Remember

Chapter Twenty-Four

"You know, none of this actually makes sense." Jordy crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall behind him. "How is this little... community or whatever you call it here? I mean it's not exactly that hidden and there's so many people, children especially. I don't understand how you all got here, let alone have built a whole town." Of course Jordy had to be skeptical and ask the least pressing questions, though surely everyone was wondering the same thing.

Colette looked to Madie for her answer but the voice that spoke came from behind her instead. She jumped a bit and turned towards the voice. Commander Lorhan had slipped into the room at some point during the conversation and had posted herself against the door frame, fiddling with a makeshift knife. "We've been here since the beginning, never in any danger until you decided to show up with government guards on your trail. Most of us came from different parts, either having been hidden for the government, looked over, or escaped the compound by sure luck and will." Commander Lorhan sheathed the knife.

"What do you mean looked over?" It Kaden who spoke this time, for the first time since he had run to Madie. Colette was going to have to ask her about all that later, assuming Kaden wasn't going to tell her and probably deny it ever happened.

The commander groaned, clearly annoyed that she had to explain this to the people she captured and wanted dead. "Not everyone's powers are as... powerful, to say, as yours may be. Some of the people here either didn't exhibit powers or had such a useless power the government didn't see it fit wasting their resources to contain them and give them a better life than this shit-hole." Her eyes contained pure rage, but not for the same reasons the trio seemed to be angry for.

"You make it sound like you would prefer the simulations." Jordy scoffed. He was right though, her anger seemed to be focused on the fact that people were denied the simulations. Angry that they weren't important enough to be put into them.

"You've been in the simulation. You've seen the perfect world the government had created, no suffering, no sickness, no wars. No worries at all. It's a perfect bliss, why anyone would want to escape that and live in this world, I'll never understand. There's nothing left here for the human race. Nothing left to salvage, hardly any food. The animals are exhausted away and the grounds too full of chemical waste to grow anything worth eating. Don't let this little town fool you, this world you see, that you long to be a part of - it doesn't exist anymore." She paused a moment to look at Colette. "You'll understand one day."

Colette felt the blood drain from her face and she could have sworn her heart skipped a beat. Was there a chance they were fighting on the wrong side? Commander Lorhan was right, who would want to live in these ruins when they could live peacefully, trapped inside their own minds. Ignorance really is a bliss in this case.

She avoided her gaze and turned back towards Madie who only looked saddened by her words. Almost looked as if she pitied the woman. At least Colette wasn't the only one who could feel for both sides. Though after what Madie said about the government and their manipulation, Colette doubted she would ever side for them. It was wrong to hide the truth from people and it seemed, more than anybody, Madie understood that.

Madie stood up and cleared her voice, staring at Commander Lorhan. "Thank you Loretta, but I think that's enough. My friends have been running for days on nearly nothing. Find them some spare clothes, food, and a place to sleep. It's getting late and we need to talk about how we're going to deal with the guards that were following them." Colette stiffened at the commanding tone of Madie, she wasn't used to seeing her like this. She was a leader now, no longer that smart and innocent little girl that she once knew.

Commander Lorhan hesitated at the door for a moment, eager to say something else but as soon as the door opened and the blonde man shot her a look, she retreated. Colette studied the man who walked in, looking back and forth between him and Madie. Their features were similar, the same bleach blonde hair and ocean blue eyes, only the man's eyes looked like they were full of pain and regret. They looked dull in comparison.

"Guys, this is my brother, Peyton." She smiled at her brother, a look of fondness growing in her eyes. Though he did not return the smile, only nodded at the other three in the room. Colette furrowed her eyebrows at Madie. She didn't remember her ever having a brother, though with all the mind manipulation she could have been forced to forget about him. Yet, nothing about the man seemed familiar at all. "I know, I was surprised too. I didn't believe it at first either but he found me after I had escaped from the compound and brought me here."

Colette studied the man, he looked to be only a few years older than Madie and a few inches taller. He wasn't built like Lincoln but he wasn't scrawny either. Then she remembered something Lincoln had said while she was being drug through the woods, about not being afraid of the girl's brother. So if Madie was the girl and he was the brother... well Peyton didn't exactly look like the nicest guy she had met but not the type of person who could hurt someone else. Though it did seem like he was hiding something. In a world like this, that could never mean anything good.

"It's, uhm, nice to meet you." Colette tried to force a small smile as she looked at Peyton but instead shied away from his gaze. She wasn't going to be getting in his way anytime soon, especially if what Commander Lorhan said about him was true. She sure as hell didn't want any broken bones. "I'm Col-" Peyton cut her off.

"I know who you are." His voice was deep and seemed to bounce off the walls. He only stared at her for one more second before turning his gaze to his sister. "The guards posted on the forest line have sent word that the govies are coming close, they're on the highway."

Madie pushed her lips into a thin line, chewing on the inside of her cheek. For the first time Colette noticed the bags under her friend's eyes. She couldn't begin to imagine what it took to keep this place running. She was too young to be running an entire hidden community. "Get Lorhan out there, she can null whatever powers they may have so they can't attack if they find us. I'll go find us our backup plan." Peyton nodded at her and left the room.

So that's why Kaden didn't fight back when they had been captured and why his powers seemed to be all over the place, Commander Lorhan must have silenced his powers and when her hold over him was gone they suddenly all bubbled to the surface. "What is your backup plan?" Kaden was suddenly interested in the conversation. "I can help." Or maybe he just wanted an excuse to let some of his power's energy out.