“So tell me what it was like growing up as Jack Kenner,” I requested.
“I just want to go to sleep, Sunny,” he begged. I could tell his head was hurting him a lot.
“Put your head in my lap,” I urged him.
He hesitated a moment, then laid his head in my lap. I put the ice back on his bump then used my other hand to run through his hair and gently massage his scalp, being careful to avoid his injury. My mother used to do that to me whenever I had a headache.
“That feels nice,” he said gratefully. He wrapped an arm around the top of my legs as his head rested in my lap. I thought that felt nice too.
“Now back to your story. And don’t back out of it. You have to stay awake so you might as well entertain me,” I prompted him.
“What do you want to know?” he asked sleepily.
“Tell me about your parents, school, friends, girlfriends… anything,” I prompted.
“I don’t really have parents. My mother gave birth to two pawns in her little game of chess with the Holts. My brother and I didn’t grow up as sons, we grew up as Liberty soldiers.”
“You have a brother?” I asked, surprised. I think I knew that, but it still sounded like a foreign concept to me. In the Pit, a married couple were only allowed to have one child, so no one had siblings.
“Yeah. His name is Ted. He’s a couple of years younger than me – about your age. He’s about to finish his last year at the military academy. That is, if Holt doesn’t have him locked up with my parents,” he said.
I felt a flush of guilt when he said that. Jack must be going through his own personal hell, yet he was in the Pit helping me through mine.
“I’m sorry about your family,” I said awkwardly.
“They’re fine for now. Until I’m tried by the Council and found guilty of treason, they can’t accuse anyone of being a sympathizer. The families would never put up with that,” Jack shrugged it off.
“The families?” I asked.
“The ten most powerful families in the Dome, which includes the Kenners. The Holts, Wests, Powells and Forbes families have made a powerful alliance, but the other six families are still influential enough to keep those four a little more honest,” he said.
“Okay, so what’s left? School, friends and girlfriends,” I said.
“I went to school at the military academy like all the other rich kids. You may ask yourself why there’s a military academy inside a Dome that doesn’t have any immediate enemies and the reason is because the Holts come from a military background and like to keep up the family tradition. Your turn. Where did you go to school?” he asked.
“The sixth floor common room every day from the age of five right up until I was twelve, just like all the other urchins; best friend Summer Nazeem; boyfriend you already met; favourite subject was nature and science. Your turn,” I said.
“I won’t ask if you had any other boyfriends since you and Reyes got engaged when you were two,” Jack said sarcastically. I chuckled. “Best friend my brother Ted; girlfriend in my senior year, although I had to break up with her in order to pursue Leisel; favourite subject history.”
“History?” I asked dumbfounded. “You went to a military academy and learned to fight like a ninja and history was your favourite subject?”
“History is important. Look how the Holts revised history in order to get everyone in the Dome to accept their despotic government. If the truth had been revealed 283 years ago, we might not be in the mess we’re in right now,” he pointed out.
“Despotic?” I asked, feeling stupid. Politics wasn’t a subject taught in the common room.
“Holt is a dictator. A tyrant,” he explained. “You can even look at the history of the Pit. Your own people revere Benjamin Reyes. I mean everyone down here is named Benjamin or Reyes.”
“Because he led everyone from the Valley to the Dome. He saved us from the nuclear holocaust,” I said in confusion.
“He was also the one that signed the Treaty that turned you into slaves. How come no one remembers him for that?” he pointed out.
“It’s not that we didn’t know he signed the Treaty, it’s just that we prefer to remember him for the good he did. From what you told me about Holt, he concealed the truth,” I countered.
“I’m just saying history can be changed in different ways. It can be revised or it can be forgotten. But if we forget the mistakes we made in the past, we’re doomed to repeat them. That’s why I believe so much in Liberty, my family’s organization. We’re keepers of the truth,” he said.
“What does Liberty do exactly?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Liberty was founded on the evidence left behind by Vice President Kenner. It’s the true history of the Dome, not the false one the Holts feed everyone. Our organization is about sharing the truth with anyone who’s interested. We have several thousand members now. We look for ways to take away the President’s power without endangering the entire Dome,” he explained.
“You mean like marrying his daughter and becoming President yourself,” I said.
“And trying to find out the codes to the nuclear warheads,” he added. “If we had those, Holt would lose his hold over the Dome and we would find out where everyone’s loyalties really laid.”
“You mean you think there are a lot of people who support the President because they’re afraid of him?” I asked, surprised. Although we barely tolerated the President in the Pit, we supported him because we had to. It never occurred to me there would be a lot of bourge in the same position.
“Yes, I do. The man is insane,” he said.
“So you think a lot more people would support Liberty if they thought the organization stood a chance of taking Holt’s power?” I asked, genuinely interested now. If Liberty already had a few thousand members and there were more people in the Dome who might join and then add to that the population of the Pit, we could have our army.
