The Uprisen

Chapter 14

Riley leads Michelle, Devin, and Max into one of the training rooms, where over fifty other elementals wait patiently.  Most of them are only a little older than Devin, so he's surprised to hear nothing but silence.

"What's going on Riley?" Devin whispers.

He doesn't answer.  Riley looks ahead at the group of people and leads Devin and the others to three open seats.  "Sit here and wait for instruction."

They just listen and sit.

It doesn't take long for the meeting to start, it was almost like they were waiting on Devin, Michelle and Max to get there.

Standing in front of the large group is the whole Council going from seniority left to right: James stands at the furthest left followed by Ryan, Riley, Clare, and Victoria.  Devin is stunned to see Riley still in the top three, but he wonders for how long.

James starts the meeting by making an announcement.  "All of you are chosen.  Now, if you're not ready to hear what you're chosen for, I suggest you leave now so that you're not wasting my time."  He waits. When no one leaves, he continues.  "Because none of you left, that means you are all officially inducted into our movement.  If any of you betray us, or if you decide that what we ask of you is too much for you to handle, you'll be punished accordingly."

A few mumbles sweeps across the room but dies down soon after it starts.  Devin isn't really paying attention anyway, instead he's watching Riley.

Riley stands behind James completely calm and seemingly uninterested in this meeting.  He avoids eye-contact with the audience completely and looks almost bored.

"...Ryan and Riley will talk to you about your job specifics," James finishes.

In unison, the two men step forward and address the audience.

"Over the next few weeks you will all undergo rigorous training in combat and defense with and without your element," Riley explains.

"You'll also be tested in situations that will force you to make difficult decisions.  We'll do this by sending you on jobs, some starting tonight."  Ryan looks across the audience of young elementals challengingly.  The odd balance between Ryan's aggression and Riley's obvious regret is uncomfortable to Devin.  Since when does Riley support things like this?

"We're going to separate you into groups.  There you will receive further instruction."  Riley looks behind to the other members of the Council and nods.

Clare steps up and starts listing off groups.  Devin is in the same group as Max and Michelle with a few others that he's never met before.  After the groups are announced, everyone moves to their designated areas with their groups and they wait.

Riley walks over to Devin's group and takes count of the people.  They're missing one person, Mallory Stiffe, but he doesn't care.  "This group has been selected to act out some of the most intense jobs we have to offer.  Each and every single one of you will be asked to go on jobs alone and with another person here.  Additionally, you're all starting tonight."

As he talks, Devin realizes that Riley is purposefully avoiding him, but he doesn't know why.  He pushes the thought aside as he listens carefully to Riley's instructions: First they will train for individual skills, second they'll map out a plan for their job, third they'll get ready to go.  

For their first job, Devin and Max are going to work together.  Neither of them mind, but the job itself was going to be tricky.  The difficulty isn't Devin's main objection either, it's the job itself and the fact that Max doesn't seem hesitant about it at all.