The Emperor's Concubine

by Killarney Sheffield

  “They got the power hub. Now if they can get the backup generators dismantled and breach the weapons room the enforcers will have nothing to fight back with but their Tasers.”

  Two small pinpoints of light appear above Imram, growing larger by the second.

  “Damn.”

  Link’s cuss makes me dig my fingernails into the sill. “What’s wrong?”

  “The enforcers got their ancient fighter jets up in the air. With any luck they won’t have fuel to last long.” He takes my hand. “Come on, we have to get to the subway, it’s the safest place.”

  Fear tightens my chest making it hard to breathe as we flee for the subway tunnels. “What about the men on the hang gliders? They’ll be shot down!”

  Link keeps running. “That is a risk they were willing to take, besides the enforcers haven’t had to hit a moving target in twelve years, so I doubt they can hit anything but a building now.”

  I think on that as we make our way into the tunnel. If that’s true then we should have the advantage. Link’s earlier words echo in my mind. Take away their technology and they are just a bunch of men in suits. If he’s right, then we’ve already won this war. With renewed hope, I run faster.

  When we reach the entrance of hub one’s tunnel I’m astounded by the number of people huddled there. I draw a deep breath and then wrinkle my nose at the stench of sweat, smoke and over warn bodies from hundreds trying to escape the destruction.

  Link makes his way among them. “As soon as the blasts stop, we all need to exit the tunnels, grab anything you can use as a weapon and be prepared to fight the wave of enforcers that will be coming. Women and children stay in the tunnels, but every able male who can fight be ready.”

  A man steps forward. “Why should we fight? We can’t possibly defeat armed enforcers.”

  The crowd begins to mumble in agreement and I know it is time to step in. “I’m Ocean. The enforcers are armed with Tasers, but we can defeat them. Our families deserve freedom, but the emperor isn’t just going to hand it to us. We have to fight for it.” I turn to the crowd. “Who here is willing to fight for freedom?” I shout. The crowd shouts in agreement. “Then we fight!” My fist pump is copied by the crowd. Their doubts are overruled by their desire to be free.

  A couple more explosions shake the ground and then it’s silent. Link creeps from the tunnel, looks around and then issues the command, “Get armed, for now we fight!”

  A surge of men exit the tunnel, and when I move to follow Link bars my way. “Not you, you stay with the women and children where it’s safe.”

  “No! If they fight, I fight. I’m the one who got them into this.”

  “No. You need to stay. Once we are armed, I want you to head back to the medical centre. You and Rafel are going to get every one of these women and children down the body disposal chute to safety.”

  As Rafel and I lead the women and children into the main tunnel we are joined by others from the other hubs. We have to hurry because at any time enforcers will be entering this same tunnel on route to the hubs. As luck would have it we are too late. Just feet from the medical centre tunnel we meet the first wave of enforcers.

  Rafel shoves me into the middle of our group. “Stay low, if they see you all hell is going to break loose.”

  I bite back the urge to reply, ‘like hell hasn’t already broken loose’, and crouch down.

  Rafel makes his way to the head of our frightened group and greets the enforcers. “I’m taking the women and children to the safety of the medical centre, let us pass.”

  The head enforcer scans Rafel’s wrist band and then nods. “You’re cleared to pass, Rafel, but we will first make sure there are no rebels in your midst.”

  Terror gripes me. As soon as the rebels see my clothing they’ll know I’m not from the hubs. Will they recognize me as Concubine 223? If not, they will surely see I am not wearing a tracking bracelet.

  Rafel starts ushering women and children past the enforcers. He catches my eye with a grim look. He knows as well as I we are in trouble.

  Sticking as close to the middle of the group as possible I shuffle along, eyes lowered hoping no one notices the woman in a dirty white robe instead of a mint green dress, or navy school uniform. I’m almost by when it happens.

  “Hey, you there! Stop.”

  I keep walking, trying to pretend I didn’t hear. A hand grips my arm to halt my movement.

  “Who are you?”

  Mumbling I keep my head down. “I’m one of the concubine rejects from the medical building.”

