Truancy City

by Isamu Fukui

  A soldier appeared from around a corner. Cross fired and the man fell. Cross winced at the noise of the shot. It had surely given away their position.

  Abandoning subtlety, Cross and Floe broke into a run, heading towards the safety of District 13’s buildings. He tried not to think of how many other soldiers might be hiding behind each container. Cross felt his heart beating in his throat as the noise of a helicopter passed above, and he hoped beyond hope that it hadn’t spotted them.

  Then they turned a corner, and something huge and black dropped down from a container above. This time Cross knew exactly who it was. He raised his gun, but the Mayor fired first, the wild shot grazing Cross’ leg. Floe screamed as Cross fell backwards, but he wasn’t finished, not yet. Both Cross and the Mayor adjusted their aims—

  There was a tinkling sound from above, and then something large and white dropped down between them.

  “Teacher?”

  Cross stared up at the albino. She had interposed herself between him and the Mayor, her arms spread protectively. Stunned, Cross and Umasi lowered their weapons at the same time. She turned to face Umasi.

  “Milady.” Umasi bowed his head in greeting.

  The albino looked at him gravely, but did not reply. Her next words were addressed to Cross.

  “Go,” she told him. “I’ll handle this.”

  Cross glanced at Floe, who looked dumbstruck by this latest turn of events. He helped her to her feet and nodded at the girl he considered to be his only true teacher.

  “Good luck,” he said.

  The albino smiled faintly and turned her attention back to Umasi. “Shall we take this somewhere more private?”

  Umasi nodded. “Of course.”

  The two old acquaintances slipped away into the shadows as though they were made of smoke. Alone once more, Cross and Floe glanced at each other. Neither of them knew quite what to say. Cross chalked it up as another thing for them to discuss later.

  With the Mayor out of the way, Cross and Floe managed to leave the cover of the containers, emerging very close to the streets. As they reached the cover of the buildings, loud and frequent gunshots indicated a firefight nearby. Cross and Floe dashed down an empty street and turned a corner. A harrowing sight met their eyes.

  Takan and a large group of rebels and escapees were pinned down behind large fallen chunks of a building. On the other side of the obstructions, keeping the group in place with a withering storm of gunfire, were two dozen soldiers led by General Iris herself.

  * * *

  Floe crouched down next to Cross as they took cover behind the street corner. Her fingers were clasped around her sidearm, though she had yet to fire it. At this range she knew it’d be no help, yet she hated herself anyway for her uselessness. Cross was risking his life to protect her, firing around the corner at Iris’ forces, and she could do nothing to help him.

  Floe squeezed the pistol so tight that her knuckles turned white. After Cross had confessed his love for her she had felt almost like she was floating—even a life in the camps with him hadn’t seemed bad. Then the fighting had started, and hard reality returned. Floe wasn’t used to being a burden. All her life she had tried to be strong, but now she wasn’t even sure what that meant.

  Floe couldn’t imagine killing as brutally as she had watched Noni do in the classroom. She couldn’t imagine pulling off the dignity and grace that the nameless girl possessed so naturally. What then was she capable of?

  “Damn, I think they spotted me.” Cross breathed heavily as he leaned against the building. “Some of the soldiers broke off from the main group; they’re probably coming to flank us.”

  Gunshots peppered their position, and Cross returned fire. Floe dropped her sidearm, knowing that she wouldn’t be using it. It would be all over soon anyway. If the soldiers didn’t get to them first, Iris would surely be calling helicopters to wipe them out with deadly fire from above. She was just happy that Cross was standing by her to the end, as he had promised.

  Maybe Sepp at least would survive, she thought sadly. Floe felt guilty about that whole affair—she regretted ever burdening Sepp with her presence, regretted sleeping with him, regretted messing with his feelings when she’d always known she didn’t love him. He had been loyal to her, bringing Cross to her aid. She wanted so dearly to apologize, but it looked as though that chance would never come.

  “Wait, Floe, I think Takan has a plan!” Cross said.

