INSOLENCE

CHAPTER 1

I lie on my bed in the darkness, drumming my fingers on my bedside table. Today is my first drafting day.

I don't know what to expect - it's quite possible that I could end up training to go to war - the "War on Crime" to be exact. And yet, it's also quite possible that I could end up up missing the draft this year... this year. I have to do this for three more years if I'm not drafted today.

I wish I just knew what the outcome will be... am I going to be drafted? Not necessarily today, but on one of the draft days... if I knew I was going to later, I would probably ask to go now. You can voluntarily draft, but people seldom do it for various reasons.

My bedroom door opens. Tori, my younger sister enters quietly and sits on the floor, understanding why I've left the lights on even though I'm awake.

"Aero," she says quietly. She opens her mouth to say more, but she's obviously at a loss for words. She slowly closes it moments later.

I look at her. "I know."

Her shiny eyes stare at me in the imperfect darkness, and I wish she wasn't so bothered by this.

I force a smile, but it doesn't do much to comfort her.

"Listen... I might not even be drafted this year."

She realizes what I've known this whole time and frowns.

"This year."

I lose my smile, knowing she could see right through it.

"Hey. Even if I'm drafted, I won't be gone that long. I'll be back before you know it..."

Tori cuts me off. "That's not what happened to Paul."

I stop drumming my fingers and sit up, looking at her with a serious face. "Victoria, you and I both know that his death was heroic. Not everyone does that kind of thing... most people just follow they're orders, sustain some minor injuries and come home."

Tori shakes her head. "Well, then that's stupid. What's the point in being drafted if you're just going to do the average joe job anyway?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm 'talking' about the people who just 'follow orders' and come home without doing anything spectacular. They shouldn't be drafted in the first place. I want to go to the surface Aero. Because unlike you, I don't remember it. I want to live the way everyone else is."

"That's why the draft is in place - we're trying our hardest to get everyone involved in the War on Crime."

Tori isn't satisfied with my answer, and I see it in her eyes. "Well then why the hell are the putting more damn people down there all the time, Aero? They're trying to extinguish the flames and throwing in more fuel at the same time!  That's why we can't go down there! The government..."

This time, I cut Tori off. "Don't you get started on the government. Seriously."

Tori doesn't listen. "We have the right..."

"Tori, I'm serious. During the pandemic, Mom was worried about this. It's not 'the government' anymore. It's Alpha Corporation, and they're ruthless."

I get a raised eyebrow. "...So?"

"So, you've got to watch your mouth. The lofts are their societies. We haven't a clue about what kind of surveillance they have on us. If they feel threatened, I wouldn't put it past them to do whatever it took to get rid of that threat."

"You guys!" My mom calls from the kitchen. "It's time to get ready for school!"

I stand up and walk past Tori into the hall. Staring at her through the doorway, I look at her, and think of all the things I could say to her. I'm on the verge of something, but I decide to keep it to myself. I don't want any contention between my only living sibling and myself in case I am drafted.

Either way, it still bothers me that she threw Paul's name around like that. Just like how she hardly remembers living in the Below, she hardly remembers our brother, Paul. He was drafted right towards the beginning of the War on Crime, and as Tori reminded me, he didn't come back. We were told he sacrificed himself in the field, but we weren't given much more to grasp at.

What I'm glad Tori didn't remind me of, however, is that our dad was also lost to the war. It was only days after we were told that Paul had died. Another government official arrived on our doorstep and explained, in words very similar to those used to inform us of Paul's "untimely passing," that my dad was also dead due to a heroic sacrifice. I do believe that both Paul and my father are dead, but I don't believe the explanations they gave us.

But I need Tori to, because I don't want her to do something that angers the government.

I can't lose her too.