*COMPLETED*
One event in history has the power to change everything. One choice...can leave an entire society shifted. For the new society, it is a constant battle between two powers, separated from one another by a defining characteristic.
...
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◉ Tate Torres ◉
We wait in silence, every man and woman lining the trees ready with their weapons loaded and ready to be used. I stand calmly, yet my insides tremor with aversion knowing that the plan has been foiled and that the defectors are in danger. Especially the one that I promised safety to...I promised her that she would be safe, that everything would be alright, but I was wrong. I was so so wrong.
I kept this fact to myself, everyone around me believing that the procedure is running smoothly. Gage occasionally asks what is happening on the other side frantically, and I stay silent, afraid that if I answer him I will miss something on the other side. My heart skips a beat every time I hear a voice come through, the earpiece cutting in and out repeatedly...until I hear a mundane tone come through the microphone.
"Hey, neighbor," at that moment my blood runs cold.
"Holy shit," I mutter under my breath indignantly, outrage seeping into my adrenaline driven veins. And then I remember something, the memory flooding my mind clearly.
"Tate, you need to listen to me."
"Okay...What is it?"
"I overheard Malcolm today by the compost station talking to someone through this device he had. I don't know who he was talking to, but it gave me a strange feeling, my gut telling me something is wrong with him."
"I'm sure it was nothing."
My last words ring in my head over and over, pounding on the walls of my brain with serious regret.
I'm sure it was nothing
I'm sure it was nothing
I'm sure it was nothing
She knew. She told me. But I was ignorant and brushed her off. She knew...she knew something was wrong...and I ignored her.
"What's wrong, man? What's happening over there," Gage leans closer to question, his eyes watching me as I pinch the bridge of my nose harshly.
"I'm so stupid...I am so, so stupid," I mutter under my breath, not registering Gage's concerned words beside me.
He asks again, "Tate, what is going on?!"
"He's a traitor."
"Who? Whose a traitor?"
I take a moment to respond, venom seeping into my tone as I spat his name, "Malcolm."
"Malcolm, what do you mean?" Confusion etched onto Gage's face.
"He knew the plan, and he told them. They got caught because of him...and now they're probably going to d-," I stutter, not able to say the word.
"Die? Come on, you can't think like that! They're smart, they will think of some-"
"How can they do anything when they are cuffed, Gage, they've got no weapons, no way to protect themselves! They're in danger, and we can't do anything to help them."
Gage hangs his head low to my rage and anger, but a sudden idea pops into his head.
"What about Mia? She's got men with her, they can get them!"
With that, I adjust the earpiece to only tap into Mia's as I begin to call.
"Mia," no answer. I try again. "Mia, where are you?"
No answer comes, and my stomach drops even farther inside me. I heave a sigh of frustration, and then a voice comes through, but much to my dismay...it isn't Mia.
"Torres, we've got a problem, Mia took off running and left us waiting at the back door of HQ. We're now hiding behind the building waiting for her, but she hasn't come back yet." Patel states on the other side.
I kick my foot at the ground, the infuriation within me only growing stronger and stronger. "Damnit!" I shout, some heads turning in my direction.
"I'm sorry, Torres, what should we do? We can't get anywhere and there's no way we can take on all these Patrolmen. The place is crawling with them."
"Just stay there, don't move."
"Tate, what's the deal?" Gage asks, listening in on my conversation.
"She ran. The little bitch ran," I say, unable to hold back the poisonous tone I use as I speak.
Gage stares at me in shock, "What?"
I heave another sigh, my body rigid with fear as my legs shake from beneath me, threatening to give out. I reach up to my earpiece to change it to the shared channel. Just as I switch it, her voice calls my name faintly, then cuts out.
"My god," Gage states, staring off into the distance at something, and I follow his gaze, to which I stand paralized.
