- Chapter 14 -
Anna Starts a Chain of Events
"So you never did tell me why you chose the Agency" Anna said.
They were in Babylon Lake yet somehow they avoided the entire point of going to the lake. You could barely qualify their padding around as swimming. Martin and Anna were unable to stop chatting.
" My older brother didn't hesitate when they asked him so I didn't either" Martin answered, matter-of-factly. He could hide his emotions in the mid afternoon sun; his brow was low and his eyes squinted into slits. The events that unfolded several years ago still pained him.
He had never opened up about how he felt that day to anyone in the Agency. None of his closest friends in there would compare to a friend on the outside. They were all robots, formed and molded into a soldier that would serve but one purpose; obey the Boss. Martin was considered a rebel of sorts as he often arrived after curfew, skipped meals, and would start fights with some of the other trainees.
Anna was different. Martin sensed a more human side to her, as if she hadn't let them infiltrate her mind just as he did. She had an amazing aura around her; a light purple glow when the sun lit her just right.
"Do you wonder what happened to your younger siblings?" Anna asked, slicking back her wet blonde hair, water dripping from the ends onto her shoulder. She caught Martin looking at her and it genuinely made her smile.
"Sometimes," he didn't really want to discuss that part of his past. Leaving them behind tore him apart. "I barely remember them" Martin continued.
"I know how you feel. I lost my little sister too. Similar story to yours," Anna said, " Parents fought secretly for the Agency for years. They never hid it from me; they encouraged me to do the same." She sighed, and Martin could feel her pain. Her pain of having to fight, of having to deal, to cope. Children aren't suppose to deal and cope.
"Where did you go afterwards? I mean, where were you before you came here?" Martin asked, soaking his dark shaggy hair in the lake.
"I did a lot of different training camps around Jerusalem. I don't really fit in" She added, with no remorse. She looked uncomfortble with the subject at hand.
Martin agreed. He had switched camps twice already but it didn't help. He didn't feel like he belonged here. It felt like a sentence more then an opportunity. If anyone would here them talking like this, they would most likely be sentenced to prison for treason to the Agency.
The sun was about to set and a sudden chill accompanied the wind. Martin suggested they get out of the lake and take a walk through the woods and back towards the training grounds.
"Sure, it is getting chilly" Anna said, following Martin out of the lake.
They dried off quickly and slipped into their trainee suits; a grey tracksuit with blue stripes running vertically up the sides. They had their names stitched in the front and the back. Christ and Simeon.
"I have a question for you, I mean, since you're so blunt about disliking the Agency." Martin hesitated. He wanted to be careful not to be overheard. He whispered: "Why do you think Jerusalem is unaware of the Sicarii if they're such a big threat?"
Anna stopped walking, confusion splattered across her face. "That's your secret question?" She looked at him funny, then brushed her fair hair behind her pointy ears. Martin had just noticed how very different she looked. Her expresions alone were bizarre. But her features were very peculiar as well. He had never seen anything like it in all of Jerusalem. He was about to question her heritage when Anna grabbed him by the hand and began walking towards the cliff that overlooked the Ocean.
"What are you getting at, Anna?" Martin asked, going along with whatever she had in mind.
"I have a question that is worth answering." She replied, walking straight towards the edge of the land. "It might answer yours as well in time."
They got to the cliff overlooking the Ocean. It was beautiful as the sun set in the horizon. Different shades of purples and blues reflected off the endless sheet of water.
"How far do you think that body of water stretches?" Anna asked.
"It seems endless. Why are you asking that?"
"Because, Martin, have you ever wondered what was outside this city, this country? What lived beyond Hopecity, beyond Jerusalem?"
Martin started. Something about that question was just unimaginable. There was nothing outside of the country of Jerusalem. How can somebody even suggest, let alone imagine such a ghostly idea.
"No, I haven't. Where did you even get such an idea?" Martin asked, almost ashamed of being involved in this discussion. He suddenly felt disconnected from Anna.
"I haven't been exactly honest with you about my past" She said, looking away from Martin, "My parents weren't from Jerusalem. In fact, they aren't from this body of land at all."
"Where are they from?" He asked, oddly curious. He felt connected again. Theories and secret societies was his favourite subject. He knew she looked different somehow.
"Across the Ocean." She said looking back at Martin. "And they're not dead. I'm telling you this because I see potential in you, Martin. You will impact the life of the Chosen One."
Martin suddenly felt shaky in the knees. The edge of the cliff looked too close for comfort and it made him nauseaus. He knelt and then sat down on the solid rock.
"How did you get in here? How did you become a trainee?" Martin asked.
"I am not a trainee, Martin. I have unique abilities that help me guide my way around certain obstacles. But there is one in particular that I can't seem to overcome. That is where you come in play." She said, sitting down beside Martin. "Well, you don't really do anything. A future family member of yours will."
"A future family member?"
"I can't say anymore, Martin. But I can start the process. We found Mary and Malcom."
Martin's brow twitched. All the rage and the anger he felt inside all these years for leaving them behind finally came to the surface and he began to cry.
"If you want, we can walk right out of here and nobody will ever remember you being part of the Agency?"
"I want to see them," was all Martin could say.
"Consider your past erased." Anna said, smiling.
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