Free Radioactive by Maya Shepherd Page A

a hurry. What’s going on?
    I look out at the crowd one last time to see Clyde. Does he know more? I must visit him as soon as possible. Him and Zoe. We need to talk.
    The elevator doors have hardly closed when I burst out with the one question that’s been on my mind, “What happened?”
    â€œThere was an attack.”
    Shocked, I wipe a tear from my eyes. “How many were there?”
    â€œJust one.”
    My heart stops for a moment and I struggle for breath. Finn.
    Once the elevator doors open, I see the broken pane. Shards of glass lay scattered on the gray floor and reflect the sun’s light. They sparkle like diamonds. How can something so terrible be so beautiful at the same time?
    He threw stones at it over and over again until the glass broke.”
    Those were the words of a Legion commander rushing past me. What was Finn thinking? Did he really think he could save his sister single-handedly? Did he think he could save me? What was his plan? To throw stones while laser beams pierce his body? Fucking idiot! How could you?
    â€œWhat happened to him?”
    I’m more afraid of the answer to this question than anything that has come before. A single word could change my life forever. But then I would have lost what I had been living for, my light on the horizon. Although Finn often acted wrongly, and would probably do it again, he is the one who saved me. He opened my eyes and showed me the way to myself. I have never stopped loving him.
    â€œHe is being interrogated, after that it will be decided what to do with him.”
    I know the Legion’s interrogation rooms. A350 showed them to me on a tour, so there is no stopping for me. I begin to run. Everything around me is blurred into a single black mass. I walk through a dark tunnel with a bright light waiting at the end. The light is Finn.
    Breathless, I push the door to the interrogation room s. But I cannot see him because the other Legion commanders obstruct my view of the two-way mirror showing the room in which he is being interrogated. Carelessly, I nudge and make my way through the throng and see him through the cold glass. They have him strapped to a chair. He wears straps around his legs and hands, as well as his stomach and head. He is totally motionless. Around him are B-Class doctors. Obviously the interrogation has ended. What did he say to them?
    I press my hands against the glass, although I know he cannot see me.
    â€œWhat happened to him?” My voice trembles. I cannot control myself any longer. My entire body shakes in a tremor.
    â€œHe’s a Rebel,” A350 replies simply, as though that was the answer to my question.
    â€œWhat happened to him?” I repeat again. It is difficult to not scream.
    â€œHe attacked us,” A233 argues. But even that statement does not answer my question.
    Uncomprehendingly I shake my head and turn around to the other Legion commanders. “He’s all alone,” I start. But I am rudely interrupted by A489. “And he will die alone.”
    â€œNo!” I shout to him without hesitation.
    A350 comes before me and blocks me from the view of the others. “It will go fast. He is not in pain,” she says. As though I care that he’s going to die in comfort.
    â€œYou must not kill him,” I beg. “Is there no other solution?”
    Sadly, she shakes her head. But A566 answers with a loud yell, “Yes, there is.”
    Hopefully I look at him, while the others seem more irritated.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” A489 angrily replies, but A566 completely ignores him.
    â€œHe must not die.” His hard to interpret grin is back on his face, which usually does not bode well. “He can live.”
    But his words fill me with hope. Can he really be my savior? Can he be the one who rescues Finn before his death?
    â€œHe will forget.”
    I do not ask what he will forget, because I already know. Nevertheless, A566 explains