Steel Lily (The Periodic Series)

by Megan Curd

  “Go!” I whispered as I shoved her into the tiny space. I began to push the shelf back in place.

  Her eyes grew wide. “What are you doing? You can fit. We’ll squeeze–”

  “No, we won’t,” I argued, the bookshelf grinding against the wooden floor, “I’m not the one that’ll get arrested and end up God knows where. Stay quiet, and don’t come out until it’s been silent for at least an hour. You know the Polatzi linger.”

  Before she could argue, a yell sounded from below, followed by gunshots.

  “What the hell?” Alice whispered through the remaining crack, her shadowy figure leaning toward me.

  The muscles in my legs burned as I crawled toward the kitchen. “I don’t know. Let me go listen.”

  “No! It might be a trick.”

  “Do you think they’d waste stunning bullets to trick us?”

  The scuffling downstairs grew louder. The clatter of boxes and junk being tossed around echoed up the stairs, and I pressed my ear against the cool metal lining of the door to try to get a better listen.

  “What were you doing down here, squatter?”

  A squatter? Downstairs? Alice and I are the only ones here. Who had the misfortune to hide down there tonight?

  Then his voice floated up the stairs. It was Legs.

  “I was running late getting home,” he said in a muffled tone. “I saw you good soldiers coming down the road and panicked. Slipped in here. Didn’t think you’d take well to me being on the street.”

  “And you thought we wouldn’t find you? It looks like you’ve been here quite a while, what with all the shit you’ve got down here. Do you have buddies upstairs?”

  “No, sir, just me. No friends.”

  His cold laugh echoed. “Of course not. Who’d want to be friends with a scab like you?”

  What sounded like a punch and Legs groaning floated up the stairs. I cringed. A warm hand rested on my shoulder, and I jumped.

  “Shhh!” Alice covered my mouth. She nodded toward the door and mouthed, “Who’s down there?”

  “Legs.”

  Her mouth opened in horror, and it was my turn to silence her. We both pressed our ears to the door, glued to the spot in horror.

  My stomach lurched as Legs cried out in pain from another blow. “I’ve seen you in the market before, selling junk nobody wants, so where’s your stash? Are you going to give us anything of use?”

  Another punch. Legs coughed and gasped for breath.

  Alice covered her ears.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to block out the world, but I was only taken back to the day Alice and I came home from the market to find my home in disarray. Back to my desperate attempts to get in the house. The Polatzi stopping me. Legs watching it all from across the street as his parents pulled him into the house and shut the door.

  We had been the first wave of people from outside of Detroit to make it to the dome, and our homes were all situated together. Who could have imagined we would be forced to live on our own, to grow up so quickly in such a grotesque way? Our lives had forever been changed by the war–all three of us, forced to survive without family and me, forced to give of myself until the government was satisfied.

  Damn radiation.

  If only my parents and I hadn’t gone on that vacation to Indianapolis. If only the bomb hadn’t hit a mile away. If only we could have gotten away quicker. If only we hadn’t been exposed.

  Alice gripped my shoulders and shook me. “Avery, don’t you dare cry; they’ll hear you.”

  Steps sounded up the stairs once more, and the voice of the Polatzi came closer. “Legs, is it? You’ll sit there if you know what’s good for you while I go check to see what you’ve got upstairs. Jennings, watch him. We haven’t hit this house before; there might be something good. Effing governor doesn’t pay us well enough to deal with Traditionals.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  We scuttled away from the door as fast as we could, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. The door shuddered under the weight of the Polatzi on the other side trying to break it down.

  We should have squeezed into that nook when Legs gave us extra time, but why had he come? He was safe over in the other house. What was he playing at?

  “Hey, stop that! Stop, I tell you! No! Officer Patton, sir! We’ve got a runner!”

  The tumble of junk and a loud oomph filled the air. Expletives followed.

  “This little twat bit me!” yelled Jennings.

