Page 51 of Resistant

Declan

On Wednesday, Sasha returns as promised. I let her in without a word. Brynn unloads the clean laundry, sorting items and putting them away.

I study them both, Brynn is thriving after a couple of weeks with regular meals and nutrition. Sasha is not faring so well. She has dark circles under her eyes, and she looks like she’s losing weight.

I slip into the kitchen and slap together two peanut butter sandwiches, grab an apple and some celery. I coax Sasha into sitting on the ottoman and hand over the food.

“Eat.”

She glances at me quickly and digs in. I hear her moan around the bite of peanut butter sandwich and smile. Brynn and I had similar responses to our first taste from the jar of peanut butter.

I wait until Brynn finishes up the laundry swap and Sasha eats. When she’s done, Brynn slides the bag to the front door, peeks out the window. She looks over at me and shakes her head slightly, so no guards at the door.

“Sasha, we need to talk.”

I cross the room and sit in front of her. This position has the added benefit of blocking the view of the camera in this room and a few days ago I disabled the sound. Sasha looks up at me, eyes wide and shakes her head.

“I’ve swept the house, we are good so long as no one starts yelling, and we keep it down.”

Sasha stares at me long and hard, long enough to take a piece of my soul with her. Whatever she sees must be encouraging because she sets her sandwich down.

“No, Sasha, keep eating talk with your mouth full. We don’t have time and you need to eat.”

She stares at me first in surprise and then resignation. She takes a bite of the apple, swallows hard and talks around it.

“We have an inner group of Resistance here. My group. I don’t trust many people out here in housing. You should know that all the people in housing are former Resistance of some sort. The rich sort, anyway. I need people in housing to get resources. There’s only so much we can earn in the stocks.”

She stops and glances up at Brynn. Brynn is still, and I see a sliver of fury in her eyes that she quickly wipes away.

“We’ve been working towards getting Brynn out so we can get her to Resistance. It’s imperative that her DNA is studied. She has genes that protect her from radiation sickness.”

Unfathomable anger gurgles up from my gut in a rush. I won’t let Resistance use Brynn, anymore than I would allow it of the New Reform.

“What the fuck Sasha?” My fist clenches over my knee in an effort to keep my voice soft. A sweet knowing smile crosses over her features so quickly, I think I must have imagined it.

“There are reports, from inside the New Reform that document Brynn and her family’s wellbeing. The documents claim that the nuclear plumes blew over her home, and there are no reports of Brynn or her children getting sick. In fact, the records show that Brynn worked through the whole event. Those reports also document the supposition that her sons have inherited these genes from Brynn as well.”

Brynn slides to the floor and sits with her legs splayed out, her expression crumples into utter despair. I hate seeing the anguish marking her pretty face. Sasha turns to Brynn.

“Do you know if your husband or parents ever had DNA testing? We may be able to narrow it down and eliminate your boys from the scope. Right now, you and your children are the only documented cases. We know there are more. And we suspect that other people who are resistant also carry the same genes and may be distantly related to you. We have access to the old databases for DNA and we can have others on the outside research while we execute a plan to get you out.”

“I honestly have no idea. If Wyatt did the testing, he never told me about it. And my parents have been dead for many years, I can’t recall if that was before the trend in testing though. I never tested. My boys were never tested.”

“What’s the plan Sasha?” I demand. “How are you going to get her out?”

“Us out.” Brynn corrects me.

“We don’t have one yet. I have something rudimentary worked up, but we need help from the elites in the neighborhood and I don’t have access to all of them. We need you to get to know the people here, garner their trust and I’ll report to the Resistance outside.”

“How do we know that we can trust you?” Brynn asks.

Sasha looks over at Brynn. The pain is evident on her face, and I’m surprised by the show of emotion.

“Brynn, I’ve never gotten sick either, nor have any of my four daughters. We are not documented by the New Reform, but it’s a matter of time before they discover us. Before they start treating us like lab rats. I need to keep my daughters safe. Please.” Her voice ends on a hoarse whisper.

I watch as desperation slides over Sasha’s features as she looks at Brynn. Something wordless transpires between them, and I struggle to grasp hold the decision that has just been made without words. Their thick energy cloys at me, and I clear my throat.

Brynn swallows hard and nods.

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