The Rebels

by Suzy Q

Tough girl Roxanne, a rebel against the government, helps a persecuted people and becomes a new person

A/N: Sorry it took me so long to write again! Don't worry I've not given up on this, I was just worried about the security of this site. But now I found a way around that. Neways - this is all of the story so far (it's not chaptered). R&R!!!! Also - little things have been changed, so if you get lost you can just go back and reread. I haven't changed much, but I noticed little holes in the plot that needed to be fixed. There are still some more that need fixing and I'll get on them ASAP!!!
Love In Him!
Suzy Q
- One -
The Boy

I stood on a rooftop looking out into the sky. From where I stood, I could actually see some of the blue. I was surrounded by religious radicals who were there in part for the same reason I was, they couldn't stand the smell downstairs. Gathered right below us were about twenty people, many of whom I went to school with, smoking whatever they could afford. The smell of the mixed drugs always pierced my lungs like a knife, and I was usually to be found on this rooftop before school. The scene was always the same. One or another of the thirty or so radicals would ask me to join them, but I always refused. I admit that I'm a radical, but not a religious wacko. Every day they would pray, sing a few songs, read a verse or two from the Bible and leave at First Bells. I didn't care. I wanted nothing to do with them. I just wanted to get away from the drug smoke, and the rules.
I turned once more to the sky and caught a glimpse of the sun. I smiled. It's not easy to catch a glimpse of the actual sun through all the smog and smoke. I was actually enjoying the stillness of it all when I heard a sound that made my blood run cold with fear.
"You call this freedom?" A man screamed. (c)2001 Suzy Q The others on my rooftop quickly hid their Bible and searched the horizon of makeshift rooftop churches for the man that had cried out. "America used to be a free country! You call this liberty? Come to Jesus! Only He can give you..." I found him just in time to hear the shots from the machine guns and watch his limp body fall from the building and splatter on the ground. Soon armed men began descending from the AT Craft onto a business building a couple of blocks away from us. To each one, they asked the same question. "Do you believe that Jesus is the only way to God?" And one after the other, they moronically answered. "Jesus is the way, the light and the life." And one after the other, they got shot. On the other buildings, the people quickly climbed down the stairs to the sidewalk, where the Freedom Guards couldn't recognize them from the people on the street. I quickly followed, my heart pounding. I ran down the street and into the crowd just as First Bells sounded. I marched in to the facility along with the rest of my classmates, who were putting out their pot in the convenient ashtrays.
I walked through the corridors of the school, worried that the Freedom Guards would be able to tell that I was one of the people on the rooftop, not that I had been doing anything wrong. Still, I hadn't turned the others in, even though I knew all about them. I could get expelled for that. One more expulsion, and I would be sent to Training Camp. I really didn't need that.
Fear ran through me. It didn't make sense. I was the one who inspired fear in people, not vice versa. But there it was. Fear coursing through my veins. I looked around for a little kid to scare. Yeah, just what I needed. A little kid to scare out of his wits, so I could stop feeling so badly. I looked around and spotted my victim. (c)2001 Suzy Q A little ninth grader. I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck.
"You going anywhere maggot?" I asked him. He looked at me and the fear welled up in his eyes. I wanted to laugh. Laugh at the fear I could inspire. I grabbed the emblem on his shirt. It declared him to be the son of a high official. "Gimme your pot money." I said. He looked up, more afraid than ever.
"I d-d-don't have any, my d-d-dad doesn't let me have pot." He replied, stuttering.
"Well, I guess you could use the money your d-d-dad's saved from the pot to take care of that stutter." I said. "Or maybe I could help you with it." I grabbed him by the back of his pants and took him into the girls' bathroom. I hung him up on the coat hook in a stall by the belt loop in the back of his pants. "That oughta keep you from stuttering." I said and walked out, leaving him there.
I felt better now, more in control. A little boy who had seen me taking the other kid in to the bathroom looked up at me as if he was on the brink of telling someone. I gave him a threatening look and he ran away, scared. I began walking toward class again, thinking about my brilliance when I bumped into someone. I looked up. I was amazed at what I saw.
It was a boy, about my age, with very long dark (c)2001 Suzy Q hair and brown eyes - and he wasn't dressed like he had just come from Choices Unlimited. I was just about the only person who didn't get all my clothes from there. Despite what everyone said, personally, I didn't think there's that much selection there. They sure didn't sell anything that was my style.
This guy had on a leather jacket like mine. True, it had to be fake, since they no longer manufactured real leather because it offended the Environmentalists, but it still made a statement. I had never seen him around before. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'd ever even seen anyone like him. I was amazed.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone dodge the Freedom Guards so artfully." He said. He smiled, revealing vampire-like canines.
"Thanks, I've had a lot of practice." I said. "Are you new here?"
"Yup. I just got expelled from Hillside High. This is my last stop before training camp." He said. I smiled.
"Same here." I replied. The siren alerting the beginning of first period rang. We both fumed.
"Great, I'm late. Detention. There goes my afternoon." The boy said. Two Freedom Guards started towards us.
"It's ok." I whispered, "I'll take care of it." The Guard in his green uniform walked right up to us.
"Detention for both of you." He said. He began writing us up.
"It offends me that you would think about giving us detention, especially since my friend here is new at this school, and I was just showing him how to get to class." I said. The Freedom Guards looked at each other, not sure. We got out of their reach before they could do anything about us.
"That was masterfully done. I think the adding of the word 'offend' really gave it a finishing touch. I can't say I could do better myself." The boy said.
"Thank you. I own this school." I replied. He told me what class he had and I took him there.
"By the way, what's your name?" He asked.
"I'm Roxanne Rhiannon, but you can call me Roxy. What's yours?"
"Bryce. Bryce Skylar."
I walked away to my classroom. I felt like I was in a dream. Someone just like me. Someone against everything they stuffed down our throats, and he wasn't even a religious wacko. It was amazing.
I slipped into my classroom and took my seat in back next to Joshua Kowan. He was religious, but I was the only one who knew it.
"You're late. Surprise, surprise." He whispered.
"Shut it." I replied. Just that second, the white wall in front of us displayed a three foot-by-three foot box with our teacher's face in the corner, and the familiar opening screen of class filled the rest of the wall. "Course #7831498, American History, Y2K to Present, Grade 11. Mr. Hank Enfys".
"Today, class," Mr. Enfys began, "We will continue our discussion with the year 2004. President Lincton was elected as the first female, and the first homosexual president." A picture of the ex-president flashed on the screen, holding her first ladies' hand. I turned to see Josh's reaction, he shook his head and muttered "sickening" under his breath. Although that was very much a religious wacko-type reply, I can't help admitting that my stomach turned a little at the picture. "President Lincton put into effect the Peace and Liberty Act of 2006. This act allowed authorities to enforce laws against threatening groups, or as we call them, radicals. Soon, restrictions against materials, such as fur and leather, began to also be enforced. All rebels and radicals were soon wiped out. The populace also voted that certain books be burned, especially those that spread the messages proclaimed by the radicals. By popular demand, a new Police force was formed around the globe. They're what we now know well as the Freedom Guards. These guards especially enforce the laws that allow all people the freedom to believe, or not believe, in whatever they like. High state officials were allowed to concentrate strictly on their duties by boarding for their children, paid for by the state. In 2057, these buildings were made widely available. Our society is still busy insuring that liberty and freedom are available to all, and we expect to soon have subdued the few radicals left, those who call themselves the 'Christians'." I subtly turned to Josh again now, not expecting anyone else to notice, since most were either taking copious notes, or were completely stoned by the large quantities of drugs they had smoked before school. Josh leaned forward and whispered to me.
"Few? There are thousands of us!" He said, "They want you to think that there are few of us so you'll think we're just crazies."
"Can't argue with that." I replied, "The thing is, are they right or wrong in thinking you're crazies." I must have said it louder than I was supposed to, because the little red sound monitor light on our shared desk started blinking. Mr. Enfys looked annoyed.
"Which one is it now?" he asked, looking down at his seating chart, which appeared on the screen, "Rhiannon or Kowan? Neither one of you can afford a misdemeanor right now. You both know that. So, I'm going to be extremely graceful. Since you enjoy each other's company so much, why don't you write an essay together on the importance of the Peace and Liberty Act and how much our society has improved since it was enforced." Josh opened his mouth wide in disbelief. I couldn't believe it either. Of all people to write that essay, we were probably the worst choice. The teacher seemed to ignore Josh's reaction (although the truth was that he just couldn't see us) and continued with his lesson.
After class, I was dying to meet up with Bryce again, but I had to talk to Josh about the essay.
"Well, where do you want to meet?" I asked. Josh's (c)2001 Suzy Q gray eyes looked troubled.
"I don't have time for homework." He said. He looked away, trying to get me not to ask why. I was afraid I wasn't going to like the answer. I asked anyway.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Just busy, that's all." He said. I sighed.
"Listen. I really respect that you have problems with the way things are handled. The law, the schools, housing, government in general," I whispered, " but this God stuff, I mean, a line's gotta be drawn. You're gonna be sent to T.C. just because you were too busy doing your religious rites or whatever?"
"They're not ..." he began. We quieted as we passed by a Freedom Guard. I knew what he was going to say. He was going to say that they definitely weren't rites and they weren't religious. He was going to say that being a Christian is about a relationship with Christ. I'd heard it enough times. We'd been friends since my last school. Soon after I got kicked out of that one, he also got the boot. It was some serious coincidence that we both got moved to the same school. We passed the guard.
"Listen, whatever you're doing, I can't afford even a misdemeanor right now, much less whatever Enfys has got in store for us if we don't do that essay." I said. He looked at me skeptically.
"It was my fault. I'll just write the stupid essay by myself." I said and walked away. I was brooding. I did not need another assignment. Especially not this one.

- Two -
Twosie

I was headed to my locker when Second Bells rang. I swore. If anyone noticed my getting outside late, I might have to stay after school, and with my extra homework, I didn't need that. I racked my brain wondering what to do. If I didn't have my Harmonics book for Second Bell Memorials, I'd be dead. Then again, I would also be dead if I got there late. I decided not to go to my locker and just ran straight to the door. As I ran past the kids all lined up and stiffly staring at the flag for Memorial, I stole a book from one of the younger kids. He began to cry and call the teacher, but I was too far for the teacher to believe that I had actually stolen his book. I got in my place at the end of the line, put down my hot pink pleather bag and opened up the Harmonics book. I was still trying to catch my breath. Luckily, no one seemed to notice but the last two people in line.
Two people? I thought. I was supposed to be next to last. I turned around and saw behind me, as always, Josh. But behind him was Bryce. I smiled and waved. He waved back, amused. I turned back around and right in front of me was a Freedom Guard. I stared straight at the flag, like I was supposed to, but this Freedom Guard wasn't just anyone. It was Officer Sullivan.
"Is it hot out here, Mrs. Rhiannon?" He asked. I shook my head, obediently. "Then why are there beads of sweat all over your forehead?" I thought quickly.
"How good of you to notice." I said, "It's my new style. Like it?" The guard walked right past me. I breathed a sigh of relief. He went around the back of the line and over to my other side.
"Listen. You watch yourself." He said, "Second and Fifth Bell Memorials are a sacred tradition honoring those who have died throughout the day. If you won't take it seriously for them, why will anyone take it seriously for you?" I kept my eyes on the flag. Of course they all died, I thought, they were all on drugs.
About a minute later the headmistress ascended the platform and began reading the long list of deaths since yesterday's Fifth Bells. It was not uncommon for one or two kids to croak during Second Bells; those deaths were saved until Fifth Bells.
"Clover Nahasapedlahn. Hindi." Principal Dorry read. Everyone went to the Hindi tab of their Harmonics book.
"May your new body be glorious and may your soul soon reach Enlightenment." The student body read together.
"Raah Carr. Einsteinism."
"May your body's decay be helpful to all of the Earth."
"Helen DeHungary. Unknown."
"May you have well enjoyed your life in the world, (c)2001 Suzy Q full of peace and tolerance."
And it continued on and on, for an hour until all of the deaths in our city had been read. When a guard wasn't looking, Josh leaned forward and whispered in my ear.
"Ever notice that although Christians get killed the most, they never mention one?" He asked.
"Maybe they're the unknowns." I whispered back.
"No they're not. Trust me, I would know." Josh retreated then; I think he realized that he shouldn't have said that to someone who could potentially stab him in the back with it. I knew that I never would. I guess because the Christians were the only people keeping the world from becoming completely government-run, I couldn't help wipe them out. As weird as they were, they're what helped me keep my sanity.
At the end of Second Bells we were released for lunch. Bryce caught up to me.
"Where're you going to eat?" he asked. I laughed.
"You say that as if we had a choice." I said. There were no restaurants open for people under level five other than at Choices Unlimited. Everyone had lunch there.
"Well if you're like me..." He began. I smiled.
"Which I am." I said, "And, yes. I did swipe food from dinner last night and I'm going to a nice quiet place to eat."
"How did you read my mind?" He asked. I smiled.
"Josh and me usually eat up on the rooftops, wanna come?" I asked. Just then, Josh caught up to us.
"Ready for lunch Roxy?" He asked. I turned to him.
"Yeah. Bryce is going to have lunch with us today." I turned to him hopefully, "Right?" Bryce nodded. Then he took a good look at Josh.
"I didn't know we were having lunch with the king of uniformity." He commented and began walking to the door. Josh and I quickly followed.
"What do you mean by that?" Josh asked. Bryce didn't answer, he just kept walking. Josh seemed offended.
"Lighten up, I haven't told him why you dress like everyone else." I said. Josh ignored me.
"You know, I don't dress this way because I want to." Josh continued.
"You get up every morning and put that stuff on right? If you didn't like it, you didn't have to. They can't force you to do anything." Bryce said.
"You have no idea." Josh said. We walked out of the school and climbed up the steps to the same building I went to every morning before First Bells.
"It's beautiful up here." Bryce commented. We walked to the very edge and Bryce sat leaned against the railings. "Great choice." He said looking into the sky.
"Thanks." I said, getting out my lunch.
"So, kid, you never explained it. Why do you have to dress like everyone else?" Bryce asked. I looked at Josh and he looked at me. He signaled with his eyes that he didn't want me to tell.
"No reason." He replied.
"So, Bryce, what level are you?" I asked, changing the subject.
"I'm level one-nine." He said. That was pretty impressive. I was only level one-seven. All minors are level one, but their parents level defined the second number. The fact that I was level one-seven meant that my parents were level seven. Anything above level five was upper class. To become upper class, you had to be an executive of the government. Other executives could also be above level five, but an adult on my parents' level that didn't work with the government would be called a two-seven. Not many people were twosies, since not many businesses weren't government-run. Josh was a one-two-two, since his parents aren't executive and don't (c)2001 Suzy Q work in a government-run business. He was one of the few twosies I had ever met. The advantages to not being a twosie were enormous. While children of low-level twosies lived in barracks, we each had our own rooms. As a matter of fact, people like Bryce and me got our own suites. Of course, all parents had the choice of raising their children at a family home, but people were always suspicious of people like that. That's why Josh lives in a level one-two-two complex, instead of at home like his parents would want him to. But he sees his family almost every day, unlike mine, whom I see once a year at the Joining Gala.
Just then Third Bells rang, signaling the beginning of lunch.
"What level are you guys?" Bryce asked.
"One-seven." I replied.
"I'm a one-two-two." Josh replied.
"Well, it's nice to know your parents broke the system." Bryce said, smiling. "Way to go."
"Trust me, I 'break the system' more times in a day than you've gone to the bathroom in your whole life." Josh muttered.
"Whoa. He has a smart-mouth, too." Bryce said surprised, turning to me, "Now I understand why you two are friends." He turned back to Josh, "Go ahead, what do you do that's so bad?" He asked patronizingly.
"You don't want to know." Josh said.
"Come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone else." Bryce said. Josh still refused. "Fine, then. I'll tell you something bad I did, then we'll each have something on each other. You don't tell, I don't tell, deal?" Josh nodded. Bryce changed to a whisper. "I missed Second and Fifth Bells every day for a week." I was amazed.
"How exactly did you not get shot?" I asked.
"My parents were useful for once. They bailed me out. The principal pretended it hadn't happened. I got expelled, but nothing more than that." He said. I couldn't believe it. I had once witnessed as a boy was executed for missing both Second and Fifth Bells in the same day.
"Baby's stuff." Josh said. "Ok. You promise you won't tell, no matter how much they torture you?" Bryce nodded.
"Jese. If he tells on you, I'll personally let the whole world know about his little absentness." I said, sticking up for my friend in part, but the other part just wanted to share Josh's secret.
"Go on dude, spit it out." Bryce said. There was a pause. Then Josh said the three words for which any person could be executed on sight.
"I'm a believer." He said.
"No way." Bryce said incredulous. "I never actually met one before. My gosh." Bryce sat stunned for a little while. "My mom told me to run away from you guys like the plague. You know what that means." He smiled rebelliously, "I'm gonna stick to you like glue!" I laughed and so did Bryce, and eventually, even (c)2001 Suzy Q Josh loosened up and laughed with us.

