Clone

Rine's Powers and the Rebellion

Rine flexed her muscles, feeling the strength coursing through her veins. She had always known she was different from the other clones, but she had never known how much until the rebellion had shown her the true extent of her powers. "I can't believe it," she said to the group of rebels gathered around her. "I have superhuman strength and agility, and I can control and manipulate technology with my mind."

The leader of the group, a man named Mark, spoke up. He was one of the clones' closest comrades and one of the most respected leaders among them all. "Yes," he said, "but it's not quite like that. You see-" He trailed off uncertainly, scratching the back of his neck nervously and looking away, unable to meet her gaze.

"Tell me," she demanded. "How can we fight if you won't tell us what you know?"

"Rine, it isn't that simple," he insisted, avoiding meeting her eyes as though the very idea embarrassed him. Rine stared at him, waiting for him to explain himself. After a moment, Mark took a deep breath and began to speak.

"We call ourselves the Free Republic of New Avalon," he said quietly. His voice sounded strained, like he was holding back something he wanted to say. "Our goal is not to overthrow the government, but rather to protect and defend our people from tyranny. The freedom fighters who formed this alliance were inspired by the freedom fighters of Earth." Mark took another deep breath and met Rine's gaze. "When humans were exiled from Earth, there was a war that destroyed millions of lives."

There was an uncomfortable silence. It seemed like a terrible thing to admit, like the end of everything Rine knew.

Mark continued. "After the war, humanity became separated into groups: a few left to continue defending the planet while others were scattered across the galaxy in search of new homes. The Liberator movement grew, spreading its wings and searching for people to help guide them. Over time, however, we became separated from the Liberators. Some fled the planet, while others remained, and in the space of ten years, we lost contact. Our movement ended when the planet was taken over by the Clones of Consequence."

Rine remembered the stories she had heard about the Liberator rebellion, and the way the world changed when it happened. She wondered where Mark and his fellow rebels went now. Did they return to Earth? Had they been killed during the battle? Would they ever find out?

Rine felt sick. Her life had become a series of events that had been carefully orchestrated. Every move she made had been orchestrated from day one by someone else. If this had all begun when she was still a child, it might not have bothered her so much. Now she realized that things had just gotten more complicated. She didn't even know how long she had been a clone, only that it had to be almost two years now. It was impossible to know how much longer she'd be expected to serve her sentence. She hadn't exactly asked when she was placed here after the attack. There wasn' t really anyone to ask anyway.

"That's why I'm so glad to see you, kid!"

Her attention jerked back towards the present. She turned her head to where she thought the voice had come from and found that it was coming from a boy standing about twelve feet away from her. He looked to be a few inches taller than her with wavy brown hair that matched the color of his eyes. He wore a light green shirt and pants with the same color and pattern of sneakers as she did. He also had on a pair of black leather gloves and a belt buckle studded with gems. There was a short sword hanging from his waist and an arrow attached to the strap of his quiver on his shoulder.

He smiled shyly at her, giving her the impression he was a person that wouldn't normally smile. "Hi," he said, taking another step closer and extending his hand to her. "My name is Connor, but everyone calls me Connor."

Connor. That was a strange name. Most people just called the clones by their numbers; the name had stuck with Rine because she liked the sound of it. For some reason, though, Connor gave her a strange feeling and she couldn't understand why.