Into the Pines

Monday, 2 March 2099

Ms. Lupo placed the lantern on the staircase table and ran up the steps with Carth and Bruno. Jago and Sayer opened the front doors with a flashlight in one hand and a taser-baton in the other.

"I told ya it was just a lamp!" Jago slapped Sayer.

"Just makin' sure," Sayer said. "Let's just check around."

The two Guard sounded as if they had planned what they were going to say before they said it.

. . .

Ms. Lupo stood on the second floor next to Carth. She was shaking her head and holding onto the railing.

"They are going to take their time, here," she said. "Probably come upstairs and I don't want to risk them seeing you."

"You don't even know us," Carth said.

"Doesn't matter," Frankie said. "They know I live here so they won't second guess anything."

Bruno knew why Frankie was hesitant. He knew why she was having a hard time. Jago and Sayer were cruel Guard. Bruno remembered them hurting Cariddi, giving him a black eye. When Bruno and the other ex Miners entered Espington on the first day, Jago and Sayer turned their taser-batons on for no reason; it was more of an intimidation.

. . .

"Stay upstairs," Frankie added. "If they come up, hide in the Daycare room. They won't go in there."

Frankie walked down the stairs, each step slower than the next.

Jago and Sayer were looking through the main office door window when they noticed Frankie walking down the steps.

"Good evening, Ms. Lupo," Jago grinned, scanning Frankie's entire body.

"It's almost eleven," she said, wiping her eyes. "I was sleeping. Kids come in tomorrow at six."

"We saw the light from inside," Sayer said.

"So? It's a City Lockdown," Frankie said. "Aren't I allowed to have lights on?"

"We were just making sure no one had broken in," Jago explained, still grinning. "There was a shooting today, don't you recall?"

"Yes, I do remember," Frankie said annoyed. "Otis was killed. We were close friends."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," Jago said, rubbing Frankie on the shoulder. "Do you want to sit down and talk about it?"

"I'll leave you two alone," Sayer smiled. He walked down the hallway, disappeared behind a wall.

Jago unlocked the main office door with the key he had hooked to his belt (there were about a dozen more keys on the chain). The Guard nodded at the room; Frankie just stayed still.

"C'mon, Ms. Lupo," Jago said. "Not like it's the first time."

Frankie's eyes started to water, although Carth nor Bruno could tell from the second floor. The Daycare Lady walked slowly into the office; Jago had already taken off his helmet and boots.

. . .

"We have to do something," Carth whispered.

"Like what?" Bruno asked.

Carth looked around and noticed the window at the end of the hallway. There was a slide-up screen and then two shutters that opened and closed like doors. Carth quietly tiptoed to the window, pulled the screen up, and then unlocked the shutters.

"What are you doing?" Bruno asked again.

"Hide in that corner," Carth ignored him and pointed to the corner near the water fountain. Bruno listened.

Carth opened the one shutter all the way and then slammed it shut. She scrawled quickly behind a fake plant, crouching low.

. . .

Sayer ran from the hallway he had walked down. "What was that?"

"I dunno," Jago said, his belt halfway unbuckled. "Came from upstairs."

"Let's go. I need backup," Sayer said.

Jago groaned, buckled his belt, and ascended the steps with Sayer and without any boots on. Both the Guard held their taser-batons. Frankie watched the two men walk up the steps, smiled all the while.

Thank you, Carth and Bruno, she thought, wiping her tears away.

Bruno pressed up against the corner of the wall, making himself as invisible as possible. He couldn't even see Carth behind the gigantic pot that held the massive, fake ficus. Jago and Sayer had made it to the top of the steps, their taser-batons electrified.

"Hello, anyone there?" Jago shouted. "Guard Two-Nine-Eight and Nine."

Sayer passed Carth completely, walked directly to the window. "It's the wind."

Suddenly, the Watchtower Sirens blared; the City Lockdown was over. Jago and Sayer turned their taser-batons off, holstered them. Jago peered over the railing.

