Controllers (Book 1)

by Lynnie Purcell

  "Are you okay?" Maria asks me for the fifth time that morning.

  We're waiting in line for the dead-eyed man to take us to the lift. I pull away from my conversation with Ace and Willem. It has been circling my mind for the past day. I can't stop thinking about it. I wonder how many people they have saved. I wonder what drew Ace into helping them in the first place. I think of all the people they haven't saved as well as the immigrants in the city who resemble the walking dead.

  "Yeah," I agree. "I'm just tired."

  "Well, we're about to walk around for three hours," Maria points out. "You think you can make it?"

  "Yeah," I agree.

  "You can lean on me if you need to," she offers. "I mean that literally, as I only come up to your elbow."

  "Don't be silly." I grin at her. "You come up to my bicep, at least."

  "Thanks," she says.

  She grins at me and I smile. I feel a pang of regret as I look at her. How much longer until she loses her humor? How much longer until she forgets she's my friend? Will she forget? I know nothing about how the brainwashing works.

  "You call this a proper line, dregs?!" a voice rises up out of the hall.

  Maria and I share a look of fear. We know the voice. It's Benny. We turn to look at him. He has his arm in a sling and his face is very pale. He has three guards behind him. The dead-eyed man follows the four at a distance.

  My stomach sinks as I realize that Benny is taking us to the city. He has been cleared to return to his duties. How I wish my fork had done more than incapacitate him for a while. I look at his arm with a frown. I can't remember stabbing him there.

  The line tightens and we all stand straighter. Benny walks within an inch of me. He's doing it on purpose. I wonder if he knows it was me in the bunk. He felt my body and neck. He knows it was not a man in bed with him. Maria is trembling. I want to reach out to her, but Benny's eyes are shifting around the line with manic energy. He'll see the movement. He'll punish us both.

  "Walk!" he yells.

  We instantly start down the hall. Benny leads the way. I'm glad there are other people in front of me. I wonder how I will avoid him in the city. His reappearance has to be torture for Maria. I also know he will not come to her again. He has learned his lesson. He has learned to focus his attention on me instead of my friends. He knows I will protect them. The way he looks at me says as much.

  He watches me coldly as I file into the lift with the others. His eyes burn into my face and make me feel like he's trying to read my thoughts. I'm glad there are some things we can keep to ourselves. I'm happy he can't hear the violence I'm considering and the rush of happiness I take at seeing his injuries.

  "Hurry up, dregs!" he yells as we sit in the last seats in the lift.

  The door closes. I wonder if Ace is the pilot. I have a feeling he isn't. He said I wouldn't see him today. I believe him.

  There is a shutter in the lift as the engine starts and another one as we come to a stop at the platform. We rise through the building like last time, then we are flying. The flight is not nearly as smooth and controlled as my first ride, but I still enjoy it. I forget my worries and fears as we soar over the earth. There is joy in knowing I'm soaring above the city without being chained to it.

  We land again and the door opens. We're in a different area of town than our last visit. The green park is gone. Vegetable gardens are all around us. It's the most vegetables I have seen at one time. Animals are in the distance. Further away, so far away that I have to squint to see them, are glass panels I have learned collect the sun's power as well. Rows of windmills stretch all the way to the wall. I'm the closest to the wall I've been since waking up in the city. Despite how close it feels, I know it would take me a couple of hours to reach it on foot. It's incredibly tall and thick.

  As we step outside, I notice the others are pointing west. I match their body language and wait for Benny to tell us what to do. He steps out of the back of the lift and looks around with a frown.

  "Mr. Humphrey's late," he tells the dead-eyed man.

  The man doesn't reply. He just tucks in his hands into his pockets, prepared to wait for as long as it takes. Benny puts his free arm against the sling and moves the arm slightly to the left against his body. He winces as he does. I look away as his eyes find my face again.

  "Look at all this food!" Maria whispers in my ear. "It's amazing."

  I agree with her. I have never seen so much food in my life. People are busy working the land and sorting the food into bins. Metal machines move with the workers as they pick the food. They are very fast at it. The workers are a mixture of citizens and immigrants. They all work in the dirt and toil the land. It's hard to see any differences between them with the dirt covering their bodies and faces. I notice that the immigrants all wear yellow armbands. The ones I saw last week wore pink and green. I look down at my armband and wonder if the colors mean something on the outside as well. No one has explained it to us.

  "Look at all those windmills," Nathan adds from my left. "I've never seen anything like it."

  It's the first time he's spoken to us in a week. I can rationalize that our trips to the outside are the only times he can, but it still hurts. I don't reply to him. I don't know what to say.

  "Bree?" he whispers sadly. There is a pause. Sam and Maria are looking at him. They share my sadness and regret. "I miss you," Nathan adds so only I can hear.

