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APPLAUSE. ROARING APPLAUSE, CHEERS, and shouts of her name. The camera panned to follow Evalene into the crowd, and she shied away. Her face pleaded with Luc to save her. She wasn’t used to being in the spotlight this long. Or at all.
He directed the next person in line onto the stage, guiding the camera-crew’s focus away from Evalene, but not before she’d grown bright red and embarrassed. She’d just cried on television. How awful.
But no one seemed to mind. Instead, as she tried to escape the cameras, some people in the camera room followed her out into the larger newsroom with all the computer screens. Those sitting or standing throughout the newsroom began to clap as well. Evalene hurried to close the door behind her to block out the noise.
A woman approached her and gave her an unexpected hug. A man nearby reached out to shake her hand. Their kindness made her uncomfortable but she thanked them until the crowd dispersed.
Evalene sank into one of the desk chairs in front of a computer. Watching the screens as the next speaker finished, she blinked in surprise when her face appeared on the screen again. They were replaying it? Watching her revelation of the tattoo felt like watching someone else.
As she watched, a weight lifted off her shoulders. She’d denied her Number in front of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. And she’d survived. Not only that, but people had listened. Each time she said the words, they felt a little more real. She had value. She was worthwhile. The speech had changed her forever. But had it made any difference in the fighting?
The broadcasts continued to go on in the tiny camera room, and Evalene watched with bated breath along with the rest of the room as they filmed walking into the Number One’s private chambers on live television, where the Number One sat, tied and gagged, to a chair, stripped of his fine clothes, wearing only his pajamas. He was just a shriveled, weak old man. His power and hold over people suddenly seemed foolish.
Olive looked especially pale and exhausted. The healer had told her she needed to stay awake for at least 12 hours, just to be safe. Evalene recalled how she’d felt after Kevra had knocked her out. She sympathized with Olive’s pounding head, remembering the feeling well.
Olive stretched out along the floor against the back wall where it was quietest, while Evalene and Sol sat nearby, helping to keep her awake. Someone had found Sol a shirt, although Evalene almost thought it’d be easier to keep Olive awake if they hadn’t.
Keeping an eye on her, they continued to watch the broadcast. Sol propped his dirty boots on the clean newsroom desk. After a moment of consideration, Evalene followed suit.
Throughout the room, the rebels huddled in whispering groups, flowing in and out on errands, while others pulled out chairs to watch the story unfold as well. Luc was doing a fabulous job of pacing the story and narrating in-between, painting the rebels as triumphant heroes.
A little while later, shots fired outside, and everyone tensed. It continued for less than a minute, then nothing. Waiting another five minutes, then ten, everyone was getting antsy when Luc rushed through the room. An older woman, thin but strong, grabbed his arm. “Tell us what’s happening! We heard gunshots!”
“It’s nothing to be concerned about.” Luc tried to keep going, but the woman wouldn’t let him. He sighed, and spoke up so the whole room could hear. “The Regs were outside with reinforcements. They tried to take the station, but the citizens helped us fight. We’re fine. We will likely deal with resistance for the next couple days. Just sit tight and let us handle it.”
He pried the woman’s fingers off when she didn’t let go, moving towards the camera room. Olive was sitting up, watching Luc, and when Evalene tilted her head towards where he’d disappeared, she nodded. Evalene helped Olive up and together they followed Luc. Sol trailed after them.
“Radio the Number One’s home,” Luc was saying in a hushed tone near the doorway as they entered the camera room. “Tell them we need to shut down the grid. Let’s use his helicopter and get some footage of the fighting around the city.” The men leapt into action.
When Luc left the camera room to reenter the newsroom, Evalene, Olive, and Sol shadowed him until finally he turned around, annoyed. “I promise if I have any news, I’ll let you know.”
Evalene cleared her throat. “Is Jeremiah doing okay?” She hadn’t seen him since they’d arrived hours ago, and Luc hadn’t elaborated on his injuries. She was beginning to worry.
Luc stared at the screens anxiously, waiting for the live feed of the helicopter to come online, though the Number One’s Grid couldn’t possibly be shut down so quickly. Staring blankly at the monitors, which currently held the testimonials going on in the next room, his response was delayed, but he finally turned to face her. “Uh, yeah. I haven’t spoken to him in a few hours. He’s been resting. He’s probably wondering what’s going on. I’ll go talk to him and let you know if he wants any visitors.”
