Republic of Omisha

Chapter 50: Clay

  He's exhausted. He has bags under his eyes, and his shoulders slump. He lets out an exasperated sigh. They're out of ideas. He has been interrogating Karma, Helena, and Liam all night.

Brindle and Brooklyn walk at his sides. The look of concern lies on both of their faces as they study him.

They're headed to see Eliza. When they arrive at her room they realize that she is gone.

Clay spots the open window. "What?" He shouts. "Who was supposed to check on her?" There's an angry edge to his voice. He has to remind himself to stay calm. Getting upset will only cloud his judgement. He pinches the bridge of his nose, clamps his eyes shut, and takes a deep breath to compose himself.

Brindle, who is usually brimming with words, is at a loss of words as she hastily replies, tripping over words. "It was- I thought- but- if- since Eliza was-"

Clay holds up a hand to silence her. He can plainly see the guilt on her face. She looks afraid of him.

"Doesn't matter." He answers cooly. "But we need to find her. She still has a concussion, who knows how bad. We'll get a group together to find her-"

Before he could finish his thought, a fear sparking bang rings through the halls. The whole building shakes.

"What was that?" Brooklyn asks in a shaky low voice. Clay turns to her and he can see the fear in her light blue eyes.

He shakes his head. "I don't know." Then they hurry to where the sound came from, the schools glorified dark ember wood front doors.

He approaches Sandra and Asher, Valerie's friends and two of the brightest people he knows. "What's happening?" He barks to them.

Fear in their eyes, more from Clay's tone than what's happening outside. Hidders. Should have expected this. Clay says to himself.

Sandra speaks up. "Riots."

"What?" Clay isn't following.

"The rioters are attacking. We don't know why. They threw a judder bomb, not destructive, but good at attracting attention." Asher explains hesitantly.

Suddenly a voice rings from outside. Clay walks closer to the door to hear. A handful of armed guards try to block him to protect him, but he pushes past them. He cracks the door open and half steps out.

He sees a man with a shaved head, beady gray eyes, and a sneer on his face that is broken with a scar that runs over half his face. He sees Clay and repeats himself. "We know that our leaders, Sebastian and Lance, were last seen entering this building." He points his gun aimlessly at the school. "Return them to us unharmed, or we will take them."

Clay hesitates. He chooses his words carefully. "I'm afraid we can't do that."

"And why not?" Rage touches each of his words.

Clay thinks before he speaks. He glances at the multitude of armed rioters surrounding the school. "Look, we're on your side. We overthrew the ones that were suppressing you. We are the resistance, the rebels."

"Oh, really?" He sounds clearly unconvinced.

He nods. He opens his mouth to speak, but is quickly cut off. "Then why are you keeping our leaders, two of the original rebels, as captives?"

"We're not, but-"

"Then let us see them."

"I told you, I can't."

"And why not?" He's beginning to lose his temper.

"We had traitors in our midst. They tried to free Omisha's leader, Liam King, and his associates. We thwarted them, but at an expense." Clay's eyes drift to the ground as he takes a long pause. "Your leaders were killed in the process."

"Lies!" The beady eyed man is quick to yell back.

"No! It's true." Clay hollers back.

"Let me ask you this, boy." He speaks in an angered tone and he spits out boy in the most condescending tone.

Clay, once again, meets his gaze. His jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed. He has to bite back his rage. He doesn't want to start a pointless fight.

"Are you not one of those boarding school kids?" He glares at Clay, who nods. "Than you had it made. You are one of the 'chosen few' to be saved by the riches of the schools. Than tell me this, boy. How can we possibly trust you? How can we take any word you say as truth?" He turns to the multitude, rousing them to shout in protest.

"I'll tell you this, boy. I'll give you ten minutes to hand them over, or we attack." His words are like venom.

A rebel soldier pulls Clay back into the school and begins to barricade the doors behind him.

In this moment of dark despair, Clay finds his thoughts flicker to Eliza. He needs her counseling at his side. He needs her emotional support. He needs her.

He closes his eyes and blocks out the rest of the world as he goes through his options. One constant thought runs through his mind, what would Eliza do?

Before the ten minutes are up, a shout comes from outside, followed by cheering crowd. Then mayhem follows. Windows shatter. Bullets zoom by. The rebels fight back, but their thirty men are no match to the hundred rioters. They are overpowered within minutes.

Clay sees that ten of his men have fallen. The rest injured or captured. Two rioters pinned Clay in a short-lived fight. They both restrain an arm.

Their beady eyed leader approaches him. He crouches to see him eye to eye. They both glare at each other. A devilish smile gleams across his face. It makes a pit in Clay's stomach.

"Soon we'll find out how much of what you said was true." He hisses. Then he motions to a third rioter. He raises his gun and hits Clay with the butt of it. Then everything goes black and he's out cold.