Wd 1x1 word doccument

[Gifted]

Nobody at work had made the connection yet... Or maybe the site wasn't terribly popular yet here. There was an announcement on the news for the third time that week about finding Arianna dead in an alley, saying the investigation into her killer was going nowhere. (there wasn't actually an investigation, it was just something they needed to tell the public) There was also a story on the missing persons case of Sarah White, and the poor cop who'd been put on that case found the trail went cold at a bus stop in Celinaville. There were no new murders that appeared to have any connection to Ruby or Vivian. Raven was noticeably edgy all day. She didn't speak unless spoken to, and she hardly listened when she was. If she had just done things as planned, acted like it was a normal case... She could have stopped this from happening. They would have no evidence, nothing real at any rate. She was hardly getting anything done and hoping to see Trace.
Trace was out in the field most of the day, but around three she came back to write a report. She seemed to be in an unusually good mood, humming to herself as she got out the papers necessary to write her report.
"Kelsey," Raven said. "I need to talk to you a moment."
Trace looked up. "Alone?" She asked, figuring if they could talk here Raven would just talk. She stood up and headed to the empty break room where they wouldn't be overheard. "Sup?"
"Someone has started a website conspiracy about the gifteds. It's gotten pretty big."
"...And?" Trace said. "So what? Only whackjobs believe in conspiracy theories."
"Apparently one in eight people in most of Saturn believe it," Raven said.
"What? You're kidding." Trace seemed to find it more amusing than anything else. "How are there that many nutjobs in Saturn?"
"They pretty much have proof of a government coverup of some kind. We think Ruby and Vivian are behind it..."
"Proof? They can't have proof, they probably just have something that looks like proof to the untrained eye. That's how conspiracy theories generally work. If they had irrefutable evidence, they'd go to the press."

"Well it looks like pretty damn good proof because my partner went missing after we closed a murder investigation rather abruptly."
Trace looked surprised, and finally seemed to be taking you seriously. "Did one of the gifteds do something to her? And why'd you close the case?"
"I didn't, I went after the murderer and lost my memories. That's why I didn't come home for three days."
"Oh." Trace thought about it for a second. "Well as long as no more fuel is added to the fire it'll go away eventually... or at least be regulated to late-night radio-talk-shows for conspiracy theorists like all the other weird theories floating around."
Raven nodded. "Yeah." She sighed. "I hope nothing else comes up."
Trace nodded. "I have to get back to work." She said, and headed back to her desk.
I finally pulled the boat into Ravonian waters. I'd cruised for hours trying to find somewhere to land that wasn't an actual port (where I was sure to be caught.) but could find nowhere a speed boat could land. Finally I gave up, and hoped I'd be able to lie my way out of trouble as I went into a port and found a place for the boat.
Ravonian guards waited for her to get onto the dock. If her boat had been any bigger, she wouldn't have gotten this far.
I tied my boat to the dock and sighed, brushing back my dyed black hair. I hoped the inevitable interrogation by the Ravonian police wouldn't take too long.
Evidently they didn't intend to bring Gifted somewhere where she could cause any damage. "State your name and your business here," the head guard demanded while the others aimed pointy objects at her.
"Sarah White, I just left Panem and needed somewhere the PRP wouldn't look for me. Can't look for someone in a country with closed borders, least not without special permission."
"Why are you running from the Panemian Royal Police?" the guard questioned. Clearly it was not the best thing to say.
"Well, leaving the country's illegal," I said as though it were obvious.
"Why did you feel the need to leave the country, miss White?"
"Because there was nothing left for me there. Look, if you're going to arrest me, just do it, don't stand here trying to play cat and mouse." I said tiredly.
The guards didn't look pleased at that. "Put your hands in the air," one of them said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. The others kept their weapons trained on her.
I did as they instructed, not too worried about them being rough with me. I wasn't really sure what I was doing yet... I was just making it up as I went along.
The guard handcuffed her behind her back and he escorted her to the local jail. It was obvious even from the one hallway they walked that there wasn't more than one or two empty cells. Crime rates had more than doubled since Adam had closed the ports. The guard actually seemed a little ashamed as he locked her in.
I did not look happy or angry to be here. I nodded as if I understood and sat alone in the cell. I couldn't help but look at the cell bars as safe... it was impossible after what had happened last time I had been in jail to not think of them as protecting me instead of the other way around.
The next morning the prisoners were allowed into the cafeteria area for breakfast. There were guards stationed all around, watching to make sure nothing went wrong.
I went in to eat but sat alone, barely even looking at my food. I was lost in thought, trying to decide exactly what to do.
It was a quiet event. Most of the people there weren't even real criminals, they had just been scared, broke, and hungry. When the meal was over everyone was put back in their cell. There was a patrol a few hours later when the guards made sure that none of the prisoners needed anything.
When a guard passed my cell, I seized my only chance. "Excuse me..." I asked nervously I knew I only had one opportunity. If he said no now, I'd never get a yes. "Could... could you help me with something?"
"What is it you need?" the guard asked, peering at her.
I looked very self-conscious and anxious. I crept closer to the bars, wishing I'd thought of a better way to do this. "I...I'm sure you heard that I'm from Panem. I... I said there was nothing left for me there and it's true, but... that's not why I left." I sighed. "I know things... things nobody's really supposed to know. I came to tell people and to save my own life. If word were to get out to Panem about me, I'd be dead. I want to... I need to speak to Lord Adam. Five minutes. I can't be recorded, but other than that I'm willing to accept any conditions laid out for me. I will be bound and blindfolded if I have to be, please. Please... just give me five minutes to tell what I know. After that, I will accept whatever is chosen to be done with me. Even if it's decided I will be sent back to Panem to be executed... I'll respect that. Tell him I know Cristel." I added that onto the end after sudden inspiration. Cristel had been staying at the palace... he might have known her. "Please.... just five minutes."

"If any prisoner could just request an audience with Lord Adam, he would be here constantly. Not that you would understand, but he actually has things to do," the guard replied.
"No, that's what I'm saying, I'm not just your everyday prisoner." Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away. "Dammit... I promise myself I wouldn't cry." I said, as if thinking out loud. I tried to continue. "My friend Cristel Crockford stayed with him for an extended period of time, he'll know her." He had to. "I have information he'll want to hear. If he doesn't believe me, well... I'm sure Panem would be willing to send some troops here to help him out in exchange for having me sent back to be executed." I was playing a very dangerous game... I only hoped it would pay off.

"We don't even report to Lord Adam," the guard told her, but he sounded like he believed her.
"Then tell someone who does what I've said... please. I really need to speak to him." I sounded desperate.
... Or at the very least pitied you. "I'll see what I can do," the guard promised.
I gave a genuine smile. "thank you so much." I said. "You have no idea how much this means to me." I went back and sat down on the bed, looking worried. Please Adam, you know Cristel... come find me.

Three days passed with no hint as to what had happened. The guard you had spoken to made a point of avoiding your cell, you had no visitors, and no one made any effort to tell you what was going on. The third day, shortly after dinner, one of the guards came in and said you had a visitor.
Just the way he said it sent chills up my spine I had to remind myself this would not be a repeat of last time no matter who had come to see me "A visitor? Alright..." I sat up nervously, expecting them.
The woman who came in had short, spikey brown hair and wore loose brown pants and a tank top. The only thing that gave her away was her violet eyes. Lynn looked you up and down. "I hear you want to speak with Adam?"
My eyes lit up. I'd wondered if my message would ever even get to him, let alone if he'd accept it. "That's correct..." I looked hopeful.
"I'm required to encourage you to rethink this and inform you that if he gets so much as a paper cut you'll deal with me. Since you're from Panem you might not think much of this, but you would be sadly mistaken to underestimate me. By choosing to come with me, you submit yourself to whatever he deems fit. If he sees you as a criminal you will likely be brought back here or returned to your own country. If he sees you as helpful, you will become a palace servant, which is still much better than any other fate you could receive at this point," Lynn said, though her tone made it clear that it wasn't something she enjoyed.
"If you think I'm not scared of you because you're smaller then you have a lot to learn about Panemians." I said honestly. "I understand. I'm not going to hurt him. This is something i need to do."
"Alright then. For precautionary measures, I'm going to basically prevent you from doing anything except walking -- and I do mean anything including seeing, wiggling your fingers, hearing, and speaking," Lynn said, pulling out steel finger traps.
"..I need to speak to give my message... other than that I'm fine with what you want to do."
"Obviously, this is just an initial precaution. We'll allow you to speak with him once we have everything set up, in the meantime, we have reason to believe you might be up to something that could make speaking very dangerous," Lynn said, putting finger traps on all her fingers. She then proceeded to handcuff her as well. After that, she taped over her mouth and blind folded her. "I'll take off the gag and the earphones after we get there." Then she put on silencer earphones.
I nodded to show I understood and did not resist.
Lynn led her to a solid interrogation room. There were no recordings running. In fact, there weren't even cameras in the room; things in Ravonia were run very differently than in Panem. After a while, the earphones and gag were removed. "I was told you were saying you had important information," Adam's voice said, directly in front of her.
I jumped, surprised by how close he was. "Adam!" I quickly gained my composure. "Yes, yes I do... first though, I ought to tell you who I really am. I told the guards the truth in every aspect, except I gave them the alias I've been using for the last couple months or so. I don't know how I'd go about proving my real identity, as it's an extraordinary claim." I sighed in the manner of someone bracing themselves to do something unpleasant. The after a pause I revealed myself. "I am the former Princess Sarteena Gifted, and I came here because I thought you of all people ought to know that Kenny is dead." I knew Adam wouldn't know because one more dead guy in the Panemian rebellion did not exactly warrant press coverage.
Adam's voice was farther away this time, but still directly ahead. "For the time being, I'm going to choose to believe the part about your identity, I'll get to that later. How do you know my brother is dead?" he asked.
"Because I got it from the woman who killed him. Her name is Trace... she shot him during the last battle of the panemian rebellion. I wasn't there at the time, but she and another extremely reliable source came to meet those who'd come to collect me from inside the palace to end the war and one of the girls asked Trace if She'd killed Kenny like they'd planned. Trace said yes, gave the gun back and that was the end of the discussion." I nodded. "And before you say he could have used his powers to trick her into lying or thinking she killed him, the other man who was with her happened to be a very reliable man I know who can negate others powers. Even if Trace was tricked, Kenny could not have tricked him."
Adam was silent for a long time. "Alright, I'll accept that. Also, since you know about powers you must be someone important, so there's that. Well, important or out to kill me." A tiny bubble of hysterical laughter popped from him and he untied the blindfold, allowing for her to see him and the room they were in. It was like a small metal box, with a single lightbulb so that it wasn't completely dark. The only furniture in the room was the chair Gifted was sitting in. The only real change in color in the room was a few splatters of red that probably were not paint. Adam stood in front of her, closer to the wall she faced than he was to her. He wore a linen shirt and breeches that would only fetch the compliment of 'they're clean'. His hair was messy and he looked like he had either just done something in the mud or he hadn't washed his face in some time. The only thing of any value he carried seemed to be the gun strapped to his hip. His dark blue eyes seemed to stare half at Gifted, half through her. Scarier than the blood or the gun was the impression that here was a man who had ceased to care.
I was pretty shocked. Adam was just about as damaged as I was, and at least I was healing. "I already told you I am important... well, WAS important I should say, and I'm definitely not here to hurt you." I wondered if I ought to tell him raven was still alive, but decided against it for now. One thing at a time. "If I could get this infernal fifteen or so layers of makeup off it'd be a little more obvious, but..." I shrugged.
Adam shrugged. "I trust you." He helped her remove the finger traps and unlocked the handcuffs. "I'll show you to the room you can stay in if you want to clean up."
"Thank you very much." I smiled. I'd bug him about the spying thing in a few days. Best to take it slow with him.
Adam led her to one of the previously-empty guest rooms. "If you find you need anything at all, let me know."
"Thank you, I will." I nodded. I'd always liked Adam. I went into the washroom and washed my face of the horrible makeup, glad I wouldn't have to wear it again for a while... at least not until I went out again.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
I looked up, a little nervous, and went to the door. Being idle had brought back a lot of my fears and insecurities, and I was too paranoid to open the door all the way. Instead I opened it halfway, so the person on the other side could see me and I could see them, but I still had a hand tightly around the handle.
"Adam told me you were staying," Lynn said. "I brought you some supplies. Clean towels, soap, some clean clothing, and so on."
"Oh!" I was relieved, and felt bad for my irrational paranoia. Opening the door all the way, I said "Thank you, that's very kind of you,"
Lynn came in and set the stack of supplies on Gifted's bed. "If you need anything else, you only need to ask," she said, though it sounded practiced more than sincere.
I nodded to show I understood and started putting the things she'd brought for me away, unconcerned.
"What did you tell him?" Lynn asked.
I looked over to her, confused. "The truth...?" I shrugged. "I told him who I was and I told him Kenny was dead."
"He's dead?" Lynn scowled.
...Well that was an odd reaction. I was immediately suspicious... though it might just be my paranoia talking. "...Yeah, he died in the Panemian rebellion..."
Lynn looked a little put out. "Alright, thank you." She turned to leave.
I frowned at her odd behavior, wishing I had more than my suspicions and paranoia. Then I remembered the power that had been forced on me so long ago, the power I despised. The power to see truth. I was stuck with it now... perhaps I could use it.
It was supposed to work whenever anyone was hiding anything but since this was my first time using it on purpose, I decided to give it a little help. "Hey I have a question." I said, my voice coming out accusatory. "Why do you sound so disappointed?"
Lynn shook her head. "I was hoping to kill him myself. He murdered my sister." Her voice trembled. She was telling the truth.
I gave a small smile. "I think there were a lot of people who wanted to do that," I said softly, feeling foolish again.
Lynn nodded. "I still would have been selfish enough to claim the pleasure myself if he'd ever returned," she said.
"Oh I don't blame you for that," I laughed. "Still. It's good he's finally gone after all he's done." I said, thinking of Raven.
"Yes, I am glad..." Lynn looked a little contrasted, as though she was deciding whether or not to tell Gifted something.
I could tell either way with my power, plus I didn't want to pry, so I said nothing, letting her think it over.
She was thinking about pretty much the same thing as Gifted. Her restored memories showed her Kenny's real plan, or part of it at least. Which meant that at some point, Lynn had been included in Kenny's planning.
I was fairly surprised, and after a minute, I said gently "It's about Raven, right?" It wouldn't look too odd after the awkward silence.
Lynn nodded. "Yes, it was about the mistress."
I waited, wondering if she was going to tell me or not.
"Kenny... Didn't really intend to kill her. Just make it look that way," Lynn finally whispered.
"I'm surprised you know that." I said. "I mean, I know because I know her... the person who killed Kenny did it because Raven told her too. I haven't told Adam yet.... didn't want to spring everything on him at once. But she looks completely different and works as a cop in Panem now."
"You shouldn't tell him," Lynn said softly.
I was surprised. "Why not?"
"Because he's just starting to heal and we don't even know that she wants to or can come back... Even if she could, he couldn't marry again at least for a year or two," Lynn trailed off. "It's a bad idea..."
"Welll... I wasn't going to tell him right away... but don't you think he sort of deserves to know?" Then I stopped. Since when the F*ck did I start thinking like that? I used to know that was... well ridiculous...I needed to get a grip on myself. "Nevermind." I said quickly, and sighed. "I know you're right... At least for now. Once he's got a lot less on his plate, maybe."
"If he does," Lynn said quietly.
'If' indeed. Look how I'd ended up. "You ought to be a little more optimistic than that.” I said with a small smile, mostly joking.

