The Numbered

Chapter Seventy

The crowd responded fervently.

"Get ready, he's about to call you onto the stage," Joshua whispered into her ear.

"But we cannot afford to become complacent. We must strive ever harder to continue to improve our society and the standards by which we live. This year we finally succeeded in our quest for perfection when a special young lady was awarded the score of one hundred in the Standardised Perfection Rating. Hannah, please come and join me on the stage."

"Hannah, Hannah, Hannah..." The crowd began to call and within moments, everyone in the square seemed to be demanding her presence on the stage. Hannah closed her eyes and tried to calm herself. Concentrating on just her breathing, the noise around her faded a little. Seven small steps up to the podium were all that remained of the life-altering journey she'd made over the last few months and yet she might as well have been asked to climb the perilous north face of a mountain. Neither her body nor her spirit wanted to make the ascent. It was too high, too dangerous a journey to make and one from which she doubted she would ever return.

"Hannah, the general has asked for you." Joshua tugged lightly at her arm.

Her noisy reality rushed back, the crowd continuing to call her name faster and louder. She opened her eyes, and at the top of the stairs, looking back down at her was Briggs, his facial expression stony. Hannah smiled weakly, took a deep breath and willed her left foot to move. It did as she directed, and she made contact with the timber step, which gave a little beneath her foot. Seven... six ... five..., Briggs offered his hand to her. Four... three... two... His hand grasped onto hers and pulled her up the final steps onto the stage. Leaning in, he kissed her on the cheek.

"Don't ever leave me waiting again," he whispered. Gripping her hand too tightly, he raised it aloft and together they punched the air. Hannah turned towards the crowd and gasped. The sight before her very eyes was both breath-taking and bewildering. Several thousand people stood shoulder to shoulder, holding balloons and banners in the colours of the state. Small children sat on their parent's shoulders waving small flags. The atmosphere was carnival-like, and the military band responded by playing an up-tempo march. Everywhere, people were grinning and waving at her, and she did what was expected of her; she waved back, although smiling was one step beyond her capabilities. She caught Briggs looking at her, the furious look on his face earlier, now replaced with something altogether more unsettling and unidentifiable.

Hannah averted her eyes and turned to look at the audience in the raised seating area at the rear of the stage- the VIP area, filled with assorted dignitaries. She recognised a few faces from the newspaper and a few from the initial parties she was made to attend when she was first promoted. Further down the rows she scanned, but still she could find no sign off Scott. As her eyes reached the bottom tier, Hannah located Diana and their eyes locked. Diana attempted a smile at her daughter, but it looked more like a grimace, particularly when she looked to the two empty chairs beside her. John and Edward weren't there.

The crowd suddenly hushed and Hannah forced herself to turn back towards them.

"Before I begin to outline the new legislation that will be imposed as of midnight tonight, I will... "

Briggs began a lengthy review of the previous fiscal year including the successes of the army and the effectiveness of the most recently introduced legislation. On and on, went his speech and she zoned him out and continued her search. She turned her attention to the perimeter of the square, where soldiers guarded the crowd in large numbers. You promised me you'd be here. But what if he'd changed his mind, what if...? That thought left her breathless, panicky and questioning her own judgement. "Where are you?" she whispered to herself.