Page 31 of The Order: Rise of the New Empire (Order #4)

Chapter thirty

Forest- Years Ago

T he lights blare.

The sirens shake my eardrums, jolting me awake from my semi-peaceful sleep.

Falling off my bed, I clutch my head, doing my best to focus on what the hell is happening around me.

Surrounded by mostly darkness, the only light in the space emits from the red warning lights flashing through the glass window to my space. Stumbling toward my door, I jiggle the lock, half expecting to feel the normal resistance I would at this hour.

Melanie never leaves my door unlocked past-

Feeling it open, the metal door slowly swings open, creaking as if it has not been used in years.

Taking a step forward, something warm and wet touches my sock.

The stench of iron clings to my nose.

Blood.

A hell of a lot of it.

Looking around for some indicator on where the source of the blood is, I meet nothing but dead ends.

For many years it has been quiet.

Day in and day out, refining my abilities, becoming something worthy of the cause Melanie is fighting for.

Worthy of taking down the Prophet.

Though mostly divided by the concrete wall, I hear Xavier in my mind, seeing him in the stolen moments we manage to slip outside, or whisper to one another in our minds.

Seeing the wreck before me now, Xavier is the only person I want to get to.

Trying not to slip on blood, I run toward Xavier's room door, slamming my fists on its metal surface.

"Xavier," I whisper, getting no resistance from his lock like I had mine.

"F-Forest?" he questions with uncertainty, his energy radiating from the other side of the door.

"Yes," I hiss, looking around for something to get this door open.

On the inside of the room, a noise plays at a low frequency 24/7, diluting out abilities, making it impossible to open the door from our side.

Out here, perhaps there is more that I can do.

"Xavier, step back," I hiss, warning him to stay clear of the doorway.

"Forest, what are you-"

Lowering my head, I focus on the hinges and locks of the door, curling my Hold around every part of the door I can, forcing as much energy into the action until-

Watching the door fly open, I narrowly avoid getting hit.

Looking at me from wide eyes on the other side, Xavier looks absolutely confused.

"Xavier," I sigh. "I don't know what the hell is going on-"

Stopping me before I can start, his arms wrap around me, his warm presence something I didn't realize I needed so badly right now. Keeping my head nestled in the crook of his neck, I take in his scent, letting the feeling of his energy surround me.

"What happened?" I whisper, keeping my voice down.

"I don't know," he sighs, looking around. "I didn't even hear a scream-"

"Hey!" a loud voice shouts, pulling us away from the moment together.

Turning on our heels, we both stare at the man dressed in black tactical gear, the image of his attire so vivid in my mind.

Taking a closer look, I finally put together where I have seen this uniform before.

Sanctum.

Sanctum's emblem.

Sanctum's clothing.

Just like the pictures Melanie had shown me growing up.

"An Official," I whisper.

Here he stands now, pointing the loaded weapon at us with no remorse.

"Get down on the fucking ground and keep your hands up!" he yells, dancing his finger around the trigger.

Taking shallow breaths, I lock hands with Xavier, watching his eyes lower with rage.

"Where's Melanie?" I question, looking the man up and down.

"The Prophet was not happy to know the night he had with her resulted in such a grand lab experiment. Who knew his seed would be used for such a wicked plan," he hisses, my Call burying itself into his mind.

Seeing the fleeting images of a silver mask, my mind grows hazy.

"We have nothing to do with why you're here,"

"Oh, yes, you do, boy," the man hisses, cutting off Xavier. "Or at least, she does," he snaps, looking me up and down. "She is the Prophet's daughter after all," he smiles, my heart sinking to the bottom of my chest.

"My father and mother are dead!" I yell, baring my teeth.

"Your mother, yes. That skanky lab junkie bitch took his seed and forced it into your mother. Your father, however, is very alive, and very angry-"

Yelling, Xavier lets go of my hand, Winnowing in front of the both of us, colliding his body with the Official, forcing the gun out of his hand.

Fighting with as much strength as he has, Xavier's body is no match for this grown man. Flinging him against the wall, the power the Official holds is far from human.

A Marked.

Watching Xavier hit the wall, the man scrambles for his gun, ready to put a bullet right in Xavier's head.

"You pesky fucking little shit-"

Winnowing before I can even think about my actions, I grab the man's hair, forcing him down to my level, allowing the feral drive to come over me.

Eyeing the veins of his neck, his energy calls to me, filling my mind with thoughts I can't control.

Thoughts Melanie worked so hard to suppress.

"What are you-"

"Don't touch my family."

Clamping down on the major artery in his neck, I bite so hard I see red from his jugular, thrashing away from the man's neck, tasting the rich iron of his blood fill my throat. Yanking his jugular free from his neck, the red spews across my gown and on the floor. Only letting go of him once I've had a good enough fix, his energy courses through me. My eyes gleam in the reflection of my room's glass window, mesmerizing me in ways I can't explain.

"Forest," Xavier gasps, jolting me away from my blank stare.

Grabbing the pistol from the floor, Xavier and I both eye it with confusion.

"Do you even know how to work that?" I question, wiping the blood from my mouth.

"Have you done that before?" he asks with caution, wiping some residual blood from off my lip.

"No," I admit with honesty. "Though, I've wanted to."

Giving me the slightest up turn of his mouth, he sighs.

"Glad it wasn't just me."

That's the odd thing about me and Xavier.

These past 12 years, we have watched each other age slowly, looking no more than 14, yet carrying minds far past what we are.

