De Novo's Rebellion

De Novo’s

Rebellion

Lindsey Bramson

Copyright © 2013 Lindsey Bramson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-1337-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1339-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1338-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013918910

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/4/2013

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Thank you so much to Mickey Hunacek, my fellow writer and friend who took time to read this over and give me her thoughts; and to my wonderful fiancé, Jayson, who has greatly helped and encouraged me along the way.

Chapter One

Olivia popped a piece of gum into her mouth. She chewed intensely as she said a prayer and looked out at the scene before her. Guards stood at every entrance to the storehouse. Cameras swept the empty lot. A large, NO TRESPASSING sign hung menacingly above the main doors.

And hiding in the bushes at the front of the building was a group of twelve armed and hungry teenagers.

Olivia heard a sound to her right. She turned as the head Hunter, Rico, knelt down beside her group. He was wearing some sort of hunting outfit consisting of a long sleeve forest green shirt with black military pants, boots, and a tan shooting vest that was different from the black bullet proof ones that Olivia and the rest of the Gatherers wore.

Alright, Bray counted six guards at the doors, and six more in back, he said. We don’t know how many are inside, if there are any at all. We’ll be giving you guys plenty of cover, but you’re still gonna have to work fast.

Everyone nodded. Olivia grasped a hold of the cross that hung on a silver chain around her neck. She held it for a moment, twisting it around in her fingers, then kissed it and tucked it away underneath her vest. Rico half stood and quickly ran back to where he and his group were hiding, out of sight of Olivia and the other five Gatherers. Silence fell on all of them as they waited for their command. Out of the corner of her eye, Olivia studied the five teens who had been chosen along with her to accompany the Hunters in the weekly Gathering. There was a red-haired girl named Tamara at the other end of the line who seemed to be a little older than Olivia, maybe seventeen or eighteen. Next to her was a sandy-haired boy named Thomas who was about Olivia’s age. He had a hard set face and eyes that hardly seemed to open. His face showed full determination. Next to him were Anna and Helen, two dark skinned girls who definitely had a look of fear on their faces. From what Olivia remembered about them, their grandparents had come from the Philippines. What intrigued Olivia so much about them was that they were sisters; twins, at that. The odds of two siblings being selected for the Gathering at the same time were so slim, Olivia had never thought it would happen.

Amadi, the boy next to her, seemed to be the youngest. He had brown hair and freckles, and couldn’t be older than thirteen. He obviously wasn’t younger than thirteen, since that was the age at which everyone became eligible for selection. He turned to her.

The Hunters won’t actually kill the guards, will they?

Before Olivia could answer, Tamara spoke.

No, the bullets in their guns are like gas bombs, and when they’re fired, they release a drug that makes them unconscious for a few minutes.

But it’s not long enough, Thomas said through his teeth.

The answer seemed to satisfy Amadi, but not console him. Olivia definitely thought that he looked too small to be on this mission. If it were up to her, eligibility for the Gathering selection wouldn’t be until age fifteen. Actually, it would be nice if there were no selection process at all, and everyone just had enough to eat and didn’t have to worry about how or when they’d get their next meal, or where their parents were, or if they somehow happened to come in contact with—

There’s the signal! Let’s go!

Thomas burst out of the bushes as the Hunters charged from their position, guns firing at the guards. Everyone else followed as fast as they could, which was difficult, because each of the Gatherers carried two backpacks; and these weren’t your normal size backpacks. These were what Olivia called jumbo packs. They were backpacks designed to carry extremely heavy loads of pretty much anything.

At the moment, they needed them for holding lots of food.

The Hunters ran ahead of the Gatherers, firing away. Guards began falling down left and right, completely unconscious. More guards came around the side of the building and the Hunters took up their positions near the main entrance. Olivia and the rest of the Gatherers ran inside.

Although there was hardly any light, there were no more guards awaiting them in the storehouse. Olivia ran to the back shelves. She had been assigned vegetables. Flinging both jumbo packs off her back, she quickly began tossing in carrots, lettuce, celery, cucumbers, and anything else she could get her hands on. She flinched when a tomato got squashed and exploded all over the first bag. They wouldn’t be too happy about that back at De Novo.

