The Outerlands - Sedition Read online

  T H E O U T E R L A N D S

  S E D I T I O N

  MONICA LAKE

  ALEIGH SCHUSTER

  Copyright © 2018 Monica Lake and Aleigh Schuster

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.

  Sedition by Monica Lake and Aleigh Schuster

  www.lakeschuster.com

  Edited by Nikki Rae at Metamorphosis Editing Service

  Cover Design by Robert Schuster

  Photograph by ID 51626270 © Sergey Khakimullin | Dreamstime.com

  Table of Contents

  T H E O U T E R L A N D S

  S E D I T I O N

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Epilogue

  A Note From The Authors

  ACKNLOWEDGEMENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Chapter One

  The warning siren blared as we reached the end of the wooded path near the town’s border. Rain pelted down around us, soaking through my clothes and making every step that much more jarring.

  “Hurry up,” my brother Keegan shouted, reaching back for my hand when I struggled to keep up. For the last ten minutes, we’d been following Jarvis, the guard assigned to escort us to the safety of the bunker on the other side of the lake. His orders had come directly from the leader of our sector, a.k.a. my father, so I knew something was wrong the moment he showed up to collect us without any further explanation.

  A few more paces through thorny underbrush and the marker for the next trail came into view. It was an old dilapidated shed which sat near an overlook of the town’s center in the valley ahead. Jarvis mumbled something about wanting to make sure the evacuation plan was in effect before detouring toward the cliff’s ledge. Keegan and I followed but skidded to a stop when we caught sight of the chaos below.

  Men in gray uniforms, red government insignias on their left arm bands, surrounded most of the buildings. I recognized them as the government’s military forces—the self-declared enemy of the Gunari; my people—and they were everywhere.

  “What are they doing?” I asked, looking between Jarvis and my brother. At this point Keegan probably knew more about what was taking place than our guard. He was a soldier on indefinite leave from the Gunari military, but still had sources that fed him most of the new Intel for our area. Plus, there were conversations between him and Father that I was never allowed to listen in on.

  When neither answered, I raised my voice. “Keegan.” His head swung my way. “What are they d—?” At his wild eyes, I swallowed the rest of my words and turned back to watch.

  Hundreds of foot soldiers ran across the field opposite the fence line at the edge of the town’s limits. The fence itself was torn down on one side. The metal entry gate near the guard post- the one I thought I’d never see fall-was bent at an awkward angle and hanging by a single hinge. About fifty soldiers broke off from the main group. They received some command from a man dressed in all black and moved quickly to the dirt road in the direction of our town. Their orders became evident once they started shooting anyone within sight.

  “No!” I managed to cry out before a warm hand covered my mouth. Looking up to Keegan’s resigned face, I searched for answers, but he only shook his head.

  In a matter of seconds, the remaining soldiers cleared the field, and I cautiously turned back to take in the damage. Most of the larger buildings were still intact, but several barns and our community storage repository had been set on fire. People lay scattered on the ground between the buildings; blood mixed with rainwater collected in pools around their bodies. Some of the dead wore blue uniforms, which marked them as part of our guard. Others were neighbors, shop owners and workers from the community farm.

  Tears welled in my eyes, overflowing down my cheeks. Our father had gone to a meeting at the town hall this morning and all I could think about was running through this mayhem to find him and make sure he was safe. Panic-stricken, I looked for my brother, who had moved next to Jarvis. I stumbled over to them for a better view but it was hard to see through all the rain, which had done nothing to put out any of the rising fires below.

  “They’re going to destroy the entire town,” Keegan whispered, sharing a look with Jarvis who now stood to my right, “just like Sector One.” The expression on Keegan’s face made my heart skip a beat.

  “Father…” I all but whimpered. “We have to go down there, Keegan. We have to find him.”

  My brother ran his hands through his dark hair, tugging before letting go. “I’ll go find Father. But I need you to stay with Jarvis and get to the bunker.”

  Keegan turned toward Jarvis, who had positioned himself on the lowest part of the cliff’s edge. A knowing look passed between them and Jarvis shook his head.

  I started to argue, but Keegan held up a hand. “No, Henley. There’s no way you’re coming down there with me and I’m definitely not sending you out alone unprotected.” Then he paused, bending over to pull a few things out of his bag. He placed one of the objects-a large medallion-in my palm and carefully wrapped my fingers around it. “If you want to help, take this to the bunker and wait for me there.”

  “Is that…?”

  “It’s not Father’s,” Keegan reassured me. “This belonged to Councilman Braden, from Sector One.” He sighed and glanced at Jarvis, expression tormented. “One of his messengers showed up to the council meeting this morning, badly hurt. He said they were attacked and when Mr. Braden knew no one there would make it out alive, he ordered for it to be brought here, along with this.” He held the other object out, a thick black leather bound book. “Jarvis’ orders were to help me get you to the bunker and also pass this to me for safe keeping. Now I’m giving it to you.”

