Truancy
Page 35
He fell, the greatest prodigy the City had ever known.
He fell, the worst student that had ever graced a classroom.
He fell, away from the school, a Truant to the end.
He fell, and the darkness fell away with him as the waking sun crept over the horizon.
He fell, with no one to see him fall, for Takan had turned away and never looked back. As Takan climbed back through the window and into the school without remorse, he felt as though he were suddenly freed from an old burden, only to have a new, greater one fall upon his shoulders. His personal struggle had ended at last. The Truancy’s struggle, which had now become his own, still lay ahead.
* * *
He came, as Zyid somehow knew that he would. Slowly, mournfully, a lone figure walked up the sidewalk with the dawning sun to his back, halting as he cast his shadow over his brother. As the familiar shadow fell over him, Zyid found that, despite the deep bitterness that had once existed between them, he was glad that Umasi had come. In fact, now that the two brothers were together again, it felt as though they had never been apart. Zyid smiled faintly, feeling completely at peace with the world.
“Hey,” Umasi greeted softly, crouching down so that the sun struck Zyid’s eyes anew.
“Hey,” Zyid replied, shutting his eyelids against the light.
“How did it go?” Umasi asked, after an apologetic pause.
“He will take my place,” Zyid said, sighing as if suddenly having been relieved of a great burden. “I’ve cleared his mind. He is as ready as I could’ve hoped. And I … now I can rest.”
Umasi tried to smile, to be as pleased as Zyid was, but he just couldn’t manage it.
“You’re dying,” Umasi observed in a strained voice.
“I know.” Zyid nodded resignedly. “But I believe death is not unlike a long nap, and I’ve not had enough sleep lately.”
There was no question of saving him. Umasi had known from the moment that he laid eyes on his brother that Zyid was doomed, but his death was a fact that both brothers had already accepted without complaint. There followed a moment of heavy silence, and then Zyid’s eyes suddenly snapped open, and he stared pleadingly up at Umasi.
“He’ll need your help,” Zyid said urgently. “You’ll help him, won’t you?”
Umasi sighed. He had feared that Zyid would ask exactly that, though it wasn’t unexpected. What did surprise him was how easily the answer came to his lips.
“Yes,” Umasi said quietly. “I’ll help him.”
Zyid let out a pained, rattling breath that he had been holding, managing to sound relieved even as he bled his life out of his shattered body and onto the City streets.
“Promise,” Zyid said hoarsely.
“I promise,” Umasi swore without hesitation.
Zyid’s eyes seemed to mist over, and his entire body relaxed. There followed several moments of silence, and Umasi saw Zyid’s lips moving, though no sound came forth. It seemed as if Zyid were in a waking dream, and as the seconds passed by, Umasi looked backwards distantly at the brightening horizon. Neither brother stirred an inch, lost in their own remembrance. Then Zyid’s eyes cleared, and Umasi looked back down at him.
“When death lies ahead, it’s natural to look back,” Umasi said quietly as Zyid looked up serenely.
At that, Zyid shut his eyes and went very still. For a moment, Umasi believed that his brother had died at last, but then Zyid opened his eyes resiliently and looked up, and Umasi understood that his brother had been recalling all that they had gone through two … no, nearly three years prior now.
“You looked, didn’t you?” Umasi whispered.
“Yes. Yes, I did,” Zyid replied.
“So did I.” Umasi smiled wryly.
Zyid closed his eyes again, and his chest heaved more violently, his entire body rattling. Umasi understood that his brother was now on the verge of death, and knelt down to grasp his hand. It came as a surprise when Umasi felt Zyid return his grip, and it was an even bigger surprise when Zyid opened his eyes one last time to speak.
“You were right in the end, Brother,” Zyid said weakly.
And then his grip loosened, his eyelids slid together, and his chest stopped heaving. Tears dripped down from behind Umasi’s black sunglasses, and he released Zyid’s limp hand, which fell motionless to the ground.
“Only now I wish that I were wrong,” Umasi murmured sadly.
And with that, Umasi reached down and slung Zyid’s lifeless body over his shoulder, then steadily rose to his feet, stoically bearing the morbid burden in silence. Slowly, solemnly, the two brothers turned as one to face the warm, beckoning glow of the rising sun, together for one last time.
* * *
All throughout the City, in hundreds of schools, Student Militia barracks, Educator facilities, and Enforcer stations, a clear message repeated itself, inspiring hope or fear depending on who heard it. Some of the schools were empty, while others were filled with terrified refugees or smug criminals. Many who heard the message were grim Educators or proud Truants. By the time the sun had risen, few remained that had not heard the message that repeated itself without fail.
But even as the night had faded, and the message outlived the interest of those that heard it, the voice relating it stubbornly spoke on. For the first time, there was no carefully controlled announcement blaring on the loudspeakers of the City. There was only the memory of a Truant whose dream had refused to die with him.
“Children of this City,” Zyid said solemnly. “For most of our waking lives, all of us have suffered in academic shackles. Our parents, our teachers, the Mayor—adults of all kinds—have all worked to keep us in these invisible chains. They tell us that we have no rights. They tell us that we are not equal. If we argue, we are disciplined. If we resist, we are punished. We are driven like cattle into the classrooms to obey and feign respect for teachers that treat us like wayward beasts. The Educators have always patiently taught us of our own inferiority, to the point where many of us had begun to believe their words.
“Tonight, we’ve changed the curriculum,” Zyid proclaimed. “No longer will we beg for their favor. No longer will we fear their displeasure. No longer will we hide from failure. Tonight, my friends, students and Truants alike, we have shown them their great failure—their failure to wholly subjugate our generation. They did not believe in our intelligence, or our wisdom, or our strength. And we taught them how wrong they have been.
“But now that we have already proven our willingness to fight”—Zyid’s voice softened—“let us prove our willingness to have peace. Lessons have been learned by all, the most important of which is that a cycle of escalating violence can only bring us to mutual ruin. Educators, Enforcers, adults of the City, you were once what we are, and you know that you cannot stop your own future. Together, let us end the cycle of bloodshed, and let us end the cycle of oppression.
“In their place, let truancy live forever.”
Wherever there is school, there will always be truancy.
—ZYID
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
TRUANCY
Copyright © 2008 by Isamu Fukui
All rights reserved.
A Tor Teen Book
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First Edition: March 2008
eISBN 9781429974882
First eBook edition: August 2014