The City Lockdown

Monday, 2 March 2099

Bruno walked up the aisle, stepping over fallen chairs and passing Nurses aiding injured residents. Valinoti patted Schmidt on the shoulder, headed back to R9 with him. Anzalone was still conversing to the three Guard, none of them Jago or Sayer. The amber-haired boy continued to press the crumpled tissue to his bloody nose.

Bruno walked right up to the Guard. "Anzalone, what is going on? You missed the entire memorial."

"That's because he stopped Faulkner from hurting anyone else," one of the Guard said.

"What?" Bruno mumbled.

"While we were sitting, I saw a bit of head on the Eatery's rooftop," Anzalone explained calmly to Bruno. "I didn't want anyone to freak out so I lied about needing to pee. I walked into the outhouse, snuck through the window, got to the Eatery Rooftop and tackled Faulkner, but not before he accidentally shot Julius and gave me a bloody nose. Thanks to you, Bruno, you saw me wave my mobile, and that's when you screamed for the Rooftop."

Bruno stuttered, tried to come up with a response.

"He was a total hero," another Guard said. "You too, Man."

"I wasn't, not really," Anzalone admitted. "He shot Julius and killed Otis. I barely did anything."

"He would've killed more before we stopped him, but you were there," the third Guard grinned. "Lucky he didn't kill you on that roof."

Bruno was staring at the men in total awe; he couldn't believe this was happening. None of this made sense to him. Bruno had to speak his mind.

"You're saying you fought against Faulkner when he was armed and he managed to shoot the President, Otis, and Lee? And all you walked out with was a bloody nose?"

"Yes. I'm telling you, I'm no hero. I just thought what I did was right and I needed to stop him," Anzalone said.

"You stopped Faulkner before he could shoot anyone else," the first Guard reminded. "Great work."

The Guard walked away, patting Anzalone on the back as they walked by. Bruno waited for them to be long gone, out of hearing range, to start speaking again. Anzalone knew it was coming; he patted his nose lightly with the tissue.

"Anzalone, I don't know what to say anymore," Bruno said. "I was first hesitant with the whole carriage ride and then with your new job at the Armory and now this whole dilemma! I don't believe you anymore; I don't trust you!"

Anzalone sniffed loudly, shook his head, and just stared at Bruno. "Okay. I understand."

"Good. It's time you start─"

"I'm getting a Room Change Form filled out, Bruno."

"What?" Bruno was caught off guard.

"I'm not going to live in the same suite as someone who doesn't trust me. Hopefully some day you'll understand."

Anzalone didn't wait for Bruno to respond; he walked away, towards Sir Espington. Bruno just stood there, not knowing what to say or do. The President shook Anzalone's hand, smiling all the while. Bruno watched them converse, couldn't hear them. He knew that Anzalone was being praised for his so-called heroism. Bruno was confused right now and all he could do was just go back to R9. Valinoti, Schmidt, and Carth were there, plus the City was on Lockdown. Bruno walked to Inns Two, forgetting about Anzalone and worrying about Lee.

. . .

Anzalone watched as Bruno walked back inside Inns Two. Sir Espington had just finished thanking Anzalone for his bravery and assistance. Once Bruno was out of view, Anzalone made his way straight for Espen the Viking.

The Guard were starting to clean up the chairs; the Watchtower sirens blared, signifying the City Lockdown. All the injured residents had already been escorted to the Clinic by the Nurses. Otis the Waiter was placed into a body bag and wheeled to the back of the Clinic by Nurse Sam. Espen was walking to the West Gate and Alley as Anzalone caught up to him.

"I'll make this quick, Tyler," Espen said. "That was close, but not close enough. Faulkner missed Julius! How is that even possible? He had a sniper! When Sir Adlington picks him up in the Pines, he's going to have to explain that he failed. And you know Maximus won't handle that well. You have until Sunday to kill Julius yourself, or you will end up like that Otis guy."

The Viking was then escorted to the West Gate and Alley by Diggs while Anzalone stood motionless in the Heart of Espington. He looked up quickly, seeing Faulkner being taken away by Jago and Sayer.

Anzalone gave a quick nod and the boy turned his head back towards the Guard House.

Valinoti, Schmidt, and Bruno were sitting in the common area, watching Espington News. Rosetta Vang was finishing up her pre-recording of this week's weather.

"What's going on?" Carth asked the guys. "I was too busy watching the animal channel."

"A kid named Faulkner tried to kill me and Schmidt for the recording," Bruno explained. "He ended up shooting Sir Espington and Lee, killed a Waiter named Otis."

"You didn't hear it?" Schmidt cried.

"No, this room is towards the back of the building and the door was closed!" Carth retorted.

Bruno waved his hands when he saw Kait Demarest and Maxwell Binkley appear on the screen.

