The Complex Leader

by Heather Hayes

  The woman takes some toilet paper and tries to help me fix my makeup. "You're Elira Hamble. I understand now why you're so upset about the voting."

  My bottom lip trembles. "I'm tired of living in hiding." The woman nods at me and squeezes my hand.

  Suddenly Damon bursts into the ladies room. "Elira! Get out here!"

  The woman frowns at him. "Get out of here, young man; this is the ladies room!"

  "But, the last votes just came in. It passed! The Complex Law has been repealed with 53% of the vote!"

  Chapter 30

  I'm free. I can't believe it. Tears stream down my face in torrents. So much for my makeup. I wish Garth or Avra or my Mom or one of my brothers was here to hug me. Damon hugs me, and though it's not the hug I want most, I'm thankful for his friendship. Something suddenly surges through my veins. I'm not sure if it's adrenaline, or rage, or what, but I am not waiting for Brock to take me to the complex tomorrow. In fact, I will not wait a moment longer. I'm going to free Shasta right now. I hug the kind woman and thank her before I rush out of the bathroom.

  "Elira? Where are you going?" Damon asks as he follows me.

  "I'm going to the complex."

  He grabs my hand and pulls me to a stop before shaking his head at me. "I don't think that is a good idea. Wait for the dust to settle on this. Go tomorrow."

  "No. I'm going now."

  "The complex chief will keep doing what he's doing until he's ordered to do something else. It's 11:00 pm. He won't get his new orders until tomorrow."

  "I. Don't. Care."

  "Elira, he might lock you up for the night."

  "I'd like to see him try."

  I don't wait to hear what else Damon has to say. I march to Greggory's blue car and fly out of the parking lot as fast as I can. I probably should go get Garth first, but this fire in my veins won't let me. I want my friends out, and I want them out now.

  When I arrive at the complex, I march to the front doors, and I'm angry to see that two guards are still there ready to cause me trouble. I don't have any patience for this. I yell at them, "The Complex Law is repealed. It's done. Let me in. I have people I want out of there."

  A deep voice says, "I'm sorry ma'am, but we still have orders to remain at our posts for the safety of all residents and their families. If you have a legitimate claim to someone inside, you will have to fill out the paperwork necessary to reclaim them."

  "Nope. I'm going in right now."

  "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't let you..."

  I push them out of the way and pull on the door knob. "These are citizens with the same rights as you have. If you try to stop me, I'll see you in court."

  One of the guards lays his hands on me as one of the front doors opens. The complex chief peeks his head out. "Ah, I had a feeling I would be seeing you tonight, Elira Hamble."

  I shake the guard's hand off of me. "I wish I had something kind to say, but I don't, Mr. Athill. I'm here for Shasta, and I will not leave without her."

  He folds his arms in front of his chest. "She is not your flesh and blood. You cannot take her."

  Anger rages in me. "She is not your flesh and blood either, so you cannot keep her. If you want to take this to court, I'm sure Shasta will say that she wants to be with me instead of you during this time of transition."

  The yellow-teethed man glowers at me. "I have been given instructions in the last half an hour to only let people go if their families have the proper paperwork that links them. These instructions came from your delightful brother himself."

  I lose my patience. "You are basically out of a job, Mr. Athill. Why are you standing here fighting with me? You should just go home and rethink your life. I have as many rights as you have, and I know what Shasta has been going through in here. She's leaving with me tonight." I push past him and enter the building. I feel the pressure of his hand on my shoulder. I brush it off roughly. "Don't you ever touch me again."

  I don't know why, but he lets me walk past him. He just glares at me as I march down the gray halls. I'm hoping I'll figure out where Shasta is. When the doors stop having plaques, I start knocking. I know it's late and everyone is in bed, but someone is going to answer. The first door I knock on is a male dorm. I smile and apologize to the male mentor who peeks through the crack in the door. Well, I'll just move on to the next dorm. Mentor Briggs answers the door. I feel sweat forming on my forehead. What have I done? I am an idiot. This place is full of people who hate me. I should've waited to come here with my senator brother. No one would question him. I'm going to get smacked by the man who hauled Bicep to his death and broke my toes earlier this year.

