Year 12 (First Draft)

-Chapter 9-

 I sit up in the office, keeping one eye on the News broadcast, and another eye on the phone, waiting to hear word about Andrea. The News keeps broadcasting the same footage of Kane over and over, only this time I get to actually see the end of the video.

  "You actually care for something Porter?" The man taunts him, running the whip over the tattered skin of his back. Kane cries out, clenching his jaw. "What can she offer you? Moreover, what can you offer her? She looks like the type who could have anyone she wanted, and she's stuck with you, poor thing. You're worthless Porter. Your rebellion is a joke. Your life's work is nothing more than an ember left behind by a long since extinguished fire. And your girlfriend?" The man laughs, bringing the whip down between Kane's shoulder blades. "She's just as worthless as you."

  The familiar words sting, but I don't let them get to me. What does he know?

  "You keep her out of this," Kane warns, blood dripping off of his shoulder.

  "Oh but you foolish boy, she's already involved. She has been from the start. Nothing you say or do now can change that." The man circles, giving the camera an unobstructed view of Kane. "It's a pity too. Such beautiful young people. The Government could have done so much more with you, for you, and you both threw it away."

  "You hurt her," Kane's shoulders sag, his body weak. The man lands another blow to his back, and I cry out, almost as if the pain is my own. "I'll kill you. Then I'll kill every member of the Government. I won't stop until the Government has paid for every last wrongdoing they have committed."

  I turn off the News, shoving my LR-5 in a desk drawer so that it's out of my sight. I pull out some Year Movement papers, and set them on the desk, not sure if I really feel like looking over them or not. What good will it do me to fill out paperwork that doesn't concern me? I shove the papers back into place feeling my frustration grow.

  "What can I do?" I ask the empty office space around me.

  "Talking to yourself?"

  I hadn't noticed the tunnel door open, and I gasp when I notice Andrea standing behind me.

  "How'd you get back?" I ask, jumping out of the chair to greet her.

  She grins. "Did you doubt that I would?"

  I smirk, laughing at her question. "Of course not, but I feared that I may need to send some backup."

  Andrea smiles, closing the tunnel door. She walks around me, falling into Kane's chair. Her eyes survey the drawer that I slammed earlier, some papers jutting out in random spots. She opens the drawer, and neatly stacks the papers the way they were before I meddled with them.

  "Felisha," Andrea turns toward me, her gaze open and honest, "I've never given you enough credit." I wait silently, worried that if I say a single word, Andrea will pull away and close up. She's good at hiding. She's not good at letting others see her. "From day one, I've treated you like dirt. I knew what you meant to my cousin, and instead of supporting that, I belittled it because of my own fear."

  Andrea, looks away, her eyes conveying all of her pent up emotions. As strong as Andrea appears, she's one fall from breaking. She's one match away from an inferno. "You've proven yourself over and over. My cousin saw the potential in you, and he was right. You really are incredible Felisha. I'm sorry for not seeing it sooner."

  I laugh, although it is definitely not the right reaction. I walk over to Andrea, and take a seat on the Hoverdesk.

  "If we want to talk about mislabeling," I start, thinking back to when I first met Andrea, "when I first met you, I was convinced you were Kane's girlfriend."