I lean back into the chair Mizpah and the Enforcers locked me in, lifeless. I close my eyes to block out the blinding fluorescent lights and release a sagging sigh. Jayse is gone.  My match, my partner, the man I was supposed to love or protect or something, is gone. Two thoughts enter my mind, bringing anger rather than sorrow: He left me. I was right not to trust him.

"Intellect Renna? What's going on?" my interrogator growls.

I don't answer for a moment, inhaling deeply. He left. People don't just leave the Civilization. In fact, I didn't even know it was possible to escape the Civilization without them knowing where he went, without being shot down. The Civilization Center is a fortress and Guard Justices are carefully stationed outside at the fence to stop escapees.

Jayse escaped. Questions surge through me faster than I can try to answer them. Why did he leave? Why didn't he tell me? What did he do? Where will he go? Even if he did escape, the outside is a tundra. No one can survive out there; the winter winds and harsh blizzards don't discriminate. I know Jayse; he may be rash, but not so rash as to leave the Civilization without a destination in mind. Where is he headed? I know that there could be other civilizations out there somewhere, but we have no idea who or what they are, so where would he go? Did he know something I don't? What happened to make Jayse leave everything behind?

"Intellect Renna? Please don't make us enter the secondary Interrogation Room."

I startle alert at the thinly veiled threat. "Jayse is gone."

There is only static silence and I know I'm right. My match, my boyfriend, is gone. Why?

"We can neither confirm nor deny that."

"What happened? Do you know why he left? Or where he went?" I squirm in my chair but only manage to rub the skin around my wrists raw against the metal bands.

"Intellect Renna, we need you to answer our questions. All of them."

I stare forward, hoping they can read my sincerity in my gaze, and plead with them, "I don't know anything about his work. I don't know what he did that has you so upset. If I did, trust me, I would tell you."

"Why should we trust you? You're his match."

I laugh humorlessly. "Because obviously he kept something from me. He kept something from us. Why the shell would I defend someone like that? I have no loyalty to a liar and a traitor."

The words twist my stomach, and I try to ignore the hurt welling inside me. He left me. That blasted liar. I transform the hurt into rage. Jayse and I weren't exactly in love, but I still thought he cared about me. Obviously not enough to tell me the truth. We were supposed to trust each other, but here I am, being interrogated for something that he did.

"We trust that you will be willing to cooperate with us, then, Intellect Renna."

I let out a long breath and my voice is hoarse. "I'll tell you anything you want to know."

-----

I scream and my entire body arches off of the metal bed. I try to writhe free, but metal straps fasten my arms and legs so tightly that they bleed, crimson blood dripping down my fingers onto the gurney.  Electricity races through my body in bolts of pure fire.

"Where would Jayse go if he were to get free?" the Infiltrator Justice, trained to extract information from dissidents, asks me.

"I don't know!" I scream, "I've told you that! I've never been past the Civilization's fence. I don't even know if there's anything or anyone out there. I had no idea he was planning to go anywhere."

The electrodes are attached just below my collarbones where no one can see the burns they'll leave. I hope this means they'll eventually release me, that they're not going to kill me for Jayse's crimes, but I no longer know what they're capable of. I don't know what day it is or how long it's been since they first brought me here for interrogation. This isn't just Mizpah—this is the Civilization. This is the Civilizers. Whatever Jayse did, they're willing to sacrifice me and probably Ryke to find him. I knew the Civilization could be cruel, but I never thought they could commit such atrocities against their own people, against high clearanced civilians like me and Ryke. We aren't the ones that escaped the Civilization.

"What is the latest project that Jayse was working on?"

"I don't know," I sob, feeling salty tears race down my face. "I don't know. I know he worked with all sorts of weapons, but he doesn't...didn't...tell me about it."

"How do we know we can trust you?"

I open my mouth to answer but a stream of water engulfs me, drowning my words and filling my throat with icy water. I choke on the water, gasping and sputtering for breath but finding none. I try to break free, body writhing. I can't. I can't. I can't. Breathe. I can't struggle any more. My body goes slack. I close my eyes. The water stops just as soon as I give up. They don't want me dead yet.

