Evan sat on a grey cobbled pillar by the school’s front steps. The air smelled of wet cobblestone, which was oddly soothing compared to the stiff atmosphere of indoor recycled breathing. He watched the sway of rust-colored trees that caressed an overcast sky. Periodically, the clouds might peel back, allowing the Sun to emblazon the dying leaves with fiery reds and oranges, like light when it passes through the skin of a finger splayed hand. There were few places in the Federation that maintained such beauty, and beyond the hills that shielded the school were a fair number of wastelands, ruins, and places where the price for survival had been paid a thousand times over.
Below the trees were four twelve-foot-tall, electrified walls of metal which surrounded the campus of Nero Caine Academy, painted to look like red brick. Toward the northside, a single gate opened for split road that stretched infinitely East and West. Parallel to the road was a rail system. A tram would arrive momentarily, as it did every day, and every night.
Wait for the tram, E-friend.
Evan twirled the two IDs between his fingertips, while AI synthesized music played in his ratty-old headphones. The torn cushions of earmuffs hugged his head with the embrace of his childhood. They were ancient technology by most standards, but they played music all the same.
Further ahead of him mingled the newly graduated class. Many friends, none of them his. Airships and hovercars descended to landing pads just outside of the school’s gate, with hundreds of students, parents, servants, and staff cycling in and out of them for their journey home. Luggage stacked in piles upon piles in the courtyard and around the landing zones, sorted through and distributed by sharply dressed staff. Evan, however, had no luggage. He couldn’t bring himself to go into his dorm again after the custodians had gathered Ken’s stuff, which wasn’t much to begin with. All he’d had left were the two IDs, his phone, headphones, and backpack filled with a coat and random school supplies.
He closed his eyes and tried to remember. The cool air became the ocean spray. The Sun’s warmth held him, and the cobble pillars were coarse like beach sand under his fingers. It reminded him of a moment before he’d become what he was. A moment with his father. They admired the setting sky, reds and purples spreading out and waving them farewell while they collected shells. Their feet left craters in the sand as they walked toward an old white house. Ken was there. So was Evan’s mother.
Monster.
A sharp chill swept over Evan, taking the memory away with it. Perhaps it was for the best because he dreaded seeing the inside of that sickly house yet again.
Evan shook his head and set aside the IDs, stripped off his uniform shirt, then pulled out his brown coat and slipped it on instead. Its right shoulder was sewn with a patch of an upside-down Federation flag, orienting the crescent moon backward. He liked to pretend it was intentional, a rebellion against the Federation. But it was only a sewing error.
Wearing a miss-sewn badge was the most rebellious thing he had ever done, apart from existing. So, what was he thinking when he stole Ken’s ID? What was someone like him supposed to do with a useless piece of metal? What statement could he make that wouldn’t also throw himself into Federation custody? He was no hero. No rebel. No savior. He never wanted to be. All he wanted was… well, it was stupid. He knew it was stupid. But wouldn’t it be nice to just live in the music and never leave?
A whistle came from behind the hills, where a great metal eel of a tram slithered out across the rail system in front of the school. Giant circular emitters magnetically lifted its chain of carts. The words Monolith Industries scrolled across its frame in broad holographic letters, but it might as well have said, “Property of Governor Evangelos Hendricks.”
Images of the Governor’s second in command, Charlie Crain, came after. His smile could skin someone alive and then sell it back to them at twice the cost.
Then came the images of Evan’s father. He did not smile. His eyes held within them the cool calculating power that it took to control the East. That same power he always said would protect Evan and Ken.
Liar.
An automated voice came from the tram’s loading area. “Attention. The Monolith tram to: Hazard Station has arrived.”
“Train’s here, E-friend,” Evan whispered. Ken would always say that when the tram arrived, without fail, even though neither of them had ever rode it. But for some reason the train meant something to Ken all the same, like a reminder that there was always a choice, that there’d always be an escape open for them.
Evan held his knees to his chest. It shouldn’t have happened this way. He was supposed to save Ken, otherwise what was the point of it all? What was the point of that day when his mom…? It couldn’t have all been a waste. He made one more attempt at calling his dad. He had to know that everything would be ok, that his friend was going to be rescued and protected. Father had promised. He’d said they’d always be safe, that he’d always protect them… No, that he’d always protect Evan. Was that always the real promise, and Evan had hidden his own hopes within it? Just Evan? Not his friend? His brother?
“Please leave a message,” his father’s voicemail said.
Evan called again.
