by C. S. Nelson
Kevin came up the stairs behind Annie, cutting himself to show his red blood without being asked. “It doesn’t even hurt,” he told them.
The little girl held her hand out, and Annie pressed the edge of the knife into it, cutting the end of her finger. She winced a little bit, and then looked down at her brother. “I didn't even feel it, Jeremy,” she lied.
The little boy stood up, shaking. “I don’t wanna…” he cried. Annie was reminded for a moment of Anthony. She prayed that this boy wouldn't see the same fate.
“You have to! It’ll be over in half a second. It’s just a pin prick.”
Jeremy reluctantly held his hand out and Annie took it gently. She put a little nick in the edge of his finger. He wanted to cry out, but the boy held it in as crimson blood dripped from his hand. “Look!” Annie smiled, leaning down and hugging the two children. “We're all safe, guys! Now we can take you home!”
“Let’s go back to the Shield. But first,” Kevin pulled out a piece of charcoal from his pocket, that the rangers sometimes used to mark trees when they were traveling very far from their Shield. He drew two lines on each of Annie’s cheeks, and one down the bridge of her nose. “Annie, you aced. I want everyone to know that you’re up for promotion when you get back.”
Annie turned and saw her reflection in the hallway mirror. It had been a long time since she had seen her own reflection. Her cheeks had thinned out; all the baby fat that had once made her look young and innocent had disappeared. Her dark hair was so much shorter now. The ends twisted and twirled wildly around her ears and down her sweat-stained neck. And the five black lines across her face made her, for the first time, feel like a woman and not a little girl.
They walked down the stairs, Kevin leading and Annie following behind the two children. It was likely that suckers had been in range to hear their gunfire shots, so they kept their weapons cocked and aimed around them. “What’s your name?” Kevin turned back and asked the girl.
“This is my brother, Jeremy. And I’m Casey.”
Kevin gave Annie a quick glance. A word that was rarely heard in their Shield. Brother. No one knew who was related to whom in the Henderson Shield. Everyone came from the breeders, and the parents of each individual was kept strictly confidential. Not even the breeders knew which children were theirs, as the babies were taken away quickly after birth. “How did you survive? How far did you come?”
Casey had her arm over her brother’s shoulder. “We came across a big lake a few kilometers back.” Annie was familiar with it, Kevin had described it during training but she hadn’t seen it herself. It was part of a body of water that had been called the Great Lakes in the Before. “Took a boat. It took us days to cross it. Then we got off at the other side and ran until we found the farmhouse. I don’t know how they didn’t get us.” The little girl rubbed her bloody finger, as if still unsure herself whether or not she was still human.
“Your Shield broke down?” Annie asked.
“One day it just…didn’t keep the suckers out anymore. I woke up to screaming. My parents were gone from their rooms. I got Jeremy, we left the house, and we ran for it. Everyone was running. Some people made it and some didn’t.”
Annie could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if their Shield broke down. “How many people were in your Shield?”
Casey looked up into the air, thinking hard. “Around twenty thousand, I think.”
Kevin turned, his eyes wide. “Twenty thousand people?”
Casey and Jeremy both looked confused by Kevin's surprise. “Yes, twenty thousand people,” Casey said.
"How did you all fit?"
Casey looked even more perplexed by the question. "Apartment buildings…" the little girl sounded confused. The look on the rangers’ faces revealed they didn’t understand. "Buildings that were twenty, thirty floors high where many families could live. There were skyscrapers all over the Shield. Plenty of room for everyone."
Casey was talking about things that Annie had never heard of. They only had three buildings in the Shield that had more than one level, the school, town hall, and the hospital.
"There were buildings that were thirty floors high?" Annie asked. She knew, from history class, that these massive buildings existed. But it had never really made sense to her; she had never realized how many people could live in one of them.
“Our family lived on the twenty third floor of one of the buildings. We could see the top of your Shield across the water, that’s why we came this way.”
Annie was blown away. For a moment she wished that she had been born in this other Shield, just to see their way of life, which was so foreign to their own. To know what it was like to live with family. "I’ve seen them,” Kevin said, noticing her expression before turning back to face forward with his gun. “I’ve been to the edge of the water, it’s the farthest I’ve ever traveled from the Shield. I’ve seen the tall buildings across the lake on clear days. I saw the Shield around them. Five times the size of our Shield, at least.”
“Then why did the Hendersons choose our Shield?” Annie questioned. Kevin shrugged but said nothing further. Summer would have been treated like the princess she was in any Shield she wanted to live in. Why not control twenty thousand people instead of the measly two thousand that lived in theirs? “And you lived with your family? Jeremy is your brother and you live with your mother and father?”
“Yes.”
“Your birth parents?”
“I don’t know what that means,” Casey mumbled.
Kevin sighed. “Have they been around ever since you could remember? Do you remember Jeremy being a baby?”
“Yes, Jeremy and I have always been together. I remember when he was too small to walk.”
