everyone seemed to
know my name and they all appeared to have questions that demanded
answers. Was I going to rebel? Would I lobby against the G.B? Was
there a group they could join? Several people hung back, their arms
folded; glaring accusingly at me as I tried not to feel the guilt
they clearly felt I should be experiencing. From the corner of my
eye, I spied a dozen officers marching in. Regarding the scene,
their expressions were grim as they moved quickly towards us.

“
Stop!” I held a hand up
to fend off the clamouring voices. “I didn’t intend to start
trouble. I only meant to defend how I felt.”

“Good, because I’d hate
for you to steal my scene.” Shanna cackled. She put an arm around
my shoulder as if claiming me and then took the opportunity to make
her move. “If anyone’s interested in meeting up to hear more on
Twell’s theories, come see me later to find out when and
where.”

“
What?” I stammered.
“Nooooo…”

“
Break it up cadets!” one
of the trainers boomed, effectively scattering the crowd. Kina and
Lavi moved off without hesitation, but Shanna remained, her arm
still draped lazily around my shoulders as she adopted an
expression insolent enough to annoy even the most patient
trainer.

“
If you intend to stir up
my class, then you will both leave now,” the female trainer said in
a firm tone.

“
Why, we wouldn’t dream of
it, officer!” Shanna’s tone dripped with innocence, her matching
expression so uncharacteristically sweet I fought the urge to
laugh.

“
Good.” The trainer looked
relieved she had things under control. “Then get back to training.”
Without another word, we obeyed. All I wanted to do was forget the
morning’s events and the sinking feeling I got every time I
remembered I was banned from Jonaz. I hadn’t even said goodbye to
him and recalling the look on his face as we were split up made me
feel so miserable I wanted to have a good cry.

Fighting the urge to sulk,
I threw myself into the first task with gusto instead. The trainers
gave us deactivated laser guns this time and instructed us to pass
the weapon with our powers again. For once, I didn’t shiver as I
took hold of the cold heavy weapon, my mind beginning to hum with
concentration as I hoisted it into the air with my mind. Bobbing it
along in front of me, I moved into the arena with my hands clasped
behind my back.

Teaming up with Shanna, we
launched into the task without wasting time or words. The weapon
flew between us fast and hard and there was no time to think of
anything else but catching the gun with my mind before it smacked
into my head. I released my pent up energy and emotion into the
task with such gusto I caught Shanna
off
guard. The laser hit her hard in the chest, knocking her off her
feet. But her shrill laughter pierced through my misery.

“
Nice work, Miss Temper
Tantrum!”

“
Shut it, Shanna.” I was
in no mood for her taunting.

“
Aww, don’t be like that!
You’ll feel better when you’re amongst your fellow rebels.”
Whipping the gun from the sand with her mind, she launched it back
at me, whispering so loudly she may as well have been talking. I
glanced nervously around for trainers.

“
No way!” I snapped,
catching the gun in my hands without thinking.

“
Minds only!” The trainer
barked behind me. Jumping, I quickly hoisted it into the air
again.

“
Why not?” Shanna argued.
“You’re already in trouble, so you may as well find something to do
with your time, other than pine for JoJo.”

“It’s Jonaz! And leave
it!” I launched the gun at her as hard as I could and she staggered
back, halting it just before it hit her face. Raising her eyebrows,
she held it aloft, bobbing it an arm’s length from her
face.

“
Just once. If you don’t
like it you don’t have to come back,” she hissed.

“
Will you stop?” I
demanded in exasperation. Shanna deliberated for a second then
closed her eyes. The laser gun rotated in mid-air until it was
pointing back at me, right at my face. I saw the green flash,
indicating the weapon was activated. My mouth dropped open in
horror as I heard three clicks and realized what the sound meant.
Throwing myself into the sand, the laser beam sliced past me, a
hair away from my cheekbone; close enough to feel its warmth on my
skin.