-Three-
The Underground

Fourth Bells finally sounded and students and workers across the globe were herded out of their buildings and went about their afternoon activities. I looked around at the relieved students and teachers. Through the smoke of various drugs, I spotted Josh talking to some boy I didn't recognize. He was dressed like any other normal person, but his dark hair was unruly and his just as dark eyes were worried. I could see the edge of a necklace around his neck. I knew what that meant. Josh had one just like it. It was a dog tag that had a "U" on it, that stood for Underground. It meant he was a Radical Christian.
I walked over, hoping to find out more. I loved the intrigue of the Radicals, even though I didn't want to be associated with them.
"Hi." I said. Josh and the boy looked up. The boy looked intimidated. Josh made eye contact with him and nodded, meaning it was safe to talk to me.
"Hi." The boy said.
"Roxy, this is Benjamin." Josh said, introducing the boy. I shook hands with him. He remained silent.
"Don't worry about that paper." I said, making conversation, "I'll do it when I get home."
"Thanks." Josh said. Silence once more ensued.
"Ok, then. I'm outta here." I said, "Nice meeting (c)2001 Suzy Q you." I walked away. I turned around again and saw Benjamin eyeing me suspiciously.
On my way home I passed by a Choices Unlimited, but I was careful to keep away from the crowd. That crowd was big, but nothing compared to the Drug Store, where people of all ages came and bought assortments of whatever they could afford. I noticed right behind me, a little boy, a couple of years younger than me, pass through, frightened by the obscenity of the crowd. I was so engrossed in watching the kid in the reflection of the glass skyscrapers that I didn't even notice the Freedom Guards up ahead. They grabbed my bag as I passed.
"What's this?" The first guard said.
"That's a pretty bag, girl." The second one said. "Must have been expensive on the black market." I trembled with fear.
"What are you talking about?" I said pulling them off of me.
"It's leather." The first said.
"No, it's pleather. You know?" I said trying to keep my cool though right in my line of sight was a compact machine gun. "It's plastic molded to look like leather."
"How are we supposed to be sure of that?" The first asked.
"Hello? I'm a one-seven. I don't have that kind of money." I said.
"Leave her alone." The second officer said to the first. He turned to me. "Go away, and hurry it up." I looked at both of them with pretend confidence and walked away slowly. As soon as they stopped watching me, I ran into a nearby alley.
Breathing hard, I leaned against a building. Slowly I peeked back out. Only now was I able to tell that the first one was much younger than the second, and was enjoying hassling the passers-by. I watched as the scared little boy passed by them.
"Hey." The younger said harshly, grabbing the boy by the collar. "Where are you going?" The boy looked terrified, and couldn't speak. "Answer me!" The man screamed in his face. The boy trembled like a leaf on a twig. The officer drooped him and walked around him, inspecting him. He grabbed at the emblem on the little boy's shirt. "A one-two-three, eh?" He said. He let go of the boy's emblem. "Twosie." He muttered, the he turned to the poor boy abruptly, "Are you a radical?" The boy was still too horrified to answer. The older guard got into the act. He pulled a chain out of the boy's shirt. It was an Underground dog-tag. I held my breath. No one but the Christians, and me, knew the meaning of that necklace. Beads of sweat covered my forehead. The little boy looked as though he had seen a ghost. Even my breath became (c)2001 Suzy Q shallow and rapid. I turned my head so that I wouldn't have to witness it.
"What's this?" the older guard asked. Somehow, by some power, the boy managed to speak.
"My mother gave it to me." He said, so low that I had to really strain in order to hear it.
"Why does it have a 'U' on it? Does your name start with a 'U'?" The older guard said, actually beginning to think that this might be a rebel. Whatever power the boy had found to speak was apparently gone.
"You heard him. What is your name, boy?" The younger guard asked. I heard someone coming down the alley. It was Josh.
"Josh, how did you...?" I said.
"What are you...?" He asked at the same time. I didn't have time for questions; I had to save that poor little boy. I knew that I couldn't go over there, because they would recognize me. I pulled Josh's chain over his head and held it tight in my hand.
"Go over there and help that little boy. I don't know what his name is, but call him..." I tried to think of a name that started with a U, "...Usef. Hurry!!!" I pushed him onto the street. He didn't know what this was all about, but he caught on quickly and hurried over.
"Usef!" He cried out to the boy. The two guards looked up. "Usef! Dude, we've been waiting for you!" The little boy slowly looked up at Josh.
"Who are you?" The older guard asked.
"Me?" He said. "I'm Josh, Usef's friend." The boy, encouraged by the help of a friend, picked up on the bluff.
"Yea. I was supposed to meet him a little while ago." He said, not able to hide the tremble in his voice.
"So, this dog-tag really does belong to you? The 'U' stands for Usef?" The older guard asked, although the younger did not seem convinced; he seemed very annoyed.
"Go on then. And hurry it up!" The younger guard said. Josh and 'Usef' happily strolled past them and into an alley right next to mine. After circling around the back they came back to where I was. They strode right up to me (c)2001 Suzy Q with large grins on their faces. They were so relieved they forgot something.
"Mission accomplished." Josh said.
I shook my head. "What about the necklace?" I asked. The boys went ashen. "If you want something done right..." I muttered. I grabbed the glasses off of the little boys' face, put down my bag, messed up my hair and took off my jacket. I walked over to the officers. They stood talking, the older guard with his back to me. I could see the chain dangling from his back pocket. As I approached, they looked at me curiously. I could feel my heart beating a mile a minute. The things I do... I thought.
"Shhhhhh." I hushed the officers who were about to ask me a question. Once more they opened their mouths to speak. "Quiet." I said, looking just behind them, I seemed fascinated. Both looked in the general direction of where I was looking. "It's an actual, genuine, Thai Butterfly Gnat." I whispered, pretending that I knew what I was talking about. As the Freedom Guards stood in awe, I snatched the necklace from the older one's back pocket and stuck it carefully in mine. Then I clapped my hands in the air, and carefully looked down at them, "I finally caught an actual Thai Butterfly Gnat!" I ran off, in apparent glee. I could almost feel the guards looking at me funny. I arrived back at the alley where the two boys waited for me.
"This is so nice of you!" The little boy said as I handed back his possessions. "Funny, I've never seen you before at..."
Josh cut him off. "She's not a Sister." The little boy looked confused.
"Nope. Just a rebel who would rather see you guys win than them." I said, "Not that I approve of your religion or anything. It's just that, given the choice between you wackos, and them wackos," I said, "I choose you." Josh smiled.
"I'm honored to be a choice wacko." Josh (c)2001 Suzy Q joked. The little boy spoke up.
"We're not wackos, we're God's forgiven people."
"With him in my class, you don't think I know that?" I said to him. I looked down at my watch, 3:45, almost time for Fifth Bell Memorials and I hadn't even started on my homework yet.
"Listen, guys, I really got to get home and write that paper. See you later." I said, walking out of the alley.

--Four -
Athena

When I finally got to my room I found my sister and her boyfriend there.
"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting down my bag.
"Chillin'" She replied. A puff of smoke came out of her boyfriend's mouth.
"Get out." I said hotly. Whenever my sister came around, it was only to make trouble, and her boyfriend was even worse. The idea of them doing drugs in my room was appalling.
"We're blood." She said.
"Blood is worth nothing these days. And anyway, he isn't." I said. She smiled and brought up her hand, that I hadn't seen when I walked (c)2001 Suzy Q in the door, and proceeded to take a nice long hit from her joint.
"He soon will be." She smiled and pulled a form out of her pocket.
"Mom and dad signed the consent form." She said. I looked at her suspiciously.
"When did you see mom and dad?" I asked.
"I didn't see them." She said, implying that that should have been obvious. "I gave it to a guy that works with them and he got them to sign it for me." I shook my head. She was only a senior in high school, and her boyfriend was a deadbeat. She was obviously making a big mistake.
"Listen, Haley..." I began, trying to reason with her, but she cut me off.
"She squealed with delight, "And I'm changing my name...to Athena!" she looked at her boyfriend, admiringly, "He came up with it. Said it was the name of a true goddess like myself." I huffed exasperated. It didn't matter, I barely knew her. Who cared what she did with her life? I've seen people do worse.
"Go away." I said frankly.
"I just thought you'd care to know. We're headed over to get married now. I might never see you again!" She squealed with delight, "Aren't you happy for me?" She asked. I put my bag down at my desk.
"Yeah, yeah, just shut the door on your way out. And please, never smoke in here again." I said.
"Don't worry we're never coming here again." She couldn't seem to contain her excitement. The two walked out of the room and out of my life. One down, five more to go I thought, thinking of the five unmarried brothers and sisters I still had left. I was almost glad families no longer lived together, and wondered how civilization had survived so long living with the abominations generally called 'family'. It was no wonder some species ate their young.

- Five -
Suspicion

"In this program, the programmer used a 'Do-While' Loop. This technique comes directly from before D** was developed. As a matter of fact, programmers have been using this method since the development of C++." My computer programming teacher droned on and on about the simplest concept. Luckily, the classroom's sound monitors weren't working correctly, thanks to one of the students messing with the computer that operated it, so conversations were rampant. Still, we were (c)2001 Suzy Q careful to keep our voices low so that the Freedom Guards wouldn't catch us. Through a little maneuvering, Bryce had gotten himself transferred out of his morning computer class and into the afternoon one with me.
"So, do anything else interesting besides hanging out with Christian kids?" Bryce whispered to me. I grinned at him.
"It's not like there's much else to do, everything else is so cliché." I said. He smiled, agreeing.
"You mean going to dance clubs and arcades don't meet your high standards?" He asked.
"Unlike everyone else on this planet, all these so-called liberties we have don't really fit my fancy." I said.
"So, what, do you go to their meetings? Are you like part of their little 'club'?" He asked.
"No way." I said, "Except for saving their butts once or twice, the only connection I have with them is Josh, and he's just a bud."
"So, do you believe in God?" He asked curiously.
"I dunno." I said, really not completely sure, "I mean, if there was a God, wouldn't He be pretty boiling mad about now? And if He was boiling mad, why not just wipe us off the face of this Earth?"
"That's true." He replied, "I don't know what I believe either. I mean, I get pretty mad at the Einsteinists and the Darwinists who say that there's no possibility whatsoever that there's a god, but I also get pretty mad at the Christians for thinking that they're the only ones who'll go to heaven. If they say God loves us so much, why can't we all go?" That was a good point, and I had thought about it before and asked Josh. Not that I paid a huge amount of attention at the time. I turned around and saw Amy Torron, a girl with large glasses and a bad case of acne staring at us.
"Boo." I said, annoyed, "What are you looking at?" She turned back around, a little scared.
"You really hold you own around here, huh?" Bryce asked laughing at the way I had intimidated the girl.
"And that was just a girl our age, the ninth graders are afraid to breathe without asking my permission first." I said.

