Chapter 15 I Get Nosy When I’m Left Alone

I think it's been a week since I was brought to the rebel Insurgence base and what a wild week it's been. I don't even know what day it is since I've been stuck inside these new walls but according to the number of new black shirts I've seen both Jack and Mavis wear, I think it's been about a week.

Coming here at first freaked me out and it still does. Everyday I learn something new about this new world I've been dragged into and now I get to document it in a notebook Jack gave me to pass time by myself- and I'm by myself a lot. However, I strangely enough like it here. I have people here that listen and care about me and this connection is all I have ever wanted with my parents but could never obtain.

I've also let go of the guilt I had about what happened to my parents. I accepted that I was abused by both of them in different ways and moved on, I survived and overcame and here I am. I can be a little grateful that my life was their flawed image of protecting me, but their actions were also downright cruel and I couldn't pass it off as tough love or protection. I was rid of them and their stress and it was freeing.

I have also started keeping track of my headaches and body aches, all of which have gotten better since getting here and my nightmares altogether have stopped. I haven't had an episode since the last one in the school bathroom and my head only ever hurts whenever I'm in a big group of people? So, I was relieved that probably meant it wasn't anything supernatural and maybe I just didn't like loud noises which I already knew, or crowds.

Overall, I feel better. I feel like Ayla Gordon and I look more like me now too. I'm still stuck in baggy clothes loaned to me by my three companions but that's all I've ever known, and that's okay with me. It felt better having answers and knowing that these people in a way, I've already met them. They've been around me and I didn't even know it- Ethan my driver is literally an Insurgent how did I not make the connection? Him and Kyle look exactly alike minus the man-bun.

I've also been exploring lately and drawing out a map of what I think the school looks like, I'll probably finish it this week but there was one section of the base that I was confused about. There's a hallway right next to the gym with a door that I have only ever the head of the base use when it clearly is marked 'do not enter.' And since she's feels she can disregard her own rules, I decided then the rule is meaningless and went down the hall myself and it left me confused.

The hall looked like any other hall in the school and it was marked from when it was still a school as the athletic hallway. Down this hall was an empty pool, a couple closets, and cleared out offices with desks, chairs, and cabinets still there that weren't cleared out.

When I walked down this hall, I heard talking coming from a room marked "boys locker room." It felt like I obviously shouldn't go in there until I heard the head's voice along with another.

I slowly opened the door and put my notebook in the crack just so I could listen better.

"We're down four rebels ever since these random freezings have started and we do not have room to be losing people. One of them was a mage and with power like that- you just can't lose some of your biggest assets."

I frowned, it was strange that she was back here talking to whoever about the freezings but it was nice to know she cared and was concerned about whatever was going on.

"We haven't found any leads on what happened to them but their bodies follow the natural way of death once the body loses sleep, nutrition, and hydration, and one of those ends up killing the body. It might be some new form of defective but it's just a guess."

"And all I have to do is take this serum, die, and it'll bring me back with power?"

Now my heart stopped. What?

"Yes and you will be welcomed and care for with open arms. None of them will suspect a thing and they'll help you train too. You will be doing a great service to ensuring the rebellion's survival."

I took my ear off of the crack in the door and removed my book, quickly jogging my way out of that hallway.

I need to bring this up to Jack but he's been busier lately ever since our talk and I'm afraid I pushed him away by opening up. Jack is honestly the one I trust the most and I thought I was forming a friendship with him considering how easy it came, I felt naturally comfortable with him even when he literally broke into my house. He never scared me the way the others did or still do.

Perhaps part of me knew he was the one that got me out of there alive- several times.

The door to our shared room opens and Jack came in with a sigh, running his long fingers through his shaggy black, curly hair. His eyebrows were knitted together and I could see him chewing on his bottom lip.

"Hi?"

He looked at me and gave me an upturned nod which in turn made me frown. "Jack? Did I do something to upset you?"

He shook his head, "No no... it's just been a hard day."

Jack didn't like talking about his problems which I recently figured out. "If it's not a bad time I have something to ask-"

He shook his head, "We lost two other rebels today. One from this whole freezing thing and the other was a spy for us that got compromised."

My eyes widened and I stood up from my assortment of blankets and approached him, "I overheard something about this today."

"Overheard? Ayla you're supposed to stay in here if one of us isn't with you-"

"There's no use yelling at me about it now I'm being serious."

