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  “And?” asked Hannah.

  Turning to my mother, Kaylee said, “Sonia, we would like you to take over as our new leader, the head of Providence.”

  Everyone in attendance nodded and chimed in their approval.

  My mother scanned the crowd, a little taken aback, a little shocked.

  A beat. “I-I’m honored at you all for choosing me, but I think it’s time we change the way things are ran around here, forever. My niece, Ellen, has a journal, a handwritten account of everything the Munford women have wrought upon us. I would like everyone to read an excerpt from that book, and afterwards, ponder my new request: I will rule Providence, but only if my husband, Wayne, is allowed to reign with me, jointly.”

  Shocked gasps filled the masses, but many of them had seen my father dispatch the monitors the day prior, so not all thought the idea ludicrous.

  “In the journal, you will find that men used to run the world, used to control everything. It is obvious that way didn’t work, and neither did MOM’s tyrannical rule. I believe this will be a good combination of strength and compassion, two things that Providence is in serious lack of.”

  The crowd suddenly parted, and Ellen appeared in their midst. She had a large stack of papers in her hand and began passing them out to the crowd. I took one and smiled as I recognized the words from Beatrice Munford’s journal.

  Ellen had taken the time to hand copy each word, and surprisingly made enough for everyone to read. I couldn’t help but feel some of old pride for Ellen well up inside me again. She had always been one ambitious girl.

  The next twenty minutes were spent in silence, as everyone took the time to read through the pages. The dwellers already knew the story, because Ellen had told them years ago, so they patiently awaited the outcome.

  It was obvious when someone finished reading the pages, because they would look up with a mixture of shock and anger on their faces. Some were even crying, having learned now that it wasn’t considered weak, just natural.

  The group huddled together, and after many whispers and a few louder arguments, seemed to reach a conclusion.

  Kaylee stepped forward again and said, “Our people have been led to believe a lie, a lie dreamed up by a mad woman. I don’t know where we go from here, but we have decided your way is best. It will take many of us awhile to adjust to being led by a male, but we are willing to do what we feel is best for all of Providence.”

  “Well, well, isn’t this sweet. It seems everyone in Providence has become a traitor, turned their back on MOM,” Lucius boomed in his loud voice from behind us.

  As the crowd turned, I immediately heard their gasps, and almost immediately, the people of Providence took off running. Lucius had the savages with him, fifty or more in number. They had somehow managed to sneak in, and now surrounded us. Our people saw there was nowhere to run, and the instinct to fight kicked in.

  I was surprised that my mother and the forest dwellers weren’t readying themselves for the attack. In fact, they didn’t seem concerned in the least about the savages.

  “Attack! Kill them all!” yelled Lucius, choosing to remain back, to avoid the looming battle.

  The savages hesitated at first, looked confused. And then they turned back towards Lucius.

  “What, what are you doing? I ordered you to attack! Get them!”

  Slowly, deliberately, the savages advanced on Lucius. Decided it wise to flee, Lucius turned and tried to run, but his massive size caused him to trip and crash to the earth. He quickly rolled over and said, “What’s going on? Why are you doing this?” It was then that the man noticed the size of his creation. They all looked shorter, less prominent.

  One of the savages separated herself from the others and moved closer to Lucius. Using an old rag, she wiped something from her face and arms, and before long, she looked normal, like the rest of us. And then she smiled down at Lucius. “We no longer listen to your madness, Lucius. We have been made right again.”

  “But how? I mean…” Lucius started, but stopped short as another familiar face stepped forward.

  “I might’ve had a little something to do with all of this,” said Colin, smiling down at Lucius’s confusion. “After you thought you were successful in brainwashing me, I was able to freely come and go inside the palace, so I used my time to reverse the effects of your evil potion. It took me some time to get up the nerve to actually go inside their cells, but after you ordered me to kill Sidnie, I knew I had to do something to stop your madness!”

  Jeremiah moved forward and placed his foot alongside Lucius’s face. “I can see from your confusion that you still don’t fully understand, so allow me. After you took my sister and turned her, I made it my life’s mission to create something that would change her back. It took many years, but we finally did so, as you can see.”

  “You? You are responsible for this? You took my children from me?” Lucius said, clearly unnerved.

  “It was our plan all along. We just needed time and patience. Putting Colin inside the Capitol was the final phase of our operation. Once there, he did what it took to get on your good side. While you were making him a monitor, he was gaining access to the cells, and eventually changing my people back to normal human beings.”

  “But Colin hates all of you. He told me so.” Lucius said.

  “While I admit your brainwashing had me a little confused, I never fully bought into your craziness. I came to the Capitol on a mission, and you were my final task,” Colin said.

  A beat. “What, what now? What will you do with me?” asked the man who had once wielded the power over life and death. Now he was nothing more than a scared little boy. His shaking body and quivering voice paying credence to his fear.

  Meredith, the sister of Jeremiah, retrieved something from her pocket and bent down to Lucius. “From now on, you will get to see what it’s like to be turned into an animal, a little toy for whatever whimsical thing I ask.”

  Lucius tried to fight, to squirm away from her, but Jeremiah easily held him in place.