“You seem to be going somewhere with your questions. What are you really asking me?” Jack inquired.
“I’m just trying to make sense of it all. You told me that Liberty was about restoring democracy, which you described as a type of government where the people get to pick their leaders, right?” I asked. Jack nodded. “Well, if control of Liberty has always been in the hands of the Kenners, then doesn’t that make you a bit like the Holts?”
I felt Jack tense up and become very still. He didn’t say anything for a moment and I wondered if I had gone too far in my musings. But I wanted to know what Liberty really stood for.
“We’re nothing like the Holts,” he said flatly.
“I know you’re not crazy like the President is. I didn’t mean it that way,” I explained quickly. “I guess what I’m wondering is if Liberty succeeded then who would become President? A Kenner?”
“If Liberty succeeded and democracy was restored, then there would be an election. The people would pick their own leader,” he said.
“And would people in the Pit be included in that election?” I asked pointedly. “Would we be considered equals under your democracy?” My question gave him pause.
“I assume so,” he said slowly, almost as if he had to think about it.
“I just find it curious that all of the members of Liberty are from the Dome. Didn’t anyone ever think to ask us? I mean, there are roughly 30,000 people down here and we all hate the President,” I pointed out.
Jack didn’t respond to me immediately. I thought maybe I had pushed him too far. I didn’t want to alienate him. After all, I was hoping he could help everyone down here organize themselves into a rebellion.
“Do you believe in fate, Sunny?” he asked after a while.
“I don’t know. I never really thought about it. Why?” I asked. He didn’t sound mad. I was relieved.
“I was brought up to believe that my main purpose in life was to get rid of our dictator and restore equality and freedom back to the people. My mother was convinced that the best chance we had was throu
gh my marriage. And here I am married to you… the girl who wants to raise an army,” he said, a note of wonder in his voice.
“Except we’re not really married,” I pointed out.
“I think everyone inside this Dome would disagree with you. They watched us get married on television – the urchin girl who married the bourge and humiliated the President in the process. That’s when your rebellion started,” he said thoughtfully. He sat-up, stopping to wince at the pain in his head for a moment, then leaned back against the wall beside me. “All the clues are there; holding you up as a hero, starting riots over you, knowing both of us are down here but they protect us. You’re valuable to them. They’re looking for you to lead.”
“I disagree. I’m not a leader. I don’t know the first thing about organizing a rebellion,” I said in denial. “That’s why I’m asking you for your help. You have the training, you know the bourge and how they work, you even have Liberty with thousands of members.”
“So I’ll repeat my question; do you believe in fate? Because together we might actually stand a chance of making this happen.”
Now I understood what he was saying. Our marriage could form an alliance.
Chapter Twenty
I woke up before the bong bongs to find the place next to me in bed was empty. I felt the heaviness of disappointment. After he had fallen asleep last night, I decided to stay in case there were any side effects from his concussion. Or at least that what’s I convinced myself I was doing. But truthfully it had just felt so good to have the warmth of this body against me as I fell asleep. Now the bed seemed cold and empty. I heard movement and heavy breathing from the living room.
“Really Jack? You’re working out now?” I called out.
“Want to join me? You have time before work,” he replied.
I felt around for my glass of water from last night and finished it. I might as well get up and join him. I found the exercise made me feel better. I pushed myself out of bed and went into the living room. I could see his shadow in front of the two chairs in the room. I walked around the chairs and lay down next to him.
“How do you do that?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“See in the dark. I almost killed myself getting out here,” he said.
“It’s not completely dark,” I shrugged.
I could see he was doing sit-ups, so I fell into rhythm beside him. We did about fifty of those and then flipped over for push-ups.
“I missed our sparring session last night,” I said.
“Get home on time tonight and I’ll let you try to beat me again,” he said. I could almost hear the smile on his face.
“One of these days I will beat you,” I said with determination.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that’s true,” he replied.
“I don’t see why we have to wait until tonight. Why not now?” I suggested.
“Because I can’t see in the dark,” he said, as if it was an obvious point.
“Then you’ll learn a new skill too. Come on. How many bourge know how to fight in the dark?” I prompted.
“Alright,” he agreed, standing up. I saw him swing his arms wide around him, testing to see if he was within touching distance of anything. I stood up and threw a punch at his face, stopping an inch from his nose. He reached up and batted my hand away, but it was slow and too late to block my blow. “Well, this is going to be one sided,” he said wryly.
“It does help level the playing field,” I smiled with satisfaction.
I brought my leg up into a side kick and again he was too slow to ward off my blow. I followed through with a punch to his torso, then a kick to his other side. He almost blocked my last kick.
“Why aren’t you trying to hit me back?” I asked.
