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I’m so honored.
Alex nudges at my side, and I straighten, taking the arm he offers and doing my best to fake confidence.
Frederick waits for Lori up front, and her back stiffens when she takes his arm. To everyone else, she appears stoic and calm, but I see the way her shoulders rise to her ears and how she closes and opens the fist at her side.
We’re led to chairs that circle a black podium, creating a stage in the center of the room. Its shine reflects the feet that pass by, and I imagine someone tap dancing on the slick surface for the Eminent’s amusement. Purple carpet sticks to my shoes while Alex pulls us as far from the podium as possible, Frederick and Lori leading the way. Taking our seats in the back, he crouches down. Lori and I do the same, knowing it’s futile.
He’ll seek out his rat and her friends.
This might be a standard event, but the outsiders are the new toy. If he has anything to proclaim about, it’s us. I fidget with the zipper of my jumpsuit, listening to the eerie quiet of a hundred people finding their seats but refusing to make a sound.
“His eminency approaches,” the speaker announces. Alex pulls at my arm, and I stand with the crowd, lifting on my tiptoes and raising my chin to see him.
A man walks at his side, the sleeve of his uniform torn in several places, blood dripping on the purple carpet with his every step. The Eminent moves onto the platform followed by his speaker and then… Sam.
Alex’s hand covers my mouth before the scream escapes. White hot rage shakes my body, and I see red.
Lori’s nails scratch into my arm as Alex’s words hiss into my ear. “He’s alive, and if you want him to stay that way, don’t say a fucking word.”
The Eminent doesn’t look in my direction, but in the sea of robes and uniforms that stand around us, he may not have found me just yet. I know I need to calm down, but every drip of Sam’s blood spikes my fury, making me crazed.
The Eminent basks in the crowd’s reverence of his arrival while I fight the vomit that threatens to escape. Alex’s hand presses harder against my mouth as he begs me to calm down. I count backward in my head from ten, forcing myself to slow my heartbeat with each number.
Ten
Nine
Eight
“I have sad news on this proclamation day,” the Eminent says, raising his hands toward the crowd.
Seven
Six
Five
“Sit - sit.” He motions for us to take our seats, the tattoos on his arms peeking through his sleeves.
Four
Three
Two
I claw at Alex’s arm, begging him to release me, but he refuses. My heart beats like gunfire in my chest, and he shakes his head, nervous I’ll do something that will kill us both.
One
A final hot breath comes out against Alex’s palm, and I let my arms go slack.
I notice Frederick’s palm cover Lori’s knee, but he squeezes hard, giving her a signal he sees it and he’s sorry. She pats his hand twice, and he releases, but doesn’t relax in his seat.
“I’m honored to tell you the cave in repair is complete, but not to my specifications,” the Eminent announces. “In any event, the floor is safe, and the passageway sealed. Our new tenant, Mr. Rivera, completed the task, and I’m ever so grateful.”
All eyes cast to the bloodied Sam. His arm appears to be the only thing damaged with slices of red streaked across. Was he whipped?
He sees me, his eyes meeting mine across the sea of people. He’s careful not to stare and draw attention, but there’s a moment between us, full of longing and pain. I fight the urge to push through the crowd, pull him away from that monster, and kill the Eminent with my bare hands.
