AN: Hey guys! Thanks for the awesome reviews for last chapter!
Oh, and Impetus means a moving force; an impulse.
~EOA
"Come on, people! Move it! Go any slower than yesterday, and your food supply will be cut!"
Anya was close to tears. She was never one for tears, but now, she felt like sobbing her heart out. Her muscles ached, and her back was screaming in agony. Grant kneeled next to her, pressing a wet towel against her forhead. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, then winced in pain. The looming figure of Cais Loverde made everything feel colder in the blistering sun, especially with his whip. Public whippings were not abnormal in the Agriculture Sector, and they happened very often. Grant crumpled to the ground, nursing a bleeding arm. He moaned in pain. "Augh... it burns, Anya."
"Get to work!"
Anya nodded, then waited for the Cais to get out of sight. She leaned over Grant, worried for her friend. "Are you okay?" she asked. He nodded slowly, sitting back up. He looked into her eyes, brown meeting gray.
"I found another one. A son of Ares. His name is Braden Smith. And he says he's starting a resistance. Should we check it out?" he asked. Anya shook her head, almost laughing.
"There's no way they're going to start anything. None of them are serious about an uprising. They just get scared once they make a dent, and run away like prissies. That is-- until they're caught," she said, remembering all of the failed rebellions that happened in the past year. How stupid. They were all determined, but none of them had enough courage. Idiots.
She continued her work on the crops, and he crossed his arms.
"We need to find them," he said, his face determined.
"Who?"
"You know who I'm talking about. The original Big Three," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. Anya felt a pang to her heart. The Big Three kids. It sounded so far-fetched. The only evidence that they were still alive was rumors.
She missed him so much. His cheery smile-- twinkling green eyes-- her heart faltered again.
"How do we know?" she asked slowly.
Grant knew what she meant. "We don't. But we have to keep hoping, Anya. You know they don't die too easily without a fight," he said, a hint of amusement in his tone.
"I know."
You have been asked to join the Resistance: Agriculture Sector.
Leave your dwelling at 9:45 and meet us at the old warehouse behind the process building.
Long live the Gods.
BURN THIS.
She crept out of her quarters, not daring to make a sound. One creak, one gasp-- would blow it. She saw a shadow on the wall, moving in the same direction as she was. Her breathing hitched, and she froze, hiding in the dark shadows. The figure whom the shadow belonged to came around the corner, and she held her breath.
It was Grant.
"Gods, you gave me a heart attack!" she breathed, as he grinned.
"I knew you would come. Now come on, it's 9:50. Still a while to go," he said. They jogged down to the old, deserted warehouse. It used to be a Cais weapon storage, until a few rebels drove them out. "Here we are," he said. Anya scanned the warehouse. It didn't look too suspicious.
"Let's go."
He knocked on the door. As light-brown haired guy opened in, smiling. "Welcome, Grant, Anya. Glad you could make it," he said, as if they were old friends.
"We'll make the Cais' lives hell," said Braden, smiling.
"You aren't serious," she said from the corner of the small room.
Braden, Son of Ares, looked up. "What?" he asked incredously.
"You aren't serious about this rebellion. None of the Sectors are. That's why we aren't winning. Because as soon as you think you're losing, you run for the hills. Actually, forget any rebellion-- you just run away once you realize how dangerous it is," said Anya, staring at him coldly. "Only the few who actually fought against the Titans are serious. I had a loved one fighting, and I'm not even sure he's still out there. If he died for the cause, because he was serious, and you are starting a rebellion, but will run away once you have a Cais with a gun pointed at your throat, then his efforts were wasted."
Braden looked at her, frowning. "We will not run away."
"That's what they all say," sighed Grant, who was standing next to Anya.
"What the Hades?! You're arguing with us because you think we're not serious?!" Braden sneered. Anya and Grant looked up at him, their eyes filled with pain, anger, and determination.
"You weren't there, Son of Ares. You didn't watch your family members die in front of you, did you? You're fighting because you think that the Cais aren't fair. They were fighting because they wanted to get rid of the Titans. What they were facing was much more complex than the Cais. You don't understand how much pain they went through," Grant said, his voice ringing with pain.
"How do you know?! Were you there, leg disorder boy?" he asked, angry.
"Actually, he was," said Anya, her voice rising in hate. Braden looked at her in disbelief. "I was there, too."
Braden's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"
"I am Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena. Does that ring a bell, Son of Ares?"