Chapter 30
The Commons
I don’t know which is worse—knowing my sister will die because of my inability to save her—or knowing that I have made it this far, just to fail.
“Oh God!” I hear Pesh exclaim just as I reach the second knob.
I turn it on. “Zero.”
Automated Voice: Water knob activated.
Suddenly, I hear water rushing out from beneath the ground, merging with the fire and colliding in a catastrophic conflict.
“I did it! I turned it on!” I exclaim.
The second Pesh hears my voice, he screams, “Levon, runnnnn!”
I hear wind sounds and feet crashing against the floor, and my heartbeat escalates, racing like a beating drum.
I hear Levon bang a door, and then… silence.
A second later, Pesh’s voice comes in. “There is a door at the end, it is above you, bang it open and lock it instantly!”
I release an intense sigh, gravely relieved, as Pesh continues to speak to Levon.
“Yes! Okay, now get out of there. Do you see roads?”
“Yes. And I still have The Begon,” Levon responds.
“Okay, good. The court is about a mile in front of you. Send it through their computers, then get back to us safe, please.”
“On it!” Levon says.
I take out my ear pods as she rushes to The Lawtem. I can’t believe I just did that.
I just saved my sister.
I look up to see a ladder leading to a door. I climb through it and find Pesh waiting for me.
I smile, surging past the sparks of light flying across the atmosphere.
He sprints, running past every obstacle, surging like a comet toward me.
And in an instant, he collides into me like a star, gripping me with the force of an avalanche, lifting me until I’m flying in his arms, emotion striking like embers through his face.
I’ve never seen Pesh scared, but in this moment, I realize he is burning.
He is burning, and it’s all because of me.
I grip his hair, eyes merging with his, and before I can exhale, he speaks, passion breaking through him like a flame.
“My God! Why did you jump into that hell miry clay? It was meant to kill. You could have died—”
“I had to!”
“I lost all signal of you. I almost died.”
“I couldn’t afford to have her die—”
“Of course you couldn’t! You’re astounding!” He takes my hands. “Everything about you is mind shattering. You were phenomenal. Breathtaking—”
“I can’t believe I did it,” I mutter, looking at his hands on mine.
“Are you okay?” His eyes frantically scan me, searching all over my body for bruises?
“I’m okay. I think…”
“I’ll make sure you’re okay, okay?”
I nod, looking up into his caring gaze as he tears off a piece of fabric from his shirt, tying it around my arm.
“I need to take care of these.” He rips a healing patch from his pocket, wrapping all over my head in seconds, voice speeding with passion.
“You are a prodigious star, a burning sun, a wondrous constellation, and I’m so impressed by you.”
“Really? That much?” I smile, gripping his arm.
He’s not playing. He’s not nonchalant—no, not now. His heart is aflame. He nods, eyes on me. “Yes, that much!”
“Pesh!” I whisper softly, my chest tightening. I’ve never seen him like this.
“You are!” He grips my forehead, kissing it vigorously, placing constellations of kisses all over my face, sending fire and warmth and healing through me. “I love you! I love you! I love you!”
He grips me over and over again, like I could disappear, embracing me like he needs to remember that I am here, that I am alive, that I survived, that I came back.
I came back.
For her.
For him.
And for me.
He looks at me in silence, then a sudden smile breaks across his face.
“I told you I’d come back!” I exhale, relieved, as he wraps me in a tight embrace, holding me close with a thankfulness of a thousand years.
We start talking to Levon who has made it to The Lawtem.
“I’m in,” she says. “Oh no!”
“What’s wrong?” I exclaim.
“It’s Gihard, that son of a bitch!”
We hear fighting and bodies clashing against a wall.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a male voice shouts. I assume it’s that bastard, Gihard.
My fist tightens, anger surging.
“Arghhhh! Let me go!” the same male voice cries out.
Then, we hear Levon’s voice. “My name is Levon Lerogaski, and a girl like me can defend herself.”
Thud… a loud punch, then we hear him crash to the floor.
“And trust me if you ever come near me again, I will not hesitate to kill you,” she whispers.
“Are you good, Levon?” I erupt in concern.
“Having the time of my life. I just typed in the password and going online in one… two… bingo! Judgment day, Londe.”
Click… Click…
“The Begon is live in The Lawtem.”
Walking through the O Hallway, I notice that several students are lined up outside the O Library toward The Commons phone booth.
The librarian is shouting, “Order. If you do not have a phone pass left for the year, you cannot place a call. For those who have a phone pass, all calls will be on speaker. Two minutes per call. Make it quick.”