  “What? Wait, that’s the Braden family book, isn’t it?” I asked, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach that Sector One and ours had both been attacked on the same day.

  Keegan nodded and I closed my eyes. “Look at me,” he said. “This is important.” His green eyes narrowed sharply when I finally stared back at him. “If I don’t make it to the bunker by nightfall, you get these to Councilman Jonas Montgomery. His compound is located in the northern section of Sector Three. He’ll know what to do with them and he won’t let them fall into the wrong hands.” He handed the book to Jarvis, who unzipped my backpack strapped ove
r my shoulder and shoved the book inside.

  “But…” I returned my attention to Keegan. “Shouldn’t you keep them for when you go find Father? Wouldn’t they be safer with him?”

  “Henley,” he snapped, jaw tense. “We don’t have time for this. Look at it down there. Will you please stop asking questions and just listen to me for once in your life?”

  Keegan’s hands trembled and his brow was creased with concern. His outburst stunned me. He was usually so composed no matter the danger. I shook my head, trying to clear it, and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

  With that, my brother’s eyes softened. He brought his hands down to cup my cheeks and then slowly pressed his fingers to my temples; it was something he’d done for as long as I could remember whenever I got too anxious or upset. The familiar calm rushed over me with his gentle touch and he stared into my eyes, silently giving me his strength. A moment later, he retrieved the medallion from my hand and lifted my hair, carefully placing the chain around my neck.

  “The soldiers are focused on the town right now,” he said. “So take the long way to the bunker.” He turned briefly to Jarvis, who pointed to the far side of the hill before returning to watch the fighting down below. “I’ll cover you guys through that clearing. Once you’re in the woods, you’ll be relatively hidden. Jarvis will protect you. Still, you need to be cautious until you’re locked inside the shelter. Take the guard’s training path as far as you can.”

  Tears streamed down my face. I felt guilty Jarvis was going with me and leaving Keegan.

  Keegan grabbed my arms in a death grip, forcing me from my thoughts. Touching his forehead to mine, he asked, “Do you remember the secret code Father taught you last year to send over the link in case of an emergency?”

  “Of course,” I whispered.

  “Good. Once you guys are inside, you wait for Jarvis to make sure no one is around to intercept it, and then you send out that code over the com-link to all the sector heads. They’ll know it’s from someone in our family.” He released his hold on me.

  “Be careful, Keegan. I won’t be able to take it if anything happens to you,” I pleaded as he hugged me one last time. “And bring Father back if you can. Don’t let him go with his advisors. Make him come with us instead.” He nodded in solemn understanding before he turned me around, pushing me toward the clearing. When Jarvis hurried to my side, I lifted my hand to my brother, palm out, and walked backwards to the trees.

  “Don’t worry,” Keegan called out when we hit the edge of the clearing. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  * * *

  Jarvis and I made our way through the forest to the shallow part of the lake positioned between us and the hill that housed the bunker. Large boulders and broken rocks jutted out of the water, extending from north to south. Dense moss covered the large rocks that lay in the shadowed areas and were known to be dangerously slick.

  Repositioning my backpack, I took a steadying breath and faced Jarvis. “I’m pretty familiar with this. Should we go across together?”

  Jarvis frowned as he tied his shoulder-length brown hair back with a leather band. “It’s been a long time since I stumbled across these boulders, but I think I can manage.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Well, since I’m already up here…,” I took off without waiting for his reply.

  My feet hit the first rock and then I leaped to the second as I heard Jarvis curse behind me. Six or seven more jumps and I landed on the large boulder that signaled the center point of the lake. I glanced over my shoulder to Jarvis, who’d fallen three rocks behind and had his arms stretched out like he was trying to walk a tightrope.

  “I’m good,” he said, motioning with an unsteady hand for me to keep going.

  I started to give him a thumbs-up but an explosion sounded off in the distance. The reverberating blast lingered until a dark cloud of smoke rose up in the sky directly above town.

  I opened my mouth to scream but instead crippled when a sharp pain radiated deep within my back. Intense heat consumed my body, quickly replaced by painful jagged icicles shooting up my back and out my arms. It was excruciating; bowing my back and making my arms flail of their own accord. My body thrust forward and I reached up to the sky as something like lightening flew from my fingertips up toward the billows of smoke. Whatever was happening to me was so powerful I was thrown backwards off the rock, plunging headfirst into the freezing lake.