"Things are more complicated in Ravonia than the press lets you know," was Lynn's only answer.
In truth, barely anything about the rebellion had been leaked to PINC. Supposedly, there was a small uprising in the north stirring some trouble, but Adam had it under control. In reality, the ground was slipping out from beneath him.
"Oh, I don't doubt it," I laughed, but it wasn't really amusing. "I know all about how stupid it'd be not to keep that Sh*t tightly under wraps, trust me."
Lynn looked directly at her. "Even I wonder if it wouldn't be better for the rebels to win."
"Why's that?" I was visibly shocked, but my voice was steady.
"Insanity is in the family... and Kenny did a lot of damage," Lynn whispered, then she shook her head. "I shouldn't talk about such things. It is my job to protect him and if for no other reason, I'll do it for her. She would be devastated if something happened to him."
"...I don't think insanity is genetic, Lynn. Adam is not the only person I know with a psychotic twin." I said. "Although, she hasn't done too much damage yet, thank God." Oh, if only I knew.

"It most certainly is. Or at least certain genetics increase your likelihood to go crazy. Especially with the Clarks. They're both missing parts, if one of them is, and that's the only way to turn out a killer like him..."
"That doesn't mean anything, it's unfair to Adam to categorize him that way. My friends life was ruined by her psychotic twin sister, but I would trust her with my life if I ever saw her again, and that has nothing to do with her twin."
"You haven't seen him the last few months," Lynn answered. "If you need anything you can call." She left the room.
I shrugged. He'd was like me, broken and lost inside himelf. Didn't mean he was going to go crazy.

Meanwhile, the very girl whom I'd been talking so highly about walked the streets alone in a world she didn't belong. Her shadow and her daemon, a young terrier beside her, were her only company and the only ones she could trust. She was in a thick grey hooded sweatshirt and a red and white baseball cap with her short hair pulled back under the cap so it was off her face. She knew this alone would make her look very different. As the only people in the world she knew were insane and out to kill her, blending in was crucial for Cristel and her daemon. She slinked to the dark back alleys of Celinaville, what one of her new acquaintances on the street had told her the city was named. Her memory was a mess, completely empty but for random memories here and there of Ruby and her, and the two other girls. Some seemed to be of their childhood. Others couldn't have been too long ago. But they were enough for her to know even if they were the only people in the world she knew, she couldn't give in and help them. She was out in an unfamiliar world on the streets with no one but enemies in her mind, and nobody she could trust but herself. But she had to survive.
She had to survive.
"What are we going to do about Cristel?" Raven asked, while making dinner.
"...I don't know..." Joan said, but it was clear Cristel was not what was on her mind.
"What is it?" Raven asked, looking up at her adopted daughter.
"Huh? Oh... I'm just worrying about the website..." Joan got quieter as she spoke, barely audible towards the end. She was visibly worried.
Raven nodded. "Anything specific?"
"Well, I was reading it in more detail on my lunch break today." Joan said, looking down at her food. "You know anyone who’s read it, if they choose to believe it, knows absolutely everything? From the Inner Circle to the watch list to the rebellion to the trials and after... Everything's on there. Gifted was willing to die to keep that information hidden... I can't help wondering if it was all in vain."
"Gifted didn't die for that information," Raven pointed out.
"No, but she gave up her reputation, her power, her friends.... her future." Joan shook her head. "She paid a steep price for our future."
"Even if she hadn't worked so hard to keep this a secret, if it had gotten out, Gifted was still the creator. She would be blamed for every one of you. Giving everything up was one of two choices she had, and the other was to die. I'm sorry everything didn't work out, but now we have to work for it too."
Joan said nothing. She knew Raven wouldn’t get it, she didn't even know why she'd bothered saying anything. Well, that wasn't true.... She'd said something because a really obvious lie they both new was just an attempt to dodge the question was still a lie, and she wasn't about to say 'Nothing.'
Lynn came back to invite her to dinner with Adam. I came down with Lynn to dinner, not saying much.
"You can choose another room if you would prefer," Adam told her with a tentative smile.
"No, it's fine, thank you. I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality" I told him, trying to remember my formal manners and be polite.
"It's not as though it would do me any great trouble," Adam said with a very slight smile.
"I assure you, I'm quite alright." I insisted, keeping my tone grateful.
"Very well... It would probably be best for you to stay inside when possible," Adam told her. "I'm told the streets have gotten out of hand."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," I said. Ha, like I was going to go out anyway. I needed a disguise for that.
"You're welcome to go anywhere you like in the castle, though," Adam assured her. They didn't eat poorly by any means. Whoever was feeling the change the closed ports brought, Adam evidently wasn't one of them.
I was a little surprised by this fact. I would have considered it great PR to lower my own standards of living considerably to show I understood and was willing to make the sacrifices everyone else had to make. It just looked better, in bad economic times, to not be eating lavishly in your palace and wearing expensive clothes as though nothing was wrong. However I said nothing, and simply ate quietly. It'd been so long since I'd tasted real, good food. Mostly Arianna and I had eaten ramen noodles and whatever else was cheap. Every dollar spent on food was money that could've been put towards the boat. A few of the workers joined them, though Lynn had left. Apparently working at the palace had more than a few perks.
I wasn't really appeased by this fact, though at least it gave him an excuse I suppose. I ate quietly without joining in any conversation. When I finished I said "Thank you, that was delicious," and got to my feet, unsure if I ought to take my plate to the kitchen or something, knowing it wasn't customary in a place like this but feeling it impolite to not.
"We'll clean up after, miss," one of the servants told her. "You can run along."
I nodded and went back to my room.
I wished I had a computer or an mp3 player. Heck, I would've settled for a book. Just something to do, anyway. I didn't feel very social.
Exactly a week later, something did happen; they took the website down.
Assuming it was a government cover-up, believers were furious. Public awareness abruptly exploded as people began posting quotes, printscreen, and copies everywhere. What had been slowly trickling through the conspiracy theorist crowd exploded into the mainstream as people defiantly posted the story everywhere they could. The government couldn't delete everything.

Joan was furious.
"Of course, those two obviously took it down themselves." She bitched the evening after it went off the web. "You know I've had four students come up and ask me if it's true? Four! And of course they don't believe me even if I say no."
Rick nodded. "If there's one thing a person can do to make sure everyone in the world reads something, it's banning it."

"We need to do something about this and fast," Raven said. "But what?"
Joan wanted so badly to hit something. She hadn't been this angry since Tammy's trial. "I don't know!" she snapped. "There's not a damn thing I can do about it because if I or any of the former Inner Circle try to protest it it'll just look like we're part of the cover-up!"

"So what if me and Trace did?"
"You live with me and Nicholas. You could be part of the cover-up too." Joan said shortly.
"And Trace? Or any of the other Ravonians who were here? Or some of the rebels."
"Trace maybe, if you could get her to agree to it. But she's not really a well-known face, I don't think she'd go far enough. That's the problem anyone high enough to get media attention won't be believed."

"What about a close friend of Gifted's from another country?"
Rick looked up sharply at her words. "You're not thinking... what I think you're thinking, are you?"
"Of course not.... wait are you?" Joan asked.
"What do you think I'm thinking?" Raven questioned.
"A friend of gifteds from another country? What else could I be thinking?" Rick looked pointedly at Raven.
"Uh, pretty much the leader of any major country," Raven replied. "I was thinking Crow and Fox, but~"
"Oh please, what evidence is there that Crow and Gifted were ever friends?" Joan scoffed. "And didn't Fox vanish? How would they know, anywho?"
"We were all friends. What about... What about Adam? I mean, he's busy but he could probably spare an hour or two..."
"You think?" Rick said sceptically.
"Where would he have got the information? And why's he butting into our affairs anyway, when he comes from literally the only country that doesn't know about the conspiracy theory? It just looks too suspicious." Joan sighed in frustration.

Raven sighed. "Well we have to think of something," she mumbled.
"Obviously," Joan replied
Rick was quiet, thinking and listening.
Nicholas and Jared were sitting on the couch listening, neither of them really qualified to join in on the conversation.
Raven sighed. "If you think of anything, we'll talk about it, but there's no point worrying now."
"No point in worrying now? That's what we said a week ago. When pretty much the only people who knew about this lived in Saturn. It' been a week and its spread to the whole damn country. If something isn't done soon, there'll be no way to stop it!" Joan snapped.
"I mean, worrying with no solution will do nothing but cause panic. There's no point in worrying now, because worry is pointless unless you can think of something to do about it," Raven said.
"So what, we wait for it to cause some more damage?" Joan demanded.
Rick sighed and rose to his feet. "I have a trial tomorrow." He said wearily. "I've gotta go. Jared, if you're crashing with me I'd come with."
Jared got to his feet also. "Later, guys."
"Do you have any better ideas, Joan?" Raven asked.
"If I did, do you think I'd be sitting around?" She went upstairs t her room and slammed the door. Nicholas looked up to where his sister had disappeared, sad and a little concerned. He'd never seen her act like this.
"She's mad because she's used to being able to fix everything," Raven said.

