…the present.

Am I alive? Evan sensed his hands, his toes, his breath. He opened his eyes, and the world came into dim focus. The floor was cold concrete, yet the room was warm; the low drum of a heater filling the space. Around the room were toppled barrels, shelves, and an assortment of dusty containers. To the left, more junk, and his backpack which hung from a wall hook. Behind him was an emergency exit, barred shut by a large metal crate. His arms chaffed against something as he tried to move – seemed his wrists were bound by rope to the shelving behind him. Murmurs came from behind an ajar vault door at the far side of the room, a sliver of light sneaking out of it to dance across the walls.

If the enforcers had captured him, he’d be handcuffed inside of an armored car on his way to some forsaken fate rather than sitting on the floor of this storage place. Evan took solace in that revelation; what little there was, anyway.

He slid his legs underneath his hips to stand and shimmied his hands up behind him. The shelving unit wobbled. He winced as a glass cup tipped from the top of it and smashed into a dozen shards across the floor.

The whispering from the vault stopped and the door squeaked open. The stranger emerged with another man, whose slender arms hung from a hole-ridden t-shirt; the faded words Tabula Rasa sprawled across it. His dark face was smudged with grime and oil, but his features were smooth, and his eyes warm.

Evan caught a glimpse of what was inside the vault now. Dozens of computers and buzzing monitors were cobbled together around a rolling chair; if it could be called that, since it looked to be more duct-tape than chair.

“Well, Vihn, at least he’s not dead.” The slender man ran his fingers through his papery hair.

Vihn, the stranger, sighed. “The Feds came looking for him faster than I thought they would. I didn’t have time to ditch the phone before they found me.”

“Next time you get inspired to kidnap someone, maybe check their pockets first?” The man waved at Evan, who slid back to the ground.

Pockets. Evan could feel his ID still in his right pocket, and Ken’s in his left.

“I’m Rowic,” the thin man said. He pulled a canteen from one of the crates and offered it to Evan.

Shimmers of light waded against the metal interior, and Evan welcomed the sweet water. He’d never thought he’d long for water like did then. How rich the simple things were after confronting death multiple times in one day.

“So, you’re the GK, huh? What’s the chances you’d take a train seat right across from Vihn?” Rowic said as he capped the canteen.

“Destiny,” Vihn said.

Rowic rolled his eyes. “I guess we have agents stationed everywhere for a reason. Why were you on the train anyway, Evan? I thought your father always sent an airship to pick you up.”

The fact that these men spoke so confidently about Evan and his father concerned him greatly. He had to remind himself that one of these men had murdered two soldiers in broad daylight. That was enough to distrust them, not to mention the whole abduction thing. Still, he couldn’t let them see his fear if he was going to maintain agency in the matter. Dust rose from the shelves and trembled by Evan’s will, though he didn’t really know what he was doing by using his powers, he just thought it’d show them he wasn’t a coward.

Vihn spoke coolly, “Relax, kid, we don’t need a show. We’re all freaks here, right?”

The air settled.

“I’m nothing like you terrorists,” Evan said.

Vihn rubbed his brow. “Spare me, kid-”

“I’m not a kid. My name’s Evan, let’s start with that.”

A chuckle rasped Vihn’s lips. “Fine, Evan. Let’s clear this mess a bit. We’re not terrorists, we’re noble rebels standing up against tyranny.” He said with little conviction. “Now, about you. I saw you run from those Feds for your life. Somehow, you escaped the snare I had you in, and I assume you had some means to breakout based on what happened to that door I found you drooling in front of. So, what’s your power, and does your father know that you’re Afflicted? It’s hard to believe he wouldn’t.”

Stolen novel; please report.

Evan mulled over whether it was advantageous to give information about his Affliction or not. His father had always taught him to weigh the pros and cons, to reserve info until the last possible moment. Intel could be a great weapon, and manipulating it was the only tactic Evan had now.

“What do you want with me?” he asked.

“Well, that’s what we’re trying to figure out.” Vihn knelt to Evan’s eye level. “But I asked you a question first.”

Their eyes battled each other.

Evan kept his silence, but inside him was chaos. Whatever this guy was after, it was worth kidnapping and murdering for. “I’m not Afflicted, I just want to go home,” he finally said.

“You can’t,” Vihn replied.

Rowic scowled. “We can’t keep him, man. You nabbed the son of the second most powerful man in the Federation. He’s going to be gunning for us hard. We don’t even have the rest of our team. Ow!” Rowic yelped as Vihn grabbed his shoulder.

Interesting. It seemed Vihn didn’t want Evan to know that they were the only rebels nearby. But now Evan did, which meant he’d only have to focus on getting away from these two.

