Arrested? But how could that be? I had to find out on what grounds she was arrested. She would never assault a guard, never harm anyone or steal anything. Skylar wasn't a criminal, she wasn't the type of girl to go against the law. So, what could she possibly be arrested for then? I had to find out, I just had to. But, sadly, today was not the day.
Grandmother was having a faith meeting today, and I already told her I'd go – like every other week. Some people think it's all crazy stuff, just false hope for those who attend. But I disagree. That little tree she has, it's the only piece of nature I've seen, and probably will ever see. I came to terms with that years ago, knowing it would not be my generation returning to the ground. But now, with the Ark 'dying', I wasn't sure if there'd ever be a generation returning to the ground.
I had seen Abby early that day, before the faith meeting. She told me that there has been no wristbands that have gone out in almost a week now, meaning the ground might be stabilizing. Still, it wasn't solid proof. I knew my father's agenda, what he wanted to do to give engineering more time to fix whatever was wrong with the Ark. He wasn't going to stray from that agenda without firm proof, and with how many of the 100 already have dark tiles, no wristbands going out yet would be enough evidence. Part of me just wanted to sit in the monitor room and stare at the faces. It's as if a small part of me believed that if I stared at Neil's tile, it would keep him safe. That was the only thing left I could do for Skylar now.
The faith meeting was small today, and that vile woman Nigel was playing chess not far away. I didn't know her that well, but I did know she took every chance to poke fun at my grandmother and these meetings she held. Those who didn't attend these meetings, who didn't see how much they lifted the spirits of people didn't understand the meeting's true purpose. It wasn't to hope that we, our generation, would return to the ground. It was just hope. And today, I felt like I really needed hope.
I had a nightmare last night that put a thought in my mind that wouldn't go away. Suppose John really was dead? I was confident he had taken off his own wristband, but there could have been something vicious down there that could have killed him afterwards. A beast, starvation, dehydration, or one of those criminals he was sent down with. Or perhaps his wristband going out really did mean he was dead before he had a chance to remove it.
And then there was Skylar. With population reduction a possibility, she would no doubt be one of the first ones on that list of 300 people. As long as she was locked up, she wasn't contributing to the Ark, just taking up vital resources as my father would see it. She was only sixteen, but still. So many things have changed that I know feared immensely for her possibly execution. I couldn't go on knowing my breathing was possible because hers had stopped.
I sat in the front row, taking in every word my grandmother said. She had this talent of making people feel good. Good about life, about themselves, everything. Most people can do this with one person or a small group, but my grandmother could do it with a room filled with people, and she wouldn't miss a single person. Her voice alone could make me smile.
"Our ancestors built the Ark to be our salvation, and our test. We have faith that our people will return to the ground one day." Our test, I wondered for a bit what she meant by that. And also, if that means that we are failing our own test. Afterall, when someone breaks the law, we don't give them another chance. We just execute them. That doesn't sound like a way to pass a test to me. I noticed my grandmother had stopped for a second. I glanced behind me, trying to see where her attention had shifted to. I quickly faced back forward when I made eye contact with my father.
"Are you here to join us?" She asked, hopeful that this time he would. I couldn't remember the last time my father attended one of these meetings, if ever. When I was younger, my grandmother told me it was because he was always busy with the council and therefore didn't have the time to attend. I know better now. I had not one single memory of sitting beside him at one of these meetings. Surely he saw it as many others did: a joke.
"He's here to see me Vera." I could recognize the taunting voice without turning around. That Nigel woman, who had kept her mouth shut for surprisingly long this time. "Go on with your mumbo jumbo." That always infuriated me. I know that some people may not agree with this, but that didn't mean they had to openly be so rude about it. If she didn't like it so much, there's the whole rest of the Ark she could go to so she wouldn't have to hear it. But no, she wouldn't do that. That would leave us in peace.
My grandmother resumed. As the tender of the tree, a young boy of about 10 years old, came around to collect water for the tree, I half turned my head, suddenly interested in the conversation at the back of the room between Nigel and my father.
"With Abby out of the way, your agenda should sail right through." I could hear Nigel say in that overly confident way of hers. We all knew she sold moonshine on the side, but she was always smart enough to cover her tracks so she could never be arrested for it.
