by M. Van
“Harand Sulos has the power to destroy this world with all its inhabitants, and he’s threatened to do so by this time next year, while he’ll be able to live out his life in peace,” Wear said as his face flushed red again.
“Sulos is dead,” Saera called out.
“No, he’s not,” I said more to myself, but sensed Saera watching me. Harp shifted his head slightly and nodded in my direction.
“Indeed, he is not,” he said in confirmation. The definitive answer came from Henkel, but I didn’t need the white-haired woman to explain to me that she had talked to the man through long-distance communication and that Saera had killed the wrong man. Well, maybe not. Sulos was a man with access to a vast range of technology and, of course, bioprinters.
Turning to Saera, who had turned a sickening pale, I said, “Artificial representation.”
Her eyes found mine, but my words didn’t register. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her slightly. Kelle stepped in beside her and gazed up at us with a concerned look on her face.
“You didn’t kill the wrong person,” I said, “just a printed copy that Sulos operated from a distance.” I paused a moment to gauge her reaction. Kelle wrapped an arm around Saera’s waist, and that helped.
“AR,” she said.
“Right,” I replied. She nodded as if she understood, but I had a feeling the information needed some time to sink in.
Henkel had been talking while I had busied myself with Saera, and I just caught the last part of what she was saying.
“As many as possible will be accommodated, and the remaining numbers can live out their lives on this planet,” she said. “This is no different from how it has always been.”
“Except some of us will have to work themselves to death so a few can live in luxury,” I said. I could almost taste the venom in my voice. Henkel had been right about one thing—none of this seemed to alter the eventual fate of these workers, although the meaning of these lives had changed significantly. They weren’t just working to keep the cities from falling apart or to keep the shields up to protect us from the increasing temperatures of a dying sun. Neither did they work to run the mushroom farms or any of the other energy-consuming undertakings. They had been working harder than ever inside those power plants to accommodate the pleasures of the fortunate.
This would not sit well with the men and women working the power plants if this were to come out.
“I wonder how the people will react to this news,” I added.
This time Henkel’s face flushed red, as did Wear’s. She pounded a fist on the table and shot me a fierce look.
“The council has made its decision, and you are bound to obey that decision,” she said and paused to emphasize her point. She locked eyes with Harp, and this time she did hold his gaze. “You have taken an oath to serve the people of Subterra, and I am holding you to that.”
“Exactly,” Reece exclaimed, “an oath to the people and they have a right to know about this.”
“Reece,” Harp said in a sharp tone. Reece looked taken aback as his gaze turned to Harp. As their eyes met, Harp spoke in an even, but rather threatening tone.
“We will do as we are told.” It wasn’t hard to read the defiance in Reece’s blue eyes and a muscle in his jaw flexed. The moment seemed endless, but as if by some silent communication, Reece relented and his gaze shifted to the ground.
“Remember that,” Henkel said as her voice cut through the tension, “or else you might find yourself in a detention facility.” Her eyes were still on Harp as she added, “I’m sure you’ll manage to keep your people in check.”
Harp nodded while he held her gaze, and seemingly satisfied, Henkel straightened. She spared us one more glance and then turned on her heels and strutted off the stage. Wear quickly followed, but Monroe remained seated.
As the footsteps of the departing aldermen faded, Monroe raised himself from his seat. I shifted my gaze between the remaining alderman and Harp as the others just stood aghast. There seemed to be some form of silent communication going on between the two men, and from the look in Harp’s eyes, it wasn’t that hard to decipher what was being said.
I told you so! radiated from Harp’s posture, and an accusing gaze held Monroe frozen to his spot. Monroe didn’t look nearly as impressive as he had before. In fact, he looked rather small under Harp’s scrutiny, even though he towered over him from up on the stage.
I took a step forward, not sure what it was that I wanted to do, but Harp stopped me from whatever it was with his hard glare. His commanding eyes didn’t get to me like they used to, but I still obeyed—albeit without taking my eyes off him. As Harp’s gaze softened, it felt like quite an achievement.
“Later,” he said, and at that single word, I took a step back.
With a curt nod, Monroe excused himself and left in the same direction the other aldermen had.
As soon as he had left, an explosion of sound burst from those of us left standing at the base of the stage.
“I’d say I’d be surprised,” Reece said, “but I’m not.”
“What just happened?” Riffy said.
“I’m heading back to the base,” Kyran said as he turned to Harp. “I think I might have just figured out what those weird numbers we’ve found in the ArtRep mainframe mean.”
Harp narrowed his eyes before he asked, “The currency trail?”
Kyran absently nodded while his unfocused eyes stared off into space. The wheels inside his mind must have been spinning at high speed if the thoughtful expression on his face was any indication.
“Well,” Saera said impatiently, “if it’s not energy, then what is it?”
Kyran snapped out of it and faced Harp again.
“I’ll need to check this, but I think they’re people,” he said.
“Tickets, more likely,” Reece said, catching on. Along with the rest of us, I turned my gaze to Reece except my eyes didn’t hold the questions like Riffy’s did.
“Tickets, accommodations, land, who knows,” Kyran said, “but I’ll find out.”
“They’ve sold us out?” Kelle said, sounding disgusted. “The government sold us out for a seat on a vessel that that will bring them to Sulos’s new world?”
I looked at the young woman standing next to Saera, her eyes intently focused on Harp. It wasn’t hard to recognize the anger bordering on hatred that radiated from those eyes. Saera must have noticed, because she placed a hand on Kelle’s shoulder.
