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THE GUITAR DROPPED ONTO the floor with a loud crash of hollow wood and clashing notes as the strings vibrated from hitting the ground. Evalene stood, heart pounding. They stood between her and the only way out of the room. She tried to gauge how soon Olive would be back, but it was impossible to say, if she got caught up talking to someone or side tracked by dinner.
Evalene straightened her spine and lifted her chin, forcing herself to stare directly into the big man’s eyes. He thought she was a high Number, and she was determined to keep it that way. She knew his type. If he found out she was a lower Number, he’d still be a bully, but he’d be far less likely to take it easy, since no one cared what happened to a 29. If she stood tall and proud like Ruby, they would back off and leave her alone. Wouldn’t they?
“Excuse me.” She took a few steps towards them. “I’ll be on my way.”
But they didn’t budge. “Schorl,” Talc said over his shoulder, cracking his knuckles, “guard the door.”
The long-haired man nodded, stepping outside and pulling the door closed behind him. It clicked shut. “There’s no lock,” the smaller man said, but Talc waved him off, stepping towards Evalene.
“I know a brat just like you back home,” he told her, advancing. She backed up until her legs ran into the sofa behind her. “She thought she was better than me too. Had the Regs give me a couple beatings over nothin’ and now I’m thinkin’ why don’t we get a little payback?” This last part he said over his shoulder to the smaller man.
Evalene took advantage of his momentary distraction to move around behind the couch into the next circle of chairs and sofas. Now if he wanted to come after her, he had to chase her around. Her mind raced, trying to think of a way that she could make both men chase her, instead of just Talc. If she could get them both to come to this side, then her path to the door would open and she could make a run for it.
But as Talc turned back with a sneer, she remembered the third man on the other side of the door. She backed up further, glancing around the room for some sort of weapon to defend herself against his huge hands, but the only objects close at hand were the couches and chairs with their soft cushions and pillows. Desperate, she continued to back up, moving towards a picture that hung on the wall.
The men were enjoying their position of power, not in a hurry, and as Talc rounded the corner of the couch with a sinister grin, Evalene reached up to yank the frame off the wall. She would throw it at him, in hopes that it would hit or trip him, so that she could round the couch and try to get past the others.
But the picture was anchored to the wall. With the frequency that the sub dove and resurfaced, it made sense that everything was bolted down, yet Evalene pulled harder, frantic.
Talc laughed, a deep, menacing sound that gave her shivers. She gave up, turning to face him, crouching to run or fight as the smaller man rounded the couch from the other side. Despite being terrified, Evalene clenched her fists, preparing to swing when they got closer and take them by surprise. She refused to take a beating the way she’d had to back home.
“Let me in right now!” Olive’s voice demanded from outside the door. “This room is for everyone to use—” The door knob turned. “If your friend wanted privacy he should’ve gone to his bunk. Excuse me!” As the door burst open, Talc and the smaller man both moved away from Evalene, leaving her to stand trembling against the back wall while they dropped into the nearest chairs. Olive appeared in the entrance, scowling.
“Evie, hurry up, it’s time for dinner and the meeting,” Olive said, as if Evalene should’ve known. She waved vehemently for Evalene to come, and Evalene didn’t dawdle. Almost running past the smaller man, where he sat in his chair, she hurried to Olive’s side.
Evalene didn’t look back until she was standing with Olive. The men’s faces held barely veiled resentment, but they stayed seated. Though two girls wouldn’t be any more difficult for three men to detain than one, something about Olive’s confidence, or maybe her connections with the crew, made them hold back. “Let’s go,” Olive said to Evalene, and to the men in a louder voice, almost like a mother chastising naughty children, she said, “I’m glad everyone is behaving. Wouldn’t want anyone kicked off the mission and sent back to Eden.” With that threat in the air, the girls exited the room.
