“Please, don't shoot!”
I stepped toward her. “Take me to Marie.” She swallowed hard and hesitated. “Fucking take me to Marie!” I stomped forward, and she nodded while softly sobbing.
The woman stepped around the desk. Her hands were still up, and she nodded quickly.
“R-right this way,” she said.
She led me through a couple hallways. I kept an eye out to make sure that Marie's goons didn't try to jump me. The woman trembled with every step that she took. We took a turn down another hallway and approached a large silver elevator. The woman turned around and looked at me.
“She’ll have you killed,” she said. “You shouldn't do this.”
I scrunched my face. “Just take me to her.”
She turned back around and slid a key card against the side of the elevator. A ding sounded, and the doors opened. She stepped inside with Alice and me close behind. The door shut, and we slowly ascended. I could hear the soft ding of the elevator as we passed each floor.
Sweat drizzled down my body as I waited in anticipation. I was getting my daughter back. Marie wasn't going to stand in my way. Nobody was going to stand in my way. I kept telling myself that my girl was coming home with me. I could hear her laugh again and smiled. I remembered playing with her at that old cabin. Anna loved to swing on that old swing. When I left this city, I was going to make sure that I fixed that old thing.
I thought about what Anna and I would do on our first day away from this city. Maybe, she could help me fix that swing. Maybe, we would play in that lake. There were so many possibilities, and I was finally getting my little girl back. She was going to come home with me. We were going to be a family again.
The door swung open, and I walked up to the secretary. I pressed a gun against the back of her neck.
“Take me to her.”
She nodded and led me into the main lobby, intersected by four hallways. I heard the clanking of feet against the marbled floor. The sound was coming to my left. I tilted my head toward the noise. Two men in dark suits rushed down the hall. They pulled guns out of their holsters. I turned my revolver toward them and fired twice. They both collapsed dead.
She led us down a hallway, and we walked slowly with every step. I stared out a window to my left and saw a spacious room with dozens of children chained to metal slabs. I winced and pushed my gun harder into the back of her neck.
“Keep moving!” I snapped. “Faster!”
She nodded, and we scurried along. We took a few turns until she led me through a set of double doors. We stepped foot into a large laboratory.
I saw children placed on slabs beside an array of computer screens. Tubes of naked children floating in green goo lined the room. A slow-moving fan swung slowly above me. In front of the room, Marie sat, surrounded by three armed men in suits. I grabbed the secretary and pulled her closer to me.
Marie didn't look fazed, but instead, appeared mildly annoyed. Her lips curled into a slight frown, and she narrowed her eyes. The woman stood up and shook her head. The three men shielded her from my gun.
“Quincy, put down the weapon,” she said.
I shook my head. “No. Not until you give me what I want.”
“You want your daughter, right?” she said.
“Where the fuck is she?”
“She's somewhere in this city. Maybe your people burned her alive, for all I know. Either way, she is with a good, wealthy Elite family. Do you really want to take that away from her?”
“She's my fucking daughter! She belongs with me! Find out where she is now!”
“You don't understand,” she said. “That's not how any of this works.”
“If you don't answer my question, I'll shoot her!” I said, pushing my gun against the secretary's neck.
“Do it,” Marie said.
There were several seconds of silence. A man fired a shot toward me. The bullet pierced through the secretary's skull, and she dropped forward. I swallowed hard and aimed my gun at the others.
“Put down the gun, Quincy,” she said. “You're acting
like such a child.”
“No!”
“Please don't get yourself killed, dear.”
“I'm not dropping the gun!”
Marie sighed. “Okay. Fine.” She formed a wispy smile. “You think of us as the enemy, don’t you?”
“You stole my daughter! You kidnapped all these children!”
“I saved those children. I gave them a chance for a successful life, Quincy. We give the brightest children the experience of living in luxury. You're a father. Don't you want what's best for your child?” I remained silent.
