by Tanya Ross
42
Xander’s Surprise
In the dark of that same night, Xander was awake. He had slept fitfully, knowing the next day could make them or break them. They had no time to hide around the city. They had to act.
He was hungry—famished, really—and knew his REMs would be, too, but the siege was more important than having a meal. There was no way to get food at this point. They would have to wait until they had accomplished their goal. If we all die, food won’t matter much anyway…
He roused the rest of the team, still slumbering among the foliage. The bushes barely protected them from the nightly rain, now beginning to slow to a drizzle.
“Up, up…. up! Get up! Time to move!” Xander’s voice was thick with urgency, but quiet. He went around rousing his team, shaking each one before moving on.
Each member responded as if already prepared to run or fight. Spirits were high, as they slapped each other’s faces in fun, and dusted off their damp, filthy clothing with their hands. Bixby did a few jumping jacks before whacking a bush with a stick he’d found on the ground.
“Guys—pay attention,” Iris called out, the female pitch high enough to get everyone’s notice. “Xander’s speaking!”
The group quickly assembled around Xander in a semicircle, their eyes riveted on his face.
“This is the plan, Phoenix. We’re goin’ into the Plauditorium today. There are more Plauditors in there than people we have here, but we have weapons—our rocks, knives, the two guns, and the element of surprise. No one will be expecting an attack, least of all from us. The key’ll be using the cameras and tricking the people watching the screens. We just have to fool them.”
Gabriel chimed in. “How’s that possible, Xander? There are cameras everywhere! We’ll be captured before we take five steps from here.” His voice cracked with worry.
“Ah. You forget. In our uniforms, Jasper and I look like official Tranks. Other than missing our Alts—which is a good thing to keep us undetected—we look like we belong here. You all have your long capes. Pull ‘em around you. You’ll become fake Sciolists if you walk with authority. No one’s gonna look twice at anyone in red, especially in the dark. We act like we belong instead of hiding. If you’re desperate, flip your cloak up. Cover your heads and faces.”
“We gonna stick together?” Jasper called out.
“No. We’re separating out in teams of two. A large number’ll draw attention. Each group takes a different direction toward the Plauditorium. Avoid City Hall but take the streets. No citizens will be out. Way past curfew, and it’s dark.”
One of the women spoke up. “What’re we gonna do when we get there?”
“Before we split up, each team of two gets rope, zip ties, and tape. You get there and wait, maybe fifty feet out. You can safely maintain your position as long as you act official. Jasper and I are going to be outside. As soon as the sun comes up and the day officially starts for the Plauditors, we’ll go in. When you hear my whistle, run straight through the front door. Plauditors’ll be seated. Surround ‘em. Throw your rocks or slash when you face resistance. Use your rope, zip ties, and tape to tie ‘em up. We’ll be ready to take it from there. Any questions?”
Xander and Jasper formed a team and found positions in some thick shrubbery around the side of the Plauditorium. Kneeling on their knees, they peeped out through gaps in the leaves.
Xander handed one of the rifles over to Jasper, his expression serious. “Jasper, what kind of gun do bees use?”
Jasper reached out for the gun, a puzzled look on his face. “What? Bees! I dunno…”
“A beebee gun.” Xander grinned and cuffed Jasper on the arm.
A bird sang sweetly in the nearby trees. The sun’s rays finally emerged, lighting up Tranquility’s dome like a transparent buttery glaze. They’d no way to tell the time, but as the sun rose, noises from the streets nearby of CommuteCars and pedestrians chatting were their signals curfew had been lifted. Now, to wait until the Plauditors arrived at the Plauditorium. First a Level Seventeen guy who looked more like a kid because of his size unlocked the door to the place.
“We go in, Xan?” Jasper said.
“No. We wait till all the staff is there. We need hostages to keep Sciolists away from the Plauditorium once we’re inside.”
“Right.”
