Twell and the Rebellion (4 page)

Her expression was currently
wistful, which made sense. She was going to miss her genetic
partner, Mekai. Mekai had the gift of levitation and could
basically fly. Yet he’d been no match for Raze when he’d smashed up
his leg and half killed him to get to me. Although he was okay now,
his leg hadn’t quite healed perfectly and he would have to undergo
rehabilitation before he could follow us into the Army of Powers. I
was gonna miss the guy too, he could be pretty funny and I liked
the way he treated Sazika. It was obvious he was crazy about her,
all DNA aside.

Just then, Mira Raveen
appeared in my line of vision and I snapped back to the present.
Watching her drag a bag almost bigger than herself to the rear of
the pod, my first impulse was to make a snarky comment about it to
Sazika. Then I reminded myself for the second time that day I was
supposedly old enough to be considered mature and to keep my
sarcasm to myself. Also, I needed to go easy on her. She and Chaz
had planned on petitioning a love match, until he’d died.
Now she was matched with another guy and I knew she was having a
hard time with it, although she tried her best to hide the fact
with her usual act of indifference.
But Chaz’s
death had hardened her. Her hope had been crushed and she’d handled
it by donning a brittle mask of resolution.

Spotting us, she headed
over. Like Sazika, Mira was also a lot shorter than me (Or petite
as small people seem to like calling themselves) and she wore her
dark hair sharply and precisely around her face at chin length. As
usual, her expression was serious, because Mira took existence in
general seriously. Now that I was actually going off to the AOP I
could understand her attitude a little better, but before the
training, I’d just thought she was a snitty moga. Moga’s are snout
nosed hairy wetland beasts used in popular reference as insults on
Como and we’d both flung this word at the other, until eventually,
we’d even launched ourselves at each other. Yes, I do mean
literally. It was a humiliating lack of restraint and overdose of
hormones, unfortunately witnessed by our trainers and peers. Her
ability to shoot electrical currents with her hands was truly an
unpleasant experience when on the receiving end, I can assure
you.

I’d detested the way she’d
draped herself all over Chaz in a deliberate ‘
he’s mine and he’ll never be yours’
kind of way anytime I was unfortunate to be
around the two of them together. I’d wasted way too many hours
moaning and complaining to whoever would listen (just Dash and
Meela really) about what an evil, crafty, friend stealing moga she
was. That and I really couldn’t stand her high-pitched whiny voice.
(Okay, so I still wasn’t a huge fan.)

We eventually worked through our
issues though, once she stopped being convinced I was trying to
sabotage her relationship with Chaz (I had fantasized about it to
be fair) and I’d learned she’d lost family in the first war, which
was why she was so focused (highly strung) during training. We even
used our powers together to fight and capture the Abwarzians. So
yeah, we were on more civil terms now.

Sometimes I was sorry Chaz
was no longer alive to see how we’d gotten over such petty rivalry.
Other times, however, I was glad he couldn’t see her now. Not now
that she’d been matched with someone else. Even if that someone
was
supposed
to be her perfect match. I’d met Quin at the
Partnering Ball where we’d all met our matches. He seemed so
different to Chaz, who’d been fair, gentle, and thoughtful. Quin
was dark and solemn with serious brown eyes and he’d barely smiled
throughout the whole evening. Neither had Mira, unsurprisingly,
still grieving for Chaz. However, like Mira, he shared her ability
to shoot electrical currents from his body and shock people. They
were sure to produce really shocking kids. Get it? Yeah, I had to
say it.

He also seemed to be as rigidly
loyal to the Governing Body as Mira, matching her willingness to
fight and defend Como. They shared that in common, at least. He
came from the city of Marid on the other side of Como, so we
wouldn’t see him until we got to base camp.

“Hey,” Mira greeted us.
There was no cheek touching to be had with Mira. The warmest thing
about her was the hesitant smile that flickered across her small
mouth. I returned the smile as a sharp little pain inside my chest
reminded me Chaz was not here to see either of us off. He’d always
been there for me at the most important moments and moons of my
existence, and the loss of his presence in my new life still felt
disorientating and wrong.
I opened my
mouth to say something about it until I realized not only would it
be pointless, it would also be unhelpful, judging by Mira’s pinched
‘
I’m upset but if you mention
it I will zap you to a pulp
’
expression.

