Page 27 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter twenty-six

Valerie

T he Underground is a spectacle.

One that makes New Haven look like the work of a child.

Bunkers turned into a refuge, the Underground is completely isolated from the outside world, large enough to house ten thousand people if need be.

Refined and crafted by some of the keenest Revolutionists and refugees, the Underground is meant to protect all who reside within its walls, carefully crafting and building up the tormented minds of the Marked within our walls.

The Underground is meant to be a safe haven.

A school for those minds willing to see the potential in their kind.

How I see it now, people like me and Aaron are the scholars, whereas Mason and Bekah are the informants, keeping order and structure in the lives of the youth, training them to see a side of their Marked abilities they thought not possible.

Only at one fourth capacity, the Underground is busy with life, people quickly settling into their schedules, Shifters roaming the grounds, children choosing to play with them as if they are small dogs.

Seeing life being breathed back into the creatures, it's all so overwhelming.

"Hey," Bekah smiles, wrapping her arms around me from behind, genuine hope touching her expression.

Watching the group of Marked cadets trailing after her disperse once she excuses them for lunch, they all nudge one another, giving Bekah a mix of tooth lined smiles and nods.

"What class are those ones?" I question, wrapping my arms around the woman's neck, giving her a brief peck.

"Cadets, I'm considering them first years given how little control they have on their abilities. Most of them were rescues from the compound," Bekah sighs, rolling up her sleeve, a healing cut working down the side of her arm. "It would seem they have little to no concept on how to hold a blade, let alone use their abilities," she sighs, the skin of her arm slowly healing.

Taking a look around, the cadets all grab their dining trays, some even welcoming over the Shifters, trying to dare the creatures to take a drink from their wrists.

"Adrenaline junkies," she sighs. "Knock it off!" Bekah yells, her voice rattling thew walls of the mess hall. "You," she hisses, pointing at the Shifter. "Either eat or go help with construction. I don't need them thinking your kind isn't willing to bite," she lectures, the shifter's head bowing with a nod.

Rolling their eyes at her, the cadets are filled with sarcasm.

"This is why I will never have kids," she sighs, running her hand over her face. "I've barely spent any time with them, yet they drain my very essence."

"No? Where have you been then?" I question, getting her to take a seat.

"Helping with construction. Mason is generally the one who takes on instructing the cadets. My hope was to have you and Aaron take on leadership roles, but it would seem all three of you have been best with our... Forest situation."

"Forest situation?" Aaron questions, brining over a tray of food, his eyes heavy from lack of sleep. "More like a full-blown fucking nightmare," Aaron sighs.

"And where is Kaiden Blackburn on this fine evening?" I question, the farthest thing from a smile touching his lips.

"At the cabin, wading through the waters like a psychopath. He refuses to leave that damn place. He thinks his sister will just show up like she did for Fallan," Aaron grovels, Bekah the first one to scoff.

"Not like Kaiden will ever find out where this place is," she snaps, both of our eyes averting her way.

"Don't look at me like I've spoken any lies. You both know he is easily compromised in light of his sister's situation. Just as much as Xavier is at this point-"

"Something is changing within Kaiden," Aaron sighs, his hand running through his hair. "He's different, distant."

"Everyone is changing," I sigh. "Everyone has to change if any of us want to make it out of this alive."

"A war is closer than all of you think," Bekah mutters, staring at her plate of food. "It's just a matter of who leads the charge on the other side. The Prophet?" she questions, jabbing at her food. "Forest?" she continues, pointing her fork at both of us. "Or Xavier-"

"Xavier wouldn't-"

Pausing, Aaron looks at the woman's raised brows.

"At least I think he wouldn't," Aaron sighs, doing his best to try and get a grasp on all of this.

"Stop fucking moping," Mason snaps, grabbing an apple from Bekah's tray, the older female cadets in the group giggling uncontrollably in the man's presence. "Speaking of the what if's only makes things worse," he whispers, being waved over by one of the other instructors at a nearby table.

"Get some food, Silas; you did well today," Mason urges, getting the young Marked cadet to join the others.

Silas has been trailing Mason like a shadow, attached to the hip with the man, taking as much knowledge from the man as he can.

Here, Mason is a leader, one meant to shape the damaged minds of the youthful Marked.

They look up to him, and, in return, they follow his every word.

"You are a real fucking peach today," Bekah snaps, glaring at Mason.

"Give me a reason to smile."

Nodding his head toward the man waving him over, Mason excuses himself from the table, ignoring all of our looks of question toward his shit attitude.

"What's his fucking deal?" I question, lacing my fingers with Bekah's, her head shaking with annoyance.

"The more I learn about Mason Veron, the farther I get from understanding him. He is one isolated mother fucker, that's for sure," Bekah gripes, all of us watching Mason speak to his mutual, his hand tugging up his shirt as he wipes away the sweat from his face.

Numerous tally mark scars work up his side, each one cut in a perfect straight line.

"What are those?" I question, nodding my head toward Mason, Bekah's eyes gravitating toward Masons mangled skin.

"Have you never seen his hash marks before?" she questions, as if I am foolish for not noticing them sooner.

"Clearly not," Aaron answers for me, smiling at the youngsters glancing his way from the cadet's table.

"They are tallies," Bekah whispers, lowering her voice to avoid the sharp ears of the Marked from picking up what she is saying. "For a little while, before he had turned Shifter, he was used as a puppet to war. The enemy side grabbed him, using him for.... their own torture. The tally marks are a roster on how many people had a go at him. Given the marks regenerative properties, the people that tortured him were careful, pulling out fingernails, stabbing nonvital organs. It took his team forever to recover him," she whispers. "Almost everything healed, but the scars, the scars were created with a metal. The same metal Mason was so eager to pull from the waters."

"You're telling me Mason is older than-"

"Forest and Xavier? Yes," Bekah whispers. "He's been around for a while and has a whole damn mind full of secrets."

Fidgeting with his fingers, Aaron breaks his silence.

"Why have we still not heard from Xavier? Or Fallan?" he questions, clearly worried about the pair.

"You said it yourself, the Prophet got a hold of them, and we have no way to know where Forest really stands. At this point we have thrown ourselves into a coin toss."

"And what are the odds?" I question, squeezing her hand a little tighter.

"Heads they bring her home," Bekah smiles.

"And tails?" Aaron questions, waiting for a response.

"We have to kill all three of them," Mason pipes up, taking a seat at the table

Growing silent, we all look away from him.

"Don't quiet down the conversation to spare me," Mason snaps, clearly aware of our intrusion on him. "You all want to help Xavier and Forest? Find a way to be useful down here," he hisses, hitting his hands on the top of the table as he walks away.

Staring at the man as he walks away, the position he holds in reference to Forest is clear.

"I had better go see Kaiden," Aaron whispers. "He was a wreck when I left."

Grabbing my cousin's hand, I look him up and down.

"You can't tell him anything about the Underground-"

"I know, Val," Aaron snaps. "I know what has to be done."

Saying nothing else, he moves away from the table, leaving the conversation in the dust behind him.

One thing is for sure.

I don't recognize anyone anymore.