When he arrived, we said quick hellos and I stood when he nodded once to me.
“I’ll, uh, see you later…” I told the others awkwardly.
“Okay,” they chorused back. Becca said nothing. I made a mental note to talk to her when I had my bearings again.
Clark and I went up the steps to the balcony and, immediately, the Commish Kids turned to me.
“Well, well, well,” one of the boys—his name was Frank, I think—said. “If it isn’t the new favorite…”
“What?”
“Don’t act all innocent,” a girl I did not know growled, stepping to Frank’s side. “Everyone knows that Mr. Christenson favors your family.”
“Just because of the gift?”
“Just ignore them,” Clark said, his demeanor changing. “After all, what was it that your family got, Gabrielle? Some kind of pretty little boy your father immediately became far too attached to?”
“Shut up, Clark,” she growled.
“Oh, you’re here,” a voice said behind me. I turned and saw Melissa. I recalled seeing her briefly at the meeting, but I had been so focused on Dana watching me through the whole evening that I didn’t pay much attention to her.
“Melissa,” Clark greeted.
“You all need to back off of her,” Melissa snarled at the others. I looked around, seeing the gathering group grow.
“Why? Because she’s a favorite?” another boy challenged.
“No,” Melissa contradicted. “Because she’s more than a favorite.”
I turned to Melissa, confused. Then, I looked at the rest of the group. They were staring at me with wide eyes and frightened glances. They began slinking away to the various shadows of the balcony. I looked at Clark, whose eyes were on his feet, as though ashamed that I had found out that I was “more than a favorite,” whatever that meant.
“Clark?” I asked, my voice choked. He looked at me and sighed heavily.
“We’ll talk over here,” he said, motioning to one of the secluded corners at the back of the balcony. I walked to the area and Clark followed, sitting in the seat next to me. “Do you want anything?” he asked out of courtesy.
“No.”
“How are you holding up after Saturday?”
“Horribly.”
“Yeah…you had one hell of an induction. Most people don’t get that far into the back on their first day,” Clark told me sympathetically. “And I think you are the first to see Eyna outside of Dana and his advisors.”
“You call him Dana, too?”
Clark’s eyes went wide and his frightened look returned immediately.
“What is it?”
Clark shook his head.
“Um…nothing…”
“Clark, please…” I pressed. “You said you would talk to me more once I had seen what goes on in the Commission. Now, I wish I could unsee everything.” I leaned forward. “What did Melissa mean that I was more than a favorite?”
“It means…that you’re like me,” he whispered. I had to strain to hear him over the thrumming of the music.
“How?”
“You’re of interest to Dana,” Clark hissed. “And now everyone understands why you’ve been assigned to me.”
“Who else is more than a favorite?” I pressed, looking around the balcony. Whenever a Commish Kid showed up for the first time that night, one of the others would lean in and whisper something before pointing in our direction. I guessed they were spreading the news that I was “more than a favorite.”
“No one,” Clark said. “For a while, it was just me. And then you showed up.”
“Are you…upset about that?” I pressed, hearing the strain in his voice.
“Yes and no,” he admitted. “But not for the reasons you probably think. I am happy not to be alone in this position any more, but I wish that you didn’t have to suffer like this.”
“What do you mean?”
Clark folded his hands and leaned forward, his eyes full of torment.
“As I’m sure you noticed, Dana is not…all there…”
“Oh, believe me, I noticed.”
“He has no regard for any rules other than obedience to him,” Clark explained. “And his tastes are…questionable.”
“I saw.”
“Wait, what do you mean, you saw?” Clark asked, his eyes wide. Realizing that we were talking about two very different things, I became suspicious.
“Wait…what are you talking about?”
Clark groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.
“I’ll give you an example…” he hissed. He looked around before leaning closer. “You remember…that thing he did with his eyes?”
That I remembered all too well.
I nodded.
“One day…in a private meeting with Dana and his advisors…” Clark began, his voice choked and his eyes wildly looking around the balcony to see if anyone was eavesdropping, “I was sitting near him and he got bored. So, he…” Clark swallowed hard and closed his eyes, pained. “He took off his glasses and looked around at everyone but everyone was watching my mother present at the other side of the room.”
I leaned closer, his voice getting quieter and weaker. He rubbed his eyes and swallowed hard. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
“He, um…he looked at me…and he did that thing with his eyes…and…I-I felt…” He looked away from me, biting his lip. Seeing how difficult this was for him to talk about, I placed my hand on his and nodded.
“I understand,” I assured. He took another deep breath.
“And that night when I was going to his office to find my mother…” He closed his eyes and shivered. I forced myself not to jump to any conclusions. “…I found them, alright…”
My eyes widened.
“They weren’t…”
“Right there on his desk,” Clark said, looking at me seriously. “And what was worse was that he knew I was there. He was showing off. He knew that I had seen them.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because he looked right at me and smiled, while he was…screwing my mother!” he hissed. I could tell by the pain and tension in his voice that he had been keeping the story to himself for far too long.
