Chapter Four Noah

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Noah looked up to see his ma standing over him. "Sorry?"

"You were miles away." She peered closely into his face. "Anything you want to talk about?"

He shrugged, trying not to blush. He had been thinking of Faith. Whether he was furious with her or missing her like mad, his thoughts never seemed far from the Bellator girl. He suspected his ma knew it, but knew she wouldn't pry.

"I'm just a bit tired, is all."

"I'm not surprised." She sat down, retrieving a shirt from the table where it lay waiting to be mended. "Don't think I didn't hear you sneak back in last night."

His eyes flew to hers. It had been late when he'd returned Ella to her cell, but he'd thought he'd managed to come in without disturbing anyone else. Clearly, his ma was more alert than he gave her credit for.

He searched for a response which didn't involve him lying. "I was… with Ruth."

"Thought as much." She opened her sewing kit. "It's tough for her right now… what with Ella being…"

"Yeah, she's finding it hard." Noah leaned over, taking a needle and a length of thread from her.

"I think Flynn and I are hoping…. That is, we want to get Ella out. But with Jacob the way he is at the moment, we think it might be safer to keep her out of sight. At least for now."

"I get it." He squinted as he threaded the needle and handed it back to her. "Thanks, Ma."

"What for?"

"I don't know. Just… understanding."

As Anna began to sew, they sat in companionable silence. Noah was tired, it was true. The sisters had spent well over an hour catching up, whilst he had stood guard. He'd been very glad that no one else passed by and found himself daring to hope that Paulo would keep his mouth shut about their nighttime adventure.

Both Ruth and Ella had been extremely grateful for his help, and they'd agreed to try and do it again at some point soon. Ella had asked them if perhaps they could bring her out to see Helen at some point, but Noah didn't think it was a good idea. Attempting to move any of the prisoners around the tunnels in the middle of the night was asking for trouble. Instead, he'd agreed to take a note to Helen for her, though he had no idea how he was going to manage it as yet.

He could understand Ella's frustration. If there was even a chance that he could have seen Faith right now, he knew he'd jump at it. Never mind how angry he was at her. He wondered where she might be. He'd pictured her locked in a room at the academy, strapped to a bed in the med centre, being chastised by Danforth herself. Physical torture for her was mental torture for him, but he didn't seem able to escape it.

"You coming to the meeting?" His ma's voice broke through his thoughts for the second time.

"Of course." He dragged his thoughts back to the moment. "You ready for it?"

The council had met again the previous day. Several members, Flynn and Anna among them, had expressed concerns that there were numerous tensions among the community. People were scared, unsure what was going on, worried about the future.

In response, Jacob had arranged a public meeting where he could update people on what he called "the Danforth situation." Everyone who wasn't on an essential shift this morning had been asked to gather in the canteen. Jacob had told the council he was planning to allay the citizens' fears and bolster morale.

Anna and Flynn didn't believe him. Knowing they had a growing number of citizens on their side, they were preparing to speak out against him if necessary. But they were concerned that the threat of a takeover would send Jacob right over the edge.

"I think so. Gauging his mood will be vital." Anna tied a knot in the thread and snapped it off with her teeth. "We suspect he's going to try and rile everyone up against Danforth and Bellator. He'll have a lot less support than he's used to."

"What do you think he'll do?"

She shrugged. "Honestly, we've no idea." Folding the shirt, she placed it on the table and put away the needle and thread. "I think we managed to persuade him to hold off on taking any action until we have more information from the Resistance."

Noah's heart raced at the thought of getting news from Bellator. "You're going to make contact with them?"

"We're going to suggest ways we might try to." She chewed on her lower lip. "But I've no idea how Jacob will react. He's so unpredictable these days. One awkward question and–"

"You think he'll do something drastic without talking to you?" Noah bent to pick up a sweatshirt, thinking back to the bombs Jacob had detonated in the forest during the recent meeting with Danforth.

"Well, he's done it before." His ma's face was pale. "He definitely keeps a lot from us these days."