Later that day, after Fourth Bells, Bryce and I (c)2001 Suzy Q were walking down the hallway on our way out. As we passed by Amy Torron, I overheard her whispering to a friend of hers, Seamus Hannigan.
"The bust is tonight at midnight." She whispered. "I can't wait to see those radicals squirm." This made me stop dead in my tracks.
"I can't believe it! How did you find out about this?" Seamus asked. I motioned for Bryce to find a safe spot to listen to them with me. We stood near their lockers, they never even noticed us.
"They're meeting in one of the subbasements of the old John Hancock building? I thought those were closed off." Seamus said, as Amy told him the location of the radicals' secret meeting.
"I was talking to my mother at the Joining Gala last year about how much of a pest those wackos are to our peaceful life. She said they're like cockroaches, they'll find their way into anything, but no matter what happens, we'll end up crushing them." At that point Seamus and Amy left their lockers, and with the onslaught of students rushing to get home, we were unable to hear the rest of the conversation. Bryce and I were quiet about it until we got outside and we saw Josh and Benjamin together like yesterday.
"So, we should tell them, right?" Bryce asked, as unsure as I was. I was afraid because warning them would be a capital offense against the government and we could be in serious trouble if we were caught. But if I didn't tell them, and Josh was wrong and the rest of us outnumbered the Christians - could Christianity be wiped off the face of the planet? And when they were gone, Bryce and I would (c)2001 Suzy Q be the only rebels left, and, as much as it sounds cool to be the only two people keeping the world from being taken over by 'liberty', what more could we do than just wearing leather and secretly despising the rules placed upon us? But then again, was it worth it to risk our lives?
I looked from Josh to Bryce, and then finally decided.
"Live free or die." I said, "Those people might be weird, but they have as much right to be freely weird as everyone else does." I said.
"Let's do it then." He said, and we walked over to Josh and Benjamin.
"Hi." I said very seriously.
"Hey." They replied.
"Um...we need to talk to you guys." I said, giving them meaningful looks. Josh looked around.
"Sure, why don't we go up to our lunch place?" He said candidly. I nodded and we all walked over to the rooftop where we ate lunch. I looked around; to make sure we were alone. Christians no longer met on the rooftops, thanks to the bust the other day. We told them what we heard.
"You're kidding me!" Benjamin's dark troubled eyes were clouded with disbelief. "How could they possibly find out? We were so careful." He seemed suspicious of me.
"I don't know how they found out, I just know that they did." I said defensively. Josh could feel the tension between Benjamin and me. He caught Benjamin's gaze and shook his head.
"How do you know?" Benjamin asked Josh. "It's tough to tell where your loyalties are right now man." I was mad.
"Fine. Get yourself killed." I said, balling my hands into fists, "I'm risking my life for you guys." Bryce finally spoke up.
"Forget it, Roxy." He said. "They obviously don't want our help." Bryce gently took my arm and pulled me along with him to the door.
"No," I said, Bryce let go of my arm, "Josh, don't go down there. They're gonna catch you and you'll be underground. There's no way out from a sub-basement when soldiers are blocking all the exits. Don't go." Josh (c)2001 Suzy Q looked at me, unsure of what to do. I turned around and Bryce and I walked away. I had done my job. Now it was up to Josh to save himself.


- Six -
The Bust

It's his fault if he dies. I thought, pacing around my room, I don't care either way. If he doesn't listen to me, then he deserves what he gets, right? I jumped into my bed and twiddled my fingers. I couldn't sit still. I couldn't let it go. I mean, if Benjamin died, who cares? He's asking for it. But Josh...Josh has been my best friend forever. If he died, it would just be Bryce and me...and what about all the other people. The people who had survived the rooftop terror, just to die now, trapped in a sub-basement? Was it right? And I knew it wasn't. Their lives were my responsibility. Hundreds of lives in the hands of a sixteen-year-old girl. What are the odds? A billion to one. And what if I was caught? What if I was killed? I wouldn't even be mentioned in tomorrow's Second Bell Memorials. They would think I'd been a Christian. They would think I was a radical. They would be thinking correctly. I am a radical.
I emptied out my pink pleather bag and packed essentials. I guess I must have watched too many spy movies, but it never hurt to be extra ready. I packed everything from a flashlight to an extra set of clothes to my Handheld computer. I rushed as quickly as I could down the dormitory corridors, down the stairs and to the stoop below.
Someone was leaning against the wall on the stoop.
"Hey, you Roxy?" The boy asked me. I had walked passed him in my hurry, now I turned around.
"Who wants to know?" I asked the stranger. He had bleached hair and a mole on his chin.
"My brother asked me to tell a girl named Roxy that if she decides to 'go through with this' to meet him at the one-nine building by (c)2001 Suzy Q Symphony Hall. He said you'd know what he was talking about." He said.
"Bryce?" I asked. He nodded. "Thanks." I said and rushed out.

"My mom's a cop. I've been bugging their phones since I was five. I've been checking for news of this bust all afternoon. I've got nothing." Bryce said as I walked into his luxurious dormitory. He was staring at the screen of his Handheld. I got closer and watched as Videophone conversations whizzed by as Bryce attempted to get to the right department.
"I'm glad you're so into this. It took me awhile to convince myself, I'm surprised you weren't hesitant." Bryce smiled wide, his adorable vampire teeth showing through.
"I'm not into anything, I just wanted you to be ready in case you decided to do this." He said.
"So you're not coming with me?" I asked, disappointed.
"No way, José. These are your friends."
"Friend." I corrected. I looked down at the screen. It's back to one teenager saving the world again. I thought. "Wait. If this is a bust, it would be top secret. Wouldn't it be the Freedom Guards handling this?" Bryce looked at me as though I were a genius.
"Duh!" He said, but then he looked disappointed again. "But I don't have the Freedom Guards bugged." I looked back down at the screen, disappointed. "But... It would only take a few seconds in one of their main rooms, and a little piece of wire..." I looked at him expectantly. "And we'd be in jail for life."
"Well, we've got two choices." I said, "Get Josh to believe me, or go down there myself."
"And get yourself killed considering you don't know any of the facts of how they're gonna do this."
"But if we can get Josh and the others to not have their meeting at all..."
"You saw that Benjamin guy. If half of them are as suspicious as he is..." Bryce looked down at his Handheld and smiled. "I have an idea." He began messing with his computer once more. "It'd work to not have the religious people come to that building, but what if we had the guards not come?"
"Duh, if we could do that, we'd have (c)2001 Suzy Q nothing to worry about." I said. I watched as he tapped into their main computer. He passed through records the police kept on every citizen in the city. Many had died today or yesterday and had not yet been erased from the system. The records were kept by rank and alphabetical order. Finally he got to the one-fours. Amy Torron was a one-four. He stopped at her record. "They call these super-advanced computers. But they're no match for a sixteen-year-old." Bryce said, shaking his head feigning disappointment with the government. "Yes!" He looked up at me. "She has an older brother." I smiled at him. We were finally getting somewhere.

"Hello, can I help you?" The officer at the desk asked as we walked in. Freedom Guards guarded even the Police Station. They were everywhere.
"Yes." Bryce said. Apparently, Amy's near-sightedness and acne were hereditary, so Bryce was sporting glasses and a whole lot of rouge. He walked up near the officer and whispered, "I need to speak to the officer who handled a recent Videophone call made by Amy Torron. My name is Erick Torron. I am her brother. She has something to tell him, but she couldn't come in. She's too afraid." The officer tapped something into his ancient desktop computer. The Police Force got none of the new gadgets the Freedom Guards took for granted. Police Officers weren't anything more than secretaries. There were no laws to enforce that the Freedom Guards were not assigned to.
"John Cutley's the officer she spoke with. Come with me." He walked into another room and we followed nervously. The Guards watched us suspiciously as we passed them.
"Hello. My name is John Cutley." The white-haired officer put out a joint and sat up straight. He looked at us, his eyes strangely sober.
"Hello. I'm Erick Torron. I'm related to a girl you spoke with earlier this week. Amy Torron." Bryce said. I was surprised at the amount of composure he said that with.
"And who's the pretty lady?" Officer Cutley asked. I resisted the instinct to say 'Your worst nightmare.' My brain scrambled for a response.
"Girlfriend." I said. Bryce gave me a look and chuckled. I smiled back.
"Anyway. My sister was too scared to leave her room. She wanted me to tell you that she was visited by a couple of wackos last night. She hid in her bathroom and they didn't find her, but she overheard one of them telling the other that the meeting had been moved to a subbasement of the Prudential Building." I thought Bryce had pulled it off perfectly. The officer looked at him skeptically, then looked through some files on his desk, not saying a word. We held our breaths. What could he be doing?
"You said your name was Torron?" He asked. "As in, Erick Torron?" Bryce nodded.
"We have a positive ID on an Erick (c)2001 Suzy Q Torron, brother of Amy Torron, a level one-four, being dead. Drug overdose, collapsed during Second Bells." We stared at one another in shock. I didn't know what to do, but knew I had to do something.
"Erick. You're not dead." I said to him in shock, "We better go get this straightened out." I turned and opened the door, just to find myself staring at an angry-looking Freedom Guard. Behind him, stood my Arch-rival Officer Sullivan.
"Funny I should meet you here." The Guard in front said. At first I thought he was talking to me, but he walked straight past me and to Bryce.
"Bryce Skylar." He said, grabbing Bryce's collar and pulling off his fake glasses. He raised a fist and slammed it into Bryce's eye. The sudden onslaught of carnage made me flinch. Bryce looked straight at the Guard, jaw set. The Guard swore.
"You promised never to get in trouble again." He said. Bryce swallowed.
"Despite the fact that I applaud your actions," Officer Sullivan said to the other guard, walking in. He looked at me, "and that I wish I had the courage to do the same to certain pests who continually get on my nerves," He paused, "still, I think we should hear what these to rebellious infants have done now." The first Guard, who strangely resembled Bryce let go of his collar.
"Impersonating a deceased private citizen in order to divert police in favor of the Religious Radicals." Officer Cutley said, matter-of-factly. He was enjoying the scene. I wanted to smack him.
"Radicals?" The guard screamed, two inches from Bryce's face. "Do not tell me..." Bryce looked around.
"No." He said, "For once, I didn't do anything wrong." I held my breath. I couldn't believe it, he was going to rat me out? His eye was swelling and remained shut from the blow. "I found out that the Radicals changed the location of their secret meeting. I heard from Amy Torron that there was going to be a bust, and I wanted to tell you that you had the wrong place. I thought if I came in here as myself you'd never believe me." He hung his head and I let out a sigh of relief.
"And Miss Rhiannon somehow had something to do with this act of heroism? Hard to believe." Officer Sullivan said.
"Just helpin' out a homie, G. Y'understand." I said, imitating old movies from the 90's. Officer Sullivan looked at me with his arms crossed.
"Fine. We'll find out tonight." The other officer said, grabbing Bryce's arm tightly. "We'll keep these two in cells until midnight. We'll send a few Guards over to the new location. If the Radicals are there, you two are off the hook. Otherwise, we'll publicly execute you for aiding and abetting enemies of the state." He quickly pulled Bryce through the door. Officer Sullivan (c)2001 Suzy Q grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me along after him.
"Maybe those beads of sweat the other day weren't a fashion statement, Miss Rhiannon? Maybe they were nervousness. Afraid you'd get caught preachin' to a poor unsuspecting citizen?" Sullivan whispered to me. I swore at him. He stopped abruptly and raised his fist as if to punch me, but lost his nerve at the last minute. He dragged me into a cell with Bryce. The other officer roughly threw Bryce at the seat in the corner. Bryce looked menacingly at him through his good eye.
"Are you threatening me?" The officer asked, he came closer to Bryce. "Is that a scowl of contempt on your face? This oughta wipe it off." The officer grabbed Bryce's collar once more and punched him, this time aiming at his mouth. His lip split and blood gushed out. Officer Sullivan, who was holding my arm tightly let loose all of the sudden, locked the door and both officers left.
I sat next to Bryce on a cot in the corner. Blood was oozing down his chin. I pulled off my outer shirt and wiped it up. My heart broke with sorrow for Bryce's unnecessary pain.
"Are you ok?" I asked. Bryce never stopped staring right ahead of him. He nodded. "I thought hitting people was against the law." Finally, after a few moment of silence, Bryce spoke.
"The Freedom Guards are above the law." He muttered. I held the shirt tight against his lip to soak up all the blood and then put it down.
"It seemed like he knew you." I said. Once more, Bryce was silent for a while. Then he leaned back and looked at me. He gave me a resigned grin.
"He knows me all right." He said, "He's my brother. I'm the youngest of six. Three are Freedom Guards; one's a police officer. Then there's my junkie brother and me. We're the black sheep. He's an addict, I'm a rebel. I have two sisters, both Freedom Guards. A brother who's a Police Officer, and you've already met the other brother, I guess."
"And the addict would be the one I met earlier?" I asked. He nodded.
"The others have made it their personal duty to make me into a perfect person like them. But they know I won't listen." His (c)2001 Suzy Q eye was swollen up high by now, and his lip was dripping once more. I wiped it off and looked at him, wanting to cry. I'd seen it a hundred times, and I was usually the one to have done the hitting, but this was different. He was my friend. Why did I get him into this? I looked at him and imagined Josh in his place. That's what would happen to him, or worse, if the bust happened tonight. I couldn't allow it.
"We have to do something." I whispered. Bryce nodded.
"I'm with you this time. I don't care that they're your friends, not mine. Right now, let's make a pact. We stick by each other, no matter what. Your fight is my fight and vice versa. Promise?" I looked at the hand he had extended to me.
"Promise." I said. Right then I knew he meant it. He'd do what it took to protect me. I would do what it took to protect him. And together we'd fight for whatever we thought was right. I shook his hand.
"What happened to your bag?" Bryce asked in a whisper, animated once more.
"Sullivan took it." I said.
"We'll just have to get it back, then." He said, he leaned forward. "If we do escape, we cannot leave that here."
"Wait a second. How can we possibly escape?" I asked. Bryce looked around until he saw something that made him grin. I looked up, too. The warden sat at a desk a few cells away, snorting some cocaine.
"I don't get it." I whispered. He smiled broadly and whispered back.
"Can you be seductive?" He asked. I grinned, too.
"Sounds like a plan." I said. The warden was turned around so he couldn't watch as I quickly tore my clothes into a halter-top and short shorts. I licked my lips profusely, attempting to get them to a provocative shade of red. I loosened my hair and got up.
"Sir." I called in a light, feminine (c)2001 Suzy Q voice. "Mr. Warden, sir. I'm parched." I attempted to sound sexy. "Can you bring me some water?" I asked.
"Weren't you wearing pants?" The warden asked, confused.
"It's hot in here, isn't it?" I said, fanning myself. All of the sudden his tongue lolled out and he stared at me. I hated it. The things I do to save my best friend's life...I thought.
"Where's my water?" I asked, innocently.
"Just a second." The warden said. He filled a cup at the water cooler and walked over. He had trouble walking straight and water spilled everywhere. He was obviously high. He stumbled with the keys, not realizing that he could have slipped the cup through the bars. When it opened I danced over to him and took the cup. Bryce walked right out of the cell, unnoticed. I drank a sip.
"Do prisons always have such wonderful water?" I asked. As I asked I moved in a circle to my right until he was forced to switch places with me. I looked around, trying to think of a way to keep him in the cell and me out of it. "I'll go throw this cup away, you sit right over there," I said pointing to the cot, "I'll be right back, then we can talk." I said. I walked over to the trash bin and made a show of throwing out the paper cup. I turned around and saw that he had luckily passed out on his way to the cot. I joined Bryce at the exit, unseen.
"Ok, that was the easy part." He said, flattening himself against the building. "The hard part is getting your bag back." I nodded.
"We gotta do it, but how?" I asked. We both stood for a second and thought.
"I got an idea." He said. He reentered the building. I didn't follow. I'd had a hard enough time getting out in the first place. He soon returned, with a disgusted look on his face and a guard uniform in his hands.
"He was wearing bikini briefs!" Bryce exclaimed.
"What?" I asked, thoroughly lost.
"That guard. Bikini briefs!" He seemed horrified.
"How...?" I asked, still not catching on, "Oh!" I said in a moment of understanding, "Why do we need an oversized warden uniform?" I asked, once more confused.
"It's the best we can get." Bryce said, "I'm about my brother's height, right?" I saw where he was going with this.
"Your brother doesn't have a black eye or a split lip." I pointed out. Bryce held up a pair of aviator sunglasses.
"Apparently this guy wishes he were a pilot." Bryce said, turning them in his hand. He put them on. They were so big; they entirely covered his black eye.
"But what about the lip?" I asked. Bryce took off the sunglasses and looked in at the reflection in them.
"It'll soon be no more than a scab, I'll try to keep you in front of me the whole time." He said. I walked behind him and picked up his ponytail.
"Your brother does not have one of these." I said. He pulled out a pair of scissors
from his back pocket.
"I also appropriated this from that warden's desk." He said. He loosened his hair, sadly. "Hair grows back, right?" He said. I smiled.
"Are you sure about this?" I asked.
"We have no other choice. Try to cut it as much like my brother's as possible, but not too short, please." He said. I held the scissors up to his hair, my hand trembling. He held his breath. Slowly, locks of hair fell on the ground. I must say, I had quite a knack for it. He looked so much like his brother, (c)2001 Suzy Q it was scary. Finally I was through and handed him the scissors.
"There's no way they're telling the difference between you and your brother." I said proudly.
He pulled out a pair of handcuffs. I looked at them forlornly.
"Must I?" I huffed angrily, "Third time today I need to use my acting skills." I said, resignedly.
"Third?" He asked, as he cuffed me.
"Yeah, earlier I pretended I was your girlfriend, remember?" I asked.
"Oh yeah." He replied. He put the glasses back on and tucked up the uniform as much as he could. "Let's go." He said.

