Sunset Rising

by S. M. McEachern

  When Taylor discovered the betrayal, she was going to have the General formally charged. She had already confided in Vice President Kenner about everything she had found out, which is why all this ended up in his journal. But from this point on, much of what Kenner writes was hearsay. The President and her husband were murdered within hours after she made her discovery and General Holt was the first one on the murder scene. He took complete control of the investigation and claimed to have found evidence that their murder was the result of a conspiracy by the civilians – the same civilians they had so generously given shelter from the bombs - to take over the Dome and throw everyone else out. As the head of the military, it seemed natural for Holt to be the one to step up as leader to get the civilians under control. That’s when he struck the famous Treaty with them - the Treaty that turned you into slaves.”

  What Jack was telling me was a lot to take in after the day I had. I was feeling mentally exhausted. How was I supposed to react to all of this information? He seemed so self-righteous in his confession, yet I saw another side to his story. If the Dome had been built right in our own Valley, why hadn’t the President and her entourage invited us in when the bombs were launched? Why did the civilians have to fight their way in? It sounded like there had been more than enough room for their vehicles…

  “Considering the amount of time and effort the ruling class put into building a secret shelter to protect themselves from a nuclear holocaust, it seems to me they had damned us long before they launched the bombs,” I said in a biting voice. I saw Jack’s look of surprise at my words. I wondered if he was going to hit me, but I didn’t care. I pressed on. “So the Kenner’s have known this all along and haven’t exposed the Holts? Why? Why didn’t anyone fight for us? Why didn’t Vice President Kenner step up and have him arrested?” I demanded. Jack looked at me thoughtfully. I wasn’t sure if he was mad or not.

  “I’ll try to explain, if I can. By rights Vice President Kenner should have become the interim President until an election could be held. But General Holt had control of the military and felt it was in the best interests of the Dome to retain a military government. And not only did he have the military behind him, but he was also in possession of both his own codes and President Taylor’s codes for the warheads. Remember I told you that two people are needed to launch a nuclear warhead? There are warheads inside the Dome. It’s part of the Dome’s defense system.

  The codes get passed to each President when he’s sworn in and only the Holts have held that Office since the beginning of the Dome. There are a lot of people living here who would like to see a return to our democratic government, but the Holts still control the military and the warheads. Every Holt that has come to power has threatened to blow the entire Dome in the face of an uprising. So we try to have a quiet revolution. We plan and plot and hope that one day we’ll find the codes and usurp their power. I’ve tried to search the computer mainframe and I can’t find them,” he said.

  “I don’t understand why General Holt wasn’t exposed back then. I mean if he had the President’s codes, then the only way he could’ve gotten them was from Taylor herself. But if he found her already murdered…” I shook my head. If I could see the flaws in Edward Holt’s story, couldn’t the people back then see the flaws too? “Maybe he doesn’t have the codes. Maybe the Holt’s have been lying all along in order to stay in control.”

  “That’s a really astute observation, Mrs. Kenner,” he said, giving me an appreciative look.

  It annoyed me that he was surprised I had a brain. He really must think all urchins were uneducated dolts. He continued, oblivious to my infuriated expression.

  “There is documented medical evidence that President Taylor’s husband was badly tortured before he was killed; however, there are two different stories to explain this indisputable fact. Holt’s explanation – which is in his official investigation report - claims that the civilians tortured him in front of his wife in order to manipulate her into giving the order for all officials to leave the Dome so they could have it all to themselves. But VP Kenner wrote in his journal that he believes it was Holt who tortured President Taylor’s husband in order to get the codes out of her. Officially, Holt claims the President whispered them to him before she drew her last breath,” Jack said. He pulled his knees up and rested his arms on them. His anger seemed to have been replaced with melancholy.

  “It doesn’t change anything though, does it? I mean, knowing the horrible history of how everything came to be doesn’t change it. People in the Pit will continue to live as slaves, you and I will be executed as traitors, and the bourge will continue to win,” I said bitterly.

  “That’s not true. The Kenners know and we’ve shared the information with as many people as we can trust. We do have supporters. We’re trying to change things the only way we think we can without harming the entire Dome. Try to understand that our family was cast way down after Edward Holt became President. He didn’t want any reminders of the old regime. The Kenners clawed their way back up, getting back into the good graces of the four major families. My marriage to Leisel was the moment my family had been waiting for. Once I became President, we would have the codes to the bombs. We would control of the Dome.”

  “If the Holts dislike the Kenners so much, how did you become engaged to Leisel in the first place?” I asked purely out of curiosity.

  “Because there is no one else. When Edward Holt claimed the Presidency he made it law that the title can’t get passed on to a woman. And they’ve been lucky because every generation has produced at least one son, except this generation. And usually the Holts choose their spouses from the West, Powell or Forbes families, but there’s a generational gap. The only boys in those families are under the age of twelve. It’s the first time in the history of the Dome this has happened. My mother noticed last year that Leisel was showing interest in me and told me to pursue her romantically. When I asked the President to marry his daughter, I promised she could keep her last name and all our children would carry the name Holt as well. He liked that. And Leisel said I was what she wanted and the President always gives his daughter what she wants.”