  I look over at him in surprise as Benny barks at us to walk. Mr. Humphrey hasn't appeared, but Benny is tired of waiting. He has little patience. We walk into the gardens and I breathe in the smell of fresh dirt and cool water. Bees, flies, and butterflies hum around us. A spider crawls along one of the ropes that keeps the peas from falling over. It all seems so prosaic and familiar, right until the moment I hear the familiar thap-thap-thap. I look up and see a drone. Two of them make a long circle around the gardens.

  My depression has returned with Nathan's words. No amount of knowing he will be taken from me can make me forget the way he made me feel like a person again. I hang back so I'm walking next to him. Benny is hidden by the bodies of the others. He's out of sight. It's the only chance I'll get.

  "How are your lessons?" I ask Nathan carefully.

  "They're getting harder," he says. "I'm having trouble keeping up with the others."

  I feel the same way. They're testing us more and pushing us to learn as much as possible before our two month period is up. My brain is a question away from melting. I also secretly wonder if he'll be in green again soon. Is it wrong of me to hope so?

  "You can do it," I say.

  His lips twitch with a smile. "Thanks."

  Before either of us can say anything around the sudden awkwardness, there is an explosion to our right. It comes from the wall. There is a second and third. The ground trembles. I know the feeling. It's from missiles.

  I drop down automatically, pulling Nathan with me, and we watch as a lift careens over the wall. It's headed right for us. The pilot is unsteady. He's going to crash. No one moves. We can't believe what we're seeing. The city is supposed to be impenetrable. Benny is staring at the lift in shock, more proof that he does not handle violence well. He is not the commander he needs to be. Mr. Humphrey is walking down the path behind me. He has been trying to catch up to us but he's not very fit. He looks just as startled by the sight of the careening lift. Silence surrounds our group as we stare in awe.

  My mind is thinking along more practical lines. I know what needs to happen. Survival is guiding me.

  "Run!" I yell as the lift catches on fire. It's half a mile from us and closing in. It's losing altitude but it'll reach us before it hits the ground. It's going to kill a lot of people.

  I push Nathan and the others to get them running. They start moving down the path as fast as they can go. The people with orange armbands have a harder time keeping up with the group, but at least they're moving. Benny and the guards are swept up in the chaos. They have no control around the panic. The w
orkers run as well. My shout has gotten their attention. I glance over my shoulder and see Mr. Humphrey. Someone has knocked him over. His glasses have fallen. He searches for them in the dirt. The lift is headed directly for him.

  Ace's voice floats into my head at the sight. It tells me to help the man. It will help me. My voice tells me that it doesn't matter who he works for or that he's the enemy. He's in danger and needs help. I can't ignore his need.

  I turn and push my way through the panicking crowd. The lift is twenty feet away. The edge of it brushes the ground. I smell the burning metal. It will crush Mr. Humphrey. The drones circle overhead tightly. The operators have seen the falling lift. They're eager to investigate the chaos. Lifts are racing toward us in the distance. They won't reach us in time. The burning lift is ten feet away. It crashes into the ground with a resounding thud that sends dirt flying. It resolutely skids toward Mr. Humphrey.

  I reach Mr. Humphrey and pull him up. He's silent and shaking hard. His fear has taken his voice and wits. I pull his arm over my shoulder and make him run with me. The lift is two feet and closing in. We're not going to make it. It's too close. I push him out of the way as the lift comes to a violent halt only feet away from us and feel something embed itself in my calf. I roll several times as I fall. I stop rolling five feet from Mr. Humphrey. The heat of the burning lift adds to the sweat pouring down my body and I smell burning flesh and chemicals. It stings my nose and makes me cough. There's no way to describe the smell. It's worse than putrid. It's a reminder that someone who was alive is now dead.

  I sit up in a daze and see that I have a piece of metal in the back of my leg. It's small, but I know it should be hurting. It doesn't make sense that I feel nothing. A second later, the pain hits me. I cry out and grab the injury. It feels like I'm burning along with the lift. Mr. Humphrey is shaking, but he notices my scream. He crawls over to me.

  "You saved me, you saved me," he repeats over and over again. I don't reply. I'm too busy trying not to pass out from the pain.

  I look up and see the back door of the lift open. Five armed people rush out. I see enough of the front of the lift to know that the pilot is dead. There are more dead in the back. The crash has killed them. The five people who have survived start firing at anyone who moves. The blue rebel patch is on their arms. They're killing innocent people as I stare in astonishment. Everything Devlin said about them is true. It's hardly surprising. Devlin is usually right.