"What was with your reaction in there?" Jared asked his best friend and they went out to the car.
"Just sealing myself to do something very unpleasant." Rick sighed, getting into the car. "Public relations is not an easy business, Jared."
Jared got into the passenger side as Rick started the car. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Oh I'll figure it out," Rick agreed, backing out of the driveway. "The question is, at what cost?"

Around Adam's home, I tried to be as helpful as possible, as well as learn as much as possible about the state of affairs in Ravonia. I figured Adam would be more apt to help me if I was considerate and helpful... and it helped me take my mind off things, which was a great help to my still-healing mental physique.
Over the course of the week you'd been able to gather a number of things from Lynn and the servants, but Adam didn't talk about the rebellion except to say that he was handling it. From the others, you'd learned that while the rebellion itself was quite small, it was all but impossible to find a citizen who didn't at least understand their motive. They had a number of supporters, despite the small number of fighters. They kept on winning, though, forging a path to the capital city. The closed ports had helped the rebels rather than hindered them. People were much more easily persuaded to give their support to the rebellion now that Adam had done this. It was still unclear who their leaders were, but rumors spoke of three young charismatic men who had, supposedly, won the first battle all on their own.
Armed with my information, I felt it was finally time to speak to Adam about my idea. Now, the question was, where to find him when I wanted to speak to him alone...
I remembered a study from one of my earlier wanderings. At least, that's what I'd assumed it was. Maybe I'd find him in there. I went off to go look for him.
Adam was indeed there, watching the TV, it seemed. He paused it when you came in. "Can I help you?" he asked. His smile seemed a little forced where it hadn't before.
I sat down across from him. "I want to go out and help you. For the last year, damage has followed me in some way or another anywhere I go. It's time I made myself of use for once. You could always use more spies, right?"
Adam looked hesitant. "Yes, I suppose," he agreed.
"So please, let me do something of use. If I'm caught, I've got nothing to lose. I can't keep living with you forever, and if I'm spotted I'll be recognized, sent back to Panem and executed. What, am I going to live in hiding the rest of my life? This way, at least I can do something with it. I can't be of any use to my own country any longer, but I can still help this one. So please, let me help. Let me go out and spy for you. Please."

"I haven't the slightest idea how they would send you back to your country since the ports are closed. You got in on an apparent lapse... It's been corrected," Adam said. "If you really wish to go, you may, but you won't be leaving right away. This has to be planned well. I won't have them suspecting who you are from the beginning."
"Of course.... that's why I leave in the middle of the night, slip out under the cover of darkness. I can say you were holding me here to send back to Panem in exchange for the countries help, say I'm a wanted fugitive. But I escaped before the deal could be finalized." I smirked. "By now, even the alias I’ve been working under is probably wanted for aiding and abetting a criminal, so it's not that huge a stretch."
Adam nodded. "That all makes sense, except one thing. If you're found out, why would I betray you? You were... You were her best friend."
"Because you're desperate." I shrugged. "She's been gone almost a year now... and you need the help. The former Princess Sarteena who destroyed her country and is branded as a traitor is an excellent bargaining chip."
"Desperate for what? She can't come back. Nothing can fix that," Adam said, pain in his voice.
"For help. If you had the panemian army backing you as well as the ravonian one... well, how could you lose a battle? It would give those you already have renewed faith and give you additional resources at all sides to fight. You could bury the enemy in bodies. Or if that wouldn't work, you'd also have Panem's vast military technology at your disposal... I'm talking cell phone tower-less communication over vast distances, untraceable, I'm talking state-of-the-art radar, sonar, and others, things that could let you see the inside of a base miles below the earth. Ranged microphones, to hear what the enemy is saying from hundreds of kilometres above, or even nearly a thousand feet away on the ground. It all can be intercepted of course, except for the communications. But by Ravonian rebels who might not even know Panem has entered the fray, let alone have the technology to stop it since technology isn't exactly much of a thing here? Panem on your side would be a huge advantage." I didn't realise it might be dangerous to talk it up like this, in case he changed his mind and decided to hand me over. The thought never even occurred to me really. I mean, this was Adam we were talking about here. He's the sane one.

"We don't have technology for good reason. It is an awful thing, and if the choice ends up getting us defeated then at least we know that we tried to save the world," Adam mumbled. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
"That choice would cost you any war, most of that stuff is in use by pretty much every other military. But this is what my excuse would be if was revealed to be who I am. You could get a lot of help from Panem by handing me over, you wanted it, I didn't want to be handed over. If they find out my identity, whatever, lends more credibility to my story. If not, then there you go." I shrugged. "Seems simple enough to me."

Adam nodded. "Alright. Feel free to steal whatever you want from me." He showed a slight smile. "When do you plan on leaving?"
"Right as soon as I can get new makeup to disguise my features, as mine was taken by your guards who arrested me. Then I'll wait until night and slip out a window or something"
"Send Lynn to buy it for you," Adam said. "She'll be able to get whatever it is you need."
"Alright, that works." I rose to my feet. "Thank you." I went quickly, excited for the first time in what felt like ages, to go find Lynn.
Lynn narrowly avoided running into her as she walked around a corner. "Excited about something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, there you are. Yeah, I'm just pleased something actually went right for me for once." I explained. "Hey do you think at some point in the near future you could get me some new make up in case I need to change my appearance again? I was told you were the person to talk to."
"Sure. Do you have any preference what brand or color?" Lynn asked.
"Not really... Just pick what you think is best." I'd always been out of touch with the girly stuff.
Lynn nodded. "When do you need it?"
"As soon as possible, preferably." I replied.
"Alright, I'll get them this afternoon," Lynn told her with a friendly smile.
"Alright, thank you very much." I said. I then went to the library to read and kill time before I could leave.
Right before dinner, Lynn brought her a full set of make-up. It was a darker color scheme, with silvers and purples. "I thought you might like this best," she explained.
"It’s perfect,' I assured her, though secretly I was thinking I was going to look like a Goth. "Thank you."
Lynn nodded. Clearly judging people's tastes wasn't her thing. "You're welcome. If you need anything else be sure to let me know."
"I will" I said. I would go to dinner, then return to my room, put on new makeup, and slip out while everyone was asleep. I couldn't wait.
Dinner passed by without a cinch. Lynn went home early and Adam wished you good luck.
I thanked Adam for the sentiment and returned to my room. At around midnight, I got up and nervously looked around. I pushed open my bedroom window and crawled out, leaping lightly from the windowsill and landing outside. Then I crouched in some bushes and waited silently to see if I'd been heard. No one seemed bothered if they'd heard anything, and no one came to investigate. After a moment I emerged from the bushes and set off towards the town at a jog, ducking and hiding whenever I saw a guard or someone who might be a threat.
Most of the shops were locked up and only a few guards were out. It was fairly easy to get about, so long as you stayed away from the docks. Unsure exactly where to go from here, I slipped into an alley to camp n for the night I doubted finding the rebels would be easy, but it was worth a shot. I figured in the daytime I would try to head towards where the rebels had last attacked, and hope I got caught in the middle of something. Not the most well thought out plan, but I just wanted to get moving. The rebels had last been sighted northwest of the capital, near the eastern point of Lake Shiro.
That morning I set off in that general direction, thinking I'd stop in a town if I found one between here and there. There were many small towns, but no big cities between here and there. If you followed the Shang River it led almost exactly to where you wanted to go.
The next day, Joan was out grocery shopping when she ran into Rick on the street. "Hey!" she called for his attention and came over to join him.
"Oh... hey." Rick said sullenly.
"I called you like four times today. Why didn't you pick up the phone?" Joan said, sounding only mildly irritated.
Rick shrugged, continuing walking, not even looking at Joan. She didn't really notice.
"Where are you going? It's unusual to see out and about town."
"Grocery shopping." He muttered.
"Good then I'm not making you go out of your way or anything. Have you thought about you-know what?" She lowered her voice to keep people from hearing.
After a pause Rick said. "Actually I'm gonna head home, I've got... I've gotta do research for a case."
"But I thought you came out here grocery shopping?" Joan noted his strange behavior.
"I'll do it another day."
"Where're you parked?"
Rick abruptly lost his patience, as if annoyed she wasn't catching the hint. In his heart though, he knew she would never catch that hint. They'd been close for too long, and he was one of the few people she trusted completely, and it'd always been the same with him. He felt horrible that he now had to break that trust. But the lives of hundreds of people could depend on it. "Can't you take a hint, Joan? I don't want your company, so F*ck off!"
Joan stepped back, a look of utter shock on her face. Rick had never spoken to her like that before. He wasn't generally an angry person. "....You could have just said something..."
"Oh what, avoiding your phone calls and abruptly changing my plans when you show up isn't obvious enough for you? Well then here you go. Get. Out. Of. My. Life."
Joan was stunned and hurt. Her voice was barely audible. "Rick..."
"Don't you Rick me, Joan Wenkeling. I'm twenty years old now and I don't need a child hanging off my arm." he snapped. "And you can tell Raven to F*ck off too." With that, he turned and left.
Joan stood, frozen for what felt like ages. She couldn't believe it.... Rick... she would have trusted Rick with her life. How could he...?
She noticed everyone on the street staring. Rick had made quite a scene. Hurt, betrayed and ashamed, Joan turned and ran from the street, trying her best to outrun her tears.


Meanwhile Rick drove home. Jared noticed his friends mood the moment he walked in the door. "What happened?"
"I did it" Rick said in a hollow voice. He sounded horrified with himself.
"What?" Jared was surprised "But I thought you were going to take it slow..."
"She was at the supermarket today." He said. "She noticed me."
"Oh..." Jared came to comfort Rick, wishing h could use his power to help Rick feel better "I'm sorry, man."
"...God, Joan, I hope you forgive me"
Raven looked up when Joan came in. "What happened?" she asked.
It took her several seconds to be able to speak. "Rick... Rick said....Rick told me to get out of his life... I don't know why he h-hates me..." Tears finally began to fall.
Nichols had never seen his sister cry, not since she was 8 and their parents died. He went over and hugged his sister, trying to comfort her.
Raven joined the hug. "He's probably just having a hard time... It's okay, we'll talk to him..."
"He never gets mad like that... he said he 'didn't need a child hanging off his arm'. I don’t understand, he was nice enough yesterday...."She shook her head hugged Raven and Nicholas.
"We'll figure something out, okay?" Raven asked, holding her adopted children.
Joan didn't say much after that. After a few minutes she pulled away gently and went up to her room The last thing she said before shutting the door was "Don't bother calling him... he won't answer."
Raven sighed. She forced a mental image of her going to Rick's house and kicking his ass for hurting Joan out of her mind. "We'll think of something," she whispered to herself.
Nicholas grabbed the phone despite her warning and dialed. He waited, and waited, but there was no answer. He called four separate times, but Rick didn't pick up a single one.
"We'll talk to him tomorrow, Nicholas... Give him some time to cool down."
"He made my sister cry." Nicholas never got mad, and this seemed to be no exception, but he looked at Raven carefully before saying "Is it wrong to demand an explanation?"
"No, it's just not smart to expect one. If we want to talk to him we'll have to go to his house. Even then he might not open the door," Raven said.
Nicholas knew she was right. "Tomorrow, then."
"What classes do you have tomorrow?"
"Just biology and psychology." He answered. "Shouldn't take more than four hours."
"Great, we can go while Joan is still at work," Raven said with a nod.
"Excellent." Nicholas said.
The next day was bright and sunny, and Joan just barely got out the door on time. Four hours later, Nicholas came home.
"Let's go." Raven got in the car and waited for him to follow before driving to Rick's house.
Ricks car was in the driveway and his lights were on but just looking through the windows revealed no one. Nicholas went up to the house and rang the doorbell. It took almost two minutes, but Rick finally answered the door. "Oh, it's just you," he said, sounding a little disappointed.
"Were you expecting someone?" Raven asked, biting back the 'what's wrong with seeing us?'
"I really don't want a lecture," he snapped, and tried to close the door on them.
Raven put her foot in the door. "Were you expecting someone else, Rick?"
"No!" he snapped, but it was obvious he was just saying what he had to to get them to leave.

"Really?" Nicholas said skeptically

"If you must know the media got wind of my fight with Joan yesterday and when you knocked I was panicking trying to find Jared a place to hide thinking you were them vultures pounding on my door. Now would you please leave me alone?" He tried to close the door a little more forcefully.