Some Plauditors arrived alone. Others in twos or threes. Xander began to count. He knew from his schooling the city employed fifty of them. He tapped his foot impatiently, partly from nervous energy, and partly because it was falling asleep. They were frozen in place, their position outside perilously discoverable. Finally, Xander pulled his arm down in a victory fist pump. “Yes! Number fifty,” he whispered. “Jasper, you ready for action?”
“Yeah. Good thing we have the guns.”
“Remember—if we have to shoot, we shoot. Otherwise, we’re just holding the Plauditors until Phoenix gets in there with us. From there, we go to the broadcast room to make the announcement.”
“Roger that.”
After a heavy fist-bump, they jumped to their feet. They rounded the corner in a flash. Bounding up the stairs, Xander said, “Stop!” in a muted voice, throwing out his arm against Jasper. He gave a loud, explosive whistle, his signal to Phoenix.
“We got this, Jasper,” Xander whispered. He clapped Jasper on the back, twisted the doorknob. He grinned, and whispered, “It’s unlocked,” and then, with a mighty kick, forced the door open. It shuddered and made a cracking sound as it hit the inside wall.
Xander’s voice rang out, confident and commanding. “Everybody here! Stay right where you are. If you move, we will shoot! Jaz, lock down the door.” A massive six-inch-wide metal bolt shot out from the wall and slid into place.
Screams and yells engulfed the space. Hands went up in the air. The faces of the Plauditors faded to colorless masks. A few Plauditors jumped up in alarm. Some shut their eyes and put their hands in the air, while others looked dazed, gazing back with electrified eyes. These people are jellyfish. Will they even fight?
No sooner had his mind captured those thoughts than a Plauditor dropped to the floor. He quickly crawled scrambling toward the door. A futile attempt. Jasper drew a rock from his satchel, hitting the escapee in the head. The Level Twelve victim fell flat in a “thump.” Blood rushed from his head. Screams scorched the air.
A compressed second later, the Phoenix crew stampeded in, bursting from the entrance like a crazed horde of Huns.
From the broadcast booth, five communication agents spilled into the room, yelling for order and quiet. They stood frozen in shock as they realized the noise was a siege.
One broadcaster scrambled back inside the booth. Xander wondered if he was protecting someone or something valuable inside other than himself. No matter. They would be in there soon enough. Exactly where they needed to be to shake up the city.
A moment later, a young woman broke out from the newscast chamber, her face flushed pink. Yells of “Stop!” from behind didn’t faze her. She fought against arms trying to pull her back, thrashing to free herself from the announcer’s booth. She ran to face the unknown crisis instead of remaining safely tucked inside. At the commotion, Xander immediately swiveled around. He aimed his rifle, ready to shoot.
As he zeroed in, Xander’s eyes popped open in surprise. The girl was dazzling, but her face was…familiar. Her cloak alone shone with richness he’d never seen before, and her garments glittered. Her showy clothes…ridiculous! Like hoping to improve an Angel of Light’s brilliance. Then it dawned on him. This was Ember—the girl he had bullied so badly as a boy! He’d never forgotten the incident or Win’s lesson. What was she doing here?
“Ember…?” He hadn’t seen Ember for years, and now…. she was every guy’s fantasy. He felt his blood surge; fire spread through him. His face flushed and sparkled with a moist sheen. What’s happening to me?
He was flustered, but still in charge. Phoenix needed his orders and encouragement. “Great work, everyone
! Put ‘em all against the wall and tie ‘em together with rope.”
A Plauditor who stood warily in the middle of the room abruptly turned toward Xander, charging him like a bull on speed. The rifle discharged, the burst deafening—and lethal. The Plauditor fell to the floor. Blood gushed from the wound on his chest. A crimson puddle on the floor grew around him.
Ember looked at Xander with dawning recognition, her eyes orbs of horror. “Oh my god! You shot Will!”
