Dawn of Rebellion (Dawn of Rebellion Series Book 1) Page 2

  “Get out of here now, you stupid prat!” With that he starts the engine and the car lurches forward. We’re heading down Bond Street at getaway speed.

  “Wow! This car can really fly” I have to yell so Drew can hear me. What a rush! I’ve never been so close to being caught. We’re not in the clear yet, but wow, that was fun!

  “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

  “Well, my sister’s going to love her present!” I hold up the bracelet to take a closer look. It really is something.

  “Did you nick that?” Drew is finally catching on.

  Just then we hear the sirens. The police are actually catching up with us. I didn’t think they had it in them. “Gabby, I’m pulling over.”

  “What! Are you daft? We can totally outrun them.”

  “It’s OK, I got this. They’ll listen to me.”

  He pulls the car to the side of the road and we wait. It takes a few moments for the cop to open his door. He must be running Drew’s number plates. We hear a car door and footsteps.

  “Mr. Crawford, I’m Officer Sutton. It’s a pleasure to meet you sir.”

  I roll my eyes. Even after being in a car chase, Drew is treated like royalty. He can thank his well-connected father for that. It’s as if I’m not even a part of this, even though I’m the one who committed the felony. Drew speaks in his smooth, future diplomat voice. “You as well officer. Is there something I can do for you?”

  “Err…well; we have reason to believe that you have stolen merchandise in your car, sir.” I let out a laugh because this cop is trying to be as polite as possible while making accusations.

  “I’m sure this is all just a misunderstanding. We can fix this right up. How much is this item worth?” Drew pulls out his wallet and I just groan. He should not be paying for this.

  “I’m sorry sir, but it is not as simple as that. We have this young lady on vid.” He looks over at me for the first time and the polite reverence he has shown Drew is gone. “I’m afraid she’s going to have to come with me.”

  Drew plays his last card, “Let me call my father and get this all cleared up.”

  “He has already been alerted to the situation, sir, and has requested that we proceed with the arrest.” I can see where this is going so I slip the bracelet into Drew’s center console and step out of his car.

  Drew looks at me and tries to reassure me that everything will be OK, “Let me talk to my father. I’ll head to the station as soon as I suss it out.” I just nod and get into the back of the police car. He can do this. Drew can get me off before I’m sent away. At least, I hope he can.

  Chapter 3

  Drew

  “Sorry mate,” I give a little wave as I yell out my window and pull out in front of another car. In my rear view mirror I can see the man behind me cursing and shaking his head. He's pretty narked. Chuckling to myself, I just keep going. I don’t know what the speed limit here is but I know its way below what I’m going now as I weave in and out of cars on the motorway, trying to get home as fast as I can. My girlfriend was just arrested and I have no doubt in my mind who’s behind it. Being the district commander’s son has major drawbacks. I don’t know anyone else whose father can have someone sent to the colonies no questions asked. To be fair, she broke the law, but my father has gone way too far this time. People ask me all the time what it’s like to be the son of such a well-respected and powerful man. Complete strangers often tell me how lucky I am. Through the years I’ve gotten good at nodding and smiling but I really wish I could tell them how wrong they are and that they would think differently if they actually knew the arse. That would not go over well. I like the perks that come with being in a rich family so I keep my mouth shut.

  I get off the motorway and head further into town. We live smack dab in the center of London with all the other exceedingly rich folk. I fly over speed bumps and through traffic lights until I finally reach my street. I’m not too worried about Gabby because my father is probably just trying to teach me some lesson about dating someone from the “wrong side of the tracks” as those old people like to say. “She’s below your station son, not a proper match.” That’s what he said when he saw me with her that first time.

  I hope he’ll make sure she is released and sent home to her family. I’ll probably just have to promise I won’t see her again. We’ll make a deal and then eventually I’ll break it. It’s a never ending dance my father and I do. He tries to control my life but, in the end, I win.

