Graduation Day (The Testing 3)

“Cia, that can’t be true. I talked to Ranetta and Symon. Symon—”

“Killed Michal. You can’t trust Symon.” I’m not sure about Ranetta. “Michal did, and he’s dead.” Once again panic simmers inside me. Zeen has to believe. “Symon’s job is to make sure that the rebels fail. If the president loses the Debate Chamber vote and the rebels attack, Dr. Barnes and Symon will have Safety and Security teams waiting. They’ll say it is the only way to keep the rest of the city safe. If we don’t do something, the rebellion will fail. More people will die.”

“Wait. If you’re right . . .” Zeen takes a deep breath. When he speaks again, his voice is barely a whisper, but filled with conviction. “You have to get out of Tosu City.”

“I can’t. There are reasons.” The bracelet on my wrist. My friends who would be left behind. Zeen, who is in the middle of the rebels Dr. Barnes intends to kill. The last is the only thing I know how to fix. “Zeen, you should go. There are lots of buildings that aren’t used very often here on campus. You could hide in one of them.”

“No one is supposed to leave camp without a direct order from Symon or Ranetta.”

Ranetta. A woman I have never met or seen. When Michal explained the divide in the rebellion—one faction that pushed for a peaceful resolution and the other that, impatient with the delays, urged war—he said Ranetta was the leader of the latter. She must have once followed Symon’s methods as all the rebels did. If she opposes them now, could she be an ally? If Zeen could talk to her . . .

No. While Zeen is smart, when his emotions are engaged he often reacts before thinking things through. He hasn’t been part of the rebellion long enough to understand the dynamics and effectively gauge who can be trusted. Who knows if anyone can be? Michal thought Symon could be trusted. So did I. Besides, Zeen didn’t go through The Testing. He doesn’t understand what it is like or how terrible it truly is. This isn’t his fight. He needs to get out.

“You could escape without them seeing you.” The camp the rebels are using was an air force base before being hit by a vector tornado. The destruction was so great that the Commonwealth Government abandoned any hope of revitalizing the area. But while the land is not healthy, trees have grown. Some plants have thrived. If anyone can navigate the unrevitalized landscape and hide from those who pursue him, it will

be my brother.

“Maybe. And I might have to if things go the way you say. But not yet. I’m here. I might be able to learn something useful. People expect the new guy to ask questions. I just have to figure out what kinds of answers we need. If there’s a chance . . .”

I wait for Zeen to continue, but there is only silence. My heart pounds as I look at the Communicator in my hand. Zeen must have heard someone approaching. Did he stop talking in time or was he overheard? I wait for Zeen to give me a sign. Something to tell me that he is safe.

The minutes pass slowly. One. Five. Ten. The clock taunts me. My worry grows with each passing moment. Silently, I clutch the device in my hands and will my brother to be okay. My bringing Michal those recordings prompted his death. I can’t lose Zeen, too. If I do, it will be one more person who died because of my actions. Part of me wants to go find Tomas. He was with me last night when I first spotted Zeen in the rebel camp. He’ll want to help. But as much as I want to wrap my arms around Tomas and rely on him, I know there is little he can do. That either of us can. As University students, we have almost no control of the world around us.

But there is someone who should be able to help me. Michal might not have been certain we could trust her, but I don’t see a choice. Not anymore. Zeen is in the middle of a rebellion that is ready to take up arms against Dr. Barnes and his supporters. The Testing will soon select the next round of candidates. More than a hundred students could once again be pushed into decisions that could end lives, whether their own or others’. And if my role in Damone’s death is discovered, I will no longer be able to take any action at all. I will be dead. The fate of too many people is at stake for me to believe I can fix what is broken. I am not one of the country’s leaders. The president is. This is her job. Not mine.

I have to convince her to help.

I pull on a pair of brown pants I acquired after arriving in Tosu City and a fitted yellow tunic adorned with silver buttons. I clean my comfortable but worn boots to make them as presentable as I can. Most days I pull my hair into a tight knot at the nape of my neck. Today, I take special care to brush it until it shines before braiding it in a style that my father lamented made me look like a young woman instead of his little girl. I hope he was right. In order for my plan to succeed, I need the president to see me as more than a University student. She has to see a woman.

Then I roll the bloody clothes I was wearing yesterday into a tight ball and shove them into my bag. There is no removing Damone’s blood from these garments. While I rarely have people in my room, I do not want to risk someone seeing the clothes. I need to get rid of them.

I reach under the mattress and pull out a small handgun given to me by Raffe. The weight in my hand feels insignificant compared to the weight in my chest. Guns are used in Five Lakes. I learned to discharge a shotgun at an early age, and Daileen’s father taught us to fire his handgun around the same time I learned how to multiply and divide. My father’s job required us to live near where he worked, which meant living close to the unrevitalized land where meat-seeking wolves and other, mutated creatures roamed. More than once I have injured or killed an animal intent on attack. But if this gun is fired it will not be at an animal looking for food. After shoving the Transit Communicator into my bag, I slide the bag’s strap onto my shoulder and walk out the door, careful to lock it behind me.

