School ended several hours later.  Everyone filed out in somber, quiet lines.  Buses waited for us driven by Reformers instead of our usual bus drivers.  The buffeting crowds separated me from my friends, who tried to wait for me to catch up.  In a breath, the crowds swallowed my friends and I struggled to get through.  Pushed to the side of the crowd, I felt angry as my peers’ fear blinded them to my presence.  Taking a breath, I stood on the edge, searching for my friends or Peter.  Suddenly strong arms grabbed me from behind and pulled me backward.  Opening my mouth to scream, I found a hand covering my mouth. 

Struggling, I twisted and turned to see who held me until I smelled a familiar gentle scent.  The scent was faint, soft, and warm.  It was the scent of cedar and cinnamon.  Arkon.  Turning into the embrace, I found Arkon pressing me against his chest.  His face seemed tired and his smile was dull compared to his normal grin. 

“Arkon?” I asked softly.

“Sorry to startle you,” he said, his voice weary. “I just wanted to get you before you got on the bus.  I thought I’d drive you home today.  Give you a break from the other Reformers and your friends.”

“Really?  That is so kind of you.”

“Yeah…sure it is…”

Something strange reflected in Arkon’s eyes.  Tilting my head, I studied him better.  Something was off with Arkon, but I didn’t know what.  Taking my hand again, making my heart thud against my chest so hard I thought for sure he would hear it, Arkon led me out the back of the school.  In the empty parking lot was a Ford F150 from 2020.  It was a classic car in jet black.  It was my favorite car, next to the 1940 and 1950 cars.  In awe, I stared at the car.

“Wow, that’s a beautiful car!” I gasped, forgetting to walk.

“I know.  I just got her,” Arkon grinned genuinely.

“That’s my favorite classic car!”

“I know.”

“You do? How?”

Arkon ignored my question and opened the car door for me.  Climbing in, I felt the leather console and seats.  I loved the smell of leather.  Getting in the driver's side, Arkon started the car and told me to buckle up.  Once we were both buckled in, Arkon put the car in drive and we roared out of the parking lot. 

“Is it a gas engine or did you get a modified fuel function?” I asked fascinated.

“Modified.  Past generations damaged the earth enough without me adding to it,” Arkon said, turning right down the street.

Turning right took us away from my house’s direction.  Yet I was so fascinated by the truck, it didn’t register with me. Driving, Arkon stared straight ahead not talking.  Relaxing, I enjoyed the comfortable quiet, the smell of Arkon and truck, and the peaceful scenery. After a while, I began to feel drowsy again. Reaching over, Arkon stroked my hair.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, full of grief.

“For what?” I said, yawning.

“Not protecting you.  I never wanted you to be the one the used for that demonstration.”

“You can’t blame yourself for their actions.  It’s not like you could have stopped it.”

Arkon’s face tightened as he drove, stroking my hair.

“I’m too weak of a man, Eri.  I am bound by loyalty to a point that it is a flaw.”

“What are you talking about, Arkon?”

“I’m just asking you to forgive me for my weakness.”

Raising an eyebrow, I stared at Arkon. Pulling his hand back, Arkon adjusted his seat belt, then stroked my hair again.  Smiling, I closed my eyes as his hand ran down the back of my head to my neck and shoulder.  Running his hand over my shoulder to my bicep, Arkon glanced at me, his eyes brimming with guilt.  Something pricked me and I blinked in confusion.  My exhaustion doubled within seconds and my eyes fluttered closed.  Sleep overtook me before I could even ask again what was wrong.