  The crowd gathered around Lucius as the dark elixir worked its way through his system. The end result was actually quite comical. Lucius’s arms and legs bulged with muscles, but his stomach also grew. He looked like a woman in labor, times fifty. His belly was ripe like the biggest watermelon, and I wondered if his now massive legs could even bring him to an upright position.

  Everyone roared in laughter. It was a good feeling, to fully laugh without worry, without repercussion. As Lucius attempted to roll over, so he could upright himself, he looked like someone had strapped him onto a large boulder. After numerous attempts to get his legs underneath his girth, he became a tired, angry heap. Collapsing back onto the earth, Lucius yelled and cursed everyone around him, and then he started to cry. This only caused the crowd to laugh harder.

  With Lucius out of the way, all my mind could think about was Colin. Seeing him there, alive, made my heart swell. I was a nervous wreck when he came over and stood in front of me.

  “You were the one who came to me in my cell. You gave me that awful tasting stuff. You saved me. But if you were able to roam freely throughout the Capitol, why didn’t you just leave, and take me with you?”

  “Because I knew you would defeat Marcella in the arena. It had to be done,” Colin said proudly.

  Throwing my arms around him, I kissed him deeply. I didn’t care who was looking, or what they thought.

  Chapter 33

  “We still have work to do, Sidnie. Jeremiah just found the location where they've been holding our sick and the aging. We have to move quickly. Intel suggests the guards plan to execute them all within the hour.”

  Hopping onto the horse nearest my mother’s, I yelled to Jeremiah, “Lead the way.” Our team consisted of a mix of former forest dwellers and citizens of Providence, male and female.

  We rode hard for the forty-five minutes and when Jeremiah finally came to a stop, I worried we might not reach them in time. The compound was high on top o
f a mountain, and the place looked like some of the forts I'd read about before the war. Impenetrable, was the word that came to mind. The monitors would easily see us approaching, no matter which way we advanced.

  Hiding in the cover of the trees, my mind tried to figure out how we would get up the steps and into the compound without detection. Movement in my peripheral caught my attention. I watched as Jeremiah and Colin went behind a large outcrop of trees, and when they reappeared, they were wearing the garb of two monitors.

  “Remain here until we open the main gate,” Jeremiah said authoritatively.

  I said a silent prayer that they would be okay. I had no idea what they might encounter, or if they would be attacked, killed. I had missed Colin greatly, and the last thing I wanted was to do was lose him again.

  Discarding their spears, Jeremiah and Colin walked purposefully up the steps to the compound. With steel gates and bars everywhere, the place looked impenetrable.

  Stopping at the large door, Jeremiah pounded viciously until someone answered.

  “Are you two trying to awaken the dead? Get in here!” The reply from the other side sounded.

  And just like that, the door swung inward and Colin and Jeremiah were inside. My mind took off on a wild worry tangent, leaving me feeling like a black cat being tossed into the river. I imagined my nerves standing on end similarly to that same cat’s fur sticking in the air.

  Time ticked by like watching a snail attempt to climb a tree. It was exhausting. Just when I thought I might explode, the door opened slightly, and I saw a hand wave us forward.

  Slowly, we advanced up the stairs, in groups of six. Sonia had broken us out into small teams, just in case we were attacked—no sense in everyone getting taken out right off. Since I was in the front of this effort, I wasn't too fond of her line of thinking.

  As we reached the door, I tentatively pushed it open and got quite the shock. Monitors were strewn about all over the compound, and our grandmothers and grandfathers, along with some of the sickly folks were running around like warriors, smashing heads in with clubs, spears, and just about any other weapon they could find.

  I smiled at the sight, thinking they had the situation completely under control. Even Colin and Jeremiah stood off to the side, grinning admirably at the scene.

  It took another twenty to thirty minutes, and then our elders formed in the center of the compound, huge smiles on their faces.

  Once our party made it into the compound, a small reunion took place, as the elders embraced their kinfolk and traded stories of everything that had transpired over the last few days.

  From what I could gather, the elders had gotten wind of Marcella Munford's defeat in the arena and had readied themselves for a coup against the monitors. They had fully expected the order keepers to kill them, since MOM was no longer in the picture and their future was uncertain.

  When my mother brought over my grandparents, I really didn't know how to react. I hadn't seen them since I was a little girl, around the age of six, maybe seven. They looked much older than when I'd last said my good-byes to them, and I couldn't help but wonder what kind of hardships they'd seen during their twelve or so years in this place. It made me angry with the monitors, made me want to smack a few of them around myself.

  While the others in our party continued their reunion with their loved ones, I had my grandfather take me around the compound. I wanted to know everything they'd been through.

  Grandfather led me to their sleeping quarters first, and I've never been so disgusted in my life. It was an eight by eight room with two windows covered over by steel bars. Even the tiny prison they'd locked me up inside was nicer.

  The place reeked of sweat, urine and feces, and there were flies everywhere. It made me sick just looking at it—the smell caused my stomach to roil.

  “They had ten of us in each cell. Said it was easier on them when it came time to feed us,” Grandfather said, pointing to the hell hole.

