by Chris Yee
Alan stepped forward. “I suppose we should say something, right? I’ll start.” He cleared his throat. “Today is a sad day.” He paused. “No. Sad is the wrong word. It doesn’t capture even a fraction of what I’m feeling right now. Today is a horrendous day. A dreadful day. A tragic day. Yes, I think we can all agree that what happened here was a tragedy. Our friends and family were executed. Shot down. Murdered. However you want to put it. There are many ways to describe what happened, but it doesn’t change the outcome. So none of that matters. What does matter is what we do next. How we remember them. I will remember Melinda as a loving wife. She was a caring person with a beautiful soul. She was nice to everyone, and she showed endless love for me. Now she is gone, and I will miss her greatly, but I will never stop loving her back.” He bent down and drove a wooden plank into the ground. Melinda Trotter was carved into it. He bowed his head and stepped back in line with the others.
Next was Ella. “My mother was the best anyone could ask for. She did a wonderful job raising me. She had morals and principles, and she passed them on to me. Her heart of gold would never melt. And whenever things got hard, she was tough as nails. I owe her the world, and I know I can never repay her.” Tears trickled from her eyes. “Maybe things could have gone differently.” She glanced at Vince and then looked away. “Maybe this whole thing could have been avoided, but now she’s gone. I will carry her legacy. I know that would make her happy.” She bent down, just like Alan, and planted a plank into the ground. This one read Tamara Weaver.
Rupert spoke next. “I want to start by saying that all of these losses are tragic. Every single person here deserves kind words. Every one of them deserves this ceremony. None of them deserved what happened. They did nothing wrong. And we may be tempted to blame certain people.” He glanced at Ella, who shot a disgusted look at Vince. “It’s natural to do so in times like this, but that’s not what we need right now. Now is a time to stick together. To support each other. These last few days have been a crazy mess. We’ve all lost people. We’ve all experienced pain and sorrow. Let’s not turn against each other in these difficult times. Instead, let’s take this time to heal, and help others heal.” He turned to Vince. “Vince, this burial was your idea. I think it’s only fair you get a chance to speak as well.”
Vince raised his head, looking straight into Ella’s glare. He turned to the faces of the others, and then to the empty hole at the end. His eyes lingered on the unoccupied tomb, thinking of what to say. Finally, his head sunk and he turned to Rupert. “I have nothing to say.”
Rupert studied his face and nodded. “Very well. Charlotte. You never had the pleasure of meeting these wonderful people, but would you like to say something?”
“Yes, of course,” Charlotte said. “Though it’s true I never met anyone here, I know they were all good people. I have spent most of my life in the Spire. I’ve watched a lot of people. It was my job to observe people. To study their actions and relationships. Never in my entire career have I seen a group more tightly knit than yours. When I first met you, I knew you were inseparable. You are your own little community. I can imagine the rest of these people were the same way. Rupert is right. In times like these, community is the most valuable thing in the world. I am honored that you have welcomed me into yours.”
“And we are honored to have you,” Rupert said. “Without you, we never would have escaped the Spire. You risked your life, on more than one occasion, to help us. You’ve earned your spot in our group.”
“Thank you, Rupert.”
“Now,” Rupert said, bending down and grabbing the plank with Carl’s name, “we should place the rest of these names. Then we can talk about what will come next.”
They walked up the line and placed the rest of the planks. Each grave had a name. A memorial of the good people of Snow Peak. Their bodies had perished, but their names lived on. They left the extra grave at the end untouched. Rupert headed back towards the warmth of the cabin, and the others followed.
Vince stayed behind, waving them off. “I’ll be there in a moment. I just want to do one more thing.”
They nodded and went inside.
Vince turned around and looked at all of the graves. His eyes followed down the line, reading each name until he reached the final unnamed tomb. He sauntered over and picked up a blank piece of wood. With his knife, he carefully carved into the surface. When he was done, he held it out at arm’s length, and then knelt down to plant it in the ground. He stood up and stared at the empty grave for a moment longer, and then turned around to join the others.
