The Significant

by Kyra Anderson

  Another soft chime rang through the house, stating that the elevator doors had opened to her floor.

  Isa quickly walked around the bar and shot the door controls twice, sealing it temporarily.

  “Maki, get out of here. Use the back exit in the entertainment room.”

  “I’m not running, Isa,” Maki said, shaking his head. He turned to look around him. “There is nowhere for me to run.”

  “We’ll figure it out. I’ll find a way—”

  “Isa,” Maki snapped, cutting her off, “you have enough secrets as it is. I’ve served my purpose and fulfilled my duty to you, both as a colleague and as a friend.”

  There was rapid knocking on the door and several loud voices yelled Isa’s name.

  “Maki, we don’t have time to argue about this!” Isa walked to Maki and grabbed his wrist, starting to pull him away.

  Maki reached to the bar and grabbed a wine glass. He broke the glass against Isa’s collarbone, some shards flying to her face and neck, slicing open her skin. She immediately released in him shock as Kailynn darted forward.

  However, before Kailynn could get between the two, Isa’s other hand lashed out and the gun struck Maki across the face, disorienting him.

  Kailynn shoved Maki away, forcing him to the ground and punching him in the jaw.

  “Kailynn! Stop!” Isa bellowed.

  Maki’s hand locked around Kailynn’s neck and he lifted the broken stem of the wine glass, slashing her chest enough to draw blood, but not enough to be a fatal injury.

  Tarah ran forward when she heard Kailynn’s pained yell.

  Maki pulled Kailynn down and rolled from under her, forcing her face to the floor as he straddled her back, one of his knees pinning her left arm as her right arm flailed wildly in defense. Maki grabbed her wrist and pinned it to her back as he held the bloodied glass to her neck.

  Everything was still as Isa and Tarah stared in horror. The yelling and banging of the Officials was getting louder as they tried to pry open the disabled door.

  “Come on, Isa,” Maki challenged, pressing the glass deeper into Kailynn’s skin, causing her to let out a pained cry. “You want me to kill her?”

  Kailynn managed to glance at Maki and saw Isa pointing the gun at him, her eyes hard and dark.

  “Don’t you dare harm her,” she growled.

  “Make sure that I can’t.”

  Maki kept his eyes locked with Isa. He quickly pulled the glass across Kailynn’s neck and shoulder. Kailynn screamed in pain and a single gunshot sounded, making Kailynn’s ears ring before a heavy weight fell on her.

  “Elite Isa! Respond!” the Officials yelled on the other side of the door.

  “Get out of the way!” Remus’ angry voice bellowed.

  Kailynn tried rolling out from under Maki, but Tarah had to help her push the Elite off to free her.

  “Come on!” Tarah gasped, grabbing Kailynn’s arm and hauling her to her feet, pulling her into Isa’s room just before Remus forced the door aside with his altered strength and Officials swarmed the living room.

  Remus looked at Isa and saw her staring at Maki’s lifeless form on the ground, the gun still in her hand.

  “Isa.”

  She quickly lifted her head and the gun, pointing it at Remus, though her hand was shaking. The Officials turned their guns on her, startled and confused.

  “It’s alright, Isa,” Remus assured, lifting his hands peacefully, looking over the cuts on Isa’s skin and the blood that stained her robe. “You’re safe.”

  He looked at Maki, trying to keep his mind clear as he took in the situation. Seeing one of his closest friends dead on the ground brought back horrific memories and made his chest tighten.

  Isa’s eyes also dropped to Maki and the gun lowered.

  She dropped the weapon to her feet and let out a long, shaky breath. She backed away from Maki’s dead body and Remus ran to her taking her face in his hands.

  “Look at me,” he said quickly. Isa’s eyes half closed and her body started to relax. “Isa, look at me. Stay here. Stay with me.”

  Isa’s eyes barely opened enough to look at Remus.

  “You did not do anything wrong,” he said. “You protected yourself.”

  Isa pushed his hands away and turned around. She walked to the wall and pressed her head against it, taking slow, deep breaths.

