They escorted William and the other students to one of the empty classrooms. Chairs had already been set on desks, and the floor was recently cleaned. He hadn’t been in the room for a few years because it was mainly used for a freshman math class.
“Take a seat,” Katarina ordered. Another six Goons were with her. None had that dangerous look in their eyes that she had. They appeared almost normal. One of the Goons was only a few years older than Will, in his early 20s. He wore thick-rimmed glasses, making him appear more friendly than the others. The Goon that had lifted the one kid, psychically or otherwise, was older still. With a long scar on the side of his face, he grinned at William.
“Now,” Katarina ordered.
The others with William jolted as if startled and did as they were told. Will moved to sit beside Lindsey, who had been more than a little downtrodden by her ousting as an Arc. William knew they were friends, but neither had admitted to the other that they had a special power. It wasn’t something people talked about. A mark of shame. William had known more than a few people who were ostracized when it came out that they were an Arc. A fact that he was trying to ignore. When the rumor spread, he didn't know how his uncle or neighbors would react. He pushed the thought away.
“Hey-” He tried to say to Lindsey but was cut off as Katarina talked loudly.
“I am sure you are all a little confused. Sorry to ambush you kids like this, but the Dragoons have decided on a new recruitment method. Congratulations! You have all scored a job interview with the elite ranks of society,” she said with a mocking clap. “We will be conducting interviews one by one. My colleagues here will be calling names. Having recently completed your graduation ceremony, I'm confident you're accustomed to this. Once we announce your name, you enter the hall, and we will guide you to a separate room for some private time.
With a wider smile, she stepped out with five of the other Goons. One was left by the door, and to William’s surprise, a clipboard appeared out of nowhere. Her hands were empty one second, and the next, the clipboard was in her hand. Normally, he would have wanted to know how, but she was an Arc; they could do crazy things, and he had other worries on his mind.
“Lindsey,” Will said.
“Don’t,” she said, turning to him. Her light red hair parted to reveal tears in her eyes. “I don’t want to talk right now.”
William gulped. He knew that she was booked for a flight tomorrow morning to go to California. She was supposed to graduate and go off to spend the summer with her dad. She planned to return and attend college in Chicago. The revelation of her identity as an Arc likely compelled her to modify her plans. Will slowly nodded and turned back.
“Isla Fisher,” the Goon by the door announced. The star cheerleader at school shook as she stood up. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she hung her head low as she walked outside the room. William knew that feeling—the fear. Most had seen Goons kill for the slightest issue. Murderers—every one of them, they had brought order to the world by force and fighting this. Fighting them. Was useless.
As another name rang out, Will chewed his lip slowly. He wished he had been left alone. Another face in the crowd as the students left the ceremony to go to their homes. He could almost hear them all talking at once. They were saying things like, "Did you know that so-and-so was an Arc?" "They appeared so normal." "I can’t believe I was their lab partner." "What if they used their powers? I always knew they were a freak.”
Last year, a student got into a fight with another. One of the senior boys had hit on his girlfriend. When the guy who started the fight began to lose, his skin changed colors, and he became a lot stronger. Dozens of kids saw it, and someone screamed, outing him as an Arc. The kid ran away in shame, his power losing control. His girlfriend dumped him, and he never came back to classes. Rumor said he joined the Goons because no one else would hire him.
William was slowly realizing it could happen to him. There was no real proof he was an Arc; hell, he didn’t even know how the Goons could tell he was one. But rumors would fly, and his life as he knew it was over.
“Lindsey Fields,” the Goon said. Lindsey jolted upright and slowly stood. Will wanted to talk to her. A part of him wanted to know her power, to maybe share what his was, but he knew it was a conversation that would probably never happen. With the revelation, he could almost feel the familiarity between them fade.
“William Matthews,” the Goon said. Will gulped and stood. After taking two long breaths, he decided to stop this self-loathing. He resolved to put an end to the fear he was harboring. He had faced certain death at 13 years old and came out alive. For him, this was nothing. He would get past it.
Forcing a smile on his face, he turned around. Locking eyes with the other students he had grown up with, he didn’t shy away this time. With a new attitude taking over out of the blue, he was starting to feel like himself again. Not afraid of anything. This was nothing in the grand scheme of things. So what if he was outed as an Arc? He would deal with it, just as he dealt with every issue in his life.
