Summer's End by Jay J Falconer & M L Banner

Author:Jay J Falconer & M L Banner
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Post-Apocalyptic | Thriller
Publisher: Mission Critical Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-11-17T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 19

Krista leaned back in the mess hall chair with arms up and fingers locked behind her head. She kept her eyes shut and focused on her breathing, trying to rid her chest of the tightness squeezing at her ribcage.

The pain persisted, even after two minutes of meditation, so she opened her eyes in frustration. Her vision changed to an unfocused stare, while her mind sank deep into itself, trying to make sense of the events of the day.

The cement ceiling, with its interwoven steel beams and lack of paint, reminded her of how closed-in everyone felt in the silo, even after a retrofit by their founder, Edison. The same man who’d helicoptered in and rescued Summer from the brig, then had her second-in-command, Nathan Wicks, arrested for some trumped-up charge. Well, mostly trumped up.

Krista knew as well as anyone that nobody could escape the reality of life in this place. She knew from her years in the military that anytime an oligarchy has control, democracy suffers. Especially a fake oligarchy—one actually being run by a single man.

She’d tried to be the voice of reason as a member of The Council, but it seemed that nobody was listening. Not unless her intentions fit neatly within Edison’s vision for Nirvana. Everything else was dismissed. Ignored. Swept away, if it didn’t fit the narrative. It was exhausting.

The video player in her mind took control without warning, showing her a replay of the jumper who died after a leap down the silo bay.

Krista figured that person wouldn’t be the last victim of Edison’s inconsistent application of the law under the Nirvana Code of Conduct, not with tensions mounting.

Most who came to live in the silo struggled to cope. Some failed, feeling the cement tomb sucking the life out of them until they just wanted to scream. That’s how she felt at the moment—like she was trapped in a never-ending play—one whose climax featured her in a straitjacket.

Krista quashed the pity party, flushing it from her mind. She wasn’t going to be one of the losers—not because of Edison and his propensity to circumvent his own rules. And certainly not because of a charming, yet completely unreliable twenty-something-year-old girl named Summer Lane. A girl who could spin a lie faster than lightning races across the sky.

Rod Zimmer walked in, twisting his handlebar mustache with his fingers, the salt and pepper strands winding in a circle. “There you are. Been looking all over for you.”

“Needed a break. This seemed like as good a place as any. Nobody ever comes in here at this time of night.”

“I heard what happened,” he said, taking a seat next to her at the table closest to the empty stand of coffee pots. Dusty pots that hadn’t been used in years.

Krista smirked. “Can you believe it? Even after The Council ruled in my favor.”

“Kind of pulled the rug out from under you.”

Krista sat upright, snorting an angry breath as she pulled her arms from behind her head. It was all she could do not to pound a fist on the tabletop.

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