I felt a tap on my arm from the person sitting next to me, and turned back around in my seat. The keeper of the tree was standing in front of me, waiting for my donation to the tree. I wondered how long he had been standing there as I poured my small amount and he walked away. I gave my grandmother an apologetic glance. I always donated, she knew I did, even when there was already more than enough from the rest of the group. In terms of the tree – and a lot else – I didn't want to turn out how my father did, and I certainly didn't want my grandmother to think I was, especially by not simply donating a little bit of water for the tree to grow.
The young tender poured the water into the pot of the plant. "A waste of water if you ask me." I became infuriated once again. Nigel was getting on my last nerves, and probably because today I really needed a quiet relaxing meeting. I had begun to shift my weight to my feet, to stand up and snap at her when a hand grabbed my arm and gently held me in my seat. I looked to my side, at the guy sitting next to me. Apollon. He shook his head before quickly darting his eyes over at my grandmother. I looked, she was too busy watching the tree to notice. Somehow, I knew exactly what he meant. As I took a few breaths to calm down, I thought about it. If I had stood up and snapped at Nigel, my grandmother may have been mortified. That was the last thing I wanted from her. I looked back at Apollon, and nodded a small thank you. He released my arm.
I could hear a faint "Not to them" before the sound of shoes walking away. I turned around and my father had gone. To be honest, I was a little surprised he stood up for my grandmother's faith meetings. He had shown that he clearly wanted no part in them anymore, even though he was the tender of the tree when he was younger (or so my grandmother has told me). We continued with the meeting, the rest going as about as normally as it does.
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Everyone began to stand up. A few left, but many stayed and talked amongst other members, and especially with my grandmother. Like every other meeting, I'd stay until the last person had left to help her put away the chairs. I usually talked to Skylar in the meantime, she loved these meetings. A wave of sadness came over me as I realized this is the first meeting in a long time without her. I felt so lonely without her, even if I was surrounded by about 20 other people. And she felt so far away, further than earth. Even though she was still on the Ark. So there I stood, terribly awkward. I'm not the best with striking up conversations with complete strangers, thus why I had done everything I could to keep my two best friends from childhood through the years.
"Hey. Venus, right?" Apollon was standing right in front of me. I don't know how I didn't notice him walk up. I must have been too lost in my thoughts about Skylar.
"Yeah." I didn't respond shortly because I didn't want to talk to anyone or because of how awkward I am, but because I felt nervous around him. Both my boyfriend and my best friend had been locked up, and one I still didn't know the reason why. I didn't want to risk saying too much and getting myself locked up and eventually floated, even if life on this floating metal ship could be so terrible at times.
"I know what you're going through." He moved to my side, so that we both stood with our backs to the wall and watching the rest of the members slowly leave. "With Skylar, I mean." I looked over at him, confused as to what he meant. I had heard many things about Apollon Palmer. I'd heard how he was top of his class, and aced every class he took. I'd heard how good of a relationship he had with both of his parents, never any fights. I'd heard how he had flown through training for the guard and was the youngest sergeant the guard had ever seen. I'd heard all this, plus every other aspect of his perfect life. There was even a rumor that his ancestor invented some sort of drink. How could he possibly know what I was going through with Skylar? And also, how could he possibly know the extent of our relationship? Apollon was a few years ahead of me, I knew that. I don't recall ever really seeing him, except for two seconds in passing. This was our first conversation, if you don't count those two passing ones when I tried to get by him and to the monitor room. What could he possibly know about my life? And how?
His radio buzzed, and I listened to the voice of my father come through. "Sergeant Palmer I'm going to need you at Mecha station in 5."
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as he cupped the radio with his hand to keep the words from reaching ears it wasn't supposed to, like mine. "What's going on?" His voice was almost a whisper, but just barely loud enough to be heard on the other end.
"There's two arrests. Abby Griffin and Raven Reyes."
I nearly gasped at the information. Abby, again? But for what? Then it hit me. This must be my father's agenda, how he's going to 'choose' the 300 plus people who'll be killed to give the rest of us air. He'd arrest them for the smallest things, and then float them. That had to be it. First innocent Skylar, and now Abby and Raven.
"I'm on my way." Apollon quickly walked away, in the direction towards Mecha station. I waited until he was starting to turn the corner to follow him, trying not to make it too obvious. I felt bad for my grandmother, and hoped in my head that either people will take longer than normal to leave, or someone else would help her with the chairs. There wasn't any time for me to explain to her where I was going, and why. Actually, come to think of it, I didn't know why I was following Apollon to Mecha station. Perhaps it was just pure curiosity of what was really going on on this Ark. I wasn't a little kid anymore, and I could tell when something was up. And something was definitely up.
