Taken Over: Sapphire of Hope

New Recruit

"Zachariah. This is Tyler Taftner."

Zachariah turned to look at Adam and the new arrival.

"A pleasure to meet you."

Zachariah and Tyler shook hands and they began walking around while Adam disappeared among the people who had just voted Olivia their new leader.

"So tell me Tyler, what do you think of this girl becoming the new leader?"

Tyler looked at Zachariah and answered.

"I believe she has a chance to change things for the better."

Zachariah responded to this answer.

"Aren't you concerned her age might affect her judgment as a leader of an entire nation that's at war?"

Tyler shook his head while he answered.

"Not at all. I've spoken to this girl personally. She has the heart, mind, and soul of a true patriot. Something not a lot of people share with her. She wants this all over just as much as we do."

Zachariah looked at Tyler and spoke again.

"You sound as though you have lost people, maybe family during this attack."

Tyler shook his head.

"No. My mother and father split when I was very young, and my mother moved to Pennsylvania, so as of right now she's in a safe zone. My father traveled from Oregon with my sister and that girl to my mothers house. My father unfortunately is here."

Zachariah looked at Tyler again before continuing.

"Do you have some sort of disagreement with your father?"

Tyler nodded.

"I guess you could say that. Adam says he's working with Death Trap. My father on the other hand denies this claim and as of right now there's nothing I can do about it because he's under the protection of our new leader."

Zachariah smiled.

"I see. What if I told you that's not one hundred percent true?"

Tyler looked at Zachariah confused.

"Which part?"

Zachariah chuckled.

"Well Tyler as you know from Adam, there's a secret group out there that has been protecting this nation. Death Trap is a threat to this nation and therefore anyone affiliated with it in any way, shape, or form must be eliminated immediately."

Tyler continued to look at Zachariah, only now he looked at him with interest.

"Seeing as your father is a part of Death Trap, it is our duty to take him out immediately."

Tyler looked away for a moment thinking about what Zachariah was saying.

"There's a problem with your plan. Adam told me your people are on the run. Most of them have to of been captured by Death Trap. Plus, we're all stuck in nine states, there's no way this secret group you're a part of would fit in nine states with all these civilians."

Zachariah smiled again.

"Tyler, I'm going to tell you something, but I can only tell people who are apart of this secret group, so I have to ask. Are you willing to join and help us?"

Tyler looked at Zachariah and pondered the question for a moment.

"If it means the end of Death Trap in its entirety, then yes."

Zachariah smiled again.

"Excellent. Now, we'll have to go through an initiation, but in order to do that, we need to leave."

Zachariah began walking towards the border.

"What do you mean leave? Where do we have to go?"

Zachariah answered quickly.

"Washington D.C."

Tyler stopped immediately.

"That's impossible. We'll get stopped by Death Trap at the Pennsylvania border."

Zachariah scoffed.

"Please, Death Trap isn't as smart as people think they are. There's an underground tunnel that belongs to us. We can slip in and out of the border unnoticed."

Tyler looked at Zachariah impressed, but a little shocked at the fact that there was underground tunnels spread throughout the U.S.

"How long have these tunnels existed?"

Zachariah looked at Tyler a little frustrated that he was wanting more details, but he needed Tyler to trust him and join T.C.

"We've had these tunnels since 1912."

Tyler looked at Zachariah trying to think of why that year seemed so familiar.

"What was so significant in 1912 that caused your group to start making underground tunnels?"

Zachariah looked at Tyler and answered.

"The Titanic sank."

Tyler stared at him for a moment..

"Why would you wait that long to make tunnels?"

Zachariah answered him.

"Because we needed a distraction so people wouldn't ask too many questions about what we were doing. We didn't want it to be a horrible disaster, but it was the only time we had an advantage. Our main headquarters however was built in 1776 when we were formed."

Tyler looked at Zachariah intrigued.

"So what do you need me for exactly?"

Zachariah stopped walking near a car away from all the people.

"Because you are important to us. We are trying to stop Death Trap and get this country back to the way things were. Where people were protected and not pushed to live in the only nine states available. You can help us because you can give us some inside on Death Trap."

After Zachariah said this, he got into the car and rolled the window down to continue to speak to Tyler.

"What do you want me to do?"

Zachariah pulled out a gold case containing his cigars. After, he lit one up and took in a deep breath of smoke.

"I want you to watch your father and report back to me every encounter he has with Death Trap and if necessary, stop them."

"How exactly am I supposed to stop him?"

Zachariah took another deep breath of smoke.

"Use your training. If you have to, use brutal force. I don't care what you do to stop him, just remember he can't let this group advance anymore then they already have. Just make sure you stop him. Even if that means killing him."

Tyler looked at Zachariah. While the two stared at each other for a moment, the driver door opened and Adam got in and started the vehicle.

"Do what you have to do to get this country back to greatness. We'll meet soon for your initiation and an update on your father."

Zachariah rolled the window up and Adam began driving away.

"Why are you having Tyler watch his dad?"

Adam asked. Zachariah replied while looking out the window.

"Because, there is something strange about that group and if Tyler is keeping an eye on Bruce, then he'll be keeping an eye on all of them."

Adam chuckled.

"That group can't be any trouble for us. Why would you want to keep an eye on them?"

Zachariah continued to look out the window as he took another deep breath of smoke.

"For starters, that Aiden kid is the brother of Jake. And that Olivia girl is wanted by Death Trap but also just got elected to essentially be the new president. Something just seems off, and I don't like it."