"Why aren't you answering the phone?" Raven asked, putting her shoulder against the door.
"Because I'm-" A car went by, and though it showed no signs of stopping, it seemed to put Rick on edge. "Because I don't particularly want to talk to you." he snapped.
"And why the hell did you tell my daughter to leave you alone?" Raven didn't care about the car. Or about how Rick felt, for that matter.
"Because I want you all to leave me the hell alone!" Rick shouted.
"You were fine three days ago!"
"What's your point?"
"How could you do this to my sister, Rick? You know you were one of the people she trusted most?" Nicholas asked.
"She'll get over it, she does with everything else. And I still don't understand what your point is."
"My point is you made my daughter cry, bastard!" Raven finally really lost her temper. It was the first time in weeks, and it was accompanied by a punch aimed at his face.
He was caught off guard and stumbled back, his nose bleeding from the blow. After a second of shock he retaliated, throwing a punch at Ravens face.
Raven was ready for it and she ducked to the side, her eyes flashing. "I'm glad she'll never see you again."
"Are you done?" He demanded.
"I shouldn't be." She left regardless, looking pissed in every fiber of her body.
Rick watched her and Nicholas go quietly, then after they left went outside nervously, looking around to see if anyone overheard them. He was very disappointed and pissed when he found no one. He'd alienated Raven for no reason at all. He sighed and went back inside.

The very next day he was on the news. The press had pounced, hoping to take advantage of his hard feelings against Joan by getting him to spill the truth about the conspiracy.
"Mr. Martinez, what do you think of the theories circling around the internet as of late?"
He gave a sly grin. "I think somebody got a hold of some very old documents and has a very overactive imagination."
"So you're admitting something of this nature did happen?"
"Oh, I dunno if I'd go that far." Rick said. "It was an idea Gifted kicked around for a bit... I'm talking years ago, like back when I lived at the palace. They ran a few tests and had a couple close misses, but eventually it was deemed impractical because of the intense physical pain it caused.... the project was shelved and never officially completed. They probably would've got back to that, but.... y'know. At that point she was kinda distracted." He gave a guilty smile.
"You're referring to the beginning of the MG wars?"
"Well, I was trying to be subtle about it." Rick laughed. "I figure some old scientist who got fired remembered the project from way back when and decided to write a cool little story about it. It's interesting. It'd make a great movie. But unfortunately, real life just isn't that cool," he laughed again.
"Well there you have it folks. I'm Barbara Streisend, and this was News at six."
Joan didn't say anything about it.

Raven seemed to be under the impression that Rick shouldn't have the right to laugh. Or perhaps not to breathe. Her expression clearly showed that she hadn't come close to forgiving him.
Shortly after the news aired, Joan went back up to her bedroom.
The next day, it was apparent that Ricks speech had worked... at least for now. People were taking the information off the net, and it was talked about much less.
"Oh thank god," Rick sighed when Jared told him how much he'd helped. Now he just had to work up the nerve to try and get Joan and Raven to forgive him.

Meanwhile, I'd finally gotten to the city I'd been walking too, unsure of what to expect.
The city seemed fairly normal, if a little quiet. It wasn't a huge city and it wasn't too hard to navigate. After several minutes of walking through the streets, you noticed a pair of men talking in hushed voices, which was mostly strange because no one else was around.
I gave a small but clearly audible gasp that would probably catch their attention and began to back away. I'd decided on my way here that I would pretend I'd been travelling for so long I didn't know exactly where I was. As I was the only one on the street it was pretty likely they'd question me.
Both men looked up sharply. After only a second, one of them took on a pleasantly curious expression and asked, "Where are you going?"
I looked scared. "I'm going... n-north?" I paused as though looking for an innocuous response before finally settling on North.
The expression changed to a worried frown. "Are you trying to get somewhere? Maybe we can help."
"No, but... Could you tell me where I am? Please?" I asked.
The man nodded. "You're in Taine... Can we help you at all, miss?" he asked.
"I made it?" I asked in a shocked tone. I sank to my knees in utter relief. "Oh thank goodness... Thank goodness."
One of the men came forward. "Are you okay...?"
I looked up to him. "I'm sorry... my name is Sarah White. I've been running north for days now. If Adam were to have caught me... oh, I don't even want to think about it. I'm just glad it's over." I said breathlessly. I used to be a good actress... let's hope I was still up to the task.
The man looked like he pitied her. "Why were you coming here, then?" he asked. "There are places farther away..."
"I thought... I thought a rebel city would be safest... another country might hand e over to Panem" I shook my head. "I'm a fugitive, wanted for assisting a criminal in evading capture. What else was I supposed to do? She was my sister... When she was murdered I fled to Ravonia and Adam took me in after hearing my story... I thought he'd protect me as Ravonia is supposed to be against Panem but I found out he was negotiating with Princess Sarteena Cynthia to return me to Panem in exchange for assistance... this was the last safe place I could think of."
"I'm sorry to hear that... I think you should come with us," the man told her.
"...Okay..." I sounded a little nervous, but got to my feet and followed nonetheless.
The man led her inside where there was a small group of people. He spoke quickly and quietly to one of them, a young man who couldn't have been older than twenty-five. "Sarah White? It's good to meet you. I think we should talk. I'm Frederick." Perhaps it was pure chance that he had the same name as the man proposed to take over if Adam was removed. Maybe not. He motioned for them to go back outside.
I nodded, looking more nervous now that I was in a building, though it calmed me down when the others left. Though they could be covering the exits.
"You seem nervous, are you okay? We can go outside if you prefer," Frederick offered.
"I'm fine" It sounded like a lie and I gave a guilty smile.
"It's really fine. Just tell me what you wish, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. It sounds as though you've had a hard time recently," Frederick told her.
"It's fine just... force of habit, really." I assured him "You said you wanted to talk to me..?"
"Yes, I just wanted to ask you a few questions. You're free to answer or not as you see fit," Frederick told her.
"Alright... what is it you want to ask me? I asked carefully.
"I was told Adam was going to send you to Panem... Is that where you're from originally?" Frederick asked.
"Yes, I am." I confirmed. "I was a beat cop in Celinaville."
Frederick nodded. "Why did you leave? He mentioned your sister, but he didn't say much."
"My sister..." I sighed. "My sister killed two people. I'm not gonna lie. She showed up at my door like a week later, crying her eyes out, terrified... What was I supposed to do? She was my sister, I couldn't turn her away.
She never really came to terms with what she did... never had enough time, I guess. She was herself murdered on the street not two blocks from where we were staying. Now she's dead and I'm wanted for assisting a wanted fugitive. I decided to escape to Ravonia, since the two countries are still on such tense terms... I thought Adam would protect me. He welcomed me warmly at first, but I found out a day or two later that he'd been negotiating with Princess Sarteena Cynthia... to send me back in exchange for help. I ran as soon as I was able."
Frederick nodded. "You're welcome here, so long as you don't cause any problems. This isn't your fight, but if you truly wish to come with us I won't stop you.
"I do want to help." I nodded.
Frederick smiled. "Well then, welcome to the resistance... When did you last eat?"
"Um... like three days ago, sadly. I don't think I've eaten since the night I left" I said guiltily. "It was just too risky to stop."
Frederick looked bothered by this. "Come on, we'll get something into you. Just take it slow so you don't hurt yourself."
"It's not that big a deal, before I got here me and my sister were living on Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. It really doesn't bother me to go hungry." I assured him.
"Be that as it may, you're eating," Frederick told her. "Come on."
"Alright," I laughed and followed him.
Frederick smiled and led her to a kitchen area in the house. "What would you like?" he asked. "We don't have anything fancy, but we're not dying. Whatever we don't end up eating before we move again we give to the villagers, aside from jerky and canned foods."
I thought about it and then realized something. "Do you have strawberries or oranges? I used to really like them, but I don't think I've had any fruit in like... nine months. I didn't realize it until just now." The few times Emeric had remembered to feed me so I didn't die, it had been cereal or granola bars. Every. Fucking. Time. Because it didn't take up any of his time to make them. I didn't even like granola bars.

Frederick nodded and produced a small plastic container of strawberries and an orange. "Here you go. Don't eat too much or you'll give yourself a stomach ache."
"Thank you," I ate about six strawberries and half the orange before I was done.
Frederick smiled and put the rest away. "I'm glad you made it here, Sara," he told her.
"So am I. What can I do to help?" I asked brightly.
"There's not much to do at the moment, we're mostly figuring out where to head next. Maybe try acquainting yourself with the locals or something," Frederick suggested with a slight sigh.
"Can do."
"I'll talk to you again later, okay?" Frederick asked.


On her next day off, Raven went to Celinaville to look for Cristel. Since it was Saturday, she asked Joan and Nicholas if they wanted to come.
Joan, surprisingly, didn't want to come. "Tell me if you find anything," she said.
"I will," Raven promised and then left.
Celinaville was pretty normal, like the last time raven had been there. The weather was cloudy and cool but not too cold, so the streets were mostly crowded with happy people.
"Sheilah, that's like the fourth john who thought I was a prostitute. I'm not showing an inch of skin. Why are these creeps attracted to me?" Cristel asked. Sheilah knew the ways to survive on the street, and she was the only person in the whole world Cristel trusted even marginally.
Sheilah smirked. "Chris, I'd get off this street. Or at least sit down. Don't you have some adorable routine with that dog to do?"
Cristel looked at her canine companion. "I suppose so. See you in an hour or two."
Less than an hour later, Cristel was standing on crowded street corner with a crowd around her. A little beagle puppy with her was preforming tricks for the crowds amusement She'd made a hoop for him to jump through with a length of rope, and he jumped through no matter how quickly she moved it. Then after he'd jumped through it at the highest point yet, he somersaulted and landed on his feet
"How did he teach his dog to do that?" Someone asked, amazed.
Cristel put the length of re on the ground straight, and put her hand up like a signal. The dog understood the signal. It rose onto its hind legs and walked across the rope, keeping its balance perfectly. Cristel took a small plastic ball from her pocket and tossed it to the puppy, who jumped and caught it out of the air It gave a happy bark and went over to Cristel, its tail wagging happily. She pet it on the head and withdrew a small plastic tube... what the balls (she used to have more) had come in when she bought them. The puppy dropped the ball and took the container before running up to the people who'd crowded around to watch the show. People pet it and put money in the tube while it ran around to each person playfully, barking now and then.
Raven arrived just in time to see the dog carry the tube around. She waited until the crowd had dispersed to talk to the homeless man.
When the people left, the puppy returned to Cristel with a tube full of money. Normally she'dve sat down and counted her income but that one girl hadn't left yet, and made Cristel extremely suspicious. Her dark green eyes fixed on Raven and after a moment she pulled her baseball cap down to further obscure her face. She picked up her puppy and turned away, heading into the back alleys of the slums of Celinaville.
"Wait," Raven called after 'him'. "I want to talk to you."
Great. Should she stop...? Cristel debated the chance Ruby was expecting her to walking to a trap further on against this person perhaps being the trap. If she had powers like Cristel, they could be done with before they even resisted. Cristel trespassed in Ravens head trying to make a decision. Meanwhile she kept the same pace, not looking back.
"Please," Raven added. Maybe this young man had seen her, even knew her... "I just want to ask you a few questions."
Cristels eyes widened in alarm. This woman was looking for her. Her sister must have put her up to it. This girl hadn't recognized Cristel yet, but it was only a matter of time. Yaz leapt out of her arms and faced Raven suddenly, growling. He barked a few times, and Cristel turned. Trying to keep her voice as low as possible she said. "Hush there boy... Sorry 'bout him."
The beagle charged, looking like it was going to try to attack her.
Raven stumbled back, frightened despite believing it was a normal dog.
Pleased it worked, Cristel quickly picked him up and looked Raven in the eyes for the first time "I'm sorry." She said, and left quickly.
"Wait. I'll pay you. I'm desperate, I need to find someone..." After a second, Raven added, "I'm with the police."
Cristel stopped. The police. She had a vague idea what they were... her last few days she'd heard about them a couple of times and she could remember vaguely saying something to Ruby about calling the police when they were children.... Police weren't something Ruby liked. Still... was it safe?

