The Spirit Guardians Book 4: Liberated

Chapter 14

It had been a little over a week since Conny had joined the military. His first day had been full of anxieties, and after an embarrassing day of training and trying his best to follow schedule, he felt he was slowly getting the hang of it. Conny had, at one point, been tempted to call Cherie to pick him up. The early morning wake-up call was a contributing factor to such a thought. But he had since begun to fall into place among his squad and peers. Carly herself had been the most kind to him, helping him to become more accustomed to military life. Soon enough, he had formed his own little friend group. It was refreshing, considering he hadn't met anyone new in years.

Conny wondered how the others were getting along back the cabin. He hoped they were still undergoing training and making the necessary preparations for the siege that was a little over a month away. Their level of training was nothing compared to what the military was preparing him for. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

During dinner one evening, Conny was happily chatting with the others, sharing funny stories and making jokes already. Carly had called his personality magnetic, as he was already on everyone's good side. He had rarely felt alone or left out since the time he had first arrived. The others enjoyed his presence, and he enjoyed being around them. Though the food was bland, he ate happily, especially when Carly laughed at one of his jokes. She didn't laugh as much at the other boy's jokes, but Conny kept this thought to himself.

"Cadet Haddad," Commander Kane interrupted.

Conny turned around, wondering what he had done wrong this time. He longed to go back to chatting with his squadmates and enjoying a so-so meal.

"You have a phone call. It's your brother," Kane stated.

"Is something wrong?" Conny asked, fear flooding through him. Did the Preservers find the cabin? Did someone get sick? Were there more important battle plans?

"I don't know," was Kane's unhelpful response.

He felt Carly gently pat his back as he stood up and followed Kane to one of the few rooms with a telephone. He grabbed onto the line nervously, wondering what on earth Marc needed to call him about. He was going to be furious if it was just a friendly check-in. After all, calls were usually reserved for more important manners due to the limited telephone lines and poor signal out here.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Conny, it's Marc," his brother said into the phone.

"Yeah, I know that. What's wrong? Why are you calling me?" Conny asked nervously.

"Can't I just call for pleasant conversation?"

"People don't really do that here," Conny said quietly.

"Nothing is wrong. Well, I take that back. Everyone is safe and unhurt. It's just been a shocking week, that's all," Marc stated.

"What happened?" Conny asked. How could anything be more shocking or exciting than Conny's first taste of military life in the past week.

"The Tiger joined us this week. That just spiraled the cabin into chaos," Marc grumbled.

"How?" Conny wondered. "I thought you guys were excited to be housing them."

"Well, we were...until we found out who the Tiger was," Marc answered.

"What?"

"It's Irene."

Conny froze, flexing his fingers slightly. He dryly gulped, vividly remembering Irene's betrayal, how they all had to flee their home of several years because of her alliance with the Preservers.

"I don't understand," Conny said in surprise. "Irene isn't loyal to us. She betrayed us."

"She is loyal to us apparently. She's been spying for us. Cherie's had her under observation and has confirmed she's on our side. I don't know if I believe that not or yet, but she left the Preservers. She also left Miguel."

"So Miguel isn't there with you?" Conny asked.

"No. He doesn't know about Irene's spying or her allegiance to us. Cherie's letting her stay here. So, as a result of that, it's been awkward," Marc mumbled.

"I bet. What a Christmas this will be," Conny thought, laughing to himself slightly.

"There's...some other things too," Marc added, "that we were unaware of."

"Huh?"

"Well, for one, Lillian and Mitsuki are dating," Marc stated.

Conny paused. He supposed now that he thought about it, it made sense. Mitsuki had never seemed too interested in boys, though it seemed a bit more odd with Lillian. Then again, he never remembered her crushing on anyone. He had always just assumed she was shy about her romantic life, but things were suddenly clicking into place. It was no wonder she and Mitsuki always seemed joined by the hips or why they slept in each other's rooms so often. Conny just assumed that was something girls did.

"When did that happen?" Conny asked after a pause.

"Apparently they've been dating since July," Marc stated.

"So they came out?"

"Yeah. Because Irene came back. Irene apparently dated Lillian for a while when we were teenagers."

"What?! When did that happen?! What about Miguel?"

"Irene's bi. And I know. I can't believe none of us realized they were in a relationship. Lillian said they dated for about a year too."

"So you called to tell me half the cabin is gay, then?" Conny asked.

Marc chuckled. "Partially? But I did want to let you know about Irene, at least, so you know she'll be there when you come back. It's been awkward around here, with tensions all around."

"How is Irene doing with Elijah?" Conny wondered.

"Cassie and I were keeping her away from him for a bit, but she was playing with him the other day. I feel bad, you know? Irene gets along well with him. He knows she's his real mom, but Elijah doesn't seem to understand the implications of that."

"Will Irene raise him now?" Conny asked.

"I don't know. She hasn't taken over the parenting, probably because Elijah is much more comfortable around Cassie and me these days. I don't know what that means for the future though. Anyway, you're in for a fun Christmas when you get back. Everyone's a bit tense these days," Marc explained.

"I'm glad no one's dead or anything. I was worried when you called me," Conny stated.

"How are things on your end? Are you doing well?" Marc asked, his voice growing more concerned.

"Yeah, I'm doing well here. It's been a little difficult getting into routine, but I feel like I'm improving. I've already made some friends," Conny stated.

"Good for you. I won't keep you anymore then. Just thought you should know before walking in the door and seeing the mess that's become of the cabin."

"Thanks, see you soon."

"See you soon. Take care," Marc said as the line went dead.

Conny slowly hung the phone back up. He was slowly processing all the information he had just taken in. He moved away from the telephone and headed back to the cafeteria, slowly taking a seat alongside his friends. Carly was reaching forward for him, looking worried.

"What happened? Is everything okay?" Carly asked concernedly.

"Oh, everything's fine," Conny assured the others, even if he was not as enthusiastic. The thought of Irene returning made his stomach queasy "Just some soap opera drama. No one's hurt or sick or anything. Let's just get back to talking," Conny said, pushing the conversation aside.

The others were in a good mood and continued their conversation, even if Conny could see Carly turning to stare at him every now and then. But he did not have to spill his life troubles to her. The only thing that really affected him was Irene's return. He'd never gotten along with her that well despite the years they lived together. Conny only hoped Irene would remain loyal to them permanently this time around. He wasn't sure he could handle another betrayal.