The Rebels

the truth

I jerked awake, panting and drenched in sweat. I unwillingly let out a cry of dismay.

"What!? What?" cried Harry, jumping out of his hammock painfully.

"Nothing. Bad dream," I panted out. Bad dream was an understatement.

"Okay. Cool," said Harry, climbing back on and lying down.

I lay awake, staring at the dark sky between the leaves of the tall trees. Stars dotted the inky sky like powdered sugar on a cake. I soothed myself by counting each glowing specimen until my breath went back to normal and the breeze dried my sweat off.

"Hey, Jules?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you trust us?"

I frowned, confused.

"Of course," I said.

"Good to know,"

We lay in silence for some time. I continued staring at the stars, pondering over the question Harry had just asked.

"What about you?" I asked finally.

"Huh?"

"Do you see me as a friend?" I asked, hoping he would answer affirmatively. I didn't have a friend other than Katie.

I heard Harry sit up and I did the same. I could barely make out his figure in the dark. I realized the rest of the hammocks were empty but didn't worry.

"Everyone here, including you and Katie, is my family. You, Katie, Veronica, Sidra, Sadie, and Nicole, you're all the sisters I never heard of. I know I'm sarcastic and teasing at times, but that's just how I am." He flopped back down.

"It's how I am. I never had any real siblings, so I don't know how I'm supposed to act," he whispered.

"You're doing just fine," I smiled, remembering how my own brother used to tease me.

"See that's why I need to save Nicky. She's my sister. I don't want to lose my sister," he said.

Both of us refused to voice our thoughts. There was a high chance that she was dead already. But I shook away the thought.

"We will get her back," I said forcefully.

"We can't do that if you don't trust us enough to tell us what's going on,"

Okay, that hurt a little.

"I trust you!" I said defensively.

"Then tell us what Veela wants. Back in the market you pretended not to know, but it's pretty darn obvious you know what she wants," he said, his voice rising.

"I CAN'T TELL YOU!" I yell, way louder than I wanted to.

Harry got up and, even though it was dark, I could feel his eyes bore into mine.

"You can," he said softly, "you can. But you don't want to,"

He lay back down and silence lapsed. I lay down, too, closing my eye and squeezing them tight. I told myself I was fine. I didn't need to tell anyone. I was fine.

I was not fine.

"Okay! I'll tell you," I cried out, getting off the hammock and sliding to the ground.

Harry came and sat next to me. His eyes sparkled in the dark and he smiled at me.

Taking a deep breath, I spilled everything to him. He listened without interrupting, frowning slightly.

Harry leaned back and exhaled slowly after I finished. I stared at my bare feet, wondering what was racing through his mind.

"It wasn't your fault," he whispered, putting a brotherly arm around me, reminding me so much of my own brother.

"Thanks," I whisper.

"Hello?"

Harry and I turned to see everyone climb up to the treehouse. I looked at Harry and he nodded.

"I need to tell you guys something," I said, getting up.

"Sure," said Sam.

Everyone settled down in a small circle. I found myself between Melissa and Katie, the latter of which slipped her hand into mine. I smiled at her. She and Harry were the only ones who knew her story. Until now.

"My parents and I used to work for the government," I said. Sam and Veronica's eyes widened while Sadie and Sidra cried "What?"

Katie squeezed my hand harder, her face emotionless. I didn't blame them for the reactions. Working for the government was equal to killing a dozen innocent children. Because that is what the government does when it isn't taking bribes.

"When did you stop?" asked Sidra.

"Well, see, it's complicated," I whispered.

"Tell us," said Sam, smiling softly.

I nodded and took a deep breath.

"My father and the president were friends," I said hesitantly.

"Go on," said Sidra.

"But my mother didn't agree with his ways. My father slowly realized that he was being used by the president. This was about three months ago when I was hired as a spy. The government thought we were working for them, but we weren't. We joined the Rebels and used all the information against the government. The president started suspecting that our family wasn't loyal. He set Veela on our tail. Everywhere I went she went. She was actually tolerable. This went on for two months. Until she accused my parents of killing her own and stealing from the government. Both of my parents were executed on spot. Veela wanted me dead, too. But- "I stopped.

"What happened?" asked Sadie, leaning forward.

"She escaped," said Katie.

"No," I mutter. Katie looked at me in surprise.

"Tyler pleaded his father to let me live," I said in a low voice.

"Who?"

"The president's son,"

Everyone stared at me. I hadn't told Harry about this either. He looked confused.

"So you were trying to kill the person who saved your life? Back at the market place?" he asked accusingly.

"I do not owe him anything. He simply paid me back for when I saved him," I snapped.

"You acted like you didn't know him," said Harry, still pressing me.

"I know. On purpose." I said, glaring at my feet.

"Why?"

"HE'S THE PRESIDENT'S SON! HE'S DATING VEELA!" I screamed at him.

"Why is that a problem?" frowned Veronica.

"It's not," I said in a low voice, feeling a hot blush creep up on me.

I noticed a sly smile on Katie's face and slapped her leg.

"Ouch!" she said, frowning.

"He was my friend. He tried to kill me," I said simply.

"So Veela wants to kill you because she thinks you killed her parents and that you might steal her boyfriend?" asked Sam.

"The first part, yes," I said, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Just confirming," he said, raising his arms.

"How are we getting Nicole back, though?" asked Sadie.

"We need a plan," said Sidra.

"No we don't," said Harry, "we break in, take her, and break out. Easy."

"Not really," said Sam.

"Yes, really. Now go to sleep. We're saving Nicole tomorrow night."