When Stars Go Out

by Grey, Ransom;

  The door opened and shut quickly.

  “They’re here!” exclaimed Sarah. She hurried off toward the front hall and returned in a moment with a figure behind her. He was tall and strongly built with broad, strapping shoulders that seemed to fill the narrow doorway. He pushed back the hood of his forest green jacket to reveal dark, crewcut hair and a well-formed, masculine face.

  “That’s Cody,” Nathan said in Reed’s ear. “He and Elijah live and work together.”

  Cody stepped out of the doorway, still removing his coat, and someone else appeared. He was about Cody’s height, but his head was bent as he unzipped his navy Northface jacket. Then he looked up and met Reed’s eyes across the room. Reed could only stare.

  He was slender, and dark brown hair, touched with the tiniest hint of gold over the left temple, swept above his forehead. His face was clean-cut, open, and strikingly handsome. But it was his eyes that held Reed’s gaze. They were blue—pure, blazing blue. Not sky blue, or ocean blue, or peacock blue, but an intense, beautiful blue that made even Alec’s seem commonplace. And they had a depth to them—a calming deepness that spoke of understanding, perception, and something else Reed could not put a finger on.

  “Sorry,” Cody was saying, “the boss was out today, and everybody had to stay pretty late. I didn’t think we’d ever get away.”

  “Thanks.” Elijah smiled as Sarah took his coat. “I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

  “Of course not! Come in.”

  As the group moved into the living room, Nathan grabbed Reed by the shoulder and steered him in their direction. Reed had a sudden reluctance to meet the newcomers, most likely because Nathan was so excited about it. Or perhaps it was the way Elijah’s eyes seemed to cut right through him; it made Reed feel like a shy second grader with cookie crumbs on the front of his shirt.

  They made their way up to the newcomers, and Nathan made a quick introduction. Reed smiled automatically, sticking out his hand. “It’s—umm—nice to meet you.”

  Cody said nothing, but he had a very firm grip that made Reed’s eyes water.

  “It’s great to finally meet you, too, man,” said Elijah. His voice was not low, but it had a manly tone and a pleasing fullness. “We’re glad you could make it.”

  “Yeah, same here,” Reed replied. Without thinking, he dusted off the front of his shirt. He wasn’t sure what to say next, but he felt something was needed. “So you guys don’t live on the Hill anymore?”

  “Well, not in the Dorms,” Elijah said. “Cody and I moved into an apartment a couple months ago, but it’s technically still on the Hill. Alec says you’re in Dorm Four. You probably know Reagan.”

  “Of course! He’s my roommate. Do you know him?”

  Elijah raised his eyebrows and exchanged looks with Cody. “Roommate, eh? Yeah, I knew him, though we usually ran in different circles.”

  Reed wasn’t sure how to reply. Thankfully, he didn’t have to because Wilson, Gabe, and some of the girls came up to introduce themselves. Reed was grateful for Nathan’s help with names beforehand; he would have been completely lost without it.

  “We’ve heard a lot about you from Nathan,” Wilson echoed Sarah once the rush of introductions was over. “It’s great to have you here.”

  Reed was beginning to wonder what they had heard. He didn’t have a chance to ask, however, as Gabe interrupted the conversation. “Do you think you were followed, Nathan?” he asked, lowering his voice and stepping closer. Reed noticed that he still kept his lips pressed together even when he talked.

  “No, I was extra careful,” Nathan assured him.

  “Did you see anyone on the way over?”

  “Nope. It was pouring rain and totally deserted.”

  “Nobody noticed either of you slipping away?” Gabe pressed.

  Nathan turned to Reed. “You’ll have to forgive Gabe,” he said, only half-joking. “He’s kind of like our watchdog and head of security—very good, too. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”

  The conversation would have gone further, but Sarah interrupted. “Since we’re all here, let’s go ahead and sit down,” she announced. “Wilson’s about ready to start.”

  Everyone found a seat of some sort and settled in, although two of the guys ended up on the floor. Reed wedged in between Nathan and the arm of the couch, bracing himself for a long and boring evening.

