by Dante Doom
The soldiers before her parted ways, allowing for Savannah to enter the building. Even though she had more important things on her mind, her breath was still taken away by the sheer beauty and opulence of the palace. The Nobles were once again sitting on their cushions, although they looked like they were far from relaxing.
“I don’t understand how any of you can be sitting here, waiting to die!” shouted a noblewoman who was pacing back and forth. “There’s got to be some way to escape. Some kind of tunnel or…”
“Miranda, calm down,” Pedro said. “Panicking won’t change anything. Be patient.”
“Patient for what?” Miranda shouted. Savannah remembered her; she was the exceptionally pale woman who had been rather vocal during the trial. “For a mob to come in and string us up? Kill our children?”
Savannah scanned the crowd, looking for Timon. She couldn’t see him anywhere. But they were all too distracted with looking at Miranda making a spectacle to notice Savannah creeping up from behind. Elanor was amongst the group, too, watching the woman’s ramblings with mild amusement.
Savannah waved a little, catching Elanor’s attention. The woman turned to look and immediately stood to her feet.
“Well?” Elanor asked as she rushed up to Savannah. No one else paid any attention; instead, they were watching Miranda begin to hyperventilate from the stress of it all as she bent at the waist and put her hands on her thighs. “Were you successful?”
“Yes,” Savannah said, pointing to the control panel around her wrist. “I’ve learned a lot in the last day.”
“So have I,” Elanor groaned. “Our scouts have reported five separate armies converging on this location. Have you brokered peace?”
“Oh, right,” Savannah said, realizing that Elanor hadn’t been part of the new plan. Savannah had assumed that Timon would have caught her up to speed. “Well, I’ve managed to figure out how the countermeasures work, and more importantly, I can control them.”
“What?” Elanor asked. “You can control them?”
Savannah nodded. “I have the power to seal and unseal the city at any given moment.”
“Seal it? How?”
“With the push of a button, I can engage a lockdown mode that will put a steel dome around this entire place, cutting everyone off.”
“Well, you should do it now,” Elanor said. “Because they are out for blood. We sent a runner out to send them a message and they…” she paused to grimace. “I won’t tell you what they did to him, but rest assured they are here to kill us all.”
“I’ve got a plan… but where’s Timon?” Savannah asked.
“I don’t know; last I saw him, he was heading outside of the walls, but if they caught him…” Elanor trailed off. “Well, let’s hope that he’s okay.”
“Wait, what? Why is he outside the walls?” Savannah put her hand on her stomach and took some slow deep breaths. If her dad was there, he’d protect him, wouldn’t he? She really wanted him by her side when she did this, though; if it hadn’t been for him, she’d have been dead long ago.
“How should I know? He is not my responsibility,” Elanor replied with some annoyance.
“All right.” Savannah took another breath. Could this really work? She only had one chance at this. “Tell everyone to gather inside of the courtroom, and I mean everyone. The servants, the soldiers, everyone. They might panic when the dome seals them in, but they’ll have air for a few hours.”
“A few hours?” Elanor said. “What happens after that? We suffocate?”
“No, I’ve got it under control,” Savannah lied. “Do as I say. This is the only way we can reach some kind of consensus.”
Elanor paced in front of her. “This is asinine; you want me to gather everyone into one place where we can easily be killed off without firing a single shot. Savannah, you are asking too much.”
“Look, I realize this is scary, but you were the one who wanted a better world, and the only way that will happen is if the peasants put down their weapons and agree to a truce. Now, please, do as I say,” Savannah told her, trying to keep her temper from flaring. They really didn’t have time for this.
Elanor mumbled, “I’m trusting you on this one. It’s not like I have much of a choice anyway.
“No, you really don’t,” Savannah replied as she turned to leave. She paused for a second and tapped Elanor on the shoulder to turn her back around to face her, however.
“What is it?” Elanor snapped.
“I forgot to mention, I ran into Fingers in the Grind earlier.”
“Really?” Elanor’s eyes lit up with excitement. Savannah was genuinely surprised at the sheer giddiness running across the older woman’s face, but it made her glad she’d decided to say something to the woman. “Did you tell him that I’m waiting for him in the city?”
“Uh, no,” Savannah said. “We didn’t have a lot of time to talk. But, uh, he did mention that he tried to go back into the real world, and he wasn’t crazy about it.”
Elanor’s face darkened considerably. “What is that supposed to mean?” she growled.
“I guess it means he wants to stay in the Grind forever. He said that he’d be happy to be with you if you were interested in joining his posse.”
“When all of this is over, I’m going to march into that game, find out where his physical body is, and then pry him out of that damned tube,” Elanor hissed. “I’m not losing this man!”
“Can… can I ask? What do you see in that guy?” Savannah inquired.
“He makes me laugh, and I’m not threatened by him politically,” Elanor said. “The perfect man.”
“Politics are going out the window, Elanor,” Savannah replied. “I mean, once the dust settles, there won’t be any nobility.”
“Oh, there will be something so much more,” Elanor replied. “A democracy. And who do you think is going to lead that democracy?” She smiled wickedly. “I’m going to win this, no matter what.”
