Cracks

“Tell me the story tomorrow. You need to save your energy.” Lucy whispers to her younger sister Elyse.

The two women lay in their tiny cot, too small for the both of them which causes Lucy’s left shoulder and arm to extend beyond her side of the bed.

“You are tired, I can tell.”

“I’m... not... that tired.” Whispers Elyse, struggling to get her words out. “Stop trying... to tell me what to....” Elyse yawns before turning on her side away from her sister. A few minutes later, Lucy hears a light snore.

Finally. Thinks Alice. I can sleep. I need all the rest I can get for tomorrow’s Giving ceremony. God knows how long it will last.

And with that Lucy drifts off into a quiet slumber, ignoring the usual evening noise of wails and chatter coming from the neighboring huts.

-----

Lucy is jolted awake by her neighbor Martha, an elderly woman residing in the hut No. 283, who occasionally brings Lucy and Elyse her leftover meals. She is one of the few guardians who took the two girls in and treated them like their own after the girls' parents passed.

“Martha,” Lucy mutters as her eyes fought to pry open.

“Get ready. The ceremony starts in an hour. If we walk there now, we’ll make it just in time.” Martha pulls up her antique pocket watch and points at the watch face. “C’mon, you need to get up or you’re gonna miss it.”

Lucy looks over to her right and sees only wrinkled dirty sheets.

Her eyes shoot open completely. “Wait. Where is Elyse?”

“Elyse is already in the crowd waiting for us. She got up at the crack of dawn because she was so excited.” Martha replies. "I told her to stay near the back so we could find her."

Lucy scrambles to her feet and smooths the wrinkles in her dress with her hands. She walks a few paces to the large mirror, gifted to her by a merchant on the first anniversary of her parent’s death.

“Do I look okay?”

“You look fine, dear. But you need to hurry, we don’t have that much time left.” Insists Martha. “You know the rules. If you arrive late, you’re not invited in.”

“Do you think someone’s going to volunteer this year?” Asks Lucy.

“I don’t know. It’s up to fate. Maybe someone will.”

Lucy remembers the last person who volunteered to be selected. It was five years ago and his name was Ryan, a young man living with his sick wife, Anne, in hut No. 128.

Anne was deathly ill and he became more and more desperate to find help. He didn't want to be a slave, so he created an escape plan. Some say he was overly ambitious, too stubborn that he got himself killed. And while Lucy knew deep down the chances of him surviving were slim to none, she still held onto the hope that The Lofted would somehow spare his life, trusting they'd find him useful with his bushcraft. Yet, it was never worth it. As soon as The Lofted heard about Ryan's escape plans, they executed both him and Anne not long after.

She remembers him fondly. How kindly he treated her and her sister – unlike some other Lowborns, who couldn't care less for Lucy and Elyse and thought of them as nuisances after their parent’s death. Though, she couldn’t blame them as she was only eight years old and Lucy four; both too young to be without parents and who needed to rely on the good graces of the community to survive.

Lucy grabs her late mother’s copper barrette from the dirt floor near the cot where she left it the night before. She combs through her long auburn locks with her fingers and secures half her hair up with the barrette. Then, kneeling down, she grabs her torn-up leather satchel from beneath the mirror.

“Ready.” She says.

Martha extends her hand over to Lucy, which Lucy takes, to lead her out of the hut.

“Be cautious. People love to riot around this time. Keep your satchel close. It’s a long walk to the stage.”

---

As they arrive, Lucy and Martha make their way over to the audience where tens of thousands of Lowborns stare up at the stage before them. Lucy looks around, hoping to spot Elyse somewhere in the crowd.

“I told Elyse to stay in the back.” Groans Martha. “She never seems to listen to me anymore.”

Lucy stands on her tip-toes in an attempt to spot Elyse past the endless heads in the distance. “I’ll go find her.” She replies.

“Okay, make sure you two come back and meet me here.”

“I promise.”