"Hey, Francesca!" but the front door was wide open and the Daycare Lady was already gone.

. . .

Jago put on his boots and helmet frustratingly. Sayer patted him on the back as they left Espington Schoolhouse. The Guard slammed the front doors shut, locking them before walking away.

Carth and Bruno ran down the steps, stopped near the entrance.

"That was close!" Carth said.

"We have to do something about Jago and Sayer!" Bruno mentioned. "They hurt Cariddi and now I'm finding out that Jago likes to sexually assault women!"

"A Factory Worker that just came from Adlington cannot get two Head Guard in trouble," Carth said.

"I got the Boss of the Espington Factory fired and arrested, didn't I?"

"Touché."

The front door started to shake a bit; someone was unlocking the door. Carth and Bruno ran into the main office that Jago and Sayer forgot to close.

The front door opened and Ms. Lupo appeared. She slammed the door behind her, turned the first floor lights on.

Carth and Bruno came out of the office; Frankie smiled when she saw them both.

"Thank you, guys," she said. "It means a lot."

"Hey," Carth smiled. "You were going to let Jago take control of you just so the guys wouldn't come upstairs. Having them come upstairs was probably the best idea!"

"Jago and Sayer came into the Schoolhouse for no reason," Bruno realized. "They didn't need to come in for Lockdown. They entered be━"

"━because Jago wants me and just me," Frankie admitted.

"Why haven't you turned him in?" Bruno asked.

"He said he'd really hurt me if I told Cradock," Frankie explained.

"That's ridiculous," Carth said.

"Well, now you live here," Frankie said. "You can just make noise again and Jago will get off of me."

Bruno was overwhelmed. And not just from this whole situation with Francesca Lupo, but with everything going on in Espington. He just took a deep, deep breath.

"Carth can live here?"

"Of course," Frankie said. "I understand where she's coming from. I don't like how the Cities hate one another. Stay here as long as you'd like, Carth."

And the two girls hugged.

Tuesday, 3 March 2099, 5:40AM

Bruno's alarm clock application on his mobile blared a train whistle at around five twenty in the morning. Valinoti's rang about five minutes later, although he had woken from Bruno's alarm.

"Officially our first day of work," Bruno said.

"With Royce Spearman instead of Mavers," Valinoti reminded.

"Hey, it'll be better," Bruno assured. "And maybe Schmidt will be moved from the Conveyor Section."

"If he wakes up on time," Valinoti chuckled.

The boys changed into their Worker uniforms and walked to the kitchenette. Bruno made quick bowls of oatmeal; Valinoti poured the apple juice.

"Weird not seeing Lee in an apron," Valinoti sighed.

"He'll be okay," Bruno comforted.

"We don't know that."

Valinoti was right. Last night, when the City Lockdown ended, Bruno had run directly to the Espington Clinic. Cariddi was already there, waiting in the lobby with his Guard uniform still on (Bruno had changed out of the uniform he had stolen before entering the Clinic). Valinoti, Schmidt, and, surprisingly, Anzalone showed up quickly after.

"How's he doing?" Bruno had asked Cariddi.

"Not good," the Guard had said. "They had to perform surgery. Apparently Dr. Hodge said the bullet grazed his spleen and Lee was bleeding internally."

All of the guys, except Cariddi, had no choice but to leave the Clinic because there was no point in staying in the lobby and not be allowed to see Lee. Carth had given Bruno the uniform she had stolen from Cariddi's closet and, in R9, Bruno had cleaned both fabrics in the washing machine.

Bruno and Valinoti left R9 about ten minutes before work started. Bruno had knocked on Schmidt's door, but the boy never answered.

"His responsibility, not ours," Valinoti had said as they both exited the suite.

It was chilly outside (luckily the Worker uniforms were long sleeves and khakis). Valinoti checked the weather on his mobile while Bruno looked around Espington Square. The Heart was, of no surprise, crowded with picnickers and frollickers. Espington Eatery's Rooftop was filled with hungry families. Bruno could hear the violinists harmonizing with the DJ.

