The Battle of Our Minds: Flesh and Blood

Hidden Gems

A violent rapping on her door startled Brianna awake.

"WHY?" she cried, rolling over and squeezing her teal blue pillow over her head.

"Bri. Open up. It's me," Wyatt whispered through the door.

"What have you done this time?" she asked, considering all the late-night mistakes he'd made and all the times he'd come to her, asking for help to fix them, because his brother didn't have the patience anymore.

"Wyatt! What in the world? It's four in the morning! How dare you wake me up at this ungodly hour!"

"Bri, this is important," he explained, as she swung the door open wide. Everly's hand was unwillingly held in his.

"Fine. Come in."

"Everly, wait here. I'm going to go get Leo."

"Leo?! Seriously?! He's the last person I want to see right now."

Wyatt looked at her sternly. For a sophomore, he sure wasn't intimidated by a senior - a senior who, almost single handedly, led a secret society and a university.

"Brianna Lamon. I am going to get Leo. You are not going to say another word. If you wake someone up, we're just going to have to reschedule for another 'ungodly hour.'"

She pouted but didn't argue. She trusted Wyatt enough to know that he wouldn't drag her out of her bed this late without a good reason.

"I'll take that as a yes."

With that, Wyatt dashed out of her room.

"What is going on Everly?"

"I have no idea. Right after the branding ceremony, I bumped into him and he started going on and on about all of his crazy conspiracy theories. Problem is...I think he's right."

"Conspiracy theories about what?"

Everly didn't respond. Instead, she examined Brianna's face, trying to gauge her reaction.

Although Brianna asked the question, she looked as if she already knew the answer. Her face didn't reveal the countless conversations she had with Leo and Isaac concerning the nature of some of the movements of Darkness they'd witnessed in their area. Movements with tremendous power. Their work, lately, had been like putting a fire out with a watering can. No matter how hard they worked, they couldn't stop the darkness from spreading and infecting the least hostile of environments. Even a coffee shop, for crying out loud! The Darkness was sneakier...more creative. Thriving in secret, stirring up lust and other factors that would eventually lead to catastrophe.

"Is this about the events that have been happening on campus, or the fact that you received your brand tonight?" Brianna asked.

"A little bit of both."

"How are you?"

"Honestly, Bri...not great. Prior to tonight, I decided I wanted to make my vow to the Light because I believed in the Light and what it stood for. I still do. Living to sacrifice ourselves for the good of others - that's the deepest, most pure love a person can give. It's beautiful. But there's something twisted about this brand that I can't shake. As soon as I received it, I felt sick. I had this vision...And then I felt something deep in my gut about the other people in my cohort. Something not good – I felt violated, even. Like I was never supposed to let these people in. Not in that way. It wasn't just empathy, it was like my heart was ripped out of my chest and on display for complete strangers to see, all in the name of being stronger. If that's the case, why do I feel so vulnerable?"

Brianna felt so sad for her friend. She couldn't make it right. She'd talked Everly into receiving her brand before she was ready, along with countless others, and she couldn't bear to look at the mess she'd made. She'd let people into this society, looking at their physical strength, not the strength of their integrity.