Inside

by Kyra Anderson

“I’ll be going into the Commission soon…” I whispered. “I guess we should go over what I need to start looking up when I’m there.”

  He squeezed my hand and smiled at me with his breathtakingly white teeth.

  “That can wait a little,” he said, sitting on his bed while I took my usual position beside him. “Tell me what happened today in school. Did you get your biology exam back?”

  Once again, things felt normal. I was able to look past what the Commission had done to Mykail. I could see past the wings. In my eyes, he was just a boy my age who was kind and caring and gave me such a warm feeling that I found myself drawn to him even when he was doing nothing special. It was magnetic, and I was moving closer to him, even if it was a recipe for disaster.

  * *** *

  Thursday morning I was immediately swamped by my friends asking me what had been the deal with the limo the previous day. I made up a stupid excuse about how I had to go to a meeting with my parents that I had completely forgotten about. They didn’t believe me, but it stopped the questions.

  There was a tension around the school that day and all through Friday. I could not entirely understand why the student body seemed so anxious and worried, other than the rumors spreading about the Commission reinstating the Sweeps. Even those who had nothing to fear from the Commission of the People were on edge. Everyone was quiet, unsure of themselves and unsure of who they could trust. The halls were quiet, no one spoke above a murmur. The tension was thick through the building. Even at Archangel, people were not themselves.

  Anyone who stayed home from Archangel because they were sick or for any other reason was thought to have been taken by the Commission of the People. That was a long list of people, since so many students were getting sick as the weather got colder. Despite the common knowledge, everyone still suspected the Commission of picking people up while families kept quiet out of shame.

  The Commission of the People, which was supposed to protect the people of America, was also the most terrifying thought on everyone’s mind.

  I remained close to Clark through our time at Archangel. With everyone so nervous, we dared not to speak of the notes or our plan. I had not even had a chance to tell Clark that I would be seeing him every day after school staring on Monday, though something told me he already knew. It felt like everyone’s eyes were on me, watching, sensing something out of place. Though we had not heard of the Sweeps starting again, I had a terrible feeling that the horrible game would start again. The Sweeps meant no one was safe, and if one family called in another, it took the pressure off them. The horrible misdirection practices were the reason the Sweeps had ended decades ago when the population was considered.

  When Saturday came around, the Commission meeting had a very different atmosphere. The adults were acting as always, but the children were tense and quiet, glancing at one another suspiciously. Even Brian and his friends did not attempt to harass me, feeling the unease.

  Dana was nowhere in sight when the meeting began, but when Mrs. Markus went to the podium, even the adults could tell that there was something amiss. Mrs. Markus took a deep breath and opened the meeting as usual, but her voice was trembling.

  “Our first order of business is a very important matter that must be discussed and dealt with immediately,” she started, her eyes averted to the top of the podium. “For this, I will turn the microphone over to Mr. Christenson.”

  I looked around in the silent room for Dana. No one clapped when he randomly stood from a seat at one table and no one greeted him as he passed,1 knowing something was wrong.

  Dana stood in front of the podium, pulling out his pocket watch, fiddling with it as he scanned the room from behind his glasses. I spotted Sean near the door next to the stage, his eyes downcast and solemn.

  “Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Dana greeted. “This is a very troubling dilemma and it must be resolved with great immediacy.” Everyone looked at one another, not sure to what he was referring. “If you will all remember my announcement before, I told you that the rules of the Commission must be followed to the upmost letter. And, even after I said that, particularly to the young people of this organization, we have children of the Commission who think they are above these laws. Last week, we took into custody Miranda Jacobs, who you know as the daughter of Cal and Diana.” He motioned to the parents, both of whom were sitting in their chairs, seeming indifferent to the address. I felt my heart speed up and I looked around the room urgently. The Commish Kids were wide-eyed with horror at the realization of what had happened to the girl everyone had been asking about.

  “On what charges?” an angered voice bellowed from the back. I saw Dean, Miranda’s boyfriend, sitting in his far back seat, angrily glaring at the head of the Commission.

  “The smuggling of illegal substances across the northern border and ownership of a firearm,” Dana listed simply.

  “That’s preposterous!” one of the other parents said quickly. I glanced back at Dean’s table to see his mother shaking her head. “Someone must have planted them on her. Miranda would never—”

  “That is what I first believed, as well,” Dana cut her off sharply. “But upon further investigation, we found that she had been taking part in a drug chain over the border and, while she was not selling, she was facilitating the trafficking.”

  “She would never do something like that!” Felicity snapped, standing.

  “Felicity, sit down!” her mother snapped.

  “It just goes to show that you can never truly know someone,” Dana said. He nodded to Sean. Dana’s head of security opened the door he was standing by, and through the door, two guards pulled in a barely-walking girl that I had only seen once or twice in school. She was dirty and bruised, her hair in disarray about her head as she tried to look around. Her clothes were ripped and dirty. Everyone was horrified at her awful appearance and many people, including myself, felt hot anger even through the shock.

  The guards threw her to the ground next to Dana’s feet.

  The room was deathly silent as everyone watched her slowly move her arms and legs, trying to find her balance.