“Please leave a message.”
“Pick up, you-”
“Please-”
“Pick up!”
“Ple-”
“Agh!” Evan slammed his phone into his backpack but missed and instead dropped it into a patch of freshly cut grass.
Evan pinched his brow, only then realizing that he was sweating and some of the pillar’s granite was on his hands. He brushed the tiny rocks off.
“Cut it out, man,” he commanded himself. He took deep breaths, and the heat of his powers dissipated. Wouldn’t want to get arrested for Affliction on the day of graduation.
He caught the side glance of the three Hitler’s Youth; Anthony, Nicholas, and Vulture. They were a few yards away, waiting for their flight home. This was Evan’s last chance to avenge Ken, wasn’t it? His opportunity to make them hurt like they hurt him. Why shouldn’t he reach his hand out and watch as his power ripped them apart? That’s what he was good at anyway, tearing things apart, blowing them up, destroying everything. It wasn’t hard to imagine their molecules, thousands of tiny bigots making up three whole –
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Monster.
“That’s not me.” Evan squeezed his temples, ashamed of what he’d just been contemplating, the things he’d been thinking of all day. It was all wrong. Hurting them would only prove them right, it would prove the whole cursed world right, and he knew it wouldn’t make the pain go away either.
But if not revenge, and not passiveness, then what? What was there to do when all he felt was this gnawing emptiness? First his mom, now Ken. All he had left was his father. A man who wouldn’t answer his calls. A man who, when Evan really thought about it, never actually cared about them. He was the Governor, wasn’t he? He needed to cover for himself and only himself. That’s what he did after Evan’s mom had died, wasn’t it? This was the same thing again. What would the world say if it turned out that the Governor of the East had an Afflicted son after all this time? They’d riot. They’d try to tear down his empire. But some random, abnormal kid that he had adopted out of charity? Easier to spin. No ties to his genes.
Evan brushed his fingers through his hair. He didn’t know if any of that was true, and it was unfair to pin everything on his dad. But he couldn’t just sit and wait to find out if he was right or not. He had to fix this on his own.
“Last call for passengers bound for: Hazard Station and Dogma Isle,” the tram’s voice called out one more time.
There had always been a myth, that Afflicted were taken away to a special school where they wouldn’t hurt anyone, and they’d grow up in a community together – waiting for their chance to be released back into society when a cure was found. For the first time, Evan hoped it was true. Ken might find his parents there, they’d be reunited… A fool’s hope.
Evan pressed Ken’s ID against his forehead and made a promise. You’re not going to sacrifice yourself for me, buddy. I’m coming for you. Then he pocketed it. He stuffed his headphones in his backpack and jumped down from the pillar to snatch up his phone. His feet scraped against the cobbled road as he ran for the tram. A line of faculty and the occasional student funneled through a security pass where they’d flashed their IDs, a beam would scan them before turning green, and then the tram door would welcome them inside.
Forcing his apprehensions to the back of his head, Evan presented his ID to the scanner. A white light traced his body. It flashed green, followed by a metallic voice that said, “Evangelos Hendricks Junior, B3-1984. Identity accepted.”
The tram door opened for him, but he didn’t move. He was about to make the bravest, or stupidest, decision he’d ever made. But it would be his decision, not just a reaction to someone else’s. This was his chance to be an active force in his own life, and if he succeeded – if he saved his friend – maybe everything he’d been through would be worth something. He sucked in a breath, and stepped on to the tram, the doors sliding closed behind him.
The tram smelled like sulfur, and the carpeted floor was splotched with black stains. Evan looked down the narrow corridors to his left and right. At the end of each cart were secluded rooms, followed by rows of benches that faced each other in pairs and were tucked beside giant glass windows. The tram was filled with a swarm of passengers in either direction. There’d be the periodic student, but thankfully Evan didn’t recognize any of them.
“Now departing for: Hazard Station.”
The tram shifted, knocking Evan from his balance. He stumbled into one of the small rooms as the machine accelerated forward. There were two benches that faced each other, with a wide window at the end. He slid himself over to look outside, when he noticed a mound of a man lying on the bench across from him, snoring through the hum of the train. The Sun poured over his body like a fiery blanket. He was covered to his chin in a large black coat, and he clenched a physical picture, which was rather rare. It was of a smirking blonde woman in a white blouse.
The guy was asleep, which was good enough for Evan.