Before the moment could become
any more uncomfortable, the sight of Jonaz striding towards us
saved the situation. The tension I hadn’t realized I was holding
melted away and I temporarily forgot about anyone else around me. I
was barely even aware of the wary look Sazika flashed me as Jonaz’s
eyes locked on mine. His thick, dark hair curled under his ears and
I noticed it was longer than when I’d first met him. His arms
rippled with muscles that had become harder and more defined since
he’d begun training. My heart began to pound as he closed the
distance between us and for a moment our surroundings disappeared
and all I could absorb was his presence.

“Hey.” His tone was
neutral. Controlled. My heart flopp
ed in
disappointment as I exhaled slowly. People would be observing and
he couldn’t afford to single me out with so many officials watching
over us. That sucked. With reluctance, I smiled politely back and
then I saw that Stelli had sidled up behind him. Flipping her
shimmering golden hair, her flawless face lit up as she reached
Jonaz and gently touched his arm. A wave of jealousy crashed over
me, leaving me uncharacteristically speechless as I
bristled.

Apart from bearing the natural
gift of incredible and enviable beauty, Stelli had the power to
hypnotize and influence others with her mesmerizing, amber eyes.
Yet she hadn’t lasted very long in the training before she’d become
certain she wasn’t emotionally strong enough to fight for Como.
Originally, I’d thought she seemed a few stars short of a galaxy,
but she’d surprised me. It had taken guts to stand up to our
trainers, to risk the wrath of our leaders by insisting she wasn’t
cut out to fight. It seemed a miracle she hadn’t been punished for
her insubordination and it had earned her my respect.

Now she was working in Caran as
a peacekeeper, using her gift to keep regular citizens calm. I
wondered if she believed what she was doing was a lie, or if she
thought it was the kind thing to do, convincing our people
everything would be okay when maybe it wouldn’t.

“Hey, Twell!” Stelli
stepped forward, eyeing me dubiously. We’d been friendly before the
matching, but now, it was honestly just too weird.

“Heeeeey,” I replied. I
knew Jonaz had confided in her from the start that we meant to be
together. They’d been friends for a long time and Stelli had seemed
to accept it.
Yet now, seeing the way she
glanced at Jonaz and confronted again with the ridiculousness of
her beauty, my insecurities set in and I wasn’t so sure.

“I just came to say
goodbye. To Jonaz,” she added as if she needed to justify her
presence. A small stab of guilt pricked at my conscience. It wasn’t
fair of me to make her feel unwelcome. After all, she was the one
the G.B. had decided was Jonaz’s perfect genetic match.
Hmph!

“Oh, yeah, of course.” I managed
to smile sweetly back despite my internal petulance.

Jonaz looked like he’d rather
wrestle a screaming swamp maiden than handle the current situation.
Mira and Sazika looked unsure what was going on. Although they’d
seen there was something between Jonaz and I last year, it wasn’t
meant to matter anymore. Not now that we were all matched. My
feelings were somehow supposed to be directed elsewhere and that
was that. We hadn’t talked about it and I hadn’t dared confide in
them, or even in my best friend Meela. The less people who knew
about us, the safer they all were from the repercussions.

Fortunately, we were out of time
to stand around being awkward, because the other cadets were
already climbing aboard the army craft.

As we stowed our luggage
in the crafts belly and
moved to join the
boarding line, I saw Jonaz turn to Stelli. My stomach tightened
nastily as I watched him lean in, murmuring his goodbye before
touching her cheek with his hand. She returned the gesture, looking
at him in a way that made me inclined to calculate how good she’d
still look if I were to yank her perfect hair out of her head.
Obviously, I needed to take a get over myself, or swig a relaxation
drink or something.

One of several tall and burly
soldiers stood blocking the entrance to the aircraft. As we moved
forward one by one, another soldier holding a small black
instrument I’d never seen before stopped us.

“Hold up your wrist.” His voice
was a monotone, barely even glancing at us as we stood before
him.

“What for?” Curiosity was
forever a battle that overcame my mouth.

