Three gods and a pissy dragon is more than we can handle.
I feel hyperaware of my Bonds sitting around me at the table. I don’t want to be forced to sit here and listen to people trying to question them and belittle them even while they’re killing themselves to keep everybody safe and alive.
You need to stop fidgeting before I drag you out of here and give you something to fidget about, North sends through to me directly, but because he is evil, he does it where everyone else can hear it.
Gryphon is quick to supply, The problem is that somebody already has given her that, and instead of scratching the itch, it's only made it worse.
Someone, huh? Atlas sends through, and I try to keep my face completely blank as Vivian takes his seat across from us.
He's as close as I'm ever gonna get to a father figure who is still alive, and I feel mortified at the conversation happening in my head right now. The fact that it's happening so close to him is just freaking bad.
You can’t have done a good enough job if she’s still squirming that much, Atlas snarks with a smirk on his perfect face for the whole damn room to see.
I hate them all.
Instead of playing along with any of them, I put the walls back up in my mind and send Nox a pleading look from where he is glowering at the entire meeting room from over by the coffee machine. He's just as good a mind reader as his brother is and brings me a mug the size of my head, threatening Gabe with nothing more than a look to get him to move down so that I'm flanked by the Draven brothers.
Half of the council stares at my entire Bonded Group like we’re their worst nightmares come to life, and that is enough to get the smile back on my face.
It lasts about a minute before the General walks back in and takes up his own seat at the far end of the table. I swear that man was supposed to have left the town by now, gone back out on mission somewhere, but he just seemed to be lingering like a bad smell. A teensy, tiny part of me feels guilty about thinking that about my own Bonded’s father. That lasts only about as long as it takes for me to get a good look at how the General is glaring at our entire Bonded Group.
His son included.
It makes me murderous, but I really should settle down with those sorts of thoughts, because my bond doesn't need any assistance in planning out the deaths of anyone around me today.
It’s already chomping at the bit.
“Thank you everyone for joining us today. There have been significant changes in our stance with the Resistance, and we are hoping to be able to keep you all in the loop on how things are about to proceed.”
There's a quiet murmuring around the table at North's words, and though most of it is positive, there are some disgruntled noises that I try to ignore.
“As you all know, we have just opened the doors of the Sanctuary to sixty-five more families and, though we have some people sleeping in the Community Center in town, we’re close to having enough houses for everyone. I have spoken with Jeremy Ardern, who is joining us today, and we are confident that we will be able to fit the growing needs of the community in the coming weeks, as well as continue to expand for the next wave of Gifted who have been vetted.”
The General makes a grunting noise, and North's eyes snap over to him.
“This vetting process seems to be taking too long, considering the amount of people who have reached out to come here. What are you doing about that?”
I feel Gryphon flinch from where he’s sitting, two seats down. I don't need to see it to know that it's there. He's already feeling the weight of the entire community on top of him being the only person with a built-in lie detector and the only person that North trusts with such a decision. He's already being pulled in five different directions, and the reason that the vetting has slowed down is because we decided as a group that we would all be going out together from now on and no longer splitting up.
I want to kill the General for making such a comment.
North is quick to redirect him away from his own son. “This community is not funded by the council or any other pooled resource point, ergo, no one outside of the Draven Family Trust has a say on how we vet people or the time in which it takes for that process to happen. You are all here at my discretion, every last one of you is here because my Bonded Group allows it. While we are happy to listen to any concerns that you may have, it's up to us whether or not we choose to act on such things. The alternative is, of course, returning to your homes.”
There’s a tension in the silence that wasn’t there before, every man and woman at the table stewing in the notice North just put them on.
Jeremy casts a look down the table at the General before he addresses the group. “The Resistance are taking hundreds of Gifted a day. I don't know whether they chose to amp things up because they’re ready to or whether they're becoming desperate, but that's the reality of what life outside of this place is like. I suggest you all think about that before you start throwing around accusations baselessly.”
Hundreds a day.
I feel sick to my stomach, and there's a small trickle of guilt in me that we're not doing more for everyone. I have to remind myself that we're planning to go back to the Wastelands again to wipe out more of our enemy in the coming days.
“The best way to keep people safe is to get rid of the enemy entirely, and we’ve moved from the defensive position that we have been in for years, decades, at this point, to now taking the fight to the Resistance. We will be heading back to the Alaskan Wasteland in the coming days.”
Alaskan Wasteland. I can't wait to be tits-deep in snow while fighting for my life; the Resistance sure knows how to pick a great place for a fight. I wonder whether they have snow leopard shifters or something running that division, because I can't think of many Gifted who would be able to use the snow as an advantage. I also wonder if Sage can set people on fire if they're surrounded by snow. An important question for my bestie, but it would be incredibly rude to pull my phone out right now while North is talking, so it'll have to wait.
“Is the Alaskan Wasteland the best use of our resources? Could we not go after the smaller Wastelands and shut them down before moving to the larger one?” one of the council members asks.
I have no idea who she is, but she doesn't seem to be asking in an antagonistic way. Her face is open and clear, and the men who sit on either side of her watch North carefully, clearly interested in his answer.
Surprisingly, Gryphon is the one who speaks up. “The Alaskan Wasteland is going to be very difficult to win and shut down because of where it is and the size of it. The strongest of their Shields, the one not being utilized at the camps, is currently manning it. If we leave it till last, there's the potential that we will never get it shut down. Newer and less experienced recruits could potentially deal with the smaller camps, and we're hoping to be able to utilize those resources there.”
‘We're throwing everything we have at the Alaskan shithole’ would be the translation of his words, but I try to look confident from where I'm sitting. This entire meeting is becoming a test of my patience and how far I can be pushed before I lose my shit.
I’m proud of how far I’m making it.
“Couldn't your Bonded walk in and empty them for us?” one of the men says, though his voice is very careful.