The plank, which was lodged firmly in the ground, read Saul Shepherd.
EIGHT
AS VINCE APPROACHED the cabin, his eye caught movement in the woods. He tilted his head and squinted to focus his sight. It was a person. Not just one, but many. Small crowds of people stumbled out of the woods and walked towards the village. Some wore labbie outfits. Long white coats with the City crest embroidered on the chest. Others wore traditional black Spire uniforms, similar to Charlotte’s.
Vince trotted to the cabin and flung the door open. “Get out here. There are people coming.”
They wandered out with cautious curiosity. The horde of people slowly ambled over. “Who are they?” Alan asked. There was a hint of worry hidden in his voice. “Look at what they’re wearing. Is it more of Greene’s men?”
“You son of a bitch,” Charlotte said, laughing and jumping with joy. “Trevor? You made it out!” She jogged over.
The man in front lifted his head and smiled at the sight of Charlotte. He started jogging as well. “Charlotte!” He met her in the middle and exchanged a warm embrace. “I can’t believe you made it out. There was a rumor going around that Greene locked you up.”
“He did.”
“How did you escape?”
“Vince and Saul broke in and helped me. How did you get out?”
“Just barely. I was in the cosmetic sector, just adding records in my journal like any other day, and then the alarm went off. Even though the second wall was down, Greene was so confident in his last broadcast. I was certain we could handle the attack.” He shook his head and laughed nervously. “Man was I wrong! I went to the safe room with everyone else. We’ve done it so many times lately, it’s become somewhat of a routine. Of course, you weren’t there. Ever since Vince and Saul came to the City, I haven’t seen you at all. I guess Greene kept you busy…or locked up. Either way, I thought you were a goner.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence,” Charlotte said, nudging his shoulder.
“Soon after we locked the safe room, Simon made an announcement. He said Greene was dead.”
“It’s true,” she said, looking down at her feet. “I saw his body.”
“Up until then, the safe room was pretty, you know, safe. Everyone was after Greene, but once Greene was dead, they focused on the safe rooms. We couldn’t just wait to see what happened. Eventually, they would get in. So we turned to the evacuation pods. The thing is, there were too many people. We weren’t going to fit. We tried to squeeze as many people as possible, but it became very clear that not everyone would make it out. Some volunteered to stay behind. The rest of us, we drew straws.”
“Christ,” Charlotte said involuntarily.
“I know. It sucks, but it was the only thing we could think of. I got lucky. I got a spot, but we had to leave five people behind.”
“I’m so sorry.” She hugged him again. “But I’m glad you made it out.”
“The entire time I was praying that Simon wouldn’t find the fire vacuum button. If he pushed that, we were all goners. It would suck out all the air, and we would suffocate to death. Fortunately, we had enough time to load into the pods. After our three pods had launched, we looked back to see if others were doing the same, but none of the other pods budged. It was just us. We had nowhere to go. We couldn’t go back. Not in the middle of that massacre. And we had never crossed the outer wall before. We didn’t know what was
out here. That’s when we saw a raft in the distance. It was just a dot on the horizon, but we saw it.”
“That was us,” Charlotte said.
Trevor nodded. “We followed you, hoping you would lead us somewhere. Then we heard gunfire, and you disappeared. We lost you. We steered our pods towards the sound and found your abandoned raft. We didn’t know what to make of it. So we just kept going forward until we hit land. We were relieved when we saw one of Greene’s boats parked up on shore. We figured they could help us, we just had to find them first. We followed the tracks in the snow, hoping to run into them, but instead, we found you.”
“That boat was ours,” Charlotte said.
Trevor gave a puzzled look. “It’s not Greene’s men?”
“I guess it is, kind of…It was.”
Trevor gave an even more puzzled look.
“They attacked us. That was the gunfire you heard. But we kicked them off and took their boat.”