She glanced toward the doors. Gunfire could still be heard outside. Olivia knew that the Hunters would keep the guards away from the doors but it wouldn’t be long before they ran out of ammo.

Her eye caught something blue under a tarp near the wall. She started toward it, then hesitated. She knew she should be gathering vegetables like she was told.

Dropping the jumbo packs, she sprinted to the blue object. There was still gunfire outside, which meant she still had some time. She flung back the tarp and stared in amazement at what sat before her. She placed her hand on the lid. To her excitement, it was cold. She quickly opened the lid and looked in, her jaw dropping.

Ice.

It was a cooler full of ice. And there were more coolers under the rest of the tarp.

Guys! There’s ice over here! she cried out.

The gunfire continued, drowning out her words. Olivia placed her hand inside, touching her finger to the cold object. Her finger came away wet. She held it up to her eyes a moment before placing it on her tongue. The one tiny trickle of water tasted so cool and refreshing. She stood up, jumped over the piles of vegetables, and again called out,

Guys, there’s a whole thing of—

Ice!

Olivia turned as Thomas came rushing over to the opened cooler. He threw back the tarp in astonishment, revealing nine other coolers full of ice.

Hey, yo, there’s ice over here! he called out.

Four other heads popped up.

No way! Tamara came running over. You telling me you really found ice, Thomas?

Sitting right here this whole time.

Thomas placed his hands on his hips in a proud gesture. Olivia sighed and folded her arms, then realized that the gunfire had stopped.

Time’s up!

Rico and the other Hunters came rushing through the doors.

Hand us our packs.

Olivia turned to pick up one of her jumbo packs, then stretched it out to the Hunter walking by. The other Gatherers did the same. The Hunters quickly put the packs on their back. Now the load was lightened a little for the Gatherers, as each person only had one pack to carry with them. As Olivia was putting hers on, she heard Tamara call out,

Hey Rico! Thomas found us some ice.

Are you serious? Rico came over to Thomas and Tamara.

Thomas nodded. Yep. Found it right here.

Rico slapped him on the shoulder.

That’s great, man! Josiah will be stoked.

Olivia rolled her eyes. Who even used the word stoked anymore?

Alright, everyone. Since our bags are heavy, it will be two to a cooler. We’ll have to leave the rest here, but we’ll come back and get the rest next time. Got it? Let’s go!

The Hunters paired up and got their coolers first. Then, of course, Thomas and Tamara grabbed one together. Next were Anna and Helen. For a moment, Olivia thought that they were going to drop it, but they steadied themselves and turned to follow the others. She turned to see Amadi standing next to her. He looked even smaller with his full jumbo pack on. Olivia reached out to grab the sixth cooler. Amadi quickly grabbed the other end. As they began walking, he slipped and dropped his end of the cooler on his foot. To Olivia’s surprise, he didn’t cry out; he simply reached down and picked it back up, although he had a slight limp as they continued on.

When they got back outside, Olivia saw that the others were much farther ahead of the two of them. The Hunters and rest of the Gatherers hadn’t even looked back. Without saying a word to each other, Olivia and Amadi picked up the pace and began a slow jog. Olivia didn’t dare look back, but she knew that the guards would come around at any moment.

Once everyone was a good distance away from the storehouse, they stopped and put the coolers down. Everyone was sweating, but not just from exertion. It was hot outside, and except for the bushes where they had hidden and a few skimpy trees here and there, they were in a desert. With one look from Rico, three of the Hunters took off their packs and ran to where three jeeps were parked, hidden under the cover of some of the skimpy trees. Once they had gotten in and started them, they drove them over to the others. Everyone put their jumbo packs and the coolers in the first jeep, then crowded into the remaining two jeeps. Olivia found herself in the same vehicle as Anna and Helen.

Hey! the Hunter sitting in the passenger seat exclaimed. Which one of you gave me the bag with the exploded tomato in it?

