Apocalypse Before Finals by Julie Steimle (electric book reader txt) 📕

The school was forced quickly into routine. The boys could hear most of it happening in the hallways. They could see the action from their windows. But they were not part of it. Apparently, no one intended on reeducating them.

The bells also sounded from that day on. Those P.M. 'instructors' led their students to different parts of the school for new lessons on how to be members of the 'Arrassian protectorate'. In the morning, the boys could barely hear the routine speech Dural Kelz delivered over the school intercom system - as Mrs. Ryant's loudspeaker was broken and only a garbled version came out. But it echoed outside on all the loudspeakers. If they opened the windows and strained to listen, the boys could hear it. Dural Kelz announced: classes would resume as soon as all the 'undesirable elements' in the student body were removed. The boys shared looks, sure they were numbered among the 'undesirable elements'. Currently the students were all 'in training' to abide by the new laws of their new masters, Dural Kelz said. The boys watched from their floor as groups of students were moved in shifts to the gym for exercise and to use the showers in the locker rooms. There was a lot of protesting from the girls' area at first, soon quashed by the soldiers who put up with nothing.

The boys witnessed a few executions from their upper window. One of the student teachers, whom Darren said was an FBI spy, had also been shot. Then later, one of the coaches was shot. The fact that Mr. Humphries had not been taken out and shot made them wonder what was happening to him. Their student body president along with two others had also been dragged out to the redtop and lined up against the gym wall where they were forced to stand while the Durak Kelz gave a speech about 'pride and defiance' and something about 'daring to hide crucial information'. Then they were subsequently shot. It was so cold how those soldiers executed them as a point of business then added them 'to the pile of the dead' which was now burning with a rank odor.

The P.M.s had set the heap of executed 'rebellious' students and teachers on fire after the second day when dead had begun to smell. Some textbooks and such had been added to the heap daily, keeping it smoldering while it rained. Even some student art had been dumped on it, including a large sketch of Jeff which that 'former goth chick' Jessica Clark had made just a couple days before the invasion... a picture Brian had razzed Jeff about when he had seen it in the student gallery. Jessica had drawn a fair number of Zormna, and she had pretended to draw her while she was really drawing Jeff watching them in the doorway. She had made Jeff look like James Dean. The boys noticed that none of the pictures of Zormna had been thrown in. But as they watched the 'heap' get higher, Brian knew he and his friends would be added to it as soon as Dural Kelz had no more use for them.

"Courage is fear that has said its prayers." - Dorothy Bernard

Dural Kelz barged into their room near three in the afternoon as the four boys were reading from Mrs. Ryant's book collection to relieve their boredom. She had plenty of books for them to read, though most of them were 'classics' and not modern fiction. Darren looked up then stashed his book on the shelf when he saw the man come in. Brian dropped his, and Mark and Jonathan threw theirs. They had learned early on that if they showed they were even remotely happy with anything, that thing was taken away - like their garbage can toilet. They had lost that the second day, and they had to find something else to poop in.

The furious-looking white-haired man plowed through the room, grabbing Brian and shoved him against the wall.

"Why didn't you tell me Zormna was a Tarrn?" Dural Kelz bellowed.

Brian cringed against the pain in his back. "What are you talking about?"

The Dural slapped Brian across the face then yanked him close. He opened the yearbook he had in his other hand and shoved the same bathing suit picture at him. "This! Her other arm! You saw her other arm!"

Brian blinked at it.

Darren swallowed, stiffening. Brian saw it out of the corner of his eye. It was another secret Darren had guarded. Brian replied, "Yeah? What of it?"

Dural Kelz slapped him again. "Then tell me there was no mark on her right shoulder."

Brian had seen her arm that time. But Zormna usually kept her shoulders covered. Yet Brian recalled that day without any trouble, including all the hubbub over the circular mark that had apparently been branded into her skin. He swallowed, wondering now if it had been important.

"I... uh... I dunno." He lied.

Dural Kelz slapped him again and let him go. "You know. You know exactly."

Brian fell back with Jonathan and Mark. They looked at him, exchanging glances. Of course they remembered the mark. It was one of the fascinating things about Zormna - that and the medallion she wore around her neck which she once had a total fit about at camp when some girl had stolen it. He forgot exactly what it looked like, yet, watching this man he realized he had been staring at it the entire time. It was in the insignia on the People's Military uniforms. That circle in a circle in a circle in a circle - only hers faced down, like a sun setting.

