by K. Weikel
Someone is shot. Another is stabbed. And one more falls before everyone turns their attention back to One. They’re fighting her and going against what it is she wants... and people that cross her, Rose has learned, they normally don’t survive. She was just lucky. Lucky up until now.
“We have been a part of the Elite’s game for far too long. If we don’t meet their standards, we are cast out from society and left to fend for ourselves in the terrifying world outside. We want our cities back.” One turns to the camera. “Look at the path you’ve laid out for poor Elite Runner Daniel, Elites. You forced him to betray the rebellion. What made you think you would win, when we were defying you? You can’t trust someone that doesn’t trust you, and you can’t predict something you’re unsure about. We were a mystery to you, and that is why you sent him to infiltrate our system, run by a handful of teenagers. And once the Unnamed fell, I picked it back up, a woman with more knowledge than you could fathom. So, Elites, your move, or the next will be checkmate.”
Rose’s head is pulled back, her eyes on the sky. A tear falls down her cheek and she feels terror as it pounds in her chest. She feels a cold blade against her soft throat, and she swallows, hearing the light shing the blade makes as the surface beneath it moves.
I’m sorry, Runner, she pleads in her head. I’m so sorry, Lous...
Another year slips down her face and she closes her eyes.
“I’ll do anything...”
Rose’s heart stops beating as Daniel’s whisper makes it to her ear. What is he doing?
The blade is retracted slightly, the man who holds it looking over at One. She pulls his head back so that he can look at her, his head at a ninety-degree angle. His breaths are ragged as he struggles to bring them in, beyond the point of being intimidated. His life means nothing to him now. It’s those who are threatened by this new Unnamed that is thirsty for blood that are important. Rose and Lous got in the crossfire. But how in the world could any of this be fixed?
“Anything?” One asks, then chuckles. “My boy, you have nothing left to give. You’ve betrayed both sides at this point, and you want to betray yourself now? You’ve got to be smarter than that.”
“Don’t... don’t hurt her.”
“Why?” One asks. “She’s a traitor.”
“So am I...” he wheezes. “But so are you.”
“Bite your tongue,” the woman scorns, ripping at his hair to bring his head back. “I lead the Unnamed.”
“The Unnamed... it was never... what you’ve created it to be...” he breathes, and Rose can see the pain as clear as day on his face. “You have betrayed the original values of the Unnamed.”
“Take him away,” One commands as she pushes him to the floor. “I’m tired of hearing this nonsense.”
Rose watches as they begin to drag the Runner away, when she remembers Lous’ knife. It’s a small knife. She can feel it in her pocket. Somehow, she had been able to stow it away. Could she try and break free?
A few of the rebels stare back at her. Not the Unnamed. Not with the Elites. Followers of Lous. And now, as the few look at her, she can see the readiness of them all. They would follow every word she said without question. She and Lous had been friends for a long time and they knew her. They knew he trusted her.
She shuts her eyes, weighing he options.
There are more city people than rebels. And more Unnamed than either. The rebels are somewhat armed, but the Unnamed is packing.
Only a miracle could pull it off if she tells them to fight. Kill the leader and her followers will either go haywire or search for another queen. They’re loyal to a fault because of pent-up rage.
She opens her eyes, meeting theirs as she stands by the hands of the men.
Rose shakes her head.
“Coward!” Someone cries as she’s escorted off the stage. “Lous would have wanted you to fight!”
The truth is the opposite... me fighting is what got him killed.
Rose hangs her head.
By this time tomorrow, she honestly believes every last one of them will be dead. What will follow are riots. Protests. Killings.
And then, the end of the world.
18: Released
Rose and the Runner squat side-by side, her body nearly unable to take much more of this. Their wrists are bound to the wall, and the only way to relieve the weight from them is to rest their weight on their legs. Both of their lower bodies are strong, but not strong enough to stay like that. Each time they fall, their body gives up more and more, and Rose can hardly feel her arms anymore as the tendons continuously stretch.
They share no words, but Rose does watch him from the corner of her eye. He’s been defeated. His eyes are nearly shut and his body hangs loosely from the ropes above him. His thirsty veins poke out from his skin, and his hands twitch every so often, in which Daniel slightly winces at.
Rose can’t take it any longer.
She regrets not fighting when she got the chance to. She is a fighter, not someone who gives up—
But she was waiting it out.
Rose shakes her head. She knew what would come of a riot between the two—possibly three sides. She had to be smart about it, but who’s to say the inevitable has already begun?
Her tear-soaked face moves to take a gander at the Runner beside her. She licks her chapped lips, the dryness of her mouth doing nothing to help, and she boldly whispers, “I will get you out of this, Runner.”
She winces at the physical pain the words produce. She doesn’t know why she feels as if she has an obligation to get him out of this mess, but, whatever the reason, she does. It’s almost as if she can’t help but feel that way.
Rose focuses on making her hands smaller in width by bringing her pinkie to her thumb and really stretching. Moving it back and forth sends excruciating pain through her wrist, but she can feel her hand moving downward. Her legs give out and she holds in a yelp as her arms are yanked with the weight. She needs to get free.
