Class Zero

by Y A Marks

  Even with the gun pointed at me and the knowledge that Capt. Davis could shoot me dead where I stood, and be right in doing so, I was surprisingly relaxed and focused. Maybe something had happened over the last seven days, something I couldn’t explain. It was my idea to take down the last drone, and in some kind of way I helped stop the Police Mobile-thingy. Even now, my rescue attempt saved at least a few children, right?

  Capt. Davis’ brow wrinkled as she considered my words. After a few seconds, her expression brightened, and she loosened her stance, pulling the gun back a bit. She walked toward me.

  “I wish I could tell you there was some kind of loophole, or that I could go easy on you, but there isn’t. I would simply be trading my life for yours. If you hadn’t taken down the drone and the mobile station or gave yourself up at the Stadium, you may have had a better ending. But as it is now, it doesn’t matter that you’re sixteen. There’s nothing anyone can do to help you.”

  Rylan and my missed first kiss spread through my mind. I may not ever get that chance again. It had been the perfect night. If I had to do it again, I would have kissed him. Even if he didn’t kiss me back, it would have been okay. It’s not like I was in love with him. It was just a kiss, something special, a treasured moment.

  If I had another opportunity at life, I would have bought those maroon Allison Riley pumps. I would have drunk chocolate mochas until I was blue in the face. Those nice clothes I had thrown away, I’d wear to some nice restaurant even if I had to eat by myself. I’d have spent more time with Dhyla. I would love, love, and then love some more. I wouldn’t be afraid.

  Capt. Davis came within three feet of me. “Turn around and put your hands on your head.”

  I complied. My heart drowned in my chest. A deep tiredness weighed on me with all of the missed opportunities.

  Capt. Davis whipped my right arm behind me and then my left. A plastic tie zipped up to my wrists. She patted me down. Her hands stopped at my right front pocket. She pulled out the holo-decoy emitter. I had forgotten all about it. Curses touched my lips for not using it, but then I recognized it would have been futile anyway. I didn’t see Capt. Davis when she spotted me. Rylan’s gizmos hadn’t helped me at all.

  She spun me around to face her. I could barely see. Tears covered my eyes, and the world blurred into dark shadows and bright lights.

  “I’ll see to it that you get a fair trial,” she said.

  I nodded and hoped she would keep her word.

  “Holograms. Old, but efficient.” She examined the holo-decoy emitter for a moment then put it into a pocket in the front of her vest.

  We descended the stairs. Capt. Davis opened the door for me to exit to the main floor. As I passed through the doorway, clacks from hard-soled shoes startled me. I woke up out of my daze and stared directly ahead.

  Near the public office area, an old white man paced around the outside.

  “Paeton!” he said loudly, like he was happy to see me.

  He put something down on the desk and grabbed a handkerchief from his coat pocket. He rubbed the handkerchief over his hands as he drew closer. Once he was a few yards away, his likeness sparked my memory.

  “Governor?” Capt. Davis asked.

  Why was Governor Bobby Read here? My stomach tossed and turned.

  I craned my head toward Capt. Davis, and she looked as confused as I was.

  “You should be resting after the crash,” she said to Governor Read.

  “Pish posh,” he said as he continued toward us. “That was just a few scratches.”

  “Governor, I think you may need medical attention.”

  “More than you, Captain Davis? I’m an old man, but surely give me some credit,” he said.

  Capt. Davis and I stopped a few feet from Governor Read. He opened his arms like he was going to give me a hug. A wide smile covered his face. It was no doubt he was a politician. If I had a baby in my arms, he’d be ready to kiss it.

  It was so odd seeing him here, and on top of that, acting like this. I immediately wanted to back away and hide behind Capt. Davis. Her presence I could understand, but for the Governor of Georgia to see about my capture personally wasn’t logical.

  “Paeton, I’m so excited to meet you. You don’t know how much—” After glancing down at my arms behind my back, he frowned. “Capt. Davis, that’s no way to treat our young patron. Please set her free.”

