Sunset Rising

“Mica, keep it down,” Reyes said. The guards in the room remained oblivious to us. “You’ll start another riot, and yesterday’s was bad enough. Three people were killed, including a little kid. We don’t need to start killing each other too—there are enough bourge doing that for us.”

“He’s just saying what we all felt,” Raine said. “Everyone was just so… angry! So you can only imagine how much we enjoyed seeing the president’s daughter crying her fool head off. I mean we were confused at first because we thought she was the bride. But there she was, falling on the floor, crying and looking pathetic and humiliated. It was epic! We didn’t think it could get any better than that, but then someone tears off your veil.” Raine looked at me with a smile. “It was sweet, sweet revenge finding out that Leisel Holt was humiliated by one of us and you stole her husband! An urchin married the next president.”

“It’s true,” said Mica. “The entire Pit went nuts. Everyone was laughing and clapping and cheering for Su

“I’m sorry for everything,” Jack said. “I really am.”

“A bourge is apologizing to us?” Raine asked, his tone incredulous.

“I don’t like to be lumped in with the likes of Holt. He’s a tyrant. For what it’s worth, I was marrying Leisel to gain control of the Dome by becoming president. There are a lot of people who don’t like the way things are under his government. Unlike President Holt, we don’t think you’re very lucky down here at all. Things need to change.”

Reyes put on an expression of mock surprise. “You mean things should change for the better in the Pit? Isn’t that the same crap your fiancée fed Su

Music filled the room, heralding President Holt’s a

“I bid you a good morning.” The president began his address in his usual tight-lipped ma

“Only her wedding day did not turn out to be the begi

The president paused, trying to get himself under control. Then he looked directly into the camera. “Jack Ke

His words caught the attention of the entire room. Everyone was sitting up and staring at the television with shocked expressions on their faces. A murmur went through the crowd, and I wanted to sink lower in my chair, but knew it would only draw attention to me. I glanced over at Jack, and his wide-eyed expression told me to stay calm.

“We have already made a preliminary search with no luck in finding them,” President Holt continued. “Therefore I appeal to all of you. Anyone with information leading to their arrest will be rewarded with four hundred credits. And anyone found hiding them will be considered a sympathizer to traitors and punished according to our laws. Death.”

The Presidential Seal flashed up on the screen, signalling the end of the address.

“Well, that’s it then,” Jack said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

I knew he was right. It was just a matter of time before someone recognized us and collected the reward. The reward was enough to ensure an urchin would never be homeless, even if he lost his job. I looked around the table. I didn’t think Reyes wanted to collect the reward, but maybe one of his friends?

“What do you mean ‘That’s it’?” Reyes asked. “She’s a hero down here—no one’s going to turn her in.” The murmuring among the crowd was getting louder, and Reyes had to raise his voice to be heard above it. I was getting concerned someone would overhear him.

“Reyes, he’s right, that’s a huge reward. I won’t blame anyone who takes advantage of it,” I said, resting my hand on his arm to quiet him.

“I’ll blame them!” Suddenly he was on his feet, climbing up on his chair. I couldn’t believe he was doing it with Jack and me sitting right there. He might as well just turn us in himself.

“Everyone! Listen to me!” he yelled above the din of the crowd. The guards stepped forward in response to Reyes’s yelling, but the room started to quiet down. In the distance I could hear noise coming from the levels above and below us.

Now that he had the room’s attention, he lowered his voice, but only slightly. “Su

He paused and looked around the room. All eyes were on him. A guard was speaking into his communicator. He was probably looking for backup.

“Yesterday, for the first time, we saw the bourge humiliated. We saw what pain does to them. And that pain was inflicted on them by one of us. Su

Someone started shouting “Su

Jack stood and joined the crowd, putting his fist in the air calling out my name. He was looking at me with that wide-eyed expression again, willing me to do something. Then I realized I was the only one in the room still seated and not shouting out my name. I stood and put my fist in the air too, yelling “Su