by J. M. Clark
“I skipped out on my morning enrichment class. For all I know, it was canceled as well. But I wasn’t in my pod this morning to get any announcement. I was checking up on something. There is one thing I need to do this afternoon before we make a run for it. I’ve always wondered about the Palace and where Sirus is located. Is he here, or in a different Palace? He’s never been seen here by anyone, but it’s possible he stays here, right?” Jacob looked at Mary with hesitant hope in his eyes.
“Sure. Why not? I think it’s a long shot, but it’s possible.”
“I thought it was a long shot as well, until this morning when I got in the elevator and tried a few things. I’ve been thinking for some time that he is here, at least sometimes. You can see the black helicopter coming in and out from the Palace—I think that’s him. I’m not talking about the gray choppers that bring in supplies, but the black one. It must be landing on top of the building on a helipad.”
“Okay,” Mary said, blinking at him with questioning eyes. “What about it?”
“We know that the first eighteen floors are for pods, sessions, and activities. There is no talk of offices or any area for Sirus. Which made me think that there could be another floor. Like a hidden floor. Most commercial buildings like this one back in the Old World had floors like that. They could be in the basement, hidden between existing floors, or even above the top floor. In this case, a nineteenth floor.” Jacob got excited and rose from the bed with a grimace. His knees popped. They both heard it, but Mary smiled and waved him on to finish his story.
Jacob fought through the embarrassment of his body showing its age and continued to talk. “Anyway, I got on the elevator this morning and messed around with the buttons in there. I held down on the ‘close door’ button while constantly pressing different floor buttons. I didn’t think anything would happen at all, but figured it was worth a try.
“After hitting buttons like a child for a few minutes, I sent the elevator to the eighteenth floor. Once there, I tried some more button mashing. I pressed the button for the first floor while holding the ‘close door’ button. I wanted to see if the elevator would go all the way down to the first floor without stopping for anyone that may be calling it. Then it happened. The elevator started moving up, not down.” Jacob felt his face light up with a grin that would put a clown to shame. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Mary?”
“But…but how could it go up if you were already on the top floor?” Mary was looking at Jacob, but also looking through him. He could see the cogs turning in her head. Puzzlement was written on her face, then the sparkle in her eye came shining through, and her gaze met his. “What happened when you got to the higher floor?”
Jacob grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her lips. “I love you, darling. It went up to the hidden floor, the doors opened, and the halls were no longer white—”
A loud voice came over the intercom suddenly, cutting off his words. “MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE FIRST-FLOOR AUDITORIUM. AGAIN, MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE FIRST-FLOOR AUDITORIUM. THERE IS A PALACE-WIDE MESSAGE TO BE HEARD. DISCONTINUE ANY LECTURES, ACTIVITIES, AND MEALS. THE MEETING WILL BEGIN IN FIFTEEN MINUTES. THANK YOU.”
The booming, unfamiliar voice went away as suddenly as it had arrived. All was quiet in the room. Neither of them spoke.
There had never been a meeting pertaining to all Palace members at one time. There were very few meetings in the auditorium to begin with.
“What the hell is going on?” Jacob finally said, looking at Mary in disbelief. “What are they planning?”
“I have no idea, but it sounds like we are both about to find out.” Mary rose from the bed, put her arms around Jacob’s neck, and kissed his lips again. “When this is over, let’s meet back here and finish our talk. No matter what’s said at this meeting, we still leave tonight. It’s time to go, I can feel it, and I know you can. I’m sure the meeting is about the fourth floor incident. I told you it was the talk of the Palace this morning.”
He wound his arms around her, pulling her closer and taking in her scent. Jacob wanted to throw her back down on the bed and slide deep inside of her again—that would make the tenth time this week alone. Since confessing their love to each other, they’d had a lot of sex. Enough for them or for anyone in this place, he would wager.