It was almost fifteen minutes before the view from the helicopter blinked onto the screen. The entire room gasped. The streets outside the Number One’s home and the news station were flooded with an ocean of people, their movements rippling like waves. Evalene had never seen so many people in her entire life. Some carried signs that she couldn’t make out from the distance.
In awe of the crowds, Evalene wondered if this was what Jeremiah had imagined. So many people had responded to the revolutionaries. Evalene wanted to tell him she’d given her testimony, like he’d asked. Or maybe he’d seen it already?
In the background, Evalene listened to Luc speaking softly with the revolutionaries’ best technicians. “Can you reverse the Number One’s observation equipment?” He was asking about the equipment everyone knew the Number One had developed to watch people in their homes through their televisions.
“Sure, no problem,” one of them said, and set to work. Evalene had no idea what Luc meant by “reversing” it. Were the people going to watch them? Talk to them?
Evening fell with talk of victory. Though it would take a few more days for the dust to settle, it felt certain now. They’d won. In the news station, someone discovered a bottle of wine and popped it open to celebrate, passing it around them room. Everyone felt encouraged and relieved.
Almost the entire city was in the streets, and when the rebels figured out how to use the observation equipment, they discovered this was the case across the entire country. The Regulators weren’t prepared for this level of rioting. They were losing due to the sheer numbers of the people. Regulators ran from the crowds. Rioters pursued. It was becoming a bloodbath.
At 8pm, their message appeared on every station.
And the message was simple.
We. Have. Won.
But few people were in their homes to see it, and the fighting in the streets continued. Regulators refused to admit defeat, though a few more were joining the revolutionaries besides Sol. Evalene’s message had swayed many higher Numbers, but others detested the idea of losing their status, standing against the rebels instead and fighting anyone who came near their home. It didn’t matter to them that the vast majority of the country wanted change. They liked their lives the way they were.
Luc radioed the base where the Number One was held hostage in his home. “We need air communication. Send every plane he owns up with the message.” The planes flew simple flags with the same message as the broadcast. We have won. The population saw it in the air as the sun was setting, and cheers could be heard throughout the city.
Evalene overheard Luc asking if anyone had seen Jeremiah. Quietly, she stood without disturbing Olive or Sol, who were glued to the screens, and followed Luc down the hallway, where he stopped at the door to speak to the guards on rotation.
It was hard to hear what he was saying without getting too close. She didn’t want them to notice her eavesdropping. But then Luc yelled, “What do you mean he left?”
“That’s what Zuriel told me. He took the North Road,” the other man’s voice rose too as he replied.
“But that’s going away from the city! He wouldn’t –” Luc cut off mid-sentence. He stepped to the side with the radio, asking to speak with the rebels at the Number One’s home. “I need to speak with the captain. Is Jeremiah there?” The rebels at the Number One’s home said no. Luc didn’t notice Evalene as she crept closer.
Luc radioed the company that had taken the Regulator Headquarters, the last to fall, just hours before. “No, he’s not here,” the radio crackled.
A thought came over Luc that made him close his eyes and sigh. When his eyes opened, he wiped his face clean of all expression.
Evalene stepped forward. “Did he really leave the city? I thought you said he was injured? You have to send someone after him!”
Luc’s simmering gaze met hers. His eyes were hooded and furious. Evalene had never seen him like this before. He glanced around to make sure no one was listening. “Jeremiah is just one man. The plan doesn’t change. We move forward.”
“But Luc –” Evalene tried to argue.
He cut her off. “The plan doesn’t change,” he repeated. “We move forward.” In a quieter tone, he added, “This is not the time for people to find out their leader is gone. Keep it to yourself, do you understand?”
Luc strode away from Evalene, calling out commands as he went. “Prepare for the Transition Stage. We’ll need the council members on deck for the 9 o’clock broadcast.” People jumped into action.
Trailing after Luc, Evalene was still trying to process that Jeremiah was gone as Luc paused in the doorway before entering the filming room. His voice rose above the murmurs, allowing anyone who wanted to know the plan to listen in. “We’ll discuss immediate changes first, followed by more long term plans for Eden. We’ll need to mention the Number One’s trial.” He snapped his fingers in the direction of the tech guys. “Let’s get that Media Response tech up and running – we need this done yesterday! We need to hear from the people –” Was he talking about the reversed observation equipment from earlier?