Passing the long-haired man named Schorl as they left and crossed the gym, Olive spoke to him sternly, “Tell your friends to come to the mess deck for the meeting. It’s mandatory.” She spun on her heel towards the ladder and Evalene followed closely.
When Olive waved her up first, Evalene stepped onto the rungs and began climbing. Reaching the mess deck, Evalene didn’t stop moving until she was on the other side of the room by the door to the bridge, her back against the wall. Her heart still raced, but as her flushed skin cooled, it was replaced with a cold sweat that made her palms feel clammy.
The room was packed. All the tables were full, standing room only, and the crowd reminded Evalene that Olive had mentioned a meeting. Evalene had thought that was just an excuse. She stayed planted in the corner. Though she’d rather be alone in her bunk, this was by far the safer place to be right now. Talc wouldn’t touch her in this crowd.
Jeremiah stood comfortably in the center of the group, waiting for the last few stragglers before he began. Olive caught up to where Evalene stood against the far wall, “Are you okay?”
Evalene shook her head once, slightly. She didn’t speak. What could she say?
At that moment, Talc’s head appeared as he climbed the ladder, followed by the other two men. Did Olive have to tell them to come? Even in the midst of all these people, Evalene felt herself shiver. She tried to angle behind those in front of her so that Talc wouldn’t see her.
Olive caught on and moved to stand in front of her as well. Her sensitivity surprised Evalene. “Thank you,” Evalene whispered, and Olive nodded in response.
Impressed by this new serious side of the girl, Evalene was thankful. Kevra certainly wouldn’t have protected her like that. A new appreciation for Olive rose up at that thought.
In the middle of the room, Jeremiah turned to Luc and spoke over the quiet conversation around the room. “Is everyone here?” When Luc nodded, he began without preamble. The chatter died down naturally as people stopped talking to listen.
“Yesterday, I promised I would elaborate on the Low Level Employee Work Rule. Our mission. Are you ready to hear the assignment?” Jeremiah swung around, directing the question to each corner of the room.
Everyone’s eyes were riveted on his face. Some lit up with excitement for the long-awaited mystery while others, older and more experienced, looked on anxiously. But there were nods all around the room, and even a soft call of “Yes, please!” from a teen and “I am!” from his friend sitting next to him. They immediately hunched down into the crowd to hide where the voices came from.
But Jeremiah smiled slightly and nodded in their direction as if to praise them for speaking up. “What I’m about to tell you about the Work Rule is something almost no one in Eden, including the Number One, knows.” Evalene frowned at the idea of the Number One not knowing one of his own policies. She saw similar frowns across the room. Jeremiah clasped his hands in front of him and touched his fingers to his lips, as if choosing his words carefully.
“The Work Rule has only two purposes. First, we are helping all of you... to escape from Eden.”
Everyone gasped.
Jeremiah spoke over the murmurs that rose all around the room, “Without the Number One, or the Regulators knowing it, we have helped you leave the country. You are now officially in free waters. And you will arrive on free land.”
The whispers grew to outright conversation as everyone voiced their excitement, shock, disbelief. Jeremiah let it sink in for a moment.
Swiveling to look at different people around the room as he spoke, his eyes met Evalene’s briefly, then moved on, “When we land on the island, I want you to understand that Numbers don’t exist there at all.”
Instead of whipping the talkers into a frenzy, the room froze, as everyone held their breath. It sounded too good to be true, and Evalene could tell she wasn’t the only one who thought so.
Jeremiah repeated himself, driving the point home. “From this point on, you no longer have a Number either.” Though he had said similar words to Evalene the day before, it still didn’t feel real to her.
“Now, you can stay and live the rest of your life on the island. Or travel to another country altogether. Or,” he paused, “you can be a part of something greater.”
He gazed at those in front of him, then swung back in Evalene’s direction, and she watched the fire in his eyes as he told them, “The second purpose of the Work Rule is to gather an army and fight to take our country back.” He emphasized each word as he spoke, enunciating so that no one misunderstood. “Our hope is that you will stand with us against the Number system – against the Number One himself – and fight until Eden is free!”