  “I do not want to have to say this again,” Dana growled dangerously. “This commission is what keeps this country together. This is the organization responsible for the peace we live in today, and if anything, anything threatens that security, we must eliminate it. Disregard of the laws of this country will not be tolerated!” he barked, his voice rattling everyone in the room—even his guards jumped slightly when his voice echoed around the walls.

  I was watching Miranda, who was still reaching out with her hands, trying to grab onto something. Her hand finally found the leg of Dana’s trousers and her fingers wrapped in the fabric desperately.

  “P-please…” Her voice was barely audible. “I-I-It wasn’t…I d-didn’t…”

  “Be quiet,” Dana snapped, moving his leg to push her away.

  “You can’t do this to her!” Sarah screened, her parents trying to silence her, horrified at her outburst more than the spectacle at the front of the room.

  “I most certainly can,” Dana said shortly.

  “What are you going to do with her?” Brian called.

  “I haven’t decided, yet,” he admitted, looking at Miranda as she continued to shake and grope along the floor. “Most likely I will do something simple with her. Maybe one day she will become a gift for a new family coming into the Commission of the People.”

  There was a tremor that ran through the room. The Commish Kids were mortified, but more than anything they were angry. Miranda had been one of the popular girls and to have her treated in such a way because of what they thought to be a false accusation upset her friends beyond measure.

  “Say something!” Kelly snapped at Miranda’s mother, who was at the same table. Diana remained still, staring at her daughter as if she were a stranger.

  “Say something!!” Ryan repeated. His parents also tried to silence him, but he moved away, walking around the
table to Miranda’s mother. Sean nodded to one of his guards, who restrained the young man as he approached the captured girl’s parents. Ryan fought against the guard as he yelled at the two stoic figures.

  “How can you just sit there?!” he snarled. “How can you just throw your daughter away?! Why don’t you fight for her?! Think of Julie! How do you think she would feel seeing her sister like this?! How are you going to explain this to her?!”

  “They won’t have to,” Dana said coldly.

  My blood turned to ice.

  “Daryl,” Dana called over his shoulder.

  This time, when the door opened, a scientist walked in, holding the hand of the six-year-old younger sister of Miranda.

  No one could move or speak. Diana looked at her feet, closing her eyes, finally showing some emotion.

  “No…” Miranda whispered, turning to see her sister through the locks of tangled and disheveled hair. “No! You can’t!!” she screeched, reaching for her sister, trying to clamor forward when Dana caught her by her hair and flung her to the floor.

  “I told you to be quiet!” Dana ordered. He turned to Julie as Miranda began crying, curled up, muttering ‘no, I didn’t mean for this to happen,’ over and over again.

  “Julie,” Dana called to her, his voice dripping with something that made my nausea worse. He extended his hand. “Come here.”

  Julie shivered, hiding her tear-stained face behind the scientist that had brought her in. I spared a glance around the room and was thankful to see that everyone was just as disgusted by the situation. Even those intensely loyal to Dana were unable to stomach the display.

  “Julie,” Dana called to her again, his voice turning sharp. “That was an order. Do you remember what happens when you disobey me?”

  Julie shivered, sobs rising from her chest as her little body shook. I felt so sick I was sure I was going to vomit. Many people had their hands over their mouths, their eyes wide and their breaths short. It was too much, even for the Commission of the People.

  Julie slowly walked to Dana, continuously glancing at her older sister, who was still muttering as she sobbed on the floor.

  “Just ignore her,” Dana said. “She’s no one.”

  Julie finally reached Dana and took his hand slowly.

  “Good girl.”

  He placed a hand on little Julie’s shoulder, even as she started. She continued to cry her eyes filled with terror.

  “I told you all before,” Dana said darkly, “I would have no qualms taking your children, your friends, siblings, and anyone else who threatens this country. I do not care who they are, how old they are, or their family name. None of that matters when it comes to our nation. We will not allow America to fall. We must uphold the laws of the Commission of the People, regardless of personal feelings. We do not need feelings and empathy. We simply needs people to obey.”

  “How can you do this, you sick motherfucker?!” Dean yelled, standing and causing many people to leave their seats as well. Some were moving to get away from Dean, others were agreeing Dana had finally gone too far. “She’s a little girl!”

  “And?”

  “She didn’t do anything wrong!” Dean bellowed. “She’s six! What threat could she be?!”

  “She was being used to transport the drugs to the next trafficker,” Dana said shortly. “Inside her stuffed animals, the drugs were given to a dealer outside of the city limits.”

  “You lying son of a bitch!” Ryan snapped. Now, four different teens were being held back by Dana’s security.

  “Do you want to take her place?!” Dana challenged.

  “Bring it on!” Ryan growled, still fighting against the guard restraining him. “Let her go and you can take me instead!”

  Dana looked him over, evaluating his worth before he chuckled, shaking his head and pulling Julie closer to his leg, his hand resting in her hair.

  “No deal,” he chuckled darkly. “You don’t have nearly as much to offer as Julie.”

  I had to close my eyes and lower my head, trying to keep from passing out.