  This isn’t half as cool as TV.

  Chapter 14

  Wilson began his talk with some Bible verse about witnesses and living in “the last days,” but his words made no sense to Reed. As the evening progressed, some of the others occasionally chimed in with more verses and insights of their own, but Reed lost interest and most of it went in one ear and out the other. After a while, however, a few of Wilson’s words caught his attention and jerked his wandering mind back to the present.

  “…one of our greatest enemies is complacency,” Wilson was saying. “Without that, the Council never could have done what they have. GRO wouldn’t exist.”

  “What do you mean?” Reed interrupted. Immediately, he felt the blood rush to his cheeks. Everyone was looking at him, but the interruption didn’t seem to annoy Wilson.

  “Well,” he explained, leaning back on the sofa, “obviously our government isn’t what it used to be, so how did it get all this new power—suddenly, by force? No. It was a slow and gradual turn-over. New groups and new people came to power doing things that should have concerned us, but ‘we the people’ did nothing about it because of one thing: apathy. We just didn’t care. The change came in small steps that seemed insignificant, even good at the time. They got more confident as we got more indifferent, and that’s the only way they’ve been able to get us where we are today. And this is just the beginning. They’re not going to stop anytime soon.”

  “Surely not,” Reed objected. “They can’t do anything else… can they? I mean, most people in the Dorms aren’t happy about what they’ve done already.”

  “They aren’t?” Wilson raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever heard anyone complain about it? Not about the rules, I mean, but about what’s happened?”

  Reed frowned. “Well… no, I haven’t. How weird! Why aren’t they mad?”

  “It’s what I said.” Wilson shook his head. “Apathy. They’ve been lulled into not caring. Their parents, too. This wasn’t a sudden leap to take over the families and split them up. They’ve been working up to it for years, building trust and drawing kids away. GRO just took things to a whole new level.”

  “But why would they do that?” Reed fixed his eyes almost fiercely on the other boy.

  Wilson leaned forward. “Because it’s all about the mind. Never underestimate the power of ideas and the things people will do for them. Ideas are the way into the mind and, if you can control an idea, you can control the world. It starts with us—the young, impressionable future. They saw that and took it. And they were only able to take it because, first, they got us to a point where we didn’t care.”

  Wilson returned to his original subject, but Reed sank into his own thoughts. Wilson was right. When Reed stepped back and looked at it, what was going on around him was unbelievable. Who, twenty years ago—or even ten—would have dreamed things would be like this? It was astounding to think about. And nobody cared. Nobody cared.

  Reed had almost forgotten the hatred and bitterness he’d felt so strongly when he first arrived. Now, it burst back on him like an underworld geyser. He, the one who loved his independence so much, was trapped in an oppressive system built by others’ carelessness. He loathed it—he despised it—and he was absolutely powerless. He clenched his teeth.

  Wilson’s talk ended, and the group began their prayer time. Reed shut his eyes mechanically with the rest, but his mind kept working. So he couldn’t break out of the system, but that didn’t mean he had to be a slave to it. No, absolutely not.

  At the same time, it wasn’t all bad here. Surely he could find a way to keep his independence wi
thout giving up everything about this new life. He could use what the system offered to his advantage—go along, play the game, and get what he wanted without letting it control him. It wouldn’t be easy, though. He had almost forgotten his anger before; that couldn’t happen again. Never forget and never let go.

  He realized the prayer time had ended. Calming his inward fuming, Reed opened his eyes and looked up. Elijah’s gaze was fixed intently on his face. Reed couldn’t interpret the expression of the blue eyes, but they seemed to be reading him, getting past his careful guard. He looked away, discomfited, until he sensed the other boy ceased to study him. He was not in a mood to be studied.

  Everyone was getting up and talking. Reed stretched and winced as he tried to stand. His side was sore where the arm of the couch had dug under his rib cage. He must have been sitting for over an hour.

