Luminescence

Twelve.

MARA

Three weeks. Three whole weeks had passed and I hadn't heard from Hudson once.

If I had to be honest, part of me was worried for him. He said that if he didn't come back to the Capitol with me in containment, that he would go through reform. And whatever this 'reform' was, it didn't sound pretty.

Learning what life was like outside of living in a junkyard for 16 years was difficult. Alex and I had spent so much time collecting spare scraps, we never paid attention to what went on in the outside world. There were mainly two classes in society today. The upper class—favored by the Plague. The lower class, including me who have never seen any luxuries in their lives, or were unemployed. Very few were fortunate enough to be in the middle class.

Alex had woken up about a week ago. It took a while of explaining and tests to see how he was doing. Clearly he was a bit scared, just as I was when I woke up in a hospital bed. But instead of Wes introducing himself first, I was the first to greet Alex. I didn't trust Wes, especially since he was a box of secrets waiting to be spilled.

Alex claimed he wanted to go back to the junkyard after being in the Rebel hideout for only two days. He communicated with me that fighting bad guys wasn't his thing—and I knew that too. So we sent him back. I promised him that I would eventually visit once I got my life figured out. And with one final hug, my long-time best friend was no longer by my side.

I had never felt so lonely, yet so welcomed in my life. Alex was now off without me, Hudson had probably given up on finding me (finally), Priscilla was a new shining star in my life and Elaine was one of my newest best friends.

Now, all there was left to do was to train, and wait.

I had just finished a two-hour training session with Priscilla. Wes claimed he had too much work going on in the command room following the attack on our own guards, which I thoroughly believed. Today we worked on abilities, such as using your leap skill to the best of use. Apparently, I could potentially jump up to twenty feet in the air if performed correctly.

"This way, Mara."

Priscilla was guiding me to a room I apparently had never seen before, just when I thought I had seen it all. As we walked the hallways, with each corridor we passed, the quieter it got. It became so desolate that I thought I wasn't even in the Rebel base anymore. Coming up to a hall, it suddenly got chillier. A sign atop of it read two simple sentences.

RESTRICTED ACCESS.
Those who pass must have identification.

I give Priscilla a confused look, as she suddenly pulls out a miniature card, and held it in her hand firmly.

"We can pass," she says taking my hand. "As long as we have the key in our possession, then no alarm will sound."

This hallway was small and looked like it hadn't been used in decades. Particles of dust were collecting on every shelf they could stay on, as the white and red walls were beginning to rust from underuse. There were only two rooms that branched off of this hall, and apparently Priscilla had her mind set on one of them.

"This room," she says using the same key to unlock the door. "Holds the most valuable resources a mutant could ever ask for. Take a look at this!"

And when the lights slowly flicker on, my eyes widen. A room probably four times the size of a regular bedroom stood before me, with swords and weapons galore lining the walls. In the middle of the room lied a simple desk. Curiosity got the best of me as to what could be hiding in the drawers of the desk, but I kept my mind focused on the weapons.