43
Ember’s Power
Ember gasped. She ran across the room and dropped to the travertine tile, smearing the blood pooling on the floor and gathering Will’s face in her hands. No, no, NO! It couldn’t be! Will wasn’t moving. Or breathing. Her stomach churned, bile rising up her throat. She put her hand over her mouth to stop herself from heaving. Her body shook in uncontrollable tremors. Then she felt a physical pain in her chest so severe she cried out. Was it possible she was feeling Will’s bullet wound? It was the first time she had ever sensed someone’s physical suffering. It was unbearable, overpowering. Worse, she felt no emotion coming from Will at all. She, too, felt lifeless. Her blood seemed to quit circulating, and her eyes blurred enough to distort the images around her. Is my very soul being sucked out?
Will was dead. She knew it. She staggered to her feet and scanned the room. The Plauditors were under attack, and it looked as if this crazy Xander was the instigator. The Plauditors exuded terror; she watched their auras twist and turn like tornados, their rainbow colors fading and flaring. Her heart wailed with sadness, totally broken.
And yet…other than Will, weren’t these officers involved in a system of control and death? Her head was filled with unchecked, divergent thoughts. Escape, for one. Escape from the Magistrate while she had the chance. He was evil. Wanted to use her. He probably had her mother killed. In the broadcasting room, he was merely feet away from her. He’d take her again. Yet, she couldn’t leave Will lying there.
She squeezed her eyes shut. The fear, the anger, the mistrust, and the desire to subdue—all the emotions in the room—took on a life of their own. The powder keg built inside her. A time bomb, these emotions she was too weak to control. This time, she wouldn’t resist its invasion. She embraced the all the feelings. Took them in like the air she breathed. She wrapped her arms around herself. “Enough!” she screamed.
Without warning, a power she had never known surged through her. Raw. Explosive. She threw her hands up. A burst of energy coursed through her arms and electrified the air. Continuous quakes rippled throughout her head, chest, and torso. Then everything around her froze in a still-life tableau. People became statues. Nothing moved. No sound. No…anything. It was like all the energy had been sucked out of the room. Ember moved her head in slow motion, looking around the room in bewilderment. Xander still stood with his rifle pointed, his face angry and fearful. Plauditors stood up by their stations with hands up. Many around the room had their hands over their faces. Mouths were agape, the look of horror etched there. Wide eyes. Theirs. Hers. Trembling, her knees threatened to buckle. She took in the red-clad REMs. They were crouched, or in the middle of throwing rocks. Some simply gawked at Xander, and others were caught immobilized in a run toward Plauditors sitting at their stations.
Shazz! She put her hand to her head to steady herself and gasped. She had done this. Pulled all the emotions from the room together inside herself. On purpose. Something she’d never done before. And this…this thing…happened. But what genuinely startled her was seeing the vast rainbow of colors. The auras of every person in the room still pulsed with life, yet their bodies were totally immobile. She could feel every emotion in the room. But, were they breathing? Did they have heartbeats? She didn’t know. All she could think about now was Will.
She drew a deep breath and raced over to him. No aura. Completely lifeless. No breath. Sobbing, she threw herself on him and gazed at his face—the face that allowed her to get through everything—the face she loved more than life. “Will! I can’t lose you! What will become of me?” she cried. She put her arms around him and hugged him with all her might.
A fresh bloom of warmth, like liquid honey, flowed through her veins. Suddenly, she felt movement. To her amazement, she saw Will’s eyelids flutter. He’s alive!
“Will…you’re back! Oh, my god!” She sighed and hugged Will even harder.
“Ember…What happened? Did someone knock me down?”
She put a hand to her face, wiping away tears. “Yes—yes! You got knocked down. But you can get up. I’m right here. You’re safe for now.” Will was alive, but there had been blood—lots of it. She felt around his chest. Nothing. And no blood on the floor either. It was like she had somehow taken a slice out of time. She shook her head as if to bring herself back to reality and wondered if this was all a dream.
And was it? The images of her dreams juxtaposed themselves on her mind. The Prince—the blood. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the wisps of nightmare. Yet, she knew the truth. She had found the Prince and destroyed the blood.
Will struggled to sit up. The scrape of chairs. A unified breath in the room. Movement. Voices. The scene slipped back prior to the shotgun’s blast. She felt everyone’s confusion, distress, and aggression return to them as they suddenly became responsive again.