I dreamed a strange dream.  Soft, dark green grass cradled me as I lay sprawled on the ground.  Radiating around me, my hair formed waves of gold in the grass.  A cool breeze brushed and teased my naked body, pebbling my skin.  No matter how I tried to move I couldn’t.  All I could do was stare up into the night sky, brimming with distant, cold twinkling stars.  Stars that held limitless possible worlds.  Stars that acted as the eyes of God.  Eyes that did nothing but watch and wait.  Blinking slowly, I hated the stars uncontrollably for abandoning me in the middle of nowhere, bare against the elements.  Aside from the breeze, I felt nothing, not even the grass beneath me.  Numbness, coupled with cold, consumed my body.  Then as I stared into the open, starry night sky, a star flashed.  Blinking again, I focused on the star.  It flashed again, bright and blinding, obscuring everything around me.  A moment’s pause then another flash and another.  A total of ten flashes occurred then it stopped.  Warmth ebbed up my toes to my legs and then torso.  Warmth like the embrace of lover or mother’s hug.  Closing my eyes, I allowed the warmth to embrace me. 

Awaking, I found myself sleeping with my head at an awkward angle in the truck with Arkon.  Sitting up, I rubbed my neck, crinkling my nose in discomfort.  Rolling my neck out, I wondered where we were.  The road we drove on was country with only a few houses and fields.  Immediately I knew Arkon had driven us out of town.  Trying to swallow, I found I had cotton mouth.  Sucking on my tongue, I helped moisten my mouth again so I could speak.

“Arkon?” I croaked.

“Yes, Ms. Lee?” he replied, his eyes fixed on the road.

“Where are we?”

“Just outside of town about fifteen minutes.  I thought a change of scenery would be nice, but you fell asleep, so I kept driving around.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“Don’t apologize.  You need to rest.  I don’t mind.  It is pretty out here. You can see the stars.”

Tilting my head, I found the stars in the sky above the truck.  Wincing, my neck twinged at the angle, but I looked anyway. Stars…I recalled the dream I had and wondered what it had been about.  Such a strange dream.

Stopping the car, Arkon did three-point turn, pointing the truck back towards home.  His expression was stoic and his eyes flat.  Had something happened?

“Are you alright?” I asked cautiously.

“I am fine, Ms. Lee.  Just thinking about my weakness.”

“You are not weak, Arkon!  You are kind and…”

“Ms. Lee, you are the one who is kind.  And that kindness makes you vulnerable.  You shouldn’t so readily agree to go off with me.”

“Why not?  You are my friend, right?  You said you would protect me.  So why wouldn’t I go off with you?”

No response came from Arkon. Puzzled, I stared at him.

“Arkon?”

“You are so different than I thought you’d be.”

“What do you mean?”

Again Arkon said nothing.

“Arkon, you are confusing and scaring me.  What is going on?”

“Promise me you won’t go off alone with any other soldiers.”

“Why would…”

“Just promise me.”

“Okay.  I won’t.”

“Good.”

Only further confused, I waited for more of an explanation, but it never came.  Soon we reached home.  Arkon jumped out of the truck, came over to my side, and helped me out of the truck.  My legs felt watery and Arkon steadied me as I stood.  Shaking my head at my own weakness, I forced myself to stand alone and walk to the house.  Entering the house, I closed and locked the door behind us. 

“Eri?” Summer called from just in the other room.

“Yes, it’s me,” I replied, bone tired. 

Storming in, Summer approached me, her eyes blazing in anger.  Taken aback, I couldn’t process what was going on as Summer reached me and slapped me. 

“How dare you just disappear today?  Do you know how scared I was?  Wasn’t it bad enough I had to watch them cut and shoot you at school?  Then you go and disappear for hours!  Its past ten o’clock,” Summer shouted at me, hot angry tears pouring down her face.

Ten?  That means I had disappeared for seven hours.  Had I really slept that long?

Another hard slap brought me back to Summer.

“You left me alone scared to death about you to deal with these bastards alone!  What was I supposed to tell them when they started asking about you?  Where were you?  When would you be home? Who was to cook them dinner?” she continued on her tirade. “Why isn’t my cooking as good as yours?  What kind of good was I if I couldn’t even cook?”

“Summer…” I began but was cut off by another slap.

“You’re so selfish!  You just abandoned Peter and me here while you were off with him.”

Indicating Arkon with a jab of her chin, Summer blazed in anger.

