The Secret Society

by Hannah Hopkins

  “Leave Lois alone, Saul," Finley warned him. "She's got nothing to do with this."

  "Justin, control your little brother, would you? Otherwise, he’ll be next," Saul barked at one of the cloaked figures. The air around Finley seemed to disappear as he watched his elder brother step forward and remove his hood, a look of deep regret in his eyes.

  "No," Finley shook his head. "No, you're not. You can't be."

  “Oh, but he is," Saul interjected, thriving from the sight of Finley’s distress. "He's one of our most passionate members, aren't you J? You wouldn't believe some of the things he's done for our cause. Leaking the story about you collapsing in the lobby and losing your mind was just the beginning."

  Finley felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach, the betrayal cutting through him like a knife. He looked over at Will, who hung his head in pity, unable to look Finley in the eye.

  "I’m sorry Finley, I tried to tell you,” he said quietly.

  “Please try not to take it personally, Fin," Justin said, stepping forward. "I wasn't trying to hurt you. I just… I hadn't forgotten what it was like for us on Floor Seven. The way we were treated…it stayed with me. I wanted to stop anyone else from suffering. I wanted to fight for something worthy. I hoped it would make Mum and Dad proud."

  "Proud?!" Finley repeated with incredulity. "Do you think they're going to be proud of this? Of their son locked up in the Detention Centre...or worse, thrown from the ship! Have you any idea how much pain you're going to cause them? This is going to kill them.”

  "Speaking of killing," Saul jeered. “I’d like to get back to the task at hand. Perhaps you can save your little family dispute for another time. Lois’ funeral perhaps?"

  Lois whimpered, tears escaping from her eyes and into the dirty cloth that had been stuffed inside her mouth. Finley felt the bile rise in his throat, his mind racing at a million miles an hour as he tried to think of a way to save her.

  "Saul, that's enough," Pax shouted. "Because of you, everything we were set to achieve has been ruined. All those months of careful planning have been destroyed by one reckless act from you. Alfie and the Guards have guns. All you have is that knife. Do you really think you’re going to succeed in killing Lois? You’ll be dead before you’ve even started. We've lost. Give yourself a chance."

  Saul paused for a moment, chewing his lip as he contemplated his leader’s words. After a few seconds, he bent down and placed his knife on the ground, raising his hands in surrender.

  "Fine," he said curtly. "Take me away."

  Alfie motioned to two of his Guards to escort him out, urging them to hurry before he changed his mind. Once Saul had been reprimanded, he sent the rest of his Guards to arrest the remaining Society members.

  "Don't resist," Pax told them. "We might have a chance if we go quietly."

  Saul was halfway from being led from the room when he suddenly stopped, flashing a wicked grin in Finley's direction as he fought his way out of the Guard’s clutches. Before the men had a chance to react, he reached into his pocket, pulling a small hand grenade from its depths. Winking at Finley, he unpinned it, throwing the explosive in front of where Lois was still tied to her chair.

  Letting out a cry of rage, Finley dived forward, flinging himself in Lois’ direction in an attempt to save her from the impending explosion. Suddenly, he felt a harsh blow to his chest as he was knocked backwards. He looked up to see Miss Fortem throwing herself into the air, knocking the chair Lois was tied to onto the floor and using her body as a shield to protect her.

  There was a scream, followed by a deafening "bang". Then everything went black.

  20.

  The Captain’s Verdict

  Finley opened his eyes, wincing as a blinding pain shot through his head. For the second time that year, he had found himself returning to consciousness in the Medic Ward, the glass lid of his Healing Pod encasing him inside a mechanical tomb. He groaned as he struggled into a sitting position, the pain from his injuries beginning to take hold as he moved. A quick glance at his arms and legs revealed several agonising burns blistered across his body, his skin melted unpleasantly onto the weeping wounds.

