Rise Against the Faultless (2 page)

For some reason, I thought that
telling Mom would make it go away somehow. That she would tell me that I had
imagined the whole thing, that something like that wasn’t possible. Instead,
she looked at me with a blank stare, unblinking, as if I was going to finish up
the story with something else dreadful. “Did you hear me, Mom?  They
cheered
!”
I felt hot tears stinging my eyes now. There was a different look in her eyes.
Was it sympathy? I wasn’t quite sure, but I did not recognize surprise in them.
Is this something Mom knew about?  No, I couldn’t accept that.

I’d told her the entire story.
Even though I was afraid I would be reprimanded for being off limits, I didn’t
want any wrong details to mar the tale. It could mean life or death for the
next person.

Lo and I had first discovered
the interference with our PIDs when we were ten years old. She had used one of
her two visitor passes for the week to come to my house to play, just like she
always did. We were well within the limits of our small back yard, when I had
noticed something red in the woods behind our house.  We went farther towards
it, as close to the limit of our back yard as we could.  The yard was marked,
but all sensors were buried underground, to avoid disturbance by weather or
animals. The sensors combined with GPS technology kept us all where we were
supposed to be, or more to the point, kept us out of where we weren’t supposed
to be. There were lots of small red dots on a plant. Strawberries!  I have seen
them in books. Lo and I inched closer to the strawberries as we waited for our
PIDs to start their warning beep that it emits when you’re almost out of your
range, but it didn’t come.

We got a little braver and took
several more steps out to the woods, no beeping. I was certain I’ve heard beeping
before in the back yard, what had changed?  It didn’t matter. Lo reached the
plant first. I will never forget the first bite of strawberry.  It was the
sweetest, most delicious thing I had ever tasted.  Flavor burst in my mouth as
I bit into the next strawberry and then the next. Pretty soon, Lo and I had
eaten every single one of the small red berries off of the plant. We looked at
each other with silly grins, coconspirators.  We knew we shouldn’t have
ventured past the limit and we certainly shouldn’t have eaten a wild growing
fruit, but it was fantastic.

Ever since that day, I treated
the spot in the backyard where I could escape as my own personal hideaway. Lo
and I never told anyone our secret.  It was too good. When my older brother was
bugging us, or we wanted to have an unmonitored conversation about boys, or
just when I wanted time to feel like I was by myself we would sneak out there.
Luckily it was right behind my father’s work shed, so I would have plenty of
cover when I did sneak away. I only used the hideaway spot on occasion, because
I didn’t want to risk losing it.  I noticed that being just a few too many
inches left or right would set off the PID so I marked the spot by carving a
tiny “X” in a tree right to the left of the “weak” spot that no one else would
notice. 

Once I was through the “weak
spot” I was free to explore the woods. I loved being out there. It felt like
the only time in my life that wasn’t scripted.  My own island of freedom in sea
of carefully controlled life.  I was still careful about how far I ventured
out, though.  Since the PID didn’t work, if I got lost, no one would be able to
track my location out there.

Three Saturdays ago I had
allowed myself a trip into the woods through my secret spot.  Ari had been home
on short holiday and had been working on my nerves and I just needed a short
break. Ari and I were closer in age, but I was never as close to him as I was
with Dale. I was walking through the trees, daydreaming, and I had lost track
of time and space. I had wandered out farther than I had ever been. Our street
was the last one on the block and behind our row of houses was a vast expanse
of forest.

I was still pretty sure I could
make it back without a problem, but something caught my attention. I heard a faint
shout, more than one person. I slowly walked toward the noise, trying to be
careful not to make loud sounds as I stepped over fallen sticks and brush. I
couldn’t be spotted out here.

As I got closer, the shouts got
louder. They were sharp, angry shouts. They reminded me of when I went to some
of the sporting events at school, but there was a dangerous undercurrent to
them.

