Something Else

Aftermath

"Man, you're a fainter aren't you?" The girl's rough voice shakes me back to consciousness. Startled, I jerk upwards, thrusting my eyes open.

Her hand flies to my shoulder, keeping me down. "Don't move. You've only been out for a second or two, but just rest for a minute, okay? We'll get you to a doctor when everything's said and done."

Said and done. So I might be getting out of this after all. Do I even want to go back? The thought disturbs me but I can't subdue it. My life is a struggle that never pays off. It's constantly swimming for the surface in an ever deepening sea. Do I want to keep treading water, just to end up like Felix-

Felix. The room sways once again. The horror climbs up my throat and as hard as I try to keep it in, I can't. The girl jumps back, recoiling from the vomit. Felix. He was murdered, wasn't he? There was no justice in his death, no purpose.

I want to scream, cry, just say something. The words in my mind bubble up, boiling with anger and confusion. I want to ask this girl why. Why would she bring me here? Why is this happening? What's the point of all this pain?

"What's your name?" I blurt out. The question comes completely out of the blue, even to me. It's bizarre how things occur to you. So many questions I could ask, and I will when I'm ready. For now, I'll start small.

One word.

A name.

I've made a point not to ask so far. I've been abducted, kidnapped by a strange fugitive girl. What point is there to call her anything? And yet still, I want to.

She stares at me blankly, taken aback. "Via. Call me Via."

I close my eyes again. Via. The name fits, somehow. I file the knowledge away and another thought strikes me. Why have I not tried to leave? I could have run in the storage room. I could have run in the hallway. I could have screamed, I could have fought back and yet... why didn't I? I think a part of me knew that this girl, this Via, had something to show me. All the Levorian standards, all the conditioning, and still I knew.

"Mills," she says, pushing my shoulder lightly. "I have something for you." I open my tired eyes to a silver blur. Slowly, my vision focuses. 'Class one' flashes before my eyes.

It's a collar.

"It's fake," Via explains. "This way, if anyone sees us we can pass for normal citizens. However, it's not just the people we need to fool."

Snapping the collar into place, I tilt my head in question. "What do you mean, not just the people? What else?"

A familiar darkness passes over Via. Slowly, she points to a small cylindrical object protruding from the wall above us.

"Cameras," she replies coldly. "They're always watching us, Edward. While we work, while we sleep. They have towers filled with people whose only job is to watch."

I shiver. "How? How do you know all this?"

"I've seen it myself. I've been it. There's so much you don't know about our world."

I don't know exactly what she means by that, but something tells me not to ask. Shaken, I look up at the evil eye above. "Can they see us now?"

"No," she says quickly. "If they could, we'd already be dead. Any close watchtower will find that all the cameras in EK-12 have unfortunately shorted out. It will take them hours to fix the problem. The same goes for your elementary school. Do you really think your little closet charade would fool anyone? If I hadn't cut the chords you'd be long gone now. It's just chance that you're alive. A fluke."

My eyes widen. Impossible. How could I have been so stupid? Of course, while I was playing spy, this girl had already shorted out the cameras. She was right. I had no idea who I was dealing with. The graffiti hardly even scratched the surface. Dumbfounded, I look in admiration at the genius who saved me, however unintentionally. This girl has fooled a nation, I think. She's fooled us all.

Once again, Via's voice brings me back. "Mills, I need you to trust me now, okay?"

My mind spins but I try and focus. "Okay..." I say tentatively.

"Get under the desk."

"What?"

"Get under. The desk." She repeats. "You'll find a tarp. Put it over your body and don't move."

Startled, I nearly speak again, but one look from Via and I do as she says. The desk is hard and the tarp crinkles louder than I'd hope. I shelter there, confused and scared.

All the blood in my veins runs cold as I hear the most terrifying sound imaginable, the sound of a key turning in a door handle.

"Shhhhh," Via whispers. "Don't worry. It's a friend."