The Initiation

by Chris Babu

  Still on his hands and knees, Drayden turned his head. His eyes met Catrice’s.

  A steel gate with bars crashed down, blocking the doorway. Catrice and Sidney stood on the other side.

  Time remaining: 00:00:00.

  CHAPTER 24

  “No!” Catrice screamed. She burst into tears.

  It was over. Drayden had failed. And this time it wasn’t a trick by the Bureau.

  He sat cross-legged on the platform, holding the green Yankees hat in his hands, examining it. He hoped Mom would be proud. He’d tried his best. Forced to make a split-second decision, he’d chosen to save his enemy from a cruel death rather than complete the Initiation. Had he made the right call? There was no going back.

  For perhaps the first time in the Initiation, Mom and Tim would disagree about what he should have done. Tim would be berating Drayden for not running through the finish. He never would have sacrificed himself to save Charlie. Drayden was certain his mom would have. Ultimately, pleasing her was all he ever wished to do.

  Now he and Charlie would face exile together. Catrice and Sidney would move up in life, one of them joining the Bureau. A tear rolled down Drayden’s cheek.

  Catrice sat with her legs tucked up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, her face buried. Sidney knelt, grasping the gate’s bars. She stared at Drayden and Charlie, her mouth open in disbelief.

  “Dray,” Charlie panted. He crawled over and wrapped his muscular arms around Drayden, hugging him. Charlie’s weight overpowered him and they both toppled over. Charlie landed on top of him. “Oh my God, man. Thank you. Thank you so much. You saved my life. I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t want to die.” Charlie laid on Drayden, weeping.

  “Get off me!” Drayden said. He pushed Charlie off and sat up.

  Charlie sat back on his feet. He looked like a confused little kid whose feelings were hurt. “What?”

  “You tried to kill me! You and Alex! Why the hell did I even save you? We’re both dead now anyway. We’re getting exiled.”

  “Drayden, no! I swear.” Charlie pressed his hands together as if in prayer. “I was coming to save you from Alex. I just couldn’t climb out there, because the plank couldn’t hold all three of us. He was trying to kill you. He was. I wanted to stop it. I yelled his name out, and he looked at me, and I shook my head. I was telling him not to do it. I never thought he’d go through with it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You have to believe me!”

  Drayden remained skeptical. “What was Alex thinking anyway? What good would it do to kill me? He wouldn’t be picked by the Bureau. Even if I died, one of you guys would be selected before him. Plus, the Bureau might exile him for killing someone.”

  “He was planning to kill everyone except me. Then I would request the Precinct, and by default he would get the Palace. That was his plan. He assumed if he and I were the last ones standing, the Bureau would have to accept him on a technicality. Their rules, at least one person has to join the Bureau in the Palace. That’s why he was so confident he’d make the Palace.”

  Charlie shook his head. “He knew it was a gamble, but he knew he had no chance to win by outperforming everybody else. He was gonna attempt to make the deaths look accidental along the way. I’d been working my butt off to talk him out of it. Told him I wanted no part of it. Turns out it was a lot trickier than he thought. He never really had a chance to get anyone, which is why I never thought he’d come after you at the end. I guess he still hoped to kill you anyway. Exact some revenge for all the stuff he hated you for, and probably for beating him up earlier.”

  “What a flunk,” Drayden said, his face twisted. “Even after we saved him time and again today, he never appreciated it. He never got it.” Alex was crazy, a bad kid, and on the surface they hated each other. But Drayden believed that deep down, Alex remembered their old friendship. That he cherished some of the joyful memories from their childhood. Even further down, a good kid existed inside, the one Drayden used to know. Only he didn’t. Alex was too damaged, beyond repair. That innocent kid died long ago.

  Charlie walked back to the chasm, muttering Alex’s name over and over. He peered down it.

  Any minute now, Drayden and Charlie would be separated from the girls, and never see them again. Drayden needed to say goodbye. He rose and limped over to the gate.

  “Catrice?”

  Her eyes red and moist, she jumped to her feet.