  I gawked. I swallowed and took an involuntary step backward. This behavior was too good to be true. The police-mobile-thingy had to be worth billions, and an hour ago it became little more than a mountain of rubble. He acted like I was his number one supporter. His smile couldn’t be larger. His eyebrows couldn’t be higher.

  “Governor? She’s a wanted criminal. You were an eye witness.”

  “Come now. She was scared. Besides, she’s all of what, fifteen?”

  “Sixteen.” The word drifted out of me more out of reflex than an actual statement.

  “See, sixteen. So young and full of life. Now please, Capt. Davis. I don’t think she’ll be going anywhere.”

  Capt. Davis pulled out a knife and reached behind my back. The plastic tightened and then snapped away. I pulled my arms forward and rubbed my wrists.

  “See,” Governor Read said. He put his hands on my shoulders and rubbed them. “She’s a good girl, just misguided. C’mon into the light so I can see you better.”

  We all took a few steps forward and neared the public office area. The hairs on my neck stood on end. This moment was wrong. There was no way I would trust him. The way he rubbed my shoulders a few seconds ago sent chills down my spine.

  “Now then,” he said, turning around. He glanced over my face and grinned again. “Why you jus’ a pretty, little thing. You must make your momma proud. And healthy. A wee bit scrawny, but strong.” He curled his arms and allowed them to rise as he said the word. “You’re just what we need.”

  Okay, I was completely lost at this point. My mind tightened into knots.

  “This Escerica ensemble has gotten out of hand…”

  He rambled on, but I zoned out. This encounter made no sense. I had to be dreaming or dead in some warped afterlife.

  “See, the people need someone. They need a face. And now, well, we got one.”

  I focused on Governor Read. My brain pieced together what he was saying. “Wha?”

  “Yes, Paeton Washington. You have to love that… Washington, the face of Escerica. The face which will unite the upper and middle classes. The face which will go down in history as one of the greatest threats of our generation.”

  What was he talking about? I was nobody. I was a girl who kept her head down and stayed out of the way. I wasn’t the girl he was describing. Bubbles burned my stomach just listening to him.

  “I’m not a threat,” I said. “I’m not that person. I’m just a girl.”

  “So was Joan of Arc. She was who she needed to be.”

  “But, I’m not some super rebel leader.” The words scratched at my throat as they left.

  He turned away from me and reached for something on the table. “No, you’re right, Paeton. You’re more. You’re everything.”

  Before I could respond, he lifted up a shiny object and pointed it. It took my mind half a second to register that it was a gun. It went off. A huge plume of fire shot out of the end. Smoke waffed into the air. My eyes stared at the explosion as my brain etched it into my mind.

  Capt. Davis’ body drifted away from me. Slowly, like in a bad movie, her body rolled away. She slammed into the floor and her head bounced on the hard linoleum. Her face was an open wound of blood and broken bone.

  I quickened my head around from the sight. Everything within me began to shake. Weakness spread through my muscles and bent them. A rolling nausea spun inside my stomach, and bile splashed against my tongue.

  I had seen dead people, but never like this. Two minutes ago I talked with this woman. She confided in me, said she would do her best to help me. I… I didn’t�
�� I…

  Another loud pop echoed down the hallway. My stare fell on Governor Read. He pointed the barrel at one of the women tied up behind the desk. The woman’s eyes frantically zipped back and forth in her head. Her expression was panicked. But I couldn’t move. My body had frozen.

  Another pop sounded. The woman’s head fell forward. Blood and cerebral fluid dripped down to the floor. Sounds of desperation came from the remaining women. Even though their mouths were bound, I understood what they were saying. They were begging Governor Read, me, or even God to spare their lives.

  Nausea plagued me and stole my soul like a ghost. I leaned forward doing my best to keep myself from throwing up. My chest seemed to burst, and my lungs pulsed for air. I began hyperventilating. These women were innocent. They hadn’t done anything. They were just trying to provide for their families. Why was he doing this?