"What about Paulo?" Noah's stepbrother was closer to Jacob than most. Perhaps he could shed some light on the subject. "Has Flynn asked him?"

"Yes. He's worried too." She frowned. "You know that Paulo wasn't told about the attack on Danforth's guards in advance. He doesn't feel like Jacob confides in him either."

"You mean…"

"I'm afraid Jacob seems to be talking to Sarah Porter more than anyone these days." Anna grimaced. Noah thought about the woman who'd taken Faith captive on Jacob's instructions and shuddered. "And she just tells him what he wants to hear."

Noah considered what she'd said. "Do you think he'd launch an attack on the city?" His ma's expression confirmed his fears. "I mean… that would put hundreds… thousands of innocent Bellator citizens in danger." He felt selfish when he realised he was really only concerned about one.

His ma laid a hand on his arm. "You don't think we know that? Flynn and I have done everything we can to calm him, but I'm not sure we've managed to talk him out of it yet. His actions lately have been on a par with Danforth's." Noah recalled Ella making a similar comment the previous night. "I think…" she paused, "No, I hope we persuaded him to wait, at least until we can get in touch with one of our Resistance contacts."

"You mean Madeleine?" Noah frowned. "You think she's alive?"

Part of the Bellator Resistance, Madeleine had helped the Eremus people for years, aiding them with their raids into the city, ensuring they had access to vital supplies which could keep the community going. Since her disappearance a few weeks ago, the council had been extremely concerned for her safety.

It was her home that the Bellator guards had gained access to the tunnels from. Once the raiders had dealt with the threat, they'd been forced to set off explosives at the rear entrance, destroying any evidence that the house had been used as an access point. Madeleine hadn't been seen since. They were hopeful that she had gone into hiding, but no one was sure.

Accessing the city without using her home was difficult, but not impossible. And speaking to her before rushing into action seemed like a sensible move to Noah.

"We hope so. If not, there are others we might contact." His ma glanced at the door. Noah knew she was worried about Flynn. "I actually managed to talk to Charlotte yesterday." Noah knew Jacob had been trying to keep the two women apart. "She thinks they might be prepared to support us. Work things out with a less violent approach. If we can persuade them that we have similar goals, then–"

A noise from outside startled them both. Flynn's head poked through the cave entrance.

"You two ready?" He looked exhausted.

"You only just finish your shift?" Noah's ma hurried to her partner's side. Flynn had been on guard duty in the forest all night. "You sure you don't want to stay here and rest?"

"I want to hear what he says. First hand. See that he keeps his word."

"But–"

He held up a hand to stop her. "But nothing. We both have to be there, you know that. I don't plan to interject unless I have to. I'm hoping he was genuine about seeing the sense in our plan, but just in case..." Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Don't worry. I can grab a couple of hours afterwards."

Ten minutes later, they entered an extremely crowded canteen. Tensions were high in the community, and everyone wanted to hear what Jacob had to say. Noah followed his ma and Flynn to the front where they stood stiffly, their eyes darting around the room as they waited for the meeting to begin.

Unsurprisingly, Sarah and her son Harden were right beside the podium where Jacob stood. Noah nodded at Harden and was surprised to have the gesture reciprocated. Sarah merely glared at them and leaned over to hiss something in her son's ear. Harden immediately dropped his gaze.

Paulo stood a few feet behind them. He smiled as they approached, but Noah thought he looked tense.

Once Jacob was certain that most of the Eremus citizens were present, he held up a hand for silence.

"Thank you for attending this morning. I know the council has been huddling in corners for several weeks now, without much clarification." He shrugged. "I'll be totally honest with you. We've been struggling to agree on a suitable plan of action."

He glanced down at Flynn as he spoke, and his trademark smile faded slightly. At public meetings, he usually managed to maintain a positive outlook, no matter how he felt. But his fury at the girls' escape had yet to abate. Clearly, he considered Anna and Flynn to be leading the fight against his own plans for Bellator and resented them for it.