  “Ten? I can't imagine how ten people could live in such a tight space.”

  “Live? It wasn't about living, my dear. They brought us here to die. They couldn't care less whether or not we were comfortable.”

  “This is inhumane! How could they treat you like this? Surely some of the guards here have grandparents in the compound as well,” I said, getting angrier by the minute.

  “They did, and they were the ones who got treated the worst. The monitors refused to show favor just because they were blood.”

  “I think we should bring all of the monitors here and lock them up,” I said.

  “I'd be the first to volunteer to watch over them,” said my grandfather, as he nodded his head and squinted his eyes. “I'd give them a little of the same treatment they gave us.”

  “I'm sorry you had to go through this, Grandfather. I should've done something sooner to stop her.”

  “What? Oh, no, my child. You don't know how happy, how proud I was to hear that you'd killed Marcella Munford. We are free now because you rid the world of that wench. I had been trying to get the men and women here to unite with me in an attack against the monitors for years. But they were too afraid of what MOM might do if she found out. That all changed when we got word of Marcella Munford’s defeat.”

  “I think we were all too afraid to step away from life in Providence, from the Munford stringent guidelines. Personally, this is the only way of life I've ever known. Beatrice Munford knew exactly what she was doing when she took over and transformed our country. She saw an opportunity and seized it.”

  “Well, we're left with an opportunity to make things right again, to correct the many Munford mistakes,” said Grandfather.

  “It will take some time for everyone to learn to trust each other again. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around men actually hunting for food and providing for the family,” I said.

  “Still blows my mind that our ancestors allowed Beatrice to basically strip them of all their rights and throw them into slavery. I'm not saying men should lord over women, but a complete reversal of roles is unfathomable. I still don't know how she did it.”

  “Sounds like she basically killed off anyone who went against her. If you remove the obstacles, it's easy to enact a change.”

  “Yeah, maybe. Still bugs the heck out of me. Enough of that. There's one other thing I want to show you and then we can get out of this place.”

  Grandfather led me to the outer perimeter of the compound and pointed down over the hill. “Anyone who went against the monitors ended up down there.”

  In absolute shock, I looked down at a massive graveyard, minus the graves. There were bodies strewn about everywhere: leg bones, skulls, arms, even a few phalanges. It was grotesque, horrifying. I couldn't speak. Tears formed in my eyes.

  “They would brutally beat them to death and toss them over like a piece of trash. They liked to say, all of you are of no use to MOM now. By dying, you should consider it a service to all of Providence.”

  “They regularly tried to convince us to take our own lives, said it would be easier. I have friends down there, good people who bought into their line of bull! I hate this place, hate everything about it!”

  I grabbed my grandfather in a tight embrace. I didn't care about the way he smelled, or how he looked. My heart ached for him, for all he'd been through. “I-I'm so sorry, Grandfather,” I said through sobs. I didn't even know where they'd come from, nor had I ever experienced such an exhausting form of crying before. My heart had cried out and my entire body had responded.

  “Now, now, all is okay, my child. I'm just glad you and your mother made it through Marcella's madness. There is one other thing though.”

  “I'm not sure I can take much more,” I said, wiping the tears from my eyes.

  “The Badlanders will become a thorn in our side once this place is closed down.”

  “What? Why?” I asked, not following.

  “All those bodies down there provided them their food supply. This was another deal Marcella
Munford brokered, to keep the Badlanders out of Providence.”

  Just when I thought I couldn't be more surprised or shocked by the things that woman had done, I heard this. I was beside myself. I wanted to resurrect her and kill her again. After calming, I said, “Well, we will just have to deal with them when that day comes. I'm tired, and it is past time I return home to some sense of normalcy.”

  Grandfather and I walked away holding hands, and I couldn't help but look over and smile at him. How absurd that we used to think the aged and sick a burden. They were people, no matter their age, health, stature, or build.

  When we rejoined the others, I saw Colin situated atop his horse. He slid forward slightly on the saddle and patted the now vacant spot. I didn't hesitate for a second, as I went over and joined him. Wrapping my arms around his chest, I gave him a long, hard squeeze. I could get used to this being a girl thing.

  Looking up, Hannah caught my eye. I could tell from the smirk on her face that she was having one of those, I told you so moments. And I knew exactly to what she was referring: love. I was undeniably in love with this man, and from the way he looked at me, he felt the same.

  Uncertainty about what lay ahead consumed me, but as I hugged Colin tightly, I believed we would be alright.

  Chapter 34

  Outside my home, I noticed Kaylee waiting on my doorstep. My insides started going crazy, flipping around like I was carrying a child inside me. I didn't know what to say to her, how to deal with her betrayal. Should I still be angry? Did it matter?

  With her head down, Kaylee got up and met me in the driveway. She stopped a few feet from me and said, “I owe you a huge apology, Sidnie. I can't believe how mean I was, how bad I treated you. I guess I just got caught up in the lie of Providence, this make-believe life that MOM created for us. I still can't fathom how one woman brought about so much destruction.”

  It took me a minute or two to respond. At first, I was angry, but as I looked over at Colin and saw him smiling my way, I started to realize that Kaylee might've done me a favor.