The Wrong Side

Chapter 16

People intimidate me. I don't know why, or where this intimidation comes from, but when I see a group of them, I want to slink away, into a corner so no one notices me. In fact, when Kadiya and I arrived at the Freeborn headquarters, I actually tried to hide behind her so that the hundreds of people wouldn't notice me. It's ridiculous for two reasons: One, I'm just another face in the crowd and no one cares about an insignificant person like me. Two, Kadiya is three inches shorter than me. Still, all the people at the Freeborn scared me.

Upon arrival, I realized that I probably made a mistake coming here. What was I doing here? I had no goal here. Well, I guess that's not true. I wanted to find out what the Voice's intent was when he told me to bring Kadiya and her siblings to where I grew up. Besides that, I didn't know what I was doing here. I wouldn't fit in.

I think the biggest reason why I came was not because of the Voice, but it was Kadiya. There was something about her that made me relaxed. I wasn't attracted to her or anything like that, but she felt protective and reassuring; kind of like an older sister.

The Freeborn HQ was not as impressive as I expected. I don't know why, but when I thought of HQ, I was thinking of a giant city with a towering skyscraper in the center. This place looked like an abandoned school. It was only five, maybe six or seven, stories tall and made out of brick, indicating that it was an old building. Probably made in the early twenty-first century. There was a field in the back and an open space in the middle of the area which was decorated with trees, a plant box and a few picnic tables. The open space is surrounded by the main building with six different walls.

The place was filled with people. There must have been thousands of them and they were all in a close vicinity to me. When Kadiya led me through the crowds, I pulled in my arms and walked awkwardly behind her. I noticed that I was trying to cover up my right arm. Thankfully, no one seemed to pay attention to me. If they did, I didn't see them looking at me.

Kadiya took me to a main office and now, she's going scrolling through a tablet which is installed in the top of a desk. There are a few other people in the office who are working at computers, not glancing up at me or Kadiya.

"Okay," says Kadiya and she grabs my wrist and pulls me across the main office to a small room off to the side.

There's a light wooden desk with a flatscreen computer standing on it. In addition, there's another touchscreen installed in the surface of the desk. There are filing cabinets standing in two corners of the room and photographs on the desk, beside the computer. One is a photo of a young Kadiya with her arms around two other people. They both are blonde and fair-skinned, contrasting Kadiya's auburn hair and tanned skin. They both are taller than her and they look like they could be siblings. All three of them are smiling at the camera.

Kadiya notices me staring at the picture. She picks it up and offers it to me.

"That's me and my siblings," she says as I take the photo. It's just a regular picture; no tablet or anything electronic.

She comes beside me and points to the boy. "That's Matthew. He's a few months older than me and is the most arrogant ass you'll ever meet."

She laughs when I glance at her with my eyebrows knit and raised.

"That's Luna. She's really quiet and the sweetest devil you'll ever meet."

"Devil?" I ask, a little confused.

"Yeah. She likes to cause trouble and always gets away with it because she's such a sweetheart."

I look back at the smiling face. All three of them look so happy together. Is this what it's like to have a family? I bite my the inside of my lip. These are the people that the Voice wants me to bring home. How will I ever manage to do that?