  Three more pops followed.

  Governor Read took a step back as a red puddle spread at his feet. He glanced down at his shoes.

  “Almost got some on me,” he murmured.

  I wrestled with myself trying to get my emotions under control. I needed to know what happened to Mari and Miko.

  After he gathered himself, I forced my question out. “Did you kill them, too?”

  “Kill who?” he asked and turned his attention to me.

  “Kill Ma—” I couldn’t form the words. I couldn’t say her name in the same sentence with death. It would make it too real.

  “The two kids? They’re very much alive.” He glanced over the women’s heads and shot the gun a few times into the wall. Then he turned to me. He waved me back with his hand as he walked forward. “Could you take a quick step back for me, please.”

  I didn’t know what was happening. Why was I moving backward?

  He rotated his arm back away from me and shot four times. Two bullets hit the public office area. Another two shots whizzed down the corridor and opened notches in the wall.

  “They’re alive?” I asked. A glimmer of hope sprang inside my chest.

  “Very much so.” He pressed his hand in my direction. “Can you take a few more steps back?” he asked.

  I fumbled backward. My whole equilibrium swayed. I was relieved to hear the kids were alive, but still in shock over Governor Read’s actions.

  He picked up Capt. Davis’ gun and put it in his belt.

  “Where are they?” I focused on the kids. I needed to know they were okay.

  “They’re upstairs. I thought you might have saw ’em. They are as safe as can be.”

  My hands clasped over my chest, and I could breathe again. My whole body came back to life. With a pulsating heart, I took another step backward. My mind worked to make sense of everything he was doing. Any thought was lost behind a gray fog, but bits of ideas started to form. This whole thing just didn’t feel right. Everything was wrong.

  The door at the entry way opened. Governor Read and I both turned toward a human cop. He took a few steps inside and paused.

  “Did you get everyone out?” Governor Read asked.

  “Yes, sir. All that’s left is just me and my partner. Any word from Capt. Davis?” the cop asked.

  “No, not right now. She hasn’t picked up her com, but we have the suspect in custody now. I want to make sure there isn’t an uproar among the troops. It’s not every day we capture a rebel leader.” Governor Read turned to me and winked.

  A shudder passed through me. Did he believe that we shared some sick joke?

  The cop looked confused. “Not to underestimate your guidance, Governor, but don’t we need more guards?”

  “I thought that too. But what I don’t want is for her not to stand trial. I’m afraid that…” Governor Read took a deep breath. His voice became sorrowful. “I’m afraid that too many lives have been lost. And I don’t trust that the fine men and women of the force would want to see her walk out of here alive. Do you understand what I’m sayin’, son?”

  My mouth fell open. Why was he telling the cop those things?

  The cop’s face tightened. “Yes, sir. That’s wise.”

  “Good man. Now, c’mon over and give me a hand.”

  The cop nodded and walked forward. His face appeared out of the shadows. He was a young man, no more than twenty-four. My gaze locked onto him. A loud crack of fire and power sounded in my ears. A burst of blood shot from the cop’s back. The cop stared down at a hole in his chest, wobbled, and fell backward onto the floor.

  Governor Read exhaled. “And that’s twenty-five, I think.”

  I turned back to Governor Read. “You shot him,” I said.

  He pulled the trigger of the gun a few more times but nothing happened besides a light clicking sound. “No, no, I did no such thing.”

  His words were illogical. I just watched him murder all those people. He had done it with no mercy, no kindness. What about their families? What about the people who depended on them?

  “You killed them. You killed them all!” My voice cracked.

  My mind buzzed, trying to piece together his odd behavior. That’s when it started to dawn on me. Only the governor and I were present in the building. He wanted a face to bring together the classes. He wanted someone to blame, and at that moment, he had me. Someone who was seen on TV after the second drone went down. Someone who yelled she was Escerica’s leader to thousands of witnesses. Someone who took down the third drone. Someone who was young, strong, and hopeful.

