Contradicting Worlds

I want to ask what does she meant by that but I remember what she said. She"ll explain it to us later. Right now, the only thing we can do is to trust her.

We follow her in silence, our hands clutching our weapons. You might think why are we carrying weapons when we have our powers. Well, the silencers can appear in front of us any time so we have to be ready just in case.

My eyes keep darting around and I tighten my senses on any traps lurking around. A howl not so far from us echo in the woods and we all halt our steps and look at the direction. "We"re almost there," Mice said, although I had no idea where she"s leading us, I have the feeling that we have to follow her and that it isn"t anything bad.

I heard the gush of water then saw where she"s leading us to. A river where a boat at the edge awaits for us. The boat is not small but not big either, it"s enough to hold all of us as if it has been made for the exact number. Mice went to the boat and begin untying the rope. She jerks her head at us and we traipse to her. "Get in," she commands.

We look at each other before sitting on the boat. Once settled, Mice stands on the head with a big paddle. She uses it to usher us into the river and began paddling us deeper into the night.

"Where are we going?" Avery asks.

"You"ll see." Mice said without even looking. Our environment is as eerie as the night and there"s a fog forming in the distance. We all shudder in the cold, our breaths are smoke coming out of our mouths.

When the fog cleared, I heard the louder gush of water, and Mice seems to be having a hard time paddling. My vision adjusts in the darkness and there I see in front of us is a waterfall. We gasp and start to panic but Mice speaks, "Hold on tight." She paddles us towards the waterfall and base from the fall of water there"s no doubt we"ll drown if we pa.s.s through that.

And then I watch in awe, as the waterfall parts for us and our boat made it safely to the other side. I look around and realize that we are in a cave now.

The boat had stopped and we all step out and onto the edge of the platform. Mice tied the rope of the boat to the small wooden pole on the edge. She removes her robe completely and dumps it on the boat, she rummages through her bag, when she finally found what she was looking for, she lights up a torch that I didn"t know was there until now.

Through the light, I see the small cave opening. She turns to us and said, "Here. Follow me." We follow her without having much of a second thought. She leads the way, ducking and walking and choosing every path like she owns this cave. We come to a stop when we encountered a wall. It"s a dead-end but she continues to walk anyway. My eyebrows bunch and my eyes widen when she pushes a brick on the wall.

The wall reveals an old and used cranky elevator. "Step in," she said and we did. Avery is beaming with excitement while all of us look uncertain.

The elevator made a small grunting noise before it began moving up. It stops with an unpleasant noise and then the doors open. I know that we are not yet inside the cave or is this it?

The waterfall is in front of us, covering the large opening but that wasn"t what caught my attention. It"s the people waiting for us here. They are not women, they are...men. "What the h.e.l.l?" Riley mutters under her breath.

One man stands up and on instinct, our hands went to our weapons. He just chuckles at us and looks at Mice as if they are a close friend. "I a.s.sume she is the one?" He jerks his head at me and Mice nods.

"Anything?" Mice ask and the man shakes his head.

"Nope. Nothing." Then to me, he said, "It"s nice seeing all of you, the gammas." He bows his head and I reel back.

"How--" Mice shakes her head this time.

"I told you, don"t surprise them like that." Mice said and the man tilts his head and mouths an Oh. "Resume your patrol."

"Yes. Everyone is excited to meet all of you, including the betas and the alpha." His smile is warm but his words sure are not. How does he know that? I"m saving up my questions for later.

I turn to Mice but her face gives nothing away. "Come with me," Aimee mutters something about us always following her and that Mice needn"t say that.

Mice pa.s.sed the torch to the man and made way to another cave opening at the far side of the wall.

I almost tripped over the stairs if I hadn"t caught myself. It"s dark and I can"t see Mice"s figure so I just use the stairs as my guide. The rest of my friends are behind me, with Riley at the rear.

We continue to descend in the darkness and stopped when my feet felt an even ground. It"s still dark and cold but I can see Mice"s face now. She turns to me with a smile and said, "They are excited to see you." She moves out of the way then I stepped up and realize that we are elevated.