  “So you were prepared to spend the rest of your life with someone you didn’t love in order to restore democracy?” I asked. Jack nodded his head.

  “I just wanted to be honest with you. After all that’s happened, you were owed an explanation. I am truly sorry you got caught up in all of this.” He reached for my hand and held it in both of his. Slowly he brought it up to his lips and tenderly kissed it, then placed my hand back on my lap. “Time’s up,” he said.

  He went back out into the living room.

  Chapter Ten

  I allowed my hand to remain in my lap exactly where Jack put it down. There was still a tingling sensation where he had pressed his lips against my skin. I stared at my hand, but it didn’t look any different. I never expected kindness from a bourge, especially one so aristocratic. If he thought I had anything to do with Leisel’s betrayal, why didn’t he just beat me? Or kill me. No one would care. But instead of hurting me, he confided in me. In fact, his openness about his feelings toward President Holt and Leisel shocked me. Treasonous words were never heard in the Dome.

  I didn’t know what to think of Jack Kenner or his story. If his family really was intent on restoring democracy to the Dome, they have had almost three hundred years to do it. Yet here we all were still at the mercy of the Holts. I wondered if life would be any different if Liberty succeeded. For all Jack’s talk about wanting to get rid of the Holts, never once did he say life in the Pit would get any better.

  He seemed kind enough, but he was definitely aware that I came from the Pit. I felt it when he questioned if he could trust me to be alone in his apartment; I heard it when he congratulated me on pointing out some of the obvious flaws of his story. He thinks I am less than he is. I wanted to scream at him that we are educated in the Pit. Maybe not in elaborate schools like the bourge attended, but our com
mon rooms in the Pit served as classrooms during the day when the adults were working. But in the Pit, the most valuable lesson was to learn to think on your feet. Every urchin needed a quick mind to get themselves out of situations that may otherwise result in a beating or death. We have learned to live for the moment.

  Maybe that was the problem with the Kenners and Liberty. They were over-educated in the classroom and no longer had the ability to think for themselves. What other reason could there possibly be for them to have never confronted the Holts over the past 283 years? But instead of making a plan of action, they were having their quiet revolution. I guess they weren’t as desperate for change as we were in the Pit.

  My stomach gave a growl, reminding me I hadn’t eaten anything in more than a day. The breakfast Jack had given me before he left for his interview with Leisel was the last meal I had consumed. I looked under the bed, relieved to find the tray of food was right where I had hidden it. There was an egg, one and a half pieces of bread, and almost a whole piece of ham left. I was about to take a bite of the bread when I remembered Jack. He had been kind enough to me so maybe I should share it. I returned to the living room, the dress dragging behind me making a rustling noise.

  “Decided to join me?” Jack questioned, not looking up from his computer.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, looking at the tablet in his hand.

  “Writing my farewell letters,” he said and put the computer down. He raised his eyebrows at the sight of the tray. “You’ve been hoarding food?”

  “It’s what every good urchin learns from an early age. That or starve,” I said, offering him some of the food.

  “Mmmmm… cold eggs and ham. No thanks,” he said. A barely concealed look of disgust crossed his features.

  “Suit yourself,” I shrugged. I guess you had to be an urchin to appreciate that a meal was a meal no matter what temperature it was.

  I picked up the piece of bread and sat in the chair across from him. I almost choked on it when I heard the apartment door unlock. Leisel walked in, a Domer following closely behind her. Jack was instantly on his feet.

  “Well here’s the happy couple!” Leisel said with a smile on her face. “Oh and look, you’re sharing a meagre breakfast. What is that anyway? Cold ham?”

  “What do you want Leisel? Come to finish the job off yourself?” Jack demanded.

  “Well that’s hardly the response I expected from my jilted fiancé. What, no mourning the loss of my love?” Leisel sneered. Jack just glared at her. “I thought not. I knew you never loved me Jack. And as much as I would love to finish the job off myself, I would never deprive my father of that pleasure. He’s really mad at you. I mean, it really took some convincing on my part to get him to let me marry a Kenner in the first place and then you turn around and do this to me.” Leisel pouted. “Your family’s never going to recover from this.”

  “Leave them out of it, Leisel. They have nothing to do with this. This is between you and me,” Jack warned her.

  “I think we both know that’s not true Jack. Your family has been trying to take mine down for hundreds of years. And now my father has legitimate reason to destroy you all, starting with you,” she said happily.

  “Why? Why are you doing this to me?” Jack asked between clenched teeth.