  Nathan rotated his left shoulder and checked his phone. “We’ll have to leave soon to make curfew at the Dorms.”

  Reed grimaced. “Do we just walk out?”

  “No, we slip off alone or in pairs; it can take a while. We’ll start off in a minute. I’ll let you know when it’s time.”

  Nathan was called over to join a conversation across the room. Reed, left by himself, tried to look intelligent instead of standing awkwardly with his hands in his pockets. He wandered over to examine a collection of china figurines on a whatnot in the corner. He hadn’t been there long before Gabe approached him. Reed hadn’t paid much attention to Gabe before. He sized him up swiftly. His hair was dark, nearly black, and cut into a classic undercut that swept up off his forehead to the side. He had a finely chiseled face sprinkled with the beginnings of a dark beard with a straight nose and well-defined cheekbones. He seemed to have Arab blood in him, and there was a serious intensity about his whole bearing that culminated in his dark eyes. He still kept his lips pressed together.

  The conversation began with some stilted small talk, but Gabe was quick to get to his point. “Look,” he began, “I know Nathan wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t think you could be trusted, but we have to be careful. I can’t stress enough that you say nothing about this to anybody. You’re the only one we’ve ever done something like this for, and it’s very dangerous to have you here. You can’t say anything to anyone at all.”

  “I know,” answered Reed, slightly annoyed. He toyed with one of the figurines in his hand. “I can keep my mouth shut.”

  Gabe studied him. “I hope that’s true,” he said quietly. “Frankly, I don’t know anything about you except what Alec and Nathan have told me. But remember this: I have my reasons for protecting my friends, and I will do that to the best of my ability.” He took a step closer and lowered his voice. “You and I both live in the Dorms and, if anything about this ever gets out, I will know. I’ll be watching.”

  Their eyes locked.

  “Thanks, I’ll remember that.”

  Nathan approached. “Ready, Reed? We probably need to head out.”

  Reed set the figurine back on the shelf and turned away. Gabe never moved.

  They put on their coats in the dim hallway as others in the group told them goodbye. Gabe was absent, but Reed was surprised how cordial and warm the rest of them were. When they were ready, Sarah opened the door with a soft “good night,” and the two boys slipped outside. The rain had ceased, but a thin mist swirled between the apartments and over the puddle-filled streets. They glided through the damp, white shreds to a side road and began navigating their way back toward the Dorms. After several minutes, Nathan spoke softly. “What’d you think?”

  Reed stared up the street in front of them. “Still thinking,” he answered. “Everybody was nice, though. Well, almost everybody.”

  He heard the smile in Nathan’s voice. “‘Almost’ meaning Gabe. Sorry about that. Since he’s, like, our security guy, he’s always careful about everybody. This new ringer theory has him especially edgy. He’s really a great guy once you get to know him. He actually—”

  Suddenly, Nathan threw his arm across Reed’s chest.

  “Stop!” he hissed, staring into the darkness.

  Reed froze and peered over his shoulder. Something was moving.

  Nathan searched the blackness for a second longer, then he gave Reed a push forward. “Walk!” he whispered. “And look casual!”

  Reed did his best under the circumstances, and they sauntered across the open street. Out of the dark on their left, a man appeared, cloaked in the black overcoat and face mask Reed had seen once before. His pulse quickened.

  Nathan gave the man no more than a nonchalant glance. Even when their paths almost intersected in the middle of the street, he merely nodded to the black figure and passed by. The man didn’t seem to pay them any attention. Nonetheless, Reed could have sworn he felt eyes on the back of his head.

  Nathan quickened their pace as soon as they were safely out of the street, but neither of them spoke until they had turned a few corners and left the man far behind.

  “Well, that could have been worse.” Nathan glanced over his shoulder and stuck his hands in his pockets.

  “But he saw us! That can’t be good.”

  “I don’t think it will be a big deal. He’ll see a lot of kids out right before curfew trying to get back before ten. We weren’t doing anything suspicious.”