I gasp at the sight that greeted me. A legion of people is gathered below. Their only source of light is the bonfires and when I said people, I mean PEOPLE. Men and Women combined and kids are running everywhere. Although the bonfires are the only light source, this place is still illuminated with something else. Then I realize that it"s because this cave is bursting with so much energy, not just energy, abilities. We descend the stairs quietly while all of the exiles here are playing with their powers.

I watch mesmerized as some of them conjure illusions, hologram, and more. My breath got stuck in my throat when a spark of ice burst from a kid then shot up to the ceiling. People around us cheered and claps and the kid smiles shyly and bows. We heard a yelp then soon an arrow came flying to me. Yep, directly to me. But I was ready for it so with my hand I stopped it then it turns into ashes in my feet.

When I look up I notice that hundreds of pairs of eyes are now staring at me. At us. The silence was soon replaced by gasps and whispers. "Hey folks," Mice spoke up and smirks at us. "Your gammas are here." The gasps and whispers turn into screams, yells, and cheers then second later people are flocking at us.

Their voices sound like bees buzzing in my ears and I jump, startled when a woman in her late fifties suddenly grabs my hand and starts shaking it vigorously. She started speaking but I tune them out when I heard a voice shouts on top of them all. "Rebecca!" Clain"s annoying voice screams. The voices finally stopped--thank G.o.ds--and they part to reveal our friends from the north.

My feet start moving in their own accord and soon I was launching myself in the waiting arms of Nate. My grip at him is tight but he"s taking it all and his arms are just as tight around me. He chuckles and said, "You would think that we"ve been apart for so long."

"Shut up," then I kiss him long, soft and slow that he returns. We were stopped by our friends initiating a group hug, we broke apart laughing and we hug along with our friends. "How did you--" I ask when we finally stopped and he cuts me off when he looks over my head.

I whirl around and Mice is there, smiling coyly. She walks towards us in leisure steps and once she was standing right in front of us she said, "Tomorrow, I"ll explain everything to you. For now, you need to sleep. It"s already half past midnight." She hands sleeping bags to each one of us except the boys. "Lina will escort you to your sleeping area." A hunched woman appeared on her side.

"This way please." She guides us to a tent big enough to hold all of us and I realize that even Nate and the others are sleeping here based on the sleeping bags laying on the floor.

Once we were inside, Lina left without uttering another word.

"Do you think we can trust that girl Mice?" Isabella asks. We are now inside our sleeping bags and getting ready for sleep. Nate is beside me and Isabella is with Clain and you get the idea.

"Don"t you think it"s a little too late to ask that?" Riley said. They start to bicker and I am too exhausted, both mentally and physically to hold with their argument.

"Guys, will you stop?" Avery snaps at them and they instantly close their mouths shut. "We"ll figure it out tomorrow. I need to sleep."

I settle in my bag and face Nate but he"s already looking at me. I smile at him then let sleep reins in my veins.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

A ringing of a bell is what woke me up from my deep slumber. I sat up and rub the sleep from my eyes. I look around and notice that my friends are all grunting and are doing the same thing. Mice appeared at the opening of our tent, greeting us with a bright smile on her face. "Good morning. Come on, breakfast is almost ready."

"What fudging time is it?" I ask her. Her smile brightens and she looks at the imaginary watch on her wrist.

"As early as 7 and a half." My haw drops to the floor. It"s so friggin early.

"Who in the h.e.l.l wakes up at that time?" Riley cuss. Exactly.

"We wake up at that time. And I suggest you do the same because you don"t wanna miss Lina"s cooking." She sang out and then she gives us one last smile before leaving. I heard Riley grunts then saying that she still wants to sleep.

But the thought that today is the day that Mice is going to explain these weird things that are happening made me snap in my daze and went to work. We don"t have clothes here so we still wear what we have yesterday. When we were outside the tent and walking towards where people are running to, I look at Nate beside me. "Did she already talk to you?"