  Floe blinked. “What?”

  Cross pointed to the middle of the intersection, where an open sewer manhole rested in the middle of the road. Floe remembered now that the Truancy had used the sewers to get around before the subways were vacated. She had never done it herself. But if it was their only hope …

  “All right, how are we doing it?” Floe asked.

  “We’re going to get the unarmed out first,” Cross said. “Takan will send them in small groups while we hopefully keep the soldiers back. You can go with—”

  “No,” Floe said firmly. “I’m staying with you.”

  Cross looked reluctant but nodded. Then he twisted around the corner and fired at the soldiers as a group of gray-clad escapees dashed for the manhole. Floe held her breath as they ran, then let it out in relief as the last one vanished from sight. This happened several times until Floe finally saw Takan slip down the hole behind the rest of his armed compatriots.

  Cross continued to provide cover fire until Takan was gone. Then he seized Floe by the arm and pulled her behind him. Floe glanced at the soldiers down the block. They had now realized what was going on and were advancing, but there was no way they would clear the obstacles in time. Floe felt her heart soar, daring for the first time to hope.

  Then, just as Cross was a few steps away from the manhole, Floe glanced back the way they came and her blood froze—General Iris was running towards them, ahead of the other soldiers sent to flank Cross. Cross hadn’t noticed anything was wrong; he still had his back turned, his focus on the manhole.

  Iris raised her rifle at Cross.

  Floe realized numbly that Cross was going to die. She was going to lose him after all. Memories of her childhood flashed before her eyes, and Floe saw a sweet boy with red hair who had always helped her. Then she blinked and saw Cross, a determined man doing everything he could to protect her.

  In that moment Floe finally realized what she was capable of doing—what she had to do, to repay the debt she had earned and protect what was most important.

  Floe reached for her only weapon left, a grenade at her side. Iris noticed immediately, adjusting her aim. Floe pulled the pin from the grenade and prepared to throw it.

  Then Iris’ bullet caught her straight between the eyes.

  * * *

  Cross spun around when he heard the shot. In the shock of the moment his eyes registered three things: Iris, rifle raised. Floe, shot in the head. Grenade, no pin.

  Before Cross’ mind had a chance to process what he was looking at, survival instinct kicked in. Cross hurled himself down the open manhole just as Iris’ gunfire sailed through the air where he’d been a moment ago. The impact of what he had seen hit him at the same time as the ground.

  “No, Floe—”

  The grenade went off. Cross saw the explosion as a flash at the mouth of the manhole. Then there was a great crumbling sound, and suddenly it seemed like the sky was falling. Cross rolled aside just as enormous chunks of the road caved in. The streets of District 13 had gone unmaintained for many years, and the blast had been enough to break the ground, sealing the hole.

  Lying there amidst the muck and rubble, breathing the dusty sewer air, Cross became aware of pain from his fall—dull, distant, as though it belonged to another person. Worse was the emotional pain. Cross had seen it happen, yet it still hadn’t fully sunk in yet.

  He and Floe had only just admitted their feelings to each other. He had held her in his arms not even an hour ago. They had so many things left to do, promises to keep, lost time to make up fo
r. She couldn’t be dead. Not like this. Not so suddenly.

  “Cross! Cross, are you all right?”

  For a moment Cross imagined that the voice belonged to Floe. Then with a pang he recognized Takan’s voice. He could hear splashing as Takan ran towards him, but he didn’t move. It was like there was no energy left in his limbs. Takan cursed as he drew near, clearly thinking that Cross had been injured.

  Cross remained perfectly limp as Takan first took his pulse, and then roughly pulled his shirt up. Takan carefully checked for blood or broken bones. Finding nothing serious after several minutes, the Truant let out a noise of puzzlement. Then he noticed that Cross’ eyes were open.

  “Cross!” Takan shook him. “Where does it hurt?”

  Slowly, as though lifted by a puppet string, Cross brought his hand up to point at his heart.