  I sucked in the manic laughter that filled me. That’ll show you, dirty Polatzi. Legs won’t go down without a fight.

  Alice shook me, her voice quiet but panicked. “Avery, run! This is your chance to get out. Legs is gonna keep them busy. I’ll hide. It’ll be fine.”

  Her urgency brought back my guilt. Pain and remorse filled my chest, and I felt tears welling in my eyes. “I didn’t mean for this happen. I came right here after the market. It was still light; I thought there was time. I wanted to see you on your birthday—”

  “I know. Just go. Get out of the housing district and—”

  The droning roar of a hovercraft shook the house. We crept to the kitchen window and peeked through the wooden boards. Lights from the hovercraft flooded the alley with a merciless blaze. A dozen black jackets gleamed in the limited light. Each one was tailored, marking the rank of the person with a special engraved cog. The molded leather and steel masks were curved in the center, like the beak of some perverse bird of prey. A visceral shudder rippled through me.

  “No! No! You can’t do this!” Legs’s voice rose above the din to ricochet off the old houses. His feet dug into the mud as he searched for traction, twisting his body away from the Polatzi soldier dragging him toward the hovercraft. “All my goods are government approved! I live in government-provided housing! I’ve done nothing wrong!”

  The leader turned on Legs, punching him squarely in the stomach and dropping him to the ground. The man jeered as Legs gasped for air like a fish out of water.

  “That’s for biting me, punk. That’s assault of a Polatzi. Easy one year of military service. Welcome to the ranks, soldier.”

  My hate for this life—the way the Polatzi took what they wanted for no reason–stirred within me, begging for me to act. I couldn’t let this happen, not to Legs. He couldn’t become one of them.

  Before I could think, I was out of the kitchen and running to the front door. Alice was fast on my heels. “Avery, stop. You can’t help him.”

  “I’ve got to try!”

  “Do you want us all arrested?”

  Ignoring her, my fingers scrabbled at the locks until I felt Alice’s fingernails bite into my shoulders.

  “Seriously, Avery. What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to save him!”

  “You and what army? Come on, you’re no good to him right now.” She was stronger than I gave her credit for. She wrenched me away from the door, wrapped her arms around me, and pulled me to the ground. My face connected with the cold floor, sending a shiver of pain down my left jawline. “I know you want to help him,” she whispered, “but running out there like a wild woman won’t do anyone any good. Think of the dome. If you get thrown in jail, where will our power come from?”

  “There are other Elementalists.” My voice sounded wooden, defeated.

  “None as good as you, and you know it. Stop it right now. Legs is gone.”

  I relaxed, and Alice released her grip. We sneaked to the window and watched in horror as the Polatzi cuffed Legs, bound his ankles, and threw a black hood over his head. They shoved him into the hovercraft and followed behind. Without so much as a second glance, they disappeared into the night, leaving behind a sinister silence.

  “They’re going to start looking for me, you know,” I said tonelessly.

  She sucked in a shocked breath. “Why do you say that?”

  My mouth felt full of cotton, and it hurt when I tried to swallow back my fear. “I’m the best element manipulator, and I
haven’t checked in tonight. They’re probably already searching Wutherford for me. I skipped Histories of America to come over.”

  “It’s not the first time you haven’t been home on time. We can come up with an excuse. We always do. Maybe you shouldn’t stand out quite so much.” She squeezed my hand. “I know it goes against your personality to fly below the radar, but…”

  “But we’re the closest thing to family we have. I can’t draw more attention to us.”

  “Exactly. I can’t imagine losing you, Avery. You’re like a sister to me. Get out of here. Stay to the edge of the dome. The Polatzi have their toy for the night,” she added bitterly. “Stupid Legs. What’s going to happen to his sister?”

  I shook my head as I thought of his little sister. Now she was as alone as we were, and it was our fault.