I swallowed hard. “Best for my child? How the fuck do you know what’s best for my child? None of us Commoners even had a chance to have a better life.”
“Everyone has a chance for a better life,” Marie said. “But only the best and brightest can attain prosperity. Don’t you want that for your daughter? She has a good home now, or at least she had one before your people decided to burn half the city down.”
“You people deserve this for what you’ve done,” I said. “And you just sit over, acting like you’re the morally superior one? You tried to kill me.”
“I had no choice, but to kill you,” she said. Marie shrugged. “Given the circumstances, that is.”
“You're a monster! Take me to my fucking daughter!”
“Ha!” she said. “I'm a monster? I'm not the one burning the city down.”
“Take me to her!”
“You're outnumbered, Quincy. Please, don't embarrass yourself.”
A cold object pushed against the back of my neck. I tilted my head and saw a couple of her guards aiming guns at my back. One of them shoved me to the ground and ripped my revolver out of my hand. The men pinned me to the ground and wrapped iron cuffs around my wrists.
I watched Marie walk swiftly toward me.
“Take me to my daughter! Take me to my fucking daughter!”
“Give it up, Quincy. It's pathetic.” The woman shook her head. “Your daughter isn't yours anymore. Do you understand that?”
“No! You're wrong!”
I squirmed and struggled in those cuffs as I tried to lash out toward her.
She turned to Alice, who was also pinned to the ground.
“You shouldn't have gotten caught up with this man,” said Marie.
Alice stared back silently.
Marie rolled her eyes and stood up. “We gave you everything, Quincy, and yet you just went around and betrayed us. You never really did appreciate all we did for you. What a shame.” She snapped her fingers. “Take him to the cells. He'll be executed tomorrow.”
Chapter 20
The guards dragged Alice and me through the quiet hallways. I fought and struggled in a futile effort to break free. One guard slammed a needle into my side. The tip pricked into my skin, and a fuzziness washed over me.
The world spun and blurred into a swirl of colors. Drool drizzled off my tingling lips. I yawned and fluttered my eyes for a few moments.
Next thing I knew, I was cuffed in the backseat of a sedan. Alice sat beside me. Her wrists were locked in iron cuffs as well. She stared off with a face that looked equally confused and disappointed. Then she turned to me.
“Quincy,” she muttered. “Why did we do that? We could’ve both left the city.”
“Not without her,” I said. “I don't care if these people kill me, but I will save Anna from these people.”
“Maybe I'm not as human as I thought,” she said, shrugging. “I don't get it. Why would you risk your life to save her?”
“Because she's my daughter, and I love her,” I said. “I'd go through hell and back for her.” I glanced over at her. “But maybe you can't understand that.” I groaned and turned to the tinted window. There had to be a way to break out of this sedan and be free. There had to be a way for me to find my daughter. She was still out there, and she needed me more than ever. I didn't care if she was an
Elite. She was still my daughter.
And there were those other kids, too. I thought back to those photographs of those people experimenting on them. So many innocent children were stolen from their parents. I clenched my fists in anger. When I saved Anna, I couldn’t leave those children. I had to save all of them. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself, otherwise.
In a sudden burst of frustration, I bashed my shoulder against the door several times.
“Hey, fucking stop that!” shouted the driver through a glass divider.
I stared at my feet, thinking while in a blurry haze. I knew that my daughter still wanted me to save her. She was alive for sure, and her father would come and save her.
I thought about those times at that cabin when we would play on the old swing. Her giggles surrounded me now, echoing louder and louder. I remembered talking with my wife on the porch, and I could remember her soft, gentle laugh. My head turned to Alice, and I could hear my wife's voice. She kept telling me that she loved me and then laughed. I smiled.
“This isn't over, dear,” I muttered softly to her. Alice turned back to me.
“It's not?”
I shook my head. “No. Just trust me.” I remembered when my wife raised some questions when I first started taking jobs for Mattis. She expressed concern that I might get hurt or injured, and I just told her, “Everything will be fine. Just trust me.”
