by C. S. Nelson
“Annie, please,” Mia begged, her eyes wide. “You’re moving things around. We’re all going to be punished. They’ll know we were in here.”
Dougie sighed, stepping further into the room, and began pulling open drawers in the commander’s desk. “Thank you,” Annie said. Dougie nodded in response.
She moved on from the cabinets towards the book shelf beside the desk, with the rest of the rangers still standing at the door watching the two of them. Annie began pulling books from the shelf, letting them fall to the floor in front of her. She stopped. She had found it; she had found the secret. A door behind the bookshelf. It was the same color as the wall surrounding it, and was near impossible to see unless one actively searched for it.
“Wow,” Dougie gawked as he stepped up next to her. “I can’t believe it.”
“Ready?” Annie turned to her friends, with her hand on the doorknob.
“I don’t think we should be doing this,” Turner mumbled. Annie took great pleasure in his discomfort considering how rude he had been to her only moments before. “They’ll know if we’ve-”
“Do it, Annie,” Ethan interrupted. She looked him in the eye and he nodded at her. “Do it. We’ve come this far.”
Annie turned the handle and pushed the door open, as the rangers crowded around her to get a look inside. There were a long few seconds where nobody was sure what to say. Annie was having a hard time comprehending what she was actually seeing. It was Commander Matthew, lying in a hospital bed, hooked up to wires and tubes and machines that she had never seen before. But he didn’t look like the commander. He looked grey and frail. He had lost muscle mass. If he hadn’t been hooked up to a machine that seemed to be measuring his heart beat, Annie would have sworn she was looking at a dead body.
The room was poorly lit, with walls made of stone and an uneven floor of the same material. It was no place for a person that was sick, especially when they had a hospital just a five-minute walk from basecamp. Someone was keeping him here intentionally. Someone was doing something they shouldn’t have been doing.
“So much for being reassigned.” Justin walked over to him and touched his face, making sure he wasn’t cold. He was breathing so slowly that it scared Annie. She felt like he could slip away at any moment. “Why would they lie to us about him being sick?”
“Probably because the president is the one making him sick.” Dougie walked over to the corner of the room and begun digging through the medical cabinet. He pulled out a tray full of medication that Annie recognized from a mission she had gone on weeks before. “Does anyone know what mephobarbital is? It’s the only medication in here.”
Annie walked over and inspected the glass bottles. There was no information on them whatsoever. She wondered if there would be books on medicine in the library; their selection was limited to whatever books had been saved directly around their area. How much information had been lost since the Hunt?
“Do you think that’s what they’re giving him?” Annie asked.
“There’s a reason why we’re all rangers and not doctors.” Ethan cracked a smile but nobody else reacted. The tension in the room was almost unbearable.
Dougie shook the arm of Commander Matthew gently. He stirred for a moment, making a gurgling noise that worried them, before drifting back into his deep sleep. “He’s out cold.”
“Why would they keep him sick?” Allison asked from the office. She had been too afraid to even enter the room.
“I bet it’s the same reason that all of the other rangers got ‘reassigned’,” Annie answered. “They probably knew too much. The question is, what do we do about it?”
“What do you mean, ‘what do we do about it’?” Turner scoffed. “The answer to that is absolutely nothing. You’ve seen what the president can do. Do you want to be poisoned next?”
“You think he’s going to kill all the rangers?” Annie asked.
“I mean…I wouldn’t put it past him,” Dougie said from behind her. Annie turned and stared him down. “I think we should just pretend we didn’t see this. We don’t have much longer to go before the ships arrive. All we need to do until then is survive.” If she didn’t have Dougie on her side, she didn’t have anyone on her side. She wished Anthony were here.
“Then you all can act like you were never here. But I’m holding onto this key, and I’m going to find out what’s going on behind the scenes.” Annie pocketed the key to the commander’s office before anyone had a chance to object.
Turner laughed. “Classic Annie. Always have to be the one to change the world, don’t you?”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Annie asked, crossing her arms.
“Ever since we were chosen as rangers, you’ve needed all the attention on you, all the time.”
“You sound ridiculous,” Annie snorted. She wasn’t doing this for attention. She was doing this to try to save the life of her commander.
“Flirting with Kevin as soon as we arrive, getting special benefits from him while the rest of us struggle, going on unapproved missions, risking your life for a couple dumb kids when everyone is already starving in the Shield, ‘acing’.”
Annie took a step towards him, her fists clenched. “Are you saying I didn’t ace?”
“I’m saying the only person that was there to witness it is the guy you were sleeping with at the time. Does nobody else find that suspicious?” Turner looked around at everyone but no one would make eye contact.
“I never slept with him!” Annie’s voice was shaking with anger. She was waiting for someone to stand up for her, but everyone remained silent.
“But I think the most despicable thing that you’ve done,” Turner said, staring into her intensely, his lips curling into a cruel smile, “is made Anthony’s death about you.”
Annie’s heart sunk in her chest. How dare he use his friend’s death against her? Dougie stepped forward, pushing his arm in front of Turner to force him back, away from her. “Turner, that’s enough.”