“Well, good for you,” Savannah said. “If you somehow manage to avoid a public execution, I’ll definitely support your endeavors.”
“Thank you, Savannah. Of course, we could have avoided this whole mess if you had simply taken the damn position of Queen and shut the Grind down for good.”
“Ah, here’s the part where I leave now. But to let you know, I’m pretty sure that Fingers’ new haunt is going to be in the Dream Lands. He liked the lighthouse idea an awful lot when we were there.”
“Dream Lands,” Elanor mumbled. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
With that, Savannah departed from Elanor. The momentary distraction had been welcome, but her mind was quickly bringing up more pressing matters. She hoped that her plan was going to work, but if the masses didn’t care for her presentation, she would probably be right next to Elanor on the chopping block.
Timon stood alone in front of the city gate. He could see five distinct banners raised in the distance, carried by armies marching toward Verre. Was Savannah still alive? He had no idea. It would be impossible for him to know until she came out.
Timon had wanted to sit by and wait for her, but he knew that, if she failed, it would all fall to him to try to dissuade the crowd. Of course, the chances of them listening to him were tiny, and he would most likely be massacred if he tried, but at least he would try. It’s not like he had any other option at this point. His entire family was in Verre, and the standing army parked near the gate would stop anyone trying to escape.
As Timon stood thinking, though, he felt something smack the back of his head.
“Hey,” said a familiar voice, “stop loitering around.”
“Savannah?” he shouted as he spun around to see her standing there, grinning. “You’re alive!”
“For now, anyway,” she said. He grabbed her tightly and held her, but she pushed herself away. “Look, we’re not in the clear yet. We’ve got to time everything right or… or we’re in real trouble.”
“Were you able to disable the defenses?
”
“Sort of. I have supreme control over Verre,” Savannah said as she walked a few steps away from Timon and glanced at her wrist.
“Supreme control… are you joking?” Timon asked.
“Oh, no,” Savannah chuckled. “I’ve got a lot to fill you in on, but… we don’t have the time. Listen, you should probably get inside the city. It could get ugly out here.”
“Not a chance in hell,” Timon replied. “I’m standing firm with you here. No matter what.”
Savannah smiled nervously at him. “Thanks.” She glanced down at her wrist again. She pressed a few buttons on the controls and brought up the command that would seal the city. She only had one chance at this. One single display of force to convince them to back down. Everything was riding on her back. What had she done to earn all of this responsibility?
The five armies moved forward until they converged into one massive army, each person armed with whatever weapon they’d been able to find. The banners were held high, and she recognized them as the symbols of the five different communities that surrounded Verre. Marching at the front were the Elders and Hem.
Savannah and Timon stood in the center of their pathway, in front of the gate. The beating of the war drums in the back was rather unnerving. Her breathing was shallow enough to match the frantic beat of the drummers, who were banging with the ferocity of revenge.
“This is it,” Savannah said. She walked a few feet forward and held her hands out. “Stop!” she shouted.
“Company, halt!” Hem shouted with bravado as he gave Savannah a relieved smile, happy to see that she was still alive. Hem held up his hand still, signaling a stop, and shouts began to bounce back calling for a halt. It took several long minutes, but eventually the army stopped their progress—although those in the back continued to move forward so that they could see what was going on.
“What’s the meaning of this? Do you wish to parley?” shouted one of the Elders. “Because we already sent the nobility what we thought about that. There will be no quarter. The city is ours!”
There was a loud, triumphant cheer from the entire army as they raised their weapons high. The war drummers continued to bang away in a frenzy.
“I…” Savannah stammered as she raised her hand. “I can’t let you enter the city. Not like this. I’m here to talk about working out our differences and establishing a new rule of law.”
“Ma’am, you best move out of the way,” another Elder cried. “There’s no reason we need to work out anything. We’ve got the numbers.”
“You’ve got the numbers,” Savannah bellowed as she placed her hand on her wrist. “But do you have control?” With that, she pressed the key, activating the city’s gate mode.
The ground began to rumble and everyone fell to their hands and knees, unable to keep their footing with the tremors. Dirt burst forth as a long steel wall emerged from the ground. The wall grew higher and higher, warping over Verre and transforming into a massive dome. There were no seams along the wall—only smooth metal.
“What the hell?” Hem shouted as he climbed to his feet. He was genuinely surprised at what had occurred, and he stared upwards at the sealed-in city.
The rest of the crowd got to their feet, murmuring in shock and surprise at what had happened. Savannah felt Timon’s hand grab hers and pull her up to her feet, as well.
One of the Elders, Fiskin, pointed at Savannah. “You sealed Verre! How?”
“Unseal it now!” someone else in the crowd shouted. They all grew heated immediately and began to scream and jeer at her.
Savannah made no sound; she merely watched as the people continued to shout. Hem held his hand up again and those closest to them began to settle down.
“What is the meaning of this?” Fiskin asked. “Why would you side with them?”
“Kill her!” someone from the crowd cried out.
“No, don’t—we need her,” another voice countered.