"Much has happened in Eremus over the past few weeks, but I want to reassure you that the safety and wellbeing of our community is, as always, of paramount importance to us. Since two of our female prisoners escaped, we have been concerned that they might cause problems for Eremus. We believe the pair have returned to Bellator. How much they would be able to tell those in the city about our community, we're not sure. What we do know is, they know enough to put us at serious risk."

Around the room, Noah could hear murmured reactions to their leader's words. Instead of reassuring people, Jacob seemed intent on planting seeds of doubt in their minds. Noah could see why. Making out that Faith and Diane had gone back to the city with the express purpose of revealing Eremus secrets to those in charge was a surefire way of frightening his citizens.

That way, when Jacob presented the people with his solution, no matter how extreme, they would be less likely to question it. Noah hated that aspect of Jacob's leadership. It was too close to what he'd heard about Danforth's methods for his liking. He knew that, given the chance, Flynn and his ma would go about running the community in a more positive way.

And Jacob was dead wrong about Faith. Bellator had done her no favours. He could no more see her feeding information about Eremus back to the Bellator government than he could imagine Jacob sending a map of the tunnel locations to Danforth. But having the majority of his people believing the girls hated Eremus served Jacob's purpose.

"As you all now know, I was born in the city. One of those created solely for the purpose of reproduction. A machine, if you like. Those women treated me, and those in the same situation, like animals," he sneered. "I have no love for them. I'm only sorry that I hid my origins from you for so long. In truth, I was afraid of how you might react."

He lowered his head, as if in shame. As he paused, Noah wondered how many of the Eremus citizens were buying his act.

"I shouldn't have been," he continued. "Breaking out was the best thing I ever did, because it led me here, to Eremus. A place which welcomed me." Raising his head, he swept an arm across the cave as he continued. "I've worked hard ever since to build a community which is free of the male prejudice that infects the city."

Noah ran his eyes over the crowd. There was a sense of mistrust whispering in the air. He tuned into the people closest to him.

"…honestly think we're going to swallow this?" "How can he ask us to…" "…he lied to us…"

The comments were hushed, but the sentiment was clear. The citizens had heard Jacob's act before. Had witnessed what he did behind the scenes and been horrified by it. Did Jacob realise how many of his followers were doubting him now?

"Because of the circumstances of my birth, I know Danforth. I know the city." Jacob leaned forward, as though confiding in the group. "I believe this gives us an advantage in the coming fight."

Ruth slid into the bench beside Noah, her head down. "Did I miss much?"

Noah shook his head. "He's explaining how his origins can help us." His friend rolled her eyes and tuned into what Jacob was saying.

"Over the years, I have grown tired of the limitations forced upon us by Danforth and her government. And I know I'm not the only one." He swept his hand across the crowd in front of him. "Because of her, we are forced to live in secrecy, to steal to feed our children. We regularly lose friends and family members to her guards."

"We cannot forget Jan, Dane, and Dan, our most recent casualties."

He bowed his head for a second, allowing the names of the deceased to sink in. Noah wondered what Jan would have thought of Jacob's reverent mention of her. She had rarely agreed with him on anything.

Once the murmured reaction had died down, he raised his head again and stared out at the crowd. "But they were not the first to die at Danforth's hand. We have lost so many people to this tyrant. Over and over, we are forced to witness, first-hand, her capability for bloodshed."

Noah wondered if Jacob considered the bloodshed he himself had caused in the recent bombing. Beside him, Ruth tensed, and he knew she was thinking the same thing.

But the juggernaut at the podium ploughed on regardless. "And why? Because of false, outdated claims about the male gender. I won't lie to you. I don't want Eremus to hide anymore."

Flynn took a step forward, as though to protest. Noah knew he was concerned that Jacob was going back on his agreement of the previous night. If he ignored their advice to wait, to gather information before charging in to attack Bellator, would Flynn be forced to publicly oppose him?

Anna's hand shot out. Grabbing his arm, she held on, restraining him.

