Truancy City

by Isamu Fukui

  “Tell them they have three. How is the medical situation? Can we treat all the injured?”

  “All of the City’s hospitals, the ones that were still working, are swamped. We’ve set up first aid stations and temporary clinics in five districts, but we’re going to be working at close to capacity pretty soon.”

  “Bring in more medics and supplies. If you run out, put in a request for more and have them flown in immediately. What’s being done about those fires?”

  Iris paced around the command post, issuing orders and receiving information like clockwork. The temporary base had been established in the City Square of District 1, not too far away from City Hall, where soldiers were still sweeping for more traps that the Mayor might have left. Right now it was little more than a mess of tents protecting sensitive equipment.

  “The City’s own firefighters are overwhelmed and a lot of them got drafted into the Enforcers,” an officer explained. “We’ve been doing the best we can with what we’ve got, but there’s just too many small fires spread out all over.”

  Iris shook her head. “Coordinate with the appropriate agencies and have firefighting helicopters brought in. Identify the firefighters among the Enforcers and put them back to work. Winning is meaningless if we let the City burn down.”

  The officer saluted and ran off to fulfill her orders. Looking around, Iris discerned that that was the last of them, and calculated that she had five minutes until the next reports came in. She took the opportunity to approach a large monitor that had been set up to display the colored map of the City.

  “General.” A soldier walked up to Iris. “We’ve got someone here to see you. One of the locals.”

  Iris furrowed her brow as she pondered the image on the screen. “Tell whoever it is that it can wait.”

  “It’s the leader of the Student Militia, ma’am,” the soldier said. “He’s pretty adamant about talking to you. Should I have him leave?”

  Iris blinked once, still looking at the screen. Then she smiled.

  “One of the Mayor’s child soldiers, is it? I can make an exception. Bring him in.”

  The soldier saluted. A moment later, a redheaded teenager wearing street clothes was led over to her. The boy gave a salute, which she returned.

  “My name is Cross,” the boy said. “I lead the Student Militia of this City. I’ve been fighting against the Truancy since they first emerged.”

  “I’m General Iris. You must have a lot of questions,” Iris said. “We only have time for the short explanation. The Government is here to restore—”

  “That stuff doesn’t matter to me.” Cross’ eyes were both desperate and dangerous. “You’re in charge, right? I want to discuss our role in this war.”

  Iris narrowed her eyes. This boy was a peculiarity. There was a cold hunger in his eyes that she recognized as battle lust, but his face twitched in ways that suggested he was internally conflicted. She had seen a similar look on substance addicts.

  Iris shook her head. It didn’t matter—as far as she was concerned his words were those of a dog seeking a master, and she was happy to oblige.

  “Yes, I am in charge,” she said. “That explanation was short enough. What exactly do you want, Cross?”

  “I want my Militia to have the right to fight,” Cross said. “We’ve held the Truancy back for the past year and I think we’ve earned at least that much. You can’t just show up all of a sudden and tell us that we’re no longer involved.”

  Iris’ lip curled into a smile. The blueprints of a new plan were swiftly being drawn up in her mind.

  “I’ve been aware of your Militia for a while, Cross. Do you know why I chose not to incorporate you into any part of my strategy?”

  Cross hesitated. “No.”

  “Because by now your entire force has been infiltrated at every level by the Truancy,” Iris said. “You probably know the truth of that yourself. I will not rely on soldiers that cannot be trusted. It would put success, and my men, in danger. Your Militia will be disbanded once we’re finished.”

  Cross flinched. But he wasn’t done yet.

  “Put us all out in one district, away from your men,” he suggested. “The risk will be all ours. There’s got to be a part of the battlefield we can fill. We’ll prove our worth.”

  “You are clinging to a war that is already won, Cross. Less than twenty percent of the Truancy’s forces are still active.” Iris turned towards the monitor. “I believe that minority is trying to slow us down while the others escape into the general population. We will not be able to stop them.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “It’s a surprisingly quick and clearheaded decision on their part, but it also means that they are no longer contesting the City.”

