Sure as the setting sun
You can't trust just anyone
Iscariot ~ Walk The Moon
Troye
As promised, three days later I was sent a letter, saying I had to go to another “session” at the weekend. No one else in my family had been sent a letter. They'd all been considered a moderate threat. I was confused at first as to why I was seen as a bigger threat, seeing as abilities were meant to be hereditary. Then it was revealed that both mum and Steele had faked their abilities, and I was scolded for not doing the same.
My parents decided to train me for the next interrogation. They drilled government-friendly answers into my brain, and taught me how to create weaker water blasts. It took hours of practice, going over the same things over and over again. They wanted to ensure I seemed as innocent as possible, as they believed me to be.
When Saturday came I went to be questioned. It was at a different location that time, in the town hall. At the door, they took a blood sample with a sharp syringe, and forcefully took my fingerprint. After standing in the cold for ten minutes, they eventually verified my identity and let me go inside to wait.
Inside, I found myself surrounded by others in the same boat as I - fretful people who didn’t look remotely dangerous. No one in there was a killer. I’d positioned myself in the corner of the room, hoping no one would go near me. Fortunately most people preferring to sit by themselves, without communicating with anyone else.
Someone had to be different. And that happened to be my music teacher, Mr Howard.
I hadn’t noticed him at first, sitting there quietly, reading a newspaper. It was only when the inspectors came in that he started to make a commotion. He got to his feet, watching the uniformed men and women walk towards the questioning rooms. When Detective Inspector Dobbs walked in, he pushed his way towards him. “Alright Dean,” he said. The inspector stopped in his tracks.
“Alright Jack,” he said, already seeming to find the interaction tedious.
“Hows the wife? Oh sorry, that's right, she left you. How long ago was that? Three years ago?”
“Four actually. We celebrated the separation last week in the pub.”
“I can’t imagine how you’ll celebrate after you’ve incarcerated innocent people in this town. Fireworks? Trip to Tenerife?”
“Depends whether you get locked up or not.”
“See, it’s weird to think back to when you thought having powers was just a small part of a person, and now that’s the only part of me that matters to you.”
Inspector Dobbs grew stiff. “I was never like that.”
“Oh but you were.”
Before he could respond, he was summoned to take his position in the questioning rooms. Mr Howard looked satisfied with himself, as he sat back down.
I didn’t know what to make of that event, but rather than think about it, I focused on calming myself. After half an hour of waiting, I was called up to be questioned. As I walked past Mr Howard he gave me a brief nod. I took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.
The inquisition room was larger that time, with more light shining through the windows. Yet somehow it was more daunting. There was the gigantic image of the President staring into my soul as I walked in. I looked away, trying to stop myself from trembling. Placed around the room were various formidable objects. Most looked like medieval torture instruments. I prayed they were there to frighten people, not for actual use.
“I’ve got you again? What are the chances of that?” Detective Inspector Dobbs said as I entered. His presence set me even more on edge, until I noticed something wrong with his character. The snide expression was non-existent. He looked slightly disgruntled. I assumed it was because of Mr Howard’s unexpected appearance.
The questioning wasn't as bad as before. Perhaps it was because I’d experienced it before. Or it maybe it was because the inspector had a far away look in his eyes, his mind elsewhere. None of the questions involved Tyler that time, which made it a little easier. It was more about my family history, future plans, and if I supported the government. At the last question I said “Well I have to” by mistake.
Instead of questioning that response, Detective Inspector Dobbs just sighed.
The stimulation was different that time too. I had to run on a treadmill whilst shooting the targets for as long as possible. I only released small bursts of water. Most didn’t hit the bullseye. I’d never been great at running, and less than three minutes in I collapsed on the floor. After that, Dobbs determind I was still a substantial threat, but I could leave until further notice.