  He said what I was thinking. I whispered the words as they exited his mouth. “No, I didn’t, you did.”

  I did.

  He was framing me for it all. The classes would unite against me, my face. I really was enemy number one.

  I glanced down at the gun wiggling in front of my body. Our eyes locked for a moment before I returned my gaze to the gun. He wanted me to grab it. I took a step back. He grabbed my wrist and forced the gun into my hand. I spun it around to see, to make sure it was all real. He had set me up.

  He dug into his belt and pulled out Capt. Davis’s gun.

  My neck stiffened. My eyes watered. Cold slid over my skin.

  He smiled and raised Capt. Davis’ gun level with my face.

  I had never looked down the barrel of a gun before. It was so empty, dark, and lonely.

  I glanced back at the gun he gave me. It was empty of bullets. I couldn’t shoot him. I couldn’t do anything, but stand there and die.

  He motioned for me to lift my arm up. “C’mon, lift those strong hands up, and this will be all over.”

  My hand seemed to rise on its own. I wanted to stop it, but I was compelled to follow his orders.

  “That’s a good girl,” Governor Read said. “Little bit farther now.”

  The gun lifted to my chest, but I couldn’t point it at him. As soon as I did, I would take my last breath. I didn’t want to die. I wanted to live, to drink mochas, to play with the kids, and to kiss a boy. I didn’t want to die like an animal, like a nothing, like a Lower-C.

  I studied the gun in my hands, and noticed for the first time since I came downstairs, I had the holo-decoy activation-thingy on. I glanced over at Capt. Davis’s body. She was now behind Governor Read because he had to pick up her gun. What did Rylan say? The emitter could work through clothes, or something like that. He said I could put it into someone’s purse or bag and it would work.

  At that moment, it dawned on me I had something else I could try. My life wasn’t over yet. I just had to find a way to steal what the governor valued most—his confidence.

  I relaxed my face the best I could and forced my shakes away. I slowly lowered the gun and watched Governor Read’s expression darken.

  “Come now, I thought you were braver than that. Nuthin’ wrong with going out with dignity.”

  I exhaled. “I don’t have to go out. You do.”

  He looked puzzled, and I tapped the little button on the holo-decoy controller.

  “Nice try, but—”

  I motioned toward his right side. H
is expression changed when he noticed a gun rising up from behind him. I had hoped he wouldn’t notice that my arm was rising in the exact same way.

  He spun around and saw a hologram of me smiling at him.

  “That’s very fun—”

  I didn’t let him finish. I threw my body into his side and yanked on his gun. Shots fired. He bucked his body and swung his legs around. I increased my grip and hung on. He was old, but he wasn’t weak. It took everything I had just to stay with him.

  He pulled his arm up and elbowed me in the mouth. I fell back and lost my grip. He spun around, his body fully facing me. I threw my ninety-something pounds at him. He took a step back and tripped over Capt. Davis’s body. The gun hit the ground and slid down the corridor toward the stairwell.

  I lunged over him trying to reach the gun. He grabbed my right arm and dragged me back. Two jolts of pain attacked my torso. He drew his fist back, and hit me across the jaw.

  My world spun.

  I curled my body, trying to gather any energy I had left. Yelling profanities, he kicked me and then he rolled his body around to all fours. Afterward, he crawled toward the gun.

  I pulled myself back and remembered the holo-decoy controller. I frantically unzipped Capt. Davis’ vest and reached in. I found it, yanked it out, and stood. I stumbled back into the wall behind me.

  My hologram went from facing me to being turned away. I don’t know what I touched, but something had changed. I glanced down at my controller and tapped the little button. The hologram turned left, then right, and after a few button presses started to mirror me. I pressed the button again and again. The hologram disappeared before popping to life again.

  A scraping reminded me of Governor Read. I glanced back toward him just as a shot rang out. My hologram and I stared at him, but I had the sinking feeling he didn’t miss. He just didn’t know which one to shoot.