  “Now, I want to make this perfectly clear,” Dana said loudly, once again addressing everyone. “I will be keeping a very close eye on every household in the Commission from now on. I will be stopping by, unannounced, to be sure that no one is continuing to try anything under the Commission’s nose. Just because you are part of this organization does not mean that you are an exception to the law. I am even tempted to revive the Sweeps after this fiasco.”

  Many gasped and looked at one another, shocked that he would take things to such an extreme. The Sweeps hadn’t been active since the end of the restoration period after the Second Revolution. If Dana was reinstating the Sweeps, Commission men would be going house-to-house, all across the nation and breaking down doors to take people into custody on suspicion or from legitimate charges. No one was safe from a Sweep.

  “I have no choice but to believe that I must take extreme measures,” Dana told us. “If I cannot even keep those who are in my own commission in line, then there is no telling the state of things in the regions. The Commission backed off the Sweeps because we were sure that people had gotten themselves in order, but if even the members inside the Commission of the People are straying, my instincts tell me that the Sweeps are needed just to maintain order.”

  Everyone was silent. They were starting to realize that Dana was not asking for their permission to restart the Sweeps. He was going to do it if he felt it was necessary.

  Dana had unknowingly helped me with the new rebellion.

  * *** *

  It was a silent car ride home. None of us could speak after the horrific scene we had been witness to at the beginning of the Commission meeting. I didn’t want to talk about it, not even to Mykail, who continuously asked me what was wrong when I saw him. Instead, I asked him to hold me as I lay quietly on his bed, replaying the evening.

  I ended up falling asleep in his arms.

  I was awoken by a loud bang downstairs and the sound of many people running into my house.

  “Mykail,” I hissed, trying to shake him awake. He did not stir.

  The noises were getting closer and the voices were deafening as they called out commands and codes.

  The fear kicked me in the gut. It was a Sweep.

  The door burst open and several men dressed in black with indistinguishable faces that swarmed into the room, quickly filling the small space.

  “That one!” one of the men snapped, pointing at Mykail.

  “No!” I screeched. “Mykail! Mykail! Wake up!!!”

  He still did not move, even as I shook him violently, screaming. I felt hands on me, pulling us apart, yelling nonsensical things as I continued to scream at Mykail.

  They pulled him out of the bed, but he still did not wake. I screamed, hoping to at least wake my parents.

  “No! You can’t do this!” I bellowed, fighting against the two men holding me.

  “Yes, he can,” a familiar voice said behind me. It was my mother. I tried to crane my neck around to see her, but I could not make out her form in the darkness—I just knew she was there.

  “It’s alright, honey,” my father’s voice also sounded behind me. The pain was overwhelming. My parents had called in the Sweep. They had told Dana about me and Mykail. They were turning us both in…

  Mykail was still unconscious as one of the men lifted his gun and pointed it at Mykail’s head.

  “No!!”

  The gunshot was deafening and Mykail fell to the ground with a thud. I could not see him, since he had fallen on the other side of the bed, but I still felt him. I felt as though I was falling beside him.

  The man with the gun removed his dark glasses. There stood Dana.

  “It’s alright, Little Lily,” he said. “You’ll be safer at the Commission with me.”

  I awoke with a jolt, sweating, my breath stuck painfully in my throat. I was so disoriented that I didn’t realize I was in my own bed. It wasn’t the first time Mykail
had moved me after I had fallen asleep in his room, but it always confused me when I first woke.

  I took a few deep breaths to calm down, but my heartbeat was still irregular after several minutes, so I decided to take a shower, hoping to distract my anxious mind.

  I stayed under the spray for an indeterminable amount of time, thinking about the previous night. The images were so sharp they left a pain in my chest that made it difficult to breathe. Miranda and Julie had both looked frightened, confused and, above all, innocent. Their expressions were forever burned into my memory. I didn’t know them very well, but considering the behavior of everyone who did know them, it was hard for me to believe that the two girls were guilty. Particularly in Julie’s case. My heart fell into my stomach at the thought of what could happen to the six-year-old in Enterprise lab.

  I needed to find a way for them to escape—another thing I had to research while finding a way to get experiments out.

  After a very long shower, I walked downstairs to see Mykail helping my mother in the kitchen. It was something that had started a few days previous when Mykail had silently started doing the dishes after dinner. Ever since, my mother had been happy to have him help in the kitchen and around the house. She figured it gave him something to do.

  “Good morning, honey,” my mother greeted tiredly.

  “Good morning,” I answered mechanically. Both my mother and father appeared to have not slept.

  I walked to Mykail and we shared a quick glance. He was confused and worried. I hadn’t told him what happened and even though I was ready to talk about it now, I couldn’t with my parents’ close proximity.

  The family ate a small, silent breakfast.

  I was sure all of us were still processing what we had seen. Even if we had wanted to talk about it, there was nothing we could say. What had happened was a part of the world of the Commission.

  After I helped clean up breakfast with my mother and Mykail, I grabbed my phone and texted Becca, asking her if we could meet at the park and talk. It wasn’t long before I got a response saying that she would meet me in half an hour.