“You left us to cook and serve them so you could have a little fling with him? I thought you had more self-respect than that.  To give yourself to a Reformer!  You think it will keep you safe! To be his slut!”

Gasping, I took a step back.  I couldn’t believe Summer was saying what she was saying.  I would never sleep with Arkon or any Reformer or any man just to protect myself.  I would never abandon Summer or Peter.

“Are you just taking a leaf out of mom and dad’s book and trying to find a way to ditch us too?  Thinking if you are gone, I will have to take your place as Reformer cook and servant! You can go to hell!”

Raising her hand to strike me again, Summer could only see me.  An iron grip wrapped around Summer’s wrist.  Attracting her anger, Summer tried to strike the owner of the hand with her free hand.  Arkon, who I had forgotten about, grabbed her free wrist, holding both wrists painfully tight.  Normally Arkon was a calm, passive individual.  Now he shone with what I assumed was rage.

“How dare you attack your sister?” he hissed, his voice deadly soft.  “After all she has gone through today!  You call her selfish?  You call her a slut?  For what reason? Because she took your place on stage today?  Because she cooks and cleans for us while you hide upstairs with your homework. Eri is too honest to fake schoolwork, let alone purposefully leave you to take her place.

“And to think that your own sister would give herself to a man for protection.  That either shows you know nothing of her, or you are jealous that you thought she thought of it before you. You are a poisonous, conniving creature and, if you ever raise a hand to Eri again, you will not keep it.”

Throwing her away from him, Arkon glowered at Summer until she averted her eyes.  Leaving the room, Arkon didn’t even look back at us.  Too stunned to think, I stared after Arkon until Summer’s sobbing caught my attention.  Returning to Summer, I watched her as she collapsed to her knees and cried.  It was then that I noticed the collar of her shirt was stretched out and a faint bruise highlighted her right cheekbone.  Crouching, I lifted her face to look at me.  The bruise shone in the dim street lights, a small streak of blush on her cheek.

“What happened?” I asked softly.

“Why…” she began to snap, then stopped.  Shamefully, she said, “When you didn’t show up, they made me cook dinner.  I’m not as good of a cook as you are, so they were displeased with the dinner.  Ruben grabbed me by the shirt and asked me how I thought I’d get a man if I couldn’t even cook for him.”

Listening, I felt my blood begin to boil.

“I told Ruben to let go of me and that I didn’t need a man. He laughed at me but let go of me.  That new man Kukri suggested that he’d keep me once I actually had a body a man could enjoy, but that’d he’d have to see me naked first in order to say for sure. When he came at me, I scrambled away until I bumped into that man, Reran.”

“Reran?” I interrupted.

“Yes, that new man…Asian looking…balding…mean expression all the time.”

Remembering the man from the hallway talking to Ruben and Sly, I nodded.

“Go on.”

“I bumped into him as I tried to escape Kukri.  He slapped me.  Told me never to touch him again.  I apologized, but he just struck me again.  He told me never to address him unless permitted to.  He said that the women of our family were above ourselves and that he couldn’t stand us.

“Kukri told him to be kind, but he was laughing.  Kukri told him to have a little fun.  Reran said the Reformers would be better to just burn our house with all of us in it and not deal with us anymore.”

“What?”

“Reran hates us for some reason.  After he said that, I ran out of the basement and waited here until you came home.”

   I listened quietly as she talked.  Soon as Summer finished telling her story, I grabbed her under the arms and pulled her up. She had deteriorated to sobs and hiccups.  Suppressing my own feelings of betrayal, I comforted Summer, leading her out of the kitchen. Up the stairs we climbed, reaching the landing, and then we made our way to the bathroom. Once there, I wet a washcloth and carefully wiped Summer’s face and neck.  Her skin felt hot with a low fever from her hysterics.  Talking softly, I reassured my sister as I cleansed her face.  Slowly her sobbing lessened to silent, gentle tears. I then took her to her room and tucked her into bed. Stroking her hair, I continued to soothe her angsts and tears until she fell asleep.  Quietly I crept from Summer’s room, closing the door behind me.