Bryce waited by the front door and watched. Five minutes later, his brother came out.
"Ok. We go in sixty seconds." Bryce whispered to me and began counting, "One, two ..." I watched as Bryce's brother's car drove away. "...Twenty, twenty-one..." I held my breath and tried desperately to prepare as he neared the middle mark. "...Forty-five, forty-six..." If Bryce was nervous, he sure didn't show it, "fifty-seven, fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty." He grabbed my handcuffs roughly. I let out an involuntary whimper. "Did I hurt you?" He asked, worried.
"I'm fine, just go!" I whispered. He pushed me in front of him, trying to cover his lip with my head. We marched right into the station. Police Officers gathered around. Bryce began shouting angrily in a deepened voice.
"Where's the warden? She escaped!" A nervous looking officer walked up to Bryce. The deception was perfect.
"Sir, what's wrong?" He asked, sweating. The man's nervousness prompted Bryce to speak in even more authority.
"The incompetent warden let this dangerous prisoner escape!" Bryce shouted.
"Sir...uh...I...uh..." The officer said, wringing his hands.
"Don't you 'uh' me! Get this prisoner's belongings! I'm moving her somewhere safer!" Bryce said. The officers didn't move. "Now!" The shout reverberated through the ancient building. All the officers ran and soon returned with my pink bag. I was relieved to see it.
"That's better!" Bryce said, grabbing it with one hand, the other hand still gripped tightly on the handcuffs.
"Sir, would you like me to drive her?" One of the other officers managed to squeak.
"I might as well take off her handcuffs and let her outside myself." Bryce said sarcastically. He pulled me toward the door and walked out as if he owned the place. We strutted to the park across the street as the officers watched in awe. I faked struggling against the handcuffs and Bryce marched solemnly. When we got past the trees and past the sight of the officers, Bryce unlocked my handcuffs and I leaned against one the trees and laughed, relieved. Bryce pulled off the sunglasses and chuckled. He held out his arms questioningly.
"Was I convincing?" He asked. I nodded. He leaned against the tree beside me and (c)2001 Suzy Q put down my bag. "It worked without a hitch." He said, "What now?" I stopped laughing and turned to him. His lip was much more swollen than before and his eye was nearly black. I reached out to touch his lip. He winced.
"Sorry." I said, "Maybe...maybe we shouldn't do it. I mean, we're lucky enough we got out of there alive. Next time we won't be so lucky."
"I didn't ask you that." Bryce said solemnly, leaning his head back on the tree. "I mean, we do think it's right to save these people."
"Of course, but..."
"No 'but's. We're in this to do what's right. Our choice is really simple. Sure, we could die saving them, but who cares, you know? This world stinks anyway, death can't be much worse. And then we won't have to live with the memory that hundreds of people died because of our cowardice. Let's just do it. If we die, so what? If we don't, then, hey, we win." He paused for a moment. He put his hands in his jeans pockets and took a few steps away from the tree. He looked up, as if speaking to someone up there. "If You do exist, there's only one thing I ask from You in exchange for helping You out here." Bryce looked at me and looked back up. "If You let her die, then let me die, too." He stood there for a while looking up, seeming to forget that I was there. I stepped up and looked in the same direction as he was looking.
I put my hand on his shoulder and silently wished the same thing. We stood looking for a while. At any other time in history, Bryce and I may not even know each other. But now, in this time, we needed each other. We only knew each other a few days, but we had already formed a bond. Not because of things we'd done, not because of appearances, not because of anything but necessity. The Christians were always cool to hang out with, and Josh would always be my best friend. But no one ever said you couldn't have two best friends. Bryce and I needed each other. Only because we fully understood each other. I knew why he had asked God not to leave him without me. It was the same reason I had. We'd lived long enough without someone to understand us. Now, it was something we could no longer live without. Birds chirped. A few dogs passed us. The blue of the sky, as usual, was invisible, but you knew it was there. Somewhere. Suddenly, the serenity and quietude was broken with the ominous peal of Sixth Bells. It was dinnertime.
"Hungry?" Bryce asked me, reaching down to hand me my bag. I stood quietly a few more seconds, trying to recover the moment. It was gone. I took my bag.
"Yeah." I said. We began walking.
"What do you say we do something different and go eat at Choices Unlimited? The Brighton Branch is two minutes from here." Bryce said. (c)2001 Suzy Q I smiled.
"That'd be the last place they'd ever look for us." I said. He smiled, too.
"It's not like they'd recognize me anyway." He touched his hair sadly.

Chapter 7
- Choices Unlimited -


We walked into the Choices Unlimited Cyber Café after changing into our normal attire. Bryce had evened out some of the mistakes I had made on his haircut at the local hair salon. The cyber café was packed for dinner rush hour. Televisions were turned onto CNN. Bryce wrinkled his nose.
"Hate the news." He said.
"Yeah, me too." I replied. I leaned closer to him, careful for other people not to hear. "But I have been watching it recently because of something Josh told me he and his friends were looking for." Bryce casually looked around and then leaned down and whispered.
"What?"
"Wars and rumors of war." I replied.
"What? War? That's not possible. I mean, sure, there's always the threat, but even the backwards countries are getting into this whole peace utopia thing." Bryce (c)2001 Suzy Q whispered. I shrugged my shoulders.
"It's some Biblical thing. We never had the time or the place to discuss it farther. All I know is that they're a little confused at why they haven't heard any of it yet." I replied. The waitress walked up to us, "Two?" She asked. We nodded. "Follow me." She seated us at a booth with a desktop computer and we ordered. She left and we turned to the screen. A meteorologist was babbling.
"Tomorrow is going to be extremely hot and humid so bring out your umbrellas! We have a scheduled Weatherbath." I groaned. Weatherbaths are not fun. A Weatherbath was when it began to get extremely hot and humid, the National Weather Service decided to turn on the NASA-implanted rain satellites. It was like sprinklers for the skies. Real rain was rare, what with all the chemicals going into the air and the Earth needed watering. Like I said, Weatherbaths are not fun.
A few moments later, a group of about five kids sat in the booth next to us. Five loud kids from our school. They apparently didn't notice who we were.
"Latest gossip is the new guy." Heather Sweeny said.
"Is he hot?" Lesleigh Jackson asked.
"Oh yes." Scry Hartman replied.
"Ohh! What's his name?" Lesleigh asked, excitedly.
"Bryce Skylar!" Heather exclaimed. I had to hold down laughter. Bryce looked pretty surprised, too. He lowered himself in his seat, trying to make sure they didn't see him.
"That is the most gorgeous name!" Lesleigh exalted.
"And, he's a one-nine!" Scry said.
"Oh, I know. But I heard he was spending all his time with that Roxanne Rhiannon." Heather said, with a tone of disgust. Eddie Hanson huffed and smiled.
"I'm not surprised, she's such a babe!" he said. My jaw dropped and I was ready to go over there and give him a piece of my mind...or in my case...my fist. Bryce motioned for me not to do anything.
"Get down. I wanna hear this." Bryce whispered.
"She's such a weirdo, Ed. Even you couldn't stoop that low." George Mayin said. Eddie laughed.
"You're just sayin' that 'cause she beat you up last week!" he shouted. George covered up Eddie's mouth, blushing.
"That's ok George. I like a guy with a strong feminine side." Lesleigh said, grabbing on to his arm.
"I'll show them feminine." I said, punching one hand on the other, "That boy cried like a baby when I gave him one right between..." The screen suddenly went blank and an old woman's face appeared on it. Bryce and I exchanged puzzled glances. The woman had salt-and-pepper hair and looked to be in her (c)2001 Suzy Q early fifties. Her face wasn't very wrinkled, except for a lot of smile lines. It was obvious why. Her smile shone through the screen and she seemed to be looking right at me.
"Hello. My name is Pollyanna and I'll be interrupting your regularly scheduled programming today." She chuckled, "I always wanted to say that. Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. Something they don't want you to know, and there's no way for them to stop me! So listen up and enjoy hearing the best news we've had in two thousand years!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared up at all the screens. The manager came out. It seemed as though he knew what was coming up next but couldn't do anything to avert the crisis until he was sure.
"I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death. Yes, every time you've sinned, no matter how small that sin was, I mean, it could be as simple as a lie..." The manager and the waitresses ran around, turning off the big screen.
"Turn off the monitors!" A Freedom Guard cried out running in and he turned to the waitresses to follow the order. I looked toward Bryce as he quickly turned off the sound and the closed captioning automatically turned on.
"How did they do that? I mean, they wouldn't risk being traced, so they obviously figured out how to do it untraced!" Bryce whispered.
"Josh says they," I paused for a moment as a waitress came to check our monitor. She seemed to be wearing way too much makeup and a wig. She saw that the screen was still on but passed us as though she hadn't seen it. Bryce looked at her suspiciously. I smiled.
"You think...?" I started. He looked at me and nodded. Sure enough, when I got a chance to get a good look at her, I saw the edge of her Underground chain on her neck. When the café got back to normal we saw her exit.
"Follow her." I whispered to Bryce and hurriedly scribbled my tab number on the receipt. We watched her enter the parking lot and cross the street to the park. We followed her quickly and when I got to arm's length I tapped her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin.
"It's ok." I whispered. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the café." She looked at me seriously, waiting for what I was about to say next. "I'm Roxanne Rhiannon. I'm Joshua Kowan's best friend."
"Joshua (c)2001 Suzy Q Kowan?" She asked, "You're Roxanne?" I nodded.
"And we need to talk to him urgently." I said. She gave me a suspicious glare, "It's about the Underground." I whispered. She pulled out her Handheld and Video-phoned Josh for a few minutes.
"Come with me." She said, putting away the Handheld. We followed her all the way downtown to a glass skyscraper. "Rainbow Enterprises" was emblazoned over the door. The symbol etched in the glass door advised all that this was not a government-owned corporation. We walked into an elevator and the girl pressed the button for the twenty-fourth floor. We soon encountered a normal office setting, full of cubicles and busy-looking people. The girl led us through the maze of desks and into a large conference room. She closed the door. She strided to the desk and picked up the phone. She placed her underground dog tag in a slot and a panel behind the main desk opened, revealing a freight elevator. We followed her into it and went up one floor. When we got off there we were faced with something entirely different. Bryce's mouth fell open in awe. What seemed like a TV studio buzzed as people ran back and forth carrying equipment, reporting problems. They were obviously no longer on the air. A young woman in a dress suit frantically worked at a computer.
"There was an interruption and they were able to get their connections back online..." She was saying into a headset. The girl who brought us over whispered something to her and the(c)2001 Suzy Q woman pointed in back of her. We followed the girl in that direction.
"Check it out." Bryce said, surprised. Sitting in a chair in front of us was the woman who had been on the broadcast. The girl pealed off her wig and approached the woman.
"Mrs. Bell." She said. I could tell now that the girl could only be about thirteen or fourteen years old.
"Ah! Evangelina, my baby! Back so soon? How did it go? Did you hear anything? We didn't get very far when we got interrupted, so I don't know how much you were able to see." Mrs. Bell, full of vigor and energy, excitedly embraced Evangelina.
"It worked, but the Freedom Guards came in and told everyone to turn off their monitors..." Evangelina began; she was interrupted when Josh walked in. He saw Bryce and me and smiled.
"So you saw the broadcast?" He asked.
"It didn't go through." Mrs. Bell said simply.
"It didn't go through?" He asked in disbelief. Mrs. Bell shook her head. "Alexia and Scott have been working on that for months and it doesn't work?"
"Small technical thing." The young woman from before said, holding a clipboard. "We'll be ready to try again in two weeks. Luckily, the non-tracing mechanism works so we don't have to worry about that."
"So what are you doing here?" Josh asked. I opened my mouth to tell him, but he went right on. "Evangelina, is this what you were babbling about on the videophone?" Evangelina, who had wiped off most of her makeup, took the defensive.
"I was not babbling, you were just too busy to listen. And who else could I call? Everyone else is busy with this whole project and mom and dad are at the meeting site..."
"You're his sister?" I asked. She nodded.
"Yes, this is my little sister Evangelina. And that's Pollyanna Bell, she's the Underground Youth Leader and the one with the headset surgically attached to her ear is her daughter Alexia." He pointed to a young man at a computer who closely resembled Alexia. "And that's her (c)2001 Suzy Q twin brother Scott. They're Benjamin's brother and sister."
"Yeah, why don't you just give them a few more names while you're at it Josh? Hey, why don't we invite the Freedom Guards over for a tea party?" Alexia said sarcastically to Josh and walked away.
"Don't worry about her." Mrs. Bell said, "She's just snippety because the broadcast didn't go the way we planned." She looked from Bryce to me, "But you do know that this is all very serious. Nothing leaves your lips about us, understand?" We nodded.
"We came here to help you guys out." Bryce said, getting us back on track, "We told Josh and Benjamin, but they didn't believe us. The Freedom Guards are planning a bust tonight. If you go into that sub-basement, you'll all get killed." Mrs. Bell looked alarmed.
"How do I know you're not just trying to prevent our meeting?" She asked.
"You're just gonna have to trust us on this one." I said simply.
"Without any proof..." she began. I cut her off.
"I have plenty of proof." I said, "When Josh and Benjamin wouldn't listen, we tried to make the Freedom Guards think that your meeting had been moved by pretending that we were related to the girl who betrayed your location and saying that she'd heard that the location had changed." I pulled out some rouge and Bryce's pretend glasses. "When they didn't believe us, they locked us up and we had to escape. Luckily, the warden was high." I pulled out my ripped short shorts that had once been pants. "I tricked him into letting us out by using these. Then we retrieved my backpack by stealing the warden's uniform and impersonating an officer." I pulled out the oversized police uniform. "Then we decided to have a quick dinner before finding a way to contact you and try once more to tell you and who should we meet but Evangelina Kowan." I said finally, "We want to help you. (c)2001 Suzy Q You have to listen. I don't know how many of you there are, at least a hundred. That's a hundred lives you'd be risking by not listening to us."
"Not that I don't trust you, but those could all be props." Mrs. Bell said, looking sadly at them.
"No they're not." Josh said quietly. He picked up my pants. "These are the pants she was wearing today to school. I know, because this hole," He pointed to a slash on the back pocket, "Is from when Jimmy Thames came at you with a knife." I smiled.
"Yup. He was a senior, I was a freshman, and by the time the fight was over he needed ten more stitches than I did and I didn't even have a weapon." I said.
"Whether you're telling the truth or not," Mrs. Bell spoke once more, "It's best to cancel anyway. We can keep watch, and if they show up, we know you guys are trustworthy and don't have to worry about your betraying us. If they don't show up, then..." She didn't continue.
"Great minds think alike." I said sarcastically to Bryce. It was amazing how much that sounded like the ultimatum they gave us at the prison. Only, I don't think they'd actually kill us, and this was a lot more pleasant than a jail cell.
"Evangelina, go help the blue sector, please." Mrs. Bell said. The girl opened her mouth to whine but Mrs. Bell shushed her. Evangelina left. "You look awful." She said to Bryce, changing the subject.
"Yeah, I got that at the police station." He said.
"Josh, do you have your Handheld with you?" She asked. He nodded. "Call up Chloe Carter, please." Josh (c)2001 Suzy Q got on it and five minutes later a light haired woman with glasses came up, holding a first aid kit. While she took care of Bryce, I sat around, without much to do.
"How's Nathan?" Mrs. Bell asked her.
"Better. Mom's been so worried. My dad keeps saying to her, 'Sam, it's normal that people get hurt what with the line of business we're in.' But she's so messed up. She insisted on working on him herself despite that whole 'never operate on your own kids' bit." Chloe said.
"That's my sis. When she decides she's going to do something, or not do it, there's no stopping her." Mrs. Bell said chuckling. Josh paced impatiently as people ran around, trying to get the meeting cancelled in time. When Chloe had finished, Josh looked relieved.
"Let's go, I have a lot to do. The Blue Sector doesn't even know about the cancellation yet." Josh said.
"We're going with you?" I asked. He looked around as if the question was crazy. He smiled.
"Yes, of course. I gotta keep a close watch over you guys!" He said. So down the elevator we went again.


