Republic of Omisha

Chapter 24: Eliza

  Now is her chance. She has to tell him. Explain to them that she can't stay here.

She tells Clay what she discovered about the rebellion and how her sister and mother were involved. She tells them that she feels compelled to follow in their footsteps.

Clay has objections. "You shouldn't just leave. You could end the trials if you stay here and become the next leader. Besides if you leave here to join the rebellion they might not believe that you're there to help them."

That is true. Eliza hadn't thought about that. "But... I think there's something else going on."

"Like what?" Clay doesn't sound like he believes her.

This is the first time that Clay has ever spoken to her in such a condescending way. Like she's a child. Like she doesn't know what she's talking about. It infuriates her.

She forces herself to be calm, and says in a steady voice, "I think that there's something bigger going on. Some other motive behind it."

"Behind what? The trials?"

"Everything. The trials. My mother's death. The cause for my sister and I to be contestants in the trials. The rebellion. The schools. Everything." Eliza looked at their astonished expression.

It takes Clay a moment to form words. "You shouldn't leave her on a whim. I mean you should figure out more about what's going on, first."

Eliza nodded. She isn't happy with their response, but at least he's not trying to talk her out of it. It's something. "Fine. You two have to keep this under wraps until we go public. That's when we will truly see where the students and teachers stand."

Eliza could see her plan coming together in her mind. She just needs something to kick it off. Now, is the hard part: the waiting. She knows that everything will work out and the right opportunity will present himself. For now she will have to poke around to find revealing information. That, she will keep to herself.

She eats the fruit and muffin that Clay brought her and they leave.

Eliza soon begins her classes. She has a hard time loses herself in her schoolwork.

When lunch rolls around Eliza is not allowed to leave the med wing until her concussion has healed more. The medic on staff brings Eliza a hot bowl of soup with bread and sliced fruit.

When the medic leaves to get Hendrix his food, she decides to pay him a visit. She slinks in the doorway. He's sleeping flat on his back, his head reclined and his mouth open.

He murmurs something in his sleep. His voice whiny and his demeanor is wimpy. Eliza can't help, but giggle. Hendrix hears hear and snaps alert. He quickly sits up in bed and doubles over moaning and holding his stomach.

Eliza notices his bruised jaw and black eye. She's sure that his stomach must be green and blue from bruises too. There are bloody scratch marks a few inches long on his arm and shoulder from when she scratch him.

He looks like a weasel. "Relax," Eliza says, her anger towards him diminished once she saw the fear in his eyes. "I just wanted to see how your doing." Lies, at least it Eliza thinks that it is a lie, but she finds herself sounding oddly sincere.

"Oh, really?" She can hear the contempt in his voice.

"I'm not a monster."

Eliza stands still and watches him look her over. "You don't seem to be in to bad of shape. Other than your bloody lip, you look unharmed." He almost sounds relieved.

"You're forgetting the concussion that you gave me when you knocked me to the ground." There was an edge to her words.

Before the conversation could get anywhere, and Eliza didn't even know what it is that she wanted to accomplish, the medic returned with Hendrix's food and he told her to return to her room.

Eliza complies and the rest of her classes fly by. She finds herself contemplating before she falls asleep.

It has been two weeks since the trials. Eliza has come to terms with her sister's death. She hasn't forgotten, but now whenever she thinks about Kalea pain doesn't come to mind, instead the happy memories play threw her mind. She remembers how her sister would hold her when she cried, and sing her mother's song she was scared.

Eliza doesn't know what comes over her, but she begins to sing her Mother's song, or as her Mother called it: the Spero song.

Skies are blue,

And all I see is you,

Blinded by the beauty of the sun,

With your eyes so fare,

And your arms so bare,

When I look at you I see me,

With blue rolling skies,

Far away from lies,

We're at peace in the meadow of green,

Eliza finds herself too chocked up to sing another verse. Her eyes fill with tears, as she longs for Kalea and her mother, Lydia, to be with her.

She falls asleep soon afterward. She dreams peacefully. In the dream she is having a picnic in a green field with clear blue skies overhead. It is only Lydia, Kalea, and herself at the picnic. Eliza smiles as she enters another laughing fit with her sister. She didn't hear what Kalea had said that made her laugh, but she didn't care.

She turned to see her mother. Her beautiful blonde hair and deep brown eyes. She was happy with a big grin over her face. She looked so young. She looked the same as the... as the last time she saw her. She was in her early thirties, but she looked younger. She was a natural beauty.

Eliza is so happy. She longs for this to be real. It should have been real. Eliza wakes up in a cold sweat, crying. Why were happy things like this stolen from them? This should be a memory, not a dream.

It takes her an hour to calm down. With some effort she is able to fall asleep again.