Chapter 8 #3
“But they aren’t my real parents.” I was stating what I’d already known.
“No. They were asked to care for you and I think you know how very much they love you.”
My chest ached from tightness. “Why was I alone?”
“I must ask you. Are you certain you’re ready to learn more of the truth?”
I leaned forward once again, my hand fisted. “You know I’ve always wanted the truth. That’s who I am. I realize it might be ugly or not what I want to hear, but something inside me is screaming that I must learn the truth.”
“Very well. I will tell you what you are ready to hear. You were abandoned, Star. Had the boy not come along, you would not have survived even a night alone. While he did not understand the mission at the time, he was sent to find you. To protect you. The area was barren, or so those who left you believed. Do you remember anything before seeing the boy?”
“No. Just Jake, my dog.”
“Likely because he was a very good memory. Tell me what else you remember about the boy.”
This I didn’t need to close my eyes for.
“He was strong. Very strong. And so protective. Maybe if I was older then, I would have said handsome.” For whatever reason, a slight blush crept across my jaw.
“I don’t know why you’re asking. I never saw him again.
Obviously, he didn’t care about me. He dropped me off at whatever the facility and that was it. ”
“I’m asking, Star, because it’s vital that you remember as much of what occurred in the past as possible. But you need to fill in the blanks. Filling your mind with details is potentially harmful.”
“Alright. I’ll try.” I hated the guessing games. This time I did close my eyes, searching my memory for whatever Peter was looking for. “His eyes were unusual.”
“Why?”
“Because they were…” I caught myself before answering, even gripping the edge of the table with enough pressure my fingers ached. “Very green, like the pictures in the books of the deep green waters of a lagoon.”
“Then very much like the vivid hue of your eyes.”
I nodded as words were stuck in my throat. “Exactly like mine.”
“Have you not seen those eyes again?”
“That’s not possible.” I was breathless, lightheaded as another more recent group of visions appeared.
He cocked his head, waiting for me to correct myself. I didn’t because if what he was insinuating and what I was already starting to believe was true, then fate had come full circle. “Anything is possible, child.”
“The Savage. The leader. His name is Rage.”
“Are you certain?” Peter was smiling, his eyes displaying a complete array of colors.
“Yes. What is happening? Why are you telling me this?” As I’d done before, I pressed my fingers against my lips. I could feel Rage as if he was right here with me.
“Because you are special. You were brought to us to care for. That boy was sent to find you, although he is not aware of the part he played. The man who rescued you, think about his face. Think about the changes.”
“There were several.”
“Star. Please.”
“No. I won’t believe it. That Savage wasn’t the same one. There is no chance. None.” I was no longer shivering, instead about to jump from my skin because of tiny yet powerful prickles of electricity.
To Peter’s credit, he allowed a little freak-out time without peppering me with any additional questions or forcing me to face a period of my life that had left me feeling empty. Maybe now, I knew why.
“My parents didn’t want me.”
“It’s more complicated than that. You were raised by your mother. Your birth father wasn’t in the picture.”
“Who was he?”
“Someone who didn’t value human life, especially that of a child.”
“You won’t tell me his identity. Will you?”
“His identity doesn’t matter. Yours does. You are special.”
“Why do you keep saying that?” I hated hearing the demand in my voice, but I was terrified, which was why Peter was trying to provide my mind.
“Did I ever tell you about the lottery system?” When Peter changed directions with a conversation, it was done to break my pattern of thinking. He was so pragmatic, requiring me to answer most of my own questions by figuring out a puzzle. This was no different.
“Some. You mentioned how chaotic it was.”
“Very much so. At first, people thought the system was well thought out and very fair. But when the practice was put in motion, it didn’t take long for almost everyone to realize the lottery had been rigged.”
His admittance was horrifying. “The government chose who would live.”
“Yes,” he whispered, his voice fading and for the first time since I’d known him, I sensed how much of a toll being the patriarch of the village had been to him. “Once the reality was discovered, there was nothing anyone could do.”