Evalene stopped listening.
Jeremiah had left. By choice?
Those four words through the radio kept echoing through her head. Took the North Road. Took the North Road.
Not “was taken.” Not “forced” to take. But took it of his own free will. Abandoned them.
Why would he do that? Exhausted, Evalene slipped away from the chaos in the newsroom, where Luc continued to give orders, and rejoined Olive and Sol on the far side of the room, reclaiming her chair. They sat silently watching the monitors, eating up the news, while Evalene pondered what her future looked like now.
She pulled out the necklace her father had given her, playing with it absently. Would he welcome her home or would she be forbidden to return? Sol saw the necklace and gave a low whistle. “Where did you get a protection charm? I’ve only ever seen 3s and above with those! Never any lower, much less a Number 29.” Olive swiveled to stare at the object, forgetting the television.
Evalene’s gut instinct was to shush Sol before she remembered everyone knew her Number now. She’d told the entire world. Unhooking the little necklace, she pulled the round charm with the inscription in front of her. “This? My father gave it me. It doesn’t mean anything.” She handed it to Olive, who’d already seen it, but still took a moment to admire the delicate leaves on the tree before offering it to Sol.
But Sol shook his head, refusing to touch it. He stared at the simple jewelry as if it was worth his weight in gold. “It means everything. Deus et natua non nocere,” he quoted the inscription along the side even though it was too small and far away for him to read it. “God and nature, do no harm. A Regulator can’t even touch someone wearing the tree of life.” He gave a short laugh. “Wish we’d seen that when we caught you. Would’ve gotten Control Leader Grausum off my back.”
Evalene thought she’d never heard Sol speak so many words at once. Was it true? She stared at the simple jewelry. Her father had been looking out for her all along? She thought back to the moment he’d given it to her. He’d been about to tell her what it meant when they’d been interrupted. And then she’d left before he had another opportunity to speak to her. She felt her eyes fill, happy tears for once. It was hard to swallow.
Olive handed the necklace back to her, and Evalene carefully hooked it back around her neck. She pulled it over the top of her clothes instead of underneath, to display it proudly, wishing she’d been more grateful. For the first time since she’d left, Evalene wanted to go home.
“Maybe Kevra was right,” she murmured, more to herself than to the others. “Maybe I would’ve been fine after all.”
Sol leaned over to peer around Olive again at the mention of Kevra’s name. “Brunette? Green eyes? Lot of attitude?”
Evalene frowned, about to say no, Kevra’s hair was red. Then she recalled how Kevra had dyed it brown. She perked up. “You saw her? Is she okay?” She found herself hoping she was.
But Sol’s face didn’t match her excitement. He slowly leaned back. “Yeah, I saw her last week. She was apprehended trying to flee the country with a stolen ID that didn’t match her Number. Captains are required to check every passenger. I saw her with a noose around her neck.”
Olive gasped, clapping both hands over her mouth. She didn’t even know Kevra, but tears sprung to her eyes. Evalene stared at Sol as he watched the television. His lips flattened in an unhappy line.
Wiping at the tears flowing down her face, Olive said, “That’s horrible.” Evalene agreed, but she wasn’t as surprised as she’d thought she would be. She and Sol both knew what Olive didn’t: that’s just how life worked in Eden. Or, how it had worked. Hopefully things were about to change.
A thought hit Evalene. “It could’ve been me.”
Olive and Sol both looked over at her words. Evalene stared into space as she said, “If Kevra hadn’t stolen the ID, it could’ve been me they caught. Me with a noose. I doubt even something as powerful as this,” she touched the necklace, “could protect a fugitive.”
Sol confirmed it with a nod. “And impersonating a high Number,” he reminded her.
As they turned back to the monitors, Evalene felt chills run up and down her arms. Had God allowed the pain in order to save her?
She closed her eyes. There at the computer, with Olive and Sol next to her, Evalene chose to pray, really pray, for the first time in her entire life. She hesitated, not sure where to start.
She decided to keep it simple. Thank you.