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chair.
    “He wouldn’t stop,” she said.
    “It’s okay. You were protecting yourself. He was a bad man.”
    “But he was my brother.” Her voice cracked as she spoke.
    “It’s okay to cry.”
    She glared at me. “I’m fine.”
    “I just meant…”
    “I know. I’m sorry. This is a lot to process.”
    Not caring it was the worst moment possible, I got down on one knee in front of her.
    “From what I’ve read of the history books, before arranged marriages, men got on one knee to propose to the women they loved.”
    Her eyes stared into mine.
    “I know it’s a bad time,” I continued, “But I want to tell you something. Life is too short to hold it in any longer.” I paused. “I love you.”
    “I love you too,” she cried, wrapping her hands around me.
    As we hugged, a faint glimmer of hope began to glow brightly deep inside me.
    “Come with me. I need to do something,” she said, pulling back.
    I stood up. “What?”
    Without saying a word, she walked back out to where her brother laid on the concrete floor, stained red with blood. I watched as she bent down and took a signet ring off his left hand. She stood back up and grabbed the pouch at her side. A moment later, she had her signet ring in her palm as well. We both stared at them. They represented her old family, her previous life. She sighed as she put them both into the pouch.
    “Let’s go help,” she said.
    “You should rest. You’ve been through a lot.”
    “No, I couldn’t rest now if I wanted to. I want to help.”
    I nodded in understanding. We were both so similar in many ways. A million thoughts ran through my mind as we walked back outside to find Cricket and figure out what to do with the dozen prisoners we’d captured instead of killing outright. Deep inside, I had a hunch they would join us in our quest to liberate the world and make it a better place once again. At least that was my hope.
     
     

Nine

Tony
     
    A week later, I stood in our shared living quarters and watched Ree finish packing clothes into a bag. After we secured the factory-city and resumed production, we decided to try to find Chang. If he had a cure for the addiction to chocolate, we could really change the world in a major way. Even without a guarantee he was still alive and would give us the knowledge, we had to try.
    “We’ll get some chocolate for the trip before we go,” I said.
    She stopped packing. “I can’t believe I went all those years without realizing the truth.”
    “Now you know.”
    “Yeah. Sadly.”
    The fact she was addicted to chocolate weighed on me heavily, but all we could do was move forward and try to come up with a solution for everyone. Once we found the cure, the entire world would be changed. Power structures would be disrupted, allowing for a more free and democratic system to rise up. I walked around the bed to where she was standing.
    “You’re looking good today,” I said.
    She smiled and rolled her eyes. “We have to get some sleep tonight.”
    “I’d give up sleep for the rest of my life for a few hours with you tonight. There’s no telling what is going to happen to us on the open road.”
    “Way to get me excited about the trip,” she said.
    “I’m just being honest, Ree. You can stay here if you want. The people would love it, I’m sure.”
    “No, I want to be with you.”
    I took another step forward and put my arm around her waist. We made eye contact. Unable to resist, I leaned forward and kissed her full, red lips. The fate of the world rested in my hands, but all I could think about was her beautiful black body. At one time forbidden, it filled my dreams day and night. Her curves were perfect. Even better, her mind was sharp and sensitive at the same time.
    She slipped her hands around me and rubbed my back as we kissed. I loved her soft lips, the taste of her flesh. Blood began rushing between my legs. I pulled away, looking into her eyes again. Her breasts pressed against my chest as we