There was no time for that right now. He settled for another kiss, but this time a longer, more passionate one. He took her bottom lip fully into his mouth, tangling his tongue with hers while holding the side of her face just beneath the jawbone. He’d missed this feeling with a woman, this closeness. He thought that feeling from his old life was gone forever, but he was wrong.
“Let’s go,” Jacob said to Mary, grabbing her hand once again and leading her out of his pod. They joined a line of other Palace members making their way to the elevator.
Chapter Forty-One
Mary
She sat next to Jacob of course. They stopped holding hands the second they left his pod, but sitting here next to him in the auditorium, she wanted to hold his hand more than anything now. That was looked down upon here—no connections allowed. No one held dominion over another. He did though; she belonged to him, and she loved it.
Jacob looked worried, as he should. This had never happened before, so clearly something terrible had gone down, or was about to. There was loud chattering all throughout the auditorium.
“There was a fight.”
“Someone got killed, and the killer jumped out the window.”
“I heard two teachers beat each other up.”
So many stories were flying around, it was hard to take any of them seriously. But something must have happened that the Order felt very strongly about, or else they wouldn’t all be there.
Mary noticed Jacob’s eyes darting from one person to the next, picking up pieces of conversation on the way. His foot was tapping the floor, as it always did when he was worried. She leaned over and hit his shoulder with her own. Jacob snapped out of his eavesdropping trance and looked at her.
“Relax, Jacob,” Mary said as she touched his knee firmly to stop it from bouncing. She lifted her eyebrows and grinned at him. He smiled back and nodded his head.
The auditorium began to darken as the wide, bright circular lights in the high ceiling softened. This was the clue for everyone to be quiet and sit down. The room was so quiet you could hear people breathing. From outside the door to the right, footsteps could be heard coming toward the entrance.
The door crept open, and a man stepped into the room. He wore a black suit, nice shiny black shoes, and a shiny watch. Mary had never seen anything so shiny in her twenty years of life, nor had she ever seen this gentleman who was now gliding to the podium. He held his head high and had a certain air about him. He seemed unbothered, unfazed by anything around him.
The man’s blond hair was short, styled in a buzz cut. He had skinny eyebrows from what she could see, a clean-shaven face, and a strong chin. His features were…eccentric, feminine in a way, but he was a very good-looking man. Mary wondered why this was her first time seeing him. She knew it was a bad sign.
“Who is that?” Jacob whispered and looked at her, confused.
Mary shrugged her shoulders.
“This isn’t good, Mary. I know this isn’t good.” Jacob began looking around the auditorium, trying to see if everyone else was as worried as he was.
“We are about to see.” She grabbed his hand now that the room was dark and no one could see.
As the stranger walked up to the podium, a massive projection screen came sliding down the huge wall behind him. The man paid no attention to it. He stood straight in his spot, looking out into the crowd of over two hundred and fifty Palace members, twenty teachers, and assorted watchers and security guards. Not all the staff were here, but a good amount of reps from each sect were present. The strange man waited patiently as the screen moved slowly down the wall. He did not speak as he turned his head from left to right, regarding the crowd.
“Hello everyone. I’m David. Most of you don’t know me, but I work closely with Sirus and some of the other higher-ups in the Order. I did just arrive mere minutes ago via helicopter to this beautiful Palace facility. I’d like to say you all have a beautiful and thriving community here.”
Mary thought that the gentleman spoke well and said a lot of nice words, but his eyes…they were not kind, and they did not seem to agree with his mouth. She felt as though he were eyeballing them all with disgust while his mouth was busy flattering them.
“Why’s he here? And why have we never seen him?” Jacob murmured in her ear, trying not to move too much.
“Just listen, Jacob. I’m sure we’re about to find out,” she responded.
“I’m not one for beating around the bush,” David said. “Something of enormous consequence has happened within this Palace. To those involved and others who witnessed it, I’m sure some of you already know what I’m talking about. Rumor is commonly worse than the actual story, so I’ll be honest and explain what did occur on the fourth floor of your facility.”