Chapter 8
- The Front-Liners -
"The youth is divided up into sectors, each sector is a color. We're spread all around the city. When Mrs. Bell started a Christian youth organization in the year 2000, things were normal, and God's vision was to give youth a place where they would count and where they could take charge and change the World by His Will. Despite the adults' objections, we're often on the forefront of the Battle." Something about his using the word 'Battle' lighted a spark in me; a little part of me wanted in.
"Dude, I didn't understand a word of that." Bryce said. Josh smiled.
"You will." Josh promised. We got off to a large room with about fifty teens, all of which were either singing or playing an instrument. We stood on a type of catwalk over it.
...We're the chosen few who'll speak His Word
And manifest it in our lives!
We're not moved by what the World says,
Got Jesus on our side!
We're not dismayed by what we see with our eyes -
WE WALK BY FAITH!!!
And we are steppin' out!
The music amazed me. I had never heard anything like it. Nothing like hard rock or rap, and nothing like classical. Stuff like that didn't exist outside these walls. It amazed me and made me want to bob my head or sing along or something!
"Hey guys!" Josh called out. The music stopped all of the sudden and everyone looked up at Josh. "Meeting's cancelled for tonight." Everyone looked disappointed and shouted out questions. I spotted Benjamin running up the stairs to where we were standing.
"What's this all about?" He asked, looking meaningfully to Bryce and then to me.
"Your mom decided it was best." Josh said.
"She trusts too much." Benjamin replied.
"And you worry too much." Josh countered, "She's been in the business for over fifty years. She knows what she's doing." A girl came up to us, curiously.
"Zylle, what...?" Josh asked.
"Hey, I don't care if I've turned twenty-(c)2001 Suzy Q two, I'm still a teen-ager." She said, crossing her arms indignantly. Benjamin rolled his eyes.
"The women in my family are crazy!" He said and went back down the stairs to let everyone know why they weren't having the meeting. Zylle smiled and extended her hand.
"I'm Zylle Bell. Benjamin's sister." She said. I shook her hand and so did Bryce.
"We've met Alexia and Scott, how many more brothers and sisters do you have?" I asked.
"Three. Jeremy, Zoe and Suzy. There are seven of us in all. Jeremy's the oldest, and Benjamin's the youngest." She said. She turned to Josh, "What're we gonna do now?"
"I dunno. Hang out, I guess." Josh said, shrugging his shoulders.
"Cool!" Zylle said, she motioned towards Bryce and me, "Come meet people." She said. She led us toward the crowd and introduced one person after another, but with no last names.
"This is Adam." She said, introducing us to a kid with orange hair and very light skin, covered in freckles.
"Ola!" He said.
"No matter how much he tries to convince you, this nutball is not Spanish!" Zylle laughed. He pouted.
"Carlos said I could be if I wanted to be." He said. We all laughed. He turned to us seriously, "Are you from one of the other sectors?" He asked. We shook our heads. "Want me to tell you the Story?"
"What story?" Bryce asked. I was about (c)2001 Suzy Q to warn him not to ask, but I didn't have time, Adam already started in.
"I'm glad you asked, you see, the wages of sin is death. Which means that because we've sinned, we have to go to hell. God's Holiness won't allow anything not holy to be near it. God sent His son, Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life and died, even though He had earned His Life. He died because He took our sins upon him so that He could give us His Life. But He can't make the decision for you. If you accept His Gift, then you will receive Jesus' Life. Otherwise..." He made a thumbs down sign. I knew what it meant.
"I'm guessing that means that Hell thing that we're not allowed to talk about." Bryce said.
"Yup." Adam said. The happy pale face didn't seem like the type of person who would talk about such serious matters, but then again, everyone here had to, or else why not take the easier way and stay on the outside? "You're not allowed to talk about it because the people controlling all the laws allow themselves to be guided by the Devil. He's lying to you! He wants you all to be ignorant of Hell so that you won't even think for a moment that you're going there. If you don't think about Hell, you won't think about there being even the slightest question that you're going to Heaven. If you don't question whether you're going to Heaven or not, you don't question your sin, and if you don't question your sin, you'll never know God."
"Interesting theory." Bryce replied, not accepting it at all as truth. Adam put a hand on Bryce's shoulder and squeezed it.
"Not theory, my friend, Truth." He stood there contemplating Bryce for a moment, and then his seriousness faded. "Got to go! Adios!" He said and disappeared through the crowd. Zylle, who had disappeared herself for a second, returned.
"I just found out from my mom that because of the cancelled meeting we're going to have our usual meeting of the Front-Liners. You're invited, of course. The Front-Liners from the other sectors should be here in (c)2001 Suzy Q about a half an hour, so I've got to get you guys to the spectator seats." She said, leading us through the crowd.
"Spectator seats?" Bryce asked.
"Well," Zylle began, "you can't be allowed to be a part of the group, too many faces you would recognize. See, the Front-Liners are our outside troops, like Josh. Most Christians don't want their kids in society, so they don't let them go to public school or anything like that. The government doesn't even know most of these kids exist. But our Front-Liners are the ones who are known to the government. Some of them, like Benjamin and me and the rest of our family, had no choice because our mom was already known and had to register us, but Josh and Evangelina decided to become Front-Liners. Their parents sure didn't want them to be that, but they convinced them that that was their calling."
"You guys have so many words I don't understand." Bryce said.
"We'll explain it all, soon enough." Zylle said, smiling. She lead us up and down the building, through trap doors, through normal looking offices, greeting just about everyone as she went along. She was a very bubbly woman, and everyone seemed to enjoy her enthusiasm. She reminded me a lot of her mother. Finally we got a booth whose front was covered with fuzzy glass with a hole cut in it. All we could see was a stage with a podium. By the echoes I realized that it had to be a very large auditorium, but I couldn't see any of the seats.
"This is designed especially for evangelism." Zylle said, sitting next to us. "My mom would prefer that you guys see all the people praising, but we can't risk it. Josh is coming to stay with you after he's done with the Blue Sector. Dollars to donuts Evangelina will come too. I'll have to help lead the worship, but as soon as I'm done I'll come stay with you guys." Just as she finished that, Evangelina walked in. (c)2001 Suzy Q She had changed into jeans and a t-shirt.
"Hey guys! 'Sup?" She sat next to us.
"In that case, you stay with them, I gotta go work on sound check." Zylle said. She left. About a half hour later, echoes began to emerge. The Front-Liners were arriving. In less than five minutes, a hundred voices echoed throughout the auditorium. Zylle walked up to the microphone on the stage. She was the only person we could see.
"Wassup yellow sector?" She screamed above the crowd. "I heard about what happened yesterday and I just want to say, you guys rock! Tell our three new members that I said 'hi'!" The people cheered and clapped and shouted things like "Praise God!" and "Amen!" and "Hallelujah!". I had never heard those words before.
"What do those words mean?" I asked above the din.
"What words?" Evangelina asked, confused.
"What does hallelujah and amen mean?" I asked.
"You don't know?" She asked in disbelief. I shook my head "It means, like, I dunno, praise God I guess." She said, "And amen means, like, I agree, kind of."
"You have, like, your own language?" Bryce asked.
"You can say that." She replied. All of the sudden we couldn't hear each other above the noise - more people were joining the first group.
"Guys, I'm gonna go deaf! Keep it down!" Zylle yelled into the microphone. The noise level dropped considerably.
"Green sector! Did the transmition go through in your section?" Zylle asked. A hundred or more voices shouted 'no'. Zylle stepped away from the microphone, got on her handheld and made a videophone call. Within the next fifteen minutes, Zylle welcomed the Pink sector; the Purple sector, the Orange sector, and finally the Blue Sector started preparing their instruments.
Zylle, who had walked off the stage now walked back on, looking confused.
"Has anyone seen the Red Sector?" She asked. The noisy auditorium quieted. "Has heard (c)2001 Suzy Q anything from them since we cancelled the meeting?" She was beginning to look worried. Voices murmured and whispered, sounding on the edge of panic. Evangelina's face went ashen.
"The Red Sector was working with my mom and dad on location." She whispered, by way of explanation.
"They may still be down there?" Bryce asked. She ignored him.
"But they'll be ok. They have lots of time till midnight to get out of there. They're just a little late." She seemed to be talking mostly to comfort herself.
"Ok, ok, guys! Let's calm down! They should be here any time! We don't need to worry! It's only eight right now. They have plenty of time to get out safely, they're probably just packing up the stuff!" Zylle said. With that, the crowd subsided, and everyone looked satisfied with that explanation.
"All right, then, let's get started!" She said. The auditorium came alive with cheering. "Let's give it up for the Blue Sector!" She clapped for them and the music began. Evangelina got up and began clapping to the beat.
What the hey, I might as well I thought. I got up and clapped along, too. Bryce, on the other hand, felt a little less comfortable. Zylle and Josh and a few others had their own microphones. I could see Adam on the drums and Benjamin on the guitar with a wireless mic. A screen above them showed the words to the music and the entire auditorium sang along.
My God can never fail!
He's been proved time and again!
Trust Him you'll see He's got all the power you need!