I stayed low, hiding behind
brush as I neared an opening in the woods.  There was a clearing with twenty or
thirty people. They were all young people. It looked like some of them were
even kids no older than Dale. I only saw a few adults on the outskirts of the
crowd, casually holding assault rifles.  The only other adults there were a man
and woman. I couldn’t make out their faces, but they weren’t dressed like
everyone else. It seemed that they had on business suits.

The crowd was gathered around
two people in a makeshift ring, fighting.  A boy with dark hair was very
obviously winning the battle. I was glad that I hadn’t seen the rest of it. 
Shouts were coming from the audience.  “Come on, Lars. Finish it!” He circled
the girl like a lion would circle its prey.  Both the boy and girl were lean
built with muscles.  It looked like they had been body building for years.  She
looked so tired. I could make out red around her on the ground and knew that it
was not just her flaming locks of hair.  I wanted to look away but couldn’t.

From this distance, it was hard
to tell, but I thought that I made out a smile on his face, no, more like a
sneer. I should do something.  What could I do?  I’m pitifully outnumbered and
this scene is definitely what the crowd wants to happen. What would happen if I
tried to stop it?  I saw the boy pick up a rock, just a little bit larger than
his hand.  He looked like a wild animal, feral. Her eyes were full of tears
that she refused to let go of.  This was not the outcome she had expected and
she was so defeated that she was powerless to stop it.  He raised the rock
above his head and brought it down hard. At the last second I turned away. I
couldn’t bear to watch. 

I stayed there with my eyes
closed tightly and my back turned to the grizzly scene.  I tried to block out
the sound of the crowd’s uproar.  How could they cheer this on?  What was
this?  I couldn’t stand it any longer. I crept along the woods back to where I
had come from, slowly. I did not want the same fate as the red headed girl.  

As soon as I got out of earshot
of the chaos, I sprinted. The forest had a different look to it on the way back
to my house.  It wasn’t even close to night time yet, so why did everything
look so dark? A few times I got disoriented and had to backtrack, fearing that
I would wind up right back in the middle of that dreadful ring with someone
beating me to a pulp. I realized that I had blood trickling down my arms where
branches had scraped their way across my body, but for some reason I couldn’t
remember feeling them. Relief flooded my entire body when I spotted my backyard
and the peak of my roof through the trees. 

I tripped running up the stairs
to my house. I was so grateful that Mom was the only one at home.  Ari and Dale
were at friends’ houses on allowance visits and Dad had been called in to
work.  Dale couldn’t see me like this. I was panic stricken. I ran straight
into the study where Mom was working at her computer.  I must have scared her
to death because when she saw my face she immediately assumed something had
happened to me that was awful.  She was right. I relayed the entire story to
her, all the while fighting the trembling in my lower jaw.

She pulled me close into a bear
hug like she used to when I was a little girl. She stroked my hair and rocked
back and forth.  After a few minutes of this, she checked the time and she
simply said, “We won’t talk about it again. You can never talk about it again,
with anyone. Do you understand?” I didn’t understand. Why can’t I talk to her
about this?  She reached behind her desk to touch something, had I interrupted
her?

We should go to the police. We
should tell one of the state leaders. There was an actual crime in the United
States. We have to tell someone,
anyone
! But as soon as I met her eyes I
recognized the stern look in them, a look that shouldn’t be questioned, so I
nodded. It was the only motion I could muster because I knew that my body would
not allow me to verbally acknowledge what I was trying to convey. It went
against everything in me.

The school day would be the
same as every other day. Our schedule would go on as it always does, but today
there was a near tangible buzz of excitement in the air.  Every person in my
level would be attending the Advancement Ceremony. After tonight, all members
of my level will now be considered adults. Seeing as how I was only sixteen two
months ago, it felt pretty fast for me. I was the youngest in my level, but it
didn’t matter. If you make it to the cutoff, you are assigned a level and will
be considered an adult whether you are a young seventeen or not.