“
WEAPONS DOWN!” The
trainer appeared behind Shanna from nowhere and suddenly Shanna
launched back as if an invisible rope was around her waist and
tugging her. The gun fell to the arena floor as Shanna staggered
into the trainer’s grasp. Everyone stopped and stared. The quiet
was mortifying as I scrambled to my feet, breathing heavily as my
heart banged in my chest.

“
Oops. I didn’t realize
these were actually loaded.” Shanna’s face was a picture of
innocence as the trainer stared hard at her.

“
It was supposed to be
locked.” The officer used her powers to pick up the gun. “How did
you unlock it?”

“
I didn’t!” Shanna sounded
convincingly shocked. “I have no idea how it went off.”

The officer looked suspiciously
at Shanna before she swiftly went over the gun, disengaging it
properly. “There, it’s locked now,” she said as she handed it back
to Shanna. “But I’m keeping an eye on you both.”

“
Sure,” Shanna replied as
she looked at me. “It was just an accident.”

The officer moved off as
everyone resumed training. I stood glaring at Shanna for a long
moment before I spoke. “Okay, you sneaky little swamp serpent, you
win this round. I’ll come once if you promise you’ll back off with
the attitude and don’t talk to me for the rest of this
session.”

“
Aha!” Shanna cried
triumphantly. “Done and you won’t regret it!”

“
I highly doubt that,” I
grumbled, as I resumed the task, my eyes sharper than ever on the
weapon.

I spent the rest of the day with
the prickling sensation of several hundred scrutinizing eyes upon
me. Every time I changed arenas, or went for meal breaks, I
searched through the curious stares for Jonaz. But his face was
nowhere to be found amongst them. I felt exposed, conflicted, and
unable to shake the feeling until evening came and Sazika came to
find me with Mira in tow. I knew Sazika would be kind and
understanding, but I was surprised to see Miss Stickler For The
Rules taking the time to come with her. I braced myself in
anticipation of her scathing lecture.

“
Are you okay, Twell?”
Mira asked. I nearly fell off the recliner I was lounging on in
shock.

“
Are you kidding? I
thought you’d be furious with me?” I sat up to make room for them
both. Sazika sat next to me while Mira perched so primly on the end
of the seat I thought it was high time I introduced her to her
could-be-twin, Kina.

“
I am of course, but I
understand the point you were making.”

“
You do?” I spluttered.
Mira rolled her eyes, making me even more confused. She was
normally adamant that everything the G.B. did was in our best
interests. I’d never heard her admit otherwise, not when Chaz had
died and her heart had been broken and not even when they matched
her with Quin.

“
So you agree the
partnering totally sucks then?”

Mira looked at me in silence,
one eyebrow cocked as though incredulous of my stupidity. “I’ve
never denied the partnering wouldn’t be hard,” Mira’s voice shook
ever so slightly. “But the importance of my feelings pale in
significance once I look at the big picture.” She meant the greater
good of course, the necessity of building a stronger genetic race
in order to survive…blah, blah, blah.

“But Mira, don’t you ever
think the matching is just…just
cruel
?” I’d never said anything
like that to my friends before, never voiced my true feelings
aloud. Only Jonaz and I had spoken of it in secret. But when Chaz
died, it seemed that Mira’s yearning for anything more than duty
had died too. Her heartbreak seemed to squash any hope remaining,
and I didn’t think she’d ever step a toe out of line again. She’d
broken the rules once by risking her heart and although it had been
the Abwarzians who’d taken Chaz’s life, she’d always known our own
leaders would never have let them be together. She was gifted. He
wasn’t. There was no genetic advantage. No point.

For a while, the only thing I
could hear in the heavy silence was the anxious beat of my
heart.

“
Twell, be careful.”
Mira’s tone was uncharacteristically fearful, her face wary at the
weight and possible ramifications of our conversation.

“It does seem a bit
cruel,” Sazika’s reply was barely audible, but her tone was
supportive and it meant a lot to me. All day I’d fretted, analyzing
over and over if I’d been too brash, or overdramatic about the
situation. But no, here I was with Miss Goody Goody and Miss Always
Fair, and they were agreeing with me. Well, Sazika was. Mira was
way too smart to ever admit it aloud.

