Disorder

by Martha Adele

  I can’t help but hope Eric gets into some sort of trouble for what he did.

  I turn around in my seat and look to Sam, who has his arms crossed and his eyes fixated on his desk. I take a breath and look back over to Henry’s empty seat. He was one of the only people in Bergland who actually made an effort to welcome us. I mean, most people tried to be kind, but they could never quite manage a welcome the same way Henry did. Just seeing his desk empty causes a gut-wrenching feeling.

  He was too young to die.

  Too kind.

  I hate to think about it, but I have to wonder if he was ever bullied the same way Sam was. Was he ever pushed around, hit, and abused? I know there are kids in this class who picked on him. I could hear their comments whenever Henry answered a question. But did they ever actually take to physical abuse?

  I shake off the thought of Henry being beaten and turn back to Sam, who is frozen in his seat. “Hey,” I whisper to him.

  He doesn’t flinch.

  “Are you okay?”

  Sam doesn’t move. He doesn’t answer. It’s like he isn’t even here. In order to keep from causing any more anger, I turn back around.

  Sam is upset. I can’t blame him.

  Janice enters the classroom with a content look on her face. As she closes the door behind her, I see Eric pass by, walking freely in the hallway.

  “Okay, okay.” Janice raises her voice to the class and waves her hands at them to sit down. “Get to your seats!”

  Why does she look so smug? Why is Eric walking out instead of being escorted out by our police? I thought the Taai were supposed to protect and serve the people of Bergland, not stand by and watch people get bullied for their disabilities. Yeah, Eric may not have bullied him directly, but watching without doing anything is just as bad.

  As Janice begins class, all I can do is dwell on this issue. I can’t listen to her talk about political parties anymore. I want to know what she said to Eric. I want to know what kind of awful excuse he came up with to get himself out of trouble. I want to know if Logan defended a bully or if he really didn’t know anything about it.

  “Mavis,” Janice calls out my name in the middle of her lecture, causing all of the heads in the class to look over. “What was I just talking about?”

  My eyes meet with hers as a smirk rises on her face. She knows I wasn’t listening, so why ask? Why call me out?

  Janice continues teaching the class, and I watch her as if I am listening, but I can’t seem to get my mind to focus. Why would she call me out like that? Why would she let Eric walk off like that?

  Why does she say she has no tolerance for bullies but is acting like one herself?

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Logan

  McCullough, on the end of my row, lowers his wrists and stops filming as John’s speech comes to an end.

  My team, Delta, has been driving since John accepted two out of the three newcomers into the Taai. We drove all day and all night and are now less than an hour away from Bouw, our assignment. Nobody here expects this war to last much longer because of our foolproof plan.

  Alpha, the largest and most skilled group of Taai, is going to Verwend. Verwend is the state of Bestellen that surrounds Metropolis. It is the state that manufactures all of the country’s weapons. Beta is going to Hout, the lumber state. Gamma is going to Meer, the aquaculture state. And Zeta is going to Minje, my home state.

  Each team is split into two divisions. The first division is to go and take out the major air defenses and weapons building. The second team, like ours, will go in after the video has aired and help pave the way for the Bergland army.

  Some of the other teams have been driving since before we freed Bloot. We have to drive around the wall and make sure to stay a safe distance away until we are ready. Since some of the states are on the opposite side of the country and there is no way to cut through, it is taking a lot longer for other teams to get to their target location than it takes us to get to Bouw.

  As the van shakes and wobbles its way through the woods, I watch John type something into his hologram and McCullough patch in the video feed. Eric and I sit beside each other in silence, not knowing what to say. In the day we have been here, we have gone over our plans multiple times, have run through dozens of scenarios, have eaten, and have slept. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to actually chat, and now that we do, there’s nothing to say.

  Or there’s nothing we’re saying.

  Eric finally speaks up after we finish filming John. He continues staring forward, just as I do. “I’m not a bad guy.”

  I stay silent, not knowing what to do or how to answer. From what little I’ve heard from Sam, Eric is a bad guy. Eric watched Sam get bullied and did nothing about it.

  “The guys were messing with Sam in front of me, and I got them to stop. After Uri and the others left Sam on the floor, I helped him to the restroom.”

  I’ve heard this before. I don’t know why he is going on about it.

  “And after Sam told me to get out, I stayed outside of the bathroom to make sure he was going to get out okay.”

  I turn my head to Eric to see his face is as serious as could be. His brows are furrowed, his jaw clenched, and his eyes stare straight into mine.

  “I waited over a half hour for him to get up and to come out. The second he came out of the restroom, I walked off so that he wouldn’t feel like I didn’t think he could handle himself.”

  “Really?” I ask, not fully convinced. From what I know about Eric, this sounds just like something he would do, but I don’t know enough about him to believe his story over Sam’s.

  “Yes. Really.” Eric looks back to the wall in front of him as we continue to drive. He rests his head on his seat. “After I left the restroom, I met back up with Uri and the others. I confronted them about what they did.”

  I scoff. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yep.” He turns back to me. “You don’t believe me, do you?”