Jeremiah’s voice and charisma were captivating. Evalene liked how he talked with his hands. The room was so still that the only sound was the cooks in the kitchen banging pans together as they prepared dinner behind the metal window. But Jeremiah ignored it, continuing, “Over the last two years, we have gathered a small army. Using the Work Rule, we sailed back and forth between Eden and the island, rescuing people just like you.” Someone whooped at that, although quietly, and cut off quickly. Jeremiah nodded to them, again praising bravery.
“But there are thousands more who still need us.” The cheers died down at the sobering thought. His voice rose again, challenging them. “Do you see anyone else standing up for us? Who will fight for our friends and our family if we don’t?”
His questions hung in the air. The room was silent, quiet. The crowd shifted at the challenge, uneasy. To offer freedom and then ask them to give it up? His speech wasn’t earning him any cheers now.
In a soft voice, almost a whisper, Jeremiah pleaded with them. “Think of those who have been disciplined with death row by the Regulators. Or what about those who simply disappeared?” Evalene thought of her mother. She tried to imagine how Pearl would have responded to Jeremiah’s words. She blinked back tears as she pictured someone just like Jeremiah saying these things to her mother years ago. He spread his hands wide as he stared into their faces. “Who will be next?”
Around the room, faces hardened. A couple people sniffed, and hands tightened into fists, men, women, and teenagers alike. Jeremiah’s voice grew hard as well. “Eden cannot afford to be a land of Numbers any longer. Your friends, your family, everyone back home needs us. We have to fight for them!” A few soft murmurs of agreement rose around the room, but Evalene took a shuddering breath. What if he was right?
“I am extending this invitation to all of you, just as I have to those who came before you,” Jeremiah continued with his hands outstretched, and everyone hushed immediately, hanging on his words. Through the crowd, Evalene caught a glimpse of Talc and his friends, as angry as ever, but now their eyes were trained on Jeremiah and his words.
“Join us.”
Just two words, but they hit Evalene in the chest as if she’d been punched.
Jeremiah stepped back, dropping his hands to his sides. “I won’t tell anyone what to do. I’m not the Number One and I never want to be.”
He pointed towards the front of the ship, in the direction it was going. “Tomorrow we reach the island. We will spend three days there while we rest and finalize our plans. Please take those three days to consider my invitation. You are welcome to stay in the tents with us while you decide. If you have any questions between now and then, please come talk to me or Luc.”
Evalene studied the faces around her as he spoke, trying to gauge who was moved by his plea. Everyone looked riled up to some extent, but she couldn’t tell by their frowns if they wanted to fight or flee. Maybe they were as conflicted as she was.
Jeremiah spread his hands expansively. “On the fourth day, we will return to Eden. And we will fight!” A few people shouted in agreement at that, including Talc, who moved forward as if to volunteer right then and there. The volume was so loud, Jeremiah yelled his final statement: “It’s time to be Number-free!”
Everyone burst into applause, shouting approval, thrilled that someone was taking their side. Amid the chaos and cheering, when Evalene was sure that Talc wasn’t looking, she snuck through the hatch that led to the bridge.
She made her way to the secret panel that Olive had showed her the day before. Testing the wall, she glanced back over her shoulder to make sure she was alone before she pushed, hard. It slid open.
Grateful, she sighed in relief and snuck inside, immediately sliding the door closed behind her. Without the glow sticks, her heart pounded anxiously in the darkness, but she didn’t care. Talc couldn’t find her here. That’s all that mattered.
She crept blindly towards the back of the storage, as far from the entrance as possible. This was where she would stay until they arrived at the island tomorrow. She was tired enough that she could sleep anywhere. And she’d gone without food much longer than this. It wouldn’t be hard. That fate didn’t bother her nearly as much as her conscience did after Jeremiah’s speech.
She’d only had her freedom for a few days, and now she was considering giving it up?