  He gasped as the memory of what had transpired in the maintenance tunnels came rushing back to him, and he cried out in panic, searching the ward around him for any sign of his friends. He was relieved to see Will sitting to the left of his Pod, unharmed by the explosion, save for the occasional cut or bruise. Beside him was Emily, flanked on each side by Finley’s mother and father, their faces set into grim expressions of concern. Upon realising that Finley had awoken, they leapt to their feet, his mother fussing and crying as Will pushed a button to release the glass seal over him, allowing his parents to pull him into an embrace.

  “Oh, Finley. I’m so glad you’re okay!” his mother sobbed, clutching him tightly to her chest, her tears matting into his hair.

  “I’m fine, Mum,” he coughed, his throat erupting into fire as he spoke. “Do you know what happened to the others? Is Lois alright?”

  “She’s fine,” Emily assured him. “Her father had her moved to a private Ward, but we were allowed to visit her. She’s doing well.”

  “Miss Fortem took the brunt of the explosion,” Will informed him, a grim expression on his face. “She’s been badly burnt, but other than that she’s not injured. One of the doctors discharged her yesterday and sent her home. He said it shouldn’t take her too long to recover.”

  “Yesterday?” Finley repeated with confusion. “How long have I been unconscious?”

  “Two days,” Emily replied bluntly. “The nurses think it was probably the shock since your burns aren’t that serious.”

  “We were so worried about you,” his mother cried, unable to contain herself. “I can’t believe any of this is happening.”

  “I’m glad you’re alright, son,” his dad said gruffly.

  “Have you found out, yet?” Finley asked them. “About Justin?”

  “Yes… we know,” his father nodded grimly.

  “What’s going to happen to him?” Finley asked though he was terrified of the answer.

  “We don’t know yet,” Emily replied, sensing Finley’s parents were too distressed to respond. “The News Station is sending out a special broadcast this evening. The Captain’s due to decide the fate of everyone involved in the Society live on air.”

  “All of them have been arrested,” Will continued. “They’re being held in the Detention Centre for now.”

  “Did they catch Saul?” Finley pressed him.

  “Eventually,” Will nodded. “There was a lot of confusion after the explosion happened, but the Guards managed to chase him down before he got out of the tunnels.”

  “I still can’t believe what he did” Emily shook her head. “I saw him every week at the Technology Club at school. He seemed perfectly normal. He was probably only there to spy on Mr. Mayhem.”

  “I just feel sorry for Madison,” Will sighed. “Things will never be the same for her once everything gets out.”

  “Don’t feel sorry for her,” Finley said with disgust. “She must have known what was going on. She could have tried to stop Saul.”

  “Actually, it was her who sent me that anonymous message” Will replied. “She was trying to warn me that the Society was at the school. I just didn’t understand what it meant.”

  “Lois could have died,” Finley reminded him. “We all could have. She could have done more than send you a cryptic message.

  Before Will could respond, one of the nurses bustled over to Finley’s Pod, ushering his guests out of the room with the announcement that visiting hours were over. After saying their brief goodbyes, Will and Emily left along with Finley’s parents, leaving him lost in the depths of his own mind. The nurse checked his vital statistics as he lay still, numbly staring at the ceiling as he contemplated what would become of his brother once the Captain convicted him of treason. More than anything, he couldn’t bear to think of his mother’s face if he was sen
tenced to being thrown into Space, thus receiving the worst punishment possible.

  “Excuse me, Miss,” Finley said to the nurse, once she had finished administrating his pain relief. “Do you think I might be able to visit Lois Sommers? I know she’s staying here. I really need to see her.”

  “The Captain daughter?” the nurse replied. “Let me see what I can do.”

  She hurried away, tapping on her Personal Device as she went. Finley waited, resting his head back on the soft pillows beneath him. The prospect of seeing Lois gave him the faintest glimmer of happiness, his relief over her safety providing him with an immense source of comfort. He closed his eyes, his mind filling with pleasant thoughts of their reunion, distracting him from his turmoil.

