The Forgotten

Trust Issues

"Go to hell!" someone from the crowd yells. I grin. Brace wouldn't kill hundreds of civilians, right?

I hear heavy breathing from the intercom. He's not pleased by the reaction, not at all.

"I'll give you all ten minutes to stand down," he states. "Then you're all under arrest, dead or alive."

"Freak," I mutter. Lance grabs my arm.

"Ten minutes is enough time for you, me, and Will to disable his weapons, and the communication," he says. I knock his hand aside.

"You killed my sister. Why should I trust you?" Lance opens his mouth to say something, but Will interrupts him.

"I killed Jess, remember? If you can trust me, even temporarily, then you can trust him just long enough to protect these people."

"Raven, don't," Rubin says. I realize he doesn't know I'm Eris. I need to tell him at least that.

"I'm actually Eris," I say. "Raven was my twin sister. Then he killed her." I jab a finger at Lance.

"I'm sorry," he says. "I'll explain more later--"

"What's there to explain?" Shain interrupts. He talks over her.

"—but right now we need to focus on Brace and his weaponry. Something needs to happen." I sigh and groan simultaneously.

"I know, I know. This is the only option I can think of right now. So, okay, we can work with what you've got. But I'm keeping an eye on you." He nods.

Lance says, "It makes sense. I'd be upset if you didn't." Will rolls his eyes.

"Can we just get on with it before I switch sides again?" We all glare at him. He grins. "What? Too soon?" I make a face at him.

"Let's just go," I say, irritated. Shain goes to follow us, but I turn to face her.

"You can't. You have to get out of the country, no matter what. If we don't make it...well...we don't have prices on our heads," I remind her.

"Yet," Rubin says unhelpfully.

I retort, "Now is really not the time for this."

"She's right," President Crest tells his son. "We need to focus on getting the people out, the people Brace will kill without hesitation."

"What about Mom?" Rubin demands. "Where is she?"

"Your mother is already on board," Mr. Bristill assures him.

"Are you sure?" Rubin asks, sounding concerned.

Mr. Bristill says, "I made sure of it." Rubin seems relieved. I understand where he's coming from. She's my mom too.

"Okay," Rubin sighs. His relief makes me believe he knows she's his biological mother. I wonder if he thinks Shain to be his sister. Tabitha too. Does he even know she's dead?

Reluctantly and while giving me a dirty look, Shain joins her brother in the crowd of people getting onto the ship.

"You sure you'll be careful?" President Crest asks. I can't tell if he's asking me or the entire group.

I answer for us all, "Yes." He nods and follows Shain and Rubin into the crowd. Mr. Bristill doesn't. He does continue to usher in everyone.

Lance gets my attention. "We need to each take a separate task."

"No," I say immediately, "I can't trust either of you."

"Well, you have to," Lance says. "Will, can you take out the guards. You're the strongest of us three. You did kill Jess with your bare hands." I cringe. It's not something I prefer to keep fresh in my brain.

"You're the one best suited to get rid of whatever Brace used to fire into the crowd. It was some sort of mass weapon," Will relays to Lance. He nods.

"That leaves me with the intercom," I state, "and closest to Brace."

"Either one of us would exchange our jobs," Will tells me. Lance agrees. I shake my head.

"No. We each have the job that we'll best complete. I'll stick with this." They look skeptical.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," I assure them. Hesitantly they both head off in their separate directions. I begin making my way towards the main building. That is where the sound of the intercom is coming from, so it must be where Brace is.

As I walk, I go over my plan in my head. I find the breaker. I follow the wires to the intercom and cut it. Hopefully I'll be able to get out before Brace gets a hold of me.