Chapter 59: Chapter 59

“So that’s how the revolution began,” the journalist whispers.

“A mother would do anything for her child,” he replies. “Starting a war against her own country wasn’t an easy choice, but it was necessary. It made sense to her.”

“Why didn’t Sanoske fight her revolution?”

“Because he loved her. He believed in her too. He wasn’t thrilled about her decision, though.

“He was concerned about her safety and that of his men. So, he set up a relay system. Only a few trucks would travel at a time, making them less noticeable.

“Albion was just beginning to look for them at that time. The skies were filled with planes. Perfects were setting up checkpoints everywhere, inspecting every truck, every train.”

“So how did they get through?”

“Well, it wasn’t easy. It never was after that. No revolution is fought and won in two days. It required guts, a bit of recklessness, and a strong mission. Everything my mother had.

“And it took love, of course. They started with the workers, freeing them from forced labor and giving them a weapon, a task, a goal, a vision.

“The Resistants were mobilized, and coordinated attacks began simultaneously in different parts of Albion.

“They targeted schools first, both boys and girls. Not killing—never killing—but taking over the space, setting up a base, reinforcing it, and defending it.

“It didn’t take long for the Masters to figure out what was happening.”

***

We’re on the road for days, weeks, months.

As the lead truck, we spend a lot of time parked, studying the best map of Albion that Sanoske could find, and picking the safest routes to avoid the Perfects’ roadblocks.

Every time we stop, whether at a worker’s camp or hiding in ruins, Sanoske sends a few runners out ahead and behind us to ensure the road is clear and that all our trucks are still following.

In the distance, we hear Albion planes scanning the gray landscape and the rumbling of the trains moving north to south every day, bringing supplies and more soldiers.

I spend most nights huddled in the back of the truck with Sanoske and the Kagegun men, reviewing old Albion strategies. The ones I learned in school, and the ones they picked up from their own war experiences.

Albion is a formidable military force, a feared country, but it’s standing on a shaky foundation. If we can knock down enough pillars, it will collapse. Schools and nurseries are the first pillars, the most vulnerable.

From day one, Sanoske and I organize the Kagegun, partnering with willing workers, to travel to nearby schools and take over the space.

It’s crucial that no Perfects are harmed during the invasion, but a strong defense is necessary.

As we travel, we carry minimal provisions and ration all our food and water. Every time a few trucks catch up with us, we listen to the news from the schools they’ve taken over.

The Kagegun are surprised, but I’m not shocked that the teachers and nurses at the schools quickly join our side.

We also send men traveling fast around the country to known Resistance pockets. Their message is clear: now is the time for the revolution. And little by little, Resistance fighters have been joining us.

Even without sending people, word of our movement is spreading. A couple of times now we have arrived at a workers’ camp already prepared for us and willing to join us in the fight.

Every day, Sanoske gathers all the workers and his Kagegun men and leads them in a couple of training sessions. As I heal, I join them.

Kazuya often pulls me aside to give me extra lessons. Sanoske frowns at this, but I can’t help but feel like I need to know how to defend myself. Even if I only have one working hand.

When we’re not driving or planning our next invasion, I spend a lot of my time helping Akira and Saito with cleaning, organizing, and counting all our weapons and bullets.

We’ve found and picked up many discarded Perfect weapons along the road, and I sit in the back of the truck repairing them until they’re functional again.

Shin, who is the Kagegun’s main weapons expert, always gives my work a thorough inspection, and he’s always pleased, rewarding me with a wide grin.

When I can, I also help with the prisoners we’ve taken. They’re not kept locked up, but they’re well supervised by a rotation of six Kagegun men.

The nurses and teachers we capture are the most curious and eager to get to work. They spend their time repairing clothing and weapons too.

Discovering the air isn’t toxic was a revelation for them, and when no one is around, I hear them discussing going back to their schools and nurseries to share the information.

The Perfect soldiers, however, are a different story. They sit around all day, swear, and refuse to eat. They also try to escape every night.

Sanoske had to shoot one once before he got too far. That put a damper on their escape plans.

Jeremy is the exception. It’s not long before he slips away from the Kagegun guards and starts participating in the training sessions.

He also gets involved in the driving rotations, though he isn’t given a weapon or invited to any strategy meetings.

It’s not to say we haven’t had our share of bad news. Two of the first schools we took over were destroyed by the Perfects. They completely razed them to the ground, killing every child inside.

