Sunset Rising (27 page)

“We need to finish this conversation!” I told Crystal as we joined the
queue.

“Finish what conversation?” Di asked as she came to
stand behind me in the line.

I shrugged.
“Nothing important.”

“Those guards that were here today looked official.
Any idea where they came from?” Di asked.

“We think Mr. West sent them because of Crystal’s eye.
She didn’t look very pretty singing for the bourge last night. They want to have a word with Madi.”

“Malcolm West?” Di
seemed shocked.

I nodded.
“Crystal’s owner.”

Di gave Crystal a look of understanding.
“I owe you a big apology. I had you pegged all wrong, sweetie.”

“Most people do,” Crystal said
, her tone defiant.

“Well
, I expect they’ll be back when they don’t hear from her,” Di said.

“I think you’re right,” I
said.

We halted our conversation as we collected our food and water and then returned to our stations to eat.
The laundry room was every bit as hot as it always was, and I was relieved Madi wasn’t there to stop me from drinking water. I gulped the liquid down, and felt the moisture quench my parched tongue and throat. If I hadn’t been worried about the guards coming back, I would have been tempted to take off my vest and hat and let my skin breathe.

“Madi’s not here today.
You can go to Crystal’s sink any time you want,” Di said.

“I hadn’t thought of that.
” There were definitely perks to not having a supervisor around.

“What is it you’re wearing that makes you so hot?
”

“B
elieve it or not, it’s a bulletproof vest.” I laughed. “It puts weight on my frame and makes me look less like Sunny O’Donnell.”

“Well, down here Sunny O’Donnell is a hero.
You might want to start looking like yourself again. I told a few people how you saved Crystal last night. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Di, you weren’t supposed to tell anyone!” Now the news would be all over, just as Jack predicted it would be.

“Why not? It’s about time someone stood up to the Madis of the Pit. That woman was a mean, nasty piece of work. Good riddance, I say.”

“But
I
killed her,” I whispered. Was I the only one who understood the gravity of that act?

Someone ann
ounced the lunch break was over. We all returned our empty containers to the cart and went back to work. It nagged at me that Di had told people about my actions. Heroes weren’t murderers, so what would people think of me now? I hoped it wouldn’t impact the plan Jack and I were trying to implement. If people thought badly of me, maybe they would stop showing up.

T
he day was almost over when the doors burst open, and the two Domers that had been there earlier marched in unannounced.

“Has anyone seen Super
visor Madi today?” one of them demanded.

“No sir.
She hasn’t been in today,” Di said.

“When was the last time anyone saw her?”

“Last night,” I said. If anyone was going to be questioned, it should be me.

The guard came closer to me.
“At what time?”

“About six-thirty.
We finished late last night.” At least that was the truth.

“Was she here when you left for the da
y?”

“Yes
.” The lie made me a little nervous.

“Were you the last one to leave?”

“We both were,” Di said.

“I’ll need both your names
.”

“My name is Diamond Murphy,” she said.

He looked at me expectantly. There was no way out of this. I cleared my throat. “Autumn Jones.”

The guard recorded our names on his communicator and then left without any further questions. Now they had my false name. How long before they figured out Autumn Jones was an imposter?

I spent the rest of the afternoon nervously looking over my shoulder at the doors, but no more guards came bursting through. A few times I went to Crystal’s sink to get a drink and put cold water on the back of my neck. I hoped no one else in the laundry room noticed, but the cool, refreshing liquid was too tempting to ignore. Madi’s absence was turning out to be a luxury.

F
or the first time since I came to work in the laundry room, I wasn’t struggling to finish my cart at the end of the workday. It was all done. Crystal and Di were finished, too. Maybe things did run smoother without a supervisor.

“I’ll be seeing you tonight,” Di said as we walked out the door.
“I’m going to bring my lazy husband with me.”

“I’ll see you tonight then,” I
said.

She wa
lked away, leaving Crystal and me alone.

“I wi
sh I could see you tonight, too,” I said to her.

“I’ll see what I c
an do.” She gave a brilliant smile and hugged me.

T
hen she was gone, running down the stairs without waiting to walk with me.

The apartment was empty when I arrived
, and I took the opportunity to get out of my vest for a while. I could feel the heat from the laundry room radiating off my skin. I wet one of the towels and put it on the back of my neck. It felt refreshingly cool. I splashed cold water on my face, and soon my body temperature came down. I put my t-shirt back on just before Jack came through the door.

