Page 171 of The Order

“Whoever brought our meals,” I say, looking at the measly portion of grits positioned on a small silver tray. “Didn't latch the cell door all the way,” I look around again, waiting for someone to appear after hearing me.

“You were going to sneak out? Even with your abilities drained?” he questions, stating the obvious.

“I have to try, Kai. Stay here,” I begin, ready to leave him behind. “At least I’ll know you're safe-”

He grabs my wrist, and when I look back at him, his eyes no longer hold a boyish innocence, but the weight of adulthood instead. Suddenly, I see the similarities between him and my father. It was never age in my father's sullen expression… it was pain.

“I’m your older brother,” he starts, moving past me. “Don't forget what responsibilities that means I have.” He looks back at me, resolute, a sense of duty filling him with renewed energy.

“I'll lead the way.”

Making it past every empty cell, there is discomfort in not seeing any of our friends. Unable to push past the hold of the collar, it's up to Kai to hack the outdated coding on the panel of the final security door that’s keeping us trapped within the confinement chamber. Kai eventually managed to bypass the digital lock, and we find ourselves back in the main area of the building. Distant chatter echoes from a vestibule just a turn away. Looking at a large door to our right, we see an odd indentation in the wall. Its material is older than what surrounds it.

“If we go that way, we're screwed,” Kai whispers, listening to the bellowing laughter of the Officials who attempt to flirt with a woman sitting at her workstation.

Moving closer to the indentation, I press my head to the wall, listening to the voices beyond it.

Like the purest noise blessing my ears, I hear his familiar voice, conflicted and comforting, groveling in emotional pain.

Motioning Kai over, I push the wall in, watching it move back, revealing an old entryway probably forgotten during a renovation of the space. Shoving past me, Kai steps inside, helping me pull back the concrete slab to conceal us from any oncoming Officials. Looking at the opening, we continue listening to Fallan’s voice, moving down the narrow path, holding our arms close to our sides.

“We're inside the walls,” Kai whispers, my head gently nodding.

Pushing past cobwebs, we follow the hallway to the end, stopping in front of our only way inside the space where Fallan is being held. Ready to press in the hidden entryway, we pause at the sound of another voice.

“I deserve all of this for what I did to you,” my father's familiar voice grovels.

“Is that-”

“Dad,” I whisper, finishing Kai’s statement.

I hear my father sniffle, his voice filled with emotion.

“It's over now, Andrew,” Fallan begins.

“Not to me!” my father yells, his hands slamming down on a surface somewhere in the room, the sound of chains dragging across the floor.

I stay pressed against Kai, both of us silently listening.

“Your father was my best friend, Fallan. I watched your mother and him fall in love,” my father cries. “I watched the joy on your mother's face when she was pregnant with you,” he continues, my heart racing. “Our parents used to have to drag me and your father away from each other. We dreamed of getting away from this place. He was exceptional, just like you.” The sound of something being kicked or thrown fills our ears. “And I promised him I would protect you, but I betrayed him!” My father yells, a choked sob escaping him. “I was too selfish to tell Katiana I couldn’t be with her. I was too weak to put my foot down and stay with my people-”

“You murdered my dad to prove your loyalty to her people,” Fallan says, his voice broken. “You shot him right in front of me, and instead of taking me, you used a chip on me that you knew wouldn't work,” Fallan whispers, his voice lined with resentment. “You took everything away from me, Andrew, and I wanted you to suffer,” Fallan yells, my head pressed to the wall in pain. “I wanted to kill her for what you did to me,” Fallan continues, my mind racing, “The night when that Untouchable boy committed suicide, I was ready to kill her. I was ready to drag her lifeless body to your front door and make you suffer,” Fallan says, that night of the bonfire coming to the forefront of my mind.

“Then why didn't you?”

“I fell in love with a girl I wasn't supposed to. Everything before Forest was abysmal," Fallan responds, the affection and longing in his voice heard, even from behind this wall. “Everything after that night for me was only her. I will live for her, and I will die for her, as long as it means she gets to live.”

“It didn't matter how often we tried to hardwire her brain to forget you,” my father begins, a small laugh leaving him. “She always found you.” My fingers instinctively running along the scar on the back of my neck. “Your connection with her is nothing like I’ve seen with our kind before-”

“There are no more Marked, Andrew. What's here is what's left of our kind,” Fallan whispers.

“You think Xavier would have done all of this if that were true?” my father questions, my mind racing.

“He's keeping us here for a reason, and he’s safeguarding my daughter for his own self-gain. There's something about her he wants-”

“I am going to kill him,” Fallan whispers. “Her life is all that matters.”

An unnerving presence surrounds me. Kai’s grasp on my arm tightens.

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