Elicerent

XXV.

As they dragged me through the halls, I knew that my only chance was to gain an audience with the Minister. It was common knowledge that a death sentence could not be passed without the approval of the Eye of The One. And the only one who communicated to the Eye was the Minister. I hoped this hadn't changed.

We came to the end of the hall and stood waiting in front of two backlit doors. They had red lights on the ceiling above each door that turned blue to signal entry. The mercenary on my right stepped forward to push the door open, her arm bulging with strength. The room we entered was circular, much like the one I remembered. Chairs were equally spaced around the perimeter, and less than half of them were filled. The room was lit from the floor, illuminating all that was above. This cast strange shadows about the room, especially where the four figures sat. I focused on the figure central to the formation, on a single step that rose above the others.

This was my chance, "Minister, I am so glad to have an audience with -"

"Quiet! You are a member of the resistance. You are one of them and your age indicates for us exactly how long these low lives have been against us. Chaos will ensue if you are allowed to live," he grunted. "Are you alone?"

This made no sense. Enna and the Minister knew who I was and my purpose. I had been warned that if I was caught within the city or elsewhere that I would be taken by mercenaries and eventually executed. But they did not say that I would receive the same treatment within the Facility. Were they betraying me because they believed that I had failed?

My confusion must have clearly shown on my face because the Minister repeated his question, twisting his lips into a smile as he waved a hand at one of his mercenaries, who stepped forward and delivered a hard blow to my stomach. Winded, I hunched over, grasping my centre, eyes watering. The One was wrong. The Minister was wrong. The Facility was wrong. The only harm the resistors posed, was the destruction of the Facility and all the teachings of The One.

They just wanted to live. Naturally. And it worked. There were no poor, and everyone had their place, without the programming. It was nothing like Langualum. I straightened up. "I'm alone. Sent on a sole mission to dispose of you, Minister," I strained through clenched teeth.

He chuckled, "Well that was foolish. No one has succeeded yet." He moved toward the exit, not even bothering to glance back, "Take her to a holding cell. We will publicly execute her tomorrow. They can call watch you go up in flames under the watchful eye of The One.