Never early, never late!
Takes courage, it takes faith,
Trust Him you'll see He's got all the power you need!

He saves forgives and heals!
Takes back what the Devil steals!
My debt's been paid in full!
Every day He does miracles!

And that was only the first song! It got better and better as they went along, and, although the lyrics were much too religious for me, the enjoyment was (c)2001 Suzy Q contagious. Those people sincerely believed in what they were singing, and it wasn't about rhythm, or anything normal like that. I had to applaud them for that much. Somewhere around the last song, Pollyanna Bell came on the stage and she started dancing and clapping with the younger kids. She was a sight!
Finally, She came up to the mic and prayed and began to give her message.
"Hello, my dear Front-Liners!" She said. The crowd whispered a greeting. "I said, 'Hello, my dear Front-Liners!'" The crowd screamed 'hello.' "Much better! Now," She smiled excitedly at the crowd, "I got some great stuff for you guys today. You all know how horrible the world is today. It's unbelievable all that has happened in fifty years! When I was your age, everyone knew I was a Christian. I went to all pains to ensure it. As a matter of fact, I was pretty unpopular back then. The non-Christian kids thought I was such a fanatic. And there really weren't that many Christians." She thought about the for a moment, "No. There were lots of Christians. But unlike you, we weren't united. People still had stupid ideas of denomination and religiousness. So many people who called themselves Christians were merely churchgoers, and so many real Christians were afraid to make a stand. We were scattered and divided and distracted. We did not take advantage of our rights and you know what happened?" She paused and looked around. "This. (c)2001 Suzy Q They never thought it would come to this. Not in America. The land of the free and the brave. We are in hiding! Do you know what that means? Every day we risk our lives just by praising the God who paid the ultimate price to save us!" At this, the auditorium was filled with cheers and claps. Mrs. Bell stood back and closed her eyes. A tear trickled down her cheek because of the emotion. When all had quieted she walked up to the microphone again. "Praise God." She whispered, then regained her composure. "For the first time in centuries, we are united and ready to take on the world. Can you imagine what it would have been like if we could have been this way then? We could have changed the course of history! But it doesn't matter now! We have to deal with what we have now. Don't forget your mission! Some of you get so caught up in the Underground that you forget your mission! You are to serve as examples! If you don't show Christ in you, then you're not doing your job! God has a purpose for your being here - bring others to Him! Did you feel that worship? It was amazing! The Spirit of God is so thick in this place that the mere mention of His Name gives us goose bumps!" The crowd once more cheered. Evangelina stood up and clapped. The auditorium was filled with ovation and shouts of "Praise God" and "Hallelujah" and so much more. "Are you going to keep Him to yourself? You don't even understand what it's like for them! Could you imagine never having heard the name of the One who Loves you most? How can you leave them like that? Alone and empty! What do they have to live for? Nothing! You know the Truth - are you going to just let them turn to dust? I know you can't just say anything to anyone, that's stupid and dangerous, and could get us all killed and a dead Christian is one less Christian to spread the Word. But you can't just be afraid all the time! Make friends of the wretched! If they can confide their sadness in you you can eventually bring them to Christ. It's not all about dropping tracts in lockers or hacking into email! It's about living a life that others admire and want to be like. It's about letting them know that you love them! Love them because Jesus loves them! They need to know His love! You can do it. He has called you to. Take advantage of the fact that you have the chance." She walked off the stage.
They sang one more song and the meeting was over. Zylle walked up to the mic as the noise level grew.
"Hey! Guys, quiet down!" She said, "The Red Sector has not arrived and we have not been able to contact them at all. We're getting reports that they have not yet been informed about the change in plans and are still setting up. We need a couple runners to go tell them about the cancellation." From the way the assembly had quieted, it seemed no one was up to the dangerous task so close to the time when the Freedom Guards would be there. Evangelina looked troubled. She searched for something frantically.
"What are you doing?" Bryce asked.
"I want to go, but I have to find the stupid intercom button." She muttered as she looked under the seats and on the walls until finally her voice was amplified.
"Stupid impossible to find...." She was saying. The people (c)2001 Suzy Q in the auditorium laughed. She blushed. "I'll go."
"Well, I don't know..." Zylle said. Josh was shaking his head and making gestures meaning, 'no way'.
Evangelina started whining. "No fair! I'm as old as you were when you did dangerous stuff like this. I should be allowed to go!" Zylle sighed.
"But you can't go alone." She said. Benjamin raised his hand.
"I'll go with her." He said. Zylle nodded and gave a thumbs-up sign to Evangelina, who was thrilled.
"Wait here." She said and left the booth.
"That was something, huh?" Bryce said to me, as soon as she was gone.
"Yeah, it sounds like there's a whole lot more of them than we imagined." I said.
"Thousands. And that's just the kids." Bryce said, also impressed.
"And only some of them." We sat there in awe, wondering how that many people could hide themselves. Suddenly, the door slammed open and Benjamin and Evangelina walked in.
"You have to come with us." Benjamin said, wielding two pairs of handcuffs.
"Hey, hey, hey, hold on now," Bryce said, " what's this all about?"
"You two would be able to recognize the Freedom Guards working on this particular case, right?" He asked.
"Well, yeah." I replied.
"Then we need you." He said. Bryce let Benjamin cuff his wrists. He obviously didn't think this was a real threat, otherwise, he could have beat Benjamin up easily.
"Sorry about this." Evangelina said, as she took the other pair from Benjamin and put them on me.
"What about my bag?" I asked.
"Leave it here." Benjamin said.
"But, there's a lot of useful stuff in there." I said.
"Like...?" Evangelina asked. Benjamin looked annoyed that she was even wasting time asking.
"All (c)2001 Suzy Q kinds of stuff. Flashlights, binoculars, my Handheld, a compass, all kinds of useful junk like that." I said.
"Just take the stupid thing, Evangelina. The whole Red Sector is in mortal danger, we do not have time to chat." He said. She looked hurt. He led Bryce out of the booth and Evangelina and I followed. They guided us out of the building through a back door and we slowly made our way through alleys and behind buildings toward the John Hancock Building.