It was the hardest decision for me to make, to insist on continuing. But I knew children were Albion’s most prized possession. They couldn’t keep killing them all.

And they didn’t. The Masters started setting up elite teams designed to track us down, as well as landmines, barricades, and ambushes. Their strategies were deadly, and there was only one goal: they wanted everyone dead.

This is the first time I’ve been on the receiving end of the Perfect army, and I now understand—truly understand—the hatred that the Kagegun and all the other Foreigner soldiers have for them.

The Perfect army is a killing machine. There’s no mercy, no distinction between woman, child, old man, or soldier.

As I watch them fight, I see only emptiness in their eyes, like their humanity has been completely drained out of them. I understand why they’re such a feared army internationally.

I'm more determined than ever. I've met Perfect soldiers. They're human, with thoughts and desires. They can be unprogrammed.

Sanoske always sends me off with the women and elderly during our battles. But I always find my way back, rifle in hand, perched on top of a truck, ready to take aim. My archery skills come in handy. I'm a damn good shot.

The first time Sanoske caught me, he was livid, threatening to lock me up. The second time, I saved Akira from a Perfect soldier. Sanoske was more forgiving then.

He made me promise to stay hidden and never get too close to the battles. So, I take out the soldiers closest to the revolutionaries. I can duck and hide easily when they spot me.

I never hide who I am. I always wear my gray jumper, trousers, and boots into battle. With a heavy Perfect helmet and a Perfect rifle, I've made myself a soldier.

I want the Perfect soldiers we fight to know that it's a Perfect mother they're up against.

***

It's early evening when Kazuya parks the truck. I wake up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

Sanoske slips out immediately. I watch him move silently through the darkness, his dark-gray clothing blending in. Only his katana, glinting in the moonlight, gives him away.

There's a slight breeze and a chill that makes me clutch my coat tighter. Akira tenses next to me, gripping his gun, as he watches Sanoske disappear into the ruins.

We're surrounded by ruins, a dead city like the one Resistance is under. This one is smaller, but more intact.

Ancient buildings tower over us, hiding the moon, but also hiding us from the Perfect planes circling in the distance.

Sanoske disappears through a gaping doorway. It takes all my willpower not to follow him. Akira looks like he feels the same way.

It feels like forever before Sanoske reappears, his sword sheathed. He jogs over to us, grinning.

I immediately curl up against his chest. He holds me while he whispers orders to his men.

Akira and Takeshi are sent off as scouts. Jun and Shin will be our first lookouts. The rest of us gather our things and follow Sanoske through the ruins.

He keeps his arm around my waist, my body pressed to his side as we descend into the ruins. In the pitch darkness, I feel him squeeze my hand.

Behind us, the Kagegun men and the few workers on our truck fall into step. Our footsteps echo on the cement floor.

“This place was a Resistance fortress once,” Sanoske murmurs.

“When was that?” I ask.

“About twenty years ago. Before the Perfects found it and smoked everyone out.”

“They smoked them out?”

“Albion likes playing with fire,” he says, chuckling.

His hand slides down to the small of my back. I feel his breath against my skin and his hand guiding me to the side. Up ahead, I think I see a flickering light.

“What's that?” I ask, squinting in the darkness.

“Well, I didn't say it was abandoned.”

I can almost hear the smile in Sanoske’s voice. My thoughts race. My legs carry me faster down the tunnel. Sanoske grabs my hand and we're running. My heart pounds as we approach the light.

I start to hear noises, voices, and a child's giggle.

“Beth!” I gasp, and then I'm running faster than Sanoske, faster than I've ever run.

I burst through a heavy, dusty curtain into a large chamber lit by a single bulb. I barely notice the blade pressed to my throat as I scan the room.

There are about fifteen people in the chamber, some already asleep in their sleeping bags. Others are sitting in a circle, playing cards.

And off to one side, two little girls and a little boy, all about the same size, are playing with a rag doll.

“Beth.”

The blade at my throat disappears, and Haruhiko’s face appears. But I push past him.

I feel Sanoske a step behind me, but all I can focus on is the little head turning to look at me, the big brown eyes widening when they see me.

“Mama!”

“Beth!”

Then she's in my arms and I'm hugging her tight. My tears flow freely. She's warm and small, and she giggles as I pick her up and twirl her around.

“Again!” Beth demands, and I spin her around again. Then I hold her close. Her little legs wrap around my waist, and her arms grab at my shirt.