“…does your mom know that you know?”
“No.”
“Maybe…I don’t know, it was a one-time thing?” I tried to comfort him stupidly.
“Yeah,” Clark scoffed, rolling his eyes. “One time a week…”
“What?!”
“I’m telling you, Dana is sick,” Clark nodded strongly. “He has had sex with all of the women in the Commission—with the exception of your mother—and even a good portion of the male members.”
“You can’t be serious,” I hissed. “That’s illegal.”
“That’s why I said his tastes are questionable. Another thing I’m sure you noticed is that Dana doesn’t care too much about the law.”
I pursed my lips, wondering if I should ask him my question.
“So…” I started awkwardly. “Since I’m…more than a favorite, does that mean he’ll try to…I mean, has he ever…” I raised my eyebrows, motioning to Clark, hoping he understood what I was trying to ask.
Clark shook his head.
“No…” he whispered. “We haven’t…” Relief engulfed me. He took a deep breath. “But…”
I immediately tensed again.
“But?”
Clark rubbed the back of his neck and closed his eyes.
“You noticed that I call him Dana as well…” he said slowly. “He’s shown explicit interest…in me.”
“What do you mean?” I pressed. He sighed heavily, this time tears welling in his eyes as he looked at me. He shook his head.
“He…” Clark swallowed hard, and I felt my heart racing and breaking at the same time. Clark had obviously been enduring far too much on his own. “He likes to…”
I leaned forward again and took Clark’s hand, squeezing it.
“Are you alright? You don’t have to talk about this right now,” I assured after he trailed off.
“No, I’m alright,” he assured, his voice tight with fearful tears. “It’s just…it’s really hard to talk about…” His voice broke and he cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. “One night…my mom was working late, and I was doing homework in her office, but I got tired, a-and I fell asleep on the couch…”
At this point, I stopped thinking about how this could relate to what was in store for me. The pain in Clark’s voice was so real and so powerful that I simply sat and listened.
“And when I woke up…” Clark shook his head. “He had me p-pinned down on the couch…and he just…kept touching…and k-kissing…” Clark shivered. “I couldn’t move…I-I couldn’t…”
Clark hid his face in his hands and shook his head, shivering. I didn’t know what to do to comfort him. I waited for him to look up, fighting the urge to hug him, worried about what the others on the balcony would think, sure that they would bully or tease either one of us about the display.
Clark ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath.
“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t be sorry,” I assured.
Clark dabbed away the tears on his sleeve and swallowed hard, turning to look distantly at the wall. “Well…he hasn’t gone any further than that…but…every time it happens…I just keep wondering if that’s when…”
He didn’t need to finish.
“Have you told anyone? Your mother? Your father? Does your father even know what’s going on between your mother and Dana?”
Clark chuckled brokenly.
“Oh, Lily, the world you are getting into is so fucked up you’ll never believe it,” Clark sighed. “Yes, my father knows about my mother and Dana. He sometimes participates, if he feels like it.”
“You’re not serious…”
“Dana has that power over people,” Clark shrugged. “I don’t know if they know about what Dana does to me, but I’m sure they have some idea.”
“And they don’t care?”
“Within Dana’s inner circle, no one questions anything,” Clark shook his head. “Dana does what he wants and no one stops him. No one can.”
“What about Sean?”
“If you can stick around him, you’re more likely to be safe from Dana,” Clark nodded. “He’s the only one Dana listens to.”
“Why?”
“Hell if I know,” Clark shrugged with a broken chuckle. “There have been rumors about family connections, or even a love affair, but no one really understands their relationship. I doubt Sean even understands it.”
“Is there anything you can do to stop Dana when he…”
“No,” Clark shook his head. “To be completely honest, I don’t think he’s human,” Clark whispered. “He has ridiculous strength, I have never seen him sleep, or eat…” The teenage boy shook his head slowly. “He’s not just crazy, he’s crazy with insane power, both physically and politically.”
“Why does everyone put up with it? So many people must think that this is wrong and that he should be stopped.”
“Many do, or did. Once you fall under Dana’s spell, it’s all over,” Clark said. “He’ll have you convinced that the testing is the right thing to do, and there will be no argument against him. He has that kind of power.”
“So…for me…”
“I don’t know what he has planned for you,” Clark admitted. “But I all saw him mulling over your pictures, so I know—”
“Whoa, what?”
“He has thoroughly researched you,” Clark nodded. “Don’t ever think he’s not watching you, Lily.” Clark warned. “He is everywhere. He lives down in the basement of the Commission, but at least once a day, he comes up to the surface. He does something different every day. You never know when you’ll run into him.” Clark looked around the room. “And he has cameras everywhere and connections with the National Security Council. You’re always under his eyes.”
