Enemy of Gideon by Melissa McGovern Taylor Read Free Book Online Page B

She’s the perfect daughter who never stresses Mom out. She did her chores, respected Mom, completed her school work, and even gave us credits from her part-time job to help make ends meet.
    Now I live in a topsy-turvy world. If the sun shines tonight, it would fit right into my mindset. But the moon sends its light across the evening sky as usual. Traces of orange and pink from the sun’s rays fade on the horizon. I pace on foot toward Street H-31. Darkness covers Gideon, and the bitter cold settles in for another winter night. I have one hour before curfew, plenty of time to talk and then hurry back home.
    I’ve never been ten blocks north of my apartment, where abandoned buildings and construction sites line the streets. The city-state workers are rebuilding and renovating for a new phase in that area, so citizens on waiting lists will have better places to live.
    Streetlights become fewer and fewer in this district, making me uneasy. I’ve seen no CE officers for several blocks, but the cameras are still on some corners. This, for once, brings me comfort. I don’t know what thieves or other criminals might be lurking around some corner, so I keep my pace quick and my toboggan-covered head down, trying to look like one who should be feared rather than one who should be afraid.
    The sign for Street H-31 comes into view under a dim street lamp, and the sign below it posts the building numbers and a right arrow. I turn right to follow the street toward Building A15.
    Questions for Arkin nagged at me all day, but he avoided me after his instructions this morning. Even in science class, he dodged my glances and busied himself with the class work. Was he trying to protect himself? Perhaps suspicion could be aroused by simply knowing the relative of an enemy.
    Early in the day, the newsfeed on my wristband mentioned Petra’s arrest but without her name. Arkin somehow knew before I told him. He had a look in his eyes—one of sorrow, of understanding.
    EP, a serious offense, results in major jail time. I heard many stories growing up, especially in the citizenship center with Ogden. Those who become enemies of Gideon don’t receive mercy. Very few, if any, leave the prison. Those who do make it out enter rehabilitation and become reformed citizens. What happens to the enemies who refuse rehabilitation? What will become of Petra? The possible answers make my gut twist and ache.
    A decrepit, weather-beaten sign over the front double doors to Building A15 identifies it. The metal letter 5 dangles upside down from the sign like a rain drop clinging to a leaf. I head around the back of the building, noticing one camera on a streetlight across the road. It’s the only camera for about two blocks, and layers of grime cover its bulky shape. The camera is too old and neglected to even be operational.
    Behind the building, darkness consumes me. I stop and kick at the dirty sidewalk, hoping the sound will bring Arkin to my side. It does.
    “Raissa,” he whispers, appearing in a light beside me.
    His wristband glows on his face as his bangs dance in the breeze outside his toboggan like angry tentacles. His cheeks are chapped pink, and the light of the wristband gives his eyes a vivacious glow.
    “Follow me,” he says.
    I do as he instructs, my hands trembling the whole way. What does he know about Petra? I want to scream out my questions, beg him for answers, but this is Arkin, the most attractive guy I’ve ever met. Part of me demanded self-control around him even in the midst of my panic and desperation.
    We trot down a staircase in the back of the building. It’s easy to navigate, the same design as my apartment building. The staircase leads to the building’s basement. We enter an open door at the bottom of the stairs. A musty stench hits my nostrils as I follow the light from his wristband. Then he stops at a stack of wooden crates. With a click , another light reveals an expansive basement dotted with cement columns and