Aberrant (26 page)

Somehow I doubted it, but I kept my mouth shut.

Maya continued, "The procedure you underwent makes you
special and makes you like one of us. It's a rare gift that will excel not only
your natural abilities, but will also allow us to win the war against the
government. We couldn't wait much longer to administer it though, because of
its importance in brain development during your teenage years. Unfortunately,
neither of you is getting any younger," she remarked. "Our community
of cities is small, but we are a great force. Together with the technology of
the new world and the wisdom of the old world, we are stronger than the
government. You were both brave for the procedure and the skills test afterwards."

"I thought it was training," I admitted, shooting
a confused look at Joshua.

"If you knew we were testing you it would have changed
the results," Maya smiled faintly. Chancellor Collins spoke up, "Same
with the tests of honesty, integrity and self-worth. You offered yourself to
protect Joshua. We know and recognize the value placed on you because of how
you came into this world." He stared oddly at me, "You are incredibly
special, Olivia. You have no idea the impact you can have on society in our
world."

Just a short time ago I’d been an ordinary eighteen-year-old
girl. Except the reality was, I wasn't ordinary. I was anything but ordinary. I
was aberrant. I couldn't help but make a face in disgust. "I have no
desire to breed just to help the rebel alliance." It was the truth. If
they expected me to become pregnant for their agenda, I would leave and Joshua
would come with me. If I had to fight my way out of the room, I would.

"We'd never ask of you anything we wouldn't do
ourselves." Jaxon nodded.

I rolled my eyes. "No offense, Jaxon, but you're a boy.
You can't exactly have children," I retorted.

Elsa sighed. "No one can, Olivia. That's the point. Without
science meddling, none of us can bear children. We're not asking you to have
children. We're not asking you to give them up to us like the government would
demand, either." She made it clear what they expected of me. "We just
need a few body scans. Our technology can do the rest. We're looking for a
cure."

Joshua spoke up, "And what happens after you take these
scans, and it's not enough? What if it doesn't give you the answers you want? What
then? And why bother making either of us special if you just plan on letting us
go."

Chancellor Collins laughed softly. "We have no
intention of letting either of you go. I'm sorry if that’s what you thought. You've
been mistaken. We would prefer you to be on our side, to help us wage war and
fix this severely broken system. Of course the choice is yours. We can do this
willingly or we can force you into submission, take what we need and leave you
both rotting in a cell until the war is over."

I knew he wasn't joking. The bile rose in my throat and I
swallowed it down. "I'll do the scans, but frankly, I don't see why you
didn't do that when you performed the procedure. That was certainly against my
will," I remarked.

Elsa spoke up cheerfully, "We didn't know you were
Olivia Parker. We weren’t really sure who you were. Perhaps some of us hoped it
was true, but it seemed impossible."

"It's Olivia Warren now," I reached for Joshua's
hand giving it a squeeze.

Everyone at the table looked at one another.

"What?" I asked confused.

Elsa glanced at me curiously, "The marriage ceremony,
it went through?"

I nodded slowly, wondering why all the looks and quiet
whispers. "Yes. Though Haven refused to see us as married."

Chancellor Collins spoke up, "It's neither here or nor
there," he waved his hands. "If you shall choose to be wed, that is
your decision, and we will have a ceremony to make it such. If you choose not
to be, then so be it."

Joshua glanced at me. "You won't separate us?"

Elsa laughed. "Why would we? You two have been acting
pretty cozy lately, but we had no idea the ceremony had commenced. With the
timing on your escape, it was rumored you were newlyweds. No one knew for
certain."

Joshua squeezed my hand, grinning at me. "Marry
me?"

I laughed softly and chewed the bottom of my lip raw. "Seriously?"

"Yes." Joshua's eager smile and shining eyes made
my heart leap.

I shifted in my seat as I reached toward him, my thumb stroking
his jaw. My eyes met his piercing blue stare. He looked like himself, but what
did I know? "You took truth serum, Josh." I glanced down at his lips
with a soft laugh and back up at again at his eyes. "Maybe it's the drug
talking."

"It isn't." He stared at me, convinced he was
entirely in control. "I'll ask you a thousand times over." His gaze
refused to waver. "I love you." I swallowed the lump in my throat.