I felt my skin crawl with the warning.
“That’s how you know I’m more than a favorite?” I pressed. “The pictures?”
“Yes,” Clark nodded. His eyes turned apologetic, still welled with tears. “I’m so sorry…”
“No, don’t be,” I assured. “I’m sorry that you’ve been carrying this weight for so long.”
“I will admit…” Clark whispered, smiling weakly, “it is really nice to be able to tell someone. I didn’t mean to dump all my emotional baggage on you…but…”
“No, it’s fine,” I assured, forcing a soft smile, hoping that as things progressed we would be able to depend on one another for support.
The night wore on as I mulled over what Clark had told me. It sickened me that he had had to bear up to such abuse for so long. Clark told me that Dana was more into mind games than physical domination and he explained that the molestations were a mind game, not an act of pleasure.
I was unsure what Dana had planned for me, but it seemed as though Clark and I shared the same fate. Was it going to be the same for me? Everyone was going to know and understand what Dana was doing and no one would care? Not even my own parents?
As the announcement came over the speakers about the buses, I looked around at the Commish Kids, who were watching people leave, or talking casually with each other.
“Are we catching the last bus?” I asked Clark.
“No,” Clark shook his head. “We’re having our own meeting here, and then we’ll catch the Commission bus.”
“The Commission bus?” I repeated incredulously. “Seriously?”
“Yeah…” Clark nodded. “Melissa,” he called. The girl turned. “Are you doing the report today?”
“Yes.”
“Report? What are you talking about?” I pressed.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s just for the advisors’ children,” Clark assured. “After everyone leaves, we’ll talk about what we heard around the floor and what, if anything, should be presented to the Commission. One of us has to write a report about who said what and who they heard it from.”
“Wow…” I blinked. “That is slightly terrifying.”
“Only slightly?” Clark groaned. “Dana likes to be well-informed.”
I watched as other children from the Commission walked to the seats, turning them to face one direction, trying to create a circle. Other Commish Kids came up from the dance floor and sat down, talking quietly with those next to them. Each of them had an air about them that was stuck-up and cold, as though it was beneath them to care about what happened in the back labs of the Commission. It was extremely unnerving.
Melissa looked over the railing of the balcony for several minutes as I was startled by the main lights of the club turning on, white light flooding the building. That was the first time that I noticed the real color of the walls, a dark grey that was so plain, it was in complete contrast with what the club looked like in full swing.
“Alright, everyone is out,” Melissa said, turning to face us. “Who’s not here?” When no one spoke up and her eyes had scanned each face, she nodded. “Great. It’s my turn to do the report this week so, Clark, do you have anything you want to put in it before we start?”
“No.”
Melissa went to her purse and pulled out her phone, starting a voice recording. “September thirteenth, Club Archangel Report. Who would like to start?”
A boy raised his hand.
“Brian Dunning,” Melissa said into her recorder.
“I heard Susana Reynolds explaining to her friends that her fathe
r is interested in pitching an idea to Leader about the war in the Far East,” Brian said simply. “Apparently, he had spoken to some of the locals when he was there a month and a half ago.”
The others around him whispered to one another, shocked. I looked at Clark, who also seemed interested. I gently tapped his arm to let him know I didn’t understand. He leaned over to me.
“Don’t worry too much about knowing all this information…” he assured. “The most important thing is that you just listen. You’ll pick up names and get to know people as long as you pay attention.”
For a half-hour, Commish Kids spoke up about the things they had heard in the club that night. Some of them were very accusatory of the gossip. Others stated constantly that they weren’t sure if they had heard correctly or if they had heard the information out of context. Nothing I heard jumped out at me, so I didn’t think much of the news. But, apparently, it merited something from others in the Commission.
After the half-hour meeting, Melissa turned off the recorder.
“Alright, now that that is out of the way, you all were at the meeting last week, but because it was her first meeting, we didn’t get much of a chance to talk to her. So, I would like to introduce Lily Sandover,” she nodded to me and I felt sweat break out on my palms. “She is of particular interest to Mr. Christenson, which is something you all need to keep in mind.”
“Really?” the boy named Brian chuckled, looking me over hungrily. I shifted uncomfortably. “Well…I guess it’s no mystery why.”
“Oh, please.” One girl rolled her eyes. “Mr. Christenson doesn’t like virgins.”
“And how would you know?” Felicity snapped.
“Because he’s always hanging all over your mother,” the girl retaliated.
“Well, if he doesn’t go after virgins, then that doesn’t explain why Clark and Lily are his favorites,” a boy I knew as Lance said, looking us over with contempt. “After all, we all know that no girl in her right mind would want to sleep with a little faggot like Clark.”
Clark got to his feet angrily and moved toward Lance. I jumped. Everything was far too intense to feel real. This was a competition for Dana’s attention. It was terrifying. Everyone wanted to be the target of Dana’s attention.
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