The crowd grows dense and closes in on the stage as the ceremony begins. Bumping shoulder to shoulder and walking on her tip-toes, Lucy makes her way close to the stage where she knows Elyse likes to be.

The stage stands 50 feet above the ground; first half is supported by the mountain cliff and the other half by two strong metal columns. Surrounding the stage on all sides are military-grade transparent panels that electronically open and close. On the stage are six large speakers, spread out evenly.

A helicopter hovers over the top of the stage for a few minutes before descending onto the landing pad at the rear end. There is a single podium with a microphone installed near the front of the stage. A tall man wearing a fitted suit, sunglasses, and bullet-proof vest hops out of the helicopter and approaches the podium. Lucy immediately recognizes this man as the leader of The Lofted – the merciless Jack Krowler.

“Good day, Lowborns,” Jack shouts into the microphone. “I hope you are all well and in good spirits today for the annual Giving ceremony!”

Loud cheering and some boos commence from the crowd.

“Please quiet down.” Jack commands. But the crowd doesn’t listen.

“Quiet down now. Don’t make me ask again.” He raises two fingers, alerting a very muscular pair of men with rifles to jump out of the helicopter and onto the stage.

The crowd simmers down.

“I’m sure you are all very familiar with our annual ceremony by now. But as part of Deidas tradition, it is my obligation as your leader to give a speech.” Jack flips open a book and clears his throat.

“In the sovereign state of Deidas – We, The Lofted, and The Lowborn, assemble here today in efforts to better our relationship so that we can continue forth and prevail; following our highest ambitions to the best of our abilities – and among our designated segregated community – with peace and harmony. For centuries, we’ve managed to coexist on this shared land, which so graciously provide us the bountiful resources we need to flourish and evolve. Although -”

Jack pauses for a moment while frowning. He takes off his sunglasses and places them on the podium, then peers around the crowd.

He continues. “Let me address the elephant in the room as I feel it is necessary. I want you all to be aware that I have not forgotten about the tragic incident occurring eighteen years ago on this day, the Fifth of June. So, for the next few minutes, let's take a vow of silence for those who have lost their lives due to the rebellion.”

Jack steps away from the podium, chin tucked with his eyes shut and his hands clasped in front of him. The crowd mimics his body posture, growing still and silent.

Lucy shakes her head in disgust, recognizing Jack’s sudden display of sympathy is all for show. She refuses to participate by keeping her eyes open.

After a short minute, Jack steps forward to speak. He flips open his notebook again.

“Thank you, everyone. Now I will begin again.”

He reads on. ”Although, we should never take for granted what is given to us. For this to be true, we must agreeably share the resources we are grateful for.

I know there has been and will always be a large economic gap between The Lofted and The Lowborn. But, as a congregation of exceptional people, we have learned to accept it, live with it, and realize how to reconcile these difficult situations in a rational manner. This is the reason for The Giving ceremony we are celebrating today, and have done so for the past century, because it is very effective.

We must unify The Lofted – us – and The Lowborn – you – so that our differences could never break us. This way, we can keep living, thriving, and coexisting together on this bountiful land.”

Jack concludes his speech by closing his book with too much force, causing the book to fly off the podium. One of Jack’s goons standing beside him immediately picks it up and places it back on the podium.

“Alright.” He shouts into the microphone. “Who is ready to start?”

The crowd begins to riot and cheer. The sudden uproar startles Lucy, whose gaze has not left the stage since the helicopter landed.

“The rules are as follows:

You give me one volunteer to live with me and the rest of The Lofted until termination. I give some of you the chance to live like The Lofted. To sleep in the bed I sleep in. To consume the food and drinks I eat and drink. To receive every piece of medical attention you or a loved one might need. To be cleaned of all the dirt and disease that stain you. All the benefits of living the way we do.

Ok, so... any volunteers this year?”

The crowd grows eerily silent.

An elderly man near the front center of the crowd makes his move forward, walking toward the stage. He waves his arms like a madman to get the Leader’s attention.