He blinked and rolled his eyes, "Whatever. Fine. What did you overhear?"

Part of me didn't want to tell him if he was going to give so much attitude-

"I'm sorry about the attitude I'm not mad at you."

I smirked, "Stay out of my head." I grabbed my notebook and gestured to the map, "So, I've been trying to sketch an outline of the map for reference just until I understand the layout better when I came across that hallway right next to the gym."

"It apparently needs maintenance. She wanted me to go out and find someone to do it and then erase their memory but I haven't felt like it," He shrugged. "What about it?"

"The head of this base walked down that hallway and... I followed her."

He blinked.

"Yeah I followed her and I overheard her talking to someone I guess 'normal,' and it sounded like she was trying to turn them into an Insurgent, just to have them be a rebel here."

"To increase our numbers..." Jack's face paled. "What the hell?" He scoffed shaking his head repeatedly. "That... that..."

I braced myself for a slew of cuss words.

"All she does is disgrace our founder and all that she wanted! My god if we did that then we are no different than the Insurgence. We are supposed to keep lives away from that not rope them in even if we are struggling!"

"Struggling?" I said meekly.

Jack closed his eyes, "I'm going to report this. Come with me."

My eyes widened and I quickly declined, "No thanks. I'd rather stay here." There was no way I'd go out of my way to see that woman after the way she yelled at me all those terrifying things she said to me.

"Ayla you have to. You're the one who witnessed it." Jack's eyes scanned through mine, "Please. This is important but this is also extremely personal to me."

I took a deep breath, "Please just don't let me be alone with her... don't let her scream at me. Promise me people aren't going to come after me if I snitch."

He shook his head, "You're here for protection. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you. We won't let it." He paused, "And I won't let it."

I felt my heartbeat in my throat but there was no way I could say no. "Okay."

We raced down the hallway and from another hall connected to ours, Mavis was walking with her eyes glued to a couple papers. Jack quickly grabbed her and dragged her along with us.

"What the hell-" She groaned, "What is going on?"

"We're confronting the head. I heard her saying she wants to turn people into Insurgents just to make them rebels," I said over the pounding sounds of our footsteps.

Mavis shook her head, "That blonde devil..." she scoffed. "Dishonoring Eveline everyday ever since she took over. She was never fit to run this goddamn place."

We rounded the corner and stopped dead in our tracks. There was a foul stench in the air that I remembered, the smell of decay, the metallic smell of blood. There was a shouting crowd gathered in the commons and it was crowing larger by the second.

"What is that?" I didn't mean for my voice to come out as shaky as it did but Mavis quickly grabbed my hand.

"Jackson go see what that is," She said already dragging me behind her. Her usual peppy voice was monotone and her eyes were dead set on Jack.

I looked between them and furrowed my eyebrows, "What? What's going on- why aren't we-"

Mavis tugged on my arm but I pulled away and ran over to Jack who was making his way to the crowd.

"Ayla, go with Mavis."

"No-"

He turned around to me and over the corner of someone's shoulder I saw a body laying on the floor.

I gagged and took a step back, my hands flying up to cover my mouth.

Through the cracks in the legs of the crowd I could see there was a pool of blood. A large one.

"Ayla please go back."

I ignored him and felt my stomach slowly sinking, my heart beating out of my chest. I remembered that smell. It's probably nothing, death surrounds this world it was probably just another accident with a rebel.

I pushed through the crowd and screamed.

There were two bodies, both with bullet holes in the center of their foreheads. Their eyes were stitched closed and had ringlets of blood around the wounds that dropped to look like electorate eye paint.

My parents... dead... still with those artificial smiles plastered on their faces.

I covered my eyes and screamed again- I couldn't hear it but felt it in my throat.

A pair of hands gripped my shoulders and pulled me backwards but my body was numb, I fell backward into whoever it was and felt my head hit the floor. My ears were ringing, my throat was dry and scratchy. I felt hollow. I wanted to cry but I couldn't-

I spent yesterday talking to Jack about how I didn't feel guilty.

Jack and Mavis' heads filled my vision, blocking out the lights I was staring directly at. I could see from their mouths they were talking but their voices sounded muffled and warped as if I was listening from underwater.

My parents are dead.

I was comfortable being here. I'm protected. I'm safe here.

I didn't take this as seriously as I needed to.

Calvary and my parents... they're all dead. Everyone is dead.

And I'm probably next.