  Reed still couldn’t shake the chill the man had given him. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

  By the time they mounted the East Stairs, he was feeling a little better about the incident. All was quiet, and they were still in time for curfew. Before they separated at the top of the stairs, Nathan broke the silence. “I’m glad you could go.”

  “Yeah, me, too. See you tomorrow.”

  Nathan disappeared into the shadows. Reed turned in the opposite direction and walked slowly toward his dorm. Now that he was alone, he let his mind run through the events of the evening. It hadn’t been the experience he had been expecting, but one person dominated his thoughts. Elijah.

  What is it about that guy? He pulled his coat closer around him as he walked. Nathan wanted me to meet him for some reason. He seems nice enough, but there’s gotta be something else.

  There was something more; Reed felt it somehow. Beyond the outward perfection, insanely blue eyes, and nice personality, something marked Elijah. It was mystifying.

  A cold, gentle breeze blew between the Dorms. Reed glanced up. The dark clouds were breaking overhead, and the night sky showed through, clear and deep. Stars were coming out, twinkling to one another in the moonless depths. They seemed so close and beautiful at that moment, yet astronomically far away and unreachable. It all came together in that moment—the stars, the teens he had just met, Elijah. They were all the same, but Reed didn’t understand how. It was odd, he knew, but some things only make sense for a brief but clear moment alone under the night sky.

  He pushed through the door into the warm stairwell and climbed the steps to his hall, ready for bed and a good night’s sleep but, as he reached for the handle to his door, he was slammed in a flying tackle and knocked flat on his back.

  “Oh! Whoops! Hi, Reed.”

  Reed shook his head groggily, trying to comprehend the situation. Someone was sitting on top of him with an elbow on his chest. When his eyes refocused, he recognized his assailant as a younger boy from down the hall. “Sam, what the heck? Did I do something?”

  The boy grinned. “Blame Will. He dared me and then sent me out to jump the wrong person. I thought you were somebody else.”

  “He told you to go knock somebody down when they tried to get into my room?”

  “Not exactly. There’s more to it, but you don’t wanna know.”

  “Okay, whatever… Do you think you could get off me now?”

  “Oh, sure!”

  Reed got up and rubbed the back of his head. “Dude, you need to be more careful about who you listen to.”

  “Hey!” Sam held up his hands. “It was Will, the second coolest guy on the
hall! What could I do?”

  “Maybe at least look first?”

  “Okay, sorry. But you’re not bleeding and you can still walk, so we’re cool, right?”

  “Whatever. See you ’round.” Reed entered his room and shut the door behind him, rubbing the back of his head.

  Riley glanced up from Reagan’s computer. “How was it?”

  “Swell, especially just now.”

  “Yeah, that was an awesome thud. What happened?”

  Reed dropped onto his bed. “Sam was on some sort of stupid dare and tackled me instead of the person he was supposed to.”

  “Sam.” Riley pursed his lips knowingly. “That explains it.”

  “You know him? What about him?”

  “You’ll find out.”

  Reed sat up and glanced around the room. “Where’s Reagan?”

  “Living it up in the washateria with some girls. He’ll be back before curfew—maybe.”

  Reed dropped back onto his bed and studied the ceiling through half-closed eyes, a faint smile on his lips. “I wonder how Reagan will ever be able to pick just one,” he murmured.

  “He won’t,” said Riley casually.

  Chapter 15

  Over the next week or two, Reed attended several more meetings in the apartments. He grew more comfortable around the other teens as he got to know them, and he even ran into some of them around the Dorms occasionally.

  At the same time, he did what he could to keep up his status in Dorm society. Reagan’s predictions had come true; Reed was getting quite popular on the Hill. His memory of names and faces served him well, and he came to know an incredible number of the Dorm residents on sight.

  But the deeper Reed got into the culture, the more he became aware that a memory lingered at the heart of the Hill, a name dropped in conversation or woven into a story that seemed to bring his two parallel lives together.

  Elijah.

  Reed was surprised. Elijah was only one of thousands of teens here, and he had left the Dorms months ago. Why did so many people seem to know him?