I nodded faintly. It was no secret. "I love you, too."
My cheeks blushed as I ignored all eyes on us in the room. "I don't think
this is the right place, though, for you to ask me to marry you." It
wasn't that I expected some huge romantic gesture. I just didn't want there to
be any regrets. He didn't have to marry me. He had a choice, we all did here.
It was what made this place special.

"What?" He pulled back, though only slightly, and
my hand fell into my lap.

"No," I sighed, seeing his shift and change in
behavior. "Josh," I scooted closer as my hands found his arms. I gave
him a light squeeze, drawing his attention back at me. "I love you,"
I stared at him, willing him to look at me. "You know that." He nodded
slowly, realizing what I was telling him. It wasn't only because he'd said the
words that I felt it necessary to reciprocate the gesture. "I just think
the truth serum,” I paused. “It's unfair to either of us. I don't want to take
advantage of you." I confessed. "I'd never forgive myself."

"Then believe me when I tell you I want to marry
you." His eyes bore into mine.

I felt the wind knocked out of me and nodded ever so
slightly. "Okay." I did believe him. Maybe it was the fact we shared
a connection greater than ever before with the Mindonsiphan. I could feel his
heart beat with mine in the same rhythm. I shifted forward, brushing my nose
against his, ever so softly.

"Is that a yes?" he whispered, caught up in the
moment as he leaned down and brushed my lips with his. The kiss was warm and
inviting. It wasn't filled with curiosity and question, but hope and wonder.

I nodded vigorously as I wrapped my arms around his build,
pulling him in for a hug. "Josh," I whispered, burying my lips
against his ear. I could feel his heart skip a beat against my chest.
"Yes, I'll marry you."

In a fury of haze I could hear the others chatter of
excitement and a few cheers. My eyes refused to move from Joshua's as I kissed
him once more.

Chancellor Collins cleared his throat, interrupting us,
"Now that it's settled, we'd like you to join our forces."

I pulled back only slightly from Joshua, though my hand
found its way entwined with his. "You want us to be a part of your
military?" What did I know about fighting and battle?

Collins smiled, though I felt my stomach tense at the sight.
"We'd like you to become a part of our community. It will entail Elsa training
you in Combat. Jaxon will help you to develop fire, and Margo can prepare you
with sheer strength. Cate will teach you–"

I interrupted, holding up my hand. "Does Cate really
have to teach me anything?" I still hadn't forgiven her for what she'd
done in the shower that morning. She’d had absolutely no reason to have stolen
my clothes from the stall.

"Perhaps you could teach Cate kindness and forgiveness,"
the Chancellor remarked.

I tried my best not to roll my eyes. "Forgiveness? She
ran off with my clothes!" It was hard to forgive and forget, especially
when she’d acted intentionally cruel for her own purposes.

Margo nodded. "That was definitely not part of the plan,
Chancellor."

Chancellor Collins glared at Cate. "You, my dear, are
more trouble than you're often worth." He shook his head and sighed,
realizing he couldn't ignore her behavior. "Maya, you will remind Cate
about respect. Cate, I'll decide your punishment for the month after this
meeting is over." He turned his attention back to Joshua and me. "From
here on out, we expect no lies from either of you. We understand the sensitive
nature of who you both are and respect that you had to lie to us to protect
yourself."

"I still don't trust you." I shook my head. "You
lied to me as much as I lied to you." It was a valid point.

Elsa sighed. "We couldn't very well allow you to leave.
You'd seen the town, and once we confiscated your vehicle we found the journal
right away. Our only choice was to make sure you were who we hoped and to test
your ability and eagerness to be one of us."

Hazel piped in, "Plus Sydney told us about the knife
wound on Joshua's foot and how you were attacked. The fact you both survived
out in the Gravelands on your own is a pretty big deal."

"I'm still not sure I want to be one of you," I
muttered, staring down at the old cracks of wood in the table. I knew we didn’t
have many other options.

Joshua spoke up. I wasn't sure if it was the truth serum or
not compelling him, but was there a difference? "I'm for it as long as you
promise two things."

The Chancellor nodded, "We're listening." Joshua
had their full attention.

