Defying Equilibrium

Chapter 2: Family matters

Dare arrived home to the loud shouts and squeals that were always coming from his house. The middle child of five, he had an equal amount of both younger and older siblings. When someone asked him about his family, he would always reply that there were five children in his family, and half of them were boys. The asker would stare at him, confused. How can half be boys, they would ask, when there are five? You can't halve five, and you can't have a child that is half boy and half girl. Dare would laugh at the asker's expense, and reply that the other half were boys too.

His two younger brothers greeted him at the door by tackling him around the middle. He fell to the ground as Sol, the elder of the two young boys, grinned at him victoriously, showing the gap in his front row of teeth.

"Why are you late? Why are you so sweaty? Why are you covered in ink?" The questions tumbled from the mouth of Nico, Dare's youngest brother, in the manner typical of a four year old. Nico was jumping up and down beside Dare, for no apparent reason. His green eyes were bright with excitement. He was one of those kids that get excited about anything and everything.

Dare pushed Sol off his chest. "Get off me, you little maggot!" he laughed, which sent Nico into a fit of giggles, saying 'Sol's a maggot! He said Sol's a maggot!' over and over again.

His two older brothers were nowhere to be seen. Jackson, the eldest, was currently in training to be a Shielder, and he wasn't due home for another three months. The second eldest, Xander, was most likely studying in the room he and Dare shared. Xander was only a year older than Dare, and not much taller. The two boys were often mistaken for each other, except that now Xander wore his hair short to avoid confusion.

When Dare opened the door to their room, his suspicions were proven correct. Xander was studying as he always was. He was incredibly smart, like Dare, but made much better use of his gifts than Dare did. As Oscar would say, Dare did not give a rat's arse about school. What could school teach him that he couldn't teach himself?

Oscar arrived home to a much quieter atmosphere. He lived alone with his older sister, Louise. His parents were both Shielders, so as soon as Louise was old enough to care for them, they had returned to the front line full time. Oscar liked it better this way. His sister was a easygoing girl who pretty much let him do whatever he wanted, just as long as he did his fair share of the chores. When he arrived home today, she had her back to him and was preparing a meal. The best thing about living with Louise was that she was an amazing cook.

"Smells good," he said, coming over to stand beside her to see what she was making. "But it looks like vomit. Must be cauliflower soup," he laughed. She whacked him with the back of the wooden spoon she was holding and laughed back.

"My favourite," he said as he backed away, grinning. But he felt bad again when he remembered that she may not be here for much longer, not if she got scripted. There were two ways people became Shielders - you volunteered, or you were scripted and you had no choice. The minimum of scripted years of service was three, but with skills like Louise's, it was doubtful that the Militia would let her off that easily. Oscar's face must have betrayed what he was thinking, because Louise's expression softened and she walked over and enveloped him in a tight hug.

"I'm not going anywhere," she whispered. She released him, and stepped back, smiling. "And neither is my cauliflower soup!" she proclaimed, dramatically holding the spoon above her head like a sword. "You shall eat it, and you shall like it!" She laughed, but it sounded a little forced. Looking back at her soup bubbling away in a pot on the stove, she smiled. "You know, for once, you are right about something," she said.

"What am I right about?" Oscar asked, now genuinely curious. His sister, admitting he was right? Unheard of!

She chuckled, "My soup is delicious, but it does look like vomit."

Later that night, Dare sat by the light of the fire with Sol and Nico. He had been reading to them when the had both fallen asleep, Sol on the armchair next to him and Nico curled by his side with his head on Dare's shoulder. Not wanting to wake them by getting up, he just sat there and gazed into the fire.

The little sleeping head on his shoulder woke up then, and sat up and rubbed his eyes. Dare smiled at him.

"Hey there, kiddo." Two large bright eyes stared back up at him, blinking from just waking up. Dare raised a finger to his lips and motioned to Sol, who was still sound asleep. Nico nodded seriously and copied the gesture, then lay his head back down.

Just when he thought Nico had fallen back to sleep, the child spoke. "Hey Siddy," he asked in a whisper, "can you tell me about the Continuous War?" Dare detested being called Siddy, or anything other than Dare, but you can hardly call someone by their last name in a household of people with the same one.

Surprised by the question, he replied, "Well, okay. The Continuous War started at the dawn of time, as far as we know. The rule of Equilibrium says that....well, you know what the rule of Equilibrium is, don't you?" Nico nodded. "Yeah, well, one side has swords, and the other side, our side, has shields. And the war will go on forever because of the rule. No territory has ever been gained or lost, and no one will ever win or lose, and we have our Shielders on the front line to make sure it stays that way forever."

"Shielders like Jackson?" Nico asked.

"Just like Jackson," Dare agreed. And when Nico had fallen back to sleep, he quietly added, "and someday, just like me."