From the Dust: A Dystopian Novel (Ember Society Book 1)

by AR Colbert

  Cato occupied himself with his towel, refusing to make eye contact with me. Sometimes he reminded me of a stubborn toddler when he didn’t get his way. That was exactly why I needed to stay close to him. Whatever he was pouting about was enough to make him forget that his only sister was almost killed earlier. What else would he forget without me around to help him?

  “Everyone was terrified when he pulled out that knife.” I decided not to mention the part about me trying to stop him. “But thankfully no one got hurt.”

  “No one got hurt?” Cato asked, incredulously. “They killed him!”

  He stood, pacing back and forth in the small space between the kitchen and the table separating it from the living room.

  “I meant none of the students got hurt,” I said. “But the guy had a knife. What were they supposed to do?”

  “Um, how about anything other than kill him? You said yourself he wasn’t hurting anyone.”

  “Well he didn’t hurt anyone yet. But when a crazy Outsider comes in waving a knife around, what are we supposed to expect? That he’s trying to make friends?”

  “What makes you think he was crazy? Dad’s an Outsider now, too. Does that make him crazy?”

  “If Dad came into a gym full of high schoolers waving a knife around, then yeah. I’d say he was crazy, too.”

  Cato threw his towel across the room, groaning loudly. I returned to my spot at the counter to chop the parsley. This conversation obviously wasn’t getting me anywhere, and I was starving. Other than a couple of veggies I snuck while prepping the soup, I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The interrogation took up most of my afternoon.

  Besides, I didn’t need Cato constantly reminding me of our father. Dad broke the rules. That was his choice. He knew he was all we had after Mom died, and he still tried to climb that wall, knowing he’d be exiled for his actions. There was no logical explanation for what he did.

  “Ouch!”

  I grabbed my left hand, watching the red ooze out of my thumb and spill down into my palm. The knife hit the floor, and Cato was at my side in half a second.

  “Claren, are you alright?”

  “I’m fine. The knife just slipped while I was chopping.”

  “That’s a lot of blood.”

  He helped me rinse my hand and fetched a clean bandage to wrap it in. The cut was deep, but it wouldn’t require stitches.

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “Of course,” Cato grinned. “I couldn’t let you get your blood all over our dinner.”

  I playfully punched him in the shoulder with my good hand. “Go grab us some bowls.”

  Cato had his flaws, but he was still family, and family sticks together. Which is exactly why I couldn’t accept the Peacemaker training. I needed my brother just as much as he needed me.

  __________

  My feet dangled from the brick wall that lined the staircase leading into the school gym. I watched them swing back and forth, ignoring the tingling in my toes caused by leaving them hanging for so long. It was better than watching the expressions of my classmates as they exited the aptitude test.

  They passed me by, wide-eyed and whispering to one another. “There she is.” “Why is she here?” Some stared with open mouths, while others smiled and even clapped me on the back as they walked past. “Great work, Claren!” “Thanks for saving us yesterday!”

  I didn’t deserve any accolades, and I tried my best to look inconspicuous, but it was no use. One by one they congratulated me on saving everyone from the Outsider. At first I laughed, thinking they must be kidding. I didn’t do anything to protect anyone. One look at that man would have told anyone that he wasn’t really planning on causing any harm. And even if he did intend to hurt someone, my yelling did nothing to stop him. But the congratulations continued.

  I thought about hopping down and hiding around the corner, but I didn’t want to risk missing Sela. I hadn’t seen her since the day before, and I couldn’t wait to fill her in on everything. Finally she stepped through the double doors, her forehead wrinkled in concern.

  “Hey now, no need to frown. I’m sure you did great.”

  “Claren!” Sela dropped her bag and threw her arms around my neck. She never was one to hold her emotions back. “I’m so happy to see you!”

  My cheeks flushed. I was equal parts happy to see my friend and mortified by the extra attention she was drawing toward me. I grabbed her bag the moment she released me and started walking. We couldn’t get away from that place fast enough.

  “Okay, tell me everything. Wanda said she saw you in the back of a car. Is it true? I can’t believe you got to ride in a car! I’m so jealous!”

  I laughed. “Yeah, it’s true. But don’t be jealous. Cars are pretty small and not that great. I’d rather ride the bus.”

  “Where did they take you?” Sela’s face grew more serious. “You got escorted out of the test and then I didn’t hear from you. What happened?”

  I sighed. “We went down to the security office. They just wanted to ask a few questions about the Outsider.”

  “It was pretty weird.” Sela kicked a rock out of our path and slung her bag back over her right shoulder. “How did you know he was going to attack?”

  I deliberated before answering. My plan this morning was to catch Sela after the test and tell her everything. Well almost everything. Emmaline asked me to keep the Empath bit a secret, and I didn’t want to go back on my word, even though I’d decided to go a different direction with my career. I’d have to keep my answers vague.

  “I didn’t know. I was stretching between sections of the exam and saw him reach for a knife in his bag. I stood up when he did, but I don’t think I could have actually stopped him from doing anything.”

  Sela watched me as we walked, the light dancing in her eyes, and I knew she was hungry for more details. She lived on excitement like this. But thankfully, she didn’t press me for any more information.