[Gifted]

Nobody at work had made the connection yet... Or maybe the site wasn't terribly popular yet here. There was an announcement on the news for the third time that week about finding Arianna dead in an alley, saying the investigation into her killer was going nowhere. (there wasn't actually an investigation, it was just something they needed to tell the public) There was also a story on the missing persons case of Sarah White, and the poor cop who'd been put on that case found the trail went cold at a bus stop in Celinaville. There were no new murders that appeared to have any connection to Ruby or Vivian. Raven was noticeably edgy all day. She didn't speak unless spoken to, and she hardly listened when she was. If she had just done things as planned, acted like it was a normal case... She could have stopped this from happening. They would have no evidence, nothing real at any rate. She was hardly getting anything done and hoping to see Trace.
Trace was out in the field most of the day, but around three she came back to write a report. She seemed to be in an unusually good mood, humming to herself as she got out the papers necessary to write her report.
"Kelsey," Raven said. "I need to talk to you a moment."
Trace looked up. "Alone?" She asked, figuring if they could talk here Raven would just talk. She stood up and headed to the empty break room where they wouldn't be overheard. "Sup?"
"Someone has started a website conspiracy about the gifteds. It's gotten pretty big."
"...And?" Trace said. "So what? Only whackjobs believe in conspiracy theories."
"Apparently one in eight people in most of Saturn believe it," Raven said.
"What? You're kidding." Trace seemed to find it more amusing than anything else. "How are there that many nutjobs in Saturn?"
"They pretty much have proof of a government coverup of some kind. We think Ruby and Vivian are behind it..."
"Proof? They can't have proof, they probably just have something that looks like proof to the untrained eye. Thats how conspiracy theories generally work. If they had irrefutable evidence, they'd go to the press."

"Well it looks like pretty damn good proof because my partner went missing after we closed a murder investigation rather abruptly."
Trace looked surprised, and finally seemed to be taking you seriously. "Did one of the gifteds do something to her? And why'd you close the case?"
"I didn't, I went after the murderer and lost my memories. That's why I didn't come home for three days."
"Oh." Trace thought about it for a second. "Well as long as no more fuel is added to the fire it'll go away eventually... or at least be regulated to late-night radio-talk-shows for conspiracy theorists like all the other weird theories floating around."
Raven nodded. "Yeah." She sighed. "I hope nothing else comes up."
Trace nodded. "I have to get back to work." She said, and headed back to her desk.
I finally pulled the boat into Ravonian waters. I'd cruised for hours trying to find somewhere to land that wasn't an actual port (where I was sure to be caught.) but could find nowhere a speed boat could land. Finally I gave up, and hoped I'd be able to lie my way out of trouble as I went into a port and found a place for the boat.
Ravonian guards waited for her to get onto the dock. If her boat had been any bigger, she wouldn't have gotten this far.
I tied my boat to the dock and sighed, brushing back my dyed black hair. I hoped the inevitable interrogation by the Ravonian police wouldn't take too long.
Evidently they didn't intend to bring Gifted somewhere where she could cause any damage. "State your name and your business here," the head guard demanded while the others aimed pointy objects at her.
"Sarah White, I just left Panem and needed somewhere the PRP wouldn't look for me. Can't look for someone in a country with closed borders, least not without special permission."
"Why are you running from the Panemian Royal Police?" the guard questioned. Clearly it was not the best thing to say.
"Well, leaving the country's illegal," I said as though it were obvious.
"Why did you feel the need to leave the country, miss White?"
"Because there was nothing left for me there. Look, if you're going to arrest me, just do it, don't stand here trying to play cat and mouse." I said tiredly.
The guards didn't look pleased at that. "Put your hands in the air," one of them said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. The others kept their weapons trained on her.
I did as they instructed, not too worried about them being rough with me. I wasn't really sure what I was doing yet... I was just making it up as I went along.
The guard handcuffed her behind her back and he escorted her to the local jail. It was obvious even from the one hallway they walked that there wasn't more than one or two empty cells. Crime rates had more than doubled since Adam had closed the ports. The guard actually seemed a little ashamed as he locked her in.
I did not look happy or angry to be here. I nodded as if I understood and sat alone in the cell. I couldn't help but look at the cell bars as safe... it was impossible after what had happened last time I had been in jail to not think of them as protecting me instead of the other way around.
The next morning the prisoners were allowed into the cafeteria area for breakfast. There were guards stationed all around, watching to make sure nothing went wrong.
I went in to eat but sat alone, barely even looking at my food. I was lost in thought, trying to decide exactly what to do.
It was a quiet event. Most of the people there weren't even real criminals, they had just been scared, broke, and hungry. When the meal was over everyone was put back in their cell. There was a patrol a few hours later when the guards made sure that none of the prisoners needed anything.
When a guard passed my cell, I seized my only chance. "Excuse me..." I asked nervously I knew I only had one opportunity. If he said no now, I'd never get a yes. "Could... could you help me with something?"
"What is it you need?" the guard asked, peering at her.
I looked very self-conscious and anxious. I crept closer to the bars, wishing I'd thought of a better way to do this. "I...I'm sure you heard that I'm from Panem. I... I said there was nothing left for me there and it's true, but... that's not why I left." I sighed. "I know things... things nobody's really supposed to know. I came to tell people and to save my own life. If word were to get out to Panem about me, I'd be dead. I want to... I need to speak to Lord Adam. Five minutes. I can't be recorded, but other than that I'm willing to accept any conditions laid out for me. I will be bound and blindfolded if I have to be, please. Please... just give me five minutes to tell what I know. After that, I will accept whatever is chosen to be done with me. Even if it's decided I will be sent back to Panem to be executed... I'll respect that. Tell him I know Cristel." I added that onto the end after sudden inspiration. Cristel had been staying at the palace... he might have known her. "Please.... just five minutes."

"If any prisoner could just request an audience with Lord Adam, he would be here constantly. Not that you would understand, but he actually has things to do," the guard replied.
"No, that's what I'm saying, I'm not just your everyday prisoner." Tears welled up in my eyes and I brushed them away. "Dammit... I promise myself I wouldn't cry." I said, as if thinking out loud. I tried to continue. "My friend Cristel Crockford stayed with him for an extended period of time, he'll know her." He had to. "I have information he'll want to hear. If he doesn't believe me, well... I'm sure Panem would be willing to send some troops here to help him out in exchange for having me sent back to be executed." I was playing a very dangerous game... I only hoped it would pay off.

"We don't even report to Lord Adam," the guard told her, but he sounded like he believed her.
"Then tell someone who does what I've said... please. I really need to speak to him." I sounded desperate.
... Or at the very least pitied you. "I'll see what I can do," the guard promised.
I gave a genuine smile. "thank you so much." I said. "You have no idea how much this means to me." I went back and sat down on the bed, looking worried. Please Adam, you know Cristel... come find me.

Three days passed with no hint as to what had happened. The guard you had spoken to made a point of avoiding your cell, you had no visitors, and no one made any effort to tell you what was going on. The third day, shortly after dinner, one of the guards came in and said you had a visitor.
Just the way he said it sent chills up my spine I had to remind myself this would not be a repeat of last time no matter who had come to see me "A visitor? Alright..." I sat up nervously, expecting them.
The woman who came in had short, spikey brown hair and wore loose brown pants and a tank top. The only thing that gave her away was her violet eyes. Lynn looked you up and down. "I hear you want to speak with Adam?"
My eyes lit up. I'd wondered if my message would ever even get to him, let alone if he'd accept it. "That's correct..." I looked hopeful.
"I'm required to encourage you to rethink this and inform you that if he gets so much as a paper cut you'll deal with me. Since you're from Panem you might not think much of this, but you would be sadly mistaken to underestimate me. By choosing to come with me, you submit yourself to whatever he deems fit. If he sees you as a criminal you will likely be brought back here or returned to your own country. If he sees you as helpful, you will become a palace servant, which is still much better than any other fate you could receive at this point," Lynn said, though her tone made it clear that it wasn't something she enjoyed.
"If you think I'm not scared of you because you're smaller then you have a lot to learn about Panemians." I said honestly. "I understand. I'm not going to hurt him. This is something i need to do."
"Alright then. For precautionary measures, I'm going to basically prevent you from doing anything except walking -- and I do mean anything including seeing, wiggling your fingers, hearing, and speaking," Lynn said, pulling out steel finger traps.
"..I need to speak to give my message... other than that I'm fine with what you want to do."
"Obviously, this is just an initial precaution. We'll allow you to speak with him once we have everything set up, in the meantime, we have reason to believe you might be up to something that could make speaking very dangerous," Lynn said, putting finger traps on all her fingers. She then proceeded to handcuff her as well. After that, she taped over her mouth and blind folded her. "I'll take off the gag and the earphones after we get there." Then she put on silencer earphones.
I nodded to show I understood and did not resist.
Lynn led her to a solid interrogation room. There were no recordings running. In fact, there weren't even cameras in the room; things in Ravonia were run very differently than in Panem. After a while, the earphones and gag were removed. "I was told you were saying you had important information," Adam's voice said, directly in front of her.
I jumped, surprised by how close he was. "Adam!" I quickly gained my composure. "Yes, yes I do... first though, I ought to tell you who I really am. I told the guards the truth in every aspect, except I gave them the alias I've been using for the last couple months or so. I don't know how I'd go about proving my real identity, as it's an extraordinary claim." I sighed in the manner of someone bracing themselves to do something unpleasant. The after a pause I revealed myself. "I am the former Princess Sarteena Gifted, and I came here because I thought you of all people ought to know that Kenny is dead." I knew Adam wouldn't know because one more dead guy in the Panemian rebellion did not exactly warrant press coverage.
Adam's voice was farther away this time, but still directly ahead. "For the time being, I'm going to choose to believe the part about your identity, I'll get to that later. How do you know my brother is dead?" he asked.
"Because I got it from the woman who killed him. Her name is Trace... she shot him during the last battle of the panemian rebellion. I wasn't there at the time, but she and another extremely reliable source came to meet those who'd come to collect me from inside the palace to end the war and one of the girls asked Trace if She'd killed Kenny like they'd planned. Trace said yes, gave the gun back and that was the end of the discussion." I nodded. "And before you say he could have used his powers to trick her into lying or thinking she killed him, the other man who was with her happened to be a very reliable man I know who can negate others powers. Even if Trace was tricked, Kenny could not have tricked him."
Adam was silent for a long time. "Alright, I'll accept that. Also, since you know about powers you must be someone important, so there's that. Well, important or out to kill me." A tiny bubble of hysterical laughter popped from him and he untied the blindfold, allowing for her to see him and the room they were in. It was like a small metal box, with a single lightbulb so that it wasn't completely dark. The only furniture in the room was the chair Gifted was sitting in. The only real change in color in the room was a few splatters of red that probably were not paint. Adam stood in front of her, closer to the wall she faced than he was to her. He wore a linen shirt and breeches that would only fetch the compliment of 'they're clean'. His hair was messy and he looked like he had either just done something in the mud or he hadn't washed his face in some time. The only thing of any value he carried seemed to be the gun strapped to his hip. His dark blue eyes seemed to stare half at Gifted, half through her. Scarier than the blood or the gun was the impression that here was a man who had ceased to care.
I was pretty shocked. Adam was just about as damaged as I was, and at least I was healing. "I already told you I am important... well, WAS important I should say, and I'm definitely not here to hurt you." I wondered if I ought to tell him raven was still alive, but decided against it for now. One thing at a time. "If I could get this infernal fifteen or so layers of makeup off it'd be a little more obvious, but..." I shrugged.
Adam shrugged. "I trust you." He helped her remove the finger traps and unlocked the handcuffs. "I'll show you to the room you can stay in if you want to clean up."
"Thank you very much." I smiled. I'd bug him about the spying thing in a few days. Best to take it slow with him.
Adam led her to one of the previously-empty guest rooms. "If you find you need anything at all, let me know."
"Thank you, I will." I nodded. I'd always liked Adam. I went into the washroom and washed my face of the horrible makeup, glad I wouldn't have to wear it again for a while... at least not until I went out again.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
I looked up, a little nervous, and went to the door. Being idle had brought back a lot of my fears and insecurities, and I was too paranoid to open the door all the way. Instead I opened it halfway, so the person on the other side could see me and I could see them, but I still had a hand tightly around the handle.
"Adam told me you were staying," Lynn said. "I brought you some supplies. Clean towels, soap, some clean clothing, and so on."
"Oh!" I was relieved, and felt bad for my irrational paranoia. Opening the door all the way, I said "Thank you, that's very kind of you,"
Lynn came in and set the stack of supplies on Gifted's bed. "If you need anything else, you only need to ask," she said, though it sounded practiced more than sincere.
I nodded to show I understood and started putting the things she'd brought for me away, unconcerned.
"What did you tell him?" Lynn asked.
I looked over to her, confused. "The truth...?" I shrugged. "I told him who I was and I told him Kenny was dead."
"He's dead?" Lynn scowled.
...Well that was an odd reaction. I was immediately suspicious... though it might just be my paranoia talking. "...Yeah, he died in the Panemian rebellion..."
Lynn looked a little put out. "Alright, thank you." She turned to leave.
I frowned at her odd behavior, wishing I had more than my suspicions and paranoia. Then I remembered the power that had been forced on me so long ago, the power I despised. The power to see truth. I was stuck with it now... perhaps I could use it.
It was supposed to work whenever anyone was hiding anything but since this was my first time using it on purpose, I decided to give it a little help. "Hey I have a question." I said, my voice coming out accusatory. "Why do you sound so disappointed?"
Lynn shook her head. "I was hoping to kill him myself. He murdered my sister." Her voice trembled. She was telling the truth.
I gave a small smile. "I think there were a lot of people who wanted to do that," I said softly, feeling foolish again.
Lynn nodded. "I still would have been selfish enough to claim the pleasure myself if he'd ever returned," she said.
"Oh I don't blame you for that," I laughed. "Still. It's good he's finally gone after all he's done." I said, thinking of Raven.
"Yes, I am glad..." Lynn looked a little contrasted, as though she was deciding whether or not to tell Gifted something.
I could tell either way with my power, plus I didn't want to pry, so I said nothing, letting her think it over.
She was thinking about pretty much the same thing as Gifted. Her restored memories showed her Kenny's real plan, or part of it at least. Which meant that at some point, Lynn had been included in Kenny's planning.
I was fairly surprised, and after a minute, I said gently "It's about Raven, right?" It wouldn't look too odd after the awkward silence.
Lynn nodded. "Yes, it was about the mistress."
I waited, wondering if she was going to tell me or not.
"Kenny... Didn't really intend to kill her. Just make it look that way," Lynn finally whispered.
"I'm surprised you know that." I said. "I mean, I know because I know her... the person who killed Kenny did it because Raven told her too. I haven't told Adam yet.... didn't want to spring everything on him at once. But she looks completely different and works as a cop in Panem now."
"You shouldn't tell him," Lynn said softly.
I was surprised. "Why not?"
"Because he's just starting to heal and we don't even know that she wants to or can come back... Even if she could, he couldn't marry again at least for a year or two," Lynn trailed off. "It's a bad idea..."
"Welll... I wasn't going to tell him right away... but don't you think he sort of deserves to know?" Then I stopped. Since when the F*ck did I start thinking like that? I used to know that was... well ridiculous...I needed to get a grip on myself. "Nevermind." I said quickly, and sighed. "I know you're right... At least for now. Once he's got a lot less on his plate, maybe."
"If he does," Lynn said quietly.
'If' indeed. Look how I'd ended up. "You ought to be a little more optimistic than that” I said with a small smile, mostly joking.

