Part 1 - Rebellion

The first rule of Ravenrock: Don’t give soldiers a reason to follow you.

And I don’t mean following you back to your place for a nice dinner, maybe cuddling up together while whispering secrets.

No, I mean guns out, barking orders, waiting for the command to either cuff you or kill you.

And when you’re like us, they’re always following you.

Stars sparked behind my eyes as I was pushed against the wall. Hands patting me down, slipping every knife out of their sheath and throwing them to the ground. 

A cold pair of handcuffs were slapped on my wrist, biting into my wrists enough for my fingers to go numb.

One fisted their hand in my curls, pulling me up to their level, my toes barely on the ground, tears pricking the corners of my eyes.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for you, Kane. Wait till Thornblade find out who got caught in our net.” He sneered, smirk growing wider when he heard my breath hitch. I instantly recognized his voice. One of the older recruits who thought he was so smart.

I ignored how my heart picked up at the thought that he knew my name. Remembered my name.

Oh, he had no idea what was waiting for him.

I spit in his face, slamming my knee into his stomach, making him drop me to the ground.

I wish I could say I landed gracefully and with my pride intact and not—in fact—in a pile on the cracked cement.

Other soldiers cursed, hauling me back up fast enough to give me whiplash and escorted me to the van. 

I hated these things.

Loved the next part though.

A targeted spiral of wind knocked a soldier down to my left, giving me enough room to shove the one behind me with my body weight so his head clicked on the ground, eyes closing.

I cackled, kicking another guard away with a grunt, stumbling at the motion but quickly recovering.

I watched as my pretty-much-sister fought two guards at once. One with her abilities, the other with her fists, before making my escape, dodging arms and making a run for it.

Looking back, I watched the chaos as she let the last guard fall to the ground before turning to glare at me. My grin fell and I turned back around to see two other people who were clearly considering leaving me here.

“What were you thinking, being bait to them like that?” Declan snapped, boots echoing in the room as he paced faster than my eyes could keep up. My head was still spinning and I was pretty sure that soldier had pulled a chunk of my hair out, but I forced my grin anyways.

“For the record.” I swung my legs lazily on the medical table while Max assessed me with a very obsessive and thorough process. “I was making sure your asses didn’t get shot.”

“By being a distraction that could’ve gotten you killed if they didn’t see your fire?” Skylar jumped in, her curls now in a long ponytail down her back. 

Smirking, I flicked my eyes between the two of them. “I’m not hearing a ‘Thank you, Ronan.’ ‘We love you, Ronan.’ ‘We wish you would just be our leader forever, Ronan.’” I said in my highest faux innocent voice.

Skylar walked over and smacking me upside the head just enough for me to feel it

I guess I should mention that it was out of love, as I watched her hide the smile on her face, winking at her in return.

See, we were Eternal Holders. The Eternals, who are basically gods of different elements, chose the best people they could to balance the world after the apocalypse. 

And somehow I was picked. Landing my ass in a million situations I never wanted.

“Don’t concuss him more.” Max chided with enough exhaustion I forgot we were the same age and he wasn’t five years older. He finally got the handcuffs off me, blood rushing to my hands in a rush that made my head fall back against the wall.

“I can’t handle you while your brain is mush. Max when will he be fixed?” Declan asked sarcastically.

Max looked me up and down before grabbing a light from his pocket and shining it in my eyes. I swatted him away with a groan before he held my wrist down gently and kept looking before finally clicking the light away, purple spots dancing in my vision.

“I can heal wounds. Concussions to a brain like his—“

“Hey!”

“—Not as much.” He concluded.

Skylar sighed dramatically, slumping into a chair. “You’re telling me there’s nothing you can do?”

“Besides sedating him?”

Declan sighed. “It’s not worth using the ketamine rations.”

Max nodded, his curls bouncing, and he gently eased me off the table and walked me to the nearby cot. My vision swimming so much I couldn’t take a step without losing my balance.

“Getting so touchy, Doc.” I smirked, watching as Max helped me lay back even when I didn’t feel like it.

Max rolled his eyes fondly, a smile on his face. 

“I’ll talk to you when you are capable of holding conversation, Firecracker.” 

“Aw, you do love me.”

Max scoffed. “Shut up before I sedate you with a rock.”

I held my hands up in surrender and let my head fall back against the cot. Sitting still wasn’t my greatest skill so this would be interesting.

~

I ended up sleeping for hours because when I woke up the sun was high in the sky, shining from the skylight directly into my eyes. I groaned, pulling my forearm across my eyes, rolling over on the bed.

Except it wasn’t a bed. It was a cot just big enough for one medium-sized person.

So I rolled right onto the concrete floor.

I let out a weak laugh and stayed there, stomach on the ground, head pounding and world tilting like someone had been spinning me around in circles. Thinking, maybe if I stayed still long enough, I could just die in peace.

“Nana fell again!” I heard a small voice yell, the sound ringing in my ears and reminding me that there is—in fact—a world outside of my head.

Footsteps ran across the echoey warehouse to my aid, helping me back into the cot with a gentleness I don’t usually get.

When I finally opened my eyes, I saw Max and Skylar looking over me with concern and care.

Weird.

“You don’t gotta look at me like I’m dying.” I slurred slightly, shoving their hands off me.

They exchanged looks before sitting back so they weren’t crowding me.

Then a head of long brown hair popped up behind Max. Wide eyes curious and concerned.

“You okay?” Tessa asked. 

I nodded, reaching out and ruffing her hair before my hand fell back against the cot again.

“Never better, kiddo.” I smiled. “What’d you do this morning?”

Tessa smiled at me, clutching her bunny stuffed animal—that had seen better days—tight to her chest. “Not much yet, but Declan said he can help me learn more about my abilities after he gets back from the market.”

My eyes widened and I grinned bigger at her. “That’s great! See? You’ll be fighting monsters in no time.”

Tessa giggled, running back to the table where it seemed like colored pencils and half dried markers were spread all across it.

Believe it or not, she was the most powerful one in the room.

The power of Fate was no joke.

“You really need to rest, Ro. Declan’ll kill me if you’re awake when he gets home.” Max told me, handing me a bottle of water.

“Correction. Declan will kill me. He would never threaten you.” I winked, sitting up just enough to take a sip.

“Sure, sure.” Max sighed. Skylar eyed both of us before walking off with a smirk on her face. 

The two of us sat in silence for a bit. The pounding in my head faded to a dull ache, and I could sit up for a minute without feeling like I was going to land right back on the floor.

“You need anything?” Max asked eventually, standing up and looking back at me through the waves of his blond hair.

I thought for a moment, then knew what.

“Could you grab me my Walkman?”