  "Sorry, Mentor Briggs, wrong door."

  "Do I know you?"

  I turn my head so my purple birthmark isn't easily visible. "I'm with the committee to reunite complex residents with their families now that the Complex Law has been repealed. I am trying to find the female glass dorm."

  "I can't believe people voted to repeal the law. We've lived this way for 150 years. Whatever. At least my neighbors will quit harassing me for working here. The female sixteens and seventeens are one more door down."

  "Thank you. Have a nice night." Mentor Briggs grunts and closes the door.

  I feel my hand shaking as I raise my fist to the door of the glass dorm. I escaped from here not all that long ago. I knock hard and purposefully. When Mentor Roberta answers the door, I feel my knees start to buckle. If I can confront the complex chief, I can confront her.

  "Mentor Roberta, I am here for a red-buttoned girl named Shasta."

  She looks at her watch. "Why do you need her this late at night?"

  I flip my hair out of my eye, so she'll know who she's dealing with. "Because the Complex Law has been repealed and she will be leaving with me."

  Mentor Roberta's eyes grow huge. "Elira? Is that you?"

  "Yes. My brother is the most influential senator in the country right now and I am so full of hatred for this place, I would highly suggest giving me Shasta before I do something drastic."

  My former mentor's eyes narrow at me. "I can't believe they let you in here. The complex chief hates you more than anyone else in the world."

  "I'm sure he does, but he doesn't have the power to keep anyone here anymore. I require my friend, Shasta, this minute, or I will put another exposé on the news highlighting you."

  "Fine! Get your friend. She will probably die soon anyway and get out of here."

  Die soon? I push past Mentor Roberta and run to my old dorm room. The lights are off and I can hear girls snoring and sleeping deeply. I turn left and find Shasta's old bed-empty. What happened to her?

  "Who are you? What are you doing here?" I recognize that voice.

  "I've come for Shasta."

  "She's by the window. She is really sick because she insists on sleeping in a place that lets toxins seep in." Ah, it's my former favorite roommate, Vanessa.

  "Good. She's a smart girl. There are no toxins outside."

  The redhead doesn't listen. "Yes there are. I won't go anywhere near that window."

  "I don't have time for this. You'll find out tomorrow that you have been lied to your whole life. Embrace the window and the outside. I just came from out there and it is toxin free."

  Vanessa shuts up, either out of exasperation or disbelief. I rush to Shasta's bed. She is sleeping like the dead. "Shasta, wake up!"

  My tall, skinny friend moans, "I can't work so soon. I need more sleep. My hands..."

  "Shasta, it's me, Elira. I have come back for you. Get up and I will take you away from here."

  As I set Shasta upright she squints her eyes at me. "I don't feel so good. I think I remember you. You were the one who escaped and everything changed around here after that. Things got worse. Why did you do that?" Why doesn't she remember me?
/>   "I'm sorry things got worse. Things are about to get better. I'm taking you away from here. I'm taking you to a safe place with Avra and my mom. The beds are soft and my dad will fix your hands. He's a doctor."

  Shasta slowly stands up. "I need help walking any farther than the bathroom. Will you help me?"

  Oh, no. Why is she so much worse than I left her? "Yes, Shasta. Let's go."

  I help my friend put some shoes on and stand up. "I have a car, Shasta. I will drive you away from here."

  "What is a car?" Wow, did I used to be like this?

  "Don't worry. I will teach you everything you need to know."

  As we shuffle through the door, Mentor Roberta stops us in the common room. "You were a fool to come here tonight, Elira. I'm not letting you leave."

  "Yes, you are."

  Roberta's face twists with rage. "You have made this job so difficult, young lady. I am hated by everyone who knows where I work. I even occasionally feel bad when I see these girls come back from work, crying without tears, but this is a job that has to be done, and I have done it well for 30 years. You are not going to waltz out of here again, ruining everything I've worked for."