Kevin gave Annie another look, and she knew that he was feeling the same way she was. In a Shield just across the lake the citizens were living an entirely different life. It might as well have been a different world altogether. There were thousands and thousands of people. They were allowed to have their own families, and their children didn’t get taken away from them. Annie felt as though she had been robbed, living her life in the Shield she was born in.
“Could you see any other Shields from where you were?”
“Yeah, a few. Yours. Mom said it was because there were so many people who lived here before the aliens attacked. They needed lots of Shields to protect everyone.”
“They did. Too bad Henderson didn’t make a Shield that lasted.”
Everyday, the Hendersons were thanked for their contribution to the world, allowing everyone a second chance at life. But now the Shields were all falling apart. They had been for years. One by one the Shields that had been in contact with each other had eventually gone radio silent, which everyone knew meant the worst. Annie was surprised that Summer Henderson was still put on such a high pedestal. With every Shield that disappeared, the chance of survival for humanity became smaller and smaller.
They emerged from the forest and Casey breathed a sigh of relief, nudging her younger brother happily. “Look, we’re going to be okay!” She smiled.
“What about mom and dad?” Jeremy asked shyly. He sounded just like Anthony had after being assigned to ranger, hopeless and afraid. Annie was torn between sadness for her dead friend, and warmth from the familiarity that she had been missing for so many weeks.
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Casey said, matter-of-factly. She was old enough to know what had happened, but she didn't dare tell her brother. She was so strong already, for someone so young.
Annie wanted to feel badly for them. She knew that losing family must have been a horrible feeling, just like her losing her best friend. But she had never had parents of her own, and she didn’t know what to say to them to help them feel better. In a moment of jealousy, she found herself thinking that having a family and losing them must feel better than never knowing her parents at all. “Head into the Shield you two.” Kevin turned and smiled after doing a quick visual check on the
open field, just outside of their home. This had been a nice trip back for them, no aliens, no danger, and a successful mission.
Casey ran towards safety, pulling her brother along behind him. “Are you okay?” Annie asked.
Kevin lowered his gun, staring into her eyes. “I just want you to remember a couple of things before we head in there,” he said, pulling Annie back into the forest slightly. “First of all: you got your five kills. You need to tell the president that you have your five kills, okay? Tell everyone. Do not wash your face off until people know.” Annie was sure that the charcoal lines on her face were already smudged from the snow falling around them and the cold sweat dripping down her face. “You have to make sure those kids are treated properly, as well, okay? Don’t let them out of your sight until they are placed in the school and given proper care.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” Annie asked. There was panic in Kevin's voice, which was making her anxious as well.
“Because they’re going to take me away when we get back inside. And you aren’t going to see me again until evacuation.”
“Kevin, what are you talking about?”’ Annie’s heart sank.
“I directly disobeyed the president’s orders and I was warned that another infraction would be my last. But I couldn’t let those kids die out there Annie, not when the ship is coming so soon and we had a chance to save them. You have to take good care of them, okay?” He ran a hand across her cheek.
“You can’t go…” Annie stuttered. She swallowed hard, refusing to let Kevin see her cry over this. He was the only person that was keeping her sane. What was she supposed to do without him?
“It’s for the greater good, Annie. I can handle a punishment for a year and a bit. I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I had let those kids die.”
Annie watched from behind the thin layer of trees as Casey and Jeremy stepped through the Shield, and were welcomed by rangers who were surrounding the inner edge. They were standing with their guns ready, and Annie realized that they were waiting to arrest Kevin, and likely herself, when they reentered. She turned back to look at Kevin, who’s brows were furrowed, and Annie realized that he was also trying to hold back tears.
“Are you ready?” Kevin asked.
She shook her head, mostly in frustration. She didn't want to head back to the Shield, now aware of what was waiting for them. If she had known how much trouble they would be in when they returned, Annie didn’t know that she would have let him go. She dropped her gun and wrapped her arms around Kevin, squeezing him as hard as she could. A month ago she lost Anthony, and now she would be losing Kevin too. Why did everyone that she cared about get taken away from her?
Kevin dropped his weapon and hugged her back. “You’re strong, Annie, you’ll be fine.”
“Will you?” she whispered into his chest. She had heard horrible rumors about what happened to those who were removed from their careers. She knew that they were often never seen again. Removed from the rest of the Shield, somehow hidden in the safe zone that was only 1.2 kilometers wide.
Kevin’s arm dropped from her side and Annie felt his hand gently rest on the back of her head. She sighed, feeling calmer. Annie listened to his breathing for a few seconds. They were out in the world, away from the Shield, with their weapons at their feet, and she had never felt safer. Kevin’s other hand came up and brushed Annie’s hair behind her ear. Annie looked up to see his dark eyes, sparkling with the reflection of the snow, staring down into hers.
Kevin leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. Annie fell into him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pushing her body against his. His lips were soft, but his kiss was hard and adoring. He wrapped his fingers in her hair and she ran her fingers through his. “Don’t go,” she whispered, her lips still on his.