  I have lived in the same house my entire life and I still laugh every time I see it. It’s a monstrosity! For starters, it’s huge. I don’t mean huge as in good sized, it’s huge as in a giant could live here. The front gates are made of steel and manned by two guards round the clock. I always thought that was excessive since there is no way you could get past the gates in the first place. Why do we need guards?

  “Alright Willie? How’s it going?” I ask as I pull up to the gatehouse.

  “Fine sir.” He doesn’t even look at me as he opens the gate and I drive past. It was probably the Willie crack. He hates when I call him that. He says William is so much more respectable and dignified. So I never call him William. In this house, you’ve got to find some way to have fun or you’ll go crazy.

  I park in my spot on the drive and head for the door to my fortress. Dad doesn’t want me calling it a fortress but when all the windows are bullet proof and there are about eight ways in and out of the house, there is no way I’m calling it a home.

  I ring the bell as usual. Apparently Crawford’s aren’t supposed to open the door for themselves. We have some poor chap that got put into civil service after grade school and is now our butler. We also have two maids and a cook. All of this just for three people.

  The door swings open and I step inside. “Welcome home Mr. Crawford.”

  “Thanks Carl.” I wipe my feet on the mat and hand Carl my coat before asking, “Is my father here?”

  “Yes Sir. He’s in his study. Is there anything else?”

  “No. I think I’ll go and find him.”

  “Very well sir.”

  As Carl heads back towards the kitchen, I begin climbing the spiral staircase to the upstairs rooms. I drop my school bag in my bedroom before knocking on the door to the study. My father spends a good deal of time in here. I can remember sneaking in when I was little and going through father’s books, fascinated. Now, it is just a place where we hold most of our better rows. There have been a lot of them.

  “Yes? Who is it?” says a voice from inside the room. I push open the door and step through, bracing myself.

  “Hello,” I say in the formal, tense tone that is always reserved for this man. He looks up from his desk.

  “Oh, it’s you.” The callous nature of my father no longer stings. I have grown used to disappointing him.

  “Yeah. Can I talk to you?” In response to my question he lowers his eyes back down to his papers.

  “If it’s about that girl, there’s nothing you can do now. Best forget about her.” He doesn’t even bother to look up again.

  “Forget about her? Nothing I can do?” I go from zero to rage in a matter of seconds.

  “Yes, son. She was just another slag, trying to rise above her station. Now, I have important work to do. There is a climate meeting later this week.” My arms are shaking as I slam my hands on his desk. Startled, he scoots his chair back and regards me with hard eyes.

  “Now you listen to me dad, Gabby does not deserve this.” My father lets out a harsh laugh.

  “She broke the law and now will pay for it half a world away from you.”

  “Since when does pinching one little bracelet land you in the colonies?” I am yelling now. It takes all my strength not to reach across the desk and clock him.

  “There are many reasons why she is there.” His voice is eerily calm. “You are only a small part of the much larger picture. The bracelet is an even smaller part. My son, why don’t you call up one of your ot
her women to cheer you up?” Once again, he resumes his work.

  Bile is building in the pit of my stomach as I watch my father so easily send someone to such a fate. My hands turn white as I grip the edge of his desk trying not to completely lose my cool. I imagine myself doing and saying so many things in this moment but only one thing escapes my lips.

  “I know James is over there. He isn’t dead.” This grabs his attention and he searches my face to determine how much of the truth I know. The next few minutes pass without words as we stare at each other as strangers.

  “You know nothing,” he spits.

  “I know I need to find him. I know I need to get away from you.” I say the last part almost in a whisper but I can see that he heard it. He rises to his feet and I take a step back. Pointing one finger towards the door, he says in a low, menacing voice

  “There’s the door. Get out of my house.”

  I turn as I reach the exit, “Mom,” I begin to say.

