4522 {The Number Series}

22

I sat in my bed as my brain processed the events of the day. Gina seemed half mad with excitement for the rebellion of the city to begin, and I wanted badly to leave, but I agreed to join her. At least she did not have plan to use me and kill me to ensure her survival. Then again she more than likely did not care who had to die as long as the job was done. I sighed.

I had not even climbed under the cover despite my new room having a chill to it. There were no windows. The floor and walls were a solid grey concrete that did nothing to please the eyes. The room had my bed, covered in a blue quilt, and a dresser. I felt as empty as the space around me. Everything was confusing. I had one goal and that was to find a way to help everyone lose the fear that the city had created.

There was a soft knock on the door before Macallister stepped in.

"Hello, Remi." He said as he shut the door. He crossed the room to me and took a seat on the edge of his bed. "Can't sleep?"

"No, not really." I sighed. I sat up.

"Thinking?" I nodded.

"I just want to know why me?" I asked.

"That's an easy question," he smiled. Smiling is all he ever seemed to do as if he were always happy and relaxed. "The city works best when everyone pretends to be the same. But how do they keep you all pretending to be that way?"

"Fear." I said simply.

"And how often, when you were in that school, did fear actually stop you from doing what you wanted?"

"I'm sure you saw my track record that they kept on me."

He laughed. "Exactly. It didn't seem to stop you. You see, the human mind is a strange thing. Some are willing to fight while others will turn more towards flight. When they are young, like you had been, one hit from an Officer is normally all it took to get a child to behave. Especially when the punishments are so, well, harsh and full of death."

"I mean I was afraid, sometimes."

"But when you had that confrontation with your math teacher and you were in trouble, not your first time either, you had to know that you were on the last straw. You had to understand that the next step they were going to take would be to execute you. Correct?"

"I figured they would eventually." I shrugged.

"And yet you didn't stop. You took it up a notch in your shenanigans. The library every night? As if you could have cared less if you were caught? You know you were the only one who was doing things like that. I searched for others like you but it was difficult. You made picking you out above the others so easy."

"Because I just did what I wanted."

"Exactly. I had to watch the others closely for smaller signs. Like, shifting eyes. Most who feel strange in the controlling environment tend to watch the others around them as if they are searching for their own kind. Some would do small things like eat their food out of the taught order or not eat certain things at all."

"Simple stuff." I shook my head. "I never really noticed anyone doing anything like that."

"That's because they fear the system. They know that they could be murdered and most of them would never raise a finger against it without direction. Most people are followers but I was looking for leaders. Not to mention you are intelligent and you were willing to prove that you could do things faster than the others in an easier way. "

"What about Archer? Why did you choose him?"

"Because you chose him." My faced scrunched with confusion. "You trusted him and he did not betray you. I would never have taken him away from there if you hadn't done that. He followed all orders to perfection. You saw something in him that I did not and my job has been searching for those against the city for a long time."