  Alice grabbed my bag from beside the couch and tossed it to me without a word. We didn’t need to say anything. There wasn’t anything to say. We’d just cost Legs a year of military service if he was lucky. If he wasn’t…well, I shuddered to think of what they would do to him.

  I opened the door to the basement cautiously. The stairs were a mess. “I’ll get those fixed this weekend when classes are out.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Just go.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  Her sigh was one of defeat. She had tried to stay upbeat, more for my cause than her own I sometimes suspected, but I could tell this place was sucking the joy out of her. It stole everyone’s joy. I looked back in time to catch her pull a smile together, but I knew it was a façade. No one wanted to live like this.

  “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said. “Do you want me to meet you at Wutherford? I could come up with an excuse.”

  “No, don’t risk it after tonight. I’ll come here.”

  She smiled. “Because that’s so much safer.”

  “They need me for steam, remember?”

  “God bless radiation exposure making you go all night-light and whatnot.”

  I pushed her shoulder and hopped over the missing stair. “Yeah, well, this night light needs to get back to Wutherford. Lay low tomorrow, promise?”

  “Promise.”

  She shut the door and left me in near darkness. I fished my oxygen mask back out and stood there till my eyes adjusted to the contraption’s automatic night vision. The muffled click of Alice locking the door reached me, and I headed out.

  Keeping to the edge of the dome, I gazed through the rippled glass to the abandoned world beyond. Buildings and cars were swathed in an eerie green glow by the goggles. Suitcases littered the ground, as if their owners would be right back for them. A tattered teddy bear missing one eye lay face up, staring into the nothingness.

  And yet, it felt as though the bear was staring at me, accusing me, expecting me to fix the mess humanity was in, one steam donation at a time.

  I wondered if others had been out there trying to get in when the Polatzi sealed the gateway. I wondered if they’d begged to get in here, begged for their lives. And here I was, practically begging to get out.

  Funny how the grass was always greener on the other side, even when I knew the other side was dead and desolate.

  SLEEP HADN’T COME easily last night, and even now I knew I should sleep, but my mind wouldn’t shut off. The image of Legs kicking and screaming as the Polatzi pulled him away still looped through my mind. A fresh wave of guilt washed over me, and I vowed to somehow repay him.

  To my left, cogs whirred to life and pulled back the curtain of my ceiling-to-floor window. Out the oversized window I could look down on the rest of Dome Four. It made me sick. I hated heights, and watching everyone else struggle below was only something a sadist might enjoy.

  My room wasn’t anything spectacular. An old cedar chest of drawers sat against the wall across from my bed. On top was a steam-powered clock that I kept running on my own. I wouldn’t use any of the dome’s steam. Others needed it for more pressing matters.

  I peeled myself out of the cotton sheets and went to shower. The intercom spluttered, informing me of the date, time, and temperature. I had twenty minutes before the airbus left for the other side of the dome, where my Elemental Concepts course was held.

  There was no time to dry my hair, so I grabbed the first beanie off the pile of Alice’s creations and put it on. It matched the old green military jacket I’d found in an old surplus shop. With my bag and mask in hand, I headed to the door. When I opened it, someone was standing there, waiting on me.

  The Polatzi woman’s broad body blocked the view of my intended hallway. Her hands were on her hips, and her piercing gaze felt as if it might actually impale me.

  Do they teach that death stare to every Polatzi, or is this woman particularly nasty?

  “Avery Pike?”

  I jutted my chin in the air. “Who’s asking?”

  “You were off the grid last night.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  The woman smiled. “No? I don’t see your name on the sign-in sheet from last night. Plus your friend, what’s his name?” She stroked her chin in mock thought. “Legs, is it? Yes. That’s his name. He seemed to think you and a Traditional were running around near where we found him. Interesting, since you have a curfew you’re to uphold here, and squatters in condemned houses are being prosecuted.”

  I arched my eyebrows, hoping I appeared innocent. Polatzi had never come to my room before. “I must have forgotten to check in last night. It won’t happen again.”