Jack squints at him. “Not you, old man.” He chuckles. “You would just be a waste of resources.”

The crowd starts laughing. Lucy can’t tell if they do it out of nervousness or fear - probably both.

But as she finishes that thought, a loud cough is heard.

She looks over to her right and sees a young woman kneeling on the ground and vomiting blood into her hand. It’s Elyse. She sees blood from Elyse’s palm drip onto the ground.

Lucy, moving as fast as she can, heads over to her, shoving away every Lowborn in her path.

“Elyse!” Lucy cries.

But by the time Lucy makes it over, Elyse has fallen to the ground. The crowd makes room, encircling the two women and watching the scene.

Lucy pulls Elyse into her arms. She tries to wake her by gently rocking her in her arms, “Elyse. Can you hear me?”

But Elyse remains unresponsive. Her heartbeat slows.

“Elyse? Please wake up. Please. Don’t leave me. Elyse. I love you. Please don’t leave me. Dear god.”

The crowd stays silent.

“Miss.” The Leader says into the microphone. “It seems like your friend is sick.”

Lucy looks up at the stage. Leader Jack is peering down at her with binoculars.

“Actually.” Jack carelessly comments, “It looks like she might be dying.”

Lucy feels the blood in her veins boil. A rage grows inside of her so strong she believes she could manifest it into a nuclear bomb. This rage felt nothing like she had ever felt before, she thought, not even when her parents died.

She thinks about what it would be like if her parents were alive today. They would’ve helped care for Elyse, who might not have been on the brink of death then. Life would've still been hard, but less stressful and lonely.

The cold reality hit Lucy. She understood they were not here because they chose to die fighting for what they believed in.

“SCREW YOU.” Lucy screams at the top of her lungs, throwing her middle finger in the direction of the stage.

The crowd audibly gasps.

Lucy faintly hears someone in the crowd murmuring something about the death sentence.

She stares at the stage, waiting for a response. She understands the risk of her outburst, but without her sister, nothing didn't matter.

Jack’s facial expression is unreadable at first, but then he begins laughing loudly into the microphone.

“It looks like we have a volunteer, folks!”

Suddenly, a dozen tall and muscular Lofted security men with rifles make their way over to her. Out of fear, the crowd separates and paves a path for the men.

“Get the fuck away from us.” She warns. “Don’t touch me.”

“Do you choose to volunteer or not?” Jack questions, looking directly at Lucy without his binoculars this time. “Because if you don’t volunteer, I can guarantee your friend will die.”

The elderly man in the front of the crowd, who previously volunteered, jumps up and down again while waving his arms.

He shouts up at the stage, “Please, just take me! Save the others. Please!”

The Leader becomes visibly annoyed at the man. He leans into the microphone to speak.

“Look, if you want to die that badly, I can just take you out right here old man.” Jack grabs the rifle from security on stage and points it at the old man.

A panel opens, granting Jack a window into the crowd with no separation.

Without hesitation, Jack shoots. The man flies backward and onto other Lowborns, blood splattering onto the crowd.

Everyone in the valley screams in terror. Some Lowborns run in circles and many head back towards the huts.

Jack drops and rifle on the stage. He pulls the microphone off the podium to speak.

“I want to let you all know I didn’t want to do that. He asked me to. You saw it.”

No one speaks. No one even breathes.

“I’m done playing around here.” Jack continues. “Miss, I need you to decide in the next five seconds or the ceremony will end. I will keep it simple for you. You volunteer, she lives. You don’t, she dies.”

Lucy focuses her gaze on Jack. Her eyes become unfocused due to dehydration. She realizes her sister needs water.

“One...” He begins counting.

“Two...”

Lucy looks down at her sister, who remains unconscious. Lowborns are kneeling beside them now, trying to help her wake up.

“Three...”

Lucy whispers to the Lowborn woman beside her, “Take her for a moment - will you?”

“Four...”

She gives the woman her sister, stands up, and raises her arm.

“OK.” She shouts. “I’ll do it.”