DISCLAIMER: I would just like to say that I do not own anything relating to the Gone series, Michal Grant and his publisher and such do. I made up OC's and ideas, but they wouldn't be there without the books, of course, so I don't own much. I don't own any of the things I don't own in this chapter in any other chapter or summary or whatever, either. I promise I don't. I really don't. I just don't.
The New Council: Order is difficult to keep when no one is listening to you
"Finally," Persephone, angry and impatient, muttered to no one in particular. Chloe sighed. Did her sister always have to be like this?
"Well, are you going to apologize or what?" the older girl asked, this time to Mike Paylor, a 15-year-old boy who had been hiding from the possibility of chaos reigning. He was a bit of a coward. Still, Chloe didn't like it when her sister lashed out, but she didn't say anything.
"Apologize? For being scared? Sure. I'm sorry for freaking out in a situation where I thought my life was in danger. Completely irrational behavior to you, I'm sure," Mike answered, trying to hide his shame and embarrassment at being called out on a major flaw. Chloe felt sorry for him and changed the subject.
"So, Sephy, have you gotten any new about the Human Crew yet? I thought they'd been causing trouble again." Her sister ignored her.
"Hush, Chloe. And don't call me that. Now, Mike, apologize for real. You fled the scene before we could discuss anything. I know you're only a one-bar freak, but what if some extremist human had gotten you? Then where would we be? We need that guy who doesn't want to take risks on our Council. That's why we elected you in the first place. Get it right!" Persephone ranted. "I am very disappointed in you, Mike. I thought you could do better."
Mike hung his head. Chloe could tell he felt bad. Poor guy... she thought. Even though he was older than her by at least six months, he always seemed to be more sensitive. Maybe it has something to do with his parents fighting so much, and now them being gone...
Mike's parents had never gotten along. They cared about showing up one another more than about Mike himself. Chloe had seen the arguments. They weren't pretty. His dad would sit there while his mom screamed in a fit of rage, and then explain with a rational explanation why things weren't working for them, and then they'd switch. Mostly, though, it was his dad who ended the arguments by pointing out that they weren't good for their son. Mike and his dad had a lot in common: same chocolate brown hair and eyes, same medium skin, same non-aggressive manor, same gentle temperament. But Mike got his strong emotional reactions from his mother. Chloe knew all this, she had heard it before from others, but she had never really believed it until now.
"Chloe? We're leaving. I know you're not on the New Council, but you'd better come along. We could use another freak if something goes bump in the night," Persephone said, being softer to her sister than she had been before in the conversation.
Chloe was a two-bar. She could communicate animals, especially with the weird, mutated creatures that had come from the initiation of the FAYZ. However, just because she spoke, it didn't mean anyone would listen. It might have been more powerful bar-wise than Mike's, but it was nowhere near as useful. Mike could tell if someone was lying. It wasn't always exactly accurate, but it was the best they had and it was better than nothing. Persephone had no abilities, but she was still a very commanding presence.
"Gather everyone in Perdido Beach, I want to have a meeting. We need to re-discuss Sam's absence. Not everything is going well," Persephone ordered, and a pair of red-headed twins named Ian, a short boy with the ability to attract fish who had taken over for Quinn, and Cammie, a tall, willowy girl who was human but often spoke about wanting to be a freak, darted off to do just that. Persephone beamed. She loved getting her way.
Chloe trailed after the New Council, an awkward fish in a sea full of whales. She knew she didn't belong, but she wouldn't dare stray from the pack. Not now. Not at night.
"Attention, everyone!" Persephone screamed, giving Chloe a scare. She hadn't realized they were in the middle of the meeting already. Almost the whole town was there, and 90% of them were upset. There were so many little problems, little whispers, little secrets. Nobody wanted to go up against Persephone, and yet, none of them liked her either.
"Right now, I don't have to tell you that things suck. We thought it would be worse after Sam and his main followers left, but it was better. We thought things would be better after the first meeting of the New Council, but they got worse. What happened was people not listening to authority, namely, me. I'm a normal, but I'm not prejudice against freaks. My opinions are unbiased. I am not stupid. I am not weak. But people won't listen, because they have all those qualities as well, and they want to be in charge. Let me ask you something. Who is in control here currently? No need to answer, I'll tell you. I am. Now, if you were qualified to be in control, don't you think you would be? Sam's gone. We don't even know if he's coming back. But I'm here. So LISTEN TO ME! I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to help everyone. But I can't. That's why we have the New Council. We thought we could pull it off. We couldn't. We argued, and it broke out into the public. Everyone's upset now. We have representatives on the New Council that YOU voted for. They disappointed you. Do you feel the need to elect new representatives, or will you give them another chance? It's your choice," Persephone explained. She seemed to enjoy making speeches. Mainly, they were to advertise her authority, but they had some useful tidbits mixed in. The crowd roared, and the answer was unidentifiable. Worried she would have to talk, Chloe shrunk behind Mike. She hated public speaking. He noticed her there, chuckled, and whispered,
"How are you two even related?" Chloe shrugged. Sometimes, she wondered that herself.
