Chapter Thirty-Five

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"So," Dax said, leaning forwards in his chair. "Xylem is a psychopath?"

"Seems like it," Aiden nodded. He'd just finished telling Dax everything that had happened in the past year, from the first Consignment Day, to Zariah's Transferring, to the fall of Fifth Unit, to Jayda's death. The young private had listened intently for the hour long explanation, never interrupting Aiden once while he spoke.

"I can't believe that Fifth Unit is gone," Dax murmured, "and we had absolutely no clue. What about the people in their sector?"

"I don't know," sighed Aiden. "I assume that they're not too well-off, since Xylem can't expose the secret by asking another Unit to pick up their slack on Consignment Days. That's why we've got to overthrow him."

"And soon," Dax added. "What do we do?"

"Well, there's no way we can do anything from here. I'm not really a popular man in the eyes of the people at the moment. If I showed my face in one of the cities, all the people would see is a murderer, and nothing less. It's screwed us over, since we're going to need the help of the people to bring about change," Aiden continued.

"What about the civilian in Oslua City that you mentioned? Roman?" Dax suggested.

"I'm sure he hates me by now. Besides, even if Roman remembers who I am, why would he help us?" Aiden shook his head.

"Well, he let you live last time. He doesn't seem all that dumb. It might be worth getting in contact with him and seeing what he can do from the inside. He seems popular in the cities," Dax shrugged.

"And even if he does somehow agree to meet with me and talk, how am I even going to get in contact him? Who knows where he could be by now?" Aiden retorted.

"Oh, that's easy," Dax waved him off. "Just send him a transmission."

Aiden looked at him blankly. A transmission? Clearly his trainee wasn't thinking properly. Dax seemed to pick up on his confusion and sighed before elaborating further.

"All the Units are equipped with a radio tower and transmission station, yeah?" Dax clarified. "They told us about it in the youth centre. Then, well, I've snuck in there a few times before on a dare, but that's beside the point. It's not too hard to get in if you know someone who's pretty sneaky. Just send a transmission to all the cities and be done with it. If he shows, he shows. If not, well, then you know."

"That's actually not too bad of an idea," Aiden remarked, impressed with the young private's ambitious plan. He was about to praise Dax before he furrowed his eyebrows, perplexed. "Wait a minute, you're telling me that you've-"

"Yeah, yeah, that's not the point, though," Dax intervened. He folded his arms across his chest. "So, when are we gonna go and get this job done?"

"We?" Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Not a chance. There's no way I'm letting you go with me to sneak into the transmission room. Absolutely not."

"Colonel," Dax protested. "Look, I've gotten in there before, and-"

"You want to help out?" Aiden crossed his arms. Dax sighed and nodded in response. "Good. Then you train, and you train hard. Something about all this tells me that we're going to end up in a bloody brawl at the end of the day, and I want you in prime shape, just in case. I'd rather resolve the matter peacefully, but there's no peace when it comes to Xylem."

"Right," Dax relented. "You can't get into the tower by yourself, though. You need a partner."

"Oh? And who was yours?" Aiden inquired.

"Osric. He's a crafty guy. Faster than me, that's for sure," Dax explained nonchalantly. "Have you got anyone in mind?"

"A few people, actually," Aiden thought. The entire time, he'd been thinking of bringing Zariah along, but after Dax had mentioned that Aiden needed someone stealthy, an unlikely name popped into his mind.

Rania was one of the most nimble and sneaky people he'd ever met. If anybody could get in and out of somewhere undetected, it was her. Zariah was quite capable of performing the same task, but Aiden knew that Rania would be looking for any opportunity to take action in the small, tactical events leading up to whatever revolution Aiden and his friends were plotting. Besides, Zariah might advise Aiden against breaking into the radio tower, especially when they were supposed to be laying low. He debated telling her, but decided against it. He'd ask Rania, even though she didn't owe him any favors. He could tell the others of his makeshift plan later, if it failed or succeeded. The less that his friends knew about his activities, the safer they would be.

"I still don't understand why you aren't letting me go," Dax huffed. He seemed a little bitter at the fact that Aiden was purposely excluding him from the break-in.

"Because," Aiden began, "it's too dangerous. Even if you've done it before, you can't keep thinking that even though you've done something once already, you'll do it again the second time just as well. I've been in my share of sticky situations, and sometimes not everyone makes it out of them."

The words spilled out of his mouth before he could stop them. The familiar pain of Jayda's death stung him, making him grit his teeth. Dax blinked and nodded in understanding.

"I'm sorry about your friend," he offered gently. "She didn't deserve to die."

"Some people do," Aiden muttered darkly. Dax drew his lips into a tight line.

"That's not true," Dax answered thoughtfully. Aiden glanced at him in bewilderment.

"You're saying that after all he's done, Xylem should be allowed to live?" he turned to him, baffled.

"It's not that," Dax countered steadily. "I don't think anyone is the bad guy in their own mind. Like, no one just wakes up in the morning and goes: 'I'm a bad guy now'. I think that Xylem believes that he's trying to save humanity, while the rest of us think he's out to destroy it. He thinks he's making a difference."

