Seneca Rebel

S.E.R.C. RESIDENCES WERE on lockdown all weekend long as the flighter crash investigations went down. Men in blue were positioned everywhere to make sure nobody tried to go anywhere but their residence, the bathroom, or meal hall. We weren’t allowed to go to each other’s rooms, only our own. I knew that if I flexed Reba, the communication would be traced. I didn’t even know what I would say. I was creeped out big time. It felt like he had known somehow that the flighter was about to go down, but how would that be possible? I didn’t know what Reba’s role was here in Seneca, but it seemed like his uncanny premonitions had something to do with it.

I was so consumed with comforting Brittany when the party broke up and the feds arrived at her place, that I never saw what happened to Dom. He’d been in no shape to drive, so I had no clue how he’d gotten out of there. I was so angry I didn’t know if I even cared. Scratch that. I did care. As much as it had pained me to see him like that. But all I could do now was sit tight.

I flicked on my flexer. B3 News. Becky Hudson was reporting from the studio, as footage from the scene of the crash played on a screen behind her. “Three people dead, six in critical condition, all of them remain unidentified.”

No way anyone could have survived that crash. People don’t walk away from crashes like that.

“Officials are still unclear if the crash was due to pilot error or a flighter malfunction, but sources say the flighter was taken that evening from the home of Senator Walton Gilroy, where his daughters, Brittany and Samantha, were hosting a party. We expect a statement from Senator Gilroy this evening. Mojo Sticks are believed to have been a contributing factor. The alleged source of the contraband has been identified and is currently under investigation. Officials are asking that anyone with information please come forward.”

My flexer buzzed. It was Reba. I flipped off the news and accepted his FigureFlex. A six-inch hologram of Reba, sitting in his room, appeared in front of me. It was my first FigureFlex since I’d come to Seneca. “Reba.”

He was so relieved that I picked up. “Hey! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, what about you?”

“I am now.”

“What was up with that? Did you know that crash was about to happen?”

Reba blinked about a mile a minute and then took a deep breath, before changing the topic. “They’re saying that Dominic

Ambrosia brought the Mojo Sticks to the party.”

“What?”

“I know for a fact he didn’t, though.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I just know.”

“Well, then someone is lying.”

“Someone’s gotta be the scapegoat.”

“Not Dom.”

“He’s being taken to the Aboves, and, if S.O.I.L. has it their way, he won’t be coming back. Soon, he won’t even remember having ever been here.”

“They can’t do that!”

“They can do anything. And they will. You know that.”

I didn’t know what to think, what to do. True to form, Reba’s eyes glimmered with optimism. “You can save him, you know.”

“You don’t care about Dom.”

“I care about you... and I care about the future.”

“Thanks for the info, Reebs. I owe you big time.”

“No you don’t. Just be careful, Doro.” And with that, hologram Reba dissolved into the disinfected Seneca air.