Chapter One

A Chapter by SybilMelton

Lily of the Police Force

Where could he have gone? My shirt stuck to my back. I pulled it away and sweat dripped down my spine. August heat was unforgiving and every year grew hotter than the last. The thick humidity made breathing difficult. Any other day I could wear workout clothes on and jog around town. That day, I was in uniform to meet the recruits for the first day of boot camp.

Luckily, the Captain approved my liberty, allowing me to skip the morning indoctrination because Fran called me and said Blake left school during recess. He tended to skip school more than the other kids did, but it had not happened in months. In fact, he got in a lot less trouble since I started volunteering at the orphanage.

The northern soccer fields were empty and no one squatted under the Main Street bridge. Maybe he stuck around the school since he was not in his usual hideaways.

The sounds of a passing train filled the air. I stopped on the bridge briefly and watched the cargo cars whiz by.

The pavement suddenly turned smooth with no potholes, creating a visible boundary. The bridges over the river cut the city in half. The schools were on the south side of the city, the nice area. Even after two years, the walk from the north to the south disheartened me.

I headed toward the school neighborhood via the Greenway, to enjoy the view of the lush greenery in the parks. Before long, I reached houses sporting meticulously manicured lawns and bright colorful flowers. Despite the heat, the landscapers worked on the lawns. I forced myself to look away from the northern workers toiling in the sun for the southerners’ luxury. The southerners, Children of God Church members, did not soil their hands. The predominant religious group in the city. Who could argue with the persistent claims that they were God's chosen, considering none of them contracted the Revelation Virus responsible for killing 90% of the world 75 years ago?

A flash of movement caught the corner of my eye. A small white dog sprinted toward me and barked from behind a white picket fence.

The dog probably ate better than some of the people in the city.

I turned the corner to the school's street and spotted a Police Force officer lugging Blake by one arm. In his other hand was a small hologram tablet, the one I bought for Blake's birthday.

My hands balled up. "What's the problem here?"

They stopped. A wave of relief washed over Blake's face. I did not recognize the officer off hand.

"This urchin stole this. I am taking him in to find out where he got it," the officer said.

I continued toward them. A few feet away, I noticed dirt covered Blake's face and his shirt collar was torn. A small bead of blood clotted on his swollen bottom lip.

My jaw clenched. Heat rose up from my sweat soaked collar. "Is that how you treat the people you take into custody?"

"He's resisting. I can use whatever force necessary to..." His eyes rested on my nametag.

Good, he knows who I am.

"Did he tell you he stole it? Or did you jump to conclusions? I bought one of those for him for his birthday last week."

He loosened his grip on Blake’s shirt and stepped away. "Well... I..."

"I told you so," Blake murmured.

I yanked a small notepad and pen from my pocket. "Let him go. And give me your ID number."

After I wrote it down, he handed me the tablet and stormed off. I fanned my face with the notepad.

"Blake, what happened?" I inquired.

Words flew from his mouth like a speeding train. "Some kids at school didn't believe me that I got one. I know you told me not to bring it to school. But I wanted to show them I'm not a liar and they tried to take it. I ran and they chased me off the school grounds. We ran into that officer in front of the school and they told him I stole it."

I sighed. If only he did not care what those kids thought about him. I put my hand on his chin and pulled his face up to examine his mouth. "Did he do this? Or was it one of the kids?"

"He did. I did what you told me to do. I cooperated with him and told him you bought that for me. But he called me a liar and hit me and I fell in the dirt. Then he grabbed my shirt and it ripped."

My jaw clenched again.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

I rested my hand on his shoulder and led him down the street. "First, you need a new shirt and then you'll go back to school. It'll be faster to buy one than getting you home to change." I held up his tablet. "I'll drop this off with Fran later." Hopefully, there's a cafe on the way, a cold drink would be fabulous.

"What about that guy?"

"The officer? I will report him and he will receive a couple of days suspension for disobeying the mandate. So, tough guy, you didn't try to fight him, did you?"

"No! I am not stupid."

My mouth turned up on one side. "Given your history of being a hot-head, I had to ask."

He grinned back at me. "I thought you were going to deck him, Lily. I wish you would have."

My mouth slackened. I never talked to him about hitting people outside of the training ring. "I will get in trouble if I do something like that." I put my left hand on his head and tousled his hair.

His gaze flicked upward to me while he smoothed his hair down. "Yeah, I guess. How did you know where to find me?"

"The school called Fran and said you ditched class. I was not sure where you went. Lucky I found you."

A few minutes later, we arrived at a clothing shop. The cool air felt magical.

“Blake, you didn’t get in trouble on purpose, did you?”

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because I won’t be around much for the next few months.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets and lowered his gaze. “No. That’s stupid.”

I took a deep breath as a dull ache filled my chest. “OK. Pick out a shirt and I’ll try to find something to clean up your face.”

Blake chose one of the most expensive shirts he could find, but I didn’t care. I made him call Fran with my phone to tell her what happened. En route to the school, he was unnaturally quiet and kept fidgeting with his shirt.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing. It’s hot.”

He kept his eyes forward.

“Are you upset with me?”

“No.” He huffed. The ache returned, fiercer than before.

“Is it someone at school?”

“No.”

“One of the other kids at the orphanage?”

His gaze darted to me for a second. “No. I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong,” he snapped.

I sighed. “Is there anything you want me to bring the next time?”

“No.”

“Anything you want to do?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Another sigh escaped my lips. I give up.

I checked him in at school in short order and chastised the principal about monitoring recess. Outside the school, I spotted a woman sitting on her front porch with two little kids. I asked her if she witnessed what happened, and yes, she did. She corroborated Blake's story. Stewing in anger, I headed to headquarters to file the report.

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