*
The moment I got into school on Monday, I made my way towards Mr Lester’s room. I wanted to check he hadn’t been put in a worse mess because of my minor slip up in the first interrogation. I pushed past the other students, some still nervous about the questioning. Some gave me cautious glances and shuffled out the way, obviously sensing the rush I was in. I got to the room, to find the door ajar for once. There were no noises coming out of it. Growing nervous at the peculiarity, I pushed the door open.
All the blinds were pulled down over the windows, making the room unusually gloomy. The walls were bare, stipped of the colourful posters Mr Lester had hung up. The whiteboard had his motivational quotes rubbed off. All the tables and chairs had been moved to other rooms, leaving it barren.
A tall figure stood in the centre of the room. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I realised it was Dan, standing apprehensively. Hearing my footsteps entering the room, he turned to face me. I think he’d been hoping I was Mr Lester. His eyes clouded over the moment he saw it was just me. His shoulders were fell forward like a raindrop, but tried to rectify his actions with a quivering smile.
“Where's Mr Lester?” I asked, my voice louder in the emptiness around us.
He wiped his eyes, trying to act casual. “He’s packed up his stuff, you know, because he’s not teaching anymore."
"Why?"
"Haven't you heard? The government’s made it made illegal to teach powergy. They had to get rid of him, and all the other powergy teachers.”
“Really?”
“Yeah,” he said with a forced laugh. “I don’t know about you, but, uh, this sucks.”
I nodded. Powergy was one of my favourite subjects. Mr Lester had been a good teacher - a man with his heart in the right place. If he hadn’t taught me, I might’ve never had been with Tyler. He didn’t deserve to lose his job. I didn’t feel as big a loss as Dan though. He had spoken to him outside lessons. They'd seemed to be comfortable with one another - maybe they'd been friends? Whatever they'd labelled themselves, Dan knew a lot more about him than I did - or ever would.
Something about that was impossibly sad, but I guessed that was the way things had to be.
Before I could even think to comfort him, someone yelled “YOU CAN'T TAKE HER!”. I became aware of a loud stampede coming down the corridor. With a knitted brow I looked down the corridor.
Three masked figures were marching determinedly towards the exit. They were carrying a paralysed body between them. The only distinguishable feature of the body was the hair - brown ombre hair. Only one person had hair like that in our school. The familiar elvish features came into view as they passed the doorway. Dan gulped behind me.
They must’ve been carrying the wrong person - how could Zoe be seen as a threat? She was an Earth for goodness sake.
Close on their heels was Joe, face alight with fury. He was shouting and cursing as they moved forward, undeterred by his words. We ran out the room after him. Together we shouted after them. By the time we were in the car park, there was a small group of us, calling for them to stop.
Our shouts were met with silence. They headed towards a government van, and opened up the doors. No one could clearly see who else was inside, but you could hear sobbing. Joe tried to push past the masked figures, to get Zoe out.
Immediately the three officials created a blockade. “It is a criminal offence to interrupt a government operation,” the smallest said.
“Well it’s a crime to lock her up. She's innocent!”
Instead of arguing back, they pushed him towards us. Joe didn’t give up though. He charged at them again, with more force. Without hesitating they decided to push him to the ground. The impact of his body against the concrete made every student flinch. The smaller of the three kicked him the chest repeatedly, whilst the others got to work on bundling Zoe’s body into the van. Joe screamed out, begging them to stop. They didn’t. I wanted to intervene, but one of the masked men blocked us off.
The kicks grew more brutal. The screams of pain died out, becoming chesty coughs instead. His eyes rolled back, the white parts becoming visible. Red liquid spread out across the concrete.
"What's going on here?" A voice called from behind. I spun round to see Ms Singh was rushing forward, almost falling over in her high-heels.
The figure nearest me answered "He tried to get to the critical-graded elementals in the van. An example needs to be made of him."
"You will do no such thing here! Who gave you permission to hurt any student?"
"He's not just any student. He's an elemental. He deserves to be punished for breathing alone."
