We, The Lucky Few

by P. S. Lurie

  ‘Jason? What are you doing here?’ I barely know him, have never spoken to him, but sometimes he kicks a ball around with Ruskin and Henry.

  ‘What are you doing here?’ he asks back.

  ‘I live next door.’ That doesn’t answer his question but my head spins with plenty of my own.

  Jason closes the door as best he can, trapping us inside the house with the dead couple and two guns in the mix but I guess I’m out of harm’s way for now. We stare at each other with a hundred questions each until Jason leads me away from the hallway but I refuse when he suggests the dining room as the smell of the food is enough to churn my stomach. We settle for the kitchen at the back of the house where I snuck in. Jason sits on a stool in front of the breakfast bar and places his sunglasses on the counter.

  I lean against the surface and take in the sight of Jason in his heavyset uniform. It looks thick to prevent from the cold on his patrol but the fabric is tight around his body and reveals his definition. He is only older than me by three years but the uniform ages him more.

  ‘Ruskin?’ I ask.

  Jason’s brother and I aren’t close but I’ve spoken to him a few times through Henry, usually when I’d meet Henry at the end of one of their matches.

  ‘Ruskin and my parents are fine. They’re in the Upperlands Theia.’

  ‘How?’ My tone is harsh and Jason appears hurt. I am only frustrated at Jason because he is here and I’d be the same with anyone who could give me an explanation. I’m learning that the rules the Upperlanders set us are more complicated than the announcement had us believe.

  ‘I was approached a few weeks ago by someone who wouldn’t give me their name but told me it was a proposal I wouldn’t want to refuse. I don’t know how they selected me or what they wanted but I was told to not tell anyone or the offer would expire. No one would have turned this down.’

  ‘You mean Rehousing your family whilst the rest of us died.’

  ‘I didn’t know that at the time. All I knew is that if I complied with patrolling tonight my family would be safe. It was only later when,’ but he trails off. ‘They made me sit tests. All I could tell was that they were looking for particular traits: family loyalty, lack of emotion, violent tendencies. It wasn’t hard to see what they were after so I swayed my results that way.’

  ‘You really didn’t know?’

  ‘Not initially. They only explained what was happening this morning before dawn. My family had an hour to pack some belongings and leave before the neighbourhood woke up. I had a chance to save my family. The people in charge said they’d hurt them if I warned anyone.’

  I put myself in his place and consider what I would do but I didn’t have to think hard as the answer is obvious. ‘You put them first. It’s what anyone would do. I’m not angry at you.’

  ‘Henry always said you were smart.’

  I blush and the more I try to stop myself from burning red the hotter my cheeks become.

  Jason smiles at this unwanted revelation. ‘He had no idea.’ I don’t know what he means but before I can ask Jason’s expression turns serious. ‘There were about fifty others at the meeting point. It’s not safe to be skipping fences. Guards are everywhere.’ He drops his head. ‘Some are enjoying this.’

  ‘What have they asked you to do?’ I already know the answer but I need to hear it.

  ‘Kill anyone that tries to escape.’ He breaks eye contact, ashamed of himself.

  ‘You protected your family. No one can blame you.’

  ‘You don’t understand. They were disappointed with me when they found out what I’d agreed to. They didn’t want to be saved over others.’

  ‘They were confused Jason. It isn’t an either or. Imagine if you’d refused?’

  Jason gives a small series of nods but he remains unconvinced.

  ‘What about you?’ I ask.

  ‘I go to the Upperlands tomorrow morning after,’ but again stops short.

  ‘After what?’

  ‘It’s too awful Theia. We need to get you home.’

  A thought occurs to me. ‘How did you know I was here? How did you know where Mr Ethers was?’

  Jason gestures towards the glasses. ‘Put them on.’

  Slightly too big for me, they slip down my nose but I hold them in place and gasp in shock. The lenses turn everything into solid colours and I only see a red blur where Jason sits. The rest of the room is black.