I gasp for breath and drink it hungrily, spitting water from my mouth in anguish. My body wracks in a cough and I taste blood as it dribbles down my chin. Water. Electricity. Water. Electricity. That's all I've known for the past few...hours? Days? Weeks? I don't know any more. All I know is they won't let me go. My chest heaves as I drink in the air.

"Intellect Renna, we can't release you until we're certain that you have provided us with every useful piece of information about Justice Jayse."

Release? I feel a spasm of hope at the thought of returning to my old life. It seems so far away right now—my career, my friends, my future. Apparently, the Civilizers don't want me dead. If they wanted me dead, they would have incinerated me by now.

"I've told you everything I know! If I knew anything else, I would tell you. I'm not defending Jayse, I swear!"

"You understand that we have to ensure your innocence," the masked Infiltrator taunts me. "This interrogation is for the good of the Civilization."

Interrogation. I laugh aloud at the word. This is torture, and I know that it could get even worse. We're only in the secondary interrogation room. This is all it took to break me. And the good of the Civilization? I used to be willing to sacrifice my life for the Civilization; I believed in them, that they wanted what was best for us civilians, but now I don't know what to think. What did Jayse do that compromised the good of the Civilization? And how is torturing me, breaking me down into a shell of a person, considered good? I laugh again. Everything I've ever believed about the Civilization has been so wrong.

"Do you find something funny, Intellect Renna?" he snarls at me.

Before I can respond, a jolt of electricity tears through me and I scream again. Right before I black out, I wonder if anyone can hear me from way down here. Even if they could, I doubt anyone would do anything to help. This is for the good of the Civilization, after all.

-----

The door to the interrogation room swings open and I wonder how long I've been here, how long it's been since I saw a person without a helmet or a mask. It's been a long time. Hours? Days? Each moment feels like an hour so it's hard to tell. An Enforcer enters, a helmet covering most of his or her face.

I have lost all restraint and I babble, "What's going on? Where are you taking me? Am I being released? Are you going to kill me?"

The Enforcer is well trained and ignores me, unchaining me and lifting me upright by my arm. I try to stand but find myself weakened by the interrogation. I haven't eaten or drank or slept in so long. Electricity. Water. Electricity. Water. When my legs give out and I start to collapse, the Enforcer curses at me and has to support my weight to get me out of the room. My vision blurs and I fight to keep my eyes pried open, dizziness threatening to pull me into unconsciousness. The Enforcer hauls me out of the interrogation room and I stagger forward, my legs struggling to support me.

A door swings open and I am shoved into yet another room, my arms locked behind me again. My muscles are sore from struggling against their constraints and my skin raw from the handcuffs. I want to fight but I can't. I can't.

"Hey, Ren," a hoarse, cracked voice greets me.

I turn to my left, shocked to see Ryke locked into the chair next to me. Like me, he has no visible scars, but I can tell by the bags under his eyes and his gray skin that his time here has been no less painful than mine. The only evidence of his torture is a split down his swollen lip and a trickle of dried blood beneath it. His long blonde hair is matted, but I see a sardonic sparkle in his gold eyes as he winks at me.

"Do you--" my words come out in a hoarse gurgle and I cough up blood. "Do you know what's going on?"

I know they're watching us through the cameras installed in every room, but I don't care. Blitz, I just survived interrogation. What more can they do to me? I just want to understand. I need to make sense of this; that's what I do, I'm an Analyst, I analyze things, but I can't analyze this. There are too many pieces of the puzzle missing. I feel like the electric shocks destroyed a circuit in my brain so now it just loops in circles.

His eyes catch mine, hungry and alive. "No idea."

I know he's lying. His fingers twitch, and his eyes are awake and alert; they haven't broken him yet. I feel weak in contrast. I would have told them anything I knew, but I know nothing except that Jayse is gone and he did something to turn the Civilization against him. Ryke, however, must know something. I can read secrets in the defiant set of his shoulders and the burning in his golden eyes. Jayse must have told him something. I open my mouth to ask him what he knows, but then I remember they're watching. If I want to get out of here, I'll have to wait until Ryke and I are alone. They're always watching.