He walked past the Goon and stepped into the hall. Katarina Little stood there, waiting for him. She still had a strong presence, but he forced a wider smile on his face to match her own. Despite the fact that he didn’t know what she could do, he forced himself to think of her as any normal person. They both had powers, and though his wasn’t exactly for fighting, for all he knew, neither was hers.
“I thought it was you,” she said with a nod. The simple words brought him back to reality. The statement tightened his stomach, prompting him to recall the location of his last encounter with her. The Anarchist War was at its peak when he last saw her. Back when William did have a lot of fear, back when he was still a scared kid.
“Follow me,” she ordered. Turning around, the woman in black led him to another classroom. It was empty except for two chairs facing each other. The cold sweat had broken out on his neck again as he watched her sit down. He didn’t wait for an order to sit opposite her. Letting out a long and slow breath, he sat and did his best to try to reclaim some of that bravado he had a moment ago. However, the reminder of the war had shaken him more than he realized.
“William Matthews,” Katarina said, opening a file in her hands. On the front sheet, Will could see a mug shot of his face. “Parents killed in the war.” Will refrained from clarifying that his mother was killed by Goons. “You live with your uncle, the Police chief." Fancy.” She smiled again, closing the folder.
“Does he know you’re an Arc?” Katarina asked. Will licked his lips and slightly shook his head. It's not surprising; most people tend to keep it a secret. As you could tell by all the surprise Arcs in your class. Tell me, did you suspect?”
William didn’t have to answer. Her eyes sparkled as she studied him a couple of feet away. “Did you know you were an Arc back when I saved you?”
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Will wanted to say she didn’t save him, but in all honesty, she probably had. After the Goons showed up, Will stayed with Samson and Santos for a while. However, the chaos of those days led to their separation. Will found himself alone and faced numerous near-death experiences. He had foolishly hidden himself in the sewers. A huge rainstorm hit, flooding them. Katarina herself pulled him out of the floodwaters. She had saved him, kept him warm, fed him his first meal in days, and brought him to one of the Goons' refugee camps.
By that point, the anarchy and riots had mostly died out, and they were in charge. People were doing as they were told, and the Goons were keeping promises. The city regained power, everyone received fresh food and water, and a sense of normalcy returned to the world.
“I…did,” William admitted. His power had awakened during the height of the crisis. Back when he was alone, scared, and trying to stay alive.
“Must have been weak then,” Katarina said, as if that explained everything. “It doesn’t look like you use your power much, but that’s to be expected for people like you. So any questions for me?”
William hesitated. He didn’t expect to be able to ask a question. He almost said no, but his courage was slowly coming back to him. “Why?”
“Why what?” She asked, turning around to a black satchel hanging on her chair, she pulled out an apple. She took a loud bite from the apple and pretended that this was just another conversation between her and William. Which it probably was, but for William, it was his first time actually talking to a Dragoon. It was more than a little surreal for him. Talking to the boogeyman herself.
“Why do this? Why are you here? At my graduation?” William asked. His mind was slowly coming back to him, and he was starting to feel the rage he should have been feeling.
“Because why hide it?” She asked. “Why hide that you can do something special? Why hide the fact that you are special?”
This was not the first time William had heard these words. Back in the day, there would be commercials for branches of the military. However, after the Goons took control, the military ceased to exist, leading the Goons to advertise themselves instead. It seemed every time Will turned on the TV, there was a commercial showing Dragoons doing this or that with their abilities. They were always really cheesy, too. A man growing larger and becoming a lot stronger. Someone flying through the air. An Arc controlling water to water plants as if they were using their powers for menial tasks like that instead of killing people.
Before Will could call her out, Katarina continued. “The Dragoons aren’t as loved as you might think. Arcs, less so. My current job is recruitment, but I used to be an AP. Arc Police. You would be surprised at how many Arcs I find dead. Once they are outed, like we did to you lot, they have a target on their back from those around them. My job was to try to figure out who killed who.” Will slowly nodded. That was one of many reasons Arcs stayed hidden.
To his surprise, Katarina continued her explanation. "This new initiative aims to help limit that. Instead of your neighbors seeing you do something you shouldn’t. The rumor mill going around, and suddenly a mob of angry normal people is at your door. We can rip the bandage off. Give you our contact information. If an issue arises, feel free to reach out to us, and we will ensure that no one of our kind suffers needlessly.
Will wanted to see the truth in her words, which he guessed that was a part of it. But the real reason was obvious. “Or is it to force us to join you?”