“Okay.”
I smiled. She trusted me. I turned back to the tinted window and stared out at the streets.
The mangled bodies of rioters littered the sidewalk. The buildings smoldered behind them. Mattis' armed forces patrolled the streets. Several members of the police force stood behind some still-living rioters. The rioters knelt by the sidewalk with guns pressed against their backs.
I stared ahead and swallowed hard. I knew that I was still getting free. I was still getting out of here.
I stared forward, and my eyes slowly shut. I slumped on top of Alice.
“Quincy?” Alice said.
I muttered some incomprehensible response beneath my breath. Then, I was standing in the middle of the burning city. My daughter was crying out to me, calling for me to save her. I shuffled through the street, calling out for my daughter. She called back.
I ran down another street and took a right. The buildings around me were burning. Flames danced high in the sky, reaching to the heavens above. I called out for my daughter again and again. She cried out for me, louder than before. I ran ahead and saw my daughter standing in the distance, her body blurred by smoke. I ran faster but didn't seem to catch her. She seemed so distant from me. With every step, she only grew farther away until she disappeared from existence. She screamed, and I fell to my knees. I was unable to move, unable to do anything. I still heard her scream.
“Anna,” I muttered, choking on the smoke around me. My eyes flung open. I jumped in the seat and glanced at Alice behind me.
She stared over at me.
“Are you hurt?” she asked.
“Just a bad dream,” I muttered.
The vehicle stopped. I glanced to my right and saw hundreds of men and women standing out there. The door opened, and I was shoved out of the sedan. Mattis stood in front of me, snarling. He spat a glob of saliva into my face. The people around us roared in laughter.
Mattis said something, but I couldn't hear past the roaring laughter of the people. I bowed my head, as the laughter continued. Mattis spat at me again, and the crowd laughed louder.
My head throbbed, and my body was weak. I collapsed onto the ground. The world blurred around me. Something dragged me forward. I glanced up and saw Mattis' servant, Francis. He held a hand around my neck.
“This will all be over soon,” said Francis.
He dragged me through a series of corridors until he threw me into a dank jail cell. The whole cell was cool with a soft draft floating through the air. I lay on the floor, my face smashed into a muddy puddle. I wanted to lift my head, but I didn't have the energy. I watched Francis slam the cell door shut. Mattis standing behind him glowing in utter joy.
“What a goddamn shame!” Mattis snapped. “You Commoners are all so stupid. Oh, so stupid! After all we give you...” He shook his head and walked off.
Francis stared at me and nodded. “This will all be over soon,” he said as he walked away.
My drugged body still remained trapped in a haze. The cell spun around, over and over until my eyes shut.
I awoke the next day in a cold cell. Shadows danced around me, looming across the cracked iron walls. A cool chill whizzed past my bruised skin. A headache thumped against my head, as I struggled to my feet. I stared ahead past a set of thick iron bars, caging me in from the narrow hallway. Swathes of dank puddles filled jagged holes in the ground. I turned behind me and saw a small slit of a window, high up on the wall. The clouds choked the darkened skies.
I wondered where Alice was. Did the Elites kill her? There wasn't a sound nearby. Instead, I was left to contend with my own thoughts. My stomach growled, begging pathetically for food. I truly was empty inside, and I was trapped here. They would surely give me a slow, painful death.
Even in this moment, I knew my little girl was out there somewhere. My daughter needed saving from those Elite bastards. I couldn’t allow her and the other Commoner children to continue suffering.
I stepped toward the end of the cell and slid my back against the wall. I told myself that I would find my daughter. She was out there, and I would get her back. Anna was going to come home with me.
“Holy shit,” said a voice. “Quincy Abrams?”
I looked up and saw Leon staring at me from the opposite cell. His face was covered in bruises, and his nose was crooked to the right. He gazed at me with his blackened, half-opened eyes. Dried blood crusted around his swollen lips. His clothes were ripped and stained with bloody splotches.
