Chapter 8: A Crossroads
I groggily blinked my eyes open, my vision a little blurry from sleep. Funny, I was in a situation like this not too long ago. My vision adjusted clearly, but my head was hurting, and I felt somewhat dizzy. When I looked around, I saw a lot of unfamiliar faces sitting across from me in a packed vehicle. Two people sat beside me, seeming not to have noticed I was awake. I started panicking. I have definitely been kidnapped for a second time this week. I started planning out in my head what I should do, but before I could even think about my first course of action, one of the girls sitting across from me noticed my eyes had opened. "Looks like she's come around already."
All eyes in the van were on me, and I was worried they would try to knock me out again. Instead, one of the guys next to me smiled. "Oh, good. I was worried how long you'd be out for." Something about his voice seemed so familiar, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
I frowned as I looked at everyone around me. I couldn't recognize any of their faces, but most of them were wearing dark protective clothing and had guns and knives strapped to them. Except one. I recognized the redheaded woman sitting across from me. "You were that lady in the Raven's house."
She gave me a crooked smile. "Name's Tess. Pleased to meet ya. Sorry if I gave you a scare earlier."
I tried to rack my brain to see if I could remember the others in the van. Something about them seemed so familiar, and then it hit me. "You guys are the Rebellion. You're the ones who saved me from that science experiment."
The other guy beside me breathed a sigh of relief. "At least that's what she remembers us by."
I scowled. "No. I just remembered you guys drugged me, and now you've all kidnapped me. What's your guys' deal? Why save me and let me go if you were just gonna kidnap me? What's wrong with you guys?"
"...Wish she was still concussed..." I heard him mutter under his breath.
"Look," a brunette girl my age said across from me. "We didn't want to do this either, but we think you're very important to us. We believe you can help stop the Raven and his tyrannical ways."
I snorted. "Yeah, right? And what's stopping me from making a call right now and reporting you guys for kidnapping?"
"How about I just smash your holo-device so the authorities can't track you?" The ash blond guy beside me offered.
The girl glared at him. "Cut it out." She looked back at me. "Look, I know it was wrong to drug and kidnap you, and I'm sorry, but the Raven can't be trusted. From what Tess said, the Raven offered you money in exchange for information about us. Did you honestly believe him?"
I stayed silent. At this rate, I wasn't sure who I should believe. The girl noticed my hesitation and kept on speaking. "I don't know if you noticed, but the Raven is just a dictator using the title president as a red herring. In reality, that man is evil. He is full of false promises and will kill anybody who gets in his way. The media doesn't talk about it, but this is something we specialize in. We've been spying on him for quite some time. I hate to say it, but he most likely had the intentions of killing you when you would least expect it. I mean, if we hadn't pulled Tess out of there, she would've either been killed or tortured for information."
I looked at the redheaded woman and she stared back with a grave expression on her face, and I knew the brunette wasn't joking. "Again, I apologize for taking you like this, but we really think you joining us could save your life. If you were to go back to the main city, the Raven would start hunting you down. Believe me, this is for the best."
It was silent in the truck, as everyone expected me to respond. "How can I trust you? In the entire time I've been in Epron, I've been kidnapped twice and manipulated. How do I know you're not manipulating me now?"
"My name is Gaia Petrov and I work in the special operations and combat services in the Rebellion. My main job is to receive intel from enemy forces and devise plans for the Rebellion using the information I research. That's Tess Stoica; she also works in special operations, which is why we sent her to spy on the Raven."
The redheaded woman reached behind her ear, and suddenly, she was no longer a red haired and green eyed woman, but instead, she instantly had blond chin length hair and blue eyes, and she looked a few years older, at least early thirties. She smirked when she saw how appalled I looked. "You like? Our engineering team made it for me especially for this mission, so it'd be harder to trace my identity."
"Both of our jobs rely on gathering information about the Raven, so we know very well how he works. I can't stop you if you want to leave, but please understand that if you go back, he will find you and he will kill you. If you're willing to help us, we can even put a stop to him."
I knew she was right about the Raven based on what I had also learned in my research, but it wasn't going to be that easy to convince me. "What about my roommate? She'll be worried when she sees I'm gone and will try getting the authorities to look for me if I go missing."
"We can give you an opportunity to give her an explanation. It doesn't have to be the truth, but if you think it will put her mind at ease, then go ahead."
Knowing Charmaine, no amount of reasoning would convince her that me going my own way would be reassuring. She knew my family and financial situation, so if I were to convince her, it would take a miracle. "Why me?" I asked. "What's so special about me that you had to kidnap me and take me for yourselves?"