Relaxing his hand, Vihn spoke softly. “Think about it, that’s the whole point. Imagine how people will react when they find out the Governor of the East has had an Afflicted son all this time? I mean, there’d at least be riots over him. I’m telling you, it’s destiny.”

“You guys are crazy,” Evan cut in. “If there was such a thing as destiny, then why are people dying needlessly every day? What about the destiny of those two soldiers you killed? They were only doing their job, and you mutilated them. What kind of destiny means people dying for no reason? What kind of destiny means killing innocents?”

Vihn raised an eyebrow. “Innocents? You’re a fool if you think any enforcer is clean. Even if only one cop is corrupt, but twenty others ignore what he does, then you don’t have one bad cop – you have twenty-one.”

What could Evan say to that? He’d witnessed enforcers do things just as horrible as Vihn, and he couldn’t pretend that they were justified for what they’d done to Ken.

“You’re probably right, Evan,” Vihn continued. “We are a bit insane. But we’re called the Blood Red Army for a reason. Wouldn’t be living up to our name if there wasn’t some blood spilt now and then.”

Evan’s heart dropped. The Blood Red Army? “You’re the guys who started the Affliction.”

Vihn sighed.

“We can debate about history later,” Rowic said. “The Governor’s going to be looking for his kid, man. He’ll rally the whole East Coast if he has to. We were supposed to be flying back to Alpha with the rest of the team by now, but it’s suicide for them to try and extract us with the Feds swarming the town. Geeze, Vihn. If you had waited, Blink could have solved this whole thing before it even started.”

Vihn argued, “There wasn’t time to tell the others. The tram was coming into Hazard Station and I… Look, the Governor’s kid is a mutant freak, running around under the radar; think about that. I’ll bet he’ll do anything to keep this a secret.”

“That’s what scares me,” Rowic said.

Evan asked, “So, you kidnapped me to get to my father. What about the other three Governors? What about President Caine?”

Vihn licked his teeth, perhaps he was getting impatient. “It’s not easy running a transcontinental empire from Canada to Chile. Affliction here in the East, foreign invasion in the North, rumors of succession from the West coast, and civil war in South America? It’s a lot for an empire to handle. History repeats itself, kid. The Federation is just as at risk of burning out as the rest of us. If there was a time for the whole system to collapse, it’s now.”

Evan refused to be someone’s pawn. He formulated a plan to escape. It seemed these rebels weren’t intent on killing him, so he had time. He just had to disintegrate the ropes binding him, and then the wall, then run without passing out this time. He took a deep breath and focused on the rope. In the meantime, further embellishing the idea of his father’s potential desperation could help keep the two rebels arguing long enough for him to escape, or maybe give up all together. He tried not to think about how he was about to use his father as a threat for the third time in one day.

“My dad has spent years hiding my identity,” he said. “You’re an idiot if you think he’ll let two goons like you get away with this. People who mess with us go missing.”

Vihn didn’t respond, he just stared at Evan like he did on the train, with snake’s eyes.

Evan didn’t budge either, despite the thumping in his chest.

Someone knocked on the door to Evan’s right, breaking the stare-down. Vihn slid open a window in the door. Another man’s face filled the opening. A long, red beard mossed over his neck, mixing into expansive tattoos of sea creatures. Uproarious laughter and the clinking of glass flowed in. Smoke and vape gripped the atmosphere. A guitar, drums, and indistinguishable voices played from speakers.

Evan guessed it was classic rock playing, though he’d hardly be the one to know. It was rare to hear music with real vocals and instrumentalists. Most modern music had been replaced by AI systems that created procedural rhythms and beats that responded to a listener’s emotions. It was impressive thinking that the rock had to be played by mastered musicians all in sync. Evan caught himself nodding to it, but it was the wrong time to admire music.

He focused on the rope again, but it was already gone. His hands were free. His power must have worked without him realizing. Vihn wasn’t looking, but Rowic was. So, instead of running, Evan kept his hands together as if they were still tied and listened to what the rebels had to say.

The red-beard on the other side of door whispered to Vihn, “Feds are knocking down doors, probably us soon. Want me to clear the place?”

Vihn shook his head. “We’re dead if you do. Keep things normal, we’re going to have to risk it in the vault.”

The man grunted, then turned away as Vihn closed the door window.

Vihn motioned to the vault room. “We’re running out of time. We’ll talk inside there. I’m going to untie you; please don’t do anything stupid this time.” He stooped to Evan and fumbled for the rope, which wasn’t there. The stranger smirked. “Freaky and impressive.” He hoisted Evan to his feet. The moment for escape had passed once again.