“Leon,” I muttered. I crossed over to him. “What the fuck do you want?”
“I didn't expect to see your face again, my man,” he said, as he exhaled loud, hoarse laughter. He wrapped his hands around the metal bars. “So, they finally got you, huh?”
“Yeah,” I grunted. “And they got you, too?”
“I tried running from this city, but a few of Mattis' goons captured me,” he said. “I tried fighting those fuckers off, but it was no use. Say, how about you and I get out of here, huh? If we cut a deal, I'm sure we can figure out a way to leave this city. I don't know about you, but I'm done with this place.”
“I'm not working with you,” I said, snarling. “And I have shit to do in this city before I leave.”
“You're still looking for your daughter?” Leon said. “Well, she's an Elite now. She's not your daughter, anymore.”
“She is my daughter!” I screamed.
He cocked a brow. “Just give it up, Quincy. You're not getting her back. Your only hope is leaving this shitty city and everyone inside of it. This place...it's a lost cause. I heard what happened to Andy. Real tragedy that is.”
I shook my head and groaned. “Yeah, well.” I stared at my feet. “He didn’t deserve that.”
“Yeah, yeah. Damn shame. Damn shame. Quincy, one last chance. Let's break out of this shithole and run. How about it, my man? You know you want to leave this city. You really know you want to leave. There's nothing for you here.”
I furrowed my brows and stared over at him. “You have a plan to escape?”
Leon paused. “No, but I've got a few connections. Some of those Commoners that are working for Elites are fed up, too. They're just too afraid to say anything, but they want to fight back against them, too. We can use them to get out of here. I haven’t talked with any of ‘em in weeks.”
“So, you don't have a plan,” I said. “You just want to use me to weasel your way out of this city.” He blinked twice.
I heard footsteps. They grew louder. The steps were the clanking of heels against concrete. I could recognize those steps from anywhere. It was Marie. What
did she want from me? I supposed that she only came here to torment and mock me. The footsteps kept growing louder, and I clenched my hands into fists.
She stepped into view. To my surprise, she wasn't smiling or anything. She held a straight, blank expression across that ugly, plastic face of hers.
“What do you want?” I asked.
“You're full of surprises, Quincy,” she remarked, shrugging.
“If you came to mock me, then, go ahead,” I said. “If you came here to kill me, just get it over with.”
“I'm not here to kill you,” she said in a voice devoid of emotion. “We need to make an example out of you. Your people need to know that insubordination is not without punishment.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“Tomorrow you will be executed,” she said coolly. “Mattis will stage a public execution at the city square. After all, we need to show the Commoners the punishment for rebellion, Quincy.”
“I hope you all burn,” I said. “I hope these Commoners rise and murder every last one of you. I hope they scalp your pretty fucking head. I hope they gouge your eyes out and rip you to bits. You all deserve to burn, every last one of you!”
She shook her head. “But that won’t happen. We have been running this city for decades, Quincy. The Commoners try to rebel, but nothing ever happens. Most of the rebels are dead or imprisoned. Once we execute you at the public square, you will see that there is no revolution. The people will go back to their pathetic, inferior lives, and everything will go back to normal. Nothing ever changes, does it?”
I wasn't having any of this. Those bastards were murderers and child abductors.
“No!” I screamed as I wrapped my hands against the bars and pressed my head against the metal. She stepped back. “You stole my daughter! You took her from me! You're a monster! A monster! I will fucking kill you!”
“No, Quincy,” she said. “I saved her life. If you really loved her, then you should be thankful for what we did. Now she has a healthy family life, and she's smarter, stronger, and more beautiful than she could ever imagine. You need to understand that you're the real monster. Your people led an army of terror through our city. Innocent families were burned alive in their homes and whole blocks have been reduced to ash, and you have the audacity to call us monsters? You're not fit to raise a child. Your daughter won't even remember you anyway.”
Letting the World Burn Page 16