“My God.”
“You are like a granddaughter to me. You brought life to me when I wanted to lie down and die. I lost everything when selected by the lottery. My family. My entire world. I’d had twenty-four hours to pack two bags and meet at a selected rendezvous.
I tried to take my son and daughter with me, but I wasn’t allowed.
I tried to have one of them change places with me, but how do you choose which child would live and which would die? ”
For that, I had no answer.
“In the end, my children walked away. They said their goodbyes and begged me to take the transport. You see, they had families of their own and refused to leave them. After I was saved, I fell into a deep depression until I was once again given purpose.”
“Purpose?”
“You. Protecting and educating you. What I’m trying to tell you is that there are things within this world and the one before that are connected. Whether we want to believe it or not, everything that occurs does for a reason.”
“Is that your prophecy?”
His smile was as if I was slowly beginning to understand. “To some degree.”
“Why?” I still couldn’t understand. Why had I been deemed so important?
“Because you are the future. You hold the key to survival and growth, a return to true freedom. The prophecy has been clear all along. It is time to face your destiny. The man you became close with was the boy who saved you, a man who volunteered to face harsh experiments and an even harsher way of life for the greater good.”
“That’s not possible.”
“Ask yourself why you were found and how you were saved. And now, why the same young man who’d just faced a horrible tragedy of his own, someone with a target on his head accepted a position and an honor to protect our former way of life, the very freedoms our country had fought to protect for years.
Before corruption and greed played a hand in our destruction.
Your lives are forever intertwined and now, you must face the future. Together. You must go with him.”
“I can’t leave my mother.” For a split second, I was watching my mother withering away, facing the hopelessness that had originally kept me awake at night.
Then something strange occurred that I hadn’t been prepared for, a vision unlike any of the others I’d had in recent weeks. The screen in my mind was gray, almost as if a rolling fog was shimmering back and forth, but with passing seconds, the images began to clear.
A man and a woman. They were standing close together. They were arguing, the woman screaming at him. I couldn’t understand what was being said, but tears were running down her face. She was hysterical, pointing her finger at the man.
He did the unthinkable, smashing his fist into her face, the force tossing her down.
“Star.” The voice was unworldly, surreal and echoing, but I recognized it as Peter’s.
“A dog ran into the room, snarling. He bit the man, ripping his trousers.” I could hear myself reciting the vision, muttering the words as my throat tightened.
“Go on,” Peter told me.
“A little girl standing all alone, crying and screaming. Something glints in the light. A knife maybe. Metal. He was holding metal in his hand. His face is twisted, his foot coming down on the door. Screams and cries, the little girl finally running toward her mother only to be shoved away, and the man yanked the woman onto her feet. His thick fingers were wrapped around her throat.”
I stopped talking, lifting my head and studying Peter, who squeezed my hand.
“He killed her. He killed the dog. Jake. My dog.” Now I was whispering. “He didn’t want me.”
“Star. I’m so sorry. I am so very sorry, but people wanted you very much.
Tom and Carrie love you and are very much your parents.
You know that. They were also prepared from the beginning about your destiny.
They knew a time would come when you’d be leaving the village. Because you are their destiny as well.”
I took a step away, the vision long gone, but the ache and uncertainty were too much to bear. Too much to comprehend. Peter was right. The man who’d provided sperm meant nothing.
“My mother is sick. She is dying.”
His sigh was as heavy as the way my heart felt, the rapid thudding echoing in my ears. “Star. Listen to me. Please.”
A knock on the door interrupted us, but couldn’t stop the volume of questions rushing through my mind.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Peter, Commander, but we have a problem.”
I turned my head, witnessing terror on Ralph’s face. His tone knocked me from the dark place even though I wanted answers. No, I deserved answers. “What’s wrong?”
He shifted his gaze from Peter to where I was standing, uncertain he should tell me anything about the issue.
“Ralph. Speak freely. What are we dealing with?” Peter encouraged.
“Savages have arrived. They have a request. To see Star.”