Into the Shadows (15 page)

Last night seemed like years away now. She went down
to breakfast. It was late, past ten, and Mr. and Mrs. Anderson had
already left to do some shopping.

‘
Good Morning Sunshine!’
read a sticky note
attached to a pile of newspapers.
‘Hope you got some rest!
Enjoy the papers! Love, Mom and Dad
.

Torsten came stumbling down the stairs, rubbing his
eyes as Paivi looked through the stack of papers. The St. Andrew
Herald, the Tartan Times, and the Tribune all had her picture on
the front page, stealing the ball from number 15. The headline
above read ‘Tartans Take Tournament.’ The caption under her picture
read ‘St. Andrew High School’s center, Paivi Anderson, saves the
day. See Sports for the full report.’

“Mom and Dad gone already?” mumbled Torsten through
a yawn.

“Yeah,” she answered, shuffling through the papers,
looking for the Sports sections. The back page had the headline
‘Anderson stops West: Leads SAHS to Victory’ above a picture of her
guarding Brooke West.

She couldn’t even muster enough energy to get
excited about seeing her name in the paper. She had cheated. And
after her dream, she didn’t really care much about any of it any
more. What did it matter if she did well in a basketball game when
she had seen her mother in some horrible camp, looking half dead?
She pushed the papers aside and headed to the pantry. She grabbed
her favorite cereal, Fruity Puffs, along with a bowl and a spoon,
setting it all on the table. She dumped out a heap of cereal and
grabbed some milk from the fridge to add to it. She pulled the
comics page out from the pile of papers and began to read them as
she ate her breakfast.

“What, don’t you want to read all the glorious
articles about the wonder and magnificent Paivi Anderson?”

“No,” she answered curtly, hoping he would take a
hint.

“Well, I don’t know about you,” Torsten pulled out a
chair across from Paivi, sitting down with a giant stack of
microwave pancakes and two jars, one of peanut butter and one of
jelly, “but I would love to have someone put my picture all over
the papers.”

Paivi said nothing and shoveled another spoonful of
Fruity Puffs into her mouth. How could he even begin to understand
this?

“What, now you’re too good to talk to me?” Torsten
struggled to get the words around a mouthful of peanut butter and
jelly pancakes.

“Look, just leave me alone.” She glared at him
across the table. He shrank at the sharpness of her voice. He
snatched the sports section from the pile and put it up so Paivi
couldn’t see his face.

They spent the rest of breakfast in silence. After
she finished eating, she called Christian’s house. The answering
machine picked up, so she left a message. She called Jason and told
him she was sick and couldn’t make it to a movie. He did sound
extremely disappointed and promised to take her another time when
she was feeling better. Not feeling like doing much else, she went
back up to her room. She wanted to be alone. Her bed looked so warm
and inviting. She was so tired and wanted to try to make herself
see more of the images of her mother at the camp to try and figure
out how she got there, but she just couldn’t muster the energy.

Paivi crawled back under her covers and closed her
eyes.

No more dreams, she told herself, as she drifted off
into a deep sleep.

Paivi Anderson

Current Events p.6

Dr. Hasenpfeffer

In the
St. Andrew
Herald
article ‘Nation anxious for action,’ by Jerome
Knowles, he interviews people in and around St. Andrew to see what
they are hoping the Anti-Terrorism Coalition will achieve. Everyone
is looking forward to a meeting on Sunday, when the ATC will
announce their plan for stopping the terrorists. The ATC has
already recruited thousands of new officers, helping the poor
economy by getting the unemployed young people off the streets and
back to work. Knowles found that the community appreciates the
opportunities that the ATC offers those who have gone so long
without work. Also, he reports that most people are positive that
the ATC will make a major impact on the war on terrorism. I agree
and feel that it is important that we support the government in
hopes that they can make this country safer.

President-elect Wendell Stevens filed into the
Capitol Building’s rotunda with the other members of the newly
formed Anti-Terrorism Coalition. Together they represented the
major offices of the government. Trailing behind him down the hall
were Celine Mattucci from the State Department, General Michael
Kobayashi of the U.S. Army, Daniel Foster, director of the FBI and
Deshaun Haley, head of the CIA.

A raised platform was set up on one side of the
rotunda, along with a large table with five chairs. The audience
was filled with reporters and rows of cameramen from the many
different news stations. The members of the Anti-Terrorism
Coalition made their way to their seats. President-elect Stevens
took the center chair. He could see the Secret Service agents
stationed all around the room.

“We’re ready when you are,” said a man in front of
the platform, wearing a headset and carrying a clipboard.

Senator Stevens looked into the camera and began to
speak into the microphone.

“My fellow Americans, thank you for joining us this
evening. We, as a country, have suffered deeply from the constant
attacks of the Righteous Front, or RF. As you may recall, I had
received some information, which would be able to aid our nation in
ending the terrorist threat that exists in every town across this
great nation. As I promised, we created the Anti-Terrorism
Coalition to administer the great task that stands before us.
Together with the different governmental agencies, the Armed
Forces, the FBI, the CIA, and the State Department, we have been
able to prepare a program that will ensure the safety of all
Americans. The information I received was a long list of possible
traitors with whom we would like to meet and interview. As it has
been reported, we have already identified some criminals that we
have in custody who have ties to the RF. To explain the process,
here is Ms. Celine Mattucci of the State Department.”