Ember whispered quickly, “Take it easy, Will. Go slow. Remember, there’s a takeover going on here.”
“Shazz! Yes—invasion! Got to help.”
“Be careful getting up.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And when you get up, make sure you talk to Xander immediately—he’s the one in charge.”
“Okay.” Will stood up, unsteady. He reminded Ember of a newborn calf trying out his legs for the first time.
Relief and thankfulness swept over her. She couldn’t believe what had happened. All she could figure out was that she had gathered all the emotions in the room, and they gave her the ability to do something impossible.
I guess I AM a secret weapon, after all. I have power! Real power. I’m confused but feel reborn. I don’t understand how all this works, but I’m not going to hide from it anymore.
“Ember.” Her name came out of Will’s mouth in a shaky sigh. “So glad to see you. I’m sorry—"
“I know. It’s—it’s okay. We’re going to survive this—all of it.”
Xander’s voice rang out. “Great work, everyone! Put ‘em all against the wall and tie ‘em together with rope.” Members of Phoenix scattered through the room grabbed Plauditors, one by one, pulling them out of their chairs. The soft hiss of zip ties lassoing hands and feet was a welcome sound.
Xander raised his rifle and aimed it at Will, his finger touching the trigger. Xander hesitated, puzzled, as he wondered what he was doing, especially when Ember stepped out in front of Will.
“Listen, Xander, please,” she urged. “Will here,” she gestured in his direction, “can maybe help you.” She put her hands up in the air and stepped slowly away.
Xander said, “Help me? I doubt it. Tranquility sucks. It’s goin’ down. I’ll burn it to the ground if I have to.”
Ember said, “Don’t…burn it to the ground. But Will and I aren’t happy here either. We’re trying to expose… awful things. Maybe we’re on the same side.”
“Okay. Talk,” he said to Will. “I’m only listening to you because of her.” The rifle quavered a little bit in his hands, but he kept it directed at Will.
Will put his hands up. “Look…don’t shoot, okay? Please. My name’s Will. I just want to know who you are and what all this is about.” His voice was calm, warm.
Xander’s gaze swept over Will from head to toe. Then, he slowly lowered the gun. “Yeah? You’re Will? Special. More special is you’ve met me. There’s a reason I’ve brought my crew in here. We have rights. No one tells us how we have to live.”
Will returned his arms to his sides. “Okay, okay. Just settle down. Don’t hurt anybody. What’s the reason you’re here?”
Xander t
urned to address the people in the room. “Everybody here!” he shouted. “We’re REMs—but we now call ourselves Phoenix. We know things—things everyone in this city should know. We’re gonna broadcast that stuff, and then we’re gonna add to our team. This city is no longer going to repress how you feel! Or throw us away like trash. And they’re no longer gonna terminate people who’ve done nothing wrong!”
“Terminate? You know people are being killed?” Will’s eyes filled with wonder.
Across the room where he was being tied up against the wall, Austel screamed out, “You’re all crazy! Hate and lies! You’re traitors!”
One of the REM girls, Iris, plastered a long strip of silvery tape across Austel’s mouth. He continued to thrash until Jasper aimed his rifle at him. Ember felt Austel’s resentment hit her head-on. He was loyal to the hilt.
Xander walked with deliberate steps over to Will. He stopped an inch from his face. “Tell me what you know,” he demanded. His face was alight, as if he had discovered gold at the end of the rainbow.
Journal Entry #55101
Trying to write in my journal today but find it has disappeared! Always on my desk, it’s no more than a ghost. I have torn the library apart. I questioned the servants throughout the morning. They all say they know nothing. But someone has been here. Someone has stolen my very thoughts. And someone is lying.
I heard a disturbance last night and checked it out. Nothing seemed amiss as I walked through. I shone a light directly onto my desktop, and my diary was there. This loss is beyond disturbing. Especially when our fair city is threatened. Threatened by chaos.