"Things are more complicated in Ravonia than the press lets you know," was Lynn's only answer.
In truth, barely anything about the rebellion had been leaked to PINC. Supposedly, there was a small uprising in the north stirring some trouble, but Adam had it under control. In reality, the ground was slipping out from beneath him.
"Oh, I don't doubt it," I laughed, but it wasn't really amusing. "I know all about how stupid it'd be not to keep that Sh*t tightly under wraps, trust me."
Lynn looked directly at her. "Even I wonder if it wouldn't be better for the rebels to win."
"Why's that?" I was visibly shocked, but my voice was steady.
"Insanity is in the family... and Kenny did a lot of damage," Lynn whispered, then she shook her head. "I shouldn't talk about such things. It is my job to protect him and if for no other reason, I'll do it for her. She would be devastated if something happened to him."
"...I don't think insanity is genetic, Lynn. Adam is not the only person I know with a psychotic twin." I said. "Although, she hasn't done too much damage yet, thank God." Oh, if only I knew.

"It most certainly is. Or at least certain genetics increase your likelihood to go crazy. Especially with the Clarks. They're both missing parts, if one of them is, and that's the only way to turn out a killer like him..."
"That doesn't mean anything, it's unfair to Adam to categorize him that way. My friends life was ruined by her psychotic twin sister, but I would trust her with my life if I ever saw her again, and that has nothing to do with her twin."
"You haven't seen him the last few months," Lynn answered. "If you need anything you can call." She left the room.
I shrugged. He'd was like me, broken and lost inside himelf. Didn't mean he was going to go crazy.

Meanwhile, the very girl whom I'd been talking so highly about walked the streets alone in a world she didn't belong. Her shadow and her daemon, a young terrier beside her, were her only company and the only ones she could trust. She was in a thick grey hooded sweatshirt and a red and white baseball cap with her short hair pulled back under the cap so it was off her face. She knew this alone would make her look very different. As the only people in the world she knew were insane and out to kill her, blending in was crucial for Cristel and her daemon. She slinked to the dark back alleys of Celinaville, what one of her new acquaintances on the street had told her the city was named. Her memory was a mess, completely empty but for random memories here and there of Ruby and her, and the two other girls. Some seemed to be of their childhood. Others couldn't have been too long ago. But they were enough for her to know even if they were the only people in the world she knew, she couldn't give in and help them. She was out in an unfamiliar world on the streets with no one but enemies in her mind, and nobody she could trust but herself. But she had to survive.
She had to survive.
"What are we going to do about Cristel?" Raven asked, while making dinner.
"...I don't know..." Joan said, but it was clear Cristel was not what was on her mind.
"What is it?" Raven asked, looking up at her adopted daughter.
"Huh? Oh... I'm just worrying about the website..." Joan got quieter as she spoke, barely audible towards the end. She was visibly worried.
Raven nodded. "Anything specific?"
"Well, I was reading it in more detail on my lunch break today." Joan said, looking down at her food. "You know anyone who’s read it, if they choose to believe it, knows absolutely everything? From the Inner Circle to the watch list to the rebellion to the trials and after... Everything's on there. Gifted was willing to die to keep that information hidden... I can't help wondering if it was all in vain."
"Gifted didn't die for that information," Raven pointed out.
"No, but she gave up her reputation, her power, her friends.... her future." Joan shook her head. "She paid a steep price for our future."
"Even if she hadn't worked so hard to keep this a secret, if it had gotten out, Gifted was still the creator. She would be blamed for every one of you. Giving everything up was one of two choices she had, and the other was to die. I'm sorry everything didn't work out, but now we have to work for it too."
Joan said nothing. She knew Raven wouldn’t get it, she didn't even know why she'd bothered saying anything. Well, that wasn't true.... She'd said something because a really obvious lie they both new was just an attempt to dodge the question was still a lie, and she wasn't about to say 'Nothing.'
Lynn came back to invite her to dinner with Adam. I came down with Lynn to dinner, not saying much.
"You can choose another room if you would prefer," Adam told her with a tentative smile.
"No, it's fine, thank you. I wouldn't want to impose on your hospitality" I told him, trying to remember my formal manners and be polite.
"It's not as though it would do me any great trouble," Adam said with a very slight smile.
"I assure you, I'm quite alright." I insisted, keeping my tone grateful.
"Very well... It would probably be best for you to stay inside when possible," Adam told her. "I'm told the streets have gotten out of hand."
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," I said. Ha, like I was going to go out anyway. I needed a disguise for that.
"You're welcome to go anywhere you like in the castle, though," Adam assured her. They didn't eat poorly by any means. Whoever was feeling the change the closed ports brought, Adam evidently wasn't one of them.
I was a little surprised by this fact. I would have considered it great PR to lower my own standards of living considerably to show I understood and was willing to make the sacrifices everyone else had to make. It just looked better, in bad economic times, to not be eating lavishly in your palace and wearing expensive clothes as though nothing was wrong. However I said nothing, and simply ate quietly. It'd been so long since I'd tasted real, good food. Mostly Arianna and I had eaten ramen noodles and whatever else was cheap. Every dollar spent on food was money that could've been put towards the boat. A few of the workers joined them, though Lynn had left. Apparently working at the palace had more than a few perks.
I wasn't really appeased by this fact, though at least it gave him an excuse I suppose. I ate quietly without joining in any conversation. When I finished I said "Thank you, that was delicious," and got to my feet, unsure if I ought to take my plate to the kitchen or something, knowing it wasn't customary in a place like this but feeling it impolite to not.
"We'll clean up after, miss," one of the servants told her. "You can run along."
I nodded and went back to my room.
I wished I had a computer or an mp3 player. Heck, I would've settled for a book. Just something to do, anyway. I didn't feel very social.
Exactly a week later, something did happen; they took the website down.
Assuming it was a government cover-up, believers were furious. Public awareness abruptly exploded as people began posting quotes, printscreen, and copies everywhere. What had been slowly trickling through the conspiracy theorist crowd exploded into the mainstream as people defiantly posted the story everywhere they could. The government couldn't delete everything.

Joan was furious.
"Of course, those two obviously took it down themselves." She bitched the evening after it went off the web. "You know I've had four students come up and ask me if it's true? Four! And of course they don't believe me even if I say no."
Rick nodded. "If there's one thing a person can do to make sure everyone in the world reads something, it's banning it."

"We need to do something about this and fast," Raven said. "But what?"
Joan wanted so badly to hit something. She hadn't been this angry since Tammy's trial. "I don't know!" she snapped. "There's not a damn thing I can do about it because if I or any of the former Inner Circle try to protest it it'll just look like we're part of the cover-up!"

"So what if me and Trace did?"
"You live with me and Nicholas. You could be part of the cover-up too." Joan said shortly.
"And Trace? Or any of the other Ravonians who were here? Or some of the rebels."
"Trace maybe, if you could get her to agree to it. But she's not really a well-known face, I don't think she'd go far enough. That's the problem anyone high enough to get media attention won't be believed."

"What about a close friend of Gifted's from another country?"
Rick looked up sharply at her words. "You're not thinking... what I think you're thinking, are you?"
"Of course not.... wait are you?" Joan asked.
"What do you think I'm thinking?" Raven questioned.
"A friend of gifteds from another country? What else could I be thinking?" Rick looked pointedly at Raven.
"Uh, pretty much the leader of any major country," Raven replied. "I was thinking Crow and Fox, but~"
"Oh please, what evidence is there that Crow and Gifted were ever friends?" Joan scoffed. "And didn't Fox vanish? How would they know, anywho?"
"We were all friends. What about... What about Adam? I mean, he's busy but he could probably spare an hour or two..."
"You think?" Rick said sceptically.
"Where would he have got the information? And why's he butting into our affairs anyway, when he comes from literally the only country that doesn't know about the conspiracy theory? It just looks too suspicious." Joan sighed in frustration.

Raven sighed. "Well we have to think of something," she mumbled.
"Obviously," Joan replied
Rick was quiet, thinking and listening.
Nicholas and Jared were sitting on the couch listening, neither of them really qualified to join in on the conversation.
Raven sighed. "If you think of anything, we'll talk about it, but there's no point worrying now."
"No point in worrying now? That's what we said a week ago. When pretty much the only people who knew about this lived in Saturn. It' been a week and its spread to the whole damn country. If something isn't done soon, there'll be no way to stop it!" Joan snapped.
"I mean, worrying with no solution will do nothing but cause panic. There's no point in worrying now, because worry is pointless unless you can think of something to do about it," Raven said.
"So what, we wait for it to cause some more damage?" Joan demanded.
Rick sighed and rose to his feet. "I have a trial tomorrow." He said wearily. "I've gotta go. Jared, if you're crashing with me I'd come with."
Jared got to his feet also. "Later, guys."
"Do you have any better ideas, Joan?" Raven asked.
"If I did, do you think I'd be sitting around?" She went upstairs t her room and slammed the door. Nicholas looked up to where his sister had disappeared, sad and a little concerned. He'd never seen her act like this.
"She's mad because she's used to being able to fix everything," Raven said.

