REBELLION (Book Three of The Criminogenic Trilogy 3) Read Free Page A

orderlies, Shannon.  Can you at least wait until she isn’t being watched as closely as she is?”
     
    Shannon rolled her eyes and sat down next to the paranoid Peter, “Oh, I suppose,” she said. 
     
    “Do you suppose she’s of mixed race then?” Shannon inquired after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.  Peter looked around the room for a fellow patient who would be able to illustrate the answer for Shannon better than he could.  Peter had the uncomfortable pleasure of sharing a ward with a man who not only towered over him in every possible way, but also was the reason behind Giselle’s detainment.  Once Peter had spotted him, he pointed out the impressive man to Shannon.
     
    “See that man over there?” he said. Shannon nodded earnestly before Peter continued. “Well, that man just happens to be that young girl’s father.”  Before Shannon had the chance to react, Peter continued. “Giselle and I had a misunderstanding during one of my classes because she believed that her father was unfairly detained.  He was unemployed and the D.A.E used that as evidence that he could become a thief.”
     
    “Oh how ridiculous!” Shannon interrupted, getting a silent grimace from Peter in return.
     
    “Yes, ridiculous as it may be, this is the law.  We have both been on the receiving end of that injustice.” 
     
    Shannon looked at Peter incredulously. She had never heard him speak up about the system or how it was run.  She knew that she was a Would, not because the State had said so, but because she knew that she would stand up to the system.  She knew that she would join forces with rebels if need be, and she knew that questions needed to be asked.  Peter, on the other hand, was neither.  He had the potential of being a Could, but was too concerned with himself to think that far ahead.  Shannon had started to notice that this selfish streak that Peter wore with pride had started to fade with the Treatment.  She just wasn’t sure if it was for the better yet.
     
    “Mr. Ronin, is that a hint of empathy I hear?”  she mused, watching his cheeks flush with crimson.  Peter shook his head, and turned his attention to the open window once again, leaving Shannon in silence once more.
     
    Shannon brushed off the cold shoulder that Peter had given her, and made her way toward Giselle.  Shannon could see small waves of panic sweeping over the slender girl with each step that she took.  The orderlies watched as well. They had been given orders to observe Giselle’s interaction with the other patients.  Once Shannon reached her, she knelt down so that her eyes could meet Giselle’s.  She placed her hand over the needle-bruised hand that lay limp on Giselle’s lap, and lifted her chin gently. 
     
    “Welcome to the Red Ward.  I am Shannon Wright,” she said softly.
     
    Still foggy from an earlier Treatment, it took a few moments before Giselle started to register that she was being spoken to.  Still, Shannon waited for the girl to respond while watching the orderlies hovering around them awkwardly. 
     
    “Relax gentlemen, I’m not going to hurt this one,” Shannon spat viciously. She suspected that they were concerned about her periodic outbursts.  They were never aimed toward the patients, but she couldn’t help it when they got in her way. 
     
    Giselle leaned closer to Shannon and studied her face for a moment. Flickers of recognition started to spark in her eyes.  Shannon could see the glimmer of fight coming back to the young girl. She could see the defiance returning.  With a devious grin, Giselle whispered so quietly that Shannon had to strain to hear her.
     
    “I’m Giselle Harmon, but don’t tell these ass clowns that.”

Chapter Three
    A large crowd of people had started to gather in the neglected warehouse.  What once served as a rehabilitation treatment for detainees of the State now housed the forgotten descendants of Facility experiments.  A nervous buzz