“Where are we going?” I asked as we walked outside. I knew I’d made a mistake and been caught. I was grateful they hadn’t escorted Joshua out of his room, but I wasn’t crazy about it happening to me. I knew Landon wouldn’t hurt me. He couldn’t. I meant too much to their cause. I’d gathered that much already in the past week.
“Someplace safe,” he informed, leading me across the street. He pulled out his key card as I realized we were walking into the elusive tech center.
I felt my heart quicken. “Safe?” I repeated uncertain I understood what was happening. “I swear to you nothing happened.” I felt overwhelmed as the door slammed shut behind us, and I glanced back seeing a keypad to exit the building. Why was I here? “We were best friends in Genesis. That doesn’t go away just because you tell me I can’t be with him.”
Landon snorted in disapproval. “I’m sorry you’re having trouble adjusting, Olivia, but you’re too important for us to let your childish mistakes ruin your future and the future of Cabal.” He grabbed my elbow forcefully as he led me up the stairs.
“Let go of me!” I demanded. “Where are you taking me?” I tried to break free from his grasp, but his fingers dug into my skin. I grimaced in pain as he escorted me down a stark white hallway. Stopping, he opened a door, the key already inside the lock before we arrived. Landon pushed me inside and quickly shut it behind me. “Landon!” I screamed banging on the window watching as he retrieved the key and shoved it into his pocket. The window – shatterproof and plastic – barely waivered as my hands pounded repeatedly and I begged to be released. “Please let me out of here!” He stared at me through the window. I tried the door but it was locked, not that I expected it to open. “Landon!”
“Again, I’m sorry you’re having trouble following the rules. Until you can behave yourself, consider this a timeout.”
“What?” My eyes widened, appalled by the suggestion. I wasn’t a child. This was absurd! “Landon!” I screamed banging again on the window and frowning when he turned and walked away. “Bastard,” I muttered beneath my breath, secretly hoping he heard me. I was angry and growing bitter with my treatment in Haven. They expected me to marry when I was already in love. They demanded I have a child with someone other than the only person I could imagine having a family with. Joshua and I were hardly ready for children – I wasn’t sure I even wanted kids – but I knew I didn’t want a child with anyone else. This was worse than anything I could have imagined.
The lights flickered and dimmed. I groaned as I moved towards the lone cot. It reminded me too much of the prison in Genesis. I could no more control who I loved than how I came into this world.
I moved to sit down on the bed. It squeaked with my weight, and I pulled my knees to my chest. I wanted to go home. Although Genesis hardly felt like home after what Governor Craynor had done to me, this was becoming a far worse fate. I needed to leave. If Haven expected me to live locked in a windowless room for the next three years, they had a huge surprise coming. Tomorrow I would meet with the council and demand better treatment. This was not how you treated someone crucial to your cause! I hated the government of Cabal yet quickly growing to despise the rebel alliance in Haven, too.
CHAPTER 10
I didn’t know when morning came. The room remained bathed in darkness. I hadn’t slept, not really. I may have dozed off for a few minutes sitting up, but it hadn’t lasted long.
Landon came to the door, flipping the lights on. My eyes burned as I squinted and heard the latch as he unlocked it, pulling the door open.
“The council is waiting for your presence,” Landon informed me.
“What time is it?” I asked, having lost complete track of the hour while locked in the dark. I begrudgingly pushed myself out of bed.
Landon gazed down at his watch. “It’s just after eight.” I stood up moving off the cot. “We have a special guest at our meeting this morning.”
“Special guest?” I asked, following Landon out of the prison and down the stairs. I took the time to glance around the tech center now that I felt calmer. I didn’t see much. Most of the rooms were closed off, and the noise and commotion I could hear was far enough away that I couldn’t see anything. Besides I couldn’t have been higher than the second floor. I’d barely seen anything of the tech center. It had to be at least a hundred stories tall. Landon carefully covered the keypad as he typed in the exit code. The doors unlocked, and he pushed it open and let me step outside first.
“Rebecca is back from Genesis for the meeting. She requested a seat at the decision-making table.” I wasn’t sure whether to be grateful or not. I couldn’t read Rebecca – whose side was she on? We walked along the street. The dull gray sky filled with low-hanging clouds looked like rain.
“How does she get between the cities?” I asked, certain Landon must know something. He gestured for me to follow him as we turned the corner. I’d been here a little over a week and was still terrible with directions.
“Inside Council Hall there’s a teleportation device. It appears in Genesis as a window inside the Warren’s home, the perfect hiding place,” Landon admitted. “I thought it up. Wasn’t easy getting it assembled without anyone noticing, but you could walk right up to it and stare outside. You’d never know what you’re looking at.”
“Isn’t it dangerous?” I asked. “You could lead the enemy right to Haven.” It seemed incredibly risky.
“All great technological advances come with some risk,” Landon beamed. “It’s a shame we only have one window. Our scientists were working to develop additional devices, but they take time, and our resources have been better spent focusing on reproductive issues the last few years.”
I nodded, surprised he shared this information with me. Perhaps, he believed he could trust me. We rounded the corner and my eyes caught sight of a line of young men stretching around council hall, extending for blocks. “What’s going on over there?” I asked.
Landon’s face perked up, a hint of a smile playing on his lips, “they’re here for you, Olivia.”
“Me?” I felt nervous and swallowed the bile rising in my throat.
Landon patted my back, as if he had the ability to reassure me. His touch was repulsive. I pulled away slightly from his grasp, my gaze still attached to the hundreds of young men lining up along the edge of the building and pushed back down into the street. “They’re submitting their applications to date you.”
“You’re joking?” My eyes wide and mouth agape, I couldn’t believe this was happening. “This is because of Joshua yesterday, isn’t it?” It had to be the reason they found it necessary to punish me.
Landon sighed. He seemed agitated with me, short-tempered. “We’ve told you, Olivia, you can’t be with Joshua.”
I rolled my eyes, “yes and you’ve also told me I have three years to decide. What’s all this!” I gestured towards the young men as I pushed them aside to walk through the main entrance, they were in my way.
“Hey! No cutting in line,” one of the young men yelled before his voice faltered off realizing I wasn’t there to apply. “Are you Olivia?” His voice echoed against the building as he took another step, further inching towards the foyer.
“It’s none of your damned business!” I shouted back, my eyes glaring as I knocked Landon hard with my elbow. I knew it wouldn’t win me any brownie points but I didn’t care. I was beyond pissed. My feet clanked over the marble flooring. In the center of the room a table had been set up where the young men were fast approaching, one after another. “You’re wasting your time,” I called back to the woman hosting the event as she recorded their information in an oversized book.