Revolution- Runaways 3 [EDITING]

Chapter 29: Eli

Sunday was supposed to be another normal day. We had attacked Red Shield on Wednesday night, and we were told that things were going to completely stop until its officials were tried. But the collective shock that rippled through the CCSA that afternoon proved us wrong. The United States was on the brink of civil war, and the bullets that tore through the President while he was shopping had just reinstated that fact.

"They don't know if he's dead yet," Justin said, trying to console us. "He's in intensive care. He was shot twice through the stomach, and with the best doctors working on him, there's a good chance he'll live."

But his lips were tight. I didn't know how truthful he was being. They wouldn't even let us turn on the news because every station was frantic. People were still trying to figure out who had bombed the Capitol, and now they had to figure out who had tried to assassinate the President.

"What's the point?" Luke questioned. He and I were doing some light cardio work in the gym. My neck still felt awkward, but I wasn't in nearly as much pain as I had been in the other day. I had been cleared to work out if I chose to do so if it wasn't too intense.

"Of what?" I asked him. I could have guessed that he was talking about the President, but the comment was coming out of nowhere.

"Of killing him," he stated. "It's an election year. He was going to be replaced anyway."

"I think whoever did it just wants to make a statement. It's not so much the fact that he needs to be replaced, but it's the fact that they want change right here, right now. Gunning for the head of the entire country certainly spreads that message."

I didn't agree with whoever the assassin was, but I could see where they were coming from. They were being completely irrational, and Luke was right. The way things were going, the current President probably wouldn't have been reelected. The opposing party's leading candidates were already pushing an anti-camp regime. They were promising things that this President hadn't even hinted at.

The belt of my treadmill slowed to a walk, signaling that I was at the end of my workout. I had set it to let me run six kilometers, because the treadmills here were not equipped with American measurements. If I was remembering the conversion factors correctly, I had done something between three and four miles. Luke, on the other hand, had knocked out ten kilometers in the same amount of time. Not only was he uninjured, but he also had a solid cross-country background. I would be lying if I said I wasn't jealous.

As I stepped off the machine, I noticed my phone screen lighting up. Adam's name flashed across it. He had attempted to call me three times in the last ten minutes. He almost never called me. I picked up this time, not sure if I should be curious or terrified.

"What's up?" I tried to sound as casual as possible.

"The President just died. Like, they just announced it on public television. They're inaugurating the Vice President tomorrow." His voice revealed that he was struggling to comprehend what was going on. No president had been assassinated in sixty years, and the entire country was shaken. I was extremely grateful that we were dealing with all this in Canada and not at home.

My stomach dropped. I wouldn't say I loved the President, pretty much no one did at this point, but you couldn't rejoice over someone's death. I was more shocked than anything. "Actually?" It was the only response I could come up with.

"Yeah, actually."

My expression must have changed dramatically, because Luke gave me a strange look as he stepped off his treadmill, wiping his brow with the hem of his t-shirt. I had Adam pressed to my ear, so he couldn't hear what I was going on. I shook my head, indicating I would tell him in a minute.