David leaned forward against the podium, speaking at them rather than to them. He sounded seasoned in the art of explanations and taking control.
“There was a situation on the fourth floor. A newly appointed Palace member was raped and killed by a long-time Palace member.”
There was a chorus of exhales and screams, a flutter of hands shooting toward faces to cover mouths in appalled outrage. Mary had never heard so much noise in the Palace. “Sweet Mother of Earth!” and “O Merciful Mother, save us!” were some of the phrases being shouted throughout the auditorium. Teachers were trying to get order in the room, trying to calm everyone down. The whole time, the stranger called David said nothing. He simply scanned the crowd from left to right, just as he had when he first stood at the podium. He seemed to be allowing everyone to finish their rants and screams.
“What the hell is going on here?” Jacob said in a loud voice as he stood up from his seat along with everyone else in the auditorium. Mary sat there, pulling at his hand to get him to sit down. He looked at her, and she could tell that he suddenly remembered what she hadn’t forgotten. None of it mattered, and they would be far away from this place by morning.
Jacob sat back down. “But who would kill someone here? And rape? Why? Sex isn’t hard to come by here. And where is Trevor? Do you think he could be involved somehow?” Jacob was whispering all this into Mary’s ear, not stopping to pause.
She turned her head so that he was no longer talking into her ear, but kissing her lips. No one noticed amidst all the crying and chattering taking place. It was a quick, soft kiss, nothing long or drawn out, but her intention came through in the electric spark that passed between them. “It doesn’t matter, Jacob. None of it does. You will find Trevor after this nonsense is over, and we will be long gone after that.”
Mary turned her head back to the stage and waited for David to finish what he came to say. She was trying her best to be strong in this moment, hoping that Jacob noticed. He seemed to, because he relaxed back into his seat and reached for her hand.
“I know,” David finally said. “We know this news is troubling for you all to deal with right now, but we must endure.” The crowd quieted down and took to their seats as David’s voice filled the room. Small chattering ensued but soon faded as he continued to speak. “The one who committed this incident against a female Palace member was from the outside world, like myself and many others here. Please do not allow this fact to cause unkind or harsh thoughts against us. The victim did not deserve what befell her.”
His voice was calm and direct. Even though he sounded as if he cared, there was no actual empathy there. His words were flat, like his eyes—business as usual almost.
“This is an uncommon thing here, or anywhere in the world today. We are beyond these savage ways of behaving. This is what the Order has worked so hard to obliterate among our kind, and yet these…these terrible things slip through the cracks.” The word “things” fell from his lips with disgust.
“How do these things slip through the cracks?” he seemed to be asking himself in a low voice, looking down at the podium beneath his chest. David was silent for about five seconds, then snapped back to the matter at hand. “We do not want anyone worried about safety. This was a one-off. There is no danger or anyone to fear. To ease tensions, we are bringing in another security unit, and they will be going around questioning Palace members from the fourth floor. Nothing to worry about—we are just making sure nothing is left to chance.”
Jacob smacked his lips and smiled. “And this is how it begins, Mary. This world will soon become what the Old World came to be.” Shaking his head, he squeezed her hand.
Everything Mary had ever known now seemed to be untrue, or at the very least skewed. She knew that the end of her time in this place was near, but what about her friends? The people she grew up with, the children in the child center? They wouldn’t just run away, like she was going to do later tonight.
“Seems that way,” she said to Jacob.
“For the next few days, we are suspending all morning enrichments, lectures, activities, and access to the central plaza. It’s best if everyone remains in their respective pods as the unfortunate event is being investigated and we attempt to put this all behind us.” David grabbed something small from the podium and pointed it in the air. The projection screen suddenly flashed with the message: “Please Wait.”