  I laugh humorlessly. "Oh yes I am. The votes are in; I have rights now. Shasta has rights now. She doesn't want to stay here, and you would be a fool to try and make her."

  The door behind Mentor Roberta opens and the complex chief walks in. "Roberta, just let her go. This place is finished. Let's just leave it in shambles so they can appreciate the good we did."

  The angry mentor shakes her head in disbelief. "I can't believe this place is finished. We've lived this way for 150 years; the people on the outside are not ready to face what we see on the inside."

  I angrily wipe the rest of the makeup off my eye. "Let's find out if people can handle it, right here, right now."

  She spits as she leans toward me. "You are a disgrace, Elira Hamble. I hope I never see you again."

  I wipe my arms on the side of my shirt. "The feeling is mutual. Please unlock the door."

  Mentor Roberta doesn't move; she just glares at me. The complex chief walks to the door and unlocks it. I haul Shasta out with me as fast as I can. I don't want him to change his mind. The complex chief starts walking. "If you'll just follow me, rebellion leader, I'll take you to the front door."

  I stop in my tracks as I think about who else is here. "Actually-I would like to collect Jefrey Yesterly as well."

  The complex chief turns around and looks at me curiously. "He turned in your late friend, Avra, for money. He tried to turn you in. Why would you reclaim a traitor?"

  "That is not your concern. I just want him back."

  "Fine. As you said, this complex is not my concern anymore. I'll give him to you, and I hope that you kill each other."

  "Thank you."

  The complex chief stops at the last door before the doctor offices and unlocks it. The door opens up to a new hallway with doors on both sides. I peek through the nearest door with a window and see a young girl strapped to a cot, squirming and crying. My heart goes out to her. Mr. Athill's voice pulls me away from the window. "Ah, here is your precious traitor. I hope that the battle between you two is bloody."

  I roll my eyes. "You unstrap him. And let the little girl out too."

  He glares at me. "I can't set a five-year-old free into the world."

  "I know that, but you can at least take the straps off. She has rights now. Remember?"

  His face becomes a blank slate. "Fine."

  I check the other little cells to make sure there isn't anyone else being strapped against their will. There isn't anyone else in here. I walk in to the room with Jefrey and feel my pulse quicken as he opens his blue eyes and looks at me. "What are you doing here, Elira?" His eyes dim. "Were you captured?"

  "No. We changed the law today." I feel tears of happiness, sadness, and maybe the beginnings of-forgiveness leaking down my cheeks. "We won. All of us are free."

  He looks amazed for someone so heavily drugged. "Free?"

  I put Shasta's arm around my neck when I see her drooping. "Yes. I rushed here as soon as the votes were in."

  Jefrey takes a deep breath as the straps are released from his chest. A weird emotionless struggle happens on his face. "How can you stand to look at me-after what I did?"

  "I-it's hard, Jefrey. I never would have done that to you, but-I love your brother and he wants you back, so I guess I can learn to deal with having you back too."

  His eyes have so much less sparkle than his brother's. "Will you forgive me?"

  I should but... "Avra almost died, Jefrey. We watched her lay unmoving for days."

  He cringes. "I'm sorry. I have done nothing but regret what I did since I came back here. Please, forgive me." The complex chief looks at the two of us like we're crazy.

  I pause for a moment and wonder how I'll feel if I don't forgive him. I'll probably have a cold, hard spot in my heart forever. -If I do forgive him, he may disappoint me and go back to his old ways-I'm tired of the hurt and pain of the last few months. I just want to feel warmth and love inside. I want my heart to be free of all cold spots so it can use its full capacity to-love.

  I pull Jefrey to his feet after they've been unstrapped. "I don't think you deserve it, but I just want everyone, including myself, to start fresh right now. How can we show this country how to treat all people kindly if we don't do it ourselves? So-I forgive you."

  Jefrey looks like he's crying without tears. I'm not sure if it's the pain in his limbs or what I just said. "Thank you, Elira. You have no idea how much I've wanted to hear you say that."