"What was with your reaction in there?" Jared asked his best friend and they went out to the car.
"Just sealing myself to do something very unpleasant." Rick sighed, getting into the car. "Public relations is not an easy business, Jared."
Jared got into the passenger side as Rick started the car. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Oh I'll figure it out," Rick agreed, backing out of the driveway. "The question is, at what cost?"

Around Adam's home, I tried to be as helpful as possible, as well as learn as much as possible about the state of affairs in Ravonia. I figured Adam would be more apt to help me if I was considerate and helpful... and it helped me take my mind off things, which was a great help to my still-healing mental physique.
Over the course of the week you'd been able to gather a number of things from Lynn and the servants, but Adam didn't talk about the rebellion except to say that he was handling it. From the others, you'd learned that while the rebellion itself was quite small, it was all but impossible to find a citizen who didn't at least understand their motive. They had a number of supporters, despite the small number of fighters. They kept on winning, though, forging a path to the capital city. The closed ports had helped the rebels rather than hindered them. People were much more easily persuaded to give their support to the rebellion now that Adam had done this. It was still unclear who their leaders were, but rumors spoke of three young charismatic men who had, supposedly, won the first battle all on their own.
Armed with my information, I felt it was finally time to speak to Adam about my idea. Now, the question was, where to find him when I wanted to speak to him alone...
I remembered a study from one of my earlier wanderings. At least, that's what I'd assumed it was. Maybe I'd find him in there. I went off to go look for him.
Adam was indeed there, watching the TV, it seemed. He paused it when you came in. "Can I help you?" he asked. His smile seemed a little forced where it hadn't before.
I sat down across from him. "I want to go out and help you. For the last year, damage has followed me in some way or another anywhere I go. It's time I made myself of use for once. You could always use more spies, right?"
Adam looked hesitant. "Yes, I suppose," he agreed.
"So please, let me do something of use. If I'm caught, I've got nothing to lose. I can't keep living with you forever, and if I'm spotted I'll be recognized, sent back to Panem and executed. What, am I going to live in hiding the rest of my life? This way, at least I can do something with it. I can't be of any use to my own country any longer, but I can still help this one. So please, let me help. Let me go out and spy for you. Please."

"I haven't the slightest idea how they would send you back to your country since the ports are closed. You got in on an apparent lapse... It's been corrected," Adam said. "If you really wish to go, you may, but you won't be leaving right away. This has to be planned well. I won't have them suspecting who you are from the beginning."
"Of course.... that's why I leave in the middle of the night, slip out under the cover of darkness. I can say you were holding me here to send back to Panem in exchange for the countries help, say I'm a wanted fugitive. But I escaped before the deal could be finalized." I smirked. "By now, even the alias I’ve been working under is probably wanted for aiding and abetting a criminal, so it's not that huge a stretch."
Adam nodded. "That all makes sense, except one thing. If you're found out, why would I betray you? You were... You were her best friend."
"Because you're desperate." I shrugged. "She's been gone almost a year now... and you need the help. The former Princess Sarteena who destroyed her country and is branded as a traitor is an excellent bargaining chip."
"Desperate for what? She can't come back. Nothing can fix that," Adam said, pain in his voice.
"For help. If you had the panemian army backing you as well as the ravonian one... well, how could you lose a battle? It would give those you already have renewed faith and give you additional resources at all sides to fight. You could bury the enemy in bodies. Or if that wouldn't work, you'd also have Panem's vast military technology at your disposal... I'm talking cell phone tower-less communication over vast distances, untraceable, I'm talking state-of-the-art radar, sonar, and others, things that could let you see the inside of a base miles below the earth. Ranged microphones, to hear what the enemy is saying from hundreds of kilometres above, or even nearly a thousand feet away on the ground. It all can be intercepted of course, except for the communications. But by Ravonian rebels who might not even know Panem has entered the fray, let alone have the technology to stop it since technology isn't exactly much of a thing here? Panem on your side would be a huge advantage." I didn't realise it might be dangerous to talk it up like this, in case he changed his mind and decided to hand me over. The thought never even occurred to me really. I mean, this was Adam we were talking about here. He's the sane one.

"We don't have technology for good reason. It is an awful thing, and if the choice ends up getting us defeated then at least we know that we tried to save the world," Adam mumbled. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
"That choice would cost you any war, most of that stuff is in use by pretty much every other military. But this is what my excuse would be if was revealed to be who I am. You could get a lot of help from Panem by handing me over, you wanted it, I didn't want to be handed over. If they find out my identity, whatever, lends more credibility to my story. If not, then there you go." I shrugged. "Seems simple enough to me."

Adam nodded. "Alright. Feel free to steal whatever you want from me." He showed a slight smile. "When do you plan on leaving?"
"Right as soon as I can get new makeup to disguise my features, as mine was taken by your guards who arrested me. Then I'll wait until night and slip out a window or something"
"Send Lynn to buy it for you," Adam said. "She'll be able to get whatever it is you need."
"Alright, that works." I rose to my feet. "Thank you." I went quickly, excited for the first time in what felt like ages, to go find Lynn.
Lynn narrowly avoided running into her as she walked around a corner. "Excited about something?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, there you are. Yeah, I'm just pleased something actually went right for me for once." I explained. "Hey do you think at some point in the near future you could get me some new make up in case I need to change my appearance again? I was told you were the person to talk to."
"Sure. Do you have any preference what brand or color?" Lynn asked.
"Not really... Just pick what you think is best." I'd always been out of touch with the girly stuff.
Lynn nodded. "When do you need it?"
"As soon as possible, preferably." I replied.
"Alright, I'll get them this afternoon," Lynn told her with a friendly smile.
"Alright, thank you very much." I said. I then went to the library to read and kill time before I could leave.
Right before dinner, Lynn brought her a full set of make-up. It was a darker color scheme, with silvers and purples. "I thought you might like this best," she explained.
"It’s perfect,' I assured her, though secretly I was thinking I was going to look like a Goth. "Thank you."
Lynn nodded. Clearly judging people's tastes wasn't her thing. "You're welcome. If you need anything else be sure to let me know."
"I will" I said. I would go to dinner, then return to my room, put on new makeup, and slip out while everyone was asleep. I couldn't wait.
Dinner passed by without a cinch. Lynn went home early and Adam wished you good luck.
I thanked Adam for the sentiment and returned to my room. At around midnight, I got up and nervously looked around. I pushed open my bedroom window and crawled out, leaping lightly from the windowsill and landing outside. Then I crouched in some bushes and waited silently to see if I'd been heard. No one seemed bothered if they'd heard anything, and no one came to investigate. After a moment I emerged from the bushes and set off towards the town at a jog, ducking and hiding whenever I saw a guard or someone who might be a threat.
Most of the shops were locked up and only a few guards were out. It was fairly easy to get about, so long as you stayed away from the docks. Unsure exactly where to go from here, I slipped into an alley to camp n for the night I doubted finding the rebels would be easy, but it was worth a shot. I figured in the daytime I would try to head towards where the rebels had last attacked, and hope I got caught in the middle of something. Not the most well thought out plan, but I just wanted to get moving. The rebels had last been sighted northwest of the capital, near the eastern point of Lake Shiro.
That morning I set off in that general direction, thinking I'd stop in a town if I found one between here and there. There were many small towns, but no big cities between here and there. If you followed the Shang River it led almost exactly to where you wanted to go.
The next day, Joan was out grocery shopping when she ran into Rick on the street. "Hey!" she called for his attention and came over to join him.
"Oh... hey." Rick said sullenly.
"I called you like four times today. Why didn't you pick up the phone?" Joan said, sounding only mildly irritated.
Rick shrugged, continuing walking, not even looking at Joan. She didn't really notice.
"Where are you going? It's unusual to see out and about town."
"Grocery shopping." He muttered.
"Good then I'm not making you go out of your way or anything. Have you thought about you-know what?" She lowered her voice to keep people from hearing.
After a pause Rick said. "Actually I'm gonna head home, I've got... I've gotta do research for a case."
"But I thought you came out here grocery shopping?" Joan noted his strange behavior.
"I'll do it another day."
"Where're you parked?"
Rick abruptly lost his patience, as if annoyed she wasn't catching the hint. In his heart though, he knew she would never catch that hint. They'd been close for too long, and he was one of the few people she trusted completely, and it'd always been the same with him. He felt horrible that he now had to break that trust. But the lives of hundreds of people could depend on it. "Can't you take a hint, Joan? I don't want your company, so F*ck off!"
Joan stepped back, a look of utter shock on her face. Rick had never spoken to her like that before. He wasn't generally an angry person. "....You could have just said something..."
"Oh what, avoiding your phone calls and abruptly changing my plans when you show up isn't obvious enough for you? Well then here you go. Get. Out. Of. My. Life."
Joan was stunned and hurt. Her voice was barely audible. "Rick..."
"Don't you Rick me, Joan Wenkeling. I'm twenty years old now and I don't need a child hanging off my arm." he snapped. "And you can tell Raven to F*ck off too." With that, he turned and left.
Joan stood, frozen for what felt like ages. She couldn't believe it.... Rick... she would have trusted Rick with her life. How could he...?
She noticed everyone on the street staring. Rick had made quite a scene. Hurt, betrayed and ashamed, Joan turned and ran from the street, trying her best to outrun her tears.


Meanwhile Rick drove home. Jared noticed his friends mood the moment he walked in the door. "What happened?"
"I did it" Rick said in a hollow voice. He sounded horrified with himself.
"What?" Jared was surprised "But I thought you were going to take it slow..."
"She was at the supermarket today." He said. "She noticed me."
"Oh..." Jared came to comfort Rick, wishing h could use his power to help Rick feel better "I'm sorry, man."
"...God, Joan, I hope you forgive me"
Raven looked up when Joan came in. "What happened?" she asked.
It took her several seconds to be able to speak. "Rick... Rick said....Rick told me to get out of his life... I don't know why he h-hates me..." Tears finally began to fall.
Nichols had never seen his sister cry, not since she was 8 and their parents died. He went over and hugged his sister, trying to comfort her.
Raven joined the hug. "He's probably just having a hard time... It's okay, we'll talk to him..."
"He never gets mad like that... he said he 'didn't need a child hanging off his arm'. I don’t understand, he was nice enough yesterday...."She shook her head hugged Raven and Nicholas.
"We'll figure something out, okay?" Raven asked, holding her adopted children.
Joan didn't say much after that. After a few minutes she pulled away gently and went up to her room The last thing she said before shutting the door was "Don't bother calling him... he won't answer."
Raven sighed. She forced a mental image of her going to Rick's house and kicking his ass for hurting Joan out of her mind. "We'll think of something," she whispered to herself.
Nicholas grabbed the phone despite her warning and dialed. He waited, and waited, but there was no answer. He called four separate times, but Rick didn't pick up a single one.
"We'll talk to him tomorrow, Nicholas... Give him some time to cool down."
"He made my sister cry." Nicholas never got mad, and this seemed to be no exception, but he looked at Raven carefully before saying "Is it wrong to demand an explanation?"
"No, it's just not smart to expect one. If we want to talk to him we'll have to go to his house. Even then he might not open the door," Raven said.
Nicholas knew she was right. "Tomorrow, then."
"What classes do you have tomorrow?"
"Just biology and psychology." He answered. "Shouldn't take more than four hours."
"Great, we can go while Joan is still at work," Raven said with a nod.
"Excellent." Nicholas said.
The next day was bright and sunny, and Joan just barely got out the door on time. Four hours later, Nicholas came home.
"Let's go." Raven got in the car and waited for him to follow before driving to Rick's house.
Ricks car was in the driveway and his lights were on but just looking through the windows revealed no one. Nicholas went up to the house and rang the doorbell. It took almost two minutes, but Rick finally answered the door. "Oh, it's just you," he said, sounding a little disappointed.
"Were you expecting someone?" Raven asked, biting back the 'what's wrong with seeing us?'
"I really don't want a lecture," he snapped, and tried to close the door on them.
Raven put her foot in the door. "Were you expecting someone else, Rick?"
"No!" he snapped, but it was obvious he was just saying what he had to to get them to leave.

"Really?" Nicholas said skeptically

"If you must know the media got wind of my fight with Joan yesterday and when you knocked I was panicking trying to find Jared a place to hide thinking you were them vultures pounding on my door. Now would you please leave me alone?" He tried to close the door a little more forcefully.

