Page 91 of The Commons

We all stare at her with empathy in our eyes.

“My new friends are there making nuclear weapons,” the boy who stood up first whispers, head bent.

“My stepsister is there, in the Experimental Zone,” the boy beside him exclaims, tears filling his eyes.

Daunting dread fills us all.

“My girlfriend is there, in the experiment section too! And um… it’s with this horrible guy, Gihard. And I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t!”

Levon gasps in shock. Then suddenly, she looks away to avoid being noticed. I look to see tears cloud her eyes, as well as his.

“My best friend, Feloy, is still trapped in the V Zone, making vehicles. Never had any friends till I met him,” Swin says, looking down.

“My future Vice President, Tran, is there. Smart girl trapped in the Experiment Zone as well,” Levon says.

“I know her!” Swin says to her and they smile at each other in a sober way.

Silence.

Pesh looks up with darting eyes, grief plain on his face. “And all my students are there.” His voice cracks, but he continues, “I couldn’t protect them. I owe them everything. Everything!”

My eyes collide with his as tears cloud his eyes. I try to transfer comfort with my gaze, but I can no longer stare at him. I look away to stop any tears from flooding down, knowing that any more staring will unleash them, and I cannot afford that. Now is not the time to cry. Now is the time to be brave and strong, so I persevere. “So let’s do this! As fast as we can. Because we can! We were only eliminated because we were the greatest threat to The Commons. So let’s be just that!”

Everyone nods. Their eyes stay on me with clenched fists, ready to fight as I declare.

“The time is now. No more waiting. Who’s with me? For The Love of The Commoners!” I raise my fingers up, making an L sign for Love and a C sign for The Commoners, then I cover my fist, strong.

Everyone nods and shouts together, raising their hands up in a similar motion, tears flooding down many faces: “For The Love of The Commoners.”

For The Love of The Commoners.

CHAPTER 21

The Begon

Pesh speaks, “On the word of Shantavia, our deadline will be a week. After that, we have to turn in The Begon to The Lawtem. Everyone, back to work!”

Everyone hurries to their computers, their fingers sprinting to the keyboard. Pesh looks at me, staring at me like a dream, but I am distracted.

“Wait, what’s that?” I ask.

“The Lawtem is the only independent entity in the entire island of Commonda, am I right?” Levon looks to Pesh.

“Yep! And we have an in to The Lawtem. Justice Emmanuel Reeyes. His daughter went to Oblivion, but she never came back. She was sent to The Seventh Zone. A few weeks later, he received a message saying that she had drowned in The Selection, and her body could not be recovered. He ordered countless investigations, but The Commons went scot-free. He has an eternal grudge against The Commons, and his whole purpose in life is to destroy De Londe, like us.”

“And you know him?” Levon asks.

“No. But Doctor Val does,” Pesh responds.

“Doctor Val knows about this?” Swin rises up, shocked.

“I tell her limited things, but she knows enough,” Pesh says, puzzled at Swin’s sudden response. I notice Swin lost in a thought as though he’s just been triggered. I turn to him, but before I can speak, Levon goes toward him.

“Do you know Doctor Val?” she asks.

“I know her like everyone does,” he stammers, distracted by Levon, then sits to avoid eye contact with her.

She leans in on his shoulders and whispers in his ear, “You might be good with technology. But you’re not good at lying.”