Free Shouting in the Silence by Malcolm Rhodes

An unsettling awakening
     
                  Olivia Hernandez opened her olive green eyes wide. Her regular time in her sleeping chamber had been disturbed by a blaring siren that she hadn’t heard in many years.  Her mind flashed back to her academy training when her instructor had drilled into her and her fellow trainees the dire necessity of responding when the siren went off.  In the years since she had achieved officer status, she had never had the siren go off and knew of nobody else who had either. 
     
                  “What in the world?”  Olivia’s speech was slurred as she tried to make sense of what was going on around her. 
     
                  She instinctively hit a button that raised the covering on her sleeping chamber and stepped onto the floor.  Her information panel was flashing on and off and the siren continued to blare.  She sat down at the panel and entered her identification code which thankfully stopped the blaring sound.  She stared at the panel in front of her awaiting further instructions.  For a while she wondered if it might be a system error, but then the information she was waiting for appeared on the panel.
     
                  “16500 Market Center.”  Olivia read out loud.
     
                  She waited for more information.  The more time passed, the more uncomfortable she was becoming.  Her heart was beating.  Something was wrong and she couldn’t figure out what it was.  She had to act; even if it was against department protocols.  She tried in vain to contact any of her superiors, but her attempts were in vain.  She took a deep breath.  Olivia understood that this was one of those moments that define a life; one way or the other. 
     
                  “Well, here I go.”  Olivia said wistfully as she left the safety of her personal domicile and headed out into the dangers of the city.
     
                  Olivia took the moving stairway to the vehicle storage unit.  She allowed the unit to scan her eyes and within moments the doors opened and her air cycle appeared.  She mounted the cycle, placed her right palm on the control unit, and the cycle slowly lifted up into the air.  She programmed in the address and the cycle took off at a steady pace toward her destination.  It had only been a few years since all the older air cycles had been converted to fully automatic control and Olivia still was a bit apprehensive about the unit malfunctioning.  There was an emergency option to override the system, but every time it was used a full report was required of the operator by the central commander.  Olivia took a deep breath and looked about.  The city was quiet, but in that uncomfortable way that indicated that tragedy was only minutes away.  Her transport deposited her at the main terminal of the downtown central breeding and development center.  All children under the age of accountability were under the care of government trained and approved guardians.  It seemed a strange place for such a tragedy.  Olivia looked about warily as the she stepped up to the welcome console.  She had the right under the circumstances to use her override password, but she had learned from experience to use her power carefully and only as needed.
     
                  Olivia typed in her code and then announced, “Officer Hernandez responding to an emergency alert.”
     
                  She expected an immediate response, but complete silence was all that she received.  Everything about this experience was surreal.  Part of her wondered if this was all a dream.  It felt real, but then didn’t dreams always seem real?  She had just decided to use her override code to enter the facility when the gate in front of her opened to allow her in. 
     
                  “Officer Hernandez.”  She announced as she stepped forward through the gate.  “Identify