Sunset Rising

“Jack! What is going on?” his mother asked, her tone accusatory.

“It’s not what it looks like, Mom. She pla

“He’s lying!” Leisel said. “He’s been hiding that…that… urchin in his room for days—ever since his bachelor party. Remember, Daddy, I went to the party? Jack and I made plans that night to be together even though I knew it was wrong. I shouldn’t have pla

“Take a deep breath, my baby, and tell me what he did.”

“He hit me! He told me he didn’t love me and never has. He said he loved that urchin girl. So he hit me and… I don’t remember much after that. I woke up in the closet and couldn’t get out. He’d put a chair up against the door, but I just kept jiggling the door until it finally opened and then I came straight here.” Leisel choked, sobbed, and gasped throughout her little speech.

“Leisel, you lying little b—” Jack began, but his mother slapped him across his face, cutting off the rest of his words.

His mouth gaped open and his eyes grew wide. He stared at his mother as an angry red welt began to appear along his cheek.

“How could you, Jack? How could you do this to us? To her!”

“Mom, I swear to you! I’m the one being betrayed.” Anyone could hear the passionate sincerity in Jack’s words. They came from somewhere deep inside him. “It wasn’t my idea. She gave me no choice.”

Tears were welling up in his eyes as he looked at his parents. I was stu

“I thought you loved me, but you were just using me,” Leisel said through her sobs. Then she turned to her father and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket. “Daddy, he told me he pla

I tried to make sense of what she was saying. She’d told me she wanted those changes, too. She’d told me she wanted to make the Dome a better place to live. I understood then that she’d manipulated me into doing what she wanted. I’d played her game unknowingly.

“Treason!” the president said, his lips tight. “You’re telling me he spoke treason to you?”

“Yes, Daddy. I don’t think he ever loved me. I think he just wanted to be president.”

Holt slowly got up and walked toward Jack, his eyes never leaving Jack’s face. I was afraid that this might be it for us, or at least for Jack. The president looked mad enough to kill. I wished I could move my terrified limbs. I wished I were brave enough to turn to the cameras and tell my dad I loved him. Tell Reyes I was sorry. Tell Summer to take care of them both for me. But all I could do was watch the president come closer.

“The fabric of our nation was founded on democracy and freedom for all, and you would seek to destroy that and replace it with communism?” His face was red and his eyes looked wild. “Who do you think destroyed our nation and sent us into this Dome? Who do you think sent the bombs? Communists!” His entire body was shaking with anger. Spittle flew out of his mouth and ran down his chin. His face was completely red. He looked insane. Then he glanced at one of the cameras out of the corner of his eye, and his disposition changed slightly. He smoothed back his hair and straightened his well-decorated military tunic.

“Apparently, I have been so busy worrying about unseen enemies outside the Dome that I didn’t notice the enemies we have inside. You, Jack Ke

Three armed Domers rushed into the room, adding even more chaos to the already dramatic scene. The media people had to scramble to get out of their way.

“Mr. President, we need to get you out of here, sir. There’s a riot starting in the Pit,” said one of the Domers.

At this news, the president dragged his eyes away from Jack and looked at me for the first time. His look was still murderous, but there was something else, too. Something in the way he was clenching his jaw and drawing his lips into a sneer made me think he hated me the most.

“Get Leisel to safety,” the president said to the guards. Then he turned his attention to the camera and looked directly into it. “Mobilize the guards and lock down the Pit. If the urchins persist in their little demonstration, shut off their ventilation system until they comply.” The president turned back to us. “This is not the first time I’ve regretted the fact that we don’t have a prison inside the Dome. Remand them to Jack’s apartment and call the council for an emergency meeting.” With that he strode out of the room with his security entourage surrounding him.

The Domer behind me tightened my cuffs and shoved me back out into the main reception area. The guests were going crazy. Everyone had seen what just went on in the registry room on the giant television behind the altar, and now we were being marched out in front of them for real. The guard behind me kept shoving me forward, but with every other step he trampled on the train of the dress, impeding my progress. At one point, I heard the dress rip and my first inclination was to worry that I might be punished for damaging it. But then I remembered I was doomed anyway. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be killed for what I had done. And somehow I found solace in the thought that I would never have to worry about ruining a uniform ever again.

Jack fought the guards every inch of the way. He was obviously angry, and I didn’t blame him. The woman he thought loved him had just betrayed him, and if Leisel was able to convince everyone of his treason, then he was every bit as doomed as I was.

We were thrown into an elevator together with a few guards, our hands still cuffed behind our backs. I couldn’t help but wonder why they were treating us so nicely. If we’d been in the Pit, we would have been beaten to death by now. But neither of us had been hit even once.

When the elevator doors opened, the guards shoved us out. The dress kept dragging me down. For something that looked as light as air, it was turning out to be a chain around my ankles.

At last, we arrived at Jack’s apartment and the guards threw us inside roughly. One guard stepped in and unlocked our cuffs, and then left.

As soon as we were alone, Jack turned on me. “Did you know about this?”

His fists were clenched at his sides, and I could feel his anger rolling off him. As I stood under his accusing gaze, it occurred to me that this was the first time anyone had spoken to me since the whole fiasco began. All morning, people had been talking all around me, but no one had actually spoken to me. So far I had been an outsider—a participant in the event, but not actually a prominent player. I realized I liked the anonymity. It made my role less important. I didn’t want Jack to take away that small shred of comfort. I didn’t want him to talk to me. So I walked into his bedroom and returned to my safe little spot on the floor beside the bed.

He didn’t follow me, for which I was grateful. The dress still felt like a dead weight wrapped around my legs, so I gathered it up and tucked the train behind my back. It made a nice cushion against the hard wall. I leaned back on it, smoothing out the front of the skirt. I wondered if they would give me something else to wear when they executed me or if I would have to die in this dress. I wished I had my own clothes. If I was going to die, I wanted it to be as me and not as some wa