  The next thing Finley was aware of was the sound of the nurse’s gentle voice, calling his name softly from somewhere in the room. He opened his eyes, realising he must have fallen asleep as he waited patiently for his surroundings to come into focus.

  When his vision returned, he immediately noticed Lois at the foot of his Healing Pod, bound inside of a wheelchair. A white blanket was placed over her legs, and she was playing with the cloth’s frayed edges as she flashed Finley a nervous smile. He struggled to keep his expression neutral, his shock visible on every recess of his face. Noticing his reaction, Lois flinched, her hand flying protectively to a jagged cut that ran across her cheek.

  “Do I look terrible?” she asked him, her eyes wide with apprehension.

  “No, of course not,” Finley replied quickly. “I just... I didn’t expect you to be... Did your legs... Can you walk?”

  “Oh,” she said, as though she had forgotten that she was in a wheelchair. “This is only temporary. I hurt my back when Miss Fortem pushed me out of the way. It’s only a precaution…My father insisted.”

  “Thank the Universe!” Finley exclaimed. “How are you doing anyway? You must have been terrified down there.”

  “I was,” Lois answered honestly. “I thought Saul was going to kill me.”

  “We all did,” Finley shuddered, unable to contemplate the terrible thought. “Have you seen Miss Fortem yet?”

  “Not yet,” she replied. “Emily and Will told me she was making a good recovery. I can’t believe what she did. To sacrifice herself like that just to save me… It could have ended so much worse than it did.”

  A moment of silence passed between them as Finley gathered the courage to express what was on his mind.

  “Has your father told you anything?” he asked her, a thick lump forming in his throat, “About the sentencing?”

  “I’ve asked him to be as forgiving as he can,” Lois re-assured him. “I told him that Justin and Mr. McGowan didn’t really know what they were doing. It was all Saul, really, but he’s a minor, so it’ll be difficult for my father to punish him.”

  Finley nodded, sadness and fear sweeping his body as he resigned himself to his brother’s fate. If he wasn’t able to sentence Saul, Finley was certain that the Captain would have to make an example of the adult members of the Society, which unfortunately included the nineteen-year-old Justin. Seeing Finley’s distress, Lois cast her eyes to the floor, drifting into silence as she acknowledged her inability to help him. They sat alone for nearly half an hour, content with the quietness of each other’s presence. Finley was sure they would have stayed that way all night, had they not been interrupted by Emily and Will, heading back into the ward as the evening’s visiting hours commenced.

  “Lois, I’m glad you’re here,” Emily said when she saw her. “I thought we should all be together when the broadcast goes out.”

  “It’ll be any minute now,” Will said, switching on the small television screen on the wall opposite Finley’s Healing Pod. Emily and Will took their places in the visitor’s chairs and waited, the gravity of what was about to happen preventing any of them from speaking. Finley turned his attention to the T.V, which presently was showing the daily news programme, the bulletin read from a desk by a dark-haired man in glasses.

  “... Most shocking of all of us here at the News Station was the revelation that our own colleague, Wendy Weaver, was a part of the aforementioned Society of the Enlightened. It’s hard to believe that one of our own could have been involved in such a heinous plot to take over the Mayfly. At this time, it is unclear whether Wendy had anything to do with the robot Guards being granted their autonomy, an act which resulted in the deaths of over twenty passengers in the ensuing chaos. More on this story will be revealed as it develops, but for now, we must switch over to our Captain, who is live from the control room, with the Society’s members in his custody. Over to you Sir.”

  The man gave a sombre look into the camera, and the image on the screen disappeared, materialising a few moments later to show the Captain, standing at the foot of the steps in his control room, the accused Society members handcuffed on the platform behind him, each of their heads hung in shame. Finley’s eyes were immediately drawn to his brother, who was standing between Mr. McGowan and a man he didn’t recognise, his face contorted in a strained expression as he attempted to hold himself together. It was the same look Justin had worn several times during Finley’s childhood when he had been told off by their parents and was trying his best not to cry. A pang of despair shot through Finley’s heart as he held his breath, praying that the Captain would show mercy.

