Content Warnings: ableism, reference to assault(s)
The road to city hall was crowded with people. There’d been an announcement in the newspapers that Leslie would be speaking at this evening’s meeting, that the director of the Strokes had important information to share. No wonder it seemed like the entire city wanted to attend.
I fought through the crowd along with Simone and Tazina until we arrived at the front of city hall. Three broad steps led up to the entrance of the building, but even one was nearly impossible for Tazina and her chair. People strolled by as the three of us stood at the foot of the stairs.
“How do you want to do this?” Simone asked.
Tazina grimaced in response, tapping on the arm of the wheelchair. The stairs weren’t that steep. If Tazina had a way up to each one, it wouldn’t be that difficult.
“Wait, I have an idea!” I said.
I bent down to the ground and wove my fingers through the air to gather the strings I needed. Even after all my practice it was still easier to use magic at close range. I tied together a large concrete wedge between the ground and the first step. Then I did the same thing for each step I climbed. When I was finished, a rough ramp was formed along the steps to city hall.
Tazina turned to Simone and asked, “Why didn’t you think of that?”
Simone glowered in response.
Once we were all at the top of the stairs, we made our way into the actual building. The room was packed. And that whole process had taken so long that the mayor of Illagu was already reaching the end of her speech. It was still an odd concept that people ran the operations of an entire city.
We settled into a reserved area close to the stage, where I could hear better and Tazina had her own space. Leslie walked up to the podium and, after thanking the mayor, wasted no time in telling everyone what we’d learned from 216894.
“The Strokes have recently learned new information about the serial killer known as 216894,” Leslie said. “His actions were ordered by the System as a deliberate attack on Outcasts.”
The room erupted in groans and alarmed murmurs.
“Thwierjfkdmshtjiewkmfend if the Strokes didn’t interfere!” someone yelled.
I turned toward the voice in time to see Ramona pulling the owner back down to their seat. She whispered something to them which immediately prompted the two to enter a whispered argument.
Once the room quieted, Leslie continued. “The attack was in retaliation, but not to anything the Strokes have done. There iweijtkemnit un cone group that has been bombing the System.”
A collective gasp filled the room.
“And since itewitjeemuty to protect Illagu, even from its own citizens, the Strokes will not rest until this group is dismantled. If you have any information about who these people are, please come forward.”
I shared a nervous look with Simone and Tazina. It was clear we all had the exact same feeling. The feeling that former bytes already knew who these people were. Because we’d all shared stories in the byte sector. And the survivors had been told the exact same thing: All bytes deserve death.
To be continued…