Utopia (ON HOLD)

Hideaway

I walk to school with growing unease. In these cases, the government says we should call our parents as soon as possible and they should help us solve whichever problem we have. But while I've felt uneasy before, this is something different. I've never felt anything like this.

Frowning and trying hard to figure out what the problem was, I absentmindedly fingered the collar of my uniform, when I stumbled over someone.

"Agh!" I tripped over the person, almost falling over, but catching myself just at the last second.

"Decree of Avoiding Accidents, Law 23 a)," I recited," A citizen should not try to trip anyone over, and if they do, an apology is required. Well?"

The person groaned and didn't get up.

"Mister? Do you need to be sent to the hospital?"

The boy, who looked about my age, rolled over. "No, please."

"Do you need any medical assistance? I'm a qualified member of the Youth Emergency Service, and I can help," I said, kneeling beside him. "You don't need to speak, just nod yes or shake your head no."

The boy, with yellow hair tinged with a blueish tint, nodded his head weakly. "Promise you're not one of them?"

I was taken aback. One of what? What did the boy even mean?

"Sir, you are getting delirious. I should get you to a safe place."

"The name's Connor Houston," he said.

My eyebrows shot up. Houston? That was not a government-designated surname. Neither was Connor, actually.

But the Youth Emergency Service Instructor had said to always keep calm, whatever situation you were under. So I stayed calm. "Okay, Connor, I'm taking you to the nearest shelter I can find. I'll call the school to let them know I have a YES medical problem and that I won't be able to go to school..."

He slapped my arm down just as I reached for my communicator, which was in my pocket. "Don't call anyone. The government tracks your movements through your communicator."

I slowly put my hand down. "What?"

"Deactivate your communicator. Now."

I crossed my arms. "This isn't standard protocol."

"Oh, for goodness' sake, nothing about this is what you guys call 'standard protocol'!" Connor yelled. "Trust me, if you don't completely deactivate your communicator---well, breaking it will be better, actually---there's going to be huge trouble." His show of emotion drained him, and he started coughing.

"What sort of trouble?" I asked, my curiosity starting to get the better of me.

"As in, electric-zap guns and arrest and execution trouble! Now can you get me to a non-government shelter?" he asked in a cautious voice, careful not to strain himself too much.

I nodded, not wanting to ask too much questions lest he over-stressed himself. "I know a place not far from here. Can you stand?"

Before he did, he smoothly slid his hand into my pocket, taking the communicator out, and smashed it against the ground, breaking it into a million pieces.

"Hey!" I said, annoyed. Now I had no way of contacting the government at all.

"Bury it, can you?" Connor said it more like an order than a question.

I gritted my teeth, dug a hole in the ground, and put the dirt over it, patting it flat without a trace. Anyone whose communicator was broken faced a penalty of fifty years in prison, no matter their age. And you would be without a job after prison, so I'd rather not risk it.

Connor tried to stand up, but his legs wobbled and collapsed under him.

I sighed. "Please don't tell anyone about this."

Closing my eyes, I imagined a chair appearing in front of me, and focused on forcing it to happen. Blue and gold energy flowed out of my body to create it, and I smiled in satisfaction. Connor stared at it amazement, shook his head to clear his mind, and heaved himself onto it.

Using my power again, I lifted the chair into the sky and floated it into the forested mountains. Nobody ever went there because of the hard-to-navigate trees, and there weren't any flying machines (a ridiculous idea! Whoever heard of a flying machine?), so we relied on jeeps. And this particular mountain was full of cliffs without bridges and steep ravines, impossible to navigate unless you had a power like mine.

We continued until we couldn't stop, with me building a temporary bridge every time we needed to cross a ravine or anything like that.

At long last, we stopped at a perfectly normal-looking tree.

Connor stopped me. "Uh, how is this a secret hiding place?  The city patrol drones that are starting patrol in three hours will discover us very quickly."

I rolled my eyes at him. "This is not a normal tree. Look carefully, and you'll find that there's a branch that isn't as low-hanging as the others."

I created a thousand clippers and used them to press on every single leaf on the tree at once.

Immediately, the tree started to groan and creak, and a hole appeared in it that was just big enough for a person to fit through.

"Go in first," I said, sending the chair downwards. I went in after him.