  He cuts me off. “I’ll figure out something to tell her.” I nod and run into the hall and down the stairs. I don’t bother to grab anything as I book it out the door and into my car. I lean my head back on the seat and close my eyes feeling utterly buggered. What now? I have to get to the colonies but I can’t help but wonder if I’m making some colossal mistake. I wish my brother James was here to help me but if he was, I probably wouldn’t be going at all. I grab my phone and punch in the number of someone I know can help me. He works at the airport.

  Once that is figured out, I turn in the direction of the east end and set out to find Gabby’s family. They need to know what’s happened.

  Chapter 4

  Dawn

  I’m freaking out. Gabby never came home last night. She’s never left me alone all night before. Something must be wrong. I went to sleep thinking she was just out late with that boy she’s dating but, when I woke up, I knew something must have happened. Happy birthday to me, right?

  I decide to wait a little while longer to see if she shows up. I don’t really fancy going out looking for her today anyway. Outside our broken window, the sky seems angry. It’s been raining since the early hours of the morning and the sun has yet to make an appearance. I jump at the lightning and brace myself for the waves of thunder. I hate thunder storms. They make me feel vulnerable. Gabby and I usually just grab our blankets and go curl up together in the corner farthest from the window. I don’t get scared of much, but thunderstorms just have that effect on me. Having Gabby around makes me feel safe, but she’s not here and I’m alone.

  I am on the floor in the corner when I hear someone knock on the wall outside of our room. I glance up and there he is. The most beautiful man I’ve ever seen pushes aside the ratty old blanket we have hanging and steps into the room.

  “Are you Dawn?” It isn’t until he speaks that I see the wild look in his eyes. It doesn’t look like he slept at all last night and he could be on some sort of drugs. He is soaking wet and doesn’t seem to care. I watch his face. There is something very familiar about him.

  My mouth clams up as I try to talk and all I can manage is a simple nod.

  “I’m Drew. I know your sister.” That’s when it hits me. This is the boy from the classroom yesterday but that girl was not my sister. My fear turns to anger. Gabby really likes Drew. She’s going to be crushed when she finds out. What a slag! I can’t think about that now, though, because right now I just want to know that everything’s OK.

  Despite my desire to spit in Drew’s face and walk away, I find my voice, “Is she OK? Where is she?”

  Drew nervously runs his hands through his hair and sits near me without an invitation. Too close for comfort. “She was stupid, so stupid. I didn’t know what she was going to do or I would have stopped her. There was a chase, and I couldn’t help. And now…” He trails off and his hands start to shake.

  I let him sit in silence for a minute trying to understand his jumbled explanation. I finally ask, “Drew, what are you saying? Where is she?”

  He looks straight at me, his eyes pained, “She’s on her way to the colonies.”

  I can’t speak. This can’t be true. What has Gabby done? She’s leaving me all alone. My whole life, she’s taken care of me. Now she’s off to have who knows what done to her. This can’t be happening. I realize Drew is talking, trying to explain to me the events of the night before. His words come rapidly as if he wants to get it all out there and never have to speak of it again.

  “…that’s when the police took her and I went home to talk to my dad. He wouldn’t help me. I tried to explain it to him and he said he was just happy to have her out of my life. He had her sent on the first air shuttle to the colonies this morning. I couldn’t stop him. I left home and came looking for you.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “Well, Gabby never told me where you lived; only that it was in the east end. So I’ve been driving around for hours, asking anyone that would talk to me where to find you. I knew her family would be worried.”

  “I’m Gabby’s family.”

  “Wait, what? Where are your parents?” Both of us start to calm down as everything sinks in.

  “Gone.” I look away; trying to seem like that word doesn’t kill me every day. The last thing I’m going to do is explain to this boy my family’s sordid history. Drew senses that I’m not going to elaborate so he changes the subject.

  “So, what are we going to do now?” he asks.

  “We?” I don’t want anything to do with the git who is cheating on my sister. I need to figure this out on my own.

  “You can’t do this by yourself. You need me,” he says.

  “Do what?”