  Even as Cross looked at the screen, District 16 switched from red to green. Nearly the whole map was green now, with only a few crimson holdouts remaining. Iris wasn’t surprised by the astonishment on Cross’ face. After all, the Government had accomplished in one night what the Educators, the Enforcers, and students had failed to do in four years.

  “Please.” Cross looked desperate now. “There’s got to be something I can do. It can’t end like this!”

  Iris nodded to herself. This was exactly the reaction she had been counting on.

  “If you are so certain that your Militia can be trusted then perhaps I can offer you a chance to prove it,” Iris said. “I must warn you that it will be very dangerous, especially if it turns out that you are wrong.”

  “What is it?” Cross demanded.

  Iris pointed at one of the remaining red zones on the map. “Intercepted radio communications indicate that the remaining Truants are gathering at their headquarters in District 15. I’ve no doubt that the district is heavily fortified and mined. They’re preparing to make a last stand. Before you showed up, I was considering leveling the entire area with airstrikes.”

  Iris turned around.

  “This will be my test for your Militia, Cross. Take over District 15 and you will prove your worth as soldiers.”

  Cross did not hesitate.

  “We’ll do it.”

  * * *

  Umasi stepped carefully through the dark and empty room. The building appeared to be an office of some sort—rows of desks and computers filled the medium-sized space, and papers were strewn all over the floor. The blinds were drawn over all but one of the windows, casting ominous shadows each time an explosion flashed outside. Umasi made little attempt to conceal his presence. The other person in the room surely knew he was there.

  “I’m impressed,” Umasi said into the darkness. “Even Takan failed to notice you spying on us.”

  The voice that responded was even, but frigid.

  “Subtlety was never his strong suit.”

  “You’d be surprised.” Umasi smiled. “What do you want, Noni?”

  The scarred girl stepped out from the shadows. “Answers.”

  Umasi tilted his sunglasses up to see better in the gloom. Zyid’s former adjutant had changed quite a bit since he had last seen her. Her ponytail was no longer braided, for one thing. For another … “I see you’ve removed your scarf.”

  “You’ve changed your wardrobe too,” Noni said, glaring at the jacket that had once belonged to Zyid. “How did you get that?”

  “I took it off my brother’s dead body,” Umasi replied. “Why do you ask? I doubt that it would look very good on you.”

  Noni’s eyes were icy as she glared at him. Her hands clenched and unclenched.

  “Did you kill him?”

  Umasi let his sunglasses fall back down to cover his eyes. “That would be telling.”

  Noni let out a strangled hiss and drew her knives. Umasi made no motion to go for his swords. He didn’t feel that his life was in danger just yet, and he had no desire to fight with this girl.

  “I’m not here for games,” Noni snarled. “There aren’t many in this City who could match Zyid in a fight. You’re one of them. Now tell me, was it you?”

>   “If it was, do you intend to fight me with kitchen knives?” Umasi asked. “Think about it, Noni. Whoever killed my brother must have been stronger than him. You would have to be even stronger than that to avenge him like this.”

  “You,” Noni said, “are avoiding the question.”

  Takan told me she was bothered by his death, but this? Umasi let out a sharp breath. It must have been difficult for Takan, knowing that the girl he loved was being driven crazy by his own actions.

  “What will you do when you discover the killer’s identity?” Umasi asked.

  “I will kill him.”

  “No matter who he is?”

  “No matter who he is.”

  Umasi shook his head. The situation was more serious than he’d thought. He made his decision. Takan had shared Umasi’s responsibility when the Government struck. It was Umasi’s turn to share some of Takan’s responsibility.

  “I see.”

  Umasi drew one of his swords and lunged at Noni. Noni reacted, parrying the stab with one knife while thrusting with the other. Umasi twisted aside, then slashed again. Noni leaped backwards onto a desk. Her knives lacked the reach to take advantage of the high ground, but as Umasi lunged again Noni kicked a lamp off the desk and into his face.