Everything grew still - even the wind halted. Ms Singh's expression became one of pure hatred. "If he's committed no crime you leave him be. This is my school, and I won't have you hurting my students. Do you understand? "
The smaller figure stopped kicking Joe. From underneath the mask you could see the person was grinning. "Yes, it's you're school but for how long?"
*
Powergy periods were changed to Private Study in the library. Dan decided not to turn up, saying he was too ill. Alfie and I sat around a small round table, scarcely speaking.Without saying so, I knew we were both worried about Zoe, hoping she’d be alright. To distract myself, I was on a news website, reading up on the powergy ban. Alfie was struggling to understand CAST diagrams, and eventually went off to find “a maths bof”.
A few minutes after he left, my phone started to ring. Everyone was too focused in their own books to notice the ring. As casually as possible, I fished it out my pocket, answering it before looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?” I whispered.
A broken-up voice came through the speaker. “Hi.”
Even with the bad signal, I knew who it was.
“Tyler?”
My heart lept into my mouth. I started to tremble. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was dreaming. He was still safe. His voice sounded different, as if he was ill. Of course, I ended up voicing that rollercoaster of emotions.
“Calm down,” he said with a laugh, having a coughing fit afterwards.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m better now I can hear you,” he said. He managed to pluck my heart strings, even though he was so very far away.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” The signal broke up, and he seemed to say “how old are you?”
“I’m nineteen?”
“I said how are you you dum-dum! Like, are you okay?”
“Um, not really… I miss you.”
I waited for a response, biting my lip. There was just silence on the other end.
“Tyler?”
I heard movement, someone shouting incoherent words. Then the phone call ended.
I listened to the dull tone, hoping to hear his voice again. I sat waiting, until my phone lost its remaining battery and turned off. People milled around me. Some gave me questioning looks. I buried my face into my crossed arms, shutting them out. A single teardrop fell onto the table. I hadn’t expected to get so emotional just from hearing his voice. A gaping hole in my chest had stopped hurting in that moment. I'd have done anything to have healed it permanently. I was slightly terrified about what’d happened to him at the end. I wanted to know if he was still okay - or if he'd been okay in the first place.
I heard two chairs being dragged to sit round my table. A quiet snigger was shared between the two people. Neither sounded like Alfie. Warily I looked up.
Of course it had to be the fucking Harries.
They were smiling at one another, until they saw me straighten up. Their faces morphed to be sympathetic - an expression I’d never thought I’d see on their faces. I didn’t even know they were capable of pulling that face. “Why are you so sad?” Finn asked, seeming genuinely interested. I wasn't stupid enough to fall for the angelic act.
“It’s been a stressful few weeks.” I answered sourly. I had no desire to talk to them.
Jack nodded. “True that. That questioning was tough, wasn’t it?”
“At least we’re still here,” Finn said.
“How come you weren’t taken to confinement?” I asked. I’d presumed the two were in the van with Zoe. They were a lot worse than her, yet they were still free.
Jack smiled with a hint of criminality in his eyes. “We had tactics.”
“Had to give some of them to Marky Butt Butt, so he didn’t get put into confinement.”
I wasn’t aware he’d got out of further questioning, or that they were friends with him. “Why’d you help him?”
“Well, there has to be some Fires still in the school,” Jack replied.
“It’s a shame about Tyler. He was real good Fire. Made us see the light and all that jazz.”
I frowned at them. Surely I’d misheard their words. “What?”
Finn sighed. “We figured a Fire wouldn’t date a Water for the hell of it. I mean, it’s kind of obvious now. Different Elementals aren't so different.”
I continued to frown, not believing what was going on before me. Picking up on this, Jack said. “You might not believe it, and that’s fine. We spoke to Hannah earlier, apologised for some of the stuff we did to her. She took it okay. A bit shocked, like you-”
“-but can you blame her?” Finn interjected.
“So we came to say sorry to you too. Times must be difficult with Tyler gone, but we’ve got your back.”
“Why are you saying this?” I asked.
Now it was their turn to say “What?”