I notice another student rushing to his friend. “Please! I’ll trade you a hefty sum for a call.”
“No, dude, you’re gonna get caught. Even Londe seems to have been caught.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Well, I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Urgh.” The student sighs. It seems he’s out of phone privileges.
I overhear a girl who is on a call with her parents.
“Just stay calm. Do exactly what the Patrons tell you. It’s probably a farce. Don’t jeopardize your favor in The Commons by siding with those who are spreading these lies.”
“What if they are not lies, Dad?”
“Sweetheart,” the mom interrupts. “Do exactly as your dad says. The Commons is like paradise, and Londe is its god. No one can destroy him.”
I turn to see Jordan speaking to his father on the phone. “Dad, what’s going on? Is this true? Did you know about this?”
“The news just broke in Commonda today. It will become public knowledge to the rest of the world tomorrow. Of course, I didn’t know. But I’m certain the Patrons and Doctor Val have everything under control. Londe will probably be back there in no time.”
“I thought you said he was arrested?” Jordan questions.
“Don’t believe everything you hear, Son. Londe is the authority.”
Jordan sighs and drops the phone. He turns, catching my gaze just as the bell rings. I turn away and keep walking.
“Shantavia! Shantavia Lerogaski!” the librarian calls my name, stopping me mid-step.
Puzzled, I turn back and walk toward her. She’s never called me before.
She hands me a silver ticket. “Additional pass. Who have you been impressing lately?” she says with eager eyes. Silver Pass?
My forehead narrows, wondering what she is referring to. I look in her direction as she opens a small, private phone booth. “Come along. I don’t have all day.”
I walk into the phone booth and it closes automatically. I now realize what this is. An additional phone pass. Oh! That’s nice. For some reason, I didn’t quite comprehend it when she said it. I’m still recovering from the mind games of the Zariki, I guess.
I scan the pass, and that’s when I see it. 100 missed calls from my dad. I thought they couldn’t call us? Only Patrons must be able to see incoming calls from families.
My breath hitches. The last time I saw this amount of missed calls from my parents, I was a child. I go to dial his number, and that’s when another call comes in. My hands hesitate for a moment, then I pick up.
“We’ve been calling you! Are you okay? Have you eaten? Are you well?” My dad barrages me with questions.
“Um… yes. I’m okay. So much has happened.
” I look at the clock, realizing I don’t have enough time to tell him.
Even if I did, it would be against the rules, so I just try to talk about something else.
“I saw the 100 missed calls today. How come you guys haven’t called me since I’ve been here until now?
” I ask, barely able to finish the words.
“My love.” My dad’s voice breaks. “When you were little, do you remember how I used to call you every other hour? How we used to? Your mom and I.”
“Yes.” I try to remember. “And I told you all to stop calling me so much.”
“When you said that to us, we were scared to lose you. We felt like we didn’t want to push our daughter away by being too clingy. We wanted you to feel comfortable, so we stopped bothering you. At least I did.”
“But it wasn’t a bother!” I struggle through the words. “I was just young. And…” A tear drops. “Still figuring things out.” I can’t believe that’s what made them pull away. “Why would you take me seriously? I was just a child!”
“We always take you seriously, love. We are so sorry that you felt like we didn’t care.
That could not be far from the truth. Your mom told me about your conversation with her.
It broke her. It broke me too. We never would’ve thought that the thing we tried so hard to practice to keep you close is the very thing that would push you away. ”
My heart pounds. I can’t believe this. The emotions swell in my lungs. My throat tightens. “Is Mom there?” I ask, listening intently.
I hear movement, a soft breath, then her voice.
“I’m so sorry for the last call. I didn’t want you to see me break down, but after we spoke, I fell on the floor and all I did was weep.
I didn’t go to that meeting. I couldn’t.
But I also couldn’t face you. I couldn’t bear for you to see me break down. ”
Tears cloud my eyes, and I turn away from the door, trying to stop it from falling. But I am flawed by her words.
“Your father and I, after a while, when all his money had run out, had nothing. We were really, really poor. I had to work twice as hard and I just… I did it for you. I didn’t want to let myself slow down, afraid that if I did, I wouldn’t give you the life you deserved.
I love you more than you will ever know.
I am sorry for everything. You and Levon.
You are the love of our lives. Even if we rarely show.
” Her voice chokes and I… is my mom… crying?
“Be strong!” I hear my dad say to her.