Rose wriggles her hand some more, trying to hold herself up again. Frustration and fatigue rise within her as she keeps her angry grunts deep within her.
And then, one arm is free.
It begins to tingle as the blood rushes back into it, her head growing light for a moment as her legs let her down once more. She is exhausted.
Rose reaches up with her now moveable arm and grips the other rope, mimicking what she did with the other hand, and moving it quicker. The pain is greater and her legs can’t hold her up for much longer, but she’s almost there.
She can taste the freedom on her lips.
Voices, loud and angry outside the door, maybe just down the hallway. Rose begins to move her hand faster, rubbing it raw. She can feel that the knuckle of her thumb is almost out—
Rose falls to the ground, her body thanking her as her muscles begin to relax. She can feel the adrenaline pushing through her system, but it isn’t enough to block out the pain. It is enough to help her stand, slightly, using the wall to steady her. She wobbles over to Daniel, his eyes focusing and refocusing on her. He’s having trouble breathing, and it seems as though death is upon him.
Rose reaches into her pocket and produces the small weapon she’d taken from Lous, in that closet just over there. A year slips down her dirty face as she pulls out the blade.
The voices grow louder, and Rose’s hands quake all the more. She begins to saw at the ropes holding the Runner hostage. She needs to get him free.
One hand falls limp at the Runner’s side. A twinge of joy clutches at her heartstrings. Almost there.
The voices come nearer.
She hacks at the second rope, her body begging her to stop. Her knees tremble and she feels like she’s about to fall over—and she almost does.
Keys jangle just outside the door.
Rose cuts herself, and bites her tongue.
Daniel falls to the ground.
He can’t pick himself up.
Rose drags him over to the closet filled with
the devices used on them both, and Rose knows he’s seen more of them than she has. She shuts the door just as the keys unlock the other one. She hears someone swear and the heavy footsteps crescendo. Daniel lays on the ground, waking up, but he isn’t awake enough. She’ll have to defend him if this person is ready to do some damage.
She grabs a lash hanging from a rusty nail in the wall. Pieces of glass cover it, and she prepares herself. Her body tingles with the high of adrenaline, finally, and she feels like she can do some damage if she has to.
The door is flung open, and she swings, connecting the weapon with a man’s head. The guy drops to the floor, crying out, and clutching his bleeding skull.
Rose turns, keeping an eye on the man, and lifts Daniel up, swinging an arm around her neck. Shouting reverberates through the halls as three more people dart in, their hands at each other’s throats.
Two gunshots. Two drop dead. The third picks himself out from under them, and looks over at Rose, who grips the lash tightly in her hand. She’s ready to protect Daniel and herself until the end, if she needs to.
The man left glances out the doorway, the light streaming in, and darts out of the way, out of sight. When he sees Rose and Daniel, he holds up his hands.
“I’m on your side,” he says. “The name is Jim.”
Jim? Rose’s heart stops in her chest. She knows it isn’t her deceased friend, but the name sends a swell of sadness through her body.
“Jim, the Elite Guard.”
Rose is silent. She hates the Elites, but she also hates the new Unnamed. How can she trust an Elite if she can’t even trust her own rebellion?
“I know who you are, Rose. You were a part of the Unnamed.”
A gunshot. Some girl’s lifeless head thunks into the doorway. Rose keeps her eyes trained on the Elite Guard.
“And I know you betrayed them, we learned that through the broadcasting. But you have to trust me now. There are riots on the streets and it’s the beginning of a war.”
As she suspected.
“Come with me. I can get you to a safe house.”
“I want to fight,” Rose says at last, holding her chin higher as she feels her body tremble beneath Daniel’s weight.
“So do the Elites.”
“Things won’t change,” Rose quips, gripping the lash harder in her aching hands. She can feel the blood dripping down onto her palm from her wrist. She needs to take care of her wounds.
“They won’t if we lose,” he says, stretching out his arm, inviting her to take it.
The building rumbles.
Had someone set off a bomb?
“Please. You have to trust me.”
“I don’t have to do anything—”
“Rose.”
She startles at Daniel’s rough voice; he suddenly has her full attention.
“Go with him.”
She grits her teeth as her eyes flit back up to Elite Guard Jim. Her brain whirrs inside her head, teetering on two decisions. Surly there is no chance against the Unnamed... right?
“Please,” Daniel wheezes, using what he can of his strength to lock his eyes on hers.
She nods.
“Don’t get us killed.”
19: Absense of Pain
The hallways are filled with fighting, and the walls are crumbling beneath the flames. Rose learns Jim is an amazing shooter, and she’s good with her hands. Still.
By the time they reach the stairs to outside, the halls have quieted, those who are victorious wandering around and checking for their own safety.
If this is what it looks like in here, what does it look like out there?
Fumes and ash reach Rose’s nose as she steps outside. What should have been the inside of the Chef’s building? Buildings have crumbled and are set ablaze, the red lights conquering the appearing night. People fight, groups shout and chant, and there are even some setting their jackets on fire. They run ramped in the streets.
“Elites!” Someone screams.
“Run,” Jim instructs, flinging Daniel over his shoulder.
