Page 14 of Dissent

I held my hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, I’m sorry. It’s bad…I get it.” He glared, and something flickered within his eyes, but I couldn’t read it. His tab binged again, snapping him back to attention. Without a word to me, he started walking once more, and I raced to keep up with him. “Did the REG catch any of them?”

“No,” he stated heavily. The fact was clearly grating on him. “But we have a lead.”

“What are you—”

“Look, I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s not your fault, and I’m just stressed, okay? There’s a lot of pressure on me to get this right. Dad’s counting on me.”

I nodded gently, “Yeah, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” I knew he was stressed, and I knew exactly what he meant. This attack was the first one since the last rebellion. People would look for someone to blame.

Something flickered in his eyes again, and I noticed that there was a hint of sadness lingering in them. He rubbed his lips together, turning his face away from me before taking a deep breath. “You remember what I told you last night, right?”

A little confused by the sudden switch in topic, I nodded. “Yeah, I remember. You’re my brother and you love me.”

“And I’ll always do whatever I have to do to protect you.” His gaze was intense, almost as though he wanted to engrave this thought into my mind with sheer willpower. His tab went off once more. Reading the message, his brows knitted together and the corners of his lips tipped into a frown. He shifted his attention back to me. “Stay home today, okay?”

“What? No way, why? You know how much I hate being here.”

“I know, but…please. I don’t know what the rebels are planning. It may not be safe. Until we can get the system back online, I…I just need one less thing to worry about, okay?”

His eyes were pleading, and I didn’t know what else to do but agree. Giving in, I nodded, and he smiled in response. Saying nothing else, he turned on his heels as his tab called his attention once more, and finished the walk to his car. I couldn’t help but glance at my own mini-tab.

No missed messages.

7: The Broadcast

Thedaywasawful. I felt like a caged bird, meeting nothing but unrelenting metal bars, and wanting nothing but the openness of clear skies. I did my best to avoid Belinda. She was in a foul mood, more than usual, and restless. She paced the halls all day, looking for someone to step out of line so that she could have themreeducated. I spent some time in our library, but there wasn’t much to do there…just stare at the trinkets on the shelves, admire the giant fireplace flanked by stone lion statues, or gaze upon the jeweled chandelier that twinkled as it caught the light. I asked someone once why libraries were filled with shelves, littered with odds and ends. Apparently, books were made of paper, and shelves were intended for the books. But it hadn’t been that way for quite some time. Everything was digital nowadays. Sure, paper was still used, but not for books anymore.

Libraries now served as mini family museums. Walk into a library and you might see urns containing the cremated remains of ancestors, prized antiques, or digital frames displaying pictures of the family. Whenever I looked at the shelves in our library, I spent most of my time looking at the pictures. And my favorite was of my dad’s late brother, Luis de la Puente, Tía Serena, and my cousin Javier.

Jacob and I grew up with Javi, spending summers playing in the park and holidays playing hide-and-seek in the Presidential Palace. He was my absolute favorite cousin…until he died.

Jacob and Javier attended the academy together, and they were both initiated at the same time. Jacob was assigned to REG Command, whereas Javier was stationed at a reeducation camp beyond the wall. There had been a failure with the security system causing hundreds of rebels to get out, a riot, and a subsequent lockdown.

Javier never made it out.

He was too young to die. Only eighteen when he lost his life, and it broke Raúl. He had already lost his brother in the last civil war, but to lose his nephew…it destroyed him. After that, Raúl cracked down even harder on Dissenter activity, and things had been escalating ever since. That was two years ago.

There were other photos in our library—pictures of Raúl and Belinda, pictures of Belinda with Jacob, photos of the three of them together, pictures of Jacob growing up throughout the years. And there were several urns containing different family members, including my Tío Luis and Tía Serena. But for all the pictures of family, there wasn’t a single photo of me…notone.

Why keep me? I just didn’t get it. It was a question I had asked myself for years, and I never understood it. Why take me in and keep me if they didn’t want me? It was obvious they didn’t love me. The thoughts constricted my lungs as my breath caught in my throat. I knew the answer, but I just didn’t understand it. I knew Raúl was unfaithful, and I knew I was the product of that moment. And I knew that my mother didn’t want me either, leaving me with him. But I just didn’t understand why he agreed to take me. That part made no sense to me, and I was sure it never would.

Sometimes, I longed for my mother. I would wish that she hadn’t left me here. Then, there were other times when I hated her so much. If she didn’t want me thenwhyshould I wanther?

Late at night, especially after a rough day with Belinda, I would think about her. I wondered who she was, what she looked like, and if I was anything like her. I wasnothinglike the de la Puentes. With the exception of my eyes, I looked nothing like Raúl. I had his same big, deep brown eyes. But the rest of me looked like…well, Iassumedlike my mother. Long, rich mahogany colored hair with coppery tones, long black lashes, pink lips set like Cupid’s bow, small nose, and a small pointed chin. I was petite, with everything about me being small to match. Jacob always said I reminded him of a whiny anime character, which I hugely resented and almost punched him the first time he made the comparison.

In all truth, it kind of made sense why Belinda hated me so much. I was a constant living, breathing reminder that Raúl screwed up. That he couldn’t be faithful to her. That he had a night wrapped in the arms of another woman. And not just any woman…aSubclasswoman! I smirked at the thought. That must havereallypissed Belinda off. I mean, if you were going to cheat, at least do it with someone worth cheating with,right?

My shoulders slumped as I stepped back from the shelves, taking a seat in one of the plushy armchairs. Feeling heavy, I glanced out the window, noticing the darkening skies, the last rays of sun weakly trickling in. The fireplace would kick on any minute. It was automatic, set to come to life at sunset.

As darkness slowly closed in around me, the flatscreen sitting above the fireplace flickered on. I yelped, jumping in my chair. The Telvian crest displayed on the screen, a shield with a prominentTin the middle, held up by two lions on either side. There must be a broadcast about to start. Every screen in Telvia automatically turned on and tuned in whenever there was a Council broadcast.

My mini-tab binged and my heart skipped as I lifted my wrist. It was about time that Chase messaged me. I was starting to worry about him. It was incredibly odd for him to ignore me all day, let alonetwo.

Telvian Council:A broadcast will begin shortly. Please report to the nearest screen for mandatory viewing. We appreciate your cooperation.

My heart sank as a heavy sigh escaped me. I flopped back into my chair. I hope he wasn’t mad at me. My pulse quickened… What if he had been called in by the REG to be interviewed? I shuddered, shoving the concern down. He stepped in to defend me. The REG wouldn’t punish him for that. It meant, however, that I was going to hear it later from my dad. I lifted my hand and began chewing on my nails. Damn. Why the hell did I do that? I knew I was going to kick myself later for getting involved with that stupid kid. My jaw twinged from the pressure of clenching it. I opened my mouth and stretched it out, moving it around in circles to ease the pain. My tab binged again.

Telvian Council:A broadcast is about to begin. Report to the nearest screen for mandatory viewing. We appreciate your cooperation.

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