"Good evening, residents of Espington," Kait started. "We're live with Breaking News during Espington's Adlington Miner Tribute Memorial in the Heart of Espington. At around eight thirty, Sir Julius Espington was shot in the right shoulder by fifteen-year-old Dylan Faulkner. Geoffrey Otis was shot and killed with a bullet wound to the back and eighteen-year-old Jae Won Lee is in critical condition with a bullet wound that struck his abdomen. Twelve residents are being treated for minor injuries..."

After Kait stated Lee's condition, the boys gasped. Valinoti stood up, pacing the room; Schmidt ran to his room and started crying; Bruno lay back in the couch, his hands brushing through his gelled hair.

"...Dylan Faulkner's Exilation will take place at seven tomorrow morning, after the ECC's final verdict. We believe Faulkner got a hold off all the weapons from the Armory where he was given the Occupation as a Gunsmith. Faulkner was one of the Miners brought in from Adlington..."

Bruno shut the television off before Binkley could start speaking about Anzalone's quick thinking and Bruno's catch of the Rooftop.

"Now what is gonna happen?" Carth asked.

"Nothing," Bruno said. "The City is on Lockdown so we cannot leave the suite. Once it's over, Carth, you're going back to Adlington. You need to help Mom with Jack and Alanna."

"You're really not coming back with me?" she asked.

"Do you want me in the Slammer with Dad?"

Carth shook her head.

"Next week another twenty Miners are moving to Espington," Valinoti added. "We got an email earlier today from Leta."

Bruno liked to hear that. Even though Adlington and Espington despised one another,

Espington was still willing to help out the people. Bruno hoped his buddies, Amaury and Mickey, would be selected.

"I'm worried about Lee, man," Valinoti mumbled.

"How do you think Cariddi feels?" Schmidt said.

"Anzalone is changing rooms," Bruno randomly blurted.

Valinoti and Schmidt looked at him confused. "What?"

"He got mad at me for saying that I wouldn't trust him even though Faulkner was the shooter. He won't live in a room where the tension is as thick as butter."

"Butter?" Carth repeated.

"Not the point," Bruno said. "That's probably why he's not here right now."

"I thought he was the shooter for a second," Valinoti said. "And I was wrong. Bruno, will you ever stop with that guy?"

Valinoti didn't wait for an answer; instead, he shook his head and walked to his room. Schmidt didn't know what to do. He finally wiped away some tears that were making an appearance and headed back for his bedroom.

It was just Carth and Bruno in the common area. Bruno's mobile read 9:28 PM. The suite was silent, just the hum of Valinoti's television.

"Cariddi may come any minute," Bruno realized. "You should go in my room."

"I'm sorry, Bruno." Carth said. "But I'm not going home tomorrow."

"What?"

"Mom won't let me back home now. She's probably furious!"

"So? I think she'd rather have you home then dead here, Carth!" Bruno explained frustratingly.

"I can't and I won't."

"Why? What is the real reason, huh?" Bruno asked. "Did ya do something bad back in Adlington?"

"Something like that, yes."

"What?"

"I can't say, Bruno. It's too─"

There was the click of an ID Card being slid in the slot. Carth dove behind the couch; Bruno stepped forward immediately.

It was Anzalone.

And he was holding a Room Change Form.

"Where's Schmidt?"

"Tyler─"

"Please, Bruno," the amber-haired boy said. "I don't need this."

Coming to Espington was a new opportunity for Bruno. He was getting paid; he had his own home; he ate three meals a day. But in just two days there had been non-stop chaos: Not only the animosity between Bruno and Anzalone, but what with the explosion, Mavers, O'Neill, Faulkner, Lee and his injury, and now Carth!

Bruno pointed down the hall, to Room C.

"Thank you," Anzalone said and then walked to his bedroom.

Carth had gotten up, wiped her knees, and grabbed the remote. She sat on the sofa as the screen flashed on.

"What are you doing? Go in my room!"

"I wanna know what a City Lockdown is," Carth said.

"It means stay in your home!"

"Just watch."

Carth clicked to Espington News once again. Kait Demarest sat at the desk with her blonde hair and grey dress; Binkley sat beside her smiling something fake.

"...funeral will be held in Adlington. Our City Lockdown will conclude eventually. No buildings, except the Clinic, will be open at this time. All Guard are on duty in the Watchtowers as well as in the Square. Residents that fail to stay indoors will be prosecuted..."

Binkley started to recap about today's memorial shooting, beginning with Faulkner and then starting to mention Anzalone and Bruno. Carth turned the TV off before he could even finish his first sentence.

"I'm stealing your friend's uniform," Carth said.

"You're what?"

Carth ignored her brother. She simply skipped to Cariddi's room and grabbed a uniform from his closet.

"What are you doing?" Bruno asked.