  I noticed his hands were now balled into fists at his side and every muscle in his body was tensed and ready to spring across the room at her. I saw the guard standing behind Leisel tense up too, his hand reaching for his weapon. I found myself on my feet going to Jack, grabbing his arm with both my hands. If he went for Leisel, there was no doubt in my mind the guard would kill him and I didn’t want to be left here all alone. I didn’t want to be executed alone. I hung on tight to him.

  “Sunny, how touching. Oh, wait. I think I have a…a… tear in my eye,” Leisel said sarcastically, wiping a non-existent tear from the corner of her eye. I just wanted to wipe the sarcastic expression off her face.

  “Shut up Leisel,” I snapped. My words shocked even me.

  “So the urchin has a voice. Not that you need one. I mean no one is putting you on trial for anything. You’re going to die simply for wearing that dress and marrying above your station in life. And by the way, I lied to you - that dress looks way better on me.”

  “You wish!” Jack spat at her. Leisel looked taken aback and her guard stepped forward to be at her side.

  “Oh, keep your little insults to yourself. I only came here to say thank you. Thank you so much for playing your roles in my little plan so flawlessly. I really do wish I had been there to see the look on your faces when Sunny’s scan actually worked. I bet you were so surprised,” she laughed. She was actually enjoying this. Her guard was smiling too.

  “So what is your plan exactly Leisel? You might as well tell us. We’re going to die anyway,” Jack prompted her.

  “Why not, Jack. My plan has always been to become President. I mean, who came up with the rule that a woman can’t be President? You know when I went to my father saying that a Kenner was the most eligible bachelor in the Dome, I had hoped he might consider changing the rules. I was absolutely flabbergasted when he said I could marry a Kenner! He’d rather have a male Kenner as President than see his own daughter inherit the title. So that little plan backfired and I ended up engaged to you.” Leisel shook her head in disbelief. “It was frustrating, you know? So I had to come up with something else. That’s when I saw Sunny. We’re the same height and I knew I could alter the dress. I couldn’t believe my luck when you both agreed to go along with everything. I mean you both must’ve been so desperate. You to become President Jack, and you, Sunny to save your little friend.”

  Summer! All this time I was thinking about how Leisel betrayed me and never thought that she probably went back on her word about Summer too. I felt a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. I did this all for nothing. I wanted to kill Leisel myself now. I dropped Jack’s arm and headed straight for her, but he grabbed me around the waist preventing me from reaching my target.

  “Let me go!” I forced the words out from between my clenched teeth.

  “She’s not worth it, Sunny! She’ll just kill you now,” Jack said.

  “Listen to him, Sunny, because I will,” Leisel said, all business now. The sarcastic grin was gone from her face and her guard drew his gun. “Desmond, put it away. Jack at least knows better.” Leisel placed her hand over the guard’s, an intimate gesture that was hard to miss. “Yes, we’re lovers,” she confirmed when she saw my eyes on their hands. “Does that surprise you, Jack? That someone may actually love me? Desmond and I have been together since I was fourteen. When I’m President, we’ll live in a world where he and I can get married. You see I do want change in the Dome.”

  “I still don’t see how you’re going to become President. Your father won’t agree to that,” Jack said. He didn’t seem overly upset by the fact she had a lover.

  “Are you kidding me? After the public betrayal I’ve gone through? The humiliation of being the jilted bride… the broken heart I’m suffering…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head at the exaggerated tragedy of it all. “When I tell my father I never plan on marrying again, he’ll understand completely. I mean, who’s left for me to marry anyway? I’d have to start scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with someone who’s eligible and Daddy would never stand for that. I’ll convince him the only way to keep a Holt as President is to let me succeed him.”

  “I guess you have it all worked out then, Leisel. Thanks for stopping by,” Jack dismissed her.

  “Oh, don’t be like that Jack. We did have a few good moments during our… relationship,” she purred.

  “To be honest Leisel, I detested the sight of you. So you can imagine what inner strength it took for me not to run every time you touched me. I guess I should thank you too. Turns out the thought of getting a bullet in my head isn’t nearly as bad as the stress I was under wondering how I was going to get through my wedding night wit
h you,” he said matter-of-factly. By the look on Leisel’s face, Jack’s words hit home. She curled her lips into a snarl.

  “Good bye, Jack. The next time I see you you’ll be with your executioner. Enjoy your short life.” And with that, Leisel and her guard swept out of the room.

  I wanted to run after her. Claw the door open and race down the hall to find her. A creature that evil should not be alive let alone have a chance to become the next President. If life in the Pit was bad now, it was going to be intolerable under that monster - and I had unwittingly helped her. She had to be stopped. I tried again to get to the door, and then realized Jack’s arms still had me in a vice grip.

  “Let me go!” I cried out, trying to pry his arms off me.

  “She’s gone, Sunny. She’s gone,” he tried to reason with me.

  “I’ll get the door open. Let me go before she’s gone,” I pleaded. Why did he want to stop me? He must hate her too.

  “Sunny. Sunny.” His lips were by my ear. “Relax. She’s gone. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”