The Ask and the Answer (48 page)

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And his Noise is reaching for me, too, eagerness and worry coming forward like fingers and hands, asking me,
begging
me to put the gun down, put it down and make everything all right, make it so all this stops--

And he says, "We could be brothers--"

And I cast my eyes to Davy's--

And I see myself in them, see myself in his Noise, see the Mayor as my father and Davy as my brother and Viola as our sister-See the hopeful smile rising to Davy's lips--

And for the third time, I have to ask-

Forgive me.

I point the rifle at Davy.

"Let her go," I say to the Mayor, not quite able to look Davy in the face.

"Todd?" Davy asks, his forehead furrowing.

"Just do it!" I snap.

"Or you'll what, Todd?" the Mayor teases. "You'll shoot him?"

Davy's Noise is spilling over with more asking marks, with surprise and shock-

With a betrayal that's rising-

"Answer me, Todd," the Mayor says. "Or you'll
what'?"

"Todd?" Davy says again, his voice lower this time. I look him briefly in the eyes and look away again.

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"Or I'll shoot Davy," I say. "I'll shoot yer son."

Davy's Noise is pouring with disappointment, disappointment so thick it falls off him like mud. I don't even read no anger in his Noise, which makes it worse. He ain't even thinking of jumping me or punching me or wrestling the gun away.

The only thing in his Noise is me holding a gun on him.

His only friend holding a gun on him.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

But he don't look like he hears.

"I gave you yer book," he says. "I gave you back yer book."

"You let Viola go!" I shout, looking away from Davy, anger at myself snapping my voice loud. "Or I swear to God-"

"Go ahead then," the Mayor says. "Shoot him."

Davy looks at the Mayor. "Pa?"

"Never much use as a son anyway," the Mayor says, still pushing Viola forward with the rifle. "Why do you think I sent him to the front line? I was at least hoping he'd die a Zero's death."

There's pain on Viola's face still but it ain't all her ankles.

"Never mastered his Noise," the Mayor continues, looking at Davy, whose Noise--

I can't say what his Noise is like.

"Never followed an order he couldn't get out of. Couldn't capture you. Couldn't take care of Viola. Only ever

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showed improvement because
of your
influence, Todd."

"Pa--" Davy starts. But his pa ignores him.

"You
are the son I want, Todd. Always you.
Never
this waste of space."

And Davy's Noise-

Oh, Jesus, Davy's Noise-

"LET HER GO!" I shout so I don't have to hear it. "I'll

shoot him, I'll do it!"

"You won't," says the Mayor, smiling again. "Everyone

knows you aren't a killer, Todd." He pushes Viola forward again-She calls out from the pain of it-Viola, I think-
Viola-

I grit my teeth and raise the rifle-- I cock it-

And I say what's true-

"I would kill to save her," I say.

The Mayor stops edging forward. He looks twixt me and Davy and back again.

"Pa?" says Davy. His face is twisted and crumpled.

The Mayor looks back at me, reading my Noise.

"You would, wouldn't you?" he says, almost under his breath. "You'd kill him. For her."

Davy looks back at me, his eyes wet but anger rising there, too. "Don't, Todd. Don't do it."

"Let her go," I say again.
"Now."

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The Mayor's still looking twixt me and Davy, seeing that I'm serious, seeing that I'd really do it.

"Just put the gun down," I growl, not looking at Davy's eyes, not looking at his Noise.
"This is over."

The Mayor takes in a long breath and lets it out.

"Very well, Todd," he says. "As you wish."

He steps away from Viola.

My shoulders relax.

And he fires his gun.

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42 END GAME

***

(V iola)

"TODD! " I shout, the sound of the rifle shot blasting past my ear, erasing everything but him, the whole world reduced to not knowing if he's all right or not, if he's been hit, if-

But it's not him-

He's still holding up his gun-

Unfired-

Standing next to Davy-Who falls to his knees-Sending up two small clouds of dust as he hits the rubble-

"Pa?" he asks, his voice pleading, like a little kitten-And then he coughs, spilling blood down his lips-- "Davy?" Todd says, his Noise rising like he's the one that's been shot-

And I see it-

A hole high in Davy's chest, in the fabric of his uniform, just below the base of his throat-

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And Todd runs to him, kneeling down beside him-
"Davy!"
he shouts-

But Davy's Noise is staring at his father-Asking marks sent everywhere-His expression shocked-His hand reaching up to the wound-He coughs again-And gags-

Todd's looking at the Mayor, too-

His Noise railing-

"What did you do?"
he shouts-

[TODD]

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"
I shout.

"I removed him from the equation," the Mayor says calmly.

"Pa?" Davy asks again, holding out a bloodied hand toward him-

But his pa is only looking at me.

"You were always the truer son, Todd," the Mayor says. "The one with the potential, the one with the power, the one I'd be proud to have serve by my side."

