words to offer in rebuttal. My tongue was glued inside my mouth, and it felt like it was filled with thick cotton. My mentor turned from me and looked out toward the thin blue sky.
“I’m sorry, Zellner. We have to go to the council this afternoon. The Mayor will decide your fate. I hope you understand. You’ve left me no choice. Let’s go.”
He turned and went down the grassy hill. I didn’t follow him immediately. I thought very hard about running, but I didn’t know what good that would do me. The gnats continued to hover around me, tickling at my dull skin. I didn’t move. I didn’t move for a long time. I watched the little white bugs darting in the light before my eyes, like blurry snowflakes, and it was like they were dancing, and they wanted me to dance with them. But they weren’t. They just wanted to gnaw at the dead flesh of my body.
25. DAMNED
My mentor drove me in his Jeep convertible. He usually only used it for tracking, but I guess he didn’t feel comfortable using public transportation to bring me to my death sentence. That sort of thing required a little more privacy.
I went with him without resistance. I didn’t have much of a choice. If I ran, the patrollers would find me eventually and then I would definitely be condemned to the Stockade. If I was lucky – very lucky – the Mayor would allow me to stay in the town, maybe performing some of Revenant’s less dignified tasks as punishment. It was my only hope, and at least this way I had a chance to defend myself.
We drove into zone C and arrived at the Mayor’s office, the town’s former courthouse, in the early afternoon. My mentor guided me up the steps, past the giant pillars and through the doors of the building. We waited for nearly a half hour before we were escorted by a government patroller into the courtroom. The room was nearly empty, the lines of seats we passed vacant, and the seats where a jury would sit also empty. Six Wakes stood at the head of the courtroom – the council of Revenant, appointed by the Mayor, and Mayor Hillard himself, sitting at the front of the courtroom behind the judge’s large table, dressed as he had been the first time I had seen him in an unbuttoned suit jacket. He nodded silently at us as we entered and stood before him.
Mayor Hillard smiled down at me – at least it appeared that he was smiling. It always did. “I have reviewed the details of this case as presented by Mr. Barton. Needless to say, I am quite concerned. You’ve broken many of our laws, Mr. Olander. Do you have anything to say for yourself?”
I took in a deep breath. I had been gathering the words I would present to the Mayor during the drive to zone C. I hoped I could articulate them properly. The things in my head never exited my mind the same as when they were in it. “I made a mistake. A lot of them,” I admitted. “But I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to prove myself. That I had something to give to this town. That I had a contribution to make. Even with all my mistakes I think I showed that in some way, Mayor Hillard.”
“I see,” the Mayor said, gazing thoughtfully at me. “I’ve taken that into consideration already. Have you anything else to add?”
I stood motionless. I didn’t have any other words to defend myself with.
“If I may,” my mentor said, stepping forward. I looked up at him with shock.
The Mayor looked to my mentor. “Yes, Mr. Barton. Your opinion is always well-regarded with me.”
“Zellner has committed a terrible crime. He should not be excused from that,” my mentor said sternly. “But his intent was right. He only wanted to help this town survive. And in my mind, those are the kind of Wakes we need. Those are the kind of Wakes that will help this town thrive. He deserves punishment. A severe punishment. But he has so much potential, Mr. Mayor. He deserves a second chance.”
“Living death was his second chance,” the Mayor answered. “How many chances has he earned?” He shook his head. “By my count, your apprentice is out of second chances, Mr. Barton.”
“He didn’t intend to cause this,” my mentor replied.
“The best laid plans of mice and zombies, Mr. Barton. This town doesn’t survive on good intentions. It survives on actions. A good Wake is dead. Should I ignore it because of good intentions? What example would I be setting for other dissenters?”
“I’m not a dissenter!” I interjected.
The Mayor raised the palm of his hand toward me. “Quiet,” he instructed. “You broke the laws of this town. That is dissension. It would have been wise for you to understand that a long time ago, Mr. Olander.” He turned to look at my mentor. “These crimes cannot be buried in the ground, Mr. Barton. I cannot show clemency to your apprentice. If I tolerate in any way such acts, it could lead to bedlam. I hope you understand my perspective.” He looked again toward me. “Mr. Olander, you have left me no choice but to rescind all rights granted to you as a Wake, and sentence you to imprisonment in the Stockade.”
