Rise

thirty two

"THEY SAW THE FIRST SIGNS OF THE TRUCKS," ARDEN SAID. "IT won't be more than an hour until the girls from the Schools reach the City." She stepped out of her shoes, curling her feet underneath her at she sat on the edge of my bed. She wore a black knit sweater and burgundy skirt-her hair brushed away from her face. After so many months together in the wild, of seeing her in stiff, dirt-caked clothes, she seemed foreign to me. She looked so at ease inside the City, confident even in the way she sat-legs folded to one side, her fingers kneading a muscle in her neck.

"I'll go with you to greet them," I said. "The workers in the adoption centers have been put on call to help. They've brought the supplies to the lower floors of the Mandalay apartments. Hopefully in a few weeks, when things stabilize, the girls can begin venturing into the City."

"Hopefully," Arden repeated. She met my gaze for a moment before looking away. She didn't need to explain what she meant. It had been three weeks since the colonies took over, and the City was still in transition. I wondered how long it would last, the sudden swells that rose up on the main strip. A faction of New American soldiers resented the rebels for taking control of the army and loosening security at the wall. The Lieutenant had fled in the hours following the invasion, abandoning the men. When I imagined life in the City without my father, with the rebels securing the Palace, I hadn't realized I'd still be in danger. Even now, though Arden and I had been hidden in the Cosmopolitan tower several blocks away, soldiers escorted me wherever I went. They were stationed outside our doors at night, in anticipation of an assassination attempt.

"The elections can't come soon enough," I said. "Once the government formally transitions, once there's one leader-"

"President," Arden specified, nearly smiling as she said it. "The first president in nearly seventeen years."

"Maybe you," I said. Arden stood, barely acknowledging the comment. Several leaders from the east had decided it was best to combine the resources of the cities now, establishing them as three separate settlements under unified rule. A couple who'd led the northernmost colony were said to be up for election, but there were murmurs that Arden would be considered as well. She was one of three rebels from the west who'd inspired the colonies to come forward, in the wake of the failed siege. When I thought of Arden leaving the boys and instead taking a horse east, I was certain she deserved a permanent place in the Palace (though that term-"Palace"-was being used less and less these days).

"There will be a place for you as well," Arden said. "And Charles. He's been invaluable in accessing your father's files inside the City. The rebels said none of the others would help with the transition."

In the days after the rebels established control, I'd been deposed, giving a long account of the events leading up to my father's death, including the days I'd spent in the wild. I'd given a detailed account of Moss's death, though his body still had not been recovered. They suspected he'd been buried in one of the mass graves near the south end of the wall. An exact number had never been confirmed, but they believed several thousand died in the initial siege and the violence that followed.

As Arden started toward the door, I stood, the sudden movement rooting me in place. I rested my hand on my stomach, which was so swollen now I could no longer hide it beneath my shirt.

"What is it?" Arden asked, taking a few steps toward me, quickly closing the gap between us.

I pressed my palm to the spot where I'd felt it, waiting for the swift, sudden movement to come again. I'd noticed a strange, fluttering feeling before, but it had passed quickly.

"I think I felt her." It was a subtle tensing, almost like a muscle spasm, so quick I wondered if I imagined it.

Arden stood beside me, frozen, her hands outstretched but not taking my own. She seemed uncertain as she studied me. I kept my fingers right below my belly button, and the tensing came again. I started laughing, the strangeness of it startling me.