  ‘They’re heat sensitive. I can see into all of the houses. They work better from the street.’

  I work through the timing of the announcement. ‘That’s why this is happening at night. Enough light from the lampposts to reveal the police but not enough for us to run. And you can see every move we make.’

  ‘You wouldn’t want to swap with me Theia.’ Jason realises his mistake and apologises. ‘Sorry. I just mean you wouldn’t believe how quickly the red fades from dead bodies.’

  I look through the glasses towards the stairwell. Even through the wall I can just about make out a dim red solitary figure where I know there are two bodies.

  I turn to my house but I guess these sets of walls are too thick. The alternative that my family have all died in the last thirty minutes is too awful to entertain. I place the glasses on the table. ‘Not that I’m ungrateful but why did you save me?’

  ‘I was randomly assigned this neighbourhood to monitor along with one other guard. Ruskin asked me to check on you and Henry and I saw you sneak over the wall. I knew there was someone still alive here who had just killed another. You think I could’ve lived with myself if I let you die?’

  I don’t let on that Mr Ethers turned on himself at the end, and instead my heart leaps. ‘Is Henry alright?’

  ‘Fine, for now but I thought he was an only child.’

  ‘He is.’ I am cut off from asking what Jason means by his heavy sigh. ‘Jason?’

  ‘I’m just exhausted. I haven’t eaten all day.’

  ‘Go eat,’ I say. ‘Then we can both leave.’

  ‘Maybe you’re right. Would you sit in there with me?’

  ‘If it’s alright I wouldn’t mind a moment on my own. I came here to clear my head.’

  ‘Of course Theia. I’ll be back in a minute but then we really need to leave this house.’

  Jason exits and I sit on one of the stools. My ears tune into the sound of him eating, which distracts me too much to concentrate. I lean over and flick a switch on the wall. There is a lag and then the whirring of the walk-in fridge dies down. I flick the switch again bringing it back to life. I focus on the electrical hum, which has become such a novel noise, and let my mind wander. I’m taken back to a memory of Ruskin and Henry sharing a joke as I approached them. They quickly cut out their laughing when they noticed me. Henry wouldn’t tell me what had been said.

  I wonder whether the two will see each other again.

  Henry

  ‘It’s a dog.’

  My parents are now also by the door and we crowd around listening to the yelps. ‘It sounds injured. Why would the owners let it out?’ my mother asks.

  ‘Maybe they’re dead,’ Selene says.

  ‘Or it could be a stray,’ my father says.

  I reach for the handle. ‘We won’t know unless we check.’

  ‘What if that guard is still here? What if he thinks we’re leaving?’ I’m surprised Selene is the one to bring up this risk.

  ‘I’ll just open it a crack.’ No one stops me so I assume they agree. I unlock the door and wait for the dog to nuzzle its way in through the narrow crack but instead I hear a scurry from outside and then panting. I peer round the door and see a shaggy golden dog sitting expectantly with its tongue hanging out of its mouth. Only, the dog’s not completely golden; in the dim streetlight the dog has smatterings of red on its fur and the colour anything but natural. ‘It’s covered in blood.’

  ‘Oh goodness. Do you recognise it Henry?’

  The dog has a collar and tag. ‘No but it’s not a stray.’ I reach for
the nameplate but the dog backs away disoriented and cautious, which is not surprising after what it must have experienced tonight. I look around at the empty street and then crouch down and put the back of my hand out to the dog. ‘We’re not all bad.’

  I don’t make any sudden movements and the dog deliberates before nervously licking my skin. It backs off again when I try to pet it but I catch the name on the plate. ‘Good boy Charlie.’

  He perks up when I say his name and moves closer. ‘It’s ok.’

  My mother goes into the dining room and returns with a piece of fish. I take it from her and place it in the doorway. Charlie sniffs and then gobbles it down like a bolt of lightning. I open the door farther but am greeted with the sound of footsteps that rush towards us. Charlie hears it too but instead of scurrying inside he bounds down the path and into the middle of the street where he is exposed. I call his name but he doesn’t respond.

