Sunset Rising

The common room was already quite full when we joined the line for food. Reyes was there with Raine and Mica. Although Raine and Mica were both married, I rarely saw them out with their wives. They were always hanging around Reyes.

There was an empty seat next to Reyes, and he patted it when he saw me in line. I headed toward him once we received our food rations, and Jack followed mutely behind. I would talk to Reyes privately once we were done eating.

“So is he going to follow you everywhere now?” Reyes asked.

Jack was midway to sitting down and stood back up. “I don’t mind sitting at another table.” He turned to leave.

“Stop it, Reyes! Jack, sit down.”

Jack hesitated a moment, then returned to his seat.

“You can’t expect me to hang out with this bourge and like it,” Reyes said.

“Yeah, your boy got his butt kicked again today,” Raine said, looking at Jack.

Again? I gave Jack a confused look. He was too good of a fighter to get his butt kicked. “You didn’t tell me anything,” I said to him.

“You can’t blame the guards, the way he walks around down there like he owns the place,” Reyes said, never taking his eyes off Jack.

I knew what he meant; Jack reeked of authority. He had a confident demeanor about him that wasn’t common in the Pit. It was bound to get him into trouble with the guards. But I still couldn’t imagine Jack putting up with someone beating him.

“What happened?” I asked Jack.

“We’ll talk about it later,” he said.

Reyes snickered. “The guards like picking on him. He backs down pretty fast. Not so big down here in the Pit, are ya?”

Raine and Mica laughed, too.

I was suddenly overcome with pity for Jack. “Reyes, that’s enough! You’re behaving like a child.”

“What? I’m the bad guy here?” Reyes turned to look at me. I had never seen him look at me that way before. Was it anger? Hatred? “The president wants to kill you because of that bourge, and I poke a little fun at him and I’m the bad guy?”

“He isn’t the bad guy either. The president wants me dead because of a decision I made, so don’t blame him for this.” I was startled to hear myself say all that. But I believed every word.

I was done blaming the bourge and Jack for the mess I made of my life. What I did was foolhardy and stupid, and it was the reason the people I loved most in life were in danger. It was time to stop feeling sorry for myself and start dealing with the consequences of my own actions. And I knew Jack could be a good ally. He could help everyone down here and make a difference.

“Give him a chance. He can help us get organized and push back against the bourge. He knows how they work, and he can anticipate their decisions. He can teach you all how to fight. How to defend yourselves.” I looked from Reyes to Raine and Mica.

They all burst out laughing. Jack rolled his eyes.

“The way he cowers in front of the guards and you think he can teach us how to fight?” Reyes laughed in disgust. “Why are you defending this guy? Why are you living with him?!”

“Reyes, we’ll talk about this later,” I said in a low voice. I should have known his temper would get the better of him. I should have known he would make a scene.

“We don’t need to talk about it later. I see your answer written all over your face,” he said bitterly. “You know, Su

I looked around the table. Mica and Raine stared at me while Jack pretended to be interested in his stew.

“He’s just hurt, Su

Mica gave me a deadly glare and made a show of pushing himself away from the table to follow Reyes. A few seconds later, Raine left, too.

“That went well,” Jack said when we were alone.

“Don’t.”

I could feel a headache coming on. I rubbed my temples, trying to hold it at bay. I was stu

I was vaguely aware of a shift of mood in the room. The di

I wasn’t sure how long I sat there with my head in my hands, but I remembered Jack was still sitting with me. I looked across the table at him. He seemed to be enjoying the song. It was an old one about how we came to be in the Pit. I used to love this song when I was little because there were a few verses only the children sang. The song was a bittersweet one about how we were saved, only to be cast down into slavery. Jack had his chair turned completely around to watch the singers, so I couldn’t see his face. I waited until it was done before I suggested we leave.

“Ready to go?” I thought I saw him rub his eyes before he turned back to me. His lashes were still wet. “Are you okay?”

“The song was… moving.” He stood up and walked toward the door. I followed him.

“How about you? Are you okay?” he asked, once we were back on the stairs headed for the fourth level.

“Yeah.” Lying was easier.

“You want to beat me up again?”

“Sure.” It might just be the thing I needed right now.

As soon as we entered our apartment, I went directly into the bedroom and took off the vest. It felt so good to get the weight off my shoulders and chest. It had almost been the death of me in the laundry room. Jack was lounging in a chair when I returned to the living room.

“So, you and Reyes have been engaged for four years.”

I ignored him and went to the sink to get a glass of water.

“How old are you?” he asked after a moment.

“Seventeen.”

“Seventeen? I married a teenager?” He sounded shocked. “Wait a minute, are you telling me that you and Reyes got engaged when you were only thirteen?”

“Yes. What’s so strange about that?”

“I’m twenty and that’s a young age in the Dome to get married. Usually people wait until they’re about twenty-five.”

“Well, when you face certain death at thirty-five, you speed up your life a little bit.”

“You’re right. That was thoughtless of me.” He had the decency to look ashamed. “Now I really deserve that butt kicking you want to give me. Let’s warm up with a few push-ups.” He fell to the floor and starting doing push-ups.

I joined him. Working out the other night really had helped ease some of my anger.

“Speaking of getting your butt kicked, what happened today?”

He shrugged it off. “Just like they said.”

“I’ve seen you fight, Jack. I can’t imagine you cowered.”

“And what do you think would’ve happened if I grabbed the guard’s gun and shoved it down his throat?”

I thought about it for a moment. Not that I wouldn’t want to see a guard eat a gun, but he was right. All the guards would’ve been on him. “I see your point. You were right about Reyes and his friends, too. They’re not going to cooperate. Maybe we can find someone else who wants to learn your skills.”

I had decided I didn’t want to give up on my plan to help change things. After all the hardship I had brought on my father and Summer, I owed it to them to try to make things right. I didn’t want to fail.