The Ceremony is always nerve
wracking for the students and their families.  I watched Ari go through it two
years ago. He pretended that he didn’t care about his placement, but I knew
that he did because I knew Ari’s tell. Every time Ari was nervous or lying he
would reach his left pointer finger to smooth his right eyebrow. Each student
will be called before the entire assembly. The school supervisor will announce
the student’s final rankings and then introduce the student to their new
Mission Chief. The next three years of the student’s life will not belong to
them; they will belong to the government.

Fifteen years ago, the new
mandates went into effect after the government decided that it was our ample
freedom that had caused the downfall of the economy and the chaotic crime
sprees that plagued the country. Law dictated that each member of the United
States of America would be issued a Personal Identification Device, to be kept
on their person at all times, that would be the government’s way of keeping
track of its citizens. 

Everywhere you go, you scan
your PID at the designated verification post. Every single structure, vehicle,
and public gathering place has a verification post.  You are required to input
your destination at each verification post upon your departure.  The
verification post then confirms a facial and retina scan.  The path that you
take to your destination is verified and you will have a set time to be able to
get to the verification post upon your arrival.  If you fail to scan your ID at
the verification post, go off the planned path of transportation, or otherwise
try to conceal your location or travel intentions, your PID will give the
warning and you will be considered rogue.

In addition to tracking
whereabouts, it is how the people are able to get their weekly food rations
that are prepared and prepackaged for each family. The meals are determined by
age and sex and are carefully crafted to deliver the correct amount of
calories, fat, fiber, and protein at each sitting.  The prepared meals have all
but eliminated obesity and caused heart disease to decline by seventy percent.
It was against the law to grow or kill your own food. 

Removing one’s PID was
considered one of the highest offenses and was punishable with jail time and
demotion of status.  Besides the threat of becoming one of the Grime, everyone
had pretty good incentive to leave them on.  Without the PID, they relinquished
all rights as a U.S. citizen.  You would surrender your rights to food, water,
protection... life.

The other major decree that was
put into effect fifteen years ago was that every citizen would serve the
government for no less than three years after finishing school. Each person
would be placed in one of the seven sectors at the Advancement Ceremony. The
first year of service would be their training year to hone skills in their
particular sector. Rankings in school weighed heavily on the decision of
placement, but it wasn’t the only consideration.  We all had psychological
evaluations each year.  These evaluations helped the assessment team in
deciding if you were a fit for the sector that you had the most capacity for.

I had a pretty good idea of
what sector I would be placed, as did most of us, but there were always a few
surprises every year.  Our last psychological evaluation was only days ago,
which I wasn’t thrilled about as I have been a complete nutcase since my
unfortunate occurrence in the woods.  It probably said that I had only enough
competency for being locked in a padded cell only to be served grits and water
for the rest of my days.  At least I would be safe then. 

When lunch time rolled around,
I could feel the definite shift in the mood.  Rather than the loud, low roar of
teenagers filling one large room, there were hushed conversations between
friends.  I grabbed my prepackaged slop and found my assigned seat. The chairs
and tables were a garish orange color that I couldn’t understand why out of all
colors, someone would choose these to have us see every day.

Adrian was already in his seat,
waiting.   He flashed me his sweetest smile, the one that was wide enough to
show off his single dimple on the left side. He started eating when I sat
down.  He and I had been friends for years, but lately we’ve grown closer.  We
didn’t really spend a lot of time together until this year, when we were
assigned to sit beside one another in the cafeteria.  He had claimed that he’d
had a crush on me since we were eleven, but I had found that hard to believe. 

Adrian was handsome in a quiet
way.  Last year he was still short with a soft voice, mostly resembling a lanky
kid.  This year he had shot up to a six foot one stature and had gained at
least twenty pounds of muscle. He had definitely caught the eyes of lots of
girls here.  He was tall with a slim build and light blond hair.  “Are you
excited about tonight?” He seemed like he might bounce out of his seat at any
moment with anticipation.  There was no doubt in anyone's mind that Adrian
would be chosen for the Technology sector. I wouldn’t doubt it if Adrian had
computer parts rather than a brain inside of his head.  It was what he was born
for.  He wasn’t bad at anything else, but no one could touch him when it came
to technology.