“Maybe that,” Katarina said without shame. Your friends now fear you. You are alone once more, and those average people you once called your neighbors could turn on you. From now on, you will be marked as an Arc. Many of you will go to get your new Citizen IDs. Now that you have graduated and most of you are 18, you can start being adults. Buying alcohol will be legal for you, as will voting and drugs, if that’s your thing. You can do any and everything adults can do. But those of you that are Arcs will have your IDs marked with that fact.”
After the Dragoons took over, they made a big deal about becoming Citizens. Instead of requiring a person to be at a certain age, you had to have graduated high school, or an equivalent course, and be at least 18 years old. If you wanted a driver's license, you could get a temporary ID, but the Citizen ID was the first and final identification people needed to get a job and do almost anything.
The Goons hadn’t much cared about if people smoked cigarettes or did drugs. By legalizing most illicit drugs, you could buy heroin and cigarettes from the same stores. All owned and run by the Goons. The drinking age was no longer 21. And the legal age for joining the Goons was 18 years old.
William had heard rumors of some IDs being marked as an Arc. He had never seen one, hoping he would never be outed. It appeared that the information was true. He was gradually realizing that the Goons might be his only option for the future.
“Tell me, William,” Katarina said, drawing away from his thoughts. “Do you like being normal?” Will hesitated, unsure how to answer the question. She continued. “I joined the Goons years ago. Back before we were Goons.” Will had never heard anyone in their ranks use the derogatory term. A part of him was concerned that she was acting the part of good cop. “I have been an Arc for decades. I can do something special. Something no one else can, and I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
As she spoke, she had his full attention. “There are amazing things out there in the world. Unbelievable abilities. I’ve seen people healed from death in an instant. I've seen people shake the earth and destroy armies with a wave of their hands. I've seen people fly into space with no craft, just their abilities." William gulped as his gaze met hers. “I was in New York City about 10 minutes before I walked onto the stage for your graduation. Our people are capable of opening doors to anywhere in the world. Tonight I’ll sleep in my bed, and tomorrow I’ll be in another city for a graduation, inviting more people to join our ranks. More people to show us what their abilities can do. Do you really think this hatred for our kind is recent? Arcs have been around a lot longer than most people think. Centuries, millenia. This world is far older and different than you imagined.”
William believed her. It was something he had never thought of before, but he had heard of Arcs before the Anarchist War. Back then, they were faceless fears. The Dragoons made that fear a reality.
“I live in a world you can only imagine. Have a strength you could only dream about. We'd like you to join us. Use your power however you wish. It doesn’t matter, William. All this hate towards Dragoons, for what? Having an ability that we didn’t choose to have?” She had a sad look in her eyes. A look that sympathized with him. He experienced the sensation of standing out among the masses. He wanted to believe her. A part of him did, and it sickened him.
His throat was constricting. William felt tears in his eyes for the first time in years. The last time he had cried was when Katarina had saved him. He was alone back then. He swore to never do it again. But facing this woman. This ever-present fear in the back of his mind of her and her kind. People like himself. William didn’t know how to react. His emotions were too far out of wack from being outed, and he was now asked to join the elites of the world that he had loathed for so long. He didn’t know how to process it all.
“Think about it,” Katarina said. Finishing her apple, she threw the core in a trashcan behind her, then reached into her bag again. She pulled out a business card that contained her name, number, and the address of the Dragoon Headquarters in New York. "An emergency number is on the back of my card. If you call and give your location someone can be to you within 60 seconds. That’s how powerful we are. Help is never far away.”
William slowly nodded. To his surprise again, he stuck the card in his pocket. “Call me if you wish to join up,” she added. William waited for her to say more. “You can go now. Go back to your life. However, consider my proposal. We would love to have you.”
Slowly standing, Will walked away. Leaving the room, he noticed someone else being escorted to a different classroom. They were wearing the same look of fear that had been on Will's face when he first entered the room. Now, he wasn’t so sure. Maybe the Dragoons weren’t so bad. Maybe they really worth looking into.
His belief and ideas were shaken. Will didn’t thinking of trying to find Lindsey. She would have been offered the same, but he knew she wouldn’t take it. She had a summer vacation to go on. A life to get back to. William, not so much. He had no plans and no idea where to go from here. But he had an option.
The card in his pocket felt like it had heated up. Trying to pull him into making the call. He turned his head away. Heading down the familiar halls, he left the school for the last time and went home. He didn’t want to join the Dragoons. There had to be more options out there, he simply had to find them.