  I suck my teeth and cock my head. “I can’t say that I do.”

  Eric sits up straight and unbuckles his gear.

  “What are you doing?” I ask him.

  He looks to me as he slides off his vest and pulls up his shirt, revealing a battered and bruised abdomen. Black, purple, and red marks are scattered all over his chest and stomach. “This is what they did to me.” He lowers his shirt and rolls up his sleeves to reveal more bruising. “I told them that what they did was wrong and brainless. I called Uri out and said that he only ever picks on people weaker than himself because he can never handle a real fight.” He lowers his sleeve and begins putting back on his vest. John and the others had glanced over but have lost interest and gone back to their typing on their holograms. “I guess that’s when he decided he was ready to fight someone more skilled than himself.”

  I watch him wince as he slides his armor back on over top of his injuries. “You and Uri fought?” I ask, still not sure what to think.

  “At first, it was just us.” He clips on his armor and leans back into his chair. “But like I said, he usually only takes on those who are less skilled than himself. After he threw the first punch and missed, I took him down. Not too long after the fight started, he called in his friends to help take me down.”

  I look over to John as he finishes typing something and attaching his video, then back to Eric. “Why didn’t you tell someone?”

  “Uri is dead now. It doesn’t matter.”

  “What about the others? Are they Taai?”

  Eric shakes his head. “Only military.”

  We pause for a moment. The only sound in the carrier is the sound of the twigs snapping underneath the tires as we drive.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell Eric.

  “For what?”

  “Not believing you.”

  He turns to look back at me. We both find ourselves givi
ng a small appreciative nod.

  “All right!” John grabs everyone’s attention. “Look to the screens, boys.” Everyone’s eyes fall onto the picture that he projects onto the back doors of the carrier, a picture of Chancellor Lance Meir II.

  John clears his throat and points to the screen. “This is the live broadcast showing on every screen in Bestellen.”

  Meir sits at his beautiful wooden desk from where he gives all of his speeches. His white facial hair continues to be groomed to sit right around his mouth and to be the same snow-white color as the hair on his head. He wears a black suit jacket, his signature purple vest, a black collared shirt underneath the vest, and a purple bow tie to tie his outfit together.

  “I want to say, ‘Good morning, Bestellen,’” he says with a soft, yet angered voice. “I want to congratulate you on your hard work and prosperity, but I am unable to do so. Word has gotten around the country of the incident that occurred in Bloot two days ago. Though you may have heard different, I am here to clarify and let you know what really happened. There was a revolt in Bloot, one that killed hundreds of citizens and even more of our soldiers who fight every day to keep the peace. Due to the loss of life, labor, and capital during this inhumane and selfish act of revolt, all Bestellen welfare programs will be paused to deter any further revolt or disrespect of this nation. Welfare programs including health care …” John and McCullough pull up their holograms and type one last thing in. As Meir lists the programs he is getting rid of, I could practically hear the revolts starting. “These programs will be reinstituted after all of the lost resources have been made up.”

  The video feed is interrupted as John’s face glitches onto the screen. Everyone in the car cheers as his video begins addressing the entire nation of Bestellen.

  “Good morning, Bestellen. What your chancellor has just told you is untrue. There was no revolt in Bloot, only a revolution.” Everyone in the carrier is frozen with a mixture of emotions. We all watch as John’s message streams through the country. “Chancellor Meir will never stop punishing you, the citizens of Bergland, for anything and everything that goes wrong. He blames you when he wastes resources on frivolous projects. He blames you when things don’t go his way. And he will continue to blame and punish you for the rest of your lives unless you help us now. If you want freedom from his oppression, then you should fight with Bergland. Fight with my nation as we come in to free you from destitution. If you want freedom, get ready to fight with Bergland and fight for the freedom you have been deprived of all your lives. The Diligent will always come out on top, so fight for what you believe in. Fight with Bergland!”

  The screen goes dark, and the whole car stays silent. All anyone in Bestellen sees right now is a black screen, just as we do.

  Before John can say anything, a deafening blast hits our ears, and our carrier soars through the air.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Logan

  Fuzzy.

  It is too fuzzy.

  They’re dangling.

  I’m dangling.

  Blurry.

  They’re all blurry.

  They’re not moving. The only one who is moving is John.

  As my surroundings come into focus, I realize the carrier has flipped onto its side. McCullough, Eric, and I are on the top end, dangling above John and two others.

  I squint and look around the carrier, trying to get my vision back, and see Eric barely conscious. He pulls one of his hands off his head to reveal a large bloody gash and looks at it with a sense of horror. I watch as he tries to unbuckle his harness for a few moments before it occurs to me to unbuckle mine.

  John and the two beneath us free themselves from their harnesses with ease and stand in an awkward position with their heads right beside me on both sides. John reaches over and helps me unbuckle while the other two help Eric down and check his head.

  “I’m all right,” Eric continues to insist, waving them off him. “I’m fine. Go check on Somar and Torez.”