As the pair exchanged glances, Jacob pressed on. "I want more for us. I want us to be able to live without fear, to prosper, to have a choice in the way that we live. That's the reason I have taken action against the city and its rulers in recent weeks. And we must remember that."

At the front of the room, one of the older citizens had raised a hand. "What about the consequences of these actions?" He glanced at the people sitting around him. "I mean… we've seen a lot of change over the last few weeks, as you said. Frightening change."

Jacob held up a hand. "I understand that. And you may be right. Believe me, the council wants you to be able to live without that fear. But let me say that I am extremely proud to be your leader. I believe we can change the way things are, if we're prepared to fight. Our goal is to make Bellator recognise us as equals, to permit us to live safely either here in the cave settlement or, if we wish, alongside the women of Bellator."

"That's just it, though." Beside the man who had spoken, a woman stood up. Noah recognised Cora, the woman who managed the Eremus food supply in the canteen. "A lot of us…we don't want to live in Bellator. And we're worried that we've…" she cast a glance at Jacob, "that you've invited trouble from the city… made us even more of a target."

"If I have, then it's all part of the plan. Change comes at a price, Cora." Jacob's tone was brittle. "Of course, we'll have to tolerate some rocky times over the coming days, but isn't that worth it? If it means we can secure the kind of life we want?" Cora opened her mouth to argue, but Jacob pressed on. "Even if you don't want to live amongst the women of the city, you can't deny you'd enjoy a more reliable supply of food, can you?"

Defeated, Cora fell silent. Jacob let the thought settle in before continuing. "As you say, some of the recent attempts to achieve our goals have not gone as planned. But we must focus on what we have achieved. Our explosives completely destroyed Danforth's fertility unit. At the moment, she has no seed with which to maintain their current system of procreation. Bellator has used this for many years, and I can't see her easily finding an alternative. At the moment, as males who are capable of procreating, we are her only chance of sustaining life for the community."

"Doesn't that put us in even more danger?" Mick, a raider who had been injured in the very attack where the guard had been captured, burst out. "She might focus her efforts on coming to the forest and capturing some of us."

"That's all the more reason we should take action against her, don't you think?" Sarah's voice was strident. "Protect our men. Stop her from enslaving them."

Nodding at his staunch ally, Jacob continued. "In addition, we still have four Danforth student prisoners." He gestured to Paulo. Taking the girls prisoner had been Noah's brother's idea, but from the expression on his face, Noah wasn't sure he still believed it had been the right thing to do. "We know these girls are extremely valuable to the Bellator government. And we have an additional hostage now: the Bellator guard who we captured as part of the recent attack on our community."

"What do you plan to do with these hostages, though?" Beth, a friend of Noah's ma spoke from the back of the canteen. "I mean… how much value do they hold for Danforth? Do we know?"

There were louder murmurs from others around the space. Flynn leaned across and whispered something in Anna's ear. Noah wondered if his ma or Flynn might take over the meeting. Seeming to note this, Sarah took a step forward.

"I'm sure they're very valuable." She smiled. "Or if they're not, letting the people of Bellator know Danforth doesn't care about them would certainly have an impact on the women of the city." She turned to Jacob. "And speaking of making an impact, let's not forget our recent elimination of a large proportion of Danforth's guard."

"Trust her to dismiss a significant loss of life as elimination," Ruth hissed.

"We believe the city's forces are severely weakened," Sarah continued. "That means any attempt to infiltrate the city will be far easier."

"Because we killed off a hundred and fifty of their guards in cold blood." Cora had found her voice again.

"Because we killed them before they killed us," Sarah argued. Noah was watching Harden, whose face had flushed a dark red at his ma's words. "How can you say–"

"It was a necessary act, I assure you," Jacob butted in. He hurried on, as though afraid other citizens might begin to object. "Listen, I can see that some of our recent actions have been… looked on as extreme by some of you. I wish there was any other way to get through to Danforth, but… honestly, I doubt it." He seemed to grit his teeth as he continued. "I also understand there's a need for caution at the moment, at least until things become clearer.

