hand slipping through mine.
I keep an eye out for the guards as Natalie walks up the steps, ignoring the cold
look from Sebastian. She casts her vote in the NO box, then joins me again. The line moves forward, and one by one, the citizens of
Black City move up to the stage. They don’t seem as scared as before. Some of them
even dare to look Sebastian in the eye as they drop their ballot papers into the NO box. The numbers soon start shifting, the nos overtaking the yeses. Beetle grins
at me. I cast a look at Sigur, who is still standing on the Boundary Wall. He gives
me a slight nod of approval.
The votes start coming in from the lesser cities around Black River State, and the
nos come in thick and fast. Ember Creek, a quaint harbor town on the east coast of
the state, is the last city to vote. Their polling station has been set up on a scenic
promenade surrounded by market stalls selling fishing supplies. Hundreds of people
are crammed onto the promenade, and they’ve all turned to face the camera, their expressions
fierce, defiant. The footage quickly cuts back to February Fields, but not before
everyone has heard the citizens of Ember Creek chant “No fear, no power!” at the top
of their lungs.
It doesn’t take long for the voting to finish, since Black River State is one of the
least populated areas in the country, after millions were killed during the war. I
stare at the results on the digital screens, not quite believing it. February Fields
appears on the monitors, her smile wavering and forced.
“The final votes are in for Black River State,” she says. “The state votes no.”
There are cheers and whoops of joy in the town square. Everyone is celebrating except
me.
“Now the Provinces will vote,” February Fields announces.
This sobers everyone up quickly. We may have won over Black River State, but if no
other states follow us, then everything we achieved today will be for nothing. Over
the next few hours, we watch with apprehension as the votes come in from the final
states:
The Provinces—No.
The Barren Lands—Yes.
The Emerald State—No.
Mountain Wolf State—Yes.
Golden Sands—No.
“Well, isn’t this exciting? The vote is tied,” February Fields says, her girlish voice
a little strained. “Four states vote in favor of Rose’s Law, and four against. And
finally, the Copper State!”
Everything rests on this last vote.
The screens cut to footage of Emissary Vincent, a thin black woman in her midfifties,
with a severe haircut that accentuates the hard angles of her face. She’s standing
in front of a wall similar to our Boundary Wall, except theirs is made from steel
and brass, not concrete.
All I can do is watch helplessly as the woman strides up to her polling station, which
has been set up similarly to ours. She briefly pauses, allowing the press to take
her photo before walking toward the YES box. It’s like watching an accident; you know it’s going to happen, but you can’t
stop looking.
Then she does something no one expects.
She turns sharply to the left and slips her ballot paper into the NO box.
There’s a pregnant pause as everyone in the town square stares at the screen in disbelief.
Emissary Vincent turns to look at the cameras, addressing the nation.
“Citizens of the Copper State, I urge you to—”
The live feed cuts out, and all the monitors turn black.
7.
NATALIE
THE WHOLE CITY is in pandemonium, everyone wondering what’s going on.
“What happened to the feed?” Roach calls up to Juno, who is still filming up on the
stage.
“Someone’s jamming our signal. We can’t broadcast anything,” Juno replies.
A graphic suddenly appears on the monitors, with the words
We are experiencing a technical difficulty. Be back soon!
“Technical difficulty, my ass,” Juno mutters.
“I can’t believe Emissary Vincent voted against Rose,” Day says, bewildered.
“She’s always stood up to
I keep an eye out for the guards as Natalie walks up the steps, ignoring the cold
look from Sebastian. She casts her vote in the NO box, then joins me again. The line moves forward, and one by one, the citizens of
Black City move up to the stage. They don’t seem as scared as before. Some of them
even dare to look Sebastian in the eye as they drop their ballot papers into the NO box. The numbers soon start shifting, the nos overtaking the yeses. Beetle grins
at me. I cast a look at Sigur, who is still standing on the Boundary Wall. He gives
me a slight nod of approval.
The votes start coming in from the lesser cities around Black River State, and the
nos come in thick and fast. Ember Creek, a quaint harbor town on the east coast of
the state, is the last city to vote. Their polling station has been set up on a scenic
promenade surrounded by market stalls selling fishing supplies. Hundreds of people
are crammed onto the promenade, and they’ve all turned to face the camera, their expressions
fierce, defiant. The footage quickly cuts back to February Fields, but not before
everyone has heard the citizens of Ember Creek chant “No fear, no power!” at the top
of their lungs.
It doesn’t take long for the voting to finish, since Black River State is one of the
least populated areas in the country, after millions were killed during the war. I
stare at the results on the digital screens, not quite believing it. February Fields
appears on the monitors, her smile wavering and forced.
“The final votes are in for Black River State,” she says. “The state votes no.”
There are cheers and whoops of joy in the town square. Everyone is celebrating except
me.
“Now the Provinces will vote,” February Fields announces.
This sobers everyone up quickly. We may have won over Black River State, but if no
other states follow us, then everything we achieved today will be for nothing. Over
the next few hours, we watch with apprehension as the votes come in from the final
states:
The Provinces—No.
The Barren Lands—Yes.
The Emerald State—No.
Mountain Wolf State—Yes.
Golden Sands—No.
“Well, isn’t this exciting? The vote is tied,” February Fields says, her girlish voice
a little strained. “Four states vote in favor of Rose’s Law, and four against. And
finally, the Copper State!”
Everything rests on this last vote.
The screens cut to footage of Emissary Vincent, a thin black woman in her midfifties,
with a severe haircut that accentuates the hard angles of her face. She’s standing
in front of a wall similar to our Boundary Wall, except theirs is made from steel
and brass, not concrete.
All I can do is watch helplessly as the woman strides up to her polling station, which
has been set up similarly to ours. She briefly pauses, allowing the press to take
her photo before walking toward the YES box. It’s like watching an accident; you know it’s going to happen, but you can’t
stop looking.
Then she does something no one expects.
She turns sharply to the left and slips her ballot paper into the NO box.
There’s a pregnant pause as everyone in the town square stares at the screen in disbelief.
Emissary Vincent turns to look at the cameras, addressing the nation.
“Citizens of the Copper State, I urge you to—”
The live feed cuts out, and all the monitors turn black.
7.
NATALIE
THE WHOLE CITY is in pandemonium, everyone wondering what’s going on.
“What happened to the feed?” Roach calls up to Juno, who is still filming up on the
stage.
“Someone’s jamming our signal. We can’t broadcast anything,” Juno replies.
A graphic suddenly appears on the monitors, with the words
We are experiencing a technical difficulty. Be back soon!
“Technical difficulty, my ass,” Juno mutters.
“I can’t believe Emissary Vincent voted against Rose,” Day says, bewildered.
“She’s always stood up to
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