Kaden

Chapter Seven

Olive left about a minute after she told us everything. She told us about the rumors of the weapon, and the rumors that they plan to launch it in two days. The city might be blown up by then.

"What are we gonna do?" Willow asks. Nobody says anything. Max is standing at the window again. He turns around and storms towards me.

"You started this! It's your fault that Iris is gone!!" I see tears well up in his eyes. "She's gone forever!! I'll never get her BACK!!" He bursts out crying, and he advances towards me, clenching his fists. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" His voice cracks on the last word. He grabs my shoulder, but I twist away. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!" He aims a blow for my head, and I duck. His hand smashes into the wall, making the structure shudder. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!" He slams his hand into the wall where my chest was half a second ago. He slides down against the wall, sobbing. "I'm gonna kill you..."

Willow gets up and walks over to the rope. I hear her slide down, and the door slam shut.

"Willow's question stands," Moana says emotionlessly. It's as if nothing happened. "What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna assassinate the Emperor and destroy the weapon." I step back towards the rope. "But first, I have to find Willow again." I slide down the rope, ignoring the screaming pain in my hands and leg, and I step out of the door, closing it behind me. I pull my hood over my face and begin to walk. It's completely dark out. Rain pounds on the pavement and thunder booms in the distance. The icy cold penetrates my cloak and goes into my skin as if there was nothing there. I follow the distant sounds of footsteps splashing in puddles.

Twisting around alleys and running across streets as not to be seen, I follow the noises until I can see her. Just as I catch a glimpse of her wavy brown hair flowing out of her black cloak, she enters the market square. It's basically the black market at this point, and booths have illegal supplies almost out in the open. Everyone who enters wears a cloak as to hide their features. Who knows how many soldiers could be hidden there, looking for illegal goods.

I see a flash of hair and follow it. I break into a run as I shove through the crowds to reach her. She's twenty feet away. Ten. Five. Three. I reach out a bare hand and make a grab for her shoulder. She lets out a strangled gasp as she turns and sees me. She seems to recognize what little she can see of me, and she instantly calms down. I start to pull her back in the direction that we came from, but I'm interrupted by a scream. Jumping with fright, I turn to see three soldiers, all on horseback. They're carrying a poster. Willow stiffens.

The poster has five faces on it.

The first I see is Willow's. Then Max's. Then mine. Souris and Moana are also on the poster.

The soldier in the front pulls off her mask and shows her face. Every muscle in Willow's body stiffens.

"Have you seen these five people?" she asks gruffly. Nobody replies. All that's to be heard is a muffled scream in the distance and the rain pounding on the ground. "They're criminals. The one in the center is named Kaden." At my name, everyone whispers to each other. "The reward for capturing her dead is 10 million units. For capturing her alive, it's 100 million units." I feel my whole body go limp. I'm so screwed. I am soooo screwed. I'm screwed. 100 million units is enough to make your family completely stinking rich for about 5 generations. It's enough to retire 100 times over. "The one to the right is my sister, Willow Valelly. The reward for her is only if she's alive. She is to be returned to the Emperor. Her reward is 50 million units." Willow jumps slightly and lets out a bit of a whimper. It takes me a second to register this. I'm still in shock from the 100 million units. Wait. Did she say sister? The whole world goes silent. Returned alive. Willow is in a military family. She's from the rich neighborhoods. I feel hatred burn through my whole body. Sister. She gets to be returned alive. She's rich. She must have been in the military. Sister. Sister. Sister.