“
So what are you going to
do about Jonaz?” Sazika whispered as her gaze darted about the
room, on the hunt for potential eavesdroppers.

“
What do you mean?” I
sulked. “Try not to forget what he looks like?’”

“
I mean have you contacted
him?” she asked patiently.

“
I can’t,” I whined.
“Brazin blocked him from my organizer.”

“Ouch.” Mira smirked
unsympathetically, ignoring my daggers.

“
Well you’ll find another
way, won’t you?” Sazika persisted. She never ceased to surprise me,
always much gutsier than I expected someone so small and shy to
be.

“I can’t, I’m
forbidden.
” I flopped dejectedly back on the recliner.

“
Geez. What was the name
of that girl we knew who broke into the D.U.C. just so we could
uncover the truth our leaders were hiding from us?” Sazika turned
to Mira, eyebrows raised.

“
Yeah, what’s her
name…rhymed with tell… smell?” Mira sneered.

“
That was different,” I
argued. “The officers here will expect me to try and see him, or
use your organizers to talk to him. Brazin even threatened me with
my own chaperone if I try anything.”

“Well then, you’ll just
have to think outside of the box then won’t you?” Sazika replied
firmly. I was so surprised at her willingness to get me into
further trouble I had to laugh.

“
Give me a message and
I’ll take it to him.” She tossed her flame coloured hair
rebelliously.

“Oh
no
, I’m not
hearing
any
of this.” Mira clapped her hands over her ears
and pivoted away so her back was to us. Verbally supportive she
might be, but obviously from a safe sideline where there was no
chance she could be instigated in any way. I hesitated for one
small moment before I weakened. I didn’t want to write anything
down that Sazika might get caught with, so instead I leaned forward
and whispered the message into Sazika’s ear.

“Really? You want me to
say
that
?”

Mira’s mouth popped open, her
face burning with curiosity before she caught herself. Then her
mouth snapped firmly shut again as her face pinched up in
disapproval.

Hopping
up
, Sazika danced off towards the door.
“Just kidding!” She winked at Mira who blushed, then scowled
fiercely at her. “I’ll let you know how it went tomorrow, at
morning meal.” Grinning mischievously she disappeared. When I say
disappeared, I mean she turned invisible right in front of us.
Show-off.

Quin appeared in the rec
room
then, his serious eyes settling on
Mira as he loitered in the doorway. “Mira. Will you come for a walk
with me?” His tone was polite yet expectant as he waited for her to
respond. I watched Mira’s closely as she got to her feet, but she
gave away nothing, pulling her face into her old stiff mask, the
one I now knew hid her hurt and pain.

“
Goodnight, Twell,” she
said calmly as she walked away with Quin.

When lights out was
announced, I walked alone to the sleeping quarters and fantasized
about hibernating under the covers of my bed and just forgetting
about everything for a while. Once again, I was in bed before
everyone else and mercifully, sleep came quickly to claim me. It
didn’t claim me for long though. I was startled out of my dreams by
a hand clasped over my mouth. Another hand rudely shook my
shoulder.

“
Wake up already, geez you
sleep like the dead,” Shanna’s voice hissed in my ear.

“
We’re meeting tonight?” I
groaned. The bed was warm and I knew the night was not. Moving was
not ideal.

“
Of course, stupid. They’d
never expect you to try something so soon.”

I bit back a snarky retort about
her breath as I rolled out and pulled on a long, grey regulation
night robe identical to Shanna’s. Then we crept to the door and
exited successfully, Kina and Lavi’s breathing even and undisturbed
in slumber. It was easy to blend into the dark, because the solar
lights were covered at night to hide our location, and the clouds
had dimmed the light of the moon. I shivered slightly in the cool
night air, glad the hooded robe concealed all but my face as we
slipped through the night.