Everyone in the room exchanged looks, hesitating briefly. "It's... complicated." Gaia said. "If you can recall what those researchers were trying to do with you and a bunch of others at that research facility, it was pure evil. The Raven has developed a microchip that, supposedly, when entered into the nervous system of a person, can redirect their entire way of thinking and acting. The Raven designed it so that these chips will make everyone think and act the way he wants, essentially making people his own robots."
"Like we don't have enough of those already." The ash blond guy rolled his eyes. "All the robots in the world, but the Raven wants everyone in Epron to be exactly the same and follow under his command."
"Right." Gaia said. "From what Tess found out, the Raven plans on putting those chips inside everyone in Epron, which is why people of different ages and genders were also at that facility. If the Raven succeeds with his plan, he'll have total control of Epron, but we suspect he won't stop there. Once he has complete power of Epron, he'll want to expand and start taking over other countries. We believe if we have you on our team, we can use you as foreign influence to gather allies from other parts of the world."
"Wait, so the Raven is using these chips to control everyone the way he wants them to?" It was a lot of information to process, but I didn't completely doubt the theory since that definitely sounded like something a dictator would do. "But why?"
"We don't exactly know." Tess said "I've been observing the Raven for two months, and the only thing I can think of is how the plan may link with his weird personality quirk of wanting everything to be 'concise and perfect'. I mean, the man hates alphabet soup just because a bunch of letters are jumbled together. It's that bad. You ever wonder why word searches are banned in Epron?"
I made a face. "They are?"
"Unfortunately." The guy beside me with the locs said. "Outlawed them two years ago, I'm afraid."
I shook my head. "This is ridiculous."
"I know, right! That was another one of my favorite pastimes that have been banned in just two years."
"No, I mean, this whole situation I'm in is ridiculous. You guys want me to be a terrorist and recruit people for you to save the country and possibly the whole world?"
"Uh, yeah." The ash blond guy deadpanned. "Were you listening to the conversation at all?"
"Shut up, Braxton." Gaia hissed.
I glared. "And what if I had been asleep this whole time? Would you guys have just taken me in anyway and hoped I would just get used to it?"
Gaia looked guilty. "Look, we know how horrible and sudden this seems, but we are desperate. With each passing day, the Raven is getting closer and closer to brainwashing and dominating the whole country. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
I sighed and buried my face in my hands. "Why me? Why can't I just go back home to Cathesia with my family? Can't you guys do that for me?"
Tess winced. "I hate to break it to you, but since the Raven knows where your family lives, going back home would just result in the death of you and your family. The Raven has probably already realized we've taken you with us, so if he finds out you went back home, he will definitely kill you all."
God, my life seriously could not get worse. I've been backed into this corner all because I accidentally became involved with the Raven and the Rebellion. If only I hadn't taken that stupid job offer. "So what do I do?"
"I'm afraid the only option for you is to come with us." Gaia's eyes soften. "I understand it's hard for you right now. You've been presented with choices that are very heavy and can have catastrophic consequences. You're very young, too. Tess told me you were my age. You know, I first joined the Rebellion when I was seventeen. It wasn't an easy decision, and I was very scared. Did you know it's illegal to voice your opinions about the government in Epron, and it results in execution? A little over two years ago, before the Rebellion was founded, a protest happened in front of the Eagle's Nest, and my parents had attended the rally. The Raven decided that he didn't want to have people questioning his way of ruling, so he had a firing squad out in front of the building. Many people died during that protest, including my parents.
I was beyond devastated. The Raven had killed my parents over something that wasn't even illegal back then, all because they disagreed with the Raven. And then I was mad. I wanted revenge against the Raven so badly. Months later, Braxton had told me his uncle had hatched a plan to rally a secret group called the Rebellion to take down the Raven and overthrow him as leader. When I heard it, I knew it was my destiny to become part of something like that. I knew from then on that this was my calling, and I have never doubted myself or regretted my decision. I'm telling you all this because I understand you, Evelyn. I was young and had my life taken away by the Raven, too. But after joining the Rebellion, I've found a new purpose in my life and have never felt more sure of myself. I want you to have that same kind of trust in yourself. It's gonna be a hard decision, but at least make it one you know you won't regret."
I really wanted to say no just because I wasn't comfortable with the idea of abandoning everything in my life, but Gaia's story resonated with me. As much as I wish it weren't true, Gaia and Tess were right. It would just be more dangerous if I went back to Charmaine or my family, and if I joined the Rebellion, at least I'd be helping an important cause. "So how do I join?"
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