“I’m not siding with anyone,” Savannah replied. “I’m here to tell you that things are going to be changing from now on.”
“How so?” another Elder, Mara, asked.
“There are defenses inside of this city that will eviscerate everyone, when activated. If they detect a high level of violent activity, they will use a concentrated gas to purge everyone. You will have roughly fifteen seconds of oxygen before you die,” Savannah explained.
“Well, turn them off and let us get in there!” someone cried.
“If you think I’m going to let you go in there, you’re mistaken,” Savannah said. “Let me get one thing straight. You’re not some kind of disciplined army—you’re a mob. Sure, you’ve got a few leaders, but do you really think that Verre is going to survive an influx of people? The moment you see what it’s like in there… you’ll begin to sack the city. Looting, stealing, and destroying. More will catch word and this entire city will be destroyed in no time.”
“So?” Mara asked. “We’ll split the share with our people.”
“Then what? We live in a state of anarchy? Who will be in charge? More importantly, Verre is the reason why we have electricity. Why the first wall keeps us safe from invaders. Destroy the city, and we all die.”
There was silence amongst the group. No one had apparently thought this out. They were all too excited to go to war to consider what would happen afterwards, much less the ramifications if the first wall were to be breached.
“She’s right,” Hem said as he joined her and turned to face the crowd. “We can’t go in half-cocked. Verre might be big, but it’s not big enough to house all of us.”
“And, as much as you’re going to hate me for saying this, we’ll need the Nobles for the future,” Savannah said. There were hisses and boos from the crowd, but Savannah stood strong in front of them. “They are educated and intelligent; many of them know science and philosophy. We’ve unlocked reservoirs of knowledge from the Grind,” she continued. “They can put that knowledge to use to oversee new construction.”
“Construction of what?” Fiskin asked.
Savannah smiled as she held up her wrist and activated a holographic display. It was the city of Verre, except several times larger than the one behind her which they all knew. “This.” The display of the city grew large enough for everyone to see.
“You see, we’ve spent our entire lives doing everything wrong. The Grind didn’t exist to enslave us; it existed to give us the utmost freedom. With that freedom comes responsibility. I’ve found plans to expand Verre enough to house all of us. Creating something like this is far beyond any one person’s power. It’s going to take all of us, together.”
“So, what are you proposing?” Fiskin demanded. “That we forgive the Nobles for forcing us to live in poverty?”
“I have spent the majority of my life as a Grinder, working day and night so I could help my family put food on the table,” Savannah said. “If we’re going to change things, we’re going to need a lot of points to open the halls of knowledge. I propose that we make the nobility work off their crimes against us inside the Grind, working to gain points.”
There was a bit of laughter from the crowd at this. “Think about it,” Savannah said, smiling widely. “These Silvarspoons profited from our hard labor, right? They were full and warm while we were cold and hungry. We can get revenge by killing them, sure, or we can turn the tables. We’ll establish a court, made up of the Elders. Every person will bring their complaints about the ruling class forward, and those found guilty will be sentenced to a specific amount of time in the Grind.”
“For once, those bastards are going to have to know what hard work feels like!” a man in the crowd cheered. There was more laughter.
“And the Elders will decide the punishments, but not through violence. No murders. Let each man reap what he has sown,” Savannah said. While she hated Baron Hauss more than anything, nothing would give her more pleasure than to know that he was locked in a tube, being forced to shoot at Virals for the next thirty year
s of his life.
There was a murmur amongst the crowd. A few people shouted out their disagreements then, and general chaos broke out.
“I think it’s working,” Hem whispered as he leaned close to Savannah. “In fact, it’s a punishment I can get behind. Some of these Silvarspoons are gonna be in pods for life.”
“I suppose it is better than the alternative of being locked out,” an unfamiliar Elder said. “Very well, I will support this effort.”
“As will I!” Mara called out.
“My village stands with it, as well,” Hem said. He was speaking for Herb, but most people trusted him more than the doddering old man.
“There’s no way around this, is there?” Fiskin asked.
Savannah shook her head. “No. This is how it’s going to be. We’re going to leave the past behind and focus on rebuilding.”
“Bah,” Fiskin said as he threw his hands up. “We support this plan, as well.”
Another Elder, the short man with a fierce temper, kicked the dirt hard. “This is a fool’s errand, I say, but we’re outnumbered here.”
“Then, return to your homes,” Savannah said. “Elders, please remain.”
There was grumbling amongst the peasants, but the solid steel dome made no indication of moving any time soon. Eventually, a few of the impromptu warriors started to wander away. The Elders returned to touch base with the peasants from their respective communities, issuing instructions, and slowly the army disbanded fully as the peasants marched toward home. Savannah stared impatiently at her bracelet, monitoring the time. She hadn’t considered how long it would take an army of this size to turn around and leave. Eventually, though, Savannah was alone with a handful of people.
“How did you pull that off?” Timon asked as he put his arm around her. “Even in my wildest dreams, I would have never thought of this.”
“Well…” Savannah said as she drew a sharp breath in, “it came with a cost. I’m the Queen of the Grind now.”