Changed

Chapter Seventeen

The group stared at Raya as she glanced between Veda and the boys, hinting at nervousness for the first time in a while. Veda reached over to touch her shoulder in a show of support before Raya sucked in a breath.

"The rebels could help. I have a theory that there are more of them than Leader Greene makes there out to be. If we could go join them then maybe we'd be able to end all of this." Veda had never heard Raya talk about the rebels. She knew that Raya wasn't the biggest fan of what was going on with her younger sister and all but she never thought she'd go as far as side with such a violent group.

Veda could tell the boys felt the same as they rolled their eyes at her; even Walter looked disgusted at the mere thought of the rebels. "Not one of those rebels is something to aspire to be. They're no better than Leader Greene himself in my opinion." Jasper spat and Ryker nodded in agreement. Veda couldn't understand the conversation fully, seeing as she never took much interest in the war or what the two sides stood for. All Veda had ever really noticed was whether or not she and Raya were in danger.

"What are you talking about?! The rebels stand for the freedom of those with mental and physical disabilities. They'll definitely bring down that Institution." The conviction in Raya's tone grabbed Veda's attention like she never had before. Veda felt guilt raise in her as the realization of how selfish she was compared to her friend became evident to her.

"Or the rebels will make the entire world an Institution; labeling people by their illnesses until that's all anyone sees or is seen by. They'll put even those considered perfectly healthy on medication for some made-up illness. I may have come to hate what Leader Greene stands for, but I have never stopped hating what the rebels stand for just as much." Ryker's voice was soft and steady but you could hear the anger pulsing in every sentence.

Raya fell silent as she stared at him. Veda watched her friend think long and hard while the boys did the same and reached up to turn the gears on her necklace as she tried to mimic their expressions as if she were able to follow their confusing conversation in the first place.

The silence ate at Veda's mind space and she quickly looked around at their surroundings, trying to calm herself with the familiarity of the clearing and the trees surrounding them. The smells from the town wafted to her and she felt some comfort in the scent of horses and bread despite that being a strange combination.

Veda's attention was brought back to the group as Raya spoke. "I still think we should at least try. Even if we don't agree with rebels the people in the Institution don't deserve to be treated like they do and I know you boys agree with that. You can't just take your friends and leave the rest to die."

Veda nodded her agreement and Jax let out a groan as he shook his head at them before pushing himself to his feet to begin pacing. "Listen, you two, some of those in that Institution are really sick. Whether they leave or die they will die or seriously hurt someone else to the point of death. You can't expect us to just free them all!" Jax snapped loudly before remembering where we were and ducking back out of view of the town.

"I have medical experience; I know which ones to free and which ones to leave. Just get me in and I'll take care of it." Raya whispered with the reminder of their situation and Jax seemed to consider it as Walter's nose crinkled at the thought.

"Jax, I already told you I'm not going back in there. I'll help you guys but I'm not helping anyone get in there." Walter told him, earning some looks from Jasper who seemed to have some pent up aggression towards the man.

Despite Walter's words Jax was already nodding towards Raya. "Fine, if you want to risk your neck to get in there and get some of them out then you go ahead. We'll help you get in and give you a plan to get out but that's it, none of us will be going back in and if you care about her I don't think Veda should either. It's not a nice place and I don't mean any disrespect but I don't think she can handle it." Walter looked outraged as Jax spoke while Raya seemed delighted.

Veda debated getting offended but decided against it as Walter reached out and smacked Jax across the cheek. Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared at Jax, waiting for a response. Jax slowly reached up to touch the spot he was slapped, wincing slightly before shaking his head with a small laugh.

"Walter, you can help us, or you can leave. Quite frankly I don't care, but if you ever slap me again I'll do something ten times worse than you so watch it." Jax's tone was deadly calm and Veda felt a shiver run down her spine as the boys made eye contact that seemed to last for an eternity before Walter finally lowered his gaze, ending his moment of defiance.

With that settled Jax's gaze turned back to Raya who was grinning despite the seriousness of the moment. Jax raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head with a small laugh as he pushed himself to his feet. "We've got a lot of ground to cover if we're going to make it to city twelve by tomorrow night."

The rest of the guys stood to follow Jax and Raya began to when Veda caught her by hem of her shirt. "Why are we going to city twelve? Won't there be testing there right now? We don't have our health passes." Veda felt her panic rising and Raya rolled her eyes and patted her head as she took her by the hand and pulled her to her feet.

"How many times do I need to tell you to trust me? I've got this under control."

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Well at least I'm on time. I've been super busy with school so I was worried I wouldn't be. This whole eclipse madness has got my little town in a frenzy but I'm hoping once all of this craziness has settled down I will have more time to write. But I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and I hope to give you more next Saturday.

I hope I've Changed your Saturday ;)