Page 109 of Us Defiant Few

She needed to warn her family. Khalani had no idea how long they’d been asleep, but Ansel was attacking tonight. If they didn’t raise the gate, he’d find a way to get over the walls and kill them all.

She yanked harder on the chains, dangerously close to dislocating her shoulder again, when rugged boots descended the stairs.

Her stomach clenched as the Chief dropped to the bottom step. She was alone, weaponless, save for the wooden chair she dragged behind her.

Khalani stiffened, mentally preparing herself for the worst, having lived through unimaginable pain at the hands of Doctor Strauss.

But with Winnie tied up too…

The Chief’s face was grim as she walked to the center of the room and set the chair down, a heavy sigh escaping her, like an endless weight settled on her shoulders.

“Where are the others?” Khalani asked, unable to withhold the panic from her voice.

“Patreus and the guards are watching over them.”

“I swear if you hurt them—”

“We never had any such intention,” the Chief snapped, offended. “That’s not how we were raised.”

Her brows rose incredulously. “And how exactly were you raised?”

The Chief hesitated as she slowly sat, head bowed, elbows on her knees, squeezing her hands together. Silence emanated through the room, and Winnie was the one to break it.

“You don’t seem that different from us. But you are, aren’t you?”

“I wish I could say no.” The Chief’s lip twisted. “But the longer I stay here, I realize we’re more alike than it was ever intended to be.”

Winnie frowned, but didn’t speak another word, like she was afraid the slightest whisper would prevent the Chief from giving them answers.

“I want to tell you a story.” The Chief finally lifted her gaze, weathered and broken. “I know you have a lot of questions, but I only ask that you hear what I have to say.”

Khalani would rather watch the Chief impale herself on a sword than hear anymore lies. But in their tight bindings, they had no choice but to sit and listen.

“I was twenty-one years old the first time I died.”

The Chief’s gaze grew faraway and distant, as if she were remembering a world they’d only read about in history books.

“Before the Great Collapse, I grew up in a tiny community outside Las Vegas. I had a family. A sister. A dog. I had dreams, though…I don’t remember what they were anymore.”

She swallowed, her voice dripped in melancholy.

“But I remember going to college and returning home when the war started. There were protests. Massive raids. Banks closed overnight. And when the President sent troops into the cities and started killing our own people, I remember the panic setting in. It was unclear who sent the missiles first. My sister told me theories of our own country setting nukes on the West to rid themselves of their true opposition. But then, the attacks happened everywhere. When black dust covered the sun, we all knew it was the end.

“We lost electricity. Everyone hoarded food. Boarded up their doors. People killed over a drop of water in the cold desert. I watched my family wither away until it was only my sister and I left. We were but skin and bones back then, too weak to even lift our heads off the mattress. We held each other until we took our very last breaths. I saw my soul leave my body, reaching toward a distant light. My eyes closed for the last time. Until one day, when someone opened them.”

Khalani didn’t breathe, hanging on to every word.

“I woke up naked in a glass container. A young man stood over me. I’d never seen him before, but he ordered me to speak. For some reason, my lips wouldn’t move. I tried so hard, but it was like they were glued shut. He wrote something down before pulling a lever. I screamed in agony as he electrocuted me until my heart stopped. That was the second time I died.

“The third time, I woke up and he asked my name. But I couldn’t remember it. When I said I didn’t know, he killed me again. This happened for days. Maybe even years. I don’t quite remember.” The Chief’s voice cracked, her hands trembling.

“It wasn’t until I was able to fully recount my life that he told me why I was brought back. I wasn’t alive. Not really. He recovered my decomposing body and made an exact clone of who I used to be. That was the easy part, he said. The hard part was bringing back all my memories. Parts of my brain were still preserved, and he worked tirelessly, day and night, to re-create me until I was a picture-perfect version of my original self. But the most important thing he wanted me to remember was that I wasn’t human. I was something much better.”

“Who was he?” Khalani asked.

“I don’t know.” The Chief frowned. “The only name I was ever allowed to call him was Father. I don’t know where he came from.”

“But why did he bring you back?” Winnie asked.