“Why in the world would Greene’s men attack you?”
“Trevor, have you been living under a rock? Greene had me locked up for treason. Vince and Saul were working with Simon. We’re all fugitives. Why wouldn’t they attack us?”
Trevor shrugged. “It was just a rumor that you were locked up. I didn’t really take it seriously.”
“Well, it happened. The Spire has fallen. Greene is dead. The City is probably a mess. So you need to start taking it seriously.”
Trevor held up his hands as if being wrongly accused of a crime he did not commit. “Okay. Take it easy. I’m just happy to see a friendly face.”
Charlotte smiled. “Me too.”
Trevor glanced at the rest of the group standing at a distance behind her. “So these guys are okay? They’re not traitors? That’s what everyone was saying before this whole thing went down.
“It’s okay, they’re with me, unless you consider me a traitor.”
“As long as you don’t stab me in the back, I’m good. I see Vince over there, but where’s Saul?”
“He didn’t make it out. Simon got to him.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” He looked to Vince and nodded his head. “Who’s the girl?”
Charlotte turned to Izzy. “You’re not going to believe this. She’s Greene’s daughter.”
Trevor flinched, unprepared to hear those words. “Daughter?”
“That’s what she says. We found her hiding in Greene’s evacuation pod.”
Trevor looked stunned. “Holy crap. I didn’t know he had a daughter.”
“No one did, as far as I know. He’s been keeping her hidden.”
“Huh, interesting. So, what now? It looks like you’ve got a nice little village here. Is this a place we can stay? At least until it calms down back in the City.”
“We were just about to discuss what to do next. You can listen in if you want.”
He looked back at the others that were with him. “I think that would be best. All of these people don’t have a home anymore. The Spire is all they know, and now it’s gone.”
“Come on,” Charlotte said. “I’ll introduce you to the others.” They walked over to the group. “Everyone, this is Trevor Hubble. He’s my coworker and good friend. These people worked in the Spire. They have nowhere to go now.”
Rupert stuck his hand out. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Any friend of Charlotte’s is a friend of ours.”
Trevor took his hand firmly and shook. “I want you to know that I worked for Greene, but I have no allegiance to him. It was just a job. I didn’t support the decisions he made against you. I think everyone here feels the same way.”
“That’s good to know,” Rupert said.
Alan jumped impatiently. “Now that introductions are out of the way, can we get back to business? What do we plan to do next?”
Rupert nodded. “Let’s discuss this inside. It’s cold out here. Tell your people they can wait in the cabins. They’re all vacant.”
Trevor chuckled. “My people, huh? I guess I just became their representative.” He started walking back. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”
The group entered the cabin as Trevor went to welcome his people to their new home.
NINE
WHEN TREVOR ENTERED the room, the others were standing in a circle, waiting patiently. “So we’re standing, huh? No sitters?”
Rupert gestured to a chair. “Please, help yourself.”
“Thanks,” Trevor said, pulling the chair over. “I’ve been walking all day. Got to rest my legs for a bit.” He sat down and let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t get out of The Spire much. I’ve done more walking today than I’ve done all month.”
Charlotte laughed. “Shut up, Trevor. We all know you’re an old fart.”
“And proud of it,” he said, holding his head up high. “It means people don’t ask me to do stuff for them.”
“Let’s get started,” Rupert said. “First, Trevor, you know all of us, correct?”
“That is correct. I think everyone in The Spire knows who you are. All except her.” He pointed to Izzy.
She waved her hand over her head and smiled.
Rupert nodded. “I’m afraid that’s somewhat of a mystery to all of us. Her name is Izzy. She says she’s Victor Greene’s daughter. That’s all we know.”
Trevor rubbed his chin. “Very interesting.”
“If you don’t mind,” Ella said, “could you tell us who you are? What did you do in The Spire?”