  “If you are at all like your sister, you already have a plan and, if you don’t, I do.”

  “We’re nothing alike,” I snap. “I just need to be alone.” As I curl back up on the floor he pulls a scrap of paper from his pocket and writes something on it.

  “Here, in case you change your mind.” And then he is gone.

  I reach for the piece of paper and unfold it.

  Tomorrow

  11 PM

  Airport

  Hanger 18

  Out on the street below, a car engine roars and thunder rolls.

  Chapter 5

  Gabby

  “Gabriella Nolan, you are hereby accused of thieving behavior, taking place at the Fenwick’s department store. You have been seen on vid and fled the scene of the crime. These are very serious charges and will be met with a very serious punishment. Here in England, we do not indulge reckless persons.”

  I look up as my accuser finishes reading my crimes and am surprised to find that I am face to face with the district commander himself. I have been sitting here for hours, unsure of what was going to happen, but now I know I am in some serious shite. All I did was take one measly bracelet, but apparently this is about more than a crime. The commander doesn’t get involved in just petty theft.

  I am trembling but not from fear. I am angry as I look at this man with his cropped hair and pressed uniform. He is handsome, just like Drew, his son. They have the same dark hair and smooth skin. Unlike Drew, however, as this man smiles down at me, it is somehow sinister, as if he takes great pleasure in my situation.

  I finally unclench my jaw enough to speak, “What about my trial?”

  “My dear girl,” This is not a term of endearment, but of superiority, “this is your trial. I am your judge. I am your jury. I have already found you guilty.”

  “You can’t do that!” I stare defiantly into his eyes. They are full of wickedness. He is so pleased with himself that he actually winks at me and says;

  “On the contrary, I can and I have. Enjoy your stay in the colonies.”

  A thunderstorm shakes the plane and I jolt awake. For a moment, I think maybe it was a dream, but no. It was no dream. Surely my own country wouldn’t do this to me. I see his face in my mind and am disgusted with the way he looked at me. He considered me trash, not worthy
of dating a district commander’s son and so he threw me away. Would it have made a difference to tell him that Drew and I weren’t even that serious? I liked him, sure, but we were just having fun. It’s not like I was truly a threat to the commander.

  I shake my head to clear it of those thoughts. I need to concentrate on what’s happening to me now. The plane lurches. As I try to brace myself, I realize my hands are in chains. I hadn’t noticed because my wrists are already numb. I look down and see that my feet are also shackled. What the hell?

  I have never been on a plane before, much less one going to my doom. Trying to get my bearings, I realize I am not alone. I count nine others, all drugged, unaware that they too are heading into the unknown.

  There are rankers here too; two at the front and two at the back of the plane. They must be our guards. I watch the two at the front, waiting for them to move. They are sitting straight up and are as still as statues. Their eyes stare ahead at nothing in particular. Good little soldiers. They make me want to scream. I might if it wasn’t for the nasty looking guns at their feet. Don’t they know what they’re doing to us? Don’t they care? I turn away in disgust but, out of the corner of my eye, I see one of the guards actually move. He knocks on the door to the cockpit. A woman in a gray suit walks out and immediately looks at me. Our eyes lock for a moment before she frowns and calls to someone on the other side of that door. “I got a live one back here. Requesting assistance.” She must mean me because it’s not like there are any dead ones on the plane but I am the only person awake.

  A man opens the door and walks toward me, holding what looks like an enormous needle. “Hold still,” he tells me. I would have liked to tell him to try holding still when someone is about to stab you with a needle and inject who knows what into your body.

  The last words I remember saying are, “You son of a bitch.”

  Chapter 6

  Gabby

  My skin is on fire. I must have died and been sent to hell. I can see the flames dancing around me. Sweat is pouring down my face. Water, I need water. “Somebody please help me.” There is no one here to hear me. I am alone, I am on fire; what else can possibly go wrong? The heat has finally gone to my head and I faint right there, with the flames still refusing to go out.