Aiden considered his words, taking in the wisdom in them wholeheartedly. The young private had a point, despite being only sixteen. Aiden still wondered how any change would be brought to the nation if Xylem was still alive and wanting to claim his power back, but he decided to shelve the idea for a while. They weren't at the point where Xylem was captured and no longer in control, therefore figuring out what to do with him was irrelevant.

"I suppose you're right," Aiden mumbled. "It doesn't matter much now, anyways." He checked the nearest clock, which read oh-eight-hundred hours and twelve minutes. Breakfast time.

Aiden stretched and yawned before rising to his feet and peering down at his trainee. "We'd better be off, then. It's time for breakfast."

"Okay," Dax replied casually. The two of them picked up their chairs and dragged them back towards the wall where they'd found them, stacking them on top of each other before collecting their things and exiting the training centre. Once they were outside, Aiden said goodbye to the young private before walking down the hallway towards the dining hall to meet up with his friends for their daily morning meal.

He was unable to prevent the flurry of thoughts turning and twisting in his head. His plan to sneak in to the radio tower was definitely risky; to be caught could result in Aiden being exiled from the Program as a whole, or worse. All Xylem needed was the perfect excuse to get rid of him, and all hope was lost. Aiden needed to make his moves carefully, otherwise the entire rebellion would be doomed to fail. He clenched his fists into tight balls. Even if it killed him in the end, he would do everything he possibly could to protect the people from Xylem's wrath. He owed them that much. He'd been unknowingly breaking his promises to protect and serve them practically his entire life, and he was ready to make things right again.

He found his friends sitting at their usual table, and joined them immediately after he grabbed some food from the lineup. They shared a few brief conversations about miscellaneous gossip going on throughout the Unit, being careful not to mention anything other than such simplistic topics. Any other conversations they had regarding their next course of action was had in more reclusive, private areas, where Theo could ensure that they weren't being watched. Eventually Aiden's group dispersed, headed off to their activities for the day.

After everyone had left, Aiden tracked down Rania, stopping her as she was headed into her bunk.

"Hey, Ran!" Aiden called. She spun around at the mention of her name, her face softening upon realizing it was him.

"Hi, Aiden," she greeted him kindly. Although their friendship was not completely mended, Aiden was happy to see that things were improving between the two of them.

"I have a crazy favor to ask you," he blurted out. Rania gave him a puzzled look, but nodded anyways.

"Uhh, sure," she raised an eyebrow. "What do you need?"

"It's completely insane. You don't have to agree to it if you don't want to, but it's got to be totally off-books. No one can know but us. We'll tell the others later, but for now, it's just you and I."

"Okay," Rania agreed cautiously. "What's this crazy idea of yours?"

Aiden scratched his head. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

He guided her outside, where they were less likely to be heard. As soon as they made their way beyond the Unit walls, Aiden was hit with a vicious cold. He'd forgotten how bitter the weather had become now that winter was beginning to set in. He ignored his obvious coldness and continued walking away from headquarters at a quick pace. The sooner they were back inside, the better. Once they were far enough away from the sightlines of any suspecting Officials, Aiden lowered his voice slightly and looked at Rania very seriously.

"I need you to join me on a break-in."

Rania took a step back, clearly stunned by his words. "I'm sorry, did you just say-"

"Yes," Aiden confirmed quietly. His words came accompanied by icy clouds whenever he spoke. "We've laid low long enough, and we've barely gathered any information on Xylem and his plans. The idea is to sneak into the Unit's radio tower and send a transmission out to all of the cities. We need to get in contact with Roman, that civilian from Oslua I told you about."

"The one that saved your life a few months ago?" Rania inquired. She rubbed her shoulders, doing her best to trap warmth in the brisk morning air. Aiden felt a pang of guilt for dragging her out of the Unit so quickly.

Aiden nodded. "It's worth a shot. Roman's a rebel, and a city worker. If anyone can get us intel, it's him. Even if he hates me, we at least have to try. Anyone else would think it's crazy, but we have to do something."

Rania hesitated, weighing the consequences. Her emerald eyes flickered with uncertainty, but she eventually sighed and came around.

"Alright," she complied. "When are we going to do this?"

"I was thinking tonight," Aiden divulged. Rania's eyes widened, but she recovered quickly and dipped her head. Aiden took it as a sign of her agreement, but he wasn't going to settle on anything for sure until she said so.

"What time?" she asked. Aiden exhaled slowly, relieved that she had decided to join him. He felt better knowing that she was on his side.

"Let's say oh-one-hundred hours. Shouldn't be too many patrols then," Aiden concluded. "Let's meet on the rooftop. It'll require a bit of maneuvering, but we should be fine as long as we don't run into any patrols. Remember, this is completely secret. We aren't going to give the others something to worry about unless it's something truly legit."