  Umasi staggered backwards, his sunglasses knocked askew. Hearing something swoop towards his head, Umasi raised his sword, only to feel something unfamiliar wrap around it. It was Noni’s scarf. She had added a weight of some sort to one end, and was now using it as a weapon. His sword trapped, Umasi could only duck and weave as Noni leapt down and began stabbing furiously, holding the end of the scarf in one hand and a knife in the other.

  “I’ve seen a technique like that before,” Umasi said, narrowly avoiding being gutted. “But it was a chain, not a scarf. Did someone inspire you?”

  Noni said nothing. She yanked on her scarf, tipping Umasi slightly off balance. She lunged. With no chance of blocking and no time to dodge, Umasi went for his last option.

  Umasi’s second sword came swinging out of its sheath, and Noni aborted her lunge just in time. As she drew back into a defensive crouch, Umasi held the scarf taut, then stabbed with his free blade. There was a ripping sound, and Umasi tore his first sword free. Noni’s eyes widened, and then narrowed to slits as she lunged again, brandishing both knives.

  As Umasi fended off her attacks with alternating swipes of his swords, he began to worry. His original intention was to beat some sense into her, but at this rate he was really going to have to hurt her. A flash went off outside, illuminating Noni’s icy eyes, and Umasi was reminded of a small and frail girl who had placed herself between him and his brother long ago. Then he remembered the words he had once exchanged with that brother.

  “You underestimate her. Who’s to say that she mightn’t have hurt you?”

  “Someday, perhaps. But she is not ready now.”

  Umasi shut his eyes. It was ironic that it had been Zyid’s death that pushed her to her full potential, but Umasi didn’t have time to appreciate it. He understood now that his own life was in danger, and that he would have to fight with everything he had.

  In one swift motion Umasi tore his jacket from around his neck and flung it at Noni. Engulfed by the black material, Noni flailed about for a second, enough time for Umasi to stab through it. The jacket sagged, empty. Realizing he’d missed, Umasi brought his other sword up, prepared to parry a lunge. But Noni remained a good distance away. As she lifted her knives Umasi realized what she was about to do.

  Noni hurled one knife, then the second, and with a flick of each sword Umasi deflected both. For a moment Umasi thought it was over, but then Noni seized a keyboard from a nearby desk and brutally swung it at him. It was not the sort of attack that Umasi could have blocked with his sword, and he had no choice but to back up to avoid it.

  Noni threw the keyboard at him. As he knocked it aside, she picked up a monitor and hurled that as well. Umasi staggered backwards from the blow. Relentless, Noni picked up an entire computer and heaved it with a violent yell. Dropping his swords, Umasi caught the heavy object, but could not stop its force from sending him crashing to the ground.

  This was not a technique. There was nothing elegant about it. It was just sheer, focused determination to crush the enemy.

  As Umasi shoved the computer off of him, Noni lunged. Umasi raised his arms and legs fast enough to meet her, and for a few moments they grappled down the aisle, neither able to get the upper hand until they bumped against the window. Pinned to the floor, Umasi struggled to keep Noni’s hands off his throat.

  “Your devotion to Zyid is admirable. I envy you for it,” Umasi said through gritted teeth. “But if you haven’t noticed, there are more important things to worry about right now.”

  “This whole City can burn for all I care,” Noni snarled. “As long as I have my revenge first.”

  Umasi sighed, then tossed his head to relieve himself of his sunglasses. He looked Noni straight in the eye.

  “Then if you survive this, return to Takan and tell him I think you deserve the whole truth.”

  With that, Umasi shoved with all his strength, sending Noni crashing through the window. He rose to his feet and brushed glass from his shoulders as warm air rushed in from outside. They were only on the second floor, so the fall probably wouldn’t kill her. He made no effort to look out the window. He didn’t know what Noni would do now, and he didn’t want to know. He had done all he could—the rest was Takan’s burden to bear.