  The Officials moved forward and looked at the dead Bronze Elite, startled at the accuracy of the single shot to his forehead.

  Tarah had just finished cleaning the large wound on Kailynn’s chest as the Significant sat on the vanity in Isa’s bathroom when the Golden Elite appeared. Remus followed, though he remained in the doorway, silent.

  Kailynn quickly hopped off the vanity and walked to the Elite.

  “Kailynn, I still have to wrap those,” Tarah said quietly, her eyes resting on the Golden Elite.

  Kailynn ignored the caretaker, taking Isa’s face in her hands. The Elite’s eyes raised to Kailynn’s face, but remained half-lidded in exhaustion. Kailynn was surprised at the shut-off look in Isa’s eyes. They were darker than she had ever seen them before—the look scared her.

  “Miss, I’ll clean those wounds,” Tarah said slowly, approaching the Golden Elite.

  “Kailynn,” Remus called, motioning her to him. She glanced at the Silver Elite and then back at Isa. She ran her thumb over the Golden Elite’s cheek and then slowly, painfully, pulled away from Isa, walking to Remus, throwing glances back at Isa as Tarah carefully led her toward the vanity.

  She finally met Remus’ eyes.

  “Isa is not going to handle this well,” Remus whispered.

  “I don’t know of anyone that would.”

  “Any normal Elite would not have a problem moving past this,” Remus disagreed. “However, Isa is no normal Elite, and she has been through severe trauma in the past. This is going to be very difficult for her.”

  Kailynn glanced at Isa once more. The Golden Elite’s eyes were lost in the tile on the floor. She did not even flinch as Tarah cleaned the cuts along her neck.

  “Do not leave her alone,” Remus said strongly, causing the Significant to turn back to him. Remus was also looking at Isa. “It’s not safe to leave her by herself.”

  “What about when she goes to the Syndicate?”

  “She’s not going to work tomorrow,” Remus said. “I’ve already called Paul. He’ll be in touch with her tomorrow and decide her treatment.”

  “Treatment?”

  “Elites aren’t like humans,” Remus reminded her. “She’s going to need immediate attention to process everything that happened here tonight. Paul will help.”

  Kailynn swallowed hard, letting out a shaky breath.

  “I don’t understand what happened, either,” she admitted. “It happened very fast.”

  “It did,” Remus agreed. He sighed heavily and fixed Kailynn with a stern look. “Swear to me that you will not leave her alone.”

  “I won’t,” she assured. “I’ll stay with her.”

  Remus nodded once and approached Isa. He placed a hand on her shoulder and ducked his head down to look Isa in the eye. The Golden Elite did not respond for two seconds. She then turned her head to him, as if just noticing his presence.

  “I’m leaving,” he said quietly.

  Isa’s hand latched onto Remus’ wrist, her eyes conflicted.

  “Do you want me to stay?”

  She nodded quickly.

  “Alright,” he said. “I’ll stay in the guest wing.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’ll deal with the Officials, okay? I’ll be here in the morning.”

  He backed away from Isa and Kailynn tried not to be hurt by the way Isa’s hand followed his. As Remus left the bathroom, Kailynn walked to Tarah and Isa. She waited for Tarah to finish wiping down the cuts with antiseptic before she placed one hand on Isa’s face, turning her head.

  Isa’s eyes met hers again.

  Kailynn’s chest tightened in pain.

 
Isa’s eyes dropped to the bandaged wound on Kailynn’s shoulder and the uncovered one on her chest. Slowly, as if moving through water, Isa reached up, her fingers hovering over the cut. Kailynn took Isa’s fingers in her hand and lifted them to her mouth, kissing the fingertips.

  Tarah finished treating Isa’s cuts and placing the clear, liquid bandage over the largest wounds. She then turned her attention back to the cut on Kailynn’s chest.

  When they were both treated to the best of Tarah’s ability, she excused herself, trying to keep her tears at bay. When she walked out into the living room, she saw the Officials walking next to the sheet-covered body on the gurney as they left. By the bar, Rayal and Remus were quietly discussing what had happened.

