REBEL CLOTHES ✓

LIFE WITHOUT DEATH

"He asked you to what?"

Tyler through his hands in frustration. "I already told you like, four times. He asked me to be his apprentice."

"No, I know, I heard that," Josh snapped. "I just can't wrap my head around how you could say yes."

"Maybe because it's one of the biggest honors in Dema," Tyler shot back.

"But he's a Bishop."

"You know, there was a time that all citizens believed in the Bishops and their power. Now, even I'm afraid of them because I have see people like you in my dreams."

The two sat on top of a steep cliff a couple miles south of Dema, far enough in Trench to see valleys and hills for miles and miles but close enough to still see the ring of the wall. Tyler was lying on his back, looking at the sky. His eyes were so pretty, shining with a mix of annoyance directed at Josh and awe directed at the sunset, but Josh didn't tell him that.

Instead, he decided to stupidly say, "That was a stupid move on your part, not mine. I didn't tell you to become the right hand man of a cult leader."

"What the heck's a cult leader?"

"A cult leader is someone who leads a group of people who have no free will, no ambitions, no emotion. They're like empty vessels, and the Bishops are the ones who manipulate the people of Dema in any way they want."

"But we have free will," Tyler protested.

"You do now because you're still a kid. You won't have that free will for long," Josh said. "What do you think they do at the graduation ceremony?"

Tyler's brows furrowed. "They give us diplomas for completed he required years of education and assign us to our jobs."

"What else?"

"What do you mean? There's nothing else."

Josh sat up. "Tyler, why do you think most of us are kids? Do you really not know what they do to the adults that make them so dull?"

"I thought that was just how they were," Tyler said.

"They lobotomize you."

"What? No way."

"Wait, so you know what's a lobotomy is, but not a cult leader?"

"I read."

Josh swung his legs over the edge of the cliff, lying in the grass so his torso was parallel with Tyler's. Tyler tilted his head, his cheek flat against Josh's calf.

"Why do you defend Trench and the Banditos so badly?" Tyler asked. What's so special about it?"

"We're free here. We can do anything, say anything, feel anything. We're not held down by our fears or insecurities. Plus, where else could you get a view like this?"

Tyler shrugged. "But in Dema, there's no death. I don't think I could live in a world where everyone I knew would wither away and die."

"Death is what makes life so special," Josh replied. "You only have one chance to live, so you need to make the most of it, you know?"

"Yeah, I guess. It's just... a lot to wrap my mind around. Everything that I've been told has been a big lie in order to control me and everyone I know."

"You get used to it."

Tyler turned to his legs hung off the cliff's edge. "How did you end up here?"

"I've been here since I was a kid. I started having dreams when I was nine, which was six years ago almost to the day. Vetomo, my Bishop, tried to convict me of treason once I decided to leave Dema with a friend of mine, who was also a Sleeper. At first, I didn't think he'd get away with it because who's going to believe a little kid could commit treason, right?"

"But they did anyways," Tyler guessed.

Josh nodded. "Yep. So, one of the leaders found us and snuck us out before Vetomo could take us away. I've been with them ever since."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I'm happy here. It's not bad, being on the run, since you know in the long run it'll be-"

He shuddered, the whole image in front of him flickering in and out of focus. Tyler vanished for a moment before reappearing, looking concerned.

"What's going on?" Tyler asked.

"Someone's waking me up."

"But so urgently?"

"It must be an emergency." He started coughing into his fist, and when he looked down, there was ash and blood in his hand. "Oh, shit. Tyler, I'm sorry."

"Wait, I-"

Before Tyler could finish, Josh shot upright in his makeshift bed on the floor of his shared tent. Jenna stood over him, grabbing his arms and pulling him to his feet. For reasons unknown to Josh, she was screaming. If it hadn't been for the terrified look on her face, he would've been angry at her for waking him up so abruptly.

The strong smell of smoke hung in the air, and Jenna was covered head to toe in soot, her face streaked with tears. Josh's skin felt like it was burning, and he couldn't stop coughing.

"Josh, wake up! We need to go, we need to go now!"

"What's going on?!"

"Someone's attacking the camp!"

She pulled him out of the tent and into the hot, thick air. Almost every tent was on fire, including the one Josh was in. Ash rained in the sky, the heat from the flames hit them in heavy waves. In the distance, Josh could hear people screaming, the crackling of the fire, and distinct sound of hooves hitting rocks.

"It's a Bishop."