Joshua stared at the Chancellor refusing to let his gaze
waver, "Promise to do no harm to Olivia or myself."

Maya laughed softly. "We've never intended any harm on either
of you." She glanced at Aidan and then again at Joshua. "I can assure
you, even when things seemed dire, they weren’t."

Joshua nodded slowly. He reached for my hand on the table
and gave it a squeeze. "The second request we have is if we choose to leave
at any time, you will let us go."

The Chancellor's smile faded. "I can promise that after
the war and the uprising, you may choose to live anywhere you wish. Until
then," he stared at us both seriously, "we need your help and you
need our protection." A part of me knew he was right. After what Haven had
wanted of me, I couldn't leave without pretending to be someone else wherever
we disappeared to. I also wasn't incredibly confident that another town would
willingly take in two strangers. Roaming the open Gravelands was a death
sentence. It was only a matter of time until another outlaw would find us on
the open roads. With no food or shelter, we'd be lucky to survive a few months.
The Chancellor's eyes landed once again on Joshua. "I promise we intend no
harm to either of you. We only ask that you allow us the chance to fix whatever
has caused our world to become infertile."

With a sideways glance at Joshua, I gave a faint nod.
"I'll do it." I was more than slightly nervous they wouldn't hold
true to their word. As it was, all these recruits were council members of this
town and had come from the five cities we knew nothing about. "The tests you
want me to undergo, will they hurt?"

Elsa smiled reassuringly. "We have a few scanners that
are completely painless. Joshua used one of them when we healed his foot."

I waited for Joshua to tell me the truth. I knew he'd never
lie to me.

Joshua turned towards me. "It didn't hurt but it's up
to you, Olive." As if we actually had a choice.

 I nodded, slowly letting out an anxious breath. I wanted to
believe her and I knew Joshua wouldn't lie. "I don't want to be a test
subject," I stared at them.

"You won't," Elsa assured me. "It's a series
of images, scans, maybe a little blood work. I assure you, Olivia, you are not
the guinea pig. We merely want to understand what makes you different."

I glanced from Elsa to Chancellor Collins. "What if I'm
not different?" Everyone was betting on me to be something special.

The Chancellor folded his hands together on the table.
"Then we've wasted nothing." He stared at me. "We have to
try." I knew he was right. If I had any chance of being unique and I could
conceive a child naturally, then I had to do something to help others.

"I have an idea," I heard Joshua's voice echo in
the room and I shifted in my seat, waiting for him to continue. "You want change,"
his eyes landed briefly on me. "The Governor's Ball is always in the spring.
I don't know what weekend it will be -- we'll need to know the date and time --
but if we can be ready by then, we can mount an attack."

I pinched the bridge of my nose, already hating the idea but
knowing there was no other option. "I'll go in as a house servant for
Governor Craynor," I ignored Joshua's glare, "with red hair and a few
other changes, I won't be recognizable, and can get the information."

Chancellor Collins met my stare, "I know someone that
can vouch for you. We can get you into Genesis without too much commotion."

Joshua glanced at me, "It's  risky. Send Margo or
Cate," he gestured towards the other recruits, "why can't
they
go?" He insisted.

"It has to be me, Josh," I reached towards him,
taking his hands in mine. "If I get caught, Governor Craynor won't hurt
me. You know that. Everyone here knows that." It was a reminder of what I
meant to the cause.

Joshua sighed. "What if you're wrong? He threw you in
jail, why couldn't he just kill you? It would take care of his problem."

"He won't do that," I was adamant. "Besides
there are other rebels within Genesis. I'll be okay." I assured him. I had
to be okay. I couldn't let myself consider any other alternative.

The Chancellor paused thinking the plan over, "We may
have to take out one of the servants so you can replace him."

"Take out, as in kill?" Joshua's eyes widened as
he shook his head vigorously. "Absolutely not! We're not murdering people.
That's not why I suggested this."

Jaxon sighed, listening to everyone's argument before
speaking up, "I'll go with Olivia. We don't have to kill the servant, just
keep him away from his duties for awhile." He countered, "then we
bring Olivia in as a replacement. You know the Jobs Commissioner, don't
you?" Jaxon glanced at the Chancellor.