  Retrieving his ripped windbreaker, Umasi decided that now was the time to begin making his way back towards the center of the City. The Government would win this battle. When they did, there would be an enemy that Umasi knew he was destined to face alone.

  11

  SILHOUETTE

  Floe found the nameless girl on a bench in a lonely hallway of the fourth floor, her son fast asleep using his mother’s lap as a pillow. It hadn’t been easy to locate the pair—they seemed to vanish like smoke and no one had been sure where they went. Floe had spent some time wandering around the building, carrying a plastic tray.

  The lockers in the former school had been converted into arsenals, the classrooms into dorms, but the cafeteria, at least, was still a cafeteria. Floe had piled the tray high with whatever food could be gotten there.

  “I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you this,” Floe whispered so as not to disturb the sleeping child. “It’s not much, but we’ve been short on supplies lately.”

  “Thank you,” the albino said, accepting the tray. “It’s been a long day.”

  “Tell me about it.” Floe sighed, sitting down at the foot of the bench. “Things just seem so crazy now.”

  The albino picked up a plastic fork and began eating immediately. If the strange girl was bothered by the pungent cafeteria food, she gave no sign of it.

  “You’re handling things well,” the albino said between bites. “I heard you had a mission today. You were with Cross?”

  “Yeah.”

  Floe didn’t elaborate, nor did the other girl seem to expect her to. Not for the first time Floe wondered who she was and where she had come from. Before she could ask, the nameless girl spoke again.

  “May I ask why you’re in the Student Militia?”

  Floe tensed. Was the girl a Truant spy? Floe dismissed the idea as swiftly as it had come. The albino didn’t seem like a Truant at all.

  “I used to know Cross a long time ago,” Floe answered carefully. “I believe in him.”

  The albino seemed to consider that for a moment.

  “What does that mean?” she asked.

  Floe laughed. “I’m not really sure myself. I guess I just think he’s a good person and that he’ll do the right thing when he has to.”

  The albino nodded.

  “That’s as good a reason as any,” she said. “I just think the whole situation is lamentable. The Truancy was born with a legitimate purpose, but they were lost the minute they accepted w
hat they’d have to do to achieve it.”

  Floe smiled. “It would have been better if we could’ve negotiated a peaceful compromise, wouldn’t it?”

  The albino shrugged. “A force for change will always find opposition.”

  “So will a force of violence.”

  The nameless girl did not disagree. Indeed, she smiled and looked at Floe with twinkling eyes.

  “You’ve got an interesting spirit,” she said. “But you don’t sound like you’re well suited for the grisly business of a soldier.”

  Floe didn’t know how to respond to that. A few moments of awkward silence passed. Taking the hint, the albino changed the subject.

  “You must be exhausted,” she said. “Have you eaten yet yourself?”

  “Yeah, in the basement cafeteria,” Floe replied, glad to return to a more mundane topic. “I know that I should feel tired, but there’s just so much going on that I can’t even think about lying down. I didn’t want to feel idle so I decided to check on you two.”

  “I appreciate it. I didn’t know where to find the food,” the albino confessed. “This is my first time being inside a school building.”

  Floe looked at the other girl quizzically. “How old are you?”

  The albino paused. “Nineteen, I believe,” she replied after a moment of consideration. “I may be wrong.”

  Floe wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but that answer surprised her enough to make her forget all about the other girl’s schooling. She turned to stare at Zen, still slumbering at his mother’s side.

  “B-But…” Floe sputtered. “How … how old is your son?”

  “He’s three,” the other girl said, stroking Zen’s hair. “Yes, I was young.”

  “Was … did you … did you mean to—”

  “I knew what I was doing,” the albino said simply. “I knew what the consequences could be, and I accepted them.”

  Floe found herself at a loss. A thousand questions jammed up in her mind, and before she could settle on any of them, the school bell rang twice. It was the signal for an emergency meeting. Floe shot to her feet.