I had fallen behind a little more than I would have liked, and by the time I caught up, my father was mid conversation with Abby. I couldn't see Raven. There were four guards total from what I could see, two on each side of the hall, probably to keep Abby from getting away. I hid behind a pillar, not even daring to peak my head around and watch what was happening, knowing I'd probably be seen by the two guards facing my way. That is, if they hadn't seen me already.
"I'm hoping there's a logical explanation for all this." My father. I could recognize that emotionless, heartless voice anywhere.
"My daughter." Abby. I could tell from her voice alone just how much hope she still had, even if, surrounded by four guards, she'd surely be arrested and floated.
"I know, I'm sorry. We all knew it was a long shot." My mind began to wander a bit. If he was really sorry then he wouldn't be arresting her. He'd be more willing to believe that the 100 were still alive. But no, instead he'll take nothing below 100% proof that the ground was survivable. It's as if he wants to kill 300 innocent people. He really is a murderer. I focused my mind back on the conversation, knowing I can think about what it all means later.
"If you don't tell me what you're up to," my father continued, "I won't be able to save her." Save her? But, wasn't he arresting the two of them just to float them? Focus Venus, focus!
"You still don't understand. I'm trying to save all of us." I smiled slightly to myself. No one but Abby dared to stand up to my father. I didn't know what her plan was, let alone the fact that I wasn't aware she had a plan until about ten minutes ago, but she's a smart woman. Whatever her plan was, I was sure it would work.
"Arrest her." My heart dropped. It wasn't as bad as the first time she had been arrested, but it was still gut wrenching. The thought of Abby being floated, of never speaking to her again. And then my thoughts turned to Skylar and my eyes filled with tears. I tried to blink them away, now wasn't a good time for crying.
The sudden burst of a pod being launched caught me off guard, and I flinched so badly I moved slightly out of my hiding spot. "Hey!" I froze. Surely I couldn't be arrested for standing in a place where I could hear a conversation, but I could possibly be arrested for running away from a guard with the way people were being arrested now. I still didn't know the exact reason why Abby was being arrested.
I felt a hand on my shoulder quickly spin me around. Apollon. "You shouldn't be here Venus." He said in a hushed whisper, as if this late warning would do anything for me now. I looked past Apollon, to the other guards, and my father, and Abby, standing there in handcuffs. I became aware of the tears still in my eyes as more came to surface at the sight. The previous tears were pushed out, and I could feel them start to fall down my face. It was too late. Once I started crying, I could never stop. I looked to my father.
"You're a murderer!" I tried pushing past Apollon, so I could get closer and shout louder at the terrible man who happened to be my father. He caught one of my arms as I went past, then quickly grabbed the other one, restraining me in front of him, both my arms behind and towards him. My heart began to beat faster, as I could just imagine him connecting my wrists and tying them together. I could almost hear the words in my mind: "Venus Kane, you are under arrest." I became truly terrified.
"Sergeant Palmer, take her home. And make sure she doesn't leave the quarters until I return." That bastard wouldn't even look at me.
"You're a murderer!" I shouted again, louder this time. I wanted the whole Ark to hear what his plan was, I suddenly wanted to warn all of them. I didn't even stop and think for a second that it would get me arrested and later floated. "You're going to kill Abby just like you killed John! You're going to-" Before I could expose his plan to kill 300 innocent people, a hand was clamped firmly over my mouth, preventing any more of my screams from getting out.
I felt Apollon's body suddenly close behind mine, his arm around my waist before the ground disappeared under my feet. He was carrying me, and I hated being carried. It always made me feel so out of control, and I never could help but worry about being dropped and injured. Even since I was a little girl, I wouldn't let my grandmother or my father carry me for as long as I could remember. I freaked out. I did whatever I could to get back down and on my own feet: kick, hit, claw. None of it worked, I remained carried until we reached my quarters. He quickly opened the door and shoved me inside, closing it before I could have a chance to escape.
I caught my breath, tired from the fighting I had done whilst being carried. As I did so, I looked at Apollon and saw just what damage I had done. In places, his uniform was torn. His nose was bloody from when I had thrown my head back and hit it. And I was sure he had many bruises that I still could not see. All the fear from earlier when I thought I was being arrested came back, but it was worse. It was no longer a thought of being arrest, I knew I would be now. I had assaulted a guard, and there was no hiding it.