“So your presence can be
accounted for.” His eyes flickered briefly to mine, but his tone
remained even and controlled.

“Scanned into what?” I
persisted. “You already have tabs on us.” As if the wristbands we
all wore weren’t invading enough, now they wanted to control us
even further?

The officer’s head whipped
towards me, his hard stare conveying his displeasure at my choice
of words. “Your level of tracking will be tightened. Your location
as a soldier will be permanently traceable at any time, rather than
the usual random checks.”

“Whaaaaat?” My voice rose up in
a song of disbelief. “You never told us that!” I felt Jonaz’s
warning grip on my arm at the same time the soldier’s face
darkened.

“Do you have a problem with the
level of obedience required from you?” His sudden bark was loud and
accusing. “Do I need to report you for insubordination?”

“Geez no! I was just asking!
Sheesh!” I quickly held up my wrist to prove it, but I could feel
my face growing hot with resentment. Not for the first time, I felt
disloyal anger at the liberties they took with our freedom. Slowly
but steadily, their level of control seemed to tighten a little
more around our generation each day. It choked the choices slowly
out of us and again, I wondered how long it would be until I would
begin to visibly struggle.

Taking my wrist the
soldier twisted until my palm
was facing
downwards. Then he placed the black instrument on the skin just
above my wristband and without warning, pulled a trigger. A sharp
sting bit my flesh and I jerked back, glaring at the lump in my
skin where the micro tracker now sat. It didn’t even
bleed.

Jonaz’s grip on my arm
tightened. Meeting my eyes, he shook his head very slightly,
willing me not to say anything else. It was becoming rapidly clear
to us that it was safer that way. Nevertheless, his eyes gave his
heart away, a mirror of my own outrage. I shuddered slightly as I
watched Jonaz get chipped, flinching again as he did. Then I
sulkily climbed aboard the craft and got another nasty shock. Avin
was standing in the entrance, a slightly nervous smile on his full
lips, while he swept his hair away from his molten, silver
eyes.

“Twell.” His voice rolled over
me, as fluid as water, as powerful as a crashing wave. I smothered
a sudden flutter down my spine as I stared back in dismay. As Jonaz
came up behind me, he took in Avin’s presence and stiffened.
Abruptly moving to my side, he matched Avin’s height, eyeing him
unfavourably. I distinctly noticed Avin’s frown growing more
pronounced as he recognized Jonaz and pieced his own conclusions
together. Removing his eyes from Jonaz, he settled them back on
mine. The affect was instantaneous, the overwhelming compulsion to
fall into the fluid depths of his gaze. Unnerved, I tore my eyes
away from his with effort.

Jonaz put his arm around my
shoulder. It was a jealous overprotective gesture, but I suddenly
felt the need for the safety of his arms. I felt rattled around
Avin and his power unnerved me. Jonaz on the other hand, seemed to
be resistant. Resistant and hostile.

“You made it into the Army
I see,” Jonaz said in the unfriendliness tone I’d ever heard from
him. Tucking me into his side with his left arm, his right hand
reached forward, punching Avin not so lightly on the shoulder.
There was no warmth to the gesture, and Jonaz’s rich dark eyes were
unusually cold as they fixed on Avin with unmistakable
dislike.

Beside Jonaz, I heard
Sazika inhale sharply. She’d already met Avin at the ball along
with everyone else I knew that night, so there was no escaping the
connection, or the awkwardness of this moment. Other cadets moved
warily past us, picking up on the atmosphere as I experienced the
uncomfortable sensation of being observed by too many sets of eyes.
One of those sets belonged to Mira. Jonaz’s arm around me was
clearly not a good look and Mira was glaring at me openly. Her
expression read like ‘
What
the heck do you two think you’re doing?’
No mucking around with that Mira.

Avin’s own expression remained
controlled as he returned the greeting, punching Jonaz firmly back.
Then his eyes returned to mine as his hand reached towards my face
in the intimate gesture of friends, or genetic matches, to be more
specific. Before his fingertips could even brush my cheek Jonaz’s
own hand shot out, knocking Avin’s arm back in a way that made
several passing cadets stop their chatter to gawk at the
interesting scene we appeared to be creating.