A weight lifted off him as the Academy – that prison of cobbled rocks, solid beams, and soulless glass – faded away. Part of him wanted to forget every human drone that attended or worked there, but he held on to them instead. If he ever ran into Nicholas, Anthony, or Vulture again…
He shook his head, exhaled, and let them go. They didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered was saving Ken.
He pulled his backpack off. It had a badge of the Federation Flag sewn into it as well. It begged for its life but deserved no compassion. Evan ripped it off and flicked it out of the window, along with his uniform shirt. The fabric flapped in the wind and whipped beneath the magnetic pull of the tram’s emitters.
So long, Hell.
The slow ride from the Midwestern Federation area to the East provided plenty of time for Evan to see the old American landscape from a different perspective. When in an airship, he never witnessed just how dwarfing the Appalachian Mountains were, or how haunting the forests around it looked, and how small he was compared to it all. He also never noticed how many soldiers patrolled the roads in armored cars; or just how many guns they had.
More chatter came from the automated system, “Arriving at: Hazard Station.”
Outside was a rustic town set upon small hills. It was made up of apartments and short houses that were constructed from pewter instead of polymer. Spiderwebs of cables and wires stretched between the buildings, making it seem rather haunting.
Looming farther up the coast was the capital of the Federation, Dogma Isle. Its omnipresent glass and steel monoliths gleamed against the setting Sun. Though the capital was near, its influence over the town was fragile. A lot of stories about Afflicted came from Hazard Station; everything from rioting to full-on skirmishes with rebels. It was because the Titan Project incident had happened not too far West of what had used to be Philadelphia. Ken was somewhere out there, and Evan would find him.
“Identification?” burped a tin voice.
A drone, like a large metallic eyeball, hovered in the doorway of Evan’s cubicle. Its red pupil swam in a sea of black. “Identification,” it said again.
Evan held out his ID.
The drone scanned Evan with a white beam that flashed to green. “Identity confirmed, Evangelos Hendricks Junior, B3-1984.”
The sleeping man stirred, his dark brown eyes blinking open underneath a scowl. His short hair and stubble jaw were equally shadowy. He was much thinner than his thick coat had suggested. The drone pivoted to the stranger, but it didn’t scan him; it just hummed as it rocked gently in the air. He nodded to the machine. It continued down the train, never scanning him.
Fear stung Evan. He’d never seen a drone skip a scan, even with Federation enforcers. He had a sudden urge to run.
“Junior, huh?” The man scoffed in a gravelly voice. “Governor’s kid. Good.”
“Good?” Evan’s spine tingled. His mind told him to get up, to leave, but his body chose to freeze up.
The man stuffed his photo of the blonde into his black jeans. His eyes salivated with Evan in their reflection.
“Change of plans,” he said.
“What?” Evan asked. Yep, time to find a new seat. He hopped up, but as his foot touched the floor, his body stiffened – his legs, torso, arms – everything except his face became paralyzed.
“Wha-?”
The stranger’s eyes glowed a faint white.
Evan stammered as he realized what kind of person this was. “Yo-you’re Afflicted.”
“Careful not to say that too loud, kid.”
“Next stop: Dogma Isle,” the tram snapped.
“Now,” the man muttered.
Lights flickered off, and the tram dropped to the ground with a sudden crash. The other passengers tumbled in their seats, but Evan stayed frozen in place. This guy’s working with someone else, a hacker who’s controlling the tram, and probably that drone as well.
The tram’s automated voice broadcasted an alert. “Attention passengers. This tram has experienced an unexpected depletion of power. Please exit promptly and wait for another vessel to arrive.”
“Ok, kid.” The man slid on a pair of sunglasses, hiding his glowing eyes. “I’m going to let go of you. Don’t run, don’t panic. Shut up and walk ahead of me where I tell you to go. Got it?”
“What do you want with me?”
“Didn’t I say, shut up?”
Evan considered his phone; it was programmed with an emergency transponder. He just had to reach into his pocket and tap it to send his father an emergency ping. But he’d have to play along with this guy or else he wouldn’t get the chance.
Sensation came to Evan’s head and neck. He nodded in compliance, then full control of his body returned to him.
A dark green tendril slithered away from Evan’s back and into the stranger’s sleeve. Was that how he paralyzed Evan?
The man twisted and grabbed the backpack.
Evan plunged his hand into his pocket and pinched the transponder button underneath his phone – and prayed. His hand was out before the stranger turned back.
“Let's go.” An object in the man’s coat pocket clinked against the bench as he prodded Evan forward.
A gun? Of course it was a gun.