Chapter 4: Ignorant teens

Large marble stone pillars lined the grand hallways and were lit by crystal lanterns. It was something I'd only ever read in picture books as a kid or read in a novel. The floors were shiny and polished to perfection making me nervous I'd ruin them. All three of our shoes were causing marks. That got me thinking that the bane of the mansion owner had to be dirty floors. There was no doubt about it.

We rounded a corner, and large white double doors came into view at the end of the halls. I felt Dennis pick up his pace and both me and Kota followed suit. As we reached the doors Dennis didn't hesitate to intrusively swing the doors open.

"Mother! Why didn't you answer my messages?" Dennis's words came out as a surprise to me and Kota.

An older woman sat at the large desk on the other side of the room with a smug look on her face. A young man stood next to her standing sturdy and at the ready. His face showed no emotion and didn't seem to be shocked by the abrasive behavior of Dennis.

"Well...because your demands have been too...how do I put it...demanding." Her words slid off her tongue like gel. Her amused grin only expanded across her face when her son broke into a small fit.

"I'm not in the mood for games." Dennis didn't seem seriously annoyed of his mother's coy behavior, but more of the matter at hand.

"Did you have a little tantrum when I didn't respond, Denny?" Dennis's mother only continued to pry at him.

The words she spoke made me think about Dennis's breakdown he had just before we met him. That's probably what she was talking about. I jumped a little when I heard a snicker leave Kota's very large mouth.

"And who might you two be?" Dennis's mother turned her attention to us and suddenly my backpack felt a lot heavier than a second ago.

"He-hello." was all I could get out. I was never great with interacting.

"Right. Mom, Beacon 3." Dennis said slowly.

"Wha-you can't be serious?" His mother sat there astonished.

Even the young man that stood next to her looked at us with wide eyes. For a moment our eyes locked at that second I could have sworn he smirked.

"I'm Kota. Not so sure what Beacon 3 means, but can I ask what the heck those tattoos on your faces are for. I thought it was just Dennis's thing, but, well I started seeing more people with it." A lot came from Kota's mouth which surprised me because from until now he'd been too terrified to speak to outer Dome strangers.

"Well, the tattoos are given to people who have been vindicated by the Cardinal and deemed worthy to fight for the freedom of the Coalition. The Coalition being, The Southern League, The Northern Clan, The North West Alliance and The Western Guild. It's the war against the Eastern Platoon and the destruction of the Dome." Dennis explained.

"Yes. You'd think that there's one mastermind behind it all, but The Dome was created by a large group of people. And from them came the teachings and lies of what you called home. More than %85 percent of the population inside The Dome was born outside it. Children are stolen from us at a young age and have their memories wiped. We're often too late to save the children they kidnap and it's always very devastating. Mother's go through many different mental illnesses and some even die. Coming from experience, there's nothing worse than losing your child." Dennis's mother's last few words were filled with sorrow. She spoke from her heart. "The fact of the matter is that they need to be stopped. Both the defiance of the Eastern Platoon and the horrific acts of The Dome."

"So...you're saying...my parents were not actually, really my parents..?" My own words hit me harder than expected.

"Most likely. Some do give birth, but they don't remember it due to the drugs they're given. Only few know the truth and don't even think anything of it. It's been driven so deeply into them that the truth doesn't even seem like the truth." The words sounded like they were hard to speak.

It was obvious she had lost her child to The Dome. I couldn't help, but wonder who her child was. Did I know them? Were they my age, or did they live on the other side of The Dome preventing me from ever coming in contact with them? I decided to ask.

"Miss, can...you tell me about your child?" I could feel every eye in the room lock on me. All I could do was stare bravely into the beautiful women's eyes.

"You can just call me Elodie." Elodie smiled softly at me. "Yes...my son. Not Dennis of course. He was...eleven months when he was...taken. All I can remember are his beautiful big green eyes looking up at me. Oh, and...his adorable smile with those tiny dimples. He looked like a prince. Who knows what he looks like now, he's probably at least fifteen." She relieved a sigh.

I thought about it and came to the conclusion that I didn't know any green eyed fifteen year old boys. Although his description was limited it didn't meet any matches in my head.

"He sounds like a beautiful boy." I smiled at Elodie, trying my best to lighten the mood.

"Yes. His only problem was the constant crying." She laughed.

"Don't even get me started." Dennis joined in. He seemed relaxed about the situation, but it probably really hurt him to lose his younger brother.