“Thank you, Senator.” She nodded in his direction.
“In tomorrow’s newspapers, in every city and town across the United
States, there will be a list of people in the local area that we
would like to interview. We expect anyone whose name appears on
this list to report to the location listed in the newspaper by five
tomorrow evening. You will be assisted by local members of the
Anti-Terrorism Coalition. If you in any way attempt to deviate from
this process, you will be considered a traitor to this country and
you will be promptly arrested and all of your rights will be
forfeited. This also pertains to any newspapers refusing to print
the lists as they have been ordered. Any found not in compliance
will be shut down and all employees will need to register with the
ATC as well. ATC agents will also be present in communities across
the country to assist local law enforcement with this massive
undertaking. This process is meant to be quick and efficient. We
are hoping that all citizens posted on this list will understand
that this process is for the good of all Americans. We all want to
live in a safe country with no fear of terrorist attacks. With your
cooperation, we hope to make that possible. Thank you and good
night.”

The end of the address caused the reporters to
explode in a barrage of questions.

“Is this process legal?”

“This doesn’t sound supported by the Constitution.
What do you have to say in defense of that, President-elect
Stevens?”

He stood up and took the microphone.

“Ladies and gentleman, I understand your concerns,”
he had a large grin on his face, “but I assure you that this
certainly is legal under the Constitution of these United States.
This group is absolutely committed to following a proper legal
process. Our intentions are completely pure here. We are just
looking to protect our citizens — to save mothers and fathers, sons
and daughters from the evils of terrorism and nothing more. We
thank you for your time. We will not be taking any more questions
this evening.”

The questions swirled around them as they stepped
down from the platform, flanked by men in dark suits, and were led
down a corridor away from the crowd of reporters.

They entered a conference room and took seats around
the table, sitting stiffly in the large, cumbersome chairs.

“I think that went well.” President-elect Stevens
poured himself a glass of bourbon from a decanter in the middle of
the table. “It appears that Phase One is ready to roll. I don’t
anticipate many problems. Kobayashi, where are we on Phase
Two?”

“Phase Two is currently at fifty percent completion.
It is scheduled to be ready by your inauguration.”

“Foster, Haley, you have your procedures in place
for Phase Two?”

“Yes, sir,” answered Deshaun Haley. “We have task
forces from our groups running simulations. Efficiency is key
here.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself!”
President-elect Stevens swirled the bourbon in his glass.

“Everything needs to run quickly and quietly as
well. The parcels need to be moved to the facility within a week of
inauguration. Earlier, if possible. They have to be processed and
out of the general population before they know what hit them. Then
the ATC can commence with Phase Three,” added Haley.

“I’m so impressed. You have thought of everything. I
like what I hear. And I promise you, if we can make it from Phase
One to Phase Three without a hitch, you will all be rewarded. You
are the ones who truly understand the importance of this operation.
The safety of this nation depends on it. If we can put an end to
these terrorists, this will go down as the most influential
administration since Abraham Lincoln.” He leaned back in the large
chair and folded his hands contentedly over his expansive
belly.

* * *

Paivi spent the rest of the weekend in a fog. When
she wasn’t sleeping, she was attempting to force her mind back into
the visions of her mother at the camp with no success. She spent
the rest of the time laying on the couch in the family room,
frustrated and tired.

Christian had finally called her back on Sunday
morning. The conversation was brief. She wasn’t in the mood for
chatting.

“21-14 Chicago,” she mumbled into the phone.

“Nice job, Paivi. I knew I could count on you! I
gotta go — I have some calls to make. See you at school
tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye.” She feebly let the phone drop from her
ear. She didn’t care about Christian and his stupid game. She
didn’t even care about him exposing her family anymore. What did it
matter anyways? She saw what was going to happen. The fact that
Christian could be the one to cause that horrible vision continued
to haunt her. Paivi couldn’t forget her mother’s eyes. But she
couldn’t figure out how it was possible for Christian to cause her
mother to end up in a place like that. She doubted he had access to
his own prison camp.

And what was this place? she kept asking
herself.

She remembered the dusty ground and the rocky peaks
that surrounded the cage-like enclosure. It looked like it could be
somewhere out west, maybe in Nevada or Arizona, she guessed. The
Andersons had traveled to the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas a few
years back, and the landscape looked similar.

Thinking about it only made her feel worse, and she
knew she had to get herself together. No one would understand and
she didn’t want people asking questions. Her parents had showed
some concern already, asking if she was feeling all right. She told
them she wasn’t feeling well, which really wasn’t a lie.

Paivi woke up Monday morning feeling a little
better. School would be a nice distraction to help her get the
awful images out of her head. After a quick shower, she threw on
jeans and a t-shirt and headed downstairs to grab some breakfast.
She walked into the kitchen to find her parents talking quietly
over the newspaper. Her mother looked like she had been crying.

“John, I just don’t understand! We’re good people!
Why on earth are our names on this horrible list? We aren’t
terrorists!”

“Honey, I know. I don’t know what’s going on any
more than you do.”

The floor squeaked as Paivi stepped into the
doorway. Her parents jumped and exchanged a desperate glance.

“Paivi…um…you and your brother will have to stay
home from school today. And I suppose we aren’t going to work
either.” He picked up the newspaper and slid it across the table to
Paivi. “We are on the Anti-Terrorism Coalition’s list. We have to
go to their office at city hall today by five or we could be in
some trouble.”