  His grip tightens. “Why were you in the hubs and where is your tracking bracelet?”

  “I was tending the injured, sir. I must have lost my tracer somehow.”

  He pulls me to him. “You’re coming with me.”

  Panic takes over. “But I’m needed in the medical centre, sir.”

  “I think not, Number Two-twenty-three.”

  Damn! I’m caught. I send Rafel a pleading look.

  He swallows. “What’s she doing here? I thought she was dead?”

  “Apparently not,” the enforcer holding me quips. “Check the rest of them carefully for more stowaways.”

  As the women and children continue to file past, I catch sight of a small group of enforcers toward the back of the group. They total thirty-three and I realize they are the empress and official’s wives.

  To my horror the head enforcer stops them. “You men come with me.”

  None of them say a word and stand there frozen in what I guess to be fear for their lives.

  Rafel comes to their rescue. “The emperor has summoned these young recruits to guard the medical centre. If the rebels gain access to all the medical supplies we won’t be able to treat our own wounded.”

  The head enforcer flips his visor up and scowls. “We need everyone on the front line.”

  Oh please don’t let him scan their bracelets...

  “Do you seriously want a bunch of untried fifteen year old boys watching your back on the front lines if all hell breaks loose?” Rafel shakes his head. “Go ahead then, it’s your funeral.”

  The head enforcer hesitates a moment and then slaps his visor back down. “Have fun babysitting, Rafel.” He ushers the rest by. “Number Seven-one-nine, about face.”

  The enforcer in question comes to the front and salutes. “Yes, sir.”

  The head enforcer shoves me into his arms. “Take Two-twenty-three to the emperor.”

  My heart sinks as I’m directed past the entrance to the medical building and down the tunnel to the official’s compound.

  Chapter Forty

  The official’s compound is deserted. Dust coats what structures are still standing and smoke drifts across the ground like some kind of spooky fog. It’s strangely quiet. Where are all the officials? The Emperor’s home, however, lies untouched behind heavily guarded gates. The enforcer and I are admitted and then they are closed and secured behind us. I am escorted to the elevator and then up to my former suite of rooms. The enforcer shoves me inside and then shuts and locks the door behind me.

  For a while I pace the floor and then head for the bathroom. It doesn’t appear the Emperor is in the mood to deal with me right now and the stench of smoke lingering on me is making my eyes water. After filling the tub I undress and slip in. My mind runs amuck as I scrub. What is the emperor going to do to me? Are my Ma and Petie all right? How is the battle going in the hubs? Are we winning? Has Sol breeched the city? Are Link and Rafel okay?

  By the time I finish bathing, I’m a nervous wreck. Wrapping a towel around me I head for the bedroom. I stop short on the threshold in surprise. There in the middle of the bed beside my dirty discarded robe is a silver box. Crossing to the bed I pick up the card on top. On it is a note written in the Emperor’s own hand.

  Welcome back, my dear Messiah. I expect you to be out of the bath and dressed in time for brunch.

  H.R.Forbias.

  My gaze jerks to the doorway. How did he know I
was bathing? And how did the box get on the bed without me hearing anyone one enter my room? The card flutters to the floor. I scan the ceiling, but don’t see a camera. A distant boom distracts me and I hurry to the window. A column of black smoke billows from the hubs. The fighting is still going on. Was the blast delivered by my side, or the emperor’s? The idea of sitting across the dining table from my enemy, the hub’s enemy, while my friends fight is chilling. I could refuse to attend brunch, but then I doubt the emperor would take no for an answer.

  With a sigh I return to the bed and open the box. Inside is the gown I wore in the pageant with the multi-colored green and blue threads through it. My fingers caress the fine material. Somehow I never pictured myself ever wearing the dress again. The irony of the situation is I never visualized myself a concubine either.

  I’ve only just finished dressing when a key clicks in the lock on the door. It opens to reveal an enforcer. He nods and steps aside for me to precede him. We walk down the hall, get in the elevator and head down to the second floor.

  “The power is out in the hubs,” I murmur.

  The enforcer glances at me. “The Emperor has his own generator, separate from the hubs.”