"Can I ask something?" Kota raised his hand and received a nod from Elodie. "What's the Cardinal? You mentioned it earlier."

"Oh right. Mom?" Dennis looked towards his mother.

"The Cardinal is a bird that has, for centuries, given us wisdom of the world we don't yet know. It lives in the Vault preventing it from ever aging and from this grants us the ability to withstand the power of the Vault. And of course I'll explain the vault. Actually Dennis," Elodie looks to her sons with a smile, "Why don't you explain."

With a nod Dennis explains. "The Vault is beyond our understanding and passes the limits of our science today. To our limited knowledge it is a place only reached if granted passage and sets us to the belonging time we need. It can change a person's physical age to what it should be or change a person's mind to match their physical state. It's hard to put into words, but you get the idea. I hope." Dennis sighed.

I nodded understanding most of it, but I looked to Kota to see him scratching his scalp like an idiot. Dennis palmed his face and took Kota aside to get into more depth about the Vault.

I walked up to Elodie and before I could speak shivered at the glare the quiet young man behind her was giving me.

"Kit. She's no threat." Elodie spoke up.

The man behind her, who seemed to be Kit, nodded, a little shocked at her remark. He brushed it off though, and went right back to his lifeless state.

All I could do was quietly laugh as I turned my attention back at Elodie. "Miss Elodie-"

"Oh just Elodie please dear. What is your name?"

I blushed a little at Elodie's informality, but quickly regained my composure. "I want to know how to shut down The Dome." I didn't think much of my words, but it was obviously not much of a surprise to the lady.

"Yes. You are chosen." Was all she said with a chuckle.

"Chosen. I'm not sure I understand." I looked at her with a questioning look.

"Both you, Kota and China have been chosen to lead us." She didn't seem to speak in a sardonic manner. In fact her face read she was serious.

"Ok I understand, but at the same time I don't…" I felt Kota's hand on my shoulder.

"She's saying we've been chosen to fight against the unjust. Haven't you read the story of King Aurthur?" Kota asked with a scoff.

"Well yes, but that's just a story…" I trailed off thinking about the 'what ifs'.

"Kit, do you mind getting China? She should be upstairs training. Tell her it's urgent."

Kit gave Elodie a nod and left the room in a swift manner. After two minutes of silence a girl with short black hair opened the doors. She was a lot less barbaric than Dennis was, but still had a stubborn touch to her actions.

"Governess, you called for me?" The girl known as China spoke. Her voice was sharp and smooth matching her keen narrow eyes. Her pearly orbs danced across the room and landed on me and Kota. She took in our entirety and seemed to have clued in right away just be our clothes. "Beacon 3?"

Now that we knew what that was we returned her question with a nod. I wanted to say something to her, but she quickly turned her head away and brought her attention back to where Elodie was, and where Kit now stood.

"I don't plan on working with them. They're inexperienced and are too ignorant of the world they now dwell." She politely bowed to Elodie and quickly turned around to leave without even giving me and Kota a second glance.

"She's going to be hard to coax." Elodie sighed.

"If we can coax her, that is." Dennis chuckled as he made his way to where his mother sat.

"Mom, how do you plan to "coax" that stubborn girl? You can barely get her to come down for dinner. Plus how do you expect the public will react when you announce that the so called 'chosen' are a couple ignorant teenagers? What the world needs are warriors who aren't afraid of death." Dennis seemed to heat up about this subject. His emotion and passion were displayed greatly through his words.

Elodie stood up and quietly walked over to the side of the room where large silk purple curtains fell from the ceiling and touched the marble floors. She reached for the leading edge and pulled one curtain to the side revealing a vast selection of gold framed books. The shelves reached from the ceiling to the floor just like the curtains displaying an immense amount of worth for each and every book.

We watched as Elodie grazed her finger tips along the paperback covers. A faint smile forming on her thin dainty lips.

"My father once told me that to have enough courage to walk a wire you first need to ready yourself. You can never cross it without knowing what you're doing. But if your fear of heights no longer has a hold over you, that's when you'll know the person waiting on the other side of the wire will help, for they crossed it knowing the same." Elodie paused to relieve a sigh. "I never understood what he was talking about until I had you Dennis. You were my partner to keep me steady and I don't know what I would have done if I lost you like your brother. These kids may be ignorant to the world around them, they may not be prepared for what is coming, but I can tell when I look into these children's eyes...trust me when I say they are our hope. All three of them."