After War Storm

Mare

Farley, Julien and I leave the dining hall soon after Cal and Ti. Julien leads us to a large room which I realise was the meeting room.

Inside, the three Newbloods (or just Reds now; I'm not sure how it works) are sat at the round table, waiting for us.

"Morning," Julien says, greeting them with a warm smile. "Thank you for agreeing to these interviews."
"We just want to know what happened," one of the Newbloods speaks up. She looks about 30 and has short blonde hair and fierce, serious eyes that look as if she has seen more than she should have. She looks like she fought in a war and she probably did. She reminds me of Farley.

The Newblood sat to her left is a young boy, he only looks about 15. He has dark hair and blue eyes. The third Newblood I faintly recognise. She was one of the Newbloods we rescued though I can't remember her name. I think she is the Newblood version of an Oblivion...or was.

"Mare," she says, nodding in my direction. I nod back. I feel bad she remembers me and I don't even remember her name but then most people know who I am.

The boy doesn't say anything at all. He just looks between us, not meeting anyone's eyes. I wonder what his problem is.

"Who's going first?" Farley asks.
"I will," the blonde offers. The others don't object.
"Great," Julien says. He turns to the other two. "Do you want to sit at the back or move to the next room?" They nod in agreement of not wanting to stay here.

I had forgotten Julien was using his gift on them and they probably didn't want to see it before it was their turn.

"Mare, can you take them?" Farley asks me and my head whips round to face her.
"Why me?" I want to know what they say. Farley gives me a look that says she isn't going to change her mind and I, somewhat sulkily, turn and lead the other two Newbloods into the small room attached to the meeting room.

There are several chairs scattered around the room with a small table in the middle. They both sit at opposite ends of the room and after a moment of deliberation, I go to sit next to the boy.

"Hey," I say after a moment of silence. The boy glances up at me briefly meeting my gaze before looking back down at his feet. In the short moment our eyes met, I saw what he was feeling though he tried to hide it. Fear.

"Hey," I said again and this time the boy meets my gaze and doesn't look away. "What's your name?"
"Jake."
"Jake, I know this all seems scary. Trust me, the first time I came here I couldn't believe it and the whole thing and place was daunting but we're going to find out how this happened. It's going to work out."
"That's not what I'm afraid of," he whispers.
"Then what is it?" I ask.

"I don't know if I can do it," he says "let Julien inside my head like that."
"Julien is one of the best people I have ever met," I tell him. "He is honest and kind and would never do anything to harm another person unless it was the absolute last resort. Julien won't do anything to you."
"But you can't be sure of that. I thought she was nice until..." he trails off.
"Until what, Jake?" I ask, my voice soft.

The other Newblood stands and makes her way into the meeting room as Farley calls for the next person.

"Jake?" I ask again when he doesn't answer. He takes a deep breath then says: "Back in my village, during the war, I met a girl who turned out to be a whisper." I gasp and Jake continues. "She got inside my head and messed around a bit. I don't want to go into details."
"You don't have to," I assure him. "I completely understand why you're scared to do this. But Julien won't be like that girl. Do you know who she was?"
"I only remember her ice blue eyes and blonde hair."
"Elara?" I gasp.
"No, it wasn't her. I would recognise her but she looked similar to Elara."

"I don't know who it could be but all the whispers in Norta were killed during the war. That girl will not bother you, nor anyone, ever again."

Farley calls for us but neither of us move. I call back to tell Farley to wait a minute.
"I promise you, Jake, that I will find out what caused this and I will do everything in my power to fix it. I will help you. If you ever need anything or want to talk about anything you can always come and talk to me, alright?" He nods and we both stand up and hug each other. "I'm sorry about what you went through," I whisper "but no one here would ever do anything to harm you or the others. So let's do this and see if we can find out the root of the problem." Jake nods again, pulling back from the hug and we make our way into the meeting hall.

Julien and Farley are sat in two chairs next to each other at the head of the table with one seat turned so it is in front of Julien. Farley has a notepad in front of her on the table and a pen in her hand to write sown everything the Newbloods say.

"You ready?" She asks as we take our seats. Jake nods and looks down at the floor.
"Jake, I'm going to need you to look at me," Julien says softly. Jake looks up, surprised by his tone. I wonder what exactly that girl did to him and who she was. "I promise you, nothing is going to happen," Julien assures him. "I'm just going to ask you about what happened on the day you found out your gift had disappeared and possibly the few days before as well." Jakes nods again and takes a deep breath.

He meets Julien's gaze and it begins. Farley writes down everything Jake says about the day his powers were discovered as missing and the three days before. After we're done, I take Jake to the door and tell him to go and enjoy the rest of his day. He says he is supposed to have training as he has asked Cal to teach him how to defend himself. Cal, of course, agreed to this but I tell him not to worry since Cal will most likely be busy with trying to work out what caused this so wouldn't mind if he missed the session.

After Jake leaves I head back to the table and sit down. "Nothing," Farley says "absolutely nothing. They didn't talk to anyone interesting or suspicious, or any of the same people. They aren't alike in anyway so it's not like a certain group is being targeted."
"Except," I interrupt "them all being Newbloods and from Norta."
"True, I guess," Farley agrees.
"But that would mean, if it is someone doing this, which we don't know yet, then they are just taking the powers of any Newbloods they come across," Julien adds.

I pick up Farley's notepad and pen and begin reading through everything she has written, looking for something, anything.

"It just doesn't seem right," Farley says and her and Julien discuss the matter further.

I keep reading but stop when I get to what they ate for dinner. The blonde Newblood had a roast. The second women had a roast. Jake had a roast. They'd all eaten the same thing on the day they discovered their powers were gone. That wasn't right.

"Guys," I say feeling excited. "I think I have something."
"What, Mare?" Farley asks curious. I place the pad on the table and circle each dinner they ate.
"They all ate the same thing," I tell them and I see Farley's expression change as she works out what this means. "It means someone did this to them, it means someone messed with their minds afterwards. There are no whispers left in Norta. So another country, or group is doing this."
"But who?" Farley asks.
"That's the question," I answer standing up. "I have to go and find Cal. He'll want to know that we figured out someone is doing this, targeting people. I'll be back soon."

Without another word I turn and run from the room, excited that the interviews brought a clue, even if it is only small.

I run to the training room and fling the doors open as I enter. My eyes immediately find Cal. His posture and build make him easy to spot. I run over to him, excitement, I'm sure, showing in my face.

"We found something," I say, excited.
"Can you take over?" Cal asks turning to Cameron.
"Sure," she nods.
"Add watch Ti," I add before grabbing Cal's hand and leaving the training room with all the soldiers staring behind us.

-~-

I was planning on writing more for this chapter so it didn't finish at the the same point as the last one but since I haven't updated in a few days, I thought I'd publish it now. Xx