He turned to them and Olivia saw the tomato juice all over his left arm. She tried not to make eye contact with him, but his stare made it impossible to look away.

We’ve got company!

They all turned to see the recovering guards running toward them.

Go, go, go!

With a swift stomp on the gas pedal, the Hunters jerked the jeeps into motion, spitting out dust and dirt behind them. Olivia could hear the gunfire fade behind them as they drove farther away. She breathed a quick prayer of thanks as she reached for the cross around her neck. The Hunter who had the tomato stain quickly forgot about her, if he had noticed her at all. She was sure he didn’t know which one of them had given him the bag with the exploded tomato; people usually didn’t remember who she was. She still wasn’t too keen on drawing any attention to herself, though, and made sure to remain silent and still for the remainder of the six-hour ride back to De Novo.

Chapter Two

We brought ice!

What?

Charlotte stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the six coolers open before her. She was silent a few minutes as though she couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

This… this is amazing. Is it purified?

Alliance doesn’t store anything unless it’s clean and ready for eating; or, in this case, drinking.

We can melt the ice, then store it in our empty containers as water for everyone to drink. No more boiling it over a fire.

Too bad we can’t keep it frozen. It would be nice to be able to store meat. In fact, we just killed a deer on our way back. It should be enough for dinner, anyway.

Charlotte looked up at the Hunters and Gatherers standing around her. Olivia saw that there were tears in her eyes.

Who found it?

I did.

Olivia turned as Thomas stepped forth, the same hard set expression on his face. Charlotte walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

You’ve just won yourself an audience with Josiah himself.

With that, she turned and ushered him to follow her back to the main building. As the Hunters each took off their jumbo packs, Rico turned to the rest of the Gatherers.

Alright, Gatherers. Now we just need you each to take your packs and coolers inside to the kitchen where the staff will sort everything and put it away. Thank you all for your hard and very brave work.

The Hunters turned and walked away, leaving the remaining five Gatherers to carry the six coolers inside, along with the twelve jumbo packs. Olivia bent down to lift the cooler as Amadi began walking over to help her.

Hey, kid, Tamara called out, I need some help with this cooler, since Thomas ain’t here to lift the other end.

Amadi paused and looked at Olivia, then back at Tamara.

I ain’t waitin’ all day.

With a sigh, he turned and limped over to lift the cooler with Tamara, leaving Olivia alone. She sighed and squatted down so she could reach both hands to the handles. She slowly stood up, all her muscles straining to carry the load in front of her and on her back. Though they tried, no one was able to hurry to the kitchen doors, but Olivia was still the last one inside, as she waddled in with her cooler and jumbo pack. She awkwardly set the cooler down near the fridge, then took off her jumbo pack and laid it beside the cooler.

You all did good today, bringing us ice and all, Larea, one of the kitchen workers, said. She came over to join the small circle that Olivia and the other Gatherers had made.

We didn’t find the ice; Thomas did, Helen said.

Well yeah, but you were all with him when he found it. You’ll all be recognized just for being on the same Gathering team as him.

I doubt it, Olivia thought to herself.

Now we’ll actually have a fridge and freezer that’s cold inside. Well, for a day or so, Larea said with a laugh. I always thought it was ironic that we had a fridge that didn’t work, what with there being no electricity and all.

Another kitchen worker walked over to their circle, staring at the coolers.

Did you guys see how Thomas found them? she asked. Was anyone standing there?

It was insane, Tamara said, stepping forward, we were all just gathering what we had been assigned, and there they were, right in front of him. It was like they were just waiting to be found.

I can’t believe that no one had ever seen them before on previous Gatherings, Larea said, shaking her head.

Maybe they hadn’t been there before, Anna said, unconsciously stepping forward so that she was in front of Olivia, excluding her from the rest of the circle.

That’s true, Larea said. I mean, how could the ice have been kept frozen for so long if there was nothing to make them cool?

Gatherers!

Everyone turned. One of the Hunters stood in the doorway.

You still have packs and coolers to bring inside. Get out there and bring the rest in.

