Resistance

seventeen

eila kahn

I was in gym class when the sirens went off. Sirens that not only blared at the school but on the street.

"Everyone please report back home for a routine check. Please report home immediately."

It blared repeatedly and despite how it didn't want people to panic, people were in a panicked state. Many had no knowledge of what was happening, but I did because today was the day. It's the day the Resistance has been waiting weeks for.

I left my gym field, running back into the school. I was in leggings and my school t-shirt and despite how urgent things were, I had no intentions of walking around in these clothes. So I went to the locker room where girls were running out of. I didn't bother trying to go into the corner to change. I was quick with changing into my cargos, boots and a hoodie. Once I was finished, my first priority was finding Maven. But before I searched, I used my phone to text Jovan in hopes that he would answer.

eila: jovan

jovan: where are you?

eila: i'm at school looking for maven. but we'll be going to her apartment quickly before going to the gate

The halls were havoc. Everyone was running in every direction. Even teachers were panicking. There was no order anywhere. People were pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, making it hard to identify anyone. But I spotted Maven falling to the ground from people pushing her.

"Maven," I rushed to her. People had no regard for her. I grabbed her hand, helping her onto her feet then followed the crowd out to the entrance. As soon as we got outside, we ran off the school property.

Trooper tanks drove down the road and all of them were armed and I knew exactly where they were going. They're never this armed but they held machine guns and wore helmets and masks.

The first attack was happening at gate A. A decoy to make troopers think the attack would be happening there. When in reality the main attacks would be happening at gate C and D in just under thirty minutes. Maven and I had just under thirty minutes to get to gate C to help with the attacks. We'd gone over this plan a million times, but it felt weird to have it actually executed.

We took our usual turn into the forest. The way that used to be our shortcut home. All of me was on fire and I was hearing troopers force people into their homes. We're going into a lockdown which we hadn't predicted. My eyes were blurry and my foot caught on a log that was on our path. I fell to the ground, my body rolling down on an incline. I was rolling, feeling as branches and logs punctured my body.

"Eila!" Maven screamed from the top of the ditch. I laid on my back, a sharp pain pressing into my ribs. I blinked up at the sky that was half covered by the large trees. Struggling to sit up, I rolled onto my side and forced myself onto my feet.

"I'm okay," I breathed out. I rubbed my eyes then reached for her hand as she helped me out of the ditch. Even after insisting that I was okay, she held my hand and we raced to her apartment.

Maven took her house keys from her pocket, opening the apartment building. We ran up the stairs before entering her apartment. We'd packed bags filled with clothes and had a bag for the attire we were expected to wear for the Resistance

"What about Jovan and Theo?" Maven asked while we put our vests on. They were bulletproof and a lot heavier than I expected. 

"I told Jovan which gate we'd be at. He's bringing my brother so we can sneak across the wall," I was out of breath as I spoke. The running took its toll on me, but the weeks of training with Jovan were paying off because Maven was winded.

Telling Jovan the complete plan was frightening. Despite not agreeing with it, I needed it so I could escape with my brother. I trusted that he would let the attacks happen and not inform the troopers prior to it happening.

"Eila, I'm freaking out. What if things go wrong?"

"We'll be fine," I assured her.

"But what if..." she was spiralling. She was telling me all the worst case scenarios and planting all these bad things in my head. It wasn't helping the situation. There's no need to panic if we just stick to the plan.

"Maven, stop!" I looked at her while she sounded like she might hyperventilate. "Please just breathe. We're going to take our bags to the gate, leave them hidden then go to the city to get my brother and Jovan. Then we're leaving. Just follow the plan and don't freak out. Please," I pleaded. I understood that this isn't something that she's done before. This was also out of my realm. But I needed to stay focused for Theo's sake.

The both of us froze in place when there was banging on the door. Maven and I both looked at each other in silence. I silently went to the window, moving the curtains to see outside. Troopers we're still storming the streets and forcing people into houses.

"Eila." I heard the familiar voice. Moving from the window, I went to the door to open. Two troopers standing there and immediately shoved their way into the apartment. "What happened to you?" Jovan removed his helmet and mask. His eyes took in my body with some kind of anger in me, like he planned on killing every log and branch that hurt me.

"I fell. It's nothing. What are you doing here? This is not the plan. Where is my brother?" I couldn't hide the fear in my voice. No one seems to want to stick to the plan.

Before he could even respond, an explosion ripped through the air from outside. It shook the ground and forced me into Jovan's arms. They had started the attack on the gate. Maven and I were supposed to be going there now but instead we were in her apartment with Jovan and Charlie.

"I left him at the penthouse and told him to stay in his room. No one is entering my place," he assured me and a bit of my panic went away. But I still didn't like that he wasn't following the plan. He's not supposed to be here.

"What are you doing here?"

"We have to change the plan."

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"We don't have a lot of time. They're going under lockdown within the next ten minutes and Jovan put out orders to kill anyone who isn't in their house. We need to go," Charlie finally spoke up and I broke the eye contact that Jovan and I previous had. The whole plan was being thrown out the window.

Jovan ordered for everyone not in their homes to be killed? He planned on killing the entire Resistance. I shouldn't have been surprised. Jovan has always worked towards taking down the Resistance. But thinking that he would be the reason that dozens of people died was something I couldn't wrap my head around.

"Okay. You said a plan change? What's the change? Because now everything is on lockdown. Eila and I can't just walk on the streets with you guys. Not to mention we still have to go get Theo," Maven pointed out the obvious before Jovan and Charlie looked at each other. I didn't like the looks on their faces. Before I could process anything, Jovan was grabbing my neck. I looked up at him confused as to what was happening.

"Jovan," I panicked when he brought the syringe from his bulletproof vest. I pressed my hands on his chest to pull him away from me. I could feel my heart beating in my ears and I couldn't believe he was doing this to me. He was drugging me.

"Trust me."