“Of course.” Trevor crossed his legs. “My name is Trevor Hubble. I am a monitor agent, just like Charlotte. But unlike her glamorous life in the vitality sector, I work in the exciting field of cosmetics.” He raised his voice with fake enthusiasm.
Alan nodded. “Cosmetics, huh?”
“Yep! I deal with makeup, mostly. People try on lipstick or eye shadow or whatever, and I write it all down in my journal. It’s very unrewarding.” This last part he said with a smile.
“Quit complaining,” Charlotte said, nudging his shoulder. “You have to work your way up. That’s what I did.”
“But you were a soldier. That’s different. You had training. You can fight and think on your feet. Greene could trust a soldier. I sit in a chair all day and watch people stare in a mirror doing this.” He puckered his lips and pretended to put on lipstick.
“You’re just impatient. A promotion was coming. Greene respected his workers.”
“It sounds like you’re defending the man that locked you up.”
“I didn’t agree with all of his decisions, but he did treat us with respect. At least, until I turned against him.”
Trevor waved her off. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard this twenty times before. The fact is, the man was a nut.” He glanced at Izzy. “No offense, but your dad was a nut. Granted, Simon was a bigger, crazier nut, but they were both still nuts. Simon was a walnut, and Greene was a peanut.” A smug smile landed on his face.
Alan laughed. “I like this guy.”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “You’re always thinking of food, aren’t you Trevor?”
He patted his moderate belly. “What can I say? I’m a man who loves to eat.”
“If Greene moved you up to a better sector you would’ve hated it. You’re too laid back. You can’t handle the pressure.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. So I’m forever stranded in the land of mascara…Well, not anymore I suppose. Now we’re all in the same boat. Banished from The City, stuck in this limbo of a village.”
“This is our home,” Ella said, slightly irritated.
“And we’re not banished,” Charlotte said. “We can go back.”
Trevor shook his head. “And get lynched by Simon’s crew? No, thank you.”
“They’re all in the Spire right now. We don’t have to dock there. We can go to the entrance on the other side. If we change out of our uniforms, no one will ever know we work for Greene.”
Trevor pointed to Vince. “People will recognize him for sure. His face has been plas
tered on every television screen for the past week.”
“We would have to be discreet,” Vince said, “but I think we could do it.”
Alan looked at Vince. “Why do you want to go back?”
“Simon’s still in charge. We need to stop him.”
Trevor snorted. “There’s no way we’re getting anywhere close to the Spire. That place is crawling with Crowns.”
“That will always be the case,” Vince said. “Wherever Simon is, there will be Crowns. That doesn’t change the fact that he’s a menace who needs to be stopped.”
“Well,” Alan said, “I guess we know what Vince is voting for.”
“I’m not going back,” Ella said. “We just got home. There’s no reason to go back. The only thing waiting for us there is more pain and misery.”
Rupert stepped forward with Fred perched comfortably on his shoulder. “I agree. We should try to move on with our lives. A lot of bad things have happened. We have the City to thank for that. The last thing I want to do is go back. We have a good village here. Let’s stay and build up the community we used to have.”
“I respect that Snow Peak is your home,” Charlotte said, “but it’s not mine. I have no reason to stay. For me, home is back in the City. It’s Trevor and Izzy’s home too.”
Trevor shook his head. “There’s no way I’m going back. I’ll stay out here where I’m a good safe distance from Simon and his psycho followers. I’m sure the rest of my people feel the same way.”
“You can’t bring Izzy back,” Ella said. “She’s so much safer here. The minute they find out she’s Greene’s daughter, her life will always be in danger.”
“They don’t have to know,” Charlotte said. “We can hide it.”
“I want to go back,” Izzy said quietly.
Ella walked up and knelt by her side. She spoke softly. “Honey, it’s not safe for you there.”
Tears welled up in the young girl’s eyes. “I want to go back home. Please? Can I go back home?”
“She will be safe,” Charlotte said with confidence. She wrapped her arms around Izzy and pulled her in close. “I will make sure that she’s safe.”