"Look, going back to Adlington is not an option, okay?" Carth said. "And I cannot stay in a suite where your Guard friend can arrest me at any moment. I am going outside in the uniform to find myself a new, temporary home. It's better to do it during Lockdown because there's just Guard, no residents."

"It's worse if you go out! All the Guard know each other!"

"Better than getting caught from your roommate!"

"You can't do this, Carth. No. You're not doing this."

Carth turned her head to Cariddi's dresser. There was a can of cologne near the mirror. She grabbed it quickly and sprayed Bruno in the face. He fell to his knees, cupping his watery eyeballs.

"What the hell?" he shouted.

Carth slammed Cariddi's door, ran through the common area, and out of R9. Bruno crawled out of the room. Valinoti was already there.

"What the hell is goin' on?"

"Carth...left," Bruno coughed, his eyes still closed.

"What?" Valinoti gasped. "She'll get herself killed!"

Anzalone appeared holding a bag of his belongings and the Room Change Form. Schmidt stood behind the amber-haired boy, wiping his eyes.

"Maybe I'll see you guys later," Anzalone said. "I'm taking Faulkner's room."

"Are you serious?" Bruno said, his bloodshot eyes finally opening.

"Katrina thought it was simple just to move me across the hall. And I work with O'Neill and Benson at the Armory so it's easier."

"Tyler, c'mon!"

"Seriously? I'm not talking about this right now." Anzalone opened the door, walked out of view. The door shut quietly behind him.

"We should get some rest," Valinoti said. "We start real work with the new Boss, Royce, tomorrow."

"I need to go after Carth,"

"No! We're on City Lockdown! Let's not get in trouble; it's our second day here, Bruno."

It was as if time was working in slow motion. There were too many things on Bruno's mind: Anzalone and his mysterious background, Carth with her whereabouts and safety, Lee and his bullet wound, even Rina Espington. It was hard for Bruno to even focus on what Valinoti was saying.

"I'm going. Cariddi is on shift probably the entire night. I'll take another uniform. He'll never find out."

"What am I gonna do?" Valinoti asked.

"You and Schmidt keep watching the news," Bruno said. "Text me if they say anything about Lee."

Schmidt nodded; Valinoti did nothing at first, just gave a worried look. "Ya sure you're gonna do this?"

"I'm not having my sister die, Val." Bruno said, his first time giving his friend a nickname.

Bruno changed out of his formal attire and got into Cariddi's Guard uniform. The size was a bit tight on Bruno, but not extremely. He put the helmet on his head and strapped the belt around his waist, although there were no talkies or weapons on it. Bruno gave his friends a thumbs-up and walked out of R9.

He did not know if he'd be coming back to his room that night.

Espington Square was filled with the Guard. They roamed up and down the street, as well as in the Heart of Espington. Two Guard occupied each Watchtower. One Guard would watch the outside, the other the inside. Bruno was already sweating. What if a Guard knew right away he was a fake? Won't they notice that he was weaponless? Bruno was thinking just to turn back and pray that Carth was someplace safe. Where would Carth even be? Bruno didn't think that far yet.

Cariddi wasn't anywhere near the southern part of Espington (where the Inns were located); Bruno assumed his friend was at the northern end.

That was when Bruno noticed Diggs.

The skinny Guard was walking right towards him with a smile on his beige face. Katrina's boyfriend held a taser-baton that didn't seem to be electrified at the moment, but Bruno knew it could be in a nanosecond. Bruno kept his head down, strictly facing the asphalt. He heard Diggs' footsteps.

Twenty yards...ten yards...five yards.

Then Diggs passed Bruno, waved hello to a Guard behind him. "Hey, Melvin!" And the footsteps became a sound in the distance. Bruno let out a breath of utter relief.

Where would Carth Bruno be? he thought.

Bruno knew his sister loved to sketch. She drew all sorts of things with the charcoal he'd give her when he came back from the Mines. Carth worked as a Sorter; she organized the jewels and minerals when they needed to be shipped to the other Cities. One time, Carth said she had touched a real sapphire and was tempted to slip it in her coat pocket. But everyone knew that theft in Adlington was punishable by death, so Carth knew never to do something that risky. Why didn't she think about that when running through Espington Square in a Guard uniform as an unregistered Espington resident? No matter what problem Carth had with Mom, she needed to go home tomorrow.

Sketch. Paint. Draw. Artist. Think, Rich, think! His head started to throb. Fabrics Market? No. Jewels Market? No. ESH? Maybe.

Bruno casually walked diagonally towards the Espington Schoolhouse. He had never been in the small, rectangular building, although Lee and Cariddi had told him that he'd be going to class every Wednesdays through Fridays. The Schoolhouse was, of course, grey with blue windowpanes, railings, and terracotta roof tiles. The Espington flag stood at half mast near the entrance of the building. Bruno walked near the door; no other Guard were nearby.