  “Here,” he whispered.

  With that word, the dull ache Cross had been feeling finally burst into the full pain of his loss, pain he had never imagined possible. Cross let out a wail that echoed throughout the sewer, and he cried as he thrashed about, defying Takan’s attempts to hold him still. Takan was baffled by the outburst. Then he looked up at where the ground had caved in, and a flickering of realization dawned on his face.

  “Cross!” Takan pinned Cross to the ground. “Where is Floe? Did she fall behind? Was she captured again? If so we can still—”

  Cross shook his head violently and continued to sob. Then Takan understood the full truth of what must have happened, and the Truant fell silent. Gently, then firmly, he tried to pull Cross to his feet. Cross resisted.

  “Leave me alone!” Cross shouted.

  Takan shook his head. “Listen, Cross, I know what you feel like—”

  “No you don’t!”

  “Do you think you’re the only one who’s ever lost someone you care about?” Takan shouted back. “Stop being stupid! We have to get out of here! What about the rest of the City? What would Floe have wanted?”

  “I don’t care!”

  Takan went quiet, looking down at Cross with an unreadable expression. Cross turned his head away, content to lie there forever. Then Takan spoke again.

  “What about her killer?” he whispered. “Don’t you want to avenge her, Cross? Or do you not care about even that?”

  Cross stirred at that. The memory of Iris with her gun raised and Floe dead had been etched into his mind. Slowly, he felt his pain turn to anger—hot, bubbling, destructive anger that gnawed at his insides. Sensing the change in him, Takan reached down and pulled Cross to his feet.

  This time Cross did not resist as Takan hooked his arm under Cross’ armpit and began dragging him deeper into the darkness of the sewers. Cross had lost a dear friend that night, but now he knew he had also gained a personal enemy.

  29

  ORDER AND CHAOS

  The pale moon lingered overhead, bathing the docks of District 13 in pale light. On the waterfront, two figures that had been running for many minutes finally came to a halt. They turned to face each other. The chaos of the camp had been left far behind, on the other end of the district. The battle was surely over by now, though fires still blazed in the distance—a red scar on the horizon.

  Here there was only the lapping of gentle waves against a shattered pier, and the white orb of the moon mirrored on dark waters. The wooden columns that had once supported the pier remained like black pillars stretching out into the river. On either end of that tableau, the albino and Umasi now gazed at each other in silence.

  It was the first time they had met in four years. So much between them had gone unsaid in that time. And yet, neither of them now seemed able to find the words.

  Finally, the albino broke the silence.

  “It’s nice to find you in good health,” she said. “How have you been, Umasi?”

  Umasi inclined his head. “Decent.”

  “I never got a chance to thank you for protecting me when we were fleeing in District 2,” the albino said. “I appreciate it.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “It’s funny,” the albino continued, gazing up at the moon, “I always looked forward to meeting you again. I just never expected it to be like this.”

  Umasi solemnly removed his sunglasses and placed them in his pocket.

  “I don’t want to fight you, milady,” he told her. “If your intention was merely to get me alone for a chat, then you’ve succeeded.”

  The albino smiled. “A chat sounds great. Do you plan to bring me to a camp afterwards?”

  “Of course not.” Umasi looked stung. “I thought we knew each other better than that. Then again I never expected you of all people to align yourself with this destructive rebellion—what were you thinking, milady?”

  “I was going to ask you the same thing,” she replied. “I’ve kept my hands clean so far. What about yours?”

  Umasi frowned. “If you plan to convince me to abandon my post as Mayor, then I’m afraid you’re wasting your time.”

  “So this General Iris, she really is your sister?”

  “The only family I have.” Umasi sighed. “I know what it must look like to you, but Iris is doing her best to take care of the citizens. If the rebellion ended today, then supplies would flow into the deep City. Within a few years the students would all be out of the camps. The City would be rebuilt. We would have peace!”

  The albino gazed at him thoughtfully for a few moments. Then, to Umasi’s surprise, she burst into laughter, like the ringing of small bells.