We all knew how Kelle felt. We’ve all been there. All of us were born within the confines of those power plants whose workers had been abused by Sulos for decades. And now it might have been our own people, our government, that was willing to condone this treatment.
Deciding someone would have to be the voice of reason, I said, “We need to be sure before we start pointing fingers.”
“Agreed,” Harp said. He gave me an approving nod before he turned to Kyran. “Find out who,” Harp said, “and keep it between us for now.”
Kyran eyed Harp for a moment and then gave him a nod. Without another word, Kyran stepped away from our group and left. I watched as he crossed the room and went on his way back to the rebel hideout underneath the City of Umbras.
Voices coursed on and over each other, all exclaiming the lack of understanding of what had just happened.
“I take it we're not going to stand for this,” Saera said. Her gaze sought out Harp’s, expecting a reply. He moved his hands behind his back and straightened his shoulders. His eyes shifted from Riffy to Reece, over to Saera and Kelle, before they landed on me. A sly smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“It seems the council has no knowledge of what the word rebel actually means,” he said.
“Perhaps we should reeducate them,” Reece said.
“I agree,” Saera said. “What’s the plan?” All eyes returned to face Harp until Kelle spoke up, “How about we talk about this over food and drinks.”
“Oh, I second that,” Riffy said as h
is eyes went wide. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry,” Reece said and patted Riffy on the back.
Harp grinned before actually exposing us to one of his rare smiles. “Food and drinks,” he said, “sounds good. Besides, I think it’s time we gave Maece a proper welcome home.”
His gaze shifted to me, and I felt my cheeks flush as I diverted my eyes.
“Oh, Maecy is feeling embarrassed,” Reece said in a whiny voice. Saera, who stood closer to him, kicked him in the shins. I grinned at the satisfied look she gave me.
“I think we’re all in agreement,” Harp said and turned to leave.
“You already have a plan, don’t you?” Reece called out after Harp. “On how to deal with Sulos.”
“I always have a plan,” Harp said without turning back.
“Is this the plan where we charge the Tenebrae power plants and free our people or the one where we commandeer a ship and kick Sulos out of his new world?” Reece said. Reece, being Reece, had kept himself from sounding serious, but that didn’t mean he believed Harp was incapable of initiating any one of those plans, and neither did I.
“Knowing Harp, he’ll probably wanna do both,” I said under my breath. Reece shifted his head a little, and I knew he had heard me.
“But you do expect this plan to work?” Reece added in a playful tone. Harp didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted a hand from behind his back and showed us his middle finger.
Reece grinned as he faced us. I shook my head at seeing the mischief in his eyes. He hadn’t changed at all over the years. As he noticed me watching him, he stepped closer and my body tensed. By the time he took my hand, I was holding my breath. He squeezed my fingers lightly before he said,
“Come on.” The moment would have been anticlimactic if it weren’t for the heartfelt smile and the wink that followed. Despite the ease that as of late came with reading the faces of the people around me, it seemed my own insecurities didn’t allow me to delve into the meaning of Reece’s gesture. As quickly as the moment had come, it was gone when Reece released my hand and threw an arm around Riffy to tug him along.
I started to follow as Saera threw an arm around my shoulders and stopped.
“Despite all the crap we just witnessed, of which I haven’t even processed everything,” Saera said with a broad grin on her face, “I’m really glad you’re back.” She pulled me in for a hug, and I gladly accepted.
Over Saera’s shoulder, I noticed Kelle watching us with a contented grin on her face. It wasn’t a smile exactly, but it was a step up for Kelle, and I had a feeling I’d be seeing more of this less brooding version of her.
Saera released me from her hug but kept an arm draped around my shoulder.
“Listen,” she said as she grabbed Kelle with her free hand and tugged us along to follow the others. “I’m gonna need your help.”
“Oh,” I said, not sure where this was going to go.
“Have you noticed Riffy around Ty, lately?” she asked. Before I could say that I hadn’t seen them together since I’ve gotten back, she added, “No, of course, you haven’t, but I’m gonna need your help because Kelle is no fun in this department.”
“Here we go,” Kelle muttered as she rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t keep herself from shooting Saera an adoring look. I raised an eyebrow as Saera tightened her hold around my neck.
“I’m telling you, those two are into each other. They just need a little incentive,” Saera said.
As I listened to Saera’s rambling, Reece and Riffy walked ahead of us as they followed Harp close on his heels. The banter between them started up again as well, and I knew they deliberately tried to get on Harp’s nerves—at least, I was sure that was Reece’s aim.
“Must have been a lot more peaceful sitting inside Memory Junction,” Kelle said. I gazed at her as she added, “Compared to this lot.” Her tone was serious, but the tiniest of twitches around her mouth betrayed that her words weren’t meant as such. I looked ahead to see the guys walk down the hall and couldn’t stop myself from grinning.
“Peaceful can be overrated,” I said, “as long as it comes to you guys.” Saera beamed at me, and I moved my hand behind her to grip her shoulder as we followed the guys to what I presumed to be one of Reece’s favorite drinking holes.
RECALL
M. VAN
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Other books
by M. VAN
The Wheels and Zombies series
Ash: A novella in the Wheels and Zombies series
Brooklyn, Wheels and Zombies
Aground
Wheels’ End
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Stand-alone novel
Behind the Glass
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