  “Well you sure looked like a hero from where I sat. I was so proud of you in there.”

  “Thanks,” I said sheepishly. “I just wish it could have ended a little better. But tell me about today. How did your exam go? I assume there weren’t any more surprises this morning.”

  “It was fine.” Sela waved my question away with her hand, obviously not ready to change the conversation back to herself. “I was surprised that you weren’t in there though. I got to the steps early today and everything. Where were you?”

  Shoot. I needed to find a way to answer without giving her the details of my meeting.

  “After yesterday’s test, Emmaline thought I should stay home today. She thought I could use some time to recover from everything.” It was half true, but the words felt dirty coming out of my mouth. I hated lying to my friend.

  “Who’s Emmaline?”

  “She’s the Director of Career Development who spoke to us before the exam yesterday.”

  “Oh yeah, the blond lady right? She wasn’t in there today. It was some man instead. How cool that you got to sit and talk to a Leader though! Was she as regal and beautiful up close as they are on television?”

  Sela always loved television. Evening programming was usually just news, but during the summers we could watch during the afternoon, and we would spend hours mindlessly watching the footage they played from Leaders in other cities. Most of our borough had never left Classen City, so it was always a treat to see what other cities were like.

  There was no television after the Great War— a fact my grandfather reminded me of often when he was still with us. When his parents were children there were hundreds of different programs to watch. He said there was more to watch than any one person could consume in his lifetime. But I was grateful for the public programming our government provided us now. We were always up to date with the latest news, and we had plenty of programs featuring the other cities and parts of our country I may never get to see.

  And it was true that Emmaline looked just like one of those beautiful faces
that graced our television screens.

  “She was lovely,” I answered Sela. “And very kind.” That seemed like enough detail. I wanted to confide in my friend but decided it wouldn’t make much difference in the end. I wasn’t going to specialize as a Peacemaker, so there was no need to get her excited about talking to Leaders and living in group houses near the center of the city. And I couldn't say anything about being selected as an Empath, anyway. Sela was a dreamer, and her dreams would be better suited for other people and realistic careers. I didn’t need her to get carried away on a fantasy life that would never happen for me.

  I grilled her about her test instead and let Sela gush over her own possibilities the rest of the way to her house. It felt good to taste a moment of normalcy after the whirlwind of the last twenty-four hours.

  CHAPTER 6

  I woke with a start, sweaty and tangled in my sheets. It was a dream I’d had before. It always started with my family of four playing a game of cards around the table. We’d all laugh as Mom would splay her perfect hand in front of Cato, gloating not because she won, but because my brother was so competitive. But as she stood to revel in her glory, something, or someone, would always take her down. In tonight’s dream it was a single bullet like the one Emmaline fired on test day. Mom’s body hit the floor with a...

  THUD.

  The sound came from outside. I rushed to the window just in time to see Cato closing up behind him. He must’ve hit the ground a little too hard when he jumped out of his bedroom window. Beside him on the ground lay a black trash bag.

  I’d almost forgotten about that bag with everything else that had happened over the last couple of days. I quickly threw on some jeans and a sweatshirt, slipped on my boots without stopping to find socks, and pulled open my window. Cato was already gone. I threw a leg over the window sill and carefully dropped down to the patio below, then rushed over to the boxwood bush where I’d seen him land the night he brought the bag home.

  An old tree stump was hidden behind the bush. I stepped up and peeked over the tall wooden fence to find Cato walking quickly but silently toward the business district. The bag was tucked under his arm, and it wouldn’t have looked suspicious at all if I didn’t already know what it was. Using the stump, I pushed myself up and over the fence, wincing as the wooden post pushed against the bandaged cut on my thumb.

  “Oof.” My landing could have been a little more graceful, but at least I wasn’t hurt, and I didn’t think I was loud enough to have been heard.

  It wasn’t technically a crime to be out after dark. It just wasn’t very wise— especially in the back alleys behind the living quarters. I rushed along the back fences as quickly as I could and only stopped to pause once I’d reached the main street. Most of the lights were dark in the homes around me, but there was a street light about a block ahead on the left. Cato was just beyond it, still moving straight ahead.

  I scurried to catch up, staying on the right side of the street close to trees and shrubs that lined the road. As I ran past the street light I saw Cato take a turn off of the main roadway up ahead. My adrenaline picked up as I unsuccessfully tried to think of anything familiar in that direction. Where was he going?

  I saw them just after I turned the corner. Fear gripped my body and I stood frozen to the sidewalk. Two shadowy figures stepped out from between an abandoned storefront and a line of old houses that backed up to the same forest that ran past the sanitation headquarters. I knew they were Outsiders from the way they walked before they even stepped into the light. The shorter man had a slight limp, but the taller man was menacing as he stalked over toward my brother.

  Cato was on the stoop of a boarded-up old church building. I searched for somewhere he could run, somewhere safe. But I wasn’t able to see much from my spot on the corner. If I went any further they’d spot me in the light on the road up ahead. But I was quick. If I could just get their attention away from my brother...