"No. She said you need to be here. All of us. Saves her time." He shrugs but a look flashes in his face before a grin breaks out and he turns to me.

"What?" I can"t help but smile too because it"s just as infectious. He grabs my hand and starts pushing our way to where people are pooling in.

"You don"t want to miss this." The sweet aroma intoxicates my nose and I hum in appreciation. I lick my lips to keep my drool in check.

"What"s that?" He laughs then I realize why it"s because my eyes are close and I am moaning at the scent I"m inhaling. My eyes snap open and I feel my cheeks burn as I chew on my bottom lip.

"Look there." Then I realize that we are in front of the line and people are watching me, making my cheeks aflame.

"Gamma. Please try this. I hope you like this." Lina bows and offers me a bowl of soup. I was surprised by the act of curtsy and I look at them only to watch them watch me. I"ll have my answers later with Mice, I remind myself.

"You might want to take that." Mice said, appearing beside the lady. I narrow my eyes at her but she just continues to smile. I look at her then to the woman in front of me.

I purse my lips then grab the bowl from her. I eye the soup for a moment before lifting it to my lips and taking a sip. "Holy sheet," the words leave my mouth before I even get the chance to stop them. In record time, the soup is gone and I am wiping my mouth. "That was delicious." I gush out and she mutters thanks before filling in the bowls for everyone.

"When y"all has done eating, my tent is on the far side. Come to me and we"ll talk." Mice said, her smile gone replaced by all seriousness. She turns around on her heel and stalks off.

Tummies full after having a taste of heaven, we all walk toward Mice"s tent. There, we found her sitting, sharpening the blade of her daggers and arrows" heads. "Take a seat. Just let me finish this." She said without looking up.

Once we were all seated, it"s the only time she made eye contact with all of us. "This is going to be a long story so don"t even try to interrupt me." She sighs deeply and eyes all of us. "You know what my ability is. I can do anything that has something to do with time. That includes stopping time, seeing the past, and seeing the future. The moment I woke up in the woods, I had no idea what I can do just like all of you. Not until I"ve had my first experience. I saw you," she looks at me. "I saw what happened in the woods at that time. The time when Chelssey died. I thought I was just having a bad dream. But it felt so real. So I told myself to check on you. To check the location. You weren"t there, you were gone. But I saw the dried drops of blood so I touched it then it lead me to where you were. At Juliana"s house. I"ve watched you since then, I"ve watched all of you. Why? Because just like my experience with Rebecca, I"ve had my times with all of you too. So I constantly cross the borders to just see if you"re doing well. At that time, I had no idea why I was seeing your futures. But I have this gut feeling that I gotta protect all of you. So since I know what my ability is, I take it for granted. I went back to time. Just to see what happened back there or what went wrong. That"s how I learned all of your personal information. Each of you. That"s also how I know that you are gammas and about you being a royalty. Don"t worry I haven"t told them about that, that"s not my secret to tell." She said when I opened my mouth. "Then I"ve had this dream, a really weird dream. I"ve spoken to a lion in there and he told me what I should do and how I can help you. That"s the reason for all of this. He told me that you would be needing an army and so I made this. I"ve given them their memories. I"ve removed the chips. I was halfway from forming this when I saw what happened in the city. Yes, I saw that. That was the main reason why I join the defiance in the first place. As to why I didn"t say a thing about it, the head would know. She was already suspicious of me that"s why I decided to push you, Rebecca. For you to use your ability to me. That was a dangerous move for me but it"s the only way I can do for the head to clear her doubts about me. I"m sorry if I called you a monster at that moment but you have to know that it"s all part of the act."

"So you can see what can happen in the future? Then why don"t you tell us if we"re going to win this clean war and get the head to talk." Riley said. Mice open her mouth to speak but Mica beats her to it.

"She can"t. She can"t tell you." Mice"s eyebrow went to her hairline as she looks at Mica almost challenging.

"I can." Mice said in a calm tone.

"What?" Mica"s face is filled with a shock so this is news to her.

