Chapter Thirty-Six: Lexa

Chapter Thirty-six
~ Lexa ~
I was breathing hard. There was little to no room to go. A stranger was not welcome at the market and I was worse than a stranger. I was a traitor. A no good. A nobody. Nothing was worse than a girl stuck in a cage. But I had much to learn here in the city.
Despite how hard everyone tried to keep to themselves, they were all gossips. Harry was getting married this weekend to a girl his mother hated. The poor girl was as nervous as a cat in a thunderstorm. Then there was Jem who was cheating on his girl with Olivia. And the Harrison’s were in the middle of a nasty divorce. But beneath the shallowness there were secrets. And plans that no one was too keen on keeping a secret. But yet they were life changing. And they had to do with my people.
“Did you hear Lisa Harris’ daughter is now under investigation?”
“Wow, that's really young to be found with the sickness. She’s what? 3?”
“It’s disturbing.”
“Did you hear about the Carter’s son? They’ve been looking for him since he disappeared 8 years ago. They think they’ve found a lead.”
“That’s amazing. Did they ever find out what happened to Lindsey Coldwater?”
“No, her whole family went missing except her sister and now they’re investigating her sister.”
This was all useful, but yet there was far more important information to come. Something that would make me freeze in the middle of the chaotic market.
“Did you hear that the head of the Initiation’s daughter is sick? They plan on killing her in the morning along with all her friends and they want as many people to be a part of it as possible. To show our support for their mercy.”
My stomach dropped. S was in trouble. She was supposed to be with the guys, running everything.
“Oh, the poor man, to have a daughter like that, well that must be heartbreaking.”
I didn’t stick around to hear any more gossip. I had told myself I didn’t care a thousand times. But the pain of the situation was gnawing on my soul. As much as I didn’t want to be in charge anymore, it was in my soul to be a leader and I had let everyone around me down by leaving.
I maneuvered through the crowd carefully but quickly. I couldn’t risk being seen by anyone. I wrapped my scarf closer around my face. I could be a lot of things, but sneaky was what I was best at.
“Excuse me, Miss,” Someone bumped shoulders with me, knocking my scarf off just a little.
I fought the panic rising inside me. My red hair peaked out and was now sticking like a sore thumb. Very few people in this area had red hair.
“Miss?” The person next to me asked me again. “Are you alright?”
I had to think fast. I could run the risk that she had no idea who I was, but I was a traitor. I could start my revolution here, but based on what I had heard, these people we’re not ready yet. They still trusted their leaders. But they shouldn’t. Whatever my decision was going to be, it was dangerous, but it needed to be fast.
“No,” I responded finally. “Not really.”
The woman looked at me, she was older, maybe in her fifties. But she also was familiar. I wondered if she had known my mom when she was still alive.
The woman took my arm and held on as we went against the grain of the crowd. We moved quickly and quietly, but I wondered where she was leading me, and if it was going to be a problem. There were a number of security measures at the market, including police. And the last thing I wanted was a run in with the police, endangering everyone else here.
But we passed several, and she kept her grip firm on my arm.
We walked for a while, and again I began to wonder if this was a mistake, but eventually we approached a small cottage that had ivy creeping up the front of it, and a very homey feel. It was half made out of stone the rest of wooden panels painted a medium blue. It was the kind of house if I had allowed myself to dream, I would have dreamt of. It almost made me put my guard down. Almost.
She pulled a key out of her small bag and opened the door slowly. She then motioned me to stay quiet as she climbed onto her table and pulled down something small from the light fixture. She then began to talk to herself about the market but moved to place the small thing out in her garden. And when she returned, she answered my unasked questions.
“Sorry my dear,” She stated in a boisterous tone. “They bug everyone nowadays, and I didn’t think this conversation needed to be overheard.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “You’re Lexa, aren’t you?”
I didn’t expect her to know me personally. I figured she’d know I was a traitor by my 8-year-old self’s picture that I knew hung in City Hall. But not my name. I had always thought I was a lost child. One the world that I didn’t know anymore had forgotten about, but now I was unsure of everything.
“I knew it.” She continued. “You look so much like your mother. Her hair was more auburn of course, but your eyes mirror hers. They have the same fire and desire to help.”
“How did you know they bugged you?” I asked when I finally found my voice.
“Easy,” She replied. “They turned off the city’s electricity and they came to fix it. I have a generator though so I didn’t need it. My house runs on the generator only all the time, but they insisted they needed to fix it, and when they left, I noticed the light they had been working on had something left on it. I checked my friends' homes and low and behold they each had just a little chip left behind.”
I tried to muffle the sharp breath I took in because this was a highly dangerous situation, and I had no room for fear. But them bugging people was just the beginning of the other horrendous things that were about to occur.
“So why are you here, child?” She asked. “Traitors don’t just walk around the market. You must need something.”
I shrugged. I needed Grey. I needed him to tell me if I could trust her because I didn’t trust myself to make any more decisions. Too much was at stake.
“I needed information.” I responded simply.
To my surprise, she let out a small chuckle. “That was vague. I take it that the hiding of the sick didn’t stop when your mother died?”
I hesitated before blurting out. “No, of course not. That would have let my mother down. She would have given her life for nothing. And that’s not an option.”
“That’s a lot of pressure on a young girl. How old are you? 20? 22?”
“18.”
“My gosh, you are even younger than I thought. What information were you searching for?”
This time I didn’t answer. That was too imperative. Too dangerous.
“I know you think silence is the answer, but there must be a situation if you came to the city and of all the places, the market, the most crowded place in the entire city. I could have turned you in already if I wanted to. My children we’re both sick. Given to your mother to hide. To keep safe. Maybe you know them.”
There was hope in her eyes, and I felt my stomach twist as I recognized them. Ones that I had seen a thousand times, looking up at me and in charge. As kids we never asked the stories of how we got to where we were. It was an unspoken rule of the kids with no parents. But one was standing right in front of me.
“You’re Grey and Gracie’s mom.” I stated in disbelief.
She nodded, “Are they- are they still alive?”
I smiled slightly. “Yes, though I have to work fast. They’re in trouble. I heard so at the market.”
“Then what do you need from me?” She asked, trying to be brave.
I appreciated the effort.
“We’re not sick. We’re powerful. The Initiative wants to transfer our gifts to themselves to make themselves more powerful. They messed with mine and now I can see things and do things I couldn’t before. They keep people in cages. They’re hiding so much from the public. I was restrained to a chair and injected with god knows what. They took blood too. They might have succeeded. I’m not sure, I broke out. But now everyone is in danger. Maybe if the people knew the truth, they would be halted. If the people all spoke up, maybe it would be enough to stop them.”
I knew it was hopeful, and the chances of something like that working was slim, but we had to try. And she knew it too.
“You should go,” She stated, looking at her watch. “Curfew is soon, and that will make it harder to get out. Keep your scarf wrapped around your head and your face. And whatever you do, do not stop fighting.”
And with that I took off running, knowing that was her way of saying to protect her children. I was about halfway through the woods to our spot when I caught sight of something that shook me to the core. Running like hell to my left was S, and she looked like hell. But if she was running that fast, I should be too. And that’s when I realized she was being chased. The thought angered me to the core so with one sweep of my hand, I knocked them off their feet, hard, and one slammed into a tree. She looked over to my direction and smiled. She knew it, and I knew it, they picked the wrong people to mess with. And they were going to pay.