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Authors: Diego Valenzuela
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had, but it’s hard to do when everyone knows you’re leaving for Zenith soon. People here thought I thought I was better than them or something.”
Or maybe you were being a bitch, Ezra thought bitterly, and then regretted it.
“I saw you in the showers yesterday, giving crap to my boy Ezra,” Jena said and shook Poole’s hand. “So you’re in the program too? I’m Je—I mean: Private First Class Crescent.”
“Private First Class Poole,” she replied. “But I prefer Vivian.”
They continued a conversation that he didn’t hear, and didn’t want to hear. At Akiva’s suggestion, Ezra got up and walked towards the counter for another round of food. Maybe he did need to eat more now; he didn’t want his uniform to be so loose forever.
“Hey, Ezra,” Jena said when he returned with a fresh plate. “If you’re tired, maybe you can catch some sleep on the way to Zenith.” She spread butter on her toast.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Susan chuckled, glancing up from the book she was studying. Ezra saw the extremely long title on the spine: The Brain, The Nervous System and Cognition: Teaching and Research Methodology , by Dahlia Mizrahi. Ezra knew that name. Dahlia Mizrahi had been his mother’s friend. She was Eliza’s deceased sister. “I don’t see how.”
Not five minutes had passed since Ezra, Jena, Kiva, and Vivian boarded the train to Zenith when Sergeant Barnes, whom Ezra had met as a tough but friendly man, appeared from the front cabin, transformed into a horrifying thing.
His uniform made the already huge man look even larger; the ring he wore on his nose was black and thick, lined with a yellow stripe. His brow was twisted into a scowl, and his eyes didn’t seem to blink. He didn’t speak, but his presence was incredibly oppressive.
All five of them were on their feet because the train—or at least this car—didn’t have seats: only tough plastic loops that hung from the ceiling like nooses. The car itself was strangely empty; it even lacked windows: the walls were just dull, solid gray. Ezra would later find out that the train track was built several dozen feet underground, as construction in the infected and hostile environment above ground was impossible.
All that told him was that construction of the Zenith Headquarters so far away from Roue was a sound strategic choice. Zenith, for whatever reason, should be vastly separate from the civilian haven that was the Roue dome.
“We will be in the Zenith HQ in about twenty minutes,” he yelled through the roar of the train; his voice commanded power few animals could match. “When we get there, you will walk straight to Auditorium B, where you will meet with Dr. Yuri Logan. He is the president of Zenith and one of the heads of the Creux Defense Program and your superior . You will undergo New Member Orientation, a lecture that will last until noon. Further instructions will be given to you then. In the meantime, you will read and sign a confidentiality agreement. Nothing of what you see, hear, or do in Zenith will ever leave Zenith or you’re facing martial court. Don’t even share anything that happens in there, down to the consistency of the craps you take, got it ?”
“Yes sir!” all four of them yelled together.
Sergeant Barnes left the car and returned a minute later with four documents, which he gave to Akiva to pass to the others.
A sudden curve in the track made the train swerve, sending Poole crashing against Ezra. He caught her before she fell and helped her back up. She thanked him when she grabbed onto her loop again.
“Nice,” Barnes said to Ezra, producing a pen from one of the many pockets in his uniform. Somehow, that minor acknowledgement make Ezra feel good about himself. He looked at Poole; her eyes were on the windowless wall.
“Sir?” Akiva said. “It says here we won’t have means of communication to Roue.”
“That’s right,” Barnes replied. He seemed to have a center of gravity
Or maybe you were being a bitch, Ezra thought bitterly, and then regretted it.
“I saw you in the showers yesterday, giving crap to my boy Ezra,” Jena said and shook Poole’s hand. “So you’re in the program too? I’m Je—I mean: Private First Class Crescent.”
“Private First Class Poole,” she replied. “But I prefer Vivian.”
They continued a conversation that he didn’t hear, and didn’t want to hear. At Akiva’s suggestion, Ezra got up and walked towards the counter for another round of food. Maybe he did need to eat more now; he didn’t want his uniform to be so loose forever.
“Hey, Ezra,” Jena said when he returned with a fresh plate. “If you’re tired, maybe you can catch some sleep on the way to Zenith.” She spread butter on her toast.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Susan chuckled, glancing up from the book she was studying. Ezra saw the extremely long title on the spine: The Brain, The Nervous System and Cognition: Teaching and Research Methodology , by Dahlia Mizrahi. Ezra knew that name. Dahlia Mizrahi had been his mother’s friend. She was Eliza’s deceased sister. “I don’t see how.”
Not five minutes had passed since Ezra, Jena, Kiva, and Vivian boarded the train to Zenith when Sergeant Barnes, whom Ezra had met as a tough but friendly man, appeared from the front cabin, transformed into a horrifying thing.
His uniform made the already huge man look even larger; the ring he wore on his nose was black and thick, lined with a yellow stripe. His brow was twisted into a scowl, and his eyes didn’t seem to blink. He didn’t speak, but his presence was incredibly oppressive.
All five of them were on their feet because the train—or at least this car—didn’t have seats: only tough plastic loops that hung from the ceiling like nooses. The car itself was strangely empty; it even lacked windows: the walls were just dull, solid gray. Ezra would later find out that the train track was built several dozen feet underground, as construction in the infected and hostile environment above ground was impossible.
All that told him was that construction of the Zenith Headquarters so far away from Roue was a sound strategic choice. Zenith, for whatever reason, should be vastly separate from the civilian haven that was the Roue dome.
“We will be in the Zenith HQ in about twenty minutes,” he yelled through the roar of the train; his voice commanded power few animals could match. “When we get there, you will walk straight to Auditorium B, where you will meet with Dr. Yuri Logan. He is the president of Zenith and one of the heads of the Creux Defense Program and your superior . You will undergo New Member Orientation, a lecture that will last until noon. Further instructions will be given to you then. In the meantime, you will read and sign a confidentiality agreement. Nothing of what you see, hear, or do in Zenith will ever leave Zenith or you’re facing martial court. Don’t even share anything that happens in there, down to the consistency of the craps you take, got it ?”
“Yes sir!” all four of them yelled together.
Sergeant Barnes left the car and returned a minute later with four documents, which he gave to Akiva to pass to the others.
A sudden curve in the track made the train swerve, sending Poole crashing against Ezra. He caught her before she fell and helped her back up. She thanked him when she grabbed onto her loop again.
“Nice,” Barnes said to Ezra, producing a pen from one of the many pockets in his uniform. Somehow, that minor acknowledgement make Ezra feel good about himself. He looked at Poole; her eyes were on the windowless wall.
“Sir?” Akiva said. “It says here we won’t have means of communication to Roue.”
“That’s right,” Barnes replied. He seemed to have a center of gravity
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