“I
would think more nervous than excited.” I could tell that my response dampened
his mood a little, “but I can’t wait to see who surprises us.  Wouldn’t it be
great if they picked Dione for Service?” His laughter helped me loosen up a
little bit.   Service jobs are not much higher above what the Grime would
perform.  They would serve meals to the military, clean dorms, dress wounds,
things of that nature.  Generally those chosen for Service were no surprise to
anyone.  They were the slackers in school, the ones who either never cared or
never tried. Every now and then it was a rebel.  Someone who didn’t like the
way things were done and the assessment team thought them too much of a
liability to be placed anywhere else.

We
both knew that thought was ridiculous.  Dione would be chosen for Combat.  His
rankings almost rivaled mine in that area, but not quite. The consideration put
a queasy feeling in my stomach. In light of recent events, the thought hadn’t
crossed my mind, but now I felt like it was a real possibility that most of my
waking hours might be spent with Dione for the next three years. I wasn’t
afraid of Dione, I wasn’t really afraid of any one person, but Dione’s ability
to control other’s made me feel uneasy.

“Wouldn’t
it be great if we were both picked for Technology?” He said it with such a
serious look on his face I thought he might mean it for a second, then a smile
broke out that betrayed him. 

I
laughed a little louder than I meant to, “Now who’s making jokes?” I was the
furthest thing from technology savvy that you could imagine.  My mother had a
wonderful way with gadgets that I did not inherit. I realized that this was the
first time I had laughed since the incident in the woods.  I was grateful to
Adrian for that. 

Suddenly,
we heard the warning beep of someone’s PID. This was not a violation beep, but
one for a health emergency. It was indicated by two short sounds followed by a
long, high-pitched squeal. It had to be that of Glyn Steed’s. Her PID gave a
warning almost every week. She had a severe case of diabetes.

PIDs
are worn on the wrist and track heart rate, blood pressure, and insulin levels.
Abnormal spikes in blood pressure or a prolonged drop in heart rate would alert
the citizen’s physician and the local hospital. Even though instances of
diabetes had dropped dramatically with the fall of waistlines, the PIDs helped
track blood sugar and would let the person know when something was off.
Scientists had found a cure for diabetes nearly three years ago, however it
would not be released, due to strict laws for testing medication, for another
good four years. 

Glyn
had qualified for a trial study, but she hadn’t heard back yet if she was a
good candidate.  She was impressively sharp, I had always liked her.  I hoped
that her medical condition wouldn’t stand in her way of being chosen for the
Medicine or Science sector.  The official stance of the government was that any
physical, mental, or medical disabilities would not be considered in a person’s
placement, but more often than not, it held more weight than it should. Anyone
with these disabilities was in danger of being assigned to the Service sector. 

After
only a few moments the school nurse appeared and gave Glyn a shot, the PID
stopped its beeping and Glyn started looking better. She could have given
herself the shot, but the school doesn’t allow self-medication of students. 
Everything must be documented and signed off on by a medical professional.

“Don’t be nervous.  You have
nothing to worry about, you’re great at everything.” Adrian reached under the
table and squeezed my hand.  I knew he was just trying to reassure me.

I lowered my voice so the other
students around me didn’t hear, even though they were all either too wrapped up
in their conversations or lost in thought, daydreaming about their own futures.
“Do you ever wonder if there’s something we’re missing? Like there’s something
they don’t tell us around here.” His hand remained on mine, but his expression
changed and his smile faded. Questioning the government or its structure was
absolutely forbidden.

“Like what, Rai?  Everything
here is overly transparent.  Things are as simple and boring as they could
possibly be.” I wished for a second that he could be right.