  She leaned toward me, her expression that of a wolf who smelled fear on its prey. Up close, her nose resembled the hooked beak of her military-issued oxygen mask that hung on her utility belt. “We wouldn’t want anyone else going missing, would we? You of all people should understand the need to keep everyone accounted for.”

  I tried to formulate a response to her allusion to my parents. Unable to do so, I flushed.

  She smiled hatefully. “That’s what I thought. Don’t let your friend be right about you and another person being in that house. We’re watching. Maybe we can look into your parents’ disappearance again if you cooperate with us.”

  Her comment spurred me on. “If you know anything about my parents, I’m sure the rest of your Polatzi friends would be interested. It’s the only cold case you’ve had in the dome.”

  It was her turn to be speechless.

  “That’s what I thought,” I spat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go to class—learn to keep your oxygen levels tolerable, keep your house lit. You know, those kinds of things.”

  I pushed past her before she could say more and felt the smooth fabric of her cape slap my legs as I passed. Fiery anger consumed me, but I kept my expression neutral. Damn Polatzi. They gave me nothing but unanswered questions and a lice-ridden bed at an overcapacity orphanage, yet expected me to revere them. Providing steam—being an asset they couldn’t get rid of—gave me immunity to the Polatzi as long as I didn’t do anything stupid.

  Like skipping class and going to see Alice during a night of sweeps.

  Yeah, that would fall under the category of life-threateningly stupid, which was a couple notches above incredibly stupid.

  “You skipped Histories of America yesterday.”

  I kept walking. “I missed the airbus.”

  “No, you didn’t, and if you keep walking away from me, I will hunt down your little friend and make sure you never see her again. Do you understand me?”

  Her words paralyzed me. “What do you want?”

  “Steam shortage. Your dome needs you.” Her boots clicked against the floor as she neared me. “You wouldn’t want to lose your home at the top of Wutherford now, would you?”

  I turned to face her. “It’s not my day to provide steam.”

  “Not officially, no.” A cruel smile formed on her lips. “But I need a little extra steam, you know, for personal use.”

  She shoved a hand into her black cape and pulled out a small
cistern. I heard the bottom slosh with water, and I knew what would happen.

  “Fill this.”

  I opened my mouth to protest, but a male Polatzi came out of the stairwell and stood by the woman. “Is there a problem?”

  “No, not at all,” I said tersely as I took the cistern from the woman. I opened the top and focused on the water.

  I felt the canister warm under my touch as electricity surged through my veins. My ability to manipulate water—to create steam—manifested after I was exposed to the radiation. Too bad I hadn’t received an amazing ability like super strength or x-ray vision. Instead, I hit the jackpot and could heat things up. Go me.

  Steam filled the cistern, then billowed out and over the top. The woman quickly screwed the top back on and took the cistern from my hands as I swayed on the spot.

  The man laughed with amusement. “So she’s the little superstar the governor was telling us about, eh?” He pulled a larger cistern of his own out of his cape and handed it to me. “Since you don’t have anywhere to be, how about you fill mine as well?”

  My vision was already swimming before me from my previous donation. Using my ability wore me out for only a short time, but the more steam I created, the worse the dizziness was afterward. “Please, no…”

  “I heard she has a friend living illegally,” the woman said to the man.

  “Oh really?”

  I took the canister from his hands, and he smiled. “I guess she doesn’t.”

  “Guess not.”

  Once again, I focused on the miniscule amount of water at the bottom of the aluminum canister and felt the surge of energy leave my body. Steam appeared almost instantly. My knees buckled, and I felt the hallway close in on me.

  The woman’s voice echoed in my ears as though I were under water. “Watch out, she’s going down!”

  “Well damn, grab my cistern before she drops it!”

  I felt the cylinder tugged out of my hands before I collapsed to the ground. The hallway swam before me in hues of grey and black. The Polatzis’ voices grew dim.