"Fifty degrees," Valinoti said. "But the wind makes it feel five degrees colder. Surprised people are picnicking and eating outside."

"It's cold during March in Eastern Togluagoa," Bruno said. "Hopefully, when spring starts in a few weeks, we'll start to feel the warmer weather."

Bruno thought of Togluagoa for a second and its geography. Back in Adlington, he was exempt from ASH, Adlington Schoolhouse, because the Miners worked the most hours getting gold for their gigantic, poor City. All Bruno knew was that the Land of Togluagoa was formed after nuclear bombs destroyed Earth and majority of life that live upon it. There were once governments, a President for each country, and, most importantly, trust. It was basic Togluagoan knowledge that Sub World Wars, mini wars between conflicting countries, devastated all discovered landmasses and the names of the countries that went with them. Bruno didn't know exactly where Togluagoa was located and neither do the specialists. The nuclear explosions altered the geography, eliminated many landmasses, and restarted technology from the start.

There was just land and sea for decades.

Decades and decades passed and there were no such things as structured governments, republicans or democrats, states, Marines, Navy, Air Force. Nothing like that.

There was just land and sea.

The Sub World Wars costed the lives of over 5.5 billion people worldwide from 2055 to 2060. Decades went by with little improvement to Earth.

Finally, in 2070, the Land of Togluagoa was founded by Lord Linwood Togluagoa. He, and all of his follower, created the Four Cities, created the country of Togluagoa. His 10-year-old son, Boatwright, was a carpenter and the boy who wrote the National Anthem. Bruno barely knew anything about Madam Vada Togluagoa, just that she was a famous poet.

Togluagoa made up all of the land that was another countries years and years ago, smaller now from the past nuclear wars. The Four Cities were located throughout Togluagoa; Bruno knew that Espington was located in Northeastern Togluagoa; hopefully ESH would provide a little more information for Bruno and Valinoti to learn.

A middle-aged-looking man stood at the front doors of the Factory. He wore a slategray suit with a navy blue necktie and handkerchief. His shoes were surprisingly a coal black as was his hair. The man wore hipster-like glasses and an earpiece with a curly wire attached. Bruno could tell that the man was into fitness. His slimfit suit showed off his biceps and thick abdomen.

"Welcome to the Espington Factory," the man said. "Name's Royce Spearman...you two must be Valinoti and Bruno, correct?"

Bruno was caught off guard by how polite Spearman was. Valinoti must have nodded because the Boss stuck his hand out for a shake. Luckily Bruno took it before any awkward hesitation took place.

"Isn't there supposed to be a third man with you two?" Spearman asked.

"Yeah, Logan Schmidt," Bruno said. "I guess he overslept."

"Wait, looks like I see him runnin' over," Spearman pointed with a smile.

He was right. Schmidt had just exited Inns Two and was sprinting over to the Factory. Bruno was amazed by how fast the skinny kid was going. Schmidt had perfect form and thick calves (he was wearing the khaki shorts uniform). The 15-year-old stopped, this time without tripping like he said he did yesterday, right in front of Spearman.

"And you must be Schmidt," the Boss said. "Welcome to the Espington Factory. Follow me, gentlemen."

Spearman led them through the front doors and the noise was still louder than a fireworks display.

"Here, take these!" the Boss said handing out earplugs.

Mavers never did this, Bruno realized and took the plugs willingly, placed them in his ears.

Spearman led the boys into his office, which was the size of Bruno's common area back in R9. There was a long, mahogany desk with stacks of papers and a thin, black computer. A plant rested in each corner of the room; there were picture frames of Spearman and his wife (who was gorgeous and just as fit). Four green chairs stood in front of the desk.

"Why don't you three take a seat, yes?" Spearman asked nicely.

Bruno and the boys sat down, a bit confused as to why they were in the Boss' office. Spearman closed the door and, surprisingly, the noise went from deafening to tolerable.Bruno took out his earplugs.