  Drayden reached his hands through the gate, taking both of hers. She pressed her body up against the bars, and he did the same, wrapping his arms around her. He bent down so he could press his face up against hers, feeling the soft skin of her cheek.

  “I’m sorry, Catrice,” Drayden said. “I don’t know if I did the right thing.”

  “You did the heroic thing,” she said, sniffling. “I think your karma gods are going to protect you for that.”

  “It’s kind of late to tell you now,” Drayden said. “But…I wanted…I guess I always wanted—”

  A grinding metal noise screeched from above, like gears turning, cutting him off.

  The gate began to rise.

  Drayden fully embraced Catrice once the gate rose. He’d never hugged anyone like that before. Every inch of their bodies touched. He pulled away, resting his hands on the arch of her lower back. They gazed at each other in silence.

  Charlie lumbered over, wiping his eyes. Sidney leapt into his arms, burying her head in his neck. She climbed off Charlie and ran to Drayden. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Drayden. You saved me. You got me through. I knew you would.”

  “You’re welcome,” Drayden whispered. “You saved me too, a bunch of times. So thank you.”

  Charlie squatted down, his eyes fixed on the platform floor. “Alex is gone. Just like that. I know you guys didn’t care for him, but he was just misunderstood. He was a scared kid. I couldn’t save him.” His head drooped.

  Drayden was in no way ready to show sympathy to Charlie, or feel bad for Alex. Even if Charlie was telling the truth about his innocence, he still knew about Alex’s plot.

  Sidney rested her hand on his shoulder. “We’re sorry, Charlie. You were a great friend to Alex. What you did, to try and save him, was incredibly brave. You couldn’t have done any more.”

  He placed his hand atop hers and nodded, his eyes glued to the floor. “What now?”

  The door led into a narrow hallway, with faint light in the distance.

  “I assume they’ll separate us any moment,” Drayden said. “Me and you are getting exiled, the girls are not. Let’s see where this hallway leads.”

  Drayden caught Catrice’s hand. It was magical for a moment to imagine what it would be like to do that, to take her hand and hold it whenever he wished. He relished the touch of her soft skin against his rough hands as they walked. He cherished every last second, memorizing the feel of it.

  The hallway spilled them out into an open area, which was the South Ferry Station entrance. Stairs led up to the street above.

  The Palace.

  Footsteps rumbled. Two Palace Guardians stormed down the stairs with their rifles drawn. Dressed in gray fatigues, both men were young and muscular, with short-cropped haircuts.

  “Follow us,” the taller one said.

  The pledges exchanged wary looks.

  As they ascended the stairs into the sunlight, Drayden shielded his eyes. He needed a moment to adjust to the light, having been underground so long.

  The mid-afternoon sun painted their first ever view of the Palace. They stood in an expansive plaza, surrounded by a few tall buildings, a particularly eerie one behind them. The massive structure consisted entirely of green glass panels, many shattered. A decrepit sign on the front of the building in giant letters read “Stat—n Isl—nd Fe—ry.” A few people were walking around, but not many. Overall, it appeared similar
to the Dorms.

  “This is the Palace?” Sidney asked. “Looks like Thirty-Fourth Street.”

  “Nobody lives or works in this part,” one of the Guardians said. “This way.” He gestured toward the street, where a miniature bus idled by the curb.

  Unlike the electric buses in the Dorms, this one had no windows, and was painted white with a red cross on the side. As they approached, the back doors swung open. Several doctors and nurses stepped out, sporting their telltale scrubs. Two of them greeted each pledge.

  A woman with red hair and freckles greeted Drayden with a warm smile. “Hi, Drayden, my name is Molly. This is Manny,” she said, pointing to the chubby, dark-skinned guy next to her. “Come inside, we’re going to make you feel better.” She guided him inside the bus and laid him down on a stretcher.

  Drayden’s wrecked body throbbed everywhere. He craned his neck, searching for Catrice, to make sure they were still together.

  She, Sidney, and Charlie all lay on stretchers too. The Guardians entered, and the bus started to move.

