The Program [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Aiden took a few bites of his eggs in silence, refusing to look upwards out of fear of his friends' combined wrath. From the moment he'd even sat at the table, he'd been met with instant hostility and coldness from his friends. However, he was so relieved that Rania was present, he didn't even care. He was so happy that she'd escaped safely. Aiden had no idea what he would have done if she hadn't. The horrific thought sent shivers down his spine. So far, despite Zariah being thoroughly unimpressed with his behavior, she had at least been making an effort to forgive him, however small the shred of hospitality may have been. Progress was progress, and Aiden would take anything at this point.

When Aiden had woken up that morning, he'd woken up alone. Zariah had left long before him, leaving him by himself for the remainder of the night. He could have only imagined the spiteful words she would have told him had she decided to inform him of her absence.

You infer, she would have said. Did you really think I'd forgive you so easily? Just because I love you doesn't mean I'm ever going to take it easy on you.

Aiden smiled slightly at the thought before instantly wiping it off his face. He hadn't yet forgotten that his friends were with him, and they were still beyond furious at him for his actions the night before. Aiden shoveled another forkful of his breakfast into his mouth as an attempt to keep it shut before succumbing once again to his vigil of silence.

Despite Aiden's lack of invitation to the breakfast conversation, he continued to listen intently to the others' vague chatter, interested in what they had to say.

"There's been a small rebellion in a few of the cities in our sector," Virgil said excitedly. He managed to keep his voice low and monotonous, so that it would merely blend into the crowd of other soldier's engaging in their morning conversations. "A little bigger than the last one. See? People are starting to get involved, little by little."

"But how quickly was it put down?" Theo pointed out. "We're gonna need a hell of a lot more firepower to take Xylem down. The people may outnumber the Programmers, but what we lack in numbers we make up for in skill. We need different solutions."

"Keep your voices down," Zariah muttered. "Officials are headed our way."

Their chatter ceased as two armed Officials walked by them, making their rounds along the dining hall perimeter. A few moments after they had passed, Aiden saw Theo, Virgil, Zariah and Rania exchange looks before tentatively resuming their previous talk.

"Different solutions, huh?" Virgil rolled his eyes. "Certain people have those." He eyed Aiden agitatedly.

"Stop that," Zariah snapped. "He looks sad enough already. Stop beating on him."

"I still can't believe you didn't bring me with you," Virgil protested. "What kind of a best friend does that?"

Theo turned to Virgil, giving him a pointed look. "That's all you're angry about?"

"Sneaking out behind our backs, yeah, yeah," waved Virgil. "You know, out of our whole group and shit, I was always the rebellious one. I mean, technically that's all of us now, but still. I at least thought I was just a little bit badder than the rest of you. Then this punk goes around trying to steal my title."

"You're an idiot," Theo shook his head hopelessly. "Both of you."

"Theo," Rania said gently. It was the first time she'd spoken up all morning. "It's okay, really. Aiden was thinking of the greater good. Besides, this transmission could be a really important thing for us. Not telling the rest of you was a safety precaution."

"Can you imagine what Jayda would have done to me if I let you get hurt on my watch?" Theo exclaimed in exasperation. "That goes for you too, Colonel," he eyed Aiden warily.