Chapter 9
-- John Hancock Building -

We stood in the alley of a building right next to the John Hancock. Tourists milled around. The only Freedom Guards there were those who would be expected to be there. I quickly scanned them until I recognized the maniacal face of my opponent, out of uniform of course.
"That guy with the baby carriage is Officer Sullivan. I'd know him anywhere." I whispered.
"All right. In that case they're staking(c)2001 Suzy Q out. We're going to have to use the alternate entrance." He said.
"Wow, you guys have secret passages everywhere, huh?" Bryce said, amazed.
"What alternate entrance?" Evangelina asked, perplexed. Benjamin walked back down the alley to a manhole, dragging Bryce with him.
"Hope you're not wearing clothes you particularly like." He said, and began going down into the dank sewer. We followed him. I jumped down to the ground of the sewer, and Evangelina came after me, putting the cover back on. The smell overwhelmed me.
"Yuck." Evangelina said, walking on her tiptoes and trying not to touch anything. Benjamin led the way down the pipes. "Alright who farted?" Evangelina joked. It relieved the tension the fear had left in us. We actually laughed.
"Ok, which way do we go from here?" Benjamin said as we arrived at our first intersection.
"We thought you were leading." Bryce said.
"Get my compass." I said to Evangelina. She let go of my handcuffs and Benjamin was quick to grab them. She found the compass. And we quickly got back on track.
Finally, we got to a sewer near the alley next to the John Hancock. We could tell because of the pair of standard-issue Freedom Guard shoes above us. We stood in the shadows to make sure that they couldn't see us.
"Can you believe this?" The guard above us, a woman, was saying, apparently to another guard. "They're like the hippies in the sixties."
"Except the hippies were right." The other guard, a man, said.
"Yeah." She replied, "They were right, so they had a reason to fight for what they fought for. They fought for (c)2001 Suzy Q peace. These people are just looking for trouble. Even if they wanted to remain Christians, can't they be reasonable? Let people find their own religion inside themselves? This whole one Truth thing - it's unbelievable!"
"Oh yeah. If they could just stay in their little corner and leave the rest of us alone..." he began, but an authoritative voice called them over. They walked away.
"Quick, get on my shoulders." I said to Evangelina, "That way you can see if the coast is clear."
"She could fall." Benjamin said.
"Not if I hold her feet." I said.
"Well, in that case she can go on my shoulders. Otherwise we have to take off your handcuffs." He said. I looked at him disgustedly.
"What? You think I'm going to run away? Where? Back down those pipes? Without my compass?" I asked. "Anyway, I'm taller than you and more physically fit. You'll drop her, I won't." After a moment of considering it, her took off my cuffs and Evangelina climbed onto my shoulders.
"We're clear." She said. She pulled off the sewer cover and climbed out. The rest of us followed as quietly and quickly as possible. Evangelina replace the sewer cover carefully, but in the last moment it slipped. It crashed into place. We heard Freedom Guards rushing over. We ran down the alley and hid behind a dumpster. The female guard searched the alley carefully, but did not leave after establishing that no one was there. She retook her post by the manhole. We tried not to breathe any more than necessary. Sweat ran down all our cheeks.
And there it was again - I was afraid. Scared. So scared I could pee on myself. Afraid for my life. But this time, there was no one I could scare.
Except Benjamin. Wouldn't it scare them so much if I just ran off? I'd be safe and he'd be afraid. What an idea! I thought. (c)2001 Suzy Q But then something stopped me. Something that wasn't there before. Something that gave me no desire to transfer my fear to someone else. I was still scared stupid, but I didn't want to scare anyone else. Once more the voice in my head pitched in, you going soft on me? It asked menacingly.
My thoughts were interrupted when Benjamin making signals. He signaled to the back of the building and to Evangelina. She noiselessly made her way there. One by one Benjamin sent us, until only he was left. He joined us and led us to a back door that, by some luck, was unguarded. As we entered the door we realized why.
A Freedom Guard pointed a gun into our faces. That was it. My heart fell. We
were going to be killed. It was all over. There was no way out of it. Game over.
Bryce looked around, just as afraid of the impending doom as I was, but his face
suddenly turned harsh.
"This is the sloppiest bust I've ever seen! People could just walk right through this door!" He said. He tried to look and act as much like his brother as possible. The Guard's fierce look melted into fear.
"Sir...I...That's what I'm here for." She stumbled. Bryce looked extremely annoyed.
"Do you mind?" He asked, pointing at the gun. She lowered it quickly and stood broomstick-straight.
"Requesting permission to ask a question, sir." She said officially.
"What?" He demanded.
"What happened to your eye?" She asked, curiously. I held my breath. Just then I looked up and saw a figure coming towards us down the hallway. And I thought it couldn't get worse than this...It was Bryce's brother!
The Guard turned to see who was approaching and I pulled the others down the stairs as fast and as noiselessly as possible. We crouched on the first landing, out of sight.
"Sir, how could you be there if you were here just now?" (c)2001 Suzy Q The guard was perplexed.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded of her. Her voice shook with fear.
"I...uh..." She said.
"Just do your job. I'm going to the basement to make sure everyone's in place." He said. He started going down the stairs we had just gone down. We hurried down the stairs as fast as we could. I was sure we were going to be caught, but apparently he wasn't very perceptive. After a few landings, we were sure he wasn't following us anymore. The atmosphere was dark and musty. The dinner I had had at Choices Unlimited was not sitting well with all the excitement and inescapable fear. I once thought being late for Second or Fifth Bell Memorials was scary, but nothing compared to the horrific fear of being a wanted criminal being chased by the person who imprisoned you in the first place when you're only half a staircase away from that person and you have to be quiet.(A/N: find a better way to phrase that) It was overwhelming. I couldn't stand it. We stopped to catch our breath.
"You look kind of green." Evangelina whispered to me. I didn't have time to answer. I turned around, doubled over and barfed up my grilled cheese and fries. It was gross, but I felt a little better afterwards.
"Are you ok?" Bryce asked, "You're not going to faint or anything, are you?" He asked. I shook my head and stood up straight.
"I'm all right now." I said. Benjamin massaged the stitch in his side and Evangelina breathed deeply and turned to Bryce.
"Thank you." She said. "You saved our lives back there."
I looked back up the stairs and saw a couple of flashlights pointing at the wall on the landing above us.
"Yeah, I thought I heard voices." A male voice said. We took off down the stairs. Finally we got to an iron door. Bryce reached for the knob.
"This time make sure there's no one guarding it." Benjamin whispered. Bryce tried the knob. It didn't move.
"It's (c)2001 Suzy Q locked." Bryce turned around, annoyed.
"Great." I said sarcastically, "If we hadn't been scared to death, maybe we would have thought of asking the first Guard for a key!" I leaned against the door, feeling defeated. I saw a smile spread across Evangelina's face.
"So that's what mom and dad meant." She said. She walked up to the door and I moved out of the way. She knocked in a distinct pattern. I heard a camera turn and zoom in, but I couldn't tell where it was. After a moment, the door clicked open.
"All right girl!" I said and high-fived her. She smiled. Benjamin pushed in the door. Evangelina pulled her dog tag from inside her shirt and inserted it into a slot like the one back at the business building. The door opened just enough for one person to fit through and there was no way to see through to what was on the other side. Green sensor lights zig-zagged in the opening.
"Guess it's one at a time." She said and passed through. As soon as she did, the lights turned red and the door returned to where it had been after it had clicked. Benjamin inserted his dogtag. Once more the door opened and the lights were green.
"Wait here, we'll see what we can do to get you in." He said and walked through the door. It shut tight behind him, leaving Bryce and me out there alone. They had obviously learned to trust us.
"Are you sure you're ok?" Bryce asked me.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about losing it back there." I said, embarrassed. He shrugged.
"No biggie. Life has sure gone from very normal and monotonous to very weird, huh?" He said.
"Yeah." I replied, "Somehow, I have a feeling no matter how much we wish, our lives may never be normal again." He smiled.
"Normal is overrated." Just then the door opened wide and Benjamin and Evangelina came out and led us through. It shut roughly behind us. I turned and saw a heavy middle-aged man.
"You say these two were sent by Pollyanna Bell?" He asked. Benjamin nodded. "What proof do I have of that?"
"Listen, Mr. Canker, this is an extremely important mission. Just let us through." Benjamin said, hotly.
"Why are you even here this early?" Mr. Canker (c)2001 Suzy Q asked, his face unchanged by Benjamin's plea.
"The meeting is cancelled." Benjamin said. Mr. Canker laughed.
"Unless I hear that from one of the leader's mouths," he patted the handheld at his side, "I don't believe it." Benjamin's face exhibited severe annoyance.
"We tried to contact you, but your Handhelds aren't working." Evangelina said, exasperated.
"Sorry, I've heard enough out of all of you. You'll have to sit here and wait for someone with more power than me to listen to your story. Not that I think you'll have any luck." He said and motioned for us to sit on stools across from him. We heard him mutter, "subversive" under his breath. Benjamin, who was halfway seated, shot up like a rocket.
"What did you call me?" He asked, fire in his eyes.
"Hey, no need to jump all over me," The man said, and then added, with emphasis, "Brother." Benjamin was forced to cool his heels in the stool. We waited and waited. Finally, after an hour, someone else appeared.
"Thomas." He called Mr. Canker, "We're having trouble..." He noticed us, "Hi." Benjamin stood.
"Help." He said, "The meeting is cancelled, you are in danger of your lives. We trying Video-phoning you, but it was of no use. You need to escape, somehow. There are Freedom Guards everywhere, trying to find a way in here." He explained the entire situation. The man looked at him seriously.
"I (c)2001 Suzy Q was about to tell Thomas that our Handhelds are malfunctioning, how could you have known?" He asked. "You must be telling the truth. We need to get out." He looked panicked.
"Finally!" Evangelina exclaimed, "We've been trying to tell you that for the last hour!"
"Help me get everyone organized. I'm going to make the announcement." The man said hurriedly, making plans. "You," He said pointing to Evangelina, "Take the Red Sector Front-Liners and get them to pack up the equipment. You," He pointed at Bryce and me, "Get the rest of the youth and get them each to pair up with one of the younger kids to make sure they're safe. You," he pointed at Benjamin and Thomas Canker, "are part of the taskforce, follow me. Then you," He motioned to Evangelina once more, "Put the kids carrying the stuff behind the strongest, they'll be last to leave. Put them in order of their age, youngest first, Oldest last. Come on." We followed him. Here, we finally saw what looked like a subbasement. Dark and dank and colossal, the space was crawling with people. A stage and thousands of fold-out chairs filled the area. It had to have taken a while. The ceiling was a little low for a place that seemed to be expecting so many people, but monitors were placed here and there. The man ran up to the stage and we watched.
"Everyone!" He said into the microphone. It wasn't on and someone at a soundboard hurried to turn it on. "We have an emergency! Everyone get into your designated groups right now!" Everyone looked around in fear, "The meeting has been cancelled due to the fact that there are Freedom Guards everywhere (c)2001 Suzy Q outside, waiting for midnight to bust us. Do as you're told and don't be afraid, 'If God is for us, who can be against us?'" He got off of the stage and we divided up as the man had told us to. The people had gotten into groups. There were two groups of teenagers, probably Front-Liners and not Front-Liners. We watched as Evangelina went to one group and figured that the other had to be who we were in charge of.
"Why do you think he's letting us help?" Bryce whispered to me.
"I guess in an emergency, every little bit helps." I replied, "Plus, we're kind of stuck too. If we get caught, they'll never know that we're not one of them."
"Nah, I heard that at court they give us three chances to say we're not connected with these people." He said, I laughed.
"Do you really think they'd go through the trouble of taking us to court?" I asked cynically. We reached the group of about a hundred teenagers. Other than the younger children, they were the most panicked group. Some cried and others looked around nervously. Many prayed in groups or alone.
"Guys, calm down. You'll be ok." I said. "Now everyone, go over to the younger kids and each one of you take care of one of them." Bryce looked at the desperate people, wishing he could do something.
"Listen, be strong! They need you to...I don't know, do whatever you people do..." Bryce didn't know what to say.
"Have faith." A girl said, coming out of the crowd. She had been consoling another girl who had broken into tears. She immediately took control, "Listen, I know the situation looks hopeless, but did Paul despair when he was put in jail? No! He praised God and God delivered him! Pull yourselves together! You are more mature Christians than those little ones, if you don't have faith, how will they react? Wipe your tears! You're not (c)2001 Suzy Q lost yet." Every face was pointed towards her, all were listening, but none looked very courageous. Finally, one boy started singing.
"If peace like a river attaineth my soul..." He sang softly, one by one the others joined him.
If sorrows like sea billows roar,
Whatever my lot,
Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, It is well with my soul!
Slowly, they staggered over to the kids and took each one's hand.
"Wow." I said, unsure how to describe what I had just seen. I glanced over at Bryce, who seemed equally amazed.
"Hi, my name's Kira." The girl introduced herself. Looking at her closely, she seemed a little familiar, but I couldn't place her face.
"Hi, I'm Roxanne."
"Bryce."
"I didn't know you had come to us." She said to me. I looked at her puzzled. The man from before came up to us.
"Come on, no time for talking, get these kids in line!" He said. We quickly led the kids to their place in line. I surveyed the crowd. All were headed toward a spot were they were directed by Benjamin and Mr. Canker to one of the four elevators. When an elevator filled, it was sent on its way up. Other leaders talked to the crowd using megaphones. Kira had disappeared with her horde of youth. They seemed under control, (c)2001 Suzy Q so Bryce and I weren't sure which group to join.
"There's Evangelina." Bryce said, after searching through the crowd of Front-Liners behind us.
"Should we join her?" I asked.
"Might as well." He replied. I followed him past the frightened masses. Evangelina stood at the very back, straining to see the front of the line. Bryce tapped her shoulder and she nearly jumped out of her skin.
"Oh, it's you!" She said. "I'm sorry, I'm just..."
"Scared half out of your wits?" I asked casually, "I noticed most people here are."
"Where do those elevators lead to?" Bryce asked. She took a deep breath.
"I was talking to Benjamin just a few minutes ago, he helped out with the taskforce that helped us plan our escape a few minutes ago." She said, "There are four elevators, they go up and down the entire building. This building is home to many businesses; small law practices, accounting firms, things like that. The businesses that rent here don't rent entire floors. A few of those businesses belong to us. The Freedom Gaurds are not only posted outside the building and in the entrances, but also in many of those offices. They came earlier in the day as clients or temps and seemed suspicious. After asking around, the taskforce figured out which were real clients and which were Freedom Guards in disguise. The first elevator to our left leads to four of our offices. Three are bugged. The fourth, a clinic, we're not completely sure of, so they're carefully sending up our weakest, it would be believable enough for them to be in a doctor's office. The second elevator leads to an unguarded exit in back of the building. Not the one we came from, another one."
"They left an exit unguarded?" Bryce asked, skeptically. Evangelina grinned.
"We don't believe in violence, but this was life or death. We knocked out the Guard and we borrowed his clothes. He's a big guy, he'll be ok. And we'll return everything to him afterwards. We hate doing it, but we couldn't think of anything else in such short notice. Anyway, we're trying to get as many of the youth there as possible. It's safe and if anyone gets caught it's easier for the Guards to ignore them then grown adults. The third elevator leads to two of our offices, both bugged. The fourth leads to two more of our offices, one bugged, one unsure. The unsure one is a small accounting firm on the top floor. They don't have too much space, but they've offered all the room they can possibly find. A lot of people are getting sent up there. The Front-Liners will, unless there are any problems, be going through the exit. We don't think there'll be too much trouble getting out, equipment or no equipment. Also, we're trying to get a few inconspicuous people into our bugged offices. I doubt the Freedom Guards could see anything wrong with 'clients' going into those offices."
"This is a lot of people to be trying to get out of the building all at once. Especially (c)2001 Suzy Q considering that it's," I looked down at my watch, "nine-thirty."
"Do you think we'll make it?" Bryce asked me. I shrugged my shoulders.
"I don't know. Worse comes to worse, at least we weren't chickens." I said. It all seemed unreal to me. I mean, I knew it was happening. A half our passed and only about a quarter of the people who had been there had gotten out. The little children were asleep in their protector's arms and the teenagers seemed exhausted. The Front-Liners had put down the equipment they had been carrying concealed in backpacks and suitcases, those with the bigger loads sitting on them. There were no more elderly people, but most of the adults remained. The smaller children were only still there because they were pretty conspicuous in an office building. Many had escaped with the youth, yet many remained. I stared at the ground, bored. Suddenly, there was a cry of surprise from the front of the line. Everyone got up and tried to find a way to see what was happening. I wedged between two taller teenagers and caught a bit of a view of the front. The fourth elevator had returned with its full load of people. I tried to figure out why.
"(c)2001 Suzy Q Calm down everyone." A leader shouted into her megaphone. "There's no more room on the top floor, that's all. Calm down."
"We're going to die!" Someone screamed. The crowd panicked. Leaders with megaphones rushed to sooth the alarmed crowd. I spotted Benjamin near the elevators. He seemed greatly annoyed at the jumpiness of the crowd and the fact that he wasn't allowed to do more than lead people into elevators. He sprinted somewhere and I lost sight of him for a second, but found him again, trying to talk a leader into giving him the megaphone. The leader wouldn't budge, but when she wasn't looking he took it from her. She looked indignant as he addressed the Front Liners.
"Red Sector, would you please play some music? I think it'll help us remember that we don't have to be so worried all the time." He said. They returned to the equipment they had been carrying. I saw one girl take a pair of drumsticks out of her backpack and she started tapping out a beat on a suitcase. About ten kids came up around her and started singing and clapping and generally making music.

Lord I lift my voice in praise to You
For the love You placed inside of me,
Lord, I give my life, my heart and soul to You alone
And with every breath that comes from me
Will flow Your mercy and Your Grace
Proclaiming love and liberty for all who have an ear to hear
And Your Love stirs faith and hope in me
And Your Grace brings power to set this sinner free
And Your blood pours joy into my life
Jesus, You gave it all for me