  I want to stop them, to save the others they're shooting, but my leg won't let me move. One of the rebels spots Mr. Humphrey and me. She raises her pistol. Her lips lift over her teeth in a grim snarl of hate. Then, I hear automatic fire from something larger than a pistol. I push Mr. Humphrey down again as a lift circles over us. It's different than the ones I have seen so far. It's sleek and fast. It opens on the sides and has five angry-looking RFA soldiers hanging out each side. They're firing down at the rebels. Their aim is impeccable.

  The woman hits the ground as blood spurts from her chest. Two more rebels fall a second later. Three more lifts join the first. They make quick work of the last two rebels. The drones circle overhead. The thap-thap-thap is barely noticeable around the whir of the lifts' engines.

  I lean back on the dirt and absently notice that the plant closest to me is a squash. It's the biggest squash I've ever seen. I wonder how they get them so big. It's the only thing I can think about around the pain.

  Then, hands appear on my neck. Mr. Humphrey is talking to me. I try to focus on him. His words finally make sense. "Hang on," he says. "A medic is on the way."

  Then there is a new voice. It's calm and full of authority. I know it well.

  "You five check on the wounded. You five secure the scene. Make sure there are no more surprises. I want you and you to get to the wall and figure out what the hell happened. Don't let them give you the runaround. You...Let headquarters know our sit-rep. Tell them we need medics here yesterday," Ace says. "Let them know there are a lot of wounded."

  Every time he gives an order there is a 'hua' in response. No one argues with him. Mr. Humphrey stands and gets a soldier's attention.

  "Here! She needs help!"

  I'm not certain I need help more than the others. People are screaming all around me. The garden has turned into a place of pain. Their screams make me feel like my injury is not nearly as important or serious. A girl wearing a white jacket and a patch with a knife and two arrows on her sleeve kneels down in front of me. She also has a patch with a staff and two snakes on her shoulder; the patch is like the one the medics at the hospital wear. She has a black bag and a serious expression on her face.

  "An immigrant in training?" she asks. She doesn't sound very impressed with my status.

  "She saved my life," Mr. Humphrey says stiffly.

  "Oh," the girl says. Her hands move to my leg. "This isn't too deep, but I should let the medic take it out. I'll give her something for the pain." She reaches into her bag and pulls out a small gun-looking needle. She injects its contents into my leg and moves away to help the next person.

  Ace is still talking. He has not noticed me yet. He's busy taking charge of the scene. A minute later, he sees Benny. They speak briefly about what happened. Ace gets the report from him, then asks if all of Benny's people are accounted for and safe.

  "I haven't checked," Benny says.

  "Are you mad?" Ace asks. "If one of them escapes..."

  His words make Benny nervous. "I'll check right now." He returns a minute later. "Twenty-three is missing. I should have expected her to run away. This attack probably has something to do with her..."

  "Twenty-three?" Ace asks tightly. "Which one is that again?"

  "The girl with black hair. The one Gib caught."

  "Oh, right," Ace says. "She can't have gone far. Find her."

  "If the lift didn't kill her," Benny says. He sounds eager. An accidental death would suit him just fine.

  Mr. Humphrey has not heard them. He's busy talking into his handheld and making his own reports. I can tell from the way he's acting that he's talking to someone important. The voice is strong and full of purpose. It sounds like a woman. She tells Humphrey that she will have a team out to the site immediately.

  The medicine has started to kick in. It makes me feel wobbly. I look up at the sky in a daze. The smoke from the lift passes by in tufts of white and grey. I wonder if they will let it burn or if someone will put it out.

  As if he can read my thoughts, Ace's voice echoes around the gardens. "Come over here and help put the fire out. Use the extinguishers from my lift. Hurry."

  He's closer now. He's walking to my side of the lift. He's taking his time. Is he looking for something? Is he looking for someone?

  "Move! Move! Move!" Ace urges his people. We can't let the fire spread to the crops!"

  I hear a whoosh and then a hiss. A second later, Ace sees me. He moves closer.

  "Mr. Humphrey, are you okay?"

  It would look peculiar if he asked about me.

  "I'm fine," Mr. Humphrey says. "A little knocked about, to tell you the truth. This one tackled me pretty hard, but she saved my life."

  "She did?" Ace's voice holds just the right amount of disbelief and surprise. I don't know if he is genuinely surprised or not.

  "She certainly did," Humphrey replies. He looks up at the sky. "I'll bet the drone caught the rescue, too."

  "Probably," Ace says. He kneels next to me. He touches my neck with his finger. "Her pulse is racing. She might be going into shock...We should move her and get her warm."

  "Right," Humphrey agrees. He asks if Ace needs help but Ace has already picked me up. I put my head against his chest without thinking and try to remember why he makes me feel so uncertain. It's difficult. His arms around my body definitely make me feel safe.

  He sets me down inside a lift and wraps a blanket around me. I try to thank him, but he pulls away before I can find the words. A couple of minutes later, Maria joins me. She takes my hand as she sits
next to me.