  I put Jefrey on my other side so I can support both of my friends. When his arm touches Shasta's, she jumps in surprise. I remember that sensation. I turn to my boyfriend's twin. "Jefrey, don't betray me again, and we'll be able to get along." He nods without much energy, and we hobble slowly to the front doors with the complex chief sneering at us as we go.

  Jefrey turns to me. "Where will I go?"

  "I'll take you back to my parents' house."

  His feet grind to a halt. "They hate me. I turned them in. It won't be safe for me there."

  I raise my eyebrows at him. "Um, yeah, the boys might bash your face in, but where else would you go?"

  "I don't know. My mom's maybe."

  "Yeah, tomorrow. Tonight, you're coming with me."

  The complex chief leads us to the door and surprisingly exits ahead of us without looking back. I guess he's done with this place too. The complex guards just stand there scratching their heads and watch us leave. When we get to the parking lot, Shasta needs help fitting her long, skinny body into Greggory's passenger seat. We have to slide the seat back as far as it will go. Jefrey manages to get himself in the seat behind me, but after he shuts the door he pauses. "Wait, you're driving?"

  "Yep."

  He buckles his seatbelt hurriedly. "Are you sure that's safe?"

  And it starts already. "Save it, Jefrey. I'm tired of having this conversation with boys." As I step on the gas, Shasta looks at everything in and out of the car with wonder. "The air feels so cold, but it smells so fresh." She glues her eyes to the car window as we speed down the road. "Elira, where are we going?"

  Good, she remembers me. I think she's snapping out of her stupor. "To my parents' house. Tomorrow we'll see if we can find your parents. Would you like that?"

  She looks so confused. "My parents are alive?" She starts to shake. "I-I would just like to lay my head down and believe that there aren't toxins soaking into my skin."

  Oh, boy. Where is Ernestine when I need her?

  Chapter 31

  "What's wrong, Elira?" Jefrey asks as we pull up to my parents' house.

  I have dreamed of this moment. I wipe the straggling tears off my face. "It feels like I ha
ven't been here in forever. I've missed everyone so much."

  Shasta looks at me questioningly. "Is this a house?"

  I keep forgetting how little she knows. "Yes, Garth, Avra, and Scott are inside. Are you excited to see them again?"

  She keeps looking at the light pole in awe. "I guess so." I'll be happy when all the drugs have left her system.

  My heart just might beat its way out of my chest. Come on, arms, I have to support three people's weight all the way to that front door. No more sneaking in the back, unless I want to. With Jefrey on one side of me and Shasta on the other, we waddle to the fancy main door. The door opens as we approach, and a frowning peace officer glares at us as he leaves. The silence is deafening after the door clicks shut. Huh, I guess no one inside saw us. "Push the doorbell, Jefrey."

  He looks at me questioningly. "Isn't it after midnight?"

  "Nobody is asleep in this house tonight. Push the dang doorbell!"

  Ding dong. My heart positively explodes as the door opens and my parents, Ernestine, Rocky, Scott, Avra, and Garth burst through the door with smiles on their faces. As they wrap us in their arms, I feel more weight than Shasta and Jefrey being lifted from my shoulders. I'm home. And I'm free.

  •

  My mother and father shower me with hugs and kisses. They can't believe I stormed the complex tonight instead of waiting for Brock to take me. Garth isn't surprised though. He tells me as we break apart from our many kisses, "I knew you would go there and take them back. Did anyone try to stop you?"

  I laugh as I remember the scene I caused. "Yeah, just two complex guards, the complex chief, and Mentor Roberta."

  Garth pulls me out of the noisy entry way and into the hall. Shasta wanders like a lost soul behind me. My favorite person whispers in my ear, "I wouldn't stand in your way; I hope they learned their lesson." He kisses me in such a way that everyone in house must feel my joy. Well, everyone in the house except for Shasta. She is gasping and leaning against the wall for support.

  I hug my boyfriend so tight, I can feel his heart syncing beats with mine. "Garth, this has been the hardest week of my life, but you were right, it was worth it. We're free!"