Deviants

Chapter 51

Jesse

After learning Amee's secret and ambushing secret government vehicles, it's hard to go back to my classes and pretend everything is normal. An assignment, writing a world issue and a possibility to solve it, isn't the same. Things like political issues, saving the world from global warming or even if global warming is a thing to be worried about, or any other subjects that used to give me a burning passion to grab a pencil isn't the same. Now, the only topic on my mind is I.O.E. and the fact that Deviants aren't internationally known and that's the reason I.O.E. is able to get away with everything they do.

I stew over this as I walk from my class, but my mind is immediately pulled away when I hear my name called with a desperate hint to the voice. I turn to see Kate rushing to me, still in her work uniform, her phone in her hand. Her eyes are wide and fearful.

"Have you seen this?" She asks, shoving her phone towards me. I look at her confused as I grab it. It's a news report about something that's happened only about a half an hour ago.

"The devastated workers of the Chinese restaurant are now being reassured that the area is being scanned-" the news reporter says. Kate looks at me.

"A murder happened at Amee's apartment. I started looking for you as soon as I had realized where it was," she says. I turn back to the phone.

"According to the witness, who has refused to speak to the press," an image of a pale white Amee appears, but it's such a fast image that I am barely able to recognize her, the way her determined eyes look directly at the cameraman, before she turns her back to them, keeping them from filming any more angles of her face, "the victim wasn't in his right mind, and he spoke to her about things that where incoherent to her and made no sense." I look at Kate.

"Do you think-"

"Absolutely not," she says, her thoughts running along with mine. "We need to see her." I nod my head, pulling out my phone. It being on silent while in class, I just notice that I have one missed call from her.

"Look," I say to Kate. Her eyes still seem full of worry and knowing that Amee tried to call me doesn't seem to comfort her. It doesn't with me either.

"The bunker," she whispers. I nod my head and walk with her off campus and into the forest. The hike doesn't take long and when we get there, we find the boulder already shifted to the side which could only mean that Amee is already there. And sure enough, we walk into the back room to find her busy at her laptop. When we enter, she turns, her eyes lit up with that excitement she gets before ambushing a vehicle.

"Hey, you wouldn't believe what just happened," she says, taking her crutch and walking over to the board. She has new information on it and adds the name Mr. Halster.

"We saw you on the news," I say. Her head whips to me, her eyes annoyed as she makes a frustrated sound.

"The damn reporters showed up before I could get out of there. I tried to avoid them, though." I notice Kate look at her watch before glancing back up at Amee.

"Amee, what happened?" She asks.

"Mr. Halster found me. He started telling me that Stonegate is being targeted and I.O.E. is preparing for a large group of Deviants to... arrive, I guess you could say," she says.

"Who is Halster?" I ask.

"He was in the cell next to mine back in I.O.E. Kevin had to leave him behind and he recently escaped. It must've been just barely today or last night because he didn't even look like he showered or shaved yet. The first thing Kevin made me do when we got out was shower and dye my hair. He chopped it off to my shoulders." She talks so fast it's hard to keep up with her.