  “Oh.” I look away and fidget with the lace on my dress.

  The elevator comes to a halt and the doors open revealing another enforcer waiting to escort me to the dining room. Once the elevator doors close to take my first escort back upstairs the new enforcer reaches out and squeezes my hand.

  “Rafel?”

  He nods.

  Before I can say anything else we arrive at the dining room. When I step in, I’m shocked to find all the officials and the emperor seated at the table set with the best china and crystal. No one stands as I approach; only thirty-two pairs of eyes watch me. Thirty-two stony faces reveal nothing, no surprise at my sudden appearance, or anger.

  The emperor points to a chair at the opposite end of the table from his. Shaking, I take a seat, officials on either side. He clears his throat. “I’m glad to see you alive and well, Number Two-twenty-three.”

  “Ocean,” I correct him.

  “Ocean.” He cracks the barest smile. “We are honored to have you join us for our last meal.”

  My stomach twists into a knot. “Last meal?”

  He takes a sip of his wine. “Yes, you see, your... people, will eventually over run my enforcers. The officials and myself will be killed. In the most gruesome way, I assume.” No one says a word as he takes another sip of his wine. “Since we are not animals, I decided to have a last meal.”

  On cue, a group of enforcers enter bearing silver domed dinner trays. They set one before each person at the table and then retreat to the kitchen. After the emperor removes the lid on his tray the rest of the officials follow suit. A full turkey dinner is displayed. Everyone begins to eat in silence.

  Poking at my sliced turkey with my fork I peek beneath my eyelashes at the dinner guests. The idea of a last meal is both morbid and fitting. The fact that no one at the table is protesting is just odd to say the least. Why have they accepted their fate? Are they that brainwashed they don’t turn on their leader? It is the longest meal of my life.

  The emperor waits until everyone is done eating and then signals for a couple of enforcers to fill wine glasses. I can’t help but notice his and mine aren’t filled. When the task is done he lifts his glass of water instead. “A toast to the end of an era.”

  I can’t bring myself to join in the toast and watch as the rest pick up their wine and drink. One by one with shaking hands they return their glasses to the table. A minute goes by and suddenly one of the officials gasps and then falls face down into his dinner plate. Within seconds the rest follow suit. Scrambling to my feet, I stare in horror at the scene. The emperor sits calmly sipping from his water glass as if nothing is amiss.

  “You poisoned them!”

  He focuses a tired gaze on me and sets down his glass. “It was more humane this way.”

  “Humane? Are you insane?” It’s a stupid question I realize once it’s out of my mouth. Of course he’s insane. What sane person would fake an apocalypse? What normal person would wall up his people in a prison for years, torturing and controlling their every move?

  He shrugs. “I suppose I could have let them be tortured and slaughtered by your ‘freedom fighters’.”

  In disgust I spit, “They would have been tried fairly for their crimes.”

  He gives a hollow laugh. “You are so naive, Two-twenty-three and your followers are so simple minded. I offered you all a chance to prosper. You would have been lifted up as a woman of stature. You could have demanded anything you pleased, and I would have given it to you, but you threw it all away. And for what, a meager existence scratching in the dirt for a meal? I thought you were smarter, more ambitious than that.”

  Furious, I stomp to the head of the table. Placing my palms on it I lean over to look him in the eye. “You offered rape and servitude, nothing more. You’re insane, Emperor.”

  In the blink of an eye, he grasps my wrist in a painful grip. “Am I? I think not. I planned the day of my death well.” He sneers and for the first time I realize he is not wearing gloves. His fingers where they clamp onto me are black and shriveled. I look closer at his face. Beneath smeared skin tone make up are black blotches, evidence of the black sickness. When I met his gaze, he gives the barest nod. “Yes, I’m dying, like them.” He nods to the dead officials.

  I can’t help looking. They too display the marks of the black sickness beneath smudged make up.

  “We were all dying, you see. There was nothing to be done. I hoped you young concubines would take over and rule Imram the way I intended.” He frowns. “But you had other ideas, didn’t you, Ocean?”