“I was worried about you today.
How did it go?” he asked.

“A couple of Domers came looking for Madi
, and I talked to them.”

“Guards from the Dome?”
He looked confused. “Why were they there?”

“Crystal’s
owner didn’t like her having a black eye and wanted to talk to the person who gave it to her. They asked when I had seen her last, and I told them truthfully. They wanted my name.”

“And you gave them Autumn Jones, right?”

I responded with
a sarcastic look. He ignored it.

“That was unexpected
,” he said. I’m hoping your alias checks out okay. I didn’t have a lot of time in that storage room.”

He sat down heavily in the chair.
I could tell he was thinking hard about the information he had made up on Autumn and Ben Jones.

“And you were right this morning about people talking.
Di said she told a few people about what happened last night.”

“I know.
It was the main topic of conversation in the mines today. You’re inspiring a lot of people! Today was a good day. We finally have only Liberty guards in our section, so we were able to do some training. A lot more people have joined us.”

“Di said she and her husband were coming, so I managed to find
two more people to join.” I made a face.

“Wow, two people.
You
were
busy.” Any sarcasm he had meant to be included in his tone was softened by the fond smile he gave me. “Speaking of tonight, I’m starving. I’m even looking forward to eating that grey muck you call dinner.”

At his
reference to our food, I was reminded of my conversation with Crystal that morning, and an image of Jack at presidential parties floated into my head. He really did prefer the finer things that only the Dome could offer. I couldn’t imagine him ever being attracted to an urchin like me.

“You’re such a bourge,” I said almost under my breath.

“What was that comment for?”
He seemed taken aback.

“Nothing
.” I went into the bedroom and put the vest back on. “Ready.”

Jack was already standing by the door waiting for me.
We left together and headed for the common room. He didn’t hold my hand or put his arm around me this time. I wondered if my comment had made him angry.

Even though it was
early, the room was already packed. The guard at the door greeted us in his usual manner, and we queued up with everyone else. We collected our food and went in search of a table. David Chavez was there with his wife and asked us to join them.

“I’m not sure if you’ve met my wife, Terra,” he said.

“Pleased to meet you,” Jack said, extending his hand to her. She took it.

“I’m Sunny,” I said, taking the seat next to her.

“I know.” She smiled.

I gestured at her large round tummy.
“How far along are you?”

“I’m due any day. And the little one is getting heavy, so he can c
ome out any time!”

“You’re hoping for a boy?” I asked with mild interest.
I wasn’t sure why anyone would want to bring a baby into this Pit, but I kept that to myself.

“A boy would be… easier
. I was never sent upstairs, but…” She trailed off, looking from me to Jack.

I understood what she meant.
I looked at Jack to see his reaction, and noted he was looking uncomfortable.

“
Though I’m glad it worked out for the two of you,” she said in a rush. “It’s just that your love story is very rare.”

If only she knew the truth, I thought to myself.

“Don’t be so sure that girls have it rougher than boys,” a man said as he pulled up a chair and joined us. “They killed my son a few years ago. He got a job working in the sewers, but it made him so sick to his stomach that he couldn’t keep up with the workload. They beat him more times than I could say before they killed him. He was only twelve years old. I hope they all rot in hell.” His tone was bitter, his cheeks wet with tears.

The woman at the table next to us pushed her chair back and gave the man a sympathetic pat on the back.
“I lost my husband five years ago when the guards beat him to a pulp,” she said. “He was working the diamond mines and accidently broke three picks in one day. As if that’s a good enough reason to kill a man!” She shook her head. “I’ve remarried now.” She turned to look at the man she was sitting with. “I had to remarry if I wanted a place to live. No offence to you, lover,” she said to the man fondly.

S
omeone put a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up to see an unfamiliar face.

“I heard how you handled that supervisor,”
the woman said. “God bless you.”

Jack flashed me his best
“I told you so”
smile, and I gave my best sardonic smile back. He looked smug.

“It’s about time something was being done,” the man who
’d joined us said, tears still glistening in his eyes.

“We all have scars,” a woman behind me said.
Her voice was familiar. I turned to find Summer’s parents standing there. “Right now my baby is in the hands of that monster we call a president.”

“Mrs. Nazeem!” I said, jumping up to hug the woman.
“I miss Summer, too.”

“I know you do.
You’ve always been a good friend to her.” She hugged me back.