  “Tarah,” Rayal said when he saw her. He hugged her tightly. She was unable to keep her tears back and began crying into his chest, shaking and shivering. “It’s alright. It’s over.”

  Tarah shook her head.

  Rayal rubbed Tarah’s shoulder and back, trying to comfort her.

  Remus stood silently by the bar, his eyes glancing at Isa’s bedroom door several times. He had to grip the edge of the bar counter to keep himself from going in to be sure Isa was alright. As much as he wanted to comfort Isa, he knew it was no longer his place. The trauma they shared would make the situation worse, and Remus knew that. The way Isa pushed him away earlier in the evening hurt more than he was willing to admit, but it told him that he was no longer the one Isa needed.

  “It’s not over…” Tarah hiccupped as she backed away from Rayal. He kept his arms around her, worried about her shaking.

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s like before…” she choked. “The look in her eyes. She’s shut down. Just like with Colonel Amori.”

  Rayal looked over Tarah’s tear-streaked face, his mind turning over the words. Unable to say anything in response, he pulled her back into a hug and turned to Remus. The Silver Elite closed his eyes and dropped his head, unsure what to say, either.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Kailynn fell asleep again only one hour before the sun rose. Isa had fallen asleep earlier, but Kailynn remained awake, looking over her face, worried about the distant and cold look she had seen on the Golden Elite.

  She slept uneasily and woke after sleeping only two hours.

  Isa was not in the bed.

  Kailynn leapt out of bed and darted into the bathroom. Isa was showering, but she was sitting against the wall under the spray, her head down, her knees tucked into her chest.

  Kailynn opened the shower door and walked in, hissing at the scorching temperature. Trying to ignore it, she kneeled next to Isa and pulled some wet hair out of her face. Isa turned her head. Her eyes were still cold and dark, but she was moving at a normal pace, which eased Kailynn’s mind a little.

  She sat next to the Elite and took her hand, entwining their fingers.

  They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

  “I’m sure you have a lot of questions…” Isa finally murmured.

  “I do.”

  “Maki…” Isa trailed off.

  “He was trying to shut down Venus,” Kailyn completed. “I thought you said it wasn’t possible, but it sounds like he made something that could let you do it.”

  “Just the power supply,” Isa said, her eyes distant. “That means we could get power to the cities and shorten the time to reprogram the planet, but only if she were shut down entirely.”

  “And that’s not possible?”

  “…anything is possible,” she whispered. Kailynn looked at Isa in surprise, trying to discern the Elite’s tone.

  “You wanted to shut her down when you were in school?” Kailynn asked. Isa nodded slowly.

  “The numbers proved that it was the best thing for the planet,” Isa said, her voice monotone and even. “Statistics show that the longer she is in power, the bigger the social gap becomes.” The Golden Elite sighed heavily. “They make one hundred Elites every six years,” she explained. “For the first generations of Elites, it was not uncommon for a Syndicate to remain in power for over a decade. That meant that two generations of Elites were made and not chosen to participate in the Syndicate. And, of the generations where there was a Syndicate turnover, only fifteen Elites were chosen, leaving eighty-five Elites without Syndicate work.”

  Isa turned to look at Kailynn seriously.

  “These Elites outside of the Syndicate take the highest-paying jobs in society. If an Elite and a human were interviewed for the same job, and Elite would always get the position. They work harder, they are smarter and learn faster, they have no emotions, and they don’t exhaust the same as a human. For this reason, the humans moved around the planet in an attempt to get out of the job market where Elites dominated, but the Elites started moving around the planet as well, because Elites don’t get fired or replaced the same way humans do.”

  “But Dr. Busen is a human, isn’t he?”

  “His father was an Elite,” Isa said. “He had connections that allowed him to study and be employed in Elite Specialty Studies.”

  “I thought Elites couldn’t have families.”

  “Syndicate Elites are forbidden,” Isa affirmed. “And even outside of the Syndicate, only male Elites have the ability to have children. Female Elites are barren.”

  Kailynn was surprised by the news. But, as she thought about it, she had never noticed Isa having a menstrual cycle.