While they waited, some blather could be heard flowing throughout the auditorium about canceled activities. The teachers were silent and the watchers said nothing (but watchers hardly ever said anything, so that wasn’t surprising). None of the staff showed any emotion on their faces. They didn’t seem as surprised or alarmed as the others. Maybe they knew ahead of time. I’m sure that’s the case, but still, how could they look so indifferent? Mary wondered.
“Our leader and program director, Sirus, has some words that he wants to share with everyone. Refrain from speaking while he is talking. That is your warning, do not be disrespectful,” David snapped with authority as he placed the small object back on the podium.
“Warning?” Jacob glared at Mary, scrunching his eyebrows into an angry, animated face. She said nothing back; she did not know what to say.
This was all unfamiliar territory for everyone. Mary felt guilty…at least she had an exit plan. The plan may or may not work; for all she knew she and Jacob would drop dead in a fit of vomiting and choking the minute they passed the flags. But just the chance to be free and with him out in the world was good enough for her. And with recent events, she no longer felt staying inside the Palace was the safer option.
The projection screen changed from “Please Wait” to Sirus in a white room, sitting about ten feet away from the camera. The room was empty except for him and the chair in which he sat. Sirus had his hands clasped together in his lap and one leg crossed over the other. He wore an inviting smile, like nothing at all out of the ordinary had happened that day.
“I was listening in to David giving you the news about the happenings on the fourth floor.” Sirus put his head down, staring at his lap while making a sniffling sound. “It’s truly an unfortunate day in our Palace. We all—I mean the teachers, security, the watchers, and every other member of the staff—have done everything in our power to make sure nasty, unclean things like that NEVER happen in our facility!”
Sirus uncrossed his legs and stomped his foot on the ground to emphasize his anger. He then took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair, seeming to collect his thoughts. When he spoke again, it was in a softer voice. “Not to worry though. We are on the job and making sure we get to the bottom of this. You see, we did a fantastic job of quarantining the sickness from this place. We’ve managed to keep everyone safe for the last twenty years or so. Twenty years, right?” he said to someone off camera. “Give or take? Regardless, we have had a great run without having to come face to face with this behavior.” Sirus lea
ned forward in his seat with elbows on his knees and legs spread apart, eyes gleaming in the camera as it panned closer to his face.
“But it seems we may need a few more restrictions, or, might I say, surveillance. The better to keep the peace for all, of course. Extra security is en route and locking down all portions of the Palace. There will be guards walking the corridors at all times, making sure that everyone is following the rules and doing what their schedules entail.
“It has become obvious that our lack of attention to detail has put Palace members in jeopardy. I’m personally saddened by that. I’m taking the blame for what happened. The gentleman that perpetrated this situation was a mentally ill individual. We knew that, but he was able to…pretend well enough about his level of sanity.
“Believe you me, that is not the correct thing to do, because as you can see, the lies, self-hate, and insanity came bursting out, and someone was violated and murdered. Never again…not on my watch. Never again.” Sirus shook his head as he stared into the camera. His eyes appeared wet, as if he were going to cry, but the corners of his mouth lifted just a bit. Mary thought she saw a hint of a smile.
“The problem now is the same problem that we have always had. The deepening desire of wanting a thing is all too easily extinguished by receiving a thing. Therein lies the flaw in our kind. No matter how good things are, or how much we say we would be content if we just had A, B, and C—the second we receive those things, we go looking for D, E, and F. Even if it’s at the detriment of others.”
She always thought Sirus was…different, flamboyant, even an oddball. Clearly, he became even more so when anger and embarrassment were mixed in with his natural disposition.
“You will be released to return to your pods. Please stay there until you get word over the speaker that it’s okay to come out. In the meantime, if you hear a knock at the door,” Sirus popped up from his intense leaning position, smile and all, “just open the door and answer questions from the security team. We do not tell falsehoods in the Palace, so keep this in mind. Wouldn’t want to have to banish some poor soul for not cooperating…Let us all say the prayer before dismissal. All together now.”