Slowly, the crowd became calm. I had never seen a group of people care so much for music. I was thinking about this fact when Evangelina came up next to me. And whispered, almost to herself,
"A reminder of God's Love is all his(c)2001 Suzy Q people need to rest assured in His Care."
An hour and a half passed. In half an hour, the Freedom Guards would come barging in here. All that was left was one elevator load of Front Liners, Bryce, Benjamin, Mr. Canker, Evangelina, Kira, who had decided to give her place on the elevator to a younger kid an hour earlier, and me. We watched as the second elevator lifted off with the last load of Front Liners.
"What an adventure." Kira said, looking over at us. Her voice echoed through the titanic subbasement. "Almost makes me wish I was a Front Liner. Who knows? Maybe after this I'll become one." Evangelina laughed.
"The life of a Front Liner isn't all action and adventure. You've never been to the prison called school." She said.
"Couldn't be that bad." Kira replied, "Underground school isn't fun, but I don't mind it too much."
"Trust me," Evangelina said, "You can't even compare the two." The elevator signaled that it had reached its destination (c)2001 Suzy Q and was coming back down.
"All right guys, get ready to leave this place." Benjamin said. He and Mr. Canker still seemed a little at odds, but they had put aside their rivalry for the sake of everyone's safety. Bryce looked tired and had been quiet for a while. Evangelina and Kira met each other fifteen minutes ago and were already old friends. I gripped my backpack hard. I was tired of the fear, the running and the waiting. I felt as though I could sleep through the next entire day. I also had no idea what I was going to do after I got out of here. Could I go home? Or was I now a wanted criminal?
Have to cross that bridge when I come to it. I thought.
The elevator hit ground and the doors slowly opened. Before us stood at least ten highly armed Freedom Guards. We screamed. There was no where to run and no where to hide. Five weary unarmed kids and one just as weary and unarmed adult against ten armed killing machines. Suddenly, getting home was the last thing on my mind.
They cocked their machine guns and aimed them at us at the same time. Nine of them surrounded us. The tenth one was our good friend, Bryce's brother.
"Funny," he said, his face red with frustration, "when I went to look for you, you'd disappeared. And now here you are." He shook his head, pacing slowly, "You know what we do with radicals?" He came closer to us, the circle of Guards opening for him to pass through. I was past fear. I was sure I was about to die. I wasn't ready to die, but I had no other choice. If I was going to go down, I was at least going to go down fighting. "You know what we do with..." He began. I cut him off.
"Listen, I don't even know you for more than a day and you're already the most annoying human being I have ever met. We all understand that you don't like Bryce and you don't like radicals. I'm sick of you pushing us around." My words echoed around the auditorium. Everyone but he and I stood awkwardly awaiting my impending doom. He stood staring me down, not sure what to do with me. I decided to make the first move. "Oh, and also..." I shot forward and kicked (c)2001 Suzy Q him in the groin. He let out a shout and dropped his gun. I deftly grabbed it and pointed it at him. "And that, my dear, is how we deal with annoying people." I said. Then I shouted to the other guards. "Drop your guns or your commander will die." The gun nearly radiated with power. I held lives in my hands. I was in charge of the situation. I wasn't afraid of killing him. He would've done the same so many times today. His fear and pain were intoxicating. I had felt the surge of power before, but never like this. I had the power to take away life and to spare it. For a short moment in time, I was god. I heard nine machine guns being carefully placed on the ground. "Now, spread 'em on the wall." I shouted, my back still to them. I looked over at my friends, clutching the gun tightly. "Do I have to tell you everything? Get the guns." I said. Bryce hesitated for a second, looked down, then picked one up. Mr. Canker slowly bent down and got one. The others looked at them but didn't reach for them. "What're you waiting for? Pick them up!" Benjamin shook his head.
"No." He said.
"Thou shalt not kill." Evangelina said. "Those machines were created for killing. We were not." Bryce's brother laughed and I turned to him.
"See? You couldn't kill me if you wanted to!" He began getting up. I pressed the barrel to his temple.
"I'm not one of them. I'm only helping them." He turned his eyes to the gun and began breathing heavily.
"It's an offense against the state to kill a Freedom Guard." He said.
"It's an offense against nature to kill. (c)2001 Suzy Q As my friends would say, it's an offense against God Himself. You came here to kill us. I'd have no remorse in killing you." I loved the power I felt by having that machine in my hands.
"Maybe we should get going Roxy." It was Bryce. He brought me back to reality. I could never actually kill any one. My hand trembled slightly at the fear of what I might do and I took a few steps back. I breathed deeply.
"Right." I said. "You guys get into the elevator." One by one they walked into our transportation to freedom. Mr. Canker and Benjamin remained. Mr. Canker sheepishly placed the gun he had picked up on the ground. He was ashamed that the others had shown more willpower than he had in a high-pressure situation. Before they got a chance to get on the elevator one of the other Guards quickly grabbed a gun from the floor and aimed it at Canker. He stood still. My finger quickly moved toward the trigger, but I didn't have the time to yell a warning. He shot. Benjamin ran and jumped on Canker. The bullet pierced Benjamin's shoulder. Evangelina screamed. Without thinking, I shot my own gun. It scraped Bryce's brother's head. The other Guards ran for their guns. I dropped mine, appalled at what I had done, and helped Mr. Canker get Benjamin on the elevator. Bryce quickly threw his gun out and pressed the button. As soon as the doors were safely closed I rushed to Benjamin, who was already being checked out by Kira. Evangelina stood back, afraid, holding onto Bryce's arm. Kira ripped Benjamin's shirt to reveal a bloody hole, the bullet nestled inside.
"We can't let him lose too much blood. Roxy, help me rip his shirt into strips, we need to stop the bleeding." She said. We quickly ripped his shirt up and tied the strips together. She wrapped his shoulder tightly. Benjamin passed out. Mr. Canker sat in a corner, sobbing. Evangelina had buried her face in Bryce's arm and Bryce watched fearfully. I noticed tears falling down my face, too. When Kira had finished her job she sat back with her knees high and wept into them.
"Lord God," Kira said her voice thick with emotion, "We love You and trust Your judgment. But Lord, we plead with You! Please don't take our Brother away! He has meant so much to us, and has done Your work so faithfully. We know he has nothing to fear of dying, and he will be reunited with our loved ones who have been martyred for the cause and he will see You face to face. But we selfishly ask that You in Your Glory might decide to allow his presence among us at least a little longer. We love him very much, the way You taught us to love our Brothers and Sisters. But Your Will be done my Lord, Your will be done." She ended, unable (c)2001 Suzy Q to talk any longer.
"Amen." Evangelina and Mr. Canker added, between sobs.
"Amen." I whispered. I looked over to Bryce in time to see him mouth the same sentiment. The elevator stopped and opened its doors on a dark, empty hallway. Mr. Canker composed himself and carefully placed Benjamin over his shoulder. We walked slowly to the exit, finding the back alley empty.
We trudged slowly under the moonlight to the front of the building and down the street. The nightlife was just getting started. Music poured out of a dance club, whose neon sign glowed brightly in the darkness. People crowded around the entrance, unaware of the bloodshed that had just occurred in the neighboring building. We walked right past, the other girls and I receiving all kinds of catcalls and offensive shouts. We didn't care. We were too scared and tired and sad. Once we got all the way down the street and were about to turn a corner, Benjamin's eyes opened.
"I love you guys too." He whispered. I smiled. And turned to the others. They shed tears of joy.
"Evangelina, you have to go home. So do you two." Mr. Canker said. "I"ll take Benjamin and Kira with me. Benjamin can spend the night in the infirmary. You don't think the people at your building will notice you're gone, do you?" Benjamin shook his head.
"They couldn't care less." He whispered. We parted ways, Mr. Canker, Benjamin, and Kira to wherever it was radicals lived and Evangelina, Bryce, and me toward the Children's Housing District.
"Is it safe to go back home?" I asked. Kira and Bryce looked at me. "I mean, not you, Evangelina. But Bryce and me are wanted criminals."
"Well, that's not too hard to find out." Bryce said, pulling his Handheld out of its holster on his belt. He hacked into police files. "Police are in charge of staking out for criminals. They have a database with the location of anyone on stake out." He looked through it. "No one is anywhere near the Housing District. No need to worry about that." I nodded. I was happy that soon I would be home and could sleep off my memories of this horrible day.

Chapter 10
- Arwenna -

My footsteps pounded on the pavement. I ran faster than I could ever imagine. My friends ran around me, Bryce clutching my hand tightly. We hurried past the buildings of the city so quickly I couldn't even tell where we were. Something was behind us, chasing us, but I couldn't see it. I turned to the others. They looked behind them, terrified, but never stopped running. Finally, I looked over my shoulder and saw it. A sea of blood, foaming, making waves that drenched skyscrapers and yanked airplanes right out of the sky. We couldn't run any longer. We had to stop to take a breath. Soon the tsunami washed over us. Bryce and I grabbed a log that was heading toward us and used it to keep ourselves afloat. We watched as one by one the others drowned in the blood. We tried to help them, but it was no use. Then we turned and saw a man in a Freedom Guard uniform. He looked at us and I saw that it was Bryce's brother, laughing maniacally at us. All of the sudden, we became part of the wave, molecules, heaving, killing everything in their path, helpless to stop. Finally we (c)2001 Suzy Q reached a brick wall. We watched as our fellow molecules of blood crashed violently into the brick wall, unable to pass through. And as we approached it became clear. The bricks that made up the wall had names and faces. There were our friends who we had believed drowned. And above the pandemonium of the gigantic surge of blood I heard a voice calling me to come. I looked up and saw a light and knew that it could save me from being one of the unfortunate atoms of blood...

"Roxy, Roxy," A voice said, "Listen I don't want to wake you, but I have a little problem..." I opened my eyes slightly. Even in my sleep I couldn't escape the constant fear my life had become. I glanced at my alarm clock. It was only six o'clock in the morning. Much too early to be awake. I groaned and rolled over. I heard the light sound of a Weather Bath tapping on my window. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and sat up. When I opened my eyes, I found out who the owner of the voice was. Bryce stood next to my bed and a little girl sat at the edge of it.
"Does it include her?" I asked, pointing.
"Uh, yeah." He replied. He took a deep breath. "She was sitting on my bed when I got home last night. With a letter." I took another look at the little girl. She looked about four years old. She had brown hair and blue eyes and was staring at me sleepily. Bryce handed me an envelope. I carefully turned it and took out the letter.

Bryce -
This is Arwenna. You remember her from the Joining Gala, don't you? Your niece? I'm leaving her with you. Today I will die. I don't want her under the care of the state. I don't want (c)2001 Suzy Q her to grow up the way we did. I want her to know what I just realized. I saw an amazing thing today, Bryce. I was sitting in my apartment, with the television on when a wonderful lady came on. She told me so much that I already knew, but never admitted. I'm not perfect! In fact, I can't begin to tell you how many times in my life I've done horrible things. But she told me there was a way to make myself perfect in God's Eyes. You were too young, Bryce, to remember a time when the radicals were allowed to be open about their views, so you have no concept of this God the woman spoke of. He is the God of the Universe, the Holder of the key to Heaven. Heaven is a place where everything is perfect. Only the perfect can enter Heaven. All others are sent to Hell. This is a place of torture. That is why I was so excited when she said that you needn't be perfect to enter Heaven. She said that the way to Heaven was through God's Son, Jesus. He came to Earth and lived a perfect Life. Then he was killed, nailed to a cross. She told me that He gave His Life to all who believe in Him so that they may have the perfect life that is needed to enter heaven. She said that all who believed in Him would be saved from the penalties of Hell. I prayed with her today. I received Jesus' gift of eternal Life. Crazy, huh? But, it just makes so much sense! Sadly, when I was praying one of my fellow officers entered the room. She saw me kneel down and repeat the words of the woman on the screen. Tonight is my trial. I will not deny Jesus. I know the Truth.
But I do not want Arwenna to (c)2001 Suzy Q miss out on this Truth! I want to leave her in the company of others who know. That's why I you are the only one who could help her. Little brother, I know I've given you a lot of grief in the past. But I've always known that you were the spy of the family. I'm sure you have this city wired. Please, find the radicals. Give them my child to watch over. I know if anyone can find them, you can. Please, do this for me! You know more than anyone that I never treated you well. But, now, as the moments to my end are being counted down, I understand that you are the best brother I could ever have. You are smart. You know how to question. Never stop questioning.
Lastly, I urge you to get to know Jesus. I'm so new at this, I don't know anything, but I can be a witness to you. This is the real deal. When you give them my Arwenna please, ask them about their faith. Learn all you can about this Jesus. I pray that you can accept the gift that he freely gives to us. Please, don't think I'm crazy. Take this seriously. I have to go now.
Love, your sister,
Leera

I looked up at Bryce, shocked.
"She picked the right person, huh?" I said. I looked at the little girl
"What are we going to do?" He asked.
"Well, I think it's kind of obvious we have to take her Underground." I replied.
"Yeah, but it'll be First Bells in two hours, we don't have the time to go all the way across town, make our way into the building without one of those dog tags and come back to school. Especially not on the day of a Weather Bath." He said.
"You know, after the night we had, (c)2001 Suzy Q this whole situation is so unnecessary." I said, shaking my head. I grabbed my robe from the nightstand beside my bed and put it on. I yawned. "Come on, little one, I've got some candy in the fridge." I extended my hand to her and she gladly took it. "Did she already have breakfast?" I asked Bryce.
"Yeah." He replied. I put a handful of jelly beans into a mug and handed them to her. She smiled up excitedly.
"Thank you." She said, red cheeks glowing. She ran back to the bed and sat there to eat. I turned to Bryce.
"So, what are we going to do?" I asked. Bryce shrugged.
"That's why I came here. I thought you'd have some ideas." He said. I sighed.
"Let's call Josh." I suggested. Bryce pulled out his Handheld and dialed. I went over and stood behind him. Josh appeared on the screen. His eyes were closed and he seemed more than half-asleep. He was still in bed, clutching his blanket.
"Good morning who is it?" He mumbled. He managed to open his eyes slightly and saw who it was. "Why are you guys up this early?" He asked.
"We have a problem and we could use your input." Bryce said.
"Couldn't you wait another..." He paused and looked toward the clock on his nightstand, "hour?"
"No." I replied. "It's kind of a long story. Is this line secure?" He nodded. I began. I told him about Arwenna. "So what (c)2001 Suzy Q should we do?" I asked. He was fully awake now and had sat up.
"Well," he seemed equally stumped. "I guess, you can't leave her alone all day. Ever thought of sending her to school?"
"How exactly do you suggest we find out what school she goes to?" I asked, incredulously.
"Why don't you ask her?" He said. Duh...I thought, feeling stupid.
"Arwenna, sweetheart." I called to her. She was standing staring at the bottom of the now-empty mug. Her hands were covered with smudges of all different colors. She turned around, her face equally stained. "What school do you go to?"
"Preschool." She answered promptly and turned back toward the mug. I would have laughed, had the situation not been so serious.
"No, sweetie, not what type of school, what school?" I looked at her expectantly. She turned to me again and thought for a little while.
"The same one with Artie and Sally and Robert." She said.
"All right." Bryce said pretending that was just the information he was looking for. He looked at me plaintively. "Rule out the sending her to school idea."
"I guess we could call in sick." I said, "then we could take her at our leisure." Josh nodded.
"Sounds like a plan." He said. Bryce shook his head.
"No way. The day after we got arrested? Don't you think that'll be a little too suspicious?" He said. He barely got finished saying it when I heard a crash. I looked up. Arwenna stood by my refrigerator, terrified. At her feet were pieces of the porcelain mug. She started to cry. I ran over.
"It's ok, it's ok, no big deal." I said, comforting her. She looked at me between tears.
"I'm sorry." She said.
"It's ok. It was an old mug. Want some more candy?" Her face immediately brightened. She nodded happily. I put some (c)2001 Suzy Q more jelly beans in her hand and she ran back to my bed happily. I started cleaning the mess she'd made.
"Roxy, what are we going to do?" Bryce said, reminding me of the problem at hand.
"Right, uh," I said, distracted, "well, everyone gets sick. So, it was the day after we got arrested. Chalk it up to bad jail food. No biggie. Let's just go and do this and get back to our ordinary lives for a couple of days, please!" Bryce shrugged.
"Whatever." He turned to the Handheld. "Well, that's the plan."
"Great. I've still gotta go to school, but if you guys hang out at the Rainbow Enterprises building till after fourth bells I'll see you there." I heard Josh say. Bryce put away his Handheld.
"Hey don't forget to mark us absent." I said to Bryce.
"Right." He said and took out his Handheld again. As he did that, I finished cleaning the floor, cleaned Arwenna's face and hands, and got changed in my bathroom.
"Ready to go?" Bryce asked. (c)2001 Suzy Q I nodded and grabbed an umbrella and my backpack.
"Wait a second." I said. I went into my closet and took out a raincoat I'd saved from when I was about Arwenna's age. I buckled her up and we headed out the door.
Outside the sprinklers from above rained so that you couldn't tell that it wasn't natural except that the clouds did not cover the sky and the sun shone strongly against the foreground of water. The atmosphere was hard to bear, like taking a cold shower in a sauna. The rain was icy, but the air was still hot. I held out my hand and it got pelted with water, but as soon as I retreated it, my skin absorbed the water and felt horribly dry.

Finally, we arrived at the Rainbow Enterprises building. We closed our umbrellas and entered the lobby.
That's odd. I thought, It's before first bells, why are there so many people already here?
We were headed toward the elevator when someone stopped us.
"Where do you think you're going?" A security guard asked.
"We have business here." Bryce said.
"It's before First Bells, we aren't open." He said.
"We're friends of Mrs. Bell." I said.
"Mrs. Bell?" He asked suspiciously. "What are your names?"
"Roxanne and Bryce." I said. He smiled, suddenly. "Honored guests." He said, "I'll get someone to escort you to Mrs. Bell right away." He said and left quickly. I looked at Bryce.
"Impressive." Bryce said. Arwenna (c)2001 Suzy Q pulled on my pant leg.
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