  Chapter Two

  The night sky is ablaze with brilliant white lightning. I stand on a lone cliff overlooking what appears to be the government’s stronghold: Industrial City. The earth quakes beneath my feet and I start to fall, but strong arms envelop me, drawing me back to sturdier ground. I lean into this new warmth as a familiar voice whispers in my ear, “Don’t you know by now? You’re mine…. I’ll always keep you safe.” Stunned, I whip around—the need to see his face is too powerful to resist. Before I can make out any of his features, he releases me and retreats to the shadows. I focus on the darkness, searching for any trace of movement, but the sky opens up and rain blinds any view I might have had. All the warmth he’d given me is gone.

  Disoriented, I tried to get my bearings. My body felt physically drained; so much so that it took every ounce of strength to bend my fingers. I couldn’t breathe, and my lungs felt heavy. Forcing myself to relax, my body started to drift with the slight current. The current?

  Something grabbed me from behind, wrapping around my torso as it pulled me towards the light. I broke the water’s surface and gasped, sucking in several shallow breaths. Arms squeezed tight around my middle and liquid sputtered out of my mouth. I coughed and cleared my throat, finally able to breathe again.

  “Henley, you scared the hell out of me. Are you all right?” Jarvis asked, taking my backpack and securing it around his neck.

  “Not sure,” I wheezed, still feeling a slight burn in my chest.

  “All right, well let me get us to the bank so I can check you out.”

  With one arm still wrapped around me, Jarvis paddled us to shore. The current was strong here because of the waterfall, so I used what little strength I had left and kicked my legs in an effort to help.

  “Grab ahold, Henley.”

  I looked up to a set of flat rocks jutting out over the lake. When we were kids, we used to dive off them. As I held on to the ledge, Jarvis hauled himself up to the surface and pulled me with him. Once on solid ground, we both lay back, exhausted.

  A thousand things ran through my mind as my breathing returned to normal. A dull pain ran from my lower back all the way up my spine. My arms felt weighed down, so heavy I could hardly raise them, and the tips of my fingers tingled.

  “I…uh…think I was struck by lightning.”

  Jarvis wore a strange expression.

  “What?” I asked, sitting up. “Why are you looking at me like that?” I frantically rubbed my hands over my head. “Did my hair catch fire? Do I have scorch marks all over or something?”

  Jarvis sat up and grabbed my hands. “Henley, honey, you weren’t struck by lightning. Whatever that was, it came out of you.”

  I gaped at him. “Are you insane?” Did he not see what happened out there?

  “I think…” he said slowly, “it could be…your abilities coming in.”

  I felt my forehead crease and my nose scrunch. “Really? Huh,” I replied, a bit dazed and a lot confused. I’d never heard producing lightning was a Gunari ability. Plus, they were usually described as blissful or energizing, not painful. And this had been really, really painful.

  “Look, are you gonna be all right?” he asked, distracting me from my thoughts. “Do you need me to carry you? Because we really need to get out of here.”

  As his words sunk in, I jerked my head up to the thick mushroom-shaped cloud rising over the town. The explosion!

  I stood abruptly, pulling Jarvis with me. “You’re right. We have to go back.” I was already turning toward town.

  “Whoa, wait a minute,” Jarv
is said, tugging on my elbow. “The only place you’re going is to the bunker.” At my incredulous expression, he added, “I’m sorry, Henley, but nothing’s changed. I’ve still got my orders to deliver you safely, and that’s exactly what I intend to do.”

  “But that’ll take too long. Please, Jarvis!”

  “Absolutely not.” He scanned the area around us before his eyes came back to meet mine. “You know Keegan would kill me if anything happened to you. And that would be a blessing compared to what your father will do to me for disobeying a direct order regarding his only daughter’s safety.”

  I flinched because, well, he was right of course. My father’s brutal punishments for crossing him were known far and wide. The memory of a pile of the dissevered bones from my mother’s killer flashed through my head. While that was well deserved, the constant screaming for the days it took him to die remained fresh. Still, my family needed help. I could feel it.

  “Okay…you make a good point,” I placated. “And I understand your dilemma. But please understand mine. My father and brother are in the middle of all that, Jarvis. I can’t just run to safety while I know they’re out there fighting for their lives with no one going back to help them. So please, you go find them and bring them back to me.”

  He just stood there with his hands on his hip, all six –foot four of muscles, glaring at me with sharp green eyes. “Not until I get you to the bunker.”

  “I can get myself to the bunker!” I screamed. He stared back, suddenly looking conflicted; I plowed on. “I promise I can do this on my own. Really. It’s the hill just beyond that one.” My hands flew to point out the spot not fifty feet away. “Please, Jarvis. I would never forgive myself if anything happened to Keegan or my father because of me.”

  He blew out a long breath, hesitating, but when he reached out to hug me, I knew I had won. “Promise to lock up as soon as you get inside,” he said. “And stay put. There are enough supplies to last…well, to last for a long time. So don’t go outside for any reason until we come for you. And do not use the com-link unless the soldiers have gone. They can track your location through it.”