  “But the planet became so accustomed to hiring Elites that, now, it’s standard to have an Elite employee for positions even if there are human candidates. The problem with that is the same problem with Venus. Humans continue to innovate and change things, it’s part of their makeup. They’re creative. Technologies are evolving and changing constantly, but none of those technologies are used when creating Elites. Venus has not changed her practices or her methods since she took power. Humans have evolved—Elites and Venus have stayed the same. In the process, the Elites outside of the Syndicate are causing a severe imbalance in the economy, even as the number of degenerate Elites skyrocket. That’s forcing humans lower and lower in the classes, until they finally reach Trid.”

  Isa chuckled brokenly, shaking her head.

  “And in Trid, it’s amazing, but humanity starts to show itself again.”

  “You clearly haven’t spent much time in Trid,” Kailyn said.

  “You heard what Venus said, when she saw those children playing,” Isa said, looking at Kailynn. “Unity is possible. Humans communicate in Trid, they form bonds, they help one another, they look out for one another, they fight for one another. That’s not how it works in Anon.” Isa closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the shower wall. “And Venus doesn’t realize that the more she fights against the change, the larger the problem becomes. The Trid population is growing, and it won’t be long until the Trid population is large enough to stage a revolution.”

  “…you really believe that Trid could overthrow Anon?” Kailynn asked skeptically.

  “No,” Isa said, shaking her head. “Because rebellion is met with violence. It always has been. Revolution has to happen from a much higher position.”

  They fell silent again as Kailynn thought over Isa’s words.

  “A position like yours?” Kailynn whispered.

  Isa nodded.

  Kailynn’s fingers tightened on Isa’s hand.

  “Who was Aren?”

  Isa swallowed hard.

  “Aren…was a very good friend of mine, of ours, everyone in the Syndicate knew him.” Isa took a deep breath. “In school, we were very rebellious. I’m not sure how we managed to survive, to be honest. My execution was ordered, and when I learned of it, I figured I would at least let my death send a message. One night, Aren and I broke into the school’s mainframe and began downloading the security tapes of the Elite prototypes being beaten at the Academy. We were about to upload them on a constant broadcast in Anon when we were caught.”

  Isa lifted a hand to her he
ad, her eyes tightening.

  “They began beating us, harder than we had ever been beaten before,” she continued, her voice quiet. “But they stopped beating me…to this day I don’t understand why. And they held me down and forced me to watch Aren be beaten. I remember screaming at them, telling them that they were killing him, but they didn’t stop.”

  Isa paused, her hand dropping from her face.

  “When they finally stopped, Aren was…” Isa shook her head. “He was making these horrible sounds…I can’t even describe them. All I could do was watch him die.”

  Kailynn stared in horror at Isa as she recounted the story.

  “Needless to say, that changed a lot of things,” Isa murmured. “I was afraid to continue rebelling, so I stayed quiet for a while. The death sentence was taken off my head, and I was appointed to the Syndicate. When I was inaugurated, I made a promise to everyone in the Syndicate that we would fight to make the planet better, but we would do it intelligently, never forgetting what happened to Aren, because we never wanted anyone, Elite or human, to be treated like that for standing up for themselves, or for trying to change things for the better.”

  Kailynn moved away from Isa’s side, kneeling in front of her. Isa looked at her, her eyes tired.

  “But I never kept that promise,” she whispered. “I tried…I really did. But I got tired, and then…”

  Her eyes went unfocused.

  “Colonel Amori?” Kailynn asked quietly.

  Isa nodded slowly.

  “What did he do to you?”

  Isa shook her head quickly.

  “I can’t talk about it.”

  “…okay.”

  Isa closed her eyes.

  “I don’t know what to do,” she breathed. “I don’t know how to handle what Maki has done…or what I’ve done…”

  Kailynn took Isa’s face in her hands, looking at her seriously.

  “Maki would not want you backing away from this,” she said. “I didn’t know him, and I didn’t know Aren, or anything that has happened in the past that made you lose sight of what you wanted, but he believed in you enough to go against Venus entirely. Clearly, he knew you would figure out what you needed to do, whatever that was.”