“Anthony was everyone’s friend,” Turner continued. Annie’s lips tightened. She wasn’t going to let him see her cry, because she knew that was exactly what he wanted. “But instead of us being able to grieve, we all had to take care of you. It was a fantastic performance; I’ll give you that. And now here you go again, keeping the key for the commander’s office. You know they’re going to notice. You know it’s going to lead to more problems for us. We know you’re going to do it anyway. Because this drama is what you live for. Risking our lives is what you love to do.”
“Turner,” Dougie snapped.
Annie nodded, taking a moment before allowing her rage to come out through her words. “If and when I get caught, I will swear I was the only one in here. None of you will go down with me.” She began to step through the group of rangers towards the door, but Turner pushed against her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.
“If you were smart, you would leave us alone and become a president’s guard. All you’ve done around here is cause damage.”
It took everything in Annie’s power not to hit him. Annie had chosen to continue risking her life instead of abandoning her fellow rangers. She waited for someone to protest, but no one would even look her in the eye. She wasn't wanted here. “Noted,” she whispered. She pushed past him with her shoulder and left the room.
Annie shoved the door open, and was relieved to find that no one was on the other side waiting for them. She slowed, realizing that she had nowhere to go. Her friend was dead, Kevin had been sent away, and now she understood that she had alienated herself from the rest of the rangers. She couldn’t stay here, in the sleeping quarters with the rest of them all day. She needed to find Zed.
Annie grabbed her coat off the hook and left the building. “Annie, wait!” she heard Mia and Allison call after her, but she didn’t stop to turn around. Turner had always been an asshole, but he had never been a liar. All of her peers must have felt the same way.
Had she really isolated herself
so much? If anything she had found herself thrown into a tangled web of lies and confusion. She had no control over the information she had stumbled upon. Annie was just trying to keep everybody safe. But every decision she made seemed to cause more chaos.
Where was Annie supposed to find Zed? Someone wandering around the town with no career. How did he spend his days? What did he do with his spare time? Annie didn’t have to look for long. As she headed toward the town center, she found him leaning against one of the rundown buildings that had long since been abandoned. Sometimes it felt as though he were exactly where she needed him to be. A guardian angel.
“Zed!” she called from down the road. Zed looked up and smiled at her. Finally, a face that was excited to see her. She ran towards him and collapsed in his arms.
“Are you alright?” he asked, holding her tightly. Annie didn’t respond for a few seconds, closing her eyes.
“I’m okay,” she mumbled into his chest. “I stumbled across a secret today. Since Kevin has been gone I haven’t known who to talk to. You’re the only one not brainwashed into believing everything the president says.”
“What did you discover?” he asked.
Annie pushed back. “The commander, they’re pumping him with poison, deliberately keeping him sick.”
Zed’s eyes widened. “Why would they do that?” he probed.
“I don’t know, but I think that he knows something that the president doesn’t want getting out. What I don’t understand is why they would bother keeping him alive.”
Zed chuckled to himself. “I had no idea that there would be so many secrets in such a small Shield. How didn’t you learn to all work together? We had a population ten times the size and everyone was at peace with each other.”
“It’s the president and Summer Henderson,” Annie sighed. “They’re on some sort of power trip. You say that you were free to choose partners and have children as you wished, and we’ve been forced to rely on breeders. They need to be in control of everything.”
“Then they’re quite the dangerous couple.”
“I feel like I’m the only one in here trying to do anything about this. Kevin was beginning to understand what was happening, but he’s gone now. I feel like I’m alone.”
“Well technically I don’t even exist here.” Zed grinned. “So if you want to raise some hell I’m with you, one hundred percent.”
Annie couldn’t help but smile back. “Promise?”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Chapter 14: The First Meeting
Annie took a deep breath, adjusted the collar on the first dress shirt she had ever worn, and began walking up the city hall steps. She had pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail, something she hadn’t done since her last mission outside of the Shield. She still wasn’t used to not feeling her hair against her back, even though it had been chopped off months before. She had woken up nervous, more nervous than she had ever felt in her life. She had prepared with Zed, though. She knew what she was going to say at the meeting, once she had heard what everyone else had to tell her.
The same guards who had tried to stop her from entering the president’s office last time held the doors open for Annie, with dark expressions on their faces. The man with the scars on his face glared at her as she passed him. She smiled in return. “Good afternoon,” she said. He grunted in response.
“Ah, Annie, good to see you.” The president stood up from behind his desk, pushing his papers together and closing them in a file before Annie had a chance to read any of it. “You look lovely today.”
The president had always made her uncomfortable. He had always watched her in a way that made her skin crawl. She wasn’t sure if it was fair of her to judge him in this way, but she couldn’t help herself. Today, however, was not the day to be shy. She stepped forward, shaking his hand, gripping it as tightly as she could. “It’s nice to see you too.” She forced a smile.