"See, the difference between me and you is that I am a free lady. Meaning I am bound by nothing. I have no oath to make and no commands to obey. I can tell you what I see and nothing will change. I cannot change what"ll happen in the future, another difference between the two of us. Meaning, you have the power to change the future by either telling us or not telling us what you see. You can bend time and history, something I can"t do. Another difference is that I can only foresee. I cannot summon and see what will happen in the future. That"s not how it works for me."

"So...it just comes inside your head?" Avery asks and Mice nods slowly. Juliana"s face hadn"t changed a bit. "You said that you went to the past then why didn"t you just change the course of the history so we are not stuck up in this kind of era?"

Mice sigh as if she"s starting to get impatient. "Like I said. She--" she points at Juliana who has calmed down a little bit "--can bend time and history. I cannot. Why? When I travel to the past, my body is left here while my soul is the one wondering. So I cannot make any changes and even though Juliana can do that, I suggest you not try."

"Why?" Stewart asks, leaning on his elbows.

"We do not know why Sarah is doing this. And if we try to mess with the past we"ll mess with the future and the present. Remember that Sarah is still the knowledge royalty so that means that she must"ve seen something in the past that made her do this. Unless of course, she"s some psycho." She shrugs and I a.n.a.lyze her words. If--and only if--she"s right, it"s either going to change us or it will help us. "You"re thinking something. What is it?"

My head snaps up and I saw them watching me. I just shake my head because I really can"t form words due to the lump in my throat. It"s like, a puzzle and we"re the pieces but something valuable is missing making the whole picture indescribable. "So that"s how you know us? And all of them? They already know what is happening?" I finally spoke up after a large envelope of silence surrounds us.

"Yes. Figured it"s the only for them to agree with me." I nod in understanding because that"s what we"ve been doing except that Mice told them what Juliana and I are. "So..You"ve got a plan?" She asks.

I roll my lips together and said, "Yep. I"ve got this."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Mice chose to tell the people our plan at dinner so I take my time in exploring this new haven. As I walk, some of them greet me with a smile or with a nod and I return the gesture wholeheartedly. Their faces are bright when they see me that I can"t help but keep the grin that took over my face.

I stop in my tracks when I saw a little girl sitting on a tree trunk at the far side while watching the other kids play and explore their abilities. She"s watching them with a sad and doubtful look on her face. It makes my heart breaks for her and I can"t help but approach her.

"Hey," I said while taking a seat beside her. When she looks up at me I instantly remember her and the recognition in her eyes told me that she knows me just how I know her.

"Hi." Her small sad voice pierces through my heart like an arrow.

"What are you doing here? Why don"t you join them?" She looks at her tiny hands then to the kids and shakes her head.

"Nah. I don"t want to freak them out."

"Why would you freak them out?" My brows are furrowed as I study this kid who"s face is giving nothing away.

"I"m different." She shrugs, continuing to gaze at the kids with a blank look.

"Aren"t we all?" I said and she turns to me, confusion etch on her feature. Then she sighs and shakes her head again, turning away from me.

"You don"t understand. n.o.body does. My power is not as colorful as theirs. It"s not as beautiful as theirs. Some said my ability is the picture of death."

"What?" I breathe out. "Why would someone say that? Can you show me what you can do exactly?" I ask her, putting a rea.s.suring hand on her shoulder. She hesitates at first then she picks up a rock.

She held it in her hand and eyes it, a second later, what was once a rock turned into broken pieces in her tiny hand. I gasp and my eyes widen. She must"ve read my actions wrong because she said, "See? Even you were terrified."

"I wasn"t," I shake my head. "We have almost the same powers. Here," I pick up another rock and did what she did and now it"s her turn to gasp. "See? I am just like you. But being ashamed is not the only reason why you do not go with them, is it?" She shakes her head and I smile because I see myself in this kid. "You are afraid of what you can do. You are afraid that you"ll hurt them if you touch them. Am I right?"

Her eyes widen then she whispers to me. "How do you know that?"