  Drayden latched on to Molly’s sleeve. “Why are you taking care of me if I’m being exiled? What’s going on? Where are we going?”

  “I’m sorry,” Molly said, her eyes softening. “We were just told to take care of you. That’s all I know. We’re taking you to a hospital.”

  “Where are we going after that?”

  One of the Guardians stepped forward. “Stop asking so many questions,” he barked. “She doesn’t know. You’ll find out when you find out.”

  Molly held up a syringe. “I’m going to give you something that will reduce your pain and relax you,” Molly said. “Look at the wall for me.”

  Drayden turned away. Something pinched his arm, and instantly his entire body sank a few inches lower into the bed. His pain dulled, his body relaxed, and he tingled inside. After that moment, everything was a blur. Molly knew about all his injuries without asking. She iced and wrapped his ankle, and rubbed ointment on wounds to his face, head, back, hands, and legs. Manny gave him a banana and an icy pink drink.

  After arriving at the hospital, Molly wheeled Drayden to a room by himself. A woman named Doctor Spencer secured his ankle in a soft cast, treated his wounds further, and gave him medication. A nurse called Bob gave him a sponge bath and hooked him up with new clothes. Drayden’s head was foggy, but not too much to notice the hospital facility and medical care that was vastly superior to what the Dorms offered. He dozed off a few times. Eventually, a Guardian led him back outside onto the sidewalk, which was draped in elongated shadows from the late afternoon sun. The other pledges waited outside already, all dressed the same in red polyester track suits.

  Why was the Bureau addressing his medical needs if he was being exiled? It didn’t make any sense. He hobbled over to the others.

  Catrice and Sidney greeted him with hugs. Charlie spread his arms wide, and before Drayden could refuse, Charlie pulled him into an embrace.

  Charlie released Drayden and beheld his outfit. “Well, don’t we look cool? What are we, joining the Bureau track team? This thing’s redder than a nun’s cheeks at a peepshow.”

  “Drayden, what’s going on?” Sidney asked.

  “I have no idea,” Drayden said. “It’s pretty clear you and Catrice made it, and me and Charlie didn’t. I don’t understand why they bothered to treat us. I thought we’d be gone by now.”

  A small black bus with darkened windows pulled up. One of the Guardians slid the door open. “Get in.”

  Drayden marveled at all the different vehicles in the Palace. As they drove, more people packed the streets. Unlike the expansive, precise grid in the Dorms, the narrow streets here zigzagged in odd directions. After a short drive, the bus stopped. A Guardian outside opened the door. “Get out.”

  Drayden exited the bus first. He faced a massive stone building, built like a fortress, the few windows covered with iron bars. As he surveyed the area, his jaw dropped.

  The Palace was immaculate. Some of the buildings showed the same wear and tear as those in the Dorms, but everything was clean. People dressed in better-fitting clothing that varied in color. Vendors sold goods from actual storefronts, not makeshift stands on the sidewalk. Across the way, people sat leisurely at tables, eating, and sipping from tea cups.

  “Equality, my butt,” Charlie grumbled.

  The stone building crawled with Palace Guardians outside. Above the door, etched in the stone, it read, “Federal Reserve Bank of New York.”

  “Follow me,” the Guardian said. They walked up steps and through the doors, which were flanked by other Guardians.

  Inside, Guardians patted them down and granted them entry through another set of doors. The building was stunning, like a medieval castle inside. It featured white, tan, and gold stone walls, soaring archways, and polished tile floors, some of them mosaics.

  Drayden had never seen anything like it. “Is this the Bureau headquarters?” he asked.

  “Yes,” the Guardian said. “No more questions.” The Guardian led them to an elevator bank and pushed a button, which lit up.

  “The elevators work?” Charlie asked.

  The Guardian didn’t answer. No elevators worked in the Dorms. Charlie giggled as the elevator climbed. It deposited them in a seemingly endless hallway, lined with Guardians. Their guide led them down the hallway to a broad, dark wood door, flanked by two enormous Guardians on each side. One of them knocked on the door.