I didn’t react. I couldn’t. I was dead.
“Mr. Mayor!” my mentor objected. “Please. He has committed a terrible crime, but not with the intent to flaunt the laws of this town.”
“He cannot go unpunished,” the Mayor said simply. “He has no place in this town, Mr. Barton.”
“I understand,” my mentor said. “But he has not earned the same fate as other dissenters, as human sympathizers. Not in my estimation.”
“And what, in your estimation, has he earned, Mr. Barton?”
“Exile,” my mentor answered. “That is at least an opportunity for him. Not with us. Not in Revenant. But it’s not a death sentence.”
The Mayor considered my mentor’s words. He looked from him to me and back again. “I see,” the mayor said, and looked at me once more. “It is only because of the respect I have for your former mentor that I grant you this small mercy. Zellner Olander, you are henceforth stripped of all rights given to you as a Wake, and exiled from Revenant. Should you ever return, your living death will instantly be terminated. Is that understood?”
I didn’t offer any comprehension. My mentor presented it for me. “Understood,” he said.
“Twenty-four hours,” the Mayor spoke. “Mr. Olander must be out of Revenant in twenty-four hours time. Should he be found in this town afterward, his living death will be terminated. Whatever resources you are willing to lend him in his exile is up to you, Mr. Barton. Tomorrow at this time, the patrollers will arrive at your home to escort Mr. Olander out of town.”
“Yes, understood,” my mentor said. “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you for your leniency.”
The mayor glared back at him. “Don’t make me regret it.” He stood. “The matter is settled. The accused is dismissed.”
The hearing was over. I was banished from Revenant.
I sat in Trevor’s room on the floor, my hands pressed to my face. After we had returned to zone A, I asked my mayor to drop me off at Trevor’s so I could say goodbye. He would return that evening to pick me up and get me ready for my exile, promising that he would give me a few resources and whatever brain rations I had left for the week. I couldn’t be mad at him. He had done everything he could to protect me, and had fought with the Mayor to prevent me from being sentenced to the Stockade. I understood now why he had been so hard on me. He was trying to prevent this, and I had let him down.
“You don’t know how bad things are in this town,” he had said to me on the drive home. “There are things I’ve kept from you, that the Mayor has kept from everyone, because it could cause anarchy if it got out. Rations are getting very low. We might not have enough to last the year. He has been harsher and harsher in his verdicts. We don’t have enough rations to sustain the town. If something doesn’t happen soon, we may be facing a self-imposed genocide. I knew he would be strict in his decision. I was hoping he would see that you were a Wake worth keeping for the town’s future. I’m sorry.”
It didn’t help, but I understood better why the Mayor couldn’t be more lenient. I had given him a clear reason for having me dumped without anyone in town questioning the decision. I only wished I had realized
how bad things were. Maybe I should have paid more attention to zombie politics.
Now I was exiled from Revenant forever. Even with the rest of this week’s brain rations, I wouldn’t last long outside the town. Eventually I would skid back to my former Stiff self. It was better than being locked in the Stockade, though. At least it was a chance. Even if it was a small one. I was grateful that my mentor had at least earned me that.
Trevor entered and threw himself on his bed. He sat up and gazed at me.
“I’m sorry, man,” he offered.
I peeked up at him between the gaps in my fingers. Condolences weren’t going to do me any good. “Are you in trouble?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said simply. “Not as much as you though. My mentor’s thinking of having me transferred. She doesn’t know if she can handle my ‘wild ways.’”
“I’m sorry. Did you tell her it was all my idea?”
“Yeah. She says I still went along with it and I have to answer for that. I don’t think she’ll transfer me. Transfer is a big X for any Wake who hasn’t graduated. But she’ll probably never let me live this down.”
“I really thought it would work,” I replied. “I thought my mentor would be impressed. That I would prove myself to him. I never thought I could be exiled.”
“Me either. I thought that only happened to human sympathizers. Not zombie kids like us. I