  One of the two who helped Eric weaves through the disheveled carrier and makes it to the drivers as John helps me down. The moment my feet hit the floor, John grabs my head and turns it to him.

  “What are you doing?” I ask him. Too weak to shake him off, I try to pull away but fail.

  “Quit whining.” John releases my head and pulls away, shifting his focus to McCullough, who hasn’t moved from his harness. He places his fingers on McCullough’s neck for a few moments before pulling away. John looks past me to Eric and the two others. “We lost McCullough.”

  The soldier who checked on the drivers returns to Eric’s side with an angered look on his face. “Somar and Torez are gone too.”

  The moment he finishes his statement, I feel a gentle drop of blood travelling down my face. When I bring my hand up to my head, I find the source of the blood and the pain I hadn’t yet noticed.

  John sees me touch the wound on my temple as he wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “Forge. Don’t mess with it.” He comes over to me and grabs my arm, holding my sleeve onto the wound. “Hold it. Don’t mess with it.” He hesitates for a moment before pulling away.

  We all stand on the side of the carrier and look around. McCullough continues to dangle, along with the people in the front. The number of arms hanging above us is unsettling, and so is the blood dripping from McCullough’s head.

  John bends over and opens the hatch beneath his seat to pull out his gun. He barks at us all as he loads his gun with tranks, “Ready up!” The small yellow glass casings that hold the tranquilizers look eerily similar to the medicine vials back at Bergland, causing an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

  Everyone follows his lead and loads up their weapons as John uses his cuff to radio the other teams.

  “This is Young. Delta’s carrier is down. We lost three.” John brings his wrist down and pulls out more ammunition to load up.

  Another man’s voice echoes through the carrier, radiating from John’s cuff. “This is Horton. What happened?”

  John clears his throat and wipes his nose with the back of his hand again, this time revealing a small amount of blood. “We came in too far. Somar and Torez should’ve stopped the carrier after they saw the first bomb planted. Is everything else going as planned?”

  A silence fills the air as we wait for the man over the cuff to answer. I pull my hand and sleeve back to reveal that I have got the blood to stop dripping but have definitely ruined this shirt.

  John pulls up a three-dimensional map on his watch. We see each team’s marker floating above their location, along with our marker still far out in the woods. There are a large number of green markers covering a few of the states and spread out in such a numerous way that I am led to believe these represent Bergland’s army.

  Eric scoots past me and slides open one of the side windows, now on the ceiling.

  “No planes,” he tells us as he sticks his head out, along with a pistol, aimed and ready. “No other carriers.”

  John heads to the front of the van and picks up one of the bomb scanners that the two up front were supposed to be using. My eyes follow John to the front, then make their way past him through the shattered window and to the huge crater nearly twenty-five yards in front of us. Staring at me as he passes, John shuffles through the carrier back to the window above us. He sticks his head out and holds the nearly busted scanner to his face and spins around.

  “Hornet’s nests,” John states as he crawls back down into the van. “They’re everywhere.” He looks to each of us with a look that I can only describe as disappointment. “We are extremely lucky that we didn’t land on another one when the van tumbled.”

  Hornet’s nests? Is that what they call the land mines? I can’t ask without furthering John’s assumption that I’m an idiot, along with possibly causing the rest of my team to assume the same.

  John’s cuff gives off a
small amount of static as a voices call out, “This is Rodgers. Alpha is approaching Verwend.”

  A moment of silence passes before the rest of the teams tell us their status. “This is Corey. Gamma is in Hout.”

  “Chambers. Zeta is approaching Minje.”

  “Horton. Beta is in Meer.”

  John nods to us as he talks back to the cuff. “Young. Everything is going according to plan?”

  “Horton. Everyone is in their assigned locations or on their way to it other than Delta. Hout, Meer, Bouw are all rebelling.”

  “What about Minje?” John asks.

  Horton comes back on over the cuff. “Zeta didn’t take down their security towers in time. The citizens are being held at gunpoint in the squares.”

  John pauses and looks back over to us all.

  Before he can say anything, Horton’s voice echoes back through the carrier. “Beta has Meer under control. I will send some of my guys over to Bouw to handle them until you all get there.”

  “Got it,” John says into the cuff. “We’ll be there soon.” He turns to us all and shouts again, “Ready up!” Without any hesitation, John kicks the back doors of the carrier open and heads out with his gun ready and aimed. Eric and the two others zoom past me in the same stance as John, leaving me to follow. As we head through the woods, we don’t have to worry about the hornet’s nests because of their programming. One of the first things Sam, Mavis, and I learned when we came to Bergland was that the reason the rescue team couldn’t drive too far into the woods was because of these mines that blow up when vehicles drive by or over them. Lucky for us, these same mines are programmed not to blow up when wildlife is near, just vehicles.

  After we make it to the edge of Bouw, John commands everyone to activate their gloves and boots. I watch them as they all clench their fists and tap their feet with their knuckles. I do the same and listen to my gear whir to life. Neon blue lines run up my hands, seemingly outlining my bones, and lead to small blue circles on each of my fingertips.