"Because I am just like you. I once feared using this ability." I let out a little laugh at the irony. "Cause it"s deadly and I can hurt the people around me easily. But my friends, the ones I came here with, help me change that thought. And who knows maybe one of those kids will be your friend. The one who"ll stick up with you no matter what."

"Your friends love you. I saw them. But them? They don"t even know me."

"We start as strangers too, you know. No one starts as friends already. We all start as someone who doesn"t know who. Why don"t you go to them and see if they love you or not? Because as far as I"m concerned that"s their decision to make, not yours. And if any case that they don"t come to love you. You already gained one friend. And that"s me."

She scoffs at me. "That"s because we have the same ability."

"Dang, you"re smart," I said and she laughs for the first time. "But seriously, go to them, they"ll love you. I promise."

"How do you know that?" She asks me.

"Because what you have is beautiful. And what you can do? It"s deadly but powerful at the same time. So go and amaze them." For a moment she hesitated, probably weighing the pros and cons but something in her thought made her snap and she takes a deep breath before running towards them.

I watch as she talks to them and as she shows them what she can do. They gasp and she reddens but then her face brightens when the kids look at her in awe and admiration. A boy approaches her and says something in her ear. Her smile turns large when she looks at me and mouths a thank you. I nod at her and then she went back to playing with the kids.

"It"s the first time she smiles you know?" I turn around and see Mice standing behind me. She takes a step over the trunk and sat at the abandoned s.p.a.ce beside me. "Since I"ve taken her in. Well, she and her little sister."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," the silence that overtakes us is a little awkward. "The others are waiting for you at the other caves but you have to wait until tomorrow to see them when we finally told them our plan."

"Wait. There are still others?" She looks at me as if I"d grown two heads before speaking.

"You don"t think this is it right? Well, I hate to break it down to you but this isn"t it. And I told you, I"ve been preparing for this my entire life. Well, not my entire life but you get the idea. Other caves hold a lot more than what you can expect. This is just the first one. Prepare to deal with them tomorrow." She smirks and somehow I"m sensing something not good and not bad either.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Mice is right, I should"ve prepared myself to deal with a lot of people. There are six caves, ours included, that hold a lot more people that I would"ve expected. And when I say a lot, I meant almost all exiles lot. Some of the caves hold our friends, Aida and such and Riley was beaming with excitement ever since she saw them.

Yeah, I"m kind of relieved too to find them alive and well and they are ready to fight more than ever. I told them that we are not fighting, we are just going to wreak havoc in the city and get Sarah to talk. They told me that a clean war is almost impossible but they also vowed to never hurt anyone unless, of course, it"s self-defense but they also told me to prepare for the worst.

At the end of the day, we are all exhausted and we are aching all over our body. Because people are a little too enthusiastic to meet us. By the time my body hit my sleeping bag, I was already drifting off.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

My palms are sweating, my heartbeat is racing to the finish line and my body is radiating with excitement as we get near the city walls. Our march is the only thing that can be heard in the woods that there"s no doubt can reach inside the walls. When we were just meters apart I whispered, "Riley."

She nods then whistles then moments later whistles filled the air. "One...two...three," on cue we watch as the walls before we crumble. We were engulfed in smoke from the falling debris and once the crashing sound ended and the smoke cleared, I lead my people and climb on the pile of debris.

Collective gasps rippled through the air and my own heart thumps in my chest. A sea of countless warriors aligned in neat columns and rows greeted us and they are heavily armed for our liking. My eyes roam around to find a familiar face but Sarah is nowhere to be found.

Juliana steps beside me, her face growing regal and lethal. "She"s the knowledge royalty, of course, she knows." I didn"t even dare question how can Sarah tells her warriors what to do without even telling them why.

"F*ck," Riley mutters under her breath.

Mice appear beside me and said the obvious. "There"s no way this is going to be a clean war." Yes, there"s no way it"ll happen.

"Then you better be ready and pray that there are no civilians around."

"We have been ready for years."