“I’d do anything to help her.
You know that.”

“You are doing something
, Sunset,” she said. She took off my hat and let my hair fall around my shoulders. “Who knew the little girl who was always trying to hide her beautiful hair would one day be the person to lead us? Your mother would be so proud.”

I blushed at the compliment but knew she couldn’t be more wrong.
I wasn’t the leader in all of this. Jack was.

Before I could respond, I heard a commotion a
t the door and turned to see Crystal coming into the room carrying a guitar. Her eye was still badly swollen and starting to turn black. She had a sad smile on her face as she grabbed a chair and went to the front of the room.

People were pouring into the room behind her until it became so crowd
ed it was standing room only, and yet more people remained out in the hallway, standing on tiptoes to get a glimpse of her. I felt Jack’s hand at the small of my back as he came to stand beside me. He had a puzzled expression on his face.

Crystal
raised her voice to be heard throughout the room. “Hi, I’m Crystal.”

A few cheers went up.

“Now I know her!” Jack whispered in my ear. “She’s Malcolm West’s mistress. She’s a really good singer.”

“I know
.”

Crystal propped a leg up on the chair and rested her guitar on it.
She strummed a few chords. “Like most of you, my life down here hasn’t been all that great. I’ve lost people I loved. I’ve been used in ways I never imagined possible. And I’ve been beaten.” She pointed to her swollen face. A few people wiped tears from their eyes. “Yet I wake up every morning, willingly go to work for a woman who beats me, and allow myself to be the lover of a man I detest. And not once have I ever done anything about it.” Her voice was getting husky, and she stopped to clear her throat. I could feel the tears welling up in my own eyes.

“I recently had the privilege
of meeting someone very special. Someone who showed me that taking control of my own life was in my hands—
not theirs
! She showed me that if life is ever going to get better for us, then we’re the ones who need to change,” she shouted. “And she and her husband are trying to show you the way, too. So I wrote a song for them. I wrote this song for us all.”

The entire room was silent
as she began to strum her guitar. It was a slow, haunting melody that spoke to the heart.

Nothing’s ever been right down here

We live and die under the rule of fear

Into slavery we are bound

Then they beat us down

They sentenced us to live in a rock

And if we cry they put us under lock

They promise us one day we’ll see the sun

But when we finally get one, she’s on the run

The chords she strummed became faster, louder, and she sang out with a powerful voice.

So rise up, rise up

It’s time to make a choice

Everyone here has a voice

It’s time you learned how to use it

Unite! Unite!

They’re here to help us fight

If we turn our back on them

Then we’re all condemned

Her strumming became slower then, more haunting.

You probably didn’t know

But I overhea
rd it said

The Pit they want to blow

And soon we’ll all be dead

Don’t forget they promised us the sun

And now that we have one, she’s on the run

If we keep believing their lies

We might as well say our good
byes

Crystal was strumming hard and fast on her guitar. The entire room was rocking with the emotion of her music. She stood up on the chair, letting her music fill the room. She sang out again.

So rise up, rise up

It’s time to make a choice

Everyone here has a voice

It’s time you learn how to use it

In a world full of wrong

They’re the only thing that’s right

It’s time to make a stand

It’s time to unite!

Rise up! Rise up!

She strummed one last chord with flourish and raised one arm in the air. The crowd went wild. Everyone was cheering and clapping. Not one eye in the room was dry. Jack gazed down at me, his dark eyelashes glistening with tears.

“She’s a hell of a songwriter
, too,” he said.

I nodded, too choked up to speak.

Crystal took a bow, jumped off the chair, and started walking for the door. I didn’t want her to leave before I could talk to her. I pushed my way through the crowd and caught her just before she left.

I touched her arm.
“Crystal!”

“
Sunny! Did you like it?”

“
Like
it? It was the most beautiful song I ever heard.” I wiped the tears from my eyes. “Thank you.”

My weak
“thank you” didn’t even come close to expressing the emotion her song had evoked in me. I didn’t know how to convey my appreciation in the aftermath of her beautiful music.

“You inspired it,” Crystal said.
“You stood up for me when no one else ever did. You’re standing up for us all, and I love you for it. But I have to go now. I don’t have much time.”

She gave me a sad smile, kissed my cheek
, and went out the door. The crowd parted to let her through and then followed her. There was an exodus of people out of the common room as others joined her entourage.

I wondered where they were all going.