"I know Mavers didn't have you come into his office and talk," Spearman said. "It's part of procedure and he failed to follow it properly. Anywho, I just wanted to say hello and tell you about myself..."

Bruno already liked Spearman; the Boss was incredible, even nicer than his Mining Boss back in Adlington. Mavers hadn't even given Bruno and the guys a handshake on their first day, forget about the introduction.

"...wife, Kasi, is a teacher at ESH," Spearman said. "You both may have her tomorrow, actually. We also have a three-year-old son, Arden, and he's our pride and joy..."

Bruno saw the one picture of the family: Kasi had wavy, brown hair with light, cinderwood eyes. Her dimples were her best feature. Arden was one of the cutest kids Bruno had ever seen. The little boy had eyes like his mother and spiked, brown hair.

"...enough about me! You three are from Adlington! What's it like there?"

Schmidt started talking right away. He talked about his family and how he missed them all tremendously, especially his older brother. Bruno guessed that Schmidt woke up on the right side of the bed because the boy was a whole different person: he had ran like a track star to work today, his outfit matched and wasn't inside out, and he was very enthusiastic and not shy when he spoke about his family. It was as if Monday Schmidt ceased to exist and instead was replaced by Tuesday Schmidt. And Tuesday Schmidt was a good thing.

Valinoti talked about his life back in Adlington, mostly his job as a Miner and his awesome mother. Bruno never knew Valinoti back in their home City. He had seen Tim in the tiers of the Mines, but never talked to him. Their first conversation was back on the carriage. It was nice to finally hear about Valinoti's background, Bruno thought.

"And what about you?" Spearman asked Bruno, staring right at him.

"Well, I lived with my Mom and Dad and three siblings back in Adlington. I worked in the third tier of the Adlington Mines."

"Three siblings? Wow! What are their names?" Spearman asked.

"Jack, Alanna, and I have a twin sister named Carth."

"Wow. That must be hard leaving your family, especially your twin."

Bruno looked at Valinoti and Schmidt for a second. They knew what he was thinking and did not make any sign of showing it.

"Yeah, it's hard."

Spearman stood up and clapped his hands together. "Well, I'm glad I got to know you three. And I heard your friend, Lee, was in the Clinic so I sent flowers and sweets from the Factory because he's been working here for quite some time."

"Wow, thank you," Bruno and Valinoti said.

"My pleasure," Spearman smiled. "He's also getting paid for the days he's missing. He didn't know he was getting shot, no one did."

Bruno didn't know how to thank Spearman enough. The man was just a Boss at the Espington Factory; he did not have to do all the things he was doing. Bruno thought of Otis for a split second when Spearman brought up the memorial shooting.

"Well," Spearman continued. "Schmidt, I'm going to keep you in the Conveyor Section for now, but then I'll move you to one of the Fab Four eventually."

"Thank you, Mr. Spearman!" Schmidt smiled.

"No problem," he said. "Why don't you clock in and grab your helmet? Go to Conveyor Seven today."

"Yessir!" Schmidt stood up, saluted, and darted out of the room.

"You two are in the Furniture Section," Spearman said. "Let's clock in and head over."

. . .

The Furniture Section was louder than the Conveyor section, although Bruno's earplugs helped tremendously. Four other Factory Workers were sawing wood into pegs and cubes for what looked like a dining table project.

"Valinoti," Spearman called. "Darby is gonna show you how to use that power saw and, together, you'll finish that table."

"Sounds good."

"What about me, Boss?" Bruno asked.

"Come with me." Spearman said seriously.

Bruno looked at Valinoti and he only shrugged. Spearman left the Furniture Section and Bruno had to speed walk to catch up to the Boss.

"Where are we going, Sir?"

But Spearman just walked passed the conveyor belts and toward the front entrance. Schmidt waved with a confused look on his face; Bruno just waved back. Spearman exited the building as did Bruno.

"We're going to the Guard House."

