The Uprising

CHAPTER 20

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Cough. Gasp. Wheeze.

My heart thunders at the sound of him waking up. I rushed towards him.  Jordon's eyes open, amber with specks of grey. I have never noticed them until now. "Is he okay?" my voice trembles out.

"Yeah, he's fine," She beams at him, rubbing his temple, and tells him to keep breathing. Luckily he did. Soon after, the girl starts waking up. Kayla checks their vitals and finds that they are both stable.

"Wade did this because he lost to Howard Mason," Jason elucidates. "He's causing what people are calling the Spread," he shows us a news article on his phone.

The headlines, 'Strange gas has claimed 142 lives'. The photo beneath the headlines pictures of two coroners in white, carrying a black body bag from a dismantled building. I completely forgot that the election results had been announced. Wade had lost, which scares me more than him winning.

"We suspect that he's planning another assassination."

"With the gas?" Kayla asks, her voice still trembling.

"It's his best chance. He already created a trail of blood with it. Nobody would suspect that it was him. It would be like another random gas attack," Jason speculates. His eyes focus on the floor deep in thoughts. "We have to stop him."

"By stopping, you mean to kill him?"

"Whatever it takes to ensure he doesn't start another Uprising and cause history to repeat itself."

"But you can't kill anyone. You're a Seraphim," The reminder made his jaw clench, and his fist curl.

"Oh, okay, let's go back six steps, maybe seven. What in the world is a Seraphim?" Kayla asks bewildered.

"It's a sub-division in the Three Rings. They can't kill people,"

"Wait there are sub-divisions now? That's interesting."

"We'll catch you up on everything later Doc," Jason reassures her. He turns to me, "Right now, we need to leave. Go home, get your stuff. I'm in charge of you now," I scoff.

"In charge of me? No one is in charge of me. I'm not some child that needs protection."

"Jordon will need time to recover. You need someone looking after you, or you can become a liability if you stay unprotected. The last thing I need is more of us getting hurt. You're coming with me and that's final," he wasn't leaving room for arguments. His voice is firm, and I wasn't backing down.

"You don't get to give me orders. I'm not like any of you. I have a mother. I can't just pack up and disappear as you all did. I can't lie to the ones I care about, knowing deep down I'm doing something dangerous," I take a deep breath. "Soon or later, my mother will get involved with Three Rings."

"It doesn't have to be like that."

"Brandon was involved, and look at me. It's the same for Jordon and Kayla. At some point, our families get involved. I can't do that to her."

"She's right." Kayla puts in, taking my side.

"Jemima, please come with me. You can make something up to tell your mom, but I can't leave or do anything unless I know you're safe. It's the last thing your brother asked for."