Rose sprints behind the man, not knowing where they’re heading, shouts following them. Her body tells her to move faster, and, it’s either she can’t or doesn’t want to, but she doesn’t.
The Elite Building with its many colors appear before their eyes, and they run past it, not stopping. Jim holds his gun close to him, ready to shoot any threat that comes upon them. Rose has her lash, but there’s not much she can do unless someone is within arm’s reach.
She cries out and falls to the ground. Blood seeps from her hamstring as she looks around. Someone had shot her.
“Come on!” Jim shouts, tugging at her arm. “Just keep moving, no matter what! You are a soldier now—pain is not in your vocabulary!”
She stands, yelling at the pain as she begins to run again. The adrenaline keeps it from hurting too badly, but she can feel the sting. Jim is right. Pain is not in her vocabulary. Not right now.
Jim tugs her behind a building closest to the wall, a Farmer’s Building. Three plots take up the space behind it, and no people are there to interrupt their growing vegetables.
He peeks around the corner, Daniel still slung over his shoulder.
“Okay,” he whispers. The sounds of chaos are behind them, but where can they go now? “The gates are locked, and it would be a suicide mission trying to get past the Unnamed that guard it. The Elite Building has fallen to ruins and there’s no way of staying safe inside. Even our bunker below has been broken into.”
“So all we can do is fight,” Rose finishes, thinking that’s where his logic was going.
“No,” he retorts softly. “Follow me.”
“But I want to fight.”
“You need to rest first,” he demands, looking dead into her eyes and beginning to pull her along. They disappear into a corn field, reaching above their heads. Jim stops suddenly and, bending down to give the Runner over to Rose, pulls open a hatch covered with dirt. Most of it stays on, but some of it falls off and creates a tiny pile at the hinges.
“That isn’t the Unnamed’s—”
Jim shakes his head and puts a finger to his lips. “It’s for the Elite.”
Rose glances at Daniel, whose eyes have returned to normal. She can still see the pain there, and he can’t move his arms very well, but she knows he’ll be okay. At least for now.
She drags Daniel around the horizontal door and through it. He is able to move his legs a bit, but not so much that he can walk down the stairs even with help. She holds tight to him, careful not to over or under step.
The hatch closes and all is dark. The only sounds that reach Rose’s ears are their own ragged breaths and the grunts that slip off her tongue as they descend the stairs. The air cools quickly as they get farther below the surface. They can hear the riots grow louder and closer to the entrance, Rose’s heart speeding up and making her body tingly. She aches all over, but she has to keep going.
They stop.
A blue light washes over them, and an even brighter one moves vertically over their bodies, scanning them.
“State your business,” a monotone robotic voice sounds quietly. Rose almost had trouble hearing it over her breathing.
“Jim the Elite Guard bringing two allies.”
A moment of silence. The blue light disappears. Tense shoulders and a shuddering breath settle onto Rose. Daniel is aware of what’s going on around him now, Rose just knows it.
A loud clang and gears grinding bring the space before them alive as a brilliant white light washes over them.
The metal door screeches to a halt, and Rose follows Jim in, warm air slamming into their skin. Inside are several beds in rows, and on the far left corner in the back are mountains of food to eat, along with three microwaves placed on a long table. Rose recognized nearly all of the Elites bustling about, and even a few she’s yet to meet. She notices a few Servants bustling about, one in particular setting her on edge. She’s an Unnamed Traitor.
Rose finds she’s stopped walking. Jim looks back at her in confusion and follows her gaze.
“Who is that girl?” Jim whispers, careful not to make eye contact with the girl twenty feet away.
“An Unnamed rebel,” Rose whispers hoarsely, gripping the lash in her hand. They used to be good friends before the new One took over. The girl threatened to behead Rose if she left, and, when their eyes lock, she can still see that murderous look there.
“Like you?”
He asks the question, but Rose knows he knows the answer. He’s a smart man. He was trained to sense everything, and, since he’s an Elite, Rose knows is intuition is impeccable and near perfect. He knew before he even asked her the question.
“Very unlike me.”
He lifts his arm and the Elites gasp.
“Stop! Stop, we’re safe here!”
“Not safe enough.”
The girl pulls out a small gun of her own, hidden in her Guard jacket. Jim doesn’t hesitate in pulling the trigger.
“Anyone else?” He asks Rose, not changing his stance.
Rose looks around. She sees a few of her friends that shared the same opinions as she did when the Unnamed was still the Unnamed. Her eyes lock on a certain set of eyes and her throats swells.
“No,” she says, and begins to drag Daniel across the room.
20: Through the Darkness
Rose lays Daniel down on one of the beds and turns to embrace her friend. She hasn’t seen him in so long. All she knew was that he was ahead in his Competition.
“It’s been so long,” Rose exhales over his shoulder. “I haven’t heard a single word about you.”
“It feels like it, don’t it?” He smiles, his tiny eyes shrinking as the happiness reaches them. “I’ve heard a lot about you, though.”
“Oh really?” Rose smiles, exhaustion finally hitting her like a brick. She was safe. For now, at least. And she felt it because Two was here.