At my feet, little Juliet and João have gotten up, also wanting to be twirled.

“Alexandra!”

I turn to see Julia rushing toward me, Carlos right behind her.

“Julia!” I gasp through my tears.

She pulls Beth and me into her arms. “I kept her safe for you,” she tells me, her own eyes sparkling with tears.

“Thank you,” is all I can manage as Beth twists in my arms and reaches out behind me. When I turn, Haruhiko is there, his eyes wide.

“Alex, I’m so sorry,” he says, quickly dropping to his knees.

“I ask for your forgiveness. I’m so sorry. I should not have left you alone. I should have stopped them taking you. Please forgive me, Alex. I could not live if you hated me!”

“Haruhiko, there’s nothing to forgive!” I insist, reaching out to help him up. But Sanoske’s hand appears and pushes Haruhiko back down.

“Oh, yes, there is,” Sanoske growls. “You were sworn to protect her with your life!”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” Haruhiko says, his head hanging low. “I’ve let you both down.”

“He had the girls,” I remind Sanoske. “And I made the choice. He did an amazing job. Haruhiko, thank you for saving my daughter’s life.”

Haruhiko’s eyes well up with tears as he looks at me again. Sanoske grunts and steps back, giving Haruhiko room to stand. He immediately wraps his arms around me in a tight hug.

“You were amazing standing up to that Master,” he tells me. “I’ve never seen a Perfect so strong.”

“He’s dead now,” I say when Haruhiko pulls away, and he gives me a small smile.

“Good.”

“Mama, down now!”

Beth wriggles in my arms, eager to get back to her little friends on the ground. Even though I hate to let her go, I put her down.

I feel Sanoske’s hand lightly touch my back. When I look up at him, he leans in and wipes my tears away with his thumb.

“Is it safe here?” I ask.

He nods. “Yes, for now. But we’ll need to move again soon.”

I nod, my eyes returning to my daughter.

“She’s beautiful,” Sanoske murmurs. I can only nod in agreement.

“It’s almost their bedtime,” Julia says from my other side. “We have a mattress that the three of them share.”

“I want to help put her to bed,” I whisper, trying to hold back more tears.

“Of course.”

Julia gives my hand a squeeze, and together we pick up the three giggling toddlers and start their bedtime routine.

It’s the same routine I had at their age, the same routine I used to help the teachers with when I was at school, the same routine Juliet, Beth, and João have always followed.

First, we help them brush their teeth and wash their dirty faces and hands. Then we change them into pajamas and tuck them into their shared mattress.

I cover them with a blanket and watch, my heart swelling, as they drift off to sleep, clinging to each other in peaceful slumber.

I keep glancing back at Beth sleeping as we eat. Those who had been sleeping when we arrived wake up for their shift, and a second truckload of Kagegun men and workers arrive.

Suddenly, the once-empty room is bustling with people eating and getting ready for the night.

Sanoske lays out his sleeping bag next to the kids’ mattress and pulls me in with him, wrapping his arms around my waist. He gently kisses my temple.

“She’s grown so much,” I whisper.

Sanoske gives me a little squeeze. “She looks healthy.”

“How much time can we spend with her?”

“I want to send her further south to Resistance. There are a lot of underground pockets, and Resistants never turn away a healthy child. They’ll welcome workers too.

“I can send Haruhiko and Saito to stay with them. Or we can put her on the ship and send her to the Japanese stations in Europe.”

I watch my child breathing softly. “I want her close to me. But I think she’ll be safer in Europe surrounded by your people. It’s what we promised Julia too.”

Sanoske kisses the top of my head. “I agree,” he says.

“There’s something else.” I turn in his arms to face him.

“Please don’t tell me you want to start another revolution.” He smiles, his lips brushing against mine.

I shake my head. My heart skips a beat as I take a deep breath, bracing myself for his reaction.

“Sanoske, I’m pregnant,” I whisper.

He freezes for a second, his eyes widening.

“Pregnant?” he manages to say.

I nod. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m already two months along,” I tell him, watching his expression closely. “I know, during a revolution, on the road, it’s not the best timing. But—”

His face suddenly breaks into a wide grin, his eyes sparkling with tears, and he kisses me, effectively silencing me.

When he pulls back, he hugs me tightly. “I love you,” he whispers. “I don’t think I could be any happier than I am right now.”

My heart races as he holds me close, and for the first time in a long time, I feel completely safe and utterly happy.

—End of Book 1—