Rabidity (Jane Loft-series #1)

Chapter 19

"Listen up!" I yell, but the crowd keeps talking. Trevor hands me my tiara, saying it might help me to gain everyone's trust. Every Macarian knows how rare Juko is, after all, and they also known it came from Angry Amelia. I put it on my head.

Fang whistles loudly and the crowd falls silent.

"Listen!" I repeat myself. I swallow nervously. I knew exactly what I wanted to say when I was talking to Amelia, but now I've got the attention of everyone, the words get stuck in my throat. So I decide to say whatever I like. "I know you're afraid. So am I. You wouldn't be human if you weren't." Hundreds of people stare at me, some parents looking angry because their children start crying even harder. I clear my throat. "The point is, we can't let that fear come to us. The enemy is out there, destroying the world of innocent people. People who have survived the Second Big Bang, or like you call it, Angry Amelia." Amelia smiles a little next to me. "They don't know what's going on, but they are getting slaughtered at the very moment nevertheless. My brother is leading the army. His name is Adam. We went looking for him because this bracelet is literally killing me." The crowd holds its breath. "We thought he was on our side. He locked me and my Circle up, but we escaped with help from friends we made on the way."

"Where are those friends now? We could use their help, too!" a man in the crowd shouts. He's a baker from Macaria, and he's only armed with a rolling pin and a frying pan. Macaria isn't a weapon force, so I guess they've given the weapons to the people who know how to use them. The soldiers. The people like the baker are volunteers, people who want to defend their home.

"They're on their way, but we can't wait for them. We'll grow more scared and more innocent Bridgers will get slaughtered. We need to fight the army and hold on until our allies – our friends – come to help us. They will be here soon."

"Who are those so called allies?" a chubby woman asks right below me. "People from other magical countries?"

I shake my head. "They're Ejaculate."

The crowd starts protesting.

"Ejaculate are criminals!"

"Murderers!"

"Cowards!"

I'm getting desperate. We're fighting over stupid things, while my people get slaughtered on the other end of the massive golden gate behind us. This is useless. I try to calm them, but once again, no one listens.

I look at Fang and he nods. His whistle is deafening and the crowd falls silent again.

"This tribe of Ejaculate helped me and my friends when we needed it. They gave us food, clean clothes, medicines and a bed to sleep in. They can be trusted."

"What do you think, Queen Amelia?" a little girl asks. She's holding her little brother's hand and hugs her mother's leg. "Do you think we can trust those people?"

I help Amelia up next to me on the low brick wall. She smiles at the little girl before speaking to the entire crowd. "I trust my daughter. If she says we can call them our friends, she's right. I say we can trust the Ejaculate people."

"Okay," someone else says. "Then we trust them. But they're not here, and our enemy is. What can we do to fight him off? We're all terrified and our children need us."

Amelia takes my head and pinches it, encouraging me to keep talking.

So I inhale deeply and continue. "I'm not going to say you shouldn't be afraid. The only thing you need to keep in mind is the fact that there are ways to defeat the army that's waiting for us. We need a plan."