Page 9 of Dissent (The Dissenter Saga #1)

T he day was awful . I felt like a caged bird, meeting nothing but unrelenting metal bars, and wanting nothing but the openness of clear skies.

I did my best to avoid Belinda. She was in a foul mood, more than usual, and restless.

She paced the halls all day, looking for someone to step out of line so that she could have them reeducated .

I spent some time in our library, but there wasn’t much to do there…

just stare at the trinkets on the shelves, admire the giant fireplace flanked by stone lion statues, or gaze upon the jeweled chandelier that twinkled as it caught the light.

I asked someone once why libraries were filled with shelves, littered with odds and ends.

Apparently, books were made of paper, and shelves were intended for the books.

But it hadn’t been that way for quite some time.

Everything was digital nowadays. Sure, paper was still used, but not for books anymore.

Libraries now served as mini family museums. Walk into a library and you might see urns containing the cremated remains of ancestors, prized antiques, or digital frames displaying pictures of the family.

Whenever I looked at the shelves in our library, I spent most of my time looking at the pictures.

And my favorite was of my dad’s late brother, Luis de la Puente, Tía Serena, and my cousin Javier.

Jacob and I grew up with Javi, spending summers playing in the park and holidays playing hide-and-seek in the Presidential Palace. He was my absolute favorite cousin…until he died.

Jacob and Javier attended the academy together, and they were both initiated at the same time.

Jacob was assigned to REG Command, whereas Javier was stationed at a reeducation camp beyond the wall.

There had been a failure with the security system causing hundreds of rebels to get out, a riot, and a subsequent lockdown.

Javier never made it out.

He was too young to die. Only eighteen when he lost his life, and it broke Raúl.

He had already lost his brother in the last civil war, but to lose his nephew…

it destroyed him. After that, Raúl cracked down even harder on Dissenter activity, and things had been escalating ever since. That was two years ago.

There were other photos in our library—pictures of Raúl and Belinda, pictures of Belinda with Jacob, photos of the three of them together, pictures of Jacob growing up throughout the years.

And there were several urns containing different family members, including my Tío Luis and Tía Serena.

But for all the pictures of family, there wasn’t a single photo of me… not one.

Why keep me? I just didn’t get it. It was a question I had asked myself for years, and I never understood it.

Why take me in and keep me if they didn’t want me?

It was obvious they didn’t love me. The thoughts constricted my lungs as my breath caught in my throat.

I knew the answer, but I just didn’t understand it.

I knew Raúl was unfaithful, and I knew I was the product of that moment.

And I knew that my mother didn’t want me either, leaving me with him.

But I just didn’t understand why he agreed to take me.

That part made no sense to me, and I was sure it never would.

Sometimes, I longed for my mother. I would wish that she hadn’t left me here. Then, there were other times when I hated her so much. If she didn’t want me then why should I want her ?

Late at night, especially after a rough day with Belinda, I would think about her.

I wondered who she was, what she looked like, and if I was anything like her.

I was nothing like the de la Puentes. With the exception of my eyes, I looked nothing like Raúl.

I had his same big, deep brown eyes. But the rest of me looked like…

well, I assumed like my mother. Long, rich mahogany colored hair with coppery tones, long black lashes, pink lips set like Cupid’s bow, small nose, and a small pointed chin.

I was petite, with everything about me being small to match.

Jacob always said I reminded him of a whiny anime character, which I hugely resented and almost punched him the first time he made the comparison.

In all truth, it kind of made sense why Belinda hated me so much.

I was a constant living, breathing reminder that Raúl screwed up.

That he couldn’t be faithful to her. That he had a night wrapped in the arms of another woman.

And not just any woman…a Subclass woman!

I smirked at the thought. That must have really pissed Belinda off.

I mean, if you were going to cheat, at least do it with someone worth cheating with, right ?

My shoulders slumped as I stepped back from the shelves, taking a seat in one of the plushy armchairs.

Feeling heavy, I glanced out the window, noticing the darkening skies, the last rays of sun weakly trickling in.

The fireplace would kick on any minute. It was automatic, set to come to life at sunset.

As darkness slowly closed in around me, the flatscreen sitting above the fireplace flickered on.

I yelped, jumping in my chair. The Telvian crest displayed on the screen, a shield with a prominent T in the middle, held up by two lions on either side.

There must be a broadcast about to start.

Every screen in Telvia automatically turned on and tuned in whenever there was a Council broadcast.

My mini-tab binged and my heart skipped as I lifted my wrist. It was about time that Chase messaged me. I was starting to worry about him. It was incredibly odd for him to ignore me all day, let alone two .

Telvian Council: A broadcast will begin shortly. Please report to the nearest screen for mandatory viewing. We appreciate your cooperation.

My heart sank as a heavy sigh escaped me.

I flopped back into my chair. I hope he wasn’t mad at me.

My pulse quickened… What if he had been called in by the REG to be interviewed?

I shuddered, shoving the concern down. He stepped in to defend me.

The REG wouldn’t punish him for that. It meant, however, that I was going to hear it later from my dad.