"And you know what it is," Dural Kelz said, turning on Darren.

Darren staggered backward.

"Tell me she isn't." The P.M. glared hard at him.

Shrinking back, Daren cornered himself against the bookshelf. "I don't...."

The man slapped him. "Don't lie to me! She's a Tarrn! Isn't she?"

Darren swallowed and ducked. "Yes, all right, yes!"

The Dural stopped. He did not hit Darren. He stared at him as if he had learned his wallet was stolen along with a million-dollar lottery ticket. "She really has the mark then. Alea Zormna is a Clendar Tarrn."

The frightened boy opened his eyes and peeked out at the man. Darren's arms were still up to ward off an attack. He swallowed.

Dural Kelz savagely narrowed his eyes on Darren. "So is Zeldar the Leader-of-Many?"

"The what?" Mark choked out. He covered his mouth and braced himself for a hit, but none came.

Darren gazed through his defending arms. "I... I... know nothing about that."

"You lie," the Dural swung back for another hit.

"I swear, I swear! I know nothing about it except Zormna's a princess, and Jeff is protecting her!" Darren squeaked out.

The Dural dropped his hand again. "He is protecting her."

"Princess?" Mark mouthed.

Jonathan and Brian felt like the school building had just been dropped on them. Immobile they side-glanced at one another.

"They didn't even like each other until Jeff found out what she was," Darren confessed, though there was a degree of pleasure in his voice at finally telling the truth. "She didn't even like him until he proved he didn't want to hurt her."

All three boys staggered back against the bookshelf.

"Zormna's a princess?" Brian gasped out.

Darren nodded at him frankly. "A queen now, actually. If they succeeded in - "

The People's Military officer let off a yowl. "Take them!"

The blue uniformed soldiers seized each boy, not bothering to use the sticks at all but grabbing them by their arms and binding their wrists tightly with smooth electrically bonded cuffs. A field of burning energy somehow held them together. It made their arms feel hot where it touched the skin.

The People's Military officers dragged the boys out of the room, ramming their guns into their sore backs and shoving them forward through the empty corridor with a full escort. Surrounded, some of the soldiers physically held them by their arms, not one letting one boy walk loose. There was no way the boys could run if they wanted to.

They were marched all the way downstairs and outside. Though the sky was a gemstone blue, the air was rank from the smoldering fire, and would most likely continue to reek after they were added to it. They were being taken to the redtop for execution. No doubts.

It felt strange to be taken to die at their once favorite hangout spot. But with the addition of Martian banners and the reeking pile of the dead, along with the gym wall where their proud pirate mascot who once covered the brick was not mostly burned off from scorch marks, it looked like an otherworld war zone. They were forced at attention alongside a few others in front of that wall - people who apparently earned their death sentence for simply befriending two people who had only come to their world to hide from a murderous regime.

They recognized most of the other prisoners. Kevin Jacobson was weeping and muttering, "I didn't know. I didn't know..." alongside Jessica Clark who glowered like a shark, clutching her sketchbook in her arms as if to let it go would be worse than death. Next to Jessica was some guy none of them knew. And next to him was the freshman girl who had asked Jeff to Sadie Hawkins - Lisa Something. Joy stood next to her, trembling wordlessly until she saw Brian. Then Joy broke into sobbing tears and lurched towards him. But her guard pulled her back into the line. And next to him was Jennifer McLenna. Her expression was empty, drained. She looked as if she had already lost her life and she was merely waiting for the rest of it to go. She was also no longer wearing that Arrassian suit, now dressed in her PE clothes. Brian's brothers for some reason had escaped notice... though he didn't think that was likely. They were too loudmouthed. Jeff and Zormna had both been over at their home countless times. And, as Darren put it, the People's Military were famous for killing off entire families. The twins could probably already be dead, but that didn't seem likely either.

And there was no Adam.

Brian and friends wondered if Adam was already dead. It was possible the boy they had seen outside the toilets had been him, killed.

As they were forced into the line, Brian looked back at the wall behind them. Though the laser marks had slashed across the pirate, it just made him look more piratey. The damage had taken out half the hat and his 'healthy' leg. Yet it also gave Brian the overwhelming confirmation that their time was up.

"Joy told me to tell you that your brothers got away," Jennifer whispered, barely moving her mouth. "They