“Because I can’t see you and I don’t want to actually hit you,” he said. “But I like this. I heard your foot come off the floor and I had to gage where it would hit in order to block it.”
The lights came on then and the bong bongs tolled the start of another workday. I saw that Jack still had his shirt off and was covered in sweat. Without warning he came at me. I raised my arm to ward off any blow he might throw at me, but he grabbed my arm bringing it behind my back and pinning it to one spot.
“You’re pretty good when the lights are on,” I said. We were only inches apart and his blue eyes twinkled their amusement at me.
“I know,” he laughed, and released me. “I thought we could go down to the sixth level for breakfast this morning,” he suggested.
“I don’t want to run into Reyes,” I said flatly.
“I want to see Bron,” he countered. “It’s okay. I can go down on my own.”
“Why do you want to see Bron?”
“I kind of have a plan and I need to see if it’s going to work out,” he said.
“Are you going to share your plan with me?” I wondered. “I thought we were in this together.”
“We had a good talk last night Sunny and it made me think. If my family is locked up right now, then I can take control of Liberty. Bron can help me with that. I also want to know how many Liberty members are guards down here. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I guess I was too busy feeling like a fugitive,” he said.
“You mean you might have guards down here?” I asked incredulously.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” he said brightly.
“How do you take control? How fast can it happen?” I asked. The thought that Jack might have power never occurred to me. This could open so many doors. This might actually save us.
“I don’t know. I’m on the run from Holt, so it’s a long shot that everyone will accept me as head. It’s an even longer shot that they’ll accept an alliance with the Pit. But if everyone is as loyal to me as Bron seems to be, then I might have a chance,” he said hopefully.
“Ok, I’m coming to the sixth level with you,” I said. I was about to put my hat on and walk out the door when I realized I still needed to color his hair. “I forgot about the coal.”
I retrieved the coal from the cupboard and turned to find Jack already sitting in the chair waiting. He was just as anxious as I was to see where this might go. I darkened his hair as quickly as I could without making a mess.
“Your vest,” he reminded me.
I ran into the bedroom and put it on under my t-shirt. Finally ready, we left the apartment. We were early again today and traffic in the hall and on the stairs was still light. We found Bron in her usual spot.
“Good morning, Bron,” Jack greeted her. She looked pleased to see Jack.
“Good morning,” I echoed.
“How are you, Sunny?” Bron asked in a concerned voice.
“Coping,” I reassured her. I didn’t want to talk about my father. It would just upset me.
“We were hoping to talk to you about something. Is this a safe spot?” Jack asked getting right to the point.
“It’s safe at the moment. The other guards on this level are opening up the common room right now,” she said.
“Have my parents sent out any messages from Liberty since the wedding?” he asked. Bron shook her head no.
“No one has heard from them. Word is that the President has them under house arrest. I’m sorry,” she said compassionately.
“Then I’m going to assume control of Liberty. Is there access to the mainframe down here? I haven’t been able to get a signal since I came here,” he said, taking his tablet out of his back pocket.
“There’s no reception down here. Too much rock,” she said.
“How do the cameras work then? How do you communicate with the other guards?” he asked.
“The cameras and televisions are all hardwired to the mainframe. I communicate with the other guards down here using this.” She unclipped a small appliance from her belt. “It’s like a walkie-talkie. It only has a short range.”
“Can you help get my messages out then? I assume you have access to the mainframe when you’re i
n the Dome?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “But I’ll need your verification codes to make it legitimate.” She unhooked her communicator from her belt and handed it to Jack.
“I can trust you with this, right?” he stared her in the eyes.
“Yes, sir,” she confirmed. She never flinched from his gaze.
Jack took her communicator and typed in the information and handed it back to her.
“How many other guards down here belong to Liberty?” he questioned her.
“I’d say about a hundred, give or take a few,” she responded.
“Are they all as dedicated as you?” he asked.
“The ones I know are, but I can’t vouch for the others. I think anyone who belongs to Liberty must be dedicated,” she replied.
“Are they supportive of the people down here in the Pit?” he asked pointedly.
“I’m not sure I follow, sir,” she said in confusion.
“Do the Liberty guards on duty down here hate the urchins or like them?” he said boldly. Bron looked taken aback by his question.
“Anybody who believes in Liberty also believes in equality. Life down here is far from equal. We do what we can to help the people in the Pit,” she assured him, almost angry.
“Would you join with them?” he asked. “If there was a revolt, whose side would you be on?”
“The right side,” she replied unwavering.
“I want to join the Pit with Liberty and start training an army. Are you with us?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” she said without hesitation. “Most of the people I know will be with you.”
“That’s what I’m counting on. We’ll need a place to meet and start training. Are the common rooms the only places with cameras?” he asked. Bron nodded. “If a camera was broken, how long would it take to be replaced?”
Sunset Rising Page 21