Olivia hurried outside with everyone else. She put one of the jumbo packs on and turned to lift a cooler with both hands. She noticed that Tamara grabbed two jumbo packs and began walking back inside. Amadi looked around for a moment, then walked over to help Olivia with her cooler. They walked inside together as Anna and Helen did the same.

Wow, Tamara, two bags? Larea said, clearly impressed. You’re certainly doing your share for De Novo.

Whatever helps, Tamara said as she dropped the two bags on the floor beside the others.

Olivia and Amadi placed their cooler on the floor. As soon as she had her jumbo pack off, Olivia turned to walk back outside and retrieve the last cooler and pack. As she lifted the pack onto her back, all sorts of fruit fell out of it, landing on top of each other. Olivia sighed and bent down to pick them up and put them back inside. She saw that a couple peaches and pears had been squished under the other fruit.

I’m just having a great day, she thought as she closed the pack and put it on her back. She stood and turned to pick up the cooler, only to see that it was gone. She looked around to see which of the other Gatherers had come back out to help her, but saw no one. Puzzled, she walked back to the kitchen, passing the small bell tower that had been constructed by the students to call everyone’s attention when an assembly was being called. When she got inside, she saw that all six coolers were accounted for, but it appeared that none of the Gatherers had moved from their previous spots. They were all in a circle with Larea again, laughing and talking with her about their mission. Olivia noticed that their bullet proof vests had been taken off and set against the wall. Frowning, she took off her last pack, set it down, and took off her own vest before walking out another door into the hallway.

She walked halfway down the hallway, then turned to the left where there was a small opening in the wall. Looking inside, Olivia could see inside the kitchen, where the cooks prepared the meals. She quietly reached through and grabbed a small empty bag she had placed on the counter earlier. No one saw as she slipped it back out and went back to the kitchen where the packs and coolers were. Larea and the others were still talking to each other, their backs turned to Olivia. Her gray Converse squeaked a little as she carefully knelt down, but no one turned as she reached her hand inside the first pack, grabbing two loaves of bread. From the red tomato stain she saw, Olivia knew that the next pack contained vegetables. She quickly pulled out two ears of corn, knowing that corn was Emelie’s favorite vegetable.

Glancing up, Olivia saw that the others were still talking and paying no attention to the food. She quickly continued rummaging through the other packs, grabbing some jam, a small jar of peanuts, grapes and berries. Olivia didn’t go through the last pack, which contained items such as flour, sugar, olive oil, etc; she had no use for those things.

When she was finished, she closed the bag and silently slung it over her shoulder. Making sure that the packs didn’t look too badly disturbed, Olivia snuck back through the door and walked casually away. The hallway she was in opened into the main entrance, with the main doors directly to her right and the stairs about a hundred feet to her left. She turned and headed toward the stairs.

Olivia would have preferred to take the elevator to the left of the stairs, but of course, with no electricity in the building, it didn’t work. She slowly walked up the stairs to the second floor where the bedrooms were. Actually, bedrooms wasn’t the right word. The rooms used to be classrooms, since the building she was in had once been a school. Now it was living quarters for 200 orphaned teenagers and children who called themselves De Novians with nowhere else to go.

And it didn’t have electricity or running water, which made going to the bathroom real fun.

Olivia came to a door marked Room 203 and went in. There were no desks inside; they had all been taken out and placed in the library. Since schools didn’t have beds, the De Novians had had to make do with blankets and pillows on the floor. Each room provided space for about ten to fifteen people to sleep, which was sometimes too many. As she shut the door behind her, however, Olivia saw that the room was empty except for one girl kneeling down and folding some newly washed clothes on her bed. She looked up and gave Olivia a smile.

Hey, you’re alive.

Olivia smiled back and nodded.

As always.

The girl’s name was Emelie, and she was Olivia’s only friend. They had met the first night Olivia had come to De Novo, when she had been given sleeping quarters next to Emelie. While everyone else had ignored Olivia, Emelie had befriended her, and the two girls had become great friends over the next three years.

"So