  Selene slams the door shut before the same policeman as before reaches the front of our house. His sunglasses are off and we lock eyes as the door closes between us. His are filled with disgust where mine express fear because, apart from the absent Upperlanders, everyone I know in the Middlelands have come together to form a society of apathetic peacefulness, resigned to our collective fates. This is the first person I have encountered who wants me to know that I am different to him, that I am under his control. If he could say anything to my face I’m sure it would be that this is my second warning. I’m not sure how many more he will allow.

  ‘What did I say before?’ he shouts through the closed door, confirming my suspicion that we are testing his patience. I look back through the peephole but he doesn’t approach the house and I assume his threat is not going to be followed up for now.

  ‘Let’s go back to the table,’ my father says. ‘There’s nothing left to be done.’ He leads my mother by the hand away from the door but Selene and I stand our ground wanting to do something for the helpless animal. ‘You two should come,’ my father snaps, which isn’t a suggestion but an order. I put this down to him wanting to protect us from witnessing whatever the policeman may do if he catches up to Charlie. My father’s temper has flared more times tonight already than I can remember over the last few years.

  ‘The poor thing,’ my mother says as she walks away. I love her for caring about everything, whether it’s her family or someone else’s pet, but she follows my father’s orders and doesn’t look back.

  ‘Henry.’ Selene beckons me over to the window from where she peers out between a crack in the drawn curtains. She pulls the cord so the curtains spill open and we both watch on as the policeman takes his time walking a full circle in front of our house, tapping the gun against his hip. He lowers his sunglasses to his eyes and looks around but I still can’t work out why other than there must be some benefit. He turns to face the middle of the street, cocks his head to the side and fixes his gaze on something in the distance. Calmly, he walks past our house and then past Theia’s and the Ethers’ and stops in front of a rusty, hollowed out grey car.

  He turns to us and it doesn’t matter that I can’t hear him because he makes sure I can read his lips. He overemphasises his words so that we know what he’s saying and that we remain his captive audience.

  Here boy.

  Selene

  I will Charlie to have scarpered but I watch on helplessly, knowing he has not gone far. The policeman walks with purpose towards a car then crouches down because somehow, even in the low-lit street, he knows exactly where the dog is. I tighten my fists and want to burst out of the door and scream at the man but I could never get close enough to him to try. Watching the family die across the way was no less horrific than what is happening now but I don’t know what led to that decision to kill. Maybe the family argued about who would be Rehoused and each selfishly nominated themselves. That family may have had their reasons but this is an innocent dog.

  I watch on, neither brave nor foolish enough to cause a distraction even though hatred towards the policeman grows inside me. He has no gain in upsetting us even more or encouraging us to die and, as if he reads my thoughts, the uniformed man straightens up and walks away so maybe he has some decency after all and his actions are mere bravado. He moves farther down the street and out of sight.

  Henry manages to open the window. Above the soundless night Charlie’s whimpers are clearly audible from under the car.

  ‘He must be mixed up about whether to stay put or move on.’

  ‘We should help him.’

  Henry remains stoic. ‘No. He might not be in danger and we can’t draw any more attention to ourselves.’

  ‘I thought you’d be braver.’

  ‘I thought you’d be smarter.’

  ‘That’s Theia’s job.’ My retort is pathetic and neither of us is in the mood to bicker but there’s also no need to apologise to one another because our friendship supersedes that so we let it go.

  I chew on a fingernail and hope Charlie remains hidden for a while longer but then I see at first a paw emerge and then a wet nose. Charlie’s tail is the last to appear from under the car as he slinks low to the ground.

  ‘I’m going to call him,’ I say.

  Henry’s silence means I have my way. I’ve been told countless times I’m stubborn and defiant. I don’t disagree with this description. Instead I take comfort in it; what everyone sees as flaws I see as strength. I go to open the door just as the policeman comes back into view, marching towards the car.