Get to the back without the Watchtowers seeing you.

Bruno sidestepped around ESH, being as casual as possible. None of the Guard seemed to take notice; they all were probably getting ready for the Lockdown to end. When was it going to conclude?

There were no lights behind ESH, just an EXIT sign that shined a neon scarlet. Bruno

looked around, tried to see if there were clues as to where his sister was. That was when he noticed the cellar doors. They were closed, but the latch on top was not secured. Someone must've opened the latch, entered, and couldn't lock it from the inside.

"Going underground again...Nice, Rich," Bruno whispered to himself.

Bruno opened the left cellar door and tiptoed down the concrete steps, closing the door gently above him.

The cellar was pitch-black; Bruno could not see a thing. All he had was the dim backlight of his mobile. Bruno could only see his fingertips and wrists.

"Hello? Carth?" he called out but obviously got no response.

Something stringy hit Bruno in the face and he almost jumped backwards into the wall. The string was cold and thin, like tinsel. He raised his hand and felt the thread, realized it was for a light.

The cellar illuminated and all Bruno could see were shelves and shelves of paintbrushes,

palettes, paint jars, and paper. It was literally Carth's Heaven.

"Carth? You gotta be in here."

Bruno walked past a few shelves. Most of the items were covered in a thin film of brown dust. There was the faint sound of mice squeaking in the unseen corners of the cellar. Bruno was already getting used to the smell of the paint and mildew.

The cellar ended in steps that led to the first floor of the Espington Schoolhouse. Bruno noticed a light at the top of the stairs, behind the door; the crease at the bottom shined dimly.

Please don't let me regret this.

Bruno walked quietly up the steps he could not see because the light didn't reach that far across the cellar. Finally, he made it to the door that was already ajar. Bruno pushed it forward and the door made an eerie, little screech.

C'mon, seriously?

It was the Schoolhouse hallway. On the right was the entrance, main office, and guidance rooms. The left had many lockers and classrooms. Bruno noticed how there was another two staircases as well as other hallways that led to different colored lockers and rooms.

"Carth?" Bruno called out.

That was when there was a footstep from around the corner. Bruno heard it faintly out of his right ear. On instinct, he walked towards the entrance. As Bruno tiptoed, he noticed handmade paper maches on the walls with kids' names on them.

Wilson. Gwen. Burgess. Coyle. Grayce.

Bruno's mobile dinged, which startled him a bit. That was the only sound he had heard in the past half hour. It was a text from Valinoti:

"Still no word on Lee. Reporters R recapping 2 day's shooting."

Bruno texted back with "Thnx." There was no need to continue the conversation with Val, especially when he was in ESH during a City Lockdown. Bruno's back was to the staircase; he was staring into the main office.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Bruno turned around rapidly, tripping on his own feet, slamming to the ground, derriere first. A lady with straight, brown hair stood on the fourth step of the staircase. She held a lantern, although Bruno never saw any source of light nearby or heard her descending. The stranger looked young, about Bruno's age, maybe a year older.

"You're no Guard." the girl added.

"I know, I'm not. Look, I'm just looking for my sister, Carth. She's in a Guard uniform, too."

The lady laughed. "She's upstairs...Carth!"

Bruno was confused. Was this a trap or was his sister really a floor above him. But before he could even think some more, Carth appeared at the top of the staircase. She was still in Cariddi's Guard uniform.

"Hey, Brother," she said. "Ms. Lupo is letting me stay in her room for now on."

"What? What is going on?"

The lady walked down the rest of the steps and towards Bruno; Carth made her way down shortly after.

"My name is Francesca Lupo, or just Frankie," the lady said. "I work as the Daycare Lady here at ESH. They gave me a small room on the second floor to live in."

"A room? You live in a Schoolhouse?"

"Yes. It has a living room, bedroom, and kitchenette. The bathroom's down the hall," Ms. Lupo said.

"She let me have the living room. I told her my story," Carth said.

"That you're an Adlington Sorter that trespassed onto Espington soil? And that you and any accomplices could get Executed for knowing?"

"You're an accomplice," Carth mentioned.

Bruno went to speak, but stopped himself. His sister was right. If the Guard found out about Carth, they would figure out she was related to Bruno. He would get in trouble just for knowing she was here.

"I won't tell a single soul," Ms. Lupo said. "Her secret is safe with me."

Bruno went to speak, but he noticed his sister's widened eyes. She was staring right past her brother.

"What is it, Carth?" Bruno asked and he turned around.

There were flashlights hitting the front of ESH: two light blue orbs of luminescence. Bruno saw two shadows step up to the front of the blinded front doors. They sounded like two men, two Guard.

And Bruno knew which two Guard were always together.

Jago and Sayer.