  Umasi creased his brow. “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, nothing much.” The albino wiped her eyes, suddenly sounding serious. “You really are like your father.”

  “What?” Umasi blinked. “No.”

  “It’s true,” she insisted. “You and your brother were like order and chaos. He tried to fight authority, to change things, and you had to stop him.”

  “It wasn’t like that.”

  “Wasn’t it?” She cocked her head. “You attacked the Truancy, Umasi. You never attacked the Educators, never disrupted their system, never tried to undermine it—your nature wouldn’t allow it. You love order.”

  “I fought with Zen because he was killing people!”

  “As if he had any other way to change the City.”

  Umasi frowned. “Even if I did have a preference, so what? So what if after discovering my father’s motivations I agreed with him over Zyid? The Mayor wanted to save this City. He gave his life for it!”

  The albino crossed her arms. “So did your brother.”

  “Did you think I’ve forgotten that?” Umasi glared. “I’m the only one left, milady. I’m trying to salvage what’s left from their war—a war that would never have happened if Zyid hadn’t overreacted!”

  “Listen to yourself!” the albino retorted. “You sound just like the old Mayor, and you’re making the same mistakes as him too! Umasi, I saw enough of what happens in those camps to make me sick!”

  Umasi clenched his fists at that and turned his back on her.

  “This conversation is over,” he said, taking a step away.

  The albino loosened a length of chain from her wrist. The links caught the moonlight, jingling as they glittered.

  “I disagree,” she said. “I still haven’t convinced you to stop.”

  Umasi went still, his head bowed.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, milady,” he said in a pained voice. “Don’t make me do this. Walk away, disappear—I promise I’ll forget about you.”

  “I could never stay hidden forever,” the albino whispered. “And besides, I don’t want you to forget me.”

  Umasi seemed to grapple with himself for a moment. Then he straightened up and turned around to face her once again.

  “So be it.”

  The Mayor unbuttoned his windbreaker and allowed it to fall to the ground. The albino did the same with her blue Student Militia jacket. Dressed in black and white they faced each other. Turning towards the columns o
f the shattered piers, Umasi performed an elegant leap onto the nearest pillar. He continued making short jumps until he was ten columns deep, far out into the river. Only then did he turn around.

  “Do you still intend to stop me?” he asked.

  The albino smiled. “Of course.”

  “Then come and get me.”

  With grace and agility even greater than Umasi’s, the nameless girl hopped after him until only three pillars separated them. The moon shone bright above them like a witness, its shimmering light reflecting off the waves. The waters were calm beneath them, and the albino found it all very relaxing as she faced off against Umasi.

  “Are you ready?” he asked.

  She nodded. Then he drew his white swords, and their duel began.

  Umasi charged straight for the albino, bounding across the pillars. She responded by throwing her chain straight out at him. He knocked the ring aside with one blade and then swung forward with the other. The albino flipped sideways, touched down on the adjacent pillar with her hand, with her feet then landing on the pillar after.

  Seamlessly she launched her chain again, and as it swung around it skimmed the water surface. Droplets scattered into the air, catching the moonlight—like pearls in the night. Umasi formed a cross at his side with his blades, blocking the metal ring. He prepared to attack again, but the albino was already moving.

  Umasi quickly discovered that his opponent was able to jump the pillars faster than he could. Once there were four pillars between them, she abruptly swung the chain around at him—its arc was wide enough to catch him no matter where he jumped. Umasi ducked the attack, the chain whooshing over his head. The albino swung again, and this time Umasi blocked the chain with his broken sword.

  The chain wrapped around the short blade, and the albino realized her danger. She jumped straight towards Umasi rather than giving him a chance to pull the chain. As she landed on the pillar in front of him, Umasi slashed upwards, the tip of his sword grazing the river, carving a watery slash through the air.

  The albino shocked him by performing a perfect backflip, evading the sword and landing on the pillar behind her. Then she tugged on her chain.