Revolution

- 13 -

I can't get Brandon's words out of my head. That puts everyone in danger here. I can't risk what I have.

I should've told him I don't even know who I am. I lost my closest friends in a war I shouldn't have had to fight. I grew up in complete isolation from the real world and you're worried about putting the few people you have in your life in danger.

I sigh and lean back against the couch. I know that's not fair to him or his family. Still, I can't help but feel a pang of guilt. If I had fought back, I might not have lost my friends. I went over the first few hours after I escaped from my cell, critiquing what I had done. If I had been a little cleaner with my approach, anticipated that certain people had certain clearance, staggered the mutants so we pushed strong with the higher Categories and followed with the weaker ones, avoided the flickering girl altogether...

This isn't helping me. I know I'm only making myself feel worse. I push off the comfortable couch, tugging on the drawstrings of my jogger pants and meandering silently towards the door. This isn't my world. I know what I escaped from. Still, I can't help but miss the simplicity of everything back at the facility.

I slip on my muddied boots that still smell faintly of antiseptic and twist the knob, stepping out into this foreign world. A chirping noise fills the air from hundreds of creatures I've never heard of. Their bioelectricity floats around me, but they're so fragile, I'm afraid I'll completely break them if I grab hold. I leave them be, just breathing in the cool air.

Slowly, delicately, I walk forward with a cautiousness I've never used before. The colors fade into the darkness, trees only intimidating shadows against the purple hue of the sky. Clouds drift away from the moon, something I had only heard about when I was much younger but it's right there, casting beams of light down from above. Thousands of dots speckle the sky and I take a second to marvel at their beauty. I'm grateful I can look at the sky and not at a white brick ceiling. It's so much more beautiful than I could've ever imagined. At one time, I thought all there was existed inside the facility, and maybe at one point, it was. Now, the world is infinite, and I've only seen a few miles of it. I cross my legs and brush my fingers in the cool grass.

I wish Isabelle was here to see this.

If she were here, she'd call me an idiot for thinking the thoughts I'm having now. She'd tell me the world is dangerous, regardless of how the stars looked. I'd grin deviously and tell her I know that. It doesn't hurt to admire it while I have it. We both would lay back and stare up at the universe in awe, because no matter how much she called me a dork, I'm only saying what we're both thinking. Everything is so much more than we deserve. She's so much more than I deserve.

I wrangle my thoughts back in before they get out of control, reorienting myself in the present. Isabelle isn't here. She could be dead for all I know. Her and the rest of the mutants. It's selfish to pick favorites, and Isabelle is a Category 6. In terms of strategy, she shouldn't even be on my list at all. Sarah, Jax, and Fiona should be my top priorities. Still, I can't stop thinking about her feral grin and long red ponytails twisted around her head, all wrapped knuckles and stupid jokes.

"Hey," a voice says behind me, and I whirl to my feet, more startled than frightened. Brandon is standing there, hands shoved deep in his pockets and rocking on his heels, looking both cold and nervous. I relax when I see it's just him.

"What?" I snap, a little harsher than I meant.

"My mom saw you from the window and came to complain to me. After dinner, she's doing a little better, but she's not completely on board with you being here." He sucks in a breath through his teeth. "I figured I'd come out here, just to make sure you're okay."

My hands fall to my sides. I should thank him for his compassion, but I can't muster it right now. "I'm fine," I state simply, turning back toward the trees and hoping he'll leave.

"Really? 'Cause you said that before and I got the feeling something was up."

I chuckle sadly. "You don't know the half of it."

"Do I want to?"

My fingers trail over the shirt, covering the deep white scars on my stomach. "No. No, you don't."

There's a tense silence, but Brandon remains a few steps behind me. I don't look at him. I focus on Isabelle's bright green eyes in my mind and the cacophony of noise from various insects in the field around me.

"They're gonna come looking for you, you know."

I nod. "I know."

"Mom doesn't want you to be here when they do."

"I know."

"What happens if they capture you?"

I bite my tongue. I've been wondering the same thing for the last few hours. "No idea. They still need us. I'd take death over whatever they do to get us back in line, though. Wiping our memories isn't going to work this time."

Brandon is silent.

"I need to find the other mutants. Isabelle and Sarah and Jax and Maya and the rest." I spin around to face him, fury in my eyes. "But most importantly, I need those Category 10's."

"What's so special about the Category 10's?"

"I don't know. But from what I've heard, if left unchecked, they could destroy the world."

I stride past him, heading back for the house. I can't be idle about this. Only now, it strikes me exactly why the facility was isolating us from the outside world; it's a danger to us as much as we are to it. The more we do, the more we see, the greater chance we're going to die. But the Category 10's are next to invincible. If there's anybody I need to find, it's them. I don't care if I'm alone in it. They're a threat to this entire planet, as far as I'm concerned, and I need to capture them, dead or alive.