  “Good evening,” Alfie said grimly. “It is with great sadness that I must inform you all of another terrible incident which has occurred recently in our midst. As I’m sure most of you are aware, an uprising took place aboard our ship, orchestrated by the guilty men and women you can see behind me. The goal of this so-called “Society of the Enlightened” was, I believe, to take the Mayfly for themselves, the power-hungry leader of this dishonourable movement believing he could usurp my Captaincy. He was, however, sorely mistaken.

  “Though you may recognise some of the faces behind me, I have been advised that it is in the best interest of their innocent relatives and friends that I do not name the culprits during this broadcast, for fear that doing so may create terrible repercussions for those close to them. For that reason, I shall be reading my sentencing as a collective, referring to the whole group in their shared punishment, rather than convicting each member individually.

  “Now, it has been reported to me that the actions of the robot Guards caused the death of several of the Mayfly’s citizens, who were out in the lobby enjoying an evening of entertainment with their loved ones. The basic laws of our ship dictate that anyone who brings death upon their fellow passengers shall meet the same fate as their victims. However, the moral compass, in this case, is hard to read, since the deaths were not directly committed by anyone in the Society. Despite this, the implications of what could happen if the robot Guards were relieved from their orders were easy to predict, and therefore the decision taken by certain members of the group behind me was, at the least, a huge disregard of our passenger’s safety.

  “The severity of the crime committed is obvious, but where exactly the blame falls is hard to say. It is for that reason that I have decided to excuse the Society’s members, sending them to our Detention Centre, until the time that we reach Novum, after which they will receive a formal trial regarding their fate. My show of mercy, however, will not extend to the Society’s leader. His treachery and betrayal as Head of my Security runs far deeper than any show of treason I have ever experienced. I will, therefore, be sentencing him to death, in hopes that his demise may deter others from turning away from the warmth of my good graces.”

  There was a brief silence as Pax Madden fell to his knees, the Society members around him weeping as they learnt of his fate.

  “The losses we have experienced due to the misguided activities of the Society of the Enlightened will be hard to recover from,” Alfie continued. “However, I encourage you all to continue as normal, and not to live in fear. The robot Guards have all been recalled to I-Tech, along with most of the Artificial Intelligence fou
nd on the ship, where it will be studied carefully and redesigned where necessary to ensure our safety. In the last two years, we have faced more threats and hardships that we have in our entire journey. It would be easy to let these devastating events break our spirits, but we must remember the fundamental strength of human resilience. It is that strength that got us here in the first place- away from the dying Earth and the Forgotten left with it. We are the chosen ones, meticulously selected from amongst the thousands of hopefuls to lead a new civilisation. In difficult times, we must heed to continue in our duty, reminding ourselves that the future of the human race rests solely on our shoulders. I leave you now with the repeat of the promise I made to you just one short year ago. As your Captain, I swear that I will do my utmost to protect this ship and its mission, sacrificing anything I must for the good of the Mayfly’s passengers. I urge that you all continue to be vigilant, and most importantly, remember that we are only strong when we are together. That is all I wish to say for now. Thank you for your time.”

  Will got to his feet and switched off the television, the screen fading to black. There was a pause, as Emily, Will and Lois waited for Finley to speak, wondering how he would react to the sentencing. For a while he said nothing, resolving instead to listen to the steady beeping noises that were emitting from the Healing Pods around his own. Despite knowing that Justin wasn’t going to die, Finley felt a great unease at the knowledge that he would be spending a healthy number of years locked up in the Detention Centre. The idea of not seeing his brother again until they reached Novum was difficult to swallow, and he wondered how the news was affecting his mother and father. Though their son’s life had been spared, his future was still uncertain and the prospect of a formal trial loomed menacingly on the horizon. Finley wished he could be with his family, most particularly little Felicity, who he was sure would be taking the news very hard.