  He turned around before I could act. I inched back behind a tree near the road and watched with my mouth open as Cato reached out and pulled the shorter man into a brief hug. He turned and did the same to the taller man. They spoke in whispers for just a moment as Cato held out the bag before opening the front door of the church and ducking inside under a wide board.

  The night was quiet and still again, with no one else in sight. Cato didn’t seem worried, but there was no way I was going to leave my brother here with those men. I knew what the Outsiders were capable of. But I’d have to find a different way inside so they wouldn’t know I was there.

  I dashed over to the church building and made my way around its perimeter. I’d never been up close to a church before. After the Great War, officials decided we would all have more peace if everyone kept their spiritual beliefs private. When public displays of worship or prayer became illegal, churches, temples, and mosques were shut down and boarded up across the country. Some had been repurposed for public use, while others, like this one, sat abandoned for decades. I imagined if it had been located closer to the Center they may have cleaned it up and made it useful again.

  My boot crunched on a pile of broken green and blue glass behind the building. I paused, making sure no one was around who might have heard. Up above was an elaborate window about six feet above the ground. I could make out what used to be a picture of a dove radiating rays of golden light over trees and water below.

  Several of the stained glass panels were broken or missing, and beneath it was a hole where a second, smaller window had been entirely removed. A board that used to cover the hole was hanging loosely by one nail. I could probably squeeze through the opening if I went head first and pulled my body through on my stomach, but first I’d have to see what was on the other side.

  Nothing was behind the church except a pile of dried leaves, so I walked back around to where the old houses sat. An empty metal trash can lay on its side next to a run-down looking shack that I supposed was probably also empty. It was lightweight enough that I could carry it back to the window without dragging it on the ground. Turning it upside down, I climbed on top and peeked through the hole beneath the stained glass.

  The window opening was at the end of a dusty auditorium. A few pews remained scattered along the edges, but the room was mostly empty and very dark along the interior walls. In the middle sat a circle of five men and two women gathered around a lantern. Dim light danced across their faces, but they looked to be at ease. Cato sat with his back to me, and I spotted the trash bag sitting neatly in his lap.

  I watched in silence for just a moment before pushing myself up and through the window. A giant table overflowing with ripped hymnals sat about two or three feet in front of the window, next to an old podium. Getting inside was tricky, but I reached out with my arms while my legs still dangled outside the window and somehow got myself into a bridge position, with the front half of my body gripping the large table and my feet perched on the window sill. The books were stacked high enough to block my view from the group in the auditorium.

  Slowly I let down one leg, then the other and slid behind the podium to ensure I was completely out of sight.

  Once inside I could hear the group more clearly. A small sigh of relief escaped my lips. They didn’t see me come in. I carefully peered around the edge of the podium to see what I was up against.

  “See anyone yet?”

  The woman who spoke was looking toward the front door. I couldn’t see him from the window, but the tall man who walked up on Cato outside was now standing guard inside the church.

  So that made six men and two women. The group’s ages seemed to skew on the younger side. Cato was nineteen, and the two boys to his left looked to be about the same. But on his right sat an older man. I’d say he was close to sixty if I had to guess, but he was definitely the most physically fit old man I’d ever seen. I wasn’t counting his age against him. He would still be a challenge to contend with if I needed to get Cato out of there. The women were slightly older than Cato, a
s were the last two men— the ones I saw outside earlier.

  I didn’t want to get on the wrong side of a group like this.

  “No one yet,” the man at the door called back. The door was slightly cracked and he was watching from the narrow opening.

  “I told you no one would come,” said a short man who looked to be in his thirties. I recognized him as the man with the limp.

  “It was a death wish from the start. We were fools to think it could work. What a waste.” He scowled, and a young woman beside him placed her hand on his knee.

  “It was not a waste,” she said. “Sam planted the seed, and seeds take time to grow. We won’t let his sacrifice be a waste.”

  The circle was silent for a beat before Cato spoke up. He sounded excited, and though I couldn’t see his face from my angle, I could hear his goofy grin in his voice. I almost smiled right along with him, but then I remembered we were still in an abandoned old church surrounded by Outsiders. I craned my neck a little further past the edge of the podium to try and catch a glimpse of him speaking.

  “Well I’ve got something for you all to see, even if it is just the eight of us. Get over here, Dave. You’re gonna want to check this out!”

  The tall man at the door, Dave, left his post and sat next to one of the teenage boys opposite Cato. Dave was clearly an Outsider. The bare skin of his knees poked through the tattered holes in his jeans as he lowered himself to the floor. The boy beside him looked a little more put together, though. There was something familiar about him.

  “Whatcha got?” Dave asked.

  My heart picked up speed as Cato lifted the black trash bag from his lap. This secret was too dangerous for me, the person he supposedly trusted most in the world, but he was fine showing it to this ragged bunch? It was insulting. And yet, I couldn’t pull my eyes away. I had to know what was in there.

  Everyone else had similar looks of excitement and wonder as they focused on my brother. Everyone but the boy directly to Cato’s left. He looked around the room, instead. His dark eyes were alert, searching. He turned slightly to scan the area where I sat, and I quickly pulled my head back behind the podium.