Pa?
Davy's Noise says--

And he's hearing
all
of this--

"You effing
monster,"
I say. "I'll
kill
you-"

"You'll
join
me," the Mayor says. "You know you will. It's only a matter of time. David was weak, an embarrassment--"

"SHUT UP!"
I shout.

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Todd?
I hear-I look down-

Davy's looking up at me--

His Noise swirling-

Swirling with askings and confuzhun and fear-

And
Todd?-

Todd?-

I'm sorry-

"Davy, don't-" I start to say-But his Noise is still swirling-And I see-I see-

I see the truth-Here at the last-He's showing me the truth-The thing he's been hiding from me-About Ben-All in a messy rush-Pictures of Ben racing up the road toward Davy-Pictures of Davy's horse rearing-Pictures of Davy firing his gun as he falls-Pictures of the bullet hitting Ben in the chest-Pictures of Ben staggering out into the bushes-Davy too scared to go after him-Davy too scared to tell me the truth after-After I became his only friend--

I didn't mean it
, his Noise is saying-"Davy--" I say--

I'm sorry,
he thinks-

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And that's the truth all over-He
is
sorry--

For everything-For Prentisstown-

For Viola-For Ben--

For every failure and every wrong-For letting his pa down-

And he's looking up at me-

And he's begging merle's begging me-

Like I'm the only one who can forgive him-

Like it's only me who's got the power-

Todd?-

Please-

And all I can say is "Davy-"

And the fright and the terror in his Noise is too much

It's too much--

And then it stops.

Davy slumps, eyes still open, eyes still staring back at me, eyes still asking (I swear) for me to forgive him. And he lies there, still. Davy Prentiss is dead.

(V iola)

"You're insane," I say to the Mayor behind me.

"No," he says. "You've been right all along, both of you. Never love something so much it can be used to control you."

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The sun is down now but the sky is still pink, the Noise of the town still
ROARs
there's another
Boom!
in the distance as the Answer approaches, and the ship must have landed by now. Its doors must be opening. Someone, probably Simone Watkin or Bradley Tench, people I know, people who know
me,
must be looking out, wondering what sort of place they've landed in.

And Todd kneels over the body of Davy Prentiss. And then Todd looks up-

His Noise is boiling and burning and I can hear the grief in it and the shame and the
rage-
And he gets to his feet-And he raises his rifle--

I see myself in his Noise. I see the Mayor there, too, behind me, rifle pointed, eyes glinting with triumph.

And I know exactly what Todd is going to do.

"Do it," I say, my stomach dropping but it's right right right-

And Todd raises the rifle to his eye-
"Do it!"

And the Mayor shoves me hard, sending lightnings of pain up my legs, and I can't help it and I scream out and fall forward, forward toward Todd, forward toward the ground-

And the Mayor does it again-

Uses me to control Todd-

Because Todd can't help it either-

He jumps to catch me-

To catch me when I'm falling-

And the Mayor attacks.

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[TODD]

My brain explodes, burning and raging with everything he fires at it and it ain't nothing like a slap at all, it's like fiery metal poked right into the center of who I am, and as I jump forward to catch Viola, it hits me so hard my head snaps back and here it comes again, the Mayor's voice but somehow
my
voice, too, somehow
hers
as well and all of 'em saying yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing--

Our bodies are still moving together and I feel us tumble into one another, feel the top of her skull crack into my mouth, and yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing she falls into my chest and my fumbling arms and we twist down onto the rubble together, a siren ripping off the roof of my head yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing and I feel the rifle fall and bounce away and I feel the weight of her against me and I hear her as if from the other side of the moons and she's calling my name and yer nothing she's saying "Todd" yer nothing yer nothing she's saying "Todd!" and it's as if I'm watching her from under water and I see her try to rise up on her hands to protect me but the Mayor's above her and swinging his rifle by the barrel and smacking her across the back of her head and she's falling to one side--

And my brain is boiling-

My brain is boiling--

My brain is boiling-

yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing--

And I see her eyes as they're closing-

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And I feel her against me-

And I think
Viola-

I think
VIOLA!

I think
VIOLA!!!!

And the Mayor steps away from me like he's been stung.

"Whoo," he says, shaking his head as I blink away the buzz still rocketing from my brain, as my eyes refocus and my thoughts are mine again. "Told you you had some power in you, boy."

And his eyes are wide and bright and eager.

And he hits me again with his Noise.

I fling my hands up to my ears (not holding the gun, not holding the gun) as if that'll stop it but it ain't thru yer ears that you hear Noise and he's in there, inside my head, inside my self, invading it like I don't have any self at all yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing my own Noise swept up and hit against me, like I'm punching myself with my own fists yer nothing yer nothing yer nothing--

Viola,
I think but I'm disappearing, I'm falling deeper into it, I'm weaker and my brain is rattling--

Viola--