“I was just finishing up here, preparing for the meeting. I should warn you that these often go on for hours. It is likely to be long past sundown that we will be sending you on your way.”
“That’s alright, I don’t mind.”
“Also, you will hear things this evening that will shock you. Let me know if anything is difficult for you.”
Annie nodded. “I’m prepared.”
“Then there’s just one thing missing before we go.” The president opened his vial of fountain ink sitting on his desk, dipping his finger in and running it in gentle lines across Annie’s cheeks and nose. “You aced, Annie. Wear it proudly. I want all of the breeders to know that you’re a hero.”
With that, they left his office, walked outside, and headed down the front steps. The town center in front of city hall, which Annie was used to seeing busy with people, was eerily quiet in the middle of the day. “Where are we going?” Annie asked.
“It’s a secret spot that I bet none of your fellow rangers know about. A spot that only the breeders, my guests, and I are welcome to visit. It holds all of the secrets of this Shield and Mpho.” The president gave Annie a grin that caused her to be unsure if what he said was true.
She couldn’t help but be intrigued. The Shield was so small that she was sure she had seen everything. She couldn’t wait to visit a place that had been hiding right under her nose in all of her eighteen years on this Earth. “What’s the password?” she joked.
“It’s not a question of whether or not you know the password, it’s a question of whether or not you survive the journey.” Annie looked up at him, alarmed. “It’s a joke, Annie,” he laughed. “No password, just plenty of guards blocking the way.”
It was the middle of the day during the workweek. The streets were completely empty. They turned down a side path and Annie found herself walking towards a building she knew quite well. They were headed back to the school, the building that she had spent nearly her entire life in. “Your secret meetings are in the school?” Annie asked.
“Under the school,” the president said. “It’s a safe, secure building. It’s one of the nicest places we have.”
There had been secret meetings going on underneath Annie’s feet for her entire childhood. How could such a small community have so many shadows, so many secrets? Guards, like the ones that always stood outside of the president’s office, were posted the side door. “Sir.” One of them said, they both nodded at the president.
“Nice to see you again, gentlemen.” The president smiled, placing his hand on Annie’s back. “This is my guest for the evening. You will be seeing her face far more often.” The guards said nothing, but let Annie through. Annie felt intimidated by their silent stares.
The doors opened to reveal a long stairwell that curled down into complete darkness. Annie had seen these doors before, during their recesses and weekends, but had never thought anything of them. They could have just as likely lead into a custodial closet, storage space, or an abandoned classroom. She had been so naïve.
The guard passed the president a lantern, and he took Annie by the hand and led her down into the stairwell. The way the president touched her made her recoil. She didn’t understand his intentions, what he wanted from her. If he ever made a pass at her, there was very little she could do about it. But she wasn’t sure that was what he wanted. She didn’t know why he had invited her to the meetings that only the most elite and important people attended. But the further they ventured into the dark, the less she worried about the president’s thinking, and the more she thought about how afraid she was.
Finally, after what seemed like hours, they came to flat stone. “Almost there,” the president assured her. They walked through the carved hallway, Annie feeling her claustrophobia setting in. What seemed like a dead end only ended up being a dark grey curtain, blending in with the rocks on either side of it, and completely blocking out whatever light there was from the next room. Annie could hear murmuring and laughing from the other side, and realized that there were far more people attend
ing this meeting than she had previously thought there would be. The president pushed them aside to reveal a large room filled with the familiar fluorescent lights that had hung in her school, floors above.
“Annie?” someone called from the other side. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the bright light. It was Dustan. He stood up from his chair and stared in astonishment at her. Annie’s heart stopped when he locked eyes with her. She had been doing everything she could to avoid him over the last couple months.
The conversations that had been happening quietly around the room fell silent, and everyone sitting at the large, round table, turned and stared at her. The room was unnaturally white, especially for a secret meeting place that could only be reached through a long, dark tunnel. Annie, with the dark black lines painted across her face, felt as though she stuck out. “Yes, everyone, I would like you to welcome Annie of the rangers. She will be taking part in our meetings henceforth.” He turned towards her and whispered into her ear, “Don’t worry, it will take them a few minutes to get used to you.”
“Darling.” Summer Henderson also stood up from her seat. “You failed to mention that you would be bringing a guest.” She sounded noticeably frustrated.
“I thought it would be a nice surprise. You see, Annie, we haven’t had a guest from the rangers join us since Commander Matthew fell ill. And we found his perspectives on our topics…refreshing.” There were a few odd laughs around the table that made Annie uncomfortable. There was no way that they knew that she knew what they had done to the commander. But they still spoke about it so nonchalantly. “We’ll fill you in on everything that happened with the commander and the precautions we had to take with him,”
Everything that Annie and Zed had planned for her to ask them had to be thrown out the window. She hadn’t been expecting them to be so open about secret information. “We will begin momentarily. Please, discuss amongst yourselves.” He motioned to Summer to join him back behind the curtain that they had just emerged from. Summer did not look pleased. It brought great joy to Annie thinking about them trying to have a fight quietly in the dark.