"Why aren't you answering the phone?" Raven asked, putting her shoulder against the door.
"Because I'm-" A car went by, and though it showed no signs of stopping, it seemed to put Rick on edge. "Because I don't particularly want to talk to you." he snapped.
"And why the hell did you tell my daughter to leave you alone?" Raven didn't care about the car. Or about how Rick felt, for that matter.
"Because I want you all to leave me the hell alone!" Rick shouted.
"You were fine three days ago!"
"What's your point?"
"How could you do this to my sister, Rick? You know you were one of the people she trusted most?" Nicholas asked.
"She'll get over it, she does with everything else. And I still don't understand what your point is."
"My point is you made my daughter cry, bastard!" Raven finally really lost her temper. It was the first time in weeks, and it was accompanied by a punch aimed at his face.
He was caught off guard and stumbled back, his nose bleeding from the blow. After a second of shock he retaliated, throwing a punch at Ravens face.
Raven was ready for it and she ducked to the side, her eyes flashing. "I'm glad she'll never see you again."
"Are you done?" He demanded.
"I shouldn't be." She left regardless, looking pissed in every fiber of her body.
Rick watched her and Nicholas go quietly, then after they left went outside nervously, looking around to see if anyone overheard them. He was very disappointed and pissed when he found no one. He'd alienated Raven for no reason at all. He sighed and went back inside.

The very next day he was on the news. The press had pounced, hoping to take advantage of his hard feelings against Joan by getting him to spill the truth about the conspiracy.
"Mr. Martinez, what do you think of the theories circling around the internet as of late?"
He gave a sly grin. "I think somebody got a hold of some very old documents and has a very overactive imagination."
"So you're admitting something of this nature did happen?"
"Oh, I dunno if I'd go that far." Rick said. "It was an idea Gifted kicked around for a bit... I'm talking years ago, like back when I lived at the palace. They ran a few tests and had a couple close misses, but eventually it was deemed impractical because of the intense physical pain it caused.... the project was shelved and never officially completed. They probably would've got back to that, but.... y'know. At that point she was kinda distracted." He gave a guilty smile.
"You're referring to the beginning of the MG wars?"
"Well, I was trying to be subtle about it." Rick laughed. "I figure some old scientist who got fired remembered the project from way back when and decided to write a cool little story about it. It's interesting. It'd make a great movie. But unfortunately, real life just isn't that cool," he laughed again.
"Well there you have it folks. I'm Barbara Streisend, and this was News at six."
Joan didn't say anything about it.

Raven seemed to be under the impression that Rick shouldn't have the right to laugh. Or perhaps not to breathe. Her expression clearly showed that she hadn't come close to forgiving him.
Shortly after the news aired, Joan went back up to her bedroom.
The next day, it was apparent that Ricks speech had worked... at least for now. People were taking the information off the net, and it was talked about much less.
"Oh thank god," Rick sighed when Jared told him how much he'd helped. Now he just had to work up the nerve to try and get Joan and Raven to forgive him.

Meanwhile, I'd finally gotten to the city I'd been walking too, unsure of what to expect.
The city seemed fairly normal, if a little quiet. It wasn't a huge city and it wasn't too hard to navigate. After several minutes of walking through the streets, you noticed a pair of men talking in hushed voices, which was mostly strange because no one else was around.
I gave a small but clearly audible gasp that would probably catch their attention and began to back away. I'd decided on my way here that I would pretend I'd been travelling for so long I didn't know exactly where I was. As I was the only one on the street it was pretty likely they'd question me.
Both men looked up sharply. After only a second, one of them took on a pleasantly curious expression and asked, "Where are you going?"
I looked scared. "I'm going... n-north?" I paused as though looking for an innocuous response before finally settling on North.
The expression changed to a worried frown. "Are you trying to get somewhere? Maybe we can help."
"No, but... Could you tell me where I am? Please?" I asked.
The man nodded. "You're in Taine... Can we help you at all, miss?" he asked.
"I made it?" I asked in a shocked tone. I sank to my knees in utter relief. "Oh thank goodness... Thank goodness."
One of the men came forward. "Are you okay...?"
I looked up to him. "I'm sorry... my name is Sarah White. I've been running north for days now. If Adam were to have caught me... oh, I don't even want to think about it. I'm just glad it's over." I said breathlessly. I used to be a good actress... let's hope I was still up to the task.
The man looked like he pitied her. "Why were you coming here, then?" he asked. "There are places farther away..."
"I thought... I thought a rebel city would be safest... another country might hand e over to Panem" I shook my head. "I'm a fugitive, wanted for assisting a criminal in evading capture. What else was I supposed to do? She was my sister... When she was murdered I fled to Ravonia and Adam took me in after hearing my story... I thought he'd protect me as Ravonia is supposed to be against Panem but I found out he was negotiating with Princess Sarteena Cynthia to return me to Panem in exchange for assistance... this was the last safe place I could think of."
"I'm sorry to hear that... I think you should come with us," the man told her.
"...Okay..." I sounded a little nervous, but got to my feet and followed nonetheless.
The man led her inside where there was a small group of people. He spoke quickly and quietly to one of them, a young man who couldn't have been older than twenty-five. "Sarah White? It's good to meet you. I think we should talk. I'm Frederick." Perhaps it was pure chance that he had the same name as the man proposed to take over if Adam was removed. Maybe not. He motioned for them to go back outside.
I nodded, looking more nervous now that I was in a building, though it calmed me down when the others left. Though they could be covering the exits.
"You seem nervous, are you okay? We can go outside if you prefer," Frederick offered.
"I'm fine" It sounded like a lie and I gave a guilty smile.
"It's really fine. Just tell me what you wish, I don't want you to be uncomfortable. It sounds as though you've had a hard time recently," Frederick told her.
"It's fine just... force of habit, really." I assured him "You said you wanted to talk to me..?"
"Yes, I just wanted to ask you a few questions. You're free to answer or not as you see fit," Frederick told her.
"Alright... what is it you want to ask me? I asked carefully.
"I was told Adam was going to send you to Panem... Is that where you're from originally?" Frederick asked.
"Yes, I am." I confirmed. "I was a beat cop in Celinaville."
Frederick nodded. "Why did you leave? He mentioned your sister, but he didn't say much."
"My sister..." I sighed. "My sister killed two people. I'm not gonna lie. She showed up at my door like a week later, crying her eyes out, terrified... What was I supposed to do? She was my sister, I couldn't turn her away.
She never really came to terms with what she did... never had enough time, I guess. She was herself murdered on the street not two blocks from where we were staying. Now she's dead and I'm wanted for assisting a wanted fugitive. I decided to escape to Ravonia, since the two countries are still on such tense terms... I thought Adam would protect me. He welcomed me warmly at first, but I found out a day or two later that he'd been negotiating with Princess Sarteena Cynthia... to send me back in exchange for help. I ran as soon as I was able."
Frederick nodded. "You're welcome here, so long as you don't cause any problems. This isn't your fight, but if you truly wish to come with us I won't stop you.
"I do want to help." I nodded.
Frederick smiled. "Well then, welcome to the resistance... When did you last eat?"
"Um... like three days ago, sadly. I don't think I've eaten since the night I left" I said guiltily. "It was just too risky to stop."
Frederick looked bothered by this. "Come on, we'll get something into you. Just take it slow so you don't hurt yourself."
"It's not that big a deal, before I got here me and my sister were living on Kraft Dinner and ramen noodles. It really doesn't bother me to go hungry." I assured him.
"Be that as it may, you're eating," Frederick told her. "Come on."
"Alright," I laughed and followed him.
Frederick smiled and led her to a kitchen area in the house. "What would you like?" he asked. "We don't have anything fancy, but we're not dying. Whatever we don't end up eating before we move again we give to the villagers, aside from jerky and canned foods."
I thought about it and then realized something. "Do you have strawberries or oranges? I used to really like them, but I don't think I've had any fruit in like... nine months. I didn't realize it until just now." The few times Emeric had remembered to feed me so I didn't die, it had been cereal or granola bars. Every. Fucking. Time. Because it didn't take up any of his time to make them. I didn't even like granola bars.

Frederick nodded and produced a small plastic container of strawberries and an orange. "Here you go. Don't eat too much or you'll give yourself a stomach ache."
"Thank you," I ate about six strawberries and half the orange before I was done.
Frederick smiled and put the rest away. "I'm glad you made it here, Sara," he told her.
"So am I. What can I do to help?" I asked brightly.
"There's not much to do at the moment, we're mostly figuring out where to head next. Maybe try acquainting yourself with the locals or something," Frederick suggested with a slight sigh.
"Can do."
"I'll talk to you again later, okay?" Frederick asked.


On her next day off, Raven went to Celinaville to look for Cristel. Since it was Saturday, she asked Joan and Nicholas if they wanted to come.
Joan, surprisingly, didn't want to come. "Tell me if you find anything," she said.
"I will," Raven promised and then left.
Celinaville was pretty normal, like the last time raven had been there. The weather was cloudy and cool but not too cold, so the streets were mostly crowded with happy people.
"Sheilah, that's like the fourth john who thought I was a prostitute. I'm not showing an inch of skin. Why are these creeps attracted to me?" Cristel asked. Sheilah knew the ways to survive on the street, and she was the only person in the whole world Cristel trusted even marginally.
Sheilah smirked. "Chris, I'd get off this street. Or at least sit down. Don't you have some adorable routine with that dog to do?"
Cristel looked at her canine companion. "I suppose so. See you in an hour or two."
Less than an hour later, Cristel was standing on crowded street corner with a crowd around her. A little beagle puppy with her was preforming tricks for the crowds amusement She'd made a hoop for him to jump through with a length of rope, and he jumped through no matter how quickly she moved it. Then after he'd jumped through it at the highest point yet, he somersaulted and landed on his feet
"How did he teach his dog to do that?" Someone asked, amazed.
Cristel put the length of re on the ground straight, and put her hand up like a signal. The dog understood the signal. It rose onto its hind legs and walked across the rope, keeping its balance perfectly. Cristel took a small plastic ball from her pocket and tossed it to the puppy, who jumped and caught it out of the air It gave a happy bark and went over to Cristel, its tail wagging happily. She pet it on the head and withdrew a small plastic tube... what the balls (she used to have more) had come in when she bought them. The puppy dropped the ball and took the container before running up to the people who'd crowded around to watch the show. People pet it and put money in the tube while it ran around to each person playfully, barking now and then.
Raven arrived just in time to see the dog carry the tube around. She waited until the crowd had dispersed to talk to the homeless man.
When the people left, the puppy returned to Cristel with a tube full of money. Normally she'dve sat down and counted her income but that one girl hadn't left yet, and made Cristel extremely suspicious. Her dark green eyes fixed on Raven and after a moment she pulled her baseball cap down to further obscure her face. She picked up her puppy and turned away, heading into the back alleys of the slums of Celinaville.
"Wait," Raven called after 'him'. "I want to talk to you."
Great. Should she stop...? Cristel debated the chance Ruby was expecting her to walking to a trap further on against this person perhaps being the trap. If she had powers like Cristel, they could be done with before they even resisted. Cristel trespassed in Ravens head trying to make a decision. Meanwhile she kept the same pace, not looking back.
"Please," Raven added. Maybe this young man had seen her, even knew her... "I just want to ask you a few questions."
Cristels eyes widened in alarm. This woman was looking for her. Her sister must have put her up to it. This girl hadn't recognized Cristel yet, but it was only a matter of time. Yaz leapt out of her arms and faced Raven suddenly, growling. He barked a few times, and Cristel turned. Trying to keep her voice as low as possible she said. "Hush there boy... Sorry 'bout him."
The beagle charged, looking like it was going to try to attack her.
Raven stumbled back, frightened despite believing it was a normal dog.
Pleased it worked, Cristel quickly picked him up and looked Raven in the eyes for the first time "I'm sorry." She said, and left quickly.
"Wait. I'll pay you. I'm desperate, I need to find someone..." After a second, Raven added, "I'm with the police."
Cristel stopped. The police. She had a vague idea what they were... her last few days she'd heard about them a couple of times and she could remember vaguely saying something to Ruby about calling the police when they were children... Police weren't something Ruby liked. Still... was it safe?
Cristel didn't want to take risks. But she did have Yaz. She took a calculated gamble, and stopped for Raven.