Chapter 115 Chapter 115: Rebellion
Kalev’s POV
Senna walked ahead of me with Junie close to her side. I was glad those men were dead, but Senna looked uncomfortable. I was thinking about the island, and about what I’d created. I hadn’t planned for the island to take on a life of its own. But now that it had, I didn’t know what that meant.
Korrigan and Isolde walked behind us. They were tense and I could feel their tension. The sight of the men being pushed off the side of the cliff was still raw in my mind. Jett was only a child. He’d betrayed us, but he was a product of his circumstance and environment. Deep down, I couldn’t really blame him for being loyal to the nobles. Nobility was in his blood.
Kalen hadn’t said a single thing since we left the ridge. I didn’t trust that men as far as I could throw a stick. I hated that Senna was allowing him to stay with us. He was a vile man, who had not only sold Senna and Junie to the games, but he’d also been hunting flora wolves.
It was going to be very hard for me to have him in our cave. Orrin growled. He felt the same way. He wanted to be let out so that he could sink his teeth into Kalen’s throat.
The sector borns who had found us were waiting for us when we got back. Then took one look at Kalen and furrowed their faces. But they recognized him as a sector born. In their minds, Kalen was on their side by default. So they didn’t ask any questions.
I watched Kalen carefully as he took in the space. He looked impressed.
“You’re lucky we’re letting you stay here,” I said to Kalen.
He glanced at me. But he didn’t respond.
“I don’t think he should stay.” It was Korrigan who spoke up. He had his arms crossed over his chest. Isolde stood beside him. I was about to say that I agreed. But Senna’s voice cut through before I could respond.
“I gave him my word,” she said. Her tone was not defensive. It was final.
Korrigan scoffed under his breath.
“That’s going to get someone killed,” he muttered.
Senna didn’t look up.
“This isn’t up for discussion,” she said. There was a thick tension between all of us. But a sound interrupted the cave before the discussion could continue.
It was a faint chime outside the waterfall.
We all went to see. We emerged through the waterfall into the clearing.
At the base of the rock shelf sat a small drop crate. We all noticed right away that it wasn’t from the Capital.
The design of the box was older. Rougher. It was way less polished than drop boxes from the capital.
Korrigan was the first to step toward it.
“No sponsor would waste a drop here,” he said.
“No sponsor from the capital,” Isolde said, following slowly. “This doesn’t look like it’s from the capital.”
Senna stayed close to Junie, but her attention had shifted completely. Even Kalen stepped forward.
Isolde was right. This crate wasn’t from the capital. Which meant that someone from one of the sectors had sent us something. I went to the crate and opened it.
The crate was full of food. Not the ordinary ration packs. Not standard issue survival supplements. It was real food.
Tehre were preserved sweets wrapped in layered paper. And dense protein bars from Sector 4’s agricultural districts. Lifting out the food, I saw dried fruit. It was the kind of food that only existed in small quantities outside the capital.
At the bottom of the crate, there was medicine. Not diluted arena kits. Real medicine. Isolde made a small sound when she saw it.
“Where is this from?” Senna asked. We were all perplexed. The contents of the crate would cost a small fortune.
Then I saw the note. It was folded and simple, placed at the bottom of the crate.
Korrigan picked it up first and scanned it quickly. Then he went still.
“What does it say?” Senna asked.
Korrigan swallowed once before speaking.
“‘We’re watching,’” he read. “The sectors are rising. We are with you.”
The words hung in the air. Senna’s expression did not change immediately. Neither did mine.
I looked at the contents again. This was not a gift in the traditional sense I realized. This was an investment. It was acknowledgment. It was support for us directly from the sectors themselves.
Kalen exhaled softly beside me.
“So it’s spreading,” he said.
No one needed to ask what he meant. We all understood. And now they were rallying.
A revolt was on its way. This was a gift to let us all know. Isolde stepped back slightly from the crate, one hand rising to her mouth.
“This is Sector 4,” she whispered. “These aren’t just goods,” she said. “These are… expensive. These items are very difficult to find. They would have had to pool resources for this.”
Her voice cracked slightly at the edges.
“They sent this together,” Korrigan said.
Senna finally moved closer. Her gaze lingered on the food, then on the note again.
“We’re watching,” she repeated quietly.
Korrigan let out a slow breath.
“Watching what?”
The answer came from Isolde before anyone else could speak it.
“The Games,” she said. “All of it.”
Kalen nodded faintly. “They’ve broken the broadcast isolation,” he said. “Or someone has.”
My attention sharpened at that.
“What do you mean?” I asked. The games were banned from the sectors. They’d never been able to watch them.
Kalen gestured slightly toward the open air beyond the waterfall.
“Pirate relays,” he shrugged. “They’ve found a way for the sector networks to intercept the Capital feeds. They’re recasting them. Broadcasting them back through uncontrolled channels.”
Korrigan frowned.
“That’s not possible at scale.”
“It is if enough people decide it is,” Kalen replied.
Senna looked up at him then. Her expression was unreadable.
“It’s a rebellion,” she said. “The sectors are rebelling. And they sent us this because they want us to know.”