Chapter 136 Chapter 136: Back to the Capital

Chapter 136 Chapter 136: Back to the Capital
Senna’s POV

With the siphon tucked away in his pocket, Kalev and I made our way down the beach. He paused as we approached the helicopter. We both turned to look at the forest, engulfed in flames.

“I know it sounds strange,” Kalev said, “but I’m sort of sad to see it burn like this.”

I nodded. “It doesn’t sound strange,” I told him. “You engineered it. This has been your life’s work. I’m not surprised you’re feeling a bit nostalgic.”

He pulled me in close. “You know, this is where we first met,” he sighed.

“That’s incorrect,” I told him. “We first met at your estate. Before the games had even begun.”

He furrowed his brows. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “It feels like a lifetime ago.”

My mind flashed back to that fateful day. I’d just been betrayed by Kalev, and Mira. At least I thought Mira had betrayed me. Kalev had forged my signature and sold me to the games. I’d been so full of rage and hate at the time. I had no idea what awaited me. It was also the first day I met Thor and Thistle.

Thistle.

I couldn’t wait to see him. He’d become like a little brother to me. Just as Junie had become like a little sister. I planned on taking him with me back to Sector 6. He didn’t want to be at the capital. Plus, I had a feeling that Thistle and Junie would get along really well.

So much had happened in such a short time. Kalev was right. Our first meeting did feel like a lifetime ago. I’d hated Kalev so much. I’d wanted to kill him. But then he’d marked me and we’d both learned we were mates.

Glancing at him and his smoke-smudged face, my heart melted. I loved him so much now. It was hard to imagine ever hating him.

“Are you ready?” he asked. “To say good-bye?”
“I am,” I replied. I didn’t share Kalev’s same sentiment. I was happy to see the island burn. There was no love lost between me and the island.

The island held nothing but bad memories for me. We had lost Thor. I had lost Verity. I’d seen more people die than I ever wanted to see die. Yes, we’d won. But needless to say, I would not be looking back on the island with any sort of fondness.

Kalev and I climbed into the helicopter with Junie. I refused to let her leave my side. There were two other sector borns in the helicopter with us. Once we were all settled in, it took off, up into the sky. Our eyes remained fixed out the window as we left the island. The flames were still burning as we left the island behind us once and for all.

The helicopter was scheduled to land at the capital. Kalev and I intended to go back my sector as soon as the helicopter landed. There was no way we were going to stay in the capital a moment longer than we needed to. People would be looking to us to lead and we knew that.

We wanted to organize the rebellion to make sure everyone was working together. This would afford us the best chance of success.

However, as the helicopter flew over the capital, my jaw dropped.

The sectors were already at the capital marched. They had already infiltrated the gates and now they were flooding the streets. The capital was on fire. Even from the sky we could see the chaos below. People were running around in the streets. There was screaming as nobles zig-zagged through the streets, trying to find somewhere safe to hide.

Armed sector borns marched, lighting things on fire as they went. They showed no mercy. They out to destroy anything in their path. Buildings were burning. It was pure chaos.

I hadn’t expected this to happen so soon. It had only been hours since I gave my speech on the island. Apparently Sector 1 had wasted no time. Guards that had been positioned along the capital walls were abandoning their posts. It was likely only one sector, but it had already done a good job of marching on the capital.

“This is mayhem,” I said. Then I turned to Kalev, my eyes shining, a smile on my face. “Can you believe this?”

It was better than I ever could have imagined. I thought this would take days. I thought we’d have to rally, to plan, to organize. But apparently we didn’t. Apparently, the rebellion had already started without us.

He shook his head. “They really took your words to heart, Senna,” he told me. His eyes shone with pride.

I guess I shouldn’t have underestimated the sectors. We’d all been beaten down for so long. All the sectors had needed was a little push. A spark. A reason to fight. And we’d given it to them.

“Look,” I said, pointing to the paths outside the capital walls. Kalev turned his head to see where I was pointing. Then he inhaled a sharp breath.

We saw a steady stream of people marching towards the capital. It stretched as far as we could see. There were already a lot of sector borns within the capital walls. And from what we could gather, there were more on the way.

“This is unbelievable,” Kalev said, his eyes wide. I agreed. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen.

“We can’t land here,” the pilot said. His voice was high and tight. I could tell he was nervous. He began radioing the other helicopters.

“Land as planned,” Kalev barked at him. But he shook his head.

“Don’t you see what’s happening down there? No way in hell I’m landing in the capital.

The helicopter took a sharp turn and veered left. I bumped into Kalev, who bumped into the window from the unexpected turn.

“Where are we going?” Kalev asked.

The pilot had his eyes fixed on the window in front of him. He was gripping the steering so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.

“Somewhere safe,” the pilot told us.