"Right," Rania conceded. She seemed a little unwilling to keep their friends uninformed of their plans, but Aiden could see that she was choosing not to be vocal about it. He did his best not to acknowledge her concern. He had already made his decision, and wasn't ready to back out of it just yet.

"Okay," Aiden finished. He looked around, double checking to ensure that their conversation had continued to avoid attracting any attention. So far, they were in the clear. "Let's head back. Thanks for doing this for me."

"Don't worry about it," Rania dismissed. "If I wasn't going to do it, you'd be going on your own, and I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"I appreciate you looking out for me Ran," he smiled slightly. Suddenly, his face grew serious and for the first time in what felt like forever, he found himself finding pure sincerity in his words. "I mean it. You're a great person, and you're an essential part of our group."

Rania looked away, her cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "Really, Aiden, it's no problem."

"Well, thanks for sticking by me," he said, giving her a soft smile. She returned it, and together the two of them headed back towards headquarters. Aiden savoured the warmth that greeted him as soon as they were back inside. He reminded himself once again that he should be grateful of what he had, especially since many others did not share the same luxuries that he had.

"Where are you off to now?" Aiden questioned as they walked down the hallway. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, unsure of what else to do.

"I've got a patrol with Farley and a few others," Rania shrugged. "Kind of a boring day."

"Boring can be good," Aiden pointed out.

"That's true, I guess," Rania smiled. They continued to talk about the rest of their days, until Aiden noticed Zariah approaching and froze. He still hadn't quite worked out what was going on between them, and Rania was an added element of complication.

Rania looked at him awkwardly, instantly withdrawing at the sight of Zariah walking towards them. She pursed her lips and nodded to him once before whispering something under her breath.

"See you later, Aiden," she uttered before taking off in the opposite direction. Zariah came up to him, giving him an odd look. Aiden turned to her after waving goodbye to Rania, afraid that he'd made things worse.

"Sorry about that," Zariah apologized. Her blue eyes were soft with remorse.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay," Aiden shook his head. Zariah really didn't have any reason to be sorry. All of this confusion was on him, for not tying up loose ends. His feelings for Zariah still hadn't changed, but Aiden was afraid that hers had. The two of them had barely spent any time together, which made him feel anxious. What if she really had acted out of impulse rather than true feelings?

"What's up?" he asked casually.

"I just wanted to check up on you," she replied. "You're having nightmares again, aren't you?"

Aiden rubbed his eyes slightly. He could practically feel Xylem's venomous stare searing into the back of his skull. "I look pretty bad, huh?"

"What was this one about?" Zariah asked.

"I dunno," Aiden admitted. "It sounds crazy, but it's like Xylem's been purposely trying to get inside my head and into my dreams. I'm not sure if it's even possible, but everything just seems too set up to be my subconscious acting out on me."

Zariah frowned, clearly agitated by his comment. "We aren't told about what they put inside our heads. It might not be as crazy as it seems."

Aiden sighed, his chest growing heavy. "In my dream, I was training Dax just like I do every morning, but he disappeared. Instead, I saw Xylem in the training centre," he began. "He told me that those people I killed during the broadcast were my... they were my..." He struggled to get the words out.

"Your parents," Zariah finished sadly. She looked up at him with a steady gaze. Aiden searched her bright blue eyes for any trace of sympathy, but he couldn't find such simple and typical emotions. Oh, no. That was one of the reasons why he cared for Zariah to begin with. She never pitied him like many others might have in this moment. She knew that despite there being little she could do to make him feel better, she would do her best, and she knew that pity would not supply him with the help he needed. If anything, it would make him feel even worse about himself than he already did. He would only end up believing in the cause of their sympathy.

Zariah embraced him before Aiden even had the chance to react. Her touch made his skin tingle with electricity, every one of his senses amplified. He returned her hug warmly, wrapping his arms around her protectively, even though it felt as though she was the one defending him. Aiden kissed the top of her head warily, almost unwilling to let her go in fear that she would not return. They stood like that for a long while, watching the other soldiers trickle by them in silence. None of them could make him feel as safe as Aiden did with Zariah beside him.

"Stay with me tonight," he murmured. He felt Zariah's head turn as she looked up at him, before nestling into the crook of his neck comfortingly.

"Of course," she whispered. He squeezed her slightly, grateful for her to be with him.

Anxiety gnawed at his stomach when he remembered his and Rania's plan to break into the radio tower. Would their efforts be hindered by Zariah spending the night with him in his bunk? He did his best to ignore the pressing issue and enjoy his moment with the girl he loved. It wasn't long before it ended, and he and Zariah pulled away from each other. It seemed that no moment was too long when it came to being with Zariah.

"I'll talk to you later," he promised her.

"I should hope so," she smiled wryly. "Please try to stay alive and in one piece until later, alright?"

"Alright," he agreed. Zariah flashed him a grin before continuing to walk down the hallway towards whatever activities she was partaking in for the day. Aiden had remembered her mentioning a training session earlier during breakfast.

He smoothed down his untidy brown hair before sighing heavily. He really hoped that he could abide by Zariah's terms going into his plans for the evening.

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