The halls of the residence are quiet. The students I pass speak to each other in tones more muted than usual. No doubt because of Damone’s disappearance. As I pass students on the stairs, I am careful to keep my eyes down in case they can see the guilt in them. With every step, I find myself listening for a click from the Transit Communicator to tell me that Zeen is okay.

When I reach the first floor, I force myself to walk in slow, measured strides to the front door so no one can see the anxiety I feel about Zeen’s silence. With each moment that passes I am more certain something terrible has befallen him. As I push open the door, I look behind me in case Raffe has seen me going down the stairs and has followed. No one is there, so I step outside into the afternoon sunshine. According to my watch, there are two hours until dinner is served. If I am not back in time, my mealtime absence will be noticed. But I have no choice.

I straighten my shoulders and walk around the residence to the vehicle shed, trying not to look at the place where Raffe and I pushed Damone over the edge of the ravine. Wheeling my bicycle out, I look around for anyone who might be watching, then throw my leg over the seat. My feet push the pedals. Worry about my brother propels my body forward despite my fatigue.

The wheels glide over the bridge that spans the twenty-foot-wide crack in the earth that separates the Government Studies residence from the rest of campus. It isn’t until I turn down the roadway that leads to the library that I glance over my shoulder. From this distance, I can’t be sure. But I think I spot Griffin standing motionless on the bridge, staring into the darkness of the ravine below. Despite my desire to find Tomas and ask him to join me on this journey, I don’t. Drawing unwanted attention to Tomas is the last thing I want to do. I turn and begin to ride as fast as I can in hopes of finding help for my brother and myself.

Riding under the woven metal archway that so closely resembles the design of the band that now circles my wrist serves as a reminder that my whereabouts are being monitored. University students are not forbidden to leave campus, but if I venture too far afield, Professor Holt and Dr. Barnes will certainly question my motivation. Luckily, as an intern in the president’s office, I have reason to be traveling to my destination.

Past the archway I stop my bike, pull the Transit Communicator out of my bag, and turn on the navigation display. While I have traveled these roads before, I am still not confident of choosing the most expedient path. Using a strip of fabric from my stained clothing, I tie the Transit Communicator to the handlebars. Once it is secure, I press the Call button once. Twice. A third time. No answer. I swallow my disappointment and point my wheels toward the center of the city. As I ride, I picture the faces of Zandri, Malachi, Ryme, Obidiah, and Michal. All came to Tosu City looking to help the world. All are dead. I have to help my brother avoid that same fate. I just hope I won’t be too late.

Chapter 2

I BARELY NOTICE my surroundings as I zigzag through the city, careful to keep an eye on the Communicator’s readout. As I ride, I consider what I know. The president’s disapproval of Dr. Barnes is obvious. I have observed their mutual dislike firsthand. But though the president wishes to remove Dr. Barnes from power, no one knows whether she will alter or end the University selection process. The Testing is terrible in its methods, but it has gotten results. The clean water we drink and the number of colonies with revitalized land prove the leaders the University has trained are skilled.

Can the president be trusted to change the system when it is yielding such results? I don’t know. But as the wind whips my hair, I realize that if I want to try to end The Testing, I am going to have to find out.

Residential streets give way to roads with larger buildings as I ride into the heart of the city. Personal skimmers hover above for those with business that demands attention on a Sunday. I turn down another street and see the distinctive gray stone turrets and clock tower of the building that houses the office of President Anneline Collindar.

I store my bicycle in the rack next to the entrance and pull open one of the large wooden doors. Two officials dressed in black jumpsuits approach. Two others hold their positions on either side of the arching door in front of us. The color of their clothing, their white armbands, and the silver weapons hanging at their sides signal their standing as Safety officials. Only Safety officials are allowed to carry weapons inside government buildings. The law was created after the Seven Stages of War when the people gathered to debate whether to form a new central government. Arguments for and against a new government body were heated. Many believed that the last president of the United States, President Dalton, and the other world leaders who held power leading up to and through the stages of war were to blame for corrupting the earth and causing so much death and destruction. Others argued that an organized government was still essential if the hope of revitalization was to be fulfilled. All citizens were allowed a voice in the debates, but some believed weapons were more persuasive than words. It was the firing of those weapons by opponents of a new government that swayed many to believe lawlessness would prevail without one. The first law passed after the vote to establish a new governmental entity banned all firearms from the Debate Chamber floor. Ten years later, the ban was expanded to all government buildings.

Today, I am in violation of the law. To obey, I would have to surrender the gun Raffe gave me. Something I am not willing to do. I do not know how the president will react to what I must tell her. I have to be prepared for whatever might happen.

Shifting the weight of my bag on my shoulder, I walk to the broad-shouldered Safety official who stands behind a small black desk. I give my name and show him my bracelet. When he nods, I straighten my shoulders and walk through the arched doorway that leads to the president’s office.