Bruno remembered what Cariddi had said, that Bruno may need to be questioned about the whole Mavers/recording dilemma. Was Bruno going to have to sit in a small room with two Guard and a bright lamp in his face? Was Mavers going to be in there with that Boris Rossi killer? Maybe Jago and Sayer would be the interrogators and beat Bruno until he spoke what they wanted to hear!

Spearman opened the front door, letting Bruno inside first. The first floor to the Guard House looked more like a gigantic office. There were dozens of cubicles with dozens of men and women at their desks. Piles of papers rested on the tables and there were printers at every corner. Down one hallway were cells with fenced walls; Bruno realized those were for minor felonies like shoplifting or public indecency. There didn't seem to be any people in those cells. Bruno saw elevators at the back of the first floor and another hallway on the right side of the office area. There were just rooms and it seemed like that was where Spearman was heading towards.

The people working in the cubicles were not from the Guard; they wore grey suits or dresses like any other resident. There was a Guard here and there coming from either the elevator or staircase, but none of them were Jago, Sayer, Diggs, or Cariddi.

Spearman continued down the hallway until stopping at the last door on the right. There was a sign that read ECC in blue text. Spearman opened the door, extended his hand.

Me first, Bruno realized and he walked into the room.

Sir Espington sat at the far-end of the table. There were a few other people sitting at the conference table. Bruno realized that they were all the Bosses of Espington. Spearman took a seat in the last empty chair.

"Glad you could make it, Bruno," Sir Espington said. "I praised Anzalone yesterday at the memorial and didn't have a chance to thank you. You were the one who spotted his flash of silver on the Rooftop. You're the true hero!"

"T-Thanks," Bruno stuttered; he didn't understand why he was here.

"My men wouldn't have been able to stop Faulkner if it weren't for you, Bruno." the Boss Guard Bruno knew as Cradock said.

"Speaking of Faulkner," Sir Espington said. "We have his Exilation in just a few minutes. The decision was, of course, unanimous. Bruno, would you like to come to the Pines with us?"

Bruno couldn't believe what he just heard: see Faulkner get banished from Espington and sent to the Pines where Piners or Varmints could kill him? Sir Espington noticed Bruno's hesitation and spoke again.

"Where are my manners?" the President chuckled. "Let me introduce you to the Council: We have Shad Cradock, Boss Guard; Lewis Blake, Boss Gunsmith; Clemente Petty, Boss of the Inns; Brisa Siegel, Boss of Espington Eatery; Mitzu Yee, Boss of the Clinic; Roxy and Thora Talbot, Bosses of the Markets; and you know Royce Spearman, of course."

Bruno was overwhelmed once again. He was brought to the Guard House unknowingly, completely confused. Now the President of Espington was telling him all the Bosses of the Council. All Bruno got out of the list was that he was surprised to not see Henry Hodge in the Council and that Mr. Yee was very old. He could have easily passed for one hundred.

"That a yes, Bruno?" Sir Espington asked.

"Sure."

"Great!" Blake clapped. "Let's go. That Faulkner kid must be freakin' right about now!"

"That's immature, Lewis," Brisa, the Boss of the Eatery said. "For Lord's sake, he's only fifteen."

"A fifteen-year-old that killed a man and shot the President."

Brisa didn't respond.

The crowd walked through the Guard House first floor and exited the building. Bruno saw Leta outside with three big, charcoal automobiles. Back in Adlington, there were carriages and only a few trucks here and there. Bruno had never seen a vehicle like this before. The Bosses entered the automobiles; Bruno took the third one with Spearman and Blake.

"Don't be nervous, Bruno," Spearman said. "Julius just says a few words and then they drop Faulkner off."

"This'll be my ninth Exilation," Blake mumbled to the driver.

"Can't Faulkner just walk back to Espington or Adlington?" Bruno asked.

"Well, you see, the Exilation doesn't take place right outside the Espington Gates," Spearman explained. "Our drive will take about twenty minutes. Faulkner was blindfolded during his ride. We'll be deep in the Pines."