  ‘Charlie,’ I scream to him.

  Charlie senses my haste and picks himself off the road. He starts to build up speed but is distracted by a wolf-whistle from behind him and makes the fatal flaw of stopping to look back. Realising that he has been tricked. he dashes towards me but it is too late as a blast shoots out from the policeman’s gun and Charlie tumbles to the floor.

  Henry is at my side restraining me from leaving the house. He must be holding on tight because I feel like a cartridge of bullets couldn’t stop me yet I haven’t moved anywhere.

  Charlie’s breath slows but he’s not dead yet. A trickle of fresh blood mixes in with the already stained fur. The policeman takes his time to reach the dying dog and stands over him. A second bullet to the head ends Charlie’s life.

  The policeman directs his attention to us and shrugs. ‘I told you. No one is supposed to leave their house.’

  Henry closes the door and tries to calm me down but I walk away.

  I’ve only been this angry once before many years ago. A girl in the school year under mine caught sight of the bruises on my stomach. Whilst it was common knowledge my mother hit me no stranger would bring up the topic, until this girl.

  ‘If your mother hates you that much you should consider a new home. I hear the Lowerlands is perfect this time of year. ‘

  I ignored her because if anything I liked that she felt intimidated enough to want a reaction out of me but it was her next words that made me lose my cool. ‘Your mother should join you.’

  I lost any rational thought, my vision blurred and my ears filled with blood. I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts and I only remember what happened in those moments later as if my brain had shut down and my body had gone on autopilot. If Henry hadn’t stepped in and guided me away... I don’t think it’s far from the truth to say I would have killed her.

  As much as I hate my mother I felt the need to protect her that day. It’s just the two of us and she means more to me than I care to admit.

  But I learnt a second thing about myself later when I was on my own, which I’ve tried to forget until now. It’s what I tried not to think about earlier tonight when I was upstairs. On that day the anger was still bottled up inside of me and I punched a wall. It hurt like hell and my knuckles bled and took a few weeks to scab over and heal but, as soon as my fist connected with the rough bricks, my anger was resolved better than any deep breathing or words of wisdom from Henry.

  I don’t want to consider violence as an option but that
feeling of a release hangs over me and I crave it. It’s what works best.

  I wish I hadn’t let myself remember that.

  Theia

  ‘What will happen to the survivors?’ I ask Jason on his return from the dining room.

  ‘Other than that they’ll be Rehoused I don’t know.’

  ‘They’ll be safe?’

  He shrugs. I suppose if we have to hope for one thing tonight it’s that the Upperlanders will take care of the living. I don’t ask any more questions about what tomorrow might hold as it clearly distresses Jason and he seems to know little more than what the announcement told us.

  ‘Have your family discussed it Theia?’

  ‘They want me to go to the Upperlands but there’s Ronan and Leda to think of.’

  ‘They’re not old enough to qualify are they?’

  ‘Ronan is six so he should be the one to go. Anyway, even if Leda is a baby I’m not giving up that easily.’

  Jason mutters. ‘If only the Middlelands had a bit more of your fighting spirit we could have built our own Fence or taken down the existing one.’

  I’m not finished discussing my siblings because that’s at the forefront of my concerns but I am through with discussing what could have been and what the Middlelanders should have done; years of tough talk from our neighbourhoods amounted to nothing more than a standstill so it’s too late for hindsight. ‘I’ll do whatever it takes to protect them. That’s why I came here, to clear my head and work out a plan. Is there another way out of here?’

  A gunshot from the street causes us to tense but only for a short while and I can’t work out if becoming accustomed to the noise is a good thing or not.

  ‘Even if you avoid the guards on the street there’s nowhere to go. When was the last time you went to the coast?’

  ‘A few months ago,’ I say but it’s a lie. I don’t like making my trips public because then people will want to know why I go there if I have nothing to do with fishing. I could never tell them I go not to grieve our futures but someone else’s past. ‘Why?’