I lifted my hand and began chewing on my nails.

Damn. Why the hell did I do that? I knew I was going to kick myself later for getting involved with that stupid kid.

My jaw twinged from the pressure of clenching it.

I opened my mouth and stretched it out, moving it around in circles to ease the pain. My tab binged again.

Telvian Council: A broadcast is about to begin. Report to the nearest screen for mandatory viewing. We appreciate your cooperation.

I flicked the message away. Blowing out another breath, I shifted my attention from Chase to the broadcast, trying to be curious about what the Council was going to talk about.

Probably the rebel attack, I bet. That was big news…

unprecedented, really. Raúl definitely had to address it or risk people going wild with speculation.

The screen glowed and switched to Raúl wearing his best suit and tie.

I recognized the intricately carved desk as the president’s desk in the main Administration building.

It was in the center of the city with all the Council offices.

There was tension in his brow, but other than that, he was composed, sitting upright with hands folded neatly on the desk.

He breathed evenly for a few seconds, looking straight into the camera, and then began.

“Good evening, Telvian citizens. It is with great disappointment that I must report an attack that occurred against the Council early this morning by rebel forces. The attack involved the attempted theft and corruption of several Telvian files and computer systems. Despite the Dissenters’ attempts, their mission was unsuccessful, and the integrity of the Council’s systems remain intact and fully operational. ”

Raúl paused, almost as though he wanted to make sure every citizen processed what he just said. Good for Jacob. He was so worried this morning about the systems being offline, and in the end, IT was able to make repairs before the day’s end. Jacob would be in a better mood tonight, thank god!

“Through the efforts of the Rebel Enforcement Group and the brilliant work of one of the REG’s newest members, Jacob de la Puente, we have successfully identified and apprehended all involved rebels responsible for the attack.

Telvia will rest easy tonight.” He smiled, showing his citizens his confidence and reassurance that they had solved the problem before he continued.

There was a dazzle in his eyes, a glimmer I had never noticed before.

A chill crawled up my spine, and I shivered.

And then it hit me…I knew where I’d seen that look before.

It was the same devilish gleam Belinda gave me whenever she banished me to the basement.

I felt myself press hard against the back of my chair, my face turning away from the screen.

My body was reacting, wanting to flee. I shook myself, trying to snap out of it.

This wasn’t Belinda. No one was even here with me, but the way Raúl stared into the camera gave me the illusion that he was looking right at me, boring into my very soul.

“Tomorrow, every Telvian citizen is to report to the arena for a mandatory assembly. We will discuss needed safety measures and precautions to address the increasing threat of those who wish to destroy everything we have worked so hard to attain. We must put these Dissenters to an end. The wall must continue to stand. The Council must continue to protect and guide every citizen, so that we might all continue to live in an ordered environment. An environment where there is sufficient food and water for all, and safety from those beyond our wall who wish to pillage and plunder our great city, that want nothing more than to destroy every one of you.” He paused again, placing a hand over his heart.

“As your president, it is my mission to protect you all, from the Noble Class to the citizens of District 3. But in order to accomplish that mission, I will need the cooperation of every citizen. Instructions will be sent to your mini-tab for tomorrow’s assembly.

The Council will provide more information at that time.

” A full smile returned to his face. “With that, I wish all Telvian citizens a good night. Sleep easy knowing that your government will protect you.” The screen flickered and then went dark.

The glow of the fire in the hearth was the only thing that lit the room.

Darkness had come, encircling everything in the library, threatening to swallow me whole.

But the flickering light of the flames pushed back the shadows against the darkness.

My attention shifted to the light as my eyes focused on the dancing tendrils of fire.

Bing! Bing!

My tab sang on my wrist.

Telvian Council: Thank you for your participation in tonight’s mandatory broadcast. All Telvian citizens are to report to the arena tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Upon your arrival, we will confirm your identity via a retinal scan.

Follow all instructions provided by Enforcement Officers and the REG.

Report to your assigned entrance of the arena, as stated below, for scanning:

Noble Class- Report to the North side entrance

Middle Class- Report to the East side entrance

Subclass- Report to the South side entrance

The Council reminds you that this assembly is mandatory for all Telvian citizens. Failure to report to the assembly will be considered an offense against the Council and subject to consequences determined by the REG. The Council thanks you for your cooperation.

Well that’s interesting. I reread the message.

Something felt amiss. The Council rarely called mandatory assemblies.

Usually they just had mandatory broadcasts, but the assemblies were rare.

But I guess it made sense given the attack on the admin building, though I had never seen them crack down so hard on attendance.

Consequences determined by the REG ? That seemed harsh.

I shook my head, trying to disperse the confusion as my hand found my necklace.

I would have to bug Jacob later for the details.

Something else was going on, and I wanted in on the gossip.

I blew out a breath and gazed back at the fire, almost out.

The dark completely consumed me. The weak light left from the single flame still flickered as it enjoyed its last dance before being smothered by the blackness.

Hairs on the back of my neck rose. Quickly, I stood and hustled out of the room before the light gave out and shadows consumed me.