The Rebel Teen's Guide to Her Dystopia

Chapter 23

When I get home that afternoon, my thoughts immediately go to the next volume of my secret book series. Chosen is still waiting for me in Scorpius's bag, hidden in my own bag. It's crisp and barely touched, and the pages smell like the Citadel, cool and smoky. I turn off my transmitter, hide it deep in the closet where even Blanche won't find it, and I collapse onto my bed with the story in my hands.

If that book is anything, it's a rebel's survival guide.

I'm not like Killian or Anders. I've never done this kind of thing before. I have no experience starting rebellions and ending injustice, and I can't ask them all the questions that have been burning in my mind, because they're miles away.

But I can talk to Ava Wintergreen. She knows, and she might just show me how to go about this terrifying plan. If I can rally my friends the way Ava rallied those kids on the train, this will be as easy as a piece of cake.

When Ava Wintergreen woke up, she was in a dark room.

Not bad for an opening line. Maybe a little flat.

Everything around her was shrouded in shadow. She could hear voices, and footsteps echoing through the stone chamber. She was on a bed barely big enough for her, with a hard, metal frame. After a while, someone finally entered the room. It was the man who'd saved her from the arena. She could see him more clearly now. The way his muscles moved powerfully under his thin shirt, like a machine. The way his dark hair sort of swooped, tousled with work-sweat. The way his broad shoulders took command of the room and drew her interest to him.

Somehow, this guy reminds me of Anders in a way.

"Ava Wintergreen?" He said.

"Yes?"

"Welcome to the headquarters of the Rebellion. I'm your unit commander, Gunn."

Gunn. Ava whispered the name to herself. A strong name for a strong man.

"What do you want with me?" Ava trembled at his strong voice. "I never asked to be a part of your Rebellion."

"Do you oppose the Wise and all they stand for?" He asked her.

"I do." She replied.

"Do you wish a change on our Community?"

A change would help her immensely. If only there were no more Initiations. Then, her little brother might have a chance at life. Poor little James, he was so weak from a coughing sickness as a child. He didn't get medicine in time, and it permanently stunted his growth. She and her mother never said anything aloud, but they both knew that when it came time for him to be sixteen, he wouldn't last. He could barely walk, and would be easy prey for the stronger initiates.

"I want to change the world," she nodded.

"Then you belong in our cause. If there is injustice, it is the duty of the citizens to rise up against it. A rebellion is the only way to change the minds of the Wise. They think they can just tell us how to live, but they can't. We're not their sheep."

They're not sheep. I'm not a sheep. I don't want to be a sheep. I want change too.

"Then I guess I'm one of you guys," Ava shrugged.

Took you long enough, Ava.

A smile crept across Gunn's face. His teeth were as white as the crisp, white uniforms of the Wise. He was overwhelmingly handsome, but there was something about him. Some quality reminded her of...