In that time, Melanie has become a mother.

Life outside of this lab has persisted.

Inside, all I have is Xavier.

"Did you hear what he said?" I question, watching the red light flash across Xavier's face.

"Did you hear what he said about my father?" I push.

"Whatever is going on," Xavier whispers. "The answers are past that door," he pushes, pointing toward the one door we were never allowed to open.

The way Xavier came from.

The way the Official came from.

The way out.

Nodding, I grab his hand, letting him lead the pursuit toward the outside world.

Nudging the door open, we both stop in our tracks, fearful of what lies before us.

Bound and gagged in a chair in the main waiting area, Melanie looks at us in absolute fear, her husband dead at her feet, a fresh bullet wound in the middle of his head. Standing in front of her, they wear a black cloak, numerous other Officials surrounding the woman.

"I'll ask once more," the figure says, their voice indistinguishable from a man or a woman. "Where is she? Where is the girl?" they question.

Holding a knife to her throat, they drag it across her skin, creating a small cut.

Eyeing me and Xavier, I don't need to read her mind to know what she wants.

She wants us to run.

Looking over at me, Xavier tenses his jaw, his lips landing on my forehead as he embraces me in a warm hug. Startled, I let the tender touch happen, startled once his mouth gravitates toward my ear.

"Stay hidden," he whispers.

"Xavier, what-"

Shoving me back behind the door, he slams it shut. Breaking the handle before I can stop him, I glare out the small glance window, watching him peer down the figure as the focus finally diverts his way.

"So, you did have another Marked in here," the figure laughs, looking Xavier up and down. "What's your name, boy?"

"Xavier Evermoore," he says, glaring at the figure. "Let her go."

Looking back at Melanie, the figure scoffs.

"Let her go?" they question, cutting her once more along her front with a small knife. "The very woman that locked you up and used you as a lab rat to keep her little experiment company?" they question, clutching the blade. "Oh, how you have brainwashed these children, Melanie."

"Xavier," Melanie gasps. "Get out of here-"

Winnowing, the figure stands before Xavier, clutching the sides of his head, holding with a tight grasp.

"Perhaps you know where my flower is?" they question, burying their call into the void of Xavier's mind.

Searching and prodding, my Call stays nestled in the back of Xavier's mind, clinging on in absolute fear.

"Hm, you have love for her," they whisper, my heart racing as Xavier's eyes roll into the back of his head. "More than love, you are willing to die for her," they hiss, prying their fingertips into the side of Xavier's head.

Ready to scream out and slam this door down, I hear a voice linger in the back of my mind.

"Run, Forest," Xavier whispers. "I will find you in this lifetime or the next. Please, live for the both of us-"

"Well, no need to hold onto those pesky memories of her," they hiss.

Feeling Xavier's Call leave my mind, any and all connection flooding between the both of us is severed. "I'm sure you have far better uses without the memory of her circling your mind."

Watching Xavier slump to the floor, Melanie screams. Feeling the fear circle my chest, I cannot think clearly.

"Now, to find her-"

"Hey!" a voice shouts from near our rooms, a group of Officials funneling into the space.

"I think we found her," one of them grins.

All Marked.

All coming in from a way out.

Looking back toward the door, the figure in the cloak has not noticed me yet, their focus too preoccupied on Xavier.

Locking eyes with Melanie, it's clear what she needs me to do.

What Xavier needed me to do.

Run.

Run for them.

Run to find a way to save them.

"Someone let them know-"

Cutting off the man before he can speak into his walkie, I grab his neck, slamming him to the ground, using my Hold to twist his neck in the opposite direction.

Backing away from me, the other men and women reach for their weapons, ready to scream out to their ruthless leader.

Feeling the pain and bloodlust come over me, it's clear what has to be done.

The only way any of the people I love are avenged starts by bringing down these people.

Bringing down the Marked.

"I'm taking the boy back to the compound, any sight of the girl?" the figure in the cloak questions through the walkies, all of them wary of answering.

"If any of you reach for it, you're dead," I whisper, waiting to see who is idiotic enough to test me right now.

Seeing one of the men attempt to reach for their walkie, it becomes clear what I have to do.

I have to kill them all.

Seeing red far before I have the time to think through my actions, I rip through jugulars left and right, taking in the energy from each of their veins, violently thrashing through the group until no one is able to stand on their own two feet. Watching the bodies hit the floor in lifeless, dead weight, I grab one of their weapons, staggering toward the door they came from, my energy at an all-time high.

Hearing the figure in the cloak yell through all of their walkies, the need to turn around and grab Xavier is suffocating.

You'll find him again.

You'll find Xavier again.

Moving forward, I listen to the pounding on the door, blocking out the fear encompassing my mind.

I have to keep moving for him.

I can't let that figure see me.

I have to find a way out.

Shoving past the metal door the group came from, the ash from the outside world touches my nose, nightfall concealing me the best it can.

Staggering forward, I carry on, letting all that has happened consume my mind.

I will make them all pay for what they have done.

I will make the Prophet pay for what they have done.

The people that came into my home and took the people I love were their pawns.

Perhaps the figure in the cloak was the Prophet Melanie had raised me to defeat.

Still, one thing is for sure.

There is no peace as long as they are alive.

There is no peace so long as Xavier is in danger.

I will find him again.

And when I do, we may not recognize one another.

Anything is better than how I feel now.

Downfall to Sanctum.

Long live the Marked.