  It opened from the inside.

  Premier Eli Holst stood before them.

  CHAPTER 25

  Eli Holst’s mouth spread into a terrifying grin. In his broadcasts, he wore a drab gray suit, but today he wore a tailored black one. Sweat beaded on his over-tanned forehead and nose. He eyed the pledges through his trademark round glasses, which made his eyes appear too big for his face.

  “Welcome, children!” he said, as if he were greeting his own long-lost family. “Please, come in. Sit down.” He led them to four chairs facing a desk in a gigantic office. The burliest of the Guardians joined them in the room, standing against the closed door. The pledges all sat.

  Even the grandeur of the lobby didn’t prepare Drayden for this office, which was the most spectacular room he’d ever seen. It was the polar opposite of the barren office from which Holst delivered his broadcasts. All the furniture was dark polished wood, the cushions and curtains red velvet. Every instrument, like the pen on Holst’s desk, was adorned in gold.

  Holst stood facing them, his hands clasped in front of his body. “I want to congratulate you on a superb performance in the Initiation. Truly, superb.”

  He raised a finger in the air. “Now, I know you’re eager to understand what’s going on, particularly Drayden and Charlie. We’ll be getting to that. I need to set the context first, and I believe you’ll want to hear it.” He paused for a moment. “Nobody’s finished the Initiation in eight years. And this was the toughest one yet.” He stared at Drayden. “Contrary to what your father believes, Drayden, the Initiation is very real, not a trap.”

  Heat flushed Drayden’s cheeks. How could he know what Dad said?

  “Having said that, this year’s was different,” Holst continued, addressing everyone again. “Not just because of the increased difficulty. Because we were looking for something special.” He paced, his arms crossed. “As you know, we believe the two most critical human characteristics, from a societal view, are intelligence and bravery. We have proof. These traits saved New America after the Confluence, through the brilliance of the scientists and the courage of the Guardians. Therefore, the Initiation tests for those qualities. We have you test in groups because usually those traits are mutually exclusive in individuals. Some of you will be intelligent, some will be brave, but it’s rare to find one person who excels in both. Participating as a group, you can lean on each other’s strengths, depending on the challenge.”
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  Holst stopped in front of Drayden, peering down at him. “Despite your slow start, Drayden, you displayed an impressive aptitude for both.”

  Drayden fought off a smile, fixing his eyes on the floor. His mind was a jumbled mess. He hated Holst, and the wicked Bureau. Holst exiled his mother and killed his best friend. He’d just put the pledges through hell, and the reward awaiting Drayden after all this was exile. But damn, he was still a sucker for flattery.

  Holst leaned against his desk. “For your Initiation, we were searching for additional characteristics, because we had a specific assignment in mind for whoever finished. We looked for resourcefulness, teamwork, selflessness, creativity, critical thinking, and—

  for lack of a better word—clutchness. In addition to the Initiation Council, a team of psychologists analyzed you throughout every second of the Initiation. Every decision, every conflict.” He scowled at Charlie. “Every joke.” He turned his gaze to the whole group, smiling wryly. “Every sign of affection.”

  The pledges all shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

  Holst straightened and stepped in front of them. His expression grew serious, the corners of his mouth turned down. “So here it is. All four of you will be joining the Bureau.”

  Drayden sat bolt upright. What? His jaw dropped. He wanted to shout out. He snapped his head toward Catrice.

  She beamed with joy, smiling ear to ear at him, her eyebrows raised. She wiped fresh tears from her eyes.

  “Yeah!” Charlie hollered. He leaned forward and pumped his fist at Drayden.

  Sidney bounced up and down in her seat, giggling.

  Holst held his hands up at them. “It was Drayden’s selfless act to save Charlie at the end that guaranteed it. While finishing the Initiation, or not, is clear cut, our decision on your placement is highly subjective. Had he not done that, only one of you would have joined the Bureau. Except he did, proving the four of you, as a team, are exactly what we’re looking for. And so, here you are,” he said, spreading his arms out wide. Holst’s face twisted into a smile.