"Can't he follow the car tracks?"

"Wow, Bruno, are you trying to help that kid out? Didn't he shoot your friend or somethin'?" Blake asked.

Bruno had no idea how Blake knew about Lee being his friend. He had never spoken to Blake before in his life. All he knew was that he was Anzalone's new Boss.

"We have it all planned, Bruno," Spearman assured. "Faulkner will be Exiled properly."

"What has happened to all the other eight criminals?"

"Never heard from them again," Blake said. "Wait, that's a lie...Criminal Number Two, think his name was Ken or Kip or something, found his way back to the Western Gate and Alley. The Guard shot him dead right there."

"Shit!" Bruno cupped his mouth when he sweared.

"Ha! Not like we haven't heard it before, dude," Blake chuckled.

The ride was just like Spearman had said, around twenty minutes. Bruno had looked back and saw how the City of Espington got smaller and smaller. The automobile had driven northwest, away from Espington and Adlington and towards the Elmray Mountains; between all that was the Pines. The drive made Bruno think about Islington and Belington. He knew Adlington and Espington were just a few miles apart from one another, but Islington was on the other side of Togluagoa (Western Togluagoa). Belington was closer but still hundreds of miles away.

The automobiles parked on a wide open field; they had been driving off road for majority of the trek. Bruno and all the others walked up a hill and about a few yards to an encampment of pine trees. There was Jago and Sayer holding Faulkner who had his blindfold still on; Bruno could hear the boy crying. A few feet away was a man and woman, both of them sobbing as well. Bruno realized that they were Faulkner's parents and it appeared that he was an only child. Bruno also took into consideration that Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner were somehow sent from Adlington because Dylan Faulkner was one of the ex Miners.

Sir Espington walked over to the dark-skinned boy and removed his blindfold.

"Mr. President, look, I didn't mean to shoot you! It's just that O'Neill and Benson are my only friends and seeing them arrested like that made me upset and I needed to get revenge on Bru━" Faulkner turned his head and noticed Bruno. "What is he doing here?"

"Dylan, let me speak," the President said.

"Fuck you, Bruno! Ya hear me! You are a rotten Miner, just like your deadbeat father! Your day will come, I know it! And whether it's from O'Neill or the fuckin' Guard, I hope they kill you! Fuck you, Bru━"

Jago punched Faulkner square in the face and the boy crumpled to the floor. Mrs. Faulkner bawled into her husband's shoulder when she heard the slam. Sayer picked the bruised boy up.

"On March Third, Two Thousand and Ninety Nine," Julius started. "I hereby sentence Dylan J. Faulkner to Exilation for the murder of Geoffrey Otis and the attempted murder of Jae Won Lee and, well, me. You get a minute with your family."

Faulkner ran over to his parents. They hugged him and cried in unison. Bruno had walked down the hill after what Faulkner had said; Spearman had followed him down.

"Don't let him get to you," the Boss said. "He's just scared. C'mon, we brought you here for a reason."

"Why didn't you ask Schmidt to go? He was obviously involved with all this. too." Bruno said.

"He refused and ran into the Factory bathroom crying," Spearman said. "I didn't push any further."

Bruno and Spearman walked back up the hill in silence. They both saw Faulkner leaving his parents and heading back to Jago and Sayer.

"You will now be tied to one of the pine trees," Julius said. "You will be given a pocketknife and only a pocketknife. You'll cut yourself out as we head back to our automobiles. The future is what you make of it."

Jago and Sayer dragged the crying and beaten Faulkner to a pine tree and tied him to the trunk with a thick piece of rope. The entire Council started to walk downhill. Jago and Sayer turned around and escorted the hysterical Mr. and Mrs. Faulkner away. Bruno walked down with Spearman.

He turned his head and saw Sir Espington take out the pocketknife and throw it in a bush instead of giving it to Faulkner.

The boy screamed as the President turned away.