“A few months ago you wanted rid of Tyler, and now you’re saying he was real good Fire?”
Both brothers frowned. “When did we want rid of him?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe when you pushed him into the river.”
Jack sat back in his chair, perplexed by my words. “I haven’t been to river since I first year here.”
“Same. Always too creepy for my liking, with the whole dead body story.” Finn shivered.
I wasn't meant to trust them, but they looked honest. There were no signs of them lying.
“But if you didn’t push him… who did?”
Neither of them could answer that question.
At lunch, I sat with a troubled mind. Someone had wanted rid of Tyler, willing to rat him out to the government so that he had to move. It was just an endless maze of questions, maddening me to no end when there was no clear pathway insight.
Both Connor and Dan were absent from the table. Their non-attendance went unnoticed by the others though. Caspar was busily arguing with Alfie, Hannah, Joe and Marcus, about trivial matters no one eas in the mood for. He tried to get me to side with him, but I was still slightly hurt from our last conversation. Instead I sided with the others, even though I had no idea what their squabble was about.
Ten minutes into lunch, a wild Connor appeared. “Where have you been?” Joe asked him as put down his food.
“Just had the interrogation.”
I stared at him. He had his usual easy-going smile on, and wasn’t shaking “You don’t seem too traumatised.”
“I’m just trying to forget about it, to be honest.”
“What category did they put you in?” Hannah asked. Everyone bar me and Marcus had been classified as a moderate threat. I pressumed Connor would be moderate too.
“I'm not sure... I can't really remember.”
I was puzzled by that answer. They said it at the very end of the interrogation. How could he just forget his new status? It was almost as if he if he hadn’t had an interrogation.
No one else seemed fazes by this. Caspar asked “What was the worst part for you then? The targets?”
“Y-yeah. Definitely the targets.”
He was speaking too hesitantly than normal, not knowing how to answer the questions. Why hadn’t he had an interrogation? Why was he hiding the truth?
Maybe that wasn’t the only lie to leave his lips. He’d said he saw the Harries’ push Tyler in the river. He was the only one to see them. He could’ve lied. He could’ve done it.
I shook myself. It was ridiculous. He was Tyler's friend - one of his best friends. He had been since day one…
Before Tyler had come to this town, Connor hadn’t been friends with Zoe, Joe and Dan. He’d been friends with the sport fanatics. But when Tyler came, he left them in a heartbeat. He was one of the first to befriend Tyler. He was overly excited about the new boy whilst most people didn't care.
My mind began whirl, answering the questions that had plagued my mind.
In the park, when we’d trained, I recognised one of the voices - the voice of the person who’d messed up, who'd recognised the cars. Thinking back on it, his voice was similar. He would’ve known what Tyler’s car was like. He might’ve heard about us going there from Tyler, or maybe he followed us. Both were plausible.
I remembered what Tyler had said on the beach. He’d seen a pair of eyes on our first date, in the shadows. Connor was a Light - half Earth, half Fire. Earth’s could camouflage if they wanted to. Maybe he was capable of camouflage too. Maybe he’d disguised himself to hide the dark, spying on us. Maybe he'd also taken the incriminating photo of the river enchantment, which Inspector Dobbs showed me. He always had loved taking photos.
After discovering I’d been to Tyler’s, he’d been desperate to know where Tyler lived. A friend wouldn’t care. Perhaps, then, he was no friend.
But, who was he then? And why was he doing all this?
I could've been wrong, drawing parallels between lines that didn't exist. I knew I'd only know for sure if I could get him to make a mistake. I decided to lay a trap there and then, to see whether he had had an interrogation. If he hadn’t, perhaps the other accusations weren’t as ludicrous as they first appeared.
I said “I especially hated the sheep targets. They were the hardest to get at.”
As the others' furrowed their brows, Connor made a sound of agreement. “I couldn't agree more.”
I smiled grimly.
I’d found the rat.
A/N
I'm going back to my hobbit hole - see ya petits pois next time
Emma x
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