"The council does not want to further risk the lives of our community. And while we must face the fact that additional battles may have to be fought before we bring Danforth down," he narrowed his eyes at Flynn, "we have decided to call upon the assistance of others before taking any further action."

An audible sigh of relief ran around the room. Noah watched Jacob. He wasn't a stupid man. He could see that pushing ahead with his violent agenda wasn't going to work. Not right now. Taking the sensible option, the leader stood aside, gesturing to Flynn.

"Flynn, would you like to explain our intentions?"

"Clever move," Ruth whispered. "He knows Flynn is regarded as less volatile. Plus, if it goes wrong, he can shift the blame away from himself."

Flynn got to his feet, clasping his hands together tightly. Noah wondered if they were shaking from anger or nerves.

"Jacob's right." Flynn began, diplomatically. "Danforth has been weakened. But she is far from defeated." He glanced at Anna, who gave an imperceptible nod of encouragement. "We have decided the safest course of action is to call upon the women of the Bellator Resistance for aid. They have helped us gain access to the city in the past, supported us with gathering food and medicines and so on… and we're wondering if they might be prepared to join forces with us in a more definitive way."

"What does that mean, exactly?" A woman's voice came from the back of the room. Noah couldn't see who it was.

"Well, we don't know yet." Flynn was honest as ever. "We plan to send an envoy into the city over the next few days. Undercover. It will need to be a woman, and she will have to blend in with the ordinary Bellator citizens. Her objective will be to get a sense of what's been happening in the city in the past few weeks." He held up a hand to quell the whispers in the crowd. "Not to attract unnecessary attention or cause any kind of trouble.

"While she's there, our envoy will try and make contact with Madeleine, or other members of the Resistance. We have an idea of where she might be from Charlotte Kemp, the girls' professor." Warming to his theme, Flynn's voice grew more confident. "If our envoy can locate them, she'll talk to them, gather intel on what's been happening in the city over the last few weeks… and to see how they're feeling about us now. If their goals in any way align with ours, then…" He glanced down at Anna for support.

Noah's ma stood up. "Like Jacob, I came from Bellator. When I left, there were women who felt unhappy with the way things were being run. I've spoken to Charlotte… a little." She glanced sideways at Jacob, who pointedly ignored her. "She has assured me that the Resistance movement has grown in the years I have been away."

She smiled at Flynn, encouraging him to continue. He cleared his throat before he went on. "We want to capitalise on this. Speak to the Resistance. See if their objectives are similar to our own. If so, we're hoping we might… join forces. Work together to ensure that things improve," Flynn cast an eye around the cave, "for all of us."

Noah could feel the tension dissipate. People were far happier with Flynn and Anna's suggested plan than they had been with Jacob's. A sense of pride swelled within him.

But then his eyes moved to Jacob. The leader's face was dark. Beside him Sarah sent an elbow into his side, jolting him forwards. A momentary flash of anger crossed his face, but he quashed it as he held up a hand to speak, ensuring he had the final word.

"All we want is to see things improve for Eremus. And I'm sure you'll agree, this plan will allow us to discover more information without risking the lives of any more citizens. We feel the Resistance could be a valuable ally, and we're hopeful we can work alongside them." Jacob cast a glance at Sarah over his shoulder. "But we must be prepared to act alone, if we have to."

The meeting broke up with promises of keeping the citizens informed and not acting without their knowledge. Noah watched, as Jacob pointedly turned his back on Flynn. He took Sarah's arm and began to hurry her out of the canteen, his face thunderous. A few citizens tried to accost him, but he ignored them, waving them away with a hand as he headed for the exit.

"He's not happy," Ruth remarked, as they prepared to head off for their shifts.

"At least he agreed to wait." Noah glanced across at his ma and Flynn, who had stayed to field questions from various worried citizens. The stark difference between them and Jacob struck him again. "Should give us more time to consider what to do next, surely?"

"Maybe." His friend followed him out into the tunnel. "But I don't trust him. Not at all."