"People, I cannot decipher your screaming. All in favor of a new New Council, raise your hand. Chloe, get up here and count them," Persephone ordered. Her sister inched out from behind Mike and shuffled up to the make-shift stage, an upturned table, counting the hands. There were many. She couldn't count exactly, but it was more than half. Persephone turned to her, and Chloe nodded. She didn't speak, but her sister did.
"All right, then. We will have a new New Council! Firstly, I would like to give the former members a chance to be voted on," she cried, eyes searching for the members of the old New Council. She spotted Mike.
"MIKE PAYLOR!"
He trotted up to the 'stage' and stood there awkwardly while the people shouted unrecognizable things. Persephone pursed her lips. She was clearly annoyed.
"Raise your arm if you feel his should be kept on the New Council. Chloe, what's the verdict?" she asked as people lifted their arms and giggled. Most of them only liked him because they liked making fun of him. He wasn't a hero to them. He was a comic relief.
Chloe glanced at Persephone, mouthing that Mike would stay. She frowned.
"Well, that' that. I guess he'll do. Next, Lyra Rasputin! She's our representative powerful freak, people! Everyone needs a good hypnotist. But is she a keeper?"
One or two people put their hands up. Nobody loved the idea of someone who could influence the decisions of others on a Council deciding their fate. Chloe didn't even need to count them. Persephone gritted her teeth. Lyra was one of her best friends.
"Fine, then. Ugh. See? I'm not biased! She's off. NEXT! Trystan Garcia," Persephone called out. He was a normal, well-respected, and a very strong kid. He was already 15, but had not poofed. People liked him, and they used their hands to show this appreciation.
"Wonderful!" Persephone said with a smile. She was known to have had a bit of a crush on Trystan before the FAYZ, and the two were still very fond of each-other, but as friends. The next few people came up, were voted off, and walked away. The only members of the former New Council other than Mike and Trystan were two girls named Victoria Lee, a popular normal, and Graceland Hughes, a very kindhearted freak with the ability to make people angry or calm them down. Chloe smiled. She was happy with the choices. Lyra had always ignored her completely, Graceland was a friend of hers, Mike was obviously her first choice, Trystan usually kept things fair, and Victoria was great at getting people to listen to her.
"Okay, that's it for the old members. Now, anyone who wishes to be a part of the new New Council please step forward," Persephone requested. No one moved. She faked a peppy smile.
"That's okay, we'll just move on to... er... nominations! Yes, that will do. Would anyone like to suggest someone else to be on the new New Council?" she asked. Again, nobody moved. Again, Persephone fake-smiled.
"Hm. Fine. We'll just have a revised old New Council. Maybe that's a good thing. It means we can stop calling it the new New Council, at least. But we do need at least two more members. Hopefully, one freak and one normal. That should balance itself out. And, since we might as well have one more boy and one more girl, I nominate my sister, Chloe Davis! Hands, anyone?" Approximately a fourth of the people raised their hands, and Persephone dropped her fake smile.
"I give up! You people say you want to vote in new members, but no one volunteers or nominates anyone! This meeting is adjourned. We're keeping the same old New Council, Lyra and everyone else included," Persephone announced, and stormed off, leaving the town in another uproar.
Chloe made her way over to Mike and Graceland, murmuring 'excuse me' and random intervals. At last, she reached them.
"What should we do?" she groaned. "Persephone's not going to change her mind now! It'd damage her pride too much." They shrugged. Graceland pointed to the angry mob that the crowd had become. It was difficult to hear anything but screaming. Mike looked like he was going to throw up.
"I don't know. Say something. Inspire them," he suggested. Chloe cowered.
"No! I'm not a good inspirational speaker. I hate being listened to in public. I hate it!" she protested, but Graceland pushed her forward regardless.
"You can do it. Just pretend they're all angry cows or something. Come on, believe in yourself," Gracie said with a smile. The other girl froze and prepared to speak.
"Um... hi, people. Look, I hate talking out loud to a big group of people, so I'm just going to get to the point, okay? Everything sucks. It does. it really does. First the FAYZ, then Caine and the big fire and everything else, then Sam left, and now this. It's not fun." People began to shut up a little bit. This encouraged her to continue. "Okay, well, I just want to say that... we're here. This is our life now. We've accepted it, we've moved on, and now we need to try to survive. What we have now? Chaos. THIS ISN'T WORKING. Councils aren't going to help if you guys don't elect them. Public meetings are better, but they can cause a lot of drama. We need people on the New Council. We do. We need YOU. So who wants to be on the New Council?" she asked, almost begging. The crowd had settled, but only one person stepped forward. It was a boy, blonde hair, brown eyes, about 14. Chloe didn't recognize him at first, but realized after a moment it was a guy named Graham Becker. She'd thought he had blackish hair, and assumed he must have bleached it.
"My name is Graham Becker, I am almost 14 years old, and I am a freak. I can change the color of my hair, eyes, and skin at will. I request to be on the new New Council," he said loudly. Chloe nodded.
"Great. All in favor?" Most of the kids raised their hands. Most of them just didn't want to be forced to be on it themselves. Nobody else stepped forward to volunteer as a Council member, but Chloe was satisfied.
"Cool. That works. Ladies and gentlemen, your new New Council: Mike Paylor, Graceland Hughes, Victoria Lee, Trystan Garcia, and Graham Becker!" she called out with a smile. Maybe public speaking wasn't so bad after you'd gotten started.