Z 2134

a lie.
    Did she now know he was innocent?
    Is that why she was put into The Games?
    And if so, was Adam also in danger?
    **
    In Jonah’s dream, Molly was walking toward him. Her footsteps echoed in the halls of his memory, each one triggering a new flash of their past, which came and went in a flash as memories are wont to do in dreams.
    Then the footsteps crossed into reality, and he woke to find he wasn’t alone.
    He looked up, the light blurring his eyes and hurting his head. It took him a minute before both were working well enough to focus on the girl, Calla, standing three feet away, waiting to feed him.
    Jonah’s lids had barely lifted before Calla was roughly shoving bread between his lips, then pouring water down his throat, her smile just shy of laughter as he tried not to choke. Liquid dribbled down his chin.
    “Doncha like?” she said in her odd accent.
    Jonah tried to shed his guilt, forcing himself to stare into her angry eyes.
    He was responsible for the loss of her mother.
    For Egan’s wife.
    He was no better than the monster Keller. And no less responsible than Keller was for Molly’s death.
    “Thank you,” he said, chewing the bread. “It’s quite good. Did you bake it?”
    “I helped, yes,” she said, her eyes softening a bit.
    Jonah said, “I know you hate me.”
    Calla stared, less angry looking than curious. His voice fell an octave, moving from pleasant to compassionate, hoping she could hear the honesty in his words and maybe understand that he never meant her or her family harm.
    He was one of the good guys, even if it had taken him too long to get there.
    “You have every right to hate me. Your father too. What I did was wrong. But I only did it because my boss told me your father was bad, and I was stupid enough to believe it.” He dropped his eyes along with his head. “They lied to me so I would hurt your family, but I never would’ve done it if — ”
    The door burst open, and Egan stormed into the room, yelling at Calla. “Don’t listen to this liar!”
    Calla turned to Egan, startled, her eyes wide and watery with a million things at once. Calla squealed, making noise with no words, like a tiny wounded animal. Jonah’s food and drink fell from her hand and crashed on the floor. Calla took off running from the room.
    Egan stared after Calla, then turned and glared at Jonah for several seconds before curling his fingers around the metal bar at the top of an ancient crimson chair. He dragged it over to Jonah and sat.
    “What kind of lies are you telling my little girl?”
    “I was apologizing.” Jonah explained. “So she wouldn’t keep trying to kill me.”
    Jonah figured it was better to portray the girl as being mean to him rather than kind; otherwise Egan might send someone else to feed him.
    Egan looked down at the food and water on the front of his coveralls, then laughed.
    Jonah asked, “What happened? Why is Ana in The Games?”
    Egan smiled. “Tell you what, Watchman, how about you answer my questions first?”
    “What do you want to know?”
    “Everything.”
    “Sure,” Jonah said. “I’ve nothing to hide. Like I said, I’m on your side. But please, just tell me, is Ana alive?”
    The words burned from his throat.
    “You talk,” Egan said. “Then maybe I answer.” Egan paused, drew a flask from his coat and put it to his lips, then started. “Tell me why you don’t take responsibility for your crimes.”
    “That’s not true,” Jonah said, fighting his anger. “I do take responsibility. I know things I did as a Watchman were wrong, horrible, unconscionable, unforgivable. But I never did anything I thought was wrong, and once I knew I was being lied to, I stopped and did all I could to make amends. I didn’t know you were innocent, Egan.” Jonah shook his head. “I had no idea who the good guys were.”
    Egan stared.
    “You’re part of the reason I joined the Underground.” Jonah’s admission was relieving but awful on his tongue, betrayal and honor sharing space in his mouth. “It was only years later when I finally saw the State’s lies for what they were. But once I knew the truth, I started helping from the inside and never stopped until I was sent outside The Wall.”
    “You?” Egan laughed. “Underground? Yeah, right!”
    “I was,” Jonah said, holding his stare. “I trafficked intel so the Underground knew when armory and food shipments were arriving from City 1. I also helped citizens flee the City through the