  "You're an idiot," she tells me. She's been crying. The tears still cling to her eyelashes. "What were you thinking?"

  "Didn't want anyone to get hurt," I say.

  "Well, you didn't get your wish," she says.

  "Is everyone okay?" I ask. She knows I mean Nathan and Sam.

  "Yeah. Those rebels...They just started shooting everyone. They didn't care who they hit. I saw them kill two people."

  "I know," I agree.

  "It's horrible," she adds. "The rebels killing people...The government killing people. It doesn't really seem like either side has it right."

  "Shh," I tell her.

  She's absolutely right, but I know the government will not like being compared to the rebels. She realizes why I'm shushing her and stops talking. She holds my hand until the medic arrives. She's dismissed coldly by him and she climbs out of the lift obediently. She walks away as the medic rolls me over to look at my leg. He is careful and precise as he inspects the injury.

  "Hospital," he says. "Take the others with her."

  Seven more people are loaded up in the lift and a woman in white gets into the pilot's seat. I turn my head to watch her work. She pushes several buttons and then grabs a yoke in front of her. The lift rises off the ground at her touch and we soar over the earth. The wind rushes through the open doors, but I don't mind. It adds to the joy of the flight. I watch every move the woman makes, wishing I was in her place. It's better than thinking about my pain.

  Before we leave the crash site, three more lifts touch down. These lifts hold older people. They are wearing the RFA uniforms, with shiny medals and gold pins on their chests, though their lifts do not have a large dragonfly painted on the sides. They are leaders, the people who make decisions for the RFA and maybe even the city. They are Ace's superiors.

  The hospital is the same one where I began my captivity. I'm taken to the top floor, to a room that looks exactly like the one I escaped from so many weeks ago. Several nurses and a medic surround me. They give me more medicine to numb my leg and then go to work to pull the metal out. I lay facedown on the bed and wonder if they should even bother. What will Honey do to me now that I can't run? Will she kill me? Did I save Humphrey only to lose my life? The thought makes me giggle. I stop when I realize I'll never see Max again.

  They give me something else that makes me feel sleepy. I don't resist the rest. It's the first real sleep I've enjoyed in weeks. I dream of nothing and no one. There is only darkness.

  When I wake up, I can't tell if it's day or night. The room has no windows. I don't try to stand. The door is locked, and I know better than to try to escape again. My leg throbs painfully. I reach down and touch the white bandage.

  "Ah, good, you're finally awake," a voice says. "They've been waiting for you to wake up..."

  I look over and see a nurse. She's checking bags that hang from a metal pole. A plastic tube runs into my arm. The heart monitor beeps in time to my heartbeat. She doesn't say anything else before she leaves the room. I have no idea who she means. Has Honey come to collect me? Why wait for me to wake up only to kill me? Does she enjoy seeing the terror in her victims' eyes?

  The door opens thirty minutes later. Two very curious-looking people step into the room. One is a woman. She's wearing a blue suit and holding a handheld. She has lines around her mouth and eyes, but they are the only signs of her age. The brown of her eyes is warm and alluring. I know it's a trap. Her sharp intelligence and cunning nature are clear. She's not afraid of getting her hands dirty. The man who enters with her is large and round. He has a bushy beard and the same cold, calculating eyes. I know instantly they are very good liars and manipulators.

  "Twenty-three," the woman says, looking at my armband. "That won't do at all. What will the public think? She must be called something."

  "What's your name?" the man asks me.

  I stare at him fearfully. It's a trap. They want me to say my name so they can punish me.

  "Your name?" the man asks more sharply.

  "Bree," I say.

  "Sweet and simple," the woman approves. "It won't be hard to get them to fall in love with her. I mean, just look at her. She's like a baby deer."

  "Definitely," the man agrees. "Her training is a problem, though. She hasn't finished it."

  "She can still go through with it," the woman says. "A week or two won't mean that much. But she will do her part in the interim."

  Her tone suggests 'or else.'

  "Right. A few public appearances, a smile or two, and they will be more concerned about our little hero than the attack. It's the perfect solution. We can milk this until she finishes her training. By then, the city will have forgotten all about her."

  "Yes," the woman says. "She must be watched, however."

  "The Ellison boy has already agreed to keep an eye on her," the man says.

  The woman smiles. "Good. They're a good family, true patriots. She'll be sorry if she crosses him or his parents."

  "Right," the man agrees.

  I stare at them in confusion. Asking questions is against everything we have been taught in our classes. I know they expect me to keep my mouth shut, but I am burning with them. I want to know what they're talking about and why they're acting as if I'm about to help them cover up the attack.

  The woman's smile grows as she sees my confusion. "Congratulations, Bree, you have just become the face of hope for the city."

  Chapter 20