  In stunned silence, I stand there.

  His lips twist into a cruel smile and he releases my hand. With slow deliberate movements he pours two glasses of wine and pushes the one closer to me. “Now, together we will drink and die. Seems fitting to me, don’t you think? The oppressor and his repressed, ending it by the same blade so to speak?” Lifting his glass he raises a brow to prompt me to do the same.

  I glance at the enforcer standing ready with his Taser in hand. It appears my choices are to die by my own hand, or an enforcer’s. Death by wine looks a lot less painful. I reach for the glass. Instead I snatch up the knife and embed it in the emperor’s chest. His eyes widen. A withered hand claws at the dinner knife buried to the hilt, a deep red already staining his white shirt.

  Spinning around, I get ready to take on the enforcer, just in case it isn’t Rafel. He puts his Taser away and nods.

  The emperor coughs and draws my attention back to him. He smiles, a crude gesture with blood dribbling from the corner of his mouth. “I... knew you... had it... in you. All hail... the... new empress.” With a grimace, he closes his eyes and utters his last breath.

  My hands are shaking. I did and didn’t want it to end this way. Yes, I wanted the emperor dead, but not by my own hand. Turning away I square my shoulders. “Are we winning the war?” I ask Rafel.

  “Last I checked, but we better get out of here before the enforcers return.”

  Together we exit the dining room and head for the elevator. An enforcer passes us on his way to the dining room. When the elevator doors open Rafel yanks me inside and punches the button. The doors close just as a shout rings out from the dining room. When we reach the first floor we run for the front doors. Rafel pulls me behind a couple large potted plants as footsteps sound in the hallway. A group of enforcers run by in the direction of the elevator. After they pass we flee out the door. We run head on into an enforcer. Rafel draws his Taser.

  “Whoa! Rafel, it’s me, Link.” He flips up his dark visor.

  “Am I ever glad to see you,” I breathe.

  He grins as Rafel re-sheaths his weapon. “It’s nice to see you too, now get moving before we’re all dead. Head for the east side of the medical centre, there’s a breach in the wall. We
have to make it out before the next wave of dynamite.”

  As we run through the rubble, I notice fighting all around us. Little pockets of men from the hubs armed with tools and the odd pilfered enforcer’s Taser. It seems, however, even they are drifting toward the medical centre. A burned out fighter jet lays smoking on the ground. I’ve no idea where the second one is. It seems Link was right, once the emperor’s computers and meager fleet of jets were disabled the city fell to the hubs without much fight, beyond the hand to hand combat that appears to be winding down.

  “Ocean!”

  I pause and turn in the direction of the voice. Sol appears. “Sol!” I fling myself into his arms. “You’re here.” I notice his wince and the blood on his shirt when I draw back. “Oh God, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, it’s just a scratch.” A grin shines through the grime on his face. “You wouldn’t have believed it, I flew! It was amazing! A bunch of us dropped lit dynamite on the dome.”

  I can’t help laughing at his child like enthusiasm. “I know, I saw. I thought I was seeing things.”

  “Hey, you two?” Link grouses, “I hate to break up this lovers reunion, but if we don’t get moving we’re going to be part of the rubble.”

  “Where’s my ma and Petie?”

  “They are safe beyond the walls.”

  Though I know I should trust Link a little, doubt still lingers. “Are you sure?”

  He glowers at me. “For God’s sake, Ocean, I’m sure. Now move it if you want to see them.”

  I start in that direction and then stop. “Wait, I can’t go without my necklace.”

  Sol frowns. “What are you talking about?”

  “I stashed the necklace with the mint leaf inside in one of the light sconces in the medical building waiting room. I can’t leave it behind.”

  Sol shoves me into Link’s arms. “Get her out of here.” And then takes off.

  Link drags me behind him around the corner of the building. A huge gaping hole in the wall catches me by surprise; a mass exodus of men, women and children, enforcer and hub dweller alike stream through the gap. We set to work helping children and elderly people over the pile of rubble to safety. When the last person has cleared the gap I turn back and scan the compound. “Where’s Sol?”