He pressed harder, much more passionately this time. Then he pulled back. Annie stumbled in a daze as Kevin released her. She hadn't ever been kissed like that. He picked his gun up and, without another word, left Annie alone in the woods. He walked back towards the Shield with his hands up in the air. Annie grabbed onto the tree trunk and watched as Kevin crossed into the Shield, and was immediately grabbed by Mitch and Scott.
He was forced to the ground, his hands tied behind his back. Kevin didn’t struggle. He already knew his fate. The rangers then picked him up and carried him away. As she watched Kevin disappear from view, Annie was unable to catch her breath. She knew that she would face the same fate when she went back. She picked up her gun with shaking hands. She didn’t know if it was from the cold or from the anxiety.
Annie left the edge of the forest and started back towards the Henderson Shield. Kevin had been graceful about accepting his fate, and she figured she ought to be as well. But to her surprise, none of the rangers were there waiting for her as she approached. Annie didn’t understand; she had come out with Kevin. She had gone on a forbidden mission with her acting commander. The president had warned them of what would happen. Why was there no one to question or detain her?
Annie stepped through, back into safety, to complete silence. She realized that the kids had already disappeared. She had made a promise to Kevin to make sure that Casey and Jeremy would be safe, and she had already broken it. She took off her jacket and walked in disbelief towards the sleeping quarters, disappointed in herself. No, she thought, I can stop this. The president, for some reason, had taken a liking to her. If she could get to city hall before Kevin was punished, maybe she could have had a say in what happened to him, and what happened to the children.
Annie sprinted towards city hall, dropping her backpack and gun outside of the sleeping quarters. She was exhausted from walking through thick snow for so many hours, something she was completely unfamiliar with. Sweating in the cold, she took the stairs of City Hall two at a time. She shoved the front doors open and stepped inside, warmth rushing over her, causing her skin to flush. The guard stepped in front of the door to the president's office. He must have been an old ranger, he had three long thin scars across his face, almost matching the president's own scar, and looking strikingly similar to the one that Annie had on her arm. Every ranger had their battle wound. “Private meeting,” he spat.
Annie, filled with anger, shoved him to the side. The man swore as he fell to the ground. He hadn't been expecting such a small girl to be so forceful. Annie stepped past him and pushed the door open before the guard had a chance to stop her.
Kevin was surrounded by guards, and facing a table full of breeders, the president, and Summer Henderson. His hands were still bound behind him, and no one had even been courteous enough to remove his winter gear. Sweat was pouring from his brow in the warmth of the office. Some of the veteran rangers were sitting in the corner of the room looking nervous. Everyone turned to stare at Annie as the doors crashed into the walls, and she gasped for breath. “Annie?” The president raised his eyebrows.
“This is a private meeting.” Summer glared at her. She looked annoyed. She had been dragged into work to deal with this matter on her day off.
“I know, I just…” Deep breath. “I need to explain what happened.”
“Annie, you don’t need to explain anything.” Kevin looked at her with a half smile, but it didn’t give Annie a warm feeling. “I already told them everything.”
The president held up a sheet of paper that he had scribbled down notes on. “We know that you tried to stop Kevin from leaving the Shield, and when you refused to help him he held you at gunpoint and made you assist on an unscheduled and unapproved mission to save children that we can’t afford to feed or clothe. They are also used to an entirely different lifestyle from us and we will have to give them twice the attention we give to the other children to assimilate them.” The president then stared directly at Kevin as he spoke. “Unfortunately we do not have the man-power to give them the attention they need, and so the children will have to remain detained until the ship comes to save us.”
It was clear that the
detainment of the children they had saved was not to protect them from a different lifestyle. Annie understood that it was in actuality a punishment for Kevin disobeying orders. She stared back and forth between Kevin and the president, her mouth hanging open. “Annie, I’m sorry that I forced you to assist me on that mission,” Kevin said, begging her to play along.
Kevin was giving her a look, telling her that it was okay. She didn’t want to do this to him, but if she had learned anything in her time with the rangers, it was that Kevin knew what he was doing well before he did it. She needed to trust him. “That’s okay,” she mumbled, looking down. It hurt her to abandon him in that way, even if it was what he wanted.
“Kevin, you failed to mention that Annie aced.” The president motioned towards Annie’s face.
During the commotion, she had forgotten that he had drawn the five lines on her face. “I did,” Kevin confirmed. “Yes, she took charge and eliminated every alien in the house to save the children.”
“It doesn’t count,” Summer chimed in. “There were only two rangers out on that mission. They could have lied about anything. It is written in the law book that there must be at least four people on the mission to witness the killing of the aliens in order for a proper ace to be taken into consideration.”
“She put her life at risk, she killed five of those things that are stronger and faster than us, and you’re refusing to acknowledge it because there were only two of us,” Kevin snapped. There was an uncomfortable silence in the room. It was rare that Kevin lost his temper. “Ask the kids, they were there. That’s four.” But they wouldn't ask the children anything. Casey and Jeremy were already long gone into whatever hiding place the president believed they belonged.
“This isn’t important right now,” Annie raised her voice. She didn’t care if she aced. A title meant nothing to her. Not when Kevin’s career was on the line. “What is going to happen with Kevin?”