I cough instead, hoping they don't notice my hesitation. Ryke's expression, however, awakens my survival instinct. I need to make it out of this, and to make it out, I need to make sense of what's happening. There is no visible proof that we've been tortured which must mean they are going to release us. If I survive this, when I survive this, I'm going to learn why they tortured us. I can't do that, however, without getting them to believe I'm trustworthy. I need to convince them I'm just Jayse's dumb, oblivious girlfriend who knows nothing. Unfortunately, right now, I am that dumb, oblivious girlfriend. Strafe you, Jayse. If I could get my hands on him, I'd kill him before the Civilization could.

    The door opens again, and I'm surprised to see Mizpah enter. She wears black pants, a black shirt, and a black leather suit jacket, every sharp line screaming precision and efficiency. She nods to us, betraying no expression except a tightening around her lips. A man and a woman follow her, and when they walk into the light and I can see their faces, I catch my breath—Civilizers. The Civilizers are the committee of ten that govern the Civilization. I've only spoken with one or two of them, and only a few words at most. They're far above even the Tier 4 Intellects and Justices.

I recognize the two standing before us: Pris and Cile. Pris is a thick, powerful woman with dark skin and long hair dyed bone white and slicked back behind her head. Cile is much less imposing, a small, wiry man with sharp eyes; his distinguishing feature is a line of rings in one eyebrow. Everyone in the Civilization has to stand out somehow.

    I try to stand up in protest but the iron chains around my wrists and ankles yank me back into the chair. "Why are you holding us like this? We've done nothing wrong!"

    Civilizer Pris smiles at us and saunters forward, oozing confidence. "Intellect Renna, Justice Ryke. I hope you'll understand that we are in a unique position. As two of our most promising Advanced Trainees, it is incredibly unfortunate that we had to put you through these interrogations. You understand, however, that we had to be absolutely certain of your innocence. We can't have conspirators trying to destroy the Civilization from the inside. It's for the good of the Civilization that you had to undergo these interviews."

    Conspirators? Is that what Jayse was, a conspirator, a rebel? Why? What the shell did he do? Jayse is obviously guilty of more than just escaping, and I want to ask more, but this is not the time. The Civilizers won't give away any information, and my curiosity could land me back in the interrogation room. I'm too close to freedom, so close that I can taste it.

    Civilizer Cile steps forward, a mini-pad in his hand. "Based on the results of your interrogations, you have both been authorized for release due to the veracity of all of your responses."

    Ryke interrupts, "So we're being released?"

    Civilizer Pris smiles, but her black eyes are still cold. "Very soon, I assure you, Justice Ryke. Mizpah?"

    Mizpah steps forward at once, hands clasped behind her back. "Of course. Thank you, Civilizer Pris. Ryke, Renna, you both have extraordinary potential which has unfortunately been compromised due to the present situation. However, since you've both been judged guiltless, you will be released. Due to your outstanding abilities, you have both been appointed as part-time Advanced Trainers for Tiers one through three under my jurisdiction. You are also authorized to resume your work duties and continue Advanced Training if you qualify and desire to do so."   

Mizpah's words stun us both into silence. They're giving us a promotion instead of expelling us? Rewarding us for our supposed treason? This doesn't make any sense.

I stutter out a response, "So...so that's all? We can just go back to our lives as if nothing happened? We even get promotions?"

    Civilizer Pris jumps in, "You will, of course, continue to be closely observed to ensure your innocence and cooperation with the Civilization's goals. Additionally, you will not speak of your time here as anything more than your willing submission to Civilization protocol. You understand that what has taken place here was a necessity given the circumstances."

    What are those circumstances? I wonder, but I keep silent. I can't compromise the freedom waiting outside these doors. The less I know, the less of a liability I am. I now understand why they're promoting us to trainers. They don't want to lose us since we are valuable to the Civilization, but they don't quite trust us. As trainers, they can keep a very close eye on us to make sure we're cooperative and obedient. This is our probationary period, a chance to prove that we won't cause trouble.

    "And we'll be trainers under Mizpah?" Ryke adds in clarification, his eyes gleaming.

    "Yes. Frankly, you're two of our best trainees, and we're grateful that we don't have to expel you."

    I cringe at the word—when someone is expelled from the Civilization, they're either beaten and then left to the elements or burned alive. I wonder how closely we have avoided this fate.